The Guardian Trilogy

by Robin M Helm

  Mark smiled, also shaking their hands. “That’s wonderful news, but I had no clue either.”

  Amy thought a moment longer, distress evident in her expression.

  Jonathan took a step closer to the table, watching her carefully.

  Esmund thought, She did not know it was a secret, and neither did I. None of you spoke it to me, and you know that I cannot hear thoughts of guardians who are not in my family unit unless they are spoken.

  “I’m so sorry,” said Amy, her eyes filling with tears as she looked from Xander to Elizabeth. “My sister, Julie, is such a huge fan of the two of you, and she was disabled in a car accident a few years ago. She’s paralyzed from the waist down and lives with Mom and Dad, hardly ever leaving the house. I texted her yesterday, telling her what hotel we were in, and that I thought you might be pregnant and not even know it yourself yet, Elizabeth. She wouldn’t have told anyone. Why are you asking?”

  Xander’s face was grim, so Jonathan spoke immediately, “When we tried to leave the hotel this morning, we were greeted by photographers snapping pictures and asking questions about her pregnancy. We’re just trying to figure out how they knew.”

  The tears overflowed Amy’s eyes. “I try to talk to Julie every day to keep her spirits up. She was so excited that I was traveling with you on this tour; she has all of your CDs and plays them constantly. Do you want me to ask her if she told anyone?”

  “No,” said Xander, a little too quickly.

  Elizabeth glanced at him, and then smiled at Amy. “It’s all right, Amy. We’re sure she didn’t tell anyone. In fact, Xander and I would like to send Julie some autographed CDs and pictures. When we get back to the States, we want to meet her. Right, my love?” Elizabeth lifted her soulful eyes to his, and his expression softened in response.

  Xander made a concerted effort to smile at their newest staff member, handing her a box of tissues from the dresser. “Of course, Amy. I’ll get those to you this afternoon so that you can mail them to her. Do not worry yourself about this. Everyone would have known eventually, and there is no harm done. However, since we do not know how this news became available to the press, we are going to have to ask you not to give out any more information to anyone unless Mark has already used it in a press release.”

  Mark nodded. “No one needs to know our travel arrangements or specific locations. We do not release the names of our hotels or anything about our daily schedules. What we do on our personal time is also private. That falls under the heading of ‘need to know,’ and no one outside of this room needs to know. It’s a security issue.”

  Dave agreed. “I’m concerned about that, too, Mark. This appears to be a security breach of some sort. Could someone have access to our cell phones?”

  Is that possible? asked Michael, speaking aloud so that all the angels could hear.

  Dr. Sanders made a point that computers and cell phones are not secure, replied Gabriel.

  Xander said, “Yesterday, Dr. Sanders said that he would not use cell phones or computers to communicate about Elizabeth’s pregnancy with the doctors in other countries. He would not even enter our visit into his computer for fear that someone would get the information. It is possible that Amy’s phone was hacked in some way. I have seen movies in which they cloned cell phones using some sort of a device. From now on, none of us should say anything by text messaging, e-mailing, or speaking on our cell phones that we do not want others outside of our circle to know. We can be fairly certain that someone has found a way to read Amy’s text messages; it could be true of all of our electronic devices.”

  “I agree,” said Jonathan.

  “Why would anyone want to do that?” asked Amy, shock registering on her face.

  Xander looked at her calmly. “Amy, we are in spiritual warfare with a devious enemy. If he can find a way to stop us or hinder us, he will. Satan will use anything at his disposal to disrupt this trip and distract us from our mission, and we must not allow him to do that. We cannot lower our guards for a moment. In the past, there have been attempts on Elizabeth’s life as well as mine, and I cannot stress enough how serious this situation could become.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes began to sparkle, and she glanced up at her husband. “This reminds me of a spy movie. There may be a way to use this against Satan.”

  Xander read her mind, and his eyes lit with understanding. “Very clever, my love. Instead of being on the defensive, as we have been for years, perhaps we should play a little offense.”

  He looked at the others, remembering that Mark, David, and Amy did not know he could read Elizabeth’s mind. “Elizabeth and I like to watch movies to relax. We watched one not so long ago with a plot similar to what we are experiencing. Rather than let whomever Satan is using know that we have figured out his scheme, we should use his own device against him. We will plant information in Amy’s text messages, giving him confidence that his plan is working. Everything that she says will be true and will come to pass. We will, of course, make sure that she gives away nothing that is important. Eventually, we may be able to control the source by giving him incorrect information or only what we want him to know.”

  Brilliant, said Michael with admiration.

  Amy’s tears dried on her cheeks. “That sounds like a plan. Just tell me what to say.”

  Xander smiled at her. “I will let you know exactly what to say and when to say it. We will beat him at his own game. This will not be a short-term plan, Amy. It may take years for it to come to fruition. We will not spring the trap until the time is right.”

  “I’m in it for the long haul – as long as you guys will have me,” she answered.

  “I like it,” said Charlotte chuckling, “a lot.”

  Jonathan smiled at her. “Dropping the bits of insider information will also let us know if we are correct in our assumption that Amy’s text was hacked. Each of us can send text messages about different things to people who are not in this room and see whose texts are being intercepted.”

