“Come on.” Taking Thomas's hand, she led him through a gap in the fence and into the backyard.
“This is where you live?” he asked.
“Lived. Not anymore. It was my sister’s home.”
“What happened to her?”
“Rapture,” she answered, not caring that he didn’t believe. “Her, her husband, and my niece.”
He huffed.
Fishing through the dirt of a potted plant on the back porch, she pulled out a key and unlocked the back door.
Before she could even open it, it swung and hit her in the face.
She fell backward into Thomas just as a man stepped onto the back porch, an AR-15 pointed straight at them.
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:18
Chapter 10
Groaning, Zarall took a stand beside his ward, Tori, and leveled a threatening glare at the demons inhabiting the human male. They’d fought off every vile spirit inside and outside of the home before Tori and Thomas arrived, but they had no authority over the ones inhabiting the damned human—not until they came out of him and attacked.
Arithem drew his blade. “Hold steady, my friend.”
“Come out, you cowards!” Zarall taunted the demons, the number of which he could not determine, though he knew they were many.
The main demon hissed. “What have we to do with you, mighty warriors of the Most High? Leave us be. Our time has not yet come.”
“Aye, but it will come soon enough, dark one,” Arithem returned. “For now, touch not these holy saints.”
The demon laughed. “We will make the man kill them where they stand, and you can do naught to stop us.”
Zarall hefted his ax in the air, but Arithem gripped his arm. “Nay. He’s right.” He nodded toward Tori. “Only the daughter of Eve can bind them. Without her permission, we can do nothing.”
???
The AR-15 waved before Tori’s chest. Thomas started to circle her, a protective gesture she appreciated, but she thrust out her arm and held him back. “This is my home. Who are you?”
Snickering, the man stepped farther onto the porch, squinting his eyes at her. “So, itisyou. Don’t matter. This is my home now.”
“Butch?” Tori stared up at the six-foot-three beast before her. “From across the street?” He had been such a great neighbor, friendly, kind, the type who took in your garbage cans when you weren’t home and brought over extra fruit from the store. Aside from a few familiar physical features, the man who stood before her now looked more like a WWF wrestler filled with rage and fear.
“Get out now!” He gestured with his gun, his finger on the trigger. “No room for you here!”
“We will only be a minute, I promise.”
“Tori, let’s go,” Thomas said from behind.
Lord, help.
That’s when she saw them, dozens of black shadows crossing the man’s eyes, back and forth, restless, angry spirits, unnerved by her presence.
Squaring her shoulders, she attempted to settle the beating of her heart. “You will let us inside. I bind and muzzle you in the name of Jesus.”
???
