The Black (41 page)

"Now you're marked, just like me," Ree said to Gramps, holding up her bloodstained hands.

Gramps looked at his hands, dazed.

"I'm sorry, Ree. Mrs. Seaver," I said. "I did what I thought was right."

She nodded thoughtfully. "For taking care of Marsh, I
thank you. And I understand. But stealing that crucible and taking it away from the Rift was reckless, Cooper. A door is now open that the Guardians have protected for over two thousand years. I'm partly responsible for that, and now you are too."

"Can't you keep him out of your vision?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. Not without the crucible."

"So what's going to happen?" Maggie asked.

"Now we hope that the damage we've done doesn't allow Damon to complete his quest."

"And what exactly is that?" Gramps asked.

"It's an old saying that wasn't meant to be taken literally, until now. If the Guardians can't protect the Rift, and Damon succeeds in breaking through, we'll be looking at nothing less than . . . hell on earth."

Nobody said a word as Ree backed away from us. "Good-bye," she said. "And good luck to us all."

She turned, stepped into her own cloud of color, and disappeared. When the mist vanished, I could see all the way to Maggie's barn. Standing in front were two Watchers.

"You!" I shouted, and took a few steps toward them. I didn't dare go any closer because I didn't want them to disappear. "What is your deal? Do you know what's going to happen? How can you let Damon do this? What is your purpose? Why aren't you taking a stand?"

The two Watchers, a man and a woman, didn't react. I was so frustrated that I ran forward, ready to grab one and shake them into action.

"Cooper, don't!" Maggie shouted.

She didn't have to bother. I only got a few steps before both Watchers disappeared. I stopped short and screamed out in frustration, and it wasn't just about them. I was scared. For myself, and for what I'd done. I'd gotten what I
wanted. I'd taken control. But I'd set things in motion that were about as far out of my control as possible. This was no longer about me or Marsh or a ghost who was haunting him. By stealing the crucible I opened up the possibility of a cataclysmic horror. Hell on earth. That's what Ree called it.

Screaming didn't make me feel any better. I stood there, breathing hard, wanting to take some kind of action but not knowing what it could be.

"Cooper?" Maggie called to me.

I looked to the pretty spirit, who was standing next to my grandfather, the guy whose selfishness and fear had given her a lifetime of grief.

"It isn't over," she said.

"Really?" I shouted back. "What makes you say that? Because of all the great and wonderful things that have been happening? Sure! Why not? Let's all live happily ever after. Sounds good to me."

Maggie gave me a sad smile. She then turned to Gramps, held his hand and went up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Gramps was wide eyed, not sure what was happening or how to react.

"I forgive you," she said sincerely. "As long as you can forgive yourself."

He stood there for a moment, stunned, then looked
down at Maggie's sweet face as tears welled in his eyes. "Thank you," he whispered. "I'll try. I promise I will."

Maggie touched his cheek gently, then turned to me. "Maybe some great and wonderful things
have
happened," she said with a shrug.

It was a small gesture. In the scope of all that was going on, it was inconsequential. But for those two people it meant everything. Until then, the defining moment of their lives had been a misguided act that brought nothing
but misery and despair to both of them. They had changed that. They had taken control. It was what the Black was all about.

That couldn't end.

I couldn't let it end.

"Stay here," I said to Maggie. "Do not leave this vision." I looked to Gramps and added, "You should go to your own vision too, Gramps. It's where you belong."

"No. I'm just as responsible for what happened as you."

"No, you're not. You're responsible for yourself. You both are."

"What are you going to do, Cooper?" Maggie asked.

I shrugged. "Same thing I always do. I'm gonna look for some trouble."

"Coop, wait," Maggie called.

Too late. I had stepped out of her vision and returned to
Ree's
vision. Within seconds I was in the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal . . .

. . . and found myself in the middle of an army of Guardians. Each one was armed, many with black swords. They had formed a circle around the information booth, ready to defend the Rift.

I was their first victim. I got whacked on the side of the head by the back of somebody's fist, and kicked in the gut by somebody else. I went down and covered up in the fetal position, ready to get the stomping I deserved. If I hadn't stolen the crucible, they wouldn't have been assembled there to defend the Rift. I actually hoped that they wanted to pound me. I'd rather have taken a beating than get skewered by one of those black swords, which would end any chance I had of redeeming myself.

I covered my head and braced for the pain. Nothing happened. I took a tentative peek over my arm to see that Adeipho was looming over me.

"I should destroy you," he growled.

I didn't say anything. It would only make things worse, if that was even possible.

"Once again you have been spared by Ree," he added. "Get up."

I slowly got to my feet, trying hard not to wince from the pain.

"I really am on your side," I said.

"You have an odd way of showing that," Adeipho replied, and waved for me to walk.

I passed through the sea of assembled Guardians. None said a word as I went by, but all eyes were on me. It was like having a hundred lasers burning into my head. That's the kind of hatred these spirits had for me. I wanted to stop and plead my case, tell them that I did what I thought was best to protect the Light. But the truth was, what I thought should happen was that they should battle Damon and his soldiers. What right did I have to volunteer them to fight? Win or lose, many of these spirits would be destroyed in battle, and that would be because of me. My actions would condemn them to oblivion.

No wonder they hated me.

