XVIII

Seven felt himself breathing heavy from tension as he approached Lexi Gomez. After all, he had just seen her exhibiting supernatural behavior of the wrong kind. An inhuman glare had been in her eyes as well as an unnaturally deep growl in her voice and her body contorting at a ridiculous angle. Not to mention ‘the warning’. Was he about to get another one? Maybe he should have just stayed in Minnesota.

“It’s your fault,” Lexi said to Seven with a small smile.

Seven relaxed a little and smiled himself. “You mean all this,” he said pointing around the room. “The levitating and the choking of your sister.”

Lexi looked at Amy with genuine contrition and reached a hand to her sister. “That’s right, I did try to choke you. I’m so, so sorry!”

“Just know, I love you and forgive you, Lex,” Amy said before she pulled her sister into an embrace.

“Thank you,” Lexi said meekly as she hugged her back. When they parted, quiet tears ran down both of their cheeks. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you for helping me. All of you, thank you. And Mr. Sallie, I need to give you an extra special thank you. So, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.”

“Me?” Seven Sallie said with a puzzled frown as he pointed a thumb into his chest. With a touch of shame, he recalled how he wanted to burst through the door and flee when Lexi focused her demonic glare and growl on him. “Why me?”

“You see,” Lexi began weakly and then sighed heavily. “Oh boy, I’m so tired, I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay, honey,” Captain Kirk said. “You’ve been through quite a battle. Get some rest and recount your ordeal later.”

“Thank you pastor, but no,” Lexi said with a burst of energy. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for every single one of you for not abandoning me in my time of desperate need. Please, I want to explain in a nutshell what you have witnessed tonight. I guess this all began many weeks ago at your church, Pastor Samson. I had attended Billy Bob Booker’s wedding with my boyfriend Devin.”

Everyone turned to look at Dirk’s brother. Devin had been staring at Lexi with a stunned expression. When he found sixteen eyes gazing at him, Devin forced a smile and nodded once. Then eight pairs of eyes turned back to Lexi in anticipation.

“For the first time I could remember,” Lexi continued. “I felt a drawing to God. As I watched my sister with her husband Dirk, and Destiny and Brock. Billy Bob Booker and his bride. I wanted that peace and joy I saw in their whole demeanors. When we left the church, I stole a Bible from a bookshelf. I’m sorry, pastor. I ended up burning it, but I will buy ten new ones and bring them to you.”

“That’s quite all right, dear one,” Captain Kirk said with a chuckle as he gave his long white beard a stroke. “I forgive you, and most importantly, so does God.”

“Anyhow, I read it from cover to cover,” Lexi explained. “And reread certain parts. But even as I became closer to God, dark thoughts overpowered the good ones. Then I would have periods of black outs, where I couldn’t remember what I did for hours. I figured your church wasn’t for me, but I wanted to get my life figured out. I wanted to understand my existence. I wanted a spiritual destiny. Not Brock’s wife of course, but a purpose in life.”

A titter of laughter crossed through the little group.

“That’s when I thought of Zella La Stella,” Lexi continued as eight pairs of eyes briefly fell upon the professed psychic. Zella frowned and bit her lower lip. “It was also at Billy Bob Booker’s wedding where I met her for the first time. At the reception, Zella was telling the writer Johnathan Embers about meeting Billy Bob and the influence he had over her friend Willa. Willa had been involved in a form of prostitution and actually operated her sex trade in the basement of the Victorian house she shared with Zella.”

Sixteen eyes turned upon Zella once again. She felt her ears get hot with embarrassment as she nervously explained. “Most, if not all, of you know Willa and her story. Obviously she’s no longer involved in the sex trade. Johnathan Ember’s e-book about her conversion is available on Amazon if any of you want to read about it.”

“So I had made an appointment with Zella to get a reading for direction in my life,” Lexi began again. “Ironically, she told me to pray and read the Bible. She said I had a very dark aura and only the light of God could free me. So I continued with the Bible, but it seemed the harder I sought, the more frustrated I became. I see now I was coming to God with anger and complaints, rather than with a humble teachable attitude.

“You have to realize, I spent half of my life involved in some form of the occult. Especially when I became close with Amy’s and my half sister Jezebel Black. In case you don’t know, the three of us have the same mother, but we all have different fathers. Fortunately for Amy, she was mostly raised by her father’s parents and didn’t get to know Jezebel and me until she was a teenager.

“So, to make a long story short, I spent years actually seeking Satan and embracing dark powers. When I was reading the Bible, I found the section about Jesus in the wilderness the most fascinating. You know, when Satan offered all the kingdoms of the world and what not. And Jesus’s steadfast reply was ‘it is written.’

“I didn’t get all the kingdoms of the world by following Satan, but I did alright. He was really trying to reward me when he put my little sister here into my wares. You remember, sis, when I was trying to make you a stripper? At the same time, Jezebel wanted you for a virgin sacrifice.”

“How could I forget?” Amy replied wide eyed. “Johnathan Embers wrote about it in the e-book ‘Knight Storm’.”

“But low and behold, God intervened using his servant Destiny,” Lexi continued. “You never made it to the stage and pole once or Jezebel’s sick altar of sacrifice. You didn’t even know my long term goal was to make you one of the biggest porn stars in the country. Depraved humanity would have ate up your cute, wholesome good looks doing vile things.”

“Thank God He rescued me,” Amy said gratefully.

“Yes, praise Jesus,” Lexi added and then grinned broadly, raised her hands in the air and looked up. “Not only does that name not make me convulse, I can say it to His glory. Praise Jesus! Praise Jesus my Savior!”

Lexi’s hands then dropped to her face, covering it as she was overcome with emotion. Her body began to shake with sobs of relief and joy. Amy put her arms around Lexi and Lexi hugged her back. “I’m so sorry, little sister, please forgive me. I hope we can start a fresh relationship.”

“Yes and yes, big sister,” Amy replied with a sweet smile.

Lexi leaned toward her sister and kissed her forehead before the two women hugged. Then Amy had a distant memory triggered. She was a little girl. Maybe five or six, she couldn’t remember. It was the last time she remembered seeing Lexi until they were reacquainted after Amy’s grandparents had died when she was a teenager.

Amy was at her mother’s home. Her mother was a drug addict and alcoholic. Amy recalled a man talking really friendly to her as she played. Then he began to touch her in ways that made her feel funny and uncomfortable. Then he took Amy by the hand and lead her away from the toys she had been playing with.

“No, no,” Amy remembered pleading desperately. The man frightened her!

Then Lexi, only a few years older, stepped in front of them. She talked to the man. Then she kissed Amy on the forehead and left hand in hand with the perverted man.

Amy, wanting to confirm why Lexi’s dramatic conversion was real, related the memory. She made sure everyone listening knew that Lexi allowed herself to be abused by the man instead of her. Amy had left out the part in her retelling about Lexi kissing her forehead. So she asked Lexi in front of everybody that had prayed. “Is what I’m remembering real Lex?”

Lexi just bowed her head and whimpered.

“Lexi, is it real?” Amy demanded with surprising  authority.

Lexi calmly looked up at her sister. She slowly moved toward her and kissed her forehead again. “I love you, little sis.”

“I love you, too,” Amy declared as she threw herself into her sister. They both began to sob uncontrollably.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, except for Devin Easton, Lexi’s boyfriend. He continued to stare at Lexi in a daze. He couldn’t figure out what went on with her. He recalled how over the last few months she became so volatile. Then how over the last couple of weeks downright crazy. What did it say about him that he had been attracted to such a witchy woman? Was he possessed himself? Was her conversion genuine? He had witnessed her vacillate from normal to crazy more times than he could count. Now he felt crazy himself.

“Lexi,” Destiny spoke softly as the touching moment between the sisters settled. “What was your interest in Seven Sallie? You had some type of warning for him last week, and now you said you owed him a special thank you.”

“Right,” she laughed. “Sorry about getting sidetracked.”

“Don’t be,” Destiny said with a warm smile. “It was beautiful and a privilege to witness your deliverance. I am blown away at the drastic transformation we just saw.”

“As I tried to seek God over the last months, there was something powerful in me resisting. It was confusing and frustrating. I couldn’t call on the name of Jesus, even though there was this part in me that knew I needed Him. Then I started hearing voices, literal voices. They started telling me they were going to kill Seven Sallie. That’s why in a small moment of clarity I passed on the warning to Zella. Over the last few days the voices got louder and louder until they took me over and told me to kill Seven Sallie myself.”

Lexi clamped a hand over her mouth, bowed her head, and shook it. Seven gazed at her with his mouth agape. Amy took a hold of her sister’s hand. “It’s okay Lex, you didn’t go through with it.”

“I intended to. There’s a gun and a knife in my car to prove it. I don’t know why I ended up at Zella’s and then here with you all.”

“The grace of God,” Amy said as she smiled and happy tears ran down her eyes.

“Amen,” Destiny replied, and the added. “Even though you couldn’t verbalize it, God knew part of you was crying out to Him. But God doesn’t force Himself on anyone. The devil and the demonic are the ones that are about force, manipulation, and bondage.”

“It doesn’t surprise me you don’t remember coming to my place,” Zella said. “Girl, you were out of your mind, babbling incoherently and such. That’s why I called Devin. Then he thought of calling Amy and Dirk.”

“Yeah,” Lexi said with a shrug. “All I know is I left my house determined to kill Seven Sallie.”

Sixteen eyes gazed at Seven. He forced a smile as every hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

XVII

In the days following Zella LaStella’s warning, Seven struggled with double mindedness. He was drawn to Destiny and Brock’s spirituality, but he also still embraced his bitter and cynical mind set as well. He had gone to church with his hosts and was very impressed. But he had long ago considered a three strike rule when it came to church. And church for him had struck out.

He had been a member of three different churches in his lifetime and felt like all had failed him for one reason or another. Yet maybe it was his own life that had failed him. Nonetheless, he was confused. He was a walking contradiction. His persona was part fact and part fiction. Then 180 hours after he had seen the lovely Zella LaStella, they met again under dire circumstances.

