The Gift of Knowledge (The Gifts Book 2)

by Jen Gentry

  Relief washed over Ethan. Everything would be fine. The Jesus he had been searching for his whole life was here in plain sight. Tears fell down his face, as he lifted Emily’s limp body. “Please, please heal her. I’ll give anything… do anything you want. Just save her.”

  “My son, it is already done.” Jesus looked down at Emily and touched her forehead. Ethan felt a jolt of energy surge through her and then into him. He watched in awe as color flooded back into Emily’s face, and he pulled the blood stained, homemade bandages aside to see the wound in her belly close up, leaving only a faint pink scar.

  “Oh, praise God! Thank you, Jesus. She will live now, right?” Ethan stammered as he looked up into Jesus’ glorious face.

  “Yes, Ethan, she will live. Our Father still has plans for her in this life. Her work here on earth is not completed.” The voice of Jesus was like a comforting balm to Ethan’s soul, as he gently placed a still unconscious Emily on the ground and fell on his face before Jesus.

  “How can I ever thank you? I could give you my life, and it still wouldn’t be enough.” Ethan sobbed at his savior’s feet.

  “Come, I have much to share with you.” Jesus held out his hand to Ethan and pulled him upright.

  “My Lord, what about Emily? I need to see that she gets home safely. I can’t leave her like this.”

  “Look, she is not alone.” At Jesus’ words Ethan looked back at Emily. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully on the ground, surrounded by many fierce looking angels.

  A thrashing sound came from the forest, and Ethan watched as two angels emerged from the tree line dragging a roughed-up looking Lazar between them. In the skies above the trees more angels circled. It was apparent that they were preparing to rid the jungle entirely of the demons that Emily had insisted were there.

  The two angels brought Lazar before Jesus, and the man fell to the ground in front of him. Ethan watched in horror, as the demon Armodius writhed inside of Lazar, causing his body to contort in pain. The demon cried out. “Please, Jesus, set me free. Let me go back into the forest to hide my face from your wrath.”

  Emily had been right. Lazar was possessed. Ethan felt he should be in shock. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would come face to face with angels and demons, much less Jesus himself. Yet, he could not tear his eyes away. His thirst for knowledge kept him still while he watched and listened. It occurred to him, he would never be the same after this day.

  “Come out of this man, evil spirit,” Jesus commanded, placing his scarred hands on both sides of Lazar’s head and pulling the grotesque Armodius from Lazar’s body. The demon’s face was frozen in fear just before he exploded into black dust.

  Still on the ground, Lazar appeared too weak to move as he whispered, “Oh Lord, thank you for releasing me from that awful nightmare. Dear Jesus, the things I have seen and done….” His whispers turned to sobs, as he began to beg for forgiveness. Ethan stepped away. This broken man deserved his pity. After seeing the horrible demon pulled from his body, a person could only feel sorry for the man. Ethan walked away and gave Lazar some time to speak with Jesus privately.

  Jesus spoke quietly to Lazar. “Carmine, I want to show you what your life would have been like had you not given into jealousy.” After Jesus placed his hands on Lazar’s forehead a movie-like vision played in his mind.

  Lazar saw himself back at his old apartment, the one he leased after graduating from the university. He was coming out of his doorway and into the hallway. In his hands was the letter from Ethan asking Lazar to come and work for him. Lazar remembered exactly how he was feeling that day. A rage was simmering in his soul. Broke, with no job prospects, he had no choice but to accept Ethan’s offer. Demons of anger and jealousy bound tightly to him, as he stomped down the hallway.

  A young woman was climbing the steps up to his floor, and she stopped him to ask a question. It was apparent the woman was moving into the apartment next to his. He remembered the incident now that it had been brought back to his mind. As he recalled, he’d growled at the young woman and shoved her out of the way then left her standing on the stairs. Only in this altered version of the event he stopped, turned around and apologized, as he bent over to help her carry a large case. It was then that he got a good look at the woman. She was almost a twin to the Ariella who first appeared to him in his drug-induced state. Only this woman was real and alive with long, soft, light brown hair and bright blue eyes. Their eyes met, and a connection was made between them. Her name was simply Jane.

  The vision fast-forwarded a few years. Lazar was now happily married to Jane. They were strongly involved in their church. Through Jane and the church, he connected to several investors he worked for who owned an antiquities museum. The young married couple divided their time between excavating Native American sites all over the country and teaching at a local university while they raised their large and growing family.

  The vision again jumped several years in the future. Lazar and Jane were older. Their children were now grown with children of their own. In this part of the vision, the family gathered on the steps of a new and modern museum. This was a ceremony for the opening of the building that had been named the Dr. Carmine Lazar Natural History Museum in his honor. Also attending the special event was Dr. Lazar’s very good, long-time friend Dr. Ethan McGowan. No jealousy could be found in this version of his life. He’d let it all go when he found Jesus with Jane at his side.

  Lazar was inconsolable. “Does the woman Jane actually live?”

  “Yes, she does, but she is now married to another. I showed you this so that you may know that our Father has always loved you and has always had a plan for you. You altered the course of your life when you held onto jealousy and anger. You further lost your way when you accepted the dark one into yourself.”

