It had to have been the dark powers Lucifer had given me. I wouldn’t have been able to break my cup like that otherwise. I had known for a long time the art of cutting oneself was something that seemed to be required to be a part of Lucifer’s kingdom, but in the end, it didn’t matter as long as I got a kingdom to rule and reign. I did wonder if there was another way around the cutting. I hated scars, and I wouldn’t be covered in them.
I watched as the blood trickled from the wound. I didn’t like what I had done, but it did take the edge off the anxiety.
Then I saw it.
At first, I couldn’t believe what my eyes captured, but my anxiety quickly fled, and my heart filled with joy as Lucifer threw Alec around the room and then disappeared with him in the blink of an eye. I’d never seen anything so comical in all my life, and I replayed the scene over and over to my heart’s content.
After the laughter stopped, I was left to ponder where Lucifer had taken Alec. What happened could only mean one of two things. Either Lucifer was trying to scare Alec into submission, or Alec refused him.
If Lucifer had hurt Alec as a way to scare him into compliance, there wouldn’t be any need for Lucifer to teleport him to someplace on the earth or the spirit realm. If Lucifer had succeeded in scaring Alec into doing what he wanted, then he would have left Alec bleeding and crying on the floor. There was only one answer.
Alec refused Lucifer.
He had to have if Lucifer would go to the lengths I saw. Alec was gone now, and no one would ever see him again. The company would be all mine. I would possess the power, wealth, and praise. I wouldn’t have to put in years of serving those god-awful employees, and trying to turn them against Alec. All that ended the moment Alec disappeared with Lucifer.
It was a new day. It was my day. The ceremony of me taking over the company would be greater and grander than all of those the Williamses had done. All would have to pay homage to me if they wanted to get anything done, and hell, I would be even more powerful than the president.
Then the smell of rotten flesh filled my nostrils, and I heard the voice that accompanied the wretched scent.
“I wouldn’t celebrate just yet if I were you.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rachel Willenski
Williams Industries Headquarters – Accounting Division
Williams Point, New York
A HORRIFYING PRESENCE gripped me, and I sat straight up in my chair. The stench of rotted corpses filled the entire room. I tried hard not to let my voice quiver as I answered Reviler.
“How... How long have you been there, my lord?”
“Long enough to hear your ridiculous victory speech, but sadly, Alec is not dead yet.”
“How can that be?” My eyes welled with tears as my hopes were dashed to bits on the rocks as I heard his revelation. Every time I had come close to getting what was mine, it got pulled from me the moment before I could wrap my hands around it. I couldn’t hold back tears as they flowed like a river down my cheeks, and my cut began to bleed more.
“Oh, I wouldn't cry just yet either. I heard our master tried to sway Alec, but quite unsuccessfully.”
“So, it’s true. Alec resisted Lucifer’s offer, and told him no?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
“Well, then how is Alec still alive?”
“Calm yourself, little girl. Lucifer has given Alec until tomorrow night to fall in line or be destroyed, so there is still hope our plan will work. Be patient. You might not have to do anything at all to get what you want.”
I hated it when he called me little girl, and he knew it, but that wasn’t the thing that bothered me. Like an itch buried deep in my brain I couldn’t scratch, I had to make sense of it. The only way to do that was to put the pieces together. I was so focused I no longer smelled the horrific scent Reviler gave off, and for a moment, I briefly forgot he stood in the same room as me.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, Rachel.”
His voice was like nails on a chalkboard to me. As he spoke, the blood from my wound started to drip on the floor. I cursed to myself. I would need stitches to stop the bleeding. “Well, please tell me how Alec, a mere man, could resist our master and not be killed for it? It doesn’t make sense.”
A satisfied smile spread across Reviler’s face as he savored the moment that he knew something I didn’t. He stared at me and smiled for a few moments before he finally answered me.
“I’ll tell you what it means. It means you will be taking over the company by tomorrow night if things go the way I think it’s going to go.”
“Are you serious?”
“Think about it for a moment, Rachel. The only way someone could resist Lucifer is if they were connecting with The One.” He pointed toward the ceiling.
“Remember what the master said before. He made a covenant with the Williams family, and it can only be broken by the Williams if they side with our enemy. Based on what I’m seeing, things are looking up for us.”
Reviler turned to depart back into the spirit realm.
“Reviler wait, please.”
He turned his head. “What is it my dear?”
Reviler hadn’t paid any attention to my wound or even mentioned it since he appeared. I shot him my best come hither glance and held up my arm. “Will you please close my wound and leave no mark like you have done before?”
His eyes widened as he turned to fully face me. He lovingly smiled at me as he walked to me. He took my arm with both of his hands and closely inspected the wound. “Oh my, Rachel, what have you done to yourself?”
I had him right where I wanted him, so I spoke in a breathy but playful tone. Demons were almost as easy to manipulate as men were. “I got upset and crushed my coffee cup in my hand, and then cut myself with a piece of it because I was so angry over what Alec has been doing.”
