Immortal Memory (Book One) (22 page)

Zach held out the cell with a grin of
mischief across his face. He jerked it back when she tried
snatching it from him. She almost stumbled into the angel when he
drew closer to her and leaned down.

Simra’s heart hammered against her
chest when he whispered against her lips. “You even make me weak
when you’re being stubborn.”

Her cheeks grew hot from his outspoken
adoration of her. The light brush of his kiss lasted in the blink
of an eye. Her knees became weak beneath her. He was such an
alluring angel who captivated her soul. She never felt the same way
for Tristan. Her feelings for the angel just seemed 'right', but
she knew they weren’t.

“Simra, promise you’ll try to stop
worrying if I give you the phone. Promise to allow your loved ones
to assist you. Mandy’s faith will grow stronger just like Jeff’s
has.”

Simra placed her hand on the chair to
steady herself. Zach's kiss made her so weak that she almost
couldn't stand. “I promise.” She nodded with reluctance.

“Good. Thank you.” Zach gave the phone
back to her. He eased down in his seat at the table.

She redialed Jeff’s number, and the
detective answered in a rush. “Sim, what happened?”

“It’s all right, Jeff. I lost you for a
minute, but everything’s fine. I'll allow you to help. How soon do
you think help will arrive for Mandy? I'm worried about
her."

Mandy rushed through the front door
before their friend replied, and her cousin's eyes were wide from
panic. “Is that Jeff? Tell him I made it. One of the neighbors came
with a pickup truck and offered assistance. He lives a couple miles
up the road.”

“I’m so glad you’re all right,” Simra
whispered. She relayed the message to their friend.

"Great! I'll get in contact with the
men I asked to help Mandy. I'll tell them to forget about it and
that she's all right. For now, I'm going to find Quint. I have a
feeling I know where he is. I'll call you back a little later to
get with you on when we'll destroy the body," Jeff
replied.

Simra smiled at the thought of Quint
being arrested again. "That sounds great! Later." She hung up the
phone.

Ms. Hanley came into the room with
relief in her eyes. "Oh, you're all right! I'm so glad. We were
very worried."

Mandy explained to Ms. Hanley what
happened and squeezed Simra with an affectionate hug. “Sim, you’ve
been crying. What is it? Were you that worried about
me?”

Ms. Hanley squeezed Simra with a hug as
well. "She's worried about her family."

Simra embraced Ms. Hanley and fought
the looming thoughts of never seeing them again if something
happened. “Yeah, I am. I’ll be fine.” Simra needed to destroy that
body tonight before something else happened. It would get much
worse.

After Ms. Hanley released her, Mandy
squeezed Simra's shoulders. “There’s no need to worry so much about
me, Honey. I’m okay. I got so scared on the way here, but God saved
my life. I owe Him for that. But you and Zach must know something.
Is he still here?”

Relief washed through Simra to know
about Mandy’s faith in the Lord. She nodded and took a quick
glimpse at Zach. Simra almost forgot how other people could not see
him and Tristan. “Yeah, he’s here.”

Mandy took her cousin’s
hands and squeezed them with her eyes wavering. “I became
unconscious from bumping my head on the steering wheel in the
wreck. I dreamed something which felt and looked so real. I sense
it’s really happening. I also notice there
is
a storm outside just like in the
vision. I saw Tristan digging up a grave in St. Memory Cemetery. It
was his brother’s. He was about to set fire to the body and claimed
to be sending him back to heaven. The demon wants Zach out of the
way for good so he can have you all to himself.”

Chapter 27

"The Lord is near to the
brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." -Psalm
34:18

The raging storm caused the lights to
flicker in the lake house. Simra exchanged glances with Mandy, Ms.
Hanley, and Zach. She took the angel’s hand while Mandy and Ms.
Hanley's curious gazes observed her.

"Is it true?" Ms. Hanley
paled.

“Is it really happening?” Simra
squeezed his hand.

