by Jen Gentry
Russ paused and took a long pull on his drink. His expression, along with that of the others, was somber. Emily remained quiet. It was evident that these men had cared deeply for their friend Will.
“Ethan searched for Will for two weeks with no leads, and then his body was found in a Bronx warehouse. He’d been murdered. The police thought it looked like a mugging gone bad.” Russ got choked up and Cliff picked up the story where he left off.
“Ethan stayed in New York, notified Will’s family and sent for Phoebe to join him. It was an awful time for all of us. We almost disbanded and gave up, but Ethan and Phoebe gathered Will’s things from the hotel and found a note with the name Myles Perry on it. Ethan checked with some of our colleagues in the States and the name Myles Perry kept coming up in connection with the Spaniard’s journals. Ethan brought Phoebe back and we took a vote. We all decided to stay and keep searching, and that’s when Ethan started talking to you.” When Cliff paused, Emily started with some questions of her own.
“So how does that man, Lazar, play into all of this? Ethan told me he suspected Lazar had something to do with Will’s death.” The men stayed silent but looked at each other.
After a long pause, Gary spoke. “Dr. Lazar was seen coming and going from Will’s hotel room. The police questioned him, but he had an alibi. Besides, Will and Lazar had known each other for years, even if they weren’t the best of friends. The police had no reason to question Lazar’s story. But Ethan did and still does. Lazar has proven himself to be an untrustworthy enemy.”
Emily started to ask just what the nature of the relationship was between Lazar and Ethan, but Phoebe and Ethan picked that moment to join them at the table.
A contrite looking Phoebe sat down in the empty chair next to Emily, as Ethan sat on the other side of them.
“Miss Bell, I do hope you’ll accept my sincere apology. I didn’t mean to be so rude. It was just a little bit of a shock for me to hear that another female was joining our team. That’s all. I really am sorry.”
Emily looked up into Phoebe’s big blue eyes and felt the sincerity of her apology. After hearing the story of her cousin’s death, Emily felt a little sorry for her.
“Let’s start over, Phoebe, OK? If we’re going to be the only girls on this team then we’ll just have to stick together. Let’s start out as friends, and please call me Emily.” When Emily held out her hand for Phoebe to shake, Phoebe jumped up and hugged Emily tight.
“We’ll be good friends, and we’ll be sharing a tent. It’s going to be nice to have someone I can talk to besides these guys, anyway.”
Emily let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath in anticipation, waiting to see if the whole team would accept her or not.
While they all dined, Emily felt a nudging in her spirit. She looked up from her plate to see Terrence standing guard at her side. He pointed in the direction of Phoebe. Emily took a close look at Phoebe’s profile, and there she saw a small, greenish colored demon whispering into Phoebe’s ear. The Holy Spirit told her this was a demon of jealousy and insecurity. Emily knew she would need to pray for Phoebe.
Later that evening, Ethan walked Emily back to her room. The rest of the team decided to turn in, as they wanted to get an early start in the morning. After making sure Emily was safe and secure in her room, he practically ran back to his own room. Finally, he was going to get a good look at the images of the journals without any distractions.
It took about an hour to get all the images downloaded from his phone to his laptop but the wait was worth it. Well over one hundred pages of photos with drawings of different landscapes with landmarks led him through the jungles of the Amazon. It was painstaking work searching for the one exact thing he was looking for. The problem with the journals was they were not written with the goal that Ethan had in mind. Rather, they were a journal of an epic journey that began in Spain, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the beaches of Brazil, through the Amazon, and into the Andes Mountains in Peru. There was not a treasure map with an “X” to mark the spot, so to speak. He needed help deciphering the sixteenth century Spanish used by the Spaniards. He hoped that Emily would be able to help him with that.
***
Outside the motel, in a rented car, Lazar waited. He’d found the motel where Ethan and his team were staying. Now he would just wait. He would not risk Ethan or anyone else seeing him. He needed the team to feel safe enough to set out for their destination without getting wind of him following them. They would lead him to the exact spot he needed to be if he was patient, and the demon Armodius was nothing if not patient. After all, he’d waited an eternity for the Ba al’ to summon him back from the abyss. He bit down on the lip of the body he so completely possessed now and savored the taste of fresh blood. No, the demon thought. There was no reason he shouldn’t just sit back and wait for Dr. Ethan McGowan to lead the way.
***
Back in her room, Emily was restless. She couldn’t sleep, so she pulled out the laptop she and Ethan purchased and sent an email to Marta and Aunt Gemma. Not wanting to alarm the two women of the dangers of this trip, she reassured them that she was fine and having a great time, so far. She described the afternoon she’d spent site seeing with Ethan and how awestruck she’d been when taking in Rio. After sending the emails, she tried to sleep, but something kept nagging at her. She took out her Bible and began to pray. She prayed for Phoebe and that the demon tormenting her would leave her alone. Praying in the spirit and reading scriptures aloud finally settled her, and she went to sleep.
