“Alex, you have been one of my greatest challenges and accomplishments. Yes, I am an archangel, but I am also a brother to you, just as our Lord is a father to both of us. It has been an honor to help raise and train you. Never doubt that. You have a part in all of this as well to play. The path is not certain, and it will be arduous to walk. Just remember to take with you what you have learned and the way will be clear.”
Alex looks away and stares at a butterfly on a wild flower, lost in thought about what lies ahead he feels Elina call to him.
“Alex, we need to talk.”
With a look at Nameed they both turn back to walk to where Elina is standing outside of the hut she was in. Although she is fully healed, she is still favoring her leg when she walks up to them.
Alex scans her body and notes that her shoulder has been healed and she has a fresh shirt on.
“You look a lot better than you did a while ago. I think I have seen dead bodies with more color to them than you had when Malach brought you here. Think you played it close enough?” His fear and worry for his sister drifts to her.
With a knowing chuckle she steps in for a hug wrapping her arms around his waist. He has grown so tall her head fits perfectly under his chin and she savors the sound of his heartbeat for a moment before looking up with a laugh.
“I am just glad to be here. I needed to make sure the Mocker truly believed he had the real scroll. We needed time to make it here to finish this.” She steps away from her brother and feels Malach walk up behind the small group.
With a tender touch he lays his hands on her shoulders, and she feels the warmth and love in them. She leans back with a sigh, feeling his warmth against her back.
“Why here?” Alex asks, looking around at the trees and brush as Makaio, Loe, Jake and the other arch’s join them.
Elina smiles a sad smile at him, “Because it needs to end, where it began.”
“The Ketuwah is always here for this is holy ground. One of the chosen tribes lived here; our tribe. The Ketuwah is always with us, in our spirits and our souls. We were chosen to carry the knowledge of the scrolls, to protect it, to prevent it from falling to the dark powers that want to corrupt and conquer. This is what we have fought for so long. To protect those who do not know or see the evil around them. By bringing the scrolls together, it can be finished and this dark angel can be thrown into the depths of Hell to be locked away forever. This is the final battleground.”
She looks at the gathered group of warriors around her, seeing them for the hero’s that they are. Though battered and bruised, they stand tall and proud with righteous passion in their eyes. They will not fail her or humanity.
“We will need to prepare for what is coming. I have a plan that is already set in motion…”
Malach looks down at the beautiful woman standing in front of him and her voice fades as he remembers the scared young girl he once knew and wonders at the woman she has become.
Elina feels Malach’s emotion before his thoughts reach her. Her own feelings coloring her cheeks as she turns away. Her eyes meet Simeon’s. “For you I have a special request, Simeon.”
Simeon is drawn away from his own thoughts of the human female he left behind to focus on Elina, “Whatever you need Keeper. We are here to serve.”
With quick images from her mind, Elina fills Simeon in on his part of the plan.
He looks around in concern at the group gathered in front of him and nods his understanding to Elina. “It will be done. I will be watching for your signal.” Turning, he pushes his great body into the air and is gone in a rush of wind.
Elina looks around at the remaining faces and brushes her hair out of her face from Simeon’s departure. Quickly she runs through the plan one more time.
“Does everyone understand their part to play? The Mocker will be figuring out his mistake soon and will seek retribution against us all. I would take the time we have to tend to yourselves and ready your weapons for battle.”
With the group breaking up and preparing in their own way, Elina walks over to Alex.
“Alex, can I see the pen you and Nameed retrieved?”
Alex reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a silk wrapped wooden box. He can feel the power emanating from the humble package.
“Odd, isn’t it Elina that something so powerful would be hidden by such simplicity?” With a heavy heart he slowly hands the artifact over to his sister.
Elina’s thoughts are jumbled as she wraps her hand around the offered box. “This is it! We are so close! My task is almost completed!” All of this and more runs through her mind in a second.
When the skin of her hand contacts the box, all of her thoughts stop. A vision takes her and time stops as she sees her death. The Ketuwah is ablaze beckoning to her and every step she takes causes her skin to burn. The tattoos beneath her skin begin to sing with holy light, heralding the end to the evil against them.
She understands with a grim finality that all of this will end in her
