The Gift of Knowledge (The Gifts Book 2)

by Jen Gentry

  An idea occurred to Emily. “Ethan, do you still have Mr. Perry’s personal journals?”

  “Yeah, why?” Ethan had already read those journals cover to cover and found nothing helpful in them.

  “It’s just that Mr. Perry kept the two sets of journals together and left all of them to me. I wonder if we’ve missed something in the other journals. Something he meant for me to find.”

  “Well, I guess we can have another look.” Ethan put on his slicker and ran out into the still falling rain to retrieve the journals from his tent.

  A bright light appeared at Emily’s side. She was alone in the work tent and immediately knew Liam was with her.

  “Liam, I’m so happy to see you. I miss seeing you. I know you’re always around, but it’s good to see you.” There was a time in Emily’s life when Liam was a constant, steady presence for her, but after Mr. Perry passed away he no longer appeared in human form to her.

  “Emily, I come with a warning and encouragement. There are secrets I have kept hidden in Mr. Perry’s journals. The time has come for those secrets to be revealed. You must be the one to find them. Everything that can be done for your and Ethan’s protection has been done. It is Ethan’s destiny to find the lost giants. However, the fate of mankind hangs in the balance. You must help Ethan find his way to the Lord so that he will make the right choices when he finds what he is looking for. He will gain much knowledge in his quest, but the dark ones can use that knowledge for evil. This knowledge could destroy the future of all men. Tell Ethan the legend of the red-haired, giant kings, but make sure no one else besides Ethan hears you. Share only with him the secrets you find in the journals of Mr. Perry.”

  Before Emily could ask any more questions, Liam disappeared, and Ethan returned shaking the rain from his soaked slicker.

  “Just when you think it couldn’t get any wetter, it does.” Ethan laughed and smiled as he pulled the journals out from his jacket and handed them over to Emily. It was that smile. That easy smile and his nearness made Emily’s heart flip- flop in her chest. The fresh masculine smell of him teased her senses.

  Lord, please be my guide in this matter. You did make me a woman, after all. How can I help but be attracted to this man. But I will take the warning you’ve given me through Liam and try to keep this professional. As always, you are my Lord, and I know that I am safe in your arms.

  Emily prayed silently. The weight of what Liam shared with her was a heavy burden, but she knew the Lord had a plan. He always did, He always would, and she trusted Him without question.

  “OK, let’s take a look.” Emily handed one of the three journals to Ethan, and they both settled back in their chairs to start reading.

  A few hours and several cups of coffee later, both of them completed reviewing each of the journals. They found nothing of real interest. The journals were mostly accounts of supplies and such. Mr. Perry did write about some things he saw and things he learned from the natives, but he never mentioned what he was looking for or drew any maps. There were no accounts of giants or hidden locations anywhere in the journals.

  “I give up. There is nothing written in any of these books that helps us.” In a gesture of frustration, Ethan tossed the journal he’d been reading on the table beside Emily.

  Emily knew better than to give up. She was missing something. If only Liam would come back and just show it to her. She reached for the journal Ethan had tossed and knocked it off the table. As Emily picked up the book she noticed one of the corners was crumpled, and the batting on the inside back cover was torn loose.

  “Great, now I’ve ruined it.” She berated herself as she examined the damage and peeled back the batting to see if it could be repaired. What she saw hiding behind the batting made her jump. It couldn’t be, could it?

  Wasting no time, Emily tore the rest of the batting away to reveal the hidden contents. It was the missing pages from the Spaniard’s journals. Oh, thank you, dear Jesus, thank you.

  Ethan was as shocked as Emily, as he watched her pull the pages from the journal she’d dropped. He grabbed one of the other journals and pulled the batting from the back cover to reveal more of the missing pages. In the last journal, they found a letter from Mr. Perry addressed to Emily.

  Phoebe, Russ, and Gary entered the tent at that moment, and Ethan started to tell them what they’d found. He stopped when Emily whispered in his ear.

  “Don’t tell them just yet. Let us figure out what it all means first.”

  Ethan was a little confused but felt he needed to trust her on this. Tucking the pages and letter into his shirt, he decided to keep silent until he and Emily could examine the contents in private.

  Chapter Fifteen

  And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. I thank you, and praise you, O you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might,

  Daniel 2:21-23

  Liam met with Gabriel in the air above the campsite. The messenger angel was looking for assurance the message to Emily had been delivered at precisely the right moment.

  “I do not understand, Gabriel, are we trying to uncover secrets the dark ones are hiding, or are we trying to keep secrets hidden?”

  “I believe, brother, that the answer may be a little of both. Remember that for our Lord nothing is hidden. He already knows all the secrets, and he has a plan. So, Emily has the rest of the journal pages now?”

  “Yes, the hidden documents are now in her hands. Let us pray that she and Ethan use the information wisely and for the glory of our Lord.”

  “Yes, for the glory of the Lord.” Gabriel saluted as he spread his wings and rushed upward to the heavens.

  Liam watched until Gabriel was out of sight then turned his attention back to the campsite and his duty to guard it.

