The Gift of Light: (Revised) (The Gifts Book 1) (16 page)

     The senator still lay at the guru’s feet. He was nothing more than a puppet anyway, Azelius thought. Without him to pull the strings, the man was useless.

     Mr. Sims, still looking everywhere for Marta, hung up the phone in anguish. He’d called every hospital at least three times, plus every friend of hers he could think of, all to no avail.

     His cell phone chimed with an incoming text message. It was from Marta. “Oh, praise God.” He groaned with relief as he retrieved the message. His relief turned to anger and then fear.

     “Daddy, I’m in big trouble. I’m locked in the basement of the townhouse and I need your help. Please call the police and come get me. I’m scared to death for Bradley and the baby. The senator’s crazy, Daddy, he’s going to kill us. Please be careful, and hurry!”

     Liam held Marta’s cell phone in his hand and reported to Michael as he hovered in the skies above D.C.

     “The message is sent. Mr. Sims and the police should arrive at the townhouse in time to offer meaningful assistance. Emily is on her way to the townhouse as we speak.”

     “Excellent, Liam. Tell our forces to gather now. We have the prayer coverage of saints all over the world, and it is time to strike while we are strong with prayers and numbers. We will storm the townhouse full force with Emily in the lead. Time grows short for Bradley and Marta.”

     Liam affirmed Michael’s orders with the thunderous battle cry, “Glory to God, and to the Lamb who alone is worthy. Maranatha!”

     Then he went out to gather the angelic forces, that were hidden all over the city, to meet Emily.

     Emily got out of the cab a block away from the townhouse. She would walk the rest of the way while she prayed over the confrontation she knew was to come.

     As she strode down the street, angels from everywhere gathered behind her, lifting her up in prayer.

     In clear ringing tones she spoke aloud in her heavenly language, encouraging the angels who joined her, enraptured.

     She came to a stop not far from the townhouse.

   “Father,” she called in clear, trilling notes, “in Jesus Holy Name, I put on the Helmet of Salvation. Protect me, Lord, keep my mind clear and focused on You. I put on the Breastplate of Righteousness to protect me from the slings and arrows of the devil in the battle to come. I take up the Sword of the Spirit and with the Word of Truth, I tear down the strongholds of the devil in the Name that is above all names! Maranatha, Jesus!”

     Liam appeared at her side in full angelic battle regalia. His eyes glowed as he gazed upon her.

     “Emily, stop. Look around you and see the host of heaven following you into battle. My child, you are not alone.” Liam spread his wings raised his flaming sword and then pointed behind her.

     Emily turned, amazed by the legions of angels of all sizes gathering behind her. The sky filled with their numbers, their battle garb and glorious swords raised, awaiting the call to battle. There had to be at least six thousand or more battle-ready warriors.

     While she was astonished by the sheer magnitude of what she saw, she wasn’t surprised. The Holy Spirit had been preparing her for this day as far back as she could remember.

     A giant horde of demons swirled in front of her, but she wasn’t afraid. These demons stood between her and her beloved Marta. With the righteous anger of the Holy Spirit surging through her soul, Emily hurried down the street, rebuking the demons and calling upon the Lord to protect her.

     All around her Emily saw and heard the battle, complete with thuds, cries and clangs of crashing swords striking against armor. Worst was the smell of sulfur permeating the air as demons disappeared into the netherworlds of the abyss in an acrid puff. She kept walking and praising the Lord through the midst of it all until she came to the front steps of the townhouse.

     Something in the atmosphere changed, grew fuller, somehow. The hairs on the back of Emily’s neck began to lift, rising of their own accord, alert. She smelled a fragrance so sweet that for a moment she hesitated, wrapped in an ancient memory.

     From amongst the demons, shrieks of fear rose in the air. “Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming.” The entire Ba al’ exited en masse as the demonic alarm sounded. The guru, Bathomet, slipped out the back door and walked away, not looking back.

     Azelius and his minions remained with the sniveling senator, who cowered in a corner, sensing his impending doom.

     The two guards abandoned their post and ran away in terror, allowing Emily to walk right into the house where the senator stood in a corner, dumbfounded. He was at a complete loss without his guru and masters to guide him.

     The Holy Spirit spoke to Emily and she instantly knew who she was looking for.

     “Azelius! I have come for you and I personally call you out in the Name that is above all names! Jesus!” Emily’s shout echoed around the silent house and every demon in the building departed.

