Sandy's Story (Ditch Lane Diaries Book 3)

by D. F. Jones

  Raphael and Anna, along with other healer angels, would quickly set up a triage in the barn with all the doors and windows open. Any AAF soldiers who fell on the battlefield, the healer angels would try to repair the damage, but if injuries were too severe, the healer would immediately portal the soldier to The Treatment Center in heaven. No demon or human could kill a heavenly angel or send them to the Eternal Blackness except Lucifer.

  Shouts and whipping wind filled the air when Michael waved to his trumpet blowers, and the sound of the horns made the earth shake. The AAF warriors descended on Luc’s foothold in Arrington in waves to thunder rolls and lightning strikes. Luwenia and Jerry’s division ripped flaming arrows of energy in rapid succession with synchronized precision, dropping the human guards on the roof and grounds, then proceeded to join Baldric’s group at the front battle line while protecting each other’s backs. Simon’s group with Reed joined the charge on Luc’s compound with Lee, and Seneca and Ruby’s team closed in behind him.

  The surprise attack gave them the advantage as the AAF ripped through the unsuspecting demon angels. Baldric’s division made it inside the house. The demon angels regrouped and formed another line to protect the compound. Demon angels began to appear in the back lot, and chaos unleashed. Some demon angels resembled humans, and others looked reptilian. The demon angels’ cry revealed sharp, pointy teeth and something slimy oozing from their mouths.

  Reed, Erinelle, and Lee fought the demons with supernatural weapons of varying swords and daggers, weaving in and out of the demon angels, cutting them down to ash. As Reed’s division gained ground to the back entrance of the house, he noticed several AAF soldiers fall and dematerialize. As mayhem ensued, Reed was cut off from Erinelle and Lee.

  Three to one, not a fair fight for the demon angels. Reed’s divine gift was a superhuman strength, speed, and agility plus the gift to dematerialize at will, and he reappeared behind the three demons and sliced and diced them to ash.

  Ruby and Seneca’s division fought behind Reed. Propelling the blue energy spheres with blinding speed, Ruby nailed the demon angels point blank in their faces, blowing out the back of their skulls and disintegrating them into ash.

  Reed materialized to the gardens. He glanced over his right shoulder, to find that Ruby had fallen in the field. Lee saw her, too, and they both materialized beside Ruby. Reed at her head, and Lee at her feet. It was then Reed realized, too late, that the demon angels had used Ruby to set a trap.

  * * *

  The trumpets blew, and the battle cries and swordplay fell on deaf ears. Baldric was in the zone with Sandy as his only goal, his only objective. As an expert swordsman and a battle-seasoned veteran, Baldric cut through the demons as they attacked him from every angle. He and his blinding blade of light weaved and dodged in an age-old, sacred dance, searing each demon to the Eternal Blackness.

  With lightning speed, Baldric traveled to the outbuildings and barn. His team secured the area before moving on through the open back lot directly behind the main house of Arrington Estate. Baldric crossed over Luc’s immaculate gardens resembling the Rose Garden in heaven as he entered through the patio’s double doors. His pairing senses flared, and everything went red. Sandy was in imminent danger.

  Baldric closed his eyes and allowed his pairing cord to link with Sandy’s. Then multiple shots fired from an automatic weapon hit his chest. He opened his eyes and glared at Luc’s human guard, who continued to unload another cartridge of ammunition. The bullets deflected from Baldric’s chest. The human male just pissed Baldric off further.

  With his mind, Baldric made the weapon disappear. Looking into the frightened man’s eyes, Baldric levitated the human before catapulting him through the living area’s window, shattering glass over the furniture and floor.

  From the false wall panel in the TV room, Baldric ported to the underground caverns and materialized in front of the door holding his bride. Baldric blew the wooden door into a thousand splinters. As he crossed the threshold, he nearly tripped over Caiojezeal, who lay unconscious on the cold, dank floor. The adjoining door to Luc’s chamber was open, and he flew into the room. Luc held Sandy down on the bed with his hand over Sandy’s mouth, and she bit him. Then Luc punched her with his fist, and Baldric lost all control. His blade levitated in the air.

