The Gift of Light: (Revised) (The Gifts Book 1) (15 page)

     Marta had arrived clueless, and since she never left Bradley’s side, she posed no threat. He feared his son because he knew the truth. Thankfully, the masters would tell him how to handle his son.

     Bathomet waited for the senator in his private den inside the campaign headquarters.

     Marta knew what she had to do. She didn’t want to leave Bradley, but she felt a sense of urgency to remove the journal and letters from the senator’s home lest he somehow discover them. Getting past the nurse was easy.

      “I have to run some errands. I won’t be gone long, but here’s my cell number just in case. Please call me if Bradley wakes up again.” Marta smiled and hurried out the door, her big carry-on bag slung over her shoulder. She planned to copy and then mail the journal and the letters to Emily with instructions to immediately take them to the police as well as someone she trusted in the press.

     Marta hoped to have Bradley safely moved out of the townhouse before the proverbial crap hit the fan.

     She made a quick phone call to Emily, telling

her the package and detailed instructions would come in the overnight mail. “Pray for me,” she said in closing.

     Then she called her father and asked him to come and help her move Bradley as soon as possible. Mostly she told him to pray and pray hard.

     Azelius and his minions kept a very close eye on Marta. Something was up. They knew she planned to move Bradley, and they had to strike very quickly. He should have died long ago.

     Azelius knew he was going to have to take matters into his own hands again. A simple thing like too much morphine in Bradley’s IV would ensure he’d never wake again. The problem was the angelic guardians and the incessant call of the name of Jesus that kept him from achieving his goal. He would use the guru to communicate to the senator what he needed to do, but he had to act fast.

***

     Marta returned to the townhouse to find herself locked out. Two bodyguards stood in her way with strict orders not to let her in.

     “You recognize me, know that I’m Mrs. Bradley Steel and yet I can’t go to my husband? Why?”

     No amount of screaming or threatening would get her access. She didn’t even have the senator’s personal cell phone number, but she remembered her father did.

     In Hook Pond, her father packed a bag to join his daughter when his cell rang. It didn’t take long for Marta to explain her situation. He got off the phone and called the senator.

     Steel answered on the first ring.

     Bathomet had received a message from the masters and had warned the senator, who was prepared for the call.

     “Senator Steel, this is James Sims, Marta’s father. I want to know why she’s been locked out of your home and kept away from her husband?”

     “Ah, Mr. Sims, your daughter has caused quite a problem. You see, I’ve received word that she intends to move my son out of the townhouse against the advice of his doctor.”

     “That’s not true. She only wants the best care for him. Surely you know that.”

     “I know she cares very deeply, but she places him at great risk. He could die, or at the very least, be crippled for life. I have to protect him, Mr. Simms. Surely you would do the same. If she persists, I’ll get a restraining order against her. Tell your daughter to come home to you and leave my son to me. She’s insane if she thinks I’ll allow her to put his life in jeopardy.”

     James Sims shot a prayer heavenward and glared at the senator. “Do not forget your position in this situation, Senator. Your son? Might I remind you, your estranged son, is my daughter’s husband. You are trumped, sir, let us not mince words! Check with your attorney.”

     This was the last thing the senator wanted and his mind whirled. “Alright, listen. Let me get in touch with the doctors and my attorney and perhaps we can meet here tomorrow. I’m sure we can work something out for the good of all concerned.”

     Thus mollified and with little else to do at that point, James Simms nodded. “Tomorrow, Senator, or I go to the media. The conservative media.” Marta answered her cell standing outside the townhouse. Her father explained that the senator knew she wanted to move Bradley and that was why he’d shut her out.

     “Honey, he knows what you’re up to and he’s refusing to let you near Bradley. I want you to get into a hotel room and I’ll meet you there in the morning. He’s promised to meet with us and discuss Bradley.”

     “Oh no, I will not! I’m not leaving here without my husband.”

      “Marta, you listen to me. You are pregnant. You cannot sit outside the townhouse all night long until I get there. Think about your baby! I’m coming first thing and then we’ll get this all sorted out, meet with the senator and work out a plan. I promise.”

