Cataclysm (Alternate Earth Series, Book One) (14 page)

“Really?” Brand says, intrigued by this new bit of information. “I’ve never had much reason to deal with her here. Why did she try to kill my wife?”

“Jealousy, mostly,” Mason tells him. “By the way you just said her name, I have to assume she’s not exactly a friend of yours.”

“No. She chose to take Lucian’s side when the Watchers took over the world. I haven’t had any reason to speak with her since.”

“Is there any way we can speak with Malik or Tara?” I ask. “If they’re anything like the ones on our world, they’ll help us.”

“I’ll see what I can do to arrange a meeting with them,” Brand promises. “It’s going to be a little tricky getting a message to them, though. I’m hoping Malcolm…I mean Xavier… might be able to help us with that.”

“Have you been able to ask Xavier what he knows about the dig sites?” Malcolm asks.

“I sent a message, but haven’t heard back from him yet. I don’t think he knows the sites exist. He hasn’t mentioned them to us. He’s been trying to find out more information about Project T-7, but hasn’t had much luck. It wouldn’t surprise me if even the people working the sites haven’t been told what it is they’re searching for. We might get lucky, though, if we can talk to Malik or Tara. If my suspicion is correct, and they’re in charge of the excavations, Lucian may have told them what he wants them to find.”

Josh brings over a platter of sausage before saying, “I’ll go get your other friends and let them know breakfast is ready.”

“Thanks, Josh,” Brand replies, before taking his seat at the head of the table.

After Josh leaves, and we’re all dishing food onto our plates, Brand tells me, “You know, I think Josh is sorry he didn’t pay more attention to Leah when she was living with us.”

“Oh?” I ask, finding this insight to this world’s version of Joshua amusing. “So he finally figured out what a catch she is?”

“Something along those lines,” Brand says with a smile.

“Well, she’s taken,” I inform him bluntly. “Our Joshua was a step ahead, and figured that out years ago.”

“That’s basically what Leah told him. Josh will get over his regret in time. Maybe after this war is over, we can all strive for a more normal life.”

“What about you?” I ask. “Any special lady in your life at the moment?”

Brand hesitates before saying, “I don’t have time to pursue romantic interests. But I have to admit, after you told me about the life my counterpart on your world has, I became a bit envious of him. It would be nice to have the luxury of time to build a life with someone.”

As I look into Brand’s eyes, I see a yearning there for a normal life; or, at least a life that might offer the chance at a love similar to the one our Brand and Lilly share. It makes me want to help him even more. Maybe if we can get this world’s destiny back on track, he will have the opportunity to share his life with someone.

Jered and Sophia phase back into the room, which I find to be a bit curious. Not odd that they should return, but strange that they should come back together. I knew Sophia took Jered to his room, but I assumed she would have left him to his own devices afterwards. I couldn’t openly question the pair about what transpired between the time they left and the time they came back, not without unintentionally insinuating something awkward. I knew my curiosity would have to be satisfied later when I was able to speak with Jered in private. I didn’t fully trust Sophia. Even though she hadn’t really given me a reason not to, she hadn’t exactly given me a reason
to
trust her, either.

Leah, JoJo, Gabe, Chandler, and Zack soon join us for breakfast, making the room almost feel homey to me. I knew for some people, the term ‘home’ meant the house they lived in. For me, my home was wherever my family was. Having so many of them in one room made the separation from my children almost tolerable. I kept in mind that one day I would be able to share the events of our story here with them as a grand adventure tale. There were sure to be things to happen that I would never tell the kids, but I crossed my fingers that our efforts in this reality would improve the lives of those we came to help.

As we are cleaning up the dishes after breakfast, the door of Brand’s living quarters is unceremoniously thrown open to reveal a man I haven’t met yet. He is dressed simply in a blue jacket, jeans, boots, and knit cap.

“Where’s Brand?” he asks urgently, breathing hard from what must have been a hard run.

“What’s wrong, Timothy?” Brand asks, wiping his hands dry with a dishtowel as he walks out of the kitchen area to address the man.

“There’s a werewolf at the entrance,” Timothy says in a rush. “Well, kind of. He was changing back into a man when I left.”

“That has to be Tristan,” Jered says with certainty, filled with new-found hope.

“But how did he find us?” I ask.

“I think…” Jered begins, pausing to organize his thoughts. “I think when he’s in werewolf form, he’s able to sense me.”

“But you’re not his father,” Brand says, looking confused. “I’ve heard of children being able to track where their parents are over long distances, but never anyone else.”

