There is a thin veil that separates the land of the living flesh and the unseen spirit world. It is here that our story begins. A war that has waged for eons in the celestial realm has spilled over into mans. Now the two have become one and one man, Garhett Traven must choose sides. This choice will not be easy and will not come without serious consequences, but it is a choice me must make none the less. For it is not just his soul at stake but an entire world...Join him as he races across time and galaxies to battle demons and even his own kind to bring hope to a dead and dying world.
“Where Angels Dare”
Close your eyes if only for a moment
and try to imagine if you dare.
A place of uncertain darkness, way out there.
In a place of unspeakable terror,
where even the bravest of men would fear to tread.
A place where evil walks, risen from the dead.
Where demons hunt and angels take to flight,
to defend a world that becomes continually night.
It is here that a God so full of love and care,
sends only the worthiest into the darkness out there.
The great unknown,
Where only Angels dare.
My children,
Long before you and I ever met, I knew your name. I envisioned the color that would dance upon your hair and the light that would shine in your eyes. You have many names and many faces. The sound of your laughter still echoes in the halls of my heart. Though I send you all to different worlds and places, remember, you are just visitors there. Please know, for those who choose to believe, home will always be just a heartbeat away.
(They were aliens and strangers on this earth longing for a better country—a Heavenly one.)
Hebrews 11:13b&16a
Prologue
The old man stared at the empty darkness before him. A smile lit up his age-worn face, as if remembering a time when life filled the empty depths of his sightless blue eyes.
Candra looked deep into those mysterious blue orbs and asked, "Grand, what is it you’re remembering so fondly?"
The man lifted a weathered hand and caressed the velvety softness of her round little cheek. As he patted the wandering mass of black silken curls atop her head, he could almost feel the restless eagerness that shone in her eyes. He smiled as he felt her take in a deep breath of anticipation over the feverishly exciting tale she knew was about to begin. Her grandfather, whom she called Grand, was the keeper of all knowledge, great and far. His histories were the best.
He lifted his wrinkled hand and pointed to a far-off spot on the horizon. “There, Candra,” he whispered as he began to weave a mystical yarn of the past long ago and a future yet to be. “In the distance, farther than the eye can see, in a different place, in a different time, worlds apart from where you and I are now, that’s where it all began.”
Chapter One
Mercy’s Mission
In a time when heroes were in short supply and madness
reigned, a small light still shone in this world that man
had so proudly created. In the midst of all his technology
and discovery, a piece of the old world still existed.
A sentinel of light and strength hid in the shadows
between the two worlds and stood watch over a small boy.
A tall, powerful force that even Hell could not vanquish,
he was an age-wizened warrior with smoldering ebony
eyes set deep in his bear-like face. He was a relentless
soldier with sinewy arms thick and hard as steel. His
strong, paw-like hands held tightly to the hilt of his laseraxe.
His massive body crouched, ready to spring into
action as he stared impatiently at the shining abode. He
could hear the leaves of the trees that blew carelessly into
the wind, their quiet rustling whispering a warning to all
who would dare to enter that wicked house.
The night was black as pitch and the only light was a
lone streetlamp that cast an eerie glow upon the face of the
seemingly ageless beauty. Enos could see the dark shadowy
figures slick as oil gliding gracefully over the outer walls.
They were an ancient evil those mysterious shadows, even
older than man’s existence. Enos scoffed at the beautiful
picture the old house presented to the outside world. Her
pristine walls could not hide the horror that was taking
place within. She did not fool him, for he saw with different
eyes. The eyes of Heaven were revealed within his
being, allowing him to see things as they really were and
not as people had painted them. His nostrils flared and a
low growl formed deep in the back of his throat. He
watched a moment longer and when he could stand it no
more, he sprang into action and shot vengefully through
the walls, not the least impressed by its outside beauty.
He arrived on the site in a terrible rage. Slicing his way
viciously through the onslaught of demons, his laser-axe
stripping the flesh from their bodies and lifting their heads
from their useless shoulders, he struggled to get closer—he
had to reach the child. He saw his friend Jayna’s convulsing
form shoved to the side, her silver eyes glassy and emotionless.
He snorted angrily as his own eyes grew red and
began to glow like molten fire. The demons bellowed in
rage at having had their feeding frenzy interrupted by the
paragon of light. Scaryn turned his disfigured face toward
the unwanted interloper. He had been glutinously feeding
on the dark energy that had been created by the loathsome
humans as they tortured the innocent babe and he had yet
to satisfy his hunger. His burning eyes glared indifferently
towards Enos. Even the quaking bodies of his fallen
comrades did little to incite fear into this powerful demon.
