by J. Ashburn
Nehemiah couldn’t believe what he was seeing—a demon weeping for a human?
“I’m here, Micah. I’m here.” Caleb laid his hand over Micah’s head and a silvery-amber glow enveloped it. Moments later the wounds were gone and Micah opened his eyes.
“What h-happened?” Micah asked.
“We were attacked. You are safe now. I am so happy you are okay.” Caleb bent down and kissed Micah.
Shock filled Nehemiah. Not only had Caleb healed this human being but he also expressed love and affection for him. It made no sense. No demon cared for a human, no demon offered any sort of comfort or goodness to any human. Demons were compelled to destroy the humans’ souls, to lead them into sin and depravity, to curse them and befoul their bodies. Demons had hated mankind since the moment they crawled forth from the Earth. What was happening?
For a moment, Nehemiah thought of attacking again and smiting the Infernal but he couldn’t. He simply couldn’t bring himself to do the deed. Conflict stirred inside the angel and it frightened him.
Nehemiah glanced up at the sky and wondered if Michael or any of the other Arch Angels watched. He looked back at Caleb again and saw him turning the car back onto his wheels. He helped Micah over to the passenger side then got into the driver’s seat and started the car. The car clattered to a start but was still in working order. Nehemiah watched them drive down the street and disappear around a bend.
The warrior angel decided not to give chase. He didn’t want to tear the two of them apart. He sensed the warmth and love between them and it touched him. Instead, he walked off, heading back to the river where he had entered this world.
7.
Jake sat at his kitchen table with Nick, Micah and Caleb. He made them all some tea and noticed the fatigue wearing on Micah. He was always paying close attention to him.
“You two have had quite an ordeal,” Jake said to Micah.
“Yeah, never a dull moment,” Micah replied.
“Can I do anything else for you?”
“No, you’ve been awesome. I can’t thank you enough for everything. Not sure what we would do if we didn’t have you.”
Jake smiled. He liked the appreciation Micah bestowed on him. It made him want him even more. His thoughts conjured images of he and Micah making love, showering each other with kisses and caresses. He imagined the two of them sleeping together, holding one another and living a new life, even sharing his house with Micah.
The sound of Caleb’s voice snapped Jake out of his fantasies. “One of us should go over and relieve Rick so he can rest and eat. I can go.”
“I’ll go,” Jake volunteered. “You should stay here with Micah. You two have been through enough.”
“Are you sure,” Micah asked.
“Of course. I can check Nicki’s vitals again and change her IV.”
Nick got up and put his arms around Jake. “You’re so sweet. What about your rounds? And sleep?”
“I’ve taken a couple days leave. Everything will be fine.”
“You’re amazing,” Micah said.
“It’s nothing. I’ll get my bag and head over.”
###
Jake entered Nicki’s condo where Rick greeted him. Rick had been watching TV in the living room and texting on his phone.
“Hey!” Rick’s eyes lit up when he saw a familiar face.
“Your brother and the others are asking for you,” Jake said. “You should go back to my place and get some food and sleep.”
“Thanks Jake. I’ll be glad to. This place gives me the creeps.”
“She tormenting you?”
“No, that’s the thing. She hasn’t made a peep. The whole condo has been eerily quiet. I checked in on her and she’s been sleeping.”
“Ah, I guess that’s good.”
“I don’t know. I’m not really good with this kinda thing. “
Jake smiled. “Me neither. I wasn’t even sure there was a Heaven or Hell until I met all of you.”
“I hear that.” He patted Jake on the shoulder. “I’ll see ya later.”
“Right.” Jake nodded. He watched Rick leave the condo then waited to make sure he got into his car and drove away.
He turned and stared at Nicki’s closed bedroom door. Shadows writhed beneath it but no sound emanated from the room. He took his bag and walked slowly to the end of the hall, reaching for the door. Its knob was ice cold.