  Luc’s pairing scent filled the room, making Baldric heave. Luc was so absorbed with the intent of taking Sandy he seemed oblivious to the war going on above ground and inside the estate. Baldric attacked Luc from behind with his wings extended, and the light of love radiated with its blinding white energy. Right before he sank his teeth into Luc’s trapezius, Sandy looked up into Baldric’s face with tears streaming down her cheeks. He didn’t know if it was real or his imagination but Sandy’s face seemed to blur in and out between the nine-year-old girl and the woman he married.

  Baldric went wild as he grabbed Luc in a chokehold and bit into his neck right above the clavicle, the weakest point on any angel. Baldric tore into Luc’s muscle, his gray blood filling Baldric’s mouth, cutting off Luc’s life force line.

  Out of nowhere, someone attacked Baldric’s back, clawing and biting him until all three fell backward, crashing into the rock wall. Seconds later, Sandy entered the fight as naked as the day she was born. She too glowed with the light of love and held the sword he’d given her in the barn. He watched Sandy attack the female demon angel with a vengeance.

  Baldric and Luc paired off, the warrior angels circling each other. Luc growled, “You’re fodder for my army now, my old friend. My blood runs in your veins.”

  Baldric shouted, “Good because I’m destroying The Dragon once and for all.” The blade of light materialized in Baldric’s hand. Luc held his own as they clashed swords, grinding and pounding blade on blade.

  Luc spat at him. “I fucked your wife.”

  Baldric didn’t fall for Luc’s mind games. His sole purpose was to destroy The Dragon. He concentrated on his blows to send Luc to the Eternal Blackness in a battle that he prayed would change humanity for the better.

  * * *

  A group of demon angels attacked Ruby and Seneca. Blades of fire ripped through Seneca’s torso, and he dematerialized. The demon angels hit Ruby with an invisible power source, rendering her useless as she lay on the ground. Seconds later, Reed stood at her head, her mother at her feet. Ruby watched in horror as the demon angels ran their blades through her husband and mom.

  Another division of the AAF descended and destroyed the demon angels in her sight. Ruby yelled for Anna and Raphael. Anna appeared as Ralph was busy healing a blow to Luwenia’s head.

  Anna looked at Ruby with a face of stone and said, “Your spouse or your mom. You have seconds or they’re both dead.”

  Lee reached for Ruby and said, “I love you,” and closed her eyes. Erinelle flew down and picked up Lee into her arms and dematerialized.

  Anna swiftly placed her hands on Reed’s injury, and a blue sphere of light materialized around them. The demons who tried to enter into the area turned to ash the instant they hit the blue energy field.

  Ruby cried her eyes out as she thought of her mother. Gone. As she reached for Reed, tears rolled down her cheek. Reed’s eyes were a blank stare. Ruby prayed aloud, “Save him, Father, please save him.”

  Anna shouted over the noise of battle, “He’s alive, but we have to get him to a hospital. He needs blood before he slips into a coma or worse. Get Jerry now. He’s fighting in front of the house. This battle is over for us if we’re to save Reed. Don’t just stare, Ruby! Wake the hell up and get Jerry before we lose Reed, too.”

  Ruby ran as fast as she could around the corner of the house, jumping over Luc’s dead human soldiers, and up the front sidewalk, hysterically screaming Jerry’s name. He ran to her and grabbed her arms. “What’s happening?”

  “Hurry, Jerry, please hurry. Reed’s dying, and Mom’s dead.” Ruby turned and ran back to Reed and Anna in the battlefield. “Anna, is Reed dead?” she cried.


  “No. Reed’s unconscious. His pulse rate is dropping. Where is Jerry?”

  Anxiously, Ruby pointed and watched Jerry sprint over the fence to retrieve the Suburban. Seconds later, Jerry drove the Suburban through fences and plowed over shrubbery to get to them. Jerry jumped out of his truck and ran to Reed and picked him up. Ruby opened the back door so Jerry could place Reed in the backseat. She slid into the truck and put Reed’s head in her lap. Anna ran around the other side of the vehicle’s backseat, opened the door, lifted Reed’s legs, and sat down. Anna placed her hands on the open wound near Reed’s chest. Jerry smashed the gas pedal and jerked them in motion down Arrington Estate’s front drive.

  Ruby’s fingers trembled as she brushed the hair away from Reed’s face. She prayed silently. Please God, don’t take him, too. We need him. I need him.

