by Jen Gentry
Emily sat silent on her bed as Liam and the other angels left her to ponder on the message she had just received.
Yes, it made perfect sense in theory. But it was difficult to let go of her loved ones and just know down deep in her soul that God already had Jewel in his hands and that was the safest place she could be.
Dear Heavenly Father, please let me repent. I couldn’t see you in the midst of this mess. Of course you have us all in your hands. I know I have allowed my worry for Ethan and Jewel to cloud my judgment and my faith. I lay down my fears at your feet, Father. You are my God, and you go before me in all things to clear my path. I trust you, Lord. Jewel is in your hands now. I will worry no more. Only I will be led to do and be guided by your hand to help her. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The peace that passes all understanding filled Emily’s spirit and soul. Her fear was replaced by total confidence that the Lord would lead her and Jewel back together again on his terms, and that was fine with her. If Jewel was in God’s hands, then who was Emily to try and take God’s place? I will trust you Lord, as always.
Emily turned out her lights and went to sleep. Surly the next day would come early.
****
Jewel’s nightmares were just beginning. She did everything she could to stay awake. When she drifted off to sleep the demons came out to torment her. They were so hideous no one could look upon them without wanting to wretch, and the smell of them was nauseating as well. But Jewel knew what they wanted. They only wanted her submission to them. They wanted to use her to help them destroy other’s dreams and hopes, so those people would die of depression and loneliness never coming to know the glory of the one who loved them enough to die for them, Jesus.
There was never a moment in this torment, however, that Jewel felt as if she was alone. The Lord was with her no matter what happened. She took hope in knowing that no matter what happened, she was never alone. The Holy Spirit ministered to her as she floated from one dream to another.
Bathomet made brief but regular appearances throughout the night to bring food while checking to make sure that Jewel did eat. Jewel tried to talk to him, but she was still so groggy that the words were hard to form. But Bathomet did talk to her.
“Jewel, you are fighting with the masters. They want so much to show you many wondrous things. Let them speak to you.
Hear their words and the nightmares will go away. What you are seeing in the nightmares are your own lies and the deceits of men who have long kept themselves in the dark about the true masters. Only let the masters in for a while. Let them show you the world as it truly is without all the restraints elicited by men who still believe in the one God who does not exist. Let go of the lies, Jewel, and the nightmares will stop.”
Jewel found her voice. “No, you are the one who has been lied to and deceived, Bathomet. My God is alive and real and he will come for you, Bathomet. No man will escape the judgment of the great I am. Repent, Bathomet, for your time is near. You will suffer the same fate as your masters if you do not repent, now.”
“No, child, your God is dead. He never lived at all and he cannot save you now nor will he come to your aid. Accept the masters will for you and everything will be much better for you.”
Jewel sat up straight and looked Bathomet in the eye. “You are mistaken. My God is already here as he lives in me.”
A look of pure terror crossed Bathomet’s face and he ran for the door, slamming it shut behind him. Moments later more gas filled the room and Jewel again felt the heaviness that came with the drugs pulling her under. This time, however, the masters didn’t reveal themselves and Jewel slept peacefully.
****
Bradley’s men began arriving during the night. With his military connections, and the money to make things move, he pulled together some of the strongest and smartest militia in the world. These men knew the business of espionage and military arts as a way of life.
In the wee hours before daylight, a command post was set up in one hotel room. Communications and computer equipment covered every space and the beds were dismantled to make room for more. Emily walked into what could only be described as an organized chaos. She was impressed. Bradley was living up to his promise to spare no expense.
Ethan joined her and ushered into his room across the hall with the promise of fresh coffee. Not long after that Bradley joined them. At Bradley’s side was a muscle bound older gentleman dressed in army like fatigues.
“Emily, Ethan, let me introduce you to Major Corbin Hale, retired army officer.
Emily couldn’t help but notice the Major’s scarred face and hands. This man had seen many battles and at least some of them had to have been hand to hand combat. This was not a man to mess with yet his demeanor seemed subdued. It was obvious this man felt out of place in a stuffy hotel room surrounded by what he thought of as civilians.
Bradley asked the Major to sit at the small table with Emily and Ethan then joined them himself.
“Major Hale, why don’t you bring Ms. Bell and Dr. McGowan up on our latest intel from Goat Island?”
“Well, we have satellite images from across the entire island. What we know is that the island is eight miles long and three miles wide. It consists mostly of sand and only about a three mile radius of the island is inhabitable. There is supposed to only be the ruins of an ancient mid evil castle as a structure on the island. However, the satellite images show that there is actually a sophisticated compound all around what is left of the castle. We believe your girl is on that island in that compound. A water then ground assault would be tricky and dangerous as the compound sits over the raised area of the island on what may be an extinct volcano. This means that any ground crews would have the disadvantage of climbing up to the compound after reaching the island by water. What we don’t know is what kind of defensive weapons and security these people have. But if they have had the means and the money to keep themselves off the grid for so long then we must assume they have the means to protect themselves from a ground invasion. Right now we are using heat signatures to determine how many souls are on that island and their locations on the ground.”
