The Influence (Supernatural Thriller)

by Matthew John Slick

“Not at all,” said Sotare.

  “You angels don’t have anything like marriage, do you?”

  “No, we don’t get married. In fact, we are neither male nor female. We are spiritual beings. Gender does not apply to us.”

  “Then why do you appear as a man?”

  “That is our custom from ancient times.”

  Mark pondered the answer but thought better than to ask for clarification. He decided to change the subject. The remnants of the conversation with Kathy prompted him to ask, “Is my wife in any danger?”

  Sotare thought for a moment. “Mark, you must realize that the demonic world does not play fair. It always seeks to harm people. And because something very significant is going on here and you are at the center of it, we can conclude that demonic forces will be sent to attack your wife.”

  Mark felt a spasm of panic. He sat up straight as he leaned forward. “No. Not Kathy.” He was anxious and confused; not knowing what else to say, he blurted out, “I have to do something.”

  “There’s nothing you can do for her right now.” Sotare said gently.

  “Then you, can’t you do something?”

  “Yes and no.”

  Mark slumped his shoulders, exasperated. He already knew that many of Sotare’s responses were cryptic, but now was not the time for that. He forced himself to be calm. “Please tell me how this works. I want to know if angels will be sent to help her.”

  “They will be sent because the right people will pray for her.”

  Mark squinted slightly. “The right people?”

  “Yes.”

  Sotare’s one-word answer carried a tone of finality. Mark wasn’t in the mood for any more cryptic answers, so he decided not to pursue it. “But if it is true that I am as important as you say, then won’t strong demons be sent to harm her?”

  “We do not know for sure, but that seems reasonable.”

  This time Mark balled his fists and unconsciously pounded one of them on his thigh. With a strained but controlled tone he asked, “Is there anything we can do?”

  “For now, no. Mark, while you were on the phone I spoke with Nomos. It’s a little difficult to explain, but he told me that a demon, a strong one, will be dispatched in an attempt to harm your wife.”

  Mark’s heart skipped a beat. He stood up automatically, almost frantic. “No!” he said, “No! I need to go to her!”

  “No,” said Sotare. “You would not reach her in time.”

  “What do you mean? Is she in danger now?”

  “Yes,” responded Sotare softly.

  Mark took a step forward. Almost yelling, he said, “Then go do something. Go to her!”

  “I am supposed to stay with you.”

  Mark exhaled angrily. “I don’t care about that. You need to protect my wife!”

  “I cannot, nor can Nomos.”

  “Why not?” asked Mark in a definitely raised voice.

  “Because our instructions are to remain with you.”

  “Then I’ll go to her and you can come with me.” He started walking out of the gazebo.

  “No, Mark, don’t do that.”

  He froze in his tracks without turning around.

  “Mark, it isn’t wise for you to go right now. You’re safe here.

  “My wife needs me.”

  “You’re wife needs what you need and you’re not the one to give it to her.”

  Mark clenched his fists.

  “Besides, you’d not reach her in time.”

  Mark turned around slowly. He glared at Sotare.

  Sotare stood up and approached him. “I know this isn’t easy. But this is what it means to have a fuller knowledge of things. The more you know, the more you must trust.”

  Mark’s mind scrambled for options. “Maybe if I call her and warn her.” But he realized that wouldn’t work. What could he warn her of? Besides, she’d think he was crazy. “Okay, if I call the pastor, my father-in-law’s pastor, he might believe me. Would he pray for her? Would that help?”

  “Yes, but you won’t be able to reach him now. He is in prayer and he will also be under attack very soon.”

  Mark felt powerless and frustrated. “I hate this. Why tell me all of this if I can’t do anything?”

  “You asked me. But, don’t worry. Your wife will be okay.”

  Mark glared at Sotare, more than a little irritated. But, he was relieved.

  “You’re sure she’s going to be okay?”

  “Yes.”

  Mark was visibly less tense with Sotare’s affirmation. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

  “Please sit down.” Sotare motioned with his hand towards the seat opposite him.

  Without responding Mark pressed on. “Can I drive there and be with her at least?”

  “Mark, you are supposed to stay here in the garden. You will be safer here.”

  “Why here?”

  “Because it is a garden.”

  “And what has that got to do with anything?”

  “Because life began in a garden. Your life had its beginning when your father proposed to your mother in a garden. You and Kathy were married in a garden. This garden is where you come for peace and relaxation. It is a place of peace for you.”

  Mark weighed the words and considered Sotare’s calm tone. It was true. The garden was always a place of peaceful refuge. He slowly sat down, reluctantly complying. Sotare sat down, too.

  “Wait a minute, if this is such a good place for me, then how come I almost committed suicide here?”

  “Peace and safety aren’t the same things.”

  Mark’s expression was puzzled.

  “Remember, the demon was only able to accomplish what was rooted in your soul. Suicide was already in your own heart. The demon merely helped you and attempted to strengthen your resolve further. Suicide was something that you were already capable of carrying out.”

