Robert Browne - The Paradise Prophecy

LaLaurie looked at her with pain in his eyes. Then he said, “They want me to kill her.”

Callahan wasn’t sure what he meant by this. “Kill who?”

“Who do you think?” he asked. “The sacred traveler.”

“What are you talking about? Who put that crazy idea in your head?”

“The pages.”

Callahan frowned, knowing by his look that what he’d seen must have been extremely disturbing. “So are you ready to tell me about them now?”

“I just did,” LaLaurie said, raising his voice.

The sound echoed and something fluttered nearby. Something coming awake. They both froze. Waited. Then it settled down and was quiet again.

LaLaurie kept his voice low.

“According to the pages,” he said, “releasing the traveler has two possible outcomes. In scenario one, if the traveler stabs herself at the pleasure of the dark angels, Satan will be released and the gates of hell-the Abaddon-will flood open.”

“And scenario two?” Callahan asked.

“If she’s released by someone with an untainted soul, she’ll become a warrior angel, drive the demons back to hell and create a paradise on earth. At least that’s the way I interpreted it.”

Callahan shifted uncomfortably. “I think I’d prefer option two.”

“You don’t get it,” LaLaurie told her. “We’re talking about a young girl here. In either case, she dies. And in that particular scenario, I’m the one who has to kill her.”

Callahan said nothing for a moment. Then she asked, “So what do you plan to do?”

“That depends on you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m thinking of going with option three.”

“Which is?”

“We take the girl and nobody kills her. We hide her away until the eclipse has come and gone and she lives to see another day.”

“I know your intentions are good, Professor, but wouldn’t that work to the dark angels’ advantage? If we believe what Philip told us, they’re planning on opening those floodgates with or without the sacred traveler.”

LaLaurie shook his head. “They can try, and I’m sure they will. But they’ve tried before and didn’t make it. The human spirit is too strong. And I’m betting they won’t be able to do it this time, either. Not without the girl.”

“And you’re willing to take that risk?”

LaLaurie looked into her eyes, and she could see that there was no doubt in his mind about this. “If creating some kind of utopia on earth requires me to take the life of another living, breathing human being, I’m sorry, but you can count me out. Self-defense is one thing, but this is flat-out murder.” He paused. “We’re talking about the future of humankind, right? And the way I see it there are only three actual human beings directly involved in this little drama right now. The two of us and her.”

There was some sense to what he was saying. “But what about Michael?”

“What about him? I don’t think he’ll stop us.”

“Are you sure? He has a lot invested here. Centuries of looking for the traveler. What makes you think he’d just throw his hands up and walk away.”

“He wouldn’t be bothering with any of this if he didn’t respect humanity and the concept of free will. He already told me it was up to me to decide, and I think he’ll respect that decision, whatever the consequences.” He paused. “So are you with me?”

“Look, Professor, I understand what you’re saying, and I appreciate the sentiment behind it, but I’m not sure I’m willing to risk the alternative.”

“What’s the oath of Custodes Sacri ?”

“I think you know.”

“Protect her. That’s what it’s been all along, right? What better way to protect her than by protecting the human being she’s become.”

“You haven’t even met this girl,” Callahan said.

“And that makes a difference? I’m sure in your profession killing someone is no big deal, but-”

“That’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it?”

He was right. Callahan had been asked to kill before and she hadn’t hesitated. It wasn’t common, but it was part of the job. And she honestly had no trouble targeting a bad guy.

But this was different. This was an innocent girl they were talking about. She wasn’t a drudge or sycophant, who had given her soul away. And she hadn’t asked to be who or what she was.

The line had to be drawn somewhere, didn’t it?

“All right,” Callahan said. “I’m with you.”

And as they stood there contemplating their decision, Michael emerged from the darkness and approached them. To Callahan’s surprise, he’d added an additional weapon to his arsenal-

A battered gold broadsword hung at his side.

“It took a few threats and some arm-twisting,” he said, “but I’m told she was taken to Lucifer’s old palace. They’re keeping her there until the ceremony.”

“And how far away is this place?” LaLaurie asked.

“Too far to walk, but there’s another way.”

“And what’s that?”

“We’ll be cutting through Purgatory.”

Purgatory was a seldom-used place these days.

Once considered necessary for the purification of the soul, it was no longer relevant. With God’s abandonment of earth and its outer dimensions, no souls went to heaven anymore, so no such purification was considered necessary.

Rebecca had told Batty that the otherworld was a vast and often wonderful place. He had yet to see the wonderful part, but was relieved to know that she was somewhere safe. And after seeing her in that crypt, he missed her more than ever before.

There was an odd, troll-like being at the entrance to Purgatory who demanded payment before letting them through. Michael dropped some equally odd-looking coins into his palm (they reminded Batty of puzzle pieces), and the troll let them pass.

Purgatory itself didn’t look much different from what they’d already seen of the otherworld-if you didn’t count the oppressiveness of Pandemonium.

Wide valleys. Dark, craggy mountains. They might as well have been stranded on the moon.

As they traveled along the road, Batty’s gaze fell to the broadsword at Michael’s side. He knew exactly what its purpose was, but Michael had yet to say a word about it. And the sight of it only made his resolve grow stronger.

After less than an hour of traveling along a winding road, Michael stopped, pulled his knife from his waistband, and tore a long gap in the atmosphere.

Then he made the knife glow and they stepped into yet another cave and followed him through a maze of interconnecting tunnels until they were outside again, facing yet another bleak landscape.

Several yards in the distance, silhouetted against a darkening sky, was an old castle, with high towers and crumbling ragstone walls. It looked as if it hadn’t been occupied for centuries-

– except for a single glowing window, high on a wall.

“No one’s been near this place since Lucifer was banished,” Michael said, then gestured to the window. “I guess they thought it was safe to bring her here.” He smiled. “Let’s prove them wrong.”

They waited until the sky was almost completely dark. This gave them the advantage of cover, but it also made it more difficult to see and maneuver.

The castle was fronted by a small forest, and Batty knew that, like the Forest of Never, there were creatures here, watching them, waiting for them to make a wrong move.

“Same as before,” Michael said. “They won’t attack unless provoked. And they couldn’t care less what’s going on in that castle.”

The three had split up, he and Michael taking one flank, while Callahan took the other. As they moved cautiously through the trees, Batty kept his eyes on that glowing window, knowing how terrified that poor girl must be.