Light of the Last Read online

  BOOKS BY CHUCK BLACK

  WARS OF THE REALM

  Cloak of the Light

  Rise of the Fallen

  THE KNIGHTS OF ARRETHTRAE

  Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione

  Sir Bentley and Holbrook Court

  Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart

  Lady Carliss and the Water of Moorue

  Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor

  Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest

  THE KINGDOM SERIES

  Kingdom’s Dawn

  Kingdom’s Hope

  Kingdom’s Edge

  Kingdom’s Call

  Kingdom’s Quest

  Kingdom’s Reign

  LIGHT OF THE LAST

  PUBLISHED BY MULTNOMAH BOOKS

  12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200

  Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

  All Scripture quotations or paraphrases are taken from the following versions: The King James Version. The New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.

  Trade Paperback ISBN 9781601425065

  eBook ISBN 9781601425072

  Copyright © 2015 by Chuck Black

  Cover design by Kristopher K. Orr

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  MULTNOMAH® and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Black, Chuck, author.

  Title: Light of the last / Chuck Black.

  Description: First edition. | Colorado Springs, Colorado : Multnomah Books, 2015. | Series: Wars of the realm; book 3 |

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015035299| ISBN 9781601425065 (paperback) | ISBN 9781601425072 (electronic)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Good and evil—Fiction. | Christian life—Fiction. | Angels—Fiction. | Blind—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic. | JUVENILE FICTION / Legends, Myths, Fables / General.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.B528676 Li 2015 | DDC [Fic]–dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015035299

  v4.1

  a

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Books by Chuck Black

  Title Page

  Copyright

  A Note from Chuck Black

  Cast of Characters

  1 Interrogation

  2 A Life for a Life

  3 The Hard Good-bye

  4 Dark Secrets

  5 Kathryn and Jake

  6 The Ground Cries Out

  7 Validus and the Valiants

  8 The Farm

  9 Risky Business

  10 Sydney Carlyle and the Weapons Dealer

  11 The Burden of Command

  12 Protecting the Asset

  13 Exposing Aliens

  14 The Illusion of the Subconscious

  15 Outcast

  16 Homeward Bound

  17 Finding Ben Again

  18 NexTech Corporation

  19 Dressed to Kill

  20 The LASOK Experiment

  21 Plausible Deniability

  22 Intersection

  23 Ambush

  24 The Last Agent

  25 American Annihilation

  26 The Fate of the Nation

  27 The Team

  28 Beyond Light

  29 A War for Survival

  30 Cover-Up

  31 The Face of Conspiracy

  32 The Truth Shall Set You Free

  33 Light of the Last

  Reading Group Guide

  A NOTE FROM CHUCK BLACK

  This is a speculative work of fiction not intended to confuse or diminish the truth of God’s holy and inspired Word. Where the Bible is silent, I have taken literary freedom to construct a fictional account of the angels of heaven and their association and interaction with each other and with humanity. The intent of this book is, through fiction, to open our eyes to the reality of spiritual warfare as described in Scripture. I have made every attempt not to contradict the Bible in any way but rather to use it as a foundation upon which to inspire serious contemplation about our eternity and ultimately to give honor and glory to God. The Readers Guide that follows will carefully delineate the truth of God’s Word from the fiction of this story. Please take the time to read and understand it so that there is no confusion regarding solid biblical doctrine.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Drew Carter main human character

  Validus main angel character, last angel created

  HUMANS

  Sydney Carlyle main female character

  Kathryn Carter Drew’s mother

  Jake Blanchard Drew’s mentor & stepfather

  Benjamin Berg friend of Drew Carter; technical genius

  Piper member of Ben’s tech team

  Ridge member of Ben’s tech team

  Crypt member of Ben’s tech team

  Jester member of Ben’s tech team

  Thomas Reed FBI agent

  Mr. Ross mysterious observer

  Aashif Hakeem Jabbar leader of the Islamic Global Alliance (IGA)

  VALIDUS’S WARRIORS

  Persimus gifted at human translation

  Sason gifted at mass translation

  Jayt gifted at weapons

  Brumak gifted at strength

  Crenshaw gifted at prophecy

  Rake gifted at speed

  GUARDIAN

  Tren assigned with Validus to protect Drew Carter

  ARCHANGELS

  Michael leader of the Warrior Order

  Gabriel leader of the Messenger Order

  Raphael second to Gabriel in the Messenger Order

  ANGEL COMMANDERS

  Danick general of the second-generation of warrior angels

  Brandt great leader of first- and second-generation warriors

  FALLEN COMMANDERS

  Niturni former close friend of Validus

  Zurock a regional commander on the West Coast

  Tinsalik Barob rebel Fallen

  1

  INTERROGATION

  Drew Carter sat in a white room on a white chair in front of a white table. His hands were handcuffed to a bar in the middle of the table.

