Revelations (The Revelations Series Book 1) (11 page)

“You’re forgetting one thing,” Erin pointed out. “She knows her father would never let anything happen to me. Your plan won’t work.” She backed up towards the kitchen. If she could get out the back door she could hide until she found Jenna.

“Really, is that what you think?” The demon threw his head back and laughed. “You’re forgetting one thing; Jenna has never met her father. So, when I put the thoughts into her head that he let this happen she’ll begin to wonder if it could be true. And,
that
is all it’ll take for her to start to doubt his love. I’ll make sure she stays in this town so I can keep her questioning God’s motives. I’ll be there every day to remind her that it was her God that forced you to go into hiding to save her life. That
he
allowed her to be kidnapped and almost experimented on. And, I’ll keep whispering in her ear that he let you die. Tell me Erin, how long do you think before she begins to question her faith? And, when she finally denies her God, we’ll be there to convert her and then we’ll have her on our side.”

A sickening fear formed in the pit of Erin’s stomach as she took another step backward. She knew the demon was right. Why would Jenna keep her faith in God? After all, she had been wondering for a while now herself how God or her husband could allow such horrible things to keep happening to them.

Erin quickly grabbed a vase off the desk and threw it at the demon, then spun on her heels and ran toward the back door. If she could find Jenna, she might survive to see another day. Just as she reached the door, a pain shot through the back of her head as the demon grabbed a handful of her hair, yanked her backwards and threw her across the room.

She cried out in pain as he kicked her in the ribs. She rolled into the fetal position to try to protect herself from any other blows he may deliver.

“You stupid bitch! Do you think you can escape?” the demon snapped. “The only way you’re leaving this house is in a body bag.” The demon walked over to the cabinet drawer and took out a long sharp knife. “Jenna will be devastated when she finds your body,” he said as he dug the tip of the knife into his finger, a single droplet of blood dripped to the floor.

Erin struggled against the pain that tore through her whenever she moved. Her head swirled as she forced herself to stand up. She couldn’t allow this demon to kill her. She had to warn Jenna who he really was.

The demon came back towards Erin, a wicked smile on his face. “She’ll never forgive herself for not being here,” he taunted. “She’ll be vulnerable and that’s exactly what I need.”

Erin positioned herself on the other side of the table as the demon came at her. “I won’t let you hurt my daughter!” she exclaimed as she played a game of cat and mouse with the demon around the table.

“Do you think you can stop me?” The demon grabbed the table and flung it across the room, sending it crashing through the window.

Erin barely dodged the demon as he came after her. She kicked his weight-bearing leg out from under him and he crashed to the ground. But, he was quickly back on his feet, snarling as he came after her again. This time she wasn’t so lucky. The demon grabbed her and threw her into the wall knocking the wind out of her.

He wrapped his cold hard fingers around her neck, lifted her up off the floor and threw her into the china cabinet in the corner of the kitchen.

Please, don’t let him kill me before I can warn Jenna
, she prayed, although she knew there was no use.

A searing hot pain erupted in her side as the demon picked her up once again, this time driving the knife deep into her chest, not once, but twice, each time making sure to give it a twist for maximum damage. After the demon yanked the knife out, he merely let go of her and let her body fall to the floor.

She reached down and felt the wound. Warm blood seeped through her fingers as she tried to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

“
Nothing
can stop me now,” the demon declared as he knelt down beside her. A smile crept across his face as he once again drove the knife deep into Erin’s chest, this time piercing her heart.

Erin prayed Jenna was strong enough to resist the devil’s temptations. She struggled to breath, to hold onto life and not let this demon win. She could feel her body going cold as she gasped for air. Her last thought was of Jenna as her world went dark

JENNA
sat under the big oak tree in the woods behind her house reading her latest mystery novel. This was her favorite place to come and relax when she needed to get away and be by herself for a little while. It was so peaceful here. She loved to watch the crystal clear water trickle over the rocks in the stream. She still had a couple of days off before she had to start her training again and she was determined to finish this book before then.

She turned the page to start chapter five when she heard the crunching of leaves not far off in the distance. She closed the book and scanned the area around her. The whole time they had lived here, she had never once seen anyone or any sign that people came to this part of the forest.
Must be my imagination
, she thought as she stood up and brushed the dirt off the back of her pants. She had been out here all morning and figured that by now her mom would be starting to worry about her, so she decided she better head home.

Jenna took a few steps towards the path when an uneasiness took over her body telling her she wasn’t alone. She scanned the area again for signs of someone else being in the forest with her. Her pulse quickened as she heard the snapping of another twig not far off in the distance. Her senses kicked in telling her to run and hide, but she knew if she did she would alert whoever it was that she knew they were there. So, she pressed her back up against the oak tree and tried to hide from sight. After a few minutes, she heard no other sounds so she slowly peeked out from around the tree. Seeing no one, she crept toward the trail that would take her back to the house.

She had almost made it back when from the corner of her eye she saw a dark figure leap out from behind a tree. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight.

“Let me go,” she screamed as she struggled to free herself. The person just laughed as he tightened his grip.

Calm down, Jenna, you won’t be able to get free if you’re freaking out
. Jenna listened to her inner thoughts and stopped struggling. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and threw her head back. It connected with something solid and her assailant cried out. His grip loosened enough for her to free herself.

