by Jen Gentry
"Well, make it quick. We've only forty-five minutes until the party starts." Emily remained in the car, as Ethan ran into a large department store and just a few minutes later came out with a large red and white paper bag that appeared to be full.
With Emily giving directions, the two of them made it to Marta and her husband Bradley's penthouse right on time. It didn’t escape Emily's notice that Ethan brought his red and white bag from the department store with him.
Marta answered the door, looking chic and cosmopolitan in white slacks and a gold blouse. Her long, dark brown hair was piled stylishly up on her head and gave her petite frame some height. Ethan was impressed by the obvious wealth of the woman and her home, as well as her warm, inviting smile.
"Marta, I hope you don’t mind having one more guest?" Emily introduced Ethan as Dr. McGowan.
Ethan corrected Emily, "Please, call me Ethan," as he smiled and shook Marta's hand.
"Welcome, Ethan, why don't you have a seat over there by the fireplace, and I'll have my husband join you in a moment. I need to catch up with Emily, girl talk you know." As Ethan left the two women alone, Marta pulled her friend back into the now private foyer.
"OK, Em, spill it. Where did you find Dr. Gorgeous, and how come I’m just now meeting him?"
"Don’t get the wrong idea, Marta. He’s here only on business. He wants to view some documents from Perry House that I have stored here in New York, and really, Dr. Gorgeous? I’ve found him to be most arrogant. He just showed up completely unannounced on my doorstep this morning, and since I could hardly cancel on Amy's very first birthday party I had to bring him along. I really hope you don't mind."
"Honey, just look at him. He’s absolutely stunning. Why would I ever mind?"
"Well, I’ll admit he is easy on the eyes. Hey, you be nice or I’ll tell your equally gorgeous husband that your eyes are straying." Emily gave her friend a quirky, smug smile.
"No matter, tell him whatever you want. Bradley knows I only have eyes for him, and he’ll never believe you, anyhow." Marta brushed off Emily's teasing threats as she pulled her longtime friend in a tight embrace.
"Can you believe it, Em? Amy’s already a year old. Now that she is walking I spend all my time running after her saying 'No' and 'Stop that' while her Daddy spoils her rotten. Oh! There she goes again heading for the cake. I'd better run." Emily laughed as her very organized, put together, and graceful friend ran after her toddler in a most frantic way.
Emily watched from the foyer as Bradley Steel, using a cane, walked over to Ethan and shook his hand. Bradley was doing amazingly well. It was less than two years ago that he’d been seriously injured in Afghanistan and was now considered to be an American war hero. Emily thought he looked much more like his old self since he was now able to walk using only the one cane.
Ethan didn’t seem to be as out of place as Emily thought he would be. The only things she really knew about him was that he’d gone to Yale and was an archaeologist. It was obvious to her that he was searching for the giants of biblical legend, as that was what the documents he so desperately seemed to need pertained to. But anything else was proving to be baffling to her. He could use sign language like a pro, had great manners, if you discounted the fact that he just showed up at her home, and seemed to be at ease among strangers. But her first impressions of him, with his most insistent emails, marked him as pushy, arrogant, and downright rude if he didn’t get his way. Not to mention the Lord specifically told her Ethan needed her help. The man was an enigma.
It wasn’t in Emily’s nature to dislike anyone, but the fact that Ethan wanted the Spaniard’s journals was enough to raise her ire. Of everything Mr. Perry held dear, those journals meant the most to him, and therefore, they were precious to Emily. It was difficult for her to share them with anyone. She realized in dealing with the journals she was reminded of Mr. Perry’s death. His passing was a pain still fresh in her heart, as it brought back the death of her father as well. None of this was Ethan’s fault. His presence just reminded her of loved ones lost and brought her pain back. Dear Lord, are you sure he needs my help? I’m not sure if I want to stay in his presence. The Holy Spirit again admonished her to help Ethan in any way she could.
