Raffe cracked a weird smile, relieved to hear that Kerim was finally coming around. “Kerim, you are one of our greatest warriors. You took on this mission to protect the Kingdom of the Almighty.”
Kerim stared off into the distance and said, “And the black holes are the entrances to the secret portals from our world to this world. Only our kind is permitted to travel back and forth. Although, we are able to transport humans to Limbo, Purgatory, or Paradise.”
The way he spoke was as if he was repeating something he had learned during his training.
Raffe smiled, and said, “Very good. You are remembering now. Don’t worry; it will all come back to you. Your human brain is much too small to fully grasp all of it. Today, you will be transformed back to your natural state, but you must complete your mission. You must eliminate the girl. She is the key to opening the portals for the humans and the demons. Her natural power and abilities are threatening the security of all worlds.”
Kerim raised his hand in defiance. “No! I cannot do this! She is an innocent. She has done nothing wrong.”
Raffe’s expression changed, as if repulsed by Kerim’s reaction. “Not only must you do this. You will do this lest you face the wrath of the Almighty.”
OMG. Is this “angel-speak” or is this how they say things in Hebrew? Do angels really speak like this?
Kerim put his face in his hands. His body was visibly shaking. “I cannot complete this mission. I love her, with every part of my being.”
Cristal felt her heart swell despite learning about Kerim’s true identity.
WTH? He was sent here to kill me?
She was beginning to fully comprehend the meaning of the phrase “Love is blind.”
Raffe put his arm around Kerim’s shoulders, speaking in a softer tone. “When I first was sent down here, for my first mission, I, too, fell for the charms of the female human persuasion.”
Kerim glanced up, and asked, “You did?”
Raffe nodded. “In fact, that is why the Almighty sent me here to make sure you complete your mission. I was sent to destroy Liora Henandez, a Sephardi—a Jew of Spanish ancestry. The Henandez bloodline that goes back centuries is known to have special powers and abilities. He appointed guardian angels to watch over them. Since they were a good people, the guardians were instructed not to harm them but to report if the security of our worlds is breached. For centuries, the Henandez family kept their powers concealed from anyone outside the family. They followed the Almighty’s rules and never once did He have to send an archangel for an extraction mission.”
Kerim was completely absorbed, listening intently.
“Unfortunately, during the 1960s in this world, it was a time when the humans were rebelling against their parents’ beliefs and searching for spiritual independence. Liora was a good woman. Her brother was killed in a war that she believed was senseless. She wanted to fight against injustice, so she joined a group of activists who at the time were uncovering secret experiments without knowing that the scientists were in fact demon possessed humans.”
Kerim interrupted, raising his hand. “I remember this. These were the ‘Isolating the Soul’ experiments. It caused a stir with the Seven Senior Archangels. I didn’t understand the significance at the time and why we were put on high alert. Demons are always searching for more effective ways to relinquish humans from their souls with their permission. When I finished my intensive training to become an archangel, I realized how devious demons really were. Instead of threatening humans to give away their souls, they had found a much easier way. They simply asked humans to be test subjects and made them sign release forms thereby giving away their rights to their soul.”
Raffe picked up where Kerim left off. “It was not just that. You may have not been briefed, as this is classified information. However, I share this with you as I have been given some leeway by the Almighty to provide you information on a ‘need to know’ basis. It seems to me this is the time you ‘need to know.’ The leaders of the dark spirits have always wanted to enter Limbo and Purgatory to steal the souls of those who are waiting to enter the gates of Paradise. If they breach this world and enter ours, this act alone will cause an imbalance between all the worlds, which could lead to catastrophic destruction for the world here and the spirit world. This would thrust good and evil of man and spirit into a war that will end all wars.”
Kerim arched his eyebrow. “And what happened with Liora?”
Raffe shrugged as if trying to make the memory seem trivial. “Well, I fell in love with her. It was hard not to. She was beautiful, generous, and had the purest heart I have ever seen in a human. Like you, my memory had been archived, and implanted memories made me believe I was human. It was with Liora that I felt the emotion of love for the first time. Unless we are in pure human form, our kind does not have the capacity of feeling this emotion. When it came time to eliminate her, I was blinded by the love I felt for her. Love is an emotion that you will not forget, but over time, the memories will fade.”
Kerim’s eyes widened. Cristal realized at the same moment that it was Raffe and Liora that Bina Schwartz saw in her dream.
Kerim asked quietly, “And the Almighty pulled you out of the mission and returned you to Him?”
Raffe’s face grew dark as he spoke. “He removed me from the human world and stripped me of my rank. The Almighty demoted me from being a general to a lowly Purgatory Guide. The other archangels scoffed at me. But after getting to know the humans in Purgatory and understanding their suffering and pain, I realized why we have to protect them. Eventually, I was returned to my brigade and given the rank of Admiral.”
Kerim smiled wistfully. “I am a colonel in your brigade, Admiral Raphael,” he said with a deep respect in his voice. “You mentored me, I remember. But you still haven’t told me what happened to Liora.”
