by Lynn Landes
Hunter has waited for the right moment to reveal himself and this seems like the ideal time. Before he can move, Varena feels her power pour into her hands and she starts to panic when they begin to burn.
“It’s alright Rena, give it to me.” Alex whispers in her mind. Terrified Raphaim will try to take the baby, she nods her head and she feels Alex touch her mind, like a cold breeze on a scorching day. He draws on her gifts and her hands begin to cool.
Alex, in an instant, directs all of their combined power straight at the demon, sending him through the living room wall in an explosion of dust and debris!
As Raphaim lands in the front yard, Hunter strikes at him before he can move.
“I see you demon, I see you.” He chants as he surrounds Raphaim with a ring of enchanted smoke. “I am Gunskaliski, a demon hunter. Your time has come.” Hunter creates a circle of entrapment with his power, locking the demon inside of it.
Raphaim struggles to rise up from the ground. Covered in rubble, laying on the glass and wood, he starts to laugh. He stands slowly and shakes his mighty wings tossing the scraps away. A snarl at Hunter and Alex with hatred burning in his eyes, he steps through the barrier.
“You think to contain me, Gunskaliski, with smoke?” He screams at Hunter, “I am MORE than a demon! I am Angel and Demon, and I AM HUNGRY!!!” He starts to leap at the Indian but stops when he hears her voice.
“Raphaim?” The sound of her voice calms his beast and his eyes widen with shock, as she walks forward holding his daughter. “You will not harm them. They were only protecting your daughter.”
“Varena? How are you here?” he asks struggling against his hunger and hatred for the two men. He steps closer, reaching out to touch her, but Hunter drops a shield of protection around Rena and the baby
“Enough! They are mine, Gunskaliski!” Raphaim screams in rage. He attacks so quickly that Hunter barely sees the movement before he is struck. The blow sends him sliding across the earth, stopping unconscious at Alex’s feet.
“Dad!” Alex yells and drops down to check him.
“And YOU!” Raphaim snaps. Lunging, he grabs Alex by his throat, strangling him with a clawed hand.
“No!” Varena screams and the baby begins to cry at the sound of her mother’s distress. Alex struggles kicking wildly and screams for Elina in his mind.
Elina is tumbling through space, panicking at the feeling of falling before it occurs to her that she can’t fly but she can port. Just as the thought enters her mind, she hears Alex screams in pain. He is calling for her to help him.
She locks onto the sound of his voice and follows it. With no hesitation, she drops in behind Raphaim and swings her sword down, slicing a wing from his body. His scream of pain echoes through the air and he releases Alex, falling to his knees from the shock.
Elina’s eyes begin to glow and her power builds as she jerks Alex to her side.
Inside the house Malach returns holding a wounded Elsbeth and Jake. They find the wall of the house blown outward when a scream like that of a wounded animal echoes across the yard.
He places Elsbeth on the kitchen table and orders Jake to stay with her. Malach rushes outside and finds Elina holding hands with Alex and he immediately moves in behind the wounded demon.
Simeon lands, followed closely by Nameed, who holds the body of Jake’s friend. Simeon joins the circle with Malach and Nameed after he places the body on the ground.
Raphaim is surrounded. They join their power to the Keepers and the circle of containment is strengthened. For the first time Elina feels the full power of Heaven with her.
Alex steps back and helps Hunter stand as they move slowly towards Varena. She trembles as she looks at Raphaim, the father of her child. In her mind, she knows he is evil, crazy even, but her heart remembers his tenderness and she weeps for him.
“Rena?” he calls out and reaches for her. Hunter holds her back and Alex helps turn her away, urging her back inside the house.
“Rena!” his voice screams out louder, calling for her to help. “You owe me!! Vareeena!!! You are MINE!!!” He screams raging at her, he struggles to stand once more. He tries to run through the shimmering wall of power, but he is outnumbered.
