Angel in the Shadows, Book 1 by Lisa Grace (Angel Series) (20 page)

Robby comes out with Carrie, “I talked to Johnny
and Vania. Tomorrow at the beach we’ll come up with a strategy on
how to deal with Damon. Let’s try to get some sleep. Johnny’s going
to pick us up at eight-thirty, sharp.”

Everyone leaves. I help Mom clean up and then
drop in the sack. I pray about what I should do, but I don’t get an
answer.

***

Ugh, my alarm goes off. It’s a struggle to get
out of bed. I go to the kitchen and fill a cup of coffee. I go take
a quick shower, get dressed, slather on the sunscreen, pack a bag,
and go downstairs to sit by the front window, waiting for Johnny to
pull up.

As I’m waiting, Max comes down the stairs.

“Hey Maxie,” I say.

He walks up to me rubbing his eyes, he looks
sad.

“What’s wrong big guy?” I ask as I lift him up
onto my lap for a hug.

“I had a bad dream.”

“You did? What was it about?”

“This monster came into my room. He said he was
going to take you and then come for me.”

A chill hits my heart. I hug Max and tell him,
“It’s okay Maxie, it’s only a dream. Jesus will protect you.
Tonight, before you go to sleep, you ask Him to send his angels to
keep us safe and I will too. I love you Maxie.”

“I love you sissy,” he says as he snuggles into
my arms.

Johnny pulls up and I put Max down. “Go watch
some cartoons. I’ll see you later.”

I wonder if it was a dream or if Judas came by
to torment my little brother. I’ll never look at bad dreams the
same way again.

***

It’s such a beautiful day at the beach that it’s
hard to believe we’re in a battle for people’s souls. Carrie and
Robby head for the water as soon as we lay our blankets down. I’m
interested to see what Vania wears to the beach. Wouldn’t you know
she managed to find a black suit with a lot of metal rings on it.
She’s also wearing a big black straw hat, black sunglasses,
flip-flops and lipstick. Her hair today is a bright yellow. She
actually looks quite chic.

Seth lays down a big blanket that we anchor with
bags and sandals to keep it from blowing away in the wind. Seth
asks Johnny, “So do you get to pick what you look like in earthly
form?”

Johnny looks at Seth, “No more than you do.”
Seth nods his head like that makes perfect sense.

“So what did Jesus look like when he was on
Earth?”

“At what time on Earth? He looks like whatever
He wanted to look like. He is the great I AM. Does it matter to
your salvation what He looks like?”

I give Seth a look, he says, “I’m curious, I
might not get an opportunity like this again.”

I’m surprised he’s at ease with hanging out with
an angel.

“Wanna arm wrestle?”

“Now you’re sounding like Robby,” I say.

Johnny answers, “No, I’d win. What’s the
point?”

Vania says, “My boyfriend can beat up your
boyfriend.”

We all laugh and settle back to enjoy the day
while we can.

Robby and Carrie come out of the surf and lay
down to let the sun bake them dry. Robby asks, “Dude, what’s Heaven
like?”

Johnny appears to be thinking about his answer.
“Better. Different. It’s like comparing this beach to your perfect
dream beach. It would be better and different.”

Robby tries another question, “What’s the food
like?”

Johnny answers, “Better, different.” Johnny sees
he has all of our attention. “It’s hard to limit heavenly things to
this world which is based in time and limited to so many physical
laws. Your languages are a barrier to heavenly meanings. Your human
brains are like a fly’s brain compared to God. You try to fit him
into a box shaped by time and space. God is bigger, different from
that. His creation, this universe, cannot contain Him.” He looks
out at the beach and is quiet for a minute. “He is the ‘I AM’.
Think bigger.”

We need time to digest everything Johnny has
just said.

Johnny continues, “Since you are all bound by
time, we need to think about what to do tonight about Jude, at the
game. We need to keep an eye on him. We can eavesdrop on him and
those he talks to. Follow him at every opportunity. Keep praying
continually the whole evening while going about the game and the
dance. We can’t prevent him from every evil thing he does but we
can stop some. Since we have three groups we should always aim to
keep him in the center of a triangle formed by us. If I ask you to
do something, no matter how silly it seems, please just do it.
Later, you will see why it was helpful.”

