Cataclysm (Alternate Earth Series, Book One) (11 page)

“Your reality?” Will asks. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? What are you?”

I almost laugh at his question. It’s been a long time since someone asked me what I was.

“I am the vessel of Archangel Michael, and I’ve been sent here by God to stop the princes of Hell from opening up any more seals. I suggest you stay out of my way, Will Allen Kilpatrick. If you don’t, you’ll come to regret it. Now, Sophia,” I say, “get your act together and get us the hell out of here
now
.”

Finally, I see reason come back into Sophia’s honey-colored eyes. She turns to look at her daughter, who is still hiding behind the other werewolf, but she doesn’t do anything else to try to change Logan’s mind about staying.

Sophia walks up to us and takes my arm, phasing us away.

“Jess!” I hear Zack say when we arrive at the safe house.

As I look around to find my friends, I notice the building we’re in isn’t actually a house. It’s a large, empty, metal warehouse. I hear the sound of a ship’s horn blare somewhere close, and assume we must be near a harbor.

Zack and Rafe walk up to me to give me a hug. I let go of Tristan’s hand, but soon regret that small action.

I’m not sure what sets him off but, before anyone can stop him, Tristan dashes out the open door of the building. Brand phases outside, presumably to try to catch Tristan but, by the time I make it to the door, I watch helplessly as Tristan leaps off the dock and into the murky black water of the marina.

“Where is he going?” Rafe asks in dismay, peering over my shoulder as we all watch Tristan swim away from us and back towards the city.

“I have no idea,” I admit with an exasperated sigh, feeling helpless because I know none of us can catch him now.

I should have realized sooner that things were going a little too smoothly.

Brand phases back into the building. He looks around before turning to Sophia and saying, “I guess you weren’t able to talk Logan into coming with you.”

“No,” Sophia says dejectedly, wrapping her arms around her waist as though the action will ease her heartache. “Where are Nina and the others?”

“They haven’t made it here yet. Why don’t you all go back to headquarters? I’ll stay and wait for them.”

“We can hang around if you think there might be trouble,” I tell Brand.

“I don’t think there will be,” Brand says confidently. “Nina won’t leave anyone physically able to follow them when they decide to leave.”

“But they should be back here by now,” Sophia says, looking confused. “Maybe we should go back to the house to help them.”

“No,” Brand is a little too quick to say. “They’re fine.”

I might not have a God-given lie detector like Mason does, but I know bullshit when I hear it.

“You’re not telling us something, and I don’t appreciate secrets being kept by people who are supposed to be my allies,” I tell Brand. “What’s really going on?”

Brand places his hands on his hips and stares at me for a moment, as if he’s trying to decide whether he can really trust me. I see him give Sophia a sideways glance and realize it’s she he’s not so sure about sharing his information with, not me.

“I asked Nina to do something for me while she was in Robert’s house,” Brand finally tells us.

“So she had two missions, one of which had nothing to do with the rescue?” Mason asks.

Brand nods. “I asked her to try to find whatever information she could about something called Project T-7. We’ve heard it mentioned in chatter, but we haven’t been able to discover what it is. I was hoping Robert might have some information about it in his office.”

“So rescuing Logan was just a good cover story to conceal your real agenda?” Sophia questions harshly.

“No,” Brand tells her, keeping his cool despite Sophia’s accusation. “Giving you a chance to rescue your daughter was just as vital, Sophia. You know how important my own daughter is to me. I understand your need to have Logan back by your side. I’m sorry she decided not to come back with you. Truly, I am.”

The small flare of anger in Sophia’s eyes is quickly extinguished by tears of despair. She closes them and silently weeps for the lost opportunity to save her daughter. I want to go and comfort her, but it isn’t my place. I barely know the woman. And, before I can fully trust her, I need to understand the full story behind her relationship with Robert.

“When you return to headquarters,” Brand tells us, “ask Josh to monitor the Dragon Network for any news about Tristan. I’m sure a werewolf running around loose in the city will kick up some chatter among Ravan’s guards. Maybe we can find him again that way.”

“I just don’t understand why he ran away,” I say, completely confused by Tristan’s odd behavior.

