Torn by Christine Hughes Page A

that humans shouldn’t have control over their own destinies. When God didn’t budge, Sebastian did everything he could to undermine God’s decision.”
    “Like Lucifer and the apple?”
    “Yes, exactly. Lucifer wasn’t working alone, but Sebastian made him the fall guy, so to speak. Over the centuries that followed, Sebastian killed and tortured humans just because he could. And he delighted in it. He wanted all to know that angels were the superior beings. What he failed to realize was that it wasn’t our place to interfere.
    “Soon he had an army of angels following him and before long, God cast them out of heaven. Many realized they were wrong to question God’s authority but by then it was too late. So, they banded together to form the Faithful. They, we, work to atone for the sins of those who fell before us. The others, the Exiled, have taken up with Sebastian’s original mission, to do whatever is necessary to regain control of what isn’t rightfully theirs to begin with.”
    “Humanity. Free will.”
    “Right.”
    “And they need the box and the Heart to do that?”
    “Yes. Destroying them both will erase any possibility of hope and thus free will. Putting them together will erase any possibility of despair and thus end the Exiled’s reign.”
    “I know I asked this before, but why didn’t my dad and mom do just that? They had both. Why didn’t they just end it when they had the chance?”
    Ethan spoke first. “Because your father knew, as many of us know, one cannot live without the other. There needs to be a balance, if you will. If everything is perfect and there is no sadness, no disappointment, what will be left for anyone to hope for? Free will would be gone as there would no longer be a need to make choices, and God’s decree would be broken. Unfortunately, there are still some Faithful who want to erase the Exiled, regardless of the consequences. They don’t understand the balance that is needed and—”
    “Both ideas have merit, Ethan,” Lucas pointed out, interrupting him.
    “We’ve been through this, Lucas. We’ve been taught about balance. We’ve been shown how well everything thrives as long as there is balance. Now that James is gone, another must rise up and take hold of it and not allow the scales to tip in either direction.”
    My heart sank. “Who’s going to do that?”
    Ethan squeezed my hand. “If we’re right about everything we’ve learned so far, then you, Sam. You’re going to be the one to do that.”
     
    ***
     
    The following morning, after packing the jeep, we drove out to my father’s cabin. It’d been years since I’d been there. And I was going back there, not for fun and relaxation as I once had with my father, but for training and isolation.
    Everyday I would train. I would focus on everything they told me. I would do all I could to prepare myself for the one thing I wanted. To face the man...angel...person, whatever, who killed my father. The one who wanted to kill me. I clung to Ethan and Lucas as if my life depended on it. And I was certain that it did.

 
     
    CHAPTER 8
     
     
    September, the Cabin :
     
    It had been six months since my dad was killed. Even now, I could recall that morning in vivid detail, as well as my dream. Strange, that even six months later that dream was still fresh in my mind. From the intricately carved wooden box and floating script that said Hope , to the look on Mac’s face as he knelt in front of me. Even now, it barely seemed real. Some mornings I almost expected to wake up in my own house and walk downstairs to see my dad making pancakes or drinking coffee while perusing the newspaper.
    I wouldn’t have made it through the last six months if it weren’t for Ethan and Lucas. With Lucas the same age as me and Ethan a year older, I had always felt like I had two brothers instead of being an only child. Their father had died five years ago. Like my father, his job frequently took him out of the country so Lucas