Later that same night, As the Monkees, Elizabeth and Darlene rested from their ordeal, Maggie awoke from her fight with Elizabeth. Her whole body aching from the kicks and blows the angel had given her.
Groaning, she tried to put her hand to her head, but found she couldn't move either of her hands. Opening her eyes, she found herself standing up, but bent over, her wrists and neck were locked inside a wooden stock. Images of the guillotine suddenly came to her mind as she frantically tried to get free. Just then, Keith Locksley came into view. He was wearing his purple suit and a purple cape with pentacles embroidered around it.
"Oh, you're finally up! Very good, they're waiting for you."
"Keith, what's going on? Let me out of this!" Maggie demanded.
"Sorry, sweets, but I got orders from our master to punish you. Seems you've been a bad little witch and let four mortals escape and let an angel beat the stuffing out of you." The wizard replied, shaking his head.
Maggie's eyes went wide in fear. "What are you going to do to me?"
"Oh, you've been to several of my private parties to know, Magnolia." Keith said, "Tonight being Halloween means we've got all sorts of our fellow witches, warlocks and wizards, not to mention a few mortals, looking for a good time."
"Please, Keith, let me out, I'll give you whatever you want." Maggie begged, knowing what kind of `parties' Keith liked to give.
"Hey, you know I can't go against the master's wishes." Keith replied, "I'd end up in the same position you are in right now. Oh, don't bother trying to use a spell to free yourself either. I poured a potion on the wood to keep any witchcraft in check." Keith leaned closer to her. "If it makes you feel any better, you're getting off a lot easier than Jynger did." He kissed her cheek, then walked toward the curtain which opened by itself. It turns out he and Maggie were on the stage of the Potion Club. The tables and chairs gone, it was now a torture chamber. Standing in front of the stage, a large crowd howled when they saw Maggie.
"Welcome to my party!" Keith shouted. "For tonight's entertainment, we have Magnolia Karrel, a witch who has displeased our Lord Satan!" A paddle appeared in his hand. "She needs to be punished for her failure. Now, who wants to spank Magnolia the bad witch?"
Several hands went up, including one of none other than Satan himself.
++++
Jynger found herself falling and falling, going further down into the darkness. She screamed and tried to use her magic, but she kept on falling down a long pitch black tunnel. After she had hit the ground after her fight, she felt her soul leave her body and rise up into the air, up to a bright light, but soon she began to fall down, down down. The air began to grow hotter and the sides of the walls around her began to glow red. Soon, her dress was beginning to smolder. Suddenly, the walls around her opened up to a vast fiery chamber, farther than the eye could see. Below, she saw a sea of fire filled with souls screaming in eternal pain with horrible-looking demons tormenting them. It was to that sea of fire to which she was heading!
Just then, a black flying demon appeared from nowhere and swooped down toward her. It grabbed her hair with one of its claws and pulled her away from the burning sea.
A wave of relief washed over Jynger. She was being spared eternal torment by her master! Perhaps she would get another chance!
Despite the pain of her hair being pulled, Jynger smiled as the demon flew her over to cave in a wall that overlooked the fiery sea. The demon flew into the cave, roughly dropped the witch on the floor and then landed next to her. Jynger looked up and noticed the cave was furnished with table and chairs, chests of drawers, shelves and an old-fashioned phonograph player in one corner. This was Satan's private quarters!
Getting up off a lounge chair, Satan calmly walked over to the witch and demon.
"Thank you Garcon, that will be all." Satan said to the demon.
Garcon bowed to his dark master and flew back out of the cave.
Trembling, Jynger stayed on her knees with her head bowed, not daring to speak.
"So, Jynger my dear, what do you have to say for yourself?" Satan asked. Your evil empire is gone, no more young men will be committing suicide, taking drugs or causing trouble, but most importantly, those four mortals, those mortals I wanted very badly, escaped."
"I did my best, Master." Jynger stuttered, "That angel?she was too powerful. Estella should've known?"
Satan raised his foot and sent Jynger sprawling to the floor.
"Too powerful? TOO POWERFUL?" Satan screamed at her, "You're saying an angel is more powerful than a witch?" Not waiting for an answer, Satan went on.
"That Nesmith, a descendent of Saint Thomas, had the quill in his hand! Now they'll all be very suspicious of signing anything!" He shouted at the shaking witch, "I'll never get such a chance again to bring them over to me!"
