SAGA OF DARKNESS VISION OF LIGHT
Chapter Sixteen - Powers of the Lamb Oil
by Dennis R. Cook
Where my companions were, I didn't know, but I,
I was
given a comfortable apartment. Perhaps,
somehow, we had passed from the netherworld to
Astarte's plush La Jolla mansion. I didn't know
how,
but
the scene before me was of the Mexican villa
type,
one not unlike the one in the vision I had seen
while
in Los Angeles with Steven.
It wasn't lavishly furnished, but there were
amenities. I was most impressed with the small,
but
practical library that afforded me the opportunity to
brush
up on my knowledge of the Bible. That's right.
The
very creatures bent on destroying me had placed
me in
an environment most capable of keeping me
alive.
Quite a deception, huh?
I didn't know where to begin. There was a
kitchen, bathroom, bedroom with balcony, living room,
whatever. Although in awe of my new environment,
the
absence of sleep, the absence of my companions
coupled with nagging anxiety and mild feelings of
depression, led me to the conclusion I was in need of
a nap.
I headed for the bedroom, but didn't get very
far.
I felt drawn toward the Bible in the small
library. When I opened it my eyes rested on the
beginning of Matthew chapter 24, Jesus' forecast of
the
signs of his second coming. As I mulled over
the
contents, my mind began to drift back in time to
incidents in my own life that were, well, umm,
err,...sin filled acts.
Of course the incidents which had occurred
before
my Christian conversion were no longer viable
living
reminders of a fallen nature that needed a
remedy. Nevertheless, those nasty little deeds of
the
flesh haunted me to the nth degree from time to
time.
I assumed that was normal.
I realized sin was not, as it were, something I
was
practicing as a reborn Christian, but rather a ghost
of my past that had followed me into life. It
was
always there, waiting to rear its ugly head in
the
most unlikely places. I felt the need to repent
and
confess again those nasty little deeds and be
done
with them forever.
I kneeled. I prayed. I felt refreshed.
Retracing my steps, I placed the Bible back in it's
rightful spot in the library, but while doing so,
spotted a stack of magazines I hadn't noticed
before. What were they? I lifted the top
copy.
Oh,...
men's magazines with a picture of sport's
latest
fem fatale on the cover...just a little peek
won't
hurt...
"Oh my God," I thought to myself, remembering
where
I was, and the precariousness of the position I
was
in, "what have I done?"
It was too late.....A raging sense of
dread
and fear flooded my torso, a confusion
explosion if you will. Terrified, I listened
for
the voice of judgment I thought must come. Then I
heard
it speak its intent, "I'm going to give you all
these
things," a demon swore. Suddenly, I felt
the
oppressor.
I stood paralyzed by fear, not knowing, ashamed
by my
failure. Was I doomed? Fire exploded in my
brain
and cascaded downward into my belly. Hell had
me and
I knew it.
I thought I must have committed the unpardonable
sin.
My playful attitude toward sexuality had
finally caught up with me. For one moment of
tasteless titillation I had sold out, it seemed.
Another voice sounded, only adding to my
confusion. "Now, you are saved," the voice said.
"How could that be?" I balked, kneeling by the
bed.
Again I felt the oppressor. This time I
understood what its intent was. I glanced toward
the
balcony. I felt compelled to throw myself off of
it.
"No!" I shouted.
Again I tried to pray, but it seemed as though
all
hope and faith had gone out of me. I was shaking
so
from the fear and the fire, I couldn't find the
remotest iota of God given peace anywhere in my
being.
I grabbed the Bible from the bookshelf again. I
opened
it and ran references in attempt to find some
scripture that would enable me to regain some
semblance of peace, but nothing helped. A voice in
my
head kept repeating a Bible phrase that with all
certainty described my exact feeling, "well without
water,
twice dead, plucked up by the roots."
Where there had been peace and strength and
confidence in my inner self, now there was hellfire,
and
unending fear. I needed help! Oh, God, how alone
I felt
at that moment...., and there was no one
there. Was this hell? Was this what it was
like to
be
separated from God for eternity? Was this the
reason
Jesus had given his life for us, to spare us
all
these things? Was this the kind of calamity now
coming
on humanity from which we have so long been
warned?
There had to be a key to my dilemma. Jesus had
the
keys to hell and death and of Heaven. He had
to
have the key to my situation. I just had to find
it.
"What are you going to do, look under the bed?"
a
mocking voice questioned.
I turned to see Astarte leering at me through
her
ethereal glow. I couldn't do or say anything.
I
stood
there before her shaking like a wet dog in a
burning inferno.
