Last Call by Lloyd Behm II

Author:Lloyd Behm II [Behm, Lloyd II]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blood Moon Press
Published: 2019-09-18T06:00:00+00:00

* * *

I… I don’t remember it that way…

Sleep…

* * * * *

Chapter 16 – Diindiisi

“As we see it, there are three issues we’re here to resolve. First, finding,” he flipped through his notes, “the one referred to as ‘he who must make a choice.’”

When the conference reconvened, there had been some shifting of seats. Fred now sat to my left.

“‘He who must make a choice?’ Did your human prophets get lazy or something?” Fred asked.

“There are indications that the reference is an artifact of translation,” Father Miller said. “The earliest reference we can find is in a little-known work about Saint Isidora. It references another work that sadly no longer exists.”

“Ah. That makes sense,” Fred said. “Sorry, Director, please continue.”

“Once we find ‘he who must make a choice,’ he must be allowed to make his choice, whatever that may be. That means defending the chooser, and that defense might involve having to kill a god—or gods—unknown, as well as their minions.”

“Depending on where he…Director, what was that term you used?” Call of the Sun asked.

“Chooser?”

“Much simpler than ‘he who must make a choice,’ I think,” Call of the Sun said. “Depending on where the Chooser is found, that could be an easy proposition.”

“Yes,” I said. “If we are forced to plane-walk to find the Chooser, killing a god or devil on their home plane is permanent. Killing them here? Not so much.”

“Do we have any way of finding the Chooser?” someone in Father Miller’s delegation asked.

“Based on events at the end of last month, we’ve come to believe that the Chooser,” Goodhart flashed a quick, wry smile, “is an employee of QMG, Father Jesse Salazar.”

“You are fucking kidding me,” Miller snapped. “Sorry. But the fate of all Creation depends on Jesse making the right choice?”

“Of all the people who could be the Chooser, Jesse is probably the best choice,” Jed said.

“How so?” Miller asked, turning to me. “No offense, Diindiisi, but I’ve known Jesse a long time, and while I love him like the brother I never had, I don’t know that I’d trust him with this.”

“Father, you say you love him like a brother. Do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,’” Jed replied. “I’ve got that tattooed on my left bicep, over a scar from a ghoul’s claw. I got that scar when Jesse was saving my ass.”

“What does John 15:13 have to do with Jesse?”

“If you were put in a situation where you could save yourself, or save Jesse but die in the process, what choice would you make, Father?”

“I’d…I’ve never thought about that, honestly.”

“That’s the difference between you and Jesse,” I said gently. “You would have to think about your choices. Your options. Those of your flock you leave behind. Jesse, were the situation reversed, would not pause in thought. He’d bull in to save you, though it meant his own death.”

“So you think he’s suicidal?”

“Far from it, and he would, I think, regret the necessity of his death,” I replied.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.