I Am: Book III of the Godmaker Trilogy

By Robin Buckallew

Rudy stared at the picture, but he wasn't sure. He hated to let go of Becca, but he needed to find out. He laid her gently against the cushions and checked. The wedding picture that usually held center position was gone. Electric currents shot through his body, shutting him down momentarily. The only thing this could mean is that whoever set the fire has been in their house. That's why the picture wasn't damaged; it was put there after the fire, just like the script. Rudy realized it wasn't an omen. It was a message.

Rudy embarks on one last wild ride with John, trying to fulfill Paul's last wishes, but this trip might be more than he can survive. Back at Carhenge, the group finds themselves in the middle of a scene straight out of Revelation, complete with demons and seven-headed horses. If Rudy is unable to finish the job Paul started, he may never see his wife and daughter again.

This book is the completion of the Godmaker Trilogy, begun in Alpha & Omega and Everywhere & Nowhere.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9780359058044

Book preview

I Am: Book III of the Godmaker Trilogy

I AM:

Book III of the Godmaker Trilogy

Robin Buckallew

Saffron Books

2018

Also by this author:

The Diary of Mrs. Noah

The Transformation

Yesterday and Tomorrow

Alpha & Omega

Blood Ready

Everywhere & Nowhere: Book II of the Godmaker Trilogy

The Ocean Wore Red

It Is What it Isn’t

Leafy Tom

Copyright © 2018 Robin Buckallew

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2018

ISBN 978-0-359-05804-4

Saffron Books

Cover Design By Matthew Jorde

For Chris, who always asked the hard questions that I had to think about before I could answer, who would never accept something just because someone said.

1

Rudy stared with distaste at his desk, hidden under piles of paperwork. Was it only a week since he was last here? It seemed like a year, locked in a crazy flight, and this pile was large enough to verify his time estimate. With a sigh, he pushed the piles to one side, clearing a space large enough to work, and stifled a vision of Moses parting the Red Sea. Enough biblical references, he thought. If I never hear another reference to the Bible, it’ll be too soon.

He was still on the first document when Stevie poked her head around the door and grinned.

There’s a dead man out here to see you.

Rudy jerked to attention. A dead man? He rose slightly, but dropped back into his chair when Adam entered. It’s you.

Gee, thanks, old man, good to see you too.

Rudy waved him to a seat. Adam sprawled in a chair on the other side of the desk and smirked at the pile of paperwork.

Sucks to be you, old man.

Did you need something? Rudy tried to snarl but he had developed a soft spot for the younger man and it was difficult to stay mad at him, even when he was deliberately annoying.

Thought you might have been expecting someone else, by the look on your face when I walked in.

Adam reached over and helped himself to a cup of coffee from Rudy’s pot. Rudy didn’t even bother to bat his hand away. He was going to let him have a cup anyway, so why did it matter if he asked?

When Stevie said there was a dead man to see me….

You hoped it would be Paul. Does Stevie know Paul is dead?

Rudy shook his head. He hadn’t even started writing his report about the strange events of the past week because he wasn’t sure where to begin…or where to end. How would he report Paul’s death? He was shot by a rogue cop to prevent him from killing God? In the presence of a living demon and his disciple? He was carried off in an ancient plane by a man who was, literally, older than God?

No. I haven’t briefed her.

Did you tell her you found the guy who shot me?

Rudy held up the paper on the top of the pile. Didn’t need to.

Adam grabbed the report before Rudy could stop him.

Hey! You don’t have any right to read that! You’re not on the force any more! Rudy protested without conviction. Adam already knew the contents; this was just the official report, filed by a very impressive young detective.

Wow... She’s really a good detective! Who would’ve thought?

Rudy frowned at the younger man. You just thought she was a great pair of legs.

Yeah – and a nice ass. Guess I owe her an apology. Hey, Stevie!

To Rudy’s surprise, Stevie popped through the door. She heard Adam call even through the walls of the office.

Remind me not to say anything in here I don’t want you to hear! Rudy grinned at the young detective to take any sting out of his words.

Yeah? You bellowed? She stood, hands on hips, and glared at Adam.

Sort of…I just wanted to… Adam stopped. His pride wouldn’t let him go on.

Stevie scowled, and swiveled to head back to her desk.

Wait.

She stopped. If you got something to say, out with it. Otherwise, I got lots of work to do. We’re one detective short today.

She glanced at the paper in Adam’s hand and shook her finger at Rudy. He grinned and shrugged.

I just wanted to say…thanks.

For what?

For doing a great job. For moving heaven and earth… Adam paused, considered his analogy, then pressed on. …moving heaven and earth to find the person who shot me.

Yeah, well, I didn’t do it for you. Stevie pouted, then flashed her brilliant smile at the chief. I did it to clear the chief. I knew he didn’t shoot you, even though you’ve given him plenty of reason.

Rudy roared. As usual, Stevie scored last. Adam gaped like a fish, his eyes following as she turned and stomped out of the room, giving her shapely ass a slight swish just before she closed the door.

Minx.

Okay, Adam, give me that report. Rudy reached across the desk and grabbed the paper. I’ve got work to do. Did you need something?

