Free The Revelation of Gabriel Adam by S.L. Duncan Page A

like this. “Isn’t that kind of a private matter?”
    “Not anymore,” said Carlyle.
    “No offense but I think it is.” Gabe knew he was being rude, but he couldn’t help himself. The frustration over the past twenty-four hours boiled to the surface. “Besides, what does my religious preference, if any, have to do with why somebody tried to kill us in New York, or why the only place to find safety was several thousands of miles away on another continent? Isn’t that what you two should be talking about?”
    He stared at his father. “You’re acting like we’re the ones who committed a crime with all this running and hiding. Does somebody want to let me in on what the hell is going on here? Our lives, our world has been destroyed back home, and you find it necessary to enter into a theological debate over my religious beliefs?”
    Carlyle laughed as he tossed a tomato half into the skillet. “Your world has been destroyed, you say? Funny you should mention that.” The smile vanished and he became still. “Because being wanted by the authorities for burning a church would be a considerably better situation than the one you’re currently in. Considerably .”
    Gabe rolled his eyes.
    In a flash, Carlyle leapt away from the stove, coming halfway over the kitchen table, his face as red as the tomato. “And believe me, sonny jim, you’ll know firsthand if and when your world is destroyed. You’ll likely have a front-row seat. There are things that you’re about to learn regarding this world in which you live in, and more importantly, your part to play in it. You’ll need to open yourself up to the possibility that you are, despite appearances, more than some anti-authoritative American muppet of a student and realize that perhaps there is some substance and purpose hidden away under that unkempt exterior of yours.”
    Gabe had retreated as far into his chair as it would allow.
    As the stove regained Carlyle’s attention, his intensity switched off like a light, and a broad smile showed through the goatee. He flopped down a plate in front of Gabe and practically threw a fork at him. “Now, eat your breakfast. We’ll go up to the castle and have a bit of an orientation to what exactly I do at the university. After that, we can find you a new wardrobe and relocate you to more suitable accommodations. By the way, welcome to Durham, Gabriel.”
    My God, he’s totally crazy , Gabe thought.
     
     

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
     
     
    Gabe stumbled through the thick snow on the ground, following his father and Carlyle around the city center. Several narrow streets wound through the buildings, crisscrossing the River Wear, which coiled around the little city like a snake, constricting all the shops into a dense commercial area that bulged out to form a hill.
    Near a pub called The Swan & Three Cygnets, they crossed the Elvet Bridge spanning the river gorge and then climbed North Bailey Street toward the castle and cathedral grounds. Gabe noticed a table full of girls about his age behind the window of a coffee shop.
    Students. Attractive ones. The silver lining , he thought.
    Up the hill they passed another tavern, The Shakespeare, which Carlyle affectionately pointed out as his “local.” He said it was over nine hundred years old and built before construction work began on the castle. Gabe appreciated how the town founders’ priorities fell into order.
    The Durham Cathedral dwarfed the one in New York by twice its size at least. The hill on which it stood formed a peninsula surrounded by a deep, forested gorge and the river below. They walked by a snow-covered lawn opposite the cathedral and through the arched entrance of the castle gatehouse, a towering structure adorned with crosses, windows, and ornate crests.
    The castle itself wasn’t what Gabe expected. He had envisioned the theme park version, with flagged towers surrounding a singular, tall building, fit for kings and knights. Instead, it was a series of