The Children of Eternity (36 page)

“Now what do we have here?” he said, zooming in. “Three demons in flight—range three hundred fifty yards and closing.” Jerry powered up his rifle.

Leona looked toward the approaching figures. Her eyes seemed to come into sharp focus. She unbuttoned the holster and caressed the pistol. Jerry heard the unmistakable sound of the capacitor charging.

“Mom, no itchy trigger fingers,” warned Jerry. “If we can talk our way out of this one, that’s what we need to do.”

“OK, Jerry,” said Leona.

The demons were coming straight toward them. They hadn’t drawn their swords, so, for the moment, Jerry made no aggressive moves.

The three demons landed 50 feet in front of Jerry and his mother. Jerry motioned to his mother to stop. “Don’t make any aggressive moves. Best let me do the talking.”

The demons advanced, halving the distance between the two parties. “Who are you?” snarled the one in the middle.

“My name is Jerry, and this is my mother.” Jerry showed no emotion whatsoever.

“You are trespassers,” accused the demon. “Humans do not walk free in this part of Hell.”

“We do,” replied Jerry, “and we are not trespassing. We are children of the Father. The Father made all that you see around us. We walk upon that which our Father created. We are not trespassing.”

“Don’t think to anger me, boy,” said the demon. “I am a great warrior and not to be trifled with. I am a veteran of the War in Heaven.”

“As am I,” replied Jerry. “Need I remind you who won that conflict?”

The demon reached for its sword. “I tire of your insolence, boy.”

“Don’t even think about it,” said Jerry, taking his rifle in hand. “You’d never even get it out of its scabbard.” Jerry looked at his mother. She’d already drawn her weapon and the safety was off. “Calm,” he whispered.

The demon’s hand pulled back. “So, child of Heaven, why are you here?”

“I’m a tourist,” said Jerry. “I just had to see what this place was really like.”

The demon glared at him. Jerry realized that his explanation held water like a sieve.

“There was an incident at Mathris Los not so many hours ago,” said the demon. “A soul was taken from the master. You fit the description of the thief. You are in violation of the Treaty of Sardon.”

Jerry had done his homework. He knew well the terms of that treaty between the demons and the people of Refuge. “I am no thief, neither was I a signatory of the Treaty of Sardon. That treaty was between the dark angels, the lost souls, and the fallen angels—I am not a member of any of these parties. I am a son of God. I am not bound by this treaty’s terms. I am well within my rights to reclaim a soul that was created by my Father. That soul was never yours to begin with.”

“There are six demons approaching from the northwest,” warned Chloressa. “They are trying to outflank you.”

Jerry nodded but said nothing verbally. He hoped that Chloressa was able to discern his thoughts.

“I shall do as you ask,” confirmed Chloressa.

“Let us pass,” commanded Jerry.

“I will not,” replied the demon.

“I won’t go back to that spiked coffin,” said Leona, who now trained her weapon at the demon.

“It doesn’t matter what you want,” said the demon. “You belong to the master.”

“Jerry…” said Chloressa.

I already know
, said Jerry, in a voice heard only by the mind.

A few seconds later, Jerry and his mother found themselves surrounded as the other six demons joined the original three.

“Do you propose to shoot down all of us with your weapon?” asked the demon.

“He doesn’t have to,” said a bald-headed man who had just stepped out from behind a large outcropping of rocks some 60 feet to their right. In his hand was a particle rifle similar to the one Jerry held. He wore a brown uniform that allowed him to blend in with his surroundings.

“There are six weapons trained on your compatriots. I assure you…this young man is right: your weapons would never clear your scabbards before we cut you down.”

The demon scanned its surroundings. Its eyes focused on two figures on the ridgeline above him, both of which held rifles trained upon his party.

“It’s your move,” said the mysterious stranger, “but be advised that you are currently trespassing on Monrovian territory.” He pointed to a rock about 60 feet behind the demon. “That is the boundary line back there. So, it is you that stand in violation of the Treaty of Noak. I’m sure that your master would be most displeased if you started something here.”

“Very well,” said the demon, “but I will report this.”

“Yack, yack, yack,” said the man. “That’s all you demons ever do. Now go.”

The demons took to the air. Jerry and his mother both breathed a sigh of relief.

The man in brown put away his weapon and walked toward them. “I would guess that you are Jerry Anderson.”

“Yes,” replied Jerry. “And this is my mother, Leona.”

“We’ve been expecting you,” said the man in brown. “I’m Karl Howard, commander of our security forces.” He extended his hand and Jerry accepted it. “When you came up late at your rendezvous point, we got a call from the governing council at Refuge to keep an eye out for you should you decide to come our way. We’ve been briefed on your mission. When we got your first message, we went on high alert. Then we began to track an object too large and too high to be a demon on our radar.”

“You have radar?” asked Jerry in amazement.

“Certainly,” said Karl, “surface to air missiles too. Then we heard from the ACs that you had landed. We’ve been waiting for you for over an hour.”

“Mr. Howard, you have no idea how glad we are to see you,” said Jerry.

“I can imagine,” said Karl. “But I’m sure your mother will need some assistance.”

Karl drew from his belt a communicator not unlike Jerry’s and spoke into it, “We have them. We’re bringing them back. Be advised that we have one in need of medical attention.”

“How far is it to your base?” asked Jerry.

“About three miles, not far,” was the response. “It is not a difficult walk, and there will be people coming to help you with your mother. Our sovereign is most interested to meet you.”

“I’m interested to meet him too,” said Jerry. “I’ve heard a lot of very good things about him from Bedillia Farnsworth.”

Karl nodded approvingly. “A good woman, that Bedillia Farnsworth. We were sad to see her go. She was the one who sealed the alliance between the honorable people of Refuge and ourselves. Still, we were overjoyed that she has achieved Heaven. Perhaps one day we shall do likewise.”

