The Elder had remained quiet for a time, then said,
We moved them.
Jag’s head shot up and he glared as if Nageau was standing in front of him.
What?
The men you captured. We moved them. We have them in a secure location for interrogation.
How—why? Why did you interfere?
Revenge is not what we are about, youngling.
Jag bristled.
You had no right to move them!
What would you have done with them if they were still there?
He raged silently, refusing to respond.
Nageau’s voice was gentle.
Tayoka speaks very highly of you, you know that? He watched you grow as he trained you last summer. There is so much goodness in you. He pleads for you to shine light in the darkness, not become the darkness. Stay true to yourself, Jag
.
Do not lose who you are.
Jag kicked the metal scrap a good distance out of the container and stumbled outside. It hurt to hear the Elder echo his grandmother’s last words to him. Shame followed quickly at the thought that his intentions for Tony would have let her down, shadowed by indignation and the need to justify what he’d wanted to do.
Do you believe your grandmother is gone, youngling?
She’s passed on, Elder Nageau,
Jag answered bitingly.
She’s no longer here with us
.
But do you truly believe that she is gone?
If you’re going to tell me that she’s living on in my heart, I swear I’m gonna lose my—
No, that is not what I meant. Not entirely.
What did you mean, then?
Let me try to explain. This life here on earth, this brief moment in time and space, is but a tiny piece of the entire fabric of our existence. Human language is bound by the limits of our physical experience. It is woefully inadequate to describe the next plane of existence that awaits us when we surrender this life. But there are signs here in the physical realm that gives us insights, a window if you will, to the next stage of our being, if we cared to look.
Meaning?
For example, an unborn child carried by its mother, is comfortable and snug in its own world and does not have the capability to imagine, let alone understand, the world that awaits it. Though in reality, that world is right here and right now. All that separates the child from this beautiful world where it must eventually arrive is a layer of skin. Likewise, all that separates us from the next reality is our very bodies. When we lay ourselves down to rest one final time, we experience wonders of the next world just as a child experiences the wonders of this world when it is finally born. Your grandmother has stepped into an infinitely wondrous plane of existence, not limited by the shackles of the physical world. Her love for you will never diminish and you will feel the evidence of this in a myriad of mysterious ways whenever the universe opens its portals. You must honor her by being the best you can be and continuing to walk the path you have been destined for.
And what path is that?
It was a rhetorical question that really meant to say:
I’ve had enough of this destiny
.
The five of you have been chosen by the hand of fate to—
No, I know all that. It was just rhetorical.
Ah, my dear boy, I know that you know, but there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom gives us lucidity so that we may use our best judgment, completely detached from impulse, and distinguish the right path to tread.
Jag slid down so he was sitting on the dirt.
You’re not just talking about our destiny.
It is all intertwined. I am not saying that this will be easy. Revenge can be . . . can be in some ways an easier path to take than holding back. However, we cannot use the enemy’s means to change the world. We can only change it with light.
And if the darkness swallows the light whole?
That is impossible, because darkness is but the absence of light.
May be so. But if it weren’t for the people who created the nanomites, my grandmother would still be here. My grandfather wouldn’t be alone and my dad wouldn’t have lost his mom.
I am not saying darkness is incapable of inflicting pain, only that it grows when light dims. There is only so much consolation words can provide, youngling. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to bring our loved ones back to this realm once they have moved on. If you truly wish to honor her, the best way is to put a stop to the root of this evil that is spreading through the world. You have done a great deal and the Elders will never be able to sufficiently express how proud we are of the five of you. For now, though, Jag, you need to stay strong and take care of your family, especially your grandfather.
That . . . that’s another thing. Elder Nageau, how long will we have to keep this part of our lives a secret from our families?
You will not have to hide it for much longer, I promise.
Uh . . .
Tend to your family for now. The five of you will be needed again soon as the dark clouds gather in strength and the world descends into turmoil. As bearers of light appointed by the prophecy, you, Tegan, Mariah, Kody and Aari have roles that will become more significant in the coming months.
