Amber by Dan-Dwayne Spencer (e book reader .TXT) 📕

heading off to get some old book? We’re leaving her unprotected, and it’s wrong.”

Flower replied, “We’ve gone over this already. Our best hope of getting her back alive is to find The Book of Uriel, retrieve the talisman, and use it against the fallen angels.”

“I’m not concerned with angels right now. What I want is to get my Rosie back and then pummel the sheriff-monster into the ground,” Jimmy gritted his teeth and growled the words, “Venus will get hers later. I’ll see to that.”

“Let’s make it plain, Venus was benevolent. We’re not dealing with Venus anymore, she has become Ishtar The Destroyer,” Flower stated. “So, let’s say we run in and attack the county jail. It’s the most protected stronghold in the city, and we don’t have one of Arland’s visions to tell us how to get in and out. Who knows how many other officers are possessed by Ishtar’s demons. How many more of her horde are waiting in the shadows to trap us if we were to try something? No. The odds are stacked against us. Our only hope is to use The Book of Uriel to get the talisman and then confront the Herald of Death herself.”

“You heard the sheriff-demon say he ordered his men to shoot to kill,” I said. “Brawn isn’t what we need. It’s time to use stealth, not strength.”

“Stealth didn’t rescue Rose,” Jimmy complained.

After all the cars passed our hiding place, Stoney pulled back onto the highway and headed toward the Tri-state marker.

Jimmy leaned back, his anger simmering in his words, “I would rather beat Briggs’ head open and drag his demon out of hiding. He owes me and I’m going to collect in spades.”

Roger asked, “What are you talking about? Why would any demon owe you?”

“This one tried to turn me into one of his puppet-creatures—him and Calypso. If I ever see that she-demon again, I’ll snap her in half at the hips.”

Without a doubt, Jimmy the bully was back and his anger had a focus—Sheriff Briggs.

Roger crowed, “I’d like to see that. She’ll have a lisp, talking her kind of sign language with a broken hip bone.” He raised his arms and acted like a Hoochie chick, limping while shimmying his hips.

Stoney called back to us, “It’s only an hour and a half, maybe a little longer, but we’ll be there soon.

I asked the question roiling over in my brain ever since Rose’s abduction, “Seriously, how do you defeat something immortal. We’re talking about conquering angels and demons, and unless I’m completely mistaken, they live forever. Can they be defeated?”

Stoney turned onto the highway, I saw the marker for Route 66. “Yes,” he answered, “fallen angels and demons can be hurt. They can be bound. They can even be cast back into Hell with their archangel. But you’re correct, they cannot be killed. At least not by any mortal weapon, and—”

Roger interrupted, “Why do I get the impression, you didn’t come along just to drive?”

Stoney patted the satchel at his side and looked over at Flower. He said, “You’re right. He either has excellent intuition or he has the gift.”

Roger flinched like something touched him—something unexpected. “The thing about having one of these spiritual gifts is you don’t have it all the time. It comes and goes, and when it’s gone,” he glanced at me, “You are as clueless as anyone else.” Roger put his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. “The freaking gift of wisdom would have come in handy all the time.”

“Why do you think you had me pull over?” Stoney asked.

“Because…everyone knew we’d tipped off the sheriff last night, and he was bound to be heading to the commune this morning,” Roger replied.

“Funny that didn’t occur to me, and I doubt it did for any of us.” Stony gazed at Roger in his mirror. “The word of wisdom will come to you when you need it. If indeed you have the gift. Flower says she can’t tell if you have a marking. Only an odd birthmark, and it’s not usually the kind of mark the gifted carry. As for why I’m here other than to drive, let’s say I have a talent for languages, and I’m pretty handy in a crisis.”

“Stoney used to teach Latin at a monastery school,” Flower said.

Roger perked up. “You used to be a monk?”

“No, I was a teacher. I taught the monks Latin.”

“So why did you leave to join the commune?” Roger asked. “Weren’t you happy there?”

“You’ve seen the commune. It’s like a little piece of heaven on Earth,” Stoney gave a dreamy sigh. “Why would anyone want to live anywhere else?”

Flower added, “Arland, you said the talisman has a Latin inscription on it, and the markings say something about angels—right?”

Both Arland and Roger nodded.

“Stoney is here to translate, just in case—you understand,” she said.

Roger nodded again. I doubted he understood any better than I did. If Stoney was with us to help identify the talisman, then Flower must think it would be close by this book of angels Phoenix talked about. Why she trusted anything he said was beyond me. Being a fallen angel, Phoenix was not on our side. Who knew where his loyalties might lie? I, sure as hell, couldn’t guess.

Phoenix definitely had his own minions. I saw them at the carnival climbing the walls cockroach style—just as the demon-child did in the Roundhouse. All considered, I had a feeling the fallen angel of The Cumberland Circus of the Bizarre was more comfortable with a lie than the truth.

Stoney passed the Tri-state marker and headed toward Joplin. “I want everyone’s attention for a moment.” He paused, waiting for us to look his way. “This could be dangerous. If any of Ishtar’s demons get between us and the book, and it looks like they