Total Eclipse

Imara straightened his body, folded his arms, and stood over him. She looked out at the Dji

Lewis, said a thunderous chorus of Dji

And a shining being misted into existence, more beautiful than anything Id ever imagined. Angels would weep to see him now, and it wasnt for several long heartbeats that I recognized his face, his body. It was Lewis, perfected, the way David had been perfected.

But Dji

Every single Dji

I went, too, more because I didnt want to be the only one standing. Davids face was blank, his eyes very bright, as he said, Hes the Conduit. All of us, together again. One people, not two.

Lewis had replaced Jonathan, in ways that David and Ashan could not.

I slowly stood up again, and Lewiss attention fixed on me. His smile hadnt changed at all, really.

Hey, I said. Soabout humanity

Through me, she understands, Lewis told me. His voice made me shiver, because it was like him and yet somehow . . . not. The seductive power hed unleashed was still putting raw edges on him. The human race will survive. Better get your act together, though. Its a limited time offer.

I nodded, not sure what to say to him anymore. David stood up next to me, and slowly, one by one, the Dji

Right, Lewis said. The Dji

I cleared my throat. And the Wardens?

Going to take a lot of work to bring them back, Lewis said. His smile grew brighter. I cant think of anyone I trust more to make that happen, Jo. You, and your son.

Son. I put a hand over my stomach as my lips parted.

Lewis waved his hand, and the glass windows of the chapel filled in again. The Dji

Is she still awake? I asked.

For now, he said. Shell sleep soon. But I think youll find things much easier now.

The Dji

I watched it soar away. When I looked back down, Dji

David took my hand. Time to go, he said.

I took in a deep breath. What about

Imara gave me a smile, and looked down. Lewiss body sank into the floor, into the stone beneath. I saw the fading whisper of it moving deep, deep into the Earth.

Gone.

Good journey, Mom, Imara said, and whispered into shadows and sand.

Behind us, the door of the chapel opened, and the priest blinked at us in surprise. Oh, hello, he said. The chapel isnt officially open yet, but if youd like to come back

Yes, David said. Well come back. But we have things to do.

We walked out, into bright sunlight, and descended the steps. I had no idea what wed do when we got to the bottomno car, no transportation of any kind. I didnt really feel like taking a bus.

Things to do, I repeated. Well go get the rebuilding started, round up the Wardens, recover the Dji

Shopping, David said, straight-faced. And a bedroom with a locked door.

Mmmm, I said. Joy gurgled up in me like bubbles, and I found I was poised on the edge of giggles. Can we move that to first on the list?

Probably not. He smiled, and stopped on the steps to kiss me with all the passion and sweetness I could ever want. Thats an installment.

Id like to give you something on credit, too, but its a public space. And a church.

He laughed, and we skipped down the rest of the steps to the parking lot.

Sitting in the middle of the lot was a black 1970 Mustang Boss 429, gleaming like new. I stopped and threw David a questioning look. He tossed me the keys.

Next stop, Las Vegas.

And the world, beyond.

Epilogue

Mo-o-om!

I was in the middle of a pile of paperwork and a simultaneous conference call with Warden HQ, which had already gone on for two hours and was likely to go on for two more. I counted to ten, silently, and hit the mute button on my phone just as someone, of course, asked me for my opinion. Ah well. I always told them family came first. What is it? I called, with extreme patience.

I need you!

Do you need me right now?

Wellyeah, kind of!

That was when I smelled something burning, and the smoke alarms went off at the back of the house. I jumped up, scattering papers in a summertime paper blizzard as I dashed toward my son.

He was standing in the doorway saying, Mom, I didnt mean to; it wasnt my fault. . . .

Lewis Kevin Prince, get out of my way!

He knew that tone, at least, and, head down, shuffled aside so I could see the freaking bonfire that was raging in the corner of his room. Those curtains were toast.

Again.

I called up my mad Fire skills and snuffed it out with only a little puff of smoke. It was worse than Id thoughtcarpet melted into a toxic cesspool in the corner, the paint done for, the aforementioned curtains gone from white to charred rags. It could have been worse. At least this time, hed kept it away from the closet, the computer, the game system, and his huge rack of books.

Our son was eight years old, and nobody in the entire history of the Wardens had shown this kind of crazy potential at this age. Potential for destruction, sure, but not with such an impressive amount of firepower. Literally.

I looked at the damage, sighed, and said, Lewis, Im going to have to get your dad for this.

He looked so gleeful for a second that I wondered if that had been his plan all along. Dad, home, with us. If it was, he was smart enough to look immediately angelic. Not hard for himhe was a gorgeous kid, with floppy straight dark hair and big blue eyes. He had his fathers features, though. In the pictures I had hanging up around the house, there was no doubt at all as to his parentage.

I really dont know where he got the stubbor

The front door slammed open, and a cheery voice yelled out, Get some clothes on, you, you hippies! Cherise. Good thing Id put the conference call on mute. Yikes, that would have greatly enhanced my standing in the Warden executive offices. Hey, are you burning a roast again? You really suck at this housekeeping thing, you know. Good thing I brought pizza and Bellinis.

Only in Cherises world did that combination make sense. I loved Cherises world.

Aunt Cher! Lewis quickly abandoned the disaster of his bedroom and pelted out toward the living room. Did you bring it? Did you?

I followed him, because standing there in contemplation of the wreckage was just not helping. Cherise wasnt alone; holding the pizza box was Tommy, whose shy smile always delighted melike Lewis, hed grown up to be a beautiful boy, and with far better ma

I could just imagine what Lewis would say to that. Lewis, listen to Tommy!

Yeah, right. Poor Tommy.