Part 14 (1/2)

”Scotty?”

He did not answer.

”Scotty!”

When he reached the corner, he turned back to Becka and tried to flash her that lopsided grin of his. He didn't quite pull it off.

Becka watched as he turned back to the corner. He took a deep breath, hesitated, then said in a loud, controlled voice: ”By the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I cast all of you out of this house and into the abyss!” Nothing happened. There was no response. The room was as silent as ever. Scott cleared his throat and took another breath.

”I command you to obey me ... now!”

A faint breeze began to stir.

Everyone exchanged looks.

The breeze increased, blowing their hair. Soon it was tugging at their clothes, whipping their jackets. The moaning returned, growing louder and louder as the wind turned into a full-fledged gale. The moans evolved to wailing, then shrieks. The group bent down, some hanging onto one another - anything to keep their balance.

Scott was the first to see it. A slit of light in the corner directly before him. It was no longer than a foot and only a couple inches wide. The wind raced into it. Faster and faster the air roared past Scott and into the hole, until Scott himself started to be pulled in.

”Scotty!”

His footing slipped once, twice. He was losing his balance, being sucked into the opening. He tried to fight it, to pull back, but the force was too great.

Becka raced to his side, grabbing his arm, pulling for all she was worth. Ryan joined her and pulled the other arm. Together they hung on, refusing to let go. It seemed to last forever, though it was probably only a few seconds. Finally the wind died and, as the last of it disappeared, rus.h.i.+ng into the opening, the slit of light vanished as well.

The wind was gone. Everything was still. Only the heavy breathing of Becka, Scott, and Ryan broke the silence.

Scott looked to Becka, then to Ryan, who was flipping the hair out of his eyes. They traded grins. It was over. For real this time. They were sure of it. Becka was the first to hold out her arms. The two guys instantly responded, and they fell into a three-way hug, each holding the others for all they were worth.

The others joined in - Julie, Philip, Krissi, Darryl ... even the Ascension Lady. She had stood off to the side, watching, until they motioned for her to join them. Everyone held everyone else in a ma.s.sive group hug. It had been quite a night. It had been quite a seventy-two hours!

Of course, it wasn't entirely over. Both Becka and Scott knew there would be plenty of questions to be asked and explana-tions to be made. But one thing was certain: The Bible could be trusted. Always.

It said there were not ghosts, only Satan and his fallen angels.

It was right.

It said Chris tians had authority through Christ to beat them.

Right again.

All they had to do was take that authority, use the sword of G.o.d's Word, and wear G.o.d's armor - all of it, including the breastplate of righ teous ness.

Becka and Scott weren't fools. They knew they didn't have to be perfect to face the enemy - they just had to be headed in that direction. And when they messed up, they had to make sure they admitted it and asked Christ to forgive them.

All of these were important lessons they'd learned. Lessons that would help them in upcoming battles. Not that they'd go looking for fights with Satan and his groupies. They knew better than that.

But they knew if and when they were called to help, they would go into battle, willing to fight and, with G.o.d's help, to win. That was a part of being warriors for the Lord.

Only now there were not just two warriors. Becka looked at Ryan and gave him an extra-hard hug. He flashed her that killer smile, the one that always made her stomach do flip-flops, and she smiled back.

Now there were three.

The Guardian.

Book 5.

Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11:14.

Chapter 1.

Well, that was a lot of fun,” Scott said as he threw open the door to the old Hawthorne mansion and stepped outside.

”Wha'dya want to do tomorrow night? Duke it out with Satan?

Drop by and visit h.e.l.l?”

The group groaned.

”I feel like I've already been there,” Philip said, rubbing his neck.

The others agreed as they headed out of the darkened house and into the brisk early morning air. They still couldn't quite take it all in. What had started off as a simple seance in a deserted mansion had ended up as a major showdown between good and evil.

”I still don't get it,” Krissi, the group's full-time beauty and part-time airhead, exclaimed. ”I mean, so much stuff was going on; it was like a crazy, mixed-up dream, all jumbled and everything.”

Rebecca took a deep breath of the cool air and slowly let it out. No way was that a dream, she thought.

Ryan had been watching her expression, and he reached out and gently pulled her toward him. It had not been a dream for him, either. Or for Scott. The three of them had just fought the battle of their lives. Everyone else had been distracted by illusions and hallucinations, but these three had fought with everything they had. And then some.

It had been close - too close at times - but G.o.d had used the three of them to literally beat back the forces of h.e.l.l.

As they headed down the sidewalk to their cars, Priscilla, the only adult in the group, turned to Rebecca. She hadn't spoken since they left the upstairs room. Now her voice was hoa.r.s.e with emotion. ”Becka ... ,” she faltered. ”Without your help ... if you hadn't shown up ...” She looked down to the ground and shook her head, unable to finish.

Becka nodded. Nothing more had to be said. As a channeler of the spirits, Priscilla had been in the most danger. True, Krissi, Philip, Darryl, and Julie had also been attacked, but their fight was more on an emotional level. The evil had actually entered Priscilla's body, so her battle had been more physical. And more violent.

Julie tossed her thick blonde hair to the side and motioned toward the eastern sky. ”Hey, check it out.” The horizon was already showing signs of pink and orange. ”Can you believe we were in that place all night?”

”It felt longer than that,” Darryl said, sniffing loudly.

”Anybody for breakfast?” Scott asked. ”I'm starved.”

”You're always starved,” Ryan joked.