"You'll find a way, Master." Jynger whispered, "You'll get them."
Satan smiled down at his servant. "Oh yes I will. They've caused me so much trouble, I won't rest until I have them kneeling in front of me!" He raised his hands, "But you won't be there to see it."
"What are you going to do to me, Master?" Jynger asked, very frightened.
"I'll need some amusement while I plot another way to grab those four mortals." Satan snickered, "And some music will help me to think?"
A black cloud came from Satan's hands and enveloped the witch. When the smoke cleared, a record album was lying in her place. Satan bent down and picked up the record. On its surface was the face of Jynger, a look of terror etched in her face. Satan went over to the record player, put the record on and place the needle on the record. But instead of music, the sound of Jynger's screams were heard as the sharp needle rode along the grooves.
"Ah, very nice." Satan smiled as he walked over to his lounge chair to relax and plan more evil.
++++
A few days later, Micky and Davy were in the living room of the pad watching the noon news. All four Monkees had been spending the last few days quietly, thinking, praying and generally trying to come to terms with what had happened. All of them privately wondered when or if Elizabeth would come back and how she would treat them. Micky thought about what happened when he had touched Elizabeth during the fight with Estelle and during the fight with Jynger and Maggie.
Somehow he had given her strength, but didn't know how. Micky decided not to mention this to the others until he had talked it over privately with Elizabeth.
After the commercials, the news announcer came back on.
"Last night, based on an anonymous tip, there was a raid on the famous Potion Club." The announcer said, "Police found several thousand dollars worth of illegal drugs stored in the back rooms and arrested several patrons." The announcer went on to name several well-known celebrities that had been caught in the raid. Micky and Davy just looked at each other.
"The owner of the Potion Club, Keith Locksley, somehow escaped and a warrant is out for his arrest." The announcer finished.
"I wonder if Elizabeth had something to do with that?" Micky wondered out loud.
"Hmm...possibly." A familiar voice answered.
"Elizabeth?" Micky and Davy asked, standing up.
The angel slowly appeared in front of them, wearing a yellow dress and sandals. She too had spent the last few days in prayer and contemplation over what had happened to her and her friends. The death of Jynger saddened Elizabeth. Even though Jynger was wicked, the angel did not rejoice at her death. There was also a few loose ends that had to be taken care of as well, before Elizabeth could finally talk things over with the Monkees. She had been checking up on the Monkees every so often and now she felt it was time for a visit.
"Peace be with you." Elizabeth said with a smile. But instead of replying the two Monkees fell to their knees.
"What are you two doing?" Elizabeth asked.
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth." Micky said, his voice breaking, "I should've listened to you."
"Me too, Elizabeth." Davy said, "I was foolish and went after material things."
"Don't turn me into a pillar of salt, please!" Micky begged.
"Get up." Elizabeth replied, a slight laugh. She pulled the two to their feet and rested her hands on their shoulders, "I forgive you."
"You do?" Davy asked, raising his head.
"You're not going to turn me to salt?" Micky asked.
"No, not today, Micky." Elizabeth smiled, pinching his cheek. "Yes, I do forgive you two. I well understand the lure of wealth. I'm just glad I was able to reach the four of you in time."
Micky and Davy enveloped Elizabeth in a big hug.
"Thank you, Elizabeth." They whispered.
When they finally parted, Davy looked seriously at Elizabeth.
"Do you think the Lord has forgiven us?" He asked.
"The Lord forgives all who turn to him with a contrite heart." Elizabeth replied.
Micky and Davy looked relieved at that.
"How are you doing, hun?" Micky asked, running a hand down her cheek, "You had a few issues to deal with too."
"I'm fine, Micky." Elizabeth replied, "I take no delight in the demise of the wicked, but Jynger, chose her life and now has to deal with the consequences."
"What do you think happened to her and Maggie?" Davy asked.
The angel sighed. "Satan, like the Lord, takes care of his own, but not in a benevolent way."
In the silence that followed, Micky asked, "So was Keith Locksley involved in all this too?"
"Keith Locksley is a Wizard who specializes in making drugs, potions and other evil concoctions." Elizabeth said, "His Potion Club was a front for his drug-dealing activities. At the Blazin' Hot Music store, I was told to look over the files of the new acts. I noticed that many of the new acts were discovered at his club. When I kissed you four before you went to Jynger's party, I sucked out an influence potion from your bodies. I knew then Keith was back in business."