     Azelius tried to run, but found himself bound by ten angelic warriors. He screamed, hissed, and fought as they brought him before Emily.

     “Little girl,” he growled. “You think you can defeat me? I shall not bow before you. You are nothing. I will curse you and your entire family for centuries to come. I will not relent until I kill off everyone you care about. How dare you interfere with me? How dare you even speak my name?”

     “I do it because I have that authority, Azelius and you know it as well as I do. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, including yours, Azelius.”

     Emily stared Azelius down, peering straight into his solid black soul. He bared his fangs and tried to lunge at her as the angels held him tight.

     “I will not!” he screamed. Bound in chains, he still would not bend.

     A bright light burst forth from Emily. The glorious brilliance filled the room and took on the shape of a large golden lion. Every knee hit the floor including the angels, the demons, Emily and the senator.

     Before them stood the Great Lion of the tribe of Judah.

     Azelius, still bound in chains, cried out in horror as he fell to the floor. He began to blubber.

     “No, Jesus. No, please spare me. It is not the appointed time. Please spare me”

     “CONFESS!” the lion roared.

     Azelius began to speak. “I confess to murdering the family of Brad Steel, his mother, his father, his brother and his wife, Camille, and her sister Amelia, as well as a score of others over the centuries. I also confess to the attempted murder of his son, his son’s wife, and their unborn child. I did this to promote myself and to gain power over the children of the most high God. I confess that Jesus

Christ is God Almighty to the glory of the Lord most high.”

     The great lion roared in the demon’s face.

     “Thy name is murder! Be gone!”

     Azelius began to dissipate into a fine black mist. His cries for mercy echoed even after he faded away, forever to be lost in the abyss. The Lion-Jesus looked at Emily with great pride and love shining in His eyes as he spoke.

      “My dear, brave and faithful child, you now have The Gift of Light. This special gift allows you to see into the spiritual realm as you need to. It will enable you to help bring down strongholds of the dark ones. Use this gift wisely to help lead others to Me. Remember, I am with you always.” Then he, too, faded away.

     The senator witnessed the entire event in a state of shock and terror. He screamed and cried out much as Azelius did before he faded. Emily went to the Senator and looked him in the eye. “May God have mercy on your soul.” In the distance, they heard the sirens wailing.

     “Who are you?” The senator asked Emily. It was apparent he did not remember her from Bradley’s memorial service.

     “I am a child of the most high God, the King of Kings, the Lord and Master of everything in heaven and earth. He rules over the masters of evil you have served. It is He who has brought you down Senator Steel, before you could bring great harm by allowing the demonic beings you worshiped to control you. You will stand in judgment before the great Jehovah, Himself. I pray you repent to Him before it is too late.”

     The Holy Spirit told Emily to leave and let the police find Bradley and Marta. She was assured by Liam they were both safe and that every demon in the area had either run away or died by angelic sword. No demons remained to threaten those she loved.

     Emily walked into the night, hands raised, giving praise and thanks to the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, for saving her friends.

     The angels in her wake, shouted in victory as brothers-in-arms with their great swords lifted to the

heavens in salutations.

     “For the Lamb, who alone is worthy. To Him be the power and glory forever and ever. For the Lamb alone is worthy, and worthy to be praised.”

Epilogue

The Father has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have our redemption through His blood the forgiveness of our sins.

Colossians 1: 13-14

Amplified Bible

     The next morning the entire nation woke to scenes of Senator Brad Steel, presidential candidate, being arrested and charged with kidnapping his son and pregnant daughter-in-law.

     Every TV station in the world played the video of the senator led out of his D.C. townhouse in handcuffs, then more video of Bradley and Marta  placed in separate ambulances to go to the hospital. Repeatedly, the video scenes played everywhere on every type of broadcast. This was how election day started.

     The senator’s staff disappeared to hide in shame. There was no way to cover up or fix this disaster and the election was a joke. The incumbent president won by the biggest landslide in the nation’s history.

     Bradley and Marta shared a private hospital suite, slowly trying to piece together the missing parts of their lives.

     Marta was still a little confused about details. She remembered being at the campaign headquarters and confronting the senator then being roughed up by his security personnel. She had no idea how she ended up in the basement of the townhouse.

     Her cell phone disappeared, and there was a big question about how her father got the text about her kidnapping. It was still a mystery how he convinced the police that his daughter was in danger, one of the many strange happenings that set that night apart forever.

