by J. Ashburn
Nick lifted his head, offered a half smile and nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
“Nick?”
“Really. I’ll be fine. I think I’ll go for a run.”
“That’s good. Exercise will help.”
“Usually does.”
“Okay Nick. I’ll see you later. If you want, I’ll bring you home some dinner? My treat. Anything you want.”
“Pizza. Thin crust. Extra cheese.”
Micah smiled. “You got it.”
Nick watched Micah leave the bedroom doorway. He climbed out of bed, shuffled down the hall to the kitchen and watched Micah start up his station wagon and pull out of the driveway. His heart was racing. His head hurt. He felt like he wanted to cry again but he forced it down, nearly choking on the pain, the tears, the anger building inside of him.
He hurried back down the hallway, yanked on a pair of track pants, a hooded sweatshirt and slipped on his sneakers. He made a beeline to the front door, grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter and left.
It wasn’t long before Nick found himself at his usual haunt—the city park. He locked up the car and started to run. After a few laps he saw a familiar thatch of blond hair and the athletic build he knew all too well slip behind some trees.
Jake…
Nick stopped, caught his breath and slowly made his away across the paved pathways to the park’s boundaries and the woods beyond. He couldn’t help but think back to how he had met Jake in these same woods. An awful feeling suddenly twisted his insides. His mouth was dry but his palms were damp. His heart started beating harder than when he was running.
How he wished he was wrong but when he finally set eyes on the two men his worse fears were confirmed. He watched Jake making out with a complete stranger. Nick wanted to turn away, wanted to run, but he couldn’t tear himself away from the scene.
He watched the stranger get down on his knees and pull Jake’s jeans and underwear down to his ankles. He ran his nose and lips up Jake’s thigh, savoring the feel of it, running his tongue across Jake’s balls and shaft before going down on him.
Jake flung his head back and closed his eyes. He clung to a thick tree trunk as the other man pleasured him. Nick’s eyes welled and his heart shattered. Pain gnawed at the inside of his stomach. He thought he might be sick. His knees grew weak.
Nick couldn’t believe how his world had come crashing down without even the slightest warning. One moment he was the happiest man in the world and the next the love he thought he had was withering right before him. One ugly betrayal after another punched him in the gut. He wanted to scream, he wanted to rush the two of them and bash their heads into the huge tree that loomed over them. His rage grew to frightening heights and Nick knew then he had to walk away. All he was doing was torturing himself.
He turned to leave when Jake’s moans of ecstasy caught his attention one last time. Jake was in the throes of climax and despite the pain, Nick turned back around in hopes of seeing them finish and part ways. Instead, he saw something worse.
A black shrouded figure clutched to the side of the tree Jake leaned against and whispered into his ear. Nick was the only one that could see the demon as it muddled Jake’s mind and weighed down his soul. Long coiling tendrils stretched down the tattered profile of the creature, snaking across the ground and twisting up Jake’s flesh.
Oh my God…Oh my God… Jake… Jake…
Nick started toward them when they finished, caressing each other as the shrouded demon wrapped its darkness around them. Jake kissed the stranger and jogged off before Nick could even say a word. The demon followed.
Nick fell to his knees.
A nightmare swirled inside of Nick’s mind and he cried. All he could think of now was getting that thing away from Jake. He wouldn’t rest until he did. He pulled himself to his feet again and followed the man he loved.
###
“Cole, Cole, slow down.” Micah stood in one of the hospital’s hallways, listening to his brother on his phone. “No. I’m not in any trouble. Everything is fine. What? Who is he? Paranormal investigator? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
He started down the hall, as his brother’s voice grew louder. “Yeah, but you didn’t leave a message or anything. Yes, I know you have a new baby. I didn’t mean to—” Micah rolled his eyes.
“Okay, okay. I don’t know what he wants. I don’t know anyone like that. “He stopped again and braced against the wall to his right. “I swear, Cole I’m not in any trouble. I’m fine. Right. Yes. Okay. Give Zach a kiss for me. Love you, too. Bye.”
