CHRISTINA AND I sat in Bev’s kitchen eating just-frosted sugar cookies, drinking herbal tea, and occasionally petting Bev’s chocolate Lab.
After a few minutes of small talk, Bev looked intently at Christina.
“Sweetie, would it be OK if I prayed for you?”
She nodded.
“Is there anything in particular I can pray about?”
Christina shuffled in her seat. “I’ve been seeing some scary things, and I want them to stop.”
Bev leaned back in her chair. “What sorts of things?”
“Dark figures. Spirits.”
Bev walked around the table and laid her hands on Christina’s shoulders. After they closed their eyes, I did too.
“Lord,” Bev prayed, “we know fear is not of You. Please deliver this young lady from the torment she has endured. We thank You for Your love and Your goodness. We love You.”
I laid my hand on Christina’s arm. “Amen.” We opened our eyes.
Bev squeezed Christina’s shoulders. “Sweetheart, you can invite God into your life right now. These tormenting spirits will stop playing with you. You’ll have the power of God living inside you.”
“I can? How?”
“Just thank Him for Jesus, who died to defeat death, hell, and the grave. Thank Him that Jesus overcame the enemy and all of his evil cohorts. Denounce the wrong things you’ve done. And ask God to begin to change you.”
“I don’t know if I can remember all that.”
Bev smiled. “Just tell your heavenly Father what you’re feeling.”
“OK.” Christina bowed her head. “God, please forgive me for the bad things I’ve done. Take my fear away. Relieve me from my anxiety attacks.
I want to be a Christian like Olivia and Bev.”
Her prayer was simple and halted but obviously sincere. When she opened her eyes she took a deep breath, as if she were breathing for the first time. The tension in her shoulders relaxed.
Bev kissed Christina’s forehead. “You belong to Jesus now.”
Christina’s face lit up. She smiled at me.
I smiled back, relieved that I had another Christian friend. I also realized she had a lot to learn. Teaching her was going to be my job.
I noticed the time on Bev’s wall clock. “I really hate to cut this short, but we still have homework to do.” I also knew that Bev went to bed early, and we’d already kept her up pretty late.
Bev handed each of us a napkin with two sugar cookies to take with us. “Christina, when you get home I want you to pray over your house, especially your room.”
“How do I do that?”
“Honey, you just pray out loud in your room. Declare that you belong to God now and that Jesus’ work on the cross has covered all your sins. Evil spirits hate the name of Jesus, first of all. Second of all, it may sound gross, dear, but they also hate when you say you are covered in the blood given in the accomplishment of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Keep reading your Bible every day. Listen to Christian music. Create an atmosphere that demons hate to dwell in.”
“I think I get it.”
“Start reading the gospel of John. It chronicles the life and ministry of Jesus.”
“I’d like to know more about Him. And Olivia found a Christian radio station for me.”
“Read the book of James too. It’s a good book for a new Christian to read. It is like a ‘starter’s guide’ to the Christian walk.”
Bev leaned down to stroke the head of her dog, then stood up abruptly and slapped her thigh. “Oh dear, I almost forgot—you must also understand the need to be around other Christians. Would you consider going to church with Olivia?”
“Liv, can you take me on Sunday?”
“You got it. I’ll pick you up at ten o’clock on Sunday.”
“I’ll be praying for you.” Bev hugged Christina with one of her vise-grip embraces. I hoped she hadn’t knocked the air out of her.
“Call me anytime,” Bev said.
Christina let out a huge sigh. “I feel like a heavy load has been lifted off my back.”
Caramel then wedged herself between Bev and me and wagged her tail and barked at the cookies we held in our hands.
“Can I give her a piece?” I asked.
“Oh, go ahead. George sneaks her goodies all the time.”
I broke off a piece of my sugar cookie and held it out for Caramel. She gently grabbed it from my hand and swallowed it without even chewing, then intently stared at me, waiting for another piece.