“We won’t know until we find him,” Mason reasons. “Let’s get Rafe and Zack back with the others. We almost have everyone together.”

“I hope Gabe was able to have a vision,” I tell my husband. “We could really use some Divine guidance right about now.”

“So you found Gabe?” Zack asks.

“We have everyone except Jered and Tristan,” I tell him.

“And Lucifer?” Rafe asks hesitantly. “Do we know where he is?”

“Last time I saw him, he was with Lucian, the Lucifer in this reality,” I answer. “I’m not sure what Lucian and the other princes have done with him.”

Or
to
him, for that matter. I know I shouldn’t worry over Lucifer’s welfare. He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. Yet, I can’t help the way I feel. I don’t give someone my friendship easily, and I never stop caring about my friends, even if they do everything within their power to destroy my faith in them.

“Why don’t we do what Brand suggested,” Mason says, “and go back to headquarters? Rafe and Zack can tell us what happened to them while we wait for news.”

It’s as good a plan as any. All we can do now is gather information and decide what our next move should be. I just hope we can figure it out soon. I already miss my home and family. The sooner we accomplish the mission we were sent here to do, the better. Until our task is finished, I’m certain we won’t be allowed to return to our loved ones.

CHAPTER TEN

When we arrive back at headquarters, I feel a sense of relief that we at least have all the vessels in one place. It’s obvious that all seven of us are needed here on alternate Earth in order to help Brand and his resistance fighters. I’ve never told the others, but Mason and I have discussed the possibility that we weren’t sent here to stop the princes from unleashing the power of the seals they possess. After talking with Brand, it’s obvious they’ve already opened at least three seals. If God truly wanted us to prevent the havoc the seals can cause, wouldn’t He have sent us back before they opened the first one? The wheels determining the fate of this alternate reality have already been set into motion. If it turns out that we aren’t meant to stop the princes from opening the seals, perhaps whatever Project T-7 turns out to be is our real mission. I have no way of determining which is true. All I know is that the princes need to be stopped before they can destroy this world, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.

We ask Josh to do what Brand instructed and listen for any talk about a Watcher child running rampant through the streets of New York City. Sophia offers to help Josh with this task. I assume my revelation about Tristan’s parentage in my reality is hard for her to wrap her head around. I can’t blame her for wanting to get away from us for a little while to organize her thoughts.

As the rest of us sit around the dining table in Brand’s quarters, Rafe and Zack confirm what we assumed earlier. When they arrived in this reality, they found themselves on an empty city street, with Tristan already transformed into a werewolf.

“Traveling from our reality to this one must have forced the change to happen,” Mason offers by way of explanation. “It’s a side-effect we didn’t anticipate. From what Jered told me, Tristan has been able to keep the wolf in him at bay until well into the early morning hours. Under normal circumstances, he should have had a few hours before needing to transform.”

“I knew he didn’t need to change right when the sun set,” I say, “but I didn’t realize he had pushed it back that far. Is he trying to find a way to completely stop the transformation from happening?”

Mason shakes his head. “No. Absolutely not. He has to change once a day for a certain amount of time. Otherwise, his body might get confused and…well…let’s just say it’s not something we want to see happen. Jered has convinced him to accept the transformation by at least midnight each evening.”

“So, how was he? How did he react to you?” I ask Zack and Rafe, who are sitting directly across from Mason and me at the table.

“Well, honestly, we weren’t sure what to do at first,” Zack admits, leaning forward in his chair and resting his arms on the table with his fingers laced together. “He just sort of stared at us and growled. I thought for sure he was going to tear us apart.”

“I think using his name is what brought him back to his senses, or at least to what humanity remains while he’s a werewolf,” Rafe adds. “As long as we called him Tristan, he remained calm and followed us.”

“We didn’t have any idea where we were going,” Zack says. “Then a couple of guards in a patrol car came barreling down the street and arrested us. We probably should have used our suits to turn invisible at that point, but we weren’t sure what they would do to Tristan if we did. We didn’t know what effect seeing us vanish would have on him either. We didn’t want anyone’s death on our shoulders if he ended up freaking out and killing one of the guards.”

