“I went with her to the safe house, and they welcomed me in like one of their own. They told me about themselves, what they did, and what they believed in. They also told me that I was like them. Someday, they said, I would be able to do something that could help the world.
“No more than a month later, an interesting person arrived. His name was Gregor, and he told me he was a demon hunter. A feeling had brought him to me, and he persuaded the other prophets to let him train me.”
John laughed softly. “Gregor was bent on teaching me everything I could wrap my mind around. He taught me how to read, and he would shove books in front of me. He hired tutors for my academics, but he taught me everything else. He instructed me in every form of combat he knew, including martial arts and any weapon he could find. He helped me develop prophetic powers. Then, he taught me about demons.
“He was young for a hunter, and already he’d seen a lot of battle. Something about him made him progressive. Perhaps, it was his youth. Still, it is ironic that he was one of Jeremiah’s first allies after the demon shifted back to God’s side. It was then that I met him.”
“You know Jeremiah?” Alex asked, astonished. “I thought he was a secret.”
“Oh, yes. I know Jeremiah very well, and his existence is not as much of a secret now as it was then. At that time, only a couple members of the Elder Prophet Council and a select few others knew of his return, and Gregor was on that shortlist.
“It took some time for anyone to trust the demon with very much, including Gregor. Eventually, though, Jeremiah proved which side he was on. Actually, I had something to do with Gregor changing his mind. One of the first of my powers to appear was the ability to see the future in my dreams. I saw a battle between a pillar of fire and a dark cloud.”
“Metatron,” Alex reasoned at once.
“Correct. The dream was enough to intrigue my demon hunter friend. He looked into the matter with Abigail Martin. They agreed that Jeremiah had changed, and that his actions indicated sincerity, but he was to be watched very closely. There were more Elder Prophets then, and Gregor knew that, if Jeremiah ever got out of control, other demon hunters could easily be alerted to his existence. Up until recently, Gregor was the only one who knew. Of course, when I was a child, there were three times as many demon hunters as there are now.”
“What happened to them?”
“An evil prophet with a score to settle, and demons at his beck and call, killed more than seventy in three years. Two elder prophets died to stop the menace. Many innocent people lost their lives. But that is another story, and we have so little time.”
“So did the pillar of fire win?”
“I’ve never seen the end of that dream, but do you think God would let you lose?”
“A few days ago,” Alex started with a sigh, “I would have been able to tell you what God wanted. Now, He won’t talk to me.”
“He isn’t so far away,” John mused with a smile. “I’ll show you. Let’s take a walk.”
“I don’t think I’m supposed to leave this area.”
“I won’t let anything hurt you, Alex. Besides, our protectors will be with us.” Then, John stood up and walked to the front of the porch. “Raphael, show yourself.”
Even as the sound of John’s voice faded away, the angel stood on the porch with them.
“Tell Alex that he will be safe to take a walk with me,” John requested.
“I am not Anapiel,” Raphael explained to John coldly, “and I do not appreciate being summoned. In the future, do not address commands to me. I will not answer them.” He then turned to Alex. “Of course you are safe, Alex. Until I am commanded to do otherwise, I will protect you from any demon attack.” He paused, and his eyes shifted back to John, who was respectfully quiet. “And, yes, John is also perfectly capable of defending you.”
Then, the angel was gone.
***
Ephippas could hardly hide the look of contempt as he stood before Patheus’s desk, prepared to receive orders from a superior, only in title.
“You are here,” Patheus began, “as I’m sure you expected, to help oversee events unfolding in and around this area. I will give you a group of mercenaries, and, in time, you may be given additional privileges. Until then, I expect you to follow orders, just like everyone else.”
“How many demons are there around Kansas City?”
“Currently, I have twenty encircling a seventy-five mile radius of Kingstone,” Patheus answered, “not that this is any of your concern.”
“Nineteen?” Ephippas jabbed at him with a hint of a smile.
“Yes,” Patheus conceded, sighing, “nineteen. Flauros was overly ambitious; he didn’t even call for reinforcements. You can learn from his mistake. Never underestimate the power of an Elder Prophet.”
“You should talk. Has your mind fully healed from the little encounter with Abigail Martin? I hear she broke your will and very nearly impaled you.”
Patheus chuckled. “And never forget it. You will be stationed in Kingstone. You are to secure a base of operations for us within the town. And do keep it a secret. I wouldn’t want to lose another demon to faulty judgment.”
His voice laden with irony, Ephippas muttered, “I’m sure you wouldn’t.”
“Despite what you undoubtedly believe, I’m not sending you to Kingstone to die. The situation that I’m in is that I need someone competent to run that portion of the program. Reinforcements can quickly be in Kingstone. However, if I sent any demons with you, all of you would surely die. I can’t risk that. You must be low-key. When the time is right, if you handle this correctly, the people of Kingstone should invite us in.”
“Apparently, your mind hasn’t fully recovered.”