It was 6pm. Destiny was preparing a chili supper when Brock’s phone chirped. Destiny could tell by the expression on Brock’s face and the tone of his ‘uh huh’ and ‘I see’ that it wasn’t good news.

“That was Amy,” Brock said when the call ended. “Lexi Gomez is at their place.”

“Oh no!” Destiny exclaimed as she clamped her hand on the sides of her face. “I take it there’s trouble.”

“Not at the moment,” Brock replied. “Apparently she’s passed out or in a trance or some such. But Captain Kirk is there and he wants us to come right away. He says Lexi is demon possessed and he wants us to pray over her for deliverance.”

“You mean like an exorcism?” Seven asked.

“Something like that,” Brock replied as he gazed at his cousin with a serious expression. “Are you coming with us?”

“I, ah, don’t know,” he stammered.

“How did Lexi end up at Amy and Dirk’s place?” Destiny asked.

“I guess Dirk’s brother and that gal that claims to be a psychic brought her.”

“Oh, you mean Zelda,” Destiny said.

“Zella,” Seven corrected. “Zella La Stella. I’ll go with you.”

Destiny and Brock looked at each other. Despite their anxiety, they shook their heads and exchanged grins at Seven’s apparent motivation. When Seven excused himself to use the restroom, Brock expressed his concern.

“I don’t get it, Dee,” Brock said and then sighed. “If Seven is supposed to become some special messenger for God, I’m not really seeing it. Now he seems to have the hots for a so called psychic.”

“Well, it’s been said that God works in mysterious ways for a reason, Sweetie. I’ve noticed good improvements with him this week. For one thing, he hasn’t gotten drunk.”

“But he’s still drinking.”

“He hasn’t been vulgar on his podcast.”

“But he’s still obnoxious.”

“He hasn’t made a snide comment to me all week about my former profession.”

“Well, I caught him looking through your undergarments in the laundry room.”

“Ehhh! You’re kidding!”

“Well, to his credit, he said he lost a favorite pair of socks. And he did end up finding them in my pile.”

“See, you shouldn’t just assume he’s being creepy.”

“True enough. But on the other hand, why check yours first? If he discovered his socks were missing, wouldn’t the logical place be my laundry rather than yours?”

The bathroom door opened abruptly and Seven rejoined the couple. Destiny and Brock became quickly silent, like children caught at something naughty. Seven didn’t even notice and they left post haste for Amy and Dirk’s home.

 As they approached the front door of the three bedroom ranch style house, Destiny’s Aunt Belle exited carrying baby Ella.

“Hi, kids,” Belle greeted with forced cheerfulness.

“Hi, Auntie,” Destiny replied trying to be easy going, but failing. “What’s going on? Where are you going with Ella?”

 “We thought it best if I took Ella over to my place until the ordeal with Lexi is over,” Belle replied. “Right now she’s is in some type of trance. I’ll be praying for you all”

“Thanks,” Destiny and Brock said in unison and then both looked at each other with apprehension.

“Nice to see you, Belle,” Seven Sallie said politely..

“Oh my,” Belle said with a start as she put a protective hand over Ella’s head and then laughed awkwardly. “I didn’t realize you’d be here.”

“Why’s that?” Seven asked cautiously.

“Well, the warning from Lexi. I didn’t think you would be showing up.”

“Well, I’m here. Should I not be?”

“No, Seven,” Belle said encouragingly. “It’s good you’re here. But it’s going to be dark and tough. Have faith in God!”

“Okay,” Seven replied meekly.

The trio entered the home and found everyone in a bedroom. Pastor Samson was praying over Lexi as she lay on a bed and moaned. Amy, Dirk, Zella, and Dirk’s brother Devin looked on solemnly.

“Okay, lets form a circle around Lexi, join hands and pray,” Captain Kirk instructed.

Once everyone was in place with heads bowed, the pastor began to lead out in prayer. After a minute, an inhuman growl emanated from Lexi’s throat. Then she shrieked like a banshee and her back arched at a ridiculous angle. After she slammed back onto the bed, she slowly gazed at everyone and settled on Seven. Her demonic eyes bore into his and her tongue protruded snake like from her mouth as she howled like a dozen wolves.

Seven’s entire body became electrified with terror. He felt like he had been dropped into the middle of a Stephen King novel. The instinct to flee had him break the circle and slam into the wall. Then he dashed to the door and clawed at the knob so frantically with his hands trembling so spastically he couldn’t get a grip on it. Brock approached him and Seven flung himself into his arms.

“Easy, Seven, easy” Brock said as calmly as he could as he rubbed his cousin’s back. “Jesus will protect you. Plus there’s eight of us and one of her.”

“Brock, you and Seven get back to the circle,” Captain Kirk ordered.

Seven regained enough composure to follow Brock back to the prayer circle. Yet his adrenaline had spiked, causing his mind to race. The next couple of minutes were a blur. Then he noticed Destiny and Amy kneeling by Lexi and praying.

The next thing he knew Lexi was shrieking again and choking Amy. Brock and Dirk instantly began prying her hands off of Amy’s neck. Destiny and Captain Kirk both called on the name of Jesus. Lexi let go and her face appeared both horror stricken and frozen into a trance. Her long dark hair was sweaty and matted. Amy sat back on her haunches coughing and gasping for breath.

The next thing Seven witnessed caused him to marvel. Lexi began to whimper and she was saying she was sorry. Was it some type of demonic ploy? Lexi slowly reached a hand toward Amy. Seven felt a chill go up his spine as he watched Amy take her sister’s hand into her own. But now Lexi outright sobbed and pleaded for forgiveness.

“I forgive you, Lexi,” Amy said sweetly as tears slid down her own cheeks. Then she kissed Lexi on the forehead. This caused a fresh round of tears to come forth from her half-sister.

Seven shook his head, leaned against the wall, and blew out a big breath. He wondered at what he had just witnessed. He marveled at Amy’s faith and courage. He felt cowardly and ashamed as he recalled trying to flee moments ago. He watched Lexi wipe at her face and then meekly say thank you after Destiny handed her a bottle of water.

“How can that be?” Seven mumbled to himself. How could Lexi Gomez behave like a monster from a horror movie one minute and a sweet, docile angel the next? Then Seven recalled when Jesus cast out the legion of demons from a naked man who then was immediately clothed and sitting in his right mind.

“Are you okay, Seven?” Zella asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” he replied and then felt his face flush with embarrassment. What had she thought of him as he first trying to flee and then clung to Brock like a frightened child?

“Don’t worry about what happened when Lexi shrieked at you,” Zella told him. “I about jumped out of my skin and it wasn’t even directed at me. Plus it took a lot of guts to come here in the first place after the warning you got.”

“Seven Sallie,” Lexi said with authority.

Seven felt himself jolt and he looked at Lexi. She was staring earnestly at him. Yet the demonic glare was gone from her eyes. His body tensed when she signaled with a finger for him to come to her.

XVI

Destiny, Brock and Seven froze when there was a knock at the door. Not only because of the timing as Seven quoted Revelation 3:20, but the actual time. It wasn’t even 6 am yet and it was still completely dark outside. A second knock made Brock arise and go to the door. He pulled the curtain aside and peered out.

“It’s Captain Kirk, and he’s with a woman.”

“His wife?” Destiny asked.

“No, but she looks familia,” Brock replied before he opened the door and invited them in.

“Hello, kids,” the pastor greeted. “Sorry to bother you at such an early hour.”

“Nothing I ain’t used to Cappy,” Brock said with a smile and a wink.

Captain Kirk chuckled sheepishly and then looked concerned as he turned to the woman he was with. “This is Zella LaStella and we have a serious matter to discuss. She came to see me when I was going for my morning walk at the rec center.”

“Hello, Zella. Nice to meet you,” Brock said as he offered his hand. “But, haven’t we meet before? At Billy Bob Booker’s wedding?”

“Yes, we did,” she answered with a warm smile.

Seven stared in wonder at the beautiful woman. Her ebony skin seemed to glow with health and vitality. She was lean and fit in her black leggings. Seven wished she wasn’t wearing a winter jacket so he could get a look at her upper body. Her black hair was corn rowed and tapered into long braids that were corralled into a loose ponytail.

“You’re Willa’s friend and roommate,” Destiny said as she clasped the woman’s hand with both of hers as they shook. “How is she doing? I haven’t seen her at church for a few weeks.”

“Oh, she’s fine,” Zella replied. “She’s been doing a bit of traveling, but now she’s back and very much with child. I’m sure you will be seeing her at church soon, maybe even this weekend.”

“We’d love to see you join her,” Destiny said with a sweet smile.

“Thank you, I might take you up on that some time,” Zella replied. “You all at Cotton Creek Cove are good people, but right now it’s not really my cup of tea.”

“I heard Johnathan Embers was writing a story about Willa?” Brock commented.

“Yes, it’s already out,” Zella said with enthusiasm. “It’s an e-book called ‘Billy Bob Booker and the Hooker.’”

“I can’t wait to read it,” Destiny cooed. “It was both strange, yet fun reading the story he wrote about us.”

“I’d like to read that, what’s it called?” Zella asked.

“’Knight Storm’,” Destiny and Brock answered at the same time.

Seven continued to study Zella with great concentration. He marveled at her large, almond shaped eyes and longed to kiss her bow of a mouth with her plump, silky soft looking lips. She looked at Seven and her intelligent eyes became startled. She looked at Brock and then back at Seven. She pointed a well-manicured finger at him. “You’re Seven Sallie.”

Although Seven was taken off guard, he stood, removed his hat and pressed it to his chest, and attempted a charming smile. “Yes, ma’am, it is I.”

“Thou art the man!” She said sternly as she put her hands on her hips. A chill ran up Seven’s spine.

