WINDWALKER (THE PROPHECY SERIES) (12 page)

“What?” Harper asked.

Will took him by the arm and walked him out onto a terrace, then far away from the building and any security equipment that might pick up their conversation.

“If you repeat a word of this, I will swear on my mother’s life that you lie,” Will hissed.

Harper’s heart skipped a beat. “What the fuck, Will?”

“Remember when the President was running for office and was calling attention to his Native American roots in all the places that mattered?”

Harper’s eyes narrowed. “I do now.”

“So the President has been talking to the Cheyenne elders of his grandmother’s tribe. They told him there is an impending apocalypse of world-wide proportions on the horizon, and that the Birdsong woman is the key to the Native American people’s salvation. The reason he’s so insistent in wanting to talk to her is because he’s bought into this bullshit. He thinks he can talk to her, blood to blood, so to speak, and get her to help save everyone, not just the indigenous populations.”

“Fucking A,” Harper muttered. “Have you tried to talk to him? Doesn’t he realize how crazy this sounds?”

Will Schulter nodded. “We’ve spoken, but he is the president and I’m not. He gave you orders. It’s your job to follow them.” At that point, Schulter’s posture slumped. “What I told you could get me sent to prison. I’ve never divulged private conversation before.”

For the first time in his adult life, Emile Harper wasn’t sure what to do next. It was also the first time in the entire history of his career that he wanted to quit. He looked at the stress on Schulter’s face, then took a deep breath, pulled his phone out of his pocket and ordered the strike, just as he’d been instructed to do. It was not lost on him that if this all went sour, he would be taking the fall. No one had said the words aloud, but it was understood.

****

Binini Island – West Indies

Landan Prince was in his library having an aperitif as he waited for cook to serve dinner. He was near the window, admiring the latest blooms on one of his orchids when he saw Madame ReeRee running up the drive. Not only did she appear upset, but it struck him that she’d never come to his house before. He set his drink aside and went out to meet her.

She was wild-eyed and gasping for breath when he stopped her on the steps, then took her by the arm and led her to a chair on the verandah.

She wouldn’t sit down and was clutching at his arm, to winded to talk, but unwilling to let go. It was seriously irksome.

“Take a breath. What on earth has happened?”

“I had a vision! I saw a ghost man. I saw the Indian woman from your video. She killed him. She is powerful and cannot be stopped. He is gone! Burned up in a fire.”

Prince felt the blood draining from his face. He was so shocked he couldn’t speak, but it didn’t matter. ReeRee wasn’t through.

She pointed up to the sky. “Death comes.” Then she threw herself at his feet, screaming and clawing at his legs. “We will die! We will die!”

Prince pushed her aside, then dragged her to her feet and shook her.

“Stop it! Stop it, I say! What are you talking about? What is this death?”

ReeRee’s eyes were wide open, but it was obvious to Prince that she didn’t see him. Was she seeing into the future?

“Tell me what you see!” he demanded.

She blinked, and then once again pointed up at the sky.

“A ball of fire is coming that cannot be stopped. They will try, but they will fail and we will die. Earth will be no more.”

Prince was speechless. The cataclysm that brought the Windwalker was already upon them. He hadn’t expected this. Knowing Tenet had failed and ReeRee’s claim that the woman could not be stopped was something he had not expected. It occurred this might be the first time in his life he would be unable to buy his way out of a mess. He’d always expected to die one day, but not like this. Not like this.

He watched ReeRee running back into the jungle and then went back into the library just as the twins, Adam and Evan, and their nursemaid come in.

“Are we too early for dinner, Mr. Prince?”

He shook off his concerns for the moment and waved them to a seat.

“No, not at all. Would you care for an aperitif?”

She frowned. “I’m on duty.”

“Yes, yes of course,” he said, then poured a very large one for him, as he eyed the boys. They were such beautiful children – with their mother’s dark curly hair and fine features. The strange amber color of their eyes was slightly mesmerizing, which had always given him hope they would, one day, come into their own. It was unfortunate that he might not live to see if the boys ever measured up to their potential. He felt sick. He didn’t want to die.

Adam and Evan were accustomed to pretending not to know what was going on, but when they heard ‘didn’t want to die’ run through Landan’s head, they looked at each other in shock.

Neither did they.   

****

U.S. Naval Observatory:

The place was in chaos. Phone calls were going out to observatories all over the world for verification of an unknown meteor that had appeared out of nowhere in the sky. But it wasn’t the sudden appearance that had everyone at the Naval Observatory worried. It was the very small margin of space there would be between it and earth when it passed. Unless something changed, it would be the closest call in recorded meteoric history.

The observatory was in chaos as a young scientist came running with a frantic look on her face.

“Has anyone seen Dr. Runyon? The President is on the phone.”

Someone shouted at her from across the room. “He was on the observatory platform.”

As she turned to go look, she spied him entering the room.

“Oh thank goodness, there he is,” and bolted. “Dr. Runyon! Dr. Runyon! The President is on the phone in your office.”

Runyon had been expecting this, but didn’t really know what to say. He shut the door behind him as he entered and picked up the phone.

“This is Dr. Runyon.”

“Please hold for the President of the United States.”

He circled his desk and sat down as he waited for the call to connect. Moments later, he recognized the voice on the other end of the line.

“Dr. Runyon, President Farley here. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

“Yes sir. It’s a pleasure to speak with you. How may I help?”

Farley went straight to the issue at hand. “What can you tell me about this meteor? Why did we not know about it sooner?”

Runyon sighed. “I can tell you that initial computations have it measuring about twice the size of our sun.”

Farley gasped. “That’s huge. How could you not see that before?”

“We don’t know why, but we do know that it did not show up on any telescope, in any country, until three hours ago.”

“How can that be?”