“Another time, girl.” I leaned down and kissed the top of her nose just below her eyes and patted her softly on the head.
Bev then gave me a hard squeeze and walked us to the front door.
“Sleep well tonight.”
Christina replied, “I think I will.”
What kind of battle was facing my friend back at her home? Would she follow Bev’s instructions?
Then I wondered about what Greg might think of Christina’s change of heart. Would it rip their friendship apart?
“Olivia?” A hand gently shook my shoulder. My skin tingled beneath it.
My eyes popped open, and I found Mike perched on the windowsill, his elbow on his knee. His golden hair sparkled. I looked at my clock. It was two o’clock. I’d normally be annoyed if someone woke me up at this time of the night, but I was happy to see Mike, so I propped myself on one elbow and rubbed my sleepy eyes with my other hand.
“You sure are stirring things up in this town. We all had a party last night when Christina became a child of God.”
My insides did a dance. “I know. How cool is that?”
My mind raced to remember all the questions I’d thought of to ask Mike over the past two days.
“Questions again?” Mike gave me his crooked smile and his eyes sparkled.
“Yeah. I’ve been dying to ask you this one. Are vampires real?”
Mike snorted. “I’m surprised you didn’t ask that earlier. The fallen ones take many forms. They came up with the vampire disguise decades ago. Lately, novelists and movie-makers have made these creatures seem harmless, even beautiful—”
“Olivia!” my mother screamed. My blood turned cold. I’d never heard her scream like that in my whole life.
I bolted from my bed and ran down the hall to my parents’ room, which was the direction I’d heard her scream come from. The light was on inside. It was freezing cold when I entered the room. I thought that strange since my mom loved her bedroom warm and cozy at night. A strong, sulfurous smell hit my nostrils. I looked around to see if there was a candle causing the odor but saw nothing.
Mom sat on the side of the bed, shaking my dad. I’d never seen such terror on her face.
A lizard-like figure crouched over my father, its long, thin, bony hands encircling Dad’s neck.
Mom looked at me. “He’s not breathing. Call 911!”
The creature’s leathery head turned, and green eyes challenged me as it spread its knife-shaped wings.
As I turned toward the door I heard a swoosh behind me. When I whirled around again, I saw Mike’s form, sporting large white wings, smash into the dark form. They both disappeared through the wall.
Dad gasped for air, his eyes wild.
“Olivia, call 911,” Mom repeated.
“No, Elise, I’m OK.” Dad sat up, breathing normally.
“Are you sure?” Mom asked.
He smiled. “I promise I’ll go to the doctor first thing in the morning to get it checked out.”
Relieved to see my dad’s breathing return to normal, I felt certain it would be OK if I ran to the second-story window and looked outside.
Mike and his rival flew through the air, hurling each other down the street.
Praying harder than ever before, I asked God to help Mike win this battle.
The dark green monster fled. Mike fizzled into thin air. Only a few sparkling feathers lingered.
“Lord God, thank You for Your holy angels of protection. In Jesus’ name, I ask that You protect my guardian friend, Mike. Amen.”
When I turned around Mom and Dad gazed at me with slackened jaws.
“You haven’t prayed out loud since you were six years old,” Mom said.
I yearned to tell my folks what was going on with me. I hoped they’d understand. “Mom. Dad. We have to talk. Dad, are you sure you’re OK?”
“I’m fine, honey.”
I led them to my bedroom and sat on the bed. I rocked back and forth, trying to calm my nerves.
“Sit down, Dad. Rest.” He sat beside me. My mom remained standing in the doorway.
“You know the stuff we hear in church about spiritual battle?” My voice trembled.
“Yes,” my parents said at the same time.
“I’ve been seeing it lately. God’s been showing me things.”
“What kind of things?” Dad asked.
“In your bedroom, I saw a demon attack you. He had his hands around your neck, and he was choking you.”
“Oh, dear God,” Mom said.
“Let her finish.”
“Bev says I have a spiritual gift that discerns spirits. It’s in the Bible. I see good spirits too.”