Raffe replied with a sigh, “The Almighty sent another angel to finish the mission. Once the angel took her from this world, her soul entered the Kingdom. She sits among those who are in the good graces of Him. Here in the human world, she left behind a daughter who was raised by Liora’s sister as her own child. She changed her name to ‘HERNANDEZ’ to protect the child’s identity and emigrated from here to Mexico. When the child became an adult, she immigrated to the United States. Don’t you see? Cristal Hernandez is Liora’s great granddaughter.”
***
She shook her head in disbelief. “Harry, this is too much. I’m part of a bloodline that has special powers?” There was no time to think about this now.
She looked up and saw Raffe and Kerim still arguing with each other, oblivious of anything else around them. Maybe that was a good thing. It gave her time to think of what to do next.
Buildings were collapsing; people were getting injured, maybe even dying.
I have to stop this.
“Harry, I’m going to try to close the portal,” she said.
“Wait! I have to go through it.” Harry grabbed her shoulders. “I believe my mother and your father are there on the other side, in Limbo or whatever Raffe and Kerim were talking about.”
He looked at her with determination in his eyes.
“Yes, they have been trying to communicate with us. I think they are alive. I know they are alive.”
“I will do my best to bring them back,” he said, touching her face.
“I know you will, Harry,” she said, as tears slid down her cheeks. She bit her lip. Now was not the time to cry. “Hurry, before they see you,” she said. “I will close the portal after you enter. I will make sure Raffe and Kerim won’t follow you.”
His eyes were dark with concern. “Take care of yourself, okay?”
“Yeah, you know I always do.” She smirked and looked into his eyes. “Hurry up before I zap you with my super-duper energy blast.”
He smiled. It was just like old times. “I’ll be back soon.”
Then he stepped to the side of her, into the light and was gone.
Good luck, Harr
y.
She closed her eyes, concentrating all her thoughts towards the waves of energy that were blasting out from inside of her.
Summoning all the power inside her, she roared, “I command you to stop!”
Her eyes opened and the white light that had been rushing through her had stopped. She checked her feet by taking a step forward and realized she was free. No time to celebrate. She had to get out of there before Raffe “the Bird man” started coming after her.
She ran up to the edge of the sea wall and looked down at the crashing waves below. Glancing back, she saw that she had caught Raffe and Kerim’s attention.
Oh sh*t, I better do it before Raffe stabs me with his light sabre.
Cristal faced the water, closed her eyes and leaped over the edge.
Her body plunged towards the water. She was falling fast. In her mind, she wondered if this was the smartest thing she could have done. She pointed her feet down, anticipating impact. Although she was relatively calm, a part of her was calculating what the chances were of smashing her body against a big rock.
This was a dumb move.
Before she hit the water, she heard a “woosh” and felt arms underneath her catching her from the fall. Her eyes opened to see it was Kerim holding her tight. His gaze was fixed ahead of him as he carried her upwards. She turned her head and saw, to her amazement, behind his back were glorious silver feathered wings soaring in flight. She checked to see if Kerim’s body had become transparent. Thankfully, she could still see his T-shirt and leather jacket. He was in human form, except for the wings.
She wanted to say something but wasn’t sure exactly what.
He glanced down briefly and said, “Do not be afraid, Cristal. You have no need to doubt me.”
Before she could react, a thunderous voice boomed across the sky making her cringe in fear.
“Complete your mission!” the Voice commanded.
She could feel Kerim’s body shudder.
Is he going to drop me?
He whispered to her, “I will put you down, but you must hide. You have the power to do this. Just focus and concentrate. You don’t need a black hole to enter the other realm. You can transport back and forth like me.”
“I can?” Her jaw dropped.
“You can. Just like you realized today that you have the power to understand many languages. You must believe in yourself.”
Kerim made a nosedive to the ground. She held on tightly to his arms.
Kerim landed on the ground, gently placing her down beside his motorcycle. It was keeled over against the sidewalk, the cement underneath it raised up from the quake.
He waved to someone off in the distance and soon Walid was running up to him.
“Walid, ride the bike and bring Cristal to your home. Take good care of her,” Kerim commanded.
Walid nodded his head, his eyes staring at the wings on Kerim’s back.
“Maffoom? Do you understand me, Walid?”
“Yes, yes. Maffoom. I will take care of Mizz Cristal, Kerim.”
Walid turned and picked up the motorcycle.
Kerim pulled the keys from his pocket and tossed them at Walid who caught them in his hands. Kerim looked at Cristal, the expression on his face showing his steadfastness and conviction.
“Remember, Cristal, you have untapped powers that not even Raffe knows about. Why would we be sent here to destroy you if this were not true?”
The rational part of her wanted to scream but the new Cristal, the one who wasn’t afraid anymore, kept her cool.
“So Harry was right. You were sent to destroy me.”
He looked away briefly. “Yes, that is true, but I didn’t know that when I met you. My original memories were removed and implanted with temporary human ones. Now that I know you, I cannot and will not let anyone harm you. Never doubt that, no matter what,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
She knew that what he was saying was true.
His gaze shot upward to the sky that seemed to be swallowing the stars. “Now go! There’s no time!” he cried out.
