Spirit Fighter (Son of Angels, Jonah Stone)

by Jerel Law

  “Jonah,” Eleanor whispered, sucking in air heavily as if she were out of breath. “Listen to me, Jonah. Watch out. Be careful. Keep your eyes open. Abaddon . . . he wants to . . . to . . .”

  But before she could finish this sentence, her mouth began to open wide. It grew larger and larger, as though it were being forced open from the inside. Suddenly, two yellow eyes emerged from her open throat. The creature, the fallen one Jonah had seen beside the house, came out, its own mouth open, razor-sharp teeth reaching toward him. Eleanor’s body fell on the ground like a wrinkled sheet. The creature struck at him quickly, like a cobra, and Jonah turned aside, throwing his arms up in front of his face, and leaned back, screaming, waiting for the pain.

  He sat up straight in bed, sweating through his T-shirt, craning his neck out in front of him, looking for two yellow eyes. It was just a dream. The red numbers on the alarm clock read 1:33 a.m. Pulling off his covers, he hopped down from his top bunk and stumbled across the room.

  He pulled on his old jeans and changed into another T-shirt, and then quietly emptied his life savings out of the tennis ball can—all $117.33 of it—stuffing it down in his pocket. He grabbed his old blue jacket and nothing else. They would need to travel light, and he hoped they wouldn’t be gone for very long anyway.

  He found Eliza standing in her doorway, clearly unable to sleep too.

  “You ready, sis?”

  She frowned. “But the angels and Dad said to wait until morning.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m getting any more sleep tonight,” he said matter-of-factly. “It’s our mission, Eliza. And I can’t just sit here knowing Mom’s out there somewhere.”

  She pursed her lips but nodded in agreement and went back in her room to get dressed in the dark.

  They bounded down the stairs as fast as they could. So fast that they almost didn’t notice the knock on the front door.

  Jonah screeched to a halt and looked at the door. Who would be out there at this time of night? He saw the face of an old woman peering through the small window. She smiled and waved at them both. It was Camilla Aldridge.

  “Jonah! Eliza dear!” she said as he opened the door, giving them frail hugs and placing a bony hand on their cheeks. “How are you both?” Her eyes seemed to hold them in place, and even though they needed to go, they found themselves unable to turn away from her gaze.

  “We’re fine, Mrs. Aldridge,” Jonah said in a whisper, hoping Mrs. Aldridge would catch the hint and lower her voice. “Kind of tired, I guess. Middle of the night and everything.” She must be wondering why we’re up right now, he thought. But then again, she’s up too. “Uh, are you here to see Dad?”

  She walked in and placed her purse on the chair, ignoring his question, and turned her blue eyes toward them again. Her voice started slowly, but was strong, filling up Jonah’s ears, his mind, and his soul with words that sounded alive, somehow. “Listen carefully, dear ones. Ephesians 6:10–17: ‘Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’”

  She nodded at Jonah and Eliza, making sure they had heard every word she said. Then she took a small black book out of her purse, placed it in Jonah’s hand, and pressed his fingers around it. He looked down and saw that it was a small Bible with a bookmark in it. She squeezed his shoulders tightly. He smiled shyly at her and, muttering a “Thanks,” shoved the book in his back pocket and turned to go.

  “Be blessed, dear children,” she said. “Take that book wherever you go. You just may need it. And remember that scripture. Ephesians 6. Remember, young ones.” She smiled, and in that split second, Jonah knew that she knew. She knew where they were going and what they were going to do. And she was not trying to stop them.

  She was sending them off with a blessing.

  “Okay,” Jonah said. “Uh . . . thanks, Mrs. Aldridge.”

  They waved a quick good-bye and made a beeline for the garage. Once in the garage, they grabbed their bikes and began strapping on their helmets.

  “A mission from Elohim,” Eliza said, as she fiddled with her strap. “I can’t believe it. Why would He trust a thirteen-year-old and an eleven-year-old with something so huge?”

  Jonah snapped his black helmet on. “I don’t know, Eliza. But He did. He must really believe we can do it.”

  She smiled at that idea, then cocked her head to the side. “One more question. Where exactly are we going?”

  TEN

  ENCOUNTER ON THE ROAD

  We have to get to New York,” Jonah said, looking at the watch Marcus gave him, the MissionFinder 3000. He showed it to her, told her what the angel said, and watched her ooh and aah over it for a minute. “We can catch a train in Peacefield that will take us to the subway station in Newark. And then we ride the subway from Newark to New York City, just like when we go with Mom and Dad.”

  He had a rope from Boy Scouts in the garage and cut a piece of it off. He tied one end to Eliza’s bike and the other to his.

  “What’s that for?” she asked, touching the rope. “Do you expect us to ride hooked together?”

  “Trust me, you’re going to want to stay attached to me for this ride. You haven’t seen me pedal a bike lately. I’m a little bit faster than I used to be.”

  They walked their bikes out into the crisp night air. The sky overhead twinkled with stars, and the whole world felt empty with everyone they knew fast asleep in their beds. Jonah made sure that no one was coming down the road in either direction, and he hopped on his bicycle.

