Daniel and the Serpent's Abyss E-Book

Nathan Lumbatis

• Herausgeber: Dove Christian Publishers
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Six months after returning from their adventures in Daniel and the Triune Quest, Daniel, Ben, and Seren eagerly await their mission to save Raylin and acquire the last Weapon of Power: the Abyssal Staff. Daniel can’t believe his luck when Gabriela shows up and declares she will guide them to the British Isles, where Raylin has been haunting ancient ruins in her frenetic search for more spiritual power. When the group is transported to Ireland, however, everything goes wrong. Raylin, driven mad by the possessing power of the Voidblade, is as powerful as several demons put together and impervious to their attacks. Seren, desperate to save her sister, impulsively starts an explosive battle to bind her—a decision that turns the entire quest on its head and drives Daniel to a point of desperation he never anticipated. Through it all, the Three are noticeably absent and quiet, not answering prayers or sending aid. What’s worse, Gabriela seems distant and preoccupied. So much for Daniel’s hopes for improving their relationship.

The quest seems hopeless, and it’s only just begun. How can the companions hope to evade the Enemy’s minions haunting their every step, subdue a super-powered Raylin in her madness, get her to the bottom of the Abyss where the staff resides, and survive a face-to-face encounter with the Serpent awaiting them there? Daniel has no idea, but he hopes his faith in the Three will not prove vain. Surely, after all their intervention during the last two quests, they wouldn’t abandon the companions without help. Right?

Daniel and the Serpent’s Abyss is a young adult, Christian fantasy novel exploring forgiveness, faith, and the empowering role of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life. It is the third in the Sons and Daughters series, which includes Daniel and the Sun Sword, and Daniel and the Triune Quest.

Leseprobe

Daniel

and the

Serpent’s Abyss

Sons and Daughters: Book 3

by

Nathan Lumbatis

Daniel and the Serpent's Abyss:

Sons and Daughters Book 3

Published by Dove Christian Publishers

P.O. Box 611

Bladensburg, MD 20710-0611

www.dovechristianpublishers.com

Copyright © 2020 by Nathan Lumbatis

Cover Design by Donika Mishineva

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced without permission of the publisher, except for brief quotes for scholarly use, reviews or articles.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020907201

ISBN: 978-1-7343032-9-2 (paperback)

Printed in the United States of America

For Allison, without whom none of this would be possible.

For other books by Nathan Lumbatis, including the first two books in the Sons and Daughters series, visit:

nathanlumbatis.com.

1

Targets

Seren raised her fiberglass bow and pulled the string back to the corner of her mouth. She waited a moment until the wind, hissing through the trees near Granny’s house, died down. “Watch, my young students, and learn from the master.”

She let the string snap forward, sending an arrow in a smooth arc straight toward the bullseye. Five wobbly concentric circles were painted in white on the side of a makeshift target made of old bales of pine straw and boxes piled six feet high.

“That’s how it’s done.” She flipped silky, blond hair over her shoulder and sauntered past Daniel, tossing him the bow as she passed.

“That’s how it’s done,” Daniel muttered, imitating Seren’s voice. “‘Master’ my foot.”

Seren whipped her head around and drew herself up to her full height. At eighteen, she wasn’t quite as tall as Daniel, despite being three years older. Her lithe frame and piercing blue eyes nevertheless spoke of authority and fierce intelligence. “What was that, Daniel?”

“Nothing. Here goes!”

Daniel nocked an arrow and pulled the string back. As soon as he felt his hand touch his cheek, he let it snap forward. The arrow sailed through the air and hit just outside the outermost ring. He looked down at the bow. “I think there’s something wrong with this stupid thing.”

“There’s something wrong with the archer,” Seren replied flatly. “You just need to practice more.”

Daniel handed the bow back to her. “Oh sure, I’ll squeeze it in between sword practice, homework, chores, and saving the world. How’s six Tuesdays from never sound?”

Seren ignored him and turned to Ben, who was sitting at the base of a tree reading through something on his phone. “Your turn.”

Ben pushed a curl of black hair out of his eyes and stood. He slid the phone into his back pocket before taking the bow from Seren. “Daniel. Arrow, please.”

Daniel trotted to the target and yanked the arrow out of a pine bale. He hurled it like a spear toward the ground in front of Ben.

Ben jumped back in surprise and immediately transformed into the Triune Shield.

Daniel doubled over in laughter. “Skittish much?” he roared between guffaws.

Ben’s defensive and angry voice shouted from inside the shield where his body was outlined between the three intersecting rings. “You get shot and killed by the Bolt of Pestilence and see how skittish you are. I need my feet, in case you haven’t noticed! Geez. Next time hand it to me like a normal human, you dweeb.” “Duh. Practice arrows aren’t sharp,” Daniel replied, wiping tears from his eyes.

