Pariah (The New Covenant Series)

Pariah

Copyright © 2014 by Casey L. Bond. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge, 1769. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, descriptions, entities, and incidents included in the story are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, and entities is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Stephanie Nelson, Once Upon a Time Covers and Casey L. Bond

Proofread by Anna Gorman Coy of AGC Editing and Services

Interior design by Nadege K. Richards of
Inkstain Interior Book Formatting

Published in the United States of America

ISBN 13: 978-1499521429

ISBN-10: 1499521421

To my Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Without Him, I would be nothing. With Him, I can be anything He leads me to be. He is most patient with me, and I am most appreciative.

To my loving husband, El
ton. His daily love and support mean the world to me. He is a most wonderful partner-in-crime and dedicated father, and for both, I am thankful.

To Juliet, my oldest baby. I l
ove you and am so proud of you. You are such a beautiful, sensitive soul. I enjoy seeing the wonder of the ordinary and extraordinary things in life through your eyes. You are full of sweetness and questions about the world. I love you so much and am so thankful that God blessed me with you.

To Eris, my youngest baby. I
love you and am excited to see all of your firsts. We add to that list daily. I am blessed with your sweetness and your tenacity. You are full of energy and smiles. I love you so much, and I am also thankful that God blessed me with you.

To Mama, my second ha
lf. You get me, you giggle with me, and pray with and for me. I love that you always support whatever crazy thing I’ve got going on at the moment. You love my daughters almost as much as I do. Almost. But seriously, I love you so much, and God knew what he was doing when he made you my mother. I am truly blessed.

To Dad, I love you. I love to
politic with you, and yes, with you,
politic
is a verb. I love discussing the world, the Bible, and life with you. You play with Eris and take Juliet fishing. Making memories is just part of being a wonderful Dad and Papaw to you. I appreciate and love you very much and am so thankful to have you in my life. God knew what he was doing when he gave me you.

To Heather. My BFF, form
er matron of honor and sidekick in all things wicked. I love ya. I know we don’t see each other enough, but I pray for and think of you often.

To my pastor and his sweet w
ife, Roger and Nettie Smathers. You are so awesome! And supportive and sweet. You know when someone needs a kind word, handshake, card, or phone call. I have appreciated your words and guidance more than either of you will ever know. I love you both.

To MaMaw Grammy: We
love you so much. My girls love visiting and I love just sitting and talking to you. We’ve made some amazing memories. You taught me to make mud pies and real cookies, too.

To my church girls—God,
Family, Friends, and Chocolate—our mantra is so fabulous. I appreciate your prayers and friendship.

To the teachers and pro
fessors who influenced me—Karen Nowviski, Joyce McCracken, Dr. Margaret Phipps Brown, Dr. Samuel Damron, and Dr. Kenneth Ambrose. Your impressions have been lasting and, at least to me, very meaningful. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your instruction and guidance.

A special thanks to Jill Holton, Heather Persinger and friend/author Rachael Brownell for reading all of the messy manuscripts
I throw at them. A huge thank you to Anna Coy of AGC Editing and Services for proofreading this manuscript for me! Props to my street team! You all rock! Thank you for your support and advice.

Then saith he to Thomas, Reac
h hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

—John 20: 27

T
homas stood silently in the
cool, humid air of the cave. Torches dotted the wall of the small space, angry flames licking furiously, consuming everything but the light they provided. Nature’s mineral draperies flowed from ceiling to floor in dramatic ribbons all around him. No footsteps announced his arrival, but Thomas felt his presence with every cell in his body. The hair on the back of his neck rose in joyful anticipation. He reveled in the human feelings he had once again been granted. Being in the flesh once more was something he’d never expected, and now here he was.

He was drinking in the f
amiliar sensations of humanity. Thomas knelt low and bent his head in reverence as He approached from the darkness. He cupped Thomas’s chin, lifting his head and eyes to Him. “You look well, Thomas, my friend.” The kindness and love shone in His deep brown eyes that smiled even when his mouth wouldn’t.

“Thank
you, my Lord,” he bowed again.

