Authors: Jacqueline Smith
God
, he thought,
if you’re there, now would be a great time for a miracle.
A rustling in the tall grass behind him startled him.
As he listened to the heavy footsteps approaching, he felt his stomach sink with dread. That wasn’t exactly the kind of miracle he’d had in mind.
He waited, wracking his brain for something,
anything that he might use to bargain. Maybe he could reason with them. Surely every person, no matter how damaged, had the capacity for some sort of empathy or understanding.
Right?
Finally, the two shadowed figures came into view.
One of them was carrying a flashlight. Michael couldn’t make out their faces, or even what they were wearing, but the taller one seemed to be holding something in his arms... almost like a baby. He set the bundle down a few yards away from Michael. Then, the shorter of the two turned and shone the flashlight straight into Michael’s face. Instinctively, he closed his eyes and turned his face away from the searing white-blue beam.
“Oh good.
You’re awake.”
~*~
Kate tried not to think as she followed Luke through the center aisle of the church. If she thought too much about where they were or what they were doing, there was no way she’d be able to take another step. The church was eerie at night; dark, quiet, and far too still. If Kate hadn’t known better, she’d swear the eyes of Christ Himself were watching her from behind the altar, following her every move.
For all she knew, they could have been.
Cautiously, they approached the door through which Cannon had led Michael earlier that morning.
Kate felt her stomach turning backflips as Luke pushed the door open. The soft
click
of the latch echoed through the silent sanctuary, the sound magnified by the absolute emptiness of the room.
Looking to the left, they noticed light pouring through the crack beneath one of the doors down the hall.
“That’s our door,” Luke muttered to Kate.
They scampered down the hall toward the light. Kate felt her heart pounding with dread and anticipation. What if they were too late?
Luke got to the door first and pushed it open, fully prepared to defend himself if necessary.
But the look on his face, however, told Kate that the room was empty.
“He’s not here,” he confirmed.
“Dammit!” he yelled and struck the wall with his fist. Although Kate was somewhat relieved that they had not found Michael hurt, or worse, she felt her spirit sinking. Where were they supposed to go from there?
“
What are you doing here
?”
Kate was so startled by the harsh voice over her right shoulder that for a moment, her mind went blank.
She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t hear the scream that surely escaped her lips. All she knew in that moment was fear.
“Looking for you, as a matter of fact,” Luke replied, far less shaken by Augustus Cannon’s sudden appearance.
“You wouldn’t happen to know what happened to our friend, Michael, would you?”
“I told that boy that I didn’t want to see his face, or any of yours for that matter, on these grounds again.
Why do you think he would be here?”
“Because he disappeared about an hour ago, and we figured that someone who hated him so much... who might have a reason to want him to disappear... might be able to give us some idea as to where he could be.”
“And why would you assume that someone is me?” Cannon narrowed his eyes.
“Never said I did,” Luke shrugged.
If Cannon was annoyed, he didn’t show it.
“Well, if that is the case, then you have no business here.
Now get out.”
“Hold on a second,” Luke countered.
“I’m a little disappointed in you, Pastor. I would have thought a man of God such as yourself would be a little more concerned that an innocent man is missing. That is, unless you don’t think he’s innocent.” Kate held her breath. She knew that Luke and his team sometimes provoked evil spirits to get them to make themselves known, but there was a big difference between provoking a ghost and provoking a man who, even if he hadn’t killed all those people, still had the capacity to do a lot of damage. Pastor Cannon just gritted his teeth.
“If this has something to do with what happened in
Oklahoma - ”
“Oh, it’s not just that.
It’s about Grace Bledsoe and Daniel Ford, too.”
“You are out of line, boy!” Cannon snarled.
“You act so smug and clever, but you have
no idea
what it’s like to see a young person’s life taken, wasted. Especially young people who had so much to live for. And then the whispers, the suspicions, the
blame
... The mere notion that people believed I was responsible for the death of my own son... I wouldn’t be able to live with it were it not for the strength and comfort that the Lord gives me.”
Kate was stunned.
This was a whole different kind of passion than she’d seen earlier that morning during the service. This was pure, unadulterated heartache, and Kate suddenly found herself pitying the man they’d come to accuse. Luke seemed equally unnerved.
“Well if it wasn’t you, do you have any idea who it could be?” he asked.
“No,” Cannon replied hastily.
“Now I respectfully ask that you leave me in peace.”
“You answered that awfully quickly, Pastor.
Sure you don’t want to think about it? What about your friend, Mr. Ford? He seemed like he wanted to beat the crap out of Mikey.”
“John is a very sick man.
To think him capable of what you’re suggesting is ludicrous.”
“A relative then?
Maybe John Ford has a crazy brother or really dedicated nephew.”
“This is not the work of John, nor any soul in this congregation.
Now for the last time,
goodnight
.”
