The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (51 page)

‘Well, I’m off to bed for a couple
of hours with a good book,’ Rebecca said. ‘See you for dinner?’

Tanya nodded. ‘It’ll be ready by
seven.’

After Rebecca had left, Natasha
re-entered the room. Her eyes glowed and her lips were pulled back into a
snarl. ‘He knew,’ she hissed. ‘I don’t know how, but he knew.’

‘Impossible,’ Tanya said. ‘Something
else must have spooked him.’

‘I don’t feel right about this. I
say that we kill all of them right now.’

‘Follow him, Nahemah. Try to get to
him before they do. If we lose him, kill him, and then come back for his
mother.’

Natasha nodded and faster than the
eye could see shot through the roof and through the air until she was high
above the clouds that thundered over Kelwick. She scanned through the clouds,
searching for her target and finally rested her eyes on Jared’s car. Her irises
flared up like burning embers and she shot down towards her target like
lightning from the sky.

*   
-    -    -    *

 ‘It’s true,’ Jared said. He
weaved through traffic, unable to see much through the rain on the windshield
and the tears welling in his eyes. ‘It’s all true.’

He stepped down on the accelerator
and almost lost control when he had to swerve away from an oncoming car.
Finally he pulled over at Kelwick’s Community Park, got out of the car and,
through the thick and heavy downpour, made his way to Lake Metanoia.

‘The angels and demons,’ he said and
paused to catch his breath. ‘They...they’re real.’ The downpour had left the
park completely deserted. Even the homeless people that so often frequented the
benches had left to seek shelter elsewhere. Jared struggled to hear himself
above the waterfall from heaven that rushed down upon him. ‘I’m not ignorant,
Lord,’ Jared said and fell to his knees. ‘Show me a flame and I know that it’ll
burn me if I hold my hand over it. I see a razor and know that it’s sharp and
will cut me if I pull it across my arm...’ His words trailed off into sobs.
Only when he could finally control his emotions to a certain extent did he
continue. ‘And now You show me angels and demons,’ he said and another sob
escaped from his lips. ‘And my logical mind has to conclude and accept that You
are there too...that You also exist.’

Lightning flashed.

‘And if you exist,’ Jared said and
inhaled deeply to catch his breath. ‘Then so does heaven, hell, Jesus,
salvation, and everything else that goes along with it.’

Thunder rumbled.

Jared cried when he tried to speak
again. He cried for the past; for ignoring his father, for the way he had
treated Amy, for the baby he would never have. Jared cried about things he said
and did to people to reach the top of the corporate ladder. He cried about his
mother and Tanya being trapped in that house with Natasha and her demonic
minions. ‘Oh Lord,’ he cried. ‘I’m not worthy of forgiveness. But please, I beg
of You, please forgive me for what I did to Amy. Please, Jesus, forgive me for
everything.’

The sound of the rushing rain
stopped instantly and Jared looked up. It still rained, yet he couldn’t hear it
anymore. A thin shaft of light pieced the darkened clouds and shone down on
him, expanding slowly until it totally engulfed him. Although exceptionally
bright, it didn’t hurt his eyes. Jared looked around him and his heart skipped
a beat when he saw the silhouette of a man outside the barrier of light.
Although Jared couldn’t see a face, he instinctively knew who it was.

‘Jesus...?’

Through the rain a man stepped into
the light with Jared. The man’s face shone brighter than anything he had ever
seen in his life, yet this light also didn’t hurt Jared’s eyes.

‘Your sin,’ the man said in a soft
and soothing voice, ‘is no more.’

Lightning flashed somewhere in the
distance.

Jared crawled to the man and
clutched His ankles. ‘I’m not worthy of forgiveness,’ he sobbed through the
tears.

The man knelt down next to Jared.
‘All your sins are forgiven,’ he said, ‘no matter how many or how big.’

Jared looked up, the question on his
mind expressed through his eyes. Jesus nodded and Jared could see a smile
behind the brilliant light. With great effort, Jared managed to stand on his
feet. The man stood next to Jared, holding a robe in His hand that also
radiated light. With one swift movement, the man flung the robe around Jared’s
shoulders, and in a matter of seconds, the robe had become one with his flesh.
Jared looked down at his hands and gasped in awe. Light radiated from every
orifice in his body, emitting a golden glow from his skin.