  Mark had to admit that he had occasionally entertained the idea of suicide as a way of escaping the turmoil of unanswered questions. The emotional agony had fueled suicidal thoughts but he had dismissed them each time. He knew it was something he would never really do, no matter how bad things got. At least, that is what he had always thought.

  Sotare leaned forward slightly and looked into Mark’s eyes. “How deeply have you examined your heart?”

  Mark tightened his lips and swallowed. “What do you mean?”

  “The deeper you look into your own heart, the more honest you must be; otherwise you won’t see what is really there. Those who look and find nothing but purity and goodness don’t look very deeply. But, Mark, you know that down in the depths of your being, there is pride, selfishness, and arrogance. I’m not trying to be insulting, just truthful.” Sotare leaned back in his seat and continued.

  “I’m not saying these things to hurt you. On the contrary, I’m trying to help you. But, you must know yourself according to truth, not according to your own desires.”

  Mark contemplated the angel’s words, absorbing them. Sotare had touched some deep-rooted chord. But Mark automatically fought back. “I’m not that prideful.”

  Sotare leaned forward again. With his right hand, he pointed to Mark’s chest and said with directness, “Pride and humility are similar. They both hide themselves in the heart and cannot be seen except by others. Saying that you have no pride is proof that you have it. Not knowing that you are humble means that you are.” Sotare sat back in the seat, lowering his hand.

  Mark knew better than to argue with him. It would be futile. Mark conceded silently by slumping back into his seat.

  “I’m glad we agree,” said Sotare confidently. “Now, you need to know that we are always fighting against the demonic forces. But our battles are tied to prayers and to the commands of the Almighty.”

  Mark welcomed the change of topic. “Well, then, I need to pray. If I prayed for her, would angels be sent to protect her?”

  “No.”

  Mark choked out an exasperated breath and closed
his eyes for a couple of seconds as he waited for his frustration to subside. “Wait,” he said in a clearly irritated tone. “You just told me that prayer would help. Then, when I ask you if my praying would work, you tell me no. So which is it?” Mark gently pounded his leg with the last syllable. “You aren’t making any sense. You have to tell me something I can understand. You’re confusing the crap out of me.”

  Mark took a deep breath. “What am I missing? What is it that I need? Why do you keep telling me I’m not of God and yet here you are sent from God to speak to me? Why do you tell me that prayer works, but my prayers won’t? All this makes no sense.”

  Mark’s anger got the best of him. “How do I know you’re not a demon sent here to deceive me?”

  “That is a fair question,” Sotare responded calmly with a nod. “I suppose there is no real way to prove it to you. For all you know, I could be a demon imitating something good. That happens all the time without people knowing it. How would you know?”

  Mark said nothing. The possibility struck him hard, so he took a moment to seriously reflect on it. But then he thought What if it was all a trick? What if Sotare could read his mind and was manipulating him? He sat there dejected, confused, and unsure. How would he know what the truth was? How would he know?

  “You’re beginning to doubt, aren’t you?” asked Sotare.

  Mark’s answer was a simple blank look.

  “I understand. You have to be able to find the truth on your own. But the problem is, would you recognize it if you saw it?”

  “I suppose that is the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is. Discovering absolute truth is perhaps the most important issue you will ever undertake. So let’s start with that. Let’s start with truth. What is truth?”

  Mark raised his eyebrows. He didn’t feel like getting into a philosophical discussion, especially now. Sotare could see it, but he persisted.

  “Of all that you’ve experienced lately, tell me what you believe to be true.”

  Mark thought about the idea that Sotare might be a demonic force in disguise. He reviewed the facts quickly. He had watched him appear and disappear. He had seen him in the spiritual realm as an angel with wings and he had certainly seen hideous creatures on top of the trees. Sotare was a bit cryptic but had also told him truths, the kind that Mark didn’t want to hear but knew were correct. But, then again, if demonic forces were as powerful as they seem to have been, they were also probably highly intelligent. This meant it was possible that he was being deceived. On the other hand, all he had to work with was what he had seen, what he had experienced, and how clearly he could analyze it all. But he knew one thing for sure: he wanted the truth, no matter what it was.

  “Well,” Mark finally began to answer. “I would say that what is true is that you are here and that you are a spiritual being. You claim to be an angel and so far I have no real reason to doubt that, though I’m beginning to. It is also true that you’re confusing me. I saw Nabal, and it scared the crap out of me. But, even though I can’t deny it, I know that just because something looks good, it doesn’t mean it is good and I suppose that just because something looks bad, it doesn’t mean it is automatically bad.”

  “Very true.” Sotare crossed his legs and shifted topics. “Do you believe there is a God?”

  “Yes,” responded Mark. “Yes, I definitely believe there’s a God now.”

  “And do you believe that God is greater than you?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Good. You’re a human, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does your nature change? Do you stop being human?”

  “I will stop being a man when I die.”

  “Notice that I said ‘human,’ not ‘man.’ The reason is that man and woman deal with gender. I want to talk about human nature of which males and females are a part. Okay?”

  “All right, no problem.”

  “If you lost your arms and legs, would you still be human?”

  “Well, yes, I suppose.”

  “And if you lost your eyes and ears, would you still be human?”

