Flesh and Blood

Chapter 1

The creature's putrid breath contaminated the air as it flew. Puffing with exertion, orange-yellow eyes bulging out of its small head, the thing shot towards the distant group of black shapes. Behind him, a brilliant light aimed its sword. With a quick swipe and a shriek from the demon, the angel killed the creature, which dissolved into a black smoke. After watching the others for a moment, Makael swirled around and flapped his outstretched wings, speeding back towards the sunrise.

***

Adam Daniels awoke early that Saturday. After a brief moment of confusion, he remembered that 1) it was the weekend and 2) that didn't matter anyway, because school had ended the day before. He glanced over at his clock. The glowing digital numbers read 5:27. Sighing, he rolled to his side, trying to fall back asleep, but after a few minutes he knew that there was no use. He had had a haunting dream about a shrouded black cloud floating just over his head, and everytime he tried to reach it, it would swoop down and engulf him in suffocating darkness. Adam sat up and switched on his light. The advantage to having a tiny bedroom was that he could reach anything from his bed without standing. Unable to shake the dream from his mind, he grabbed his Bible and began to read.

Above him, a small demon of mischief vanished through the walls, leaving only a yellow trail of breath.

Similar creatures were leaving houses all over the small town of Liberty. The tiny church of Liberty, full of elderly men and women, offered little resistance to these evil spirits, accidentally allowing them to do practically whatever they wanted. Makael looked down as he flew over the town. The demons gave him a wide berth, but they knew that he could do hardly anything to stop them. At least, Makael thought, not yet. Like a comet, he rocketed towards Crossway Church, through the ceiling, and sank down beneath the chapel to the basement, where a small band of angels were waiting. In the basement, a man was sitting in the room normally used for youth ministry on Sunday mornings. Now, there were hardly any young people attending the church, but the man liked using it as a secluded place to pray. Secluded, at least, from other people. The five spirits around him now could see and hear him perfectly well.

"I stopped the demon before he reached his nest. They won't know what he's doing just yet." Makael gestured towards the praying man. Eriah, tall and strong, nodded. "Now we'll have a little more time. Oriel and Zachariah have been over the school, but now that school is out, they will be able to keep watch over the town with Morael." Oriel and Zachariah, blond-haired brothers, had been trying to slow evil's influence at the high school. Morael, dark and wise, said, "That's good, because I could use some help. The demons are growing in number, and we have not the strength to withstand many more."

"We must trust that we will also grow. The pastor continues to pray, and while his influence is not strong, it's a start." The young man below them, Robert, stood and walked out of the room.

Eriah continued. "We will need to encourage more people towards him." They began to plan.