  Elizabeth added, “Exactly. We can test our theory tomorrow by having Amy tell her sister where we’ll be in the morning or where we’ll eat lunch. Each of us can text someone outside of this circle with a message about something else – what time we’re going to the arena or what we will be doing in the afternoon. If we control what the hacker knows, we can be prepared for the response of the media.”

  “Or anyone else,” added Xander. He looked at the faces of the assembled SoulFire team. “I will write down the messages you are to send and give them to you in the morning. Text your message to a family member or friend not on this trip. We will see which message is acted upon.”

  Excellent, commented Gabriel.

  Lucifer – ‘hoist with his own petard.’ I love it, thought Michael, his green eyes gleaming.

  This is important. I am certain of it, answered Xander. This is our way in to whatever Gregory has planned, for this has his stamp on it, not Lucifer’s.

  Jonathan reached out both of his hands, holding Charlotte’s on one side and Dave’s on the other. Following his example, everyone joined hands, and Jonathan bowed his head to pray. “Thank you, Father, for showing us this chink in the enemy’s armor. Show us the way to use it, Lord, and guide us to do Your perfect will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

  ~~oo~~

  Mid-morning of the next day, Aborian cackled as he read Amy’s text to her sister, Julie. He e-mailed Gregory and his media contacts the information immediately.

  Xander and Elizabeth will be eating lunch away from the arena today at a Quiznos on Abbott Street. The team usually breaks for lunch around 1:00.

  The demon looked around at his human and demonic team members, saying proudly, “That is how it’s done. Bon appétit, SoulFire. Right now we are only irritating the couple, throwing them off their game. Later, we will find them in a more vulnerable place, and we will eliminate the entire team. From bon appétit to bon voyage.”

  High fives and laughter met Aborian’s statement, and he b
asked in the warmth of their attention. His lack of strength in battle or useful gifts had been a disadvantage to him throughout his long existence, but he was thoroughly enjoying the new technological age. He had finally found something important at which he was supreme among his brothers. His name was now being spoken in the highest circles, and he would do anything to elevate himself even further.

  Chapter 14

  “‘No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me,’ declares the Lord.”

  Isaiah 54:17

  Their plan had worked perfectly. Amy’s text was the only one which had produced a response. As the SoulFire team stepped from their rental van at Quiznos for lunch, they were surrounded by photographers and reporters.

  Michael took umbrage when one of them shoved a microphone in front of Elizabeth’s face, the demon behind the man whispering encouragement in his ear.

  The archangel glowered at the dark one, his hand on his sword and fire in his eyes. You will answer for it if he harms her in any way, said Michael with menace.

  The demon smirked, but he stepped back and ceased speaking to the newsman.

  “Are the rumors true, El? Are you pregnant? Will you and your husband leave the tour? Who will replace you?” the reporter asked loudly, crowding Elizabeth as she turned her body to her husband for protection.

  Xander gently moved his wife behind him and stood towering over the man, Gabriel by his side. Glaring at the man fiercely, he struggled to calm himself. The clicking of cameras was heard as the questioning stopped.

  Calm yourself. He will not harm Elizabeth or the child, thought Gabriel, placing his hand on Xander’s shoulder.

  Be assured of that, brother, growled Michael.

  Mark Goodman, followed by Custodio, hurried to place himself between the Darcys and the media.

  “Yes,” Mark answered calmly, “we will confirm that Elizabeth Darcy is in the very early stages of pregnancy. She is doing well and does not anticipate any problems. She has already seen a doctor who has cleared her to travel. The Darcys have no plans to leave the tour. Now, please step aside and let us have our lunch.”

  Mark and Dave walked in front of Xander, Elizabeth, and Charlotte while Jonathan and Amy stepped in closely behind them, moving quickly to the door of the small restaurant. Their guardians surrounded them, forming an impenetrable shield.

  They went quickly through the line, ordering their food as takeout and returning with it to the van. Jonathan took the driver’s seat, looked in the rearview mirror, and asked, “Shall we return to the arena to eat, or would you rather go to a park or back to the hotel?”

  When the others were silent, Xander spoke up. “I would like to return to the hotel for a couple of hours. We can eat in peace, and Elizabeth will have an opportunity to rest.” He took her hand in his.

  She looked at him gratefully. Sometimes I love that you can read my thoughts. I am a little freaked out by the idea that we are being tracked so closely. I have known it for a long time, but I kept it in the back of my mind. I can’t do that anymore. And now, there’s the baby. What if they try to hurt our baby?

  The guardians flew over the van, as well as on either side of it, and Michael dipped through the roof of the vehicle, placing his hand gently on Elizabeth’s head, speaking into her mind. Isaiah 41:10 says, ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

  Thank you, Michael, she thought, releasing a sigh. I need to be reminded of that from time to time.

  Is she upset? asked Jonathan, navigating the streets efficiently as they returned to the hotel with their lunch.

  Yes, she is. She needs this time to get her mind off the idea that we are being monitored. She fears for the baby. We will eat in our room, but all of us need to do another test, answered Xander.

