“Because my mother said they’re expecting us in Abaddon’s Lair.” Lauren glanced at the Heaven portal. “Besides, I don’t think you can just march into Heaven without an invitation.”
While Sir Barlow and Tamara shooed everyone along, the guard peered over the barrel and through the hole. “I can see my weapon inside that place.”
“Fire a round and see what happens,” another guard said.
“I see shadows moving and some little blinking lights. Someone must be in there.”
“What do I care? Whoever it is must be a Second Edener, right? They have those companion things the sergeant told us about.”
“I suppose, but—”
“Get out of the way.” The second guard shoved the first to the side and pulled the trigger. A shot rang out. The bullet nicked a twig and smacked into the opposite wall, missing the Second Edeners. The twig’s flames continued burning on the floor.
“Got part of the tree.” The barrel shifted. “I’m gonna see if I can tag one of the shadows.”
“But bullets didn’t work against them over by the chopper,” the first guard said.
“They were scared of fire, and they didn’t have companions. These are normal Second Eden scum.”
Lauren waved for everyone to squeeze closer to the Abaddon’s Lair portal, but the barrel followed their movement.
Sir Barlow leaped for the gun and yanked it toward the room. It jammed and wouldn’t pull through.
“What the—” The guard wrestled with the gun, but Barlow jerked it upward.
“Miss! Go through the portal!”
Lauren pushed her hand into the Abaddon’s Lair image. It passed right through to the bookshelves. As before, the dragon sat on his haunches reading the book on the table. “How do I go through? There’s no one here to heal with the leaves.”
The gun fired, sending a bullet into the room’s upper reaches. As the guard tried to wrestle it away, Barlow hugged the barrel and kept it in place. “Ask the dragon!”
“Abaddon!” Lauren poised her knuckles over the portal as if ready to knock, but that wouldn’t do any good. “Abaddon, can you hear me?”
As two more rounds fired, Abaddon looked up from the book. “I can hear you. You are raising quite a racket.”
“How do I open this portal?”
“With prowess you already possess.” He returned his gaze to the book, a scowl bending his brow.
Lauren stamped her foot. “What prowess?”
Breathing an annoyed sigh, Abaddon looked up again. “Have you neglected to heed history? Is your perception of portal parting that paltry?”
“If you mean Apollo, it can’t synchronize. The light readings fluctuate too much.”
While Abaddon stared at her, the three guards joined together and jerked the rifle back into their chamber. Now holding the gun’s stock, guard number two cursed again. “Can we shoot tear gas in there?”
“Better than that. I saved the mustard gas before the chopper blew. It’ll fit through the hole.”
“Get it. Whoever’s in there deserves what’s coming to them.”
“But what about the fire-breathing guy in the—”
“He’s buzzard bait by now. Don’t be such a coward.”
Lauren growled. “Abaddon, just tell me if I’m supposed to use Apollo! We have children in here, and we’re going to get gassed if we don’t open this portal.”
“Then I suggest you open it.” Abaddon looked at his book and turned a page.
Lauren drew back a fist, but Zohar grabbed her arm and held it in place. “I am not an experienced Oracle of Fire, but I had the opportunity to watch Sapphira and Acacia open portals many times. Even though I saw them only through a viewing screen, I think I grasped the concept. If I cannot do it, you can try Apollo again. I see no sense in waiting for the dragon to help us.”
She huffed. “I guess you’d better go for it. I already wasted too much time with him.”
“I will need a firebrand.”
“A firebrand?”
“Something that will burn and last more than a few seconds.”
Lauren reached through the portal and felt the shelf, but it was empty. “We don’t have time to—”
“I found!” Tamara shoved a scroll into Zohar’s hands. “Will … this do?”
“Perfect.” He raised the scroll and called, “Flames, come to my firebrand!”
The scroll burst into flames. As the Second Edeners moved out of the way, Zohar positioned himself in front of the Abaddon’s Lair portal and begin waving the scroll above his head in a circle.