“In the past couple of years, I’ve noticed a growing connection between the two of us,” Jered says, “but I didn’t believe it was strong enough for him to be able to sense me. In a way, I think he’s adopted me as his father figure. It’s the only explanation that I have.”

“Whatever the reason,” I say, “let’s go get him.”

Brand raises one arm in front of him. “Hold on to me, and I’ll phase us to the entrance.”

Mason, Jered, and I do as Brand suggests. We end up standing on an abandoned subway platform. A layer of grime from years of neglect covers the concrete floor, and old, discarded trash and paper litter the corners and crevices. Sitting on the steps leading from this area up to the street above is a naked Tristan. He’s holding his head in his hands, trembling. Sophia phases in a few seconds after us, holding a green woolen blanket. I’m thankful she thought to grab it before coming. I didn’t even think about Tristan not having any clothes on after changing back into his human form.

Sophia hands the blanket to Jered. “He’ll need this,” she tells him.

“Thank you,” Jered replies, before rushing over to Tristan, unfolding the blanket as he goes.

“You won’t need your guns,” Brand tells the two men pointing their sub-machine guns at Tristan from the bottom of the stairs.

The men lower their weapons, and take a few steps back as we approach.

Jered throws the blanket over Tristan’s shoulders. The action causes Tristan to lift his head and look up at Jered.

“Thanks, Jered,” he says, pulling the edges of the blanket closer together to help close it in the front.

Jered drops to one knee in front of Tristan.

“Are you all right?” he asks, resting a comforting hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “Did they hurt you?”

Tristan shakes his head. “No. I’m fine. I’m not hurt.”

I hear Jered sigh in relief. “I was worried. I didn’t know what they did to you after they took you out of the room.”

“They took me down to the street outside the building, and let me go,” Tristan says, sounding confused by his release.

“Why would they do that?” I ask, puzzled by the reasoning behind such an action.

The high-pitched notes of a ring-tone practically bounce off the walls of the space we’re standing in. Brand reaches into the back pocket of his pants and pulls out his cellphone. I see a look of worry crease his forehead just before his eyes meet mine.

“I think I know why they let him go,” Brand says, holding the screen of his phone in my direction.

The message is from Xavier.

Get out! They know where you are!  

“He led them straight to us,” Brand says.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It made perfect sense. If Tristan could find the place where Jered was being tortured, locating him here would be just as easy. I should have realized something was wrong when Ravan just ‘happened’ to be in the room waiting for us, and how she just offered Jered to us without much of a fight.

“How long before they get here?” I ask.

“Not long,” Brand says. “We need to evacuate the people in the tunnels, and get them somewhere safe.” Brand turns to Sophia. “Tell Nina to come here and to bring my sword with her. We’ll hold them off for as long as we can. Take everyone to the headquarters in Wieliczka. When you get there, tell Desmond what’s going on. His people can help us evacuate ours. Also, make sure Josh initiates the self-destruct program, so we can blow the tunnels when we’re ready. We don’t want them to get their hands on any of our information.”

Sophia nods and immediately phases to put Brand’s plan into action.

“If you and your son could help get your friends out,” Brand says to Jered, “it would be a great help.”

“Of course,” Jered says, gently grabbing Tristan by the arm, and phasing him back to headquarters.

“We need to go get our swords,” I tell Mason.

“Both of you should go with the others to Wieliczka,” Brand tells us. “Nina and I can hold them off for a while. We’ll meet you later.”

“Not on your life,” I tell him. “We came here to help, and it seems as though all we’ve done so far is cause you problems.”

I grab hold of Mason’s arm, and he phases us to our room.

“And that’s one of the reasons why I love you so much,” I tell him, quickly planting a kiss on his cheek before I retrieve my sword from its spot up against the wall on my side of the bed. “You knew no amount of arguing was going to keep me from helping.”

“Of course I knew,” Mason replies, retrieving his own sword from the chair in front of the bathroom. “I know you as well as I know myself. I wasn’t about to leave him and Nina to fight whatever Lucian is sending.”

Mason and I quickly put our swords on. I also grab my plasma pistol and holster, fastening it around my thigh just in case I need it. When you fight against angels, a sword is handier for maiming. A plasma pistol works well against humans, but angels just shrug the damage off like it’s a slap on the wrist. As soon as we’re ready, Mason phases us back to Brand’s location. Unfortunately, the party has already started without us.

Brand and Nina are fighting off ten rebellion angels. Apparently, Malcolm also decided to join the fray, and is in the midst of a battle against Baal. I almost feel left out of the fun, but then I see five more rebellion angels run down the cement stairs from the street level.

