This Present Darkness (79 page)

But … yes. Somewhere the saints were praying. He could feel it. He was healing.

What was that? From somewhere the sweet music found its way to
him. It soothed him. Worship. The name of Jesus.

He lifted his head up from the floor and let his eyes explore the cold, concrete room. Rafar, the mighty, loathsome Prince of Babylon, was gone. Nothing remained but a shrinking cloud of darkness. Above the cloud of darkness light was coming through, almost like a sunrise.

He could still hear the music. It echoed throughout the heavenlies, washing them clean, clearing away the darkness with God’s holy light.

And his heart was the first to tell him: You’ve won … for the saints of God and for the Lamb.

You’ve won!

The light grew and grew, blossoming, filling the room, and the darkness continued to shrink and ebb and fade away. Now Tal could see light coming in through the windows. Sunlight? Yes.

The Heavenly Host? Yes!

Tal struggled to his feet and waited for more strength. It came. He stepped forward. His gait became firm and steady. Then, like unfurling silk spun from sparkling diamonds, he spread his wings, fold by fold, inch by inch. They blossomed outward from his shoulders and back, and he let them grow strong.

He drew a deep breath, took the handle of his sword in both hands, held it out in front of him, and the wings took over. He was into the air, climbing into the fresh, light-washed sky, looking straight up and seeing no darkness, no oppression, no clouds.

What he did see was light: light from the Heavenly Host as they swept the sky clean from one end to the other. The air was so fresh, the smells were so clean.

He sailed over the little town and back to the college just in time to see the many flashing lights of squad cars and aid cars and official cars parked everywhere.

Where was Guilo? Oh, where was that blustery Guilo?

“Captain Tal!” came the shout, and Tal dropped toward Ames Hall where his burly friend awaited him with an almost crushing bear hug.

“Surely the battle is over?” Guilo roared happily.

“
Is
it?” Tal wanted to know.

He looked all around to make sure. Yes, in the very great distance he could see the last fleeing fragments of the cloud scattering in all directions, swept away by the heavenly forces. The sky was a very lovely
blue. Below them he could see the faithful Remnant still singing and cheering. It looked like the police were going through some kind of final clean-up.

NORM MATTILY, JUSTIN
Parker, and Al Lemley huddled around Bernice and her new friend.

“Well, everybody,” said Bernice, “I’d like you to meet Susan Jacobson. She has a lot to show you!”

Norm Mattily took Susan’s hand and said, “You are a very brave woman.”

Susan could only point at Bernice through tears of relief and say, “Mr. Mattily, look right there. You’re looking at bravery personified.”

Bernice looked at the stretcher being carried out of the building by two medics. Juleen Langstrat was completely covered with a white sheet. Behind the stretcher came Alf Brummel, handcuffed and escorted by two of his own officers.

Behind Brummel came the number-one man himself, Alexander M. Kaseph. Susan stared at him long and hard, but he never raised his eyes. He got into the squad car with a federal agent without saying a word.

Hank and Mary were embracing and crying because it was over … and yet it was just beginning. Look at all these fired-up saints! Hallelujah—what God could do with a bunch like them!

Marshall held Sandy as if he had never held her before. Both of them had lost count of how many times they had each said they were sorry. All they wanted to do now was get caught up on some badly missed love.

And then … what was this, some kind of fairy tale? Forget the doubts and the questions, Hogan, that’s
Kate
coming your way! Her face was shining, and boy, did she look good!

All three of them held on to each other, and the tears dripped all over everybody.

“Marshall,” Kate said with tearful giddiness, “I couldn’t possibly stay away. I heard you were
arrested!
”

“Aw,” Marshall said, giving her a loving squeeze, “how else was God ever going to get my attention!”

Kate cuddled close to him and said, “Wow, this does sound promising!”

“Just wait’ll I tell you about it.”

Kate looked around at all the people and the activity. “Is this the end of your … big project?”

He smiled, held his two favorite girls, and said, “Yeah, it is. You
bet
it is!”

THE GENERAL TOUCHED
Tal on the shoulder. Tal looked and saw that big, golden trumpet in the General’s hand.

“Well, captain,” said the silver-haired angel, “how about doing the honors? Sound the victory!”

Tal took the trumpet in his hand and found he could not see through a sudden flow of tears. He looked down at all those praying saints and that little praying pastor.

“They … they will never know what they have done,” he said. Then he took a breath to sober up and turned to his old buddy-in-arms. “Guilo, how about you?” He pushed the trumpet toward the big angel.

Guilo was reluctant. “Captain Tal, you are always the one who sounds the victory.”

Tal smiled, gave Guilo the trumpet, and sat down right there on the roof. “Dear friend … I am just too tired.”

Guilo thought about that for one short moment, then started guffawing, then slapped Tal on the back and sailed into the air.

The victory signal went forth loud and clear, and Guilo even did a tight corkscrew climb for effect.

“He loves to do that!” said Tal.

The General laughed.

SO HANK HAD
Mary and his little newborn church; Marshall had his family back together again, ready to patch things up; Susan and Kevin would be busy for a while as state witnesses; Bernice figured Marshall would let her cover the story to its final end.

But as Bernice stood there, bruised and exhausted, she felt very separate, far away from this happy crowd. She was glad for them, and
her professional, public-minded side acted the part very well. But the rest of her, the real Bernice, couldn’t smile away that same old burden of deep sorrow that had been her closest companion for so long.

And now she missed Pat. Perhaps it was the mystery of her death and the obsession with finding the answers that kept Pat alive in her heart for so long. Now there was nothing left to delay the final step Bernice had never been able to take: saying good-bye.

And there was that strange yearning deep in her heart, something she had never felt before she met that strange girl, Betsy; had she really been touched by God somehow? If she had been, what was she to do about it?

She started walking. The skies were bright again, the air was warm, the campus was quiet. Maybe a walk along the red brick pathways would calm her and help her to think, help her to make sense of all that was happening around her and inside her.

She paused under a big oak tree, thought of Pat, thought of her own life and what she would ever do with it, and then let herself cry. She thought maybe she should pray. “Dear God,” she whispered, but then she couldn’t think of what to say.

TAL AND THE
General were assessing the situation below them.

“I would say this whole thing has left the town in quite a mess,” said the General.

Tal nodded. “The college won’t be the same for a long time, what with the investigation by the state and federal authorities, not to mention all that money to be tracked down.”

“So do we have a good contingent to set the town back in order?”

“They’re assembling for that now. In the meantime Krioni and Triskal will remain with Busche; Nathan and Armoth will remain with Hogan. Hogan’s family will have a good church where they can heal, and—” Tal suddenly noticed one downcast figure standing alone across the campus. “Hold on.” He got the attention of one particular angel. “There she is. Let’s not let her get away.”

BERNICE FINALLY THOUGHT
of one little sentence to pray. “Dear
God, I don’t know what to do.”

Hank Busche.
The name just came to her. She looked back toward the Administration Building. That pastor and his people were still there.

You know,
said a voice inside her,
it wouldn’t hurt to talk to that man.

She looked at Hank Busche, and then at all those people who seemed so happy, so at peace.

You’ve been calling out to God. Well, maybe that preacher can introduce the two of you once and for all.

He sure did something for Marshall, Bernice thought.

There’s something back there that you need, girl, and if I were you I’d find out about it.