My gaze went back to the dark stranger. Now that I was sitting up in the bed, I could see that he wore a long black duster, underneath it the gleam of a sword handle winked at me.
Oh My God! Who was this guy…?
“I am the Qoheleth, nothing more, nothing less…but everybody calls me The Preacher.”
I nodded, surprised that I didn’t feel any fear of this man, who I doubted was a man at all.
“I’ve come to wake you and to commend you.”
“Commend me? For what?”
“The wise words you told your husband. It is true that he and his siblings have work to do. They have been chosen to help mankind, but not in the way they always thought.”
I frowned. “Siblings? Jo is an only child.”
The Preacher shook his head. “Jo is one of five children. Each born to be warriors in a very special army.”
I gasped. “Are you talking about his alter?” I whispered.
Again he shook his head. “In the coming years, Jo, like the rest of his siblings will come to learn that the alters are standing in the way of true power. They will find that some demons are harder to defeat than others.”
He reached down and took my hand. “You, daughter of Sarah are a precious gift, given to calm a raging storm. You see, every warrior needs to know that after the battle, calm awaits them.”
For some reason, his words caused tears to come to my eyes. He reached up and dried them.
“You will be alright, dear one. You, and the little warrior you carry deep in your womb. A time is coming where life as you know it will change drastically. There is a thin, almost nonexistent line between normal and paranormal. Some people live and die without ever knowing the difference. You, my child, are not one of those. Be brave, little one, continue to have unwavering faith in the Ancient of Days…He knows your works. He hears all your thoughts. He will send you the Helper.”
He smiled at me one more time before he began to walk out of the room.
“Wait!” I called after him.
He paused and turned back to face me. As he did, the long duster swept across his powerful legs, I wasn’t surprised to see that on his feet was a pair of black cowboy boots, spurs and all.
“Will I ever see you again?”
He nodded, but there was a sadness in his eyes. “You will, daughter. But the world will be on fire when you do.” And after that, he was gone.
Joseph
Rome and I had made it back to my father’s office on the Hill. We were here because he said that he needed a secure place to show me the things he’d found. And my father’s office was the most secure. I told him that we had about an hour before someone tried to contact me about my dead parents. Or shall I say the people pretending to be my parents.
Rome sat on the couch in the office opening his laptop on the table in front of him. I paced back and forward as I tried to search inside of me for one shred of guilt over what I’d just done.
There was none…
Not an ounce…
I rubbed the back of my neck. Every time my personality changed, I felt like it killed more and more of what made me human. How long before I didn’t change back to Joseph? How long before I became the monster that lived inside of me?
“Alright, buddy, you might want to have a seat to listen to what I’m about to tell you.”
I paused in my pacing looking down at Rome. This had to be bad if he was speaking to me in such a placating tone.
I shook my head. “Naw, I’d rather stand.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself. Okay, so you obviously know that those wasn’t your parents?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I figured that out along the way.”
He chuckled, but he still seemed uncomfortable about what he was getting ready to say. His russet gaze rose to my face.
“Jo, you’re a triplet.”
“What?!”
“When you were born, there were two other boys born with you.” He spoke as if he was talking to a mentally unstable individual.
What was it about this kid that constantly made me want to choke the life out him?
“I know what a damn triplet is, man!” I growled.
He shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know that you do, you looked confused.”
“Get on with it, will you?”
“You also have an older brother and a younger sister.”
I eased down in the chair across from him. “How is this possible?”
“James Bennet Law is your real father. He enrolled in the United States Army in 69’ during Nam.” Rome shook his head.
“In our government’s never ending quest to achieve the super soldier, they were allowing all kinds of sick sh*t to happen to some of the soldiers. James Bennet Law and Albert were best friends. Both of them had been taken and their minds experimented on.”
“Albert? So he knows my father?”
“I doubt he remembers much. The doctor really did a number with his head. Without his knowledge, he was hypnotized or some sh*t and then sent in to handle you for your handlers. He just thought he was taking a job as your driver. In reality, they needed someone that was skilled in combat to calm you down should you lose it. Which is why the first thing I need to do is break up whatever that is he thinks he has with my mother.”
I didn’t rise to the bait, Albert could handle himself.
“Who is this doctor?” He typed something on the computer.
“Thus lies the mystery whose answer keeps evading me. I can’t find anything on the man that experimented on them. Only that he