Ben returned to normal in the next moment and stooped down to grab the arrow. “Oh, okay. I’ll just use you for target practice then. Stand still.”

“Just shoot. I want to see how terrible you are.”

“Bet I can at least hit inside the rings.”

Daniel snorted. “It’s harder than you think. But sure, give it your best shot.”

“Thanks for your confidence.”

“You guys are such children,” Seren said, both hands on her hips. “Can you go five minutes without trying to one-up each other? Just shoot!”

“So pushy.” Ben raised the bow and drew back the string in one smooth motion. Since coming back from his quest to retrieve the Triune Shield, he’d been practicing martial arts with Daniel. The activity had added muscle to his wiry, thirteen-year-old frame, but he was still lanky. He waited a moment while adjusting his aim and let the string snap forward. The arrow sank into a box just outside the bullseye.

“Hey, look at that, Daniel!” Ben dropped the bow to the ground and pointed both index fingers at the target. “Look how terrible I was. Oh, wait. That was you. I actually hit the target. Boom.”

“Hey, I hit the target, too,” Daniel retorted.

Seren reached down to pick up the bow and dusted it off with an irritated glance at Ben. “Outside the rings doesn’t count, Daniel. Ben, can I see your phone for a minute?”

“Hear that, Daniel?” Ben cupped a hand around his ear. “Outside the rings—”

“I heard. Shut your trap.”

Ben flashed Daniel a smug grin as he moonwalked toward Seren and handed her his phone. “Here. What do you need it for?”

She promptly dropped it in the dirt and kicked it around a little.

“What—what are you doing?” He dove toward the phone and grabbed it before Seren could kick it again. “What’s your problem?”

“Oh, I thought we were playing the Drop-Other-People’s-Belongings-In-The-Dirt Game. No? My mistake.” She raised the bow and brushed off the dust toward Ben.

Ben growled something under his breath and shuffled back to the base of the tree while Seren resumed target practice with a satisfied grin.

Daniel sauntered toward Ben and heaved a contented sigh. “Ah. What goes around comes around. Right, Ben?”

Ben grunted and focused on his phone.

Daniel lay down and ran hands through bushy, brown hair before resting them behind his head. The air felt cool and crisp, and the woods were beginning to change color. The forest floor behind Granny’s house was carpeted with recently fallen leaves, making a mottled bed for Daniel as he stretched out his long legs and gazed at the sky. Glimpses of vibrant blue peeked through a net of dark gray and brown branches, dotted with the autumn oranges, reds, and yellows of leaves yet to fall.

A brisk wind blew through the trees and into the open windows of Granny’s tiny, ivy-covered house. Memories came to life within the shadows of the curtains, and Daniel found himself replaying his, Ben, and Seren’s time in India.

The quest had been six months ago, and that meant six months since they had seen Raylin. Daniel pictured her as she had last appeared: hair a shock of white, right arm fused with the Voidblade, flying on inky wings, desperate and driven mad by the overwhelming evil of the Enemy’s spirit. He searched the sky through the branches and twigs, their dull gray reflected in his brown eyes. What was he expecting? A fiery message in the sky from the Three telling him where she was? Raylin to fall out of thin air? Granny to come flying by on her broom?

He turned over on his side, one arm tucked under his head. An empty feeling settled into his stomach. Everything around him fell quiet, and he suddenly realized it had been some time since he’d heard the sound of Seren’s arrow hitting the target. He raised his head and looked down past his feet. She was standing beside the target with her hand, motionless, on an arrow stuck in one of the outer rings.

Seren was probably thinking about Raylin too. She never missed the bullseye unless she was distracted. There were few times she wasn’t thinking about her sister, anyway.

Daniel tapped Ben’s foot with his own and nodded toward her.

Ben looked up from his phone. He followed Daniel’s gaze to Seren, still lost in thought. “I don’t blame her. It’s torture for her to wait,” he whispered, immediately taking in Daniel’s thoughts. “I don’t get why the Father is waiting. Why doesn’t he call for us to start the quest already?”

Seren seemed to remember herself and finally pulled the arrow free before returning to her shooting point.

Daniel turned his head to look deeper into the forest. He could just barely make out the rising slope of Pedestal Hill through the trees and half expected to see Granny waltzing down it any moment. Nothing moved but flitting birds and cautious squirrels digging in the ground for acorns. “I don’t know. With all the Babylonian Seal stuff, I’m not sure why it didn’t begin right away.”

“It’s like the Three are waiting for things to get worse,” Ben said, the words ending with a sigh. “Look.” He tossed his phone to Daniel.

