Devil's Pathway

by Vicki V Lucas

  “Run, Matthew!” I shout and surge forward.

  Blaise roars louder at my words. He leaps off the roof, snapping his long wings out behind him. He arcs off the roof to rush at us.

  Matthew yells again when I reach him but still doesn’t move. Blaise is swooping down to the ground. I push Matthew toward the car, placing myself between him and Blaise.

  “Wait!” I yell to Blaise. “I’ll...”

  Matthew interrupts me with a yell. “Jesus! Help us! Help us, Jesus!”

  Blaise is ten feet from us. The sharp black blade grows larger as it speeds closer. The wind from his wings pounds my face. Matthew continues to yell to Jesus for help.

  I take a deep breath and prepare for the blade to pierce my body when someone from behind grabs my arms. I can’t see who it is and struggle to shake free. The grip tightens. Then I’m shoved to the grass beside Matthew.

  I roll over to check on Matthew and realize that my heart has stopped pounding so hard, and the darkness has disappeared. Matthew stares ahead of us, his eyes wide, but he’s not screaming for Jesus to help. His lips are moving as if he’s still praying, but now he’s whispering. Around him, a faint light glows.

  Could it be God?

  A clashing noise pulls my attention away from Matthew. Blaise stands several feet in front of us, but the man I saw walking on the road is between the demon and us.

  He’s the one who pushed me! He must have shoved Matthew down, too.

  Blaise savagely attacks the man, but the man blocks the sharp blade with his walking stick without any sign of being worried or afraid. The man is dressed in a white shirt and dirty jeans. He holds his walking stick like a sword and pushes Blaise away from us.

  The demon swings to strike the man down. To my surprise, the walking stick withstands the blade, and the hitchhiker blocks the blow.

  Blaise snarls. “Get out of my way! He’s mine!”

  “He is still under my protection.” The man’s voice is low and firm. “You do not have permission to hurt either of these two. Leave now before I send you to where you belong.”

  Blaise steps back but then attacks again. The man easily blocks. Blaise tries to trick him into stepping to the right or left so that he can race past the man to us, but the man coolly stays in place, guarding us.

  “You do not belong here,” Blaise spits. “This is our realm. You haven’t been welcomed here, even by your precious Forgiven for years.”

  The man doesn’t say anything but attacks with a low swing. The demon dodges as if he is afraid of the stick.

  Blaise steps back another foot. “That one’s mine.” He points at me.

  I shrink farther into the ground.

  “That’s to be decided,” the man replies.

  Blaise sneers again at the man. “When we meet again, I’ll hack you to pieces.”

  The man says nothing. Blaise flees, his dark wings quickly carrying him off to the mountains that line the south side of Grangeville.

  The man turns to us. His ash-blond hair falls into his eyes, and there’s a twinkle of laughter in his hazel eyes.

  Do I know you? I feel like I’ve known you for a long time.

  “Stand up,” he smiles. His smile makes me forget the darkness and the horror Blaise radiated. “You have no reason to be afraid.”

  Matthew gets to his feet first. My legs are shaking so badly I can barely stand.

  The hitchhiker doesn’t give us any time to say anything. “The paper for your scavenger hunt is on the back side of that sign by the building. Get one, and go back to the church. No one will harm you tonight.”

  “Th...thank you,” I don’t know what frightens me more–that I almost died, that I almost agreed to Blaise’s terms to save Matthew, or that this man fought a demon for us.

  Why don’t I feel the darkness?

  Normally when I see a demon, the darkness lingers for hours, sometimes even days. I feel the rage, the pain, and the agony. But tonight it’s mixed with peace, something I haven’t felt in years.

  Is the darkness gone?

  We stumble over to the sign and grab one of the papers stuck to the back. I turn back, ready with questions to ask the man.

  How did you know what we were doing? How did your simple stick hold up against a demon’s sword?

  He’s gone. I circle the building looking for him, but there’s no sign of him. The road is empty of cars, and there’s no way he could make it to the gas station in the time we took to get the paper.