  A hundred images and emotions flashed through his mind. He had saved Sydney, Shana, and Micah, but he was worried for Reverend Ray Branson. No one would tell him anything about the reverend’s condition. He cringed at the thought that the kindest man he had ever known might be dead…dead because of him.

  Drew tried to clear his mind. It took a few moments, but slowly he pushed his emotions down. He closed his eyes and welcomed the serenity of the room. His entire body sighed at the reprieve from a constantly overloaded sensory system. It was the first time since that fateful accident in the lab at Drayle University that he didn’t have to concentrate on filtering out all the stimuli of a chaotic world. Though still too bright, the white room with its absence of movement soothed his eyes. The cool surface of the table relaxed his muscles. The clean, filtered air lulled his olfactory nerves to minimal activity. But the sweetest sensation of all was the near silence of the interrogation room. For a normal person, the silence would have been absolute. For Drew, i
t was close enough. He didn’t have to concentrate at all to ignore the extremely dampened sounds outside the room.

  For now, there were no invaders, neither light nor dark. In this sterile room he could almost convince himself that it was all a bad dream, that the invaders weren’t real and that if he could just clear himself and Sydney, life would be normal. Oh, how he dreamed of normal!

  Drew was tempted to shut down completely, but he knew he had to mentally prepare for the interrogation to come. How much did they know? How much should he tell? Was prison his destination regardless of what he said? After all, he had assaulted two FBI agents. No matter what the outcome or his motivation, they would never let that slide. Severe repercussions were inevitable.

  His thoughts turned to Ben. He hoped his quirky genius friend would stay levelheaded enough to implement the alternate plan. Ben was on his own now, once again lost in the sea of humanity. He had learned a lot and now his ability to disappear would determine if he lived or died. Drew shuddered to think of Ben up against an invisible enemy by himself.

  And finally there was Sydney Carlyle. What would her role be in all of this? Drew had determined that the FBI was clueless in regard to the invader war, but Sydney was not. Was she a secret agent of the light invaders? Her actions in the warehouse had directly affected the outcome, giving the light invaders the upper hand right when they needed it. He would have to conceal her abilities from the FBI too.

  After two hours of analyzing and preparing himself, he grew tired. He laid his head on the table between his outstretched arms and tried to relax again. How long would they leave him there?

  With his ear against the table surface, some of the sounds in the building were amplified enough for him to pick up, especially with the calm of the room soothing his other senses. He filtered out the whir of the air-conditioning system, footsteps, and a low rumble of background noise that must be voices. There was one set of voices much stronger than the rest. If he concentrated, he could just make out the words.

  “What have we learned from the girl?”

  Drew lifted his head and put his other ear to the table to see if the voices were any clearer, but it was the same. He turned his head so his face was away from the one-way mirror to his left and concentrated.

  “…don’t think she’s trying to hide anything. No record. Looks like she just got mixed up with the wrong guy.”

  “That’s irrelevant. She’s an accomplice to a man suspected of plotting the massacre at Drayle University, and she aided and abetted him when she knew he was running from the FBI. She’s not innocent, and she’s got a cell with her name on it too.”

  Drew’s heart sank. He had ruined Sydney’s life by asking for her help and bringing her into this mess. His stomach knotted as he thought of his beautiful, innocent Sydney sitting in a prison cell. He had to do everything in his power to negotiate on her behalf, no matter what it might cost him. Humility and honesty were his best play, as long as he didn’t mention the invaders. If the FBI believed he was schizophrenic, there would be nothing he could do on Sydney’s behalf. He wondered how much she had told them. If he knew, he might have an advantage.

  “Do you buy her bit regarding the industrial espionage? Seems far-fetched.”

  “Don’t know. We need to find Berg. He’s the biggest piece we’re missing. Let’s go find out what this criminal knows.”

  “Hey, Lewis, this guy can’t be all bad. Even the police think he’s some sort of hero. And if he did what those kids said he did…I don’t know.”

  “Come on, Reed, he assaulted both of us, and he knew we were federal agents. That alone puts him behind bars for a long time. This jerk is going down before there are any more shootings and innocent lives lost. Don’t get soft on me. Got it?”

  “Yeah, I got it, but…”

  “But what?”

  “The warehouse…I was there, Lewis. Do you know what he did in that building to save those people?”

  “Yeah, he went on another shooting rampage.”

  “He shot eleven gang members. None of them died.”

  “Maybe he’s just a lousy shot.”

  “Or maybe he’s an expert shot.”

  “Are you soft on this guy, Reed? Do I need to look for another investigator?”

  “No. I’m just saying that this guy may actually be one of the good guys. That’s all. Let’s let the evidence speak for itself.”

  “Absolutely, Reed, and it’s screaming for a conviction!”

  Drew heard a door open.

