Spirit Fighter (Son of Angels, Jonah Stone)

by Jerel Law

  Eliza looked up at him. “Isn’t that from the Bible?”

  “Yes. Second Corinthians 5:7,” he said as he studied the roads in front of them. “It’s how we are going to find Eleanor. Trust that Elohim is going to show us the way.”

  Jonah frowned. “Sounds kind of low-tech, don’t you think? Isn’t there something a little more advanced than just faith? Isn’t that what this watch is for?”

  He held it up and pushed the button again. Nothing happened. The old watch hands read 5:58.

  “The MissionFinder 3000 won’t work here in the hidden realm,” Henry answered. “Lean into your faith. It’s more powerful than you realize. Especially when it’s all you have.”

  As they stood contemplating their choice of directions, trying to figure out how to “walk by faith,” something rustled behind a row of bushes.

  “Did you hear that?” Eliza said.

  Before anyone could answer, they heard the sound of something moving across the concrete. They followed the noise until it stopped behind the small building that held the entrance to the subway.

  Henry stood very still, watching for even the tiniest movement. Finally, he began walking silently toward it.

  Creeping around the other side of the building, he flapped his wings once, and suddenly disappeared behind it in a blur of energy.

  “Aha!” Jonah and Eliza heard him say. Grunts and a few high-pitched growls were all they heard for a few seconds, but Henry finally emerged.

  And he was not alone.

  He was dragging a long, greenish creature with him.

  “Look what I found!” he said, breathing heavily and holding the animal up in front of them.

  Both Jonah and Eliza took a step back.

  “It’s a snake!” Eliza said, crinkling up her nose.

  Henry held it just below its head. It was at least six feet long, its body thrashing back and forth. But the angel held it tightly in his grip, far enough away that it couldn’t reach him. It was the greenish-brown color of a slimy pond.

  Its mouth was open, showing two razor-sharp fangs, trying to get at Henry’s hand. Its tongue was slithering around frantically. At the same time that it was trying to bite the angel, it spat and made screeching noises, almost as if it were speaking another language.

  It was the eyes, though, that Jonah was drawn to the most. Piercing yellow, like the other fallen ones he had seen. They strained and glared at him. And he was sure that if looks could kill, not one of them would be standing here right now.

  FIFTEEN

  THE BRIDGE TO BROOKLYN

  Henry seemed slightly surprised that he’d actually caught this creature, but he held it up higher and said, “Silence!” This only made it scream louder, however.

  “Fine, have it your way.” Henry drew his arm back and made a throwing motion toward its mouth. Glowing cords appeared in the air, wrapping around its snout. He held on to the creature with both hands so it wouldn’t slither away. Finally it stopped flailing around so much.

  “There are snakes in the hidden realm?” Jonah said.

  Henry nodded. “The hidden realm is full of mysterious creatures. I’ve never actually seen one of these guys this close. My guess is it was watching us and getting ready to report back to its superiors.”

  Jonah didn’t want to think about what that would mean.

  “You mean it can talk?” Eliza asked.

  “Oh yes,” said Henry. “Those screeches you heard? That was its native tongue.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing you caught it, then, Henry,” Jonah said, leaning over a little closer to study the creature. “Maybe it knows where they’re holding Mom and the others.”

  The snake glared at him as he spoke, as if it knew exactly what he was saying. Its mouth remained closed but it growled, like it was daring them to try to get anything out of it.

  “Do you think it can understand us?” Eliza asked, noticing how it had appeared to listen to Jonah’s words.

  “Let’s find out,” Henry said, turning to face the creature again. “Do you know what I am saying? Can you understand me?”

  The snake looked away from him and exhaled heavily out of its nose, wriggled again unsuccessfully, and finally nodded.

  “Excellent,” said Henry. “If I take the chains off your mouth, will you be quiet?”

  It gave an abrupt nod again, and Henry reached toward its mouth.

  “Hold on a second!” Eliza said. “Do you really believe that it won’t just start screeching again? Or try to bite us?”

  “Only one way to find out.” Henry gave the glowing chains a tug. They disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

  “Can you speak to us? What is your name, snake?”