Zach grasped her hand with a soft grip.
“Anything’s possible with Azazel. The demon could’ve shown Mandy
this vision to frighten us out of the house. Or it might be true.
He has threatened to send me back to heaven. We must risk going to
St. Memory to stop him. A demon can’t cross sacred grounds, but he
can persuade a human to do the job. Let’s go to the cemetery before
it’s too late. You won’t see me here ever again if I’m sent back to
heaven. Then, you’ll never be able to destroy Azazel.”

Simra turned to Mandy and Ms. Hanley
before hurrying toward the door. She explained everything Zach
said. “You two stay here with Grandmother where it's safe. Zach and
I will return tonight. We must stop Tristan.”

Mandy tilted her head to the side and
gave Simra a sad pout. “Just be careful, Cousin. We’ll take care of
Grandma and pray for you.”

Zach interrupted Simra’s train of
thought. “Let's go to St. Memory before it’s too late.”

Mandy yawned and turned toward the den
where their grandmother sat on the couch. “I love you, Sim. Stay
safe.”

"Be careful. I'll save your dinner for
you," Ms. Hanley hugged Simra.

Simra returned Ms. Hanley's hug and
kissed Mandy on the cheek. “Thank you so much. I love you both, and
we’ll be careful.”

Mandy kissed her cousin on the brow
before Simra walked out the door. Simra hated to leave the safety
of the house. Then again, she wished they were already there to
stop the demon. Simra slipped into her sandals and rushed onto the
porch with the angel.

They locked the door behind them. She
almost leaped into his arms and nodded for him to carry her. Simra
choked back a sob of despair at the thought of never seeing Zach
again. She didn’t just need him for destroying the demon. But Simra
needed him by her side for the rest of her life.

Although she hated hearing his brutal
honesty, he guided her to have a relationship with God. Simra tried
to push away the thought of sharing her life with him. Mortals
couldn't be with angels. Besides, he wanted her grandmother’s
soul.

They arrived two miles from Pastor
Mervin's church. Zach placed Simra on her feet at the entrance of
St. Memory. He turned to her and pointed near the edge of the
graveyard. Candles were lit around a grave.

Taking her hand, he led her toward it.
“The only way to send me back is to light candles around my dead
vessel, recite a prayer over it, and burn it.”

"Stop him!” Zach cried out when Quint
dropped the match into the casket.

They stopped a short distance from the
thug behind a lone tree. Simra covered her open mouth when Zach
vanished into thin air. They didn't make it in time. A gruff laugh
escaped from the drug dealer while he watched the burning corpse.
They arrived much too late to save Zach. The angel would never come
back now.

Storming away with quiet
steps, Simra hurried down the road toward the church. Pastor Mervin
might be there, but the hour was late. Zach
did
say how Tristan could not cross
sacred ground. Maybe the demon wouldn’t be able to walk into a
church. Simra needed to call someone to take her back to the lake
house.

Tears streamed down her face from
losing Zach by the hands of a madman and a callous demon. Simra
made it into the church just in time. Rain began pouring down. The
doors were unlocked to her surprise. She cried out in agony and
hopelessness. “Pastor Mervin? Are you here? Anyone?”

Although no one replied, a loving
presence surrounded her. Lit candles circled around the back of the
altar. A church member must have just been there and could be
returning soon. They wouldn’t leave the candles burning all night
without coming back.

She scanned the church for anyone, and
her eyes filled with more tears. A beautiful marble statue of Jesus
stood in the front of the sanctuary. His arms were stretched wide
open while he gazed at the heavens. The serene presence enveloping
her had to be God.

Simra shifted her stare from the doors
of the church to the candles. “Is anyone here?”

She took slow steps toward the statue
and grazed her hand over the smooth surface. Why would someone from
the church be here at night? Zach or Tristan couldn’t unlock the
doors for certain. Did God unlock the doors for her?

The Lord performed so many miracles,
and she saw them with her own eyes. He chased Tristan away and gave
her the greatest amount of love and protection. God showed Simra
His will, the truth she needed to hear, and so much
more.