“You see, that’s why we’re here, my boy,” Captain Kirk said as he sidled up next to Seven and clasped a friendly hand on his shoulder. “Miss LaStella had an, um, odd situation arise with a client of hers.”

“What kind of client?” Seven asked, as Captain Kirk scowled and stroked his long white beard and then looked at Zella.

“I’m a psychic,” Zella replied calmly. “That’s why church isn’t my cup of tea. It seems my profession isn’t approved of there.”

“Not so,” Captain Kirk replied playfully. “I think selling herbs, vitamins and produce is a wonderful thing.”

Zella chuckled as Captain Kirk referred to her other business.

“Please know we don’t judge you, my dear,” Captain Kirk said sincerely as he reached out and gave Zella’s hand a squeeze. “And you are welcome anytime.”

“I know, Pastor, and thank you,” Zella replied and then grinned. “And you’re welcome to a reading anytime. First one free of charge.”

“So if you’re psychic, tell me what I’m thinking,” Seven challenged.

Zella reached out and lightly drew a finger along Seven’s jaw line as she smiled seductively. “That’s not the way it works, honey child. I need time to do readings on the health and wellness of your aura. I’m not a mind reader. But I do ascertain that a white bearded pastor and a black woman claiming to be a psychic showing up at six in the morning with a warning for you has left you unsettled.”

“True enough,” Seven replied. “So what do I have to do with some deranged client of yours? I mean, how does she know of me? My podcast, YouTube, Twitter?”

“I suppose that’s part of it,” Zella said, her hands on her hips and gazing at Seven with something like compassion. “The truth is, I think she’s crazy. But Pastor Samson here thinks she’s demon possessed.”

“Do you know her, Cappy?” Brock asked the pastor.

“We all do, with the exception of probably Seven,” Captain Kirk replied.

Seven scowled. All the years he dreamed of being rich and famous, and now that he was, it was turning out to be a curse. Death threats at home, so he lays low in farm country, and now a lunatic has it out for him here.

“Who is she?” Destiny asked.

“Lexi Gomez,” Captain Kirk answered and then sighed.

“Amy’s sister,” Brock said, frowned and then looked at Zella with displeasure. “You associate with that witch that tried to have her sweet innocent sister gang raped.”

“She has told me about that,” Zella replied as she put up her hands in a defensive gesture. “She claims she wanted to put a scare into her sister, but she didn’t intend for her to be raped. Trust me, she is genuinely remorseful about what happened. I’m pretty good at reading people.”

Brock folded his arms in resignation and sighed. He recalled his ex-girlfriend and current FBI agent Nora Medora telling him the same thing about Sexy Lexi Gomez.

“So Zella,” Destiny began. “How long have you known Lexi and what exactly is going on with her, and how does it apply to Seven?”

“Okay, first of all, I consider myself more of a life coach than what you all think of as a psychic,” Zella explained. “I refer to myself as a psychic in the sense that I am highly sensitive to a person’s emotional state. I am also intuitive to the wrong or right direction a person is going in their life and therefore attempt to give them guidance.

So Lexi came to me for the first time about a month ago. I could tell right away she had been involved in some pretty dark spiritual things. She practically begged me to do the Ouija board with her. I told her I don’t mess with spiritualism, it’s too dangerous. I’m more about teaching a person to tap into their own positive energy and dispelling the negative. So, to make a long story short, we got together at midnight last night to do a reading and work on her positive energy. She…”

“You did a reading with her at midnight?” Brock asked with surprise.

“Sure, I do most of my life coaching work at night. There’s a few per week I do before I open my herb store, but most schedule after I close up shop at 7 pm.”

“Have you been up all night then?” Destiny asked with a wince.

“I have. But this was a unique situation.”

“That’s right, you were telling us about your encounter with Lexi last night when we interrupted,” Brock said.

“Yeah, so Lexi has displayed multiple personalities with me before, but last night was like being in a movie about demon possession. I mean at times she was ranting incoherently and her eyes looked crazy inhuman. I was freaked! Completely freaked!

The thing is, she had been showing such improvement. I mean, granted, last night was only the sixth time she used my services, but I saw noticeable improvement in her outlook and attitude every time she came to me. Then last night she was completely off the rails and obsessed  with Seven Sallie.”

Seven felt a chill race quickly up and down his spine. Everyone looked at him and he smiled sheepishly.

“Obsessed how?” Brock wanted to know.

“She said that some departed spirit named Ambrose told her that she needed to make sure that Seven Sallie returned to Minnesota post haste or he would become a departed spirit himself. I asked her how he would become a departed spirit and she said he needed to be sliced by the edge of a knife.”

Destiny and Brock exchanged a knowing glance at each other. There was no disembodied spirit. They were dealing with a demon or demons possessing a human.

“I asked if she would do it herself, and she laughed maniacally and said of course not. Then she demanded I do a séance to conjure up Ambrose to give us direction. I told her, just like the Ouija board, I didn’t do stuff like that. She flipped out and pulled a knife on me. I was beyond scared. But I told her to leave in the most confident, authoritative voice I could muster. And she fled, cackling maniacally all the way.

So, I called the cops and told them everything. They said they’d try to find her and they would keep a look out at my place. So then I knew that after Willa joined your church, she often met Pastor Samson at 5:30 in the morning to walk and talk with him. Since it’s the cold weather season, I went to the rec center, and low and behold he was there. I told him what went down with Lexi, and he asked me if I would come here and talk to ya all.”

“Zella, you pointed to Seven and declared thou art the man,” Brock said. “What did that mean?”

“Oh, nothing really,” she said with a shrug and then eyed Seven lazily. “I’m a bit sleep deprived and was being a little dramatic.  But, speaking of sleep deprived, I need to get going and grab a few hours sleep before I open my shop. Do you mind giving me a ride back to my car, Pastor?”

“Of course not, honey,” Captain Kirk replied. “Thank you for coming out here. I wouldn’t have asked you to come if I had known you had been up all night.”

“No biggy,”  she grinned. “Nice to meet you all. Good luck, Seven.”

“Yeah, thanks, I guess,” Seven replied.

“Call me if you need anything,” Captain Kirk said.

“So what are you gonna do, Seven?” Brock asked after they left.

“What’d ya mean?”

“Are you gonna leave?”

“Not unless you want me to.”

“Of course we don’t, Seven,” Destiny said.

“Speak for yourself, Dee,” Brock joked.

Seven looked at Brock with hound dog eyes and Brock laughed. “I’m kidding, Seven.”

But Seven simply nodded and then stared into his coffee mug with a forlorn expression. It occurred to Brock just how chaotic and stressful all of the death threat situation was for him. He also noticed the way his cousin looked at Zella LaStella. There was something deeper than lust. It was longing.

XV

YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS

(ACTS 2:17)

The buzzing of his phone awakened Brock. Caller ID informed him that it was Captain Kirk. The minicomputer that served as his phone also told him it was exactly 5 a.m. Adrenaline surged through him. Had something happened to the pastor or his wife? Somebody in the church family?

“Cappy, what is it?” Brock blurted into the phone. Destiny stirred next to him and opened bleary eyes as she propped herself up on an elbow.

“Good morning, son,” Captain Kirk said with enthusiasm. “Did I wake you?”

“Well, yeah, it is 5 a.m. Is there an emergency?”

“I’m sorry, son,” Captain Kirk said with regret in his tone. “No, no, nothing like that. I, um, had a dream. I’ve been pacing and praying for almost an hour now, and I just couldn’t wait any longer to talk to you.”

Brock refrained from saying this better be good. “I’m listening, Sir.”

“I had the most vivid dream,” the pastor told him. “The angel Melanchthon came to me and told me of things shortly to come to pass.”

Brock rolled his eyes. He was now tending to doubt Captain Kirk’s friendship with a heavenly angel. He was becoming concerned that this Godly man who had been like a father to him was becoming senile. “Okay, what’s shortly to come to pass?”

“Before that, I need to tell you something about Seven and the Bible verse that has profound meaning to him. Do you remember?” Captain Kirk asked.

“You mean Revelation 10:11?”

“Yes, very good, son. I have been shown in this dream I just had that there is a dual meaning for Seven. I thought it had deep meaning to him when he felt called to be an evangelist. But when he was with his first earthly love, it had actually come to him then.”

“By first earthly love, are you talking about the girl that left him to marry a much older man?”

“Precisely,” Captain Kirk boomed, reminding Brock of a mad scientist declaring eureka! “So this verse is actually going to have not only a dual meaning, but a threefold meaning to the young man. He too is having a profound dream tonight, or maybe I should say this morning. There are two things you need to personally bring to his mind, son, and they both have to do with two separate Bible verses.”

“So Revelation 10:11 would be one of them,” Brock replied, intrigued and regaining confidence in his old friend.

“Yes, but first Daniel 5:27. It tells Seven he has been weighed in the balances and is found wanting. He will be aroused from a deep sleep at exactly 5:27 this morning. He will be aware that the numbers have a significant meaning, but not know why. You are to enlighten him.”

“What if he doesn’t mention it?”

“All the better. Tell him, or ask him, however you feel led, lad. Your inquiring into something you shouldn’t know should have a big impact. Then tell him the meaning of his dream and Revelation 10:11. The meaning of the dream is simply three strikes and you’re out or the third time is, for lack of a better word, the charm.”

“Well, what does that mean? What’s the three strikes, and what’s the charm?”

“Seven is actually on the verge of leaving and going back to the twin cities. He is rapidly becoming willing to take his chances with the death threats. You, Brock, need to not act like a hostile father and become his spiritual brother. If he chooses to stay, he needs to stop drinking and stop acting like the spoiled brat he has become.”

“So let me get this straight,” Brock said as he was now out of bed and gazing out of the window at an incredible starry morning. “Seven is receiving a message through a dream. If he accepts the message, he gains God’s favor. If he ignores the message and returns to Minnesota, that’s his third strike and he loses God’s favor.”

“Well put, son.”