  “I am a serpent,” a high-pitched voice hissed back at the angel. “There is a difference. My name is Salmir. I have lived on the Lower Island for many centuries. And you three, by your very presence here . . . are in danger.” He seemed to almost grin as he hissed again, if snakes could really do that.

  Jonah smirked. “We’re the ones who have caught you. Looks like you’re the one in danger here.”

  Salmir sneered at him, burying the gaze of his yellow eyes in Jonah. “Boy, what are you doing in a place like this? Shouldn’t you be at home in your crib, all safe and sound?”

  Henry spoke firmly. “I will need to put your muzzle back on if you continue to be rude, snake.”

  “Of course, my dear guardian angel. How thoughtless of me,” the snake hissed sarcastically. “How can I be of service to you and your powerful army today?” He grinned, showing his two sharp fangs.

  “Do you know where the nephilim are?” demanded Jonah. He strung an arrow from his back and stepped forward. “Have you seen them? Tell us where they are, or I swear I’ll—”

  “No need to get angry, sir,” Salmir said, a suddenly submissive tone in his voice as his eyes followed the tip of the arrow. “Salmir is at your service. You seek the nephilim? Yes, I may have heard of one or two nearby. Very rare creatures they are. Very powerful.”

  “Keep it aimed at him, Jonah,” said Henry. “If he can lead us to the nephilim, we can have your mom back in no time at all.” Jonah kept the white-tipped arrow trained on the serpent.

  Eliza still had her arms crossed, glaring at the creature. “He’ll just take us right into a trap. You guys don’t honestly think that this servant of Abaddon is going to help us, do you?”

  “I am no servant of Abaddon,” Salmir hissed again. “Salmir is the servant of no one, neither man nor angel!”

  “And we’re supposed to believe that?” Eliza muttered.

  Henry raised his eyebrows at Jonah and Eliza.

  “Right now,” Jonah said, his eyes not leaving the snake, “this . . . serpent . . . is our best bet. If he’s seen a nephilim and knows where they are, he can lead us there.”

  “Or else run the risk of being turned into black dust,” Henry said sternly.

  “Yes, yes,” Salmir said. “I will take you where you want to go. And then you will release me. If you don’t find what you are looking for, I am your servant forever.”

  “Ewww,” Eliza said, disgusted. “Who would want a slimy snake for a servant?”

  “But”—he glared at her—“I will need to be let go if I am to be of assistance.”

  Jonah nodded at Henry. It was decided.

  “Okay, we’ll take your deal,” Jonah said, as Henry dropped him to the ground, pulling an arrow off his own back and aiming it at Salmir too.

  “But I am warning you,” said Jonah. “If you try anything, or lead us down the wrong path, you will have to answer to Elohim Himself.”

  Upon hearing that name, Salmir winced, as if he were in extreme pain.

  “Don’t say that!” he screeched. “That name. I can’t stand it!”

  They watched him writhe in pain for a few seconds before he finally settled down.

  “The Bible says there is power in His name,” Henry said as he studied Salmir. “Some of the Fallen can’t sta
nd for His name to be said. That seems to be the case with this creature too.”

  “Maybe that’s how we can control him,” Jonah said.

  “Or maybe it’s proof that we shouldn’t trust him. If he really didn’t serve Abaddon, then Elohim’s name wouldn’t bother him,” Eliza argued.

  The serpent winced, but said nothing.

  “That’s a risk we’re going to have to take,” Jonah said grimly, eyeing the serpent.

  “We have a journey ahead of us, my new friends,” Salmir said. “These streets lead to many mystifying places. Places full of shadows, where you might stumble upon something you’d rather not see.” He hissed a laugh, then suppressed it. “What I mean is, you certainly need a guide, and you have chosen the right one to take you where you need to go.”

  Henry floated up above them, his arrow still aimed at the serpent’s head. Jonah followed behind, taking careful aim as well. Salmir slithered toward the three streets in front of them and chose the third one. A dim streetlight flickered against gray buildings. It was still mostly dark, even though the sun was on its way up.