"The tea we drank was drugged?" Micky asked, shocked.
"Yes, and probably a lot of things you ate and drank at her party were drugged too." Elizabeth replied.
"So Keith was bringing in new acts so Jynger could put subliminal stuff on their records." Davy added.
"Like us." Micky said sourly, "Too bad he escaped."
"He won't be stopped by any mortal means." Elizabeth said, "He'll turn up again in another town to do his evil work."
The angel looked around the pad. "Where's Peter and Mike?"
"They're both out on the beach." Davy replied. "Peter's with Darlene, and Mike, well?"
"Mike is taking this pretty bad, isn't he?" Elizabeth asked quietly.
"Yeah, Darlene and Peter are helping each other get through this, but Mike's been spending a lot of time on the beach alone, not wanting any company." Micky said, shaking his head. "He hasn't touched his guitar and won't eat either."
"That's not good. I'll talk to him." The angel said sadly, "He has to forgive himself for what he's done."
"If anybody can get through that Texas stubbornness of his, it'll be you, sweetheart." Micky said.
Elizabeth laughed at that, as Davy put a hand on her shoulder.
"Elizabeth, we were wondering if would like to come back here, say, day after tomorrow for dinner." He said, "Darlene already said she'd come too."
"I'd be glad to!" Elizabeth said, "Thank you very much!"
"We want to try and make it up to you a little." Micky said.
"You fellows are so sweet." Elizabeth smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to go talk to your band mates. May the Lord be with you."
"And also with you, Elizabeth." Micky and Davy said as Elizabeth faded from sight.
++++
Peter and Darlene were sitting on a beach blanket a little ways from the pad. Darlene was wearing a dark blue one-piece bathing suit while Peter wore orange trunks. Right now, Peter was drying Darlene's back with a towel since it was wet from their romp in the surf.
"There. All dry." Peter said, setting the towel aside.
"Thank you, Peter." Darlene replied, letting her hair, which was tied in a ponytail, fall back down her back.
The two sat there looking at each other for several seconds, not knowing what to say. Both were rather awkward around the opposite sex; Peter never had much luck with girls and Darlene had had a few bad experiences with some of her boyfriends. Over the last few days, they had spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other, and they both felt an attraction to each the other, still, they had tacitly agreed to take it slow and not rush into things.
"You have such nice dark hair." Peter said finally with a shy smile.
"It's not really that color, Peter." Darlene said, looking down, "It's really a light brown. I dyed it black, thinking it would make me look tough." She shook her head, "I'm going to let it grow out or maybe dye it to something close to my natural color until the black dye is gone."
"Whatever your hair color, you'll still look very nice." Peter replied.
"Thank you." Darlene replied, taking his hand. She then looked over at the guitar case next to him. "Can you play something else for me?" She asked.
"I've played you just about everything I know already." Peter replied with a chuckle. "Wait, I didn't play that Christian song I've been working on for a long time." He got his acoustic guitar out of the case. "I got the inspiration to finish it these last few days." He strummed a few chords and began to sing:
"We are brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, with God as our Father,
He has sent us help through the wilderness, leading us as we fast and pray.
We are led by the spirit, we are led by God's spirit, as we find our way to our heavenly Father.
Together, led by the spirit, we will confront temptation day to day,
And with the Lord's grace we one day will meet our heavenly Father."
Darlene clapped delightedly as Peter strummed the final chord. "That was beautiful, Peter." She said, getting a mischievous gleam in her eye, "I wonder who inspired it?"
"Yeah, I wonder who?" Elizabeth said with a smile as she walked over to them.
"Elizabeth!" Peter and Darlene exclaimed, then like Micky and Davy, went on their knees in front of her.
"Oh no you two don't!" The angel said sternly, "I won't have you two kneeling if front of me like Micky and Davy did!"
She gently pushed the two back down and sat down next to them.
"So, how are you two doing?" Elizabeth asked.
"I told Darlene all that had gone on before." Peter said, "I now realize I didn't think things through and almost lost it all."
"Actually, of all four of you, you were the least affected, Peter." Elizabeth said, "At the end, it was you who realized first that the treasure of this world is fleeting, but the treasure of heaven is everlasting."
"Still?I'm sorry, Elizabeth." Peter said quietly, "If me and the guys had listened to you, you wouldn't of had to fight those evil witches?"