  Great, massive sobs erupted from Lazar’s chest. “Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive me, I beg of you, please forgive me.”

  “I forgive you. I forgave you before you were even formed in your mother’s womb.”

  Ethan stood far enough away that he didn’t hear the conversation between Lazar and Jesus, but he watched as Lazar took his last breath in Jesus’ arms, and the two angels who brought him from the forest carried his spirit up into the bright blue sky.

  Jesus walked back over to Ethan and held out his hand. Ethan could see the tears in Jesus’ eyes just as he saw the scar on his hand that could only have been placed there by piercing nails.

  “It is time, Ethan, to share with you the things that have been kept hidden all these earth years.

  ***

  Ethan didn’t know exactly how much time passed before Jesus returned him to the mountain. It seemed as if it had been hours, days even. Yet Emily was right where they’d left her, safe and sound, still resting peacefully on the ground. He knew his life would never be the same. He now knew things he wished he’d never wanted to know. The thirst for knowledge that’d driven him his whole life was finally quenched.

  The giants were the offspring of the fallen angels who’d been assigned to watch over mankind when the earth was young. The Nephilim, as the giants were called, once spread out all over the earth. They lived as the renowned men of old amidst the sons and daughters of men. Giants were inherently evil and plagued mankind by declaring themselves gods and kings over the human race. They demanded human sacrifice from those they ruled over, even of innocent children. When their appetites could not be slated they resorted to cannibalism. These images made Ethan physically ill.

  The fallen angels gave their offspring knowledge of the earth and the heavens that humans did not have. With strength and knowledge on their side, the giants ruled for a time on earth until the havoc they wreaked could no longer go unpunished by God.

  Jesus gave Ethan the gift of knowledge. Ethan had been given a glimpse into the past and watched image after image of the giants and the great atrocities they wreaked on God’s children. He’d watched as Noah built the arc, and the great flood that wip
ed the giants from existence, as the fallen angels watched the deaths of their own evil offspring from the skies above.

  Ethan also watched the fallen angels try to fill the earth with their seed again after the flood, and again God wiped them from the face of the earth, and this time the Lord had the fallen angels bound in hell, so they could never again mingle with the humans. He’d seen the great I am pass judgment on the fallen angels. God would never again allow them to have offspring on the earth.

  Ethan could feel the sadness Jesus felt, as he revealed these things to him. “You knew these angels that fell?” It was more of a statement than a question.

  Jesus answered with a sigh, “Yes, I knew them all.”

  Afterwards, Ethan was returned to the mountain. The things he’d seen he couldn’t bear to ever see again. He picked up the box of vials containing samples from the bodies of the giants and smashed it to pieces on a rock then kicked the shattered remains of it over the cliff. He would never again seek the renowned men of old or their DNA. He would keep the knowledge of the giants and their power over the human race a silent secret buried in his soul, lest others find that knowledge and abuse it to the detriment of all. The giants must never again walk this earth.

  More important than anything else Ethan learned on this day was the fact that Jesus and God the father were real as well as angels and demons. Ethan never needed to see them again to know that they existed. He’d asked Jesus to forgive his doubt and promised to never doubt again. Also, he would never again doubt Emily’s ability to see into the spiritual realm. He knew her ability was real and a gift from God.

  ***

  “Emily, wake up. It’s time for us to go home.” Ethan held Emily in his arms. Never again would he want to be parted from her.

  “Ethan… I’ve just had the most spectacular dream.” Emily rubbed her eyes and hugged Ethan back. She never wanted to be parted from him again, either.

  “Can you tell me about your dream later? I have to say this right now because I don’t want to live another minute without you by my side forever, Emily Bell. First, I ask you to forgive me. I doubted your faith and your gifts. I’ve been given just a small taste of what you must see every day in the spiritual realm. Please know that I will never again question if God is real. I have repented and given my life and my heart to Jesus forever. I love you more than my own life. Will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  He kissed her before she had the chance to say anything. Finally, after being kissed breathless, Emily answered.

  “Yes, Dr. Ethan McGowan, I will marry you.”

  ***

  The angels on the mountain rejoiced when Ethan came to fully accept Jesus as his personal savior. Liam stayed behind, letting the other angels help Ethan and Emily climb down the mountainside. He raised his sword to the sky. The cliff he stood upon rumbled beneath his feet, and the cave carved out of it closed shut, forever.

  “For the lamb, who alone is worthy to be praised.” Liam’s words of praise rang out across the entire rainforest.

  Epilogue

  It’s true, there is no place like home. Perry House would now be Ethan’s home as well. At least as soon as Emily would set an exact date for their wedding. A smile crossed Ethan’s face as he sat on the porch and looked at his soon-to-be bride. Emily sat across from him conversing with her Aunt Gemma. He was amazed at how quickly Emily and her aunt came to mean the world to him. The protective streak he’d always nurtured was strong when it came to these two women. He looked forward to his parents coming to Perry House to meet both women in a few days.