“It’s this attitude that will lose you any chance of promotion. I will not tolerate insubordination. If this assignment is too great for you, you may patrol the city like the others.” Patheus’s eyes darkened. “Or I could send you back to Metatron. I’m sure you’ll follow his orders. Do you understand your options?”
“Oh, I understand perfectly.”
Patheus stood up behind his desk. “And?”
“I will do as you command,” Ephippas replied obediently.
Patheus lifted his hand, and the door opened from his telekinetic command. “In that case, I order you to get out of my sight and make yourself useful.”
“As you wish.” Ephippas turned and walked out the door.
***
John and Alex walked down the gravel road in the dark, without speaking, for nearly five minutes before Alex could take no more.
“I’ve lived in this area for all my life. What’re you planning to show me?”
John stopped. “I just thought taking a stroll would be nice, that it would allow you to clear your head. I could have shown you whatever you wanted on the porch.”
“You said you’d show me that God isn’t far away. Come on, don’t play games with me. I took you seriously, and you drug me out here to...To do what? Hug the trees? Meditate to the sounds of crickets and frogs?”
“Close your eyes,” John commanded.
“What?”
“Go ahead.”
Alex closed his eyes, growing more frustrated with yet another eccentric prophet who seemed to think he had the younger prophet’s best interests at heart.
“He’s everywhere, Alex. All you have to do is ask,” John’s voice seemed farther away, but Alex didn’t want to open his eyes.
“What do I ask?”
Then, even more distantly, “Ask Him to allow you to feel His presence.”
The words echoed around in Alex’s head a few times, then diminished into nothingness. Gradually, he felt himself becoming weightless. He dared not open his eyes now. A gentle breeze caressed his skin, and Alex felt that familiar warmth. Contentedness overtook him. He began to breathe slower, deeper. The image of John and their surroundings faded from his memory. Alex was somewhere else, wrapped in a comforting embrace. Safe.
John’s aura flared like a beacon in the ambient feeling of life and force around Alex. It seemed far away, though he knew that John was still very close. In the distance, there was another surge of power. Alex assumed that to be the house they just left. From the back of his mind, it occurred to him to be grateful that he was some distance away. Otherwise, the intensity of the supernatural force around the house might have actually hurt him. In the distance were two other powerful forces. The angels, Alex suspected.
All at once, Alex felt very out of place where he was. Like a person realizing he’d unintentionally nodded off, Alex’s eyes popped open. He saw John standing not more than ten feet away. He, too, seemed to be in another place.
“It’s all God,” John said quietly, “everything. It reaches out to you, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” Alex agreed, “it does.”
“You felt His presence?”
“Yes. I’m sure that’s what I felt.”
John smiled and walked toward him. “Good. It’s there all the time. There’s no need to look for it, but I’m sure you’ll want to every now and then anyway.”
“It wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for.”
“I know.” John nodded slowly. “The reassurance of being able to converse with the Almighty must have been very moving. The rest of us don’t get to speak with Him at all until we die. He favors you, Alex. You are important enough for Him to reach out to, and you shouldn’t forget that. I can promise you that the eyes of Heaven are watching us. God is still communicating with you, just in a different way now.”
Alex was starting to trust this John a little. Everything he’d said seemed to ring true, and there was so much confidence in his tone. The way he handled Sophie and Raphael implied that he was very powerful. John seemed to know what Alex was thinking before the younger prophet knew it himself. Maybe, there was something to this guy’s story.
“You keep saying we have a lot in common,” Alex prompted.
“We do,” John affirmed. “Did I mention that I have also been trained by Jeremiah?”
***
Metatron still had a slight involuntary shake. The boy had actually hurt him. The other demons around the conference table waited quietly for their master’s thoughts to return to him.
“It’s clear that Kingstone will be a difficult fight. However, if they are allowed to gain the advantage, it may become impossible to take it. I will not stand for these pests getting in my way again. I have been far too lenient. It may be that we cannot kill Alexander Tanner, but none of the others are safe. Our numbers are great, and our forces are strong. There is no excuse for failure.
“Remember: The victors of this battle will have to fight a greater one later. These prophets must not take from us what we will need to defeat the Morning Star. I hesitate to command this because I had hoped that I could persuade the prophets to surrender, but it will be necessary to eliminate them quickly to reduce our losses. If this does not happen, I will hold each of you personally responsible.
“You will return to your respective assignments and carry my orders to the other demons. Hunt for prophets anywhere you can. Force them into larger groups for easier destruction. When we have funneled all who will go to Kingstone and Las Vegas, we shall launch the final offensive and exterminate anyone who is not protected by an angel. Is this in any way unclear?”
No answer followed.
“Good,” Metatron replied. “We know that several of the Elder Prophets are en route to Missouri. But some are still abroad, and it will take time for those who are going to reach their destination. Any of you who capture one and bring him or her to me will be greatly rewarded. You are dismissed.”
***
“I guess Jeremiah really gets around,” Alex replied, a little surprised by John’s admission.