  “Down this road,” Salmir said in a high quiver, eyeing the arrows. “Come, follow me. I’ll take you to the nephilim.”

  He slithered ahead, followed by Henry, and then Jonah and Eliza. Jonah was growing more and more anxious by the minute to see his mother.

  Eliza fell behind a little, trudging after them.

  “Hurry up, Eliza!” Jonah called.

  “I’m walking as fast as I can,” she replied. “But I have to tell you, I don’t like this. How do you know he’s going to lead us to Mom and not into more trouble?”

  “We have him right where we want him. And honestly, we don’t have another option right now,” said Jonah. “Just think about finding Mom and getting out of here as fast as we can.”

  Salmir slid ahead, making rights and lefts around buildings, passing by, and sometimes through, humans, who continued on their way, unaware of any unseen presence. So far, he was living up to his word. He wasn’t trying to run away. He watched their arrows carefully. Every so often he would slow down, beckoning them on farther.

  “Come on, come on, angel, and my human friends,” he would hiss. “Right this way. Hurry up.”

  Soon a massive bridge came into view. It was made from stone and steel, with thousands of cables running from the base to the peaks at the two center supports. Lights that sparkled like stars ran along it, covering a mile of water, from Manhattan to Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Bridge.

  “That’s the biggest thing I’ve ever seen,” Eliza said, in awe.

  There was a wooden walking path down the middle of the upper level of the bridge, while cars and trucks drove beneath it. Walkers and bikers were moving along the walkway in both directions, but none were aware of what was happening in the hidden realm. Salmir slithered his long body up on the path, calling them to follow.

  Eliza stopped and pointed to the end of the bridge. “Are you telling us that the nephilim are in Brooklyn?”

  “Yes, yes,” Salmir said, almost gleefully. “Come, my friends. Our journey takes us this way. Hurry along now.”

  He slinked down the walkway across the bridge. Jonah looked at Henry, who suddenly began to look uncertain.

  “Well,” Jonah said to them both, “what choice do we have? Let’s go across the bridge.”

  Henry seemed about to protest, but stopped. Jonah stepped onto the walkway with Eliza one step behind him. Henry followed, a wrinkle of worry still on his forehead.

  Cars raced below their feet as they moved along the bridge. Jonah kept his eyes and arrow trained on Salmir, slithering quickly ahead of them.

  “Come along,” he called out again. “We must cross this bridge. Your nephilim lies not far away. We’re very close now.”

  “I don’t like this,” Eliza muttered to Jonah as they walked. “Not one bit. We’re following a snake across the Brooklyn Bridge. And we have no idea what’s on the other side, waiting for us. It’s insane!”

  “I know, Eliza, it seems kind of crazy,” Jonah admitted. “But what other choice do we have? We don’t know our way around down here, and he does. Sometimes you just have to trust.”

  They were almost at the middle of the bridge now, and every few seconds Salmir continued to coax them on.

  “Hurry up, friends,” he hissed. “Don’t want to be late to find Mommy, do we?”

  Jonah continued moving, but with each step, he began to sense that maybe Eliza was right. Holding on to the railing, he looked down into the traffic below and started to feel queasy.

  They were almost halfway across when Salmir glanced back at them again, yellow eyes narrowing. Jonah thought he saw him flash an evil grin, and suddenly he began to slither, much faster than before, toward the end of the bridge.

  “Hey! Where are you going?” Jonah yelled. But within seconds, he had slid off the end of the bridge, disappearing down a side street. Jonah didn’t even have time to fire an arrow at him.

  “What is he doing? Where did he go?” Eliza shouted, but no sooner had she said the words than Jonah heard a scraping sound behind them.

  He looked back for Henry.

  But Henry was gone.

  “Henry?” he called out, searching the sky. Maybe he had flown up to get a better view of Salmir. At the same time, he heard a large splashing sound in the waters below. They looked down at the water and saw nothing but swirling water and bubbles.

  “Henry!” Eliza screamed, leaning over the edge of the walkway.

  They were quiet, listening. But all they could hear was the traffic passing below.

