Fire Prophet (Son of Angels) (17 page)
There was no sign of friendly angels anywhere outside. Jonah wondered where they were. Why hadn’t reinforcements been sent? What had happened to the defenses that were supposed to be so strong that nothing could penetrate them? How did the Fallen even know where they were?
Was it possible that Abaddon or one of his agents had gotten to one of the nuns in the convent? Or one of the nephilim who knew their location?
“Boys,” Camilla called from the end of the hallway. “Come with me. Now.”
Jonah relayed their encounters with the Fallen.
“Nice work, gentlemen,” said their commanding angel. “You are both to be commended for your bravery. I had quite a scuffle upstairs myself.” She brushed some dust off her sleeve. “But it’s taken care of, at least for the moment.”
“Where are we going?” Jonah asked as they stood with her in the darkness. “I thought you wanted us to guard the second floor.”
She motioned to them to come back down the stairs with her. “It appears as though we have withstood the first series of attacks. Your friends and sister also fought off the Fallen with much courage. They cannot get through, thanks to the efforts of the prayer group. I have no doubt that there will be another attack. But for now, we need to go see the others.”
Jonah and Jeremiah obediently followed her down the steps and into the small prayer room. A table that used to be in the center of the room had been moved aside, and the nuns, Kareem, and the four students he had selected knelt in a circle. They were murmuring softly with their eyes closed, each of them pleading with Elohim in his or her own way for His protection of the convent.
Jonah was impressed with how intense their prayers were, but what was really cool was what it looked like as he viewed it in the hidden realm. White, glowing tendrils of light rose upward from each member of the circle. Some had three or four ropes of this light extending from their chests; a few had more. Kareem and Sister Patricia must have had dozens between them.
The fingers of light stretched just above their heads and then did something that caused Jonah to look closely. They touched one another, intertwining to form a beautiful, brilliant circle above their heads and extending through the ceiling above. It seemed that once the individual tendrils connected together,
they glowed much brighter than when they were alone. Their combined efforts produced something powerful and captivating.
Eliza and the others who had been patrolling had joined them too, standing alongside Jonah and Jeremiah. They looked just as awestruck as Jonah felt.
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective,” Camilla said, smiling. Jonah had heard that passage of the Bible before.
“I never thought of it like this,” he admitted.
Camilla nodded. “The united prayer of believers is a powerful force in the hidden realm. It is much more powerful than humans realize. One person can cause tremendous change in the course of certain events. And a group of people united together for a common cause . . .” She spoke in awe of its power. It struck Jonah that she spoke of prayer the way he often found himself speaking of angelic powers. An angel, amazed by something a human could do?
“Their prayers for protection are forming a barrier around this convent. We withstood the first run from the Fallen not only because of your fighting abilities but also because of their prayers. A few of the fallen ones got through, but we have taken care of those.”
Jonah looked at the light disappearing into the ceiling. Something caught his eye through a small window to his left. He moved over until he could see the dark street outside.
Now, in the hidden realm, he could see it—a faint glow of light, surrounding the building like a dome of protection! The prayers of this small group of people were protecting the entire building with some kind of power, straight from the hand of Elohim.
“You’ve got to see this, guys,” Jonah said, bringing the others
to the window too. They stood in wonder at the glow and the shelter it provided.
“That’s all from people’s prayers?” said Jeremiah, amazement filling his voice. “So cool!”
Eliza pointed at something across the street. “Look! One of the Fallen!”
Jonah, out of habit, began to pull an arrow from behind his shoulder and string it. He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder.
“Hold on, Jonah,” said Camilla. “Watch this.”
The fallen angel was standing on the outside of the prayer barrier, examining it closely. He spat at it in disgust, then turned back as if to say something. It became apparent that there were fallen ones lurking in the shadows just behind him. He’d been sent out to test the strength of the barrier, and he was being egged on by his companions.
The fallen angel took a few steps back, and then ran as fast as he could, headlong into the glowing barricade. For just a second, Jonah thought he had made it through. His body pressed into the wall, but then he rebounded. Almost as if the wall were a rubber band that had been stretched too thin, he bounced back suddenly, and fast. The other fallen angels stepped out of the way, protecting themselves, and he disintegrated into dust as he hit the wall of a neighboring building.
Jonah glanced back at the prayer circle. They didn’t waver, didn’t stop, and seemed as if they were unaware of what was happening outside.
Rupert, who had been watching the whole time with the look of a kid who’d just been punched in the stomach, spoke up. “What do you expect us to do? Pray here for the rest of our lives? Isn’t there some kind of plan to get us out of here?”
As irritating as Rupert could be, Jonah had to admit that he had the same question.
“I am working with Marcus and Taryn on a plan, and will be in touch with my commander,” said Camilla. “In the meantime, you are all under the command of Reverend Kareem. He will organize and direct the prayer barrier. Do whatever he asks of you.”
She rushed out of the room, calling down the hallway for Marcus and Taryn. The kids all quickly exited the hidden realm.
“She didn’t even answer the question,” whined Rupert.
Kareem stood up quietly and looked toward the students, his eyes glistening as if he had shed tears while on his knees.
“Come on, guys, join us.”
Jonah knelt beside Eliza and Jeremiah, extending the circle wider. Even Rupert and Frederick knelt. It would be hard to ignore the power of prayer after they had seen it in action.
The others had continued to pray, so involved that they seemed unaware of the presence of reinforcements. Jonah sat on his knees, trying to get comfortable. He fidgeted a little, which only made Jeremiah beside him fidget too. Finally, he accepted the fact that resting on his knees was not going to feel good and tried to focus on the words that were being said.