Deep laughter resonat
ed through the cavernous space. “Thomas, stand up and embrace me as a friend.” Thomas stood and then collapsed into the arms of his friend, his mentor, his savior. “You are needed on earth once more, Thomas. Though, I suppose you already figured that out.” He smiled, chuckling at the obvious.

Thomas nodded. “You must
give hope to the hopeless. You must express to them every detail of the Prophecy, which I will give to you this day. Do you understand?”

“I do.” Thomas’s human hand
s began to quiver as he took in the gravity of the obligation that fell on his shoulders.

“Good, then let us get started for there is much to explain.”

He took Thomas’s hands in his own. Thomas could see the marks of the nail prints still evident in His palms. He joked, “You need to feel them again, Thomas?” The two smiled and Thomas shook his head. He had already felt the wounds once, had placed one of his own fingers through the flesh of his palm until it had poked through back of his hand. And because of this, he would never again allow doubt to infiltrate his mind or his relationship with his Maker.

God once made a promise
to every living creature on Earth that never again, would He end the Earth with water. Rainbows were sporadic reminders of that covenant. Over time, the human population on the earth grew in number, and evil spread throughout the land like a swarm of locusts, ravenous and destructive. People in the great buildings lied, cheated, stole, and killed. Very few good people remained.

The Lo
rd grew increasingly frustrated that His creation had become so wicked. His commandments had been long forsaken. Sadness and disappointment in His creation grew into unadulterated anger that would no longer be contained. He would destroy the earth once and for all, and with it, His most beloved creation—a creation that had been lovingly formed in His own image.

Fire spewed from the belly o
f the Earth. Great mountains of ash and brimstone rained down. Ash engulfed the sky, cloaking the Earth in constant shadow. The ground heaved and shook.

Great buildings fell or were co
nsumed by the magma that spewed forth. Plants and animals were eradicated. The land beneath the sea heaved up, sending great waves crashing over the continents. Great islands sunk beneath the waves, others rose up above the surface. And just like that, in the blink of an eye, the entire face of the earth was changed.

The humans that remained
were terrified. As God prepared the final series of fiery strikes to come from the heavens above, Jesus entered the throne room of His Father. He fell upon his knees and begged for mercy for those who had survived. After all, He argued, good people still remained, and if even one soul was turned from evil and taken into heaven, His sacrifice would prove meaningful to the remaining souls below. Knelt before the throne, Jesus pleaded with every fiber of His being for one last chance for mankind. He begged for the souls of sinners and saints alike.

Love flowed around Him in c
ircling amber streams of light. His Father was taken aback by His son’s humble sincerity and agreed to halt the destruction, giving man one final reprieve. However, said reprieve would be temporary. A neutral agreement would be forged with the dark one, upon which, the fate of Earth and its final inhabitants would rest. And thus, the Prophecy was made.

At
the agreed-upon time, a chosen would be born in the early summer. No loving childhood would await her. No formal religion—completely isolated and neutral. She would come of age in captivity. Her soul would be pure and would be the key to both the gates of heaven and hell alike.

Eyes bathed in royalty, a body
of beauty and grace. Her back would bear the mark of good and evil. The fallen would flock to her like predators, scenting blood. Darkness and light would be given opportunity to persuade her. Her decisions would determine the fate of humanity. She alone held within her, the hope of the world.

She would receive no guidanc
e from above unless like advice be given from below, save for the exception of her mark, which will allow her one warning only. It would be her responsibility to choose her guides and both good and evil would test her fortitude, faith, and strength. Gifts would be made hers as required to preserve her life until her soul’s decision was made. Lucifer had agreed to set terms, even the final clause which stated that to every evil or good action, an equal and opposite reaction shall follow from the opposition. The devil had every confidence that he could win her soul, even if it meant playing fairly.

Thomas inscribed the words spo
ken by his friend and Lord into his heart and then carefully and painstakingly spent several months placing them on parchment. When the final stroke of black ink bled onto the dingy, grainy parchment rolled out before him, a single tear fell from his eye, sealing the document as his own. Now he would simply wait for the chosen to emerge, come of age, and make her way to him—as his Lord had instructed.