Part 43 (2/2)
”I can't believe I dated someone who's half man, half angel,” Christina said, staring at me in wonder. ”When am I going to see the angel side?”
”I've been a perfect angel around you!” I protested.
She scoffed. To Jana and Sue Ling, Christina said suggestively, ”I could tell you stories!”
Sue Ling took that moment to play host by collecting and bagging the trash. She ignored the professor's protests that it could wait until morning.
For several minutes the professor had been staring at me. Finally, I called him on it.
Focusing hard on my forehead, he said, ”It's clearest when you get angry. Six . . . six . . . six.”
I shot him a look of chagrin. ”Abdiel said he couldn't wait to tell you.”
The professor told the girls of Abdiel's joke, and despite my arguing that n.o.body said the mark was on my forehead, everyone stared at it to see if they could see something.
”Ever since I met Abdiel,” Sue Ling said quietly, ”I can't walk down the street without wondering if there are angels watching me. How can we tell?”
”They're here in large numbers,” the professor affirmed. ”Like it or not, we're in the middle of a war. But then, isn't that the nature of warfare? When armies sweep through a town or a nation, they don't ask the residents if they want to be involved. If we're wise, we'll take the necessary precautions and arm ourselves in defense. As we saw on the bridge today, there are human casualties in this war.”
The professor glanced at the top of the bureau at a picture of his wife and daughters. His pain was a knife to my heart. But also, a warning. While I had been granted a measure of protection, that protection did not extend to the others in this room. Semyaza had already proved he would not hesitate to strike at an enemy through his loved ones.
”Grant, I'm going to start sending you additional installments of Abdiel's narrative of angel history. It puts a whole new perspective on things. The way he describes the events of the Nativity, for example. He makes it sound like D-day.”
”Christmas? D-day?” Jana said.
”From an angelic view, it was. It was the day the Son took the offensive and invaded Lucifer's territory, setting up a series of direct confrontations between the two.”
”Abdiel is now posting guards when he dictates to the professor,” Sue Ling said. From the way her eyes widened, I could tell it frightened her.
”It's a precautionary measure,” the professor explained. ”Abdiel isn't certain what Semyaza will do if he finds out about it.”
”This isn't over,” I said, relaying Semyaza's warning.
I had reached a saturation point. As the morning sun lit the front curtains, the professor, Jana, Christina, and Sue Ling continued talking. Language was lost to me. All I saw were the faces and gestures of those who had become dear to me.
I warmed myself in their presence. It felt good to be alive. It felt good to be human.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR.
Those who have read Jack Cavanaugh's fiction before will recognize that the Kingdom Wars series is a significant departure from the historical fiction Jack is best known for. An award-winning, full-time author, Jack has published more than twenty books to date. His eight-volume American Family Portrait series spans the history of our nation from the arrival of the Puritans to the Vietnam War. He has also written novels about South Africa, the English versions of the Bible, and German Christians who resisted Hitler. He has published with Victor/Chariot-Victor, Moody, Zondervan, Bethany House, Howard Books, and Fleming H. Revell. His books have been translated into six languages.
The Puritans was a Gold Medallion finalist in 1995. It received the San Diego Book Award for Best Historical in 1994, and the Best Book of the Year Award in 1995 by the San Diego Christian Writers' Guild.
The Patriots won the San Diego Christian Writers' Guild Best Fiction award in 1996.
Glimpses of Truth was a Christy Award finalist in International Fiction in 2000.
While Mortals Sleep won the Christy Award for International Fiction in 2002; the Gold Medal in ForeWord magazine's Book of the Year contest in 2001; and the Excellence in Media's Silver Angel Award in 2002.
His Watchful Eye was a Christy Award winner in International Fiction in 2003.
Beyond the Sacred Page was a Christy Award finalist in Historical Fiction in 2004.
Jack has been writing full-time since 1993. A student of the novel for nearly a quarter of a century, he takes his craft seriously, continuing to study and teach at Christian writers' conferences. He is the former pastor of three Southern Baptist churches in San Diego County. He draws upon his theological background for the spiritual elements of his books. Jack has three grown children. He and his wife live in Southern California.
We hope you enjoyed reading this Howard Fiction eBook.
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