Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2)

by Straight, Nancy

  Thoughts of Lauren consumed me now that I had idle time. I tried to think back to my conversation with Samael. He could put images in my head but he really couldn’t control any part of me. I didn’t think he could override my will. That’s the problem, I didn’t think he could…but I just didn’t know that he couldn’t. Dale and I were sitting silently in the ambulance. It was a little awkward, but not uncomfortable enough to break the silence. I found a piece of today’s, or I guess technically yesterday’s, newspaper on the floor. I picked it up and leafed through the Business section. Nothing particularly caught my attention, but it gave me a good reason not to start up a conversation with Dale. He reached into a book bag and pulled out a thick textbook and began to read.

  After I had flipped through the newspaper twice, I put it back on the floor, “I’m going to check supplies in the back and restock.” Nothing worse than going to an accident and being out of some simple piece of first aid gear. Dale nodded but didn’t look up from his book.

  I did a full inventory of all drawers and shelves and the two bags. I went into the office and pulled all the material to be fully stocked. I flipped through an end-of-shift check off sheet; it looks like we’re supposed to sign this off every day. This wasn’t something we had the last time I was a paramedic. I meticulously went through the entire sheet and did all the things I was supposed to do. It was six fifteen, less than an hour until our relief would show up. My mind began to wander, and it made its way to Lauren, again. Trying to snap myself out of it, I asked, “So Dale, are you taking some classes or something?”

  “Yeah, nothing exciting though. My degree is in computer science. I can’t stand taking all these worthless classes.”

  “What, like English?”

  “I wish, at least I’d have some hope of passing that. No, I’m taking Eastern Religions, and I’ve read this one passage like ten times. I have no idea what I’ve even read.”

  I had to endure the same thing when I was in college. I offered Dale a little advice, “Sometimes it helps to cement it if you talk through the subject. What was the main idea of what you read?”

  “I don’t know, something about the Islamic demons called Jinns. I have no idea what value this could possibly have to a computer programmer. Like maybe we’re going to come across Ilbis when we’re coding or something?”

  I could feel Samael listening; it was the strangest feeling. It was as if he were somehow heightening my listening or something. “What the heck is a Jinn?”

  Dale answered, “I’m not a hundred percent sure, but it is some kind of low level demon that works for the head demon, Ilbis.”

  Samael was quick to comment this time, “There is no such thing as a low level demon. There are only servants to Ilbis.”

  The last thing I wanted to do was screw up and start talking to myself in front of Dale, so I thought hard, “Samael, keep your thoughts to yourself.”

  I couldn’t offer Dale anything other than my sympathy because I really didn’t know how knowledge of demons would help someone be a better computer programmer. Heck, even with a demon living inside me, I wasn’t all that happy with the knowledge that it was even possible. I would much rather only have been reading about it as some abstract religious concept, instead of living it.

  As Dale and I were headed inside, Randy was waiting in nearly the same spot I had seen him last night. I could feel that he wanted to talk again, and it was like he picked up right where he left off last night. “So, what’s Lauren doing these days?”

  I tried to keep the frustration from shining through on my face. It was hard enough keeping her off my mind as it was; I didn’t need Randy asking about her, too. “Not too much. She’s been self-employed for a while.”

  “Is she a consultant of some kind? Private security, maybe?” Randy was a great guy, really upbeat every time I’d ever talked to him, which in itself was a little strange. I hadn’t seen or heard from this guy in nearly three years, I had only talked to him a few times in my life, and not only did he remember me, he remembered my girlfriend, her name, and was interested in what she was doing. A part of me realized I was just being paranoid, then Samael’s voice quietly rang through me and said, “No, Max – you aren’t being paranoid. Evade his questions, give him nothing.”

  It’s hard to roll your eyes at a voice in your head, but then I thought a little harder. I didn’t trust Samael, heck I didn’t even like him, his existence had caused nothing but pain for me even before I ever met him. But so far, his advice had been right on the money. Rather than answer Randy, I answered Samael in my mindversation, “Give him nothing? He’s just trying to be friendly. I’m the new guy again.”