“Raphaim, you have been judged and found to be guilty. Your end is here.” Elina says simply for she has seen what he is capable of. With no compassion for him, her power surges from keeper to angel spinning, it grows brighter and brighter, hotter and hotter before it begins to burn the demon inside. His screams ring out and he screams for her, his Rena, one last time, before he is burned to ashes.
Nameed watches closely as Elina steps through the ring of fire and into the center of the maelstrom to grasp the soul of the demon Raphaim in her hand. She squeezes until he turns into a single silver drop and pictures the Fountain of Judgment in her mind.
Nameed smiles when she draws on Alex’s power and sends the drop to hell, where it falls into the hand of a stone Angel, to be damned forever. Slowly the ring dims and her power with it.
Malach takes a breath and steps to steady Elina.
She turns away before he can touch her and tells Simeon, “Hurry, Elsbeth needs you.”
“Elina?” Malach asks as Simeon rushes past to tend to Elsbeth.
Avoiding his eyes, she takes a slow, deep breath. ‘Don’t look at him,’ she tells herself.
“I am okay, Malach. We need to tend to the wounded.”
Malach grudgingly turns away and goes inside to help Simeon. He steps through the rubble and hole into the house where he sees Elsbeth on the table and Simeon healing her. Jake is checking on Hunter and he looks up at Malach.
“It was a trap?” Malach voices his suspicions to Jake.
“Yes. The Mocker knew we were coming. They used Lucas to lure me there, Elsbeth was a bonus.”
Malach looks outside and back at Jake, “Nameed brought back your friend. He is out front.”
Jake looks out of the hole left by the fighting and sees his friend’s body lying in the grass. A deep sigh and he turns back to Hunter for another quick once over to check he has no major injuries. Satisfied, he slowly gets up and follows the others outside with sadness in his heart.
Elina waits with Nameed and watches Jake, when he sees the body. She is letting the scene play out as it should. Jake rushes over and drops to the ground beside his fallen friend and weeps.
“I’m sorry I failed you, brother” Jake says as his tears fall. After a moment, he looks up at Nameed, “Thank you for not leaving him.” Malach steps beside Nameed and One, by one they drop to bended knees and say a prayer over the body.
Nameed looks at Malach, and shifts to his owl form when he feels Polly is close. The sound of an approaching vehicle has them all turning as Ronnie, Ruby and Polly return from shopping. Alex stands on the porch steps outside and his dark eyes take stock. He walks over to Jake and drops to his knees beside him.
Hunter steps through the rubble and watches closely as his son places a hand on the body.
“All is not lost, Jake. His soul fights in the darkest of places. We will free him so he can go home.”
Pride fills Hunter’s soul at his son’s words.
Ronnie, Ruby and Polly get out of the truck slowly and walk up surveying the damage to the house. “What happened?” Polly asks.
“Lucas,” Jake says hoarsely wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “His name was Lucas. We need to bury him.” Looking at Alex beside him, Jake is touched when he sees a tear in his eye for a man he does not know. “Why do you weep, you didn’t know him?”
Alex replies, “I weep for the lives he should have touched. His journey is not over, Jake, until we bring him home.” Rising up, he pulls Jake to his feet and at his touch, they are gone.
Everyone moves at once, Elina watches and glances at Hunter when Malach tries to follow Alex. When he finds the way blocked to him, he murmurs, “Incredible.”
“Incredible? Where is my son?” Hunter turns to Elina and she smiles, “It wil
l be okay, he will be back soon,” she promises and turns to watch.
Polly starts laughing, and they all look at her as if she’s lost her mind. “That boy is a fast learner!”
Elina steps back, allowing the scene to play out as she remembers. The voices around her fade to the background. The third piece of the book has been returned and she knows where the fourth is. Alex will return with Jake in a moment and in the meantime, she needs to talk to Hunter and Varena, alone.
Malach watches Elina, sensing a change in her. She has distanced herself from him and he does not like it. He feels Alex returning, and turns to greet them. When he looks back, Elina moves away from the group.
She feels his eyes on her back and she knows she must not deviate from her plan. ‘Don’t look at him, Elina.’ Time to talk to Hunter.
