Page 41 of Destined for Eternity
It was only then that he noted there were no other battle sounds around him. Bartol stood up and spun around. It took a moment with all the damage and destruction around him. The large zoo sign had been destroyed, sidewalks were cracked and buckled, and trees were either ravaged of their limbs or had fallen to the ground. Eventually, he found his father lying on the sidewalk twenty feet away just beyond a dented trash can. He rushed over, heart in his throat.Please don’t let him be dead after the way they’d ended their last conversation.
Bartol fell to his knees next to the archangel. Raguel’s chest rose and fell weakly, but at least he was breathing. It had been difficult to tell with the numerous injuries on his chest, face, and arms, all oozing blood.
“Father, how are you?” Bartol asked, squeezing his sire’s hand.
Raguel groaned and clutched at a nasty open wound on his stomach. It appeared as if someone had taken a machete and sliced him from one side to the other. His guts showed and there was a lot of blood, but his organs stayed in place. Archangels were much like steel. While they could be wounded, there was no way to actually tear out their body parts or limbs. At least, not that Bartol had ever seen or heard about.
“One got away,” Raguel said.
Bartol frowned and glanced at the two host bodies he’d passed along the way to his father. “They appear dead to me.”
“While I exorcised one of them, the other left its host.”
“What? How?” Bartol hadn’t thought that was possible.
“The stronger ones…” Raguel began as he struggled to sit up, “can jump bodies.”
“But there is no one around for them to go to,” he argued. All the humans had fled the area when the demons began their spell.
“Apparently, it found someone nearby.”
Bartol helped his father to his feet. “Can you sense it?”
“No.” He shook his head. “It fled too fast, and I was busy with the other one.”
A flash of light burst next to them. A moment later, Jeriel appeared. He was wearing his jeans, button-up shirt, and cowboy hat again. He assessed the area around them and the torn up host bodies.
“I’ll have my men clean this up, and I’ll close the portal,” the archangel said. “You two are to return home and recuperate.”
Bartol gave him a grim look. “One got away.”
“It’ll probably lie low for a while, and it’s not as dangerous without its partners anyway. For now, it’s best you both get your strength back up and return to look for it later. I’ll send you home since neither of you are in any condition to travel on your own.”
Raguel nodded. “I would appreciate it.”
“But what about all the other active demons on the loose?” Bartol asked.
“Unfortunately,” his father replied. “We can’t handle this all on our own. It is best we complete the nerou’s training so they can aid us in this.”
Bartol gestured in the direction of the portal and looked at Raguel. “You can close that?”
“Yes.” The cowboy angel nodded. “Anyone at my strength level can do it. We just can’t execute demons like your father can, only banish.”
That was good to know. “Then make sure you close it quickly before any more get through.”
“I will. Now, brace yourselves,” Jeriel said, coming closer.
Bartol and Raguel stood still for the archangel. He put a hand on each of their chests and met their gazes. “You’ve done well today. Your hard work is noted and appreciated.”
The next thing they knew, they were in Bartol’s cabin back in Alaska.