     The good news was Marta and the baby were doing just fine, and while Bradley still had a long road to recovery ahead of him, his prognosis was excellent.

     Both of them gave hours of statements to the police investigators and FBI agents. The press camped outside the hospital as they waited for any word on the couple.

     Emily returned to Hook Pond. She wanted nothing to do with the media and did her best to stay under the radar. Bradley and Marta had no idea she’d even been at the townhouse before they were rescued.

     Seth stayed with Emily at Perry House for a few days. They would always be friends, but they were not in love. They realized they had different callings on their lives and reluctantly accepted the facts and parted ways as very close friends.

     Time passed, and Bradley and Marta moved back into Amelia’s penthouse in Manhattan. It was the only place Bradley truly felt at home. It took a few weeks to settle Amelia’s vast estate, but in the end, it named Bradley and Marta as her heirs.

     Bradley grieved Amelia’s loss and visited her grave often, with Marta at his side. She rested in the family plot alongside his mother Camille and his grandparents.

     After many hours of rehab and physical therapy, Bradley was able to walk using two special canes. His doctors expected that he would continue to improve but would need at least one cane for a long time to come.

     Everyone was excited about the upcoming birth of their baby. Emily visited them as much as possible and helped turn Bradley’s old room into a

nursery.

     It took several months for the press to stop hounding Bradley and Marta. They led quiet, uninteresting lives, at least to the media, steadfast in their goal to lead normal Christian lives for themselves and their child.

     They stayed away from the press, and refused to give interviews and eventually other people appeared with new stories to report. Bradley received an honorable discharge from the army because of his injuries, and would remain a decorated American hero.

     Amelia Camille Steel arrived with the spring, right on time. Her parents decided to call her Amy, for short, in honor of Marta’s mother. The beautiful baby with her cap of blonde curls and rosebud lips captivated all who saw her.

     Nestled in the arms of her glowing parents, all smiles wide, they were the picture of a happy family with Emily serving as honorary aunt.

     A jury convicted Brad Steel on two counts of kidnapping after Marta and Bradley testified against him. There wasn’t enough evidence to try him for the murder of his wife, Camille, and no connection could be found linking him to the death of her sister, Amelia, although he certainly had motive in both deaths. Before sentencing, he received a visit from his son.

     “I want you to know I forgive you, Father, but his is the last and final visit you’ll have from me. I’ve brought you two things: a picture of your granddaughter, whom you’ll never see, and a Bible. I pray you come to know the Lord Jesus as your personal savior.” Bradley turned on his heel and left without giving his father a chance to respond.

     Alone in his jail cell, Brad opened his Bible. No one ever came to see him. He was an embarrassment to anyone who had ever supported him or worked with him. His name was a source of scorn and shame.

As he read his new Bible, he prayed and cried out, “Dear Jesus, please forgive me.”

***

     On that same afternoon, Emily stood on the front porch of Perry House, watering her collection of potted flowers and ferns when the Holy Spirit began speaking to her.  

     She remembered Mr. Perry’s last words to her about his life’s work, his long search to find proof of the great men of old, the giants written of in the Bible.

     At that moment, Gemma appeared at her side. She signed to Emily that the Lord had spoken to her and foretold of a man who was to come into their lives. He’s an Irishman with dark hair named Ethan McGowan. This man is searching for the lost giants, also known as the Nephilim.

     “I know he’s coming, Aunt Gemma, and I know why. He wants my grandfather’s research and documents.”

     The question is will I be able to part with them without a fight?

Author’s Note

Jen is a Christian writer of fiction and nonfiction works. She writes to entertain and inspire as well as to bring glory to her own personal savior, Jesus Christ. Making her home in Oklahoma, she is a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a Registered Nurse. Her life journey has not been an easy one. She knows what it means to walk through the fires of faith, as she knows the pain and the joys of life. She has a strange fascination with hummingbirds as one has always showed up in times of difficulty in her life, either a real one or an image of one. She loves things like old tea-pots and Mopar muscle cars from the seventies. She thinks of herself

as kind of a redneck chick-slash-southern belle, as she loves to dress up fancy, but spends most of her time in jersey tee-shirts and jeans, with her hair up in a ponytail. When she is not praying, writing or spending time with her family, you can find her with her nose stuck in a book She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached at [email protected]