Hidden Thrones (15 page)

“Classified,
huh? Well that sounds very intriguing,” Emily flirted.

Jack lifted
his eyes to the ceiling and thought,
We have the weirdest conversations
.

Dante
Adal and Senator Wellsenburg got off the elevator and walked into Dante’s
office suite. Dante’s secretary met them at the door.

“Mr.
Adal, everyone has arrived for the meeting, sir. They are waiting in the
conference room. Is there anything else you require?”

Dante
kept walking with the senator following right behind.

“Not
right now. Make sure the servers are ready when it’s time to assist with lunch.
I will call if I need anything else.”

The double
doors opened into a large, beautifully decorated conference room overlooking
downtown Los Angeles. On one end of the room, there stood a long cherry wood
conference table surrounded by eighteen high-back leather chairs. All along the
back wall was an elegantly dressed set of tables filled with a lunch spread rivaling
a king’s feast. Dante walked in with Senator Wellsenburg in tow, nodded to the
group and proceeded to the head of the table to formally welcome his guests.

“Gentleman,
thank you for coming. Senator Wellsenburg and I appreciate you taking time from
your incredibly busy schedules to join us here today. I hope you found the
coffee and fresh fruit to your liking and if you require anything else, please
be sure to let me know. I don’t want to waste any of your time, so let’s get
right to it.” Dante cleared his throat and confidently continued, “The senator
must return to Washington by tomorrow morning, but I felt it imperative, as I
know you did as well, that we get together and discuss next year’s presidential
campaign. You will have ample time for questions and to become more acquainted
with the senator while you enjoy the exquisite lunch we have provided for you. However,
at this time the senator would like to introduce himself and make a few opening
comments. Please welcome Senator Wellsenburg who I am endorsing to become the
next President of the United States of America. Senator…” Dante waved his arm
to welcome Wellsenburg to the front of the group.

A
chill ran down Wellsenburg’s spine. It was the first time he had been
introduced in that fashion. The rush was awesome and he was beyond thrilled.
All the men at the table gave him a warm, though subdued, welcome as he stepped
forward to speak.

Wellsenburg
felt like he was in a whirlwind. Although they did have time to plan a basic strategy
and put together his opening statement during the flight, he still felt rushed
and unsure about the meeting. Nevertheless, his desire to be the next President
of the United States was the powerful driving force pushing him forward.

Wellsenburg
began, “Gentleman, as Mr. Adal has stated I am very appreciative of your time
and your interest in my candidacy. I am Senator Wellsenburg from New York and I
am very happy to be here with you today.”

Easing
into his position, he continued, “I believe that a strong economy is the heart
and soul of this nation. It keeps the people of America happy and motivated.
The world is getting smaller every day and we must keep pace with the ever-changing
economic and moral landscape. Profits are the wheels that turn the engine of
progress and whatever it takes to increase those profits is of vital importance
to this country, and to you and me.

“There
are many issues that confront us today, but I will address the ones I know you
are most concerned about - regulations on the spread of religion, Israel, and a
universal monetary system.

“Religion
has become a thorn in the side of humanity. All our problems stem from this
blind obedience to a so-called
god
that those of us in this room know
doesn’t even exist. In my view, the Christians pose our greatest threat with
their narrow thinking and archaic belief system. In a move towards a more
secular science-based society, I would like to see a ban on all religious
broadcasting and a removal of the tax-free status for all churches. This will
not eliminate the problem, but will be a step in the right direction.”

He
took a quick glance around the room trying to get a read on how he was doing
with his audience. There were a few nods of agreement, but most were waiting to
hear more.

He continued, “Second,
we need to label Israel what it really is - an aggressive terrorist nation.
A new survey by the UK think-tank Chatham House finds that 35%
of the UK public have an especially unfavorable view of Israel. This is double
the 17% who held such a view during the previous survey in June 2012. That
number has grown since that time. In the U.S., it’s still only 17%. We are
working hard on changing that through our university and college campus
initiatives. If elected, I will push for a reduction, and ultimately a complete
withdrawal of our support for Israel, both financially and militarily.”

These statements really
seemed to strike a chord with the crowd. There were more nods of approval and
looks of agreement among all of Dante’s guests. Wellsenburg was feeling more
confident by the minute.

“On the third issue, my
position has always been the same. I am a strong advocate for a universal
monetary system based on digital currency. I will do all in my power to
expedite such a system.”