A news feed was pulled up on the screen. It detailed conflict around the world: bombings in London, wars all over the Middle East, guerilla skirmishes in Peru, persecution of Christians in India. There was more, but Daniel skimmed over it as he scrolled down the webpage. One story caught his eye. The United States was pulling out all its troops stationed in the Middle East and pledging billions of dollars per year to support some new peacekeeping organization called Ealim Wahid. Daniel’s mouth moved as he tried to silently say the words.

Must be Arabic or something.

He clicked on a photo embedded in the article. It showed the two leaders spearheading the group. A man—tall, dark-haired, olive complexion, deep-set eyes, and dressed in a perfectly tailored suit—smiled as he gestured toward a woman to his right. She was about the same height with features so similar, Daniel guessed they were twins. She wore a suit of the same color, though hers sported a tight, knee-length skirt instead of pants. Thick hair cascaded down one shoulder and all the way to her waist. Both were muscular and had a look of fierce intelligence. But something was off. They looked almost too perfect and put-together, while their dark brown eyes were dull, lifeless, and empty—almost not human.

Like a shark’s eyes, Daniel thought. And then a chill went down his spine. Or a Creep’s.

He studied the photo a minute longer. No talons, no fangs. If they were Creeps, they were hiding it well.

He read a few more lines of the article and caught details about their headquarters being in some city in Iraq called Tell Abu Shahrain. They were working out of existing government structures but were also constructing new headquarters just outside the city. A photo of the unfinished building showed a hulking tower of steel beams and cement.

Daniel slowly pronounced the city out loud. “Tell Abu Shahrain?”

“Bless you,” Ben said. “Can I have my phone back now?”

“Just a sec.” Daniel didn’t look up but skimmed the rest of the article for any other pictures.

Seren leaned her practice bow and the quiver against the tree and joined the boys on the ground. She nodded toward the phone. “Something interesting?”

Daniel shrugged. “I don’t know. Just weird random stuff happening all over the world. Seren, Babylon is modern-day Iraq, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah, and when I was working with the Enemy, we’d go there a lot. But it was strange; his plans never went particularly well.” She shuddered. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I remember him doing some terrible things, but whenever we were there, his strategies would get messed up. And he could never stay long because he would get too edgy and scattered.”

Ben stretched his arms above his head and yawned. “He’s always seemed a little edgy. I mean, let’s be real here, he IS evil incarnate. Little insane, if you ask me.”

“This was different,” Seren replied. “He was confused sometimes and flew off the handle for no reason.”

“Do you think it was the Babylonian Seal thingy?” Ben asked lazily as he closed his eyes.

Daniel nodded matter-of-factly. “Right. That’s where the Enemy lost his power, so he’s trying to get it back.”

“Not exactly ‘lost,’” Seren said. She pulled her ponytail over one shoulder and twirled a few strands of hair. “When the Enemy first deceived the Earthborn, he claimed that land as his own. It’s kind of like he marked his territory by pouring a lot of his power into the earth there.”

Daniel snickered toward Ben. “Like a dog. What a weirdo!”

“Say that to his face the next time we see him. I dare you.”

“Oh, man. He’d lose his mind.” Daniel sat up and plopped the phone in his lap.

Seren took an exaggerated breath. “Hey, kindergartners. Focus.”

“Oh, come on,” Daniel pleaded. “You were thinking the same thing.”

Seren stared back, unblinking.

“Eh … never mind. Please continue.”

“Putting power into the land was kind of like he was building a fortress—like a king sitting behind his castle walls surrounded by his weapons. But the Enemy doesn’t have limitless power like the Three.”

“Wait a minute.” Ben leaned forward, a look of dread on his face. “Does that mean he’s going to get stronger when he’s there?”

“Kind of,” Seren explained. “It’s more like his power is more focused. It’s the difference between using a hammer on a nail versus a rock. You’re still the one doing the work, all your power is just more focused on one point if you use a hammer.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes as he tried to work this out. “I guess that makes sense. I wonder how that’s going to change things when we have to fight him.”

Seren drew a long breath and nodded, the question clearly on her mind as well. A few leaves floated down from the sparse canopy above. Seren shot out a willowy hand and caught one as it spun its way to the ground. “Well, the Father put a lot of his children in Babylon … Iraq … over the last several thousand years. Their prayers formed a barrier which kept the Enemy from getting at his power there. You could say it locked him out of his fortress. When you were searching for the Triune Shield, didn’t you learn that prayer is powerful? I guess we better start praying.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t change the fact that it’s still scary, though,” Daniel said.

Ben clapped his hands. “Oh, now I get it! Babylonian Seal!” He nodded his head and leaned closer to Seren like he was sharing a special secret. “It ‘sealed’ the Enemy out. Not ‘seal’ like an Arrr!-Arrr!-Arrr!-I-want-some-fish kind of seal. It’s like an ‘I’m sealing this Ziploc bag,’ seal.”

