Time to get down to business. Joy, come with us.”
Joy followed the team to the prayer room without a word.
Mark reached out for Ginny’s hand. Alicia moved nearer to her husband.
What was happening?
Ben moved to the center of the room. “Please, everyone, form a circle. Joy, you come stand in the center. We’ve gathered here today because, well, we’re tired of this nonsense. If you are in agreement, we are going to pray once and for all, with the authority given to us by Almighty God, and release you from the strongholds on your life.”
Joy’s knees wobbled. She reached out for support. “Can I have a chair?”
Mark rushed to the side wall and grabbed a folding chair. He popped it open and slid it up to her legs.
Joy collapsed into it and took several deep breaths. “Do you guys have any idea what you’re up against?”
Ben smiled. Alicia nodded.
Mark punched the air. “Yes. We know. And we’re sick of stepping aside, waiting for you to figure out what needs to happen. We should have done this a long time ago, but we’re going to make up for it now.”
“Mark’s right about one thing.” Ben stepped forward. “We are sick of stepping aside and letting evil win. But I don’t agree that we should have done this sooner. It won’t work without you, Joy.”
Mark nodded. “Very true.”
She looked down. They were going to make her say it.
Silas moved so he was in view. She looked away.
He shifted into view again.
He wouldn’t give up. Joy looked into his eyes. They held a message. Those piercing blue eyes she’d once loved so much said: I. Dare. You.
Ben crouched down. “So. It’s up to you. Do you understand what’s been happening to you? Do you understand what we’re asking you to do?”
She nodded.
“Do you believe in your heart Jesus Christ is Lord?”
She nodded.
Silas snarled.
Oh no. She might as well have finished the job in Grandpa’s garage. It would have gone better that way than how this would end.
“I need you to say it out loud, Joy. Romans ten tells us to confess it with our mouths. Do you believe in your heart God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and that He wants to do the same for you?”
Silas gnashed the air. The hair on his back stood straight up.
What could she do? Yes! She believed. But …
Silas lifted his face and howled.
Joy’s hair swirled back from her face. “I don’t know if you understand, but I’m in actual danger right now.” Her voice trembled. “Actually, we all are.”
“Yes, Joy, you are in grave danger. We get that.” Alicia rubbed her shoulder.
Joy shook her hand off. Not the time for comfort. “No! I don’t mean spiritual danger. I mean real physical danger. All of us.”
Alicia stepped back as Silas was joined by some friends.
“Only you.” Ben sighed. “You see, when I put my faith in Jesus, then He became a shield about me … and Ginny and Alicia and Mark and every other girl in this place who has surrendered to Him. We need not worry about the battle that rages all around us. We know the winner. Our God is mighty to save and shield us as our protector.”
Ben’s words made sense, but his voice droned on and on as Joy watched Silas assemble an army.
“That protection is assured the minute you surrender to Jesus.”
“Fine. But it’s that minute between saying I want to and actually doing it that terrifies me. Like right now.” Joy trembled. Her whole body shook, and her knees knocked together. “They’re coming for me.”
“Then do it, Joy. No more talking about it. Who is your Savior?” Ben grabbed her hands. “Who’s your Master? Say it!”
Silas roared. Foam flew from his jowls. He led the pack as they inched toward her.
Why couldn’t she see the rest of the battle if she could see this part? Was it possible? If she said His name?
“Say it, Joy! Who do you choose?” Ben’s face strained.
The others prayed.
Silas was ready to charge.
Joy could still back out. She could still make it okay, but one more step, one more word, and that was it.
“They’re coming for me.”
“Then let them come, Joy, let them come.” Ben put his hands on her head. “Father God, please place Your protection around this girl. Give her the freedom to turn to You. Lift the burden of fear from her shoulders. Make it easy for her to turn her eyes upon You. Shield her …”
Too much. Joy jumped from the chair. It clattered to the floor as she ran from the room. She glanced back. The wolves calmly walked toward her, but they didn’t seem in any hurry.
She had to hide. Could she hide from Silas?
Maybe she could. It was at least worth a try. Legs shaking, ready to vomit, she stumbled down the hall.
Ben’s office was locked. The library? No, no place to hide in there. The dining room? No, that wouldn’t work. Ooh, there was a closet at the end of the hallway. But it had been locked last time. Please be open. Please be open. Joy chanted as she tried the handle. It opened easily. She stepped inside and shut the door then flipped the lock. Safe for the moment.
Stepping back, away from the entrance, Joy lost her footing and tumbled down, down, down. Like Alice. Her body bumped along a stairway. What would she find at the bottom? She slammed into a hard, flat surface and felt around for a clue. It was another door. What could be in there? Somewhere good to hide, hopefully.
