Confronting the Fallen (13 page)

Chris
just held on to Eliza for a few minutes, then he pulled back and
stared into her huge brown eyes.

“
Well,
Eliza, I'm about to do the test,” he whispered. He had started
telling her about his feelings ever since he had arrived. She always
listened even if he knew she didn't understand. But she didn't judge
and she was a very good listener.

Finally
Chris stood up, gave Eliza one last pat and waved to the pack. They
woofed back at him in their deep voices and headed off to patrol.
Chris turned, nodded at Mr. McKenna and went back inside.

His
phone told him that he only had ten minutes before he was due in the
judge's office, so Chris began to make his way there, slowly. He
couldn't understand his own reluctance to submit to this test,
whatever it was. Everyone assured him that it was easy and that he
couldn't fail, so what was his problem? He only knew that somewhere
deep inside, part of him was trying to run in the opposite direction.

Finally,
Chris was standing outside of the judge's office. This is it, he
thought. With a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

“
Come
in,” he heard the judge call out and Chris entered the office.

Judge
Hawkes was sitting behind his desk as usual, but instead of tapping
on his cell, he was writing in a notebook. He glanced up, smiled at
Chris and waved him toward a chair.

“
Have
a seat, Christopher,” the judge said. “I'll be right with
you.”

Chris
sat down and looked around the room. There was no sign of the
mysterious Anna. There were no unusual machines, stacks of papers or
indeed anything different from the last time he had visited the
office. Finally he sat back and watched as the judge scribbled into
his book.

After
a few minutes, the judge sighed, put down his pen and sat back. He
looked at Chris.

“
Forgive
me. I wanted to get that down while it was fresh in my mind. Now,
here we are.”

“
Yes
sir. Here we are.” Chris just repeated the statement and
waited. The judge looked faintly amused.

“
You
are, of course, wondering what comes next,” he said. “Well,
I can tell you that Anna arrived earlier today. She will be in
shortly. Before she gets here, I'd like to tell you something about
her.” The judge sat back and looked off into the distance.

“
Anna
is quite special,” he continued. “She is a very wise
woman, a revered person to her people.”

“
Her
people?” Chris asked, wondering what that meant.

“
Yes.
Anna is a member of the Algonquin tribe, a group of native people who
have lived in this province for many centuries. She's not exactly a
shaman, not really a religious leader. But she is very highly thought
of.” He looked at Chris intently. “I'm sure I don't have
to tell you this, Christopher, but please be respectful around her.
As I've said, she's very special.”

“
No
worries, sir. I will be. But why is she going to be the one to give
me the test?” Chris couldn't understand the need to be tested
by some religious person. “I mean, I'm a lot like my Dad when
it comes to religion. Agnostic, I think.”

Judge
Hawkes chuckled. “Your religious beliefs aren't at issue,
Christopher. I'll have to let Anna explain the reasoning behind our
using religious leaders as testers. But I'm sure you've figured out
that it has to do with our belief that angelic souls are being born
into this world for the first time.”

“
Yeah,
I thought as much.” Chris sighed in confused resignation.
“There's a lot going on here that I don't understand, your
honor. Like why I keep running into some of the teens living here
outside at night. Patrolling apparently. Patrolling for what? Why?”

The
judge nodded but didn't reply.

“
And
all the religious paintings around here. Your mention of a coming
“apocalypse”. Really sir? The apocalypse? I mean, what
are you people really doing? That's what I need to know.” He
looked soberly at the judge. “And soon,” he added.

“
Yes,
of course you do. I think that, after tonight, you will have your
answers, Christopher. Or at least enough of them to make up your mind
about us, one way or another.”

There
was a sudden knock on the door and Chris jumped slightly.

“
Come
in please,” the judge called. The door opened and Martin stuck
his head in the room.

“
They're
here, your honor,” he said respectfully.

“
Thank
you, Martin. Send them in, please.”

“
Yes
sir,” Martin replied and ducked out again. The judge turned to
look at Chris.

“
Now,
I will be leaving you in a moment, Christopher. Remember, just be
yourself with Anna. Be honest and everything will be fine. Okay?”

“
Yes
sir,” Chris said in a quiet voice. He suddenly had a knot in
his stomach and he found himself clenching and unclenching his hands,
as if he was preparing to fight or run. What's wrong with me, he
thought in exasperation. Just relax!

The
door opened again and Judge Hawkes stood up immediately. Chris rose
more slowly and stared with complete surprise at the two people
entering the room.

The
first person through the door had to be Anna, but she was nothing
like Chris had pictured her. For one thing, she looked like she was
incredibly old. Her hair was snow white and hung in two braids
forward over her chest. She was wearing a plain brown, robe-like
dress and had several necklaces made of beads around her neck. The
knuckle-joints of her hands were swollen and inflamed and Chris
assumed she had arthritis. Her eyes were cloudy and vague looking and
he wondered if she had cataracts.

But
the even bigger surprise was that she was sitting in a wheelchair
that was being pushed by one of the largest men that Chris had ever
seen.

The
native man had long straight black hair that cascaded down his back
and chest. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a black tie,
indistinguishable from any other business man. But Chris guessed that
he had to be at least six and a half feet tall and was heavily
muscled.

His
face was smooth with a high forehead and heavy brows. His expression
was calm and he watched his charge intently as he pushed her
wheelchair into the room.

