Chapter Forty-Three

By the time they had arrived at the hospital, registered her in, and obtained a room for Samantha, she was already seven centimeters dilated.

During the registration process, she had been taken by one of the orderlies up to the labor-delivery floor – Heather went with them, and Krieger took the moment to explain about Samantha’s brief medical past. He wasn’t sure, he told the registering nurse, if she could concentrate long enough for the delivery process.

It was confirmed that the operating room would be on stand-by if an emergency Cesarean would be needed.

He thanked her and went to find the elevators, and once inside he said a silent prayer for both Samantha and Mykella. Then he said one for Vince and his friends. He didn’t want anyone to die if it could be avoided.

Almost immediately upon entering the dim delivery room, Krieger had been given the news of Samantha’s dilation. He noticed that Heather seemed agitated about something and when he asked for the cause, she went from Samantha’s side and ushered her husband out the door.

“I didn’t mind looking after her. But no one said anything about her baby. I’m worried for them; we don’t have anything to care for an infant. Or the room.” She was quick to get to her point.

“Things will change, Heather. I promise,” he assured.

“You said that already. When?”

He glanced into the room and saw Samantha breathing heavily. “Very soon,” he said, and then as an afterthought, “Sooner than I expected.”

* * *

The descent was treacherous, but not impassable. They took their time, grabbing hold of stones, rocks, and roots whenever they could. Vince led the way and he couldn’t stop thinking about how close Orion was to him. If it weren’t for Chris behind him, followed by Karl, he would have sworn he could feel the fiend’s breath on his neck.

“Let go, Vincent.”

Why was Orion talking? Why was he telling me what to do?

“You want me to kill myself?” Vince called back to Orion with sarcasm in his throat. Surely, he thought, the remainder of the drop would end my life if I were to let go.

“Surrender to the power! Command your will!” There seemed no malice in Orion’s voice. “No, I don’t want you to die. You’ve actually become interesting to me.”

Vince laughed at the remark. “You swear I won’t die?”

Chris became the voice of caution. “Don’t listen to him. We don’t know how far down it goes.”

From their distance below the earth’s crust, Vince could barely see his hand in front of his face. But he looked up nonetheless, not expecting to see Chris, and paused his descent.

“You will not get hurt. Trust me as you have before, Vincent.”

Whatever the world will be like after Orion gets what he wants, Vince felt as if he would live to see Orion again. “I’m going to let go,” he called up to Chris and Karl. He just prayed that he had the strength to control his own will power.

“No!”

But it was too late. Vince closed his eyes and took one deep breath and held it. With his mind, he saw the floor of whatever world they were in and let his hands slip from the roots he was holding.

Chris heard the fall and she shouted his name once in desperation. It felt like an eternity she held onto the rocks; she was debating if she should do the same as Vince. At last, temptation won and she looked up. “I’m going too,” she said to Karl.

He nodded into the darkness. “I’m right behind you.”

Once she let go, Chris told herself that she was light as a feather and an alien feeling overcame her; she descended onto the ground just as a feather would.

It took Karl a few moments to gather his inner strength, but once he did, he too let go and when he found the ground, he bounced up a few feet just as he had told his feet to do.

Orion remained alone as he was surprised to see their control. This will be a very interesting battle, he thought and then let go just as they had, except he had mastered his power months ago and had slowly dropped to the ground.

When he landed he was looking into the faces of Vincent and his friends as he knew he would. He lowered his hood and beamed at Vince. “I knew you had it in you.” Then he shook his head. “If only you would become the first of the new wave, I would make you an admiral.”

Vince shook his head and the memory of Xan flashed before him. He needed answers to put his mind at ease. “Tell me about my sister,” he said once he let go of his power.

Orion was puzzled and he shrugged his shoulders. “That, I don’t understand. I don’t believe I’ve ever met her.”

Vince nodded as he believed what the Master Dreamkiller had told him. “Then Ilias has.”