‘Jesus,’ Jared whispered.

‘I love you,’ the man said and
embraced Jared.

‘Is this real?’ Jared asked. ‘Is
this really happening?’

Jesus nodded. ‘You are now my son,
and nothing in heaven or earth, or in the whole of creation can take that away
from you.’

A deafening cheer of what sounded
like thousands men shouting at once came from all around, vibrating into
Jared’s soul.

‘Does this happen to everyone who
converts?’ Jared asked.

Jesus nodded. ‘They can’t see it
like you can, Jared. But I embrace all My children personally.’ Jared couldn’t
speak. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks as the man folded His arms around
his shoulders once more. Jesus stepped back out of the light. ‘I will never
leave you nor forsake you,’ He said, and a few seconds later the golden glow of
Jared’s skin faded with the light that washed over him. The sound of the
drizzling rain returned, followed by the patter of tiny droplets against his
skin. Jared remained in a kneeling position for a few more minutes, sobbing and
praying as the gentle rain sprayed down on him. When he was done, he felt
elated, as if the world’s weight had been removed from his shoulders. He felt
both physically and spiritually lighter and his heart shouted with joy each
time it beat in his chest. ‘Thank You, Jesus,’ he whispered as he stood up and
made his way back to the car. Inside, a sudden dread dawned on him. Tanya and
his mother were trapped in Tanya’s house with Natasha, surrounded by
hundreds—possibly thousands—of those demons. They were in danger and he had to
get them out of there as soon as possible. ‘Please help me, Lord,’ he prayed.
‘And please protect my mother and Tanya from the evils inside that house.’

He started the car and drove away,
leaving the old self behind him. From behind a tree a shadow moved. Natasha
stepped out of the shadows and into the middle of the road, hissing at the car
that drove away. The soldiers in the back seat hindered her from killing Jared
right then and there. When the car disappeared around a corner, Natasha howled
and then sniffed twice at the air before shooting up into the darkened skies.

*   
-    -    -    *

The thunder drowned the noise the
man made when he climbed over the wall. He jumped off the other side and after
observing the terrain, made his way to the back of the house. The swimming
pool, once clean and clear, was now dark and murky due to neglect.

The flash of lightning was followed
by a sudden clap of thunder which rumbled on for a while before fading away in
the distance. The man had used the sudden explosion of sound to hide the splash
of the water as he dived in. With closed eyes he searched the bottom of the
pool until his fingers finally made contact with what he was looking for.

Jared came up, gasping for air as he
held the ring in his hands. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered as he climbed out of the
pool. He then placed the ring in his pocket before making his way around the
house to the wall at the front. He slid over the wall and started the car.
Seconds later, he was gone.

*   
-    -    -    *

 ‘I’m really concerned about
Jared,’ Rebecca said. ‘He seemed very distracted today.’

Tanya shrugged and buried the fork
with the heap of food on it in her mouth. ‘I wouldn’t worry too much about
him,’ she said before she finished chewing. She swallowed what food she could
and washed the rest down with wine. ‘He’s been through more downs than anyone I
know, and yet somehow, he always manages to get back on top.’

Rebecca smiled. ‘I guess you’re
right,’ she said. ‘He’s always been...divinely protected.’

‘Why don’t you guys stay a few days
longer?’ Tanya asked. ‘Why the rush to go home?’

‘I need to get back to my husband
and daughter,’ Rebecca said. ‘It’s almost been two months now and I really miss
them very much.’

‘Then why don’t you go ahead? I’ll
take care of Jared for a few more days and once everything’s settled, will take
him home myself.’

‘I guess it’s up to him,’ Rebecca
said and shrugged. ‘We can ask him when he—’

Nooooo!

The scream chilled Rebecca’s blood.
It was high-pitched and rang throughout the entire house. The lights fluttered
on and off, and just as Rebecca was about to comment, Natasha burst through the
dining room doors.

‘They’ve got him,’ she said between
heavy breaths, ‘and we can
never
get him back!’

‘Are you sure?’ Tanya asked and
stood up.

Rebecca frowned. ‘What’s going on?’
she asked.