Adam paced the room, stopping at the window to watch squad cars come and go. He didn’t speak for nearly a minute. Rudy shrugged and turned back to his work.

How’s Becca? And the little girl? What’s her name?

Erin. They’re fine. Becca’s shaken, but Erin thought it was a great adventure. I’m glad they were together. I don’t think either of them would have made it otherwise.

What d’ya suppose got into Foster? Why’d he go to so much trouble to keep your family safe?

Conscience, I suppose. He was doing penance for trying to kill me.

Adam continued to pace, full of nervous energy that wouldn’t allow him to sit. Rudy watched him without speaking. This wasn’t typical for the younger man, who had a huge lazy streak and would sooner settle into a chair and sleep than pace.

Adam moved between the window, the desk, and the door, mumbling and gesticulating. Rudy got the impression he was arguing with himself, trying to come to a decision. The young man paced for several minutes, then looked toward the ceiling as though asking for help from the angels, and made up his mind. He pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and smoothed it out on the desktop. Rudy thought he recognized the paper Adam stuck in his pocket a couple of days ago on the airplane. He didn’t speak, waiting for the other man to take him into his confidence.

This… Adam faltered, and choked up. This is instructions Paul gave me, in the case of his death. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I didn’t think anyone could kill him.

Rudy nodded. He was still in shock at the death of the old man, a man who survived for so long, and was so strong, he almost believed him when he said he was immortal. Adam accepted Rudy’s offer of a glass of water and settled in while he sipped, trying to restore his equilibrium.

I don’t know…do you think I should? You know, call the number?

Now it was Rudy’s turn to stare out the window. Black and white cars filled the parking lot underneath his window, and figures in blue uniforms regularly erupted out of the large building to head toward an uncertain future. So much could change in an instant…tears filled his eyes as he relived the moment when Brandon grabbed the gun and shot his old friend.

I don’t know. I suppose you should. It was what he wanted, and you probably should honor his wishes.

Adam nodded. He stared at the paper as if it was written in Aramaic and he was trying to translate the lost language. He swiped at a tear, trying to appear non-committal even as his cheeks grew wet. Rudy took his hand.

We have to face reality. That bullet almost certainly hit directly in the heart. He’s not gonna survive that. There’s no way John could have gotten him to a hospital quick enough, even with the plane.

Adam pulled out his phone. He stared at the paper, trying to read the number through the mist of tears. Rudy handed him a handkerchief and he wiped his eyes before he dialed. Rudy heard the ring, then silence when the phone on the other end was answered, but Adam didn’t speak. He listened with an intent look, then reached for a pen and scribbled on the scrap of paper. He hung up and stared at the words as though he was unable to recognize them.

Well? Rudy was impatient.

It was Paul. Adam grinned at the look of shock on Rudy’s face. It was a recording.

Adam handed the paper to Rudy. He had written several lines of instructions but all Rudy saw was two words. At the bottom of the paper, the last thing on the sheet, Adam had scrawled Kill God.

2

Rudy grabbed the paper. Most of it was gibberish, typical Paul code speak. There were a couple of coherent instructions, including the instruction to Kill God, but most of it was just lofty philosophical meandering. Rudy worked systematically, eliminated things he felt were just fillers, and narrowed it down to three things they could do, and the one he had no idea how to do.

Join me for lunch?

Adam nodded. No further words were needed. The two men drove in silence to the restaurant, both of them lost in a world that didn’t resemble the city streets they were navigating, though Rudy managed to steer the car with expertise. It wasn’t until they pulled into the parking lot of Babylon that either of them spoke.

Do you think he’ll be here? Adam sounded eager, longing for even a trace of optimism from the older man.

Rudy shook his head. I don’t know who, if anyone, will be here, but I do suspect someone knows you called the number. How we’ll know who we’re supposed to meet, I have no idea. We’ll just play it by ear.

It didn’t take long for Rudy to spot their contact. He was nearly knocked over by a thirty pound object launched at him from the corner booth immediately upon their entry to the restaurant.

Daddy! Daddy!

Rudy hoisted Erin onto his shoulders and headed to join Becca in the booth. There were five glasses of water in front of her and the waiter hovered nearby, ready to take their orders. Becca told him to come back in a minute, and he stepped off a few feet but kept his eye on the table. Rudy glanced around; they were the only ones in the restaurant this early, which explained why the waiter was giving them so much personal attention. He and Adam scanned the menu and they made their orders. Other diners began to filter in, and the waiter left them in peace.

Well?

Becca watched him with a curious look on her face. He shook his head.

I don’t know. Why did you show up here?

I got a strange message. Someone told me if I wanted to see you again, I’d better come here, and bring Erin. They told me to get a table for five.

Rudy frowned. He didn’t like the look of this.

What’s happening, Rudy?

I don’t know, Bec. Adam called a number he’d been given by Paul, instructions he was supposed to follow in case of Paul’s death. Most of it was gibberish, but there were one or two instructions that made sense. One of them told us to go to Babylon. I took a shot and headed here.

Paul. Of course. It had to be Paul.

Becca frowned, and Rudy realized she was angry.