The birthday party progressed as more guests arrived. Amy was in one-year-old heaven. She was an adorable, chubby, blond haired, blue-eyed female version of her father. Both of her parents beamed, as she smeared her own miniature version of the larger birthday cake all over them and herself.
"OK, it's time to open presents!" Marta announced as friends and family gathered around the gift table while Bradley worked with Marta's mother to clean Amy up.
By the end of the gift unwrapping frenzy only two gifts remained. One gift was a Steiff Birthday Teddy Bear from Emily. Everyone ‘oooed’ and ‘awwed’ as Amy tore open the perfectly wrapped box containing the beautiful purple bear that bore an engraved gold pendant that read ‘Happy First Birthday Amy, Love Auntie Em.’
Amy hugged the bear close and then handed it to her mother, as she went after the last gift. It was the red and white bag Ethan had brought in. Emily looked for Ethan. He was standing in a corner looking a little sick. At that exact same moment, Amy pulled a much larger version of the same Steiff Birthday Teddy Bear, minus the pendant, out of the bag.
Emily's jaw dropped as Amy squealed in delight. That insufferable man had just one-upped her to her own friends. It had taken hours of planning and shopping to find just the right gift, and this man gets an even bigger one in just ten minutes! This was the last straw.
Chapter Two
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8 New International Version
When the birthday party was over, Emily handed Ethan directions to the Monroe Addison Law Firm, while saying she would take a cab and meet him there. When Ethan stated that he was happy to drive her, Emily declined his offer. She just needed to put a little space between them so she could put her mixed emotions about Dr. McGowan in order.
“We only have one hour to get there before the office closes, Dr. McGowan.” It seemed she was being curt, as she headed out to the street to hail a cab. A look of frustration crossed Ethan’s face as he scratched his head.
“I can’t believe she’s mad about a stupid Teddy Bear,” Ethan muttered to himself as he got into his rented car and drove away.
It started to rain as Ethan parked in the street almost a block from the law firm.
Great, I don’t have an umbrella, he thought as he dashed out into the downpour and ran to the door of the posh offices. By the time he got inside, water ran freely from his drenched clothing, shoes, and hair. A receptionist raced over to him with some paper towels and began to mop the floor before he could ruin the expensive Berber carpet. The smartly dressed, high-heeled receptionist glared up at him as he stood dripping in front of the door.
“Here, take these,” she stated as she handed him some paper towels. Her irritation was evident, as she continued to mop the floor with paper towels on her hands and knees.
“I’m here to meet with Emily Bell. Can you tell me where I might find her?” Ethan asked as he dabbed at his wet hair and sweater. He sensed an immediate change in the woman’s demeanor. She started apologizing to Ethan as she got up from the floor and ran to phone her boss, “Mr. Monroe, Miss Bell’s guest has arrived.”
It was apparent to Ethan that Emily Bell had V.I.P. status in this office when the receptionist asked him to have a seat in the lobby and brought him some real towels to dry off with.
“May I offer you something to drink, sir?” She gave him some choices, and he asked for a cup of coffee, black. In mere seconds, he was dried off and drinking a delicious cup of hot coffee. He took a quick look around the office. It was obviously a small but prestigious firm. The comfortable furnishings conveyed an expensive, old-world feel.
Shortly, another woman in a black suit and high heels cam
e for Ethan. She led him up a flight of stairs and into a large conference room where a laughing Emily sat at a long table with a short, grey-headed man who was sharing a funny story with her.
The table held three large, ancient, leather-bound journals along with some smaller, but newer, journals. Ethan almost choked. The maps were, at last, in his sight. His hands itched with anticipation. He started to reach across the table to open the first journal when Emily screeched at him.
“Dr. McGowan, wait! You can’t touch the documents with your bare hands. You have to put some gloves on first.” Emily tossed him a pair of latex gloves from a box near her side of the table.
Ethan regained his composure as he noticed the journals were carefully placed on acid free tissue on top of plastic sheets. They had obviously been carefully wrapped and tended to before being brought out into the open.