Daniel and Seren looked at each other, then stared back at Ben.

“Sure,” Daniel replied, shaking his head. “Ziploc bag.”

Seren sighed in disgust. “I’m surrounded by preschoolers.”

“I thought it was kindergartners?” Ben said.

Seren snapped her head toward the target and squinted her eyes.

“Something wrong?” Daniel asked, following her gaze.

“No,” she said absently after a few moments. “Just a squirrel behind the target, I guess. Daniel’s the kindergartner.” She nodded to Ben. “You’re the preschooler.”

Seren leisurely scanned the woods, eventually standing to lean against the tree. “Anyway, it’s different now. Most Christians are gone, and the Seal is weakening, if it hasn’t vanished entirely. The Enemy has probably already moved back.”

Daniel shuddered. He didn’t want to think what the Enemy would be like once he was even more powerful. The image of the great seven-headed dragon, rearing over the plains in India, flashed through his mind. He and the other Vessels were supposed to fight him and somehow seal away his spirit. He shook his head. That still seemed impossible.

“Can I have my phone back now?” Ben repeated.

“No. You’re addicted. Just hang on a sec.” Daniel showed Seren the pictures on the screen. “Know these guys?”

Seren glanced at the screen and shook her head. “Should I?”

“I don’t know,” Daniel mumbled with a shrug. “Something’s not right with them.” He read to the end of the article and caught a few more details. In addition to peacekeeping between countries in the Middle East, Ealim Wahid would also work on preserving archaeological sites in the area, beginning with the oldest known Babylonian city of Eridu. A map showed the ruins of the city less than a mile from their new building. “They’re talking about Babylon, too. They seem suspicious.”

Seren took the phone and read the last part of the article. She nodded. “Definitely suspicious, and we’re stuck here with nothing to do but twiddle our thumbs and wait.”

Ben threw his hands in the air. “Is this Steal Ben’s Phone Day or something? Don’t you all have your own?” He pushed himself to his feet and held out his hand.

Seren pretended to hand the phone back to Ben but passed it to Daniel at the last second. “Yours, I believe.”

“Correct. Kind of you to notice,” Daniel replied. He slid the phone into his pocket.

Ben stuck out his jaw and growled. “I’m going to kill you both. It’s like I have two annoying older siblings now. Phone!”

Daniel shied away in a look of pretend fright. “Oh, no! What are you going to do? Shield us to death?”

Seren broke out into laughter. “That’s a good one. Congratulations, Daniel. You’ve graduated to middle school now.”

He snorted and was about to finally surrender the phone to Ben when it vibrated. Daniel glanced at the screen and saw a text message. He slid it to the right and read:

World News Update

County Sligo, Ireland: More sightings of a large bird flying over the countryside at dusk. Creature reportedly dug a hole in Carrowmore Cemetery. Fifth sighting this week. Locals baffled and alarmed. Click here for the full story.

Daniel touched the link. The article began with a fuzzy photo of a huge, winged shape, dark against the evening sky, hovering over a field. “Thank goodness you signed up for creepy news updates, Ben. I’d hate to not know about the baffled locals of Ireland.” He held up the screen so Ben could see.

Ben snatched the phone back and punched Daniel in the shoulder. “I want to know what’s happening in the world,” he retorted, his tone icy, “since we have to save it and all. I’m never letting you borrow my phone again. By the way, that’s the fifth time this week that weird bird has appeared, and—”

“Duh. I can read.”

“And,” Ben continued, drawing out the word, “each sighting has been in an ancient ruin or some old cemetery.”

Seren squatted next to Daniel, her elbows on her thighs. “You think this has something to do with the Enemy?”

“Not the Enemy.” Ben tapped his screen, enlarged the photo, then turned his phone sideways. He held it out for Seren to see the blurred photo of the bird. “I think it has something to do with Raylin.”

Seren eagerly studied the picture.

Daniel squinted his eyes, trying to find Raylin’s features in the pixilated image.

The phone dinged, and a text from Mrs. Jones peeked down from the top of the screen before sliding back up.

Come home. Important.

Daniel focused back on the picture. “Could be her.” He wasn’t truly sure, but Seren looked so hopeful that he didn’t have the heart to say it out loud.

Ben shoved the phone in his back pocket and shrugged. “Maybe. The other day I was praying to find her, and the article about the first sighting popped up on my phone. I could be reading too much into it, but I think it’s a sign.”

“So what if it is?” Seren stood, her mouth drawn tight. “We still have to wait on the Three. And while we wait for the Father to give the ‘Okay’ for the quest to begin, Raylin’s out there suffering. Wandering through graveyards or something.”

