by Vox Day
“You may be right,” Kaym admitted at last. “I know that one from a long, long time ago, and I will not test Him again.” The dark shades were black, impenetrable. “You are giving up everything, you know. Riches, power, women, fame….”
“So?” Christopher pretended not to care, but the enormity of what he’d just done made him feel suddenly sad. Was he to go back to his old life now, back to the rejection and isolation of the helpless outcast?
“You will regret it.”
“Maybe,” Christopher looked away, fearing Kaym was right. “We’ll see.”
“We shall. I will not say goodbye, Christopher Lewis, because we shall meet again.”
Christopher nodded coolly.
“Not if I see you first. Go away, Kaym.”
There was no flash, no sudden roar of thunder, instead, Kaym simply faded into insubstantiality, like a Cheshire Cat without a smile.
As the fallen angel disappeared, Christopher lowered his head, though in relief or regret, he did not know. He swallowed hard, and desperately tried to master his emotions. Challenging a demon lord was one thing, but the idea of turning around filled him with terror, because he did not know how to face his sisters.
The joyful spirit left Jami without warning, the flame over her head winking out just as she felt the strange, but comforting warmth flushing out of her body. Her mind was blank, but her fear was gone, as if the overwhelming joy had burned it out of her. There was a faint aftertaste that reminded her of Kherev, but why that was, she couldn’t say. She looked around and saw that the demons were gone, even the great demon-lord that had cast Paulus and Aliel aside as if they’d been rag dolls instead of angels.
Two scorched marks on the floor were all that remained of the Lord Kaym’s evil dragon-snakes, and she knew that if Christopher hadn’t killed them, they would have killed her. She was glad that he had, of course, but she didn’t understand why, when he hadn’t held back from striking her himself. She was still a little unclear on what had happened at the end, when he’d struck her down. Had he really tried to kill them? Could it have been some kind of vision, sent by their demonic enemies to scare her?
“Oh, Christopher, it is you!” she watched Holli rush forward to embrace their brother.
His eyes were still dark and shadowed, but Chris appeared to otherwise be himself. The warrior with the golden face was gone, and replaced by a familiar, lanky teenager with his too-long hair falling into his eyes.
“Holli… oh, Holli… I’m so sorry.”
When she heard his halting apology, Jami realized that the vision of death in the defiled Hall wasn’t hers alone. It had been real somehow, somewhere.
“Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us,” she whispered Kherev’s words, reminding herself.
Jami stared at Chris, still being hugged by Holli. He was crying openly, which was an odd thing for Chris, who usually tried not to show his feelings. Though she’d known him all her life, Chris was still in many ways a stranger to her, a standoffish, bitter stranger with whom she shared a roof and a last name, and little more. For the last four years they’d lived an uneasy truce broken only by moments of anger and vicious name-calling. Always, she had blamed him for their poor relationship, although if she was honest with herself, she was maybe a little jealous of the way he liked Holli better, and looked down on him because of his lack of popularity.
Now, she could see through the transparent shell of his feigned indifference, and she realized that Chris wasn’t the only one to blame. There were times when she could have helped him with his problems and she’d hindered him instead, and times when she could have made a difference, but looked the other way instead. If he hated her, she admitted to herself, she’d given him some pretty good reasons.
Jami froze as Chris squeezed Holli one more time, then turned and looked at her. He took a deep breath and wiped angrily at his reddened eyes, then exhaled and folded his arms.
“Jami, I, ah, know we don’t get along too well. And I’m sorry, I really am. Not just for what, um, what happened in that other place, but for all that stuff I’ve said to you before. I know I’m not a very good brother for you, you know, and I’m sorry.” He looked away for a moment, then back at her. “Do you think you can forgive me?”
Jami bowed her head and bit her lip. They were in the real world now, not Heaven. She thought again of all the nasty comments, the malicious put-downs, and the insults. She remembered how he’d taunted her, and made fun of her proudest accomplishments. She still felt the scars of hurtful words that had seared insecurity deep within her soul. And she could still see the terrible look on his face when he’d stabbed her right through the heart.
“Nobody’s perfect, Christopher,” she found herself saying, incredibly. “Not you, and not me either. Can I forgive you?” She smiled tightly and fought back the tears that threatened to run from her eyes. “A week ago, probably not. But a lot’s happened, and now, you know, I guess I can. And I will, I mean, I do.”
Chris reached out and hugged her, and she could feel the dampness of his tears against her cheek. She hugged him back, and as she did, she felt something inside her suddenly snap and disappear. It was as if a dam of hate was suddenly broken, and a flood of peace and joy and love rushed in to wash away the bitter scars of yesterday.
Something wickedly sharp brushed her thigh, and she jumped, alarmed. When she saw what it was, she laughed and drew away from her brother.
“You’ll have to do something about that sword, you know. I don’t think Mom and Dad are going to be too psyched about you having that.”
Chris nodded as he ran his sleeve across his face.
“Actually, that won’t be a problem.”
He held the golden sword upside-down, and it shrank into a simple little cross of the kind often seen dangling from gold chains.