“How can you be an archeologist and not know how such artifacts must be handled?” Mr. Monroe spoke in a decisive tone that was clearly authoritative.
“In the interest of one of my most valued clients, sir, what is the nature of your need to view these priceless documents?” The man moved closer to Ethan as he spoke and came to stand between him and the documents. The attorney seemed intent on keeping him from viewing the journals until he had his answers.
Ethan knew he needed to be professional about this. “I am looking for maps of the Amazon from the late sixteenth century. Specifically, my team and I are looking for a mountainous region purported to have a hidden burial site where the bones of giant men were found. My team spent months trying to gather information locally, but the tribes there consider the area sacred. The region is impossible to navigate without proper maps. As modern day explorations there are very rare, the location is basically uncharted. It is my hope these documents will shed some light on the specific place we are looking for.”
“So, you seek the renowned men of old from the Bible. Do you really think you’re going to find what countless others have searched for without success over the last several hundred years?” Ethan had to give the man credit; he was like a bulldog protecting a precious bone.
“Sir, I’ve made this my life’s work. To prove that such creatures once existed would lend credibility to the most controversial historical accounting ever, the Bible.”
“In other words, you are trying to prove or dis-prove the Bible is a true historical accounting of the history of men?”
Ethan pondered his reply carefully before he simply stated, “Yes.”
Emily sat in her chair and listened intensely. Dear Jesus, he’s looking for you and he doesn’t even realize it. As she thought on this the Holy Spirit spoke to her alone. “Stay with him. He needs your help.”
“Robert, it’s alright. I’ve already agreed to let Dr. McGowan take a look. Ethan, this is Robert Monroe, the executer of Mr. Perry’s estate and personal friend to my Aunt Gemma and me.”
It seemed strange that Emily would refer to her grandfather as Mr. Perry, but Ethan pushed the notion aside as he donned the gloves and carefully stepped around the attorney to view the documents.
An hour later, after carefully photographing each page from the older journals with a cell phone, Ethan asked, “What’s in these other journals?”
Emily joined him at the side of the table and pulled the first one open.
“These are the personal journals of Miles Perry. He also did some exploring of this area of the Amazon back in the nineteen-fifties. You may find them helpful. I’ve read over them and they’re fascinating, if you like this kind of stuff. Most of them are list of supplies and such for the journey. But there’re some accounts of the local natives that may interest you.”
“I must ask what Mr. Perry was looking for and how he came by these other Spanish journals.” Ethan’s curiosity was piqued. He knew next to nothing about the man Miles Perry as an explorer.
“I don’t think anyone really knows how he came by the Spaniard’s journals. He left them to me in his will and asked that I take care of them, as they were his most prized possessions. He told me that I would one day know what to do with them. They have been here under the care of Mr. Monroe locked in his vault for several months now, and that is all I can tell you about them. As for what he might’ve been looking for, I can only assume he was searching for what you’re seeking as well.” Emily handed the newer journals to Ethan.
“I think you should have his personal journals now. Something tells me that he would’ve wanted another explorer to have them. I hope they’re helpful to you, I wish I could part with the older ones, but as they are historical artifacts I’m thinking they really should be in a museum.”
Ethan was taken aback by Emily’s generosity. He certainly would’ve loved to have the older Spaniard’s journals, but as an archeologist he understood the need to preserve such old and valuable documents. He couldn’t wait to get the photos of them up on his laptop for a closer look at the contents.
At that moment a light fixture above the table exploded and sent a shower of sparks spraying across the older journals, setting them on fire. Emily and Ethan sprang into action and tried to put out the flames with their bare hands. Mr. Monroe ran out of the room to grab a fire extinguisher. It was then that Emily saw a small grey and black demon crawl across the ceiling and out the door. She was the only human who could see him, and knew the demon had purposely caused the light fixture to explode.
By the time Mr. Monroe arrived with the fire extinguisher it was too late. The journals were a complete loss. He did manage to put the fire out. Emily felt a tug on her arm and turned to see her guardian angel, Terrence.