We were headed toward the east side of the concourse and the giant Kodak photo of the pastoral countryside. A large section of the giant photograph was torn down to reveal stairs that led up to a landing. There was also a long horizontal gash cut through the image of the meadow above our heads. I followed Adeipho up the stairs and to the landing, where Ree was waiting for me. She stood looking out through the jagged gash. The damage now made sense. The hole was there so that the concourse and information booth could be observed from the landing.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm still here, so I guess I'm fine."

"The Guardians want to destroy you," she said with no emotion.

"I don't blame them."

"Then, why did you come back?"

"I want to help."

"You have done enough already," Adeipho bellowed. Ree lifted her hand to quiet him. She was definitely back in charge.

"You aren't a warrior, Coop."

"Neither are a lot of those Guardians," I said, gesturing through the gash in the photo to the crowd below.

Ree said, "You're wrong. They're prepared for this. Adeipho has seen to that. They can all use swords and the simple weapons we've gathered. I know you can fight, Coop, but this is different."

"I don't want to defend the Rift with the Guardians," I said.

"So, then, why are you here?" Adeipho asked.

"I want to hunt down the poleax. If I can find it, I can bring it back here and hand it over to you. I still think you guys are going to stop Damon, but unless you destroy him for good, he's going to do everything he can in the Light, as a spirit, to find his weapon. He'll probably go after Marsh again. Maybe even that Ennis guy. The only way we can make sure that Damon never gets it, is to get it first . . . and destroy it."

"That is insanity," Adeipho said to Ree. "No one should be entrusted with that evil weapon, let alone someone who has already betrayed us."

"I didn't betray you!" I snapped at Adeipho. "I was trying to protect my friend."

"You were trying to get your life back," Adeipho said with disdain. "I heard of the bargain you made with Damon."

"The only way to stop him is to destroy him," I said.

"And now you've got the chance. Or maybe you're not up to this fight?"

Adeipho took a step toward me. He wanted to have it out right there. I turned sideways, ready to defend myself, but Ree stepped between the two of us.

"Stop," she commanded.

"Cooper is not our enemy," she said to Adeipho. "But he's headstrong and doesn't always value opinions that aren't his."

I wanted to argue with that, but she was right.

"And how do you intend to find it?" Ree asked me. "You don't have the same abilities in the Light that Damon has, and he hasn't had any luck finding the poleax."

I swallowed hard and took a breath. I knew that what I was going to suggest was going to be a problem, but I had to go for it.

"You're right," I said. "I can't do what Damon can . . . unless I go back to the Light through the Rift."

"No!" Adeipho shouted. "You just want your worthless life back!" He made a move to go for me again but Ree stopped him.

I said, "It's the only way we can find the poleax before Damon. Come with me if you want."

"Neither of you are going," Ree declared. "It goes against every law of nature."

"So what!" I exclaimed. "What would happen? Would the Watchers throw me into the Blood? I'm probably headed there anyway. But what'll they do if Damon wins and marches his army through the Rift? Will the mighty Watchers finally step up and do something about him? By then it would be too late."

Ree looked to Adeipho. He didn't offer an opinion.

I continued, "Wouldn't we be doing humanity a huge favor by destroying the poleax? If I don't find it, we'll be no
worse off and the only one who suffers for it will be me. But if I do find it, and it stops Damon for good, don't you think it would be worth it?"

Ree didn't take her eyes off me. I had given her plenty to think about. Even Adeipho couldn't argue with my logic.

I added, "The best thing that could happen is that Damon attacks the Rift and you guys destroy him and every last one of his soldiers. That's what I believe is going to happen. But if it doesn't and Damon walks away from this battle, he's going to find some other way to get the poleax. You can bet on that. I say we get it first."

The quiet of the empty terminal was broken by the sound of something mechanical. Ree heard it first and looked up with curiosity.

"What is that?" Adeipho asked while straining to listen. The grinding mechanical sound grew louder.

Or closer.

"I don't know," Ree said.

The three of us looked down from the landing to the concourse. The Guardians had heard it too. They glanced around in confusion to see . . . nothing. Yet the sound grew. It was a squealing metallic sound like I had never heard before.

Ree looked to Adeipho with concern and asked, "Is it Damon?"

Adeipho didn't have the answer, but he didn't take any chances. He leaned out of the hole in the photo and bellowed, "Prepare for the attack!"

Hundreds of Guardians scrambled to assigned positions. "It's coming from the other side of the terminal," I declared.

All eyes went to the landing that was directly across from us. It was a mirror image of the landing we were on, though it wasn't covered by a massive photo. It was wide
open and led to a series of doors that opened out onto the street. A shadow loomed from outside that could be seen through the glass doors.

"He's coming," Ree whispered.

Boom!
The shadow crashed through the doors, filling the concourse with the sound of grinding wheels and a powerful engine.

"What is it?" Adeipho asked, stunned.

The dark form rolled over the smashed doors, moving closer, revealing itself.

"It's a tank," I said. "An old one. Maybe from World War I."

The mottled brown machine moved forward on treads until it reached the edge of the landing, directly across from us, overlooking the concourse.

The Guardians braced for an attack, though I can't believe they were prepared for anything like this.

The turret on top of the tank began to spin, revealing the long barrel of a cannon. It rotated 180 degrees from pointing back to pointing front.

Directly at us.

The wide barrel locked into position.

The battle for the Rift was about to begin.