  He looked at Amy. “I think we have established that your cell phone is compromised. Now we need to know if they have accessed your computer as well.” He looked around at the other team members. “We will all send e-mails from our laptops tonight. I will write out the messages and give them to all of you after we return from the rally. So far, the enemy has not been bold with the information they have retrieved, but Satan will harm all of us if given the chance. We must be on guard at all times.”

  ~~oo~~

  “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.”

  Revelation 13:3

  Senator Gregory Wickham descended the steps of the Capitol building, his personal guards close on his heels. As his agenda was advancing rapidly, he was much in demand, so it was no surprise when a crowd of reporters met the handsome Senator there, shouting questions with cameras rolling. The surprise was the young man who stepped up to Gregory, pulled a gun from his waistband, and shot him through the heart before he could be stopped.

  Two of Gregory’s guards immediately grabbed the criminal, jumping on him and throwing him to the steps, placing him in a chokehold. Policemen were on the scene nearly immediately, taking charge of the perpetrator and controlling the growing crowd.

  Three of the Senator’s guards hunched over him protectively, watching the blood pour from the wound and down the steps. Before more than a few minutes had passed, a doctor arrived, and one of the guards moved to allow him access to his master.

  Gregory was pale, and his breathing was labored and shallow. He moaned, and then he was silent. The doctor checked for a heartbeat and felt for a pulse, but the Senator was dead. He began CPR, and soon the wail of a siren heralded the arrival of an ambulance.

  The people parted to let the paramedics through, and a boom mike caught the doctor telling one of them that there was no pulse or heartbeat. Whispers of, “He’s dead,” ran through the shocked crowd. The paramedics started to lift the stricken man onto the gurney, but stopped short when he raised his head, fixing them with a stare.

  “What are you doing?” asked Gregory, trying to sit up.

  The doctor’s eyes were round with astonishment, and he spoke with difficulty. “Please lie down on the gurney, Senator. You have been badly wounded,” said the doctor, placing his hand on Gregory’s arm.

  “I feel fine. What happened?” demanded Gregory, shaking off the doctor’s hand and looking at one of his guards.

  “A man came out of the crowd and shot you through the heart,” he answered, lowering his eyes.

  Gregory sat up, glanced down at his chest, and saw the blood. He touched the hole in his suit jacket. “Help me take this off,” he said to the guard, standing up and turning his back to the guard for his assistance.

  “Senator, I must insist that you let us examine you,” said one of the paramedics.

  “You may examine me in a moment,” Gregory answered tersely.

  The guard held the coat as Gregory pulled his arms from it. “Ruined one of my favorite suits,” muttered Gregory, adding an oath. The people gasped at the sight of his blood-soaked shirt. He quickly unbuttoned it and pulled it from his pants, opening it so that his chest was visible.

  “Wash away the blood,” Gregory instructed one of the paramedics.

  “But, sir –” the man began.

  “Wash it away!” ordered Gregory, amber eyes flashing. “Now!” Gregory closed his eyes as they glowed red. He breathed deeply, and then opened his eyes, looking at the EMT. “Hand me a cloth so that I can wipe it off.”

  Gregory reached out his hand, and the paramedic put a towel into it.

  The doctor tried to reason with Gregory. “Senator, touching the wound is a bad idea. If somehow the blood has clotted, you could start the bleeding again. Besides, it must hurt.”

  Gregory swabbed at his chest until he had cleared away most of the blood. “I feel no pain at all,�
� he replied. “You may examine the wound now.”

  The doctor bent to lean his face closer to Gregory’s chest, and then straightened up with a puzzled look. “There is no sign of a gunshot wound at all! Not the tiniest scratch!” He looked at Gregory’s shirt and saw the hole, squarely over the area which would have covered his heart. He checked Gregory’s pulse. “His heartbeat is strong and steady. I can’t explain it.”

  Gregory laughed lightly.

  “You were dead,” the doctor insisted.

  Gregory fixed him with a level gaze. “Yes, doctor, I was. However, I am no longer dead, and I have a busy day scheduled, so you must excuse me.”

  He waved to the amazed, silent crowd and walked to his car, which had pulled up to the curb. After he was seated and the car had pulled into traffic, Gregory turned to his guards. “That went rather well,” he said. “We should make the evening news easily.”

  They smirked in answer.

  A few hours later, in a holding cell not far away, a man faded to nothingness, and then walked through the walls, flying away to freedom. The camera trained on him caught his disappearance, but when the technicians tried to view his escape, the screen showed nothing but static.

  On the evening news, Dirk Horne reported on the incident, showing the riveting footage of the attempted assassination and blaming the attack on fringe extremists who were opposed to the good Senator’s ideas for helping the poor and rescuing the economy. He showed his outrage that the shooter had escaped and said that he must have been allowed to do so by a guard who disagreed with the Senator’s politics, vowing that the investigation would continue until the guilty party was exposed.

  Senator Wickham’s amazing resurrection was shown around the globe, and his face became a well-known symbol of a man who risked his own life in the service of his people. The miracle of his restored life was the stuff of legends, and Gregory Wickham’s power and prestige grew.

  ~~oo~~

  “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’”