  Samael’s response was firm, “No, he’s asked nothing about you, and he is trying to worm his way close to you so that he can get near Lauren. Share nothing with him.”

  My brief exchange with Samael had created too much of a delay in responding to Randy. My answer was almost strained when I finally said, “No, I’m not really sure how to describe what she does, but she seems to be happy. I’m going to go get ready for the turnover. I’ll see you later.”

  As I took a stride to step away, Randy called out, “Hey, maybe you two would like to go to dinner this weekend?” His expression was hopeful, and he really looked like he was just trying to make a new friend.

  Samael’s voice echoed again, “Tell him no.”

  This time I opted not to carry on a conversation inside my head while I was interacting with another human, “I’ll check with Lauren. We might need to plan something a little further out.”

  I did the pass off with the oncoming team, clocked out, and was in my truck headed home when Samael let loose, “Don’t trust him, Max. You are incredibly naïve and he may be dangerous. Don’t you find it odd that you met him while on a date with Lauren? He introduced himself to you both. In less than twenty-four hours from meeting you he convinced you that his lifelong dream was to be a paramedic? When you returned he happened to be in charge and offered you a job on the spot, no questions asked, didn’t even ask for a reference?”

  “No, I don’t think it’s odd. It isn’t like I don’t have skills, Samael. This is what I do.”

  “Max, no one gets hired the minute they walk through the door. What about hiring paperwork, salaries, benefits? None of those things even came up. He just told you to grab your uniform and show up.”

  “Samael, again I worked here before. All my information is already on file. I could have come back any time. You’re blowing this way out of proportion.”

  “No, you are turning a blind eye to someone who wants to exploit you. Worse yet, you could end up allowing him to get close to Lauren.”

  “Can’t you leave? If I could get you out of my head, my whole life would be normal again. Maybe I need to find a priest or something. They can exorcise demons.”

  I heard him laughing. It’s like Samael didn’t have the right responses. You would think if you were a demon taking up house in someone’s head and they threatened to find a priest, you’d try to talk them out of it, or get angry or something, but laughing?

  The roaring laughter died out, “Max, you need me. I know this is an uncomfortable friendship for you, but I am your best shot at you keeping Lauren safe, and we both know it.”

  “Samael, you and I both know you took up refuge in me in some feeble attempt to keep Lauren from killing you. You are not helping me keep Lauren safe. You are an uninvited guest.” I thought of Rewsna again; she would know how to send Samael on his way.

  The flash of Rewsna in my thoughts was significantly more shocking to him than my threat of a priest. He said nothing, but I could feel his anger welling up. Oddly enough he waited until I pulled in my driveway to answer back.

  “Listen Max, I know you are enamored with Rewsna. She is capable of many impressive skills. Her telepathy is second to none, and let me tell you, it has been no easy feat to block her constant attempts to communicate with you since I took up refuge. You keep looking at the w
orld in visions of good and evil – this is some stereotype that is planted in people from the time they are children. You need to grow up and realize that it has less to do with good and evil and more to do with action and reaction. All souls make choices throughout their lives, some are good and some are evil – their fate with the universe has no bearing on those choices. Their choices permit them to be whole or to remain fragmented. I cannot put it any more clearly. Yes, I am an uninvited guest with you, but without me – the Council would have used Lauren to create an unbalance – changing people’s destinies at will. Lauren would have very likely extinguished me if we had another encounter – but believe it or not – that would have been a bad thing. I sought refuge in the only host that I knew Lauren would never allow to perish.”

  “As long as we’re laying our cards on the table, not only did you steal three years of my life and nearly kill my girlfriend in the process, you took my grandfather from me. One of your minions possessed him, for no good reason. He was an old man. You can’t tell me you didn’t foresee the consequences. Lauren is convinced it’s her fault and carries that guilt with her. Where’s your guilt?”