When she seemed satisfied my condition was
genuine, the walls of my prison dissolved, and I
found
myself again alongside my friends. One
agonizing glance at the trio told me they, too,
had
been poisoned by the sting of Death. Were we
all
doomed to experience hell forever?
How would we survive, how would we go on? I
tried
to force the overwhelming scourge of doubts out
of my
head and focus on our new environment.
We
seemed to be in some sort of dimly lighted central
plaza
of a hacienda. A ranch style building
surrounded us. Flowers and shrubs and walkways led
to
a
central fountain area.
That's all I could make out. That wasn't
enough. I knew my mind needed something concrete
to
lock
on to, something, some thought that would enable
me to
hold my soul together long enough for a
solution to present itself. I was sinking
fast,
and I knew the others, though mute, had to be
fighting the same battle. The fire burning the
crown
of my
head seared downward into my belly. It was as
though
all the water of life in me had been lapped
up by
unquenchable burning.
"Oh, stop the blubbering," a voice whispered.
The
air around me exploded with a familiar scent. I
know
that perfume. Giorgio. I turned toward the
voice,
but didn't find anyone there. Steven,
Prometheus, Old Blackgoat, and Ketchum were
startled as well.
"It's me," the voice whispered, "it's me,
Sarah."
"Sarah?" Old Blackgoat moaned, not quite knowing
what
to do or what to believe.
"Listen," the invisible maiden continued,
"you've got to remember you are all men of faith, men
of
God. Don't let that demon continue to steal your
spiritual selves.
"What you are experiencing is a deception.
Whatever you did in your separate chambers is of no
consequence to your eternal well-being with God.
Use
your faith and fight. You were born into the
Earth,
not that demon. You have authority in the
Earth,
not that devil. Jesus is Lord!
"The only repentance you need is to realize the
action
taken in your quarters that got you in this
mess
was not a faith action. Take the guilt off
yourselves. God didn't put it there, you did."
"I see it," Steven said, with some
relief
I might add. "Whatsoever is not of faith, is
sin.
We all acted without faith."
"Do you all understand?" Sarah asked.
None of us answered. We were too busy rebuking
the
devil and regaining our composure. My mind
cleared. I stopped shaking. I felt peace
return.The
next thing I knew I was sitting on the ground
outside the vortex behind Old Blackgoat's church, and
all my
companions were there with me, each, as the
other.
We were all batting our eyes like little
froggies caught in a hail storm. Recovering my
wits
enough to gaze through the dim light, my
eyes
came to rest on Sarah, hands on hips, no longer
the
stiff lipped matron, but the gallant warrior.
"You boys need to go see those of the congregation
that
remained at the church to pray and let them
know
everything is alright," Sarah said.
Apparently little time had elapsed since our entry
into
the vortex. The men were still around us.
"O.K.," Steven said, "let's all go inside."
The congregation, although exhausted, seemed
satisfied with our return, and especially the return
of Old
Blackgoat. They didn't balk at Old
Blackgoat's suggestion that they go home and
get
what was left of a night's sleep.
I longed to join them, but wasn't going to rest
until
Sarah explained how she had managed to rescue
us.
As the last parishioner disappeared out the
front
door, our eyes fastened on the well-bred granddaughter of our mentor, Old Blackgoat. She
didn't
have to read our minds. Even Prometheus eyed
the
lass with such a sense of admiration, that Sarah
blushed. Nevertheless, the glow on the cheeks of
her
creamy
Tahitian bronzed skin didn't deter her from
explaining her actions with her typed intrepid
candor. Since I had met her she had always
embodied
what I
deemed to be the archetype of human Christian
boldness.
She held up the bootblack can, then handed
it to
Ike, or so we thought at the time. "I know you boys
(I
resented her calling us boys but she knew we all
did)
thought the devil had picked your pocket, but it
was
me. I was with you the entire time. Steven,
from
the
time you revealed the power of pure faith to Joseph
in
your basement out in California until now I have
known
I would use it to set you boys free.”
"You mean, you knew all along?" Steven said,
incredulously, rising from his seat, shocked by
her
nefarious deed of silence.
"I knew I must," Sarah said, "for just such
a time
as this. It wouldn't have done any of you any
good
to have knowledge that I could use the
substance. Satan could have discerned the
information within you and done to me as you. But
since
I have been absent during your trials, he has
had no
occasion to attack me."
"Then you mean to tell us that the whole
time
we were in that hellhole, that you were there
with
us, that not only we couldn't see you, but the
devil
either?" Ketchum conjectured, incredulous
that
she could be so wily.