Complete security embraced her. She
hoped Tristan couldn’t approach her in this sacred place. Quint was
the one who might come inside the church to hurt her. However, her
faith in God became very strong at the moment.

The drug dealer would not kill Simra if
the Lord had anything to do with it. She still needed to fulfill
God’s purpose to destroy Tristan. Somehow.

However, no one could collect her
grandmother's soul or destroy the demon now. Since Zach returned to
heaven, Tristan could take Simra as his bride. Her spirit would be
lost forever if the demon couldn’t be destroyed. She needed God’s
help now more than ever.

Grabbing her cell phone in her pocket,
Simra started calling Jeff to arrest Quint before the crook
escaped. She explained everything when he answered. “I’m inside the
church where I’m safe from Tristan. It's two miles up the road from
St. Memory. Quint just burned Zach’s body in the cemetery. Zach’s
gone. Come and arrest Quint before he gets away.”

“Stay inside the church, Sim. I'm on my
way.” The detective hung up before she could say anything more to
him.

She knelt before the statue
and closed her eyes to pray while tears misted her eyes. A close
bond began developing between her and the Lord.
“
God, I’m so confused and sad right now.
Help me see everything clearly and guide me on what I should
do
.
Give me Your
truth and love in this dangerous place I’ve reached in my
life.”

Zach’s words repeated in her
head. “
Let go of your haunted
past.”

“God, help me to become
willing to let go of my painful memories. I realize it’s what You
want. Amen.
” She didn’t quite understand
what Zach meant by letting go of the past.

Simra became lost with confusion and
shifted her gaze at the statue for several moments. Maybe the angel
meant her family's tragedy and Simra’s involvement with Tristan.
Then again, she had already let most of it go. Well, except
wondering why God allowed it to happen.

Simra’s heart dropped to her knees when
the phone vibrated in her hand. When she saw Mandy calling, she
rushed to answer. Something could’ve happened to her grandmother,
Ms. Hanley, or her cousin. “Mandy?”

“
Granddaughter, sometimes we
must let go o’ things-people too precious to us so we be free,”
Lucinda mumbled in a whisper on the other end of the
line.

“Grandmother, what are you-“

The phone clicked when Lucinda hung up.
Her grandmother couldn’t be talking about Tristan. The demon was no
longer precious to Simra. However, Lucinda told her those exact
words before Simra broke up with him.

Could she be speaking of letting go of
Zach? Then again, the angel kept pushing her to let go of the past
too. Simra turned her gaze back to the statue of Jesus. This person
was in Simra’s past, but she had many who were dear to her
heart.

A warm breeze swept across her bare
shoulders and caused her to melt for a brief second. Gentle hands
latched onto her and squeezed. Simra’s heart leaped to her throat.
She jerked away in response and held back a scream. The phone
slipped from her hand to the floor, and Simra dared to look behind
her. The person was gone before she could see them.

They disappeared in the blink of an
eye. Simra’s wild heart raced out of control. But the warm presence
was still there. Zach could not have returned. Tristan must have
found a way inside the church.

A warm breeze blew down the nape of
Simra’s neck. The candles blew out by a warm wind across the large
sanctuary. Soft voices whispered around her, which she didn’t
understand. Her feet remained frozen to the floor.

The smoke from the candles caused her
nose to twitch. Weakness paralyzed her entire body. Simra didn’t
have Zach to protect her this time. A familiar voice spoke behind
her. Zach and Tristan’s deep, gentle voices sounded identical, but
she knew it couldn’t be the angel.

“There’s no reason to be afraid, Simra.
You should listen to your grandmother.”

Lucinda must have been
speaking about letting go of Zach when she called. Simra
did
begin holding him
precious to her heart. The angel helped Simra and saved her
countless times. Simra owed her life to the angel for how he saved
her and her loved ones. But she held her family dear to her heart
too. Simra knew Tristan would give
anything
for her to forget about his
brother and those she loved.