  But he’s gone.

  Or are you?

  I stand where the grass is still indented by our bodies when we were thrown to the ground. A black feather lies on the ground in front of me. I pick it up and twirl it between my fingers before shoving it into my pocket.

  I feel strangely better having seen someone actually fight the demons and win. I have never seen anything triumph over the evil creatures.

  Could it be true that the angels around us fight evil, and I can’t see them?

  I don’t have an answer, but suddenly I don’t feel so alone anymore.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Reinforcements

  Eliezer waited until the boys turned away before he assumed his spiritual form and leap into the skies. Blaise had fled back into the mountains, retreating into the caves that led down to the depths of the earth where they reigned for now.

  I can’t believe the tricks Blaise tried on Nic! Eli slid his sword into its sheath with force that almost broke the strap.

  But Eli couldn’t stop the grin, in spite of the horror of what had almost happened. Nic was strong and brave. He didn’t know it yet. The boy just had to find the right motivation to fight.

  The tall angel landed outside the small church and watched the two young men dash into the church. Eli noticed more angels gathered around the church. Most of them were trying to look inconspicuous and failing grandly.

  He saluted Azrael and noted that Elan and Natanel were watching over Megan. Reunions would come later. Judging by the concern in Mal’s eyes, his report of the recent events with Blaise was due.

  Chasdiel and Mal joined him, having abandoned their activities when they heard the noise of the clash with Blaise. A third angel followed them, one whom Eli knew well.

  “Sariel!” Eli swept her up in a giant embrace. “I haven’t seen you since the Middle Ages! What are you doing in small town Idaho?”

  Sariel returned his enthusiastic greeting. “Saving you, since you are overwhelmed again,” she teased with a big grin.

  Eli knew she was referring to their last assignment together during the Crusades when events got so out of control he had to call in reinforcements.

  “Just wanted to make you feel useful,” Eli responded and pulled one of her gold braids. “You look good as a cowhand!”

  Sari laughed, her green eyes twinkling. “Is a beggar’s garb and stick all you could think of? I can’t believe that worked!”

  Eli grinned but sobered when Chasdiel spoke.

  “Our orders were to stand down, Eliezer.” His dark eyes burned with a warrior’s passion.

  Mal spoke for the first time and put his hand on Chasdiel’s shoulder. “It’s fine. Eli responded in the way that he had to. Nic was being forced. Our presence is more visible now, but it has to be for the Forgiven to begin to take a stand.”

  “Mal, I don’t like this hiding out.” Eli let his frustration escape a bit. “I didn’t think Matthew was going to pray, and when he did, it was almost too late.”

  Mal rubbed his forehead. “I know. I don’t like it, either. But those are our orders. We have to wait for Nic to make a decision.”

  Sari nodded toward the church. “How are the boys?”

  “Shook. Matthew knows God is in control.” Eli sighed. “Hopefully, this will draw Nic to God. He hasn’t healed from his past, and he’s not about to let anyone, maybe not even our Creator, help.”

  “Humans can be so stubborn,” Chasdiel shook his head.

  “Like you’re not,” Sa
ri retorted.

  Eli marveled at Sariel’s unending cheerfulness. In every danger they had been in together, in every battle they had fought side by side, Sari always kept her joy. He was glad for her presence in this new war as she always reminded him of the joy of the Lord.

  Eli was also thankful Chasdiel was there. The sober angel had a fighting spirit. Chasdiel loathed the torment and anguish their enemies trapped the humans under and did whatever it took to free them.

  “Why can’t we act?” Eli asked Mal. “Why were we given such orders?”

  “I don’t know,” Mal admitted. “We watch, we help when called on, and we wait. The enemy here is much stronger than I thought, and the Forgiven are in a deep sleep. They need to rise up in prayer and worship. Sari, I want you to stay with Matthew. Encourage him to listen to the Holy Spirit and pray. Try to get him to build up a group around him who thirst for the Creator and pray together.”

  “Yes, sir.” Sari sobered as she accepted her mission.

