“I am aware.” Arithem growled and withdrew his blade. The rapier of light disappeared as the demonic creature uttered a hideous laugh.
“Soon.” Arithem glared at the retreating ghoul. “Soon.”
???
And after three days and an half, the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Revelation 11:11-12
Thomas studied the woman he had once loved with all his heart. Instead of robbing her of her beauty, fifteen years had only enhanced it. Not even the stained prison jumpsuit detracted from her charm. Or was it charm? Or even beauty? There was something else that went beyond both, something in her eyes—a wisdom, a purity, a confidence—he’d not seen before.
Whathadremained the same was her hair, a wild mess of black silk, and those eyes—green, mesmerizing. Another thing that had remained was his reaction to her, the leap of his heart, the warmth surging through every inch of his body. It made no sense. He’d been with so many women after her, he was sure he was over her.
Obviously, he’d been wrong.
Then how could he send her to her death, no matter her beliefs?
Steeling his expression, he lowered his gaze and pretended to study her file again. She was the enemy, the enemy of everything he believed, the enemy of all humanity. He must remember that. He must put aside his emotions, shove them down, and lock them up in a forgotten chamber of his heart with all the others.
Gathering his resolve, he lifted his eyes to her again. Only then did he notice a small tattoo of a boot crushing a snake just below her right ear. Odd. Another small tat marked the left side of her neck, an eagle in flight. She’d always told him she wanted to fly away from her family, her childhood, her life. She’d begged him to come with her. But he’d had other plans.
Shaking off the memories, he searched for strength, for the familiar unfeeling resolve he’d acquired since taking this position. He’d ordered so many Deviants to their deaths. If it were anyone else, he’d have already stormed out of the room, already called the guard and given the order for her immediate execution.
But it wasn’t anyone else. It was Tori.
“Tori, I beg you.” He leaned forward, whispering again. “I’m asking one more time, just say a phrase, a simple phrase for the camera and then give me a location. Just one. None of the other interrogators would be so generous.”
Her green eyes flitted between his, searching, yearning. Not a speck of fear appeared within them. Instead, something he never expected to see.
Pity.
His heart crumbled. His anger rose. No one looked at him with pity. Not anymore. Ever.
“I’m sorry, Thomas.” Her lips flattened. “The Jewish men will rise.”
“What?” He shook his head, confusion upping his irritation “Why are you talking about them?”
“I just want you to know before you have me killed that the God I serve is the real God. The Jewish men will rise, and Aali will be wounded in the head, but he will recover.”
Thomas snorted. He seemed to remember some prophecy in the Bible about that, but he wasn’t well-versed on such things. They’d never taught eschatology in seminary, and Daniel had never given a sermon on it.
“Don’t you dare proselytize me. I am a mere two steps from Master Aali’s spiritual adviser.”
“Exactly why I need to tell you the truth.”
Fury surged, tightening his nerves.
A knock sounded on the door.
Growling, Thomas rose and opened it. “No one disturbs me—”
“Apologies, sir, but you gotta come see this.” If not for the look of fear on Rodney’s face, Thomas would have chewed him out for the interruption. Instead, after one last glance at Tori, he shut the door and followed him to the control room.
Rodney pointed to the largest screen against the wall where a GNN reporter, her face a mask of shock, turned to stare behind her at the empty square in front of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. A crowd of people stood around the edges of the square murmuring among themselves.
“They’re gone,” she said, turning back to face the camera. “Got up, raised their hands to the heavens, and flew into the sky.” She pressed her ear where obviously someone was directing her. “We have a clip now.”