Natasha pointed a bony finger at
Rebecca and the irises in her eyes turned bright red. ‘That woman!’ she
shrieked. ‘I told you that we should have gotten rid of her. I warned you!’

‘Calm down, Nahemah,’ Tanya
demanded. ‘How sure are you that he converted?’

Rebecca didn’t quite understand what
the commotion was about, but she realised that she was caught in the middle of
something very bad. ‘Would you please excuse me?’ she asked politely and stood
up. ‘I think that I’ll retire for the evening. You two look like you might need
some privacy.’ She headed for the nearest exit but Tanya shot her hand out and
the doors slammed shut.

‘How sure?’ Tanya asked.

‘There’s no mistake,’ Natasha said.
‘We’ve lost him.’

‘Tanya?’ Rebecca asked. ‘What’s
going on?’

‘Your son has accepted your saviour
as his,’ Tanya hissed. ‘He is no longer of any use to us.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘He will now become a threat to
everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve. And that, my dearest Rebecca, I
simply cannot allow.’ Tanya snapped her fingers and in an instant, Natasha
stood next to Rebecca, holding her arm in a vice-like grip.

‘Like Natasha so eloquently put it,’
Tanya said as she approached Rebecca. ‘If we can’t have him,
no one
can.’

The first rays of daylight that
pierced the overcast clouds announced a new day. To Jared, it announced a new
life. He woke behind the steering wheel and stretched his aching limbs every
which way, cracking them into place. Across the road, the gatekeeper opened the
gates to the cemetery and Jared couldn’t help but flinch because of the mighty
screech that emitted from the rusted hinges. The gatekeeper lit a cigarette
before he began his daily schedule by sweeping the pavement.

Jared started the engine and drove
into the cemetery entrance, following the road that snaked between the hundreds
of gravestones until he came to where he wanted to be. He cut the engine and
got out of the car and stretched again. Even though the sun was hidden behind a
layer of clouds, Jared couldn’t help but squint at the overall brightness of
the morning. He made his way to the headstone that he was looking for, and once
he found it, swallowed hard at the lump in his throat as he read the words
engraved on the tombstone:

Here lies Amy Wilson, beloved
daughter of Richard and Beverly.

Jared’s eyes stung and he fought
hard to suppress the tears that wanted to force their way from his eyes. He
took the ring from his pocket and held it between his thumb and forefinger as
he fell to his knees in front of the granite stone.

‘I’m so sorry, Amy,’ he said and
choked. ‘I…I know it’s no excuse, but I wasn’t myself when you last saw me. I
was under a spell or something.’ The first tear trickled down his cheek and
rested on his chin. ‘You have to believe me when I say that I would never do anything
to hurt you and that you were the only thing that ever really mattered to me.’
Finally he lost the battle with his emotions. His shoulders shook as he cried
and he rubbed his fingers over the engraved letters on the cold stone slab,
wishing that he had another chance of brushing his fingers against her warm,
soft cheek. He knew that he would never have such an opportunity again, but
found temporary solace in the fact that he would see her again after this life.

‘With this ring,’ he said and held
it up, ‘I will
always
think of you and will always carry you and our
baby near my heart.’ He stood up and for a long moment only stared at her name,
allowing the tears to flow freely down his cheeks. ‘I love you, baby,’ he said.
‘I always have and always will.’ He smiled faintly. ‘I’ll see you soon, my
love.’

A sense of peace came over him as he
turned and headed toward the car. His time in Kelwick had come to an end. It
was time to get his mother and Tanya and leave for good. Dean could wrap up his
matters and call him once everything was sorted. Jared pictured Natasha’s
swirling face and her horde of demonic beings at her side, making a path for
her as she entered the room. A shudder rippled down his spine. There was
definitely something unnatural about her. Getting his mother and Tanya out of
that place could prove to be a difficult undertaking. Slowly the realization
dawned on Jared that he might even die trying.

*   
-    -    -    *

The turbulence rocked the plane and
Justin woke up with a start. Sweat was streaming down his forehead and he
looked out the window as the early rays of sunlight set the skies on fire.

‘Are you all right?’ an elderly lady
asked. She didn’t wait for an answer before she continued her knitting.

