Chapter 17: The Protectors

    Deceiver jumped as Elliot threw his body, which had returned back to his human form once he had entered the forest, on top of the large tiger. Deceiver's jaws snapped down on his arm and he yelled out in pain. 

    Suddenly, a bright light blinded all of them and Deceiver fell back, roaring as if he had been severely wounded.

    A large figure descended from above them. He wore a long white tunic and held a long sword. His eyes shone bright and a light radiated off of him.

    Deceiver got back up and looked at the one who had hurt him. His eyes widened with what looked like fear and he stepped back as more shining figures joined the first.

    "Go AWAY!" he yelled as he started to shake. "No . . .NO! I can't stay here."

    Deceiver vanished and they were all suddenly transported to a vast, hilly meadow. The strange people landed on the soft grass and turned to them, smiling. 

    "Who are you guys?" Suzie asked.

    "You called us. We are the Protectors," said the first one. "But most people refer to us as guardian angels."

    They were all speechless. Then Mishka said, "I-I had no idea that angels were real. Which god do you serve?"

    "The one true God. The one who created all things. The eternal King who rules with love and compassion."

    Mishka frowned. "My family worships many gods, the gods of my people. Why should I believe that there is only one? Or believe that he made everything and is loving?"

    "The only reason you are here right now and not dead is because the Lord heard Suzie, Brooks, Elliot, and Aidan cry out to him for help. He has answered their prayers and sent us to escort you all back home. Please

understand, the Lord loves you and you are like his child. He has seen how you struggle with your beliefs and wants to help you. For there is an eternal peace that only He can bring."

    Mishka looked down, "The rules that my family follow are very strict. My Mother says that it is the only way to please the gods so that they bless us. But my Father is dying and Mother has been praying to Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of Health for his healing, but he is only getting worse. She says that I have sinned behind her back and made the gods angry with our family, and that is why they won't heal Father. I

have tried my best to be good. But is it useless, no one is perfect and no one can be."

    Mishka fell to her knees and broke into tears. Suzie and Aidan both got down to comfort her as the angel said, "You have had a hard childhood, Mishka Prisha Vishlo, and the Lord has seen it all."

    "M-Mother said that Father will die because of me," Mishka choked. "Please, can God heal him?"

    "God can do anything. But you should ask him yourself."

    Mishka bowed her head as she had seen the others do and prayed so quietly that no one else heard her

except the angel. "Dear God, I ask for healing for my father. I want him to be well and live a long life. But I feel as if I do not deserve to ask you this, because of all I have done and the gods that I have worshipped alongside my family. But if what the angel says is true, that you are loving and compassionate, then I believe that you will answer my prayer. Thank you. Amen."

          Chapter 18: An Angry Devil

    Deceiver paced the jungle floor angrily. He had returned to the spot just outside of the abandoned village where the accursed Mujali had defeated him. It all made sense now. Mujali had been a Christian, or, as Deceiver liked to call them, a believing nuisance. That is why once he offered his sacrifice he must have been offering it to Deceiver's enemy, God.

    "If he had been offering it to any other god then it would not have kept me away," Deceiver thought angrily and he slashed open a tree.

    "I have no idea how I am supposed to win against my enemy and kill those annoying children! Hmm, I must wait until the Protectors drop them off back at the town and then I can kill them quickly and painfully."

    Deceiver thought over his plan but found one flaw. "I have been watching these siblings as they strayed from their parents faith and indulged in my worlds goodness. But how is it that they now know how to talk to the Enemy himself? Argghhh!!! Why can't He just let me kill them?"

    Deceiver stared at the sky and yelled, "Why do you

care about them? Why do you care about everyone who has sinned against you and sworn in your name? How can you? I would have slayed them where they stood if they said one word against me!"

    A large figure appeared in front of the tiger. An ugly beast resembling a scrawny goat. "Master," it said as it choughed, "the targets are still with the angels and we cannot break past to get to the Meadow of Joy."

    "Do not say that word!" Deceiver snapped. "Joy, JOY! Ahhh! I am waiting for them here. I want you to go and gather the rest of the demons to wait with me."

    "Yes master," the creature said as is disappeared.

          Chapter 19: The Love of God

    Aidan, Suzie, Brooks, Mishka, and Elliot were led by the Protectors crossed the beautiful meadow, Mishka was talking with Elliot, who happened to be a pastor, about faith in God.

    "But I thought that there was only one God?" she said as Elliot was explaining about the Trinity.

    "Yes, there is. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one God. Their union is best described by an apple. There is the skin of an apple, the flesh, and the core. There are three parts, but it is only one apple.