restored, precious Angel. It is not the same as having your Adam, but its presence will keep his memory alive.”
When Angel reached for the companion, it lifted off Abraham’s palm and floated toward Timothy. As it hovered a few inches in front of his face, its eyes gazed at him, unblinking. Then, after making three orbits around his head, it settled just above his shoulder and stayed there.
Abraham stared at Timothy, then at Angel. Timothy cocked his head, trying to see the companion, but could only get a glimpse of the semitransparent egg as it floated back and forth with his every movement.
“Remarkable!” Abraham set his hands on his hips. “I have never seen a companion take on a new charge. This is surely unexpected.”
Angel drew close to Timothy and watched the ovulum. “But it’s not unreasonable. Besides you, good prophet, we have never known anyone of our race who lacked a companion, so this opportunity has never arisen.”
“What is it doing?” Timothy asked. “It feels like its tickling the inside of my head.”
Angel laughed gently. “It is petting your soul with its soft fingers.”
“That is how it probes your mind,” Abraham explained. “It makes a spiritual attachment with you so it can be a helper in times of need.”
“Father!” Angel cried, lifting a hand to her mouth. “Could it be?”
Abraham squinted at her. “What is it, my child?”
Lowering her hand slowly, she gazed at the reborn companion. “Since Timothy is now attached to Dragon’s companion, could he be my new Adam?”
Chapter 11
THE LAKE OF FIRE
Walter kept his eyes open, hoping to see the switch from one world to the next. Hades had been an exciting place to visit, but he definitely didn’t want to live there. The column of fire spun violently, whipping hot air across his cheeks. Within seconds, it faded, then vanished, leaving a dim, dreary sky with a blanket of clouds hanging overhead.
“Whoa!”
Walter spun toward the cry. Flailing her arms, Karen teetered backwards over the stairwell hole. He snatched her waistband and yanked her away, shouting, “Not again, you don’t!”
When she regained her balance, he helped her stand upright. “You okay?”
“Whew!” Karen laid a hand on her forehead. “That was the worst déjà vu I’ve ever had! I don’t want to fall down any more bottomless pits!”
Gabriel flew to her other side. He fanned out his wings and stretched one around her. “This is cooler than iced cucumbers,” he said. “I’m solid again!”
Karen leaned away, startled. “Oh! Hi! I’m Karen.”
“I know.” As Gabriel patted her shoulder with a wing he extended a hand toward Walter. “Glad to meet you.”
“Same here.” Walter shook his hand but glanced around, counting the dimensional travelers. “Where’s Ashley?”
Gabriel took his turn surveying their crew. “And Roxil.”
Sapphira leaned over the hole, placing her bare foot in one of several huge footprints leading away from the edge. A cold drizzle added to the shallow puddle forming inside the print. “I don’t see them anywhere. Could they have materialized right over the hole and fallen in?”
“Oh, no!” Karen leaned over the opening and shouted, “Ashley! Can you hear me? Roxil?”
Walter dropped to his knees and peered down, his hands clutching the muddy edge of the hole. “I see some stairs, but they’re receding. I think I can jump to them if I hurry.”
“No!” Karen shouted. “You won’t be able to get back up!”
Grabbing the edge of the hole, he lowered himself into it. “I’ll figure out that part later.” He let go of the rim and plummeted. Bending his knees, he landed on the stairwell and tumbled down the steps, bumping his knees and elbows until he could brace his body against the curving wall and slow his momentum.
When he finally came to a stop, he sat up in the darkened spiral corridor, every part of his body throbbing. “Okay, that wasn’t cool,” he mumbled.
A loud crunching noise sounded from above, getting closer by the second. Jumping to his feet, he whipped Excalibur from its scabbard and flashed on its beam. The stairway was collapsing!
He spun around and dashed down the stairs, skipping three at a time. With each slap of his shoes against stone, the sound of crashing steps followed only inches behind, like a growling lion nipping at his heels. Finally, the step he landed on gave way, and he plummeted into blackness.
Still clinging to Excalibur, he jerked his head back and forth, searching for something to grab, but only chunks of debris fell within the sword’s glow. For some reason, he