Bradley spoke up. “So what do you recommend as the best possible way to get Jewel out without loss of human lives?”
“Sir, right now I am thinking we need to ascertain how many souls are on the island and what would be the safest way onto it. Without knowing exactly which building the girl is located in, a search and rescue team would be hard pressed to find the girl before being spotted on the ground. We need more intel before we make a decision about the best entry.”
Emily thought she should say something like ‘No we have to go now, time is running out’ but instead she said. “I think the Major is right. We need to come up with the best plan possible to ensure Jewel’s safety.” Emily sent a silent plea to the Lord. I trust you Lord. I trust that you have Jewel safely in your hands and I will not go barging in, even though I want to.
It was now Ethan’s turn to speak. “Yes, Major how much more time do you need?”
“I think we can have an accurate number of persons on that island by this evening. Possibly a night time assault could be ready to go tonight.”
“Good then, we will let you get back to your work, then.”
****
Liam and the angelic legion from Hook Pond listened in to the conversation and plans being made around the hotel room. The angels had been assisting the Major’s intel gatherers out in the field for the last several hours. They made sure the men were safe and that the equipment they needed remained in good working order. The angels also kept communications flowing smoothly.
Liam expressed concern about the sheer numbers of the demons on and around the island. It was an almost impenetrable force field that made it impossible for any demon to get through. There was only one hope to break through that wall of demon sentries and that was Jewel herself.
If Jewel could immobilize the demonic stronghold from the inside, then the angels could p
unch through and guide the humans seeking to rescue Jewel safely to Jewel and then off the island again.
Liam prayed for Jewel to be strong enough to resist the demons that were at this very moment doing everything they could to wear the girl down. Lord, keep Jewel strong and standing firm in her faith.
****
Emily spent her afternoon fasting and praying. A trial had come for her. She felt that only the tip of the iceberg had surfaced and now she faced the whole thing.
No matter what the enemy threw at her, Emily vowed to not lose her unwavering faith. God was her protector and He would take care of her and Jewel as well. Emily prayed until the Holy Spirit gave her release and told her that her prayers had been heard and answered.
The release was bitter sweet for Emily. The future held mysteries for her and Jewel. The Lord’s plan would be done and she trusted her Father to know what was best for everyone. Still Emily found herself putting on the whole armor of God. The breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith, surely a spiritual battle was coming, the likes of which Emily had never seen.
****
The evil she now faced was in a force and number she had never seen. Marta brought Robert up to speed on Jake’s predicament as soon as the lawyer walked in to the hospital. In Robert’s eyes this young man had been a very naughty boy.
But if helping him meant he would be helping Emily and her friend Marta, then Robert was willing to do what he could. But after learning of the boy’s sad past and current connections to the human trafficking gangs, Robert felt this young man could be very helpful in locating missing persons and in bringing down a potentially huge human trafficking ring.
Marta informed Robert that a police detective was waiting to speak with him as Jake had formally been arrested, but she did not know the exact charges. “They can’t take him from the hospital because his doctor’s haven’t released him yet, but this detective is reading Jake his rights as we speak.”
Robert made it to Jake’s room just as the detective finished reading Jake his Miranda rights.
“I see, Detective Riley, is it?” Robert took a close look at the badge hooked to the detective’s belt. “I am Robert Monroe and I am Jake’s attorney. I will be representing my client from here on and I fully expect you will not be questioning my client without me being present, and I expect you to not be even thinking of taking him to jail until his doctors have given him a clean bill of health.”
The detective only smiled. “Actually I’m glad you are here. This is just a formality. You see we had a pretty unprecedented delivery down at the station. It seems someone apprehended almost an entire gang calling themselves the Merchandizers. These guys are really bad news and while we are happy to have them off the streets we need more evidence to keep them behind bars. We have some experts working on the video surveillance of the kidnapping of Jewel Bell outside the Perry House gates. Because two of the guys we have in custody could be our assailants on that tape. If your client will help us testify against these men he could get some protection and leniency from the state prosecutor but more importantly he could help us find Jewel Bell.” The detective looked pointedly at Jake.
“So what do you say about answering a few questions, Jake? You help me out and I’ll help you out.”
Robert started to protest but Jake held up his hand. “If it’s all the same to both of you, I want to tell everything I know.
I will do whatever it takes to help bring Jewel home, and not just Jewel there are many others out there I want to help bring home, if I can. I want to cooperate. Detective Riley I’m ready.” Robert thought this was going to be difficult but this kid seemed ready and willing to cooperate. In an effort to speed things along, Robert took a chair next to Jake’s bed and said, “Well, fire away then, Detective. Let’s get this show on the road.”
