Spires of Infinity (51 page)

Chapter 43: Redemption

Fighting to remain conscious, Gabriel watched the Apostle—no, Cora—leap over

the railing toward the black hole, raising her sword as if it was an enemy that she could fight. He had to admit that she was definitely going out like a pro. If he could have stood, he might have followed her example in true Butch and Sundance fashion.

As Cora leapt toward her death she slowed. Hanging in the air, just before

touching the silvery sphere, time seemed to have stopped for her. Because of time dilation, an object falling into a black hole would appear to an observer to slow almost to a stop the closer it came. However, time would seem to flow normally for the object.

Closing his eyes so he wouldn’t have to watch her hanging frozen in time, Gabriel exhaled slowly. It was getting harder to breathe, and it was amazing he was still alive at all.

“Allie,” Gabriel breathed. “Are you still there?”

“Yes Gabriel. Always.”

“I’m dying, but I got the job done in the end, didn’t I?”

“You were fantastic.”

“Yeah, I really was fantastic, wasn’t I. So were you. I’m sorry you’ve got to die with me.”

“In reality I died long, long ago. Thank you, for everything.”

“My pleasure.”

“Goodbye, Gabriel,” Allie whispered as if trying not to disturb his final moments.

“Maybe I will see you on the other side.”

Drifting into the comforting, warm embrace of velvet darkness, Gabriel felt much more at peace than he had the last time that he’d died.

Suddenly there was something dragging him back into life.

“Gabriel,” someone above him said. “Wake up.”

He was on his back on a grassy slope. The sounds of birds chirping and

chipmunks chattering drifted to him over waves gently lapping at a shore.

Gabriel’s eyes popped open and he sat up, immediately wishing he hadn’t. Pain and dizziness shot through his body. Clutching at his chest and belly, he hunched over.

Though his wounds, including his paralysis, seemed to be gone, the pain remained.

“Careful,” the voice warned. “I’ve healed you, but sometimes the body

remembers the pain for a little while longer, especially if you’re not used to it. And you’ll be pretty weak for some time to come. You lost a lot of blood, and you need rest and nourishment to recuperate.”

“Ah damn it,” Gabriel cried, turning to see a tall figure with his long black hair tied back with a frayed red cord. “Not here again!”

The Northern Sage arched an eyebrow at him. “Would you prefer somewhere

with a bit more fire and brimstone?”

“No,” Gabriel shook his head emphatically. “How did I get here? Getting hit by a bus is one thing, but I just got sucked into a freaking black hole!”

“Black holes are like doorways. You cannot destroy matter, so the things that fall through them have to go somewhere, right? I don’t know a number high enough to give you the odds on making it through without being crushed or torn apart, but I sort of tweaked the chances for you. I
am
the Lord of Time and Space after all. I know a few tricks.”

“What about Cora? The Apostle, I mean. Did she come through too?”

Shrugging, the Sage spread black-gloved hands. “The servant of my enemy is my enemy. Why would I save her?”

“She saved us all,” Gabriel protested.

“We all wouldn’t
need
saving if it wasn’t for her.”

“True,” Gabriel acceded as he got to his feet, swaying slightly with weakness.

“You dealt with her exactly as I had hoped you would. I knew you had what it

takes. Good job. For the first time in your life, you’ve done something selfless and heroic. Now, let’s get down to business, shall we? I am a granter of wishes. Or perhaps an answerer of prayers. Gabriel, did you think all those prayers and wishes you made as a child went unheard?”

“What?”

“Let me start from the beginning. I am bound by rules that I cannot break. If I do, I die, and someone else is chosen to take my place. One of these rules is that I must keep balance in the universe. Part of balancing things is that I can grant any wish that anyone desires in return for equal payment. That leaves me with something of a conundrum. The bastard in me wants to send you on your way without another word, however, my duty requires that I maintain balance. You gave payment in what you did on Ethos, and now it is time for your reward, something of equal value to your ordeal.”

“What does that have to do with childhood wishes?”