  “Agents Lewis, Reed, this is Mr. Ross. He’s with the Department of Justice.” This voice was one of authority, probably Lewis’s and Reed’s supervisor.

  “Department of Justice? With all due respect, we’re with the Department of Justice—oh…I see. Why are you here, Mr. Ross? This is still my investigation, isn’t it?”

  “I’m just here to observe. Are you well prepared for this interrogation?”

  “Of course.”

  Silence.

  “Is there something we should know?” That was Reed’s voice.

  “Do you know who you’ve got in there?”

  Drew’s heart began to quicken. This Mr. Ross scared him. He seemed too smart.

  “Yeah, a sadistic jerk who gets his kicks murdering students and assaulting federal agents.” That was Lewis.

  More silence.

  “I’ve been watching Carter for the last year. I can promise you, he is anything but that.”

  “How’s that possible, sir? Lewis and I have been looking for Carter since Drayle and just yesterday discovered his location. How could you have been watching him?”

  “Just go do your job, gentlemen,” Mr. Ross said quietly.

  “Don’t screw this up, Lewis. We need this information, and you need this to go well,” the supervisor said flatly.

  Drew heard some unintelligible sounds and a door open and close again. He took a deep breath, then sat up as the door to the interrogation room opened. He thought of Sydney and Reverend Ray and was able to give the agents a genuine look of apprehension.

  One of the agents sat across the table from Drew while the other leaned against the wall to his right, opposite the one-way mirror. Drew recognized him as the younger of the two agents he had overpowered earlier, which meant he must be Reed. He was lean with dark hair, twenty-five to thirty years old. He didn’t look happy. The aggressive agent would be the interrogator, Lewis. He was shorter, five-nineish with a stocky build, ten years older than Reed and nearly bald. A Band-Aid covered a small cut and a nasty bruise just above his left eye. This was the agent Drew had slammed into the car and knocked out.

  This was not going to go well.

  Lewis opened a folder in front of him, then reached into his pocket and set a digital recorder on the table between them. “I am Federal Agent Lewis, this is Agent Reed. Will you approve of our recording this questioning?” Lewis asked.

  Drew nodded. He appreciated the cold, professional demeanor Lewis was displaying, knowing the agent probably wanted to cold-cock him to get even.

  Lewis pushed the Record button.

  “Before we ask you any questions, you must understand your rights. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during the questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer, you have the right to stop answering at any time. If you understand your rights and you are willing to answer questions without a lawyer present, sign here.”

  Lewis placed a sheet of paper and a pen within Drew’s reach. Drew looked over his rights once more, thinking through whether he should have a lawyer present.

  “I also have the right to a phone call,” Drew said. “I’d like to talk to Jake Blanchard.”

  “You do have the right to make a phone call. However, a
phone call to Jake Blanchard may jeopardize our continuing investigation. Is there someone else you would like to talk to?”

  Drew frowned. That meant Jake was being investigated too. Probably because of the money and fake IDs he’d given Drew before Drew left to search for Ben. It felt like everyone good was under investigation while everyone bad was walking free. He didn’t like it.

  “No.” Drew grabbed the pen and signed the paper.

  “You are being charged with eleven counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated assault against federal agents, and illegal possession of a deadly weapon in a school safety zone. Other charges may or may not be counted against you as the investigation continues. Do you understand the charges against you?”

  “Yes, but I will only answer your questions on one condition.”

  Lewis looked at him with a countenance of stone. “We are not in a position to make concessions or deals in exchange for information.”

  “This one’s easy. I want to know the medical condition of Reverend Ray Branson.”

  Lewis just stared at him for a moment, looking as though he didn’t want to give Drew anything.

  “I just want to know if he’s going to make it,” Drew said. “He’s my friend. Please.”

  Lewis finally nodded. Agent Reed disappeared through the door and returned two minutes later. Drew studied his eyes for some hint of his message.

  “Reverend Branson is in serious condition but stable. They will know if he will make a full recovery within the next twenty-four hours.” Reed gave Drew a subtle nod.

  Drew lowered his head. “Thank you.” Ray had a wife and two beautiful children to fight for. Drew convinced himself that his friend would make it.

  He looked back up at Agent Lewis. “Why don’t you tell me about your involvement in the shooting at Drayle University on Thursday, May 8, 2014?” Lewis asked.

  Drew shook his head. “It began eight months before that. I have to start there for you to understand.”

  Lewis crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Start wherever you like. We have plenty of time.”

  Drew took a deep breath. “It all began with the death of Dr. Waseem, a physics professor at Drayle. My friend Benjamin Berg was his lab assistant. Dr. Waseem had received a grant for his groundbreaking work on the acceleration of light. Ben came to me one day, concerned because Dr. Waseem had disappeared. Later we discovered that he had died in a car accident, which seemed fishy to us. Ben and I attempted to re-create the lab experiment Dr. Waseem was working on, but the equipment exploded.”