  ***

  Long after darkness descended on the camp and most of the inhabitants were in bed, Ethan paced the confines of his tent. Where is she? He pondered as he paced. He and Emily agreed to meet alone in his tent to review the contents they’d found hidden in Mr. Perry’s journals. He’d been waiting for over an hour. He finally pulled on his jacket, grabbed his flashlight and went to search for her.

  After what seemed like forever, Emily could at last hear soft snores coming from Phoebe’s cot. Gently she lifted her blanket and bug netting then crept over to her clothes locker. Emily learned a lot since her first days at camp, and she knew better than to leave out any of her clothes or shoes lest she get deadly spiders or bugs in them.

  Fully clothed, she quietly removed her boots from the locker and shook them, in case any thing creepy crawly was hiding inside, before putting them on in the dark. It never hurt to be careful, as she didn’t want to end up like Cliff with a wondering spider bite. A chill went down her spine at the thought. Spiders were just not her thing.

  Quiet as a mouse, she slipped out the front of the tent into the humid night. At least it wasn’t raining anymore, she thought, as she made her way carefully around the remaining mud puddles that littered the ground. So intent on not falling into the dark murky puddles, she didn’t see the shadowy figure brandishing a dim flashlight in front of her until she ran smack into him.

  Emily lost her balance, as Ethan grabbed and pulled her close to him to keep her from landing in the mud. In the process he dropped the flashlight, and it bathed them in a soft light. For a few moments Ethan and Emily just stared into each other’s eyes, both of them captivated.

  The attraction between them proved too much for Emily to resist, and her heart lurched. Ethan gently caressed her face and laid a soft, tender kiss on her lips. The kiss couldn’t have lasted for more than a few seconds, but Emily’s whole world fell away in that time. She was only aware of Ethan and his nearness. It was like being dowsed in cold water when he pulled away.

  “Forgive me,
Emily, I shouldn’t have done that. Not that I didn’t want to. I just think it would be better for both of us if we kept things between us as just friends. You understand, right?”

  “Uh, yeah sure, I understand completely. We can’t let ourselves forget what we came here for, not when we’re so close,” Emily stammered as she took big gulps of air to catch her breath.

  “Good, let’s go back to my tent and have a look at those pages.” Ethan still held Emily’s arm, as he gently guided her around the mud puddles to his tent.

  The two of them didn’t notice the flap of Emily’s tent carefully sliding back into place. Phoebe watched from the darkness as Ethan kissed Emily. Oh, she knew Emily had a thing for Ethan from the start, but she’d hoped that Ethan would spurn her just as he did all the other women who’d thrown themselves at him over the years.

  The monkey-like demon, better known as Jealousy, wrapped himself carefully around Phoebe’s shoulders. Jealousy was crafty enough to keep himself hidden from the woman Emily, who prayed incessantly, until the right moment to strike at her presented itself. Phoebe would be the perfect pawn for him. The demon nodded to himself in smug satisfaction and began to whisper in Phoebe’s ear.

  See how she flaunts herself in front of Ethan. Oh yes, she wants him, all right. Well, she can’t have him. There must be some way to send her packing, for good.

  Phoebe entertained the demon’s words as if they were her own thoughts. Yes, I’ll find a way to remove her, for good. As they withdrew back into the darkened tent, Phoebe’s smile matched that of the demon.

  With trembling hands, Emily took the letter addressed to her from Ethan. She sat down in a folding chair and carefully opened the cream velum envelope. The letter was hand written many years ago on Mr. Perry’s personal stationary. Emily recognized it and the handwriting immediately. Unabashed tears slid down her face as she took in the words written by the kindest man she’d ever known. The man she called grandfather. She read his letter to herself.

  My Dearest Emily,

  I have known for a long time that you would be the one to carry on my dream. I knew it would be no coincidence that brought your aunt and then you to Perry House. The Holy Spirit told me you would come and bid me write this letter to you.

  Many years ago when I was a younger man, I learned of an expedition to the Amazon to map out a newly discovered mountain The Pico De Neblina. The story fascinated me, and I had to learn more. So, I arranged for my own expedition. I was young and brash and not even sure what I was looking for. Adventure, I suppose.

  I was not in the Amazon long before I took ill with some kind of fever. My crew consisted mainly of local natives, and since we were so far from civilization when I became ill, my men took me to a nearby tribe of natives and asked them to help me.

  For several days I lingered between life and death. The medicine man of the village did all he could. I know I started praying to God to save me. I woke myself with my own prayers. It was here that I met Liam.

  Liam appeared to me in the darkest of my illness in the moments when I knew I would die. I believed him to be the angel sent to take me out of this world. But Liam said, “No, you will not die. Our Lord has need of you here on earth, still.”

  The next day I got better. My fever broke, and it seemed I’d miraculously come back from the dead. The natives were in awe. They’d already prepared for my burial.

  Liam stayed with me the whole time. He spoke to the natives as if they knew him, and they hung on his every word.

