EPILOGUE
Elijah Cox closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
The smell of the earth, sweet and fungal with an undercurrent of moisture rising from the river, filled his nostrils.
Birdsong chorused in his ears, the lively melody backed by the steady rhythm of the bees and wasps flitting from flower to flower and the dragonflies skimming the creek ahead of him.
A branch snapped on the opposite bank. He opened his eyes and saw a lynx staring at him from across the water. It held one forepaw up, its ears erect, short tail held straight back. It hadn’t yet grown its winter coat, and its sinewy build was clearly visible underneath its short summer fur.
Cox held its gaze, waiting to see if the lynx would see him as a threat.
After a moment, the lynx’s eyes dropped to the water.
Its paw struck with blinding speed, breaking the water and coming back with a small fish impaled on its claws.
The fish flopped manically, instinct driving it to escape and preventing it from realizing no escape was possible.
The lynx carefully placed the fish in its mouth and bit down.
The fish’s spine snapped with a crunch that Cox could just make out from across the gently moving stream.
The fish’s struggles ceased, but stray signals still caused the occasional twitch as the lynx retreated into the trees to enjoy its meal.
Cox smiled and breathed a prayer of thanks to God for allowing him to escape his prison.
Like the Apostle Paul, he had learned to be content no matter his circumstances, but given the choice, he preferred freedom to incarceration.
Here was a chance to see the world as God intended.
Every living creature in its place. Every living creature serving its purpose.
Kate would serve her purpose. She'd forgotten it during Cox's incarceration. She'd been deceived into thinking she could find happiness, find love in the arms of her simple-minded partner.
No, that wasn’t her fate. She wasn’t going to enjoy a simple life with a man she loved, a family, a career. Such blessings were trivial gifts for trivial lives.
Kate wasn’t trivial. God had much bigger plans for her. She’d forgotten those plans, but Cox would remind her.
Kate needed correction. She had been tempted, and she had fallen. It was disappointing, but perhaps it was fortunate. Cox now understood that in order for Kate to fulfill her purpose, those temptations needed to be removed from her life.
So, Cox would remove them.
But first, he had work to do. The world also needed correction. His disciples had done good work. Caroline Bennett had completed her task, the first of his disciples to do so. He would have to write an epistle to her to express his pride and gratitude.
Still, the work wasn’t done. Other commandments were profligately ignored, and it was Cox’s calling to remind the world that God’s commandments were not optional. Just as Moses had corrected the children of Israel, so it fell to Cox to correct the children of America.
Footsteps approached him, not an animal’s. Cox waited until Ian spoke first. “We should move on. We need to find a place to set our shelter before dark. This forest is crawling with bears, and some of them are brown.”
Cox inhaled the scent of the river once more and watched God’s plan at work.
A butterfly strayed too close to the water and received correction in the form of a large bright green dragonfly veering from its path to grasp the butterfly and snap off its head.
It alighted on a reed and consumed its meal.
“Reverend,” Ian insisted. “We need to move. It’s not safe here.”
Cox got to his feet and smiled at his charge. Ian was of a more earthly mind than his other disciples. He hadn’t yet learned to trust God’s deliverance. “Have faith,” he said, laying a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “God will protect us.”
Ian pursed his lips. “Of course, Reverend. That being said.”
Cox laughed. “Lead the way, Ian.”
Ian nodded and led Cox up the hill toward the waiting vehicle.
Cox knew already that there was a suitable cave a few miles deeper into the forest, long abandoned by the bear that had occupied it.
He allowed Ian to lead him that way without saying anything.
It would lift Ian’s spirits to believe God had led him to their resting place.
Behind him, the stream continued to trickle. The predators continued to catch prey. And thousands of miles beyond, the woman whose sacrifice would save her nation continued to resist.
But not for long. Soon, like Paul, she would accept that submitting to God’s will was infinitely better to resisting it.
And then Cox would fulfill his destiny by guiding Kate to hers.