by Bill Myers
We’ve got to pray for them.”
Mom’s sister gave her a wary look. The afternoon funeral for their aunt had taken its toll on everyone’s emotions. But Claire was the last person she thought would crack under the strain.
After all, wasn’t she the strong Chris tian in the family?
Mom saw the look on her sister’s face and tried to explain.
“Please, Sharon, don’t ask me how I know. I just … I just know.”
“We’ll be home in ten minutes. Can’t it wait?” Mom thought for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
“No.” She peered out the windshield. “No, it can’t. Look, there’s a McDonald’s up ahead. Pull into the parking lot and pray with me.”
Sharon hesitated.
“Please, you’ve got to trust me on this.” Grudgingly, Sharon nodded and pulled into the parking lot.
She’d barely turned off the ignition when her sister had reached out and taken her hands. A moment later, the two women had their heads bowed and were praying.
**********
10:10 p.m.
At the far end of the room — across from where Becka sat, exhausted, her hand resting protectively on Scott’s unconscious form — the shadowy form of a little girl was taking shape. She was made up of the creatures. They had reappeared and were scurrying over to her, leaping into her, creating her very being, her substance. As each one entered her shadow, it became a part of her body, making her just a little larger.
Becka looked on in astonishment as the girl’s height rose four, five, six feet. And still the creatures poured in. By the time the final ghoul had entered, the girl towered nearly ten feet tall, filling the bedroom from floor to ceiling.
Once her form was complete, she turned to Becka, who instantly recognized the face. It was Juanita. Instinctively, Becka pulled herself closer to Scott, hoping somehow his presence would help.
It did not.
Juanita slowly raised her hand and pointed her finger directly at Rebecca. She spoke. Her voice thundered, low and guttural.
“You!”
Becka started to tremble. She was cowering in fear and she hated herself for it, but she had been through too much, seen too many things. She was exhausted.
The shadow smiled maliciously, then started to approach. It pointed to the Ascension Lady’s body lying on the floor, then swept its hand to include Scott’s still form.
“This is your doing.”
Becka could not respond. She drew even closer to Scott.
“All this suffering — everyone suffers because of you.” Becka shook her head, trying not to listen. But the voice was powerful and persuasive, as were the creature’s eyes. As she watched it approach, Becka found it more and more difficult to resist or look away.
“It is your pride, your narrow-mindedness that has created this.”
Becka tried to block the voice from her mind, but it had gotten inside. And the closer Juanita approached, the more it seemed to make sense.
“You think there is only one way. Your way! Such arrogance has led to this suffering.”
Becka closed her eyes. Was this thing right? Was it really her fault? What would have happened if she’d listened to the Ascension Lady and helped from the beginning? She should have been open-minded, she should have been more willing to compro-mise …
Her eyes started to burn with tears. It was her fault. When you got down to it, all of this was her doing.
“There are many ways to the light. Your stubbornness has blocked them all.”
Becka started to cry. Deep, heart-wrenching sobs shook her.
The thing moved closer. Becka didn’t have to open her eyes to feel it towering above her. But she no longer cared … she no longer had the energy or the will to fight. Whatever happened next was what she deserved. It was time to quit. Time to stop hurting others and give in.
The closer the thing bent toward her, the more she could feel her will and determination drain away. All she wanted was to sleep. To stop fighting, to give in, to let the thing take control.
“You will no longer resist. You will learn other ways. You will — ”
“She will not!” It was Ryan. His voice sounded far, far away, but Becka still heard it. “There are no other ways! Jesus said,
‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me!’ ”
The thing cried in surprise and staggered backward.
Becka felt her strength returning. Her eyes fluttered, then opened. Ryan stood inside the room. The shadow thing looked angry and confused, but when it spotted Ryan, its confusion gave way to mocking laughter.
“And who are you to oppose us?”
Ryan swallowed hard and shouted. “I am Ryan Riordan.”
“You have no authority.”
The boy was nervous, but he held his ground. “Of course I do. I am a Chris tian.”
Becka’s heart leaped to her throat. Was it possible?
“That gives you no authority.”
Ryan hesitated, unsure. He threw a frightened look at Rebecca.
She looked on, still stunned. Then slowly a thought took shape. Maybe it was true. Maybe Ryan couldn’t face this thing.
Any more than she could … not on their own. But with the two of them together, joining forces … joined in faith … What was it the Bible said? “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
She took a deep breath, then shouted, “You’re a liar!” The thing spun back to her. “HE HAS NO AUTHORITY.” Becka racked her brain, trying to remember more of the Bible verses she’d been learning. Another sprang to her mind, and she shouted, “ ‘I have given you authority … Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.’ ”
The shadow cried and fell backward as if it had been hit.
Becka and Ryan exchanged looks across the room. They understood instantly. This was the sword they had talked about: the power of the Word of God. Ryan took a step closer and shouted: “ ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ ”
Again the creature roared, part in anger, part in anguish.