  The leaves on the trees of the vast estate were turning orange and yellow, as the air held the promising chill of a cold winter to come. Ethan pondered on how much his life’s goals had changed in such a short amount of time. No longer driven by a great need to prove God’s existence, he contented himself to be exactly where he was at this moment. Not knowing where his career headed from here was just fine with him. He only wanted to serve his Lord with whatever the Lord wanted from him and to tie himself forever to Emily. For now that was more than enough.

  Emily dreaded telling Ethan why she’d put off their wedding. A woman never loved a man more than she loved Ethan, but she’d not been given the chance to tell him of the vision given to her that fateful day on top of the mountain. At first, she waited so Ethan could settle things with his team. Russ’ broken leg mended quickly, and he was already walking again. Phoebe stayed at his side constantly, even after they returned to the states. Emily suspected the two were headed for a more intimate relationship. Gary decided to stay on in Brazil and finish up the team’s business with the government there and to present the maps they’d completed. Mari, Anke and Jorge, with his family, were taking a much needed break from the Amazon guide business.

  It seemed there was no reason to put off telling Ethan the truth any longer. He deserved to know. A letter in her jeans pocket pressed on her nerves. The letter came this morning from a private detective in her employ. The detective found what she’d been looking for since that day on the mountain when the Lord spoke with her about someone who was in trouble and needed her help, her sister.

  Please enjoy this excerpt from the soon to be released

  THE GIFT OF EMPATHY

  Third Novel

  in the

  GIFTS SERIES

  By

  Jen Gentry

  The dark haired girl wondered the dimly lit streets of New York alone. Barely sixteen, this was no sissy-baby girl, but a hardcore street urchin who knew how to survive on her own. She’d lived on the streets since the day she was born. Her mother taught her well. Mother and daughter survived hopping from one shelter to the next for fourteen years. Picking pockets and scamming was a scary way to live, but the only way to eat sometimes.

  Pulling her tattered hoodie closer around her delicate features, Jewel Bell thought of her mother. Two years to this very night Jewel’s mother died in Jewel’s arms, on this very street. Jewel didn’t know what compelled her to walk this street on this date. It wasn’t nostalgia or longing. Jewel would never truly miss her mother, Lydia Bell. No, Lydia was never really a mother. Not a good one, anyway.

  A myriad of emotions rolled over Jewel. She began to walk briskly away from this place that conjured grizzly images of her mother’s violent death in her mind. With expert skill she tamped down on those awful memories and the painful stabs the emotions wracked her body with.

  The air around her became cooler as the fall winds blew in. Soon, Jewel would have no choice but to seek out the crammed shelters at night. Dread filled her, starting in her chest, as it always did, then fanned out into her limbs where it settled and ached. She generally avoided coming into such close contact with others. Especially the mentally anguished, emotionally charged people that seemed to fill the shelters these days. All that pain packed together in one building made Jewel physically ill, to the point that she could be sick for days. But that kind of sickness didn’t kill her, the cold streets of the city in winter, just might. Jewel hated winter more than anything she’d ever had to endure. She prayed for a few more weeks of warm weather so she could avoid the shelters as long as possible.

  Making her way back to the bridge where she stashed her sleeping gear Jewel’s heart was heavy. That first winter without her mother lived in her mind, always. She’d fought off one danger after another. Fortunately, that was the winter she met Jacob. Jewel trusted no one on this earth the way she trusted Old Jacob.

  Jacob found her alone and starving in a deserted alley a few nights after her mother passed. He took Jewel to a mission shelter and forced her to eat. He didn’t leave her side in the weeks to come and defended her from other homeless people who’d wanted to steal from her or hurt her in her weakened state. Slowly she’d come to trust him. Jacob alone knew her mother was dead. He helped her keep the secret so she wouldn’t be placed in state custody. In her mind nothing would be worse than having to live under close quarters with strangers on a da
ily basis. She’d never be able to trust any adults who wanted to tell her what to do. Her mother had left her with that legacy.

  Old Jacob had lived on the streets longer than anyone Jewel knew. Without his help she surly would’ve died that winter. She thanked the Lord for Jacob who’d become like a dear uncle to her. Thanks to him, Jewel was able to leave her meager belongings stashed while she attended school during the day. School kept her going. She dreamed of one day having a productive life as a nurse or a doctor, and maybe a family of her own. Maybe, one day.

  Jacob’s soft snores could be heard coming from his pallet in the crawl space under the bridge that was her current home. Jewel spread out her own pallet next to his, pulled out a worn copy of Wuthering Heights and read by candlelight until she drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  Jacob waited patiently until his charge slept before he transformed himself into a ball of light that shot straight up into the sky. Above the bridge he could still watch over Jewel. She was never safe on the streets, but in the past few weeks she’d been noticed by a particularly dangerous sect of demons in the area. Jewel’s gift of empathy was a serious threat to all demons, and could be a great boon to others seeking the Lord. It was time to get Jewel off the streets and into a place where she could learn to trust the Lord and others who could help her learn to use her gift.

  Liam, the commanding angel over Perry House, joined Jacob in the sky.

  “Greetings, my brother.” Liam clasped arms with Jacob. “The girl sleeps well?”