Immortal Memory (Book One)

by Sylvia Frances

  A familiar laugh came from behind Simra and distracted her from hearing Ms. Hanley. "I never cooked it as well as Mom, but I did learn to cook it."

  “Zach! Where have you been? It’s been days! Why didn’t you come and find me before now?”

  Ms. Hanley rushed toward them. "Zach's here?"

  Simra gazed at her and nodded with joyful tears. "He's here."

  The angel caressed her cheek, and his concerned gaze raked over her. “Did Azazel harm you in any way? Are you hurt? I apologize for not being able to get to you. The two of you were shielded from me. The place he held you is protected by demonic symbols and prayers to keep an angel of God’s from it.”

  He paused and added, “I did pay a visit to Quint and found a way to distract my demon brother for a while. He needs the drug dealer as a human to do his killing. Azazel came to protect him in a rush when he sensed Quint was in danger.”

  Simra combed her fingers through her damp hair. There were still answers she needed from Zach. She explained what Tristan told her. The brothers were very skilled at keeping secrets. There might be many more facts about them to be discovered. “Is it true that you want to collect my soul too?”

  "What?" Ms. Hanley paled.

  Simra glanced at his mom, who had returned cooking. But what Simra asked Zach appeared to have stunned her. Zach looked from Simra to his mom.

  Ms. Hanley appeared to try not to look worried. "I'm sorry, dear. I'll let you two talk. But I'm sure Tristan's trying to scare you with lies." She resumed cooking.

  Zach stood in silence for several moments and looked lost in deep thought. “No, Azazel wants to collect your soul. He's an angel of death who works for Satan. I collect human souls and bring them to Christ. I also destroy certain demons like him. During the marriage ceremony, he plans to collect your soul. It's quite a story what he plans for you. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

  “Please. I need to know what I'm up against."

  "He'll collect your soul during the marriage ceremony but keep you alive. You'll be raped several times and become pregnant many times with half-demon children. He'll teach your children ways to become powerful and rich. They'll go throughout the world and rule over many places. Most might become presidents and leaders. Many terrible things will happen. The world will be destroyed. God sent you and me to team up and stop it. We’ll stop Tristan from marrying you and destroy him.” Zach’s reassuring gaze softened toward her.

  Simra's blood ran cold at the thought. “That's terrible. I refuse to let that happen. And what of me when I die? Where will my soul go?”

  Zach sat in silence, and his face became void of expression. “That’s between you and God. Are you following Him? Have you accepted Him to come inside your heart? Do you have a strong relationship with Him? Do you believe and trust in Him with all your heart and how His Son died for your sins?”

  Simra’s heart dropped to her knees when she answered all his questions in silence. Simra didn’t have the strong relationship she needed with Him. But she did believe in Him and His Son. Pain gnawed at her insides just to remember the awful tragedies Tristan caused. How could God allow him to cause such damage? She blamed God for everything that happened and walked away from Him without even realizing it.

  “Your brother can't have me!” she snapped. The thought of Tristan claiming her soul caused shivers to tickle her spine.

  The angel rested a hand on her cheek. “There’s no reason to be afraid. We’ll destroy Azazel.” His expression grew solemn. “I’ll give you some advice about God. Let go of the past and what haunts you. Your soul will be trapped forever if you don’t let go of a dead memory. There's a reason for everything. Some reasons are very difficult to understand, but you'll understand someday.”

  How could such a charming, loving, and handsome man be something so grim and deadly? And she was falling in love with him! Loving Death frightened her.

  Simra’s bones almost jumped out of her skin when her phone buzzed against the kitchen table. She gave the angel a dark frown when a careless chuckle escaped from his lips. He must've read her thoughts. She took a peek to see who called her and answered in a rush. Mandy. Only static screeched on the other end of the line.

  Her heart dropped from panic. “Mandy? Mandy, you all right?”

  The loud noise faded, and her cousin shouted through the phone. “Sim! Can you hear me now?”

  “Yeah. Go ahead.”

