Sinner (46 page)
Then the demon's clackers fell as well, and the scream died in Billy's throat.
The teeth landed in the pile of ash, one at a time,
plop-plop-plop-plop
. Like bullets. A muted drum roll that announced the end of Marsuvees Black.
He was finished.
Dead by Billy.
Dead by the light.
Darcy was sure that this time he was gone forever.
Billy opened his eyes and faced them all. Johnny looked slowly over the forms that lay around their feet. Kelly, his lover. Kat, this young disciple who'd given her life to save theirs. Surely the pain in his chest would tear any lesser man in two.
They stared at each other, all three of them, stunned by the light's display of power, broken by the price paid.
“The bomb,” Darcy said.
Johnny moved fast, scooping up Katrina Kivi's body in both arms.
“Run for the overlook.”
Darcy could hear the roar of engines high above. For all they knew the bomb was already in the air . . .
“Run!” she cried.
And they ran.
Day Twenty-Two
DARCY STOOD between two large pine trees at the cliff 's edge staring down at what had been Paradise,Colorado, just last evening. The blast had gutted half of the town, smashing everything from the Episcopal church to Smither's Barbeque into blackened splinters. Most of the wreckage was still on fire, and the orchards were incinerated from the edge of the blast radius to the ridge line. The concussion from the detonation had stripped the trees above them.
And when they'd climbed high enough to clear the trees that blocked their vantage, the town was nothing but raging fires in the night.
Paradise was lost.
Johnny, Billy, and Darcy had spent the night in the cabin, where young Katrina's body still lay on an old bed covered by a blanket. Johnny had lain beside her and cried himself to sleep.
They woke early and worked their way down to this white cliff edged by stubborn pines overlooking the entire valley.
The burnt-out husks of several vehicles lay on their sides like tossed toy cars. Flames had swept through the houses that surrounded the main town before finally petering out near the trees. Some of the buildings still stood at the extremities of the town, and some walls had survived the blast, but nothing was worthy of more than a bulldozer.
Three large green army helicopters sat on the black lawn where Marsuvees Black had killed Kelly last night. Twenty or thirty troops were picking through the smoldering ruins, presumably looking for bodies.
It's a nightmare
, Darcy thought.
I'm going to wake up now because this
is all just a nightmare.
“It's my doing,” Billy said next to her.
She looked at him, reminded that this was not a nightmare.“No, Billy, it's our doing. Yours and mine.”
“No,” Johnny said. “Black did this. And you killed him, Billy.”
They stared in silence for a long minute. They'd already decided what to do, but standing over the scene now, their plans felt pointless. What was done was done.
“Do you think anyone was hurt?” Billy asked.
Yes, of course, that was the question on all of their minds.
Darcy took out her cell phone. Flipped it open. “We'll know soon enough.”
“The Net will ultimately say the government did what it had to do,”
Johnny said. “And the world will remember Paradise as a tragic but unavoidable step on the path to global harmony.”
Darcy turned away from the valley. “All in the name of tolerance.”
“When you enforce tolerance it's natural to be intolerant of those who stand against you,” Johnny said. “Someone has to be intolerant of the Hitlers and Stalins of the world. I don't blame them for that. They're just doing what they think is right.”
Darcy cringed at the words.
They
had been her and Billy, not some face-less government.
“So. Christians are now criminals . . .”
“It's not about a religion.” Johnny looked at Darcy. “Is it?”
Despite an initial backlash against the National Tolerance Act from all the expected quarters, it was supported on the Net by a strong majority. And that was the Pandora's box Darcy and Billy had now opened.
She swallowed.“No. It's about Jesus, who had the audacity to stand on a hill and say, âI am the Way, and no one will find their way into the kingdom without me, and without me you will be condemned to hell.' The majority of the world now believes that's hate speech.”
Darcy hit the speed dial on her phone. “But he's love, not hate.”
The phone rang twice before Annie Ruling answered.
“Darcy?” Annie sounded surprised.
“Hello, Annie.”
“Hold on.” Darcy could hear her tell someone that she needed to take this call, and then she was back.
“You're alive.”
“More than you know,” Darcy said. “You thought I was dead?”
“Well . . . we had our doubts. Where in the world have you been? Do you have any idea what kind of mess this has all become?”
“Actually I was hoping you could tell me.”
“What do you know?”
“I know that Paradise was incinerated last night. What I don't know is if anyone was hurt in the blast.”
“One dead that we know of. They were apparently warned. By you?”
“By Billy and me.”
The phone felt heavy in Darcy's hand.
“So . . .”
“So,” Darcy agreed.
“You're not telling me that the reports are accurate.”
“If they're saying that Billy and I have seen the light and joined Johnny, then yes, the reports are accurate. We all survived the blast. Brian Kinnardâor should I say Marsuvees Black?âkilled Katrina Kivi. We have her body with us.”