The Elder paused, then added ruefully,
Especially now that we know who is the catalyst behind the storm.
Jag, startled, looked up from his bloodied hands.
Who is it?
Nageau took a few moments before replying.
Someone I banished from Dema-Ki many years ago.
Jag’s mind reeled. Some things were falling into place while more fell out.
You—what . . . What are you . . . You have to tell me more!
I will, Jag, I will. Soon.
T
he five sat with Marshall on the steps of the Sanchez farmhouse, facing the stalks that remained in the wheat field. The sun had nearly disappeared from the horizon but the sky was a canvas of color that the hand of no man could replicate.
It had been relatively quiet since Tegan, Aari and Marshall returned to Concordia that afternoon. As they waited for Jag’s family to arrive at the farm, the friends stuck as close to Jag as they could. Though he showed little emotion, they knew he was grieving. Through persistence, Kody and Mariah had gone with him to fetch his grandfather earlier in the day; Hugo was now resting in his room.
The Jeep they’d used for the trip had made a sudden reappearance that afternoon; the five had found the vehicle parked outside the farmhouse. Knowing they could only credit this return to one source, the friends had all turned to Marshall probingly. He’d simply winked at them and said, “Connections. Don’t want Jag’s family coming here and wondering where their car is, do we?”
Tegan watched a crow soar over the field, its wings narrowly missing the headless stalks. She was tempted to jump into the feathered creature and fly into the sunset, to enjoy the feeling of freedom and briefly leave her memories of recent events behind. When she looked over at Jag, though, the sadness in his eyes persuaded her to remain where she was.
Marshall folded his arms on his knees. “You five surprised me beyond words. In a good way, of course. And you’ve also helped deepen my faith in the prophecy.”
“You had doubts?” Mariah asked, somewhat in jest.
“Not doubts, per se. It’s just that you’re all so young. Having juggled the responsibilities of a Sentry and a Marine myself was a humbling burden, but then, I’ve had years to learn to cope with both tasks. When we first met, I was troubled because . . . because I’ve had a taste of what would be expected of you and I didn’t want to see any of you losing your youth to this.”
The five turned to him and Tegan felt warmth blossoming in her chest. Marshall continued looking ahead at the field as he went on. “It worried me to the point that I felt almost . . . well, ill. But I’ve seen how you handle yourselves, how resourceful you are. You look out for one another and don’t go down without a fight. You handled all these situations better than I could imagine. There’s something special about you individually and as a group that seems especially rare in today’s world where selfish pursuits and the coarsening of culture is quickly becoming a norm.”
“That’s a lot of faith you’re putting in us,” Aari said. Tegan caught a hitch of meekness in his voice.
“As I said, I’ve seen what you can do. That gives me reason to have faith in you.”
Jag extended his hand over the laps of Tegan and Kody toward the Sentry. “Thanks, Marshall.”
The Sentry took his hand and shook it firmly, then after a few moments, stood up. “I think it’s about time for me to get going.”
The friends looked at him, confused, and got up as well. “You’re leaving?” Tegan asked.
“Yeah. I have something that needs to be done.” Marshall fished out his keys. “Egad, how many rental cars have we gone through the past couple weeks?”
Mariah covered her mouth, thunderstruck. “It’s been just
two weeks?
”
“Mmhm.” Marshall patted his styled hair into place as a gentle breeze stirred. “Anyway . . . I should really get going. Take care, guys.”
The five refused to let him leave before each of them took turns giving him a bear hug. The Sentry looked touched and colored a little when Kody said, “We’re gonna miss you, Marshall.”
“If you’re ever around the Great Falls area in Montana, give us a shout,” Jag said. “I know we’ll be more than happy to have you crash at any one of our humble abodes.”
As they walked the Sentry to his vehicle, Aari asked, “This isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing you, right?”
