A short pause, a tap on the door. Sam opened the door, Roma's anger was under control, her face no longer nushed. 'You're very sure of your power, aren't you, Sam Balon King?'
'As certain as I can be that my God will protect me against those who serve the Beast.'
Roma turned her head and spoke in a language that Sam did not recognize. When she again faced him, he asked, 'What language was that?'
'Ancient Gallic. I speak all languages known on earth, Sam—and many that have long since vanished.'
'Considering how ancient you must be, I should imagine that would come in handy.'
Roma howled her approval. 'Oh, very good, Sam! Score one point for you. Oh, my, yes. You are a most worthy foe. I have instructed that Howard be moved into a room of his own.' She smiled. 'For all the good it will do Mac. Are you coming to the den?'
Sam glanced at Nydia. She nodded her head, her face pale. 'Yes,' Sam said to the witch.
She vanished in front of his eyes, without a trace.
'Unusual activity tonight,' the astronomer said to his colleague, his partner in sharing the lonely nights searching the Heavens from their earth-bound observatory in California.
'Oh? What type?'
'I … don't know that I can explain it.'
His friend glanced at him. 'Twenty-five years in this business and you give me an answer like that? Come on, Ralph: you can do better.'
'Quick bursts of light; not connected with anything I know about. Strange. Almost … almost … like messages being sent from deep space.'
'You been reading the Bible again, Ralph?' his friend asked, not unkindly, but with a slight sarcastic tone to his voice. It was something his partner had grown used to years before.
'I read the Bible every day, Glenn.'
Glenn rose from behind his desk and climbed up the ladder to the huge telescope, actually a series of scopes, each amplifying the other, boosting the power to tremendous dimensions. The agnostic watched the Heavens for a few moments, pausing only to check his computations against those of his friend. They matched perfectly, verifying the location of the supposed sighting.
'Nothing, Ralph. You've been working too hard, that's all.
Ralph said nothing in reply.
'Did you shoot film?'
'You know I did.' The reply was softly stated.
'Well … let's develop it.'
But Ralph was strangely reluctant to do that, and that only peaked his colleague's curiosity even further. And when questioned, he would only shake his head.
'All right, Ralph.' Glenn sat beside his friend. 'Come on, give. We've been friends too long for this silent act.'
Ralph looked at his friend and coworker for many, many years. Looked at him closely. Unlike Glenn, Ralph was a Christian—or tried to be—and he believed in the big bang theory about as much as he believed a duck could shit gold dust. 'There won't be anything on the film,' he finally said.
'Why?'
'Because what I saw can't be—won't be—filmed, that's why. So let's change the subject. Get some coffee.'
Glenn put out a restraining hand. 'I won't kid about your belief in God, Ralph. I can sense this is not the time. And I believe you did see something, and I stress 'something.' It will not go any further than this platform. I give my word. Now what did you see?'
Ralph's eyes appeared deep-sunk in his skull, and his face was pale. He ran nervous fingers through thinning hair. 'I … saw the face of God.'
Glenn sat quietly for a moment. 'All right, Ralph. Is that all? What else? What did He look like?'
'Angry. Concerned. Worried. And … awesome. Oh … did He look awesome. Breathtaking.'
'In human form?'
'In a … manner of speaking.'
'What was He doing? Just skipping around the sky? And I don't mean that in an ugly way.'
'He … was meeting with someone … something. Another being.'
'Ralph! Have you lost your mind? Are you serious about this?'
'Yes, I'm serious. He … was … well, it looked like … He had intercepted someone … something. A being, like I said. I've never seen anything like it. Glenn … it was … terrible. It was beautiful, wrathful. I hate to be redundant, but it was awesome.'
'Explain awesome.'
'I … don't know that I can. The figure was … holding something in one … mighty hand. It … oh, don't think me nuts, Glenn … looked like a sword or big knife. The figure appeared … I don't know. Exalted, I guess.'
Glenn had worked with his friend for too many years to think he was pulling his leg, and to not take him