Out of the corner of
his eye, Wellsenburg caught Dante, who looked pleased with his performance.

“I look forward to
meeting and talking with each one of you this afternoon. Thank you,” Wellsenburg
closed.

Dante stood up and
invited everyone to enjoy the wide variety of foods in the incredible buffet.
The doors opened and four waiters entered the room to assist in serving. The
meeting went on for hours, with all in attendance asking the senator questions
and discussing issues among themselves. Dante had been successful in assuring
that the senator would have plenty of financial support for his campaign. He
was always fond of t
he idiom, 
The
devil is in the details.
In this case, he was in everything and
that’s the way he liked it.

* * *

With
the senator on his way back to Washington, Dante turned his attention to
another meeting… a much different type of meeting. His guests were now coming
from all over the world. He would not have to supply any garnishes for this
group, only the cloak of nightfall. He wasn’t sure why the meeting was called
or what the agenda was, but he didn’t mind the company.

It was
now nine o’clock on the West Coast. Dante knew his guests would be arriving
soon. He sat at the conference table perusing the Internet, catching up on the
news from the Middle East. He envied those of his cohorts who had been assigned
to that area. They had very few obstacles to overcome and were free to do just
about anything they wanted. After all, they were so close to home, the place
where it all began. He missed the days of ancient Babylon and all the open
worship he and the others received there. He looked forward to the time when the
entire world would be back under their control. Darkness was on the rise on
every level and he knew, at least hoped, that soon the gods of Babylon would
rule the world once more.

Suddenly
the room began to fill with a reddish orange mist. It started at the floor and
rose, swirling to the ceiling, twisting upon itself. Dante watched and waited,
content in his chair. The mist grew heavier and thicker. Dante breathed in deep,
like someone delighting in a deep breath of fresh spring air. It seemed to
rejuvenate him. His eyes began to glow, pulsating back and forth from a hideous
blood-red color to his human eye color. He could hear a wheezing, hissing sound
coming from all directions, which grew louder and louder, so much so that he
could no longer distinguish one sound from another. Slowly, the mist began to
fall to the floor revealing five tall figures, each with blackish, damp gray
streaked skin and leather-like wings. They folded their wings and tucked them
behind them in unison like soldiers standing at ease.

Dante
welcomed them, “Marduk, Anshar, Kishar, Nabu and Asaru. Did you have any
trouble getting here?”

Anshar
rolled his head on his shoulders making a dull, crackling sound. He spoke with
a deep muttering voice that hissed after each word, “It is so much easier
moving about Asia and Europe than here in this country.”

Kishar
leaned forward, twisting and stretching his body. He spoke much clearer, but in
an extremely deep tone., “There is still much work to be done here, Dante. However,
I do see and feel progress.”

Nabu
and Asaru traveled from Iran and Iraq where they had been since the days of
Babylon and the Persian Empire.

Nabu
spoke, “We prefer to stay in Babylon. It is still very taxing to enter this
country.”

Dante
looked at Marduk saying, “Marduk you seem to have no problem. What’s your
secret?”

Marduk
shrugged his shoulders and said confidently, “I have more experience. You just
need to travel in from the north. Stay away from the Bible belt. It’s not as
bad as it use to be, but it can still be a problem.”

Dante
called the meeting to order, “Kishar, what are the reports from the
Middle-East?”

“The
spirit of fear reigns throughout the area,” Kishar responded. “There is little
resistance at this point. We have had very few angelic incursions. There are a
few pockets of believers in certain areas, but nothing widespread. There have
been a handful of conversions, but we’re keeping a close watch on it.”

Nabu
looked around the room at the others and then back at Dante. “We hear you are
having some trouble with a cell group in Virginia. We all know about it. You know
prayer travels fast and knows no boundaries. If you don’t put a stop to it, we
could have a major problems everywhere.”

Dante
just stared for a moment, trying to stay calm.

“You
have nothing to worry about. It’s one small cell and I have it under control.”

Asaru
hissed, “You are aware that the first Great Awakening in America started with a
few people praying and resulted in a quantum leap forward in the life of the
church and the nation. I was here. I remember it reshaped the religious, social
and moral landscapes of America and determined its destiny for the next two
centuries. There is no such thing as one small cell.”