Kate felt more discouraged and humiliated than ever, but Luke wasn’t giving up.
He stared directly into the old man’s steely eyes and asked, “What about your daughter?”
~*~
Michael blinked up at the person standing in front of him, certain that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Maybe he’d been unconscious for too long or his brain had been deprived of oxygen. He might have hit his head being dragged to wherever he was. Whatever the reason, he knew he could not be staring into the wide blue eyes of Chastity Cannon.
“Wha - what are - ”
“No, shhh. You shouldn’t try to talk.” Chastity knelt down next to him and stroked his face. “You’ve been through a lot tonight.”
Yeah, thanks to you.
You and...
Michael didn’t recognize the bulky guy who accompanied Chastity.
If he’d been in church earlier that morning, Michael hadn’t seen him. He couldn’t quite make out the expression on the stranger’s face, but he got the feeling that he was much more apprehensive than his female companion, whose face still hovered a few inches away from Michael’s. He instinctively tried to move away from her, but his bonded wrists prevented him from doing so.
“Oh, I know, it’s uncomfortable, but trust me, it’s for your own good.
How else do you expect me to help you?”
Michael narrowed his eyes.
“Help me?” he asked in a weak, hoarse voice.
“Your life has been overrun by sin, Michael Sinclair.”
Though hardly significant, Michael wondered briefly how she knew his full name. “But don’t worry. That’s why the Lord has disciples like me. To guide you back into the light of His redeeming love.”
Michael’s head was spinning again.
He truly did not understand what she was saying. Where was she coming from with all of this?
He cleared his throat and asked, “What did I do?”
“You did nothing, Michael. It is the power of Satan living inside of you that is to blame. Until that power is destroyed, you can never be free.”
Destroyed
? That didn’t sound good.
“I don’t understand.”
Chastity stared at him, her light eyes full of a strange combination of condescension and pity.
“James, chapter four, verse seventeen,
” she answered, as though that explained everything. When she saw that Michael still wasn’t getting it, she continued. “‘So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.’ I am a child of God, Michael. It’s my duty to uphold the laws of my Lord and King. That’s why I had to see those disgraced sinners put to death. It was the only way to help them. Thanks to me, their sin has been destroyed and they are free to dance in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
“Who?”
“The temptress and the idolate
r. The adulterers. And my brother, the fag. All abominations in the eyes of God.” Out of the corner of his eye, Michael noticed the silent man behind Chastity wince at her harsh words.
“What about murder?
Doesn’t the Bible say that’s wrong?” Michael didn’t remember a whole lot from his
Sunday
School days, but he was pretty sure ‘Thou shalt not kill’ was one of the Ten Commandments.
“It isn’t murder if it’s God’s will,” Chastity replied.
You’re insane
, Michael thought. But he held his tongue, hoping that if he cooperated, he might figure out a way to reason with her.
“So what do you need me to do in order for you to save me?”
Chastity smiled.
For a moment Michael felt a sense of relief. If this girl wanted to help him, then by all means, he was going to let her think she was. Especially if he could avoid the destruction part.
“First, you must confess your sin, repent, and ask God’s forgiveness.
In doing so, you will renounce Satan and all he stands for.”
Confess, repent, renounce.
Easier said than done. What was he supposed to confess? Every bad thing he’d ever done in his life? That would take a while. And was she expecting formality? Was there an incantation or poem he needed to recite?
Hoping he wasn’t about to make a mistake, he looked up at Chastity.
“Will you help me?”
Chastity frowned.
Mistake.
“A truly repentant heart shouldn’t need help,” she told him.
His mind scrambled for a way out of the hole he’d inadvertently begun to dig for himself.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted.
“I’m sorry for everything. For lying, for being a coward. For not helping people when I should have. I’m sorry I put myself first. And I hope God forgives me. Please, please forgive me.” Chastity was still frowning.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.
She must be referring to something specific
. Michael thought back to earlier that morning.
“I’m sorry for the pain I caused Mr. Ford,” he said.
Chastity sighed.
“Unless you confess all your sin, I can’t help you.”
Michael was nearing the end of his rope.
What other sin could he possibly have committed? He hadn’t done anything! Meanwhile, Chastity was growing more impatient by the second. Michael hoped that honesty might be enough to save him, but he doubted it.
“I’m sorry, Chastity,” he finally told her.
“But I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then you leave me no choice,” she replied solemnly.
Then, she rose to her feet and walked back to her companion, who watched silently with remorseful eyes as she bent down, took something in her hand, and turned back to face Michael.
“No choice about what?”
His heart was beating so fast, he could barely form the words. Any pity that had once existed in Chastity’s eyes had vanished and had been replaced by a cold, bitter passion.
“Leviticus, chapter twenty, verse twenty-seven.
‘Now a man or a woman who is a medium or who consults the spirits of the dead shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, and their blood shall be upon their own heads.’”