It took him a few minutes to catch up to the others. He heard words and phrases from the nuns like “supplication” and “hedge of protection” and other things that sounded high and lofty. But he also heard the simple, heartfelt words of his friend David, who was pleading with Elohim to protect them and naming each of the students out loud. This bolstered Jonah’s confidence, and soon he found himself entering with his heart into the rhythm of prayer.
Although he was outside of the hidden realm and couldn’t see
the light emanating from the others or himself, when he joined in the prayer, he began to feel more and more connected. He focused on what the others were saying, and on allowing his heart and mind to reach out to Elohim. He found himself caught up in it, and he pictured the light being poured out of his heart, joining with the others, and sent toward the heavens.
E
ven though Jonah found the prayer time to be exhilarating, his knees grew tired and achy, and after a little while, his mind began to wander. He swallowed hard, trying to push himself through the tiredness. It soon felt like swimming against a strong tide. He could tell Eliza, on his left, was also struggling. She kept rubbing her eyes mid-prayer and yawning.
Jeremiah was lying facedown on the floor. He could have easily been mistaken for a serious prayer warrior—someone lying facedown on the floor before Elohim, in full submission to His will—but his soft snores gave him away. Jonah reached over and shook him gently on the shoulder. Jeremiah raised his head, opening one sleepy eye.
“This isn’t nap time, Jeremiah,” Jonah muttered.
Looking around, Jonah noticed that a group of nuns who looked freshly rested had just walked through the door.
Kareem came over and tapped the three Stone kids on the shoulder to take a break. Apparently, they were praying in shifts now.
Jonah, Eliza, and Jeremiah walked out of the prayer room, stretching their legs. Kareem encouraged them to go back to their rooms and try to get some rest. Jonah knew he needed it, but he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to sleep when a hundred fallen angels stood outside.
But we are safe
, he tried to tell himself.
The
prayer shield is holding steady.
They walked past a small side room, and Jonah noticed Camilla standing with Marcus and Taryn, huddling together. They were in a serious conference, and Jonah heard their voices growing heated. Jonah and Eliza stopped just past the door, craning their necks to listen as Marcus’s voice rose above the two female angels.
“We don’t need them, Camilla!” he said, the exasperation clear in his voice. “We need to simply attack them head-on. They will be no match for us.” His finger tapped rapidly on the hilt of his sword.
Camilla smiled at the giant angel, her voice full of respect. “I don’t doubt your skills, Marcus. But what would the children do if we should fall? Elohim has charged us with keeping them safe, so we must stay with them no matter how much we might want to fight.” She turned toward a window, watching the fallen angels outside. A few of them saw the angel looking at them, and they began to gesture at her, calling out to her in some other language Jonah couldn’t understand. But by their tone, it was clear that they were taunting her. This infuriated Marcus, and he pressed himself against the glass, ready to burst through and take them all on himself. Camilla extended her arm, placing it across the angel’s chest, holding him back.
“It’s what they want us to do, my friend,” said Camilla. “Notice that they are not trying to penetrate the barrier anymore.”
“It is too strong,” offered Taryn. “They tried, but they cannot. There is power in the prayers of the humans and the quarterlings.”
Camilla nodded. She watched them for another minute with peace-filled eyes, even as they continued to call out and beckon her to fight. “But there is something else. Something more . . . I haven’t yet been able to discern it. But I believe that they are waiting.”
Marcus turned toward her, fire still boiling in his eyes. “Waiting for what?”
Camilla continued to watch them. “I do not know,” she answered quietly.
Taryn spoke, and Jonah could hear that even she, who was usually so even-keeled, was ruffled. “Have you spoken to our commanders? Are they sending reinforcements? Surely they recognize the need we have.”
“Elohim will send us what we need when we need it,” said Camilla. “You know as well as I do that the angelic forces are facing battles on multiple fronts, and our ranks are stretched very thin.” She managed a weak smile. “Elohim gives us enough to accomplish His purpose. He always has, and He always will.”
Both Marcus and Taryn lowered their heads, nodding in agreement.
Not wanting to get caught listening, Jonah and Eliza quickly collected Jeremiah, whose eyes were half-closed and who had propped himself against the wall. David had also been relieved of his prayer duties and caught up with them.
“We have a couple of hours to sleep,” David said. “And there will be a lot to do once we get up.” He placed his hand on Jeremiah’s shoulder. “Come on, my young friend. We have to get you upstairs before you fall asleep on your feet.”
Jonah let the two of them go on ahead while he walked a few steps behind with Eliza.
“The angels don’t seem to have much of a plan, do they?” said Eliza. “You would think that Camilla Aldridge, the leader of the Angel School, who knows Michael himself on a personal basis, would at least have some kind of plan.”
“Well, don’t you sound a lot like Marcus?” he said, trying not to laugh. She only rolled her eyes at him.
“Well, maybe he has a point,” she answered.
“Camilla said they were waiting,” said Jonah. “Waiting for what?”
Eliza yawned, taking off her glasses to rub her eyes as they trudged up the steps behind David and Jeremiah. “While you figure that out, I’m going to go get a few hours of sleep before our next prayer shift.”
She exited onto the third floor. Jonah, David, and Jeremiah headed to their rooms on the fourth level.
“You can stay with us,” Jonah said to his brother. Normally, Jeremiah would have cheered loudly at the chance to stay with the big guys, but he just sleepily nodded his head and stumbled into the room.
Jonah and David checked the hallway up and down before they entered. They knew the prayer shield was glowing strong outside, but they agreed it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to fallen angels. Finally satisfied that none were around, they crawled into their beds.