Rise of the Beast (20 page)

“I don’t know if I can face him now,” admitted Julio. “He’ll kill me to keep me from talking.”

“No he won’t,” said Claire. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“But you can’t be with me 24/7,” objected Julio. “His demons are going to come after me. Even now, there is one waiting for me.”

Julio seemed amazed when Claire began to smile. “Is there, now?” she said. “I suppose we’ll just have to see about that. And about being with you 24/7, Julio, I don’t know how much time I have. But when I’m gone, you’re going to do even greater things than I’ve done. God has His mighty hand upon you, Julio. Demons will flee from your presence. Even Satan himself will not be able to stand before you.”

Julio shook his head. “He practically made me commit suicide, jump off a roof. If I hadn’t done exactly what he said, let that demon in me, I’d be dead and in Hell right now.”

“That was then,” corrected Claire. She looked over at the clock. “Oh my, the chauffer is going to be here in half an hour. Let’s deal with this demon, this possessed young woman, and get on our way to the church. You have a change of clothes, don’t you?”

“In the bag,” said Julio.

“Well, you can change here after we deal with this. Let’s go.”

Julio seemed reluctant. Indeed, he was truly scared. Nonetheless, he followed her.

They proceeded up the street. It took only a few minutes before they turned a corner to see Karina, sitting at the wheel of the car. She seemed impatient.

“These are just kids,” murmured Claire, shaking her head. “Oh Devil, you are going to pay.”

Karina didn’t seem to notice the two approaching until Claire and Julio stood at the driver’s side door of the car. She seemed shocked to be staring at a woman who was supposed to be dead. “You!” She gasped. Then she looked at Julio, rage in her eyes.

Amazingly, it was Julio and not Claire who made the next move. “Fight him, Karina,” he said. “You’ve got to fight him. I’m free, and you can be too.”

“Your time is up, demon,” said Claire. “I command you to leave this girl, in the name of Jesus. Now, go.”

Karina hissed like some horrible, wild animal. “This wench is mine.” Karina cursed, scrambling for something under the driver’s seat. She came up with a menacing-looking nine-millimeter pistol. In a second, the safety was off. “Looks like I’ll have to do this old bat myself.”

Julio jumped between Claire and Karina. “No, you’re not doing that; I won’t let you. I love you, Karina. Fight him! I know you can!”

The evil-looking gleam in Karina’s eyes was not encouraging, yet her hand was shaking. She was trying to speak, or at least it looked like she was, yet no words came from her lips.

“I’m sorry I got you into this,” continued Julio. “I never wanted to hurt you, not ever. Call on God. He’ll hear you.”

Karina was a living contradiction, as two minds fought for control. Her shaking grew. At any second the demon might find the way to pull that trigger. Surely, Julio must have realized it. Yet he didn’t budge.”

“Leave her, Molon,” repeated Claire. “You have no right to her.”

Abruptly Karina turned the gun to her own head. Her finger trembled. Pressure on the trigger increased. Then her hand went limp and the gun fell to the floorboard. Karina let out an unearthly screech and then slumped back into the seat.

Julio opened the door and reached for her. At first he was afraid that she was dead, yet she was breathing regularly. It was but half a minute before her eyes opened and the tears started to flow.

“She’s going to be fine,” said Claire. “This is the way it usually is when a demon is cast out.”

“How many times have you done this?” asked Julio.

“Twice,” said Claire, “counting this time.”

Julio looked over at Claire incredulously, but said nothing.

It was about ten minutes later that Claire and Julio helped Karina into the house. Karina was just thankful to be herself once more.

“I don’t want that thing to ever come back,” said Karina, still crying.

“Then you need to replace it with someone else,” said Claire. “When a demon is cast out of someone, he finds himself in a terrible wilderness. He wanders for a time before returning. If he finds that heart and soul swept clean, he will go and seek seven other demons, each more foul than himself to join him. No, you must invite Christ into your heart. Let Him dwell there and you will be safe. Never will demons enter you again.”

It didn’t take much convincing. Within minutes, Karina too had invited Jesus into her heart. Never would she turn her back on Him again.

“The two of you will have each other,” announced Claire, turning to the two youths who now sat arm in arm. “You’ll each support the other because you know what’s at stake.” The sound of a car pulling up in front of the house caused Claire to look out the window. “It’s the limo,” she announced. “It will take us to my grandson’s wedding. I think you were both invited.”

“No, I can’t go back there,” wept Karina. “There will be all kinds of demons there, visible and invisible.”

“But you can’t run away from this either,” said Claire. “There is surely no place to hide. You’ve got to face them; we all do. We’ll do it together.”

C
HAPTER
8

“Oh, you just look so gorgeous,” said Denise, Krissie’s maid of honor, giving the bride a big hug.

Krissie’s stomach was full of butterflies as she adjusted the veil on her long white wedding gown. In another half hour she would be heading down the aisle at the New World Faith Center in mid-Manhattan.