Dante
stood up and was visibly furious. He slammed his fist down on the table and, as
he did, his physical appearance began to change. His eyes, his skin and finally
his jet-black wings appeared. He stared out at them, wisps of red vapor
trailing out his nose.

He
screeched, “I told you I have it under control! You tend to your own business
and I’ll tend to mine.” 

Marduk
stepped up and said, “We must stay united if we are to do the Master’s will.
Dante will contact us if he needs any help. We have met and we have voiced our concerns.
Now let’s get back to our assignments.”

There
was a general uneasiness to Marduk’s statement, but everyone knew they couldn’t
be away from their posts for much longer or there would be hell to pay… literally.

One by
one, their wings unfurled, yet no one said a word. They leered at Dante, their
bulbous, red eyes piercing through the now rising mist around them. Suddenly,
each one, in labored hisses, twisted, turned and vanished in the swirling mist,
leaving only Marduk and Dante standing in the room.

Marduk
bowed slightly and said, “Master, I must also return.”

Dante
nodded, still wrapped in his shroud of darkness. Marduk wrapped his wings
around himself and vanished.

Dante
turned and stared out the window overlooking the city. He was furious.
How
dare they challenge me? They have it easy over there
, he thought. Dante
elevated a foot off the floor and moved from behind the conference table,
leaving a trail of red-orange mist in his wake. He slowly moved to the middle
of the room, his eyes still glowing red. He stretched and unfolded his wings,
tilted his head back and let out a roar filled with hate and frustration, then
disappeared out of sight.

Everyone
was happy to hear the good news about the prayer meeting. They drove in from
all parts of the area excited to be getting back together again at the old
church. Conni stood at the door and welcomed each person as they came in. Out
of the corner of her eye she could see Mr. Robert Doutiere dressed in his usual
suit and tie, making his way in from the parking lot. He was about sixty years
old, tall and thin with grey, almost white hair.

Conni
knew Robert well and was not happy about him coming to oversee the prayer
meeting. She knew his intent was not to pray, but to make sure everything was
done correctly, in proper order as he saw fit. There were some in her
congregation at church that sarcastically called him Mr. Doubter because,
although he was a very intelligent man and held a doctorate in theology, he was
considered somewhat of a Pharisee, a real stickler for the law. He believed in
an extremely conservative interpretation of the Gospel and very much enjoyed
his position of authority in the church. However, Conni had prayed about it and,
after talking to Jack, decided to trust the Lord and see what happened. She smiled
and extended her hand as Mr. Doutiere walked up the steps. She was so nervous
that she might slip and say the wrong thing, that she kept repeating his name
over and over again in her head.

“Hello,
Mr. Doutiere. How are you tonight?”

“Doing
well, Conni. We start at seven, correct?”

“Yes,
we like to start on time. We might wait a few more minutes because some people
come a long way to get here.”

“If
it’s important to them, they should make allowances for that. Don’t you agree?”

Conni
was trying not to let him upset her. In her mind, she thought about locking him
in the closet until the meeting was over, but she quickly snapped out of it.

“Everyone
does their best, sir. It always works out fine. The Lord is good. He
understands.”

Robert
just stared at her and continued to walk downstairs. She threw her head back
and prayed, “Lord, You’re really going to have to help me tonight.”

Conni
waited for those whom she knew were running late and welcomed them with a
joyous smile, then proceeded downstairs. She looked around and was very
excited. People were greeting one another and laughing. There had to be over
fifty people gathered for prayer, by far the most they had ever had.

Mr.
Doutiere approached her. “I would like to address the group before we start and
make sure we are all on the same page.”

Conni
was horrified and turned her head away for a moment. She thought,
What page
is that?
She had no idea this was going to happen. She figured he was just
going to sit in the back and observe.  Conni was very protective of the group.
She knew that God had put it all together and she didn’t want anyone to mess
with it. She turned her head back and looked at him. Mr. Doutiere hadn’t moved
an inch. He stood there in his usual authoritative manner, waiting for a
response.

Conni
took a deep breath and said softly, “Do you really think that is necessary? I
usually just open in prayer and hand out the email lists of prayer requests
that have come in so everyone can pray for the needs. Then we pray. It is very
orderly.”

She
thought it clever to throw that in knowing how he loved order. Unfortunately,
the expression on Mr. Doutiere’s face did not change. He stood there peering at
Conni for a few more seconds and finally said, “Very well. I will only
intervene if I feel things are getting out of control. You may proceed.”