Justin nodded. The fact that he was
indeed
not
all right was no real concern of hers.
Lord,
he prayed
as images of the nightmare flashed through his mind.
First the nightmares
and then the juice that turns to blood. I thought nothing of it at first, but
the nightmares aren’t stopping. Something’s wrong, Lord. I can feel it. But I
need You to tell me what to do.

‘You sure you’re okay?’ the lady
asked. ‘You look a little pale.’

‘I’m fine,’ he insisted. ‘Thank
you.’

The rest of the flight was spent in
earnest prayer where Justin continuously asked for guidance as well as
protection for his wife and son. When the plane finally landed, Justin
immediately headed for a public telephone. He decided to call Rebecca at
Tanya’s place and tell her about his meeting with the agent. He could then also
make sure that everything was all right with his wife and son.

‘Sinclair,’ a woman’s voice answered
the call.

‘Tanya?’

‘Yes...?’

‘Hey! It’s Justin.’

‘Oh hi, Justin. How are things?’

‘I’m fine, thank you,’ he said
louder than he intended. He pressed the receiver tighter to his left ear and
stuck his index finger into his right to try and block out as much of the
ambient airport noise as he could. ‘Is Rebecca there?’

‘I’m sorry, Justin,’ Tanya said.
‘She stepped out for a bit. Could I perhaps take a message?’

‘Nah,’ he said. If something was
wrong, Tanya would have said so. ‘I’ll call back later.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah, thanks.’

He hung up the phone and picked up
his luggage. ‘Now to get a taxi cab,’ he said and headed for the information
counter. The idea was to shoot straight through to Brooke & Lester for the
meeting and then—after spending the night—make the trip back home. Justin
stopped mid-way and placed the luggage back on the floor before looking around.
Something kept gnawed at the back of his mind, urging him not to take a taxi.
He didn’t know exactly
why
he felt the way he did, but he knew the voice
that spoke to his heart and that he should listen to it. He wondered if he
should call Dorothy before getting a cab. Justin looked at the phone, and then
at the information counter and bit his lip. He looked at the phone again and
picked up the luggage and made his way back to it. At the phone, he took out a
piece of paper. He dialled the number on it and it rang twice before someone
picked up.

‘Suzette, hello.’

‘Hi, uh…’ Justin said and he
squeezed the handset. ‘May I please speak to Dorothy Stevens?’

‘Who?’

‘Dorothy Stevens,’ Justin confirmed.

‘I’m sorry, but no one by that name
lives here.’

‘Lives…?’ Justin asked and looked at
the number on the piece of paper. ‘Isn’t this Brooke & Lester?’

‘No,’ the woman at the other end of
the line. ‘This is a private residence.’

Jared confirmed the number with the
woman on the other side of the line. ‘But I called this number yesterday and
spoke to a Dorothy from Brooke & Lester Literary Agents.’

‘I’m sorry,’ the woman said, ‘but
you have the wrong number.’

‘Are you sure—?’

The line cut with an abrupt click
and Justin just stood there for a minute, wondering what on earth was going on.
He wanted to call the number again, but the sense of urgency overwhelmed him to
the point of nausea and so he called Tanya instead.

‘Sinclair.’

‘Hey Tanya. It’s me again.’

‘Justin?’

‘Yes.’

‘Rebecca’s still not home, if
that’s—’

‘No,’ he interrupted. ‘I actually
wanted to speak to you this time.’

‘Oh?’ she asked. ‘What about?’

‘I wanted to know if that pilot
friend of yours still lives in Cape Town.’

‘He does,’ she answered. ‘Why?’

‘Well, I’m here at the moment and
desperately need to get to Kelwick as soon as possible,’ Justin said and shot
up a quick prayer. ‘Problem is, there are no flights to Kelwick for at least a
few more hours.’

‘And you were wondering if he would
fly you out here?’

‘Hoping, yes,’ Justin said. ‘If it
wouldn’t be an inconvenience. I’m more than willing to pay for his services.’

‘One moment,’ Tanya said and the
line cut. After a while Justin thought that she might have hung up on him, but
then the line came back on. ‘It won’t be a problem,’ she said.

‘Really?’

‘Greg said that he has to deliver
supplies for a customer of his in Kelwick this afternoon. If you call him now,
you might be able to catch a ride.’

