The journey up the tunnel seems to take several lifetimes. We have to stop repeatedly to catch our breath, ease the aches, and rest. The hilt of my sword catches on every little bump, making it harder to climb as I constantly have to free it from some entanglement. My arms are shaking from the effort of pulling up Megan. The red glow disappears and the blackness squeezes hope out of me.
I want to scream for light, but I keep climbing. The only sounds are our breathing and the clash of battle behind us.
I look up to find yet another handhold when I see something that confuses me. I stare at it for longer than necessary until Megan nudges my leg. I blink, and it dawns on me what I’m looking at.
I grin and look down to her to whisper. “I see a star!”
She blinks like she doesn’t understand and then grins. “We’re almost there.”
I nod and scramble to a better resting place. She groans again when she uses her bad ankle to reach the ledge.
We pant together as the angels join us.
“Nic, when we get the top, things will change,” Eli says. “You won’t see us as much. Down in that pit, the veil between spiritual and physical is very thin.”
I nod and then take off. The sight of a star gives me energy to reach the top.
In a few minutes, I reach up for the next handhold, and my hand touches grass. I laugh and pull my body out of the tunnel to tumble in the long grass around the pit.
I help Megan out and then lay on the ground, panting and delighting in the stars, the fresh air, the light from the moon.
We did it.
There haven’t been many sounds from Mal for a while, so I’m hoping the demons have given up the chase. In a few seconds, Mal and Eli stand next to us, their swords still drawn but not blazing like before, and guard us while we rest.
I roll to my side to check on Megan after I catch my breath. She grins at me, and I know she’s going to be okay.
Aunt Kate!
I struggle to my hands and knees and look around, but she’s nowhere to be found. The grass is still indented from where she was laying, but she’s gone.
A tall silhouette stirs in the shadows of the trees by the small miner’s cabin. I recognize that shape.
“Stay here, and don’t move,” I hiss to Megan.
I get to my feet as Liam comes into the moonlight. I walk to meet him.
“You survived,” Liam says with his eyebrows raised. “I’m not too surprised with the help you had.”
“Where is she? Tell me, or I’ll kill you.” I place my hand on my sword hilt. I’m not playing games anymore.
“If you kill me, you’ll never know where she is,” Liam scorns. “Now shall we begin again? Are you ready to do things my way?”
“You will tell me where my aunt is,” I command. It’s strange, but I don’t feel as terrified of the lanky vampire as I did a few hours ago.
“If you want to save her, you’re going to have to do what I tell you.” Liam folds his arms over his chest. “Do you want to be the reason for her death?”
I rush him. He meets me halfway. I punch his face with all the rage in me. His head barely moves from the impact, even though my fingers feel like they’re broken.
“Is that best you’ve got?” he sneers. “The demons are getting fat and lazy if you beat them.”
I swing at him again, but he ducks and grabs my shirt. He flings me at a tree. I smash into it and tumble to the ground. I didn’t think my body could hurt anymore. I was wrong.
Can I only fight demons? Maybe I don’t have any ability to stand against a vampire. And why isn’t anyone helping?
I get up and face Liam. He struts up to me, cocky as if he can’t see the angels still standing by the pit. I want to rip the smirk off his face.
“You did well escaping down there,” he comments. “The parasites have sat around doing nothing, living off others’ work like they are some sort of kings. It’s time for a change in regime, and you’re going to help me bring it.”
“Where is Aunt Kate?” I demand.
He punches me in the face. The pain explodes in my jaw as I fall onto the ground, clutching it. Liam follows to stand over me.
“I’m not doing this again.” His voice is low but I filled with wrath. “Now get up.”
He kicks me in the leg. I swallow a yell and roll away from him, ending up on my hands and knees. I rise to my feet, stumbling over my sword.
My sword!
I glance back at Eli and Mal but gasp. They are gone.
Why wouldn’t they stay and help me?
