Chapter 2
Chapter 2
There is a delicate balance between the supernatural and natural realms that a keeper must maintain. God has protected one bloodline throughout the history of creation; it was called the Shurod. The Shurod is a 98 percent untainted bloodline with limited angelic powers. Each human that is in this bloodline has a birth defect. The physicians of the world were perplexed about this strange birth defect because there were only seven recorded cases. It consisted of two raised bones, about two inches long, located under the skin near their shoulder blades. The bones were unformed angel wings that had not matured.
Cracks in the doorway between natural and supernatural over the centuries have been widening, allowing supernatural beings passage into the natural realm. As a result, humankind has steadily declined in its morality, giving way for demons to possess and kill them more easily. Shurod was a divine word meaning doorkeeper or gatekeeper. The gatekeeper was responsible for the safety and security of the prison gates that housed the evil angels that fell with Lucifer.
Satan and his evil cohorts have spent eons trying to harvest this bloodline so they could have full reign over the earth with no interference from God’s angels. If Shurod’s blood is spread over the top and the sides of the prison hall entrance, then the chains binding the fallen angels will be shattered. It is very symbolic of what the Jews did in the Old Testament during Passover. II Peter 2:4 says that “God did not spare the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.” If this doorway is opened, the balance of nature will be destroyed. Christians have been highly effective in assisting the Shurod through prayer, but with all the new-age thinking and cults in the world, the gateway’s stability has been weakening. The prophecy told over the ages stated that if the gateway is opened, the angels that fell with Lucifer would be released, and there would be a great war in heaven. Murder and pestilence would fill the earth. Disease and famine would run rampant with no cure unless God’s son Jesus Christ returned and restored creation. It’s everything that the word of God spoke about in Revelation.
A group of high-ranking demons was in a meeting in an abandoned warehouse about the failed assassination attempt on the Shurod. They were discussing future attempts to eliminate this threat to further their cause. Roebarg, who was the superior of Nostros, was spewing obscenities at all the demons present at the meeting. He was a massive demon who bore many scars from his enemies. He had the head of a wolf, but with three eyes on each side of his head which enabled him to look in six different directions at one time. This ability was immensely helpful when doing battle because he was rarely surprised. He wore a black leather cloak that covered most of his body and a demonic medallion around his neck. He had the eyes of a snake, and with one look from him, you could see the evil that coursed through his veins. He was greatly feared amongst his fellow demons because of his unpredictable behavior. He was twelve feet tall, and a fierce warrior, and no demon could match his skills. He had no superior except Lucifer himself.
Roebarg heard the sound of wings flapping and looked in the direction of the noise, and told his comrades, “Something is coming.” All the demons present stood up and looked to see what it was. One of the demons blurted out, “It sounds like an angel coming toward us.” Everyone went on alert in anticipation of a brawl. Roebarg said in a raspy voice, “Draw your swords!” The metallic sound of swords being pulled from their scabbard filled the room. At the same time, Nostros flew down through an opening of the warehouse, clutching his side in pain. All the demons breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him.
When he landed, Roebarg barked out an order “Report!” Nostros was barely able to breathe; bowed and said, “I have failed my master.” Roebarg’s eyes squinted, “I know.” Nostros began to explain the situation to him, but Roebarg interrupted him. “I sent you on this especially important mission because I trusted that you could handle the situation. Lucifer ordered me to send my best general to kill one little human and you failed me. How many humans have you killed in your lifespan?” Roebarg yelled out, “Thousands and you can’t kill one more. You have failed me and now you must pay the penalty.”
Roebarg continued to humiliate Nostros in front of all the other generals when the Jarick that witnessed the ordeal spoke up in defense of Nostros, “Roebarg, how many times over the centuries have we tried to eliminate the Shurod?” Roebarg looked at the Jarick and ordered, “Silence!” Nostros raised his head slowly and muttered in an angry tone, “The Shurod!” Roebarg’s expression changed, and silence filled the air as all the other generals looked at him in anticipation of his answer. Nostros and the other generals had no idea that he was out to kill the Shurod. Roebarg sat down and folded his hands, “We have never been closer to the release of our brethren.” Nostros shouted out, “The Shurod! How did you expect me to single-handedly complete such an impossible task? I should have had at least three thousand assassins with uh, I don’t know, say two legions of soldiers.” A legion of soldiers was around one million. Roebarg snarled at his disrespect and warned, “Watch your tone with me, Nostros. This human has no idea who he is yet, and the angels of God were not fully prepared to protect him.” In a sarcastic tone, Roebarg said, “They only had one guardian watching over him, and I thought you could handle just one guardian angel!” The other generals snorted. Pagon, one of the generals who had long awaited the promotion to Nostros’ position, spoke up, “Roebarg, I could have easily completed the task. Nostros has failed you, and I believe that with the proper planning that I can accomplish the mission”. Roebarg fumbled with the medallion around his neck, “Maybe we should rethink your position of authority, Nostros.” Nostros looked at Pagon and spewed the words, “You are an opportunist, and you have no loyalty.” Pagon looked at Nostros, “You are right on one account but never question my loyalty.” Roebarg let out an evil laugh then said, “Let’s continue our efforts, Nostros there will be no penalty to pay today.” The only reason he granted Nostros mercy was so that he would not lose the respect of the other generals. He intended to severely beat Nostros in front of all the other demon generals to show that failure was unacceptable, but the Jarick foiled his plans. The Jaricks reported directly to Lucifer, and he did not want to look bad in Lucifer’s eyes. The Jaricks are the most loyal to Lucifer because he granted them passage into the natural realm where they possess humans and torment them. That was their idea of a vacation.
