“Not really, no. No more than darkness is real. It’s only the absence of light.”

“No, I mean there can’t be any Fury in the perimeter. They’re out there, in the world, not here!”

“You’re right, they are out there, smothering the world. But they are also here. In fact, there are many more Fury in Haven Valley than in most places. Sylous first opened your eyes to the same fear that’s always existed in the whole world, then promised to hide it from you if you follow the law. He’s a spirit of religion.”

“How can the Fury be here? We’re Christians! You’re saying our faith is a failure?”

“It’s not that Christianity has failed; it’s that so few Christians have really tried it. If you were in the truth, you would know love without fear. You think you’re saved from some future hell, but as you can see, it’s all around you. Fear has invaded you and blinded you to the light.”

Invaded me? Panic swirled around me, and as it did, I heard a shriek in the back of my mind. The Fury were inside of me? I scrambled up on the rock beside Eli and grabbed his hand, if only to still the terror now raging through me.

“Make it stop!” I cried, and covered my face with my hands, clenching my eyes shut. “Stop this!”

“Okay,” he said, unconcerned.

Immediately the sound stopped, as if he’d pulled the cord that powered it.

“Look now.”

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the valley below. I gasped and jerked my hands from my face. Where only a moment ago Haven Valley had been smothered by a writhing darkness, now it glowed bright. Wisps of light strewn with vibrant colors—red, blue, green and gold—swirled around the buildings.

“She who has eyes to see, let her see,” Eli said. “Nice, huh?”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Now you’re seeing the truth beyond fear.”

“What is it?”

“Light. Love. Sight. The kingdom of heaven. They’re all the same.”

“You mean the inheritance of the pure?” I asked, looking down at him. “But that’s . . . It hasn’t come yet.” I turned my eyes back on the town. “And what happened to the Fury?”

“There’s light and love seen in true sight, which we call the kingdom. And there’s darkness and fear experienced in blindness, which we can call the world. Which do you prefer?” He was smiling, daring me.

And then the light was gone again, replaced once more by the dark fog trailing a thousand Fury. But they were silent now.

For a few seconds, I just stared. I didn’t know if I dared believe him.

I glanced around, hoping Bobbie would appear to give me some guidance.