"If you four hadn't sang those songs for me, I wouldn't have known that all those Ritzy Records' songs were filled with evil subliminal messages." Elizabeth put in, "But I forgive you." She hugged Peter and Darlene joined the hug too.
"So, it all worked out alright in the end." Darlene said when they had parted.
"Have you talked to Mike yet?" Peter asked.
"No, I'm going to do that now." Elizabeth replied, "Micky said he's taking this pretty bad."
"He keeps saying that since he's a descendent of St. Thomas, he should've known better, been stronger than the rest of us." Peter said. "We told him not to be so hard on himself, that's he's human, but..."
"But he's stubborn." Elizabeth finished. Peter and Darlene nodded.
"Well, I'll go see him now," The angel said, standing up, "By the way, Micky and Davy told me about the dinner and I'll be there."
"Groovy." Darlene said. "We'll see you there."
"May the Lord be with you, Elizabeth." Peter said.
"And also with you, Peter and Darlene." Elizabeth replied.
The angel got up and started to walk down the beach, where she slowly faded from sight.
++++
Mike sat on top of some boulders a good distance from where Peter and Darlene were. He had been going to this same spot day after day, to think and to pray. Mike put his arms on his knees and his chin on his arms and looked out over the crashing surf. The bruise on his face was purple against his fair skin. Again and again he thought about all the sinful things he had done-the party at Jynger's house, the dancing, drinking, eating?then there was Julia.
He closed his eyes when he thought about their time in the garden. It all felt so good then, now all he felt was guilt over the sins he had committed, both of body and mind. It had taken an angel from God to bring him to his senses. Mike didn't want to think about what his life would be like now if he had signed that contract. He could never repay Elizabeth for saving him and his friends.
It was a good thing I told her to leave, Mike thought to himself, Elizabeth's probably doesn't want to bother with us anymore anyway.
With a sigh, Mike began a prayer he had been saying over and over:
Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, And I detest all my sins, because of the pain of hell, But most of all because they offend you, my Lord, who are deserving of all my love. I promise, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, do penance and amend my life. Amen.
As Mike was saying that prayer, he felt a warmth surround his body.
Slowly, the figure of Elizabeth formed next to him, her arm around his shoulders.
"Hello, Mike." The angel said quietly.
Without a word, Mike fell against Elizabeth and began to cry. The angel held Mike as his body shook with his sobs.
Finally, he was able to look up at her.
"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth." Mike whispered, "Will you forgive me?"
"Yes, Mike I do forgive you." Elizabeth answered, "I forgave you and the others long ago." She put her hand against the bruise on Mike's face and then removed it. The bruise disappeared. "The Lord has also forgiven your sins as well."
"Even for me?" Mike asked, "I'm descended from St. Thomas. I'm supposed to be stronger than the others. Much has been given me and so more is expected of me!" He exclaimed.
"Yes, even you Mike." The angel replied, "You can't be so hard on yourself. Even though you have a saint for an ancestor, you are still very much human. A human being with a life ahead of you, with more things to do and experience?you need to move on now. Learn from this and move on."
Mike looked sharply at the angel. "You think emotions can be packaged up neatly in a little box with a bow and shoved aside once the incident has passed, Elizabeth."
"No I don't but to hold on to the past simply holds you back from getting on with your life! What's done is done, Mike." She said, "In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul said 'Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind, but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's calling, in Christ Jesus.'"
Mike looked back at the surf and didn't answer the angel. She put a hand on his arm.
"The ability to avoid sin and spread the word of peace and love is greater in you than others, but it is something that must be worked at. You must pray for God's grace to help you fight the evil around you just like everyone else."
Mike was silent for a time, then said, "Yeah, if Jesus can forgive Saint Peter for denying him three times, I guess he can forgive me too."
Elizabeth smiled at Mike, glad to have finally reached him. He looked over at her.
"What have you been doing these last few days?" He asked.
"Like you, praying and meditating." Elizabeth replied, "I also paid a visit to the other Ritzy Record stores, checking out the merchandise." She made a wiping motion with her hand, indicating she had wiped all the records with subliminal messages clean. Mike laughed at that.
"So that's it then?" He asked.
"Well, there's that dinner you boys are giving Darlene and I." The angel said.