****
Major Hale met with Ethan, Emily, and Bradley again that afternoon. “We have located about 300 souls on the island. Most of them are concentrated in the larger buildings on the compound, but they have about one hundred men spread out around the perimeter of the compound. We can assume those men are heavily armed. With this new intel, I recommend an air assault.
We should send a special task force directly into the compound under the cover of night. Now, we think it’s most likely the girl is being kept in a small room in one of two of the bigger buildings. So in an effort to be most expedient, I recommend we send three separate units one to search each building and one to go in first to lay ground fire to protect the rescue teams as they search for our girl. I need a good picture of Jewel Bell to show the rescue units who they are looking for exactly.”
Emily left the room and came back with two pictures of Jewel that she’d blown up for just this reason. “Here, take these, Major. I hope they help. Now, what can we do to help you?”
“Well Miss, Bradley here tells me that you and the Doc here speak fluent Frisian. Is this correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then we could use your help in coordinating civilian boats to help us get Jewel off the island.”
“You just tell us what to do, Major, and Ethan and I will do it.”
At that, the Major unfurled a map and spread it on the table in front of him.
“At exactly 1100 hours tonight, my boys will be airborne over the Frisian Islands here. And, at exactly 1107, they will drop onto the island inside the compound. Team Alpha will land here and secure a perimeter for Team Bravo and Team Covert.
Then Team Bravo will land here at 1110 and Team Covert will land here at 1112. We estimate we will need at least 10 minutes to locate our girl and another five to get her to the beaches here at exactly 1127. We will have another team on a life raft to take the girl and the ground teams off the island under the cover of night. We need you here with a boat and will rendezvous with you there. We need a fisherman familiar with this area and his boat so as not to alarm the inhabitants of the island with our presence. Do you think you can get a local boat in this exact location at the exact time needed?”
“Yes,” Ethan and Emily spoke in unison as they held each other’s hands.“Well, you best get on it then.” The Major then turned on his booted heel and left Emily and Ethan to scramble to the nearby docks in search of a fisherman and boat who knew the Frisian coast. Time was closing in fast for them and they dare not waste a second of it.
****
Jewel was getting tired of the scare tactics she was being subjected to and she voiced her opinion long and loud from inside her gilded cage
. “Seriously, did you guys bring me all the way here to try and scare me? Into what? Helping you deceive others. Well, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s not working. I want out of here and I want to go home right now. You can’t force me into helping you and I am not falling for your load of crap. You guys are liars, and I see right through you. Now, let me go!”
Bathomet watched Jewel from a camera room and listened to every word she said. He hung his head. This one would be like others who would not see the truth and would not be led by the masters. This did not bode well for Jewel Bell. But because of this girl’s potential as a special aid in the cause for the masters’ final plan for all of mankind, Bathomet decided he would go to the masters directly and plead for her life. If he could convince the masters that Jewel Bell could be turned then it would be for the good of all. He gassed Jewel’s room again and put her to sleep.
Bathomet prepared the castle ground floor for the ceremony he would need to give him direct contact with the masters and started softly chanting as he took the hallucinogenic pills that would open his mind to the spiritual realm. He would be ready for the ceremony by night fall.
When Jewel came around she’d been bound to the bed unable to move. Bathomet made sure she would be completely at his mercy before the ceremony started. He cut off a lock of her hair and sliced her arm open pouring her blood into a dark wooden bowl. Jewel was left alone in the dark crying. Dear Jesus, please come f
or me. Please come and save me.
Ethan and Emily combed the docks looking specifically for a Frisian fish boat. After a couple of hours of talking to many different fisherman they found a boat with a Capitan willing to take them out to Goat Island to pick up some friends. The price for this trip was a steep twenty thousand Euros. The Capitan was adamant that he had no quarrel with the holy men from Goat Island, but he knew them to be very aggressive in guarding their private land. He wanted no entanglements with the cult. Emily agreed to pay the money and made arrangements to meet the Capitan and his boat in two hours, just before sunset.
****
Bradley and the Major prepared for the air drop. The men going in had been briefed.They were geared up and on their way to rendezvous with three helicopters that would fly them under the radar to Goat Island.
Samuel would not be held back. The time to save Jewel had come and the angel insisted he accompany the militia teams going into get her. Liam agreed that Samuel could be instrumental in helping to get Jewel off the island.
The rest of the legion of angels also prepared for the battle to save Jewel. They gathered strength from the prayers going up for their success. Emily, Ethan, and Bradley all fasted and prayed continuously as they went about their assigned task. Gemma and Marta also fasted and prayed together from Perry House as the Holy Spirit directed them.
Angels all over the world urged the saints of God in every country to pray as well. All eyes in the spiritual realm turned now to the tiny remote island where one girl was being held. Liam’s legion was growing in size by the second. Warrior angels from the four corners of the earth answered the call to battle. The angels from Perry House rejoiced knowing the Lord was with them as they faced their most fierce opponents in their long history on earth. The angel’s ultimate mission to destroy the Ba al`, after thousands of years of planning and waiting for the right moment, would very soon come to pass.