Raising one hand, the Sage snapped his fingers. The latest remix of the Doctor Who theme song began playing somewhere.

“This,” the Sage held up a purple crystal on a leather cord, “is for you. It’s not a police box, but it does about the same thing. My employer instructed me to tell you that he hears every prayer, but if, when and how he answers them is his business. Sometimes a man needs to suffer through hell to become who he needs to be later in his life. Could you have done what you did had you been spirited away from your father as you prayed for as a child? It may be twenty years late to save you from an abuse-ridden childhood, but your wish has been granted. With this crystal the whole of time and space is opened up to you with the exception of Earth within ten years of your birth and death. I’m afraid that could cause far too many problems, as I’m sure you’ll understand. That part of your life is over and gone forever now.”

Reaching out, Gabriel grasped the crystal, feeling power in it almost like an

electric charge. Turning it over in his hand, he was startled to see that he was missing the pinky finger and part of the ring finger of his left hand. When had
that
happened?

“There are worlds without end,” the Sage continued. “All of them are connected to mine by something called the Gate. That crystal is a shard of the Gate. With it, you can freely travel through space and time. I normally restrict these so that the bearer does not realize they are traveling through time as well as space, but you seem to understand the consequences of meddling with timelines, so I have given you full access. Just keep an eye out for the Lords of Time, they don’t tend to like outsiders meddling with what they see as their domain.”

“You mean I just became the Doctor,” Gabriel asked. “
Cool
!”

“This is your reward for services rendered. I knew you had what it takes. That’s why I chose you in the first place.”

Staring at the crystal, Gabriel could hardly believe that what he had dreamed of for his entire childhood was his at last. He didn’t even really know how to feel about that.

“I guess I didn’t do too well earning my redemption though.”

“Is that what has you worried? I put a word in with my employer, you know, the big guy,” he looked upward meaningfully. “And he agrees with me that the murder of Allison Meers falls upon the ones that mutilated her body and ripped her mind and soul from it. What you did was a small mercy, the answer to
her
prayers.”

“I told you so,” Allie whispered smugly.

“What about the others,” Gabriel asked.

“Defending yourself and those you love is not a sin. Those men would have

killed you and done worse to Sam. You worry too much.”

“And . . . my father,” Gabriel almost choked on the words. The Apostle had

ripped away the false memories he’d placed over that night of his life to protect himself from it. He wasn’t sure whether he should thank or curse her for that.

“You weren’t completely in your right mind, and he was killing your mother,” the Sage shrugged. “Fair game. Look, killing someone is a grievous thing, and when it’s done out of anger rather than mercy, or protection it is one of the worst sins. There is such a thing as killing for a righteous cause. Though it has been said that you should turn the other cheek, the big guy
does
understand that sometimes circumstances do not allow.

He
is
god after all. Anyway, I did not send you to Ethos to learn this lesson. I sent you to learn another extremely valuable thing that is the first step along the path to redemption. Do you know what it is?”

Searching deep into his heart and soul for the answer, Gabriel was silent for a long time before answering.

“Remorse,” he said.

Folding his arms across his muscular chest, the Sage nodded. “That is the first step to forgiveness. You realized that you had done wrong and you feel remorse for it.

That is only the beginning. The next step is to make reparations, and your selfless sacrifice to save an entire universe full of people goes a long way toward that end.

Lastly, you must strive for the rest of your life to overcome your past, and never commit the same sin again. There’s no quick and easy way into the greener side of the afterlife.

The test of life lasts a lifetime. It isn’t over until the day that you die. But for now, you’re doing all right.”

“Hey,” Allie stepped into Gabriel’s view. “How about you ask him what
I
get out of all of this. I gave up more than anyone!”

“I haven’t forgotten about you, Allie,” the Sage looked right at her.

Starting visibly, Allie gaped at him. “You can see me? But that should be

impossible. I am only in Gabriel’s head. No one should be able to see me but him.”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the substantial software and hardware

upgrades you’ve received,” the Sage raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were the most sophisticated computer ever created.”