Megan is struggling to stand. I can only assume she’s going to try to help again. But I’m going to take care of Liam before she can.
“I’m not doing a thing you want,” I declare and turn back to Liam. I flourish my sword. “Where is Aunt Kate?”
I wait for the spark of light to dance across the blade, but there is only bare, dull metal. There’s nothing special about the blade, no white flame, nothing.
Where did you go, God? Why am I suddenly fighting on my own?
“You’d do better with a stick,” Liam mocks. “That thing looks so old it probably will shatter with one blow.”
I shift on my feet, uncertain of what to do. I know I saw the flame before. I just can’t figure out why it’s gone now.
I don’t know what to say. Instead, I run at Liam with a yell. Old sword or not, whites flames or not, I’m going to finish this one way or the other.
Liam raises his eyebrows in slight mockery as he watches me and dodges my attack. As I pass him, he sticks out a foot to trip me. I tumble in the grass and roll onto my feet again.
“I’m not going to do it, Liam,” I say. “One of us is going to die here.”
“And I know who it is,” he sneers. “I’ve had it with you, and I’m not leaving you for anyone to control for their purposes.”
“No one is going to control me,” I retort. “I belong to Jesus because of His blood. Nothing can hurt me!”
He snarls. His long fangs glisten in the moonlight, and then he springs at me. I stand my ground. I’m not backing up, giving up, or standing down. I stay still as he closes the distance faster than a snake.
When he’s within arm’s reach, there’s a small white spark on the blade. I gasp in surprise while the spark ignites in the white flame as before with a roar of the fire.
Liam skids to a stop and stares with horror at my blade.
“What’s that?” he whispers.
I swing the sword around, delighting in how the light from Heaven streaks through darkness. “This is what’s going to kill you.”
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he says as he backpedals.
“Where’s my aunt?” I ask.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Liam takes another step back.
“WHERE’S MY AUNT?”
Liam tries to dodge and block, but my sword cuts him across the chest. He yells in agony and points at the cabin.
“They’re in the cabin,” he says quickly. “They’re all right. I’m telling the truth! I wanted to hurt them in front of you! They’re fine. Just let me go.”
I study the vampire. He’s hunched over, in pain and frightened of my sword.
“What are you so scared of? Dying?” I ask.
Liam snorts and straightens. “You don’t get it, do you? I can withstand bullets, I’m stronger than any human, nothing on this earth can kill me. The stories got it wrong. Sunlight doesn’t kill me.”
He pauses while I process what he is saying.
“Nothing on earth can kill us,” he continues. “But the light of God, the holy white flame, which comes from Him, will send us to the Abyss where the torment is greater than anything you can imagine. I won’t go there.”
He charges me. I raise the sword in defense too slowly. He dodges and pins my arms to my sides to stays clear of the blade. Then he brings his head to my neck for the bite that will rip my soul from my body.
I scream and hear
Megan echo my yell in the background. She’s struggling to get to her feet. When she stands, she begins limping toward me.
“Should have done this a long time ago.” Liam grins.
I struggle and fight to get free but to no avail. “Stop! I don’t want this!”
“But I don’t care what you want,” Liam mocks. “It’s all about what I want, and I want you to use your white sword for me!”
“Never!” I yell. I smash my forehead into his head.
He jerks back at my sudden attack, and his hold on my arm loosens. I yank my arm free and swing madly with the sword.
Yelling, he loses control of me. I swing the sword through the air as I kick him off me and grab the hilt with both hands. With all my strength, I jump in the air.
The white blade lands on Liam’s neck. I feel a jolt when it connects with flesh. My feet hit the ground, and I continue the attack as he screams in great pain.
The blade smashes to the ground. I pull back to attack again, but there is no reason to. Liam lays at my feet, unable to hurt anyone ever again.
Liam looks up at me, hate flooding his green eyes. “Tell Cherokee Bob that I’ve always hated him, and I’ll see him in Hell.”
