The Gift of Knowledge (The Gifts Book 2) (17 page)

    
I’ll have to keep my guard up with her. I’d hate to have to give her up when this expedition is over. But if I find what I’m hoping to, there’ll be no room for her in my life, no time for romantic entanglements if I am locked away in a lab for the next several years. No, it’s far better for the both of us to stay unattached to each other.
Satisfied with his self-reasoning, Ethan pulled his rain slicker on and headed to the mess tent for a cup of coffee. 

     Emily sat at a table in the mess tent cradling a cup of coffee when Ethan joined her.

    “Mornin’, Emily.” Still half asleep, Ethan settled in the chair across from her.

    “Good morning, Ethan. What’ll we do today since it looks like the rain isn’t letting up?”

    “Well, what if we take another good look at the journals. I think we’re missing something. I know those pages are missing and we’ve no clue where they may be, but I was thinking we could spend the day going back over the images you’ve already translated. Maybe we’ll find out more about the contents of those missing pages.”

     “Sounds like a plan, boss.” A smile curved on Emily’s face as the realization of what she’d just called Ethan sunk in.

     “Boss, huh? You know, I kinda like the sound of that. I think you should call me that from now on.”

     Emily snorted. “Oh, fat chance of that happening.”

     They laughed and smiled at each other. Both of them realized their relationship was getting way to comfortable, but moments like this made it easy. They were learning to trust each other. Emily thought that was fine but wondered where it would leave her once this adventure was over. Ethan made it clear from the start he had no interest in a relationship.

     Emily had obligations of her own. Aunt Gemma needed her, and there was no way Marta was going to let her stay away for very much longer. Images raced through her mind of a pregnant Marta charging through the rainforest in search of her and made her giggle. But, if Emily didn’t return home soon she feared that her friend would do just that. The two of them were too close to be separated for very long. Expelling a long sigh, Emily could see that a relationship with Ethan would be doomed from the start. They were both better off without each other. She resolved to keep things with Ethan professional and platonic, but she would enjoy his company while she could.

     Later that afternoon the two of them looked over the images on his laptop. Together they went back over the notes Emily had already translated. They reviewed what was left of the journals and found nothing to help them. It was a dead end. Both of them were tired and frustrated.

     An idea occurred to Emily. “Ethan, do you still have Mr. Perry’s personal journals?”

    “Yeah, why?” Ethan had already read those journals cover to cover and found nothing helpful in them.

     “It’s just that Mr. Perry kept the two sets of journals together and left all of them to me. I wonder if we’ve missed something in the other journals. Something he meant for me to find.”

     “Well, I guess we can have another look.” Ethan put on his slicker and ran out into the still falling rain to retrieve the journals from his tent.

     A bright light appeared at Emily’s side. She was alone in the work tent and immediately knew Liam was with her.

     “Liam, I’m so happy to see you.  I miss seeing you. I know you’re always around, but it’s good to see you.” There was a time in Emily’s life when Liam was a constant, steady presence for her, but after Mr. Perry passed away he no longer appeared in human form to her.

     “Emily, I come with a warning and encouragement. There are secrets I have kept hidden in Mr. Perry’s journals. The time has come for those secrets to be revealed. You must be the one to find them. Everything that can be done for your and Ethan’s protection has been done. It is Ethan’s destiny to find the lost giants. However, the fate of mankind hangs in the balance. You must help Ethan find his way to the Lord so that he will make the right choices when he finds what he is looking for. He will gain much knowledge in his quest, but the dark ones can use that knowledge for evil. This knowledge could destroy the future of all men. Tell Ethan the legend of the red-haired, giant kings, but make sure no one else besides Ethan hears you. Share only with him the secrets you find in the journals of Mr. Perry.”

     Before Emily could ask any more questions, Liam disappeared, and Ethan returned shaking the rain from his soaked slicker.

     “Just when you think it couldn’t get any wetter, it does.” Ethan laughed and smiled as he pulled the journals out from his jacket and handed them over to Emily. It was that smile. That easy smile and his nearness made Emily’s heart flip- flop in her chest. The fresh masculine smell of him teased her senses.

    
Lord, please be my guide in this matter. You did make me a woman, after all. How can I help but be attracted to this man. But I will take the warning you’ve given me through Liam and try to keep this professional. As always, you are my Lord, and I know that I am safe in your arms.

     Emily prayed silently. The weight of what Liam shared with her was a heavy burden, but she knew the Lord had a plan. He always did, He always would, and she trusted Him without question.

     “OK, let’s take a look.” Emily handed one of the three journals to Ethan, and they both settled back in their chairs to start reading.

     A few hours and several cups of coffee later, both of them completed reviewing each of the journals. They found nothing of real interest. The journals were mostly accounts of supplies and such. Mr. Perry did write about some things he saw and things he learned from the natives, but he never mentioned what he was looking for or drew any maps. There were no accounts of giants or hidden locations anywhere in the journals.

     “I give up. There is nothing written in any of these books that helps us.” In a gesture of frustration, Ethan tossed the journal he’d been reading on the table beside Emily.

     Emily knew better than to give up. She was missing something. If only Liam would come back and just show it to her. She reached for the journal Ethan had tossed and knocked it off the table. As Emily picked up the book she noticed one of the corners was crumpled, and the batting on the inside back cover was torn loose.