Justin scribbled down Greg’s details
and thanked Tanya. ‘Please don’t tell Becky I’m coming,’ he said. ‘I want it to
be a surprise.’

‘Why the sense of urgency? If you
don’t mind me asking?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Justin said and
hesitated. ‘But I have a feeling in my gut that she and Jared might be in some
kind of trouble. I can’t explain it, but I feel that I have to be there.’

‘Indeed,’ Tanya said. ‘Don’t worry
about it, Justin. She’ll be quite surprised.’

Justin thanked her and hung up. He
looked around the airport and for a moment wondered if he should rather try to
get hold of Dorothy again.

No!

He shook his head and called Tanya’s
friend.

‘This is Greg,’ the mutual acquaintance
answered.

‘Hi Greg. This is Justin Greene
speaking. You might not know me, but Tanya gave me your number.’

‘Hey,’ Greg said. ‘I’ve been
expecting your call. I understand from what she said that you might need a
lift, eh?’

‘If it’s not too much of an
inconvenience,’ Justin said. ‘I’m prepared to pay full air-fare for the trip.’

‘No probs, man,’ Greg said. ‘I’ll
pick you up at the airport in about twenty minutes and we can head for the
airstrip from there. We should be in Kelwick just before sunset.’

‘Thanks Greg,’ Justin said. ‘I
really appreciate it.’

When they hung up, Justin picked up
his luggage and once again made his way across the floor. But this time it
wasn’t to the information counter, but to the coffee shop. He would spend the
next fifteen minutes there, drinking coffee and wondering if he had just made
the biggest mistake of his short-lived writing career.

*   
-    -    -    *

 ‘Interesting turn of events,’
Tanya said. ‘We’re expecting company.’

‘Oh yes?’ Natasha asked. ‘Who?’

‘Justin Greene.’

‘Excellent,’ Natasha said. ‘The more
of Jared we can destroy, the better.’

‘Agreed,’ Tanya said and looked at
the wide-eyed woman lying against the wall in the corner of the room. She was
bound, gagged, and shivering with fear. ‘We can take care of their daughter at
another time.’

‘When will he be here?’ Natasha
asked.

‘They should be at the airport
anytime after five. We’ll meet them there.’

‘And Jared?’

‘Oh, he will be there,’ Tanya said
and grinned. ‘He will be there, and we will kill both his parents in front of
him before ending his worthless life once and for all.’

*   
-    -    -    *

Jared woke with a start. He scanned
his eyes across the room as he tried to figure out where he was. He checked the
time and sat upright. Could it be half past three already? With one swift
movement, Jared got up from the bed and limped to the miniature bathroom where
he splashed some water over his face and hair. After he gathered the last of
his belongings, he left the apartment, locked the door, and handed the key in
at the landlord on the first floor.

‘Leaving so soon?’ the landlord
asked.

Jared merely nodded. He had wasted a
whole morning and most of the afternoon already by dozing off after he arrived
at the apartment. The idea was to pick up his things and leave. It was the
splitting headache and dizzy spell that finally convinced him to lie down for
just a minute. And now it was almost four o’ clock in the afternoon and he,
Tanya, and his mother were still in Kelwick.

‘Send my regards to your mother,
will you?’ the landlord called after him as Jared shuffled down the hallway to
the elevator. ‘She’s a sweet woman, that one!’

‘Thanks,’ Jared said. ‘I will.’

Half way to Tanya’s house, he called
up front to warn his mother and Tanya that he was coming to pick them up.
Natasha answered the phone and, in the voice of an angel told him that they
would meet him when he arrived.

‘I’m worried about you, Jared,’ she
said. ‘You left so abruptly yesterday. Is something wrong?’

‘No,’ he lied. ‘Nothing’s wrong. I
just need to speak to my mother urgently, that’s all.’

There was a moment of silence before
she spoke again. ‘Was it something I said?’

‘What?’ Jared asked. ‘What are you
talking about?’

‘Why are you ignoring me, Jared?
What did I do wrong?’

Jared clenched his teeth. ‘It’s not
you,’ he said. ‘Look, I’ve been through a really rough time. I just want to
sort myself out before I commit to someone or something again, to figure out
where I go to from here, really.’