The Angel's Covenant (The Covenant series) (14 page)

"After the attack I swore I would never put my family at risk again. That is why I woul
d not allow you all to practice" Sophia responds ashamed of her fear.

"Sophia, how did you escape him?" Elina asks.
"I led him to the cave, and as soon as we crossed the threshold he dropped the image of my father. He was so pale I could see the veins running beneath his skin. His eyes were completely black with no pupils. I tried not to look at him as he dragged me through the opening. He had small burn marks on his skin, scars, and scabs. It looked like he was rotting. He was so focused on the walls that he did not notice me backing away.

"You see the walls of the caves are lined completely in clear crystal. They glisten and gleam like ice with the images frozen, protected beneath a layer of smoo
th crystal" Sophia tells them.

"The pictographs show a scene of a great battle between good and evil. The demon moved closer to the walls trying to see better and when he put his filthy hand on the transparent wall, it began to glow. He tried to pull away but his hand was stuck." She says holding her hand up in the air in front of her.
“That's when I noticed all the walls glowing bright white. A being of white light in the image of a man, stepped from the wall holding a sword of red flame he advanced upon the demon. The demon began to panic and I closed my eyes against the screams. I saw a flash of light, and when I opened my eyes all that remained of him was a pile of ash."

"Mom! What did you do then?" Heather asks.
"I ran of course.  I found my horse and went for help," she says looking at her father.

"The reason were telling you Elina is that we are watchers and we have only heard through stories of keepers. Our cave kept us safe, so when we hea
rd of you we wanted to meet you" Daniel explains to them.
"Heather, you recognized me as a keeper when we rescued you. How is it that you knew that?" Jake asks.
Blushing, she looks at her parents saying "I have been practicing with Gramps since I was young. Reading the lore of our family, they talk of watchers and keepers."

"What!?"
her parents say in unison. "I wanted to learn, to keep our heritage alive. I had no idea what I was getting into, and I believe now more than ever that it was the right thing to do," she tells them stubbornly.

Elina stands and walks over to the fireplace staring up at the stained glass picture. It is a beautiful tree with all the colorful leaves that fill its rich branches. Below the trunk, the roots stream out from beneath and are as long as the branches wh
ich reach towards heaven.

They all listen quietly as Elina begins to speak. "You are indeed a blessed family. You were chosen not only as watchers but protectors of the history. Turning to Daniel she smiles at him, "Daniel for your faith our maker blessed you with many branches on your family tree. Some of your branches are strong, but you also have new growth on your tree; which means news gifts. Heather you were gifted with the ability to not onl
y watch but create new keepers.

"A war is coming, and he is massing his army. To build that army, we need to find more watchers and create new keepers. It is not a task that will be easy. Heather what can you tell me about the stones?" She asks the shocked faces before her.
"What do you mean a war?” Sophia responds panicked. “Look what happened last time and that was only one demon!! I won’t have my family put in any more danger." Sophia yells

“Mom, do you think you can stop this? They are attacking all over the world, look at what happened to me! You can
 pretend this isn’t happening, but I know what held me captive in that cave was evil!” Shaking she advances on her Mother. “I was attacked because of what we are; we cannot hide any longer!”

“I can’t do this, Heather. I won’t lose you!”
she cries fleeing from the room with Scott following her.

Watching her mother leaver, Heather turns and asks the question they are all thinking
, “Who are you Elina?"
"I am the keeper of the light." She says simply, "the first keeper ever created. I was told to reunite the watchers and prepare them for war. I need to see the stones; will you show them to me?"

"Some say knowledge is power, but it is also a magnet for trouble. Are you prepared for the consequences of this knowledge?" Daniel asks them.
"It looks like we have no choice." Seth responds. "I will help you Elina."

Heather goes to the bookcase and removes a false group of books revealing a bag. She removes the bag and replaces the book
, bringing it to her grandfather. Reaching inside he lays each stone in a vertical direction, three per row on the coffee table in front of him. Daniel says "These are the stones of war. They tell of the final battle against the sons of darkness." Roughly the size of a cell phone, each clay stone is intricately carved with Aramaic designs. Vertical lines chiseled in stone separate the ancient text.

"I have spent some time translating the writing but it is difficult. You will notice the dark coloring of the stones,” Heather
continues pointing “that is thought to be from a fire. It is the reason the stones survived, they were baked and hardened in the heat.”

Daniel says "Our people were being persecuted because of their beliefs. All of our scrolls were being destroyed including the table
ts, so the stones were hidden." Elina moves forward to examine the stones. Kneeling down she looks closely, she notices a pattern emerge. "May I?" She asks Daniel gesturing to the stones. "Of course," he replies.

Elina reaches out to pull the stones close and begins to twist and shift them. She continues moving the stones around like pieces of a puzzle. She moves them picking three stones, she turns them horizontally one on top of another. Biting her lip she concentrates as she picks another stone and turns it vertically, placing it at the top right corner. Next she chooses another and lays it beside the vertical stone. The final stone she places horizontally at the bottom of the two vertical stones. Then
she waits. Nothing happens.

It occurs to Elina that sometimes the obvious choice is not the correct choice. Again she reaches her hand out and taking the first stone flips it over. Smiling now, she flips the second horizontal stone from the top left over. Next the only vertical stone that touches two horizontal stones is flipped over. Immediately the stones begin to vibrate and one by one they magnetize pul
ling together with a snap.