“Sir, we have no idea. It wasn’t there, and then it was. It’s like it popped out of a black hole or something. In all my years of looking at the universe, I’ve never seen anything like it. The only thing we can find in written history that could relate to this appearance is a vague reference to some prediction back in the 13
century.”

There was a long awkward silence as Runyon waited for the President to continue, and then finally, he did.

“Just how worried should we be?” Farley asked.

“With regard to the possibility of it hitting earth… unless it takes a drastic change in course, not worried at all. It will be a spectacular sight to behold, and it might affect the gravitational flow of tides and the earth’s temperature, but only temporarily. Someone here introduced a theory that there could be the possibility of a Tsunami, but that’s just speculation.”

“You don’t think it will, in any way, damage the ozone layer that protects us now? You can’t be more specific than that?” Farley asked.

“I’m sorry, Sir, but without prior data to back it up, we don’t know what it will affect.”

“Yes, well, thank you, and of course, if there is any change whatsoever, I expect an immediate notification,” Farley said.

“You have my word,” Runyon said.

“Thank you for your help,” Farley said.

Runyon waited until he heard a click and a dial tone before he replaced the receiver, then went back to the telescope. Unless one knew where to look, it wasn’t yet visible in daylight, but it would be by dark. And in three days time, it was going to pass so damn close between the earth and the sun that everyone was going to feel the heat.

****

Layla woke abruptly as the first rays of sun came over the eastern horizon to find she was alone. She glanced behind her. The Anasazi spirits were gone, although last night’s fire was burning again. She had a brief moment of panic, fearing that Niyol had already left her before she heard footsteps, and recognized the stride. Panic settled as she peered over what was left of the pueblo wall. He was carrying the carcass of some kind of bird already ready for the fire. When she realized he hadn’t seen her, she slipped over the other side of the wall and hid, still determined to catch him off guard.

When he entered their camp, she heard his footsteps stop; obviously taking in the fact that her bedroll was empty and guessed he’d just put the bird near the fire to start cooking. She heard him moving around and knew he was looking for her. When he finally headed to where she was hiding, she tensed. Just as his shadow grew large on the wall behind her, she leaped up and took him tumbling to the ground.

The shock in his eyes was evident.

Layla was grinning. “It’s a good thing you cannot die.”

For Niyol, it felt as if a door had just shut in his face, and at the same time, he knew a sense of satisfaction. She had learned her task well. But instead of laughing with her, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled until she was lying beneath him. Their time together was coming to an end and it was painful beyond understanding. A very human emotion washed through him. He wanted to cry.

“What’s wrong?” Layla asked.

“You have learned well.”

And just like that, she got it. When she learned what he’d come to teach her, he would be gone. Fear shot through her so fast she struggled to breathe.

“Are you going to leave me now?”

“Not yet, but soon.”

Layla choked on a sob, and fisted her hands in his hair.

“Is this a time to make love?”

Niyol leaned forward until their foreheads were touching.

“It is a time to make love.”

When he got up to strip, she also stood; tearing off her clothes in short jerky movements until she was standing naked in the sunlight, wearing nothing but her necklace with the little silver bird.

He laid his hand on the small charm, feeling the swell of her breasts against his palm.

“Singing Bird.”

Despair rolled through every fiber of her being. She had never loved a man like she loved Niyol, and resented having it yanked out from under her in the name of fate. Her lips twisted bitterly.

“Windwalker, make love to me now before I die from need.”

“You cannot die,” he said softly, and then picked her up in his arms.

She locked her legs around his waist as he walked her toward the motorcycle, dropped her backward onto the seat; and with the handlebars pillowing her head and her legs still locked around his waist, he mounted her without hesitation.

Chapter Eight

The sun was in her eyes, so she closed them, concentrating instead of the stroke of his taut erection inside her womb. She felt a sense of desperation in him as well, as he took her harder and faster than they’d ever gone before. She lost conscious thought as the first orgasm shot through her. It rolled up her body like fire burning across a prairie, then ebbed back to her core and burned all over again. Just when she thought it was finally over, he laid her down on her bedroll and took her there, again and again.

Their bodies were bathed in sweat as they moved toward an ever-growing madness. For Layla, it was storing memories of this man for the years to come, while Niyol was dealing with pain of losing all physical connection with her. To never touch her like this again – to never kiss her lips, or sink himself into the wet depths of her sex – to never feel the warmth of her breath on the back of his neck as they slept – it was a grief he did not want to bear. They chased the lust until it pulled them under, but it was love that bound them there.

The sun rose a little higher into the sky.

The scent of the cooking bird was in the air.

Once, for a brief second Layla caught a glimpse of an eagle circling far above their heads before yet another orgasm shot through her.

She had lost count of how many, and was weak, spent, and crying when he finally let go and gave up his control.

This time when she felt the orgasm rip through him, she knew the madness of his physical pleasure, but also his sorrow and resolve.

****

George Begay woke up with a gasp and ran out of the house in his shorts. The sun was just coming up as he looked to the East, then above the mountain. His heart began to pound. It was there, just like in his dream.

He dashed back inside, made a quick trip to the bathroom to wash the sleep from his eyes then began to dress. A few minutes later he was in the kitchen making coffee when his phone rang. A little early for conversation, but he was up, so he answered.

“Hello.”

“George, this is Montford Johnston. Did I wake you?”

“No. I was making coffee.”

“Have you been outside yet?” Montford asked.

George felt a sense of despair. So he wasn’t the only one who’d seen it. It was beginning.

“Yes.”

“There is a fire in the sky.”

“Yes, I saw it in my dream.”

“Is that the sign? Does this signal the beginning of our exodus?”

“Yes.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Montford’s voice was a little softer. “Are you afraid?”

“Yes,” George said.

Montford sighed. “So am I. What do we do?”