It had been over seven months since Leland had popped the question, seven months since Lusan had entered their lives. Oh, how she had been looking forward to this day. They had thought to make it a simple ceremony, perhaps go to Vegas, but Lusan wouldn’t hear of it. No, they had waited until this grand old church could be renovated to become the very heart of his worldwide mission, his vision of a grand new faith. To be married by an angel—how many people could make such a claim?

Of course, no one beyond her and Leland knew Lusan’s true identity. They had gone to great lengths to keep it a secret. During the past half year, she had grown more at ease with Lusan. One only had to see the great work he was doing to become enamored with him. There were even young people within the gangs of New York whose lives had been turned around by his tireless efforts.

As ironic as it all seemed, one of the leaders of this new peace movement was Julio Mendoza, the one gang youth who had survived the altercation with Lusan and Duras that fateful autumn night. Apparently, God could deal with
the heart of even the most wayward youth. Now he worked closely with Lusan toward the goal of global unity.

All in all, it had been a hectic half year for Krissie, but she was happy, more so than she had ever been before. Like Leland, she worked for Lusan. She became the voice of his organization here in New York City. Lusan never gave interviews, so it was Krissie who spoke to the media on his behalf. Despite her youth and background, she was an exceptionally gifted spokeswoman.

She made no mystery of her background. She had been a hooker, rescued from that oldest of professions by the hand of the Creator. Now she worked tirelessly to tell others that none were beyond redemption, none need perish. There were many routes to God, not just one. It wasn’t necessarily who you put your faith in that mattered; it was the fruit that your faith bore that counted. It was, love, compassion, and striving to create a better world that mattered.

Her pleas for unity were both impassioned and compelling. She claimed that Lusan would lead humanity into a new age of enlightenment, out of the darkness of the past. There were some who claimed that she followed a false gospel, but still more related to her. She had become an overnight celebrity. The people knew what she had been, but they loved her anyway. Now her marriage to Leland would be the social event of the season.

Over the course of a very short time, Lusan had made many powerful allies, not the least of which was the mayor of New York himself. At one of Lusan’s many crusades, the young son of the mayor had been brought forward, a boy suffering with a multitude of neurological problems, including epilepsy. A touch from Lusan had sent the boy to the floor and, a minute later, back from the depths of his own private hell. He was free and in his right mind once more.

The church was absolutely packed with well-wishers, reporters, politicians, and even family. Though her mother still refused to have anything to do with her, her younger brother and sister held places of honor among the well-wishers in the church, which included the mayor.

Sure, the movement had its detractors. Evangelical Christians refused to accept the simple fact that theirs was not the only path to Heaven. They spoke out against Lusan, calling him all sorts of horrible things. Sometimes their rhetoric frustrated Krissie, but she would hold no grudges against them. She still had faith that their narrow-minded view of God would change. Surely they could see that the blessings of God were upon Lusan.

Krissie returned to the here and now, turning to Denise. “I only wish my father could have lived to see this moment.” There was the trace of a tear in her eye.

Denise smiled. “Don’t you start to crying, sis; you’ll ruin your makeup. You want to look your best for Leland. Oh, you are so lucky. And to have Mr. Pagoni walking you down the aisle, giving you away—that is way cool.”

Krissie smiled. She had worked closely with Pagoni on so many projects during the past six months. They had become close. She had never imagined just how approachable and friendly he really was. Now she realized why Leland liked him so much. They had often had breakfast together in his penthouse, discussing business. Somewhere along the way, she had captured his heart too.

Denise glanced at her watch. “It’s time, sis. Let’s go.”

Krissie thought back. Denise had been one of Leland’s girls too. Now she was out of the business for good. Like her, Denise had become a part of Lusan’s organization. She was glad to have her here today.

They headed out the door to find Mr. Pagoni wearing a black tux. He smiled broadly when he saw Krissie.

“Oh, my dear, you look so lovely. Such a beautiful bride.” He gave Krissie a kiss on the cheek. “I consider it a privilege, no, an honor, to be walking you down the aisle.”

“I’m the one who should feel honored, Mr. Pagoni,” said Krissie, smiling broadly.

“Oh enough of the Mr. Pagoni. We’re way past that. We’re like family, you and me, and Leland too. Call me Luis.”

“Thank you, Luis,” said Krissie. “I just appreciate all you’ve done for us. I am looking forward to our trip to Naples, to your villa. It’s such a wonderful wedding present.”

“My, pleasure, Krissie, my pleasure,” assured Pagoni. “I just hope that Mr. Lusan can get along without you for two weeks.”

“He was delighted we’re going,” she said. “He said he’d manage somehow without us.”

“He is an interesting character,” said Pagoni, though he didn’t elaborate.

In the sanctuary, Lusan looked out at the vast crowd before him. Even with the extra chairs they’d put in the back, it was standing room only. He looked on, apparently with some degree of satisfaction, at the empty chair reserved for Leland’s grandmother.