In her dreams she heard the battle cries of the angels and watched as Liam and Terrence battled a great horde of demons in the jungle. She could smell the sulfur, as demon after demon was dispatched into the abyss by the flaming swords of the angels. Liam looked at her and tried to tell her something, but she could not make out the words. The thick, yellow smoke coming from the fallen demons obscured him from her sight, and the sound of the battle echoed so loud she could not hear anything but the clashing of swords and battle cries from angels and demons alike. Finally, the smoke cleared and Emily could see and hear Liam. He was shouting only one word to her. Pray!
Emily woke with a start, sitting up in bed. It took her a few moments to remember she was not home in her bed at Perry House. She was in Rio De Janeiro with a man she just met, on a mission she knew very little about. Yes, she thought. She needed to pray some more. She also needed some answers from Ethan. Some kind of danger threatened him, and she needed to know just what kind of danger. She got on her knees beside her bed and prayed for Ethan and his team’s safety.
***
Terrence stationed himself outside the door of Emily’s motel room. He was a formidable, dark-skinned angel. As the largest and strongest angel in the legion, Liam assigned him to be Emily’s guardian. He heard Emily’s prayers and felt the strength of them lifting him up and boosting his strength, as he sang his own praises to the Lamb. It was not long before his commander arrived with a host of warriors.
“How is Emily, Terrence?”
“She has been restless this night, Commander, the Holy Spirit has been speaking to her and she prays.” Terrence spoke with a deep baritone voice.
“Good. Lazar is sitting in a car in front of the motel. He’s not making any move to attack, and I find that strange. None of the demons are attacking. I do not know what they are up to, but I am sure it’s no good. For some reason the demons are holding back. We need to stay alert. The legion and I are going to stay with you and the rest of the team from here on. God be with us, I do not like it when the demons are quiet. It means they’re up to something.”
***
The next morning Emily awoke to a pounding on her door. She was tired from her restless night and wanted to sleep a little more, but the knocking just became more persistent. She flung open her door to a bright-eyed and chipper Phoebe. Fortunately, Phoebe came with two cups of steaming, hot coffee.
“Oh, thank you, Phoebe. This is jus
t what I needed.” Emily took the cup Phoebe offered and let her into the room.
“Rough night in a strange place?” Phoebe asked as she sat on the bed sipping her coffee.
“Well, I was a little restless.” Emily took her coffee into the bathroom and started the shower running. “How long before we leave?” She asked.
“Ethan wants to get started as soon as he and the guys get back from the market. They’re stocking up on supplies and food.”
“Oh, I must’ve really slept in. What time is it?” Emily cringed. She didn’t want to seem like a sluggard on her first day working with Ethan’s team. She felt a strong desire to prove herself.
“Seven-thirty,” Phoebe said with a laugh. “It’s not late. Ethan just called everybody early this morning to get them moving. We tried phoning but you didn’t answer, so the guys sent me to fetch you. I’m happy to do it though, it means I get to sit and relax with a cup of coffee while the guys fight the crowds at the market. You should go and enjoy your shower. It will be the last real one you get for a while.” Phoebe laughed again and switched on the TV while Emily hurried to take her shower.
Phoebe’s behavior seemed a little strange to Emily. Yeah, they’d patched things up over dinner last night, but Phoebe just seemed a little too nice. There was no sign of the demon Emily had seen last night, but she knew the thing was sure to be lurking around somewhere. She prayed in the shower and asked the Lord to help her become friends with the exuberant and beautiful Phoebe. After all, with Marta as a best friend she should be used to exuberant by now, and she felt that Phoebe could use her help. It couldn’t be easy to be tormented by demons.
At exactly nine Emily and Phoebe met the guys in the lobby. The two women had helped each other with their bags, and they were ready to leave. Ethan told Emily she would be riding with him in the Land Rover. The rest of the team would split up into the remaining Jeep and supply truck.
Good, Emily thought. Now I’ll get the chance to ask about Lazar and what it is exactly that Ethan is searching for here.
Ethan loaded Emily’s bags in the Land Rover, and Emily jumped in the front passenger seat. Soon they were off convoy style.
As they pulled away from the motel, they didn’t notice the vehicle that pulled out behind them. Lazar took care to stay back a good distance from them. But while the humans did not realize they were being followed, the angelic host surrounding them did.
Chapter Six
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 8:35-39
It took about an hour for the convoy to get out of Rio. Emily rolled down her window and watched as the bustling city gave way to verdant green rainforest and the paved roads turned to dirt. The rainforest was teaming with every manner of colored bird. Emily pulled out her cell phone and snapped as many pictures as she could. She couldn’t wait to email the pictures to Marta and Aunt Gemma. Soon, it started to rain and Emily had to roll up her window or get soaked.
“Get used to the rain. It does that a lot out here.” Ethan’s words pulled Emily out of her reverie, and she remembered the questions she wanted to ask him.
“Where exactly are we headed to right now?” She asked.