No one knew the road Xan had chosen and Vince didn’t feel they needed to know. Not yet, anyway. He saw that Orion’s eyebrows had risen slightly at the name of his old mentor. What does it mean, Vince wondered. Was there to be a war greater than Mykella and Orion? A battle of immortals?

Orion raised his defenses and found he could no longer read Vincent’s mind. He looked at Vincent and saw that he was smiling.

“You’ve taught me how to control my power, remember? I knew that I could block you out of my mind,” said Vince and looked around the place they stood.

“Where is it, Boy? Where’s the gate?” Orion was looking around as well and could only see the darkness.

Chris and Karl moved closer to one another as their instincts told them danger was lurking in the air.

“Mother!” Vince shouted and heard his voice echoing off the walls.

There came a strange silence unlike any they had ever heard. And followed by that brief silence came a feeling of an earthquake and the pebbles bouncing to the vibrations. “Look!” Chris pointed and they turned and saw what she saw.

The ground had opened several feet and had glowed yellow. Before Vince could walk over to investigate the glow, an enormous fire erupted from the hole, knocking Vince to the ground.

Vince shielded his eyes with his hand, the flames had grown hot, and he saw the silhouette of a person standing in the fire.

His mother emerged from the eternal fire and walked over to Vince. She smiled down at him and held out her arm. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

He took her hand and stood up. “Mom, I,” he couldn’t find words to convey the hundreds of emotions he was suffering right now.

Tracy lifted her hand and placed her index finger over his lips. “Don’t,” she whispered. “I know you hate yourself for bringing Him, and I know that you’re glad to see me. Everything in between must go unsaid.”

Orion stood watching the exchange and then he smiled and walked over to them and extended his own hand. “It has been a long time for us as well, Tracy,” he said and she just stared at his hand.

“If you think I’m shaking that thing, you’re mistaken,” she said. “I’ve been preparing for this day for twenty years, Orion. I haven’t stopped thinking about what you have done to me, Richard, and Laura.”

Orion laughed and dropped his arm to his side. “You can’t let by-gones be by-gones?”

“I haven’t stopped hating you,” she said. “I’ll probably be in Purgatory for a very long time, learning to forgive you before I can get into Heaven.”

“Hate is fun, isn’t it, Tracy?” Orion came closer to her. It suddenly came clear to him that Tracy had taken the same form she had twenty years ago, as he watched her being thrown over the side of the Tower. “You haven’t aged a bit, Deary.”

“By choice.”

Orion glanced into the fire and looked down. He saw the gate and then looked back at Tracy. “I never could understand why God only placed one angel as Guardian,” he said and then grinned.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Are we going to talk or,” Tracy began and then felt a punch thrown into her stomach which sent her stumbling several feet back.

Orion laughed. “You haven’t heard, have you? I have been blessed with powers by God himself.”

Tracy stood up and held her stomach. She looked at Vince and then back at Orion with worried eyes. “That can’t be true. He would never,”

Chris and Karl rushed to Tracy’s side and, with Vince, faced Orion with a look on their faces Orion had never seen before: Determination.

“You will never win,” Orion said to them and laughed. “Even the prophets knew this would happen.”

Tracy shook her head. “I don’t give a damn about what prophet said what. All I know is that my job is to defend Eden. I know what has been said, but if I don’t fight, I am not worthy of Heaven.”

“Mom,” Vince turned to her. “We aren’t here to stop Orion, either. We’re here to protect you.”

Her heart was breaking and she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “My dear Child. I’ve given my life for yours; don’t do the same for me.”

Chris cut in with a smile. “Too late,” she said and they smiled.

“Do what you must, but I have a job to do,” said Tracy and then turned back to Orion. “Are we to fight using telekinetic powers? I need to know your plans.”

Orion looked at the four that stood before him, making a defense line in front of the flames. With his hands, he parted an invisible wall and Vince was shocked when he and Chris were thrown one way by invisible hands and Karl and his mother were thrown the other, giving Orion passage to the fire.

