Jerom started to moan.
“He sounds like he’s starting to come around. That’s good,” said Miranda.
“How do you feel, are you all right?” Brynn asked as she reached out to stroke his arm. His eyes opened with a look of panic.
He cradled his arm to his chest. “What happened? Wow, this hurts.” He was still hanging upside down by the seat belt struggling with it trying to get free.
“Don’t struggle. Can you move your legs?” Miranda asked.
“Yeah, I think so. My shoulder is killing me.” He looked around at Miranda and Brynn. “Am I upside down or are you?” he said with a laugh.
“This isn’t funny!” Miranda said and if she were standing up, she would have stamped her little foot. “Now, try to use your good arm to get the pressure off the seat belt so I can release you.”
It took both of them to get Jerom out of the car. Brynn laid down under him in the car and eased him on top of her as she released the seat belt. Between her and Miranda, with quite a bit of exertion and some muttered obscenities on his part, they found themselves leaning against the outside of the car breathing hard.
“Dad is going to kill me. This car was his baby. I’m so dead.”
“Yep, you are.”
“Great, thanks, Miranda. I really appreciate the support,” Jerom said with a disgusted look. “I think my shoulder is dislocated, my knees feel like they’ve been rammed into a concrete barrier and I have the worst headache ever. So how did this happen?”
Miranda and Brynn both pointedly looked toward the angel and Jerom’s head slowly turned and followed them. His eyes got huge then…he fainted.
Miranda nudged him none to gently with her foot. “I can’t believe him!” She climbed through the broken window and dug through the back of the car until she found a water bottle, which she then dumped on him.
Jerom came around sputtering and mad and clutching his arm to his chest. Brynn calmly told him all that had happened while he had been unconscious. He kept craning his head around to see the angel and muttering words like incredible and unbelievable and amazing. Brynn looked up at Miranda with a worried expression on her face.
“As long as he’s moving all his parts and he’s conscious he’s probably not going to die anytime soon,” said Miranda.
Brynn patted Jerom on the leg and got up and walked over to the angel.
Chapter 16
The angel was kneeling over the handler speaking softly to her, his wings unfurled over them to shade her. “I’m sorry it hurts so much. May I help you stand, Jessica?” His voice though soft, still filled all the space around them. She whimpered, and looked up at him letting him gently help her to her feet.
“You shouldn’t have been able to kill them so easily. They were strong, my best constructs yet,” she sounded angry and frustrated. Her face looked like she had aged ten years in just moments.
“They were an abomination. You must stop creating this evil.” He looked at her with such compassion, Brynn was incredibly jealous, almost wishing she were the handler, just so he would look and speak to her like that.
“You have a choice, right here and now, you know. Stop working for them, just leave them. There is no peace in what you are doing.”
“Leave! You know I cannot leave. There is no leaving,” she whispered harshly looking around her as if to see who else might be watching, “they will hunt me down. I’ve seen what they do to people who try to leave.” She trembled and all the blood drained from her face.
“Isn’t that better than an eternity of damnation?”
“What do you know of damnation? I’ll take my chances.” And then, the anger and offense suddenly left her body. She was too tired to keep pushing him away. “Please, just let me go,” her voice cracked a bit as she pleaded with the angel.
His smile was sad and he looked deeply hurt as she walked away.
“You can’t save her if she doesn’t want to be saved,” Brynn said walking up beside him.
“You’re right. Though it fills me with sorrow,” he said watching her walk away, “that her pain runs so deep.”
“Is her name Jessica? Is that what you called her?”
“Yes, it’s a beautiful name isn’t it?”
“She’s beautiful too. Do you know her?”
“I do,” he paused thoughtfully. “Her early years were not pleasant. She found the cult, or they found her and took advantage of her pain. She joined with them many years ago. I’ve come against her before.”
Jessica turned to find them looking at her. Her scowl deepened as she hurried through the trees and out of their line of sight. The angel turned to Brynn, looking down at her.
“I’m Brynn. You probably already know my name. Angels probably know stuff like that.”
“It’s very nice to finally meet you, Brynn. And my name is Calden.” He looked over at Miranda and Jerom. “How is he?”
“It looks like his shoulder is dislocated and he’s pretty bruised up,” she said as he wrapped his wings about her, enfolding her.
He placed his hands on her arms, “They will be sending more of these demon constructs after you. You must get to Salem, to the safety of Miranda and Jerom’s family. They can protect you for now.”
“I don’t understand any of this. I need you here. Why do you have to leave? Why can’t you protect me?”
“It is not allowed. I’m sorry. But know that I am watching and preparing.” He leaned down and took her face in his hands. His lips brushed against her forehead. She felt energy flow through her. She wanted to live in this feeling.
His wings retracted from around her and he took a step backward. “Farewell, Bringer. Know that I am close.” And then he started to glow. A blindingly white aura, so bright she had to shut her eyes. She knew he was gone when she couldn’t feel his brilliance on her skin or through her eyelids.
