Judgment (The Alternate Earth Series, Book 3) (23 page)

My gaze is drawn to the right, some distance away. I see Lucifer standing there, watching us. I’m not sure how much of what transpired he witnessed, but I hope he appreciates what he just saw Gabe do. Maybe it’ll make an impression on him in some small way, but I know that’s just wishful thinking on my part.

As my eyes are drawn upward, the world bears witness to the destruction of what’s left of the moon as it touches the Earth’s Roche Limit and begins its slow disintegration. It’s a phenomenon that will forever mark this world with a ring made from the remnants of our closest celestial neighbor.

I hear JoJo and Leah begin to weep behind me, but, for some reason, I simply feel empty of tears.

After all the fighting and turmoil we’ve had to endure in this reality, it seems fitting that the end of the conflict was produced by a simple act of love. Gabe not only gave up his life to save what was left of this world, but he also sacrificed himself so that the rest of us could go back home.

“We’ll make sure that what Gabe did is known to everyone still living,” Nina promises me, looking up at the rapidly-forming ring from the moon’s swift disintegration. “In fact, we’ll name the ring after him. What was Gabe’s last name?”

“Kinlan,” I tell her.

“Then that’s what we’ll call it,” Nina says, looking back up into the sky. “The Kinlan Ring.”

I look down at Ravan, slowly taking my sword away from her throat.

“What do we do with her?” I ask to no one in particular.

“She needs to stand trial for her crimes,” Nina tells me. “I’ll take her back down to the graviton cage until we’re ready to make her pay for what she did.”

“You won’t be able to kill her,” I tell Nina, feeling conflicted by what I’m about to say next. “Then you run the risk of martyring her.”

“We’ll find a way to make her pay,” Nina promises me, “even if it’s just by keeping her locked up for the rest of her life. At least she won’t be able to produce another child to transfer her soul into. She’ll finally die like any other human.”

Ravan hotly protests Nina’s idea of justice through her gag.

“I would hate to be the one who has to take care of her for the rest of her life though,” I say, pitying this unknown person greatly.

“We may have to take turns,” Nina replies dismally.

I look up at Nina and say, “Maybe you won’t have to.”

Nina looks perplexed. “What do you mean?”

I glance over my shoulder at Rafe before looking back at her. “Do you love Rafe?”

Without hesitation, Nina says, “You know I do.”

“Then come back home with us.”

“What if my father doesn’t want me to do that?”

“But what if he does?” I ask. “You won’t know unless you try, Nina. When we’re ready to go back home, we’ll try to take you with us. We won’t know if it’ll work or not until then. I’m hoping at least one good thing will come from all the pain we’ve suffered through here. I think God owes us at least one happy ending.”

Nina’s face fills with hope for her future, but I see the shade of cautious optimism being pulled down until she knows for certain what her fate is meant to be.

After Nina takes Ravan back to her prison cell in the castle, the rest of us gather together in the library, to not only mourn the passing of our friend but to also celebrate his life and what he meant to us. We know that death is simply a rite of passage that we all have to make one day, and that we will reunite in Heaven eventually. However, for those of us who remain in the living world, we know our work is far from finished. The likelihood that this is the last mission we’ll ever be sent on is very small. However, I do pray this will be the last one we actually have to traverse realities in order to accomplish.

I want to go back home, and I know the rest of my friends are ready to go, too.

We quickly pack up our few belongings from this world and say our goodbyes to those we have grown close to during our time here.

Everyone gathers outside the castle so we can view the finished Kinlan Ring before we leave. It’s a remarkable sight to behold, and I know Gabe would have felt proud to have such a marvel named after him.

“I’m not sure there will ever be a way we can thank you enough for what you did for us… for our world,” Brand tells us, shaking hands with Mason and me. “We wouldn’t be standing here now if you hadn’t come back to help us.”

“We will do our best to rebuild our nations in your honor,” Jai Lin promises. “It will take a great deal of time and hard work, but I believe we can do it.”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way,” I tell Jai Lin, giving the petite Empress of China a hug.

Jai Lin stands proudly by Brand’s side. He places an arm over her shoulders, and I know the two of them will find a way to make this broken world whole again.

“Jess!” I look back up to the castle and see Carrig, Desmond’s son, and Abby walking out of the front door.

Carrig walks up to me and hands me a small, black USB drive. “I made that video for the Desmond in your reality. You don’t think it’ll upset him to see me, do you?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. I think he’ll appreciate knowing how his son would have turned out. Thank you for doing this for him.”

“Thank you for coming here and saving us,” Carrig says, giving me a hug.

“And tell your Abby how lucky she is to have all those kids running around,” Brand’s daughter tells me, also giving me a hug. “Maybe I’ll be that lucky one day.”

“I’ll have a talk with God about that,” I promise, not seeing why this reality’s Watchers and their children shouldn’t be given the same opportunities as ours. If God was waiting for them to prove to themselves that they were worthy of forgiveness, I don’t see why the events of the past few weeks wouldn’t be enough to do just that.

As we continue to say goodbye to our new friends in this world, I can’t help but notice Josh having what looks like a serious conversation with Leah. By the end of it, she gives him a hug, and he kisses her on a cheek before she joins the others vessels as they form a circle.

“Where’s Xavier?” I ask Brand.

“He thought you would want to keep things small and intimate for your departure.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Yes. Do you want me to get him for you?”

“Yes, please.”

Brand phases, and returns with Xavier by his side a few seconds later.

“Couldn’t leave without seeing me one more time, eh?” Xavier says cheekily.

“That, and to give you this,” I tell him, handing him the sword we found in this world’s Eden.