Scaryn pulled himself to his full height as he wiped the
freshly torn spiritual flesh from his lips. Then he opened
his mouth and ancient words known only to the angels
flowed out in streams of pure hatred. Enos turned and
watched in amused silence as the lesser wounded demons
flesh began to reform. He did not even so much as flinch
as he watched the horrible lot begin standing one by one,
surrounding him.
Enos mind began to click faster as he reviewed the
current situation. He no longer had the element of surprise
and now he was greatly out numbered. He had been
easing himself towards the corner of the room where no
one could come up behind him. The demons fangs
snarled in bitter rage and victory shown in their fiery eyes
as they bared their claws and closed in on the prey. He was
cornered and they all knew it. His only options were to
turn tail and run or stay and be devoured.
“Help me Master,” his heart whispered fiercely. Then
he saw it a quick flash of light, then another, and another.
Only he saw them and as swiftly as they had appeared they
vanished. He wasn’t certain of what he had seen and yet he
distinctly felt the presence of heaven enter the room.
He heard the voices before he saw their forms. “We are
here,” the voices whispered to his spirit.
Enos could not help but bare a short smile as he arched
a dark brow and lifted his laser-axe high into the air.
He tilted his head back and bellowed a war cry.
“Aiyeehyaaaaaaaaaah!!!” The sharp piercing sound shook
the house to the rafters.
The fierce renting of the air surprised and angered the
demons as they flew at him in a murderous rage. They
swarmed him like giant army ants. Enos could feel their
stinging blows and the weight of their bodies as they
continued pressing in on him. The muscles in his arms
began to burn with exhaustion each time he lifted them
into the air. Then he felt a small lessening of the pressure
that bore in on him. It grew lighter each passing moment
as he continued deposing of the murderous lot of dark
angels. He had seen nothing but warring hands and fists
flying at him for what seemed an eternity and now he
could see to the walls of the other side of the room as the
demons fell to the ground faster and faster. His right eye
filled with lovrin as it poured unheeded from the wound
atop his head. Burning sweat clouded the other eye as he
tried to wipe the bothersome flow from his view. He could
no longer see so he continued to fight with only his senses
and to his amazement the demons still continued to fall.
“Victory,” he heard the silently spoken word echo
through out the now still house. The word spiraled
upward lifting through the hardened ceiling and flew
rapidly to the ears and heart of the Master.
“Well done.” The words of praise fell heavy on his heart
as his eyes cleared and he saw his two rescuers for the first
time. Killian and Tuyen stood helplessly over the small
child, Joshua, as he clung to the last human shards of life
that his weakened spirit could grasp. Enos flew to the
child’s spirit, lifting his quaking body into the protective
circle of his strong arms.
Joshua’s brown eyes smiled unseeing into the light as he
began to focus on Enos’ immense form. To mortal eyes the
sight would have been terrifying, but this child, as he lay
close to death, knew fear no longer.
Enos’ nostrils flared with hatred for the parents of this
tiny toddler. He knew the father well, for long ago he had
promised his soul to his Master, only somewhere along the
way the pathetic creature had forgotten that promise. He
cast a disgusted look of loathing at the stepmother as she
kicked the helpless child in the side. Enos bellowed in rage
as the child’s body bore the brunt of the pain.
He held his tiny little body as it writhed in agony; the
child’s torment tore through his own body, shattering all
that remained of his self-control. It was finished—he
would tolerate no more. The child had endured enough
suffering at the hands of these monsters.
He whispered into his ear: “It’s time to go home now.”
Joshua’s physical heart began to beat erratically, and
then his lungs heaved and released his last breath of air on
this world. Enos lifted his newborn spiritual body and
began their assent into the Heavens. Joshua wanted to
look down as they traveled higher, but Enos would have
none of that and held his tiny head firmly to his massive
chest. He had decided that there was no sense in letting
the child know how unwanted he had been, when there
was a family in Heaven that waited with open arms. Tears
filled his smoldering eyes as he envisioned the years of
torture this helpless babe had endured.
Killian and Tuyen followed close behind acting as
guard. They could not settle the feeling in their spirits that
today there had been no true winners, for if the child had
survived, what would it have survived to? They flew close
behind Enos with heavy hearts. A faint smile lit their
somber faces as they felt the cool mist of the clouds caress
their skin.
“Heaven”, Tuyen thought to himself there the child
would finally know peace and love. This thought was a
small consolation, yet any piece of comfort would be
something for him to hold onto right now.
Tuyen cursed his carelessness when he saw the flash of
light at his side it was Scaryn. He had not perished in the
battle below. He flew swiftly to Enos’ side, but he was not
quick enough. His heart pumped violently with fear at the
sound of Enos’ voice bellowing in anger as Joshua was
knocked from his grasp, sending his tiny spirit spiraling
downward.