“Don’t you understand, I can kill you with just my mind?” Orion walked past them and stood before the fire. He reached his arm to it and was surprised to feel invisible hands pulling it away.

Orion looked back and saw that Tracy and Vince were concentrating hard and he realized that they were pulling him away. “You idiots!” He wasn’t expecting to feel the invisible hands throwing punches into his stomach and on his face.

He reached up and felt the blood from an open cut and he glared at Chris, who was grinning at him.

He was trying to concentrate on her but just as his mental wave was thrown from his mind, Tracy threw herself in the path of the blow and she caught it in her back.

She fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Chris bent down to her. “No,” screamed Tracy and then she looked back at Orion who was laughing. “This has been my prophecy as well as his,” she said and then stood up.

“You don’t know when to stop, do you,” replied Orion with a grin. “You should have died when you were in that damned hospital.”

“Actually,” Tracy said. “I did.”

Orion nodded. “Ah, yes. I do remember you and Richard killing yourselves. If you don’t want to die again, you’d best step aside.”

Tracy shook her head in sorrow. “You know I can’t do that. If it is your prophecy to taint Eden, then it is my prophecy to die trying to stop you.”

“Mom,” Vince ran over to her. “Let him have the Forbidden Realms. I’m sure God will let you into Heaven no matter what happens now.”

“Vincent,” she turned to look at her son with pity in her eyes. “You cannot change the course of destinies. I wish I could live to learn to know you. I chose my path to protect you because I knew that if Orion thought I was dead, he wouldn’t think of going after you.”

“But he did,” Vince reminded her.

“Only after I made contact with you,” she paused and then took his hand. “Besides, you have a new mission,”

Orion was watching the fire instead of listening to what they were saying.

“You are now Mykella’s Watcher. All of you.” She looked at Chris and Karl. “Thank you for trusting in the prophecy and letting Orion fulfill his, but now I believe you must leave and become Watchers.”

“What are you saying?”

“Vince, I think your phone is about to ring.”

“What do you mean?” asked Vince, although he knew pretty well what his mother meant: The phone call that would eventually save mankind.

“Don’t think about saving me,” Tracy began and gave her son a sympathetic smile. “I’m flattered by the gesture, though.”

During the exchange, no one took notice of Orion who had walked back to the flame. There had been nothing written on how to extinguish the flame. He noticed that no heat emitted from it and he took his right hand and slowly put it into the fire.

He had expected to feel excruciating pain but only felt soft warmth. And moments later, the flame died down to nothing. Pleased with himself he looked down and saw the gate, which was nothing but a wooden design with a criss-cross pattern.

Now the key, he thought and opened his cloak and reached into his shirt. He turned his head and saw that the others were still in a debate about Tracy’s fate and he smiled to himself.

He pulled out the hand of Christ and studied it for only a moment. There had been plenty of times when he had looked at the coarse flesh and calloused fingers. He had even wondered how Christ had given Judas this key to hide, but still had retained all of his limbs, even during his crucifixion.

He knew this to be the hand of God and knew also that God could make anything possible; even that which seemed impossible.

Orion held the hand in his, palm down, and touched it to the wooden gate. Nothing happened at first, which made Orion curse himself for his failure and stupidity. And then he saw the cross beams begin to shift. They were moving into the ground on all sides. At last there was an opening big enough for him to enter and he took one last look at the others.

“No!” It was Tracy who ran toward Orion with outstretched arms. She had caught a glimpse of him during their conversation and she just happened to look over her son’s shoulder.

Orion gave her no chance as he smiled at her and threw himself through the opening of the Forbidden Realms.

Vince didn’t move. There was a sick feeling in his stomach that forbade him to move. He had saved his mother not in bravery like he had hoped, but by keeping her preoccupied in a senseless debate.