  * * *

  Sandy thought she’d imagined Baldric when he looked into her eyes. There had been this weird flashback of being a kid again, and Ben Salinger was on top of her pulling her panties down, and then she looked into Luc’s face. He was trying to rape her when suddenly Baldric appeared. Baldric’s eyes locked with hers in an embrace and their pairing chords linked.

  Baldric went crazy as he bit into Luc’s neck. Sandy saw fear in Luc’s eyes and she wanted to go in for the kill. Sazae appeared out of nowhere and latched onto Baldric’s back. Luc, Baldric, and Sazae fell back into the rock wall.

  Sandy could feel Baldric’s pain. She could read Baldric’s thoughts. Sandy called on her cords of light and utilized the powers from Luc’s book to save her husband. Her sword materialized in her hands, and she jumped off the bed and went for Sazae.

  Sandy lunged for Sazae and lashed the demon across the face with her sword, which freed Baldric to fight Luc.

  Looking confused and wild-eyed, Sazae met Sandy in a battle-ready stance holding a jagged dagger in her left hand. “I am going to gut you like a fish, human.”

  In the initial blows, Sazae sliced Sandy across her left bicep and punched her in the face. Sandy allowed her mind to focus on Baldric’s training. She allowed her muscles to relax and settled into the rhythm of the fight.

  Sandy laughed as she pressed the demon into a corner. “Ha, I can read your thoughts, demon. I’m more than your equal. You will meet the Eternal Darkness today.” The singing of her blade rang out.

  Sazae fought for her life and lunged in the air to come down on top of Sandy’s back. Sandy swiveled in the air and thrust her blade into the demon’s sternum. Sazae exploded into gray ash, which disappeared before hitting the floor.

  Sandy turned quickly to the fight between Baldric and Luc. They were chest to chest in a battle to the death. Sandy slipped on the bloody floor before getting her balance. She rushed to join her husband’s side. Sandy’s left arm touched Baldric’s right arm, and a blinding spectrum of light burst forth from the palms of her and Baldric’s hands. They pointed the light toward Luc, raising him into the air. Luc hung lifeless in the air with his head bowed forward, and his wings disappeared. They had done it. They were killing The Dragon.

  A flash of light entered the room and flew to Luc. It was the Spirit of Man. She looked at Baldric and said, “Release him, Baldric. It’s not your will to be done but The Creator’s. I am here on His bequest. Lower your arms.”

  Baldric lowered his arm, and his voice quivered with anger. “He was going to rape my wife. He deserves to die.”

  The Spirit of Man held Luc in her arms. “Luc has lost his way, but he belongs to The Creator just like you and Sandy. The Creator knows all and everything will be revealed in His time, not ours. I’m taking Luc to The Creator in the Garden of Eden. He will deal with Luc. You must abide by the rules in our agreement. Understood?”

  Baldric let out a deep breath and said, “Understood.”

  The Spirit of Man looked at Sandy, nodded her head, and clothed Sandy in a radiant white gown. She turned back to Baldric and said, “Take Caiojezeal to Michael at the cabin. You and Sandy need to talk. The battle is over, and the cleanup crew has arrived. It’s time to leave.” The Spirit of Man vanished with Luc in her arms.

  Baldric turned to Sandy and said, “We have to leave. They’re going to blow the place up. You know, make it look like an accidental fire for the humans. I have to get Caiojezeal. He’s received redemption.”

  Sandy wrapped her arms around his waist and said, “I love you. Thank you for saving him.”

  “Oh, Daireann, don’t thank me. I love you, too. We’ll talk soon. We have to go, okay?”

  Sandy nodded, and they walked into the other room. Baldric slung Caiojezeal on his shoulder, and they left the main house. There were angels in white spreading a low mist on the grounds of the estate.

  Sandy, Baldric, and Caiojezeal ported to the last outbuilding as Arrington Estates engulfed in flames. Sandy wanted to ask questions, but those would come later when she and Baldric were alone. Walking toward the hunting cabin, they saw a legion of angels waiting for them. She wondered if the other captives made it out alive.

  Chapter 16

  There’ll Be Sad Songs

  Lee pressed her head into Erinelle’s neck as they flew to Everglade Farms. She and Erinelle had talked last night about the possibility of her dying. Giving life to Reed in exchange for her own had been a no-brainer. He was Ruby’s mate and Joe’s father.

  They materialized in her bedroom upstairs, and Erinelle laid her on the bed. “I’ll get Harry.” Lee nodded weakly.