“So is this dream what you meant by what’s to shortly come to pass?”

“No indeed,” Captain Kirk said and then sighed. “There is a young woman that has been trying to seek Jesus. Unfortunately, she has spent many years of her life in great spiritual darkness. She has embraced wickedness and now demonic entities are cleaving to her soul like evil spirit leeches. This will all be coming to a head soon. But right now focus on Seven. If he chooses to reform and stays, he needs to be a part of this woman’s deliverance.  You have roughly twenty minutes until 5:27.”

“Do you know the woman?”

“I don’t. She will be made known when the time for her deliverance is at hand.”

“What if it happens soon rather than later? Is Seven still to be a part of it?”

“It might slow up the deliverance process, but yes, if he’s willing. I’ll be praying for you, son.”

“Okay,” Brock replied hesitantly as his mind flashed an image of Seven doing a silly little dance last night. “I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, do your best. Leave it to God to do the rest.”

“Yes sir, oh captain my captain.”

Captain Kirk chuckled, wished Brock God speed, and the two men hung up.

At the kitchen table Brock took a sip of half café coffee, and looked at the coffee maker as it finished brewing Deathwish coffee for Seven. Brock watched the time on his phone change from 5:26 to 5:27. Seconds later he heard floorboards creek from Seven’s room. Brock continued to pray for wisdom and guidance. At 5:32 Seven entered the kitchen wearing black sweatpants, a Minnesota Vikings sweatshirt, and a Twins baseball cap on backwards.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Brock greeted.

“Hey, morning Brock,” Seven replied a little breathless and a lot discombobulated.

“I brewed you some Deathwish. I put a clean mug by the pot.”

“Bless you, my child,” Seven mumbled as he poured himself a cup of the steaming brew. Brock watched Seven’s hands tremble and marveled that he didn’t spill any.

“Hung over?”

Seven shrugged. “Not really.”

“Bad dream?”

“Ouch,” Seven said after he took a sip of the piping hot coffee. “Sort of.”

“Is that why you woke up at 5:27?”

Seven had been cautiously moving the cup to his lips for another sip when he froze and gazed at his cousin from over the mug. Then he realized that Brock must have heard his footsteps moments after Seven’s eyes had beheld the numbers 5:27 on the digital clock. He proceeded to take a sip of coffee before answering. “Yeah.”

“Do you wonder if there is some meaning behind 5:27 other than just the time?”

Seven had been blowing on the coffee and was about to take another sip when he once again froze and gazed at Brock. “As a matter of fact, it did cross my mind. But why would you think that?”

“I was, um, informed by a dream the meaning it has for you,” Brock replied.

“Your kidding,” Seven Sallie said, completely dumbfounded. “Okay, enlighten me.”

Brock opened his Bible to the book of Daniel, chapter five. He pointed to verse twenty-seven. “Never mind the Tekel part, just read the rest.”

“Thou art found weighed in the balances, and art found wanting,” Seven read quietly and then looked at Brock with startled eyes. “Who me?”

“Yes you.”

“Couldn’t be.”

“Then who?”

Seven recalled how the image of the numbers seemed to burn into his mind for several seconds after he took his eyes off of the clock. “But why?”

“I think it starts with Revelation 10:11, Seven. Remember when the Holy Spirit brought it to my mind to say to you when we were at Six’s place?”

“How could I forget? It’s the main reason I came down here to the corn flavored boondocks’ with you.”

Brock felt himself fill with encouragement. He assumed  the death threats were Seven’s main motive. “So tell me why Revelation 10:11 has such profound meaning to you. I mean I know that it had something to do with a call to evangelism, but how, why?”

“Well, you remember in high school when I started deejaying?” Seven asked.

“Of course.”

“And you remember Salena and me joining her church.”

“I do.”

“So, I fell in love with Salena and became a Christian. The church I joined taught that modern music was evil. I loved my music and I loved deejaying; it was my whole life. But I gave it up for Christ.” Seven did air quotes when he said Christ. “As much as I loved it, I was led to believe it was an idol. But I had Salena and I had the Lord. But I found myself lacking direction. Deejaying was my direction. I had been planning to be the next Howard Stern.”

“So I was praying long and earnestly about what to do with my life. When I finished, I opened my Bible and my eyes went to Revelation 10:11. I read it over and over, and the calling got louder and louder. I was to become an evangelist. I would become a modern day Billy Graham instead of Howard Stern. Then a few weeks after this so called calling, Salena informed me that she was leaving me to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather.”

“So right on the heals of this, Brittney catches me on the rebound. She and I join a more contemporary church. One that plays rock and roll instead of teaching that all forms of it are evil. We get pregnant, we get married, and I start working at a food warehouse.”

“But I start deejaying Christian music on the side. And I start preaching at youth groups. And a couple of pastors tell me what a gift I have at speaking and they want to help me pursue it full time. So I discuss it with Brit, and we pray about it. Keep in mind she had already cheated on me once at this point and I had forgiven her. But if I was going to become a pastor or evangelist, we needed to be a team, and I just wasn’t sure. But then I found myself in deep prayer and anguish over the decision. Once again I came across Revelation 10:11. I had put the first experience with the verse in the back of my mind. Then I come across it again. To me it was a sure sign.”

“So over the next year, I’m working full time driving a truck for the food warehouse, taking college courses, and sermonizing a couple times a month. Now I feel like I’m on my way to becoming another Joel Osteen. In the midst of this, one of my mentors and my wife become taken with one another. They end up getting caught by his wife and they both have tearful apologies. I forgive both. I don’t know how much of my forgiveness was Christian virtue and how much was not wanting my potential career derailed. Most important, our daughter. What I do know is that I was never more angry in my life. But I somehow kept it inside and kept pursuing a career in ministry.”

Seven sarcastically did air quotation marks for career.

“Man, that’s rough,” Brock Said. “Wasn’t Brit’s third offense with the same mentor guy?”

“It was. I would have probably been stupid enough to forgive her a third time if it wasn’t so humiliating.”

“Why was it so humiliating?” Destiny asked.

The two men turned to look at her walking toward the coffee pot wearing faded jeans and a pink and lavender flannel shirt.

“That’s very high octane,” Brock said. “I have some half café in the thermos.”

“Oh, good call,” Destiny said as she let go of the coffee pot and grabbed the thermos. The two men sat stone still and silent as if they had been caught doing something naughty. Destiny shrugged. “That’s okay, it’s none of my business anyway.”

“Well,” Seven Sallie sighed. “She was supposed to be off running errands or something. I called her to find out when she would be home. Her lover answered her phone and then I could hear them bickering. She sounded breathless and told me she would call me back in a few minutes. I heard the phone clatter, but the call didn’t end. I then proceeded to listen to them having sex for several minutes. My wife didn’t even realize she had provided me with a soundtrack to her infidelity.”

“Oh my,” Destiny said with a hand over her mouth and her face coloring. “I guess I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Wow, I made a former porn star and stripper blush,” Seven Sallie said.

“Actress and dancer,” Destiny replied meekly.

“So, not even a minute after she cried out to a deity, she called me back,” Seven continued. “She couldn’t lie about meeting Romeo, but she denied that they were having sex. She said she got together with him because he was distraught. Apparently the church conference fired him after the adultery was discovered. This caused his wife to reconsider her forgiveness and she filed for divorce.”

“I found out later that my wife’s lover and my mentor wanted her to leave me for him. My wife told him no. I guess due to her deep and abiding love for me. An argument resulted, followed by pushing and shoving. This apparently turned them on and passion ensued. In the midst of sexual congress,Y I called. Hoping to force the issue, he answered the phone when I called. It partially worked. It was the last straw for Brittney and me. But once the forbidden aspect left the equation, Brit was no longer interested in their relationship.”

“So, that’s the story of my romantic relationships. Since the end of my marriage, my sex life has consisted of friends with benefits, flings, but mostly myself. My only love has been strong cocktails. My religion has become agnosticism  on a good day and atheism on a bad day. Now, if you are trying to insinuate I am getting a third call with Revelation 10:11, I think you’re nuts.”

“Jesus won’t force you to follow Him,” Brock said with a shrug. “But I do think you’re getting called for a third, and possibly last time.”

Seven scowled and waved a dismissive hand, even though the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. “I know, I know, Jesus stands at the door and…”

Before Seven could finish his quote from Revelation 3:20, there was a knock on the back door.

XlV

Brock sat up on the sofa and scratched his head and gathered his bearings. He was a little disoriented because he wasn’t used to naps and he rarely got headaches.

“How are you feeling Sweetie?” Destiny asked.

“Good,” Brock said with a grin. “My headache is pretty much gone. That aspirin and nap must have done the trick.”

“The water, too,” Destiny added. “I think you were dehydrated.”

“Could be. How long was I out?”

Destiny looked at the clock above the kitchen sink. “About an hour and a half.”

“Oh man,” Brock said as his head swiveled around. “Where’s Seven?”

“In his room.”

“I guess I’ll see if he wants to…

“He and I already had a Bible study,” Destiny interrupted when she perceived what he was going to say.

“How’d that go?”

“I don’t know,” Destiny shrugged. “I think he ended up agreeing with me.”

“That’s great!”

“Well, but then he left pretty abruptly. I think his door slamming might have woke you.”

“So he was mad?”

“I don’t think so. I was trying to continue our study. But then he said no, he had a headache. Said he wanted to go to his room and take something for it.”

Seven’s hands trembled as he twisted the cap off the pint bottle of Seagram’s 7. He took a big slug of whiskey and then chased it with a swallow of 7up. He endured the burn and then sighed with relief as he felt the pleasant warmth in his mid-section. In seconds his quivering fingers steadied. He poured more booze into his 7up bottle. He looked at the pint of whiskey. A third was now gone. He chastised himself for not bringing more. He thought this indefinite trip to Iowa would be a good chance to stop drinking for a while. He wondered, not for the first time, if he was an alcoholic.

