“Not to influence your decision …” Elam rose to his feet, wiping tears on his sleeve. “But if I get to go back to Earth, I’ll tell them you went to Heaven. Sapphira knows who your friends are, so I’m sure I can find them.”
Her smile returning, Karen leaned toward the shield, pulling hard against the invisible force dragging her back. First her fingers, then her palm touched the blue wall. It rippled, sending waves of shimmering sparks across the expanse. Pure light crawled along her arm and enveloped her body in white glitter. Seconds later, the sparks evaporated, revealing Karen in a long white dress, much like Naamah’s. Somehow she looked older now, more refined than the young teenager she had been. A white crease appeared in the wall, an open door to Paradise. With a timid wave, she whispered, “Until I see you again,” and she disappeared through the shield.
Bolts of red lightning continued to streak from the spot above Acacia’s head, becoming more and more frequent as the two worlds slowly pulled together. A cataclysm beyond all measure was only minutes away. Even Enoch seemed troubled as he watched one of the bolts, the thickest and brightest yet, fling toward the planet.
Acacia called out, “Watch, if you dare to see the sacrifice of love! It is coming into the tunnel!”
Enoch put his arm around Elam, and the two hurried to Acacia’s portal. “Even though I have watched a thousand sacrificial acts,” Enoch said, “this is one that makes me shiver. Even I cannot predict what the outcome will be.”
As red streaks lit up the sky, Ashley hugged Karen’s lifeless body, still warm from Thigocia’s attempts to revive her. With her arms wrapped around Karen’s torso from behind, Ashley tried to push blood into Karen’s stiffening limbs. “Come on, sweet angel,” she cried, shoving her doubled fists into Karen’s chest. “Get your heart going!” With her ear against Karen’s back, Ashley listened. Nothing. No heartbeat. No breathing.
Loud peals of thunder reverberated, one after another, a chorus of rumbling echoes bouncing from mountain to mountain.
A wail erupted from the depths of Ashley’s soul. “Oh, Karen! Why do you have to go? I love you so much!” She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I’m so sorry! You were a sweet little orphan, and I made you a guinea pig, but you still loved me. You even followed me across the country. If you hadn’t come with me, you’d still be alive!” She rested her face on Karen’s back, heaving. “I’m so, so sorry.”
A familiar grip rested on Ashley’s shoulder. Walter’s hot cheek pressed against hers. His voice breaking, he whispered in her ear. “Ashley, it’s over. She’s gone.”
Ashley sniffed again. “I just had to try one more time.”
“Of course you did,” Thigocia said. “I know exactly how you feel. Life is precious, and healers do all they can to preserve it.”
Trembling, Ashley laid Karen down and, with Walter’s help, pushed herself up to her feet. She brushed her hair back and looked around at the array of wounded and exhausted soldiers. Gabriel still lay unconscious at the pillar with Roxil sitting next to him caressing his head with the tip of her wing. Sapphira, her hand radiating heat, rubbed Thigocia’s bruised wing.
“Does the warmth help?” Sapphira asked.
“It does,” Thigocia replied. “I will soon be well. My injuries do not last long.”
“Mother,” Ashley said, her voice frail, “in all the excitement, I don’t think you noticed that you have another person to heal.”
“Another human?” Thigocia shook her head sadly. “I will try, but I have not had much success with humans.”
“With this one you might.” Ashley hobbled over to Gabriel, knelt next to him, and cradled his head. “Mother,” she said, her tears streaming anew, “would you please try to heal my brother … your son … Gabriel?”
Thigocia’s jaw opened slowly. Her red eyes sparkled. With a beat of her good wing, she shuffled close and extended her neck, gazing at the wounded boy’s face and sniffing his body. Finally, she stared at Ashley. “It is Gabriel!” She lifted her head and trumpeted a joyful arpeggio, so loud the three humans had to cover their ears.
When she finished her call, Thigocia quickly scooted closer and covered Gabriel with her wings. “Who will heat my scales?”
Walter withdrew Excalibur and looked at Roxil. “We’re both pretty tired. Want to give her a double dose to make sure?”