She tried the handle, and the door swung open to darkness. Joy didn’t care what the place was. She’d go in so she could get as far away from Silas as possible.
If only she knew where Silas was.
Wait a second. What an idiot. Silas showed up wherever he wanted to. He was toying with her right now.
She reached behind her. Should she go up? Or keep going? She couldn’t see anything at all. How could she step into a room with no knowledge of what it was?
She felt the walls. Oh my. What was the purpose of such a narrow passageway? And the ceiling … so low, she’d have to hunch over. No way she could handle that.
Pieces of the wall crumbled off into her fingers. She sniffed the residue. Dirt. What was it, some kind of escape tunnel for the monks? Was there a secret door or another way out? Joy patted the dirt walls and inched her way deeper into the tunnel. Her breathing grew shallower as her sense of confinement grew.
She clawed at the earth above her. Nothing. She’d stepped into her own grave.
What was that sound? It came closer. Yep. There it was. Silas and his friends had found her. Well, doubtful they needed to search. But there they were.
Joy backed up. Please let there be a way out. Please.
She gasped for air but a cloying, decayed, consuming stench filled her nostrils and her lungs, squeezing out the life-giving oxygen she so desperately needed.
Her back banged against something. She felt behind her. A door! She reached for the handle and pulled. Locked. She slumped to the floor and curled into a ball as the snarls grew closer. She’d lost. No question about it.
She sucked rotten air into her lungs. When would it be her last breath?
There he was. Staring at her. Standing in the doorway in the midst of a green glow, like an aura. The light glinted off his eyes. He was alone. Come to claim his prize.
Joy drew her knees in tighter to her chest.
Any second he would pounce, and when he did, it was over.
She could almost hear the power exerted as Silas readied himself for attack. Every muscle in Joy’s body tensed. She crunched as tightly as she could.
What did she have to lose? Her reason and desire pushed through the shroud of darkness and broke down the lies she’d been told.
Pray. Now. “Jesus! God, please protect me! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” Joy shouted His name over and over. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. Hopefully it was enough.
She waited for the attack. The battle was on—all around her. Anything could happen.
When would it come? She listened. The space around her was silent except for her own gasping for air. And the repetition of one word. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Her hands sweated as they clenched her hair and held her body curled into a ball.
Maybe the attack would never come. “Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.”
A light flashed through the doorway.
“Joy? Are you down there?” Ben’s voice carried hope.
Maybe—just maybe. If only she could see.
The tiny passage filled with the light of several flashlights. Ben stumbled to Joy and reached out a hand.
“Wait. Don’t move. Somebody give me a light.” Joy had to know. She had to see.
Ben handed his to Joy, and she shone it down at the ground.
There lay Silas, her darkest enemy, slain at her feet.
“Okay, come on. Let’s go.” Ben flicked the light toward the doorway. “Let’s get out of here. You can tell us all about it upstairs.”
“D–do you see that?” She pointed the flashlight at the ground. Silas was gone. “Never mind. I’ll t–t–tell you about it in a minute. I’m so cold.”
Joy trembled her way up the stairs, her teeth chattering.
Ginny slipped her arm around Joy’s back and squeezed. “You’re in shock, sweetie. You’ll warm up soon.”
Alicia wriggled out of her sweatshirt and laid it across Joy’s shoulders.
Ben plodded up the stairs in front of the pack. Humming.
Was Ben crazy? How could he be humming like nothing had happened? He was happy, satisfied, and at peace. Joy wanted to live like that. Even in the darkest time.
But she still had questions. Why had she lived and Stella died? And how could she get Raven out? How could she reach the countless others who were stuck between two worlds?
“Ben?”
He held the office door as everyone entered then shut it. “Yes?”
“Will you teach me how to help other people get away?” Joy jerked her head back the way they’d come. “Like that.”
“Of course I will.” Ben beamed at Alicia. Then he looked at the group. “Let’s finish this thing, shall we?”
Mark, Alicia, Ben, and Ginny placed a hand on Joy’s head.
Ben lifted one arm and closed his eyes. “Father God, we thank You for protecting Your child and for embracing her and forgiving her. Please place Your permanent hedge of protection around Joy—her heart and her mind.”
Joy felt the warmth course through her body. A healing heat. Possessing her.
“Let her go from this moment and use her experiences to lead others from darkness and help her tell them about You. May her face be so bright and shiny that the Spirit of God will be evident to all she encounters.”
Joy felt her hands shake, her body trembled, and her stomach flopped. So that’s what all those people felt when they couldn’t resist the urge to worship. Joy raised her hands up to her heavenly Father, her Savior, her Master. “Thank You, Jesus.”
Ben closed his eyes and breathed a sigh. “It is finished.”