Sinner

by Ted Dekker

  “Billy?”

  He winked at her. “Anything permitted by law.”

  She nodded once. “There you go, then. Anything permitted by law. Is that fair?”

  “I would say so.”

  “You don’t have any resentment toward me for asking this while you look in my eyes, do you? I don’t want you to feel compelled unless it follows your true feelings. You do want to do this for us, right?”

  Of course, the phrasing put Annie in a bit of a bind, unless she really did think the request completely unreasonable, which Darcy knew she would not.

  “No.” Annie looked at the attorney general, who was grinning. It was the first time she’d felt Darcy’s power personally. “Lyndsay?”

  “No, not at all. Oh my, I think we might actually have a shot at this.”

  “Then you both swear to give us what we want, permitted by law?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” Darcy looked at Billy and spread her hands. “Anything else?”

  “No, not from me. I think I get the picture.” He slid his glasses back on, and Darcy followed his example.

  “Where and when do we start?” she asked.

  Annie took a deep breath, replaced her own glasses. “With the president. In fifteen minutes.” She pushed her chair back and stood.

  “I think history’s going to like you, Billy and Darcy. I think I’m going to like you very, very much.”

  The Books of History, Darcy thought. She’s thinking of the Books of History. And her heart skipped a beat.

  II

  * * *

  WORDS OF POWER

  * * *

  The Apostle who saw the Light with his own two eyes said this:

  I came to you in weakness

  and fear and with much trembling.

  My message was not with wisdom

  or persuasive words,

  but with power . . .

  First-century letter written by

  Paul to those in Corinth

  * * *

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  * * *

  Day Fourteen

  THEY WERE calling the last week “the five days that changed America,” but to Katrina Kivi, nothing had changed. Certainly not the kingdom of light that greeted her every morning, so to speak. In fact, nothing had changed except the newscasts on the Net, and for some reason the news never really felt very personal. Secondhand data from secondhand sources. Long before this so-called crisis, Kat had seen a thousand images of flag burnings, street violence, and Molotov cocktails exploding against cars, even if it was in other countries.And now it was coming to America, for real.

  But it still didn’t feel real, not next to her new real.

  It had been all constitutional and civil liberties dialogue, all day, all night, all on the Net.Worse than a sci-fi marathon, only real.

  Kat stood on the cliff ’s edge next to Johnny and Kelly, overlooking the valley before them. Except for the chirping of birds and the occasional rattle of lizards dislodging pebbles on the rocky surface beneath them, the day was quiet up here in the mountains.

  Johnny stood still, breathing in the scent of pines and clean air, staring at the small Colorado town they’d come to see.

  Paradise.

  A large crow settled on a bare branch to Kat’s right, eyed them with a beady eye, and cawed. Its head jerked a few times as it hopped down the branch, holding firm with long clawed feet. Caw, caw. Jet black. It leaped into the air and flapped away, calling out over the valley, as if announcing their presence to all who might be interested.

  Kelly stood to one side, staring south, not looking terribly comfortable. But Kat hardly blamed her; it had been clear from the beginning that Johnny’s hometown held a nearly mystical, very personal place in his mind.

  “So, this is it, huh?” Kat said.

  He didn’t bother answering, because they all knew the question was rhetorical. Of course this was it. The real question was what it was.

  Upon learning two days earlier about Johnny’s occasional pilgrimage to this spot, Kat had talked her way into accompanying them. By helicopter.

  “This is it,” he said. “The place where I lost my sight. And saw for the first time.”

  Kat looked at the town. A single black strip of asphalt ran down the center, bordered by the kinds of buildings she would expect in any small town like this. A church complete with a steeple, surrounded by a huge lawn. A large community center. Gas station, odd shops, maybe a bar and a grocery store, though she couldn’t actually see clearly enough from this distance.

  Beyond the center of town, fruit farms filled the valley before it rose again to the mountains across the valley. Several green fields spotted the otherwise wooded landscape. A couple hundred homes dotted the valley, in rows around the town and like scattered seed beyond.

  “And why are we here again?”

  Johnny swiveled his head and faced her. “Because a very good friend of mine, Samuel, suggested that I have a date with destiny here.”

  “Now?”

  “He seems to think so, yes.”

  “Samuel?” She waited for him to explain.

  Johnny frowned. “A friend from Paradise a long time ago. I talked to him yesterday. He would have been here, but he seems to think I should face this alone.”

  “Face what?”

  Johnny didn’t seem eager to elaborate.

  “Why can’t you just tell me what happened here? You don’t trust me?”

  Johnny looked at her for several long seconds, then looked down the valley and told her about the birth and death of Project Showdown.

  When he finished, Kat stared at him, stunned by his casual account of such improbable events. Who would believe that such books existed?

  But then, who would believe that the kingdom of light existed unless they had seen it with their own eyes?

  She cleared her throat. “What happened after that? The town doesn’t look like it’s on its knees any longer.”

  “No. No, the town pulled out, but at a high price. And Black escaped unscathed.”

