With that, a beaten and bruised man was thrown onto the floor at Patheus’s feet. “This one is mine. He was a scout for the group in Amarillo who decided to run away when things were looking bad. He made the mistake of coming back here, and let’s just say that I do kill the messenger.”
Patheus plunged his hand into the middle of the man’s stomach. A weakened cry and then a moan emerged from deep within the man’s being. Patheus grabbed something and pulled hard. There was a sick, wet sound following a horrible scream as Patheus not-so-gently removed the man’s intestines. The onlookers finally did turn away, and many of them vomited. One fainted. Eventually, they all returned to their position as audience. Eva slowly shook her head. With feet of insides pulled out of this poor soul’s body, he only lay there, mouth agape and eyes full of horror. He was still alive. Patheus had sustained him for a slower death—a trick, incidentally, he’d learned from Jeremiah, forcing the man to soak in all of the pain that he could, until even Patheus’s will could no longer hold him to this plane.
“As for the rest of you,” Patheus continued after a few minutes, wiping the blood off of his hands, “remember what I said. If you fail me, your masters will come to finish the job, and removing the inconvenience of your incompetence will be most important to them. I shouldn’t need to stress that Jeremiah is dangerous, and if directly encountered, he’ll probably kill you. He has already killed two of my demons and a handful of men by himself. He also has accomplices who have proven fairly skilled. I served under him in a battle against the forces of Lucifer. He, as an angel, single-handedly staved off the Morning Star—a feat believed to have only been accomplished by Michael. Do not underestimate him. He’ll kill any of you whom he catches.”
Patheus didn’t catch Eva roll her eyes at the mention of his role under Jeremiah. She’d heard it so many times that she could recite it herself. He droned on with pointless threats, and while he did, she thought.
Alex was going to be difficult. How could she even get close as long as Jeremiah was around? Patheus believed that Jeremiah would eventually leave the boy. But when? At some point, Jeremiah would have to release Alex into public. He wouldn’t go through all that effort of finding Alex if the boy didn’t have a very interesting destiny. Eva decided that she would make her move as soon as Jeremiah gave Alex enough slack to start exploring on his own. Even then, whatever she did would have to be calculated and subtle to ensure that she had no interference from Jeremiah, who would undoubtedly kill her. Patheus’s plan was foolhardy, and, if she wasn’t cautious, she would play the fool. If she failed, Patheus would kill her. If she succeeded, Jeremiah would probably find out and kill her. Either way, this situation frightened her, and fear was not something she was accustomed to dealing with.
***
Alex drifted away from the attacker. Though he knew he was still being thrashed, he didn’t care. He couldn’t feel it anymore. His mind retreated somewhere dark, but pleasant. In the darkness, illuminated by hidden light, he saw his father. James Tanner had always been the steady foundation Alex often rested upon. He was the rational one in the family when Alex and his mother were not. In his son’s mind, James was almost a super hero. And his presence here was exactly what Alex needed.
“Dad!”
“Son, you have come a long way.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t mean to leave. They took me away and told me that I would die if I didn’t go with them. I’m so scared.”
James approached and put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I know,” he comforted Alex with a soothing voice, “but you are safe here.”
Alex knew that this was not James Tanner, though he wanted to believe so badly. “Where are we?”
“We are in a place that I designed for you. You may seek me here, and I will come. Son, I don’t expect you to do this alone, and that is why I have given you Jeremiah, Liz, and Matt—along with many others. They’ll help you in the difficult times to come. Yours will be the most painful path. You will be the one who has to make choices for the rest. You’ll have to live with those decisions. I wish there were a way that I could make this easy for you, but pain is a necessary part of human existence. Without it, humans do not grow.
“Jeremiah thinks I feel nothing when my children suffer, but that isn’t true. If anyone could fathom how I feel when my creations suffer, they would wonder why I allow such things. But that’s free will. The consequences of your actions will always lay heavily on your mind. Can you sift through them to find the truth that transcends pain? Yes, you can. I am that truth, Alex, and I will be there for you.”