  “I had a wreck, and I’m not certain how it happened. It’s so similar to the way Jeff described his accident. You think the demon caused it?”

  Simra felt the blood drain from her face. There was no doubt Tristan caused it. She needed to get to Mandy without Tristan catching her and fast!

  Chapter 26

  "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." -Ephesians 6:16-17

  Simra’s stomach twisted to think the worst. “Are you hurt? Are you stuck? Tristan did this and is trying to stop us. Where are you?”

  Her cousin groaned in pain on the other end of the line. “I’m just a little hurt, but the car’s stuck. I can’t drive it out of the ditch. I’m about a mile or two up the dirt road from the lake house.”

  Simra covered the phone with her hand and turned to Zach. She begged him in desperation. “Can you please drag Mandy's car out of the ditch?”

  “I’m an angel, Simra. Not human. I can’t do such things. Maybe there's someone with a truck who can do this.” He closed his eyes and prayed for Mandy's protection and for help.

  Simra uncovered the phone, and her trust in God grew strong again. She only focused on bringing her cousin to safety. “Mandy, we'll find a way to get you home. I just know it.”

  Simra's phone beeped while she comforted her cousin. Someone else called. Her knees grew weak as she expected the worst of calls to be Tristan or Quint. Relief shot through her when she saw the detective’s name on the screen. She hung up with Mandy to answer his call.

  “Jeff?”

  “Sim, I spoke to Mandy earlier. She told me about Tristan capturing you. Are you all right? I’m out of the hospital now and feeling great. I’m back on the job. Where’s this abandoned house? We should all go there together.”

  Simra smiled to know her friend was better, but her shoulders slumped from guilt dominating her. Jeff and her family were still in great danger. Tristan might succeed in killing them soon. Simra’s faith in God was weak.

  It wasn’t safe for anyone she loved to be involved with helping her anymore. Jeff and Mandy were only injured the first time. But Tristan would murder them next if they continued helping her.

  “I’m fine. Mandy's not." Simra explained what happened and how they needed someone to drag the car out of the ditch. She gave him directions. "I don’t want you two involved anymore. You’ve already seen how it’s much too dangerous. Tristan almost killed you. You and Mandy should stay at the lake house with me. He can't get to you here.”

  “I'm sending someone on their way to help Mandy. Don’t beg me to stay out of this because I won’t, Sim. I'm already involved, and I’m trained for such dangerous situations. You, Ms. Reece, and Mandy are my family. Now I’m doing everything in my power to stop this madness.”

  “You aren’t trained for fighting a demon and keeping him from killing you.” Simra fought back tears from the sharp emotions cutting her to pieces.

  “Sim, I can handle it. You have to trust me. Tristan caught me off guard. I’m more prepared for him this time. I'm wearing the armor of God. I know the demon’s out there waiting to strike, and I'm ready for him this time.”

  Simra became unable to refrain from breaking down into continuous sobs. She wiped her tears with a tissue. Penetrating fears shot deep through her like a thousand arrows. They were worries about her loved ones, her own soul, her destination, and breaking her grandmother’s curse. Would Tristan ever be stopped? R
egardless of what Simra or anyone else did, nothing could ever be the same again.

  Jeff tried to soothe his friend on the other end of the line. “There’s no reason to be concerned about me. I promise everything will be fine once the demon’s destroyed. But you have to let me and Mandy help you.”

  Simra began to tell him that it was almost impossible that all of them would get through this alive, but the phone clicked. “Jeff? You still there?”

  No one replied on the other end of the line. He must have had enough of debating about the situation and hung up. Then again, it wasn’t like him to do such a thing.

  Ms. Hanley finished setting the table and came to Simra with worry in her eyes. "Simra, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. I have my car. Should I pick up Mandy?"

  Zach interrupted them before Simra could respond. "Absolutely not! That's Azazel's plan. He wants to draw one of you out of the house to kill or capture you. It's best that you both stay here. Help is on the way sooner than Jeff's people can get there. I sense it."

