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So many things happening at once.
Riot had been spotted. Carter’s daughter, Eve, and an unknown heretic—a Chinese boy whose body was wrapped in bandages—were with Riot, sharing a quad with her. They were heading by a circuitous route toward the Shrine of the Fallen.
The ranger, Joe, had also been seen. A dozen reapers had fled from him rather than lay down their own lives to send that sinner into the darkness. Saint John would have Brother Peter re-educate them in some matters of faith.
The ranger, it seemed, was also heading toward the shrine.
And two children had been seen climbing into the shrine itself. A red-haired girl with a scarred face and a boy with Japanese eyes.
Nyx and her knight.
That was a piece of the puzzle Saint John did not yet understand. Several intriguing possibilities occurred to him, each of them dependent on whether this Nyx was a true manifestation of Thanatos’s mother on earth. If she was something false, perhaps a demon of one of the old religions, then things could turn against God’s will. Saint John would send Brother Peter to learn the truth.
Brother Peter came to join him.
“Honored One, I sent a hundred runners out,” he said. “It will take at least a week to gather everyone from Utah and the other states.”
“That is good. We will leave coded signs so they may follow us.”
The young man nodded toward the line of red mountains that separated the forest from the vast desert.
“Sanctuary is so close,” he said, amazed. “All this time, so close.”
“We were not meant to find it sooner than now.”
Brother Peter glanced at him. “We’ve looked for it so long. . . . ”
“And in doing so we’ve put our own desires before the will of our god. The fact that its location was withheld from us is proof that God had other work for us.”
“But . . . we can take it. We have the numbers.”
“All things in their time,” said the saint with mild reproof in his voice.
Brother Peter placed his hand on his wings and bowed. “Forgive a sinner, Honored One.”
Saint John patted his shoulder.
They both looked off toward the northeast.
“Nine towns,” murmured Saint John.
“Nine towns,” agreed Peter.
“When we come back this way,” said the saint, “our army will have grown. Remember, we are not seeking a battle—the lord of the darkness simply wants a victory. A knife will accomplish this, but a tsunami will do it more surely.”
“Ah,” said Brother Peter, getting it now. “And what of Mother Rose?”
“She craves Sanctuary. The thought of it has corrupted her.” He sighed. “The darkness does not know her anymore.”
78
BENNY FROZE. HE WAS UP IN THE HATCHWAY OF THE AIRPLANE, AND NIX was down on the ground. She had a pistol with two bullets, he had a sword.
There were at least a dozen reapers, not to mention Brother Alexi. Nix had her pistol out in a flash, the hammer thumbed back, barrel pointed down at her side.
“You lose your way, missy?” asked the giant. “Can’t find your friend Carter in all these big, bad woods?”
“Look, mister,” replied Nix, “I don’t know who you are or what you want. Just leave me alone.”