  A crow cawed again, but Kat didn’t know from where. She was fixed on the town below, mind lost on what must have happened here not so long ago.

  “We’re linked, Johnny. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Is that so?”

  “You brought me into this kingdom.”

  “No, I don’t think so . . .”

  “And I’m not about to let you just drop me off at the nearest bus station now that we’re here.”

  A slow grin twisted his lips. “I like the way you speak, Kat. I really do.”

  “That’s a promise then?”

  “It’s a promise.”

  “What about you, Kelly? Did Johnny bring you into this kingdom?”

  She chuckled. “Not exactly, no.”

  “But you do believe.”

  “Of course.”

  “You’re with Johnny. I mean in heart and soul.”

  “Yes.”

  Kat scolded herself for asking such an obvious question that could only be interpreted by both of them as a kind of childish jealousy.

  “Not to worry, you two,” Kat said, gazing out. “I’m not suffering from a bout of youthful infatuation. Just to set your minds at ease.”

  “Infatuation? With whom?” Johnny asked.

  The blind man was indeed quite blind when it came to matters of women, Kat thought.

  Kelly was still smiling. “With you, dear,” she said.

  “Yes, with you,” Kat said. “I’m sixteen, you know.”

  “My, you are a straight shooter,” Johnny said.

  It occurred to her that none of this was remotely necessary. She just felt so comfortable around him. Maybe she was developing a crush on him.

  “Awkward,” she said.

  “Not at all,” Johnny said, deadpan. “Thank you for setting my mind at ease.” Then he offered her a smile. “Think of me as your spiritual father.”

/>   That was it, of course. The realization set her completely at ease. And if he was her spiritual father, then she had every right to look out for him as any daughter might. No question was out of bounds. Starting with why he was going to marry Kelly. Just to be sure.

  “That’s good, because I don’t have a father, not one that I know anyway.”

  Kelly stepped up, arms crossed, and stared at the valley. “So then, it’s begun.”

  “So it seems,” Johnny said. “The supernatural reality that so many pretend to believe in has crossed over in physical form. The books did that for us. And now the stage is set for a new kind of conflict.”

  Kat’s only experience with the kingdom of light revealed in Jesus had been quite physical, but she knew that very few had been exposed to such a dramatic unveiling as she had.

  “You don’t mean a physical conflict?” she said. “Or do you?”

  Johnny nodded at the valley. “What do you see, Katrina?”

  “The town that you grew up in. Paradise.”

  “But that’s the same answer you would have given me two weeks ago. You know better now.”

  Realization dawned. “I see a valley filled with the struggle between good and evil. To be more precise, I wish I did, because I know it’s there even though I can’t see it. If you would just open my eyes again . . .”

  “So much of what really happens in this world can’t be seen with those round balls in our eye sockets. You could pluck them out and still see as bright as day. Or you could walk around with the prettiest blue eyes carved from the sky and be as blind as Black himself.”

  “Exactly.”

  “The valley is teeming with every sort of wraith from hell you can imagine, you just don’t see it. Light defeated the darkness in this valley once, but I do believe that darkness is coming again.”

  Johnny frowned. “Samuel thinks the monastery existed for the sake of what will happen here. This final showdown.”

  “When?” Kelly asked.

  Johnny’s jaw muscles flexed. It was always hard to guess what he was thinking because of his dark shades, but that he was emotional about the prospect of returning to Paradise was obvious.

  “Now,” Johnny said.

  Now? Alarm spread through Kat’s chest. “You can’t! There’s the court order, you have to watch over me!”

  “We’ll have to speak to the judge.”

  “No. Just what’s this all about anyway? Kelly, you can’t just up and leave your home because he says it’s time! What’s so important about Paradise anyway?”

  “It’s not Paradise,” Johnny said. “You may not realize it yet, but our lives changed when the Constitution changed.”

  “What are you talking about?”she demanded.“So you can’t trash another person’s race or religion. You yourself said the light is best shown, not just talked about. I don’t see how our lives have changed, other than you think you have to come to Paradise to face this wraith of yours.”

  It was crucial he realize just how important he was in her life at this time. The thought of him abandoning her was terrifying.

  “I’m not sure you understand, Kat,” Johnny said. “This change in the Constitution allows Congress to create new laws that make it a crime to express your faith in public. What may seem like a good thing on the surface opens the doors to laws that could make following the teachings of Christ a hate crime.”

  What?

  “Seriously? How could talking about the love of God be a hate crime?”

  “Because saying that he is the only way to enter the kingdom implies that another’s path is wrong. You’re saying your faith is better than another’s faith. They will say it’s no different than a claim that black skin is better than white skin. Both will be interpreted as hate crimes.”

  She understood in a single flash that sent a buzz through her skull.

  “So saying, ‘Jesus is the only way, follow him,’ is like calling those who don’t follow him fools. An insult.”

  “Yes.”