     “Dad,” she said, beginning to cry. “I’m so afraid I don’t know what to do. Something bad will happen to Bradley, I just feel it. The senator is evil. He may try to hurt him. I have to get to him!” Mr. Sims heard the desperation in her voice, and began to pray for her safety.

     At just that moment, a battle took place upstairs in the townhouse. The nurse prepared to give Bradley his scheduled dose of morphine. Blinded by demons, she drew up more than five times the prescribed dose.

     A fight broke out between Bradley’s two guardian angels and the demons in the house.

     Through it all, Bradley cried out in the name of Jesus. The demons went weak, giving the angels the time they needed to smash the syringe the nurse held, as well as destroy the remaining doses in the meds cabinet.

     They bought Bradley some time. It would be well into the morning before they could replace the medication.

     The nurse was in shock and didn’t know what to do. She feared retribution, and scared about strange things like the syringe shattering in her hands and the vials of morphine exploding without any reason, lost it. She called the doctor, told him she had an emergency and ran away.

     Outside, Marta stepped into a cab and headed to the hotel, leaving just before the nurse. Marta prayed and cried in the back of the cab and when he reached the hotel, she called her father and told him where she was. In her room she did not sleep, but prayed all night.

     By the next morning, she had a plan that didn’t include waiting for her father. She left a note for him at the front desk.

     It wasn’t hard to find the senator’s campaign offices. Brave and outspoken as always, Marta planned to confront Senator Steel.

     When she arrived, it was like a beehive, with people on phones and others running around with numbers and messages from supporters of the senator and his party. She found it strange being able to walk into campaign headquarters without ID. She spoke with several people, telling them who she was and that it was extremely urgent that she speak to the senator right away. At last, she found someone whom would take her to him.

     Marta found herself alone in his private office, waiting for the senator to join her. The senator did not make her wait long. He was prepared to face her.

     Marta lashed out at him full force as expected.

     “I want my husband and I want him now.”

     “Well, you can’t have him.”

      “Oh yes, I can. And I will.” She pulled the copies of Amelia’s journal and Camille’s letters from her bag. “You will allow me to take my husband to a hospital today or these are going straight to the press.” She smiled sweetly at him as she threw the copies on his desk. “Oh, and don’t worry. I’ve sent copies to so many people, you cannot escape. If something happens to me, that’ll be a double murder.”

     She watched with satisfaction as his jaw dropped.

     “You see, my dearest father-in-law, I know all about you. Amelia and Camille told me everything I needed to know in this journal and those letters. I will ruin you if you do not release my husband right now. And as I said, should anything happen to me?” She shrugged, eyebrows raised. “Front page stuff. No White House for you.”

     Azelius, unseen by the senator’s side, whispered into his ear and advised him to play it

cool. As he looked over the journal and letters, he remained calm. With election day but two days off, the entire Ba al’ had arrived. They hovered in the guru’s den, accompanied by demon soldiers, along for backup.

     Azelius whispered to the senator, “Keep her talking and get her to Bathomet. The masters will help deal with her.”

     “Fine, I will let you back into the townhouse, and then we will see about where we can take

Bradley. You have to understand I only have his best interest at heart.” The senator reached under his desk and pushed a panic button.

     “That is completely inadequate. I’m taking him out right now, and you better not dally.” She glanced at her watch and shrugged. “If I don’t get back with my father and my contacts in the next twenty minutes, copies of all of this stuff goes viral over the internet. We’ll post all of it and share it on social media and with the press. I will take you down.”

     “Marta, please be reasonable. I only want the best for my son. This journal and these letters are the ramblings of two very jealous and angry sisters who fought over my affections for years. So help me, I loved them both very much. Please understand that.” He lied so well she almost believed him; almost.

     Several security officers burst into the office just then and pushed Marta to the ground.

     “Take her to the private offices upstairs,” the senator ordered his men.

     Marta tried to scream, but the men covered her mouth. As they bound her and lifted her from the floor, the senator saw her rounded belly, he gasped.

     “Oh, my God! You’re pregnant?” This only complicated things more.

