Immortal Memory (Book One) (6 page)

Simra remained unconscious. Zach took
her hands in his. They were clammy. He remembered Simra eating
donuts earlier, but that's all he saw her eat. Was she a
diabetic?

Zach left Simra with her grandmother to
grab an insulin shot and glucose meter out of the medicine room. He
returned without anyone noticing the extra equipment taken. Zach
pricked Simra's finger and allowed her blood to trickle onto the
meter. Sixty-two. She suffered severe hypoglycemia.

Zach jabbed the insulin shot into her
to bring her blood sugar back up. Now, he just needed to take her
to the lake house before she awoke. The angel of death dared to
caress the tender flesh of the young woman’s face.

Zach gathered Simra close against him,
and warmth ignited inside him. Her nearness captivated him as he
went through the city and held her in his arms. He looked down at
the sleeping beauty again and almost couldn’t resist stealing a
quick kiss. Shaking off such tempting thoughts, he focused on his
mission in this world.

He did not return to this world to fall
in love a second time. Zach would not allow himself to become
distracted again. If it was wrong for him to love Lucinda, it was
wrong to love Simra. He only needed Simra's assistance in stopping
Azazel and communicating to their mortal parents.

However, Simra must be protected so she
would live to fulfill her duty. That duty was to help him destroy
the demon. His heart twisted in regret. A bigger part of him wanted
to protect her for another reason.

He hated to admit how much she affected
him. And worse, he knew how much he affected her too. She was
falling in love with him. She was making the same terrible mistake
as Lucinda years ago.

Zach arrived at his old lake house and
stepped onto the porch to unlock the door. The strong aroma of
cedar suffocated him with aching memories inside the house. The old
floors creaked beneath his feet. Huge oil paintings of the
mountains hovered over breakable figurines of bears and wolves.
Large evergreen candles stood beside the porcelain figures on wide
cedar shelves. The decorations lavished the inside of the
place.

His parents kept it just as Zach had it
before he left his mortal vessel. The scent in the house with Simra
there caused his heart to ache. His past in this house with Lucinda
would always haunt him. Forcing his gaze back to the young woman,
he realized he must focus on his mission with her now.

Zach lit the candles to bring more
comfort inside the house when Simra awoke. He studied the sleeping
woman after lighting them. Enduring these dangerous encounters with
Azazel must have drained her delicate human body. After her lashes
fluttered open, her gaze traveled to Zach. Mistrust and rage
seethed from her hazel eyes.

“Zach, where am I?”

Remaining calm, Zach explained about
protecting her. “I’ve brought you to safety so Azazel can’t get to
you and hurt you. He can’t come inside my lake house. It's been
protected for years. I prepared my house on the Lake o’ the Pines
to protect anyone against a demon. A pastor was asked to recite
sacred prayers all around the outside and inside.

"I asked him just before your
grandmother came from Farmerville, Louisiana. This home belonged to
your grandfather's Aunt Cathleen. I bought the place when I
returned in the modern days. I persuaded my mortal parents into
keeping it as their camp. They kept their promise to
me.”

He gazed down as regret filled him. “I
didn’t have the chance to tell my parents to take precaution of
Azazel. He murdered my mortal vessel before I could tell them. My
death was made to look accidental. I think my brother wants to
murder our parents in my presence.”

Simra bolted up from the chair with her
hands balled into fists at her sides. “Take me back to my
grandmother! Tristan might still be there. How could you leave her
there with someone like him?”

Zach stood from the chair. “She’s fine.
You’ll be fine. I defeated Azazel and said a prayer of protection
to keep him away from Lucinda for the time being. God’s protecting
her for now. You can inform your cousin and the nurses of bringing
your grandmother here to stay with us if you’d feel more secure.
Have faith that we’ll endure this and destroy Azazel.”

Simra took slow steps away from him and
walked around the house. She stopped to gaze toward the yard and
the shed outside the kitchen window. “Why would I want to bring her
here to stay with someone who’s collecting her soul? I don’t see a
lake. You certain Tristan can’t come inside this house?”

He couldn't control a grin from forming
across his lips. Simra seemed somewhat more trusting of him. Azazel
was the cause for her mistrust. Sympathy filled Zach for the poor
woman and what she endured with his demon brother.

“Yes. I won’t collect her soul until
the curse claims her life. I’m not doing this because I want to.
There's more bad news. Azazel cursed you as well. You have
hypoglycemia. You should eat healthier, balanced meals and
eliminate your sugar intake.

"The only time you should eat sugar is
when your blood sugar drops. That's why you've been blacking out
all this time. The lake’s less than half a mile down the road. As
you can see, Simra, there’s a boat in the shed. All of this belongs
to my parents now. I wanted give this place to them before I died
because I knew we'd need somewhere safe to stay.”

“Tristan killed the body you inhabited?
How do you know he cursed me and that it's
hypoglycemia?”

The angel took a seat in one of the
cedar chairs at the kitchen table. He repeated what Azazel said to
him during her unconsciousness and how Zach figured it out. “And,
yes. He’s the one who murdered me right after Quint killed his
vessel. Azazel intended to die. He's more powerful now. God wants
me to stop Azazel before many more people get hurt.”

She took a seat in the chair across
from him at the table. “People like me and my family have already
gotten hurt. Can this curse that Tristan placed on us be
removed?”

“I’m not certain, but we'll see.
Perhaps if Azazel’s destroyed, the curse will be as well. Again,
I’m not sure,” he leaned forward in his chair, “I need your help.
But you must be willing to change things within you. In return,
you'll be rewarded greatly. God will bless you. You’ll have peace,
love, and happiness.”

