The Dragon's Descent (38 page)

Vero's eyes scanned the ancient forest. It was beautiful, and yet its deep silence made him feel uneasy. He knew it wasn't the garden of Eden, because he hadn't passed through any gates. But his Vox Dei was telling him he was on the right path.

Vero wished one of his fellow fledglings could have come with him. His feelings of loneliness and inadequacy grew as he walked quickly beneath the gargantuan trees. As he tried to hurry through the maze of trunks, he wondered what Tack and Clover were doing. He thought of his mother and hoped she wasn't worrying about him. It occurred to him that she had said she had felt pushed when
she fell, and he remembered that Adrik had been with her at the time. Guilt struck him as he connected the dots, and realized he had put her in danger. But then he pushed thoughts of everyone away. He needed to quiet his mind so his Vox Dei could guide him.

Vero paused for a moment and took several deep breaths. He thought only of the garden, and moments later he knew which direction to take. He wove his way through the maze of massive redwoods. The trees were so immense, and stood so close together, that Vero was hard pressed even to walk between them.

Vero came upon a tree whose partially hollowed-out trunk was so large, he thought that twenty people could easily fit inside. Onward, Vero continued. Eventually, a light began to break through the trees, the sliver growing brighter and brighter the closer Vero came to it.

Vero squinted his eyes, trying to look into the light. Slowly, it began to take on the form of an angel. Vero looked curiously upon the angel. He was incredibly beautiful, as every part of him emitted shimmering light. He hovered a few feet off the ground.

“Hello, Vero,” the angel said in the most melodious voice Vero had ever heard. “I am here to guide you to the garden, where none have entered since the beginning of time.”

“Who are you?” Vero asked.

The angel replied, “I am the angel of light. Here to guide you, Vero.”

It was hard for Vero to look upon the angel, as the radiance coming from him was so blinding.

“You know where the entrance is?” Vero asked, his hand shielding his eyes.

“I do, and I will lead you there,” the angel said. “Follow me.”

Vero hesitated for a moment, unsure of what he should do.

“Hurry, Vero,” the angel said, beckoning. “Time runs short, and it's not much farther.”

The angel turned and flew a few feet above the ground. A moment later, Vero followed, walking behind the angel. As they made their way through the forest, around the trees and through the ferns, Vero had the sinking feeling that he was being led away from the garden. Perhaps the angel was confused? Vero stopped.

“As my friend Tack would say . . . I'm not feeling it,” Vero said. “I don't think this is the way.”

The angel turned around. Vero shielded his eyes from the angel's light.

“Vero, there's no time to question. You have to move fast.”

Vero had ignored his Vox Dei once before, and he wasn't about to do it again. He firmly stood.

“You never told me your name,” Vero said.

“What?” the angel asked.

“Your name . . . what is it?” Vero insisted.

“As I told you . . . The angel of light.”

With each passing moment, Vero felt more and more uneasy in the angel's presence.

“Your name?” Vero said in a commanding tone.

“Why do you persist?” the angel asked. “We are in a great hurry.”

“Then I'll change the question,” Vero said, pausing for a moment, thinking. “Do you love God?”

Vero's question caused the angel to instantly squirm and twist as if it was being tortured. As its body seized,
the light shining from it extinguished. The angel became a shadowy figure.

“I command you to tell me your name!” Vero yelled, as his sword sprung from his hand.

The shadowy figure flew up to the treetops and out of sight. Its low growling voice echoed through every inch of the forest.

“Lucifer.”

28

MORNING STAR

P
eople of all different nationalities had gathered around the peace pagoda. Tack and Clover had asked every pilgrim who either walked up or down the stairs to join them. Chiko had waved many pilgrims over and had translated for those who could not speak English.

“Do we have enough people?” Tack asked Clover.

Clover's eyes scanned the area. There were about a hundred pilgrims standing in a circle around the pagoda.

“Yeah, I think we should start.”

Vero raced back the way he had come. To say he was frightened was a gross understatement. He remembered that Corinthians
had said Satan could disguise himself as an angel of light. In fact, Lucifer was referred to as “morning star,” so he should have known right away. As scared as he was, he was furious for allowing himself to be led astray yet again.

Vero had the feeling that he was being watched. He heard rustling in the distance. His eyes shot up to the treetops, but he could see nothing there. Vero picked up the pace. His Vox Dei was telling him he was sprinting in the right direction. The forest blackened. A shadow cast down upon Vero. A moment later, it lifted, and once again light broke through the trees.

Suddenly, a wind whipped through the forest. Vero strained his ears and heard the faint echoes of his name as if the wind was whispering to him. He became even more spooked and goose bumps broke out up and down his arms. The sky momentarily blackened again, and then the darkness passed. Vero now felt as if he was being hunted, and paranoia began to seep into him. Yet as he nervously glanced over his shoulder, his eyes were met with only the ferns and tree trunks of the forest.

“We could be so powerful together,” the wind whistled in a low voice through the leaves.

Vero's eyes darted around.

“Who said that?” he shouted.

“You know me,” the wind breathed. “You have always known me.”

Vero fell silent, listening.

“When the schoolchildren picked on you, I gave you the strength to hit them back. And when your mother and father accused you of wrongdoing, I put the lies in your mouth that spared you punishment.”