“You left Jesus to die,” Alex retorted, fully recognizing to whom he was speaking.
“No,” James Tanner replied solemnly, “I let him make his own decision, and he did so perfectly. There will come a time when I no longer tell you what it is that you need to do. In that time, you will know, and the only thing left will be for you to do what you think is best. That’s always the final test. When you think that I can’t see you, or you think that I won’t judge you, when you know that your choice can result in the loss of all, that is when your decision is the most important. If Jesus had asked me, I would have pulled him off that cross. But even when he thought I wasn’t looking, he ignored temptation, fear, and doubt. He knew that his path was just. He knew that it was what I wanted, but he also knew that he could walk away. The same is true for you. If you want to walk away, just do so.”
“Then, I suppose you will be disappointed in me,” Alex said, feeling much like he was talking to his father.
“It isn’t possible.”
Not meaning to sound cynical, but doing remarkably well anyway, Alex responded, “I thought all things were possible.”
“Except for those things that I choose to make impossible. I have a very personal connection with you, and regardless of what you may believe, it isn’t of my doing. You chose to have this relationship. Again, this is all a matter of your choice. I could never be disappointed in you for doing exactly what it is I want you to do. Just because I know where the path will end, doesn’t mean that I’m directing you there. Don’t take my lack of intervention as a sign of not caring. Rather, regard it as wisdom that you don’t see yet.”
“What do I do when I don’t know?”
The man stroked his fingers through Alex’s hair just like his father would—to comfort his only child. “Don’t try to know. Just believe.”
Alex could hear his name being called from a distance.
“They’re looking for you,” his father noted. “You need to return. We’ll speak again soon.”
Alex felt himself being pulled through time and space back to his body. When he reentered, he was totally exhausted. Through blurred vision, Alex could make out Jeremiah and Matt in the front seats peering at him expectantly. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Liz awake and also studying him.
***
A muffled voice came from the backseat, “Jeremiah, I don’t think your savior is doing so good.”
Jeremiah spun his head around. Elizabeth was awake, and she was waving her hand in front of Alex’s face. His eyes were wide open; his mouth was partially agape, and his hands were clenched onto the seat. His face had gone completely pallid, and every once in a while, he would let out a weak whimper. He looked to be staring straight at the back of Matt’s head. Matt turned around too.
“What’s he doing?” Matt asked, getting concerned.
Jeremiah followed Alex’s eyes straight to Matt. “It would seem,” he replied venomously, “that your demons have possessed him, too.”
Matt turned to look at Jeremiah, glad to take his eyes away from Alex, whose gaze was a little unnerving. An uncomfortable realization crept into Matt’s mind, one regarding an intrusion on the most personal level.
A glint of horror flashed in his eyes. “What do you mean?”
Jeremiah pulled the car off the road and turned off the engine. “That means that he has been inside your head.”
/> Alex screamed.
Jeremiah sighed. “And apparently he doesn’t like what he sees.”
“The fuck you say.... What is he doing inside my head?!”
“Possibly dying,” Jeremiah roared. “If you don’t mind, please stay out of this.” Jeremiah reached back toward Alex and cupped the boy’s head in his hands.
“You need to tell him to stay out of my head. If he goes into it again, I’ll beat the shit out of him--”
The back of Jeremiah’s hand collided with Matt’s face so hard that the back of his head cracked the passenger’s side window. Elizabeth screamed. Matt pulled a gun.
Jeremiah smiled. “What are you going to do with that, Matt? Kill me? Or maybe you’d like to kill him.” Jeremiah pointed to Alex. “It will serve the same purpose either way. If either of us die, your chances of surviving your next run-in with Patheus are very slim. If you were to ‘beat the shit out of him,’ he would never again trust you, and he would die. Now, for the sake of all that is wholesome, please stop playing around with that thing. We can settle our disputes later. Don’t drag him into this.”