“What did the guards say to you?” Mason asks. “Did they tell you where they were taking you?”

“They asked us what we were doing with a Watcher child. We just told them that we were his guardians. We gave them our names, but they couldn’t find us in their database, of course. Then, one of them suggested that they take us to someone named Robert, for further questioning. From what we overheard on the ride to the house, he was busy at some party, and wouldn’t be available until later in the evening. They separated us from Tristan and stuck me and Rafe in that room together in the mansion, and the next thing we know Brand and Mason are kicking doors down in the hallway until they found the room we were locked in.”

“I’m just glad you’re both safe,” I tell them, resting one of my hands on Zack’s folded ones still on the table. “Faison would kill me if I lost you.”

“I don’t think I have anything to worry about,” Zack replies confidently. “Gabe’s already told me I’ll be teaching my son how to play baseball in the future.”

“Son!” I exclaim, squeezing Zack’s hands from my sudden excitement. “You mean to tell me that you’ve known the sex of the baby all this time?”

“Don’t tell Faison when we get back,” Zack chuckles. “I just couldn’t stand not knowing before we left, Jess. I actually asked Gabe if he could see whether I would be back for the birth, but all he could see was me teaching my son how to catch a baseball. That was plenty, though. As long as I know I’ll be with my family again, I’m fine with that.”

I had to admit that it was a relief to know Gabe had seen Zack back on our Earth, playing with his soon-to-be-born son. I pray that I’m able to get Zack home in time to see the birth of his first-born, but, of course, there is no guarantee I can work that miracle. All I can really do is keep praying.

“Speaking of Gabe and visions,” Mason says, looking down the table to where Gabe and JoJo are sitting, “were you able to see anything about our future here?”

Gabe shakes his head, looking worried. “No. Nothing. I don’t know how much use I’ll be to you if I can’t see into this world’s future. I mean, that’s really my only useful contribution to the group.”

“That is not true, Mon Amour,” JoJo tells Gabe. “We are all a team. And I, for one, need you desperately.”

One corner of Gabe’s mouth lifts in a crooked smile before he leans over to JoJo and kisses her on the cheek.

“I need you just as much, Mon Coeur,” he replies lovingly.

JoJo giggles and wraps both of her arms around one of Gabe’s arms.

I see an almost forlorn expression pass over Gabe’s face as he looks at JoJo. I make a mental note to ask him about it in private later.

Brand, Nina, and the others in her attack party phase into the room. Malcolm has a smile on his face, so I have to assume he enjoyed the little excursion.

“Have fun?” I ask him. It’s a rhetorical question, but I feel the need to ask anyway.

“Loads,” Malcolm answers with a wink. “The trip proved fruitful, even though I wasn’t told beforehand why we were
actually
there.”

“I was operating on a need-to-know basis,” Nina tells Malcolm unapologetically. “You didn’t need to know before we left.”

“Nevertheless,” Malcolm says to her, sounding irritated, “you should understand we’re here to help you win this war of yours. We can’t do that without knowing what’s going on.”

“I was just following my orders,” Nina says dismissively as she pulls out a slim jump-drive from a small hidden pocket on her right sleeve. “Brand’s the one in charge of information-control here. If you have a problem with that, take it up with him.”

“I just didn’t have enough time to fill you in on everything beforehand,” Brand tells Malcolm. “I’m not purposely trying to withhold information from you.”

“But Sophia wasn’t aware there was a second agenda in tonight’s raid either,” I point out, thankful that she isn’t in the room. “Are you saying you don’t trust her?”

“Sophia isn’t thinking straight at the moment,” Brand says sympathetically of his fellow Watcher. “All she wants is her child back by her side. I understand her motivation, but I didn’t think her fragile state of mind could handle knowing we had a secondary mission, which seems to have been successful. I’ll be right back.”

Brand is true to his word, and returns a few seconds later with a laptop cradled in his hands. He sets the computer down on the empty end of the table.

“Nina and her group were able to recover some files from Robert’s personal computer,” Brand tells us as Nina steps up and inserts the jump-drive into the computer’s USB slot.

“I copied everything that was marked T-7,” Nina tells us. “Hopefully, we have something that will tell us what they’re up to, and what Project T-7 is exactly.”

