my giants are creating. If you were to use the beam, which might not even work in this current hybrid dimension, you would learn that you are at the center of a vortex created by intense electromagnetic waves. The beam would be instantly absorbed by my friend up there atop the generator. You would merely be adding to my energy grid.” He put his dagger away and waved his hand at Walter. “Try it, if you wish. I will wait.”
Walter squeezed Excalibur’s hilt and summoned the beam, but the blade merely reflected the light from the windows. “Nothing’s happening,” Walter said, lowering the sword. “It looks like I’ll have to stop Chazaq the old-fashioned way.”
“Chazaq?” Mardon glanced out the window. “Oh, that’s not Chazaq. But I suppose they all look alike to you, don’t they? My little power grid is fairly local, not enough to collapse the national grid, so Chazaq traveled to a larger facility, and, in concert with a few of Morgan’s surviving accomplices in other cities, he made sure power would fail throughout the country. You see, widespread panic keeps the authorities too busy to find my tower, and he is the only one intelligent enough for that mission.”
“Well, it was an enlightening experience talking to you,” Gabriel said with a slight bow, “but we really have to go.”
“I understand. You have to warn your friends and bring them here to try to stop me.” Mardon wiggled his fingers at them. “Run along, then.”
Walter shot a sideways glance at Gabriel. “That was too easy.”
“Yeah. Something’s not right.”
“Gentlemen,” Mardon said, “I have no power to keep you here. You have a sword, and my giant is occupied for a while. If you wish to wait for Chazaq’s return, by all means, do so. Then, I will be able to dispose of you at will.”
“No, thanks.” Gabriel laid a hand on Walter’s back, and the two hustled to the turbine room, then up the elevator to the service road entrance, staying quiet while the roar of river water drowned out every other sound.
When they arrived at the guard station, Walter looked in on the dead guard, still propped against the wall. He eyed a radio hanging loosely on the man’s belt. Reaching into the broken window, he pushed the call button. “Can anyone hear me?”
He released the button and waited. Nothing. Not even static. Sighing, he backed away from the window. “We’re getting nowhere fast.”
Gabriel fanned out his wings and leaned against the guardhouse. “Well, we got some information out of Mardon. We know he’s creating some kind of tower from the electromagnetic vortex, Chazaq’s doing something sinister to keep the rest of the country in chaos, and someone or something has the power to stop Mardon’s plans.”
“Because he said we weren’t the ones he feared, meaning that he probably feared someone else.”
Gabriel pointed at Walter. “Bingo!”
Walter turned to the highway and scanned the wet, vacant pavement. “There’s only one person I know who’s smart enough to figure it all out.”
Gabriel nodded. “Sapphira.”
“Ashley,” Walter said at exactly the same time.
Timothy felt Angel’s gentle tug on his elbow pulling him into the brilliant light. Even within his shielding jacket, it seemed to be as bright as day. As he ventured farther in, his companion brushed against his ear. Always follow the light, it whispered directly into his mind. Darkness is the way of death and the shelter of those who fear the light.
Timothy didn’t really know how to speak to the companion, so he tried directing a thought toward it. Am I giving in to darkness by covering my head?Indeed not. A time will come when you will see all glories unveiled. For now, you must behold heavenly glory with shielded eyes.The hand lifted from his elbow and guided his fingers to the side wall. “I have to go back a little ways,” Angel said. “I will wait for you there.”
He imagined her walking away, her head bowed and her airy pantaloons swaying as she escaped the blinding blast. The light was still working its magic. His love for her—a pure, holy love—overflowed, bringing tears to his eyes.
The light blazed brighter and brighter. Even with his eyes clenched shut, they tingled and burned. He turned around and walked backwards, dragging his fingertips along the wall. Even then, the light overwhelmed his senses. How could he go on? It would only get worse.
As he continued to back into the tunnel, the overwhelming sense of love seemed to transform. Love was still