He looked out of the window and sighed happily as the alcohol made him feel centered. The view outside was a nice change from concrete, steel, and countless vehicles in a big city. The rolling fields interspersed with farm buildings seemed to go on forever.

Forever. Eternity. Everlasting. Hellfire. Death. The wages of sin is death.

“How did I miss that?” Seven mumbled to himself before he took another swallow of his makeshift cocktail. “All those years, how did I not see what Destiny had so plainly showed and explained? I guess I bought into the theories of the religious majority without even thinking very deeply for myself.”

A black jeep turned into the driveway. Seven watched a young man wearing a Chicago Cubs baseball cap get out. Seven stood up and put his face to the window. Was that Kris Bryant? It sure looked like him. It wasn’t all that ridiculous to wonder since Brock had spent a decade mingling with rich and famous people as their security. Maybe he had become friends with the baseball player.

An old man with a long white beard got out of the passenger side. If he had fifty more pounds on him, he would have made a perfect Santa Claus, Seven thought. Kris Bryant stuck half his body into the vehicle for a few seconds and emerged with a baby.

Santa reached his arm into the Jeep and helped a tall woman with red gold hair climb out. Then the little child reached its arms out to the lovely young lady and Kris Bryant handed the little person to her. Santa grinned and said something to the young couple. The redhead said something back and they all laughed. The foursome exited from view as they moved toward the house.

Ten minutes later there was a knock on Seven’s door and Brock called his name. At first Seven played quiet, wanting to be left alone. Then he thought it best to clear the air about the hellfire Bible study while he had a strong buzz to mellow himself.

“What’s up, dog?” Seven asked as he flung open the door.

Brock stared at him with calm, hooded eyes. His massive arms were folded, relaxed on his torso. “How are you feeling?”

“Just fine, my friend,” he replied with an elaborate wave and bow.

Brock frowned and then eyed the mostly empty pint of whisky on his nightstand. “Destiny said you had a headache.”

“Not anymore. How’s your headache?” Seven grinned and then waved a hand at the bottle he noticed Brock’s eyes fixate on. “Want a little elixir?”

“No, thanks,” Brock replied. “I don’t drink. Beside, it looks like you don’t have much to spare.”

“So, do you want to rub it in that Destiny put me in my place during our study?”

“Of course not, we…”

“So to what do I owe the displeasure of your intrusion then?” Seven interrupted.

“There’s some…”

“The Bible’s a bunch of bunk anyway,” Seven interjected again. “You can make it say anything you want. I’m just out of practice studying it and it’s going to stay that way. That’s why Dee seemingly got the upper hand on me. A book written two thousand plus years ago and millions of idiots think they are supposed to live their lives by it. When…

“Seven!” Brock blurted.

Seven stopped rambling and trained his glossy, crazy eyes on Brock’s eyes.

“If we are gonna spend a lot of time together in the foreseeable future,” Brock told him calmly. “You’re gonna have to find a shut off mechanism for your mouth.”

Seven scowled, abruptly crossed his arms and sighed. “Why am I even here? I don’t care if I die. Death threats? Life itself is one big death threat. I’m even a death threat unto myself.”

Seven began to laugh maniacally. He pointed a finger at his temple in mock of a gun and then added a loud sound effect. “Bam!”

Downstairs, four adults and baby Ella looked toward the direction Seven’s vocals had erupted from.

“I better go see what’s going on,” Destiny said with a hesitant smile.

Half a minute later Destiny was knocking on Seven’s door.

“Come in,” Brock said.

Destiny cautiously entered the bedroom and her eyebrows shot up. Seven and her husband sat side by side on the bed. Brock’s arm was around Seven’s shoulders as his head hung and he sobbed. When Seven glanced up and looked at Destiny, he quickly composed himself.

“What was that loud noise?” Destiny asked.

“Seven pretended to shoot himself with his finger,” Brock replied matter of fact.

Seven’s face reddened. Whether due to embarrassment or anger, Destiny couldn’t tell.

“What’s that smell?” Destiny asked as she crinkled her nose.

“Seven, did you pass gas?” Brock asked as if talking to a child.

“No,” Destiny giggled and then sniffed the air. “It smells like booze in here.”

“It’s Seven’s headache medicine,” Brock said, pointing at the bottle of Seagram’s 7.

“Oh my,” Destiny said. “I better tell them Seven won’t be up to meeting them today.”

“Them who?” Seven asked as he rose from the bed and staggered a little. “I’d be glad to meet some fans.”

“They’re not exactly fans, Seven,” Destiny told him as she grasped an arm and tried to get him to sit back down.

“No, let him meet them,” Brock intercepted as he pushed on Seven’s lower back and toward the door. “Let the pastor see the man he thinks is destined to be a messenger for the last days.”

“Huh, last what?” Seven murmured with a puzzled frown

“Brock, let’s just wait until maybe tomorrow,” Destiny said, pulling Seven in the opposite direction Brock was pushing. “Then maybe he won’t, um, have a headache.”

“Listen, guys,” Seven Sallie said as he shrugged away from the couple. “I’m not as think as you drunk I am.”

Destiny’s mouth dropped open while Brock and Seven laughed.

“Seven used to say that all the time back during the high school party days,” Brock said and then frowned. “It also seemed to go hand in hand with me getting your mouth out of trouble and into a physical altercation.”

“Surely you exaggerate,” Seven Sallie slurred.

“Come, let’s go meet some people,” Brock said as he took Seven by the crook of his arm and led him toward the door.”

“Brock, no, some other time,” Destiny said as she pulled back on Seven’s other arm.

“I want the pastor to see the real Seven Sallie,” he said as he gave Seven’s arm a yank.

Seven stumbled and something popped out of Seven’s silky maroon shirt.

“What are those?” Brock asked as he looked at three different necklaces and then flipped them with a finger.

“Just some charms,” Seven replied as he tried unsuccessfully to stuff them back into his shirt. He undid a button, but now they were only partially hidden. “Or bling if you prefer.”

Brock undid another button on Seven’s shirt and pulled them back out. “What are they for?”

“Just you never mind,” Seven Sallie said as he slapped at Brock’s hand.

“Do you have a rabbits foot in there, too?” Brock asked with a chuckle and then took hold of Seven’s arm again. “Come on.”

“Seven,” Destiny called as Brock began to lead his cousin into the hallway. “Why don’t you put your hair into a ponytail. It’s rather askew.”

“It’ll be fine, Dee,” Brock declared as he continued to lead Seven to the staircase. “It’s all about truth, right?”

“Well, who do we have here?” Seven Sallie asked as he sauntered down the stairs behind Brock. Destiny followed behind Seven and chewed nervously on her lower lip. Seven’s long dark brown hair and necklaces sashayed back and forth in front of his partially exposed chest. Pastor Kirk Samson stared at Seven with a stunned expression.

“Pastor Samson,” Brock said sternly. “Meet Seven Sallie.”

“How do Santa Claus?” Seven Sallie slurred as the two men shook hands. Captain Kirk studied Seven for several seconds with a blank expression. The pastor marveled that many people referred to him as Santa or skinny Santa. He even avoided wearing red. Why not Moses? Then he looked at Brock who was scowling at his cousin.

“He looks like Jack Sparrow,” Amy giggled.

“He looks like Dad,” Dirk said.

“Yes, he does,” Amy frowned. “But I never thought of Daddy as looking like Johnny Depp.”

“Maybe because Dad’s built like The Rock.”

“What the…” Seven Sallie said with a look of surprise. “Why is this lovely young couple calling Brock dad and daddy?”

Destiny introduced Seven to Amy and Dirk Easton. Then she gave him a brief rundown on their history together. How Dirk had helped rescue Amy from a gang rape. Then how Amy was saved yet again from being a human sacrifice by a diabolical cult. She explained that a detailed version of the couple’s story was in the last half of the e-book ‘Knight Storm’ by Johnathan Embers.

Meanwhile, Brock stood next to the pastor and put his mouth a couple of inches from his ear. “What do think of your so called messenger of God? Are you sure your angelic encounter was truly from God?”

“What do you mean?” Captain Kirk asked, even though he had entertained the same niggling doubt.

“I mean Satan himself will transform into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14),” Brock said. “So how do we know this angel Melanchthon is the real deal?”

“We try the spirits, to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1). I was told Seven was a hard case. It’s your mission to soften him up. One step at a time, son.”

Brock looked at his cousin. He was doing some type of side to side hippity hop dance as he flapped his arms. Amy and Dirk were laughing and Destiny had her head bowed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. He could tell she was hiding her own laughter. He slapped  his palm onto his forehead. “God help me, pastor.”

“He will, my son, He will.”

Xlll

“Are you tempted to feel jealous over Seven’s Camaro?” Destiny asked Brock as they traveled down the interstate in Destiny’s pale yellow VW bug.

“No, you know I prefer Mustangs. Especially Shelby’s.”

“You keep looking in the rearview mirror.”

“I don’t like how close he’s following.”

“You have to admit it’s a nice looking car.”

“It’s a fine looking car, but fluorescent green?”

“I like the color,” Destiny said as she looked over her shoulder at Seven’s Camaro.”

“To each his own.”

A couple of hours later, they pulled off the highway onto a gravel road and began the last two miles of their trek.

“He’s keeping plenty of distance now,” Brock chuckled. “This gravel road is one of the reasons I sold my Shelby.”

“Wow, you weren’t kidding about this being a hundred year old house,” Seven Sallie said as Brock showed him around the acreage. “Pretty shabby, it looks two hundred years old.”

“It is pretty rough,” Brock admitted calmly, even though Seven’s tacky bluntness irritated him . “Since I bought the place, I’ve spent almost all my time on the inside. Hopefully by next fall the outside will be done.”

When they stepped inside, Seven whistled admiringly. “Wow, looks like a fancy mansion on the inside. Nice work.”