Since I don’t have my outfit anymore, I have to change my fighting tactics a bit. In a situation such as this, I would have played up my ability to go invisible and use what we’ve dubbed a ‘ghosting’ technique, flashing in and out of visibility, to disorient my opponents. Nevertheless, I still have one ace up my sleeve, the ability to fly. Over the last few years, Michael and I have worked out a way for me to tap into his fighting strengths and tactics. Michael was commander of an elite fighting unit in Heaven, known as the Vanguard. His experiences greatly outweighed mine. I’m good on my own, but in a fight like this, a little extra help doesn’t hurt.

I run straight towards the metal railing that divides the cement steps down the middle, pulling my flaming sword out of its sheath as I go. When I get close to the railing, I fly in the air and run along the top of the pole until I’m behind the new arrivals. I jump to the right where two of them are and take one by surprise, slicing his head off with one quick swing of my sword. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mason fighting the other three on the left side.

My second opponent points his gun at me. Before he fires off a single shot, I fly into the air just as a ball of plasma leaves its barrel. I kick him hard enough underneath his chin to make him fall back on the stairs and slide to the bottom of them. I twirl the hilt of my sword in my hand, so the tip of the blade points downward, and fly to him before he’s able to recover from his disorientation. With one fluid motion, I stab him directly in the heart.

I’ve never liked killing, but I know it’s a necessary evil sometimes. Killing the host body of a rebellion angel is a last resort for me. In order for them to take on human form, they have to push the soul of the individual out of it first. Their thievery causes the premature death of the human, making them murderers of the worst order. Whenever possible, I only try to injure the body to a point where it’s ineffective in a fight. If I kill the body, I know the soul of the angel will simply depart and find another suitable host to inhabit. Whenever possible, I use Michael’s Archangel ability to kill lesser angels. It can be tricky though because I have to touch them, which isn’t always the safest tactic for me. Angels fight incredibly fast, and Mason made me promise him that I would only use that power when my safety wasn’t an issue. In this fight, I know it’s better to kill them quickly with my blade, because we have no way of knowing how many more are on the way.

When I look up from my kill, I see Mason lop the head off his last opponent. Brand has killed three of his five, and is working on the last two. I never had a chance to see the Brand in our reality fight, because he was human by the time I met him. As I watch this Brand fight with such sure movements, I begin to wonder if our Brand ever misses his angelic abilities. He gave up a lot when he decided to become human. Not only did he relinquish his ability to phase, but he also gave up his super strength and quickness. Mason told me that he and Brand were once generals in the Vanguard. They worked very closely with Michael during the war in Heaven, and led countless battles against Lucifer and his followers.

I glance in Nina’s direction just in time to see her stab her sword into her last opponent’s chest. She quickly turns to help Brand, taking one of his adversaries off his hands. They both dispatch their last opponents with little effort, which only leaves Malcolm and Baal as the last pair fighting.

They’re fighting in a way that I can’t. During the past few years, Malcolm has become adept at fighting similar to a War Angel, by using phasing as an extremely effective secondary weapon. Aiden would often go to Malcolm when he needed to let off some steam, in the years before his marriage to Caylin. During their sparring matches, he taught Malcolm how to use his phasing ability more effectively in a fight. With all that practice, Malcolm fought more like a War Angel now than a regular one.

The clash of swords and incredibly fast phasing makes the fight a little hard for me to follow. I see Baal’s hands burst into blue flames as he attempts to touch Malcolm. Malcolm sees Baal’s intentions and seems to allow the Archangel to grab his left arm. The look of shock on Baal’s face when Malcolm doesn’t disintegrate into black ash makes me wish I had a camera to take a picture.

“That’s not possible!” Baal screams, sounding identical to a petulant child. “How can you survive my touch?”

Malcolm openly laughs at him. “Do you honestly think I would tell you? I’m not from your reality. Not all of your rules apply to me.”

Baal takes a step back, looking unsure what to do next.

“This won’t be the last time we see each other,” Baal promises Malcolm just before he phases away.

“A coward in our reality and in this one,” Malcolm says in disgust. “I guess it’s just a natural character flaw.”

“Do you think they’ll send more?” I ask Brand.

“Definitely,” he replies, “but we’ve fought off the first wave. I’m going to grab some charges and blow this entrance. By the time the second wave gets through the rubble, we should be long gone. Nina, phase Jess and Mason to the evacuation site. If you don’t mind, Mason, I would appreciate it if you would come back and help us phase everyone out of headquarters to the new site. Then, we’ll set off the self-destruct in the tunnels.”

“I’ll do anything you need,” Mason says.