“
Good
evening, Anna,” the judge said as he walked around his desk and
stood before her. He knelt down on one knee and took both of her
hands in his. Chris noticed that she had a small, black, wooden box
sitting on her lap that she was using to rest her arms on.

“
Ethan,
my dear friend,” she replied. Chris was surprised to hear her
voice, which was strong and clear and very much at odds with her
appearance of fragility. “I came as soon as I could. I hope you
did not become too impatient with me.”

Judge
Hawkes laughed gently. “I would never become impatient with
you, Anna. We are honored that you chose to attend this evening.”

Anna
smiled and looked over at Chris. If she did have cataracts, it didn't
stop her from fixing him with a piercing gaze. “For this young
man, I would have traveled much further than I have.”

The
judge nodded and turned to Chris. “Come over, Christopher.
Allow me to introduce my old friend, Anna. She's been called Moon
Sister by some of her people, but she prefers Anna.”

Chris
approached the old woman. He was short enough that he did not look
down on her too much, so he felt no need to kneel like the judge had.
Anna extended her hand and shook Chris' firmly.

“
It
is my great pleasure to meet you, young man,” she said warmly.

“
Thanks,”
Chris answered awkwardly. “Nice to meet you too.”

Anna
looked over her shoulder at her assistant.

“
Johnny,
why don't you and Ethan step out into the hallway for a few minutes.
Christopher and I have some business to attend to.”

The
large man nodded once. “Of course, grandmother,” he said
in a deep, solemn voice. “Your honor?”

The
judge smiled reassuringly at Chris. “Coming, John,” he
said and started walking to the door.

“
We'll
be locking the door behind you two, so don't be alarmed when you hear
the bolt click,” Anna said. “We don't want to be
interrupted.” She looked directly at her grandson who stopped
and stared at her. He looked doubtful.

“
Are
you sure, grandmother? Your safety...”

“
Oh,
that for my safety,” Anna replied as she snapped her fingers,
arthritic though they were. “Do you honestly think that this
young man is a threat to me? Or anyone?”

Chris
was watching the interchange with some confusion. Why would Anna's
grandson be worried about her safety, especially from him? He knew
how small and nonthreatening he was. He hated it, but he knew.

With
a heavy, slightly dramatic sigh, Johnny nodded heavily. “You
know best, grandmother,” he said and left the room. The judge
winked at Anna who laughed silently and then he followed the large
man from the room.

“
Lock
the door, would you please?” Anna asked Chris. He nodded,
walked over and turned the heavy bolt. It made a loud snapping sound.

“
Now,
come over and take a seat, Christopher. Let's not stand on ceremony.”

Chris
sat down and Anna rolled her chair over until she was positioned
across from him, about four feet away. At this distance, Chris
thought he smelled something like flowers and woodsmoke in equal
measure. He liked it. She smiled reassuringly.

“
Don't
be nervous, young man. This so-called test is quite simple. Now, I'm
sure that Ethan has mentioned why we are all gathered together here
in this house, correct?”

“
Yes,
ma'am,” Chris said. He was more than a little intimidated by
this old woman. She had an air of command that he hadn't encountered
before, even with the judge. But he also trusted her instinctively.
And he'd come to trust his instincts on the street. They had saved
him more than once in the last few years.

“
He
mentioned angel souls? And the end of the world. It's all a bit
confusing, and hard to believe.”

“
Yes,
of course it would be.” Anna settled herself slightly in her
chair and pushed the box on her lap forward slightly so that she
could rest her arms on it comfortably. Chris glanced at the box and
then at Anna, who smiled. “Yes, the box is important,
Christopher. But ignore it for the moment.” She paused as if
gathering her thoughts. “Ethan and his ancestors aren't the
only ones who can read signs. My people, and others around the world,
have been seeing portents of the coming storm for generations. I tell
you this in the hopes that you will understand that this is not some
oddball belief by a small group of people. Rather, it is well-known,
widespread and expected.”

Chris
was taken aback by Anna's intense tone. She really believes this
stuff, he thought. Her rheumy eyes were fixed on his with an
razor-sharp look that the cataracts could not contain.

“
Okay,
I understand that you and the judge and, I guess, a bunch of other
people think that the end of the world is coming. I dunno if that's
true but fine. But angels being born inside humans? Why would you
believe that? And why would they be?”

Anna
smiled again. “Good questions, young man. I appreciate your
intelligence. I think I like you, Christopher Wright.”

Her
bald statement caught Chris off-guard. “Um, thanks?” he
replied feebly. Anna laughed heartily, sounding much younger and
stronger than she appeared.

“
You
are welcome, Christopher. I don't like many people, at least not
until I get to know them well. But you? Yes, I like you. Now, the
reason that angels, or spirits if you wish to call them that, are
coming into the mortal plane is a very deep question. It is one that
has garnered much talk amongst those of us who believe in the signs
and portents.” She settled back into her chair again, sighing
deeply. “My belief, and I think that Ethan feels as I do, is
that we have reached a tipping point in the war between good and
evil.”

“
Tipping
point? I don't understand.”

“
The
concept is simple enough, Christopher. Good and evil have fought over
the souls of mankind since the beginning. Evil wishes to enslave and
reap the souls of humanity. Good has fought back, trying to maintain
a balance that allows humans to choose their own path, no matter
where it leads. We believe that evil now has the upper hand. They
have tipped the balance, so to speak, and are ready for all out war.”

Chris
gaped at Anna. All out war? So that's why they kept talking about
Armageddon. But why would they think that would happen now? He asked
Anna that question.