Mason and I stand to get a better view of the laptop’s screen. We watch as Nina clicks open a folder named T-7-DG1. Nina automatically clicks a picture icon, which is the folder’s only content.

It’s a map of Israel and Jordan, with a particular stretch of land between the two countries highlighted in red. The name of the area is the Great Rift Valley.

Nina keeps the map open but backs out of the folder to click on another folder named T-7-DG2. Within this folder is yet another picture icon. It’s the same map with a different area highlighted in Jordan, named Khirbat en-Nahas. Again, Nina leaves this second map open next to the first, and backs out of the folder to click on the next one named T-7-DG3. The map within this folder identifies an area in Israel named the Timna Valley. The last folder, labeled T-7-DG4, also has a picture icon, but it isn’t a map. It’s a picture of a place I’ve been to before, The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It is the site where Zack received his talisman, which manifested itself as dagger tattoos on his arms.

“Is that all you were able to find?” Brand asks, staring at the maps and picture of the Dome of the Rock. “Nothing else?”

“Nothing,” Nina confirms, taking a step back from the table. “Nothing I could find easily, anyway.”

“Do these places have any significance to you?” I ask Brand.

Brand looks up from the screen, to me.

“Yes,” he says, looking troubled. “They’re all places that can be connected to King Solomon. I just don’t know why they’re important to Lucian.”

“It might be a good idea to send people out to these locations,” Mason suggests. “See if there is any activity at any of them. My guess is that they’re looking for something.”

“Do you think they’re looking for the Ark of the Covenant?” Brand questions, but I can tell from the look on his face that he doesn’t have much faith in his speculation.

“Of what use are a couple of old tablets?” Malcolm says, also appearing doubtful. “They can’t do much with them.”

“God imbued them with His grace,” Brand says. “Maybe they can use the residual energy the tablets possess to boost the power of the seals they haven’t opened yet.”

“I suppose anything is possible,” Mason concedes. “If that’s the case, then we need to get to the Ark before they do.”

“Do any of you know where it is?” I ask.

“
I do
,” I hear Michael say inside my head, just before he materializes across the table from me. “
At least,
I know where it is in our reality.
”

As the angels around me profess they don’t know where the Ark is located, I hold up a hand to stop them from speaking.

“Michael knows,” I tell them, giving my Archangel my undivided attention. “Where is it?”

“
Solomon kept the Ark inside his temple. After he died, I decided to hide the temple and its contents from the world, within an inner realm. That’s why there has never been any archeological evidence of the temple’s existence. I didn’t want the tablets to fall into the wrong hands. It’s possible my counterpart in this reality took the same precautions.
”

I tell those around me exactly what Michael just said.

“It sounds like something our Michael would do,” Brand says, considering this new information. “If that’s true, then we shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Michael would be the only one who can access that particular inner realm.”

“
Not necessarily
,” Michael tells me. “
I made sure I wasn’t the only one who knew where the Ark was. I took someone with me when I made it.
”

“Who?” I ask him.

“
Allen Westwood, Angela’s father
,” Michael says. “
He’s the only other angel who can phase into that particular inner realm.
”

“Why him?” I ask, not that I had anything against Allen. He was a little off his rocker, but otherwise a nice guy. Considering his daughter was married to Mason’s son, we ended up spending a lot of holidays and birthdays with him.

“
He was in Israel at the time
,” Michael tells me. “
It was after his fall, and I felt as though he needed a reason to not lose his faith in God. I thought if I shared this secret with him, it would help him find his way back to our father. Perhaps, I thought the same thing in this reality.
”

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed that you did,” I say to Michael.

I look at Brand, who is looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind.

“You better get used to us looking like we’re talking to thin air,” I inform him. “All the vessels speak to their Archangels in this way.”

“Oui,” JoJo confirms with a nod of her head, causing her curls to bounce, “we all look a little bit insane.”

“Sorry,” Brand says, suddenly realizing how he was staring at me. “I’ll get used to it.”

“No, you won’t,” Mason says confidently. “I haven’t.”

“Do you have a Watcher here named Allen Westwood?” I ask Brand.