by Rachel Dylan
“I’m glad you’re back, too. I really missed you, Olivia.”
Her heart constricted at his kind words. “We’ve got a long fight ahead of us, but there’s no one else I’d rather have by my side.”
“Let’s hope this is a new year filled with many good things to come.”
She hoped that was the case, but she also felt like a storm was just around the corner.
**
As Othan exacted the punishment that was required, his fellow demon Kobal groaned in pain. They stood outside the L in Chicago as people bustled back and forth to get on and off the crowded train during the evening rush hour.
“You failed again,” Othan said. “Your charges have gone back to their Christian faith. What do you have to say about that?”
The less powerful demon stared up at him. Othan enjoyed making him squirm. Kobal had great potential, but he needed more focus.
“I’m sorry, Othan,” Kobal said. “I did everything I could, but the pastor was able to intervene. I wasn’t able to convince them that our ways were for the best.”
“Enough excuses.” It was time to see what Kobal was really capable of. Put him to the test.
“I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you and to our master.” Kobal stood proudly. His demonic form wasn’t what most people would expect. Kobal presented himself in human form just like Othan. They could transform into various forms if necessary, but their ability to blend into the population gave them an edge.
“I’m glad you feel that way.” Othan patted Kobal on the back. “Walk with me.”
They walked down the subway platform as the snow started to fall more steadily. Othan adjusted his winter coat a little tighter. Not because he actually was impacted by the cold, but mainly out of habit.
“I’m anxious to start a new assignment,” Kobal said.
“You’ve heard about our work in Windy Ridge.”
“Yes, everyone knows about that.”
“You’re going to be working with me on expanding our reach in Windy Ridge Community Church.”
Kobal gasped. “I won’t let you down. This is a huge opportunity. I don’t deserve it.”
“Of course you don’t deserve it.” Othan couldn’t help but smile. “If you fail, I will destroy you. Do you understand?”
Kobal nodded but straightened his shoulders. He was an arrogant demon who often acted too hastily without thinking of the consequences. Kobal reminded Othan of himself years ago. But to be successful, Othan would need someone like Kobal who could blend in with the humans and had a deep understanding of the mission.
“What do I need to do?” Kobal asked.
“First, I’m going to have you shadow Pastor Dan. There are going to be some events happening soon, and I’m going to need you to turn the screws where he is concerned. I’ve already had Zebar tailing him around the clock and that has had a great impact, but I need someone with even more power.”
“I can do this, Othan. I promise you I can.”
“This is going to be one of our greatest battles. With a victory in Windy Ridge, there will be no stopping us. The evil one will give us everything we ever wanted. Failure is not possible.”
Kobal brushed the snow off his blue wool cap. “I’m ready to go to work.”
“Perfect. Keep me updated.” Once Othan achieved success in Windy Ridge, he would be handsomely rewarded.
Chapter Two
Stacey Malone smoothed down her black designer skirt and adjusted her dark purple lace blouse—also designer, thanks to Layton splurging on her. Working with Optimism was by far the best decision she’d ever made in her life.
For far too many years she had allowed the church and her parents to dictate right and wrong. No more. Now she was officially an adult. Doing well at Windy Ridge Community College and thriving at her internship with Optimism. There wasn’t anyone or anything that could stand in her way.
Once she stopped looking at every choice through a Christian tinted lens, she embraced her newfound freedom. Layton had given her an extensive budget to shop for new clothes and whatever else she wanted. Morena had been more than happy to help her shop and spend Layton’s money. She’d finally found her people and her place in the world.
As she waited for Morena outside Indigo bookstore, she couldn’t wait to hear Morena’s ideas. Stacey had gone from dabbling in witchcraft and New Age techniques to becoming proficient in many areas over a short span of time. It helped she was fully dedicated. No one has a hold on me. I’m free. Free to be the woman that I want to be. I set my own rules now.
“There you are.” Morena walked out of the bookstore. Her long blonde curly locks showing from under her bright pink winter hat. She didn’t look anything like a stereotypical witch or gothic person, but Stacey understood how powerful this woman was and even more importantly, she had the ear of Layton Alito.
Layton was rich and powerful and interested in Stacey and her career. He also thought she was spiritually gifted. She’d never thought she was gifted in anyway before, and it made her feel special to hear his encouraging words.
“You wanted to talk?” she asked Morena.
“Yes. Walk with me. I need some hot tea. We can stop in at the coffee shop and catch up.”
They made the short walk from the bookstore down two blocks to the coffee shop called Latte. Thankfully it was a short walk, because Stacey was freezing. There was about six inches of snow still on the ground, but she had chosen fashion over function and had only worn a light jacket. Now that she actually had nice clothes, she was putting a lot more time and effort into how she looked.
When they stepped into Latte the coffee smell awoke her senses, and she instantly started to warm up.
“I’m getting tea. What would you like?” Morena asked.
“Whatever you’re having is good.” Stacey found them a table and took a seat. She wondered what was going on. Morena was buzzing with energy.