     “Great, now I’ve ruined it.” She berated herself as she examined the damage and peeled back the batting to see if it could be repaired. What she saw hiding behind the batting made her jump.
It couldn’t be, could it?

     Wasting no time, Emily tore the rest of the batting away to reveal the hidden contents. It was the missing pages from the Spaniard’s journals.
Oh, thank you, dear Jesus, thank you.

     Ethan was as shocked as Emily, as he watched her pull the pages from the journal she’d dropped. He grabbed one of the other journals and pulled the batting from the back cover to reveal more of the missing pages. In the last journal, they found a letter from Mr. Perry addressed to Emily.

     Phoebe, Russ, and Gary entered the tent at that moment, and Ethan started to tell them what they’d found. He stopped when Emily whispered in his ear.

     “Don’t tell them just yet. Let us figure out what it all means first.”

     Ethan was a little confused but felt he needed to trust her on this. Tucking the pages and letter into his shirt, he decided to keep silent until he and Emily could examine the contents in private.

Chapter Fifteen

And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. I thank you, and praise you, O you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might,

Daniel 2:21-23    

     Liam met with Gabriel in the air above the campsite. The messenger angel was looking for assurance the message to Emily had been delivered at precisely the right moment.

     “I do not understand, Gabriel, are we trying to uncover secrets the dark ones are hiding, or are we trying to keep secrets hidden?”

     “I believe, brother, that the answer may be a little of both. Remember that for our Lord nothing is hidden. He already knows all the secrets, and he has a plan. So, Emily has the rest of the journal pages now?”

     “Yes, the hidden documents are now in her hands. Let us pray that she and Ethan use the information wisely and for the glory of our Lord.”

     “Yes, for the glory of the Lord.” Gabriel saluted as he spread his wings and rushed upward to the heavens.

     Liam watched until Gabriel was out of sight then turned his attention back to the campsite and his duty to guard it.

***

     Long after darkness descended on the camp and most of the inhabitants were in bed, Ethan paced the confines of his tent.
Where is she?
He pondered as he paced. He and Emily agreed to meet alone in his tent to review the contents they’d found hidden in Mr. Perry’s journals. He’d been waiting for over an hour. He finally pulled on his jacket, grabbed his flashlight and went to search for her.

     After what seemed like forever, Emily could at last hear soft snores coming from Phoebe’s cot. Gently she lifted her blanket and bug netting then crept over to her clothes locker. Emily learned a lot since her first days at camp, and she knew better than to leave out any of her clothes or shoes lest she get deadly spiders or bugs in them.

     Fully clothed, she quietly removed her boots from the locker and shook them, in case any thing creepy crawly was hiding inside, before putting them on in the dark. It never hurt to be careful, as she didn’t want to end up like Cliff with a wondering spider bite. A chill went down her spine at the thought. Spiders were just not her thing.

     Quiet as a mouse, she slipped out the front of the tent into the humid night. At least it wasn’t raining anymore, she thought, as she made her way carefully around the remaining mud puddles that littered the ground. So intent on not falling into the dark murky puddles, she didn’t see the shadowy figure brandishing a dim flashlight in front of her until she ran smack into him.

     Emily lost her balance, as Ethan grabbed and pulled her close to him to keep her from landing in the mud. In the process he dropped the flashlight, and it bathed them in a soft light. For a few moments Ethan and Emily just stared into each other’s eyes, both of them captivated.

     The attraction between them proved too much for Emily to resist, and her heart lurched. Ethan gently caressed her face and laid a soft, tender kiss on her lips. The kiss couldn’t have lasted for more than a few seconds, but Emily’s whole world fell away in that time. She was only aware of Ethan and his nearness. It was like being dowsed in cold water when he pulled away.

     “Forgive me, Emily, I shouldn’t have done that. Not that I didn’t want to. I just think it would be better for both of us if we kept things between us as just friends. You understand, right?”

     “Uh, yeah sure, I understand completely. We can’t let ourselves forget what we came here for, not when we’re so close,” Emily stammered as she took big gulps of air to catch her breath.

     “Good, let’s go back to my tent and have a look at those pages.” Ethan still held Emily’s arm, as he gently guided her around the mud puddles to his tent.

     The two of them didn’t notice the flap of Emily’s tent carefully sliding back into place. Phoebe watched from the darkness as Ethan kissed Emily. Oh, she knew Emily had a thing for Ethan from the start, but she’d hoped that Ethan would spurn her just as he did all the other women who’d thrown themselves at him over the years.

     The monkey-like demon, better known as Jealousy, wrapped himself carefully around Phoebe’s shoulders. Jealousy was crafty enough to keep himself hidden from the woman Emily, who prayed incessantly, until the right moment to strike at her presented itself. Phoebe would be the perfect pawn for him. The demon nodded to himself in smug satisfaction and began to whisper in Phoebe’s ear.    

    
See how she flaunts herself in front of Ethan. Oh yes, she wants him, all right. Well, she can’t have him. There must be some way to send her packing, for good.

     Phoebe entertained the demon’s words as if they were her own thoughts.
Yes, I’ll find a way to remove her, for good.
As they withdrew back into the darkened tent, Phoebe’s smile matched that of the demon.