“I hope so,” said Jerry.

The three continued walking up the valley. Occasionally they spotted a demon flying overhead, observing their progress.

“We see a lot of them now,” said Karl, looking up. “They’re fixing for a fight all right, and if that’s what they want…that’s what they’ll get. We’ll make their lives hell—no pun intended. Then, when it’s all over, we’ll ask for ten times the land we have now, and they’ll give it to us. Lord Monroe will drive a hard bargain, of that you can be sure.”

Jerry was astounded at the confidence of this man. Lord Monroe? This Tim Monroe must be some leader to instill such confidence and reverence in his people. Jerry was very much looking forward to meeting him.

During the journey, Jerry told Karl of the state of his ship and the need to repair it. Karl nodded.

“You can be sure that we shall provide you every courtesy in the repair of your vessel,” assured Karl. “I’m sure we have several engineers and mechanics able to assist you in your efforts.”

At last they arrived at another canyon leading off to the south. Karl drew Jerry’s attention to a vertical cliff to their right that rose 500 feet above the rocky valley floor. “That was once known as the ‘plunge of desolation.’ For thousands of years, a procession of thousands of poor ragtag souls was led shackled and barefoot up this narrow canyon, under the cruel whips of their demon taskmasters. They were then driven up a winding trail that climbed the west side of the canyon to a ridge and inevitably to this cliff.

“Here they were compelled to throw themselves from the precipice onto the rocks below. Then they were forced to drag their broken bodies back up the trail that led into the canyon…and the journey was repeated again and again. This was the fate that Lord Monroe delivered us from. Now we are eternally in his debt.”

“The only successful rebellion against the demons led by a human in the history of Hell,” noted Jerry.

“Ah, you know our history,” said Karl.

“A bit,” said Jerry.

“What was their crime that such a terrible thing was done to them?” asked Leona.

“Homosexuality,” replied Karl, “at least mostly. There were also transsexuals, bisexuals, and the like in our midst. We saw it as the way we were, the way we were made; there was nothing unnatural about it to us. We loved and were in turn loved.”

Jerry only nodded. In Heaven, people were neither married nor given in marriage, though many, like his adoptive parents, chose to stay together. Sexuality was rather a bit of a mystery to him, and that was fine. On Earth it seemed to be an issue that created much confusion. Crimes of passion and cruelty were as surely results of it as were matrimonial bliss and happiness. He would surely cast no stones at these people.

They entered the canyon. Even after years, the trail of dried blood was still discernable. They passed the sloping trail that led inevitably to the top of the cliff. In the background they could hear a throbbing sound. It grew louder and louder until in the midst of the canyon they beheld a marvelous thing: a field of green. Here, irrigated by wells driven deep into the bedrock, were fields of corn and wheat, tomatoes and onions, set out in neat rows and carefully cared for by the people of Monrovia.

“It’s wonderful,” said Leona, gazing through tired eyes.

Four individuals, two men and two women, waited for them with a stretcher for Leona. They helped her onto the stretcher.

“You can ride the rest of the way,” said one of the women. “We know what you are going through, and we shall see you through it…no matter how long it takes.”

“Thank you,” said Leona.

“It would be better not to move her to Refuge in her current state,” said another of the women. “We can see to her needs just as well here.”

Jerry nodded. They were probably right. Why carry her through a wormhole to Refuge in her current state? Anyway, he would need to stay here while seeing to the repairs of the
Hope
. This way he could be closer to her. Perhaps he could even be with her when she awoke.

They proceeded, following a road that led through the fields. Due to the presence of the irrigation and the lush green plants, the air was more moist here and a good 8 to 10 degrees cooler. Many people were laboring hard in the fields, yet they seemed so happy. Small trees were even growing here in the canyon.

“There are orange, peach, and grapefruit trees right now,” said Karl. “The trees are new. The seeds all came from Heaven, but they seem to grow fairly well in our soil. We don’t have to eat to sustain our lives, of course. But it does make life more pleasant.”

“So beautiful,” said Leona. Her voice was soft. It was the voice of one on the threshold of falling asleep.

At last they came to a cave entrance on the right canyon wall, which was bathed in sunlight. It was an impressive stone arch entrance guarded by about a dozen armed soldiers.

“We are always on our guard,” explained Karl. “At the first sign of a demon attack we can have our military ready within minutes, long before they arrive.” He paused. “I’m sure that Lord Monroe will want to speak to you on this subject, but I wanted to have a few words with you first.”

“About what?” asked Jerry.

“About technology,” said Karl. “We will need all of the high technology we can get in our coming fight with the demons—and it is coming, I assure you. The demons even now plot an attack on Refuge. That, of course, we cannot allow. We will help them. Our treaty is very clear on that issue. We would like the opportunity to examine your ship, to learn from it.”

“I would be happy to help you,” said Jerry. “It is the very least I can do for you after the kindness you have shown us.”

They passed through the arch and into the cavern. It wasn’t at all what Jerry had expected. It had smooth, almost polished arching walls with glowing crystals in the ceiling to light the way.

Chloressa, who had been flying about the group during most of their journey, alighted upon Jerry’s shoulder. “I want to go with you.”

Jerry turned to Karl, who smiled broadly. “You are most blessed, my friend,” he said. “To have one of our guardians bond to you upon your arrival is a most fortunate happenstance. This female will be yours for life. She will defend you with her very life and help you communicate with others of her kind. A person who finds his or her own guardian finds a good thing. Of course she may travel with you, even to the throne room.”

Jerry smiled, turning to Chloressa. “You may come with me, little one.”

Chloressa rubbed her fur against Jerry’s neck. It sort of tickled. He petted her. He was rather surprised when she started to purr like a tiny cat.