  Simra's heart pounded at what Zach said. What he said made perfect sense. She repeated it to Ms. Hanley. "There's someone on their way to help Mandy. For now, I must find out why I lost connection with Jeff."

  Simra glanced at Zach, who gazed at her with intensity. Her heart jumped at the thought of Tristan doing something horrible to Jeff again. She squeezed the cell in her hand and started redialing his number.

  Zach took the phone from her firm grip. “I caused the call to end. Allow the detective and Mandy’s assistance. But have strong faith in God as you pray for their safety. They must trust Him too. I’ll protect them to the best of my ability. We need all the help we can get. Jeff should keep an eye on the drug dealer. Your cousin will bring us the ingredients to destroy the body.”

  Simra shook her head with aggression. “No. I’m sorry, but I can’t allow them to be involved anymore. Tristan will kill them! He’s already tried.”

  Zach took bold steps toward her and squared his shoulders. “If you’d like this madness with the demon to end well for you and your loved ones, you’ll let them help."

  Simra tried to hide the excruciating fear of him by lifting her chin in much defiance. “Your threats toward me and my family don’t scare me, nor do you. My faith will grow stronger, and I’ll protect them to the best of my ability."

  Zach’s lips tugged into a smile, and he chuckled as though amused by her outburst. “I made no threats to your family. I only said your loved ones might be harmed by Azazel or emotionally damaged if you don’t allow them to help. I wouldn’t dare hurt them because I’m here to protect all of you. You can't do all this on your own.

  “Your emotions and worries are running rampant, Simra. Take a moment to rest your mind and gather your thoughts back into place. You can't take everything into your own hands and believe it's all up to you. You must allow others and God to help.”

  “What are you saying, Zach? Are you trying to tell me that I'm not capable of getting the job done?”

  “You can't do it on your own. No angel or human can without teamwork and Christ involved. It's impossible. You must stop worrying so much and focus on the mission, which is destroying Azazel.”

  “I'm fine!”

  “Stop deceiving yourself. You aren’t.”

  Zach's mom walked into the restroom and left the two bickering. Simra fidgeted with her hands behind her back and dared stepping closer to him. She made a continuous attempt to hide her building panic.

  “Zach, please hand over my phone, and let me return Jeff’s call. He’s probably very worried about me. Especially if he knows I’m alone with Death.”

  Zach held out the cell with a grin of mischief across his face. He jerked it back when she tried snatching it from him. She almost stumbled into the angel when he drew closer to her and leaned down.

  Simra’s heart hammered against her chest when he whispered against her lips. “You even make me weak when you’re being stubborn.”

  Her cheeks grew hot from his outspoken adoration of her. The light brush of his kiss lasted in the blink of an eye. Her knees became weak beneath her. He was such an alluring angel who captivated her soul. She never felt the same way for Tristan. Her feelings for the angel just seemed 'right', but she knew they weren’t.

  “Simra, promise you’ll try to stop worrying if I give you the phone. Promise to allow your loved ones to assist you. Mandy’s faith will grow stronger just like Jeff’s has.”

  Simra placed her hand on the chair to steady herself. Zach's kiss made her so weak that she almost couldn't stand. “I promise.” She nodded with reluctance.

  “Good. Thank you.” Zach gave the phone back to her. He eased down in his seat at the table.

  She redialed Jeff’s number, and the detective answered in a rush. “Sim, what happened?”

  “It’s all right, Jeff. I lost you for a minute, but everything’s fine. I'll allow you to help. How soon do you think help will arrive for Mandy? I'm worried about her."

  Mandy rushed through the front door before their friend replied, and her cousin's eyes were wide from panic. “Is that Jeff? Tell him I made it. One of the neighbors came with a pickup truck and offered assistance. He lives a couple miles up the road.”

  “I’m so glad you’re all right,” Simra whispered. She relayed the message to their friend.

  "Great! I'll get in contact with the men I asked to help Mandy. I'll tell them to forget about it and that she's all right. For now, I'm going to find Quint. I have a feeling I know where he is. I'll call you back a little later to get with you on when we'll destroy the body," Jeff replied.