A murmur fills the room as everyone begins talking at once. Elina raises her hands and points them away from her freezing everyone in time. She reaches out touching the stone in the top right corner, with the tip of her finger. The Aramaic letters begins to ripple, shift, twist and spin. A bright light fills the room and an image fills the space above the stones. Elina now knows where the first part of the book is; the crystal cave!

Closing her eyes Elina pictures the cave shown to her in her mind and feels her body moving towards it. Opening her eyes she finds herself outside the mouth of the cave. Trepidation fills her mind for she knows she is being hunted. Elina draws her power close to the surface and steps deeper into the cave. Walking through the rocky entrance she feels the presence of the protectors, and notices a light coming from the tunnel ahead. Stooping through a small opening she finds that the cave opens into a larger cavern which is lit from within.

The walls themselves are illuminated and the pictographs show a group of people holding clay jars. Walking towards the wall she is careful not to touch the crystal overlay. Leaning close she sees the people running, holding the jars. They are being attacked by demon looking creatures. The next scene shows five people separating from the group, each holding a clay jar. Following the pictographs around the room she
sees the five running with angels flying over them, their wings are spread protecting them from flying spears.

Fascinated Elina stares at the images before her when a flash of light catches her attention. She watches as a glowing warrior steps from the wall to her right, holding a flaming red sword.

"I am the keeper. I have come for the book, I mean you no harm" she says holding her hands up as she faces the radiant form in front of her. He swings his blazing sword at her and Elina deflects with a shield. The blows continue unabated, he is steadily backing her to the wall. Each blow is stronger than the last. The final blow splinters her shield into thousands of tiny particles, leaving her open to attack. With a kick straight to her chest he sends her flying to the cavern wall. Elina sticks like glue; shocked that her protection failed. She watches as the warrior marches toward her raising his sword over his head. Rolling quickly to the right, she peels the crystal from the cavern wall encasing her body in a thick layer of crystal. Just in time; as his sword glances off her protective shell. Thinking fast she sends herself slipping out of the bottom. Then rolling to the right she comes up with her sword and with no hesitation slices his head from his body.

Breathing hard, she watches stunned as six more warriors step from the cavern walls. They circle her holding their flaming swords high. One warrior points his weapon at her; then bows on one knee offering his sword to Elina. One by one they fall on bended knee; each offering their blade. Elina puts away her weapon and waving her hand over top each sword, she searches for a different energy. Then reaching out she chooses a warrior, accepting the gift he offers. He rises and steps back disappearing into the wall, followed by the others. Elina looks at the sword in her hand; surprised she feels it vibrates, then change into a small wooden ark made completely of redwood. Arks were designed to hold scrolls and this one holds a small scroll made of parchment paper. Removing the wooden end cap she sees a parchment scroll inside. Slipping out the parchment, careful not to damage
it she sees it is sealed with wax and stamped with a small flame. Elina feels a huge sense of relief mixed with wonder. She did it!

Letting out a whoop of joy she closes the ark by replacing the wooden cap back and hugs it to her chest. She found the first part of the book, now what?

Holding tight to the ark, Elina feels his presence before she turns. "Daniel, you should not be here." She tells
 him. In his astral form Daniel is no longer in his wheelchair. His wrinkled eyes are wide with shock and a little fear. Having astral projected into the cave; he watched the battle that unfolded before him in amazement. "I have waited most of my life for a chance to meet the one who would unite our people. The one the stones speak of,” he tells her in a soft voice.

"The stones tell of the final battle Daniel, tell me what else the stones say," she says to him.
"The stones speak of the book that holds the name of all the fallen and the one who will find it; the one who will reunite our people and fight a battle against the sons of darkness. You will see the twin stories printed on the walls in this cave," he responds gesturing to the walls.

Elina turns to walk along the walls again looking at the images depicted through the crystal. With a heavy heart she turns to Daniel. "Who
else knows of the book?"

With excitement in his voice he approaches Elina saying "The book is the key to our freedom Elina! We should be celebrating its return, with the names of the fallen; the war will be over before it ever begins! It's what we have been h
oping for our whole lives."

"If only it were that simple Daniel," she says to him. Frustrated she knows this is only part of the book. A low hum fills her mind, disturbed and worried tells him, "Daniel they are coming,
you have to warn the others."

"I don't understand you have the power to stop them! Use the book!" Daniel says in his grav
elly voice pointing to the ark. With a firm push she sends Daniel back to his body, knowing there is no time to argue.
"Keeeeeper!" he screams as he returns to his chair.

The hum becomes a vibration in her mind and body. Walking to the wall she prays for guidance and hopes this works. She knows they will not stand a chance against a horde of demons and she has to get
the first part of the book to the light. Placing her hand on the crystal wall she pictures the warriors of light in her mind.

"Brothers come to me! Here my call!"
The walls in the cavern activate at her demand, lighting with a brilliant white light, illuminating the cave within. One by one the six warriors step through the crystal wall; encasing themselves in the fractured crystal. Where once they were made of light, now they are faceted warriors ready for battle. Their featureless crystal faces glow with a brilliant white light as they turn to the one who called them.

"Excellent
" Elina says. Channeling her power, she flows the heat to her right hand. Walking up to the massive warrior she says “Blade” holding her hand out. Offering his weapon hilt first, he steps back. Holding the sword in front of her she eases her power into it; mutating it into a demon hunter, capable of trapping souls in its volcanic blade. Looking up into his glowing eye sockets she returns his weapon instructing "Bring me the stones.”

Five more times she duplicates the process giving each a black glass obsidian sword. "Protect the Watchers and Keepers!"
  Elina orders them and waits until they spin in a flash of light running from the cave. Time to return the first part of the book, she thinks as she ports out.