  “Will the Forgiven wake up?” Eli asked.

  Mal leaned forward, his dark eyes glowing with passion. Once again, Eli was glad Mal led them on this mission. His intelligence and zeal glowed like a burning fire inside of him.

  But Mal’s next words brought a chill to Eli’s heart.

  “They must, or all may be lost.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The Pointy End

  Matthew and I jump into his car, and he smashes his foot onto the gas pedal as we tear back to the church.

  “That was...” Matthew shakes his head.

  I wait for it. I know he’s going to be freaked out by seeing a demon.

  “I mean, do you think that was an angel?” Matthew continues.

  I turn to him, puzzled by the enthusiasm I hear in his voice.

  “He looked like a hitchhiker with a walking stick. But it held up against a sword.” Matthew grins. “Maybe it was a sword, too! Don’t you think that was cool? He had to be an angel.”

  The angel! But about the demon? Did you forget what the angel was saving us from?

  “I guess so.” I shrug.

  Maybe he didn’t see the demon.

  I decide I’m not going to mention it since he seems to have forgotten about that part. Besides, telling Megan made things worse.

  Why make everyone think I’m a psycho?

  Matthew sobered. “Oh, I know. I saw the demon. I was freaked out! I’ve known all my life that we’re involved in a spiritual battle, but I’ve never seen it. We should pray!”

  He prays as he races through town. I don’t mind his prayers. It’s like he’s talking with a friend. He thanks God for protection, his voice shaking a bit, and asks that we learn to be better soldiers.

  When he says “Amen,” we pull up in front of the church and jump out of the car. We race in, only to find that Megan and her friend beat us by two minutes. Megan gives me a triumphant look. I try to care about losing, but I can only think about the demon fleeing.

  Even though it’s dark by the time youth group wraps up, I don’t see any demons as I drive down the main street of Grangeville. It’s like they have all disappeared. Then I realize I’m not struggling with the darkness inside.

  I take my time driving home. I still can’t make sense of what I saw by the mammoth bones. Matthew believes the angel was there before he prayed.

  Are there angels around me I can’t see? Why could I see the demons but not the angels?

  Aunt Kate and Ryan join me in the kitchen when I get home. Ryan heats up some oil in a pot and pours in popcorn kernels.

  Beside the pantry, there is a photo of a bluebell. Aunt Kate must have taken it and put it in a white frame. I’m impressed with how professional it turned out.

  But before I can say anything about it, Aunt Kate quizzes me about what happened at youth group and laughs at my stories of the treasure hunt.

  Ryan and Aunt Kate probably think that my good mood is due to making some friends. What am I to say?

  “Hey, it was great tonight! A demon attacked me and this homeschooled kid, and then right at the last moment, an angel appeared and saved us.”

  Um, no. Not going to happen.

  So I let them think what they want and keep the experience to myself. Even I don’t understand it yet, and I was there. The popcorn disappears, but Aunt Kate never runs out of questions about my night.

  “I think you should be a cop,” Ryan teases Aunt Kate. “You have the interview part down, except for the doughnuts. Guess that makes you the bad cop.”

  “Maybe I should.” Aunt Kate glares at Ryan. “I could teach you a thing or two about firing a gun.”

  I burst out laughing. While Aunt Kate has a temper, I can’t imagine a gun in her petite hands.

  “Do you even know how to hold one?” I rib.

  “It’s not rocket science,” she snaps.

  “Just like using a sword.” Ryan grins. “Do you know how to use one?”

  I laugh, remembering the movie he’s quoting. “Yeah, the pointy end goes in the bad guy!”

  Aunt Kate rolls her eyes, trying to hide her smile.

  “Speaking of that,” Ryan sobers. “What are your plans, Kate?”

  “What do you mean?” She avoids his eyes and rolls the leftover popcorn seeds around in the bowl.

  “Well, you’re almost unpacked,” he pushes. “What’s next? I know you. Are you thinking about a job or anything? You don’t have to, but I know how quickly you get bored.”