"Oh, that's right!" Mike exclaimed, getting up. "I promised to do the shopping!" He sat down once again and kissed Elizabeth on the cheek. "Thank you, Elizabeth for everything."
"You're welcome, Mike." Elizabeth replied. "Want me to drop you off at the pad?"
"No, no. You're not to help out in any way." Mike said with mock sternness as he climbed down off the rocks. He reached up and gently helped Elizabeth climb down. "All you and Darlene need to do is bring your appetites, you hear?"
"I hear you." Elizabeth laughed, "I'll see you then. May the Lord be with you."
"And also with you, Elizabeth." Mike said happily, "And also with you." With that, he started to run back to the pad.
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head then slowly disappeared.
++++
Two days later, wearing a green and white dress, Elizabeth walked over to the pad and rang the doorbell. The door was instantly opened by Micky.
"Hi, Elizabeth, how are you? Come on in!" Micky said as he kissed her.
"Hi Micky! Hi everyone!" Elizabeth said, "Peace be with you."
"And also with you." The Monkees replied.
Micky escorted Elizabeth over to the couch near the bandstand. The angel noticed that the pad was immaculate, not a dust ball or cobweb in sight. A large table set for six was sitting in the middle of the living room. Just as Elizabeth sat down, the doorbell rang again and Peter rushed over to answer it.
"Hi Darlene!" Peter said happily as stepped aside to let her in. "You look beautiful." He said quietly as he gave her a peck on the cheek.
"Thank you, Peter." Darlene blushed. She was wearing a dark red dress, but no longer had dark black hair. Darlene had dyed it to something closer to her natural light brown. She also had it pinned up on the back of her head. Beaming, Peter escorted her over to the couch and sat her next to Elizabeth. The two ladies sniffed the air.
"Smells good, what are we having?" Elizabeth asked.
"An old family recipe of mine." Micky said proudly, "Deep-dish three-cheese lasagna."
So everyone had a drink and made small talk until Davy said from the kitchen, "It's ready!"
Micky escorted Elizabeth and Peter escorted Darlene over to the large table.
"Where did you get the table?" Darlene asked.
"Borrowed it from Mr. Babbit." Mike said, "We gotta return it by midnight."
Everyone took their places and Micky turned to Elizabeth.
"Would you please say grace, dear?" He asked.
"Of course." Elizabeth replied, "Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord."
"Amen." Everyone replied.
After dinner and dessert of Angel Food cake, the Monkees turned to
Elizabeth and Darlene.
"We also have a surprise for the two of you." Peter said, as they walked the two women over to the couch once again. "Micky and I have been working on a song these last couple of days, and we were wondering if you'd like to hear it?"
"We want to make sure we're all normal again, if you know what I mean." Micky added with shy smile.
"You four will never be normal, but we'd love to hear it." Elizabeth laughed, and Darlene joined her.
The Monkees gave Elizabeth an exaggerated sniff and turned away, noses high, causing Elizabeth and Darlene to laugh even harder.
When the band had taken their places, Peter spoke again.
"We really don't have a name for this song yet, so right now I'm calling it 'For Pete's sake'. He looked at the others and began to play the intro, then Micky began to sing:
Love is understanding, don't you know that this is true.
Love is understanding, it's in everything we do.
In this generation, in this lovin' time,
In this generation, we will make the world shine.
We were born to love one another. This is something we all need.
We were born to love one another. We must be what we're goin' to be
And what we have to be is free.
In this generation, in this lovin' time,
In this generation, we will make the world shine.
We were born to love one another. This is something we all need.
We were born to love one another. We must be what we're goin' to be
And what we have to be...is free!
Love is understanding, we gotta be free
Love is understanding, we gotta be free
When the song was over, the Monkees came off the bandstand.
Elizabeth was looking at the floor.
"What did you think of it, Elizabeth, Darlene?" Mike asked.
"It was terrific!" Darlene exclaimed.
"What about you, Elizabeth?" Micky asked, "How was it? Did you like it? Was it ok?"
Elizabeth still looked at the floor.
"Elizabeth?" Micky asked nervously.
The angel finally looked up. "It was beautiful. A lovely testament of love, peace and understanding." She said with a wide smile.
"Hooray!" The Monkees shouted and smothered Elizabeth and Darlene in a great big hug.
Note: The song “Led By The Spirit” was influenced by a church song of the same name. It is copyrighted 1996 to Bob Hurd, OCP Publications.