Vero tightly shut his eyes, attempting to drive that voice from his head.

“And when you sat in church listening to the scriptures, I was the one who helped you pass the time with thoughts of amusement,” the wind spoke.

Anger rose in Vero. His sword shot out of his palm. He wielded it defensively out front, ready for an attack.

“He is using you. Don't be a fool.”

“No!” Vero yelled.

“Don't you think He knew where the book was all along? Don't you think He could have gotten it back Himself?” the wind asked.

Sweat began to bead on Vero's forehead.

“Yes . . . He's using you. He's putting your life in jeopardy, for what? Just to toy with you.” The wind cackled. “And you think that's love?”

Doubt spread through Vero's mind like poison. Was it really true? Why did God put him through all this? Why did Pax have to die?

A shadow swirled around him. It caressed his body then wrapped itself around him. Vero felt as if a war was going on inside his body. As uncertainty seeped into every cell of his brain, convincing him that the dark shadow was correct, Vero's heart fought back. The tenderness he felt for his parents, for Clover, for Tack, the smiling faces of Greer and Ada, the warm light of the Ether, the love of the archangels—together they filled every single cell of his heart, so much that Vero felt as if his heart would burst.

The doubt that plagued his mind quickly receded as the goodness building within him shown through, revealing the truth.

“Be gone!” Vero forcefully yelled, and the shadow burst into a million little pieces then vanished somewhere beyond the treetops. Vero caught his breath as he summoned all of his strength.

He stood tall and continued on his way to the garden. As he swung his sword, he sliced through the tops of clusters of ferns, creating a path. He caught the reflection in the blade—fire. He knew that an angel with a fiery sword had been placed on the east side of the garden after Adam and Eve had been driven out. He looked hopefully over his shoulder toward the flames, and then his face went white.

Fire was raining down from the sky! His sword disappeared into his hand, and he ran. Vero sprinted as fast as he could, but the relentless, thick underbrush slowed him terribly. As he glanced behind him, a ball of fire landed just a few feet behind him, close enough to feel the intense heat from it.

Vero zigzagged as he ran. Another ball of fire landed directly in front of him, close enough that his shirtsleeve caught fire. He dropped to the ground and rolled, extinguishing it. He quickly jumped right back onto his feet and continued to run. Fireballs shot down all around him like grenade explosions, though they did not spread once they hit the ground. And no matter what direction Vero ran, the fire rained down like hail.

Vero's eyes quickly scanned the forest. He came upon the hollowed-out trunk of the massive redwood he had seen earlier, and sprinted for it. Several balls of fire fell around him, but he managed to make it to the safety of the tree trunk.

Vero sucked in huge gulps of air as he tried to catch his breath. But then several fireballs ignited the dry, ancient bark, setting it ablaze. Vero dashed out of the tree before it could trap him.

He nimbly moved through the forest, around tree trunks, glancing in all directions. This time, no fire fell down on him. Up ahead in the distance, through the thick vegetation, Vero caught sight of a glimmer of vivid colors. Could it be a rainbow? Pressing forward, he stealthily made his way to a clearing, nearing ever closer to the bright hues. He saw the source of the colors was brilliant gems—thousands and thousands of precious stones inlaid in a door that had been hung in a hollowed-out redwood trunk. Vero smiled, for his Vox Dei screamed to him that through that door lay the garden of Eden.

And then all he saw was red. The heat of a fire singed his eyebrows before he could even shield his face. He quickly backed away from the inferno. And when his eyes were again able to focus, he saw before him a massive serpent's head with devious yellow eyes, and black slits for pupils. Two razor-sharp horns protruded from either side of its head. And when it reared back, Vero glimpsed the rest of the monstrous creature. The beast's reptilian body was covered in thick gray scales. Plates ran down its back and tail like an armored suit. The four-legged creature stood upright on its hind legs and flapped gigantic, leathery bat-like wings. Vero instinctively covered his eyes as the wind buffeting from the wings kicked up a storm. When the creature stopped beating its wings, Vero lowered his arm. His eyes clearly made out the true nature of the being that stood before him: it was the dragon.

Puffs of smoke blew from its large nostrils. Vero anticipated what was coming next. He feigned right as it opened its heinous mouth, and a long, forked tongue shot blasts of fire at him. Vero instinctively dodged the jets of fire by flipping his body over midair and then quickly sprinting back onto his feet.

Almost without thinking about it, Vero's sword appeared. From several feet away, he held it defiantly toward the dragon's head. An evil smile lit the creature's face, as if Vero were holding a toothpick instead of a sword.

“Are you really going to fight me, fledgling?” the dragon cackled loudly, shaking the ground underneath Vero's feet. “Give me the book now!”

Vero looked the dragon in its yellow eyes, and definitively shook his head. The dragon grew incensed. It opened its mouth and tried to clamp down its large jaws around Vero's sword. Vero almost instantaneously shot up into the air, and thrust his sword into the creature's back.

The dragon's head reared around, its fearsome eyes seething. It snapped at Vero, who quickly flew out of its reach. The dragon unfurled its wings and lifted into the air. As Vero flew higher, the dragon followed on his heels. Its mouth opened wide, ready to devour him.