A couple of minutes later, Morena returned with two big mugs of tea. She took off her wool coat and sat down. “So, I wanted to update you on some important news.”
“What?” Her heartbeat sped up as she waited for Morena to speak.
“I can’t give you all the details, but Layton has been working on something, Stace. And let me tell you, it’s big. So big that I don’t even know what it is. Just that we’re told to be on alert and ready.”
“Are you serious?”
Morena nodded and took a sip of tea. “I’m excited because this could be a huge shift in the balance of power in Windy Ridge. If it’s as huge as I think it is, then we could be in for a radical shift.”
Her mind raced trying to piece together what Layton could possibly have planned. “What should we do?”
“We’re going to continue with your spiritual training.” Morena took hold of her hands. “You have something special, Stace. Everyone can see it. The strategy will be to ramp up our sessions to get ready.”
“You know I’m all in. Whatever you think I need to do.” And she meant it. Yeah, when she’d first started down this path, she’d had a moment of weakness and had gone back to the church. But that was far behind her. Now she was one hundred percent committed to her spiritual powers.
“I’m glad, because there’s so much left to do and more room to grow. The potential you have is limitless.”
Stacey looked up and was surprised to see Layton walking toward them. If Stacey were honest with herself, she had a little crush on Layton. She also thought he felt something for her,, but he was hard to read. Was he interested in her as a woman or just as a member of Optimism?
“Layton,” Morena said. “What’re you doing here?”
“Well, you mentioned you were going to meet up with Stacey for a cup of tea, so I figured I’d find my two favorite ladies here.” He flashed his perfect smile. “How’re you doing?”
“Great,” Morena said. “I was just telling Stacey that you were going to have big news we needed to prepare for, but you’ve been keeping y
our secret under wraps. So that just leads us to sit here and speculate.”
He nodded. “I appreciate your patience.”
“We can’t help but want to know,” Morena added.
“I understand. I’m also anxious with anticipation, but until the story breaks, I’m asking everyone to be vigilant, and then even more so after you hear what happens. Because that is when we’re going to have our golden opportunity to strike at the heart of Windy Ridge Community Church.”
Stacey couldn’t help but be intrigued. She’d never seen Layton quite like this—filled with such excitement. Normally he presented himself in such a cool and calm way. But not today. There was fire in his eyes. “So this must be big?”
“Huge,” Layton said. “I’ll call a group meeting of Optimism and will be inviting Astral Tech members as well, as soon as the information is out in the public.”
“Wait a minute.” Morena put down her mug. “You still think it’s a good idea to involve Astral Tech? I don’t trust Nina Marie. They’ll stab us in the back at the first opportunity. Why bother with them?”
Layton grinned. “That’s the beauty of my plan. We don’t have to trust her. She wields a lot of power, and right now, taking down the church has to be top priority. Make no mistake. I’m still in charge of this effort. Not her.”
Stacey was still trying to understand everything that had gone down between the two companies, especially after the lawsuit was settled. It was clear she was missing some important pieces of the puzzle. She tried not to be too nosy and only ask critical questions, but she had put together the fact that there was some sort of truce between Layton and Nina Marie.
Stacey wanted to be able to be a major player in all of this and help the cause. “Is there anything I should be doing?”
“No,” Layton said. “Just keep up the good work and wait to hear from me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other business to attend to. You ladies enjoy your afternoon.” He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before doing the same to Morena.
Stacey took a deep breath and looked at Morena.
Morena reached across the table and grabbed onto her forearm. “Get ready, Stace. This is going to be epic.”
**
That night Grant glanced over at Olivia as she sat next to him on his living room couch. He was so glad to have her back in Windy Ridge. They’d just finished a nice dinner of Thai food takeout and had settled down on the couch to watch the evening news.
His feelings for her grew each day, but he didn’t want to mess things up by trying to take things too fast. She meant so much to him, and he planned to do everything in his power to build a real relationship with her.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked him.
“Was just thinking about you, actually.”
She smiled and warmth showed in her big brown eyes. “Anything you’d like to share?”
He took her hand and squeezed. “I was just thinking about how happy I am to have you back in town. I have to admit it was kinda lonely around here without you.”
“I’m glad to be back, too.”
“How do you feel about going back to work?”
“I’m ready. Taking a break was necessary after all that went on with the trial and the unexpected settlement. Not to mention the other spiritual battles we found ourselves in outside of the courtroom. I needed to take the time to get myself ready, not just for work, but for another fight. Layton isn’t one to take defeat. He’s going to come back at us. It’s not over.”
He’d been worried about the toll the trial had taken on her and the spiritual attacks she has sustained. But he’d never met a woman like Olivia before. Her strength was derived from her faith, and she didn’t waver. Her faith was much stronger than he felt his would ever be. He’d only just come to know God, and he still had more questions than answers.
He glanced at the local news that had just come on the TV, and his heart dropped. “Olivia, look.” He picked up the remote and turned up the volume.