     They took Marta to a large room lit only by candles. She felt the evil of the place oozing from the walls. She could not cry out bound and gagged as she was.

     Azelius spoke on bended knee to the Ba al’ present in the room. He explained the girl’s presence, and asked what their will would be for her.

     The Ba al’ spoke directly through the guru.

“We will leave her unconscious and confused until the elections are over. Then we will take her mind from her. She is a Christian, so we must be very careful. To kill her before the elections would not be good. Her family will be looking for her. As long as she is alive, we can use her as leverage to keep whoever else knows what she knows quiet, until these accusations against the senator can be undone and explained away after the elections.”

     The Ba al’ used their great power, with Bathomet laying his hand on Marta’s forehead as she struggled against the thugs holding her in place. He looked deep into her eyes and slipped the hypodermic into her vein, whereupon she fell into a deep state of unconsciousness. The hired security men hid her away in a back room locked and guarded by both human and demon security.

     She would remain there until they could move her back to the townhouse and a locked room in the basement.

     The demons far outnumbered Marta’s guardian angel and ousted him from the building. He recognized the demon sentries of the great demon leadership Ba al’ and quickly went to Perry House to get reinforcements. He knew Marta was in grave danger.

     Azelius justified the senator’s actions to him by whispering in his ears.
The girl does not understand. I will keep her safe and quiet until the elections are over, and then we can make all this go away. My team is the best in the business. We can clear all this up given some time.

     Senator Steel gave himself a pat on the back for his quick thinking in dealing with a difficult situation. With the spiritual masters and the guru on his side, everything would work out. The guru assured him that all would end well and the word kidnapping never entered the senator’s mind. It was self-defense. In time, Bradley and the girl would come to understand why he had to do the things he did.

Chapter Twenty One

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Romans 14:11

King James Version

     Seth Grayson, back in his Ohio hometown, dreamed of Emily in the deepest part of his sleep as he did every night. He loved her still, yet he hung on to his anger against her. In the dream, Emily called to him in distress, but he stubbornly refused to help her as he turned his back on her. This night he woke up terrified. Something nagged at him.

    
Maybe Emily really was in danger
.

     The Holy Spirit called out for him to forgive her. Seth knew it was wrong to cling to his anger. In the dead of night, he drove to his father’s church and let himself in. He fell to his knees in the darkness of the sanctuary and cried out to the Lord, begging for forgiveness. He would let Emily go. He had to let her go by forgiving her.

     Face down, he prayed for Emily’s wellbeing and her forgiveness of him. As he prayed, a light glowed dimly at first then burned brightly in front of him.

      “Blessed are you, Seth, chosen of God.” The voice of an angel broke him from his prayers. Startled, he flung up his arm and cried out in

fear. The angel of the Lord bid him be still and listen to the Lord God. He listened.

***

     Emily received the package from Marta very early the next morning. The contents stunned and alarmed her.

     Liam read all of it over her shoulder.

     “I know you’re here, Liam. I can feel your

presence. Please show yourself. I need your help if I’m to help Marta.”

     When he did not respond, Emily called out to the Lord. “Jesus, please send me the help I need and let Liam know I need him.”

     Liam appeared in human form before Emily for the first time since Mr. Perry’s passing.

     Emily refrained from hugging him, but she was pleased the Lord Jesus answered her prayers.

“Liam, what do I do with this information? What is the best course of action? How can I help Marta?”

     “Your helper comes up the drive now. I must leave you, Emily. A battle is brewing, and you must get yourself to DC right now, today. Take the fastest flight. I will meet you there. I have word that Marta is in grave danger. I go now to fight in the battle for her and her unborn child’s protection.”

     A knock on the front door interrupted their conversation.

     “Give the information Marta sent you to the man at the door. The Lord has instructed him and he knows what to do with it. Then get to the senator’s townhouse in DC immediately. I will be waiting for you there. Emily, this is where all your prayers are going to be needed and used. You go into this battle with us, carrying Jesus within you, covered in the full armor of God. I and a host of other angels will accompany you as your personal guard.” With those last words, Liam disappeared.

     Emily went to answer the door, full of curiosity as to who the Lord had sent to her.