Daniel looked at Ben and nodded toward Seren. They both got to their feet and moved closer to her.

“Seren,” Daniel began, trying to make his tone as soft and reassuring as he could, “look, we don’t even know if this really is Raylin. But the Father will send us a sign when the time is right. If it is, we at least have a clue about where she is, and we know that she’s okay.”

Ben smiled, his dark blue eyes warm with compassion. “Trust us. We’ve been through two quests now, and things have always worked out.”

“For you two, you mean.” Seren kept her head down and glanced at Daniel and Ben from the corners of her eyes. “Me and Raylin haven’t been so lucky. Both of us were enslaved to the Enemy most of our lives, remember? And now she’s wandering, lost and driven out of her mind.”

She opened her mouth to say more, but then stopped and took a deep breath. She stood silently as she stared, unfocused, toward the target. “Sorry. I know,” she paused, “I’m supposed to trust the Three. It’s just still new to me, and when I think things are going wrong, the old me pops up.”

Daniel gave a dismissive wave. “I get it. It’s hard to wait.” Against his will, his mind drifted to Gabriela. He gave a slight shake of the head to ground himself in the matter at hand. “Just … uh … just choose to trust that the Father loves you and will work things out at the right time.” He tilted his head. He actually felt what he was saying was true. He wasn’t even faking it. “Besides, if the old you was popping up, Ben and I would be running.”

“Right on,” Ben added. “Speaking of running, we better head home.”

“Hello?” a deep voice shouted from the front of the house. “Anybody home? I, uh, have some popcorn I’m selling, and it’s good, or something.” A loud series of knocks shook the tiny home.

Daniel and Ben looked at each other. They knew the sound of that fist anywhere.

2

Ham Fists and Family Reunions

Seren missed the boys’ exchange and broke away toward the front of the house. Daniel and Ben quickly followed.

A broad, muscled figure hulked on the front porch. Her brown hair was put up in a sloppy bun on top of her head, and she stood a little over six feet tall. Daniel was normally the height of seniors in his school, but Gator still dwarfed him. She pulled back a hammy fist to pound on the door again but noticed them walking around to the front of the porch. Her eyes fell on Daniel and Ben, and her already low forehead seemed to cover her eyes entirely as they bunched together and darkened. She pursed her lips and frowned at the same time. The overall appearance made her look like some human/Shih Tzu hybrid.

As soon as Daniel’s eyes fell on her, he sensed a gentle “nudge” from the Three. There was something important about Gator, or something she needed to hear. One glance at Ben told Daniel he had felt the same thing. He had a far-off look in his eyes and seemed momentarily distracted.

“I-I didn’t realize you had company,” Gator stammered in Seren’s direction. “I’ll come back another time.”

Seren joined her on the porch before she could step off. Daniel stayed in the yard. He’d been in one too many tight spaces with Gator to risk being cornered now.

Ben stood on the steps and waved at her. “Hey, Gator. You back with your dad now?”

Gator blushed. “Yeah,” she snapped. “You going to make fun of me or something?”

Ben took a step back. “No. I was just wondering. Honest.”

Gator looked back and forth between both boys and made to dash off the porch to leave. Seren held out a hand. “Wait. You haven’t shown me the popcorn yet.”

“The what?” Gator seemed to remember the now wadded-up order form in her fist. “Oh. I’m … uh … selling Christmas popcorn. It’s some stupid fundraiser my school is doing for our senior trip. I have to sell it, or I can’t afford to …” She tossed a wary glance at Daniel. “Uh, everyone has to sell it. Here.” She shoved the crumpled sheets into Seren’s hand.

Seren took it and pried open the order form. “These look amazing. But—wow, they’re expensive. I’m sorry, I don’t have that much money. Wish I did, though.”

Gator seized the form back and shoved it in her pocket as she stomped off the porch. “Knew I shouldn’t have come here,” she muttered. “Stupid Dad made me.”

She tried to push past Daniel. “Go ahead. Have a good time laughing.”

Daniel snatched the form and scanned the photos.

“Hey!” Gator protested. “What do you think you’re doing? You looking for a black eye?”

“Ben. Look at these. They’re smothered in chocolate! You think Mom and Dad would order some for us?”

“I said, give it—wait. What?”

Ben took the form from Daniel. “Mom’s a sucker for chocolate covered anything. Gator, why don’t you bring this to—” He lay a hand on her well-muscled shoulder. “Good grief! You’re like a rock. How much are you working out these days?”

Gator shook off his hand and looked uncomfortable with the compliment.

“Sorry. Why don’t you bring this to our house? Our mom would love to buy some.”

