Stones: Theory (Stones #4) (75 page)

“Now go,” the woman says. “Find him.”

Yarah looks up. “Who?”

“The One who saved us. The One we all saw.” The woman reaches up and touches the implant behind her ear. “All twenty billion of us.”

Yarah steps forward and reaches out to touch the woman’s wet cheek.

The woman nods and smiles.

Yarah drops her gaze down to her Stone and disappears into white light.

W
hen she opens her eyes on the mountaintop, it’s quiet. She kneels at the last spot on the earth where she saw Matt, in a cave, near the base of a boulder.

Blood outlines the shape of a human body, still bright and fresh on the rocks.

But there is no body.

Jessica is gone as well.

Yarah walks out to the entrance of the cave and sits. Sensing the presence of another, she looks up into the sky, opens her mouth and lets the words flow out.

“Matt. Are you here?”

I am.

The voice is familiar, and Yarah hears it with her entire body. She swings around to see two people, a Man and Woman, hand in hand, walking to her, each dressed in exquisite white robes.

Jumping to her feet, she grabs the black bag of Stones and runs to them. Her arms fling around the Man’s waist. Warmth envelopes her small body as she stares up into the faces of Matt and Jessica. Their eyes burn with love and joy. Their skin glows like bronze in the open sunlight.

Each of them holds a white Stone in their hands.

“How is it possible?” Yarah looks from one face to another. “Both of you died.”

It is the way of the Allehonen. All that are willing may return home to them and live again.

Yarah slips her hand into Matt’s and looks out across the Mosquito Mountains. “What will happen to the world now that Ryzaard is gone?”

Come and see. They are waiting for us.

The light flashes around them. Yarah opens her eyes atop the boulder in the clearing in Stanley Park, outside of Vancouver, where they stood only a few days ago. Hundreds of people are gathered. They talk in small groups with looks of ecstasy and wonder on their faces. Men and women of every color and race. All of them are Children of the freedom camps.

The time has come.

Yarah hears the voice in her mind at the same time as the rest of the crowd. The people turn and move closer to the large rock where Matt, Jessica and Yarah stand. Matt opens his arms and looks down on the people.

The old world has passed away. All things have become new.

As Yarah watches, the three of them float down onto the field. Matt bends to her level and touches the bag she still holds in her fist. He rests a warm hand on her shoulder and speaks words that resonate in her ears.

“Choose your leaders. Give each a Stone. Lead them in love.”

She looks at him. “How will I know who to choose and what to do?”

Jessica bends down and smiles. “Trust your instincts. You
will
know.”

The three of them stand, and Matt gently puts his hands on her shoulders and nudges her forward.

Yarah walks through the crowd, studying the faces and minds of the people. As she moves among them, she stops in front of an Inuit woman and holds the bag open.

The woman’s eyes grow large when she looks down and sees inside.

Yarah nods. “Take one and follow me.”

She continues moving through the crowd until the bag is empty. And then she walks back to Matt and Jessica with the followers behind her.

Matt and Jessica study the faces in the group.

“This child will lead you.” His voice penetrates the ground they stand on. “And you will lead the world.”

The two of them turn their faces to the sky. A column of light pierces down from the blue expanse. Another Woman and Man in white robes step out of its glare. Others follow behind them and move among the crowd.

In her mind’s eye, Yarah sees the same scene taking place around the world.

The Woman and Man walk to Matt and Jessica, their countenances glowing like the white Stones in their hands. The Man steps to the side as the Woman reaches a luminous hand out to touch Matt’s shoulder. She looks up with a face that emanates pure joy.

“Well done, my son.”

Matt smiles and nods.

Jessica pulls Matt closer, looking into his eyes. “Worlds without number.”

“Let’s get started.”

His hand finds hers and squeezes.

End of Book Four

LUCA
A computer chip embedded in ancient rock warns of an interstellar Cloud on its way to engulf Earth and destroy all life. Frank Mercer has the means to save a lucky few and restart civilization under his control. With Earth in chaos, fourteen-year-old Luca discovers she can hear the voice of the Cloud in her mind. It’s alive, hungry and searching.

STONES: DATA (STONES #1)
Matt Newmark finds a black rock in the shape of a claw and discovers it’s a Stone, a piece of cosmic technology that gives him power over time, matter and energy. Mikal Ryzaard has a Stone as well and plans to create his own hellish version of Paradise on Earth. Ryzaard finds Matt and makes him a proposition: join me or die.

STONES: HYPOTHESIS (STONES #2)
Matt finds peace on his own private world with Jessica. It ends when Ryzaard abducts her, forcing Matt to fight or lose everything. With two Stones, Ryzaard is exponentially more powerful, controlling minds and ruling world markets. When Matt discovers there are even more Stones, he engages Ryzaard in a desperate race to gather them.

STONES: EXPERIMENT (STONES #3)
Ryzaard tracks down more Stones, taking them for his own. Against his will, Matt is pulled to another world to fight, and Jessica becomes the leader of the resistance on Earth. In the midst of it all, a new Stone Holder emerges with infinitely more power than any of them. She’s capable of destroying entire galaxies and has revenge on her mind.

STONES: THEORY (STONES #4)
Nuclear detonations have destroyed cities across the globe. Ryzaard offers humankind a way out of the chaos with Shinto as the new world religion and an implant to unify them under his control. Matt stands alone to face a harrowing decision: become a murderer like Ryzaard or sacrifice all he loves to free the world.

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Copyright © 2014 by Jacob Whaler

Edited by Erica Orloff

Cover design by Rebecca Swift

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

For more information about the author and his novels, please visit
http://jacobwhaler.com

ISBN-10: 0-9897044-6-7

ISBN-13: 978-0-9897044-6-5

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