Page 38 of Destined for Eternity
They followed the lithe man, moving inland from the water. Eventually, they came to a bike path and he stopped. The demon frowned, looking one way and then the other.
Bartol moved next to him. “What is it?”
“Sargith not sure which way from here. Came two weeks ago.”
“Look with your senses,” Raguel said to Bartol.
He opened his mind, searching for anything that felt demonic other than the host beside him. At first, he didn’t feel anything, but his feet started moving of their own volition. He made his way toward a copse of palm trees and finally felt a tainted signature pulsing nearby. It made his stomach turn.
“It’s up there.” He nodded in the direction where he sensed it. “Right alongside the path.”
“Indeed,” Raguel agreed.
Sargith bounced up and down. “That’s it. That’s it.”
This demon wasn’t the sharpest tack in the box, but at least that worked to their advantage. He was being far more cooperative than they could have hoped. Not once had he tried to run away or mislead them.
The archangel hurried ahead of them while Bartol kept a close eye on their prisoner just in case he changed his mind and tried to flee. He couldn’t see anything to indicate the portal’s presence, but the closer he got, the more he felt it. Malevolence oozed across the area, and humans who moved along the path coughed or gripped their stomachs. As they got closer, two people who came near the portal became possessed. Their new demonic signatures popped up on Bartol’s senses almost instantly, and their eyes flashed red when he spotted them. Unfortunately, there was no time to deal with them at the moment, and they had to let them get away.
“We must shut this portal down now,” Raguel said, staring in the direction where it must lay.
Bartol frowned. “How?”
“I have the ability to do it, but it will not be easy.”
Bartol understood what his father’s grim tone truly meant. They were both low on their power reserves already. The archangel couldn’t admit it out loud with their prisoner present, but closing the portal could take all the energy he had left. He wouldn’t have anything remaining to assist Bartol in executing the numerous demons nearby, and he wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight if they managed to locate The Trio. That could be costly. Those three had to be powerful to open a portal.
They wouldn’t mention it in front of Sargith, but they’d need to take a break for the rest of the night to recharge. Twelve hours would give them back enough energy to be effective once more. Then they could continue their hunt.
Bartol gestured at the portal. “Do it.”
Raguel gave him a meaningful look, nodding at Sargith to communicate the message. Then he turned his back and moved in front of the invisible portal, placing his feet wide apart. Something about the way he positioned himself indicated he could see it and was perhaps straddling it. He spread his hands above the spot like someone warming themselves over a fire and closed his eyes, mumbling ancient words.
“You.” Bartol took hold of Sargith’s arm. “Go now.”
“But this is fun to watch!”
“If you want us to keep our end of the deal and let you live, you’ll get out of here before we change our minds.” He dragged the demon in a southerly direction down the path. “Keep in mind if we find you doing anything to hurt people or cause too much trouble, I’ll execute you with no hesitation.”
“Sargith understand,” he said sadly and stumbled as he tried to keep up.
After they got well out of sight from Raguel, Bartol let the demon go. “I better not find you in this area again.”
The demon smiled and flapped his arms. “I be ghost in wind.”
Bartol watched the young elf-demon hurry away. Once he was well and gone, he returned to his father. Raguel was kneeling on the ground with his head bowed, and his shoulders slumped.
“It is done.”
“I’ll take us back to our hotel room,” Bartol said, putting a hand on his father’s back. The archangel had never been given a chance to fully restore his powers, and he had to keep draining himself ever since he’d returned to Earth. Whenever they weren’t working, he slept so he could regenerate faster.
“Thank you, son.”
“It is an honor.” And he meant it. If there was one good thing that came from this demon threat, it was Bartol’s chance to spend time with the man who sired him.
