Read The Forsaken - The Apocalypse Trilogy: Book Two for Free Online

Angel’s waist on a shining belt. “Such
doubt is sin. To doubt your faith is a pain carried inside your
temple body, to doubt your God is a pain that shall last all
eternity, for it resides in your soul.”
    “What shall I do?” Stoneworthy had covered
his face with his hands, weeping. “I have offended Him!”
    “Offense?” questioned the Angel. “You offend
him now, with such vanity. The Lord shall tend his flock, the
obedient he will love. Those who will not heed his Word are free to
wander the wilderlands with the Wolf. The Lord understands that you
serve yourself with the Word; you do not serve him. And yet, you
adore him by serving that part of him that lives in you.” The Angel
gestured toward the bed. “Is this how you serve your Lord?”
    Stoneworthy looked at the bed, and there was
Myrah, still asleep. Her eyes were like a skull’s cast into dark
shadows by the Angel’s light.
    “No! No! I am so sorry! Slay me, Angel.
Strike me blind! Punish me!” Stoneworthy struck his own breast,
sputtering through his sadness.
    “How shall I punish what should be punished
by the Lord God inside you, and by he who is in Heaven above.” The
Angel had surprised Stoneworthy then by cupping the minister’s chin
with a long warm finger and drawing him to his feet. “ See that
you do not do that . I am a fellow servant who worships God with
you.” Stoneworthy rose, naked before the Angel.
    “Do not despair. You have served the Lord in
Heaven when the rest of mankind reveled in sin. And only when the
end of the world came, did you doubt. For that the Lord is
thankful. A man’s faith must not need proof and you had none before
the Dark Days began. Greatness comes from a man’s ability to
believe without proof. Pharaoh asked Moses for proof of the Lord’s
existence. Was he great? The empire of Egypt is no more, and
Pharaoh no more. For even with proof, they did not believe. Your
greatest sin, Stoneworthy is your misapprehension of the signs.
This Change as you call the Dark Days, is the first step to
Salvation for you all. You must recapture your Faith, and learn to
serve God as you have.”
    The Angel rose to its full height—its great
pinions spread, and from it burned a fire that scorched the
minister’s soul. Stoneworthy howled, his body convulsing with pain.
“Go. Now! As you are. As Adam and Eve were once cast out! And for a
time, eat not of the world. For seven days go into the wilderness
that you have courted. Then return to this City, and gather the
holy men of earth. The truth of your mission will be made known to
you if you find the truth of yourself in the wilderness—for there
lies Faith. Go! Now!”
    And as the Angel faded from his sight
Stoneworthy ran naked from Myrah’s apartment. He ran through the
streets joyfully bearing the humiliation, rejoicing in the terror
of salvation. He left the City on bleeding feet and ran until his
heart was ready to burst. Only when he could climb to the top of a
tree-covered hill did he end his labor. He stayed in the wilderness
for seven days, eating nothing, tasting nothing but the familiar
sweetness of deprivation, terror and the Divine knowledge of his
essential self. His fear taught him much, for few wandered the
wilderness without it. After the Change, animals lost their fear of
man, and no longer recognized his dominion.
    The rain of the Changed world washed
him—scoured away his sin, threatened the life of his body with cold
and death. But he wrapped himself in a protective cloak of faith
and rejoiced. When he returned, Stoneworthy set to work gathering
together the priests, ministers and officials of the major
religions that had already gravitated to the City. Through
conferences and discussions, he began the process of joining
together those that loved God, and devoted their lives to his work.
They would form a beacon for the world to see, and this city of
survivors would become the City of Light. With his fellow faithful
he would create an altar