  “Yes.”

  “And if you were also in a coma, would you still be human?”

  Mark thought for a moment. “Yes, I guess so.”

  “Then being human is more than the physical. It is more about nature and essence, an essence that is transmitted to you from your parents at your conception. This nature doesn’t disappear with death. You continue on.”

  “So you’re talking about life after death.”

  “Yes. Though the physical part of you will eventually die, the spiritual part, that part that makes you human, will continue.”

  Mark looked quizzically at Sotare and thought of pursuing that tangent, but he didn’t give him a chance. “Does God die?” asked Sotare.

  “I suppose not.”

  “Do you think God’s nature changes? Do you think that he stops being God or somehow his nature varies?”

  “What if it is possible for God to have a nature that changes?” asked Mark.

  “If that were the case, then that would be God’s nature to change, which would mean his nature wasn’t really changing.”

  Mark thought for a moment. “Okay, I can see that. But, the nature of a piece of wood is changed when it is burned up. It stops being wood. What about that?”

  “Within the nature of wood is its ability to be burned up and stop being wood. In that sense, different objects can be altered by an outside force—in this case, fire.”

  Mark was still exasperated and paused for a moment before saying with a mocking chuckle, “I just realized that I’m talking philosophy with an angel.”

  “Philosophy is, to an extent, a tool of logic that, if used properly, can help find truth. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

  “Well, ‘enjoy’ isn’t a word I would use to exactly describe this. I’d rather be helping Kathy.”

  Mark was, of course, still concerned about her and his comment registered his unease. But, he knew he had to wait, to be patient and continue on in this student-teacher relationship, at least for now.

  Sotare nodded. “I understand. But, can we continue?”

  Mark just looked at Sotare.

  “God is not like a piece of wood. He can’t be burned up. He can’t have an outside force alter his existence. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be God.”

  “Okay, I’m following you.”

  “Good. Would you agree with me that if God is unchangeable, then it means his nature is absolute?”

  “Yes, that makes sense.”

  “Would you also agree that God has no defect in him? That he is perfect?”

  Mark thought for only a moment before conceding. “Yes. I don’t have a problem with that, at least conceptually.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. Would you also agree that the attributes of something reflect what that something is?”

  Mark had to concentrate in order to follow and the pause let Sotare know to explain a little further. He pointed to Mark’s right at a small bush nearby. “That bush has a nature and characteristics. It is a plant. It can convert sunlight into food; therefore, it grows.” Sotare waved a hand theatrically towards the sky. “The stars are immense and intensely hot; therefore, they give off light as an attribute of their nature, right?”

  “Yes, I’m following you.”

  “If the nature of God is that he is absolute, then it follows that his attributes are also absolute. Since God can think and know and speak, then his thinking, his knowledge, and his speech are all absolute. If they are perfect and complete, they are true because they cannot contain error, as they represent God’s absolute perfection. After all, truth is not self-contradictory.” He paused once more, awaiting Mark’s response.

  After a few seconds, Mark nodded.

  Sotare continued. “Then, in a way, isn’t absolute truth itself a reflection of God’s nature, since both truth and God are absolute?”

  Mark thought a
bout it and offered a tentative, “That would seem to make sense.”

  “And if truth is a reflection of God’s nature then, as I just said, truth could never be self-contradictory because if something is self-contradictory, it cannot be true. Do you agree?”

  Mark nodded his head slightly. “Yes, I agree.”

  “If truth cannot be self-contradictory, then truth has an absolute quality about it. But, if someone says that truth is relative or that truth depends on what you believe or think about reality, then that would be wrong because it would mean that truth is not absolute.”

  “You mean like when someone says that what is true for you is not true for me?”

  “Kind of. It can be true that you like one flavor over another where someone’s tastes would differ from yours. In that case, what is true for you about a flavor might not be true for another person. But that isn’t what we are talking about. You see, if people believe that truth is relative, that truth as it relates to reality and to God is not absolute, but depends on your perception or wants, then they cannot find God, can they?”

  Mark shook his head slowly. “I guess not.”

  “Therefore, to find God you must first believe in absolute truth, right?”

  “Yeah, I suppose so.”

  “Also, if you find truth, absolute, pure truth, won’t you to some degree be finding something that reflects God’s existence?”

  Sotare paused again to allow Mark to absorb the words.

  Mark was squinting slightly, focusing. He took a deep breath and said, “The words ‘head-rush’ come to mind about now.”

  Sotare smiled. “I know it is a bit heavy.”

  Mark nodded and looked out into the garden past Sotare. He was obviously considering what the angel had been saying. After a few seconds, Mark asked, “All right, I guess then we should try to find what truth is, shouldn’t we?”

  “Very good,” said Sotare with a smile. “Let me work with that. Truth is a statement that agrees with reality. For example, if I tell you that I am here, I am making a statement that is true. If I say that we are in a garden, then that is also true. If I say we are not in a garden, then that is false. Therefore, truth is a statement or set of statements that properly reflect reality. But, truth is different from reality. Truth represents reality. A truth is a statement about reality.”