'What am I supposed to do?' Simon asked. 'How can I defeat this person, this...thing?' He paced up and down between his kitchen and living room. No answer came to mind. 'Show yourself, angel!' he commanded. 'Tell me!'
'Do you think you'd be able to handle the truth now, Simon?' a voice asked from the couch in the living room. Simon closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before entering the living room. The man smiled as Simon approached him. 'Think you're up to it?'
'It's that Dominic guy, isn't it? The Demon?'
The man nodded.
'And it's Justin's baby that he's after?'
'Correct.'
Simon rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. 'This is surreal,' he said and sat down on the couch. He sighed deeply. 'I killed two men tonight.'
'I know.'
'That makes me a murderer; not an angel of God.'
'Do not deceive yourself, Simon, for God cannot be mocked. You are a powerful warrior of the Most High. Those men overstepped the boundary of holiness and paid the ultimate price. Much like the one hundred eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp put to death by the angel of the Lord.'
Simon shook his head. 'I'm losing my mind.'
'Quite the opposite, my friend,' the man said. 'You're renewing your mind.'
'I don't know if I'm up to this,' Simon said. 'Why don't you just take him out?'
'There is a certain threshold that angels cannot pass,' the man said. 'Nature sometimes just has to take its course.'
'And that's why you needed human intervention?'
The man smiled and nodded.
'So you're telling me that there is no angel that can stop this demon?'
'Oh,' the man said and a grin formed on his face. 'There is one.'
'Me...'
'Correct.'
'This is unreal.'
'You're our only hope, Simon,' the man said. 'The fates of millions lie in your hands.'
Simon waited a long moment before he spoke again. He stared blankly at the wall in front of him as thoughts, questions, and doubts shot through his mind. After what felt like forever, he swallowed hard and asked, 'What happens if I fail?'
'I don't think we can begin to understand the terror that will be unleashed on this world. If he grows up in the company of the wrong kind of people, he will be responsible for the largest slaughter in human history.' He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. 'But if you succeed, the result would be quite the opposite. He will be responsible for leading millions to our Lord, Jesus Christ.'
'And all of this will happen?'
The man nodded.
'Through this one child?'
'Hard to imagine, isn't it?'
Simon was dumbstruck. The fate of millions of people rested upon Justin's unborn son as much as on Simon. If he managed to stop the demon, everything would be fine. If not, hell on earth would be unleashed. Simon looked up at the angel in his apartment. 'What about Timmy's parents? They're being accused of fraud for something that I did.'
The man shook his head. 'It is not my place to know how this will all turn out,' he said. 'But everything works out best for those who love the Lord.'
Simon knew the scripture. He thought about the task at hand and his encounter with Dominic earlier. He had to focus to keep himself from becoming nauseous again. 'This demon,' he finally asked. 'What type is it?'
'It's one of the dark one's highest ranking,' the man said and the grave expression on his face revealed his concern. 'An Incubus.'
Chapter 12, Scene 2 - Coming Soon...
Jumped on board a bit late, and want to start at the beginning?
Head on over to Chapter 1, Scene 1 today!