"Yes, that is correct Mr. Ketchum," Sarah
said.
"But... how?" Ketchum stammered.
"I know the Lord watches us from places that we
cannot
see, and from places where He cannot be seen
to be
watching by the devil. I just believed for
Him to
put me in that place, and He did. From the
moment
I left my car at midnight in front of the
church, I smeared the pure substance of faith on my
forehead and believed.
"Steven, you remember that small
amount
you gave me at granddad's? I used it all.
"At the tree of knowledge of
good
and evil I decided I might need more faith,
and
took the rest of it from Steven. Don't be mad at
me
Steven. You are all safe because I believed and
God
heard
my prayer."
"But how did you get us out of the vortex
without all hell breaking loose?" Ketchum
asked,
dumbfounded by our instantaneous exit.
"Oh, I remember now," I said, "my exit
from
the vortex up at hell central was instantaneous
once I
figured out how to maneuver in there. Getting
us all
out at once though, that took some kind of
faith
I'm not familiar with."
Sarah yawned. "No more questions, boys, I
still
have to drive back to Teec Nos Pos tonight. I
have
to be at work by 7:45 in the morning. You boys
are
all intelligent. You figure out the rest of the
puzzle."
Old Blackgoat tried to persuade his
granddaughter to rest for the night, and head out
early,
but she wouldn't hear of it, calling to mind
some
metaphor having to do with sardines.
"Women," Old Blackgoat muttered, as Sarah sped
out
the front door, "you can't live with them,..."
"And you can't live without them," we all chimed
in
unison.
"Well," Ketchum slapped his knees and stood
up.
"This case certainly deserves a lot of analysis,
but
I'm dad blamed tuckered out. Figure you fellas
will
be moseyin' back up the mountain to tend those
sheep. I've got to get back up there, too, and
check
on my
men. Somewhere along the line we're all gonna'
have
to get some shuteye."
Too tired to speak, I just rolled my eyes and
headed
out the front door of the church toward Steven's
old
4X4. Somewhere in the back of my mind
bits
and pieces of an old song began to surface.....
something like blah, blah blah, what happened? I
tried
to
fill in my own lyrics on the way up the mountain
but
sleep left the humor trapped in the moment.
Flashing lights cut my nap short. I rolled down
the
passenger window of Steven's old 4X4 and thrust my
head
outside the vehicle in order to hear, as well as
see,
what was going on.
"I just caught 'em in the corner of my
headlights," I heard Ketchum tell Steven. "They
drug
her
off in the direction of hell central. They must
a'
pushed her car off the road somewhere over yonder,
but I
ain't got time to go huntin' for it. God only
knows
what's happened to my men."
Steven motioned for me to get out of his 4X4. At
my
approach he repeated what Ketchum had told him,
most
of which I had overheard. What I had missed was
this,
they had Sarah.
"Something big must be going down for them to
pull
this stunt," Ketchum said. "I don't know
about
you fellas', but I've just about had enough of
Sheolman and his parlor tricks. Don't figure that
hatch
leadin' to their underground parkin' garage is
open...."
Ketchum didn't finish his sentence, but
trailed off. Old Blackgoat and Prometheus were
arriving.
Old Blackgoat had his Bible in hand along with a
pad of
paper and pencil. I couldn't tell what he was
writing, but the old seer moved like a cat when he
wanted
to. He seemed oblivious to everything being
said.
He didn't have to react. We knew he knew.
Prometheus, not a slacker either, had already
disappeared beyond the range of Ketchum's headlights.
He had
something in one hand. I couldn't see what.
After
grabbing a lantern from Old Blackgoat's camper,
I
followed, knowing the remaining three would have to
bring
their vehicles the short distance on to the
underground garage.
Approaching Prometheus, I could see he was
feeling for the lip of the hideaway with a crowbar.
"Here, shine your light here," the titan
said.
"All I need is enough hand space with
which
to get a hold on the metal roof the road rests
on."
Prometheus slammed the crowbar into place and
bowed
with all his might until he heard the metal
roofing buckle. "That did it!" Prometheus said
about
his
success, spawning a short lived grin. But his
smile
did
not mask the primordial glare within that forewarned
me
that in the titan's mind, he had a score to settle...
Lights from the highway signaled reinforcements,
but
although all vehicles came to rest with
headlights on Prometheus, no one moved. The hair
on
my
head rocketed as my mind grasped, with the others,
the
sight unfolding before us. The Spirit of the
Lord
had come upon Prometheus. We were going to
war...