Excerpt from Chapter One

Florida Everglades:

Kevin pointed to another alligator.

Shanna gripped the edge of her seat. "It's bigger than the first one!"

With an evil glint in its eyes, the reptile circled the canoe and perused the occupants. It came straight for them, then submerged. The canoe rocked as it bumped against the bottom.

"Hang on!" Kevin yelled.

The color drained from Shanna's face. "He's going to tip us over!"

"You will! If you dont sit still, he said in a growl.

From his hiding place, Horrifice gurgled. The claws on the demons three long fingers and short thumb dug into the tree bark as he bounced on a limb and drooled in anticipation. A plume of rank sulfurous steam hissed from his flaring nostrils as he witnessed Shanna's mounting terror.

Surfacing, the alligator turned and headed for the canoe. Shanna leaned away. Her guardian angel encouraged her to remain still as he put himself between her and the reptile. Fright kept her from hearing him.

She screamed as the canoe tipped. Her cry of terror was silenced as she splashed into the water and submerged. Kevin toppled in.

The angel dove between them and the alligator, forcing it to veer aside.

The canoe floated bottom up. The picnic basket bobbed on the surface for a moment. The next, the alligator chomped it. Chunks of wicker plopped into the water nearby. As though angered, the reptile shook his prize. The picnic was now bits of debris.

Shanna stood in waist deep water. She grappled to turn the canoe upright, but fright had drained her strength. The thermos and an apple floated. The container of fried chicken filled with water and sunk. The soaked sandwiches drooped like sick fish. Shanna, too terrified to scream again, clutched the canoe until her knuckles turned white.

Kevin swore through tight lips. Rage turned his face red. Grasping the canoe, he wrenched it over. "Get in!"

The angel smote the alligator, dazing it, then aided Shanna as she struggled to climb back into the canoe. Kevin steadied the craft, then retrieved the paddles and handed them to her. Clambering aboard, he sat dripping and glowering.

Shannas shiver was not from a chill. She flipped droplets from her blond curls and the ruffles on her pink blouse. Horror kept her eyes wide as her focus followed the antics of the alligator. "I've had more than enough! Get me out of here!"

Laughter gurgled in Kevin's throat. "What about your socalled mission in Brazil? They have crocodiles that make this alligator look like a tub toy."

The mans exaggeration and sarcasm irritated the angel. He knew the statement would whip the already gyrating fear within Shanna.

Her soft lips moved in a silent prayer. She believed that God would protect her, but fright created a doubt. "If I get out of here alive, I'll never enter the Amazon jungle!"

Victory is mine! A demon of fear chortled with glee.

Dr. Charles Powers grabbed a shirt from his bedroom closet at the barracks in Amazonas, Brazil, buttoned the garment and ran a comb through his wavy black hair. Pausing at his dresser, he peered at a photograph of Shanna Paige. His smile broadened as he imagined her by his side when he took medical aid to the Indians. Warmth spread through him.

"The waiting has been difficult, but Shanna's worth waiting for." His focus lingered on her smooth pink lips and his heartbeat quickened. For a year, his mind and heart had been contemplating bringing her to Amazonas as his nurse.

Victorsees, Charless sandy-haired guardian angel, stood nearby, his amber eyes shimmering like gold. He had received a report that Shanna Paige was beginning to renege on her jungle commitment. The doctor was going to find it a challenge to convince her to come to Brazil.

Charles looked out his bedroom window to study the blue sky. The deluge had ended and the weather was perfect for flying. If he hurried, he would have time to make rounds before he left. His steps were light as he left the barracks and headed across the clearing toward Anderson Clinic. The expectation of bringing Shanna back with him put a song in his heart. A parrot squawked from a limb of the kadioti tree, bees hummed over yellow blossoms, and a sapphire hummingbird darted among red blooms at the edge of the jungle. Charles, his mind and heart occupied with visions of Shanna and used to jungle scenery, paid no heed to the beauty that surrounded him.

A monkey scurried from under the rosewood tree, halted in front of Charles and gazed up at him.

Hello, Wabu. Charles gave the animal a pat. You be a good boy while Im gone.

The monkey chattered as though he promised to behave.

Charles laughed. I know better. You dont know how to stay out of trouble. He walked on, Wabu bouncing by his side. The sun's rays slammed the white stucco clinic, glanced back, and struck Charles in the face. He blinked.

Roxanne, the nurse practitioner, met him inside the double doors. A sunbeam created blue highlights in her long raven hair. She smiled and her green eyes shimmered. "I wish I could accompany you, Charles. I prefer to interview prospective nurses before they're thrust on me."

He shrugged, reluctant to tell her hed made his choice a year ago. "I'll be leaving after rounds." Avoiding her probing gaze, he headed for the men's ward.

Victorsees followed.

Thomas, the angel assigned to Roxanne, sighed. "Shell be furious when she discovers how Charles adores Shanna."

Victorsees nodded. "Roxanne has designs on Charles, and she won't forfeit easily. He figured she was headed for trouble if she didn't modify her behavior--whether or not Shanna came to the rain forest. His gaze shifted to the trees outside the window. Black forms darted through the foliage. The angel frowned. More than Roxannes future vile reaction was in the wind.