Now that Raphaim is no longer a problem, the Mocker will be free. Elina had to choose between what she knows is a certain future, Raphaim getting the scroll, or his father being free. He is weakened from his fight with Simeon, so that will buy her some time to move everyone.
“Elina?” Alex calls out snapping her from her thoughts. She turns and steps closer, smiling at the sight of him so young. A flash of Lexy ripping his heart from his chest fills her mind and she shutters with the horror of it. She closes her eyes and presses a hand to her head, struggling to push the image away.
“How often have you gone to hell, Alex?” she asks.
“Only a few times before this. Mostly I just watch. I have been trying to figure out how to save some of the children from the Mocker.” He drops his eyes and then asks, “Raphaim could have killed dad if he chose to. Why didn’t he?”
Elina sighs deep, “Who knows the mind of a demon? I think the shock of seeing Varena probably stunned him. Don’t mistake his moment of weakness for anything else, he was truly evil, Alex.”
“I thought he was going to kill me… when he was choking me. If you hadn’t come back… I,” he stutters.
She pulls him into a hug, “You did the best you could, Alex. Our parents would have been so proud of you today!” she presses a kiss to his head and smiles when she hears Hunter behind her.
“This parent sure is!” Hunter tells him.
“Thanks Dad.”
“Alex, could you go get Simeon for me? He’s with Elsbeth. Ask him to help repair the hole in the house. Can’t believe I just said that?” she says with a small laugh.
After Alex hurries away, she turns to Hunter and lowers her voice, “This was just the beginning, the Mocker will come after us and he will not stop until we are all dead and the book is his. You must take them and leave.”
“No, I must help you fight him, it is what I was born to do.” Hunter snaps.
“I believe our God is tasking you with something else. Alex was put into your safekeeping, and now Varena and the baby. I can’t be everywhere, Hunter. I have to find the parts of the book and return them to the light. How can I do that and protect my brother? Please say you will help me!” she asks.
Before Hunter can speak, Alex answers from behind them as he jumps from the porch stairs, “I will not leave you!”
Frustrated, she turns to look at him. “Lexy will be the ultimate prize for the Mocker. He has spent his lifetime trying to create the perfect weapon. He failed, all of his children are monsters! Every one of them, including Raphaim. I have seen what Alexandria will be capable of. If he gets his hands on her, all of humanity will pay. He will not stop until we are all dead. Not just our family, Alex but all of Humankind. I know what it is I am asking of you, but I need you to trust me. Go with Hunter, train. Learn to control your powers, then you can fight with me.” Her blue eyes beg him for understanding.
“What will she become?” Varena asks, stepping into the small group holding the baby.
“Unstoppable. With an unquenchable desire for pain, misery and blood.” Elina does not hold back as she tells them the truth. “Alexandria is the child of a demon and a keeper. Gifted with traits from both. Her grandfather is an Archangel, who fell to Earth to destroy us all. She may be the Anti-Christ, or she may be the answer to all our problems. Only time will tell, but she must be protected.”
Hunter bows his head, “Elina is right, about one thing,” Hunter says, “We need to go. We can protect them until the time comes for you to join your sister. I promise when you feel ready, I will not stop you.”
“Alright, but I want you to promise to call me, Elina, if you need my help?” Alex stresses.
“I will call for you when the time is right,” she promises. She turns to Varena, “I believe if you take her and go with Hunter you will be safe.”
“I will go pack. I will see you in the morning, Hunter.” She moves softly into the house with the baby.
“Alex go back to our house to pack, I will follow. We will return first thing in the morning.” Elina watches as they leave and sighs. Hunter turns back to her with a glare.
“Tell me what you have seen.” Hunter demands.
“I have seen what may happen, not what will happen,” she says avoiding his eyes.
Hunter steps closer to her and lowers his voice, “I expect more from you Keeper! Tell me the truth!”
“I can’t tell you what I do not know for sure, Gunskaliski!” she fires back.
“Then tell me how am I to keep them safe if I do not know what I am dealing with?” Hunter begins to pace back and forth.