Rebecca threw a look to Ryan, puzzled that he’d chosen the same verse as before.
He shrugged. “It’s the only one I know.” She almost smiled. With courage growing, she finally rose to her feet. They were finally on the offensive. Another verse came to mind. “ ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ ” More agonized shouts. The shadow thing started to back up toward the distant corner. “THIS IS OUR DOMAIN. WE HAVE
BEEN GRANTED IT.”
“You’re a liar,” Becka shouted. “Everything you say is a lie.
‘There is no truth in him … He is a liar and the father of lies!’ ” The creature roared.
“Stop it!” Becka cried. “Stop it this instant.” The shadow fell silent.
Still trembling, Becka forced herself to approach. “I demand that you stop these — ”
“You have no authority.”
“ ‘The Lord rebuke you!’ ”
The creature shrieked, this time writhing as if someone had thrown acid on it. With growing confidence, Becka continued her approach. Ryan followed suit.
“I order you to stop these lies!”
“I am not — ”
Becka raised her hand for silence, and the creature obeyed.
“I order you to stop these lies. No more games, no more counterfeits.”
“I will not. I will — ”
“In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to go!” The creature glared in rage.
“Now!”
Suddenly a brilliant light exploded from the thing’s very center. It was so intense that Becka and Ryan had to look away. It sparkled and crackled throughout the creature’s body. The thing screamed in agony and the room roared with thunder that reverberated through the entire house. But
as the light faded, so did the creature. In less than a second it was gone. Its tormented shrieks and thundering took a bit longer to fade as they echoed about the room, but they, too, finally disappeared.
Rebecca and Ryan looked around. Everything had returned to normal. No wind, no howling. Most importantly, no Juanita.
It was over.
Julie stuck her head through the doorway. To Becka’s relief she looked perfectly normal.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
Becka nodded. Julie stepped inside, followed by the others.
Each looked worn and rumpled, but the illusions were gone.
Everyone was back to their original selves. Even the Ascension Lady had regained consciousness and was sitting up, although she still looked pretty dazed and confused.
Ryan eased a step toward the corner where Juanita had last been. “Is she gone? She is, isn’t she?”
“No.”
Becka turned around to see Scott rising to his feet. “She …
they’re still here,” he said. “I can feel them. They’re just playing possum.”
Becka shuddered. Would this never end? She watched as her brother crossed to her. He reached down, took her hand, gave it a squeeze, then lowered it gently to her side. Without a word, he turned and walked toward the corner.
“Scotty?”
He did not answer.
“Scotty!”
When he reached the corner, he turned back to Becka and tried to flash her that lopsided grin of his. He didn’t quite pull it off.
Becka watched as he turned back to the corner. He took a deep breath, hesitated, then said in a loud, controlled voice: “By the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I cast all of you out of this house and into the abyss!” Nothing happened. There was no response. The room was as silent as ever. Scott cleared his throat and took another breath.
“I command you to obey me … now!”
A faint breeze began to stir.
Everyone exchanged looks.
The breeze increased, blowing their hair. Soon it was tugging at their clothes, whipping their jackets. The moaning returned, growing louder and louder as the wind turned into a full-fledged gale. The moans evolved to wailing, then shrieks. The group bent down, some hanging onto one another — anything to keep their balance.
Scott was the first to see it. A slit of light in the corner directly before him. It was no longer than a foot and only a couple inches wide. The wind raced into it. Faster and faster the air roared past Scott and into the hole, until Scott himself started to be pulled in.
“Scotty!”
His footing slipped once, twice. He was losing his balance, being sucked into the opening. He tried to fight it, to pull back, but the force was too great.
Becka raced to his side, grabbing his arm, pulling for all she was worth. Ryan joined her and pulled the other arm. Together they hung on, refusing to let go. It seemed to last forever, though it was probably only a few seconds. Finally the wind died and, as the last of it disappeared, rushing into the opening, the slit of light vanished as well.
The wind was gone. Everything was still. Only the heavy breathing of Becka, Scott, and Ryan broke the silence.
Scott looked to Becka, then to Ryan, who was flipping the hair out of his eyes. They traded grins. It was over. For real this time. They were sure of it. Becka was the first to hold out her arms. The two guys instantly responded, and they fell into a three-way hug, each holding the others for all they were worth.
The others joined in — Julie, Philip, Krissi, Darryl … even the Ascension Lady. She had stood off to the side, watching, until they motioned for her to join them. Everyone held everyone else in a massive group hug. It had been quite a night. It had been quite a seventy-two hours!
Of course, it wasn’t entirely over. Both Becka and Scott knew there would be plenty of questions to be asked and explana-tions to be made. But one thing was certain: The Bible could be trusted. Always.
It said there were not ghosts, only Satan and his fallen angels.
It was right.
It said Chris tians had authority through Christ to beat them.
Right again.