I bring up something that has been haunting me,
“Johnny, the other night when Brody died, Jude called. He did this
awful poem, about a ‘her that I love the most.’ The only ‘her’ that
I can think of are saved, except one. My best friend for years has
been Mandy. I don’t think she’s saved. I’m worried he might target
Mandy tonight.”

“He could. But Jude’s father is the father of
lies. Jude could have said that to throw us off track. Tonight,
keep your eyes and ears alert. Signal me if anything nags at you,
it could be important. If you need to speak to me, signal me to
come over and have your partner cross to be with Vania. Don‘t drink
a lot of fluids so we can limit bathroom breaks. Have your phones
ready to receive texts. Sign an x after every text so we know it’s
not a fake sent by Jude. Any questions?”

Robby raises his hand and we all groan.

“I mean about tonight’s plan,” Johnny adds.

Robby’s hand goes down. We nervously chuckle.
For the rest of the day we enjoy hanging out and acting our age.
The afternoon passes quickly and soon it’s time to head home to
change clothes for the game and then the dance. I hope this evening
has as good an ending as the rave did, but I know Judas is prepared
for us. He has some tricks up his sleeve. I don’t think he would be
so cocky if he wasn’t sure, whatever the surprise is, we won’t see
it coming.

CHAPTER 9 - HOMECOMING

By the time we get to the game, Mandy and Alex
are already down on the field. Both Mandy and Alex are on the
homecoming court. I’m so proud of Mandy. She talks to everyone and
passes out lots of hugs. She looks beautiful in a full-length
iridescent cornflower blue dress. It’s almost a roman toga style
with one wide shoulder strap. The skirt has a waterfall effect
falling in layers on the left side with a modest slit starting just
above the knee. They take a ride around the field in a convertible
car.

If I get a chance, I’ll try to warn her about
Jude. Jude is down on the field too. One of the kids who made the
court had to step down due to illness and Jude is his replacement.
I notice him talking quite a bit to Alex.

At one point I see him gesture towards Mandy
making a crude hand sign while Alex nods his head and chuckles. I’m
sure Jude is pressuring Alex to make an advance on Mandy tonight. I
say a prayer for Mandy’s safety.

Alex goes back to suit up for the game.

The game starts without incident. Seth and I
hold each other’s hand and sneak in a few hugs. We really don’t see
much of the game. We’re as close to the field as we can get. Jude
is bouncing around talking to several people being his usual
charming public self. If I didn’t see his darkness shining through,
I might be fooled myself. As Jude leaves a group of kids a fight
breaks out. Punches are flying. One girl gets knocked over and
scratched up. A few adult parents and teachers head over to stop
it. I’m sure he said something to instigate the fight. Jude is just
warming up.

I am so grateful I am not alone in facing him.
For a minute I wonder where Zadok is and how he is doing. I wonder
if he is back in Heaven or somewhere here on this Earth. I miss
him. I wonder if in Heaven we will have friendships with
angels.

After the game we get to our cars, which we
parked near the exit in sight of Jude’s car. We follow him to the
dance. At the dance, it’s hard to enjoy ourselves. I tell Seth what
happened at the rave so he’s prepared. Jude circles around the
crowd, talking to his numerous fans. He waves to us a few times.
He’s obviously aware we are following him.

Mandy and Alex head over to talk to Seth and me.
“Hi Mandy, you look beautiful,” I say as I hug her. “You too,” she
responds.

“Mandy and Alex this is Seth, my boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you,” Alex says, holding out his
hand for Seth to shake.

Alex looks at me, “Jude must be upset. He has
quite the crush on you.”

Seth and I look at each other, I answer, “If you
only knew… Seth knows all about the problems I’m having with
Jude.”

Seth nods his head, “He’s deluded himself about
his importance in Meg’s life. We’re trying to straighten him out.”
Seth gives me a hug of reassurance and kisses me on my head.

“He’s a great guy, I’m sure he’ll come around.
There are only about a dozen girls who have a crush on him,” Alex
says.

“Is he throwing a party after the dance?” I try
to sound casual.

Alex looks at Mandy, “I don’t know. If he does,
we won’t be attending. We have some special plans of our own. I got
us a room.”

He winks at Seth. I look at Mandy with concern,
but she’s too busy looking at Alex adoringly.

