Adryel began to sob and laugh simultaneously, clutching at Ramael, never wanting to leave him again.

The cloud began to drift away, and it felt as though a hand rested briefly on Adryel's head as it pa.s.sed. Then it floated across the room, through the opening, and out onto the portico. The square, always noisy, fell silent.

Adonai's voice sounded to Adryel like great claps of thunder, but the words were unmistakable. "Adryel, my daughter, has come home. She who was dead. . .is alive. She who was lost. . .is found. Rejoice with me. Rejoice with me."

Adonai's voice seemed to roll across the city, and as he finished the echo bounced back.

. . .my daughter has come home. . .Rejoice with me. . .

The words, she was sure, had been heard in the farthest reaches of creation, had caused humans on Earth to lift up their heads, had even penetrated the dark caverns of h.e.l.l.

She might have imagined it, but Adryel was certain she heard Lord Lucifer howling like a wounded ox, and it caused her to smile.

As an example to the others, well, she could be quite useful. So Lord Michael had said.

The sound of cheers rose from the square. The angels around her in the council room stood and applauded. It seemed to Adryel that all the host of heaven and all of Adonai's creation joined in the celebration of her return.

Renounce Lucifer. . .and you may come home. How many times had she heard the words?

The rules had not changed after all.

As the cheers died away, the cloud returned to the room and pa.s.sed through it toward the door, the seraphim close behind.

Ramael took Adryel's hand and helped her to her feet. "Come. Let's go home."

"Home." It was the one and only word Adryel could manage.

At that, the cloud stopped, turned back, and everyone fell silent.

"Home," Adonai repeated.

Then, as the cloud drifted from the room, more words floated down the long hall to reach Adryel's ears. . .the unmistakable melodic voice of Adonai. . .

"Perhaps one day the others, too, will come home."

Adryel raised her eyes to Ramael and nodded. "Home."

Other books by David Burnett.

Click on the t.i.tle for more information about a book.

Those Children Are Ours.

Jennie Bateman screamed at her daughters, cursed her husband and walked away. How can a mother abandon her children?

Once and Future Wife.

When Jennie Bateman tosses her medication, the demons of her bipolar disorder, the same ones that shattered her marriage two decades earlier, return with a vengeance, conspiring to prevent her from securing the love and happiness that finally seem to be within her grasp.

To Fall in Love Again.

Cla.s.s warfare may be less violent than it was in the past, but when Drew invites Amy to the St Cecelia Ball, battle lines are drawn. Family, friends, co-workers all weigh in on their relationship and choose sides.

The Handfasting.

Steven is not Katie's only suitor. Bill has long planned to wed her, and when she and Steven fall in love, he finally decides to stake his claim. His courtship turns violent and Katie must decide what kind of life she wants for herself.

The Reunion.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could crawl through a worm hole and find ourselves in high school, again?" Michael asks. He doesn't men it literally, but when he begins to enjoy the same activities he did when he was young, his life begins to change.

About the Author.

We recently moved to our new home near Charleston, South Carolina. Three of my four books are set in Charleston, and I've always enjoyed the Carolina beaches. I now have the opportunity to walk on the beach almost every day and to photography the ocean, the sea birds, and the marshes that I love.

I love photography, and I have photographed subjects as varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, sea gulls, and a Native American powwow. My wife and I have traveled widely in the United States and the United Kingdom. During trips to Scotland, we visited Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett family near Aberdeen, and Kismul Castle on Barra, the home of my McNeil ancestors.

I went to school for much longer than I want to admit, and I have degrees in psychology and education. In an "earlier life" I was director of research for our state's education department.

sola Deo gloria.

Other Books by David Burnett.

Those Children Are Ours.

Once and Future Wife.

To Fall in Love Again.

The Handfasting.

The Reunion.