REVELATION 17:14

These shall make war with the Lamb,

and the Lamb shall overcome them.

The lake under the morning sun was stunning, an undulating sea of fire stretching to the horizon. Stephen had never been to the southern shoreline before, and he had started this trek hours ago to put distance between himself and the silent bodies of Jo and Anyelet. He would have liked to have buried them, or even spilled their remains into Lake Michigan and let the cleansing waters absorb both good and evil. Instead, he'd had to leave them on the bridge for the scavengers—the birds, the insects, and yes, the rats—and this was not something he wanted to stay and see.

Stephen turned south and began walking, barely noticing the sparrow that flitted around his head and finally ended on his shoulder for a free ride. The weather in the mouth was warmer, the daylight more intense; it was a climate where the smallest things of the earth might flourish that much faster. There were still darker things and frightening times ahead.

But not for long.