“Yeah, Gator,” Daniel chimed in. “We were just heading home now, anyway.” Another nudge from the Three, this time strong and urgent. A prickly sensation trickled down his spine. “Seren, too.”

Seren raised her eyebrows and looked sideways at Daniel. “I was?”

“Yes,” Daniel answered emphatically. For some reason, it was very important that all four of them leave quickly. He wasn’t sure if it was because they needed to be home, or just away from Granny’s house. Either way, it was clear they were to go immediately. “Yes, you were. I don’t know why, but you were.” He gestured toward the sky with his thumbs and shrugged.

“Oh, right. Yep, I sure was. Heading that way now, actually.”

Ben watched their exchange. “Did I miss something?” he whispered toward Daniel.

Daniel cleared his throat. “I’ll explain later,” he muttered. “But we need to hurry.”

Gator stared at all three and sneered. “If this is some kind of prank, I’m going to—”

“Tie us into knots?” Daniel interrupted. He grabbed the order form from Ben and trotted toward his house. Ben fell in step behind him. “Beat us within an inch of our lives with your skull-studded belt?”

Gator ran after them. “Bring back that form! And I don’t have a skull-studded belt!”

“Why not?” Ben called back. “It’d match the whole Brutal Amazon look you have going on. You should definitely get one.”

Seren brought up the rear, but easily sprinted past the lumbering Gator and caught up with Daniel. Her face was lit up with excitement. “Did you hear something from the Father? Is our quest about to begin?”

“Shhh! Not so loud,” Ben hissed, waving at Seren. He glanced back at Gator, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“I don’t want to sell your dumb family my popcorn!” she wheezed. Apparently, she didn’t mix much cardio into her workout routine.

“But our mom will want to buy some. I’m sure of it!” Daniel shouted. He turned to Ben and Seren, still jogging next to him, and lowered his voice. “Look, I don’t know why, but the Three wanted us to leave Granny’s house. That’s all I know.” He paused to catch his breath. “No idea if this is the start of the quest. Did you guys not feel anything?”

The dormers of the Jones’s house came into view over the trees lining the street. Daniel jumped over the curb and onto the sidewalk. He looked back to see if Gator was still following them. She was, but something else caught his eye, too. In the woods back toward Granny’s house, there was a dark pulse. It was the only way he could think to describe it. It lasted only a second and was as if all the colors in the woods had temporarily faded darker before returning to normal. He didn’t think any servant of the Enemy would dare attack Granny’s directly.

His stomach went cold.

No ordinary servant of the Enemy, anyway. One of his Generals might. Or a monster as powerful as Ravana or the Pitwolf.

“I just felt something,” Ben whispered. He’d gone pale.

Seren nodded. “Me, too. What was that?”

“I have no idea. But—”

“Stop bullying my daughter!” someone bellowed in a gravelly, hysterical voice.

Daniel snapped his head behind him and saw that a shaggy caveman wearing three-sizes-too-small running shorts, a skin-tight tank top, a tennis headband, and flip-flops with knee-high socks, had joined the chase. Crimson hair, like fuzzy flames, bristled out from his body in every conceivable direction. A cheap, red toupee streamed out behind his head, flopping wildly in the wind.

“Where did The Barth come from?” Ben shouted. “Seriously! Did he just jump out of a trashcan or something?”

“Dad, quit following me around the neighborhood!” Gator commanded. “I can take care of myself.”

Barth fell in step behind his daughter as the entire group reached the Jones’s yard. “I have to keep an eye on you, dear.” He fell to his knees and gasped for breath, the brief burst of running too much for him. “I’m not going to let that nag of a social worker Ms. Julie accuse me of being a bad parent again!” he said in loud bursts between labored breaths.

“Hello, Mr. Gurge.” Ms. Julie stood up from the front porch swing, where she, Alan, and Mariah Jones were sitting. Her stormy gray eyes flashed down at Barth.

Barth’s face blanched white. “Why are … you better not … aren’t you a surprise … a nice surprise!” His voice cracked and went two octaves higher as he stuttered out the barely comprehensible statement.

Gator skidded to a halt and froze, her eyes pinned on Ms. Julie as if she were a rattlesnake ready to strike.

Daniel ran up the front porch steps and into Ms. Julie’s open arms. Despite his years desperately wishing to leave the Holy Moses Home for Bleeding Heart Orphans, she had always been like a mother to him. He was taller than she was now, and when they broke away, she stepped back and reached up to tousle his hair. “Hey, Daniel. How’ve you been?” Her voice was calm and reassuring.