She wanted to cry. It felt like her only friend in the world had left her and she was being attacked from every side. Brynn was alone and abandoned in a world that had suddenly turned against her. She started to sink to the ground, when Miranda yelled for her. She jerked upright realizing she was not the only one hurting here. As much as she would have liked to drown in self-pity, Miranda and Jerom had risked their lives for her. She walked back over to the car to find them staring at her as if they didn’t know her.
Chapter 17
“You really are the Bringer,” Jerom whispered his eyes wide as if seeing her for the first time.
“Is he gone?” Miranda asked.
“Yes, he’s gone,” Brynn sighed, and then told herself to shake it off.
“We have to figure out what to do about your shoulder, Jerom,” Brynn turned and looked back one last time, just in case Calden had come back, but he hadn’t.
Miranda and Brynn helped Jerom to his feet and they moved into the trees, farther from the wreck and the road. He sat down on a half rotted log and Miranda lowered herself to the forest floor next to him.
“So, there’s probably a reason why we shouldn’t call 911?” asked Brynn.
“Of course we can’t call 911,” said Miranda. “We’re minors. The hospital would have to call our parents to get permission to treat Jerom and our parents are in the middle of nowhere and then the police would hang around until they showed up.”
“I suppose by the time your parents got here, the demons would be back on our tails?”
“It won't take them long to get seeker demons after us,” Jerom told her between shallow breaths.
Brynn looked around her. This felt bad. Jerom hurt, Miranda scowling, and the angel gone back to wherever angels hang out. They couldn’t ask for help. The car was totaled so they had no form of transportation. She wasn’t even sure where to start. There wasn’t much time before the demons were back after them. This was just too overwhelming.
Tears started to form in her eyes and she shielded them with her hand. She found herself in a memory. Her father had been teaching her how to sail that summer.
“Brynn, it’s time to put into practice everything I’ve been teaching you about sailing. The wind can either be with us or against us. The way you handle yourself and the choices you make in the next few minutes will either see us to shore or strand us in this storm. Don’t fight with the wind, use it.”
She felt totally overwhelmed then too. Her dad was turning their fate over to her, expecting her to get them safely home. Her mind went absolutely blank. She couldn’t remember which rope worked which pulley. She couldn’t remember how to position the sail to catch the wind or how to move the tiller to guide them. The wind was really starting to blow and the ocean spray was stinging her eyes.
“Don’t panic,” shouted her dad over the sound of the wind and the waves. “Just take it one step at a time, first things first. Take the first step and the next step will present itself.”
Brynn took the tiller in her hand to get control of it then she threw her leg over it to hold it steady as she picked up the line for the sail. Just take one step and then the next step.
They made it back to shore and she learned a couple of things that day. First, her dad had confidence in her, and second, take the first step and things will sort themselves out.
So, she tried to think about what the first step was here. Jerom’s shoulder was the first step. They had to put him back together.
“Okay, guys,” she said, trying to take charge over the situation. “Let’s put you back together Jerom.”
“You know how fix me?”
"Sure. In movies they just kind of yank hard until everything goes back where it's supposed to," Brynn said with false confidence.
"Right. I don't think so. We should just wrap it up or something," Jerom clutched his arm protectively to his chest.
"We don't have time for this," said Miranda touching his forehead and muttering a few words.
Jerom's head dropped to his chest. He was out.
Chapter 18
“Huh, that was cool. You’re going to have to show me that sometime,” Brynn said, looking at him sideways.
Miranda nudged him with her foot. "Yeah, whatever, he's asleep. You're turn."
"You know, maybe we should just wrap his arm up or something," Brynn said not so sure of herself now.
"Don't make me hurt you,” Miranda threatened. “Just yank on the thing. How hard can this be?"
Brynn's dirty look was lost on Miranda so she put her foot on his chest, gripped his arm with both hands and pulled.
"Nothing happened," Brynn said.
"Quit playing around. Put your weight into it."
Brynn dropped Jerom's arm. "What does that mean?"
"Huh? Nothing! I just meant to really pull on his arm with everything you've got. Here, I'll help you. Together we should be able to do it."
Brynn bent over and picked up Jerom's arm, grasping it up high leaving room for Miranda. She braced his chest with her foot and they pulled.
"Keep pulling, I think I can feel it starting to move," Brynn said just as Jerom's shoulder ground back into place.
"What was that?" Miranda asked shaking her arms and shuddering.
Brynn set his arm against his chest then shook her whole body, jumping up and down. "It was like his bones were rubbing against each other. That was so disgusting. I never want to have to do that again! Ever!"
Miranda got up and ran back into the woods toward the car. Brynn bent down and gently moved Jerom’s arm back and forth checking it. Miranda came back carrying the backpacks from the car. Inside one of the backpacks, she found a sweatshirt that they folded and knotted into place for a sling then she shook Jerom awake.
“How does your arm feel?” Miranda asked him.
He moved his shoulder up and down and around. "It’s sore, but better I think. Hey, what happened? What did you do? Did you put me out?"