  “Max, you may not have realized, but it was Joe’s time – it was actually past his time. He should have perished in the nursing home months ago. However, meeting Lauren and being around her energy invigorated his soul. His mate was waiting on the other side for him, and I can tell you she was growing very impatient.” I thought of my Grandma Ruth, Joe’s wife of sixty years and her constant nagging: “I’m waiting in the car,” “I’ll meet you at the mall clock,” “I’ll be at Erna’s when you’re done.” She had waited on him his whole life, and I believed Samael when he said that she was impatiently waiting for him in death.

  “Whether it was the possession by one of my followers or his being denied access to Lauren’s energy when she ran off, I cannot say. I do not apologize to you, because as I said – he was already on borrowed time, and he had eternity and your grandmother waiting for him.”

  A lump in my throat formed, to think that if it weren’t for Lauren, I would have never seen my Grandpa Joe alive after I left for Afghanistan. He really did have a special attachment to Lauren. She did for him, too, an uncomplicated friendship in the purest form. So many times people meet a significant other’s family members and pretend to care for them – Gramps and Lauren really had a bond.

  As I stepped out of the truck, I pulled my cell out of my pocket and dialed Lauren’s number. She answered immediately, and I responded, “I’ve got some things I need to talk to you about. Can you come over right away?”

  Lauren’s tone was relieved. My goodbye with her yesterday evening must have wounded her more than I realized. She responded quickly, “Sure, I can be over in twenty minutes.”

  “Great, I’ll have breakfast ready.” I paused for a second then added, “Make sure to bring your Glock and Peanut.”

  She hesitated but didn’t ask me why she should have either with her.

  Chapter 34

  Lauren and Peanut got out of the minivan and Peanut marched right beside her. I half expected him to growl at me when they approached, but he was his laid-back, happy-go-lucky self, not at all concerned with me. I thought that was strange. Why couldn’t he sense that Samael and I shared my body? Maybe because he was such a small part of it? Maybe because he was only here in spirit – he had no authority over my body. I purposely leaned down and got on Peanut’s level to see if he could see anything menacing about me, but all I got was a wet tongue to the face.

  We had breakfast together and were both able to keep the small talk up until the dishes were done. I told her about my last two nights on the job, and she shared with me her job search and catching up with friends she hadn’t seen since college.

  Lauren must have tired of the small talk, because she asked, “Okay, Max, I was happy to get your call inviting me for breakfast, but you were pretty adamant that you wanted your space yesterday. What changed?”

  I took her hand, leading her through the front door to furniture out on the porch, knowing that this may very well be my last contact with Lauren, ever. I owed her the truth, the whole truth, regardless of the consequences. Her hand was so soft as it intertwined with mine, and her eyes were fixed on me. I listened to see if Samael had any thoughts at this moment – but he was silent. I took a deep breath, and asked, “Do you remember that day when you rescued me from the vault?” She nodded that she did. I continued, “Something odd happened. Samael was still there when you guys arrived.” She tilted her head as if contemplating this.

  I wondered how best to continue, I wanted her to know the truth, but as I looked at her, I knew I didn’t want her to leave, to be repulsed by the truth. I cleared my throat, gathered my strength and continued, “He was pretty sure you were going to wipe him out of existence, so he took the only defense he could find.”

  I was still holding her hand, and she gave mine a little squeeze. Then quietly she asked, “So you know that he’s in you?”

  I could feel my jaw open, but words failed me. “You know…you’re not…but how?. . . when did?. . . ” My mind processed her question, but I wasn’t able to respond with a coherent sentence. I tried to let go of her hand, believing that she must be repulsed, but she didn’t let go.