A burst of heat flares on my face. I step back, flinching. The air shimmers in front of me, and a gap opens to reveal the fires of Hell. I glimpse a land of molten lava. Liam’s body disappears. The gap closes.
I slump to the ground.
Chapter Seventy-Six
Questions
I struggle to catch my breath and get to my feet. My legs are shaking, and I ache all over my body. I force myself into a trot to the cabin.
Pushing open the door, all I see are a few mounds in the back with tarps over them. I rush in, terrified by what I’ll find, and yank the tarps off.
Dirt.
“Are they buried?” I yell and drop to my knees to start digging.
“Nic,” Eli says behind me. “They are not here.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. Not here. I failed. They’re dead. Liam killed them while I was in the pit. I sacrificed them to save Megan.
“No,” I groan and cover my face with my hands. “Oh, no.”
“They’re in the trees over there,” Eli says quietly.
I freeze, unable to understand his words. “Are they...?”
Eli laughs. “Come and see.”
I follow him out of the cabin. He leads the way behind the cabin but glances back at me with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Is all well, Sari?” Eli asks.
“It is well,” a woman angel answers. “Elan and Natanel are patrolling the area, but all is quiet for now.”
I strain to see in the darkness. Aunt Kate and Ryan are lying on the ground next to each other beneath some trees. On each side, an angel stands guard.
“We moved them here when the leech returned,” Sari continues. “He tried to get them again, but we encouraged him to leave them alone, didn’t we, Azrael?”
Azrael laughed. “That’s one way to look at it!”
I drop beside them and check their breathing. They are okay. Very drugged, but okay. I sigh with relief.
“The Creator protects them like He protects you, Nic,” Eli reminded me. “As He does for all His children.”
I nod, unable to speak. I want them home. Now. I tug on Aunt Kate but find her heavier than I thought. Megan limps up and stops in awe as she sees more angels.
“Let me help,” Eli says.
“Now you help?” I snap. “What about when a vampire was trying to kill me? Where did you go? Why weren’t you helping me then?”
“You aren’t always going to see us,” Eli says. “We are not your salvation. God is your Savior, and you must rely on Him. But remember that you never fight alone.”
“You could’ve just told me that instead of playing little tricks,” I snap.
Eli grins. “Sorry about that. There wasn’t time.”
I shift on my feet. I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way.
“This sword.” I unbuckle the sheath and hand it to Eli. “It’s not mine. It must be an angel’s sword because it worked just like yours. Could you give it back to the owner?”
Eli shakes his head with his arms folded over his chest. “You are right that it once belonged to an angel. That sword has a history, but I can confidently say that it is now yours.”
The angel placed his hand on my shoulder. “You handled yourself exceptionally well tonight. You are now one of Chayil, elite warriors of God who join angels in the battle against evil, and I am pleased to fight alongside you.”
I don’t know what to say at the honor of being included as a warrior with angels. I’m glad for the darkness of the night because it covers the heat on my cheeks. Megan winks at me as she watches with a huge grin.
Eli scoops up Aunt Kate like she weighs nothing. Sari follows with Ryan while Mal and Azrael confer out of earshot.
I hobble to Megan, feeling more aches and pains with every second. I wonder how much blood I’ve lost and if I should go to the hospital.
What in the world would I say? I battled vampires and demons, and I think I need a little blood.
She grins when I stop beside her. “A Chayil? Elite warrior? Just don’t start thinking you’re a superhero on me because I might not be around to help you out. And I’m definitely not your sidekick!”
Across the meadow, Eli and Sari places Ryan and Aunt Kate down gently in the moonlight by my car, which is still smashed into the tree I hit in my haste to get to Megan. The angels are gentle with them, like they value them highly.
A sarcastic comment jumps to mind, but I ignore it and offer Megan an arm to lean on.
“Thanks,” I say.