“Like I said, Gregor was one of the first to give the demon a chance. When the scar appeared on my hand, he took me to anyone who might be considered an expert to determine why.” John opened his hand and showed his palm to Alex. The scar looked like an arrow pointing down, with two shorter lines extending from the right side. “It was then that I was introduced to many people, including Abigail Martin and Jeremiah.
“After extensive research, the prophets in London decided that it was a symbol, from an ancient prophet code, that stood for Elijah. There was a lot of argument before the great minds in my case came to their final conclusion, that I was the reincarnation of the prophet whose symbol manifested on my hand. It was an amazing event to everyone, but Jeremiah was the first to make the connection—possibly because he already knew that you would be coming. Not who or when, but none of this has been an accident.”
Alex shook his head. “You’re losing me.”
“He knew that the prophesied second coming of Christ, your reincarnation, was close. He had been pulled from the jaws of Hell to train prophets. It had been claimed that the most famous one he’d ever trained would be returning to Earth. He had to see the signs.”
“And you, being the reincarnation of another powerful prophet, were right up his alley.”
“That’s true,” John agreed, “but it isn’t all. Along with the prophecy of the return of Christ in Revelations, comes a prophecy of two others who pave the way. Divinations are weak and convoluted, to say the very least, and they’re very rarely passed down through history accurately. But one of the two people thought to be sent to herald the return of the Messiah is Elijah. When Jeremiah heard whom they believed me to be, he immediately contacted Gregor and requested the opportunity to train me.
“For a long time, Gregor declined. He may have been open-minded, but he still hunted the fallen. The prospect of his pupil being educated in the ways of the supernatural by a demon was understandably repulsive. Eventually, though, Gregor sensed that there may be a demonic incursion in San Francisco, and he sent me to Las Vegas to stay with Jeremiah.”
“Wow,” Alex muttered, “that sounds like a gutsy move.”
“It was, but I came out of it fine. Jeremiah, of course, was perfectly safe, but I didn’t like him. His methods were cruel, even more so than they are now. It had not been long since he’d changed sides. I admit that Jeremiah was instrumental in fine-tuning my abilities and teaching me about the ways of demons, but he taught me a lot about himself too.
“When I returned to Gregor and told him what I had seen, he had a long, angry conversation with the demon, and I was forbidden to return. Later, Gregor calmed down, and Jeremiah agreed to behave while in my presence.” John laughed. “He even apologized to me.”
Alex was smiling. “I wish I’d met Gregor.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t. He almost lived with Jeremiah for years, while he was training Matt.”
“Matt’s been trained by a demon hunter?”
“Yes. Jeremiah is a phenomenal fighter, but no one knows how to kill a demon better than those who have made it a profession for thousands of years. Jeremiah was ecstatic when Gregor agreed to help.”
“Does that make Matt a demon hunter?”
“Inasmuch as he often has to fight demons, but demon hunters are not made. They’re born into the position. Different from us or Matt, they are designed with the fallen in mind. In theory, they maintain a balance. This last century has proven very detrimental for them, though.”
“What’s Gregor doing now?”
For the first time, John appeared unsure, possibly afraid. “He’s hunting Lucifer.”
***
She was thoroughly exhausted. Twice, Sara had caught herself dozing off behind the wheel. Whatever she was looking for wasn’t worth her life. The sign had said there was a rest area in a mile and a half. She could make it to there.
Her phone rang as she parked her car. The car
that had been tailing her waited idly by the side of the highway, still easily within her view. The number on her caller ID was, of course, blocked. She didn’t want to answer it. Sara had a feeling that she was too tired for the conversation she was about to have.
“Hello?”
“You’ve made it so far. Why stop now?” She recognized the voice as Jeremiah’s
“I’m going to find you.”
“I’m looking forward to it. In the interim, though, your powers could be better implemented where you’re at.”
Sara chuckled. “Oh yeah. I guess I am close to Kansas City, aren’t I? What’s up with this place, anyway? Why should I be here?”
“Prophets, like yourself, are in danger. The more of you who pull together, the better off you’ll be. There will be many of them very close to where you are now. In fact, if you’re somehow following where I’ve been, which I can only assume, then you’ll be coming across some of them soon. But you’ll need to be careful. You’re in demon country too.”
“Is that so?” Sara inquired skeptically. “Well, you may have even convinced yourself of that by now, but I only have one objective: apprehend a suspect for questioning.”
“I regret to inform you that I am beyond your jurisdiction. In any event, I don’t have the time. Question my friends in Kingstone. They should be able to provide you with all the answers you need. Indeed, they know exactly where I reside. If nothing else, it’ll expedite your trip.”
“Right. This sounds like a trap to me.”
“It certainly does, but you’re too curious to pass it up.”
“I’ll take a great deal of joy in locking you away for murder on multiple counts.”
Even over the phone, the laugh was terrifying. “You have no idea. Do me a favor: Find the prophets in Kingstone, and talk to them. You won’t be any worse off than you are.”
The Elder Prophets (To Absolve the Fallen Book 2) Page 19