Brock felt a surge of pride and  then shook his head. He had always tried to live by the philosophy that people can only bring you down if you let them. But reality proved that words have power. In only a few minutes time he went from desiring to punch Seven to giving him a friendly pat on the back.

Brock showed Seven to his room as he helped him carry his things in. Seven asked to use the restroom and then declared he was ready to get to their Bible study about hell. Brock made his way to the sofa and sat down hard, groaned and rubbed his temples.  Concerned, Destiny went to him, sat on the edge of the couch and gently rubbed his back. “What’s wrong Sweetie?”

“I’ve got a powerful headache,” Brock said with a moan. Destiny had noticed him wincing numerous times during the last hour of their drive. Now she winced herself at the possibility of having to entertain Seven by herself.

“Do you want me to get you a couple of aspirin?”

“Please.”

“I told you not to drink anymore of that Deathwish coffee,” she said gently. “You had four cups when you normally have no more than two cups of half café.”

“I only had two cups of Deathwish.”

“Sweetie, I saw you go to the pot four times.”

“But only the first was a full cup. The other three were just a splash each time. Well, I suppose pretty generous splashes. ”

“See.”

“But I hadn’t slept good. That coffee was really perking me up.”

“You probably have a caffeine hangover.”

Destiny turned toward the steps when she heard Seven galloping down. Brock got up quickly, groaned, clutched his head with both hands and laid back down.

“What’s with him?” Seven asked with a frown.

“He’s got a bad headache,” Destiny replied.

“That came on pretty sudden,” Seven Sallie said and then smirked. “He must want to get out of our study about hell.”

“Not so,” Brock said as he sat up. He started to stand up, but quickly sat back down. “Dee, could you get me a couple more aspirin?”

“Sweetie, that’s too many at once. That’s bad for your stomach. Just lay back down, I’ll study with Seven.”

“You,” Seven Sallie said with a frown.

“Why not?” Destiny said with a shrug. “Brock and I come from the same perspective.”

“It just won’t be the same. I wanted to put Brock in his place,” Seven Sallie said. A soft snore emanated from Brock as if in reply. “How could he have fallen asleep so quick?”

“He was pretty tired.”

“I have plenty of Deathwish coffee.”

“I think he needs sleep, not another caffeine high.”

“Oh well,” Seven sighed. “I guess we’ll just have to study later.”

“What about me? Are you afraid you might actually be put in place by a former stripper and porn star?” Destiny asked with hands on hips and a challenging step toward Seven.

Seven was startled at the defiance in this dainty woman. Then her girlish beauty combined with a fierce scowl, light pink scar on her cheek and small bump on her nose made him laugh. He had never seen an adult look so cute and tough at the same time.

“Don’t you mean dancer and actress?” Seven asked.

Destiny thought about kicking him in the shin. Then she made herself turn on a radiant smile. “Yes, I do. I stand corrected. Now let’s go correct you on the erroneous concept of eternal torment. I see you have your Bible. Shall we proceed to the kitchen table?”

“We shall, me lady,” Seven replied.

“First of all, I want to apologize Seven,” Destiny said as they sat down.

“For what?”

“For saying I want to correct you and put you in your place,” she said with a sigh. “Seeking spirituality is not a competition, it’s a way of personal growth, a way of life.”

“No need to apologize,” Seven Sallie said and then shrugged. “But I can’t help it. I want to put you and Brock in your place.”

“No offence, but you can be so annoying.”

“None taken,” he replied with another shrug. “It seems to be a specialty of mine.”

“And you seem to have perfected it.”

“Okay, now I’m offended,” Seven Sallie said, and then they both laughed. “Alrighty then, do you want to go first?”

“Why don’t we start with you explaining your position and then I’ll go over ours.”

“Sounds fair. Okay, why don’t we turn too…”

“Seven, do you mind if we begin with prayer?”

“No,” Seven Sallie said slowly and with a puzzled expression. “I mean no I don’t mind. Will you do the honors?”

They bowed their heads and Destiny asked for wisdom, guidance and God’s presence. Seven had initially bowed his head, but then peeked at Destiny as she spoke to God. He marveled at the new life Brock had with this intriguing woman in the middle of fly over country. He watched her lips move and began to admire them with carnal fascination. Then he closed his eyes. Not over guilt at the beginnings of lust, but in focused determination with the task at hand.

Seven didn’t even understand his own thoughts. If he was so impressed with how Brock and Destiny had changed their lives for the better, why was he so determined to prove their spiritual beliefs misguided? Pride in his knowledge? Justification of his own irreverent, fallen condition?

With the conclusion of her prayer, Seven began to systematically go from scripture to scripture to prove his point. Destiny patiently waited, knowing she would be repeating the same verses from a different perspective as well as additional scripture for emphasis.

“One more and then the ball’s in your court,” Seven Sallie said. “Go to Mark 9:43. Do see the last part? Go into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched.”

“I agree,” Destiny replied as she spoke for the first time since her prayer. “It simply means man cannot put it out. It doesn’t mean in never goes out. Jeremiah 17:27 says that Jerusalem was destroyed with unquenchable fire. In 2Chronicles 36: 19-21 it says this fire turned the city to ashes. Yet we know this fire went out because Jerusalem is not burning today.”

“What about the everlasting fire Matthew 25:41 warns about?”

“Okay Seven, would you say eternal is every bit as long as everlasting?”

“Absolutely.”

“Jude 1:7 tells us that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with eternal fire. But these cities are not burning today. The fire went out after everything was burned up. The effects of the fire are eternal, or everlasting if you prefer, but not the burning itself.”

“What about the verse I showed you that says the wicked receive everlasting punishment?”

“Notice that the word is punishment, not punishing. Punishing would be continuous, while punishment is a single act. The punishment of the wicked is ultimately death and this death is everlasting or eternal death.”

“I thought of another verse,” Seven Sallie said. “Turn to 2 Peter 3:10. See that at the end of the scripture? The earth and the works therein shall be burned up.”

“Right,” Destiny replied with a frown. “You’re making my point. Burned up. Not continuously burning, but burned up.”

“What about where I showed you that the wicked are tormented forever?”

“Forever simply means the duration of a person’s life in that context. In the case of a man, it means as long as he lives. Psalm 48:14 is a good example. It says for this God is our God for ever and ever: even unto death. If you look at Revelation 20:14, it says death and hell were cast into a lake of fire. This is the second death. You see, hellfire does destroy the wicked as well as the earth. But then in Revelation 21:1 John tells us he saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away. So you see Seven, the earth and the wicked were destroyed the first time by a worldwide flood. But the second and last time the earth will be destroyed by fire. In a nutshell, hell is an event, not a place.”

Seven stared at Destiny with a stunned expression as he absorbed her explanation and perspective. His mind whirled in confusion.

“Look at the unfathomable love of Calvary and the sacrifice Jesus made for you and me to redeem us!” Destiny said as she took a hold of Seven’s hand as her eyes welled up. “God is a God of love and forgiveness. Verse 4 of Revelation 21 says He is going to wipe away all tears, and there will be no more death, pain or sorrow.”

Seven’s lower lip began to quiver and he fought hard to steady it. He may have been a smaller, prettier version of Brock. But he was every bit as macho and then some. Luckily, Destiny let go of his hand and flipped through the pages of her Bible in search of a verse.

“Listen to what Ezekiel 33:11 says,” she began. “As I live says the Lord God. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die? And in Luke 9:56 Jesus says: For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. Romans 6:23 says: for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So tell me Seven, do you believe the wicked have eternal life?”

“Of course not.”

“Then how can they be existing in a place called hell?”

“Well, maybe they are there waiting for the judgement.”

“If God is handing out the punishment before the judgement, what would even be the point of a judgement?”

“Well,” Seven stammered. “I don’t know…”

“The book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 tells us that the dead don’t know anything. The Bible even calls death a form of sleep until Jesus returns and then the resurrection. But the state of the dead is another study in and of itself. Did you want to take a look at that next?”

“No, I’m good for now,” Seven stammered. “I’ve got a lot to think about here.”

“Of course we only scratched the surface on hellfire and judgement,” Destiny giggled. “Do you want to turn to…”

“Dee, I’ve got a headache,” Seven Sallie said. “Maybe there’s something going around.”

Seven rose hastily, grabbed his Bible, and turned to flee.

“Thanks for studying a little with me,” Destiny said.

“No, thank you, Dee,” Seven replied. “I need to take something for my headache.”

“Do you want some aspirin? We have ibuprofen too.”

“No thanks. I have something.”

Destiny watched Seven gallop up the stairs and then heard his bedroom door slam behind him. She prayed for him. Then she prayed that she didn’t do anything in word or attitude to displease God during their study. When she prayed for her husband and his headache, he stirred on the sofa  where he had been sleeping.

XII

“Are you sure you don’t mind staying another night?” Brock asked Destiny.

“It’s too late to drive back,” Destiny replied with a shrug. “But I would prefer staying in a motel.”

“It’s just one more night, Dee. You were okay last night.”

“I know, but this funeral home is beyond creepy. Plus I noticed two more dead bodies arrived today.”

“Now Dee, I know you don’t believe in ghosts,” Brock soothed as Destiny stifled a giggle as she thought of her and Charley’s plan to spook the guys. “Any corpse here has no disembodied spirit. It’s just a soulless body. Remember what Bentley’s tombstone says: The shell is here, but the nut is gone.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine,” she said with a stoic smile. “But you really shouldn’t be referring to the corpses here as a shell but the nut’s gone.”

“Point taken,” Brock replied with a chuckle. “I didn’t mean any disrespect. I was just saying.”

Destiny and Brock were walking hand in hand toward their room. They were about to enter when she stopped them and pointed down the dimly lit hall. At the end there was a door that led to the attic. It was open. A female form in a long dirty white gown emerged from a room and quickly disappeared onto the attic stairwell like a phantom. She had long dirty blonde hair flowing behind her.

“Did you see that?” Destiny exclaimed, fighting hard not to giggle. Then she tugged on Brock’s arm and headed toward the staircase. “Come on, Brock.”