  “But Jesus claimed he is the only way. The whole kingdom is based on teachings like that. Even by following him you could be judged as saying that others are fools for not following him the way he insisted the world follow him!”

  “That would be an extreme interpretation, but yes, you get the point. What few Christians realize is that you can’t follow Jesus without actually following his teachings—none of which include denying him with silence.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “Meaning that we are in a bind, dear Kat. There will be challenges, but any public support for the narrow teachings of Jesus will likely be deemed by the courts as a personal attack on other religions. Take my word for it.”

  And then he added under his breath, “This reeks of Marsuvees Black.”

  Kat’s whole mindset changed. Johnny’s need to make a stand in Paradise, however that looked, had nothing to do with her. Her eyes had been opened to an incredible new world two weeks ago, a reality brimming with light and truth. The realization that Jesus was who he’d claimed to be. The Light of the World. The Truth. The only Way.

  She would never abandon that light!

  She’d only just learned that her whole life was oppressed by a great dark lie, and now some law was going to attempt to force her back into that darkness? How could she even consider not walking in the light?

  She’d read about a dog named Rutt who was so severely beaten every time he left his cage that when he was finally set free he found his way back to the cage, entered it, and died of starvation.

  Unlike Rutt, she would not return to the cage, not under any circumstances.

  “We can’t let that happen!”Kat paced along the cliff, mindless of where her feet landed. She spun back to Johnny.

  “Someone has to tell them. This is what following Jesus means, they can’t make following him a hate crime.”

  “Someone is going to tell them,” Kelly said.

  Kat hardly heard her.“And what about the Muslims or the Hindus? Are they going to take this, just . . . lying down? Doesn’t this affect them?”

  “The clerics will scream foul, but like nominal Christians, nominal Muslims don’t actually follow their faith to the letter. In the face of this tide sweeping the West, most will argue for tolerance. As will most Christians.”

  “It’s obscene!”Kat’s voice rang out over the cliff so that a careful ear in Paradise might have wondered if they’d heard a hawk’s cry. “Tolerance, yes, but tolerance for the darkness? Are we bats?”

  They let the echo fade. Johnny faced Paradise. Kat recalled Kelly’s last statement: Someone is going to tell them.

  “Who’s going to tell them?” she asked.

  “Johnny is,” Kelly said.

  “Then so am I,”Kat said, marching back to him. “I’m going to Paradise with you.”

  “I really don’t—”

  “I don’t want to hear it. You promised me, you promised the judge.”

  “You’re in the middle of a school term.”

  “There’s no school in Paradise?”

  “Your mother—”

  “Will agree. And don’t tell me about how dangerous standing up for my faith will be. I’ve done it.”

  They stood in silence once again, and Kat knew that the matter was settled. She suddenly felt quite emotional about going with him to stand up for all the world to see, because surely, knowing him, that’s what would happen.

  Johnny was this day’s John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness. Only this time John had himself an apprentice.

  “Thank you, Johnny,” she said.

  “It could get very bad, Kat. You know that.”

  “No, thank you for showing me the light.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

  “It’s the kindest thing anyone has done for me.”

  He put his hand on her right shoulder and pulled her close. Kissed the top of her head. “You’re welcome.”

  “When do we go?” Kelly asked.

  * *
*

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  * * *

  DARCY STOOD at the podium in the United States Senate chamber staring out at ninety-seven senators, prepared to convince these men and women to pass the National Tolerance Act, the first federal law to be based on the amended Constitution. Ninety-seven—a full house, less three, compelled by Billy to abstain or have their abuses of power exposed: Brian Clawson (D-Utah), whom Billy had persuaded to either vote for the law, miss the vote entirely, or pay the fallout when the real purpose of his frequent trips to Thailand were made public; Nancy Truman (R-Texas), who was missing under similar pressure; and Rodney Walton, senior senator from Arkansas, who was in the hospital with a prostate flare-up. All other members were present, including two who had been escorted in by Capitol Hill police for a mandatory quorum call, the first time the Senate had enforced a quorum using compulsion since 1995.

  Her mind flashed over the last five days. While she and Billy toiled around the clock, working their magic, the riots had spread, picking up steam over the weekend with nine separate national incidents that resulted in the death of at least one party.

  Racial protests were joined by freedom-of-speech protests. It was all a bit jumbled. One image of a mob marching down Pennsylvania Avenue showed protesters carrying signs that read Stop the Hatred,No Tolerance for Bigots right next to signs that read Americans for Free Speech.

  The outcry from all sides of the social and political spectrum was inevitable. Liberal social-progressives found themselves agreeing with archrivals, even though neither group shared any other common idea.

  The Human Rights Watch, along with the Religious Action Center, attacked the constitutional amendment from both sides, one arguing that the legislation didn’t do enough, the other that it was a step in the direction of national socialism.

  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People condemned the lynchings on one network and decried the constitutional amendment on another. A group calling itself the Nontheists of North America emerged from the political woodwork, hailing the amendment as a “bold new shift in social strategy.”