“That’s weird. I thought it was a key.” He peered at it curiously. “Hmm. It’s still got those letters on it. See?”
Both the girls examined it.
“I—X—O—Y—E,” Jami read.
“What does it mean?”
“Iesou Christos Theo Yios Soter. It means Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the Savior,” Mariel answered from behind them, and all three Lewis children whirled around. In her emotional confrontation with Chris, Jami had forgotten the angels, but she was relieved to see that Paulus and Aliel were now free from whatever the demon-lord had done to them.
“There you are.” Chris addressed Mariel as he held up the little cross. “This was a good idea, you know. You were right, Kaym was afraid of it. But you’re saying that this is a symbol of Jesus? Not the cross, I know that. I mean the letters.”
“Without a doubt,” Mariel told him, and Paulus agreed.
“You can look it up when you get a chance, if you like. It’s Greek, the language of the New Testament.”
“Oh, man,” her brother sighed. “I don’t get it. I mean, well, let me tell you that there’s power in this thing, okay? It may not look like much, but it’s, I don’t know, like, powerful. But if it means what you say, then the power must come from Jesus, right, Mariel?”
“Certainly.”
“Then why could I use it to, you know, help the other side.” Chris frowned at Paulus. “Why are you laughing at me?”
“Because I know who you are,” said the big Guardian. “You are the one who opened the Gates of Heaven to the Foe! I fought in the battle that followed the breaking of the Gate, and one thing we never learned was how Lucifer managed to make his way inside. So that’s how he did it!”
“Did what?” Jami demanded, echoed by Holli, Mariel, and Aliel.
“Lucifer! Oh, what a sly snake he is. Don’t you see? He needed a human to break the Gate! It couldn’t be an angel because even the Sarim lack that kind of power, and only the sons and daughters of Adam may claim authority to call upon the Name above all names!”
“I see,” murmured Mariel. Jami didn’t.
“I have the authority to cal
l on that kind of power?” Chris asked. Just because of this cross… or whatever?”
“You do. You all do! You don’t need the cross, it’s just a symbol. The power is within you, a gift from the Son of Man to every son of Adam and daughter of Eve. He said Himself that He has given you all authority on Heaven and on Earth?” The big Guardian frowned at him. “It is unfortunate that you chose to do so in the service of the Adversary. I don’t understand how that could happen.”
“There is precedent,” Aliel pointed out. “It was also so in Ephesus, once. The power is in the Name, not the one who wields it.”
“It was Him, then,” Jami heard Chris whisper. “From the time this whole thing started, it was Him!”
He glanced at Holli, then at her.
“You follow Him now, don’t you? Those flames… I saw Kaym react that way only once before, in the Hall. He didn’t want to fight Lord Jesus, he was afraid.”
“You saw Him?” Mariel and the angels were astonished. “Did you speak with Him too?”
Chris nodded and held the little cross out to Mariel.
“Yeah, He told me I should serve Him, but when I turned him down, he warned me about walking in shadows or something. So what do I do? What if I want to do what you said, you know, and walk out of the shadow. Is it too late?”
Jami watched, holding her breath, as Mariel closed Chris’s fist around the cross, then took that hand in both of hers and gazed deeply into his eyes.
“It is never too late. If it was not too late for a thief dying on a cross, it cannot be too late for you, Christopher. Another man once asked the Son of God how he could have eternal life, and Jesus told him: ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ That is what you must do.
“He also said that He will acknowledge whoever acknowledges Him before men, and that whoever disowns Him before men will be disowned before the angels of God,” Paulus added. “Do you understand this truth?”
“Yeah, I do.” Christopher cleared his throat. “You said, before men. Would, ah, my sisters count?”
“Certainly.” Paulus confirmed.
“Well, I should think so!” Jami snorted, trying to hide the intensity of her feelings.
“Good. Well, then, of my own free will, I acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Lord, before my sisters, Jami and Holli Lewis. I will serve Him in His battle against evil, darkness, and Adonai Lucere.”
“Amen!” cried the angels, and their approval was echoed by the sound of trumpets blowing, accompanied by a slow roll of thunder booming outside. There were three flashes of blinding light, and suddenly, a mighty Prince of Heaven stood before them, flanked on either side by two lordly archons, both in the form of winged lions.
“Khasar!” the girls cried. “Jhofor!”
“Welcome, Prince Michael,” Paulus hailed the archangel warmly. “What brings you to this place?”
“These children,” Michael answered gravely. “I have been sent with a message for them.”
The three Lewis children glanced at each other.
“Don’t tell me this is the part where we have to forget everything,” Jami muttered under her breath to Holli. “Those kids in the Narnia books didn’t have to. We can keep our mouths shut.”
“You shall forget nothing,” Michael answered. “Nor shall you hold your tongue. The time is not far off, when the Son of Man shall return in splendor and rule this Earth as its rightful King. But until that day, darkness shall cover the land, and evil shall take root and harden many a heart. The Son of Man has need of warriors, who shall be a light in the darkness and war in his name against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Will you serve Him in this way?”
“Of course,” Jami agreed instantly, as did Holli and Chris.