Allie’s brows drew together and she seemed to be considering where best to bite him. Her eyes popped and she looked to Gabriel, or rather to the Sa’Dhi in his left hand, which was now a golden yellow color.

Stepping forward, the Sage cupped her cheek in one hand.

Drawing in a sharp breath, Allie stared at him, raising a hand to touch his, as a tear rolled down her face. “I-I can
feel
.”

“I
borrowed
the technology for solid holograms from someone who will probably not put it to as good a use as me. Everyone can see and hear you when you project yourself as you are now, and you will be able to fully interact with the world around you.

Additionally, I’ve removed the remaining strictures of the programming that dictated your behavior. You’re free now, able to think and act completely to your own desires.

Your reward is the ability to experience the life that was stolen from you. God has rules to follow, and is unable to interfere, as that would negate free will. That is why he did not swoop down and save you when you were screaming for deliverance. He hopes that you will forgive him, and take this gift as recompense for your suffering.”

“Thank you,” Allie threw her arms around the Sage.

“You’ve certainly earned it.”

“So that’s it,” Gabriel said, feeling a thousand pounds lighter without the weight of murders dragging him down. Though he had not been absolved of all the wrongs he’d committed in his life, he was on the right path toward it, and knowing that for certain felt wonderful. “I’m free to go my own way now?”

“Yes. You’ve done everything I could ever have hoped for. Although, before

you go, I should explain how to use your new toy. You’ve met my children, Kari, Jonathan, and Michael. The nature of their inhuman existence allows them to

instinctually use shards of the Gate. For a human like yourself, things are not so easy.

Fortunately, you happen to have the most sophisticated supercomputer ever built in your left hand. I’ve loaded the software necessary to use the crystal into her, so she can take you anywhere you want to go.”

Looking to Allie, Gabriel nodded. Allie grinned at him and nodded back.

“Now Gabriel, I want you to have a few years of adventure. See the universe.

Then find yourself a nice, quiet world to live out the rest of your days.”

“Wait,” Gabriel protested. “No. I need to get back to Ethos. There’s still a battle to be fought, and Sam has to get back to the past to save my life and I think that
I’m
the one that sent her. I have to go back.”

The Sage spread his hands wide. “I’m not the one you should be telling that.”

Gabriel looked to Allie as he slipped the leather cord over his head so the crystal dangled against his chest. “Please, Allie. I need to get back to Sam. I don’t think I can live without her. Can you get us back to Ethos?”

“I sure can,” Allie grinned as she darted forward and clasped his hand in hers.

“Let us go. I want to see what happens when the balanced paradox hits.”

Purple light flashed and Gabriel stumbled a few steps into freezing cold. Looking around, he found himself in the courtyard of the Spires of Infinity next to the console that had opened the Gate back to the past for him. The hologram of Allie was still standing at the keyboard, and Sam was standing beside her with her arms folded beneath her breasts, looking supremely ticked off.

Gabriel’s brow furrowed as he looked up at the Spires. “Wait, what? Why is it still here?”

“Wait,” Sam stared at him. “Why are you back already? Did something go

wrong?”

Scratching at his stubble, Gabriel wondered what was happening. Hadn’t the

Apostle lowered the containment field? How could the Spires of Infinity still exist?

“Oh,
right
,” Gabriel laughed, “the life of a time traveler doesn’t always happen in the right order. The paradox can’t change this part of the timeline until we do what is required for me to survive my first meeting with the Apostle. How long has it been since I left?”

“What do you mean,” Sam asked. “You stepped through the Gate. The Gate

closed. Then you appeared right where it was like half a minute later!”

“Wow,” Gabriel said. “Good job, Allie. You were
right
on target.”

Materializing next to him, Allie grinned. “Thank you. My new software has

made calculating Gate Jumps much easier and more exact.”

Jumping back a step, Sam stared warily at Allie. “Wait a second. Why are
you
all solid and real-looking instead of see-through and flat like all the others?”