Jake sucked in some air and let it out slowly, easing the door open. It let out a creak as he stepped into the room. Nicki was awake. She stared at him with a sickly grin, as if she’d been expecting him. Her brow furrowed, her eyes were sanguine.
“Welcome back doctor,” she hissed. “Take any good drugs today?”
“Good one. That’s ok, you say whatever you wish.”
“Why thank you, cocksucker.”
Jake chuckled then set his bag down on the dresser that was tipped over in the center of the room. He slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with a sigil on it. Sebastian’s sigil. He held up to Nicki. “This mean anything to you?”
Nicki hissed and Sebastian’s voice took over. “You’re wasting your time, meat sack. That has no power over me now. Not while I’m in another body.”
“Don’t worry. It wasn’t my intention to use it against you. So, this little thing can send demons back to Hell?”
“What of it?”
“Nothing really. Does it work on all demons?”
“That is my sigil. Show it some respect, primate.”
“Oh I do, I respect it vehemently. So, every demon has their own? Do you know Caleb?”
“The traitor? I will feast on his soul on the day I defeat him.”
“What if I could do that for you? You tell me how to draw his sigil and I will send him back to Hell for you. Then you could join him there and give him the punishment he deserves.”
“What trick are you playing?”
“No tricks. I will make a deal with you. I will help you defeat Caleb if you turn Micah’s heart to me.”
“You want to banish Caleb?”
“More than anything.”
“All for the love of his human?”
Jake nodded. “Yes. I will get rid of him for you and you give me Micah. That is my deal. I can use his sigil against him. What do I do, pray to it, bleed on it?”
Sebastian laughed with a roar, his laughter turned to wolves howling, and birds screeching before ending in a pig’s snort. “You touch it to his earthly shell.”
“Consider it done.”
The demon laughed again. “He’s not just going to stand still and let you touch him with it, fool.”
“Then how should I do it?”
“Oh, I know plenty of demon traps that I can teach you. You need to render him helpless then banish him back to Hell. Then I will leave this body and join him there for his just desserts.”
“Teach me. But first, let me check on the body you’re using. We need to make sure she doesn’t go into cardiac arrest. No acting out just let me check her.”
“Very well, doctor. Touch me all over.” Nicki grinned, licking her lips with a bloodstained tongue.
Jake got out his stethoscope and approached the bed, his own heart was thumping in his chest now, and his hands trembled.
Nicki winked at him.
###
It wasn’t just confusion that filled Nehemiah, it was doubt. He wasn’t sure what to do next. He made his way back to the river in his human guise and stepped into its water. His human shell melted away as his wings unfurled and his body glowed with a beautiful, radiant light. His right wing was severely wounded from the spear that had protruded it.
He dunked below the water and let it refresh his wing. A tingling sensation encircled the wound and spread through his wing and down the length of his right arm. The sensations were temporary as the pain returned. He would need to bathe in the river and rejuvenate many more times before the wing would be whole again.
Nehemiah craw
led to the edge of the river and sat on the bank. His wings sagged as he bowed his head. The vision of Caleb healing Micah and holding him lovingly replayed in his mind over and over. It was not the nature of an Infernal or any demon to restore a human or care for one such as Caleb did.
He didn’t know how to process this and the conflict inside him grew. What kind of good could this Caleb be bestowing to the people of this town? He did sense a different energy in the people here. It was even stronger when the sun went down as it was now.
The shadow of night fell gently over the wooded area and the river. The moon rose in the distance, its milky glow casting a shimmering blanket over the river. Nehemiah let his feet dangle in the river and as the moonlight touched them he basked in it. There was something mystical here, in the town, in the people that lived in it. A shift was happening and Nehemiah suspected the Infernal had something to do with it.
“Nehemiah.“
“Michael?” The warrior angel was startled. He remembered that many eyes were on him and expecting him to finish his mission.
“Are you troubled? Why do you hesitate?”
“No, Michael, I am not troubled just wounded. I need to regain my strength. The battle was not what I had expected.”
