Piercing the Darkness (79 page)

“I wouldn’t presume that He should.”

Now Santinelli even raised his voice. “Ms. Roe, I’m sure you know that this conversion of yours has placed you in even greater jeopardy. You could have done no better in assuring enmity between us, and even your own death, than by becoming a Christian!” He leaned forward and with a controlled rage pointed his finger in her face. “You have established yourself as a supreme enemy of this enterprise, deserving of our hatred!”

Just like Amber,
Sally thought.
Steele, Santinelli, and Goring are showing the same demon eyes, the same diabolical hatred.

She acknowledged Santinelli’s words. “I know.”

THE STRONGMAN COULD
see the peace in her eyes, and it incensed him.
Strike her!

SANTINELLI SLAPPED HER
across the face. “You will tell us where the rosters are! What did you do with them?”

KRIONI AND TRISKAL
greeted Nathan and his warriors as the mail truck reached the Ashton Post Office.

“So you’ve had some trouble?” asked Krioni.

“A little,” said Nathan.

“Well, we’re expecting more,” said Triskal.

Armoth followed the driver into the building and watched intently as he set the mailbag with some others on a receiving cart. Soon the mail would be removed and sorted, and that would be the most critical time of all.

A SOOTY, MOTLEY
band of imps and troublemakers, led by Destroyer’s loathsome twelve, made their way toward Ashton, flying low to the ground, pouring on speed, their swords drawn, their eyes bulging with anxiety. This battle would be their last, thought the twelve. It may as well be their best.

AT THE
ASHTON
Clarion
, it was time to get the morning mail; Bernice had her coat on and her car keys in her hand, but wouldn’t you know it? She no sooner put her hand on the front door knob than the phone rang, and it was Eddy from Eddy’s Bakery. The guy was a paragon of pickiness!

“Yeah, Eddy, we can give you those two inches. Well, yes, for free, but that’s just for a one-month trial basis.” More questions. “To decide if you like it that way and if we like it that way. We’ve never done it, and I thought we should try it.” He kept talking. She shifted her weight toward the front door. “No, I think we can just blow up that coffee mug a little larger and it’ll work out fine. Right, you won’t have to change
your logo.” She made a face and rolled her eyes. “Listen, why don’t you talk to Cheryl about it? Yes, she knows all about it.”

He didn’t want to talk to Cheryl.

ATTACK! THE BLACK
spirits threw fear and caution to the wind and descended on Ashton in a torrent of chaos and evil, wings roaring, sulfur streaming, blotting out the light, clashing with angelic warriors all over the town. Up and down the streets they soared, tumbling, clashing, hacking with swords of fire and heat at Heaven’s warriors, dashing through traffic, ambushing at corners, streaking through buildings and wreaking confusion, shrieking their war cries, fully abandoned to keeping the angels on edge, in battle, no matter what the cost, no matter what the loss. While the imps, harassers, and troublemakers stirred up the town like a whirlwind, Destroyer’s twelve went for that letter.

BERNICE GOT TO
her little Volkswagen bug at last, but the door wouldn’t open. The key wouldn’t even turn in the lock.

WHOOOSH!
A streak of light cut across the demon who had fouled the lock. He dissolved.

The key turned at last. Bernice climbed in.

Down the street, the traffic light jammed on red and the cars began to back up.

A small sedan eased to a stop right beside Bernice’s car, and immediately a pickup rear-ended it. Both drivers climbed out of their vehicles and began to engage in a long battle of apologies.

Six angels flew abreast down 6th Avenue while four more dove out of the sky and shot up Miller Street. They converged in an explosive clash just above the traffic signal, hurling dissolving demon saboteurs in high arcs that created a fern of red smoke trails.

The light turned green.

But the traffic still wasn’t moving, thanks to the fender bender. Bernice decided to walk.

SALLY TRIED TO
sink deeper into the sofa, but there was no way to
lessen the pain of the big thug’s bruising, crushing grip on her shoulders. He was hurting her and enjoying it.

Steele was speaking slowly and deliberately to make sure she heard him; at the moment she seemed rather preoccupied with her agony. “I’m sure you’re familiar with Satanic rituals, so I shouldn’t have to go into the details. Sally, we don’t want to see it happen; but if we have to, we’ll turn you over to Mr. Khull and his people and let them do their worst until you tell us what we want to know.”

Sally was about to answer, about to say they were going to kill her anyway, but she was stopped when something happened to her eyes, as if they’d opened for the first time, as if a dark curtain had been pulled aside. Maybe the pain was causing her to hallucinate.

She could see the spirits behind these men. They were towering, warted, ugly things, glaring at her with murderous hatred. Throughout her occult experiences, good and bad, she’d never seen them so clearly; she’d never discerned such evil or such hate.

But she could tell their hatred was not for her. It was for the Savior within her.

And then she knew. She just knew, and she spoke, whether aloud in the present world or in her spirit in another dimension, she couldn’t tell. “You were there! All of you were there! You gave him your worst . . . you killed Him!”

That troubled the spirits. They looked at each other, indignity and outrage wrinkling their faces.

“And He defeated you by dying! He won!” The big, hulking spirit hovering high above bared his teeth and roared indiscernible curses at her, his wings billowing. She looked into those burning, yellow eyes, and to her great surprise she saw fear. In her spirit she laughed. “And whatever you may do to me,
I’ve
won!”