The Gift of Knowledge (The Gifts Book 2) (25 page)

     Before dawn, the angels concentrated the bulk of their numbers on one side of the dome wall of dark demons. They formed a type of battering ram by linking themselves together, as they charged the same spot over and over. As the wall began to weaken in that area, more and more demons from the other side of the dome came to fill in the gaps. The battering ram continued hammering but without much success in punching through the wall.

     High in the sky, Liam watched the great dome carefully for any signs of weakening. The battering ram slammed over and over. Great sparks of red and white flew with booms louder than thunder splitting the air, as angels and demons slammed into each other. Just as Liam thought, the demons were concentrating their numbers in the exact spot being hammered by the angels. Matthew waited patiently at his side for his orders. It was not long before the commanding angel lifted his sword into the air, and Matthew took off faster than a bolt of lightning. He flew to the opposite side of the dome where a small band of lethal looking angels waited for him.

     “Go now!” he shouted at them.

     The angels wasted no time. They attacked the side of the dome opposite of where the battering ram continued to hammer. The largest angel in the legion, Terrence, led the way with a thunderous roar.

     “For the Lamb, who is worthy to be praised and the saints of our God.”

      Terrence punched through the now weakened dome followed by the rest of his band. Demon after demon was slain to keep the hole open, while Matthew gave the signal for the remaining angels to rush into the break in the demon’s wall.

     Liam joined the influx of angels into the demonic stronghold. He found Emily and Ethan tied to the tree. They appeared to be unharmed.
Praise God for that.
No sooner did the thought come to his mind then the demons that formed the roof of the dome crashed down around all of them.

     In an instant, Liam found himself surrounded by the enemy. With his sword swinging, he shouted out to Emily.

     “Emily, pray now!”

     Emily raised her head. She could see the demons flying in the midst all around her, and heard Liam yelling at her to pray. This was the dream she’d had when she’d first arrived in the Amazon.

     As Emily began to pray for the Lord to protect them all and give them strength and courage, the demons screeched and tried to claw at her and Ethan, pulling at their hair and skin only to skitter away screaming as if they’d been burned.

      “What’s happening?” Ethan yelled out, terrified. He couldn’t see the demons, but he felt their attack and saw welts appear on his body.

     “Pray, Ethan, pray like you’ve never prayed before. The demons are attacking us to keep us from praying.”

     Without question, Ethan prayed along with Emily. Through the rest of the night they prayed side by side, as the angels grew stronger and overcame the great demon horde.

     The victory horn sounded in the now clear sky, as Gabriel descended onto the battlefield. The few surviving demons disbanded and fled into the darkness of the forest. Liam waited with his legion for the Arch Angel to join him.    

     “Once again, you have the victory, Commander Liam. Our Father in Heaven sends you His thanks for your faithfulness.”

     “Tell our Father it is to Him all the glory. We await His further instructions. Are we to free the saints and leave this place?” Liam was hopeful this mission was complete or at least close to it.

     “Soon, my brother, very soon. You must stay close to the children of our Lord and keep them safe and alive. But they must stay the present course for the Lord’s plan to be fulfilled.”

     “For the Lamb, who alone is worthy to be praised.” Liam lifted his arm and sword high into the air, as the rest of his legion returned his salute in victory.

***

     Armodius did not join in the fight but stayed hidden in his tree. He did not care that his protective horde was now decimated and scattered. He still possessed this physical body, a gun, and hostages. There was no way he was going to give up. Not when he was so close. The horde had served its purpose anyway, as they’d gotten him to the mountain.

     After a restless night, Lazar prodded Ethan and Emily at gunpoint to the base of the mountain. He forced Ethan to scale a mountain wall then pull Emily and him up together using a rope and pulleys. On the way up, Emily tried again to reach Carmine by telling him he could still repent. She caught a glimpse of what had to be the real man when she looked into his eyes. She could see the confusion and fear there with a faint sliver of hope, as his eyes pleaded with her to help him. But that little sliver was gone as they reached the crest of a flat-topped area of the mountain.

     The mouth of the cave was visible just as Juan Martinez de Solidad described it in the Spaniard’s journals. It resembled a slice of pie taken out of the solid rock beneath their feet. The opening stretched all the way to the edge of a sheer drop off and was just wide enough for one man at a time to slide down into it.

     “Here, take whatever supplies you need to go down into the cave.” Lazar threw what was left of the backpacks down at Ethan’s feet. “Bring back the samples of the bodies in good condition or the girl dies.” As the demon hissed he pulled Emily to him and shoved the gun into her side. Ethan realized that this was not Lazar at all. His features were barely recognizable. Whatever this thing was threatening Emily it meant business. Ethan had no doubt if he did not do as he was told Emily would bear the brunt of the consequences.

     “What if there are no bodies to get samples from?” Ethan asked as he prepared the repelling ropes and equipment for the climb down into the cave.

     “I know things which you do not, Son of Adam. Bring back the samples and do not fail.”

     Within minutes, Ethan was strapped and geared up to begin the decent. He took one last glance at Emily and a deep breath, as he disappeared into the darkness.

     The inside of the cave was dark, dank, and surprisingly cold. Ethan wondered if this place had ever seen daylight. He turned on the headlamp strapped to his head and got his first look at a cave that no human eyes had seen for hundreds of years.