“Dee, wait,” he said pulling her back and stifling his own chuckle. “What are you doing?”

“I want to find out who or what that was,” she said.

“What?” he frowned. “A minute ago you were afraid to go to our bedroom. Now you want to explore the attic?”

“I guess I’m getting used to the place,” she shrugged. “I mean, think about it. Have you ever heard of somebody being killed by a ghost?”

“Are you saying you actually do believe in ghosts?”

“Of course not,” she chuckled uneasily. “But obviously something strange is going on and I want to get to the bottom of it.”

“Hey guys,” Charley said as she approached the opposite direction from the attic.

A chill ran up Brock’s spine as his head swiveled from Charley to the attic door.

“Hey,” Destiny replied.

“You left your phone in the kitchen, Dee, and I think you just got a call,” Charley said.

“Oh, thank you,” Destiny said as she took her phone and looked at the missed call. “It’s Aunt Belle. I better see why she called.”

Destiny hit send on her phone and walked into their room. Charley turned to leave, but Brock grabbed her arm.

“Say Charley,” he said quietly. “Are there any women here besides you and Dee?”

“No,” she replied shaking her head.

“Are you sure?” he asked as the hair on the back of his neck prickled.

“Sure, I’m sure,” she frowned. “Why?”

“Dee and I saw a womanly figure with long blonde hair almost seem to float from that last room into the attic. I thought it was you wearing a wig. You know, the little prank we were playing on Dee.”

“It wasn’t me,” Charley said, shaking her head.

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know,” Charley replied as she shook her head nonchalantly. “But I’ve seen her numerous times myself. She seems harmless.”

“What is it?”

“A ghost, I suppose,” she replied with a shrug.

“Get out!”

“Okay,” she shrugged again and turned to leave.

“Wait,” he said grabbing her arm. “What do you mean a ghost? There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “All I know is I’ve seen the apparition of a female form from time to time ever since we’ve lived here. But she’s quiet, leaves us alone and, like I said, she seems to be harmless.”

“Get out!”

“Okay,” she replied and turned to leave.

“Wait,” he said grabbing her arm again. “What does Six think about it? How come he never mentioned it to me?”

“He’s never seen her,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to believe me, so I stopped telling him about her. I’m waiting for him to see her one day for himself, but she doesn’t seem to want to reveal herself to him.”

A buzzer sounded from the oven downstairs.

“I have to get a pie out of the oven, dear,” she said touching his arm. “Don’t worry, though, she won’t hurt you.”

Brock glanced at the attic door with a frown. He marched down the hall and stuck his head into the stairwell. He flipped a switch and a dim yellow light barely illuminated the steep incline to the attic. He climbed the stairs and found another switch. Two bulbs with even less wattage than the one in the stairs popped to life.

He gazed around and saw nothing but boxes and old furniture. The blonde haired woman was nowhere to be seen. However, there were several shadowy nooks to hide in. He walked through the attic but still saw nothing. Where could she have gone? He simply didn’t believe in ghosts, but could something demonic being be messing with them? He put his hand on an old rocking chair and it squeaked as he rocked it a couple of times. He went back to their room. Destiny wasn’t there. He went downstairs in search of her.

“Hey Charley,” he said as he entered the kitchen and looked around. “Is Dee with you?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t seen Dee since I gave her back her phone upstairs.”

“Where could she be?” he mumbled as apprehension began to grow.

Suddenly, a blood curdling scream came from somewhere above them. Six, Seven and Brock almost collided as the three of them hurtled toward the stairs. A second scream sounded from somewhere up in the attic. Brock thought it sounded like Destiny. As Brock, Six, and Seven pounded up the stairs, it sounded like a loud, offbeat drumroll.

A chill ran up Brock’s spine when he saw Destiny sitting in the old rocking chair he had rocked only minutes ago. Her face was completely white, and her lips looked black. She was wrapped in a scarlet colored shawl. Brock slowly approached her with Six and Seven flanked behind him. She didn’t even seem aware of their presence. She just stared blankly, as is she had been drugged.

“Dee,” Brock said softly as his mind reeled with concern and confusion. She ignored him and continued to gaze in a trance.

“Destiny,” he tried again as he knelt and put a hand on her knee.

Ever so slowly her head turned toward him. It looked like she had some type of thick white makeup on her face and glossy black lipstick sloppily applied around her mouth. Brock was now beyond freaked out!

“Dee, what’s going on?” he asked as his hand eased toward her face.

She screamed as a three foot snake as big around as a baseball seemed to spring into the air from her stomach as she flung open her shawl. The three guys fell back, all of them shrieking with terror. Charley stumbled into the attic holding her stomach and dropping to one knee as she laughed uncontrollably. Destiny also clutched her gut as she fell out of the rocker and onto the floor laughing. The blonde haired apparition they saw earlier came out of the shadows. Only she wasn’t a ghost, she was a friend of Charley’s, and she too was laughing hysterically.

“So that was a prank?” Brock asked with a baffled expression as the three guys looked around, dazed.

“We got you guys so good,” Charley said as she wiped at her eyes.

“You traitor,” Six said with a smirk as he scowled at his wife.

Brock looked at Destiny, who was curled into a fetal position due to extreme laughter. He crawled toward her, pinned her, and attacked her ticklish spot.

“Brock, stop, don’t!” she half laughed and half whined as he continued to tickle her. “Brock, stop, please. Come on, be a good sport.”

He let her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing his cheeks, or so he thought. She was actually smearing her black lipstick and white face paint onto his face.

“Dee, stop it,” he chuckled as he moved away from her giggling face.

The glossy black lipstick and the white face paint was smeared all over her lovely, happy face. Her silky blonde hair was tousled. She looked like Harley Quinn. Ironically, when Dirk was delirious in the hospital two years ago, he asked if Destiny and Brock were from the suicide squad. She being Harley Quinn with her uncanny resemblance to the actress Margot Robbie, and him being the Joker because of the curved scar from the left side of his mouth.

 Instead of looking sinister and diabolical, Destiny somehow pulled off adorable, albeit messy. She was so cute with her girlish giddiness at pulling off a major prank on the guys. There was no way Brock could be irritated at having the tables turned on Six and himself. He couldn’t resist his beautiful wife. He pulled her into himself and in seconds they were kissing passionately. They weren’t even mindful of an audience. Until the spectators spoke.

“You two need to get a room,” Seven Sallie said, causing Brock and Destiny to break their lip lock.

“They have a room,” Charley replied with a giggle.

“They probably should go to it,” Six chuckled.

“Sorry,” Destiny said, feeling embarrassed at their display of affection.

“For what, frightening an innocent man?” Seven Sallie asked. “I wasn’t part of or didn’t even know about any pranks. But I do need a change of undergarment now.”

“Oh please,” Charley grinned at Seven with hands on her hips. “Like you wouldn’t have been in on scaring poor Dee if you had a chance.”

“You bet I would have,” Seven Sallie said matter of fact. “The point is, I wasn’t.”

“Man, I tell you what,” Six Sallie said, shaking his head and grinning. “That was borderline taking things too far.”

“I think they did take things too far,” Brock said mildly. “I mean, here I was concerned about my sweet wife’s welfare. She was sitting in that rocker looking like she had a mental breakdown or some such. Then when I kneel to check on her, she screams, right when a snake type creature springs out of her stomach. No question that was cruel. Now we’ll probably have nightmares.”

“I haven’t seen the old snake in a can trick since I was a kid,” Seven Sallie said.

“Imagine your face being inches from it when it exploded forth,” Brock said and then made his lower lip quiver, causing laughter to erupt from everyone. “I was frightened.”

“Well, what about me?” Destiny whined playfully. “You knew I was already uneasy about spending the night in a funeral home. A gothic funeral home no less. And then you try to lead me to believe it’s haunted.”

“Shoot, I just wanted to spook you a little,” Brock said, shrugging and jamming his hands into his pockets. “Plus, I was there to protect you.”

“Good thing none of us has a heart condition,” Six Sallie said.

“I think I do now,” Seven replied.

“Would a piece of warm cherry pie console you three fraidy cats?” Charley asked.

“Yes,” the three men sang in harmony.

A half hour later Destiny and Brock stood side by side at a bathroom mirror and removed white make up and back lipstick from their faces.

“Well, this trip went as well as could be expected,” Destiny said. “Don’t you think?”

“Other than having the daylights scared out of me, I suppose so.”

Destiny chuckled maliciously and Brock tickled her. “Stop it!”

He stopped. “Will you mind having Seven stay with us for a while?”

“No,” Destiny sighed. “But I’m going to mentally prepare for difficulties and trials of patience.”

“Good idea, and me too,” Brock added.

“Were you surprised he so readily agreed to come to Iowa?”

“Not really. His greatest danger from serious death threats is right here in the Twin Cities. So it only makes sense to lay low some where else if possible. Plus he said he can do his podcast from anywhere, and his producer and what not can do their job staying right here. Now what was a surprise is that he wants to go over the Bible with me.”

“I know, that surprised me too. It seems he especially wants to study about hell.”

“I don’t know that he wants to study,” Brock replied. “I think he wants to prove me wrong.”

“It’s still a good thing, don’t ya think?”

“It’s a step in the right direction. Especially if I’m actually supposed to be some sort of spiritual mentor to him. But I don’t feel qualified.”

“Maybe not, but the Holy Spirit is.”

“Yeah, as long as my human nature doesn’t get in the way,” Brock said and then sighed. “You were the one asking him about becoming an evangelist. You heard him say how he was some type of youth pastor and how he took classes on preaching the Bible. Regardless of having a change of heart or back sliding, or what ever you want to call it, the man does have a lot of experience and Biblical knowledge.”

“But you have the truth.”

“True.”

“I was disappointed he wouldn’t say what exactly his wife did, and what exactly the third and most humiliating strike was with her.”