“So you see demons as well as—”
“Enough!” My mother’s eyes widened. Her face was red. “She’s becoming just like her cousin Kathryn.”
“I’m not schizophrenic. Besides, Kathryn hears voices but she doesn’t see things.”
Mom spun on her heel and left the room.
My father gently pushed my shoulder so I would lie down, then pulled my blanket up around my face. “Olivia, you know I want what’s best for you.”
I nodded.
“I’m just not sure gifts like discernment of spirits apply today—at least not to the point of actually seeing angels and demons.”
His doubt unnerved me. If Dad didn’t believe me, I was in trouble, because he was usually my ally. And if both Mom and Dad thought I was crazy—what then?
“I don’t see how seeing spirits serves any godly purpose. Until I do, I can’t help but be skeptical. And concerned.”
I hated the look of pity in his eyes.
“Get some sleep, Goldilocks. We’ll talk about this more later. I love you.” Dad kissed me on the forehead.
“Love you, too, Dad.”
He rose from the bed, turned out the light, and headed down the hall.
I heard the floorboards squeak as he entered his room.
I longed to follow him into his bedroom and curl up beside him in bed like I did when I was five.
After my parents’ door closed, I sat up and whispered, “Mike?”
“I’m here.” In the glow of a streetlight outside my window, I saw Mike leaning against the wall beside my bed. He wore a red shirt, jeans, and white sneakers. No wings. He didn’t look injured in any way, but I still asked, “Are you OK?”
“Yes. That filthy thing was really strong. But I’ve wrestled with ones like him before.”
“I told my parents I saw it strangling my dad.”
“How did they react?”
“Mom thinks I’m crazy. Dad wants to believe me, but he’s having a hard time.”
“Did you tell them about me?”
“No. I don’t feel comfortable sharing that. Not yet anyway.”
Mike touched my hand. It calmed me. “Everything’s going to be OK.
Be patient.”
“I’ve never had much luck with patience.” I shifted my weight to my right side, facing Mike, and voiced the next question that came to mind.
“You’ve obviously fought other battles like the one tonight. Can you tell me about some other battles you’ve fought?”
“How about I tell you about times of rest instead? Maybe that will calm you down and help you sleep.”
It sounded like a good idea.
Mike lay down on the floor beside my bed, his legs crossed, arms folded behind his head, and stared at the ceiling. “After the flood in Noah’s day, with only four families left on Earth, we angels had a lot of free time. We hung around the throne of God together, worshiping and enjoying Him.
That was like a vacation for us.”
I yawned. His voice calmed me immediately.
“What was your hardest fight you ever faced?”
“You are obstinate, aren’t you? OK, we don’t have to talk about my boring times; they aren’t that exciting.” He paused as if thinking about the story before voicing it. “We fought long and hard during Jesus’ time on Earth. But the ultimate clash came during the crucifixion. The Dark Prince sent his entire fleet of fallen ones to wage war against the Chosen One of the ages. We fought until we felt we could fight no more. But we didn’t give up. We knew Jesus would rise from the dead, but the demons would not let us alone, so we fought until the tomb finally opened. I loved seeing the demonic realm seethe during that moment.”
I wanted to hear more, but his smooth voice relaxed my tension, and I fell asleep.
I awoke around four o’clock and headed to the bathroom to get a drink of water. I gazed out the window at the houses across the street. Beside one house stood an angel about twenty feet tall, gazing in my direction. He held a golden sword at his side and wore a plain white gown.
Maybe someone had been praying for my protection, like Bev. I wondered why there were more angels appearing, as if waiting for something awful that Mike may need backup help from. I pondered what kind of challenge lay ahead.
God, I’m scared. But I’ll do whatever you need me to.
“That’s why I chose you,” a deep voice answered from behind me. I turned around. Nothing. But I knew it was my heavenly Father’s voice. How grateful I felt to have the most powerful force in the universe looking out for me. I figured I was going to need it.