We excuse ourselves. Seth and I walk off to get
a drink. Mandy is making a huge mistake and there is nothing I can
do to stop it. It won’t do any good to go to their parents. They’re
the ones that gave Alex the condoms and Mandy the pill. I’m sure
they know about the hotel room too. I wonder if their parents
really realize what they’ve done by rolling the dice. If it comes
up pregnancy or STD, will they feel okay with it?

Jude starts dancing with some of the girls who
have been following him around the dance floor. One girl walks off
in tears. I wonder how he insulted her. Jude is so good at it. The
next girl he dances with, he has his hands on her in front of
everyone. She looks a little uncomfortable but doesn’t stop dancing
with him. One of the adult chaperones walks over and says something
to him. He tones it down. I dance a slow dance with Seth. He turns
me so he’s watching Jude. I look over his shoulder and see Mandy
and Alex leaving the dance. I feel Seth’s body stiffen, I whisper
in his ear, “what’s he doing?”

“He just slipped something in that girl’s
drink.” Seth takes my hand and we walk over. He bumps into her hard
enough to distract her and uses his hand to knock the drink onto
the floor.

“Hey!” The girl says.

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking,” Then Seth whispers
into her ear, “Jude slipped something into your drink, be careful.”
Seth and I don’t care if we’re being obvious to Jude. We want him
to know we’re not afraid of him. Cautious, but not fearful. He’s
toying with us while searching out those he can harm. My romantic
evening with Seth has turned into a night of babysitting the dance
room.

Jude comes right up to Seth and me and says,
“You’re so clueless. This isn’t where the action is this evening.
All I did was give the ball a push and now it’s rolling down the
hill into traffic. You can’t stop it.” He does a little victory
dance. “Relax have some fun. Seth, Megan’s hot. You know you want
to. What are you waiting for man? You know you’re going to marry
her some day. Why wait? You’re gonna miss out on years of loving
her for what? You really think God cares? You think he’s going to
waste his time with you? You’re a fool.”

I hold Seth back. I can tell he wants to punch
him. “Seth, he’s defeated. He knows it. Jude’s just a sore loser.
Leave him alone.” I drag Seth out of Jude’s range.

I motion to Johnny and he sends Vania in our
direction. I ask Seth, “Dance with Vania? I’ll be right back.” I
walk over to Johnny.

“Jude says the action isn’t happening here, but
somewhere else. I believe him. He looks too happy.” Johnny nods his
head, “He could have any number of things in the works. We angels
can only be in one place at one time, so unless we know what’s
going down, it’s still best to keep him in sight even if it turns
out to be a waste of our time.”

The rest of the evening passes without incident
and we all feel worn out by the time the dance breaks up. We follow
Jude out to his car. He leaves alone. Johnny asks, “Can you give
Vania a ride home so I can follow Jude the rest of the
evening?”

“Sure,” Seth says. We head home tired and
relieved. We drop Vania off first, then me. Carrie’s house is on
the way to Pastor Bill’s.

Seth gives me a quick hug and kiss at the door.
We don’t want to tempt our passion into taking over. Jude was
right. We want to. But God is more right. And to please Him, we
wait.

***

In the morning I get up an hour before church so
I have time for a cup of coffee and to put on some makeup. I have
dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep. I want Seth to see
me at my best. I put on a cute summer dress, since we’re going to
lunch at Carrie’s right after church. I bring my swimsuit just in
case.

On the morning news they mention there was a
break in at a near by high school. Computers were stolen out of the
computer lab. I wonder if Jude had anything to do with that.

When Max comes downstairs I ask him, “How were
your dreams last night?”

“Better. I did what you said. I asked Jesus to
give me good dreams and to have his angels guard me while I
sleep.”

I give him a hug, “Good guy, I love you!”

“Yeah,” he squirms, “do we have any Eggos left?”
He wiggles out of my arms and into the kitchen. We head out the
door shortly after Max finishes his breakfast.

***

At church, Seth and Robby are already there
having come early with Pastor Bill and Gina. Seth has his car
packed up, ready to head home after lunch at Carrie’s. Seth and I
sit next to each other during church. Ironically, Pastor Bill’s
sermon is on the servant attitude of angels and what we can learn
from their example.