Xavier looks at the sword, then up at me again. “Why are you giving Jophiel’s sword to me?”

“My gut tells me it’s meant for you to use and protect. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the flame is the same color as the Heaven’s Fire Leah and I produce. Since Gabe reopened the connection to Heaven, I think it’s meant to be used to help those who were infected by the birds to cross over, and I believe you’re the one who’s supposed to help them. I don’t know if Lucian will ever try to use the sixth trumpet since he needed the power the seventh trumpet was supposed to give him, but in case he does, it might come in handy. Will you take care of those who need your help and use the sword in the defense of others?”

Xavier accepts the sword from my hands reverently.

“Yes, I will,” he solemnly swears. “And I will protect the sword with my life.”

“Thank you, Xavier.”

“Um,” Nina says as she and Rafe come to stand with us, “so Rafe says all I need to do is stand in the middle of your circle.”

“Yes,” I tell her, having a hard time not smiling at how nervous Nina looks. “If you’re meant to go home with us, you’ll be allowed into our inner realm.”

“And if I’m not, I’ll just stay here.” Nina squeezes Rafe’s hand a little too hard, causing him to grimace in pain, but he doesn’t say anything, being the consummate gentleman that he is.

“You’ll be allowed to go,” we hear Sophia call out as she, Logan, Ava, and Mia walk out of the castle to say goodbye to their friend.

“There’s no guarantee that I will be,” Nina tells Sophia as she accepts a hug from her fellow Watcher.

“You’re the best of us,” Ava says, also giving Nina a hug. “The Origin will be lucky to have you there.”

“I hope God thinks so,” Nina replies, sounding as unsure as she looks.

“No second-guessing yourself, soldier,” Brand tells Nina, with a crooked smile. “It’ll all work out for you, Nina. You deserve to find some peace and happiness in your life.”

“Looks like the gang’s all here,” I hear Lucifer say behind me. “Does that mean we can finally leave this place?”

I turn around to face him.

“I thought you would have been here earlier,” I say to him, wondering why he didn’t stay with us after witnessing Gabe’s sacrifice.

“I decided to take one last look at things before we left,” Lucifer tells me.

“I hope you remember what happened here,” I reply.

“Don’t worry,” Lucifer says rather cryptically. “I will.”

As we all gather into a circle around Malcolm, Jered, Mason, Tristan, and Nina, I can see that my friends are wary of having Lucifer join our group, and who can blame them? He hasn’t exactly proven himself to be the most trustworthy person in the world. Nevertheless, if there’s one thing I know about Lucifer, it’s this: he wants to go back home just as badly as the rest of us.

“Just stand with the others,” Rafe instructs Nina.

“What if this is the last time I see you, Rafe?” Nina worries.

“It won’t be,” Rafe replies, full of confidence. “We were meant to find each other. He wouldn’t separate us now.”

Nina drops her bag on the ground and grabs Rafe to her, kissing him full on the mouth in front of us all.

“Really?” Lucifer says in disgust as he watches their public display of affection.

“Oh, shut up,” Malcolm tells him. “Maybe one day you’ll love someone enough to feel that passionate about losing them.”

“Heaven forbid,” Lucifer replies with a roll of his eyes.

Nina finally loosens her grip on Rafe.

“I love you,” she declares, as if it might be the last time she’s able to say it to him.

“I love you, too,” Rafe replies with an easy grin, “and I
will
get the chance to tell you that every day for the rest of your life.”

Nina nods, and tries to put on a confident smile as she strolls over to stand beside Mason.

“You War Angels,” Malcolm says, giving Nina a friendly punch in the arm. “You might act all tough on the outside, but you’re just big softies on the inside.”

“Softies who can beat your ass,” Nina replies good-naturedly.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see about that.”

“So how exactly do you people make your inner realm?” Lucifer asks, sounding ready to get things over with as quickly as possible.

“Normally,” I say, “we close our eyes and concentrate on making it, but this time,” I look up at the ring of dust and rocks named after my lost friend, “I think we should concentrate on the memorial to Gabe’s sacrifice and how much he wanted us all to make it back home.”

As we all stare up at the Kinlan Ring, I feel the warm pull of home and the sweetness of my children waiting for me there. In record time, we find ourselves within our inner realm and discover God is there waiting for us.

I stare at God for a moment, unable to say anything to Him.

I think He knows that my emotions are conflicted. I want to go to Him for comfort, but, at the same time, I want to slap Him hard across the face.

“When you’re ready to talk,” God says to me, “I will come to you.”

God looks at Nina, who has been allowed to join us this far on our way back home.

“Nina,” God says, “it’s good to see you again. I was hoping things would work out between you and Rafe, and that he would help you find your way into a different life.”

“Then you’re not going to separate us?” Nina asks anxiously, desperate to have an answer.

“That depends on you.”

Nina looks puzzled. “On me?”

“In order for Me to allow you inside the Origin, you will have to give up something that you love.”

Nina’s eyes grow wide in apprehension. “And what is that exactly?”

“You will have to go there as a human and…”

“Yes!” Nina says automatically, not having to hear the rest of what God was about to say.

“Are you sure?” God questions, but He’s smiling at her in a way that makes me believe He already knows her answer.

“I don’t need super strength or speed to be happy,” Nina tells God. “All I need are the friends I’ve made and the man I love. Nothing else matters to me.
Nothing
.”

“Very well,” God says. “Welcome to the human race, Nina.”

Nina smiles and throws herself into Rafe’s arms, laughing with joy and hugging her man tightly to her. I see Rafe smile.

“That’s the first time you’ve hugged me and it hasn’t hurt,” he admits.

Nina giggles and kisses Rafe.