  “Get on yours too,” he instructed. Eliza hopped on and looked at him eagerly, waiting for his next command. “Ready?”

  She nodded, gripping her handlebars tightly.

  “Here we go!” Jonah began pedaling. He pulled off slowly, his bike twisting and turning, the extra weight almost pulling him down onto the pavement.

  “Hey!” she yelled, trying to control her bike, which was going all over the road too.

  “Hold on!” he called back. “I need a minute to get used to the extra weight.”

  They moved forward and began descending the hill just beyond their house. He glanced around and saw that no cars or people were coming. It was now or never. Jonah had the feel of Eliza’s bike behind him, so he began to pedal. Faster and faster. He felt strong, like he could pedal all day, and looking down at his feet, all he saw was a white blur. He only dared to look back at Eliza for a second, because he didn’t want to take his eyes off the road. But when he did look back, he caught a glimpse of her face, and saw a look of pure excitement.

  Jonah could have gone faster, but he didn’t want to get out of control. He tried to keep it on the edge of the speed he could handle. Any faster and they could end up splattered all across Cranberry Street.

  He mainly tried to keep his eyes on the road ahead. Skillfully, he made a right turn, and then a left, until they were on a long stretch of empty road that would eventually lead them into the city. No more turns for a few minutes and Jonah could relax a little. He looked back to check on Eliza, when something else caught his eye. A figure had jumped out of the woods.

  And whatever it was, it began to chase them.

  He could tell that it wasn’t a person. It ran on four powerful legs, and in the pale moonlight, he saw a flash of teeth and bright yellow eyes. Was h
e seeing things? He swallowed and looked harder. Whatever it was, it was still there. And gaining on them quickly.

  Then another animal emerged from the woods and joined the chase.

  And then a third. Another appeared, and then four more at once, tearing out of the forest, baring their sharp teeth as they sprinted toward the bikes. They looked like some kind of huge cat, and he suddenly remembered that last week his dad said that authorities had killed a rabid cougar in the woods around Peacefield. Is that what these animals are? His hands were now covered in sweat, and he squeezed his handlebar grips tighter to try and hold on.

  “Eliza!” he said, pedaling furiously. “Look back!”

  She turned her head to see the eight animals charging behind them. She turned back to Jonah, mouth hanging open, eyes wide.

  He was already pedaling fast, but adrenaline was coursing through his system now, and his feet moved even faster. The old mountain bike had been his dad’s before it was his, and for the first time he thought about the fact that it might not be built for this kind of speed. The handlebars were starting to vibrate. He tried to ignore them and bore down harder.

  He heard the growls growing louder and knew that even though he was moving his legs as fast as he could, somehow they were getting closer.

  “Go, Jonah, go!” Eliza screamed. “Faster!”

  “I’m doing the best I can!” he yelled back at her. What did she think, that he could just press the accelerator a little bit harder and pull away? They weren’t in a car, and it wasn’t easy to go this fast.

  They flew down the straight shot of highway, with nothing ahead of them except a strip of dark black pavement, woods on every side—no houses, no buildings, nowhere to stop, nowhere to hide.

  Suddenly, he spotted four figures ahead of him on the road. They were pacing back and forth, blocking their way. Jonah could see their dark shapes cut across the moonlight, the flex of their muscles as they moved, and four pairs of yellow eyes glaring at them in the distance.

  “Hit the brakes, Eliza! Hit the brakes!” he said, and he began squeezing his hand brakes. She did too, to Jonah’s immense relief; if she hadn’t, she would have gone flying past him, and the rope that still held their two bikes together would cause her to soar over her handlebars.

  They screeched to a stop in the middle of the road. The eight cougars behind them slowed down, until they were only about thirty feet away. They began to pace back and forth, baring their teeth and growling. The four in front quickly joined the others in their pack until they had their prey surrounded. There would be no running into the woods, or down the road, or anywhere else.

  They were trapped.

  “They’re definitely cougars,” Eliza said, pushing her glasses up on her nose as she hopped carefully from her bike, causing it to rattle a little with her trembling. “One of the largest cats in North America, from the genus Puma. Cougars were thought to be extinct around here until recently, when . . .”

  “Will you just shut up for a minute, Eliza!” Jonah snapped. We need a solution, not a science lesson. They stepped toward each other and stood back to back.

  “Look at their eyes,” Eliza said. “They look . . . strange.”

  “Yeah,” said Jonah. “I noticed that too. They’re yellow. Listen, Eliza. I saw a fallen one by our house a few days ago. Its eyes were yellow too. This is not good.”

  Their backs were against each other, and Eliza grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly in hers. They stood in between their two bikes and turned slowly in a circle, Jonah’s eyes darting wildly around as he tried to keep tabs on all of the beasts.

  The cougars were circling around them, licking their mouths and watching them. With each passing second, they were inching their way closer, and the circle around Jonah and Eliza was growing smaller.

  “Jonah,” Eliza whispered, “what are we going to do?”

  He heard the desperation in her voice and wished he had a good answer, something that would give her hope that there was a way out of this.

  A large cougar, the biggest of the pack, had locked its eyes on Jonah. It was just inside the circle created by the other eleven, a little closer than the rest. Its yellow eyes glared at them, full of hate, if that were possible for an animal.