“Oh, I do so love your logic, Jeremiah,” Matt spat at him. “Blame the victim. You know what? I wouldn’t have to deal with Patheus if it wasn’t for you. Maybe if I fuck up your plans, he won’t hate me so much.” He directed his gun toward Alex.
“Matt don’t,” Elizabeth whispered. “You’re playing his games.”
Jeremiah shook his head slowly. “Give me the gun...NOW.”
Matt’s eyes rolled back into his head, and his arm extended toward the demon. Jeremiah held out his hand, and Matt dropped the gun into it.
Matt grabbed the sides of his head. “I hate it when you do that.”
“Look, Matt. I’m sorry I hit you. I should have tried to reason with you a little better than that.”
“Reason?!” Matt exclaimed, bringing his head up out of his hands. “You never even tried to reason.”
“I said I was sorry,” Jeremiah continued. “You can either choose to accept it or not. Alex is definitely not your enemy. Blame me. Attack me. Kill me if you can. But for your sake, Elizabeth’s sake, and the sake of the world, don’t kill him.”
“You know what I think?” Elizabeth asked.
Jeremiah sighed. “I shudder when I consider the possibilities.”
Elizabeth smiled patronizingly. “You are a monster; there’s no question about that. But I think there may be some heart in you yet.”
Jeremiah returned his hands to the side of Alex’s skull. “Your insight amazes me. Don’t let my lack of concern stop you. Continue with your analysis, Doctor.” His eyes closed, and it looked like he had stopped paying attention.
“You can’t bait me that easily. Your insults mean nothing to me.”
Jeremiah said nothing.
“This is another chance, isn’t it, Jeremiah?” she persisted. “You can save this one, so by God you will.”
Jeremiah opened his eyes and looked directly into Elizabeth’s. “No. Because of God, I couldn’t help Jesus. Now, because of Him, I cannot help Alex.” He shrugged. “I guess this means wait.”
“What happens if you lose Alex? You can’t fall again.”
“Elizabeth,” Jeremiah mused as he returned to the forward position in his seat, “I think I liked it better when you were unconscious.”
“Jeremiah, you’re a bastard,” Matt added.
“I have no parents,” Jeremiah replied while lighting a cigarette. “Therefore, I could not have been born out of wedlock. I’m sure that, as smart as Liz is, she probably already figured that one out. Your mother, though, being the proverbial town bicycle that she was, did conceive you outside of marriage—as I recall.”
“Don’t argue with him, Matt,” Elizabeth insisted as she put her hand on the young man’s shoulder, “He wants that. He wants you to be as angry and bitter as he is. He is powerless unless you give him the power.”
“All sorts of words of wisdom from you, Liz.” Jeremiah started up the car and pulled back onto the highway. “I wonder...where does it all come from?”
Everyone was surprised when it wasn’t Elizabeth but Alex who answered, “You would be surprised, Jeremiah, at how well they see, even at their age.”
Immediately, Jeremiah pulled back off the road. He turned around slowly. Matt and Elizabeth were already staring at Alex. His eyes seemed focused on something else, and the voice that was coming through was not the voice of the boy. It sounded like his voice, but Jeremiah recognized the command inherent in its tone. It had been millennia since he had been in Heaven, but he knew this was the voice of God.
“Do not be afraid, Matthew,” Alex said. “Your time will come to shine. I know you hurt now, but pain is only temporary. Don’t punish yourself for things you cannot change. Humanity’s beauty can only be completely perceived from many different angles.”
Alex faced Elizabeth and smiled, though still not making eye-contact with her. “Elizabeth, your role is one of the most important. Your compassion will be most necessary before the end. He will need you more than anyone else. Jeremiah’s heart is cold from the distance between us. Yet, there is still hope for him. You’re right. There’s love in there that even he does not know of.”
The smile faded, and Alex turned to Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s heart leapt when a voice returned. There was a change, if only for a second, in the energy that pulsed through Alex. It changed enough that Jeremiah could recognize it as a young boy he had known a very long time ago. He spoke to Jeremiah in a language that only the two of them could understand.
