He laughed grimly. “By choosing him, you taught me that expediency trumps all. I didn’t betray you, Father. You betrayed me. You’re entirely to blame for what happens next.” He threw his gun to the floor. “Maybe I can’t shoot you, but I can still choke the life out of you!”
He lunged forward, but before he could reach the spot where Abraham stood, the spymaster felt a bullet tear through his chest. Then another. Joshua choked on the blood filling his lungs and fell to the ground.
***
Abraham lowered the pocket pistol in his right hand. Almost immediately, his door flew open, and Commander Matthew entered with two other men. “Sir, are you alright?”
Instead of replying, the diviner swayed slightly on his feet.
One of the sentries ran forward and took his gun.
“You should sit down,” the commander urged, trying to guide him to his chair.
The diviner shook him off. “No. I wish to stand.” He gazed down at the body of his dead son and noted the blood pooling around his corpse. “Everything happened just the way you said it would.”
“Yes, sir,” the commander affirmed uncomfortably.
“Are Hannah and Daniel safe?” he asked.
“Yes. Shem and Paul told us what to expect. No harm has come to them.” He paused and cleared his throat. “What do you want to do about the conspirators, Enoch and Lemuel?”
Abraham sighed heavily. “Let them share the fate of the man who led them astray. Execute them tonight then take their bodies to the lab for disposal.” He glanced down at Joshua. “Along with this one.”
The commander opened the door and peered outside before ducking back in. “It’s a wonder that all of this didn’t wake the community.”
“The people are to know nothing of what happened. I’ll tell the families of the condemned men that they have left the compound.”
“You mean that they were excommunicated?” the commander asked.
“Yes. That’s all anybody needs to know.” Abraham rubbed his head wearily. “Now leave me and take this mess with you.”
The two sentries had come prepared for their task. One of them produced a body bag. Joshua’s corpse was zipped inside and carried from the room.
The commander dropped to the floor and rolled up the blood-stained rug. “I’ll dispose of this too,” he offered.
“Come to my office for a debriefing at ten in the morning,” Abraham instructed.
“Yes, sir. Goodnight.”
The diviner stood in the doorframe watching the three men recede down the hall with their ghastly cargo.
While a disaster had been averted, Abraham couldn’t help but think that the devil had won another victory tonight. His own son had betrayed him. Tears streamed down his cheeks unheeded. He dashed them away impatiently and re-entered his quarters, shutting the door behind him.
As he was walking toward his chair, a dark shape loomed up in his path, stopping him dead in his tracks. He blinked, knowing he was wide awake. He hadn’t taken any medicine tonight in anticipation of Joshua’s visit.
“Hello, Father.” He recognized the familiar mocking tone.
This wasn’t happening in his head. He had distinctly heard a female voice with his own ears. “Annabeth!”
“In the flesh,” she replied, reaching out to touch his arm.
He recoiled and staggered backward.
She advanced a few paces. Annabeth was attired as she had been in life. The grey dress and white apron of a consecrated bride, her hair bound neatly around her head. “I told you we’d chat again soon.”
“The devil is behind this!” he exclaimed.
She laughed humorlessly. “It wasn’t the devil who shot your son in the chest.” She put her hands on her hips and wagged her head. “Blame the devil, not yourself. Another son drops from the shelf.”
He lumbered toward his seat, shoving her aside in passing, but she evaporated so that his hand waved through empty air. Abraham sank heavily into his armchair.
A split second later, Annabeth rematerialized, as solid as before. She leaned over him, her hands clamped to his forearms. He felt her weight sinking into the armrests.
“These things come in threes, you know.” She gave a malicious grin. “Two sons fallen, one to go.”
Abraham turned his head aside and shut his eyes. A second later when he opened them, she was gone.
Chapter 49—Cabin in the Sky
In a rural area outside of Tokyo, the first rays of dawn colored the sky. Sunrise signaled the end of a night-long vigil held by two men in a parked car. The driver was using binoculars to scan a paved lane climbing up a wooded hillside. The road terminated in front of a pair of tall iron gates with a familiar Chi-Ro cross insignia. He glanced briefly at his companion who was slumped against the passenger side window, snoring loudly.
The driver snapped to attention as he saw headlights looming behind the gates.
“Hey, wake up!” he jostled his companion.
The passenger coughed and snorted as he sat upright. “What is it?”
“Somebody’s leaving,” the driver informed him.
“Huh?” the passenger was fully awake now. He checked his watch in disbelief. “It’s only four-thirty. We’ve been staking them out for two weeks now, and the Nephilim never scurry out of their rat hole before morning prayers.”
“I know,” the driver agreed ominously. “It’s peculiar.”
The iron gates parted, and a dark sedan eased through them.
The driver raised his night-vision binoculars again to scan the sedan’s interior as it came down the hill. “There’s only one guy inside.”
His companion sat forward. “They usually travel in