Dan was driving home with the radio playing softly. He came to a stop sign, and Sephri appeared to him on the passenger side of the car. Dan jumped and said, “JESUS!”. Sephri said, “No! and you should not use that name so loosely. It carries great power”. Dan slammed on the gas, squealed the tires, pulled into a nearby empty parking lot, threw open the door and yelled, “What do you want with me? And why is all this freaky stuff happening to me?” Sephri said, “Shurod, please calm down and I will explain.” Dan said, “What is all this Shurod stuff? My name is Dan.”
“Indeed, that is your mortal name, but your spiritual name is Shurod.”
Dan shook his head, “That dream that I had was for real?”
“It wasn’t a dream, but your first glimpse of your immortal enemy.
Dan replied in disbelief, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, what are you talking about?” Sephri began to explain to Dan who the Shurod were and the history behind them. Dan was so overwhelmed with all the information and began to tune Sephri out. He got a terrible feeling in his stomach, opened the car door, got out, and threw up on the pavement. Sephri looked at Dan, “I know that this is a lot to hear and almost unbelievable, but this is what you were born for.” Dan coughed, spit, then wiped his mouth on the bottom edge of his shirt. Sephri said, “There is more that I need to tell you.”. Sephri took a deep breath, “What comes out of a man’s mouth is what is in his heart.” Dan said, “I’ve heard that saying before, from my father when I was a very young boy.” Sephri turned his head, “Yes, he is a good man. Dan looked at him, “You knew my father?” Sephri replied, “Of course, he is Shurod like you.”
“What happened to him? Wait a minute; you speak of him as if he were alive. My father is dead, he just disappeared one day, and I never saw him again. The orphanage that I grew up in told me he had died.”
Sephri looked at him, “He is doing the Lord’s work now.”
“What do you mean?” Dan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All these years he had been under the impression that his father was dead, and he hated him for it. A hundred questions raced through his mind. His mouth dropped open in disbelief; he shook his head,” Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He stuttered to find the words to say. “My, my father is still alive?”
“Yes, his time here on earth is almost over. Therefore, I have been sent to protect you and make sure that you learn the ways of the Shurod.”
“Well, what about my mother?”
“She has passed on.”
Dan bowed his head, “I never knew my mother, I’ve always wondered about her.”
“On the contrary, you knew your mother very well.”
Dan looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. “NO! I did not. Sephri started to speak when he was interrupted by Dan, “NO! I cannot handle all this right now.” Sephri folded his arms and looked at Dan. He knew that Dan was going through an emotional roller coaster, so he stayed silent for a moment before he explained to him about his mother. Sephri placed his gold-plated arm on Dan’s shoulder, “Do you remember Mrs. Jones from your orphanage?”
“Yes, of course, she was a very kind and caring lady; she always seemed to be looking out for me.”
“There was a reason that you felt that way.”
“What? No way. Mrs. Jones was my mother?” Immediately he got butterflies in his stomach.
“Yes, she was.”
Dan sat down, remembering the times that they shared, and then smiled. He snapped up to his feet as tears fell from his eyes, “You have made a mistake; you obviously have the wrong man.”
“No, you are the Shurod.”
“How do you know that I am this gatekeeper?”
“You bear the marks.”
“What marks? I have no marks.”
“The two unformed bones on your back.”
“It’s a birth defect that I was born with.”
“Yes, the birth defect, as you put it, is the beginning of unformed wings.”
Dan reached back and touched the two nubs. “This is not happening to me.”
“Take my hand, I have something to show you.”
Sephri lunged into the air dragging Dan along with him like Peter Pan, and they darted into the night sky. They were transported into the spirit realm. It looked like the natural realm, but there was a feeling that Dan couldn’t explain, almost like he had been there before. He had never felt so calm and peaceful. Sephri said, “Dan, this is where unseen battles take place. This is a constant battleground between good and evil. I want to show you how demons work against humans. Sephri took him to a familiar place, Dan’s record store.
