No one who had been there would ever be free from that moment— from those screams. From that moment on, similar screams would echo time and again from the lips of others who, like James Wong, refused to admit that a demon-possessed man was now their lord. Now they knew, but now it was too late. Up to that hour, Mark Beaulieu had contained Satan. But from that moment on, Satan contained Mark Beaulieu. The Antichrist had been loosed in fury upon the earth. Fortunately, his time was limited.

A SHOCKED AND GRIEVING Al Augustus received immediate clearance to return to the United States to pursue the “peace effort.” But in the darkness of the cabin on his flight back across the Atlantic, he repeated in his mind over and over his promise to avenge his friend, James Wong. Jimmy, I’ll make him pay. Jimmy, I’ll do it for you. With all my strength, somehow I’ll take that monster down. What Al Augustus, in his grief, did not realize was that in his own strength he could never destroy a spiritual being as powerful as Satan.

When he landed at Andrews Air Force Base, he immediately called his wife. His conversation was terse and to the point. “Thank God, you decided not to go to the inauguration, Barbara,” he said. “It was beyond description.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. Al could hear the alarm in her voice.

“I’ll tell you later,” he said, “when I see you in Albuquerque. We’re going on an extended vacation.”

“Al—”

“No questions. I’ll explain it all later. I’m making arrangements now, and I want you on a flight out of Andrews tonight. Someone from Andrews will call you with the exact flight time.”

“But—but—” Barbara sputtered.

“Hey,” Al said cheerfully, “I told you when you married me, you’d never be bored!”

Barbara couldn’t help laughing. “You got that right,” she said.

“See you in Albuquerque,” Al said, and hung up.

After making arrangements for Barbara’s flight, Al drove to Patuxent River Naval Air Station where a navy two-seater fighter was waiting to take him to Albuquerque. As soon as he was strapped in the forward seat, the pilot took off without pausing for clearances. They made the flight in record time. But as they approached Albuquerque, Al Augustus noticed unusual luminous columns in the sky to the west of the city. He had read about clouds of angels. Could that be what he was seeing? Could these be angels?

Jimmy, he thought, I’ll do what I can. But, maybe God has something for us that’s a lot more powerful than anything I can do.

Chapter Twenty-Five

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE