The Awakener (The Watchers of Men)

by Amanda Strong

  He cocked an eyebrow at her. She peered around the small cavern they were in now. It was perhaps ten by ten, with earth making the ceiling, walls, and floor. She inhaled. It smelled like a summer garden. Then she noticed everyone staring at her. Did I take too long?

  “Good, we’re all here,” Micah said, glancing at her. Guess I did.

  Since Sage and Gabriel were the only guardians left, their warm, yellow light cast deep shadows off everyone else. Wonder if the other guardians are watching.

  As if reading her mind, Micah clapped his hands together. “Ok, first things first. Introductions. Guardians, can you join us?”

  Instantly, the already-crowded space got tighter as the guardians appeared, brightening the room. Her friends gaped at the angels.

  “So I think it’s safe to say we all believe in demons and angels now, right? Ok, so these wonderful angels are your guardians. They’ve been assigned to protect and guide you for your entire life. They know you pretty well. So let’s have you meet them.” Micah gestured to Sage. “This is Sage. She’s my guardian.”

  The man with the red beard, standing behind Trent, boomed in a deep voice, “My name’s Brutus.”

  Trent shot a glance at Sage, “By redhead, I didn’t mean Captain Red Beard.” Sage pressed a finger over her lips, hiding a smile.

  The guardian with the milky blue eyes, towering over Damon, said, “I’m Seth.” Damon studied Seth’s face and then nodded slowly.

  “Daniel,” the man with the bow and arrow said. Andrew struck out a hand. “Nice to meet you, man.” Daniel appeared surprised and then slowly took the proffered hand, giving it a firm shake.

  “Caitlyn, I’m Alaina,” the girl with the long braid said softly.

  Caitlyn smiled back. “You look like you’re my age.”

  Alaina’s smile twitched slightly, the smallest glimmer of sadness sweeping her baby blue eyes. “I am your age.”

  Caitlyn cocked her head sideways, obviously wanting to ask more, but the woman with the gold tiara was saying, “I’m Esther.”

  Willow’s face beamed. “You’re who’ve I’ve been feeling! It makes so much sense now!”

  Esther inclined her head forward with a regal nod. “Yes, it has been me you have felt.”

  “Eden knows who I am,” Gabriel cut in.

  Micah glanced at Gabriel and then said, “Ok, great. Any questions?”

  “I have one for Sage,” Trent grumbled. “What part of hot didn’t you understand? Because I was picturing someone with a few more curves and a lot less flannel, if you know what I mean.” Trent glanced at Brutus. “No offense.”

  Brutus appeared nonplussed. Eden was startled to hear Sage’s laughter roll through the room; it was a beautiful sound. Micah joined her, chuckling. “Any other questions?”

  “Micah, she didn’t answer me,” Trent pointed out.

  “Any others?” Micah repeated, ignoring him.

  “Well, yeah,” Andrew butted in. “I sort of get clearing the demons out of here, sort of, and that these angels are here to protect us. But why us? And why are we standing in the bottom of a well?”

  “Great, good questions,” Micah said, not really answering them.

  “And, don’t forget to tell us who Enoch was,” Willow piped in.

  “Yes, perfect. Any others?” When no one said anything, he said, “Let’s start with the why you’re all here. I bet you’ve all noticed you aren’t exactly normal, right?”

  Eden peered at her friends. That’s definitely true of Andrew and Damon, but what about the rest of them? No one said anything as they glanced at each other.

  “You’re gifted. The Captain handpicked you, giving you power and abilities far beyond your own. You have jobs to do. Some of you did your part already. Others of you may still be figuring yourselves out, and that’s ok. The Bible talks of gifts of the spirit; prophecy, healings, faith, the gift of tongues, and more.”

  That’s what I read in the Bible! Gifts of the spirit.

  Micah continued, “The Captain named me His Seer. There’ve been many Seers over time. It means I receive information from the Captain through dreams and visions. The visions let me know what I need to do, and what’s going to happen in the future.”

  “Trent’s,” Micah pointed at his cousin, “my Interpreter. He can understand pretty much every language and helps me decipher what my dreams and visions mean. He keeps me,” he paused, “sane.”

  Trent gave Micah a smug look.

  “Damon’s gifts are extremely rare, only given a few times before. I think we all witnessed how powerful it is. He has the gift of tongues. That doesn’t just mean he can speak Spanish or Italian. He knows an ancient, powerful language, the pure language of Adam. Yes, the Adam and Eve, Adam. He can speak to animals, bugs, plants, pretty much anything, and they understand one another. As we saw today, he can also command the earth.”

  Damon shifted under everyone’s gaze. All the times she’d thought he was talking to himself, he’d actually been conversing.

  “Andrew can heal with just the touch of his hands. Anything can heal, unless the Captain doesn’t want it healed.” Micah shot a glance at Andrew. “You can do a lot of good with your gift.”

  Micah turned next to Willow. “Willow has the gift of discernment. It not only warns her of danger, but helps her sense her surroundings and see what’s really happening. Willow, as you learn how to use it, you’ll find it does even more.”

  Willow grinned, her blue eyes dancing.

  “Caitlyn.” Micah’s gaze rested on her. “Your gift is… well, amazing. You have the gift of pure faith. The Captain trusts this to hardly anyone, truthfully. It’s pretty limitless in what you can do. And Caitlyn,” Micah’s tone softened, “don’t worry, you’ve done everything perfectly so far.”

  Caitlyn’s downturned lips flickered into a small smile. Wonder if she doubted herself before?

  Eden knew she was next. She honestly thought Micah would have to make something up, because as far as she could tell, she hadn’t done anything miraculous lately. She waited for Micah to say her name, but he didn’t.

  Instead, he said, “The Captain picked you, but you can still choose to go your own way. It’s up to you if you want to be a part of this. I will tell you this—He knows each of you personally, and you’re all very special to Him.”

  Eden knew Micah was saying something important, but all she could think was how stupid she felt at the moment. Many of her friends were still staring at her, obviously wondering what her gift was. Did he bring me along simply because he likes me? She’d always thought there was nothing special about her, but being in a room full of gifted people, when she was not, really nailed it in. Don’t cry, don’t cry…

  “What about Eden?” Willow asked. Eden’s face flushed. “I know what I see in her. What’s her gift?”

  Micah locked eyes with Eden, and she resisted the urge to duck her head. He’s probably searching for something nice to say.

  “She’s the reason we’re all here today,” Micah replied. She inhaled sharply. Say what? “And the best part is—she has no idea why.”

  You got that right.

  “Our gifts don’t just come naturally. They need someone to turn them on. They need an Awakener.”

  All eyes were on her now, but she had no idea what Micah was talking about.

  “Eden,” Micah’s voice was velvet. “You’re the Awakener, the final and last Awakener.”

  Huh? Final and last what? She glanced at Gabriel, who nodded back at her.

  Micah continued, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am becoming as sounding brass … and though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, … and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

  I read those exact verses!

  “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, … but the greatest of these is charity,” he finished.

  She stared at him, lost.

>   “Your true gift’s Charity, the pure love that never fails. Because you have pure love, you’re the Awakener. Your touch awakens others to their true potential. The beautiful and ironic thing is, your gift’s the greatest, but you’d never know it unless I told you, because yours is love. You awaken in others what they didn’t know was possible, with no glory for yourself.”

  She resisted the urge to push up her glasses, something she hadn’t done in a long time.

  “Micah, I didn’t touch—” She stopped. All those hugs! She laughed aloud as she gaped at Gabriel. “It was you.”

  Gabriel grinned. “I may have helped you a little with that.”

  “When the time was right, you only had to embrace us,” Micah explained.

  She took in her friends faces, each one of them holding a piece of her heart with them. She swallowed down the lump forming. She needed to change the subject or she’d break down and blubber. “I had no idea. I just thought I was making a fool out of myself.”

  There was some laughter. Damon stifled a grin.

  Micah chuckled and then said, “I better keep explaining things.”

  “Yeah, I’d like to know why we were sitting ducks up there.” Andrew’s tone was hard.

  “Andrew.” Caitlyn placed a hand on his arm.

  “It’s ok. You’re right, Andrew. I need apologize to all of you. I couldn’t warn you beforehand. You see, we needed all the demons to come out, not just Astaroth, to really clean the place out. Unfortunately, I was great leverage for Astaroth, but the other demons—”

  “We were live bait, in other words,” Andrew finished.

  “Because you’re gifted, you attract demons like crazy,” Micah said quietly. “The plan was for you all to stay behind the angel barrier and be fine, albeit terrified.”

  Andrew stared at Micah. “I can see why you didn’t tell us. There’s no way I would have come. But then again, if I knew you needed me to heal you…” Andrew sighed. “Ok, but next time, a little warning.”

  Trent snorted. “Next time?”

  “You have my word, Andrew. Next question, who’s Enoch? Let’s start with something familiar. Everyone’s heard of Noah’s ark, right?” There were murmurs of yes. “I’m going to tell you the story behind that story. Around 3400 BC, there was a prophet, named Enoch. He kept a record known as the Book of Enoch, which Trent and I studied from in Rome. Where we stand, all this land was Enoch’s. Being a master builder, Enoch knew the secrets to building, and he created a city like no other. When he was 365 years old, he and his entire city were lifted up to heaven—no one ever tasting death.”

  Micah glanced around. “So why is that all important to know? Because Enoch’s great grandson was Noah. And like the story you heard when you were a kid, with Noah’s Ark, there was a flood. Enoch’s city was saved from the flood, because they were lifted up, gone before it even came. The only thing left behind of Enoch’s city, was his underground temple.” Micah pointed at the ground. “This well marks the entrance to his temple.”

  “Wait, we’re in the underground temple now?” Willow asked with wide eyes.

  “Yes.” Micah grinned.

  Eden peered around. Doesn’t look like a temple to me. Then again, it’s old. Maybe this was beautiful once.

  Micah continued, “The temple’s a series of vaults, or chambers, stacked on top of each other. There are nine layers. We’re standing on top of one now. There’s something of great worth in the ninth chamber, something we need to take with us.”

  Eden’s curiosity was piqued as Trent suggested, “Micah, why don’t we tell the story as we go?”

  As far as she could tell, there were no doors out of there. It appeared completely enclosed.

  “Ok with everyone?” Micah asked. They agreed. He strolled to the far end of the room and dropped to one knee. “Right about here, I think. All right, Damon, it’s all yours.”

  Damon muttered something under his breath and the dirt split, forming two piles to either side of a large, square stone. Smooth and flat, it appeared to be a hatch.

  Trent tugged at the corner of it.

  “It’s sealed shut, remember?” Micah said.

  Trent glanced up at Damon. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

  Damon mumbled something and the stone lifted, hovered, and then lowered to the ground. She leaned forward to get a better look at the square recess it’d left behind. Cool air made the hair on her arms stand up, and she wrapped her arms around herself. The smell totally reminds me of seventh grade art; there must be dried-out clay or something.

  Micah gestured to Trent. “After you this time.”

  Trent practically threw himself down the hole. After he had disappeared, Micah descended, saying, “The steps are steep. You might want to go down backwards.” Eden noted Micah faced forward, as did Damon, Caitlyn, and Andrew. As Willow bounced on her toes, waiting for her turn, she decided his words of caution were meant for her. She found it interesting that each guardian disappeared as their charge descended, leaving only Willow’s guardian Esther and Gabriel.

  Willow’s voice was giddy. “Isn’t this exciting?”

  Eden grinned and then watched Esther disappear into thin air; Willow on her way down.

  She turned to Gabriel. “Does this mean you’re watching me, making sure I don’t fall?”

  “I think you’ll manage. See you down there.” And he was gone.

  Eden stared at the space he’d left behind. “Haha, very funny,” she muttered. Still, as she stepped through the opening, she secretly hoped he was with her. Since everyone else had gone down normally, she did too, but when her feet slipped down two steps, she flipped around and crawled. Reaching the bottom, she was relieved the only one staring at her was Gabriel. Everyone else stood by the two huge pillars in the middle of the room. The room was made of the same stones they’d seen on the well.

  “Micah, it’s just like we thought! The brick and marble pillars marking the entrance to the temple,” Trent gasped.

  The pillars stood about five feet apart with the ceiling, forming a beautiful stone arch between them. Glancing up, Eden wondered why the ceiling didn’t come crashing down on them; it looked heavy.

  Micah’s arm brushed hers. “Enoch built the arch above us. He was a master of arches.” The light cast by their guardians reflected off Micah’s blue eyes. “He built pretty much the whole temple, his son Methuselah did some too.” He paused. “I still can’t believe we’re actually in here, seeing this.”

  “It’s better than anything we ever imagined as kids.”

  He gave her a crooked grin. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “Micah, the columns have inscriptions,” Trent interrupted, poking his head between them.

  “Really?” Micah followed Trent back to the middle of the room. Damon was staring at the pillars, one of his hands resting on the brick column.

  Caitlyn stepped next to Eden. “Why are they made out of different material?”

  Eden shrugged.

  Micah answered, “What we’re seeing today, scholars have speculated over for 5000 years. Like I said, Enoch knew the flood was coming, so he built these vaults, wanting to keep sacred things safe. He knew the temple would have to survive water and fire. These columns symbolize that. They’re the indestructible columns—one made of brick so that it wouldn’t sink in water, and one the other made of marble, so it wouldn’t burn in the fire.”

  “What fire?” Andrew butted in.

  Micah opened his mouth but Trent said, “The brick one talks about the seven sciences of mankind.”

  What’s that? But Trent straightened up and moved to the marble pillar.

  “Ah-ha, here we go. This says a short distance away a priceless treasure will be found in the subterranean vaults!” Trent jumped to his feet. “Let’s go!”

  “Ok.” Micah moved a few feet over, pointed to the ground, and grinned at Damon. “A little harder, it’s stone.”

  Damon snorted back at him.

  The steps were
wider this time, and she easily made her way down. Entering the even larger room, made of the same rounds stones, she saw that, again, there were two pillars in the middle of the room—this time they were made of metal.

  Andrew was examining them. “Are they brass?”

  “Too old to be brass, they’re bronze,” Micah answered, his eyes connecting with Eden. She stepped closer to him, passing Damon leaning against the wall, in the shadows. Damon’s lips were pressed together in a tight line. It was either a scowl or a look of concentration. Either way, she knew better than to bother him.

  Happy to be near Micah again, she gazed at the pillars. Where the other ones had no embellishments, these two looked almost like fiery palm trees. The pillars were smooth and round with metal flames coming out the tops, and a band around the base of the flames. Metal palm leaves spread down and away from the flames, almost like the fire was built on leaves instead of logs.

  Micah glanced at Trent. “Do you think these are the original columns Solomon modeled his after?”

  Trent rubbed his hands together. “Maybe.”

  Confused, Eden tugged on Micah’s arm. “What are you talking about?”

  Micah leaned closer. “In King Solomon’s Temple, there were two bronze pillars marking the entrance. And in his temple, the pillars had names written on them.”

  “Holy Toledo,” Trent exclaimed. “It says Boaz and this one says, drumroll please, Jachin.”

  “Is that supposed to mean something to us?” Andrew asked.

  “Boaz and Jachin are from the Old Testament,” Micah explained, “and they’re the same names Solomon put on his temple. So since these were built long before, we can assume that maybe this is what Solomon modeled his after.”

  Trent straightened up. “The word Boaz means strength and Jachin means word establish.”

  “So, in the strength of this temple, the word will be established,” Willow commented more than asked.

  Micah smiled. “I think you may be right.”

  Trent slapped his hands together. “Hot dang, it doesn’t get any cooler than this!”

  “I thought the real treasure was in vault nine,” Caitlyn said evenly.