     In D.C. Marta’s father looked all over for her, first at the address she gave him for the senator’s campaign headquarters. When they said she wasn’t there and they hadn’t seen her, he turned away.

     “That stubborn girl.” James Sims lamented. “She thinks she can take on the world all by herself.”

     When he arrived at the townhouse, they informed him that the senator was not there and no one knew anything. Two large security guards told him that Marta left the premises in a cab the night before and they hadn’t seen her since.

     He tried one last time to reach her cell phone, but still no answer. He called to the hotel. No one there had seen Marta since she left early that morning. Frantic and left with no other options, he went to the police to file a missing persons report.

     Bradley, after several hours without the morphine, started to come around. There was a new nurse to take care of him. She attempted several times to give him more of the medicine. Bradley yelled at her to leave him alone and get his wife.

     The nurse finally gave up and called the doctor. Demons and angels squared off all around the townhouse. A host of twenty angels surrounded Bradley.

     In the basement, Marta lay on an old mattress, unconscious, as the horde of demons encircling her warded off the advancing angels.

     Emily boarded her flight in a fog, trying to piece things together. Everything was happening so fast. First, Liam telling her what to do and then, here’s Seth, arriving on her doorstep out of nowhere!

     He told her an amazing story of an angel who appeared before him and sent him to her.

     His instructions were to take the information that Emily gave him about the presidential candidate, Brad Steel, to the press. The angel gave him the names of two Christian reporters in Hook Pond who would help him get the journal and letters into the headlines and to the proper authorities. The journal and the letters would be online and viral before the sun set on this last day before the elections.

     Her head continued to swirl and then suddenly, the fog cleared and she knew with a certainty that needed no definition. This was it. The battle that she knew deep in her soul was her destiny drew near. Hours spent praying, studying, and learning of the Lord, building a relationship with Him, all centered on this very day. It all mattered very much now.

     Bradley and Marta were in danger as Liam told her. Instead of worry for her friends, Emily felt a strong confidence in the Lord as the Holy Spirit welled up inside her. Everything would be fine because the Lord Jesus Christ was with her and her friends.

     Emily hugged Seth and held him close as they parted ways that morning. They promised to talk after this whole business concluded and Marta and Bradley were safe.

     The doctor arrived to help calm his patient. Bradley was now fully alert. He told the doctor he would sue if he received one more dose of any kind of sedative.

   The doctor listened to Bradley’s story. He didn’t know where Bradley’s wife had gone, but he believed her to be in grave danger. The doctor left and promised that he would do his best to help find Marta. He also gave the nurse orders to hold all of his pain medications unless the patient asked for them.

     In turn, Bradley promised to be as still as possible and not aggravate his injuries. The doctor provided the requested phone. He wanted to call his aunt and his wife. Meanwhile, the doctor searched for hospital placement for him.

     Senator Steel and his staff were in the midst of preparing campaign headquarters for the incoming horde of supporters from his political party when a call came through from Bradley’s doctor.

     The doctor explained that his son was now fully awake, wanted to see his wife, and demanded immediate transfer to the nearest hospital. The senator excused himself to his staff and told them he needed to go home for the evening to check on his son. He assured everyone he would meet at campaign headquarters later.

     Marta’s father argued with police officers at the station in downtown D.C. Marta had not been missing for a full twenty-four hours yet and he couldn’t file a missing persons report until the next morning. There was no way to trace her phone without the cooperation of the police. One Sargent advised him to check all the hospitals, but he suspected that the young woman in question was out shopping and sightseeing and would probably turn up back at the hotel at some point.

     Frustrated, angry, and scared to death, Mr.

Sims caught a cab back to the hotel where he pulled out a phone book and began calling all the hospitals in the area.

     Seth arrived at the local Hook Pond newspaper office, where a young woman at the front desk asked, “How can I help you, sir?”

      “I need to speak with John Peters or his partner Jamie Hudson. It is urgent, a matter of great importance.”

     These were the names given him by the angel of the Lord, who sent him here to help Emily. The young receptionist told him to have a seat.