He
turned and walked towards the back of the room. He picked up a chair, moved it
off to the side away from the group, and sat down. Conni couldn’t believe it.
She closed her eyes for a moment and thanked God for answering her prayer.

She
could now turn her attention to the group. “Welcome, everyone!” she shouted
enthusiastically to get their attention. “I am so happy to see so many of you
here tonight. Let us take a moment and put our hands together in praise and
thanksgiving to God for all He has done.”

At
that, the whole place stood up and broke out in thankful applause and praise.
Conni could see Mr. Doutiere out of the corner of her eye. He was the only one
still sitting with his Bible and notepad on his lap. She wished she hadn’t
looked because she was determined to block him out and look only to Jesus.

After
a few minutes, everyone sat back down and Conni had a few of the women help to hand
out the sheets of prayer requests that had come in over the past week.

“Please
keep in mind the main reason God has brought us here is to pray for a spiritual
awakening in our country. All the needs in front of you are important, but
without a sovereign move of God through this country, our friends and families
will continue to suffer under the influence of the kingdom of darkness.”

Conni
bowed her head and opened in prayer. “Father, thank You for allowing us to be
here tonight and guide us all as we pray and seek Your will for our lives and
our country. Amen.”

Everyone
followed with an “Amen” and then began to pray quietly to themselves. Some stayed
seated, some walked around the room, while others knelt on the floor in front
of their chairs. 

Mr.
Doutiere sat quietly in his chair and carefully scanned the room from one side
to the other. He had never seen anything like this before. There were so many
people from different denominations and ethnic backgrounds, but all were praying
in unity of spirit. Fifteen minutes went by, then thirty, and then at
approximately forty-five minutes into the meeting, he began to feel something
he hadn’t felt in many years. A strong and overwhelming presence began to fill
the room. At first it was a little scary, but as it grew, he felt the need to
bow his head and close his eyes. He felt like a small child in the sense that he
was almost afraid to open his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a light breeze blowing
around the room. He wanted to open his eyes to see if someone had turned a fan
on or opened a window or door, but somehow he knew that that wasn’t it. He
could feel the presence growing stronger, could no longer stay seated, and he
felt overwhelmingly compelled to drop to his knees. He buried his face in his
hands. He had a feeling like there was someone standing alongside him. Slightly
opening his eyes, he looked only at the floor around him, but saw no one. Then
suddenly he heard a very soft but very clear whisper.

 “Robert.”
No one here would call him that. He wasn’t even sure if anyone here knew his
first name.

 “Robert,”
the voice said again, this time a little louder. Mr. Doutiere was now shaking
inside. He squeezed his eyes closed even tighter.

“Do
you remember me, Robert?”

He
hadn’t heard that voice since he was eighteen years old on the day he came to
the Lord and promised to dedicate his life to reaching people with the message
of the love of God. He knew who it was and it made him tremble all the more.

“Why
do you wish to hinder my Spirit, Robert? Who put out the fire I started in you
so many years ago? The path you have chosen is one that ends in destruction.
The enemy has placed you here, Robert, to oppose Me. Return to Me and I will
bless you.”

Mr.
Doutiere put his head in his hands and began to weep, uncontrollably. Tears ran
fast down his face for the first time in years. He had convinced himself over
the years that emotions had no place in a mature Christian’s life, or in the
church for that matter. It had been so long since he felt that presence in his
life… so long. He had filled the void he felt with education and religious
position, avoiding the real issues within. He knew what he had to do and decided
then and there, he could not and would not run anymore.

He
opened his eyes and quickly glanced around the room to see if anyone saw what
had happened to him, but everyone was still praying. No one was looking at him
at all. Each one was deep into his or her own communication with God. He pulled
a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and wiped his face. He slowly got up
off his knees and sat back down on his chair. There remained a wonderful, sweet,
calming presence in the room. It washed over him again and again, each time
renewing his faith and giving him strength. He opened his Bible to the Gospel
of John and began to read.

In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him
nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the
light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not
understood it.

Mr. Robert
Doutiere, the one Dante had been so confident in, the one he thought would
throw a monkey wrench into this prayer group, dividing it and rendering it
useless, sat there reading his Bible, bathed in the prayers of those around
him.

The
meeting continued for another half an hour, but it didn’t bother him. As far as
he was concerned, it could’ve gone on forever.