The Children of Eternity (41 page)

Christopher closed the white book and placed it back into its place on the shelf. He’d been so sure that it had been this one. It wasn’t.

“Are you having any luck?” asked Jonathon, coming up the aisle toward Christopher.

“No, not yet,” replied Christopher as he moved again. “Level four, section D, row twenty-two. That’s my next stop.”

The two youths made their way down the aisle. They’d been at this for four hours now, and the sense of urgency grew with each passing minute.

“I was so sure about this one,” lamented Christopher. “We know that one of the technicians I worked with gave the dagger plans to Tim Monroe. But which one? There are over thirty of them. What about you? Finding anything?”

“I’m making some progress,” Jonathon replied. “I now know that Tim Monroe got the plans to the dagger five months ago.”

“The daggers were just entering the flight testing stages then,” said Christopher, turning toward the main stairs. “If those daggers were built based on plans from that time, I have an idea as to where we’ll need to start with the modifications.”

“I was hoping that Tim Monroe might have been given more information as to who actually provided the plans in the first place,” Jerry responded, “but he wasn’t. He does a lot of delegating in his colony. I did, however, run across the name of an organization that I have never heard of. It is the organization that funds and supplies him. It was formed shortly after the War in Heaven by individuals desperate to free their loved ones from the cruel clutches of Satan. They called themselves the Knights of Zion.”

“That’s original,” replied Christopher, just a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

“No, it’s not original,” replied Jonathon, “neither in name nor the goal. Chris Davis attempted a very similar thing a number of years back, as we both know. But this time it was launched on a massive scale, and I’m here to tell you that they became organized. They appointed a president, a board of directors, and tons of committees. They were formed as a rather shadowy organization really, made up mostly of veterans of the War in Heaven. Over a thousand individuals joined the Knights of Zion.

“Their original goal was to petition Abaddon and to work with him on the mission to free their loved ones. When that deal fell through, they turned to Tim Monroe. By this time they had several working telespheres and were attempting to assemble their own teleportation ring—one capable of teleporting supplies, and maybe even people, back and forth between Heaven and Hell.”

“Yes, we knew that before,” said Christopher, who was now on the steps and heading down to the fourth level.

“But did you know that they had the permission of the Father to proceed with their plan?” Jonathon asked.

That revelation stopped Christopher right in his tracks.

“Ahh, you didn’t know that,” said Jonathon, amusement in his voice. “Their president, a certain Don Kelly, and several of the board members went to the Father shortly after their organization had been formed to petition Him for His support. He gave them His blessing on certain conditions: One, they were not to attempt to bring any of the lost souls back to Heaven or to Earth—those souls had to remain in Hell. Two, they could not become directly involved in the rescue effort themselves. They could supply support to any partisan agency in Hell they wished. They could even travel there as advisors, but they could not go on the rescue missions themselves.

“Third and last, if they did travel to Hell, they were on their own. They could not expect to receive aid from the Father or His angels. Over the three years that they have been involved in this effort, I cannot find a single incident where they have violated their covenant with the Father. Shadowy as they may be, they do have the blessing of God.”

“I think I’ve heard of Don Kelly,” said Christopher. “Didn’t he lead the famous Via Norte charge during the War in Heaven?”

“The very same,” said Jonathon. “Saved General Washington’s regiment, he did. Now he leads the Knights of Zion.”

“Wait a minute, now I remember. Colonel Kelly’s battalion was called the Knights of Zion,” said Christopher.

“Yes,” replied Jonathon. “That was what led me to Colonel Kelly.”

“You don’t happen to know where his organization’s headquarters are, do you?” asked Christopher.

“Yes, I do,” confirmed Jonathon. “They are right here in the City of Zion, less than three miles from this very spot.”

“You have been busy,” said Christopher, a growing smile on his face.

“Hey, I’ve been doing this Hall of Records detective work for a while now,” replied Jonathon. “I’m good.”

Christopher nodded. Yep, Jonathon was as self-confident as ever. There was nothing more to do here. They were on their way to meet Don Kelly.

On the way, Jonathon filled Christopher in on some of the details. Colonel Don Kelly had been a British army officer, a lieutenant colonel, who had been killed in Korea in 1951. He’d also been an officer in the War in Heaven, serving under General Washington. He’d gone to Tim Monroe to seek the rescue of his own father, who had served in World War I. He was just one of a long line of military men from a proud military family.

Colonel Kelly’s home was like most any other in the densely populated city. It was just another of the brownstones on the busy Via de Gloria.

“I sure hope he’s home,” said Christopher, knocking on the front door.

It was only a few seconds before a fair-faced young woman came to greet them. She smiled at the two young men. “Christopher, Jonathon, so nice to meet you. The colonel has been expecting you. Please, follow me.”

“Expecting us?” said Christopher to Jonathon. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Neither was I,” admitted Jonathon.

They were led down a grand hallway to the colonel’s study. Christopher heard laughter coming from the study. It was an all-too-familiar voice. Entering the grand study, Christopher came face to face with Colonel Kelly, and at his side was the ever gleeful Lilly.