"Well, I had to. You were being a baby,” Miranda shrugged.
"Hey guys, we don't have time for this now. You can fight later,” Brynn tried but there was no stopping them.
"They could have heard you," said Jerom.
"They already know where we are. I thought it was worth the risk," said Miranda.
"What are you guys talking about?" asked Brynn.
"Jerom’s whining about nothing,” she said turning her back on them.
"It's not nothing," he turned to Brynn. "When you cast, others with the ability can hear you. It's kind of like a psychic shout. Sometimes if it's loud enough they can pinpoint you."
Miranda turned, her eyes flashing, "I barely used any energy at all. The most anyone got from me was a slight nod to our direction. You're making too much of this Jerom.”
"Maybe."
“Anyway, we have better things to worry about, like getting home without a car.”
Miranda and Jerom started bickering about what to do. Brynn wandered over to a fallen log where she couldn’t hear their conversation. She needed a few minutes of quiet to clear her head. Or at least she thought she did. When she sat still, even for a moment, her mind ran back to that final scene in her bedroom. It seemed every time she thought about it there was more and more detail. The picture got more and more gruesome. She focused back on Jerom to stop thinking about it and caught the tail end of the plan.
"…head to the nearest rest stop," he said. Miranda put her hand out to Jerom and he fished in his pocket for his phone. It seemed to be fine which surprised Brynn as well as the unspoken communication that Jerom and Miranda seemed to share sometimes. Miranda pulled up the maps app on the phone. Jerom leaned in and they ran a search to find out how far away the next rest stop was.
Brynn found it hard to believe that it had only been about an hour since the car wreck, the demons and her angel. She was shocked to realize it was still morning. It seemed like days since leaving Ben. The police would be arriving soon, she assumed, so they needed to get moving.
“The rest stop is about four miles north of us.” Jerom vaguely shook his hand forward. “We need to stay close enough to the road to follow it, but we don’t want to be spotted.”
“Let’s hurry, it won’t take the seeker demons long to find us,” Miranda lifted the backpack to her shoulder and started walking into the trees.
Jerom shrugged with his good shoulder and followed his sister.
“I thought the demons wouldn’t hear us because the sleep spell is pretty quiet?” Brynn asked as they walked along a leaf littered path just inside the tree line.
“I’m pretty sure they didn’t hear the sleep spell, but calling the Angel…that they heard. I bet it felt like an explosion going off in their heads,” Jerom laughed, “a really loud, very painful explosion.”
Chapter 19
Jessica, the head cleric, walked around the wreckage of Jerom’s dad’s car and said, “There, there is the blood,” she indicated to the sniffers. “Hurry and get your bearings, the police will be here any minute.”
The massive dog-like beasts padded up to the car sniffing with their dripping maws half open and their tongues lolling out.
Jessica constantly looked around, listening intently for any sign of movement and slumped a little when she saw him drive up. He came striding into the clearing with a casualness which belied his power and his cruelty. She was always surprised at how attractive he was on the outside.
She walked over to him avoiding the oily substances leaking out of the car. “What are you doing here, Raymond?”
“After the loss of the soldier demons,” he said looking around him pointedly, “the Master asked me to…offer my assistance.”
“He sent you to check up on me?” she spat.
“He sent you after one little girl, one little girl who had never used her power
before. It seems that maybe he sent the wrong cleric this time.” Raymond watched her for a reaction. He was baiting her which was dangerous. She could conjure a demon faster than just about any other handler. She preferred working with constructs though. She only used pure demons if there was no other choice.
“She called up an angel. I wasn’t expecting her to be able to do that yet.” Her voice was low and quiet, the only indication of her anger.
“One angel shouldn’t have been able to do this," he said gesturing around with his hand. "My blood helped give life to those constructs. I personally picked out the hosts myself. They may only have been soldiers, but they were some of our best.”
She clenched her fists, and opened her mouth to respond, but then she stopped and looked toward the sniffers nosing around the car.
“I pulled in another sniffer. There’s enough blood for a good hunt,” she said. “Since you’re here, there is something you can do to help.”
“I’d be happy to. Taking care of the Bringer has always been a fantasy of mine.”
The expression on his face left her cold.
“Oh, I’m not letting you near the Bringer. Your enthusiasm for your work is admirable, but I can’t afford any mistakes caused by over-excitability. Why don’t you use your other skills and try tracking those other kids down for me by their phone or maybe even a credit card. I bet their parents gave them something to use in an emergency.”
"I need something to work with. A name, picture...something."
"How's this?" asked Jessica, producing images of Jerom and Miranda after muttering a few words under her breath.
Raymond snapped a pic with his phone. "That'll work."
The sniffers started to bay. The dog-like demon constructs turned and looked to her for direction. A brief nod of her head and they were off.
“So the two kids helping the Bringer, you think they're witches?" Raymond asked as he watched the sniffers run into the trees.
“Definitely. They held me trapped in that stupid farmhouse while they made a run for it. These kids knew what they were doing. They're experienced."
The Bringer Page 8