Simra clasped and unclasped her hands.
“I’m sorry, but I continue thinking I’ll wake up from this
nightmare. None of it seems real. It’s difficult for me to believe
in angels, demons, and curses.” She drew back in her seat. “Please
take me back to my grandmother.”

Determination seized Zach in making
this stubborn woman help him. He must keep her safe so she could
get the job done. The angel held his tongue from showing any
impatience. “You’ll die and awaken in a real nightmare if you go
back out there. Azazel’s waiting to take you. I advise you not to
do that. Fallen angels and curses are as real as God and His
blessings.”

He paused and added, “The Lord didn’t
want the darkness in this world to pass. Evil and curses are from
the dark one. Some people in this world have lost their faith or
gotten on the wrong path. Many dwell in darkness instead of living
in Him. This is why so much darkness walks among us. Some of you
allowed it into your lives and refuse the Father’s
salvation.”

Simra glanced away from him. The
emotions scattered in her eyes after he described her in some ways.
She didn’t turn her gaze toward him for several moments. “I…I…must
get back to Grandmother.”

“Simra, you won’t be able to go to the
nursing home for a while. I suggest calling your cousin and telling
her you won’t be able to make it. We have a job of our own we must
do. I’m warning you. It’s about to get ugly. First, I need you to
talk to my family about protecting themselves. They must be kept
safe from Azazel.”

A fuming rage ignited in her eyes. “I’m
going to work Monday. I’m needed there, and no one can stop me from
doing my job. Grandmother needs me most of all right
now.”

Zach leaned forward and tried
convincing the stubborn woman of the danger around her. “You’ll be
missing work whether you want to or not. Something terrible is
about to happen. A messenger of God told me, and God knows all.
Your grandmother will be fine. She can stay here with us. For now,
focus on protecting yourself. We have to find Azazel’s body to burn
as we recite prayers over it. The demon must be destroyed before
you and everyone else you know and love is murdered.”

Simra turned toward him before walking
out the door. She placed her hand on her hip. “Are you trying to
draw a reaction out of me? And making threats? You're acting just
like your brother and wasting my time. Goodbye.”

Bolting up from the chair, Zach
followed Simra onto the front porch. “The only reaction I’d ever
try to pull from you is happiness. I didn’t threaten you. I only
warned you about what will happen.”

He paused and added, “Azazel will come
after you if you leave the safety of this house. I didn’t try to
draw a reaction out of you. I know my brother told you lies and
that he's miserable on the inside. I only speak the truth. God
wants to help you through me.”

Simra ran down the steps of the porch
and turned to him before leaving. “I’m sorry, but I can’t trust
you. Your brother tricked me in a similar way. He acted like he
wanted to rescue me. Tristan turned out to be someone completely
opposite. I have to go check on my grandmother.”

“Simra, please…”

Zach started going after her until she
ran away from the house. A chill spread through him when he
realized his only hope of saving many people might be lost. This
innocent woman, blinded by her anger with the Lord, might be
killed. A woman who left his heart weaker than the last time he
fell in love.

Chapter 6

"But as for the cowardly,
the faithless, the detestable, as for the murderers, the sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be
in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second
death." -Revelation 21:8

The breath of roses and gardenias
embraced Simra with their sweet aroma in Zach’s yard. No vehicles
were parked at Zach's home, which mystified her how he brought her.
Moonlight glistened onto what appeared to be a road through the
thick trees ahead of her. Simra ran as fast as her legs could go
down the dirt path.

She had to get to her grandmother to
see if she was all right. Simra reached for her phone inside her
pocket and sighed with relief when she found it. Mandy or Jeff
needed to pick her up when she discovered where she was.

She made it to her destination with her
fists clenched in frustration. This was no road. Instead, it was
the lake shimmering beneath the radiant full moon. Simra couldn’t
chance going toward the house again. She might run into
Zach.

Tristan’s furious voice startled Simra
from behind and caused her heart to drop. “What've you been doing
with my brother?”

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes
in multiple attempts to wake herself up from this nightmare. Simra
kept opening them to face the man she couldn’t forgive standing by
the shore. “What happens in my life's no longer your concern. You
and I are done. Get over it. Face facts about yourself and life, or
you’ll be miserable forever. I don’t and never will love you in a
romantic way again.”

His balled fists trembled when he
inched closer to her. “If you’re going to point out my faults, why
don’t we name a few of yours? You continue dating other men behind
my back and lying to me. You’re also much too dependent on your
precious little grandmother. We both know Zach’s going to claim her
life soon.”

Hearing this guy’s bickering over and
over again throughout the last year of their relationship was
enough. She wasn’t naming his flaws. Tristan always had delusions
in his head and tried making her react in a horrible
way.

Drawing such reactions from
her seemed to make him feel better since he despised hearing facts.
Maybe he and Zach
were
different, and
she
didn’t wish to hear facts from the angel. The
longer she spent running from Tristan and Zach began to prove how
this couldn’t be a nightmare.

She stepped away from the guy. How she
pitied him! “I’m not getting into this absurd dispute with you
again. I never dated anyone behind your back and didn’t list your
faults. I’ve tried to help you before, but you refused it. You and
your brother will stay far away from my grandmother if you know
what’s best for you. Leave me alone.”

Mandy's words haunted her
wounded heart.
In most cases, a jealous
and possessive man is guilty of dating other women behind your
back
.

He stepped in front of her the second
she turned to walk away from him. “You’re right, princess. We
shouldn’t argue, but you shouldn’t trust my brother. I’ll do
nothing to hurt your grandmother-unlike him. Zach’s attempting to
claim her life. He wants you to believe I'm a demon so you’ll hate
me. My brother’s trying to make you believe he's an angel of God.
But he’ll eventually lead you into worshiping evil.”