Micah sighed and slipped his phone into his pocket. He continued down the hall when he met Doctor Gerard heading the opposite way.
“Hey Micah, have you heard from Jake? I know you guys are all friends with him. He didn’t show up today and I can’t reach him on his phone.”
“I think he’s not feeling well,” Micah lied. “I haven’t spoke to him directly but last I heard he was laying low”
“Hope he’s okay.”
“Me too.”
“If you hear from him, let me know.”
“Sure. No problem.” Micah hated doing that but he really didn’t know what else today. It wasn’t as if he could just tell everyone that Jake is so obsessed with him that he tried to banish his demon lover back to Hell so Jake could have him for himself. It just didn’t naturally roll off the tongue.
His cell phone went off again.
“For the love of Christ!” He snatched the phone from his pocket. “Caleb? What’s wrong? Are you all right? What? Really? Are you serious? No, Caleb, yes, I know you’re serious. It was an expression. No, don’t you do it without me. I have to be there for Nicki. I have to be there when she comes out of this. I’ll be right there.”
Again, Micah had to lie. He had to leave work and be at his best friend’s side. There was no more time to waste. Nehemiah had come to their side. He was about to exorcise Sebastian from Nicki’s body and soul and it needed to happen before the next dawn.
11.
Micah arrived at Nicki’s condo at the same time Nick had but for different reasons.
“Micah! Jake… I saw Jake… I lost him but he’s in trouble. A demon has been whispering into his ear. I saw it…”
“Another demon?” Micah stopped, taking Nick’s hand. “We need to deal with one at a time. Okay?”
There was no answer.
“Okay? Caleb and Nehemiah are here. We’re finally gonna get Nicki away from Sebastian’s hold. “
Nick nodded solemnly. “Yes… of course.”
“We’ll help Jake. I promise.”
“It might not have been his fault…. None of it may have been. I mean… I saw the demon at his side.”
“It’s okay.” Micah put both hands onto Nick’s face. “We will help him. We will but Nicki first.”
Nick nodded again and followed Micah inside.
Micah opened the front door and stepped inside. A smidgeon of fear shot through him when he saw Nehemiah standing in the hallways so close to Caleb.
“I see you…” Nick said. “Your angel self.” Despite Nehemiah dressed in plain clothes and without his wings, Nick saw past the façade and to the real angel. “You’re so beautiful.” He dropped to his knees and openly wept, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Nehemiah stepped past Caleb and Micah and put his hand down to Nick. “You have the sight. You can see me.”
Nick looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Yes.”
“It is all right. Rise now.”
As soon as he took Nehemiah’s hand, Nick stopped crying. He caught his breath.
“Nick, remember to focus,” Caleb said.
“It’s okay,” replied Nick. “I don’t mind seeing him.”
“Let’s do this,” Micah said finally. “Night is falling.”
Caleb nodded and put his arm around Micah. “Maybe you should stay out here.”
“No way. I have to be there. You’re not keeping me out.” Micah rushed to the bedroo
m door and grabbed the knob. “Ah! It’s burning hot.”
“Sebastian grows more powerful,” Nehemiah said. “We must do this soon.”
“Agreed,” Caleb said. “All right Micah, you may follow us in.” Caleb took hold of the knob but the door wouldn’t open. He pushed against it again but it wouldn’t give. He shifted his hands into scaly claws and punched the door but it remained untouched. “There is a force holding the door.” He turned to look at Micah then at Nehemiah. “He’s much more powerful than I am now.”
“Step aside.” Nehemiah stepped over to the door and let is wings unfurl from his back. A white light enveloped him and the door. The angel drew back his hand and opened his palm. He struck the door with his palm hard and it shattered, pieces of wood sailed into the bedroom.
“Uh-oh,” Sebastian said. “Looks like I’m in trouble now.” Laughter followed.
Nehemiah and Caleb entered the room as Micah followed directly behind them. He was shocked when he set his gaze on Nicki. The skin on her face was beginning to be overrun with what appeared to be snakeskin. Her tongue that licked her mouth and cheeks was now forked. Her eyes flared with red.