They stood outside looking in and saw that the store was covered in demonic activity. Dan looked off to his right and saw one of his regular customers walking in front of the storefront, with something attached to his back. Dan asked Sephri, “What is that?”
“You know him, don’t you?”
Dan replied, “Yes.”
“That young man is possessed by a demon, and it is tormenting him.”
“I never would have thought that this was happening to him.”
“Dan, think about it for a moment. You see this young man all the time, never with a smile on his face, always looking depressed. Do you think that God wants his children to live like that?” Dan pondered the question for a second and said in a sarcastic tone, “Well if that’s the case Sephri then I know a lot of people that are possessed.”
“Yes you do, the music that your store sells can be a doorway to the demonic world when mixed with strong drugs and sinful desires.”
“I never looked at it that way, but I suppose you are right. What are all those demons doing in my store, and why can’t they see us?”
“The demons are in your store because there are so many people that come to your store that are unbelievers, they are easy prey for the demons to possess and torment.” Sephri continued. “The ability to be unseen by demons is highly effective when doing reconnaissance work on the evil forces of the world. The average demon that torments humans is not able to see through this barrier.”
“Cool! Like a cloaking device.”
“Yes, this ability is called shadowing, and you will need to learn this. When used effectively it can be a great advantage to you. Only the most powerful evil leaders can see through this barrier.”
“I will be able to do this?”
“Yes, Shurod, in time, and you will be able to do much more.” Sephri walked toward the storefront, and Dan followed close behind him. They passed through the front door like ghosts. Dan started to get a lump in his throat when he and Sephri walked into the midst of all the demonic activity. Sephri said, “This will be your first lesson on the ways demons antagonize humans.” Sephri pointed toward Jamie, his loyal worker, who had a demon dancing violently around her. Dan thought to himself, “What is she doing at the store?” Sephri said, “Demons can physically harm mortal man, even though they are in the supernatural realm. They will act upon ones’ physical weakness, such as a bad heart and cause a heart attack. Or someone that has problems breathing and causing suffocation or shortness of breath. These are some of their tactics, although subtle, but remarkably effective when trying to harm finite humans. Sephri turned around and looked outside, and pointed toward the street, “Observe.”
There was a homeless man across the street, lying on the sidewalk, with a half-empty bottle of wine in his hand. There was a demon that appeared to be slicing at his chest. It was like a rabid dog frantically digging a hole. The demon seemed to be almost happy or excited about what he was doing and hissed and laughed. “Almost,” it said out loud. Dan looked at Sephri, “What is that demon doing?”
“That is a tormenting demon. The human has almost given in to its evil whispers. If the human gives up his will the demon will possess him.”
“Sephri! Do something for that poor man!” Sephri nodded at him, “Ok.” Sephri and Dan floated toward the man. Sephri lifted his right arm and placed his hand in front of his face with his palm facing his body, and dropped his hand like he was wiping something off of his angelic face. What he was doing was removing the protective shadow barrier so the demon could see his presence. When Sephri revealed himself to the demon, the demon looked at him one time then went back to what it was doing. Then in an instant, the demon realized that he had just seen an angel of God. He stopped his clawing at the man and started to whimper in fear. He slowly turned his head to take a second glance at Sephri. As he turned his head, saliva was dripping from his mouth, and the smell of sulfur was extraordinarily strong. When Sephri made eye contact with the little three-foot demon, he said, “Boo.”. The demon jumped up and screamed like it had just been hit in the backside with a shotgun. The demon landed on top of a city mailbox, then jumped onto the road and scampered into Dan’s store to warn his fellow demons. Sephri immediately went back into shadow mode to stay undetected. The demon pointed in the direction of where he had seen Sephri. The other demons looked with great anticipation because many of them had never seen an angel. They were excited and scared, all at the same time. They huddled toward the front of the store, fighting each other to catch a glimpse of an angel. One of the demons spoke up, “I don’t see anything.” They continued to look in every direction. Then another demon spoke up and said, “There is nothing out there. He was just trying to trick us.” The mutterings of all the demons fill the air as they made fun of the demon that saw Sephri. The little demon yelled out, “I’m telling you; he was there!” They all went back to what they were doing before they were interrupted by the foolish cries of one of their comrades. Sephri and Dan watch the little demon as he dropped his head in disgust because none of the other demons believed him. Sephri said, “I have shown you how Satan’s demons work against humans. Now do you understand what goes on in the supernatural realm?”
“Yes, and it is the most frightening thing I have ever seen.
“That is enough for tonight.” Sephri grabbed Dan’s hand again and leaped into the air like before. Sephri took Dan back to his car. “Shurod, go home. You need to rest for tomorrow.” Dan looked at him, “What about tomorrow?” Sephri vanished.