All they had to do was take that authority, use the sword of God’s Word, and wear God’s armor — all of it, including the breastplate of righ teous ness.
Becka and Scott weren’t fools. They knew they didn’t have to be perfect to face the enemy — they just had to be headed in that direction. And when they messed up, they had to make sure they admitted it and asked Christ to forgive them.
All of these were important lessons they’d learned. Lessons that would help them in upcoming battles. Not that they’d go looking for fights with Satan and his groupies. They knew better than that.
But they knew if and when they were called to help, they would go into battle, willing to fight and, with God’s help, to win. That was a part of being warriors for the Lord.
Only now there were not just two warriors. Becka looked at Ryan and gave him an extra-hard hug. He flashed her that killer smile, the one that always made her stomach do flip-flops, and she smiled back.
Now there were three.
The Guardian
Book 5
Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14
Chapter 1
Well, that was a lot of fun,” Scott said as he threw open the door to the old Hawthorne mansion and stepped outside.
“Wha’dya want to do tomorrow night? Duke it out with Satan?
Drop by and visit hell?”
The group groaned.
“I feel like I’ve already been there,” Philip said, rubbing his neck.
The others agreed as they headed out of the darkened house and into the brisk early morning air. They still couldn’t quite take it all in. What had started off as a simple séance in a deserted mansion had ended up as a major showdown between good and evil.
“I still don’t get it,” Krissi, the group’s full-time beauty and part-time airhead, exclaimed. “I mean, so much stuff was going on; it was like a crazy, mixed-up dream, all jumbled and everything.”
Rebecca took a deep breath of the cool air and slowly let it out. No way was that a dream, she thought.
Ryan had been watching her expression, and he reached out and gently pulled her toward him. It had not been a dream for him, either. Or for Scott. The three of them had just fought the battle of their lives. Everyone else had been distracted by illusions and hallucinations, but these three had fought with everything they had. And then some.
It had been close — too close at times — but God had used the three of them to literally beat back the forces of hell.
As they headed down the sidewalk to their cars, Priscilla, the only adult in the group, turned to Rebecca. She hadn’t spoken since they left the upstairs room. Now her voice was hoarse with emotion. “Becka … ,” she faltered. “Without your help … if you hadn’t shown up …” She looked down to the ground and shook her head, unable to finish.
Becka nodded. Nothing more had to be said. As a channeler of the spirits, Priscilla had been in the most danger. True, Krissi, Philip, Darryl, and Julie had also been attacked, but their fight was more on an emotional level. The evil had actually entered Priscilla’s body, so her battle had been more physical. And more violent.
Julie tossed her thick blonde hair to the side and motioned toward the eastern sky. “Hey, check it out.” The horizon was already showing signs of pink and orange. “Can you believe we were in that place all night?”
“It felt longer than that,” Darryl said, sniffing loudly.
“Anybody for breakfast?” Scott asked. “I’m starved.”
“You’re always starved,” Ryan joked.
“Hey, we deserve it,” Scott said, doing a mock karate kick and a couple punches in the air. “We beat them bad boys bad. If you ask me, it’s time for a little victory celebration.” Becka winced. She loved her brother. She just wished h
e would do something about that ego of his. She sighed. Then again, he was a guy, so what could she expect?
“You kids go ahead,” Priscilla said. She pressed the remote alarm on her key chain, and her car gave a little beep-bop. “I’m really exhausted.”
The group nodded in understanding. Priscilla, better known as the Ascension Lady because of the New Age bookshop she owned, climbed into her white BMW. She turned the ignition and gave a little wave as she pulled off. The group waved back and watched her disappear down over the hill.
Then slowly, one by one, their gazes drifted back to the mansion. There it stood on the hilltop, absolutely quiet, absolutely still. No more shadows fighting in the window, no more screams echoing down the hallway. Everything was normal, just as it should be. Just as it would always remain.
Still, there were the memories …
“Well,” Philip finally broke the silence, “I think I’d better call it a night too.” He held a hand out to Krissi and she took it.
“Sounds good to me,” she said.
“What about the eats?” Scott asked.
Philip shook his head. “Some other time. Maybe we can get together tomorrow or something.”
The others agreed, and Philip and Krissi started across the street toward his car. Halfway there, he turned back to Julie and called, “You riding with us?”
“Yeah,” Julie answered, “I’ll be right there.” She turned to Becka, then reached out to take both of her hands. There was a moment of silence as the two friends held each other’s gaze. “I don’t know what all happened in there,” Julie said quietly, “but I think we’d better talk. The sooner the better.” Becka held her look.
Julie continued, “I know we’ve teased you about your faith and everything, but part of me really takes that stuff seriously.
And if what I saw in there really happened …” She hesitated, then shrugged. “Well, I just think it’s something we need to talk about.”
Becka nodded, hiding her excitement. This was something she had wanted to do for months. “Sure.” She shrugged.
“Anytime.”
Julie gave her a quick hug, then turned and headed for the car.