“Lexy may be completely normal, Hunter, or she may develop a taste for blood.” She says watching him closely.
Hunter stops moving, “What?”
Moving closer she explains, “Her Grandfather and Father used blood to strengthen their physical bodies. It is also possible that she will NOT need it. Only time will tell. The path I was shown was what she would become if the Mocker gets her. That is why she must be protected.”
“Okay, I understand. I will go pack and leave first thing in the morning.” He responds in a hoarse voice. He walks away thinking of the newborn child who has so much against her. Determined to protect her he clears his throat and says, “Thank you.”
A nod to Hunter’s thanks and Elina turns back towards the house planning her next move. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, she hopes they will all enjoy the day together, she will not be here to join in the celebration.
Chapter 14
Elina hurries to her bedroom to get everything together for Hunter and Alex. The bag she prepared for them is ready. Hunter will do the rest. Simeon works on repairing the front of the house and everyone returns to rest after the battle. Malach has taken Lucas’s soul home, and Hunter has gone home with Alex. Varena and the baby are resting. Elina seeks out Ronnie.
Ronnie is in the living room looking at the repairs Simeon made to the wall. “Amazing, isn’t it? You can’t even tell it was destroyed!” he says, looking at his daughter with a smile.
“Dad, I have a favor to ask,” she starts to say but he interrupts her. When he turns around, he is holding a scroll, secured with a red ribbon.
Surprise crosses her face as she looks up at him. “Once you asked me to look after this for you, but I believe you will need this now.”
“How did you know?” she asks accepting the scroll from him with a soft smile.
“I have not been sleeping very well, bad dreams. Dreams of death, fire, and demons. Last night, I had a new dream. A dream of you standing on the other side of a wall of flames and I couldn’t get to you. When I woke up the scroll was glowing! I don’t know what is inside of it, but I hope it helps you on your journey, daughter.”
“Thank you, Dad. I love you. You know that right?” she asks with bright eyes.
He pulls her into a hug, “I know it, girl. Wherever you go and whatever you face, you will not do it alone. You will have our prayers with you.”
She holds on tight, inhaling his scent into her heart. “Dad, I need you to take Mom and Aunt Polly, and go with Hunter. He will take the others to safety. After I leave, you will not be safe here. The Mocker will c
ome and he is bringing hell with him. I have to go after the book…”
“Say no more. We will go, how much time do we have?” She smiles up at this man she has called Father, amazed by him.
“Two days. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve but I have to leave now. I would like you to take them to safety, after Christmas morning. Enjoy the holiday together, for me, okay?” she asks him.
“We will. Does Malach know you are leaving?”
“No. It’s for the best. He will complicate things, and I need space right now.” She kisses his cheek softly, “Keep each other safe. Help train Varena and Alex. Malach can help with that. I will say goodbye to Mom before I go.”
He watches his daughter leave, “Keep our girl safe, Father,” he whispers to Heaven’s ear.
After a teary goodbye to her Mother, Elina grabs her bag and tucks the scroll inside her shirt. She needs to be alone when she opens it. The woods behind the house offer good cover, especially for an owl. Nameed is always in the woods behind Polly’s house, and she wants to see him before she goes.
The crunching of the leaves beneath her boots seems to echo through the forest as Elina hikes to the stream to search for him.
The stream sings its lullaby and soothes her tired soul. Elina sits on a boulder for a moment and listens to the water trickling down, around rocks and sticks. The crickets chirp and she breathes deeply, hoping that she made the right choice.
Humanity has been saved and Raphaim is gone, but she knows the Mocker will not be so easily destroyed. Thinking of Raphaim’s death brings her no joy, she had hoped for redemption for him. The call of an owl pulls her out of her reverie.
A rush of wings and Elina stands, turning to look behind her. The blonde angel called Kane, steps into the clearing and smiles boldly, “Alone at last”.
A deep sigh escapes her as she drops her bag from her shoulder, looking back at the fallen angel, “You are mistaken, Kane, I am never alone. My God has promised to never leave me or forsake me.”