Enos knocked Scaryn to the side and dove for his
flailing ward. “Joshua,” he screamed ardently, “look up”.
Scaryn spun around in the air and followed suit after
Enos, he had to get the child’s spirit back into his body or
suffer the brunt of his master’s rage. That fear spurred him
onward as he bore down on Enos; he was just about to
grab hold of him when he felt himself drawn up short in
mid air. He felt the crushing grip on his ankle and used
Tuyen’s vice like hold as leverage spinning himself around
and slamming his right foot into Tuyen’s head with full
force. Tuyen’s head shot backwards from the stunning
blow, still Tuyen closed his grip tighter and dug his nails in
deeper. He was not letting go of his catch.
Killian shot past the warring pair with a sideways
glance, assuring himself that his comrade had the situation
well in hand. He was at Enos’ side in an instant, fear
gripping their hearts as the child’s spirit disappeared
through the roof of the house. A sick feeling churned
inside the pit of their stomachs as they realized that they
were too late to save the child. The two warriors stopped
short of entering the abode, staring at each other with a
shameless guilt smeared across their faces.
Enos knew he had to follow; it was his turn to watch
the child now. Killian leaned in to give him a pat of reassurance
when suddenly a burst of light and air shot
through them setting them back on their heels. Enos’
somber face lifted to a radiant smile as he watched Rhyssa
carry the child back to the arms of the Father. She paused
a moment and turned to wink at her comrades-at-arms,
“Are the two of you going to sit there all day?” She
asked jokingly as joy filled her heart and she smiled softly
at the two weary warriors: one fair-haired with eyes of
silver blue and the other as dark as night. Pride shone in
her eyes as she urged them to follow.
“Come on you old war dogs, I believe Tuyen is getting a
little tired of holding a yipping dog by the tail,”
“Tuyen”, the two cried aloud in remembrance. They
shot past Rhyssa with crooked grins and a fire in their
eyes.
Rhyssa laughed aloud and then smiled tenderly down
towards her tiny new friend,
“Hello Joshua, are you ready to go home now?” She
whispered softly. Joshua lifted soft brown eyes full of
wonder and gently nodded his head.
Rhyssa accepted his consent and soared high above the
clouds, taking Joshua to his real Father for the very first
time. Sweet warmth infused her as she the thought of their
first meeting and that gentle warmth carried her through
the frigid winds of the astros as she pulled her travel crystal
from her vest and delivered her package straight to the
foot of the Father, where she gently set Joshua down. She
bowed in reverence to her master as she backed out of the
room and left the two to get re-aquatinted.
Once outside of the room, Rhyssa faltered, weakened
by the use of the travel crystal. She had forgotten how
much energy it took to use the crystal for direct transference
to Heaven. She took a steadying breath then headed
off to the hangar bay to await the arrival of her cohorts.
Enos and Killian flew up short onto the struggling pair
of angels, Tuyen, Yen, as he is referred to by his closest
friends was not showing any signs of tiring, on the contrary
he seemed to be gaining strength with each passing
moment. Once he had seen Rhyssa shoot by with the
child, he fought even harder to stop this wretched demon
from ever touching that child again. Yen, slid closer to his
enemy and turned his hand to his heart. Scaryn saw his
fatal mistake as he felt Yen’s hand begin to vibrate and he
knew a moments defeat when Yen’s hand turned blue and
shot through his chest. Scaryn winced in agony as he felt
the energy being drained from his body. His glowing red
eyes began to dim and his once imposing form began to
spasm and burn. Yen, squeezed his dark heart as hard as
possible, then it shattered into a million tiny pieces and so
did he. The explosion of evil shot Yen backwards into the
arms of his two friends.
Excerpt
Inside the ready room, in the middle of a private briefing, the Prince raged—"I will be finished with this battle!"—as he paced back and forth. His flaxen hair floated around his somber visage; his eyes glowed a molten bronze as righteous anger flew from them, envisioning that place between Heaven and Hell where a battle rages on, and bodies of light lie bleeding and broken in pools of warm lovrin. They have a quiet serenity upon their lifeless faces as a trickle of light leaves their still forms. They lie there, an endless sea of massive celestial warriors with no mother to weep over their graves. There are no lovers to shed tears in memory of the life they had given for this Great War. Who cries for these unseen soldiers of virtue who gave their all every day, who receive no recognition of the lives they have saved down on Earth?
5-star Review on Amazon: "A terrific read about a very disturbing subject!! The book is exciting and interesting and chilling and alarming! A literary ride that is well worth the time and money."
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