     Very slowly, Ethan made his way down to the floor some hundred feet from the surface. There he spotted a narrow crevice in one of the walls that resembled a small tunnel. He followed the tunnel another fifty feet to a large cavern. He could hear water dripping from the roof. He figured he had to be at least a hundred and fifty feet below the surface, as it had gotten even colder.

     The walls were icy beneath his fingers, as he felt his way around in the darkness. When he was sure he was standing on a stable surface, he lit a flare stick.

     What he saw on the far side of the cavern made him gasp. All his life he’d planned for this. It was his moment of truth. He made his way to the far side carefully, climbing over a slippery, icy, rock floor.

     There on a smooth outcropping of rock, three bodies were laid out side by side in what looked to be ceremonial Incan clothing. The bodies ranged in length from fourteen feet to eighteen feet. Scattered ceremonial objects were strewn around the bodies and in piles throughout the cavern. Some of the objects appeared to be very valuable.

     The bodies were remarkably preserved with the skin and hair intact and frozen after years and years of being in a constantly cold, dark environment. The three of them were covered in tattoos of the stars, sun and moon.

     As much as the scientist in him wanted to carefully examine these specimens, Ethan wanted to get back to Emily more. Her safety was more important than anything in the world to him now. Using his knife, he sliced away sections of flesh and hair and carefully placed the specimens in test tubes then encased them in a padded wooden box before he made his way out of the cavern. He should have been disappointed he couldn’t spend more time exploring this site and the giants themselves, but it just didn’t seem to matter as much as it once did. Not with Emily waiting for him.

     The trip back to the surface took longer, but Ethan made it as quickly as possible. At last, he pulled himself up to the mouth of the cave. Lazar hovered nearby holding Emily by the arm with the gun pointed at her ribs.

     “Did you get the samples? Give them to me now!” Lazar shouted.

     Ethan pulled the box of samples from his backpack and set them on the ground in front of Lazar. In one smooth move Lazar shoved Emily hard against Ethan with the intent of causing them both to fall down into the cave, as he grabbed the box of specimens.

***    

     The angels had seen enough. Liam signaled for Terrence to intervene. The large, dark skinned angel flew at lightning speed, caught the tangled forms of Ethan and Emily before they fell down the crevice, and then placed them safely on solid ground again. It happened too fast for Ethan to comprehend, and there was no time to think it over. He now stared down the barrel of a gun pointed at his chest.

     Lazar appeared to be having some sort of inner struggle. He shouted out, “No!” and slowly turned the gun to the ground before he turned his face to a stunned Emily and Ethan. 

     “Run, now! I don’t know how long I will have the strength to resist this demon inside of me.”    

     A great KAPOW echoed over the mountainside, as the gun went off before anyone could move. A bullet ricocheted off the solid rock and flew right at Emily.
 

Chapter Twenty Three

In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times,
that is
, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:8-12

      Emily crumpled, as Ethan screamed out in shock, “Noooo!” He held his arms out to catch her before she could hit the ground. Blood gushed from a bullet wound to her stomach. She was deathly pale and silent, as he lowered her body and quickly examined her wound. He pulled off his shirt, tore it into long strips, and bound the wound to stop the sickening flow of blood.

     Lazar ran into the forest at the edge of the cliff, clutching the samples Ethan had just pulled from the cave. Ethan no longer cared. “Let him have them,” he mumbled, holding Emily tight while rocking her back and forth. He began to pray and pressed his hand against her wound.

     “Please, dear Jesus,” Ethan prayed, “don’t let her die.”  Emily had become dear to him, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. Instinctively, he knew the only one who could help him was the one he had denied his entire life, yet the same one he had been searching for his entire life as well. Jesus.

      “Jesus,” he said, as Emily lay silent in his arms. “I know I have not truly believed in you. Not until this moment, but I tell you now, I believe. I believe that you died for me on that cross, and I know I need you in my life… just as I need Emily. Please, if you can hear me. Please, come into my heart and please save Emily. Nothing else matters to me except that she lives. I have been blind and selfish. All I can do is beg for your forgiveness. ”

     Ethan lifted his hand to check for a pulse in Emily’s throat. It was faint, but he felt her heart beat.
She’s alive, but I need to get her off this mountain, fast.
Ethan looked around for the quickest way down and spotted someone walking towards him from the far side of the cliff. At first he thought Lazar must have come back to finish him, but as he looked closer, this man was not like anyone he had ever seen. The figure was clothed in a long robe of shimmering, snowy white. He had dark hair that fell to his shoulders in waves with a dark beard and mustache to match. Ethan knew him in that second.
Jesus
.

     Relief washed over Ethan. Everything would be fine. The Jesus he had been searching for his whole life was here in plain sight. Tears fell down his face, as he lifted Emily’s limp body. “Please, please heal her. I’ll give anything… do anything you want. Just save her.”

     “My son, it is already done.” Jesus looked down at Emily and touched her forehead. Ethan felt a jolt of energy surge through her and then into him. He watched in awe as color flooded back into Emily’s face, and he pulled the blood stained, homemade bandages aside to see the wound in her belly close up, leaving only a faint pink scar.