Lauren alternately watched the Earth portal and Zohar. The swirl of fire above his head created a semicircle of flames in front of Abaddon’s Lair that began expanding downward like a fiery curtain descending toward the floor. In the Earth scene, the guard, now wearing a gasmask, returned with a canister and spray wand. He handed the other two guards gasmasks and thick gloves and waited while they put them on. “The dragon guy tried to follow me,” he said in a muffled voice, “but I clocked him on the head. He’s not going anywhere.”
Lauren pointed at the portal. “Barlow! Find something to plug it!”
Barlow whipped out a knife and sliced off part of his sleeve. After wadding it into a ball, he jammed it into the hole, but it fell into the Earth chamber. “The gap has no depth. Nothing will plug it.” He waved a hand. “Everyone, pass me your books.”
Immediately, books began flying from hand to hand. Tamara helped Barlow stack them in front of the hole.
As Zohar continued spinning the flames, the semicircular wall descended to his waist.
Lauren waved her hands downward. “Come on, Zohar. You can do it.”
When Barlow and Tamara laid the final book on top, Barlow stood in front of the pile. “Perhaps my bulk will keep them from shoving the books to the side.”
“And they might shoot you right through the books,” Lauren said.
“I thought of that, Miss, but protecting these women and children is worth the risk.”
Finally, Zohar’s wall of fire touched the floor. As it swept the surface, sparks snapped and flew, like metal grinding against stone. He stepped toward the portal and pressed his body against it. Then, as if blown away by a gust, the fire vanished.
Zohar stood in front of the wall, still holding the scroll high, though its flames had dwindled to embers.
The Earth guard jabbed the spray wand at the hole, nudging the books, every movement still visible through the portal. “Something’s blocking it.”
Lauren jumped to Abaddon’s portal and pushed a hand through. Her fingers stayed visible. “It’s open!” She waved her arms frantically. “Hurry!”
As the Second Edeners funneled toward the portal again, helped along by Lauren and Tamara, an Earth guard pushed the rifle through the hole, bending the stack of books. “This’ll clear it.”
“Barlow!” Lauren shouted. “Watch out!”
He grabbed several books from the top of the stack and set them in front of the hole, front to back. A muffled shot rang out. The books flew from Barlow’s hands and dropped to the floor.
Lauren waved again. “Just leave it! We need to get everyone out!”
“I am on my way.” Sir Barlow hustled around the tree and stood at the end of the line. The women and children helped each other over the brick wall, slowing the process. Tamara and a few other women hauled the remaining birthing plants through as well.
Abaddon looked up and turned the hourglass over, but he said nothing beyond a smoke-filled snort.
The spray wand poked through the hole. A yellowish gas spewed and spread into the room.
“No time to be soft!” Sir Barlow spread out his arms and herded the stragglers through the portal, shoving them over the bricks. When he, Tamara, and the last children tumbled into the dragon’s lair, Lauren grabbed Zohar’s arm. “Let’s go!” They leaped over the low wall and looked back. The yellow cloud dri
fted their way, apparently unaffected by the tree’s flames.
“Kindly close the door,” Abaddon said with a huff. “I prefer no poison in my presence.”
Zohar looked at the charred scroll. “It’s not working the same as when Sapphira did it. Everyone who passed through the portal had to be inside the circle, and whenever the fire died, the portal closed.”
Lauren edged closer to the wall. “The portal Dad and I opened with Apollo shrank on its own. So did the one near the ceiling. But it looks like the portals the tree creates stay open until the leaves are extinguished.”
“Then I will absorb the flames again.” Zohar stepped toward the portal, but Lauren grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
“No! You won’t have a way out! You’ll die in there!” Lauren backed away, waving for the Second Edeners to join her. “We’ll have to figure out another way.”
In her mind, she added, Or we’ll all be dead.
Chapter 14
THE MAID
“You know nothing.” Abaddon shuffled toward the portal wall, his long neck and tail swinging. The women and children swarmed out of his path or jumped over his tail. When he reached the portal, he grabbed the partition handles with his clawed hands and slid the doors together, shutting out the gas. “Solutions are simple if you will invoke intelligence. Even imbeciles are able to shut a shutter.”