     After a few minutes, the men met in the lobby, where Seth shared with them the journal and the letters. Both reporters knew this was going to be a big story. They quickly got to work on posting the full journal and all the letters online and sending copies to the syndicated press.

     The mainstream media wanted to interview and Marta, and of course, the American people clamored for any news of their newest American hero, Lt. Bradley Steel, son of the democratic presidential candidate.

     The major problem was no one could find Marta. She was the one entrusted with all of this information to start with.

     By mid-afternoon, the story of Senator Steel’s sordid past swept across the nation. Blogs on the story popped up all over the internet. It was not long before the senator’s staff read the circulating story.

     The public relations team immediately began firing back at the allegations from Amelia’s journal and Camille’s letters, calling them lies and propaganda spread by the senator’s opponent.

     At the townhouse, the battle between the angels and demons raged on.

     Marta remained unconscious in a drug induced state, hidden in the basement.

     Bradley had no idea his wife was under the same roof with him. His phone calls to Marta and his aunt went unanswered.

     Senator Steel arrived back at his home to find his furious son waiting for him. This was a problem. They had to shut Bradley up somehow and fast.

     “I want to see my wife now, Father,” Bradley demanded from the confines of his hospital bed. “I know she was here, and I’m certain you’ve done something to keep her from me.”

     Smooth and slick, the senator lied. “Bradley, son, the truth is your wife couldn’t stand to see you like this anymore. She left on her own and hasn’t returned. I have no idea where she is.”

     “I don’t believe that for a minute,” Bradley scoffed. “You’re lying just like you always lie about everything. I’m getting out of here, and I warn you, Marta had better be safe, or I’m coming for you and I’ll tell everyone every dirty, ugly thing I know about you.”

     The senator lost all composure as he sneered at his son. “What are you going to do, huh? You can’t even get out of that bed. I have to hire people to take care of you and clean you up when you soil yourself. You are as helpless as a baby, and you are not going anywhere.”

     Bradley howled with rage as his father took his phone, left him alone in the room, and locked the door behind him. The senator dismissed the nurse and told her to leave the premises immediately.

     Somewhere in the house, the senator’s cell phone buzzed like crazed wasp. In his anger, he ignored the incessant noise. His staff would have to manage without him for now as he dealt with his son and his son’s wife. Outside, the bodyguards followed the senator’s orders to keep everyone out.

     He was now alone with only Bradley and Marta in the house. What choice did he have? He had to eliminate them. It was self-defense really, a kind of self- preservation. The question was how to do it?

     He needed to speak with Bathomet and get advice on how to deal with what he now felt was a serious problem with his son and daughter-in-law. He sent his car and driver to pick up the guru.

     Azelius with his horde and the added demonic sentries of the Ba al’, surrounded the townhouse and secured the place for the arriving Ba al’ by ousting every angel by sheer brute force. The angels were overwhelmed and outnumbered, but one very smart and quick-thinking angel made it out of the basement with Marta’s cellphone.

     Bathomet arrived at the townhouse in the senator’s limo. With him came the entire Ba al’ and their personal entourage. This added greatly to the already swelling numbers of demons surrounding the townhouse and the senator.

     The senator fell on his knees before the guru. “My friend and brother, what do the great masters say? Have I not served them well? Have I not worshiped them with time, praise, and money? Please tell me what I must do. I will do anything the masters tell me to, anything to keep my son and daughter-in-law from ruining me.”

     “You must kill them,” the guru replied in a deadpan voice. His eyes, vacant and expressionless, stared straight ahead, not looking down at the pathetic man groveling before him.

     “How can I do that?” The senator whined. “He is my son and the girl carries my grandchild inside of her? How can I kill them?”

     Azelius rolled his eyes at the sound of his charge’s whimpers as he welcomed the Ba al’ to his stronghold. The townhouse was now fully secured and in complete control of the demons.

     “Not to worry, my Lords.” Azelius bowed low before the assembly “We are quite safe here, and I will take care of the senator’s son and his wife myself.”

     “See that you do and do it now.” A boom of evil voices echoed in unison as Azelius hurried off to do their bidding.