Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks Read Free Book Online Page B

their new home, but they did not have even an old cycle to ride on or any kind of car. So even though they had been gone for a week, they really hadn’t gotten very far.
    “This was when the evil King changed his mind about letting them go. He had thought about it a lot since they left. He didn’t miss them or anything, he just felt like they should have been made to stay where they were. He felt he had been weak in letting them go. Thinking about it made him furious, and so he called his soldiers together and went after them. He had war machines and carriers in which to travel. Nobody walked; everybody rode. The King and his soldiers traveled very fast, and they caught up with the boy and his children in only two days.”
    She paused, forcing herself not to look at Hawk, not to let him see in her eyes what she was thinking. “The evil King did not know about the boy’s vision of the Promised Land. He did not know about the promise the boy had made to his children that he would lead them there and they would live happily ever after. Only the children knew this, and they believed in the vision. They believed in the Promised Land and in the happiness that waited there.”
    “Like us,” Candle said softly. “We believe in Hawk’s vision.”
    Everyone looked suddenly at Hawk, and Owl said quickly, “That’s right, we do believe in Hawk’s vision. Just as the children in this story believed in the vision of the boy. But the evil King did not believe in visions. He only believed in what he could see with his eyes and touch with his hands. He did not believe in tomorrow. He only believed in today.”
    “What happened next?” Bear asked.
    “The boy and his children reached a river that was too wide and deep for them to cross. Before they could find a way to get around it, the evil King and his soldiers appeared behind them in their war machines and carriers. The boy and his children were trapped. There was no place for them to go, and they knew they would be taken back to their prisons or killed.”
    “They should fight!” Panther shouted excitedly.
    “They should try to swim!” exclaimed Bear.
    Owl shook her head. “There were too few of them to fight and the river was too fast for them to try to swim. But just when it seemed that all was lost, that there was no hope for them, the boy held up his arms and the waters of the river parted in front of them, pulling back on either side to form a path across.”
    “How did it do that?” Fixit asked doubtfully.
    “It did it because the river knew of the boy’s vision,” Owl said. “Rivers are deep in knowledge and hold many secrets. This one knew the secret of the boy’s vision. So it let the boy and his children cross over to the other side where they would be safe.”
    “What about the King? Didn’t he try to follow?” Panther was still looking for a fight to take place.
    “He did. He took all of his army in their war machines and carriers and went down the same path the boy and his children had taken, determined to catch them and bring them back. But the boy lifted his arms a second time and the waters collapsed on the evil King and his soldiers and drowned them all, every last one.”
    There was a momentary silence as the children digested this. She gave them that moment, then said, “So the boy led his children away from the river and after two more days, they reached the Promised Land.”
    “What was it like there?” River asked, huddled on the floor next to Candle, her knees pulled up to her chest.
    Owl leaned back in her wheelchair. “That story must wait for another night. It’s time to go to bed now.” She looked around at the disappointed faces. “Practice your reading until you get sleepy, then blow out your candles. Sweet dreams.”
    She rolled her chair down forward, stirring them to action. They climbed to their feet grudgingly, some asking for another story, some saying they weren’t sleepy, but no one really arguing. Hawk was moving