  “Max, I knew yesterday, when you told me you had some things to work out, I just knew. I wanted to talk to you about it then, but you were on your way out to work, and I thought you hadn’t come to grips with it yet. I thought I might be wrong, so it wasn’t something I wanted to blurt out if I wasn’t sure – but I felt Samael here yesterday. When we talked this morning and you told me to bring my Glock and Peanut, I guessed you were going to tell me.”

  I sized up her response; she didn’t appear to be as mortified about the situation as I was. She wasn’t agitated or frustrated with the idea that Samael and I were somehow in this body together. How could she accept this so casually? The person or whatever he was that stole more than two years of her life, that threatened her family, was inside me; all this and she continued to hold my hand.

  “How much control does he have over you?” she asked.

  “None physically, he can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do. However, his thoughts are sometimes hard to ignore.”

  “Can you block him out entirely?”

  “I wish. It’s an uncomfortable situation. He is able to see and comment on every aspect of my life. He critiques conversations, and he is extremely scared of Rewsna. He knows when I don’t want to hear from him, and, for the most part, he keeps silent on topics that I really do not want his input on. He’s got a much different take on Rewsna and the Council. I’m not saying I like him or trust him, but he definitely has a different vantage point. I don’t know that I’ve successfully blocked him or his thoughts ever, he just seems to choose not to share his with me when he knows I don’t want them.”

  “You say he’s scared of Rewsna? That’s strange because she called me a couple days ago and said she couldn’t connect with you telepathically, as if you were a brick wall to her. She asked me if we were still seeing each other.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I said you were pretty freaked out about the whole situation. I told her that I had moved back to my rental to give you some space, but that it was only temporary, that I was still seeing you every day.” Lauren’s eyes went to the floor, “It wasn’t technically a lie. I’ve looked in on you every day since you came back.”

  I sighed out deeply, “I know.” How much should I tell her? She seemed to be sharing everything with me and Samael was so far not interjecting himself. I saw her confusion and replied, “I can feel when you’re watching me, at least most of the time. I haven’t noticed Rewsna trying to contact me, though, but Samael told me he was able to block her, so he must have been telling the truth.”

  We sat on the porch for several minutes, both trying to figure out the best course forward. Finally Lauren said, “So how do we get him out?�
�

  I shook my head. If I knew the answer to that one, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with Lauren right now. I wanted so badly to have a normal life, to go on with the life we started years ago.

  She asked innocently enough, “Maybe Rewsna would have an idea?”

  I could feel Samael’s response as much as I could hear him scream, “No!!” That feeling of fear, rage, hatred all mottled into his response. He was quick to follow with, “Tell her! Tell her now! She needs to get this possibility out of her head right away. If Renny knows that I am inside you, the entire Council will seek us and kill you in the process. Tell her now!”

  I know my delay in responding to Lauren was probably interpreted as contemplating her suggestion rather than listening to a stern warning from Samael. “Samael seems to think that if Renny knows that he is inside me, that the Council will hunt me down and kill me in an effort to eradicate Samael. I don’t know if it’s true. All I know is that he feels very strongly that this is the case.”

  “So why did you tell me to bring my Glock?”

  “I thought that was obvious. I don’t believe Samael can take control of my body, but I wasn’t going to take any chances with you.”

  We sat on the porch a long while. Lauren and I didn’t speak much, Samael didn’t interject any thoughts: it was almost normal. I’m not sure if I was daydreaming or if my body was going into sleep mode after working all night, but Peanut looked at the driveway and made a low gravely snarl. It quickly brought both Lauren and me back to the reality of the situation.

  Samael screamed in my head, “Max, we have to go now, now!”

  I still didn’t trust him, but in the days since he had invaded my body, I had learned to believe his fear. I blurted out, “Lauren, something’s wrong. Samael says we’ve got to go, now.” Lauren didn’t hesitate for a second. She was on her feet, keys in one hand and carrying her gun with her other hand, running for her van. Peanut loped beside looking back at me. She was several strides ahead of me but got to the van and had it turned over as I was opening the passenger door.