“I’ll see you both at Wieliczka after this is all over,” Brand says before phasing away.

I grab Mason’s hand, while Nina touches his shoulder and phases us directly to the new secure site.

There is already a crowd of people gathered in what looks like a fancy underground cave. There are three large chandeliers hanging from the center of the high ceiling, and two smaller ones hanging on either side of what appears to be a small chapel at the opposite end of the chamber. On each side of the main area, there are murals depicting certain scenes from the Bible that have been chiseled directly into the rock-face by skilled artisans. Nina has phased us to the top of a wooden platform with a dark, wood-stained staircase leading down to the floor of the cave. The floor itself looks as though it’s been tiled, but, as I study it, I can see that the octagonal and diamond shapes have actually been etched into the polished rock.

“This is the Wieliczka Salt Mine, in southern Poland,” Nina tells us. “Everything you see, besides the wood of course, is made out of rock salt; even the chandeliers.”

“It’s beautiful,” I say. “How are you able to keep this place a secret from Lucian?”

“The entrance to the mine was destroyed in the earthquake produced by the opening of the first seal. It’s completely covered with rock and dirt now. The only way in or out of here is by phasing. None of Lucian’s men has come here. I think we just got lucky, to tell you the truth.”

“Jess!”

I look down, and see Leah waving at me with a relieved smile on her face. All of my other friends are standing around her, also looking comforted by my arrival.

“We need to head back,” Nina tells Mason. “There are still a lot of people who need to be evacuated here.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Mason tells me, giving me a quick kiss before phasing away.

I walk down one side of the grand staircase to reach my friends. Leah hugs me first, but I eventually get a hug from everyone.

“Are you all right, Mon Cher?” JoJo asks me. “Did those little devils harm you in any way?”

“No,” I reassure JoJo and everyone else, “I’m fine. I just hate it that Brand has to destroy his headquarters.”

“I’m sorry, Jess,” Tristan says, shaking his head in dismay. “I didn’t even think about something like that happening. All I could focus on when I was in wolf form was finding Jered.”

“It’s not your fault,” I tell Tristan, attempting to set his mind at ease. “You had no way of knowing what you were doing, which is exactly what they were counting on. You were just acting on instinct. There’s no sin in that.”

“Still…” Tristan says, hanging his head in disgrace.

I place an index finger under his chin, and make him lift his head until he’s looking into my eyes.

“You shouldn’t feel any shame for wanting to protect someone you care about,” I tell him. “That type of caring is just an innate part of your personality, Tristan. Don’t feel any guilt over what happened. Understand?”

Reluctantly, Tristan nods his head.

“I’ll try not to,” he says, looking around at all the people who had to be evacuated because of his actions. “But it’ll be a little hard.”

“Jess,” Chandler says, gaining my attention, “I thought I might play a song to calm people down. What do you think?”

I smile at Chandler, “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

Chandler pulls his flute from his back pocket, twirling it between his fingers.

“I think the acoustics would be better at the top of the stairs,” he tells us before making his way up to the spot where I phased in.

Once in position, Chandler begins to play a tune that instantly makes me feel calmer. Almost everyone in the great chamber stops chattering; turning their undivided attention to Chandler. His ability to evoke emotions through his music is a natural gift. His love for music started at an early age. Simone, Chandler’s Guardian of the Guf, who made his soul, told me once that she gave Chandler his first musical instrument when he turned five years old. At the time, she was on Earth in the role of his nanny. All of our Guardians were allowed to stay with us for the first seven years of our lives. After that, they had to return to Heaven to resume their duties in the Guf.

In order to help my friends bring my soul back from Heaven, after Lucifer killed me in our duel when we sealed the Tear, the Guardians had to give their power to all of us in order to make it possible for me to return. Their sacrifice transformed them into humans, which seemed to be a fair trade to them. Now, my father was married to Simone, and they shared a regular human existence with one another. Having our Guardians back in our lives was a gift beyond measure for all of us.

Eventually, Brand’s group of ragtag resistance fighters become so relaxed by Chandler’s song that they begin to sit down on the floor and give him their undivided attention. The rest of us do the same. I know the instant Chandler begins to weave a second tune into the first one. His second tune fills my heart with confidence. I feel as though nothing can stand in the way of my goals on this alternate Earth. I will find a way to stop the princes and whatever plan Ravan alluded to being involved in with Lucian. I don’t welcome unknown variables, and know we will need to figure out what their strategy is as quickly as possible. I just can’t understand what a regular human has to offer someone like Lucian. What is so special about her? It’s something we definitely need to figure out in order to get the full picture of what we are fighting against.