  Minutes later, Harry entered the bedroom pale and frightened. Lee lifted her hand, and he joined her on the bed, placing her hand over his heart. “Harry, be brave. We both knew this day had to come eventually. I’m not afraid of dying, but I hate leaving you.”

  Harry broke into tears and said, “Don’t leave me, Lee. Please fight to stay with me.”

  She closed her eyes and swallowed as the fluid filled her lungs, making it hard to breathe. “Erinelle will fill you in on what happened. I don’t have the strength. In my bottom dresser, I have the love letters and photos of our life. You read those and remember I wait for you. You’ve been my light in this world, my darling. My true love. Kiss me.”

  Harry leaned down and held her face gently in his hands then kissed her. “You have made my life, too.”

  Lee looked at him with half-lidded eyes, and a smile crept across her face. “You’re a granddaddy now. You take care of our boy and girl and our grandbaby. You tell him about me.”

  Harry wiped the tears away with his forearm. “I will, I promise.”

  An incandescent light filled the room, and Lee turned her head. “Not now, please.”

  Gabriel’s messenger, Arlene, hovered in the corner of the room. “Lee, you’re a faithful and loyal servant. Heaven awaits, and Harry is left in good hands.” Arlene extended her right arm and the beam of light covered Lee as her soul left her physical body.

  Lee glanced back at her husband one last time before taking her journey home.

  * * *

  Ruby sat in the Everglade Hospital ICU waiting area. She glanced down at the buffed hardwood floors and up to the hall door as she waited for Anna to come in with news. Outside in the corridor, a tech rolled a deck of food trays toward the elevators.

  Nurses wearing scrubs rushed to and from the ICU. There was a doctor in scrubs speaking with another family at the table in the back next to the vending machines. Ruby had sat in here a few days ago after Hugh’s car accident. Cole Steele’s actions had set events into motion that changed her life forever.

  Anna had told her before the surgery that Raphael placed faze over the surgical team. Anna, along with Raphael, was in surgery with Reed.

  Ruby pushed the thoughts of her mother to the back of her mind. She would deal with her grief later. Reed needed her. Jerry walked into the room with a bag of food from McDonald’s. He handed her a Coke and offered her a burger. “I can’t eat. I’m numb all over. I wish Anna would come out and give us an update. Hold my hand.”

  Jerry placed the bag of
food on the side table and gently nudged her over on the couch to sit down. He put his arms around Ruby and rubbed her back. She wouldn’t cry. She had to stay strong. As if Jerry read her thoughts, he said, “It’s natural to cry. Don’t hold it in. It’ll make you sick. You can be strong and cry.”

  Ruby glanced up and said, “I can’t start crying. I’m afraid I’ll go bonkers if I do. Have you heard anything from Luwenia? Did Sandy and the captives get out?”

  Jerry pointed and said, “Luwenia is here. Baldric has Sandy, and the other prisoners are free. Seneca is recuperating at The Treatment Center. Erinelle took your mother to Harry.”

  Ruby let out a cry of pain and a river of tears began to fall. “Is she gone? Really?”

  “Yes, my sweet girl. Lee is with The Creator.” He continued to hold Ruby until the tears began to subside.

  Ruby thought of her poor daddy and Joe. “Should I call Rose to take care of Joe?”

  “I already thought of that, and Rose is with Joe at Everglade Farms.” Jerry leaned against the couch and Ruby leaned against his shoulder.

  Ruby held Jerry’s hand, and her words came out choppy. “Do you think The Creator knew all this would happen when he gave us the power of the angels? In less than a year, I’ve lost my grandfather and my mother. Sandy’s kidnapping, the battle, and Reed fighting for his life don’t seem fair. Somehow deep down in my soul I always thought things happened for a reason. Do you think there’s a reason for all of this suffering?”

  Jerry rubbed Ruby’s right arm and said, “I asked the same thing to Anna the day of Hugh’s accident. She told me, sometimes good and evil go hand in hand. I don’t understand the whys. I gave up trying. I concentrate on making decisions that are proactive in the fight against the darkness. As a doctor, Anna has seen so much suffering. We need to look at the big picture. Life is a blink. Then, when our human suit expires, we’ll have all the answers we need.”

  Ruby straightened up as Anna came through the ICU doors. Her chest tightened as she stood on shaky legs. Anna looked as though she’d aged ten years.