“You are holding back. I sense this in you.”
Nehemiah looked up at the moon and shook his head. “No, Michael. The Infernal is resourceful. I will find him again and destroy him.”
“All of Heaven is counting on you. You must not fail.”
“I will not.”
Michael spoke no more but Nehemiah remained on the edge of fear. He wondered if he had just lied to his beloved brother—the Arch Angel who threw the Beast into the pit. He could have no doubts about what he was doing. No doubts on why he was on the Earth.
A snake slithered by him. Nehemiah jumped to his feet and looked down on it. It was a sign. The mission had to take priority. He must find and destroy the Infernal.
###
It was a long ride from the airport to the hotel but Tom Arson took the time to research Blackstone and get familiar with its origins, its population, its natural beauty, especially the old part of town. The area Micah’s brother Cole lived, the area where Caleb and Nehemiah had just had their last fight. That’s why Tom chose a hotel in that area of Blackstone—history, connection, and something more.
Tom stepped out of the cab, paid the driver and checked in. Up in his room he unpacked some of his books, a sundial, and other equipment—an EMF reader, a temperature gage, an infrared camera and some night vision glasses. He walked over to the only window in his room and opened it. He glanced at the moon high in the sky. It looked huge here in Blackstone. The largest he had ever seen it. Tom soaked in the night air and surveyed the area, there were even some cobblestone streets still left in the town, preserved from the old days.
“Mmm.” It was almost as if Tom could smell the scent of the town. “Yep, a lot of energy here. Not surprising. This is the perfect spot.”
He stepped away from the window and returned to unpacking. He took a pouch filled with salt and went to his door, spreading a line of salt beneath it. Afterward, he removed a bottle of holy water from his bag and anointed the door then the windowsill.
When his traveling rituals were done, Tom finally unpacked his clothes. “Now I can sleep.”
8.
The basement was musty, damp and filled with unpacked boxes, lawn and gardening equipment and tools that Jake really didn’t use and had purchased to fit in with his bristling, straight neighbors who seemed to make lawn care a second job.
Jake had used the excuse to the others that he was still sorting through his things down here to make sure he didn’t need any of them. The house was still really new to him so the excuse seemed logical.
Nick was taking a turn watching over Nicki while Rick and Caleb sat upstairs watching TV in the living room. Micah was on the night shift today, partnered up with someone new at the hospital—a Laura somebody. Jake really didn’t care what her name was.
Now, how to get Rick out of the house so he could put an end to Caleb and this whole mess, that was the next piece of this metaphysical puzzle. Jake shook his head and sighed—demons, angels, magic and possession. It was getting to be a little too much.
Despite his crises of faith, Jake found himself following the Arch Demon Sebastian’s instructions to the letter. He assembled his ingredients into a glass jar—some of his own blood, some cemetery dirt from hallowed ground, he figured there was a church on the cemetery grounds in the city and luckily there was one just outside of his neighborhood, some salt and the hair of a corpse from someone who was devout. This was where working at a hospital helped out a lot. Just a quick, quiet trip to the morgue and a few file searches he was able to find the body of an eighty-eight-year-old woman who passed from a heart attack who was a devout Catholic and cut a few white hairs from her head.
Now he was ready to lock Caleb in a temporary barrier so he could go up and press the sigil onto him—the sigil Sebastian taught him in Nicki’s bedroom. He drew it on a piece of paper just like the one he had found in the diner. Caleb’s sigil was constructed of two interlaced circles with three stars in the center of them incased inside of a rectangle. Not too complicated.
Jake pulled the sigil out and stared at it. “So much power in such a little thing.” He plugged his small glass bottle up with a cork and slipped it into his pocket along with the sigil.
Footsteps creaked across the ceiling prompting Jake to head back upstairs. He pulled the chain for the basement light and entered the kitchen. There, Rick was rummaging through the refrigerator and freezer.
“Hey,” Rick called. “All done?”