Reviler looked at me with loving concern. “You sure did, and this one is pretty deep. I can see you cut into the muscle because of how the blood is flowing so freely now.” He jerked my arm to his mouth and began to suck the blood.
I screamed out in fear, and tried to pull away, but I couldn’t free my arm from his grip. I hit him with my other hand and shouted for him to stop as my vision blurred. My knees buckled and the strength left my body.
Reviler didn’t stop. I begged and pleaded, and toward the end, all I could do was whisper. “You’re killing me.”
He stopped.
I fell to the ground, dazed and dizzy as the room spun like a top. That was it. I was going to die.
Right before things went permanently dark, Reviler grabbed me and yanked me to my feet. I wasn’t dizzy or weak, and the cut on my arm had closed.
“What just happened? Why did you try to kill me?”
Reviler erupted in wicked laughter. “I wasn’t trying to kill you. I did what you asked. See? I closed the wound for you, and there isn’t even a mark on your arm. It’s just that I did it at the cost of your delicious blood.”
Then his gleeful face twisted into a stern look. “What did you think was going to happen? Everything you ask of me comes at a price, and the reason you’re not dead is because of the power Lucifer gifted you, which you paid for at the expense of your father’s life. You have a lot to learn, and I am not so easily manipulated, sweetheart. Maybe next time you’ll be more careful with your requests.”
He vanished from before me.
The incident only confirmed one of my deepest wishes.
When I inherited my kingdom, the first thing I would do would be to bury Reviler in the deepest and fiercest part of Hell. He would be horrifically tortured every day for the rest of time.
He, too, would learn there was a price to pay for his insolence.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alec Williams
Williams Estate – Private Home Office
Williams Point, New York
DURING THE CAR RIDE home, I continued to embrace the realization of how things were in the world.
The devil, demons, and evil forces were trying to take over the earth, and my life and family were directly tied to their plan. I wished all of it was a bad dream I could wake up from, but I had until the next night to live. If the devil was real, then God must be real too. Jesus, The Father, the Holy Spirit, angels, and Heaven itself all existed as well.
But if Jesus was real, then why had he let all of this happen to me?
Why did he take my mom? She always told me God was good and he loved me more than anyone, even her, so why wasn’t he there to help me? As I sat in the car, I was confronted yet again, with the question of the reality of God. I had run from the question since my mother’s death, and no matter how far I’d run, the question was always there. It was as if the question had been waiting for me at that exact point in my life, because it knew where I would end up.
When the car pulled to the house, I said goodnight to James and hopped out before the vehicle came to a full stop. I quickly walked to the front door, and I sensed the strength again as I reached for the doorknob. It was the same powerful strength I experienced when Lucifer tempted me, but this time it felt a little different. This time, it pulled me into the entryway, and it didn’t seem to want me to stop. It wanted me to find something.
I took a few more steps, and immediately, the strength pulled again.
Then the voice returned. The still, small voice that had spoken to me in the car with Rachel, and again when I met Lucifer, quietly whispered in my ear. This way.
Peace engulfed me as I looked around to see where the voice had come from, but I was alone.
I wandered down the hall. I didn’t know where the voice was leading me, but I knew I could trust its direction. As I made my way, I thought I needed to enter one of the bedrooms, but my insides flipped when I heard the voice again. Not in there. I turned and kept walking until I heard the next move. Go in your office. I opened the door and stepped inside.
I half expected to see the entity that led me there, but the room was empty aside from my belongings. Just to be sure, I searched the room and found nothing.
The voice whispered again. Go to your desk and open your top left drawer. My mother’s Bible stared back at me. I didn’t remember putting it there, nor did I know how it got there, but by that point, I had given up asking why to a lot of things.
I laid it on my desk. I didn’t want to open it, let alone read it. I wanted to be angry at God and continue to use my anger as a justification to believe he didn’t exist. But as I sat there my mind cleared. All of the events of my life seemed to have been directed by someone. I was lonely as a child, but I had my mom who loved and supported me in everything. After she died, I met Paul, and we had been brothers since the first day we met. I was beginning to see every time something bad happened to me, something good immediately followed as a way to help me cope and get through the difficulty. But now Paul was gone, and nothing had shown up yet to help. It appeared the only one I could turn to was the one I had denied existed since my mother’s death, but I still struggled to call on him for help in my hour of need.
I had raged against God for so long. Surely, he wouldn’t want to take me back like nothing had ever happened between us. But there I sat staring at my mother’s Bible because a voice whispered and led me to that point. The thought seemed too painful, but I pushed past it and opened the book. I aimlessly turned pages, one by one, until I found a folded note with my name on it.
I remembered how she used to leave me notes in my lunch box and on my nightstand, telling me how much she loved me. I unfolded the sheet of paper and read.
My dearest Alec. You are the apple of my eye, and I love you with all my heart. It has been a joy to watch you grow, and I know you will be a great man. Always remember your father and I love you very much, and so does Jesus. He loves you more than your father or I ever could. I do not know where this life will take you, or what grand adventures you will have. Just know Jesus is always with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you, and he will give his angels charge concerning you to protect you. You never have to be afraid again. You are my special, handsome, and wonderful son who is a blessing to all he meets.