Tracy fell to the ground and dug her fingers into the edge of the opening. She knew that God would be furious with her for not even fighting the demon. There is no place in Heaven, she thought and let the tears flow down her face.

Karl, Chris, and then Vince walked over to her and Vince placed a reassuring hand on her back.

“I’m damned to hell,” she whispered and looked up at her son.

“No. You did all you could,” he said. “You might even live again.” He felt a vibration coming from inside his pocket but he ignored it as he looked at his mother.

“You don’t understand, I was supposed to die,” she replied behind a shaky voice. “After twenty years of this, I want to die. I want to go to Heaven.”

There was nothing anyone could do to console her. She had sacrificed herself expecting to die at the end of the prophecy. Vince had forfeited her of that rapture. If anyone should be damned into hell, it should be me, he thought.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could think of saying.

Tracy sighed and stood up. She faced her son and finally took him in her arms. This is what he had been waiting his entire life for, and he found himself weeping as she held him.

“The war,” she whispered in his ear. “I don’t know what to tell you to expect. All I can say to you is trust no one but these people here with you now.”

“I don’t want to die,” he cried into her chest. “I thought I was strong, that I could help Mykella become this ultimate warrior; I was wrong. I’m afraid.”

“Hush, Child. She has been chosen and she shall fight. I don’t know who will win, but she knows her destiny.” She looked up and felt her heart breaking. “Besides, it looks like you need to go to her now. Her birth has just passed.”

“What?”

She smiled at him. “Check your phone.”

Reluctantly he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He saw that he had a missed call and saw that it was coming from a hospital, long distance. “How did you,”

“The prophecy, Vincent. It clearly states that the moment the demon enters the Forbidden Realms, a savior shall be born unto the world.”

Vince closed his eyes and felt Karl and Chris place their hands on his shoulders. “We need to get to her before things start changing around here,” said Karl and he squeezed Vince’s shoulder.

“I can’t leave you,” said Vince once he opened his eyes and looked into his mother’s eyes.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be around,” she smiled. “It looks like I’ll be around for a little while longer, thanks to you.”

He nodded and embraced her one last time before leaving this place.

* * *

It pained her to watch her son turn his back and walk away from her and out of her sight. Once he reached a certain distance, even Tracy, as Guardian, could no longer see him in the darkness. Tears fell from her eyes again and she fell to her knees.

“Be consoled,” she heard a soft voice from the darkness. “For I have come for you.”

She dropped her hands onto the ground and looked around. She could see no one. She heard the footfalls before she saw the beautiful person coming toward her from the darkness.

He approached Tracy and wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders.

She closed her eyes and felt the love of God enclose her.

“I am her for you, Tracy,” he said in a soft voice.

“When do I get there?” she asked and he looked down at her behind a puzzled expression.

“I am not here to take you, Child,” he replied, realizing what she meant.

She stood up and turned to him. She studied him closely and saw that he had, at one time, had wings – large ones by the looks of his scars – but they had since been ripped from his body. “You were an angel?”

He nodded with a smile. “Once, a long time ago, yes. God and I didn’t get along very well, I’m afraid.”

“Satan?”

He laughed and shook his beautiful head. “Good God, no. I was once an Oracle who had made a mistake. I gave my powers to an entity which should never have had them. I’ve come back to retrieve my powers, and I need you to help me.”

“What is your name?”

He paused for a moment and then touched her cheek with a soft finger. “I am Ilias. Will you, Tracy, help me in my quest?”

“Where will my soul go when your quest is complete?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea, Child. That has never been my assignment.”

“Why me?”

“You have known Orion almost as long as I have. I think it is appropriate for you to assist me.”

“Will I be able to see my son?”

Ilias smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I’m positive about that. In fact, he’ll probably come looking for you.”

Tracy looked into Ilias’ eyes and then she nodded. “All right. I’ll help you.”

“I knew you would,” he said and embraced Tracy and she could almost feel the velvetiness of wings enclosing her.