  “I guess we’ll get to that when we’re unpacked.” Aunt Kate jumps up and picks up our dishes. “There’s still a lot to be done.”

  Like what? The few boxes in your office?

  I want to ask, but Ryan looks concerned. He pushes back his sandy-blond hair as he watches Aunt Kate. Conversation dies after that. In my room, I pull out the black feather from the demon and shove it into a drawer. I stand by the dresser and realize for the first time that Aunt Kate isn’t happy here in Idaho either.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chains

  Rob slipped through the shadows of the night, avoiding the streetlights as he wound his way around Grangeville until he came to a two-story house where the prairie began. Nestled into a small hill facing away from the town, the house sat quietly, its inhabitants asleep in the dark rooms.

  He could hear her. Slow rhythmic breathing told him that she slept. He pictured her long dark hair spread out on the white pillow. Did she have a pink bedspread like girls favored? Or a blue one to match her eyes?

  He should never have looked. But on that day he met Nic, he lingered in the woods. And once he saw her, he was lost.

  He never had a chance to fall deeply in love with anyone before the change. He was a boy when Father returned from the gold mines. That day hundreds of years ago, one that should have been wonderful, was forever burned in his memory.

  With a flurry of energy, Father entered the boarding house Ma ran. In a day, he had washed his few clothes, gathered supplies, and taken the little money Ma had managed to save.

  Father and Ma argued with a heat he had never seen. She wanted him to help with the boarding house. He would have none of it. He said that not many knew of this new gold mining town, but it wouldn’t be long until everyone flocked there. He had to hurry because the gold in Florence was so plentiful it was lying on the ground.

  But the biggest argument wasn’t about Father taking the savings Ma had worked so hard to collect. Father commanded Rob to get his things and go with him. He said it was time to stop hanging around Ma’s skirts and do something useful.

  Ma pleaded, begged, and argued. She said she couldn’t run the boarding house alone, but Father didn’t listen. He believed that Will, Rob’s ten-year-old brother, could do what she needed, and in a few short months, Florence would make them richer than they could imagine.

  Rob met one girl in Florence he liked, but the times he saw her were few. After the change, he disappeared into the wilderness, far away from anyone he could hurt. When he w
as forced to return, she was an old woman.

  Rob thought he wasn’t capable of love anymore. That part of him had been taken from him. He figured love belonged only to the mortals.

  He had been lost in a sea of hate, anger, and selfishness with no harbor. Drenched with loneliness, he couldn’t trust anyone. All the vampires and demons around him lived to please themselves, whether it was power, or lust, or riches.

  Then he saw Megan.

  It wasn’t just her physical beauty. It was her fire, her spark of anger. She was fierce and strong, although she didn’t seem to know it.

  Rob longed to be with her. But he hesitated. He hadn’t ever tried to resist his longings. He didn’t know if they could be denied once the thirst set in. He had drunk of blood, satisfying the thirst somewhat, before he came to Grangeville that night. The slight ease of thirst kept him from smashing the door and ripping her family apart to feast on their blood.

  But even though he wasn’t controlled so strongly by the urges, he didn’t trust himself to be near Megan. The temptation might overcome him, and he’d do something he would forever regret.

  Is it possible that my soul isn’t gone? Can I love again?

  He savored her presence for a while,. Then, when the clouds slipped over the moon, he left and circled the town, staying out of sight until he was in the shadows of the mountains again. He skirted the few houses that dotted the hills and made his way past Nic’s house, not wishing to become entangled with the angels who guarded him.

  Liam had delivered the message. Now it was time for the delivery. He abhorred meeting the man who Henry had enslaved, but Rob had no choice. He choked back a bitter laugh as he drew near the old truck parked deep in the mountains. Humans believed that a life without death brought freedom, and yet he was chained with far heavier chains than death now.

  Only obedience to Henry, the head of the vampires, protected him from the wrath of the demons. Rob knew by experience how demons sent vampires to the depths of Hell when they rebelled and set out on their own.