Lauren glared at the portal. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She had seen those partitions earlier. “Thank you.”
The dragon snorted. “I suppose this glowing guest expects the cultural courtesy of ‘You’re welcome,’ but you are not welcome here. You are the guests of another host. You are free to find her, but do not disturb my domain.” He shuffled back toward the table, again carelessly swinging his tail.
Lauren looked at her arm. As usual, her skin didn’t appear to glow, but obviously the dragon noticed it. While the Second Edeners gathered around, she stood between Sir Barlow and Zohar, with Tamara, again holding two toddlers, on Barlow’s opposite side. It seemed that everyone was safe, and even those who had fallen sick had recovered.
Glancing back at the wooden shutters, Lauren imagined the museum room. They had collected all the refugees, hadn’t they?
She groaned within. Apollo! They had left it behind! She had also left her backpack, helmet, and goggles. Yet, they probably wouldn’t be affected by the gas. They would still be there later, assuming there weren’t any spirits who could take stuff away.
When Abaddon again sat on his haunches at the table, Lauren gave him a hard look and tried to read his mind. Mom had said not to let him get an advantage, so maybe it was best to use her gifts to her own advantage. Yet, no thoughts came through. He was probably quite able to guard his mind. “Listen, we didn’t ask to come here. We were forced—”
“Forced?” Abaddon slid the hourglass close and drilled a stare at her. “Folly! You had other options. You chose to dive into my domain instead of dawdling in danger. How selfish of you to escape harm without considering my privacy.”
Lauren resisted a triumphant smile. He began with alliterations, but they petered out at the end. He was breaking. “Stop playing games with me. You know good and well that it’s not selfish to save the lives of women and children. I had to—”
“Women and children?” Abaddon looked at Sir Barlow. “It seems to me—”
“Don’t even go there!” Lauren jabbed a finger at him. “You’re not that stupid. Just show us the exit, and we’ll parade right out of your privacy.”
Abaddon grinned. “Ah! Alliteration! Admirable!”
Lauren pressed her fingers over her lips. In spite of all her bluster and combativeness, this dragon had scored a triumph. Was this some sort of test, like Mom had mentioned? If so, what kind of sacrifice was she supposed to make? The sand in the hourglass had drained about halfway. Did that signify her allotted moments to complete the test? If so, there wasn’t much time left to figure it out.
She surveyed all the wide eyes. The Second Edeners had settled to complete silence, as if hypnotized. Even their companions had dimmed and no longer flashed. Barlow, Tamara, and Zohar stayed quiet as well. She shook off her own growing daze and drilled a new stare at him. “Listen, Abaddon, I’m in no mood to play word games. My mother told me to come here to find someone called The Maid. You said we could go, but if you don’t tell us the way, we’ll be stuck in this room. I’m sure you don’t want that.”
“Very well. No more word games, and I will limit my alliterations.” Abaddon extended his neck, drawing his head closer to Lauren. “Your mother is Bonnie Silver, is she not?”
“Well, Bonnie Bannister, but yes.”
“Oh, so she married the young man, did she?” His expression dipped into a frown. “Interesting.”
“Interesting? Why?”
“She was hoping for heavenly harmony, but—”
Lauren stabbed a finger at him again. “You said—”
“I know. Habits are hard to … well, never mind. I was merely wondering if her dreams of a blissful marriage have come true, but your presence here is evidence otherwise.” His tongue flicked out and zipped back in again. “Am I mistaken?”
“Let’s just say that she and my dad have suffered more than she probably expected, but they’re handling it.” Lauren checked the hourglass. The sand would be gone soon. “Please, get to the point.”