“Emily, you must leave with Ethan, now. Others are coming. The two of you are not safe here,” he told her. Again, only Emily could see and hear Terrence.
“Ethan, we have to leave, now!” She grabbed the startled man by the hand and pulled him from the room, leaving behind a bewildered Mr. Monroe to deal with the remains of the smoldering journals on the table.
Ethan ran behind Emily carrying Mr. Perry’s personal journals and did not stop until they got out the door of the building. It was still raining outside, but he could make out a figure dressed in black standing across the street from the law office. He stopped dead in his tracks and halted Emily, who still held his hand. Staring at them from across the street stood Dr. Carmine Lazar, a former colleague and now arch-nemesis. Emily pulled hard on Ethan’s hand to get him moving again.
“Where’s your car?” She shouted through the rain. Ethan looked at her and pointed down the street to where his rental was parked. When he looked back Lazar was gone.
“Ethan, you have to trust me. We have to get out of here. We’re not safe.” Emily started to pull him towards the car. Ethan shook himself and broke into a run beside Emily. He knew what Emily was saying was true. If Lazar was on their tails they were indeed in danger. The question now forming in his mind was ‘How does Emily know we’re in danger?’
Ethan fumbled with the car keys in his pockets, unlocked the car, and shoved the journals into the back seat, as Emily dove into the passenger seat. Within seconds Ethan was driving in the traffic with the rain still pouring down.
“OK, Miss Bell. Where to now?”
“Just drive out of the city. We need to find a safe place where we can talk privately.”
“Yes, we definitely need to talk.” Ethan wanted to know just what was going on and what it was that Emily knew that he didn’t. He wondered what, if anything, she knew about Dr. Lazar.
He looked over at her now and saw her blowing at red blisters forming on the palms of her hands. It was then that he noticed the same blisters forming on his own hands. They’d both tried to save the Spaniard’s journals and had been severely burned in the process.
“First, we’d better find an open pharmacy and get some medicine for our hands.” Emily didn’t argue with him. Her hands were starting to hurt.
Emily waited in the car, as Ethan ran into a pharmacy to get some medicine and bandage
s for both of them. She kept a close lookout for any more demons. So far, the one she’d seen at the law office was the only one. She knew without looking that Terrence was with her, ever at her side.
“Dear Jesus,” she prayed. “What would you have me do? I understand Ethan needs my help. I’m willing to go where you need me to go and do whatever you need me to do. Just give me guidance.” The answer came from inside of her and she knew without a doubt she would be staying with Ethan for as long as the Lord wanted her to. She also knew that she was about to embark on a long journey into the wilderness of the Amazon rainforest. She wondered how the good Dr. Ethan McGowan was going to take that news. Not well was her suspicion.
***
Ethan came back to the car with three bags full of first aid supplies. It was his intention to doctor Emily’s hands and then his own, but Emily insisted they keep moving.
“We need to get on holy ground. So we can talk and be safe,” Emily stated.
“Holy ground? What are you talking about, holy ground, like a church?”
“Exactly, we need to find a church.” Ethan looked at Emily like she’d sprouted two heads.
“Just drive, I’ll know what I’m looking for when we find it.” Emily pointed the direction she wanted to go and Ethan just drove. OK, crazy lady, to church we go. He kept his thoughts to himself. All he wanted to do was get Emily to her desired location so he could be on his way back to the Amazon, plus his cell phone was loaded with information he’d been itching to get a closer look at. He thought of the now destroyed Spaniard’s journals and couldn’t believe what’d happened to them. It was a great loss, but Emily didn’t seem to be worried about it. She appeared to be focused on finding a safe place, or holy ground, as she’d put it.
After a few miles Emily spotted what she was looking for. It shone like a beacon of bright white light from a lighthouse. A small red brick church on a street corner was lit with the light of many angels that surrounded it for Emily to see. Ethan saw nothing but a dark building on a street corner.