“For now. Didn’t really see anything I needed. Can I help you find something?”
“Oh… just wondering if you had anything sweet. I got a real craving for something.”
“Sorry. I don’t keep much in the house.”
Rick eyed him and smiled. “Yeah, you’re a doctor. You know that sugary desserts are nothing but crap. But everyone once in a while…”
“Hey. I get ya. I have a sweet tooth too. I’m from the South remember? Pecan pie, sweet potato pie, banana pudding, chocolate cake, chocolate pie, home-fried donuts were always around my house.”
Rick laughed. “Sounds amazing.”
“Tell ya what. Why don’t you run and get us some ice cream. I’m buying.” Jake pulled out his wallet and held out some money.”
“All right! What kind do you like?”
“Anything really. Take your time. Get some fudge sauce and whipped cream. We’ll make sundaes.”
“Sound like fun.” Rick took the money, fished his car keys out of his pocket and headed for the door.
Inside, Jake was patting himself on the back. He loved how resourceful he’d become since meeting Micah and the others.” He smiled as he watched Rick leave the house.
A moment later he sucked in some air and made his way slowly to the living room. Caleb sat on the couch with his back to Jake, watching TV. He stood studying the back of Caleb’s head and reached into his pocket. He clasped the jar inside of it, tightening his grip around it, squeezing it as hard as he could.
Caleb turned his head and smiled. “Hey Jake, this documentary about the animals of Africa is so interesting. You should sit and watch it with me.”
Jake smiled back. “Yeah, I should. That would be great. I love animals.” He squeezed the jar in his pocket even tighter.
###
Sondra held little Zach up to her breast and he suckled quietly. Not a sound escaped him as he fed. His eyes were closed and his warm body squirmed very slightly against hers.
The doorbell rang. Zach paused, his eyes opened briefly before he returned to feeding. Sondra looked up at the door and started to get up from the couch with hesitation.
“I’ll get it!” Cole dashed into the room, urging his wife to finish with their infant son. He opened the front door to find a middle-aged man with red
hair standing there. He held a satchel in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.
“Micah Donovan?”
Cole smiled. “Sorry, you have the wrong Donovan. I’m his brother Cole.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I saw Donovan on the listing and assumed.”
“That’s okay. Are you a friend of Micah’s?”
“Not yet. I need to meet him as soon as possible.”
“Why? Is he in some sort of trouble? Are you from the police department?” Cole stepped aside and beckoned for him to come in.
“He may be.” He nodded and stepped inside. “Tom, Tom Arson.”
Cole shook his hand and turned to look at Sondra, there was some concern on her face, she had covered herself and held their son on her shoulder, gently patting his back. “My wife Sondra and our son Zach.”
Tom nodded again. “I was sure Micah lived here. He comes up on all of my readings.”
“Readings? What’s this all about?”
“Can you point me in the right direction? A phone number or email? Anything?”
“Um, not before you tell me what’s going on and who you are? Is my brother in some sort of trouble? Are you a bill collector or something?”
Tom chuckled and shook his head. “No Mister Donovan, nothing like that.”
“So what is it?”
“I’m a paranormal investigator and versed in some occult arts. I perform banishments, cleansings, and protection while I investigate hauntings, possessions, inter-dimensional travel, alien abductions. There’s an event coming. I’ve been tracking it a while and all my investigations have finally brought me here to Blackstone. Your brother is at the center of it. He may be in grave danger.”
“What?” Cole blinked his eyes in disbelief. He was simply at a loss for words. He tried to say something else but couldn’t find his voice.
“Does your brother keep company with demons or angels?” asked Tom. “Is he dating one of them? Is he intimate with any of them?”
“Okay that’s it,” Cole said as he grabbed the front door and pulled it open. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“There’s an event coming…right here Mister Donovan. It’s in this neighborhood. The balance between good and evil has been disrupted. A fissure in this balance will come right here and there will be consequences.”