“Sure.”
“We will.”
“Then, I say to you, in addition to the gifts of the spirit you now bear, I have been commissioned to give you three more gifts, in the most holy Name of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”
The lordly angel placed his hand upon Holli’s head.
“To you, lovely child, the gift of hope. Though the night grows dark, you shall not know despair.”
Still touching Holli, he placed his other hand on Christopher’s head.
“To you, o wayward son, the gift of faith. Knowledge of the Truth shall be yours, and mountains shall move at your command.”
Jami bowed her head as Michael released the other two and turned to her, placing both hands upon her head.
“To you, daughter, the greatest gift, the gift of Love. To love another person is to see the face of God, and you shall see Him everywhere you look.”
She felt a strange tingle as the angel spoke these words, and stumbled back when a spark of electricity jolted her, as if she’d been walking across carpet in her socks and touched something metallic.
The angelic prince released her and raised his hands. His parting words were addressed to all three of them.
“Already you bear within you the gift of eternal life. Be now warriors of eternity, in service to the Son of God, standing fast for Him against the foe. Dark days lie ahead, but you are not alone and shall not be overcome, not by all the Hosts of Hell. Farewell!”
The two archons roared their affirming witness, then vanished with Michael as unseen trumpets blared a goodby salute.
“Wait, Khasar, I want to ask you….”
“He’s gone,” Holli said sadly.
Jami looked around and realized that not only had the big archon disappeared, but Paulus, Aliel, and Mariel had as well.
“Oh, no! They’re all gone!” she cried.
All three of the Lewis children looked around the empty room, wondering where their angels had gone, until Chris started laughing.
“Great! We get a new job, but no one can tell us what we’re supposed to do!”
“So what do we do?”
“I… don’t know.” Jami answered. She glanced at her watch. “I know one thing, though. I mean, do you think it’s still Saturday night?”
“Why’s that?” Holli asked.
“Well, if it is, I thought we might want to get home before Mom and Dad do. Their movie got out ten minutes ago!”
Chapter 29
I’ll Be Watching You
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
—Galatians 1:10
Christopher had remembered to pull down his window shades before going to bed the previous night, so the unexpected knocking on his door was the first sign of morning he was forced to deal with. He rolled over and put a pillow over his head, hoping that the unwanted visitor would give up and go away, but they were persistent, until he finally gave in himself and called out in surrender.
“What!”
The doorknob turned and Jami poked her face around the door’s edge.
“Hey!”
“Hey, what?” He glanced at his alarm clock. It was only nine o’clock, far too early for any reasonable person to get up on a Sunday morning. Football wouldn’t even start for another three hours.
“Do you want to go to church with us? Holli thought we could go to that place that meets in the school.”
“Are you kidding? Go to church? Come on, that’s ridiculous!”
Jami didn’t tell him off or anything, but the grin on her face vanished and he got the vague impression that she was disappointed in him.
“So, maybe you can think about coming with us next week, then.” Her words were surprisingly soft, at least for Jami, anyway.
“Um, all right. Look, I just need some time to get, you know, used to all this. I mean, what are Mom and Dad going to say if we start going to church? It’d be too weird, you know?”
Jami shook her head.
“Since when did you care what Mom and Dad think?” She sighed and blew a st
ray hair out of her eyes. “Well, never mind, Holli and I have to get going if we’re gonna make it on time. Go back to sleep.”
“Yeah, okay. See you later.”
“Bye.”
The door closed softly, and he slumped back onto his pillow, feeling relieved, but with a nebulous sense of disquiet. Not a strong one, though, for it was not long before he was sleeping again, dreaming crazy dreams of dragons and devil-girls.
As he drifted in that grey haze that lies somewhere between sleep and consciousness, he felt a hand gently caress his forehead. It lightly traced the lines of his face, the profile of his nose, then lingered for a moment on his lips. He caught the scent of cinnamon and vanilla, and as a soft pair of lips pressed slowly against his, he started and sat bolt upright.
“Melusine!” he breathed, his pulse suddenly pounding.
“Hello, my darling Phaoton,” she smiled at him from her seat at the foot of the bed.
She looked a little different than she had before, wearing less revealing robes than what she usually wore, though her wings were as black as Kaym’s shades. But her cute little horns still poked through the mass of her crimson hair, and her curves were still seductive, covered as they were.
“Why are you here?” he demanded. He was angry, but he was glad to see her too. Maybe too glad.
“Why shouldn’t I be?”
“Well, because we’re on different sides. We should be enemies.”
Melusine smiled sadly.
“We may be on different sides, for now. But you know I’m not your enemy, and everyone’s entitled to a mistake or two. Lord Kaym was disappointed in you, and Prince Lucere was very angry, but they have not forgotten what you have done for them. Nor have I.”
She leaned forward, and he discovered that her scent was as intoxicating as ever.
“Have you forgotten what it was like to be a god, Phaoton? Will you really be content to be mortal again? To be nothing more than the unhappy boy that was Christopher Lewis? What a waste, all that talent, intelligence, and power, doomed to death in the mortal world.”