  I would spend the next two months with the tribe learning their language and their way of life. Liam was ever present. One day, I heard him talking with the village leaders. The tribesmen seemed to want to deny his request, but Liam convinced them to do as he’d asked. Little did I know his request would involve me, personally.

  That evening the tribe came together for a feast around a campfire. They danced and sang, as we all ate and enjoyed ourselves. At the end of the evening, a woman stood at the fire and began to tell a tale of long-lost giant kings. These giant kings were reported to have red hair with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.

  I was captivated by the story and wondered if it could possibly be about the giants of the Bible, ‘the renowned men of old.’ But the thing that interested me the most was the part about the hidden burial site of the last three remaining kings. I wondered if I could find it. What an adventure that would be.

  When the woman finished the story the village leaders brought me a very old, wooden box. The box was ornately carved from a solid piece of hard wood and wrapped in sackcloth. The men said the box held something very sacred, and it was only at the order of the servant of God himself that I was to be given the contents.

  I opened the box to find three large, leather-bound journals written in ancient Spanish by a man named Juan Martinez de Soledad. He was part of the Spanish conquistadors who came in search of gold. As the natives told it, the man died in their village many years ago and left behind the journals. The tribe passed the journals down from one generation to the next for safeguarding. Now they were being passed to me.

  I stayed up all night and tried to decipher the journals. It was no use. I hadn’t the knowledge necessary to translate the ancient writing. But the drawings in the journals were exquisite and told of an adventure lived many years ago. I longed for that adventure, but it was not to be for me.

  The next day, I was asked to leave the village. The tribesmen were polite but informed me that they would be migrating soon, and I was not welcome to go with them. I thanked them for their great gifts and for their care when I was ill. With nothing left to do, I came home.

  I longed many times for the adventure of returning to the Amazon, but I was given more than a great gift. Liam returned with me to Perry House. Over the years Liam became as a brother to me as he watched over Perry House, the Spaniard’s journals, and me.

  You may wonder why I never had the journals translated, and I really can’t say why. Only that there was some measure of warning I took from the natives. The information contained in those journals is sacred and not to be tampered with. Liam removed the pages that, by now, I am sure you know were hidden in my personal journals to safeguard them.

  As I said, the Holy Spirit gave me guidance and told me this is your adventure now. I trust you will use the knowledge contained on those hidden pages wisely.

  I remain forever yours, Emily

  As only a grandfather can

  Miles Perry

  Ethan handed Emily a tissue to wipe her face. The tears continued to flow as she sobbed. There was an ache in her chest for Mr. Perry. He would always own a part of her heart, and she would be forever grateful for his care of her and Aunt Gemma.

  “Tell me about Miles Perry. You must’ve loved him very much. But I wonder if he really was your grandfather.” Ethan knew he needed to let Emily share her story, and he was genuinely interested in the man and how he came by the Spaniard’s journals.

  “Mr. Perry was my grandfather in every sense of the word except biologically. My father and Aunt Gemma were brought up in a Catholic orphanage. After they reached the age of maturity, my father apprenticed as a plumber and Aunt Gemma being deaf and knowing sign language, worked as a housekeeper for Mr. Perry and his brother, who was also deaf. Mr. Perry’s brother passed away not long after my aunt came to live with and work for them, but Mr. Perry asked my aunt to stay on. It was about that time that my mother left my father, and I spent every summer with my aunt at Perry House. When I was thirteen, my father passed away from a heart attack, and I went to live with my aunt and Mr. Perry full-time. Mr. Perry had always been kind to me, but he became my benefactor in more ways than one. It was because of his support my aunt was able to become my legal guardian, and that kept me out of foster homes. When he died, Mr. Perry left my aunt and me everything that he owned, including Perry House. On his deathbed, he made me promise to always think of him as my grandfather, and I always have.” Emily dried her tears and loo
ked up at Ethan who held her hand the entire time she poured out her heart to him.

  “Oh, Emily, what a strong person you are. You’ve endured far more than most. You lost your mother, your father, and then the man who would be your grandfather. It’s no wonder you are so protective of your aunt.” Ethan bent down and pulled Emily into a strong embrace, holding her tight while she sobbed out the last of her tears.

  “Thank you, Ethan. I think I’ll be fine now. It’s just kind of a shock to hear from Mr. Perry again after his death. I always knew he and I had a special bond, but I guess I didn’t know how much I really meant to him until now.”

  Emily blew out a long sigh and handed the letter to Ethan to read. When he finished reading he had more questions than answers.

  “OK, now we know where the Spaniard’s journals were found, but who is Liam? Is he still around? If he is I’d really like to talk to him.”

  “Well… Liam is… What I mean is he’s still around, but I don’t know if you can talk to him directly.”

  “Why not? Don’t you have a phone number for him? We could use your satellite phone and give him a call right now.”

  “You can’t reach Liam by phone, Ethan. You see, Liam isn’t human. He’s an angel.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.

  Exodus 23:20

  Ethan’s brain felt numb. He’d been aware for some time that Emily believed she could see angels, but this latest revelation felt like a sucker punch to the gut. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.