Marshall paused with one foot already in the car. He rested an arm on top of the open door and flashed the friends a devious smile. “Let’s say that our paths are sure to cross again pretty soon.”
The five converged upon him, demanding to know what he meant, but he dodged into the vehicle with a laugh. He waved at the teenagers as he backed out of the driveway. They waved back, questions still bubbling, and remained there even after the Sentry was out of sight.
“I miss him already,” Kody sulked, kicking at the dust and sending a puff into the breeze.
Jag led them back to the steps of the porch and sat down, Tegan and Aari on either side of him and Kody and Mariah next to them. “We’re lucky that we had him with us,” he said. “We would have been handicapped if not for him.”
The sun disappeared completely, leaving a full moon in its stead. It wasn’t long before a car pulled onto the gravel driveway and Jag’s family stepped out. Jag was the first to run to them; his siblings caught him in their arms and his parents joined them. Aari, Tegan, Kody and Mariah approached them after their hug and greeted the newcomers with heartfelt condolences.
The door to the house opened and Jag’s grandfather hobbled out. Lady walked by his side, her flank rubbing against his leg in support. The elderly man was enveloped in a long family embrace where nothing but love was shared.
“Come,” he rasped, rubbing his eyes as he stepped back with his son’s arm around him, “come inside.”
Jag gave his siblings a light push, signaling them to follow the adults. He ignored their questioning expressions and waited until they were inside the house. Tegan nudged him. “Are we not going in?” she asked.
He tilted his head back to look at the stars that speckled the sky. “No. There’s going to be a lot of hugging and crying and I’m done with that. If I dwell in that kind of environment for too long, I’ll have an even harder time pulling myself out of it.”
Kody took off his baseball cap and attached it to a belt loop on his jeans. “So we’re just gonna sit out here, then?”
“Not quite. There was something I did when I was little . . . Follow me.”
Minutes later, the five were lying on their backs on the roof of the house, gazing up at the heavens. The longer Tegan observed the constellations, the harder she found it to hold on to earthly problems.
This is so beautiful,
she thought. She raised her hand to pinch the stars between her fingertips. “I never knew you did this, Jag. Your parents really let you on the roof of your house?”
“Are you kidding?” he retorted amiably. “I had to sneak out. If they’d caught me they would have grounded me for life.”
“You always were a firebrand,” Aari jibed. “Which is funny because I don’t recall you stirring trouble in class.”
“I just know when to pick my fights.”
The others rolled into each other, laughing until their sides and chest hurt. “The only way that’s true is that you stayed away from confrontation when adults were around,” Kody giggled. “Now Aari, on the other hand, didn’t even care that Mr. Goh was around when he knocked the other smart kid in the class out of his chair.”
“Oy!” Aari crawled over the others to smack Kody, who was on the other side of the group. “He was second-guessing all my answers on my history project
in front
of the class! I will
not
have my knowledge questioned!”
Tegan snickered as she pulled Aari back from Kody. The two boys sniped at each other good-humoredly before the friends settled down and went back to stargazing. For some reason, the worldly difficulties she’d been able to curb were crawling back into her mind. The last thing she wanted to do was voice her thoughts, but in the end she caved. “What now?”
“Mmh?” Mariah sounded preoccupied.
“North America is saved and that’s great, but the rest of the world is going to be a different place real soon. The damage has been done, and my gut tells me that by the time Josh creates and ships out more of the anti-nanomite, it’ll be too late.”
“Yes, please bring up the topic I wanted to avoid,” Kody groused.
“It’s not something I want to visit either, you know. We can run from it for as long as we want but reality’s gonna find us eventually. Might as well face it now.”
Mariah pitched a deep sigh. “As we’ve been told by both the Elders and . . . Tony . . . this is just the beginning. No one knows what’s in store next except for whoever Tony’s working for. About the crop failure—”
“It’s out of our hands,” Aari chipped in. “This is global. It’s in Josh’s court now, and then the Sentries’.”
Tegan pressed her hands to her temples. “What will happen next? War?”