He was right. There was no time. She ran over to the motorcycle and jumped on. Walid started the engine. She turned to say goodbye but instead was met with giant silver wings soaring, carrying Kerim into the sky.
She watched as he ascended into the dark clouds, disappearing into the heavens. Kerim Ilgaz, her Guardian with wings.
Gabriel, Harry and now Kerim… all gone in one day. No time to cry or say goodbye.
She placed her arms around Walid’s waist, closed her eyes as he revved the engine and pulled the bike out onto the road. She didn’t know what was in store or what the future held for her, but one thing was for sure—she was determined to continue Harry’s mission to seek the truth.
“Hold on, Mizz Cristal,” Walid called back to her. “I am taking you to my home in Megiddo.”
“I am not familiar with that town,” Cristal replied. “Is it a small village?”
“Oh? But it is famous place,” he insisted. “You do know it.”
Cristal tilted her head.
“Sorry, Megiddo doesn’t ring a bell.”
Walid said, “Ah, yes, yes. I forget. You may know it by the Eenglesh name, Armageddon.”
***
Dear Reader,
Find out what happens to Harry, Cristal, and Kerim in “RESIST” (book 2 of the Among Us Trilogy), by becoming a Truth Seeker and registering at the official Among Us Trilogy website at http://www.amongus.ca.
If you enjoyed “Doubt” (book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy), please take a few minutes to submit a review on Amazon. I really appreciate your support, and it will inspire me to continue writing. As an independent author, it is you, the reader, who help me bring my characters to life. Without you, my work is meaningless.
I’ve included Chapter 1 of the next book in the trilogy on the next few pages. For more information about my other books and film projects, visit my blog at http://www.anne-raevasquez.com or send me a tweet @write2film.
Till our paths cross again,
Anne-Rae Vasquez
Truth Seekers and Geeks Unite!
Sneak peek excerpt from RESIST, book 2 of the Among Us Trilogy
Chapter 1
Between life and death
Harry stepped through the light, his foot landing on thin air. He keeled forward expecting to hit the ground headfirst but instead he was suspended in a void of emptiness—a dark vacuum.
“Anyone out there?” he asked.
He was met with dead silence. Funny he should think that. Wasn’t this what being dead felt like?
Enough. Focus on completing the mission.
He had to find his mother, Cristal’s father and bring them back to the land of the living.
“Mom, can you hear me?” he called out.
Nothing but silence. He began to wonder if he had made the right decision to cross over to the spiritual world. What if crossing over meant he had to die doing it?
A sharp pain stabbed his heart. He grabbed his chest until the pain subsided to a dull ache. He was somewhat relieved that he still had a beating heart. Guess he wasn’t dead after all.
Maybe time stood still on this side. What if he ended up floating here in spiritual emptiness forever?
“Harry?” his mother’s voice entered the void.
“Mom?” he called out. “Mom!”
Twisting his body, he tried to float towards the sound.
Something icy grabbed his arm and yanked him downward. He began free falling into the abysmal blackness.
Should he brace himself for the landing?
Before another thought could enter his mind, his body slammed into a solid surface knocking him out on impact.
***
What seemed like hours later, but could have been minutes, (Harry wasn’t entirely sure) he gained consciousness. He was laying flat on his back. Sounds and voices of people around him and the bleating of car horns jolted him awake.
“Harry!”
“Thank God! It is you, Harry.”
Harry felt someone pull himself into a sitting position.
“Are you okay?”
He glanced up to see who the Good Samaritan was but instead, he was staring dumbfounded at the lopsided grin of someone he didn’t expect to ever see again.
“Harry! I'm so glad I found you! I thought I was going crazy!”
“Gabriel?”
“I don’t know what happened. I was rushing towards you and Kerim and then you all disappeared.”
Harry racked his brain to comprehend what was happening. He, along with Cristal and the others, had watched Gabriel get shot in the back and die on the street. But here was Gabriel in the flesh right in front of him. He reached out to touch Gabriel’s arm half expecting to feel nothingness. Surely, he must be hallucinating.
“I’ve been trying to find the others but nobody here has seen them,” Gabriel said. “Here, let me help you up.”
Gabriel grabbed a hold of Harry’s arm and put it over his shoulder, easing him up to his feet.
Harry took a deep breath. The salty sea air mixed with the smell of diesel smoke spewing from the tailpipes of cars driving by filled his lungs.
Wait a minute. Where am I?
He looked around, checking his surroundings.
It was incredible. They were standing in the same spot where Yaffa and her security thugs had shot Gabriel down.
He glanced around, feeling disoriented. The sun was setting against the turquoise blue sky. The streets were busy with young men smoking sheesha water pipes, laughing and horsing around on the beach. This was not what Harry had expected to see in Limbo or Purgatory or whatever this place was.
“Harry, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Gabriel said.
Harry swallowed hard and forced a smile.
Doesn’t he remember getting killed?
Harry’s Truth Seeker skills kicked in. He did not know what would happen if he told Gabriel the cold hard facts. Better go along with the situation until he can figure out what is happening.
Doubt Page 16