Read Piercing the Darkness Online
Authors: Frank Peretti
School board member Jerry Mason called right after she hung up on John Kendall. He wanted to know what she knew about this Sally Roe/mail tampering/lawsuit/curriculum thing, and didn’t Sally Roe commit suicide a while back? She wanted to know what he knew, they both wanted to know what Claire Johanson knew, and both agreed that none of them knew a lot and that all of them wanted to know a lot more, especially what the
feds
knew.
THE DEMONIC POWERS
and authorities of Bacon’s Corner were scattered. Terga’s best warriors fled elsewhere to find a new home for their mischief; Terga, alone except for the deserters who joined him on the way, set out for the Omega Center. Perhaps there was time to warn Barquit, Omega’s prince. Maybe Barquit would have the strength to save them and stop this onslaught.
FAR AWAY FROM
it all, in the city of Westhaven, the Circuit Court of Appeals, with all parties oblivious to the spiritual racket steadily growing and spreading out of Bacon’s Corner, convened at two o’clock in the afternoon. Wayne Corrigan and Tom Harris took their places at the defendant’s table on the right side of the courtroom, while attorneys Ames and Jefferson took their seats on the left.
“All rise,” said the bailiff, and they all rose, and in strode the three appellate judges, one younger man, one older man, and one sagging woman. They sat down, the three lawyers sat down, the clerk and bailiff sat down, and the court stenographer poised her fingers over the little keys.
Tom looked around the courtroom. Apart from one reporter that had shown up looking a little bored with his assignment, the gallery was empty. Of course. The public was waiting for the real show, the trial.
“Ah well,” Corrigan whispered, “it’s going to be a short day anyway.”
“No earthshaking surprises?” asked Tom.
“To be honest, I’m not expecting any.”
The older judge put on his reading glasses and referred to his papers. “This is the case of
Brandon v. the Good Shepherd Academy
, the defendant appealing the lower court’s ruling as to compelling a child witness to be examined by defense’s experts and to testify in this case . . .”
Corrigan sneaked a glance at Ames and Jefferson. They looked bored. Boy, now there was confidence!
IN FAIRWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS,
the Omega Center was in full swing, with classes in progress, fair weather on the campus, and—by their standards—nothing weird or unusual happening. A gang of young adults continued their good-hearted game of touch football on the playfield; on the Tai Chi plaza, two dozen practitioners moved in slow motion through time, space, and spirit; in the classrooms, high school kids, adults, and even senior citizens learned the latest westernized twist on Hindu mysticism; and in the quiet, cushioned meditation rooms, young transcendentalists watched with eyes closed as demons played cosmic movies in their brains.
CREE AND SI,
their armies in position, were ready and waiting. Any moment now . . .
BARQUIT, PRINCE OF
Omega, was troubled when he first heard the humming and whistling of frayed wings and then the anguished wails and laments of spirits far away. He took wing and hovered above the Omega Administration Building, peering westward until he saw the
spirits from Bacon’s Corner approaching, screaming with alarm.
Something was up. “Forces!”
FWOOOM!
He covered his head, blinded by brilliant light exploding on every side, obliterating the forests and hills, washing out the blue of the sky, bleaching out the colors of the Center. Spinning about in panic, he drew his sword, but it was struck away before he even saw his attacker.
He fled into the sky, feeling the burning light of Heaven at his heels.
TELEPHONES BEGAN TO
ring in every room on the campus, and every teacher, group leader, and facilitator got the word: the football game was over, classes were canceled, and anyone out in astral travel would have to come in for a landing. Mr. Tisen, the head of the Omega faculty, had gotten an angry call from Betty Hanover, a threatening call from Claire Johanson, and last but not least a nosy and intimidating call from the FBI. He was clearing the campus, and that meant everyone.
CREE AND SI
led their forces through the campus like a flash flood, whipping through and around the buildings, flushing demons out of the rooms, chasing them through the surrounding woods, cutting them down out of the sky. The demonic deceivers were swamped and confounded. They called for Barquit, their crafty leader, but he was long gone. They had little time to lament about it before they were gone as well.
Barquit looked back only once, just long enough to know that Omega, his empire, had fallen.
The Strongman! This is his blunder!
“CLASSES ARE CANCELED,”
said Tisen over the loudspeakers. “Everyone to your dorms. Get your belongings loaded on the buses and be ready to roll!”
The classes ended so abruptly and the students were sent out so quickly that many thought it was a fire drill, or even an air raid. Some
were still slipping on their coats as they hurried outside; others, still half-entranced, had to be led by the hand. The teachers were gathering up their coats, grabbing their briefcases, handouts, and curricula, shutting off the lights, locking up the rooms.
The football game broke up, and the players jogged back toward their dormitories full of questions.
Within an hour, the buses began to roll down the drive to the main road, carrying away faculty, students, even maintenance personnel, all chattering and wondering together just what in the world was going on.
Only a few noticed the plain olive sedan parked in front of the Administration Building. It hadn’t been there long.