“As you wish.” Abaddon flipped a page in his book. A hologram arose, creating an image of Mom. Wearing jeans, a white sweatshirt, and a bulging backpack, she looked like a teenager. “I knew her as Bonnie Silver. She came to me twice, once through death and once through a portal. Before her first arrival, my role here as guardian of my lair was routine. If a mother on Earth killed her unborn baby, it would sometimes come here to be reborn in one of Second Eden’s birthing plants.” Abaddon set a claw on his book. “I recorded each event with meticulous precision, though the details rarely changed. It was routine to the point of monotony. There were a few notable exceptions. Sometimes adults arrived here to be resurrected, such as Lazarus of Bethany, but, for the most part, everyone followed the same path.”
The hologram transformed into an image of Dad carrying Mom across a narrow bridge. A dragon perched on the bridge’s side, its neck curled as if ready to shoot flames. “Yet, when Bonnie Silver arrived, her case required special attention. I had never dealt with a winged human before, so I suspected that new rules were being formulated and I could expect changes. I was charged with preparing her for a resurrection to Earth, which wasn’t unprecedented, but after I sent her back, Billy Bannister came here and then his mother. I also processed her father, her friend’s father, her friend’s sister, and a ten-foot-tall giant. It seemed that my new routine would be to expect resurrection for anyone remotely associated with Bonnie Silver. I wondered why the Majesty on High would allow their deaths only to raise them up again, thereby making my domain a revolving door.” He shook his head. “But who am I to ask such a question? I simply did what I was told and sent them back.” The image dissolved and fell like ashes to the book.
“And now?” He scanned the crowd with his blue eyebeams. “And now Bonnie’s daughter comes with dozens of followers, as if this is a typical train terminal, and she demands directions to my doorway.”
Lauren pointed at him once more. “You’re alliterating.”
“Yes.” Abaddon cleared his throat, huffing out a plume of smoke. “I apologize.”
“I don’t mind so much. Just as long as you eventually get to the point so we can go and find The Maid.”
He gave her an agreeable nod. “My point is purely practical. You must be aware that Abaddon’s abode is not to be considered common. To me, you are irritatingly inquisitive intruders, and you are disrupting my decorum. Once Joan joins you, you are to quickly find your quarters and then quietly go about your quest.”
“Joan?”
“The Maid.”
“Then The Maid’s name is Joan.” r />
“Your observance of the obvious is overwhelming.”
Lauren let out a huff. “For a dragon who desires our departure, you definitely dawdle—” She again pressed her lips closed with her fingers.
Abaddon’s grin returned. “Deliberately.” He grasped the hourglass and shook down a few straggling grains of sand. “In this realm, we measure every moment. Make ready to meet the mightiest militant ever to march.”
Sir Barlow whispered into Lauren’s ear. “You were splendid, Miss, but if you need me to speak to this warrior he mentioned, I will be glad to do so.”
“Thank you. I’ll let you know.”
Zohar leaned close. “Someone’s coming.”
A light appeared on the far side of the chamber, growing, drawing closer. Soon, it illuminated an arched entry to a corridor. A shadow crawled up the arch, first looking like a huge spider, then taking on a feminine shape.
Finally, a woman walked under the arch wearing a gray hooded cloak. Her body emitted short, wiggling flames from her bare feet to the top of her blonde hair. Young, diminutive, and with fiery white blossoms in her short locks, she looked more like a bridesmaid than a warrior. As she approached, she kept a sharp eye on Abaddon. Her long strides swept her cloak out of the way, revealing dark trousers and a scabbard at her hip.
“Ah!” Barlow said. “A woman who walks like a seasoned soldier.”
“Stop alliterating!” Lauren hissed. “I’ve had my fill of it!”
Tamara squinted. “Is … she Joan?”
“I assume so.”
The Second Edeners began whispering, and their companions twinkled in kind, as if awakened from sleep by Joan’s appearance—a woman who could walk within an aura of fire without being consumed, almost like an animated tree of life.
She stopped at the table and stared at Abaddon, her shoulders square and her expression hard. “How many have you managed to mesmerize?” Her lovely voice carried a heavy French accent.
Abaddon’s tongue flicked again. “Some stayed silent, as if sleeping, but only a solitary soul slipped into spellbinding, though she knows it not.”