The colonel seemed to be one of those people who preferred to take on the appearance of a slightly older man. He looked to be about 50, with reddish hair graying at his temples, and a long mustache. His brown eyes were full of life and upon his lips was a grand smile. He was, all in all, quite handsome.

“What kept you?” asked Lilly.

“Traffic,” replied Jonathon.

“Oh,” giggled Lilly. “Guys, this is my good friend Colonel Don Kelly, president of the Knights of Zion.”

“I’ve been hearing a lot about you,” said the colonel. “You’ve had quite the adventure these past few years. I’m glad that I’ve finally gotten to meet you.”

“And we’ve heard a lot about you,” replied Christopher. “Your brilliant combat strategy during the Battle for Zion is legendary.”

“I wouldn’t call it legendary,” laughed the colonel, “brilliant, perhaps.”

That comment elicited another round of good-natured laughter from all.

“I was actually withdrawing in the face of a vastly superior demon army when I ran into Washington’s regiment under siege,” explained the colonel. “We surprised his demon attackers when they just happened to be along our own retreat route. Between the two of us, we pretty much wiped them out. And between the two of us, we were finally able to make a stand. That’s the long and the short of it. It was more good fortune than anything else.” He paused. “But my friend Lilly tells me that you have a bit of a problem.”

“I’ve given the colonel all of the details,” continued Lilly. “I saw, in my mind’s eye, all that Jonathon saw as he scanned the books.”

“What you propose to do is very dangerous,” said the colonel. “But after talking to Lilly, I realize that I won’t be able to talk you out of it, neither should I attempt to. Clearly, you are on the Father’s business.” The colonel hesitated before continuing. “I want to send an armed escort in with you to see to your safety. They may come in handy.”

“Thank you,” said Lilly, “but we have to go alone. I’m sure you understand.”

“I do,” confirmed the colonel, “but I’m still sending an escort. Those terms are not negotiable. If you are using my teleportation ring, you have to abide by my rules. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you—so, you see, I am doing this as much for myself as for you.”

“Of course,” replied Lilly, “I understand. I think I can speak for all of us in saying that we accept your terms. We thank you for your concern.”

“I assure you that the knights that I send along with you will not get in the way of what you need to do,” said the colonel. “Indeed, they will be at your service.”

“Actually, I think it’s a good idea that they come along,” said Christopher. “I for one will appreciate their help.”

“I’ll make sure to send knights who have useful technical skills that may benefit your work,” assured the colonel. “In addition, my organization will stay in touch with you by telesphere and send you anything you may need.”

He paused. “I think you need to know one more thing before you head out. We’ve developed a somewhat more sophisticated telesphere technology than the one Dr. Kepler employs. We’ve used it to monitor the telesphere frequencies—eavesdropping as it were—on communications between Abaddon and the good doctor. From what we’ve gathered, there is going to be a big push to defend Refuge when Satan’s attack finally comes—and it will come.

“They have many thousands of volunteers, perhaps tens of thousands, prepared to journey to their aid. They are determined to do whatever it takes to keep Refuge from falling. However, they have given little consideration to the people of Monrovia. I suppose they consider them expendable.”

“I hope that’s not the case,” said Lilly.

“So do I,” said the colonel. “I have over six hundred volunteers ready to go in if called upon. Our loved ones are there; we can do little else. If bad things happen, we’ll need to be ready to get you out of there.”

“I don’t think you’ll need to do that,” said Christopher. “Like you said, it seems like Monrovia has been forgotten by the other people of Heaven. That is why we are going there.”

Lilly looked at Christopher and smiled. “Yes, that is why we are going.”

The colonel looked at the three youths in amazement. “You really think that the three of you and your friend Jerry can make a difference?”

“Yes,” confirmed Lilly, “and it won’t be the four of us who make the difference; it will be six. Together as a team, and with the Holy Spirit within us, we will defeat the armies of Satan.”

Jonathon seemed surprised by Lilly’s comment, yet he remained silent. He looked over at Christopher, who nodded in agreement. “Is the teleportation ring here?” asked Jonathon.

“No,” replied the colonel. “It is on the first level of Heaven, in the middle of a high, mountainous wilderness. It is indeed a remote location with few prying eyes. Lilly knows where it is. I will meet you there tomorrow at noon.”

The colonel paused. “But before we part today, would you care to join me in a cup of tea? It’s my teatime and I prefer to have company, if you don’t mind. One should never drink alone. Anyway, I’d like to hear more of your adventures. In return, I’ll share with you some adventures of my own.”

And so the three children visited with the colonel for a while longer. They spoke of the War in Heaven. They even listened to a few of the colonel’s old war stories—tales of the war in Korea mostly. They were stories of particular interest to Lilly.

He also told them what he knew of Hell. He had actually been there on several occasions, visiting with his father. He was one of the few knights who had undertaken the perilous journey. He had walked the dusty plains of that most terrible world himself. He spoke of the emptiness one felt in a place devoid of the presence of God. Still, try as he might, he couldn’t dissuade the children from their quest. He would see that all of the arrangements were made.