She studies me in the moonlight. It dances on her dark hair and makes her eyes twinkle. Her face is a wreck, and she’s still covered with blood and dirt with tear tracks on her face.
And yet she’s never looked more beautiful. If only she could see herself right now the way I can, she would never doubt if she was good enough for someone. And it’s not just her looks. What other girl could take vampires and demons in stride and turn out to be a warrior?
I realize I’m staring and feel heat rising in my face. “I...uh...” I stutter. What am I saying? “I’m sorry for getting you into this. You were awesome, but I’m sorry, and thank you for helping me out of it.”
She keeps looking at me like she wants me to do something. She tries not to smile, but she can’t stop her mischievous grin. “Good thing I came along to save you, isn’t it?”
“Oh, is that what you were doing?” I tease. “I thought I rescued you!”
“Ha! I was getting bored waiting for you. That’s why I dropped into the pit!” Megan responds.
“Ah, yes. Let’s talk about that. Next time, don’t be so dramatic, will you? A simple fall to the ground would have sufficed.” I follow her, giving her my arm to lean on.
“Next time?” She gasps. “Next time? I’m done saving your sorry little butt!”
I laugh as we approach the car. The angels stand by the car while they wait for us. I know that we are here only because of Chas. The victory came at a terrible price.
“I’m sorry,” I say to Eli and Mal and the others, suddenly serious. “I’m sorry for Chas. I didn’t know him, but I would have liked to, and his loss makes my heart grieve.”
“Don’t grieve, young one.” Mal smiles. “He is in the throne room of the Creator, and that’s a place of pure joy. Now come. We still have much to do tonight. We must get Ryan and Kate home, clean up, and set up a scenario that explains Megan’s disappearance.”
“Can’t you slap everything and fix it like you did Ryan’s truck before?” I ask Eli.
“I can with some, but you have to do your part too,” Eli replies. “We are not servants or genies.”
“I know,” I admit. “But I have a lot of questions.”
“We will answer them,” Eli responds. “First, we need to leave this place. I’m afraid we woke a
sleeping dragon, one who isn’t too happy at what he is finding.”
I glance back at the pit that leads down to the demons’ castle. We have won tonight, but Blaise’s Master is angry. The demons have ruled Florence far too long, confident that God’s light would never come to shatter their kingdom.
And the vampires will soon hear of Liam’s failure and destruction. What will they do? Will they hurt more people in their thirst for more power and blood?
I sigh and start to leave this wretched meadow. Those are problems that will wait for another day. Before I turn my back to the pit, I see a shadow slide out and linger at the edge.
Memories of the shadows from the past flood my mind. I remember how the demons laughed and mocked as they watched evil rip love, hope, and life away from people.
This shadow is not laughing. Tonight the demons were beaten. This is the first time I’ve ever seen evil defeated. The darkness doesn’t always win.
And that is a comforting thought because I have a feeling my part in this war is just beginning.
To Be Continued
From the Author
As always, when you write about a real town in a fiction book, there are a few things that you need to change. Nic would be thrilled to know that Grangeville’s school colors are actually blue and white, while the neighboring town of Kooskia is red and white. But I couldn’t go that easy on him. Of course, the book described Grangeville as Nic sees it and so is not entirely truthful, although the friendliness of people is most certainly true. The Camas Cafe has since closed, but it was a memory of the town that I wanted to include. Florence is much farther away than I led you to believe in the book, but the history of the abandoned gold mine is the same.
This book would not have been possible without the endless people who helped – Jansina Grossman for cover design, Elaine Baldwin for editing, Sherry Sauskojus for reading the first draft, Virginia Ann Word for multiple edits and help, and my writing group.
Thank to you those who helped, especially my husband who believes in me, supports me, and encourages me daily. Thank you to my daughter who distracts me and makes me happy every day.
Finally, none of this would have been possible without God and His grace. It would take pages and pages to list all the ways He led, gave me strength, and made this book possible.
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