“Nicki…” Micah tried to be strong but his heart sunk and the tears fell.
“Hello bestie,” Nicki croaked, partially in her own voice and partially Sebastian’s.
“You’re leaving!” Micah screamed. “Now!”
“Oh really?”
A gust of wind surged through the room. Micah, Caleb and Nehemiah flew into the air and crashed against the back wall. Micah felt pain burn across his back and ribs. He fell to the floor but the wind kept pressing against him like a tidal wave.
Both Caleb and Nehemiah fought against the thrashing, biting wind, pinned against the wall like flies. Caleb shifted into his demonic form, scales rippled down his arms, black-feathered wings spread wide and flapped hard against the wind.
Caleb roared and flung himself to the ceiling. He crawled across it and over Nicki’s bed. She glared up at him.
“You’re too late, fallen brother! She is mine. My full power is coming now… can’t you feel it?”
“All I want to feel is your soul between my teeth!” Caleb dropped, falling down to Nicki but he was halted in mid-fall. Nicki blinked at him and he sailed through the air and onto the floor, crashing hard.
“No. You are no match for me. Taste my fire.”
Flames spread across Caleb’s back. Howls of pain filled the room.
“Caleb!” Micah cried but he was unable to move as the powerful, icy wind held him back.
“ENOUGH FOUL ONE!” Nehemiah cried. He inhaled and the wind ceased, sucking up into the angel’s body. He blew it back at Caleb and put out the scorching flames. “You are no match for me, no matter your power!” Nehemiah glowed with white light, his hair was a golden yellow and his great white wings spread the length of the room. “I am an archangel of Michael’s charge. I am the leader of the legion of hosts. I am the warrior angel first into battle at Michael’s side. And I am here to smite thee!”
For the first time, fear burned in Sebastian’s eyes. Nicki’s face was a mask of terror as Nehemiah began toward her despite all of the horror that spouted from her lips, despite more wind blasting the angel.
“You stay away…” Sebastian moaned. “My Master will punish you. He will take revenge on your heavenly spirit. I will not go… do you hear archangel? I will not go!”
Nehemiah leaped onto the bed, standing tall, looming over the cowering demon as it fought to hold onto its possessed. The angel laid his hand on Nicki’s forehead and she screamed. Sebastian also screamed.
“Your crimes have not gone unnoticed, angel!” Sebastian screamed his last words. “Your precious Heaven will reject you. Michael has seen all!”
White light engulfed Nicki’s face, her skin glowed transparent and for a second Micah could see her skull. The light grew brighter and the entire room filled with it.
A boom echoed through the room and the light exploded. A screech sounded last as a black, shadowy form lifted out of Nicki’s body. A set of eyes and a gaping mouth stretched in the shadow’s writhing mass before it disappeared.
“It is done.” Nehemiah climbed off of the bed and sat on floor. He put his face in his hands.
“Micah…? Micah?”
“Nicki!” Finally Micah was able to stand up. He raced to her side and held Nicki his arms. “Its okay now. I’m here. I’m here.”
Her tears soaked her face as she buried it into Micah’s chest. “I was so lost and I couldn’t reach you. I could reach any of you. My God… Micah…. It was like a nightmare.”
“It’s okay now. He’s gone. He’s gone for good.”
Deep sobs escaped her as she held onto him like never before.
A smile drew on Caleb’s face as he watched the two friends reunite. His heart was full. He turned to thank Nehemiah and saw him exiting the room.
“Brother?”
“The demon was right,” Nehemiah said. “Michael’s rage will be terrible. Once he finds out.” He left the room.
Micah looked up. “It’s okay,” he said with a smile. “Go after him. We will help him.”
###
Taking video on his phone was a new experience for Tom. He was old fashioned by nature and it felt so strange to try to capture paranormal events on a phone but this time, he just had to do it. He practically stumbled upon the end of the banishing.