She ran a few feet, stopped and turned around. She raised her hand to summon the wind but instead energy emerged from it sending the assailant flying through the air. Jenna smiled as he slammed into a tree and slid to the ground.

“I give up,” he announced as he stood up with his hands raised. “You win.”

“Alex?” Jenna asked.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Alex stood up. “I was testing you. I knew you could protect yourself from me. But, I needed to see what you could do if someone else attacked you.”

“That wasn’t funny!” Jenna snapped. “You scared me. I could have really hurt you.”

Alex walked toward Jenna. “Sorry, but do you realize what you just did?”

“What do you mean? I used the wind to blow you backwards. We already know I can do that.”

“No, Jenna, you didn’t. It wasn’t the wind. You used a new ability. You have telekinesis like me.”

Confused, Jenna shook her head. “What? I do not…” She looked at the undisturbed ground around them. “Do I?” Jenna couldn’t believe it. He was right. If she had summoned the wind, the dirt and leaves on the ground would be scattered. The wind had never picked up, which meant she hadn’t used that element. “Wow,” she exclaimed. “You mean I have more abilities then we thought?”

“You must. How else could you have thrown me like that?”

Jenna smiled. How cool was that? She could move things with her mind. “I have to tell mom. She’ll be so happy that I have another ability to defend myself with.” Jenna turned and took off toward the house.

“Wait up,” Alex yelled as he ran to catch up with her.

“I can’t wait to tell mom about my new ability,” Jenna yelled over her shoulder as she ran toward the house. As she came out of the clearing into their backyard, she suddenly came to a halt.

Alex skidded to a stop barely missing her. “What’s wrong? Why did you stop like that?” he asked as he came up beside her.

Jenna didn’t say a word. She just stared at the house, as panic ripped through her.

Alex waved his hand in front of Jenna’s face. “Hello, I asked you a question?” Alex followed her gaze towards the house and instantly knew why she had stopped. There was scattered glass all over the lawn from the broken kitchen window. He stepped in front of Jenna.

“Stay here, I’ll check it out,” he told her.

Jenna franticly held onto a sliver of hope that her mom was okay as Alex crept up to the back porch and peeked through the window. The horrified look on his face told her what she feared the most.

“Mom!” she screamed. She raced toward the house praying her mom was still alive.

Alex stepped in her way before she could reach the porch. “Wait, Jenna, I don’t think you should go in there. Whoever hurt your mom may still be here.”

“Get out of my way, Alex!” Jenna demanded as she tried to push past him. There was no way she was going to let him keep her from her mom.

“Jenna, please…”

Jenna glared at Alex. How dare he try to keep her from her mother. She took a step backwards and flicked her wrist sending him sailing across the yard. With Alex out of the way, she quickly made her way up the back steps and flung open the door. She now knew why Alex had tried to stop her. There, on the floor, was her mother’s lifeless body covered in blood.

“Mom!” she screamed as she ran to her and collapsed to the floor beside her. She pulled her body up on her lap. “Please, Mom, still be alive,” she pleaded as tears welled up in her eyes. “Please don’t leave me.” She placed her trembling finger carefully on her mom’s throat to check for a pulse. Feeling nothing she pulled her mom closer and let the tears flow.

“I’m so sorry, Mom. I should have been here,” she whispered as she cradled her and rocked back and forth. A sensation of intense sickness and desolation swept over her. She closed her eyes, her heart aching with pain.

Alex came up beside her and knelt down. “Jenna, we have to call someone. The sooner the police know the sooner they can find who did this.”

Jenna stopped rocking and glared at Alex. “We know who did this! And why!” she snapped.

“We can’t be sure which side is responsible. Both demons and God would do anything to get to you. Even kill your mom if she refused to tell them where you were.”

Jenna hung her head low and closed her eyes. “Do whatever you want. Just leave me alone,” she whispered as she clung to her mom’s body.

Alex stood up and walked over to the phone, picked it up and began to dial. A few seconds later Jenna could hear him talking to someone but she knew they wouldn’t be of any help. Whoever had done this to her mother wasn’t human.

She kissed her mom’s forehead and gently laid her back on the floor. “I won’t let them get away with this. I promise they’ll pay for what they did to you,” she whispered, then stood up and headed for the door.

“Jenna, where are you going?” Alex called after her as he hung up the phone.

“To find whoever did this,” Jenna declared. She walked out the back door slamming it behind her.

“Jenna, stop,” Alex called as he rushed after her.

“They’re not going to get away with this.” Jenna scanned the area for any signs for which way the intruder had gone.

Alex stopped her as she was about to go around to the front of the house. “Jenna, please, you have to stop and think about what you’re doing. You’re not strong enough to face them yet.”

Jenna didn’t respond. She raised her hand and the dust and debris from the ground began to rise and surround Alex. She didn’t care if she wasn’t strong enough. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to live without her mom. She released the earth from her command and collapsed to the ground, her body trembling as she looked at her blood covered hands and began to sob.

Alex helped her to her feet as the sounds of police sirens grew closer. She reluctantly let Alex guide her to the chair on the porch. What was she was supposed to do? Her whole world had just been taken from her and now she was alone. The only two things she knew for certain was… the only person who had loved her was gone, and
she
was the reason why.