“Good!” he said. “So good. It’s awesome living with Mom and Dad.” He let his eyes fall on his adoptive parents, still sitting in porch chairs adjacent to the swing. They were barely smiling and kept glancing at each other. His mother craned her neck to look out over the yard, her long, black hair tucked behind one ear. After a moment, her icy-blue eyes flitted back to his and held it as though searching his mind.

“Is something wrong?” Daniel looked back at Ms. Julie and noticed for the first time that she looked much older. Worry lines wrinkled the corners of her eyes, and streaks of gray and white snaked through her once dark hair. “I don’t have to leave home, do I? Am I in trouble?” Daniel felt as though his stomach was about to flip.

Ben had been hovering near the porch steps, but once he heard Daniel’s question, he was immediately at his shoulder. “What? Daniel has to leave?”

Seren, expressionless, watched the exchanges from the yard. Gator and Barth hung back just behind her.

“Serves him right,” Barth muttered to Gator. “After all the trouble he caused.”

“Oh my, no!” Ms. Julie exclaimed. “Goodness gracious. You kids (and adults),” she looked hard at Barth, “sure are quick to jump to conclusions!”

Barth withered under her stare and hid behind Gator, who rolled her eyes at her father’s skulking.

“I came by because I have some interesting news,” Ms. Julie continued. “But, perhaps, it would be better to discuss it without an audience.”

The front door was flung open, and Janice stuck her head out. She rubbed the corners of her eyes and yawned. “Heavens. What’s all the excitement about? Oh, hello, everyone. Look at all the company we suddenly have! Such a surprise.” Her voice was a nasally barrage. “I simply love sitting with family on the porch and chatting.” She suddenly produced her knitting bag as if it had been waiting just inside the door for her to grab in an emergency, and she stumbled out onto the porch. Her blue eyes, made giant through coke-bottle glasses, flitted back and forth until they alighted on a rocking chair on the other side of the porch. “That’ll do,” she muttered to herself. “I can still be a part of the conversation there. Just like the good old days. Front porches, knitting, family. How terribly grand.” She plopped down in the chair, adjusted her pants, which were pulled up too high, and flung frizzy, dull red hair out of her freckled face with both hands. Her knitting needles were out in a flash, and she was busy clicking away before anyone could respond.

“Um,” Ms. Julie’s voice trailed off as she looked back and forth between Daniel, the Joneses, Seren, the Gurges, and Janice.

“It’s okay,” Daniel said. “Janice and Seren are family.”

Mrs. Jones gestured toward Janice. “That’s my cousin. She’s living in our spare bedroom until she can find a house in the neighborhood. Seren is a neighborhood friend.”

Everyone turned around and looked at the Gurges. Barth squirmed under the scrutiny.

“We’re just here to sell popcorn,” Gator said defiantly. “I never would’ve come except that little, snot-faced …”

Barth’s hand flew to Gator’s shoulder. He mumbled something from behind her massive back, and Gator changed her tone.

“I only came because Daniel has my order form. I need it back.”

“Please,” Barth intoned.

“Please.” Gator growled the word and stared at the ground like she wanted to beat it up.

Daniel felt a nudge from the Three again. What was happening? They’re supposed to leave Granny’s because of some strange presence, and he’s supposed to be nice to Gator? Between that and Ms. Julie’s cryptic visit, he was thoroughly confused. “Give me a second,” he said to Ms. Julie and his parents. He jumped off the front porch and walked up to Gator.

“Listen, I’m sure my mom will buy some popcorn. Just come by later. You don’t even have to talk to me or Ben when you do.”

Gator stared. “Why are you dweebs being so nice? This some sort of joke?”

Barth’s flaming red hair poked out from behind her right shoulder. “Don’t trust them, Dear.” He gave his best shot at whispering, but his raspy voice grated its way across the yard. “He’s just trying to look good for that witch, Ms. Julie.”

“I’m still here,” Ms. Julie said in a singsong voice. She waved at Barth. “And I can hear everything you’re saying.”

Barth threw up his hands and darted out of the yard like he’d been stung by a bee. “Run, Gator!” he screamed over his shoulder. “She’s calling the judge! Meet at our ren-dez-voos spot!” His voice trailed off as he made his way further down the road toward his house. “I’ll pack the bags!”

Gator gritted her teeth and silently turned on her heel to leave.

“Popcorn?” Janice looked up from her handiwork. She stood and fumbled off the front porch, still clicking her needles. Her knitting bag hung from one arm. “I hope it’s that yummy, chocolate-covered kind that every kid sells before Christmas.” Daniel handed her the order form, which she pinned between her thumbs and needles. Her giant eyes studied the page. “These look scrumptious. I’ll walk you home … Gator, was it? I’ve got my checkbook in my knitting bag. Oh my! Caramel with sea salt is my favorite.”