  Simra smiled at the thought of Quint being arrested again. "That sounds great! Later." She hung up the phone.

  Ms. Hanley came into the room with relief in her eyes. "Oh, you're all right! I'm so glad. We were very worried."

  Mandy explained to Ms. Hanley what happened and squeezed Simra with an affectionate hug. “Sim, you’ve been crying. What is it? Were you that worried about me?”

  Ms. Hanley squeezed Simra with a hug as well. "She's worried about her family."

  Simra embraced Ms. Hanley and fought the looming thoughts of never seeing them again if something happened. “Yeah, I am. I’ll be fine.” Simra needed to destroy that body tonight before something else happened. It would get much worse.

  After Ms. Hanley released her, Mandy squeezed Simra's shoulders. “There’s no need to worry so much about me, Honey. I’m okay. I got so scared on the way here, but God saved my life. I owe Him for that. But you and Zach must know something. Is he still here?”

  Relief washed through Simra to know about Mandy’s faith in the Lord. She nodded and took a quick glimpse at Zach. Simra almost forgot how other people could not see him and Tristan. “Yeah, he’s here.”

  Mandy took her cousin’s hands and squeezed them with her eyes wavering. “I became unconscious from bumping my head on the steering wheel in the wreck. I dreamed something which felt and looked so real. I sense it’s really happening. I also notice there is a storm outside just like in the vision. I saw Tristan digging up a grave in St. Memory Cemetery. It was his brother’s. He was about to set fire to the body and claimed to be sending him back to heaven. The demon wants Zach out of the way for good so he can have you all to himself.”

  Chapter 27

  "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." -Psalm 34:18

  The raging storm caused the lights to flicker in the lake house. Simra exchanged glances with Mandy, Ms. Hanley, and Zach. She took the angel’s hand while Mandy and Ms. Hanley's curious gazes observed her.

  "Is it true?" Ms. Hanley paled.

  “Is it really happening?” Simra squeezed his hand.

  Zach grasped her hand with a soft grip. “Anything’s possible with Azazel. The demon could’ve shown Mandy this vision to frighten us out of the house. Or it might be true. He has threatened to send me back to heaven. We must risk going to St. Memory to stop him. A dem
on can’t cross sacred grounds, but he can persuade a human to do the job. Let’s go to the cemetery before it’s too late. You won’t see me here ever again if I’m sent back to heaven. Then, you’ll never be able to destroy Azazel.”

  Simra turned to Mandy and Ms. Hanley before hurrying toward the door. She explained everything Zach said. “You two stay here with Grandmother where it's safe. Zach and I will return tonight. We must stop Tristan.”

  Mandy tilted her head to the side and gave Simra a sad pout. “Just be careful, Cousin. We’ll take care of Grandma and pray for you.”

  Zach interrupted Simra’s train of thought. “Let's go to St. Memory before it’s too late.”

  Mandy yawned and turned toward the den where their grandmother sat on the couch. “I love you, Sim. Stay safe.”

  "Be careful. I'll save your dinner for you," Ms. Hanley hugged Simra.

  Simra returned Ms. Hanley's hug and kissed Mandy on the cheek. “Thank you so much. I love you both, and we’ll be careful.”

  Mandy kissed her cousin on the brow before Simra walked out the door. Simra hated to leave the safety of the house. Then again, she wished they were already there to stop the demon. Simra slipped into her sandals and rushed onto the porch with the angel.

  They locked the door behind them. She almost leaped into his arms and nodded for him to carry her. Simra choked back a sob of despair at the thought of never seeing Zach again. She didn’t just need him for destroying the demon. But Simra needed him by her side for the rest of her life.

  Although she hated hearing his brutal honesty, he guided her to have a relationship with God. Simra tried to push away the thought of sharing her life with him. Mortals couldn't be with angels. Besides, he wanted her grandmother’s soul.

  They arrived two miles from Pastor Mervin's church. Zach placed Simra on her feet at the entrance of St. Memory. He turned to her and pointed near the edge of the graveyard. Candles were lit around a grave.