  They both knew what was about to happen.

  “Elohim, help us!” Jonah prayed, closing his eyes and shielding his face with his arms.

  The cougar jumped. Eliza’s scream ripped through Jonah’s ears, tearing through the dark sky, and Jonah hunched down, bracing himself for the cat to land on them and start tearing into them with its teeth and claws. Instead, he heard a loud thud above him and a high-pitched squeal that sounded more like someone had kicked a house pet. There was no clawing, and no biting.

  Confused, Jonah opened his eyes and looked up. Above him stood Eliza, who looked just as bewildered as he did, her hands outstretched toward the sky. From her fingertips down to the ground, all around them, like half of the moon had fallen on top of them in the middle of the street, were thin beams of light. There were thousands of them, emanating from a place right over her outstretched fingertips, all the way to the street, forming a dome just big enough for the two of them. They could see through the bright white light to the shaken animals outside, and it cast a glow around them like a giant torch in the black night.

  The large cougar that had tried to pounce on them had apparently bounced right off this shield of light. It and the others were walking around the circle of light, briefly stunned, but quickly regaining their confidence. One of the others charged them. Eliza kept her hands up and Jonah stayed still as the animal hit the outside of the shield and was thrown back, yelping in pain. The others began to roar, but none dared approach the circle of light around them.

  Jonah caught his breath, looking back up at his sister. “How did you do that?”

  Eliza grinned, hands still held high. “I—I don’t know. . . . The cougar was jumping, and something inside me said, ‘This is not going to happen.’ I just stood up and held my hands out. The next thing I knew, this happened.” She nodded at the shield around them.

  “Wow. I mean, seriously, Eliza. Wow.” It was all he could say as they stood there, fully protected from the animals around them.

  “Yeah.” She smiled. “I guess I really am part angel, huh?”

  “Quarter angel,” he reminded her. “But that was . . . amazing. A shield of light. I can’t even do that.”

  He distinctly saw her blushing in the light that shone around them.

  “Now let’s see if we can get out of here,” said Jonah. He walked around to the edges of the shield, looking at it. He worked up the nerve to reach up his finger and touch one of the beams of light, expecting it to burn him. Instead, it felt cool, even soothing, when he touched it, and his finger pushed right through. “Awesome,” he said. “Maybe it hurts them, but not us.”

  The yellow-eyed cougars were still circling, afraid of the shield but seemingly content to wait patiently.

  “What should we do, Jonah?” Eliza asked. “We can’t stay out here forever, and I don’t think they are going away anytime soon.”

  Jonah nodded, looking beyond the cougars now, at the road ahead. “Look up there.” He pointed. “There’s a truck.” About a hundred feet away, a yellow truck had been parked on the side of the road. “Can you walk and hold the shield up at the same time?”

  “What are you going to do?” she asked. “Drive?”

  He looked at her impatiently. “Just come on.”

  She moved her arms tentatively, and when the light bubble moved along with her, she began to walk, still holding her arms up. The circle of light followed wherever she went. The roaring cougars moved reluctantly out of the way as she approached. Jonah walked closely behind her so that they both remained within the shield’s protection, and slowly they made their way to the truck.

  It was a large yellow pickup with wooden sides that held tools on the outside. Mainly rakes and shovels. The workers had appare
ntly left it overnight, thinking no one would bother it on a deserted stretch of road like this.

  “I think this will do,” Jonah said as they approached the truck. “Stand a little closer, Eliza.” She moved so close that the edge of the shield touched the side of the vehicle. Jonah unhooked a shovel from the rack, pulling it inside the shield, and gripped it in both hands.

  “Ready?” he said to her. Eliza saw what he was planning and nodded, turning again to face the cougars. Jonah now stood in front of Eliza, and they walked in lockstep toward the animals, the shield still protecting them fully. When they got close enough, he swung the shovel out in front of them, in a wide arc, through the beams of light.

  The first cougar was caught totally off guard. The bottom side of the shovel connected with the side of its skull, and the animal hit the ground, immediately knocked unconscious by the blow. It made Jonah feel sick to hurt an animal, especially when the awful thought hit him that maybe it wasn’t the poor cougar’s fault at all—maybe there was a fallen one controlling the cougar that was attacking them. Jonah remembered what Henry had called it—Holding. It made a shudder run down his spine, but what else could they do? Fighting them off was the only thing he could think of.

  Jonah swung again and caught another one across the body, sending it yelping across the pavement. It lay motionless on the ground for a few seconds, then stood up, shook, and galloped toward the woods. The others were backing away now, as Jonah and Eliza came nearer. The large cougar was still there, not moving toward them, but still growling. Jonah swung one more time, hard, connecting with its rear end and sending it twenty feet in the air. It screeched like a kitten and scurried away into the trees. The rest of the cougars followed.

  Jonah and Eliza watched the last one disappear into the trees. When they were alone on the road, she finally dropped her arms. The shield disappeared, and the two of them stood in the dark again. They both folded their arms at the same time and stared at each other.

  “Unbelievable,” Jonah said, shaking his head.