Gator looked stunned by the onslaught of kindness and obediently marched toward her house, with Janice chattering away as though nothing interested her more than holiday popcorn.

“Well, now that there are no more—uh—distractions,” Ms. Julie said, leaning against the house, “we can have a chat.”

“Daniel,” Mr. Jones’s voice was calm but serious. “Come sit. We have something to talk to you about.” His eyes were a perfect match for Ben’s; his hair was closer to Daniel’s brown, but normally brushed neatly to the side. Now, however, it was disheveled, as if he’d been nervously rubbing his temples.

Mrs. Jones stood. “Seren, I’m sorry, but maybe it would be best if you went home.”

Ben snapped his head toward Daniel. Seren looked at both boys and raised her eyebrows. Daniel knew they were all thinking about the strange dark pulses and terrible presence they had felt at Granny’s. If the Enemy had sent something to the neighborhood, they needed to stay together.

“I’d like Seren to stay,” Daniel blurted out. “Because …” he looked at Ben.

“Granny wanted her out of the house for a while,” Ben said. He flashed a self-satisfied smile. “There’s some kind of surprise she didn’t want her seeing yet.”

Daniel was impressed with Ben’s quick thinking. It wasn’t a lie, really. They had told his parents that Seren was Granny’s relative to explain her sudden presence in the neighborhood after the last quest, which was also true. They were all a part of the Celestial Family, after all; they never said how distant of a relative she was. And Granny, wherever she might be, probably didn’t want Seren at her house because of whatever monstrous problem awaited them there.

“Oh, okay,” Mrs. Jones replied. “If you’re sure.”

Daniel nodded. “I’m sure.”

“Then come have a seat. Ms. Julie has some important news to tell you.”

All three kids joined the Joneses and Ms. Julie on the front porch. Mr. Jones beckoned for Daniel to sit between him and Mrs. Jones on the swing. Ben and Seren took a chair, while Ms. Julie stayed standing.

“Daniel,” Ms. Julie began. “About a month ago, I received a letter from your biological mother.”

Daniel’s heart skipped a beat, and a surge of complex emotions flooded his body. Excitement, hope, fear, confusion—those and about a thousand thoughts deadlocked his mind at once. He sat in stunned silence, his mouth slightly agape.

His dad put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. His mom, however, looked troubled.

Ms. Julie pulled out the letter. “She’s been trying to find you for the past couple of months. Child and Family Services has certain policies in place when this happens, of course, so we couldn’t just put her in touch with you right away. The first is for me to call the parent back and interview them. You understand, of course. I had to make sure she was … um … healthy.”

“You talked to her?” Daniel blurted out. “What was she like?”

Ms. Julie gently laughed at Daniel’s eagerness. “Very nice, and she seems stable. Both important things when parents want to reconnect with their children.” Her expression softened into one of pity. “But there’s more. Your father.” Ms. Julie paused.

Daniel leaned forward. Was his father looking for him too? It was like a dream. Growing up in the orphanage, he constantly fantasized about his parents searching for him. Somewhere, out in the world, they were desperately trying to find him. They had never meant to leave him for so long; it had all been a misunderstanding. And one day—one day soon—they would barge into Ms. Julie’s office and demand that he be allowed to come home.

As these thoughts crowded in on him, there was a check in his heart. Did he really want to leave Ben? Could he imagine a life without the Joneses? Somehow, despite the longstanding desire to be with his biological parents, his excitement changed into a complicated, bittersweet, Janice-type tangle of feelings.

“Your father died a little over a year ago, in the summer.” Ms. Julie’s statement broke in on his thoughts like a splash of ice-cold water. “I know that must come as a shock. You probably feel confused, and I know you were hoping to see him too. That’s normal for any adoptee.”

Daniel tuned out as Ms. Julie continued talking in reassuring tones, trying to comfort him with her vast knowledge about what foster children and adoptees experience in such situations. But his mind was somewhere else. Slowly, irresistibly, it was drawn to one particular memory from his quest in Peru. He stood at Intipunku, and the Father was taking his anger from him. In return, he was filled with the Father’s purifying power. It was then that Daniel felt he had truly become a son.

The Father’s voice filled Daniel’s mind. That day, your earthly father cried out to me and was purified of his anger and pride before he died. He came to me the same moment you accepted me as your Heavenly Father.

Daniel realized Ms. Julie had stopped talking, and everyone was staring at him. His cheeks were wet with tears he didn’t even know were falling. He looked down and wiped them away.

His dad pulled him into a side hug, searching his face with dark blue eyes, but saying nothing.

Mrs. Jones dabbed her eyes and sniffled. “I knew this would be too hard for him.” She fixed Ms. Julie with a stare that was half pleading, half accusatory. “Maybe we should keep talking another day.”