Annie Ruling remained silent. Her world had just become rather more complicated. She had to choose her words carefully, Darcy knew. What Johnny, Darcy, and Billy could do as a team was hardy thinkable. Clearly Annie didn't want them as enemies.
“And Kinnard?”
“He's dead,” Darcy said.
“We haven't recovered a body.”
“You won't. Is any word of the attack on the Net?”
“A few images, nothing except for some footage that appears to be the faithful whipped up into a frenzy. Some footage taken during the deto-nation, nothing that changes anything if that's what you're asking. The spin is all in our favor.”
As they'd predicted.
“I was wrong, Annie. Just so you know, I was wrong.”
“I don't think so, but it's moot at this point, isn't it?”
“We have a deal for you.”
“I'm listening.”
“You owe Billy and me a favor. You may not feel obligated to honor your promise to me, but I did deliver what you asked, and you do owe me.”
“Go on.”
“No one knows if Johnny, Billy, or I survived the attack. Let the world think we're dead. And don't come after us. It's better that way for now.”
“For now?”
“Paradise,” Johnny said, as a reminder.
She nodded at Johnny, who was watching her from behind his sun-glasses. “Rebuild Paradise from the ground. Pay damages to the tune of a million dollars to each resident.”
A pause. “And in exchange?”
“I'm not finished. Drop any case against anyone who participated in this debacle. The three thousand go home peacefully. If any lost their cars, buy them new ones.”
“And?”
“And in exchange we will consider your obligation to us met, and we will agree not to undermine this administration or any of those on the council. You do realize that we could bring any individual down quite easily.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, just making sure you realize we aren't powerless. Does this work, or do I have to come out there and speak more frankly with you?”
Annie chuckled on the other end.
“I'll have to make some callsâ”
“No, I want this agreed to now. You promised me far more.”
“You step foot back in Washington and the deal is off.”
“Agreed,” Darcy said. “And Katrina Kivi's mother gets a federal stipend of five hundred thousand dollars to help with her daughter's funeral.”
Annie was silent.
“Agreed?”
“Fine.”
“I want to verify all of this.”
“You're sure you want to do this, Darcy? We could have done so much together, you and I.”
“We could have. But I'm seeing things differently today. It was fine working with you, Annie.”
“And you, Darcy.”
“I hope we don't cross paths again. It could be a problem.”
“I understand.”
“Good-bye, Annie.” She hung up.
“So she agreed, I take it?” Billy asked.
Darcy took his hand in hers. He was the sinner but then so was she, and no less guilty than he. She would love him and cover a multitude of his sins, because she liked Billy very much.
No, she loved him.
Darcy squeezed his hand. “She agreed.”
“How many do you think there are?” Billy asked, facing the burnt-out valley.
“How many of what?”
“Kinnards. Kellys.Makes you wonder if one of them has a 666 stamped on the crown of his head.”
“There are three fewer than yesterday,” Johnny said, turning with him.
They let the statement stand.
Darcy sighed. “Now what?”
“Now we run for the hills,” Johnny said. “We run for the hills and we pray that the end will come quickly.”
THE END
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,
and you will be hated by all people because of me.
At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray
and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive
many people.
The love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end
will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom of light will be
declared in the whole world as a testimony to all.
And then the end will come.
MATTHEW 24:9â14
To dive deeper into how
the themes and issues in
Sinner
are unfolding in our world today, visit
Teddekker.com and click on the
“Free Speech” link.
The view from my therapist's window is unremarkable. Four stories down, the parking lot blacktop ripples under waves of Texas's blazing summer heat. I stand here facing the view because it's easier to look at than the two men in the office behind me. There is dear Dr. Avers, the wisest old soul I have ever met. He might be eight)', judging by that wrinkled cocoa skin and his head of hair whiter than cotton, but he's agile as a fifty-year-old. My beloved brother, Rudy, is also here. He has kept me tethered to my sanity in ways that should earn him sainthood.
Rudy comes to these sessions because he knows I need him to.
I comeâhave been coming for weeks nowâbecause I am trying to put the past behind me.
But today I am here because tonight 1 will see my father for the first time in five months. My encounters with Landon are hard enough in the best of circumstances. They always end the same, with flaring tempers and harsh words and fresh wounds. But tonight, I must confront Landon. Not about my past, but about his future.
Yes, I call my father by his first name. The distance it creates between us helps to dull my pain.
"So your dilemma," Dr. Aycrs says to my back, "is that you fear the consequences of confronting him could be worse than the consequences of staying silent.
I nod ai the pane of glass. "Of course, I'd rather avoid everything. Even Rudy thinks I should wait until I know . . . more. But if I'm right, and I don't speak up now . . ." Why am I here? I have made a mountain out of a molehill and am wasting everyone's time. I should drop this. "Landon probably won't even listen to me. Not the way he listens to you, Rude."