“We’re headed towards Pico da Neblina. It’s a mountain that borders Brazil, Venezuela, and the Amazon. Technically, it’s located in the Amazon forest, but the closest town to it is São Gabriel da Cachoeira, a small town on the edge of Brazil that borders the Amazon. There, we’ll load the supplies on a large helicopter and then take the copter to our base camp.”
“Oh, so we’re not driving the whole way, then?” Emily asked. The thought of a helicopter ride made her a little nervous. Flying would never be her favorite thing to do.
“Emily, I don’t think you understand how very remote this part of the world is. There are no roads where we’re going. Let me give you an example. The mountain near where we are headed, the Pico da Neblina, was only just discovered in the 1950’s, and it was scaled for the first time in 1965. To this date, there are no roads to the mountain. The only way to get there is by a four day hike through the rainforest. Many tourists have gotten lost on that trek, and now the country will only allow expeditions to go in with an experienced local guide.”
“Wow, that’s interesting. It seems like it’d be pretty easy to find a mountain.”
“Not in a rainforest it isn’t. Combine the dense forest with the fact that the mountain is shrouded almost constantly in clouds and there you have it, uncharted territory. I really believe the Amazon is the very last frontier, and I feel blessed to be a part of a new discovery in it during modern times.” Ethan kept driving with his eyes on the road as he spoke. Emily took a close look at him. It was obvious to her Ethan’s passion lay in the pursuit of the unknown, or the pursuit of knowledge, depending on how you looked at it.
“That’s it then, isn’t it? You’re looking for your own Pico da Neblina, aren’t you?” The realization dawned on her.
“In a way I guess I am, but I’m more interested in what might be hiding inside my own personal Pico da Neblina.”
“Oh yes, you want to prove that the giants really existed.”
Ethan sat quietly for a moment as Emily’s statement hung in the air between them.
“It’s really much more than that.” Ethan sounded resigned as he began to open up about his real reasons for this expedition.
“See, no one really has to prove the giants existed. That physical proof is in museums all over the world already. There have been literally hundreds of giant skeletal remains found all over the earth. There is no question that they existed, not really. The real question is where did they come from? Are they the descendants of the fallen angels from the Bible? Are they aliens who came from another planet? And what happened to them? Why did they become extinct? They either killed each other off or were killed by something else, disease maybe? Or maybe they went back to the planet they came from. Either way, I believe they didn’t just disappear. I need DNA, really good specimens with DNA evidence to help me find out where they came from and where they went.”
“And that’s what you’re hoping to find here in the Amazon, giant DNA?” Emily arched her eyebrows at Ethan. The picture was getting a little clearer for her.
“That’s the ultimate goal here. If we could get some decent samples of DNA from ancient remains of giants we may have the answer to one of life’s most daunting questions. Do angels really exist, and did they come from a one true God? Think about how much we could learn from the DNA of angels. The possibilities are endless.”
“Did you ever think that maybe there is a reason mankind doesn’t have that kind of information? That maybe God has hidden that knowledge for a reason. Like, say for instance the safety of all mankind.” Emily had an epiphany. She now knew exactly why she’d been brought into Ethan’s search, but she didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She knew the Lord would guide her, and for now, she felt the need to just let Ethan keep talking. If this was the knowledge Ethan was seeking Emily could easily understand why his life would be in danger. Surely angels and demons alike would have a huge interest in this quest.
“Emily, all I can say is I have this driving need to know if angels and God really do exist. I need physical proof I can share with the world.” Ethan’s words cut Emily to the bone. That was it. Ethan would have to have tangible proof before he could truly believe in the existence of God. Even if he could SEE a real angel he would never trust his own eyes. He needed a miracle. Something only the Lord could
do that would help him believe.
Emily prayed in silent. Dear Heavenly Father, this task seems way too big for me. I will leave it all up to you. I trust you to show me what you would have me do. I lift Ethan up to you, Father. Please keep him safe; indeed, keep us all safe on this journey to find you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
“So, tell me about Lazar. Who is he and why is he after you?” Emily decided to change the subject.
“Dr. Carmine Lazar is a dangerous man, Emily. If you see him anywhere near us I want you to scream as loud as you can and run. He is never to be trusted. Please give me your word on that. I’ve promised to keep you safe, and I could never live with myself if something happened to you.” Ethan stopped the vehicle and looked Emily straight in the eyes.
“Yes, Ethan, I promise… scream and run. You’ll have no argument from me on that account. I’ve no desire to tangle with that man. He gives me the creeps.”
“Good, then we don’t have to talk about him anymore.” With that said, Ethan clammed up. The rest of the trip was the same for the next several days, as the convoy made its way across Brazil towards Venezuela.
At São Gabriel da Cachoeira, the team met with the pilot of the helicopter they rented for transport to and from their base camp deep in the Amazon wilderness. Everyone worked to get their gear and supplies loaded onto the large craft. Before they got ready to take off, Ethan introduced Emily to Jorge, the pilot. He was a small, dark-skinned, native Brazilian with closed-cropped, dark black hair. Jorge, Hor-hay, as Ethan called him, took one look at Emily and crossed himself, as he prayed under his breath and walked away.