Elizabeth could almost see a tear form in Jeremiah’s eye, or maybe it was just the way the sun caught it. It was beyond her to think that this monster could actually have human feelings, but there was no doubt that the tone he took with Alex was different than the one he had just been using. Then, Alex fell back into the seat, and his eyes closed.
For more than a minute, they silently watched him, and finally he came to.
He looked around bewildered. “What happened?”
No one answered. In fact, the entire car was silent until Jeremiah spoke up.
“I told you he was important,” the demon declared indignantly.
Elizabeth and Matt just stared at Alex. Jeremiah turned around and pulled the car off the shoulder. They rode for a long time in silence, everyone contemplating the message he or she had just received.
Alex noted a dark spot on the back of Matt’s head. It looked like dried blood. He tried to remember if it had been there before, and he came to the conclusion that it hadn’t. Something strange had happened while he was unconscious.
Alex looked ahead and saw an eerie glow that crowned the mountains they were approaching. In another hour, they had crested those mountains and were looking down at a city in a valley. To Alex, Las Vegas looked like a giant bowl filled with lights. A few things stuck out, like the Luxor and Stratosphere, but most of the city was a blur. Flashy casinos and grand hotels only reminded Alex how far he was from his small town home.
He knew that Jeremiah’s mansion would be nearby. He also knew this was probably where he would have to stay for a while. Nevertheless, he silently vowed to return to Kingstone as soon as possible. His family and friends at least deserved the truth—if any of them would even accept this as truth.
Matt abruptly broke the silence when he turned to face Alex and asked, “So what did you see?”
Dreading this moment, Alex slowly met Matt’s gaze. He had feared that the invasion had been noticed, and now Matt wanted to talk about it. Well, they didn’t have to know all of it. Indeed, he didn’t know what to make of most of it yet.
“Fear, pain, a bully, and hope,” Alex replied cryptically.
Matt looked confused, but shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, I’d like to believe that there is hope in the end.”
He turned back around to face the oncoming city.
Light from the surroundings poured into the car as they entered town, and out of
the corner of his eye, Alex could see Liz staring at him. He turned to make eye contact, and as he did, she turned to her window—as if suddenly distracted by the display. Alex’s heart sank. No matter how he might feel about her, he reminded himself, she was Matt’s, and there was nothing he could do to change that.
Chapter 4
It’s true that change is constant. People work for years to attain some kind of stability, and they may not even see the change occurring, but it does. Adapting to new situations and accepting that we cannot be in charge of everything makes us strong. To fight those things is to attempt to deny a natural force. Some beings can hold off the flood, but it only builds behind the dam they create. Flowing against the very nature of the universe drives people mad. The most powerful demons have become completely insensitive to the world around them. They cannot even conceptualize of the importance we play in the universe. They have been fighting the flow of change for so long that, now, they can only see things as the way they were—when angels were the only movers and shakers. Many such demons avoid and ignore us. Others slaughter us when they can. On its own, an average demon might be able to kill an average prophet. But the demons are seldom alone, and the ones who come after prophets are not average.
--Abigail Martin, Through the Eyes of a Martyr
Metatron was not sure what he thought of his new body. He had been without a body for more than a decade, after having been in a battle with an angel. An earthquake that Metatron used to devastate a small Asian city claimed the lives of a little over three hundred people. Apparently, Heaven thought he’d crossed a line. That was certainly nothing compared to the deaths that he had been responsible for as an angel, but it wasn’t a bad number for a demon.
To his knowledge, he was the only demon—other than Lucifer, of course—who had fought with an angel and not been successfully banished to Hell. Maybe he was getting stronger. Granted, that was the first time that he had ever battled an angel, and he had not thought he could escape with a tie to earth, but he did. He couldn’t kill the angel. Oh, no. A concerted effort of many demons may be able to achieve such a feat, but not one alone. His body became separated from his soul, and he floated in the Limbo between Hell and Earth for twelve years, trying to summon the will and energy to re-form himself.
Demonic Designs (To Absolve the Fallen) Page 10