A local news reporter stood outside the front of Windy Ridge Community Church. The blonde reporter looked squarely into the camera and spoke. “Breaking news tonight in Windy Ridge, a suburb of Chicago. This story is sure to rock this tight-knit community. Criminal charges are being brought against head Pastor Dan Light. I’m the first reporter on the scene, and events are rapidly unfolding. At this time, I don’t have further details on the subject matter of the charges, but as soon as we have that information, we will get it to you.”
“I have to call Pastor Dan.” Olivia jumped up from the couch and walked over to where her cell phone sat on the kitchen counter.
He watched as she dialed Dan’s number.
“He’s not answering. We’ve got to do something.”
“Okay. Let’s take a minute and think.” Grant’s mind was going places he didn’t want it to go. “We should try to reach Pastor Chris.” He pulled out his phone and dialed Chris. Then he put it on speaker.
A few rings later and Chris answered. “Hello.”
“Chris, it’s Grant and Olivia. We just saw the news about Dan. What’s going on?”
“I was just about to try to call you and Olivia. I’m trying to figure it out myself. The police came to the church, and they had a closed-door conversation with Dan. Then they took him into custody. They’re taking him down to the station as we speak.”
“Olivia and I will go down there now and try to figure out what’s going on.”
“Please do. There’s no one else I can trust like the two of you. This is devastating. Especially since I don’t even know why they arrested Dan.”
“We’re on it,” Grant said. “We’ll call you back when we know more.” He ended the call and looked at Olivia. A frown pulled down at her lips, but she remained calm.
“We should get down to the station,” she said.
He grabbed the keys to his Wrangler, and they walked out of his house in silence. Once on the road, she broke the silence.
“We need to figure out a game plan here. The only way we can see him is if we are representing him. I think I need to take the lead here. You’re a plaintiff’s lawyer.”
“But you don’t specialize in criminal law.”
“I don’t, but I have defended a couple of criminal cases before through our firm’s pro bono program. And that’s my plan for what to do here.”
“And your boss is going to be okay with that?” While he wanted to help Dan, he also didn’t want Olivia to jeopardize her career in the process.
“We have a very active pro bono program at the firm. I’m sure I can get it approved, and Chet will give me some leeway.”
He knew Chet Carter was Olivia’s boss, and she had a good relationship with him. “Olivia, we don’t even know what he’s being charged with. I think we need to prepare ourselves for the worst.”
“You don’t seriously think Dan could be guilty of a crime, do you?”
He didn’t want to believe it. Dan had been a true friend and a spiritual beacon for him, but he couldn’t help but have a shred of doubt creep in. He’d only known the man for a few months, and the skeptic in him had a lot of bad scenarios running through his mind. “Honestly, I’m not sure, Olivia.”
She shook her head. “I’ll take this on. I know that whatever they have accused him of, Dan is innocent.”
One of the things Grant admired most about Olivia was her resolve. If only he could feel as certain.
**
Dan hadn’t stopped praying since the police officers had arrived at his church office. He had assumed they were paying him a visit because of something one of the church members had done, but boy had he been wrong.
The words kept echoing in his head over and over again. Embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion. He couldn’t even put his head around it. As he sat in the holding room at the police station, he tried to gather himself. Think, Dan.
They said they would let him make a couple of phone calls and that one of them should be to a lawyer. If he co
uldn’t afford one, he’d get a court-appointed attorney.
Then there was something the officer said about an arraignment and bail hearing. Dan didn’t have a lot of money. He had a modest pastor’s salary. He had no idea how much bail would be set at. Lord, I’ve been tested before. Losing my wife was the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with, but I’ve never faced anything like this. Lord, I’m in the dark here. Please guide me through this situation.
He was broken out of his prayer when the door to the holding room opened. Then he saw it was a police officer, but standing beside the officer was the literal answer to his prayers. Olivia. Thank you, Lord.
“Pastor Dan, I’m here as your attorney, assuming you’ll have me.” Olivia walked into the room.
“Of course.” He was relieved to have Olivia on his side, so much so he almost broke down.
“Officer, I’d like a few minutes alone with my client,” Olivia said.
The officer nodded. “I’ll be right outside to escort you out when you’re done.”
She waited until the officer closed the door, and then she hugged him but he couldn’t hug her back because he was in handcuffs. It startled him to have his movement so restricted. Standard procedure, the officer had said.
“What in the world is going on here?” she asked as she took a seat at the small table across from him.
“I have no idea, Olivia. I think I’m in shock.”
“They’re charging you with multiple counts of embezzlement, along with related charges for fraud and tax evasion.”
He looked squarely into her eyes. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I promise you. I’ve never stolen and certainly not from the church. Plus, I’ve always filed my taxes, and the taxes for the church are taken care of by our office. I don’t know how this could have happened.”
Olivia’s dark eyes softened. “Dan, you know I believe you, but we do need to get to the bottom of the allegations here. There has to be some evidence for them to justify an arrest. The police don’t just swoop in on a well-respected pastor if they don’t have hard evidence. Do you play a big role in the church’s finances?”