  “Did he just . . . jump in the river?” asked Jonah, watching the bubbles. Before Eliza could try to answer, a long black tentacle shot up out of the water.

  Jonah pulled her away from the edge of the bridge, which caused both of them to fall down in the middle of the path. The tentacle grabbed at the air where they had been standing, and instead latched onto a large steel cable.

  “J-J-Jonah,” Eliza stammered. “What is that?”

  “I don’t know,” he cried out as he pushed himself up off the ground and pulled Eliza to her feet. “But whatever it is, I’m guessing that’s what took Henry!”

  A young woman on a bicycle rode past them, enjoying the view of the city, totally oblivious to the fact that a giant tentacle was holding on to the Brooklyn Bridge.

  Another tentacle shot up out of the water, sending Jonah and Eliza shuffling backward. It grabbed another steel cable, wrapping itself around. The two tentacles were thicker than Volkswagens. Jonah wondered how big the creature that the tentacles were attached to was.

  He didn’t have to wait long to find out. With its two arms grasping the cables, the monster began pulling itself up.

  A mouth full of teeth emerged first, each one bigger than Jonah. There must have been hundreds. The creature had ten tentacles, a long, snakelike body, and a thrashing tail covered with razor-sharp spikes. Red eyes glared at them as it whipped its head back and forth viciously. Three other tentacles had grabbed the bridge as the monster pulled. Another stretched out over the water, away from them, holding an angel.

  “Henry!” Eliza shouted. He was water-drenched and dazed, trying to find his bearings. The creature held its captive out for them to see, as if it were taunting them.

  Jonah pulled a white arrow off his back and tried to steady his shaking hands. The monster saw the gleam of the arrow and growled angrily, bearing down on him. Aiming at the tentacle that held Henry, he took a deep breath and let it fly. The arrow soared over Henry’s head and past the monster, floating down into the water below.

  Quickly Jonah pulled another arrow, aimed again, and fired. This time it hit the tentacle squarely. But it bounced off, landing harmlessly in the water. Shakily he fired another. His aim was true, but the arrow might as well have been a feather for all the damage it did.

  “It has armor, Jonah!” Henry shouted. “It’s impenetrable. Your arrows are just making it angrier!”


  The creature reared its head back, and a blast of fire came from its mouth and nostrils and shot a hundred feet up in the air. A wave of heat hit Jonah like he was standing in front of an open furnace.

  This thing can breathe fire? They had definitely ticked the sea monster off.

  Jonah peeked up again, long enough to see it shoot flames into the air a second time. He rolled himself over behind a stone column and swallowed hard. Glancing over to his left, he saw Eliza crouching behind another part of the bridge, doing her best to hide herself. They both heard Henry’s cries as he was thrashed back and forth through the air.

  “Eliza!” Jonah called out. But she was too busy staring at the monster to hear him. She was watching it intently, like she was almost studying it. The monster leaned its head back and blew fire out of its mouth a third time. Amazingly, Henry thought he saw a slight smile curve on Eliza’s lips.

  The monster reared back and roared so loudly that Jonah and Eliza had to cover their ears. It snapped its spiky tail quickly and pulled hard with its tentacles, propelling its massive body onto the bridge, Henry still held captive in one of its tentacles. Before Jonah could call out to Eliza, he saw her stand up.

  And then she walked out in the middle of the bridge directly in front of the monster.

  “Eliza!” Jonah shouted. “Get down! What are you doing?”

  She ignored him, eyes squarely on the beast. Its red eyes found her and narrowed, focusing on its prey.

  In a split second, it dawned on Jonah. She wants to be seen!

  Satisfied that the creature had targeted her, Eliza began to retreat down the bridge, walking backward. When she saw it begin to follow her, pulling itself along the bridge, she began to run.

  “I’m going to need your help, Jonah!” she called out to him.

  The monster seemed to be infuriated by this little girl in front of it. Picking its head up, it opened its huge jaws, exposing gigantic teeth and the blackness of its slimy throat. Smoke swirled around its tongue.

  It cocked its head back to breathe fire again, and when Eliza saw that, she hit the ground.

  A blast of flames shot across the bridge.