My mother was always so happy and so sure Jesus loved her. She told me all the time as a child, but after she passed it never seemed true to me. My life became one of constant dread, misery, and pain as I tried to live up to my father’s impossible expectations.
The hushed voice came back. Keep reading.
I reread the part of the note about not being afraid because Jesus was always with me. Just below the last sentence of the letter was what I assumed was a scripture.
Psalms 91.
I looked at the table of contents to find where the book of Psalms began, and quickly turned to it.
It had a familiar ring from my childhood. My mom read it to me when I had nightmares and couldn’t sleep. She told me not to be scared because Jesus and his angels would protect me. But over the years I had forgotten the passage and the words it contained.
I read the passage at least a dozen times over, and every time I felt more confident and bewildered at the same time. This passage of scripture challenged the last several years of my life and my perceptions about God, but it also brought me hope. A hope Jesus would protect me from Lucifer, and a hope he would help me end the atrocities my company committed every day. The last part especially spoke to me, where it said God would be with me in times of trouble, which I definitely seemed to be in, but it said I must acknowledge God.
I sat back in my chair and tried to reason through it all. Was it that simple? All I needed to do was acknowledge God, and he would save and protect me? But I was still angered over the loss of my mom, and the overall events of my life. If I said I believed God existed, would he really come to my aid? How would I do that, and what would I say? Was there a special prayer I had to pray, or did I simply just say I acknowledged God and his existence? What was I supposed to do with my feelings about my mother’s death and everything else?
Then there was the question if I acknowledged God, would he really protect me from Lucifer and his Man Wrapped in Darkness? The passage of scripture said God loved me and wanted to protect me, and all I had to do was acknowledge Him. It didn’t say anything about God being the one who wanted to hurt or torment me. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes.
The voice came back. You know what you need to do.
I looked toward the ceiling. “God, I acknowledge you’re real, and I didn’t accept the fact that you had always been there. Please forgive me for everything. Will you please come now and be with me in my time of trouble? I’ll do anything. Will you give your angels charge concerning me like your Word says? Will you please come now and protect me? I’m scared, God, and I don’t know what to do. I’m desperate. Please help me.”
I looked around the room and wiped the tears from my eyes, but God hadn’t shown up, and no angels walked about the room, either. I didn’t get it. I did nothing and Lucifer showed up in my office, but no God appeared when I did what the Bible told me to. I wanted to yell and curse at the top of my lungs, but God’s peace seemed to be urging me to be calm.
I reached for the decanter on my desk, poured myself a drink, and gazed at the Bible. “Well God, show me something in your Word that can help me.” I downed a glass of scotch, and immediately poured myself another. Then I spent the night searching gold trimmed pages for something to save me.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Alec Williams
Williams Estate – Private Home Office
Williams Point, New York
I READ ABOUT HOW GOD delivered his people out of Egypt, and after forty years of wandering in the desert because they didn’t believe him, they were finally able to enter into the Promised Land. As I continued through the book, memories of the stories from my childhood rushed back to me. Like how the Israelites still had to fight and defeat their enemies after they entered the Promised Land, but it didn’t stop there. I noticed how every person in the Bible
had to constantly fight against Lucifer’s attacks, even after they gave their lives to the Lord. Especially the great leaders in the Bible who had to constantly fight to stay alive. I identified with their plight.
As the night continued on, I read about Elijah and Isaiah, but I spent the most time reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. If Paul could see me now, he would be so proud. Reading the Bible was something he was always after me to do when he was alive. I bet he would hit me with some kind of sarcastic comment and pretend to hear something. And when I would get quiet and listen and ask what he heard, he would hit me with That’s the sound of Hell freezing over because you’re reading the Bible. I smiled as I imagined how the rest of the conversation would go. I used to get so pissed at Paul when he would do stuff like that to me, but now I wished he was there so I could ask him questions about what I read. So much of it seemed like a foreign language to me, because I didn’t quite understand the meaning of everything I read. It challenged every preconceived notion I had decided to believe about God for over the last decade. I pressed on nonetheless in pursuit of something I could use to save my life. I had to fight back a wave of panic every time I looked at the clock to see how much time I had left.
I kept reading because I had an urge to know more about Jesus and the God I’d prayed to and acknowledged. I read the disciples’ account of Christ and wrestled with the idea of God’s goodness until the sun came up. Sometime after that point, I fell asleep from exhaustion at my desk. I dreamt about my mother and better times when I was a child and she would calm my fears with her prayers. Then I dreamt about The Man Wrapped in Darkness showing up everywhere I tried to hide to ask me his question. At one point in the dream he cornered me and demanded I give him an answer. I cowered when I said I didn’t know, and then his darkness pulled me into itself, and it felt as if it was trying to suck the life out of me. The scene changed again to Lucifer standing in my office with his vampire-like fangs exposed as he shouted obscenities at me, and again threw me around the room. Every time I slammed into a wall or the floor, Lucifer was there to pick me up and throw me again.
The Man Wrapped in Darkness Page 15
