Page 42 of Firestorm

Sylvie faced him. “What do you think of Pamphili?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer. Was she fishing to see where he stood? “To be honest, he scares me.” Aiden had wasted so much of his life living for himself. Trying to get ahead. Living in the world.

“Me, too. He’s not who he says he is. I don’t buy all this peace he keeps touting. In fact, I think he’s—” She hesitated.

“The one spoken of in the Bible?”

Her eyes widened. “Yes, that’s right. Are you?”

Father,please don’t let this be a mistake.

“I am a new believer.”

A grin spread across her face. “Me, too. I became a true believer in God when a friend of mine pointed out Pamphili fit the description of the antichrist.” Something dark came across her face. “She died recently in one of the bombings.”

Aiden was thrilled to have another believer in this dark kingdom. “I’m sorry about your friend. That must have been hard.” In Washington, there had been several attacks. The city was still in turmoil.

“Thank you. My husband didn’t want me to take this job. I can’t explain it, but I felt like I was compelled to come here. Almost as if someone had put their hand on my back and was moving me along.”

Aiden eyes widened. “I felt the same way. I left my wife back in D.C. And I’m worried about her.”

Sylvie nodded. “Same here. Earnie works for the D.C. police. Homicide. He keeps telling me how bad things are back home. Perhaps I can have him reach out to your wife.”

Aiden was grateful. “That would be wonderful.” He chose his next words carefully. “Do you believe Strike Force is behind this chaos?”

Sylvie stepped closer as if she were worried about being overheard. “There’s no way. I’ve been following them on their website. Those people are good people.”

A sense of relief swept over him. “I agree.” He thought about sharing his conversation with Strike Force with her, but something held him back.

“It’s nice to have another believer among the group. There aren’t many.”

Sylvie nodded. “Have you noticed how everyone appears almost enthralled by Pamphili. There’s something supernatural in the works.”

Aiden agreed. “Definitely.” He glanced behind them. “I should probably head back. I’ve been gone a while, and I don’t want anyone to become suspicious.”

Sylvie smiled. “Good thinking. Perhaps we can meet here to talk about our faith. We’re going to need all the support we can get in the coming weeks.”

Aiden smiled. “That sounds good to me.” He waved and headed back to the castle feeling somewhat more at peace knowing there was another believer close. What would happen if Pamphili found out?

Though there had been no outward condemnation of Christians, Pamphili’s speeches were all about tolerance. The old way and beliefs were no longer acceptable. It was only a matter of time before the values held by Christians would not be tolerated. At that time, he and Sylvie and other followers would have to disappear if they wanted to live long enough to see the rapture. The times were troubling to say the least, but Aiden chose not to worry. God was in control, and He’d predicted all of this. Nothing was taking Him by surprise.

???

Sarah couldn’t relax. The compound was secure thanks to James’ team, and there was plenty of work to do. She glanced around the room at the group of men and women who were working long hours to put safe houses in place in time to protect innocent lives.

The screen in front of her blurred, and Sarah ran her hand across her tired eyes. They’d set up safe houses in half of the states, though some were temporary. The locations overseas were not as easy. Finding contacts who could be trusted was a challenge. Though the website had yielded a wealth of contacts, the men hadn’t been able to vet a lot of the information coming in.

Sarah rose and stretched her tense back. The thought of more coffee churned her stomach. Someone touched her arm. James was standing beside her. Just seeing him lifted her spirits.

“How are you holding up?” James asked.

A question she wasn’t sure how to answer. “Like if I drink one more cup of coffee, I’m going to bleed caffeine.”

He chuckled. “I know what you mean. Why don’t we take a walk instead?”

She looked forward to moments alone with James. “I’d like that.” Sarah grabbed her jacket, and together they stepped out into the chilly evening. Snow had begun to fall earlier in the afternoon.

She slipped her hand in his. With the future filled with so much darkness, Sarah had wondered how selfish it was for them to want to marry. She’d spoken to Blake about it extensively. Each time, Blake always told her sharing love with someone was a good thing. It didn’t matter for how long.

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