She nodded and Ben jumped to his feet. They heard it again. It was not the gentle rustle and dart of a startled animal they’d heard, but the steadily approaching noise of careless feet.
‘Oh please, no,’ he muttered under his breath.
There was no hiding out here on this snow-dusted frozen bank of shingle and silt. They were trapped. He looked down at the fire, and up at the twisting column of smoke, curling languidly up into the sky.
Stupid. We led Preston right to us.
Mrs Zimmerman came to the same conclusion. ‘Please!’ she called out, ‘William Preston, it’s Ellie Zimmerman here! Please don’t hurt us!’
The noise was increasing, picking up pace.
‘Mr Lambert’s been very kind, caring for us!’ she called out again. ‘He’s been very kind. Please, don’t hurt him!’
They heard the crack of a branch snapping, and briar roughly trampled beneath hasty feet — almost certainly the sound of more than one person moving through the trees towards them.
Ben pulled a branch from the fire, one end smouldering and smoking, and held it before him. Then he caught sight of some movement; a man… two men… weaving their way through coarse undergrowth in the darkness beneath the trees, stooping beneath the low, heavy branches of a squat fir tree, emerging, blinking, into the daylight.
‘Oh God…’ Ben whispered.
CHAPTER 79
Sunday
Sierra Nevada Mountains, California
Shepherd reached into the metal chest and placed his hand gently on the faded cotton sack, feeling the hard metal plates through the perished material. The dents and grooves on their surface reminded him of braille. His fingers tingled as he felt the subtle contours of ornate curls.
This is the language of angels.
He puffed out a cloud of air and felt momentarily dizzy from the exhilaration of it all.
‘You okay, Mr Shepherd?’
Shepherd looked up to see the sturdy outline of Carl squatting beside the shallow ditch.
‘I’m fine, Carl.’
‘This is what you came for?’
Shepherd nodded.
Carl looked over his shoulder at the tents in the distance. ‘I should warn you, the others are stirring now. It’s gone seven.’
Shepherd’s mind was elsewhere. ‘Thank you,’ he answered absent-mindedly, as his fingers gently grasped hold of the threadbare cotton. He delicately lifted the bag out of the chest, warily holding one hand beneath it in case the frail bag ripped and dropped its precious contents.
‘Could you open that for me?’ he said, nodding towards a reinforced aluminium travel case on the ground beside him. Carl flipped the latches on the side and opened it, revealing a layer of black cushioning foam. Shepherd gently rested the tattered cotton sack inside.
‘Can I see?’ asked Carl, studying the bag with a puzzled expression on his face.
Shepherd nodded as he carefully opened the bag to reveal a glimpse of the tablets. They were each roughly the size of a sheet of foolscap — copper sheets, green with corrosion and richly textured with rows of indented glyphs.
‘That’s really the word of God?’ he asked.
‘You sound disappointed.’
‘I guess I expected the word of God to look more…’
‘Important?’
Carl nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘That’s why I know this is genuine, Carl. The Lord speaks with the quietest whisper, not a shrill cry. If this were a shimmering golden tablet, I would be sceptical.’
The man considered that. ‘I guess you’re right.’
Shepherd turned back to the dark metal chest in the ground. Carefully he reached in and pulled out another tattered canvas sack. From within came the soft clink of fragile bones.
‘What’s that?’
‘The remains of an angel, Carl.’
The man looked at him. ‘An… an angel?’
Shepherd smiled. ‘That’s right, a real angel, one of God’s own. These tablets are written in a language that you or I would never understand — the language of angels.’ Shepherd gently placed the sack alongside the other in the case. ‘This angel is called Nephi, and when I’m ready to transcribe these tablets, he’ll appear to me in the flesh and read to me so that I can write it down.’
Carl’s eyes widened. ‘My God, Mr Shepherd,’ he whispered, ‘this.. this is for real, isn’t it?’
Shepherd placed a reassuring hand on his arm. ‘Oh yes, Carl, this is the real deal.’
He closed the lid of the travel case.
Carl glanced back at the tents, leaned forward slightly and whispered. ‘Mr Shepherd, they’re up now.’
Shepherd stretched up to look out of the shallow ditch he’d excavated. He could see Cooke ambling casually towards them across the clearing, yawning out a cloud of breath as he made his way over, and the park ranger, Grace, heading into the trees to forage for some firewood.
You have it now.
Yes.
They are no longer needed.
The voice in his head was just a little louder than earlier, a little more insistent, as if it had emerged from a dark corner at the back of his mind and moved a step or two towards the front. Shepherd hesitated. There was something implied in what it had whispered.
Would that be necessary?
The voice was quiet for a moment.
I have what we both want now. There’s no need for anyone else to die.
Do not be weak.
It’s not weakness. It’s common sense. We don’t need any more bodies, not with what lies ahead for us. You understand the importance of my campaign? The potential to be President… how that can help us spread the new word of God?
There was no reply. Shepherd sensed it stirring, distracted with thought. Perhaps he could argue it round. Is this what God wants? For us to start work on his message with blood freshly on our hands?
Shepherd sensed the simmering heat of anger, disapproval somewhere amongst the dark recesses of his mind.
I wonder, have I chosen wisely?
Yes, you have.
Then do as I say.
Carl was watching him. ‘Mr Shepherd? You okay?’
Shepherd looked up at him, his eyes barely registering the man. He stood up slowly, feeling an ache in his back from having crouched for too long, and watched as Cooke covered the last few yards towards them with a look of growing curiosity on his face.
‘Morning,’ Julian called out, approaching the edge of the ditch. ‘You’ve started already? We’ve not even had breakfast.’
Shepherd offered him a tired smile. ‘Yes… yes, I wanted to.. uh, make a start.’
Julian looked down into the dark trench and spotted the open metal chest. His eyes instantly widened. He