He didn’t know why he was drawn to this condo complex but when he saw what he thought was an angel and a demon in the window of the condo across the street, he know he had to do something.
“An angelic banishing,” Tom mumbled. “Right here in Blackstone City.”
He crept closer and closer to the building with the condo apartment in question and stopped when he heard the thunderous screams. He scanned the entire outside of the apartment with his phone and managed to capture the huge, cloud-like shadow that filled the condo’s windows, rose through the top of the building and vanished. He swore that shadow had a face on it but he wasn’t quite sure. It disappeared so quickly.
Tom started to playback the video on the phone when he heard the front door open. He ducked around the corner of the building and peered back. He saw a stunning blond man walk from the inside the condo and take flight on a pair of wings.
Tom’s jaw dropped and he fumbled with his phone to get the angel on video but he was gone in the blink of an eye. He just couldn’t believe it. Everything was true. This was the place. All of the prophetic dreams he’d been having about an unknown city and the war to end all wars were real. It was going to happen right here.
“It is happening.” Tom lit a cigarette as he walked back to his rental. “The fallen one living in repentance. The angelic banishment. The tear in the fabric of Hell. The war to end all wars—Heaven against Hell, here, on Earth. Here in Blackstone.”
He wasn’t sure what to do next all he knew was he had to meet Micah Donovan and soon. He got in his car and headed back to his hotel room. Little did he knew, Micah was just feet away and had called an ambulance to take he and Nicki to the hospital.
Unaware of narrowly missing Micah, Tom returned to his room and coordinated all of the information he had. Maps, photos, old books, recordings, they all added up to the same thing. The big paranormal event was coming soon and it would begin and end in the old part of the city. He walked over to his hotel room window and opened it. He was always so warm, especially when he was in the old part of the city. Tom couldn’t help but think that too was a sign.
In the night sky the moon rose, waxing toward full. He lit a cigarette, blew the smoke out the window and sighed. He hated when he was right. Just once he would love to be wrong and finally his wife could sleep easier at night.
###
The morning sun held new meaning for Micah. For a change he welcomed the new day and the light shining down on him felt pure, warm and loving. He wore the biggest smile on his face and carried the prettiest flowers he could find.
Ones he purchased at an actual florist and not in the hospital gift shop. Flowers from the gift shop never made it past the next morning.
He took the elevator up and could barely stand the wait. After all they had been through it would be good just to talk to Nicki, just to hug her, laugh with her and appreciate the fact that she was still here, still his best friend in the whole world.
Micah stepped into the room and beamed. “Hey, there’s my girl.”
Nicki’s eyes lit up the moment she saw him and she almost started to cry again. Instead, she fought back the tears of joy with a smile to match his. “Hey.”
“How are you feeling?”
She paused for a moment, looked at her IV, at the cold breakfast on her tray table, at the medications in a plastic cup, at the bandages on her hands, wrists and legs and grinned. “A hell of a lot better now. Thank you so much. Thank you for not giving up.”
“Like I ever would.” He reached out for her hand and she took it, holding on as tight as she could. He set the flowers down on the table beside her bed and sat on the edge of her bed.
“Did I hurt anyone?”
“No. Just yourself.”
“Jesus.”
“I know.” He rubbed her hand with his thumb.
“What an asshole he was.”
Micah broke out laughing. “Well…they don’t call him an Arch Demon for nothing.”
“I’m just glad he’s back where he came from. Let him fry.”
“It’s so good to have you back.” He put his arm around her and she leaned her head onto his chest. “I love you, Nicki.”
“I love you too. I’m still here because of you. I’m still… me.”
“Don’t mention it. Like ever…”
“Sure, if you remind me never to get possessed again.”
“Deal.” He kissed her cheek. “I gotta get to work. I’ll come visit again soon. Can’t wait to have you back on the job, partner.”
Nicki beamed as he left the room and headed for the elevator.
###
It was after sunset when Micah finally returned him. He was met with a huge embrace within Caleb’s strong arms. He’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to be held by him. He looked into Caleb’s eyes and kissed him.