“All three were adultery,” Brock replied. “That’s all we need to know. If we even need that. Beyond that is just gossip fodder.”

“No, I had no intention to gossip with anyone. I just want to understand a vital ingredient that makes him so complex. Makes him who he is.”

“I guess it all depends on how bad you want to know.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you want him to share his dirt with you. You have to share your dirt with him.”

Destiny winced and scrunched up her nose as if something smelled bad.

---

XI

Destiny felt the dread begin to leave her after she prayed for strength and the wisdom. She opened her mouth to speak, but another voice sounded before hers.

“Well, look at this, two best friends chatting away,” Brock said as he scratched his head, yawned and made his way to the coffee pot. After Brock poured a cup, he glanced at his cousin. “Why do you look like the cat that swallowed the canary and my wife looks like somebody relieved themselves in her Cheerios? Have you been telling her about all the fights you’ve gotten me into?”

“No, I’ve been telling her about the loves of my life,” Seven Sallie said. “Who also happen to be the greatest heart aches of my life.”

Brock kissed his wife on top of her head and sat down. Seven jokingly asked where his kiss was. Brock quickly rose up, grabbed the sides of his cousin’s head and kissed his forehead.

“What the!” Seven gasped and then squirmed so much he fell out of his chair.

Destiny laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair. Brock calmly sat down, took a sip of coffee and smiled at his stunned cousin. “Do you want a good night kiss, too?”

“No, I’m good,” Seven Sallie said cautiously, as if Brock might barrage him with more kisses. “For the rest of my life.”

“Okay, well, your loss,” Brock said as he took another sip of coffee.

Destiny watched her husband’s large bicep push the sleeve of his t-shirt toward his shoulder. Part of what made what she was witnessing so funny is Brock being a muscle head and Seven being so squirrely. She was also delighted to see such lightheartedness with someone her husband supposedly didn’t like.

“You’ve changed man,” Seven Sallie said.

“How’s that?” Brock replied.

“For one thing, I don’t ever recall you being a jokester.”

“Who’s joking,” Brock said, kissed the air at him and then chuckled.

Seven leaned back in his chair, folded his arms and gazed at his cousin with a puzzled expression. “You were always one of the most melancholy people I have ever known. Now you seem…you seem to be…”

“Joyful,” Destiny said

Brock nodded. “You see, Seven, I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.”

Brock waved a hand at Destiny, and she responded. “Where?”

“Down in my heart.”

“Where?”

“Down in my heart.” Then Destiny and Brock sang together. “I’ve got that, joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Down in my heart to stay. Cause I’m so happy, so very happy, I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Six Sallie said as he stood at the foot of the stairs with his wife.

“Sorry,” Destiny said. “Did we wake you guys?”

“No, no,” Charley said. “I had planned on setting my alarm for 5:30 to make breakfast for everyone and forgot. I’m the one that’s sorry. You all must be starving.”

“Oh no, we’re fine,” Destiny said as she waved a dismissive hand. “We’ve just been talking and drinking coffee.”

“By the way, this is really good coffee,” Brock said enthusiastically. “What kind is it?”

“You don’t want to know,” Six Sallie said. “It’s Seven’s.”

“It’s called Death Wish,” Seven Sallie said.

“Huh?” Brock frowned. “Why Death Wish?”

“Cause it’s highly caffeinated,” Seven Sallie said.

“Dangerously caffeinated,” Six Sallie said. “If you have a weak heart, you could end up a client of mine.”

“Oh my,” Destiny giggled. “You better not finish that cup, Honey. You’re used to half café.”

“Coffee with half the caffeine?” Seven asked. “Is that before or after a half dozen Red Bull or Monsters?”

“Nope, I don’t drink energy drinks anymore. I replaced them with sparking water.”

“Alright, where’s the real Brock?” Six demanded with a smirk.

“Should we sing again, Dee?” Brock asked.

“No, don’t sing again,” Seven Sallie said disgustedly. “Right before you came down, Destiny was going to share her testimony with me. Now, you can to. Who wants to go first?”

“In a galaxy far, far away…” Brock started.

“Dee, why don’t you go ahead?” Seven interrupted.

“Well,” Destiny said and then cleared her throat nervously. “When I was eighteen, I was an exotic dancer right here in Minneapolis.”

“Also known as…” Seven Sallie began to say when Brock clutched his arm and squeezed. “Ouch!”

“Shut up and pay attention,” Brock said with a scowl.

“Alright,” Seven nodded. “Now that’s the Brock I remember.”

“Continue my sweet, peachy plum,” Brock said.

“And that’s not,” Seven Sallie said.

“Any who,” Destiny began again. “Brock and I first met when we were working at the same club. He was a bouncer and I was a dancer.”

Seven opened his mouth, and Brock clamped a hand over it and shook his head. “I said shut up and pay attention, got it?”

He then clutched his jaw and caused Seven’s lips to form an exaggerated pucker as he helped him nod.

“So, I happened to live a few blocks from the club,” Destiny explained. “One night, unbeknownst to me, I was followed home. The man broke into my apartment and attempted to rape me at knife point. Brock had become suspicious of the man when I was performing my routine, and he too came to my apartment and rescued me just in time. After that, Brock and I went our separate ways. He went to Miami and I went to Los Angeles, where I continued my dance career and also got into films.”

Brock looked sharply at Seven, who smiled impishly and made a zip gesture across his lips. The corner of Brock’s lip curled into a smile. With the scar that curved up from the other side of his mouth, Seven couldn’t tell if he looked friendly or sinister. He made the zip lip gesture one more time to be sure.

“About a decade later,” Destiny went on. “I found myself out of adult entertainment living in Iowa City, Iowa with my long time girlfriend. She too had been a dancer and actress.”

Brock’s eyes rotated to Seven. He smiled, raised his eyebrows sheepishly, and for a third time did the zip lip gesture. Brock winked at him.

“She ended up breaking up with me, ironically after turning religious,” Destiny said with a sigh. “In the months following, I found myself spiraling down into depression and alcoholism. I ended up suicidal. But before I ended my life, and by the grace of God, I became reunited with my Aunt Belle who happened to live only twenty miles away from me in Cedar Rapids. She ultimately led me to Christ. It was also at her church out in the country west of C.R. that I was reacquainted with Brock. Even though he was serious with another woman at the time, we became good friends.”

“So tell us, big fella,” Seven Sallie said. “Just how did an atheistic thug from the Twin Cities who had been living in sunny Miami come to reside outside of a city that isn’t even the largest in Iowa?”

“Well, little buddy,” Brock said. “Not long before I left the security agency I worked for in Miami, I encountered something pretty ugly with a detail I was on. It led me to ponder what a pathetic, evil world we live in. Obviously, I had known it was a cruel world before this experience. That’s what led me to my belief that there was no God. Other than my brother dying from AIDS, what I experienced on this detail was the ugliest situation I found myself in.”

“So you were in serious danger?” Six asked.

“No, but the billionaire I was guarding was.”

“How could he be in danger, and you not be if you were one of his bodyguards?” Seven asked.

“Because he was in danger of me,” Brock replied icily.

“What was going on?” Six asked.

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Brock said coldly. Everyone began to chuckle, but when Brock just stayed expressionless, the mirth quickly disappeared. “Seriously though, I’m not at liberty to say much. But we were in the Orient, and I had a gut feeling about human trafficking. Just to reiterate, I had a gut feeling, no proof. Nonetheless, it put me into a very dark place. I was contemplating like never before what a diabolical, unjust world we live in. Then a thought so profound, a lightbulb above the head moment, sent me on a spiritual journey. If there wasn’t a God, where did I get these concepts of just and unjust?”

“So I went to a bookstore. I bypassed the section on Christianity. Between child molesting priests, money grubbing televangelists, the secret rapture and the concept of hellfire, I wanted nothing to do with becoming a Christian. So I end up in this section called new age or enlightenment or maybe it was just philosophy. Anyway, there were so many books with so many bizarre titles and concepts I became confused. So I uttered my first prayer since I was a kid. I didn’t even really do it consciously. I just simply whispered, Dear God help me figure this out.”

“No sooner had I said it, when I spontaneously reached for a book titled, ‘Ancient Mysteries Explained.’ I put my finger on it and began to pull it out. It was as thick as an encyclopedia. The book dragged a smaller book out with it and it fell to the floor. I pushed the book I intended on looking at back into place so I could pick up the book that fell and return it to its spot. But the title had caught my eye. It was called ‘A Star Fell From Heaven.’ Then below that it stated the origin of evil explained. Then below that it said the only way of escape given.

“I read the back of the book and perceived it was a form of Christianity. The book had intrigued me until I saw that it was Christian. I marvel now that I seemed to despise Jesus when I didn’t even know Him. Now the living Christ is the center of my being. Anyway, so I figured the book was put in the section I was at by mistake. I grabbed the ancient mysteries book along with ‘A Star Fell From Heaven,’ to let them know it was in the wrong place. When I get to the counter, I happen to notice the cashier was wearing a cross around his neck and he had a WWJD bracelet on his wrist. So I show him the book and told him where I had found it. It was in the right section, he told me with a sarcastic snort. I asked him to explain why. He said it was filled with false teachings. I asked him what was false. He said it not only went against the traditions of mainstream Christianity, it criticized it. Much to his chagrin, I bought it and left the ancient mysteries book with him.”

“When I got home I started reading it and couldn’t put it down. It written by a guy named Kirk Samson. I marveled at how much scripture he used to back up his concepts. He also told his readers they needed to search the Bible and what he was teaching for themselves, to trust no man, examine their own lives and that prayer was the better half of study. After I researched him, I discovered he was a former Army Chaplain and he pastored a church in Iowa. I decided to take a road trip home to the land of ten thousand lakes and visit his church on the way. Another coincidence was Tito’s brother Bentley lived fairly close. I had gotten to know him after he had stayed with us a couple times and he was eager for me to pay him a visit. He invited me to stay with him for as long as I’d like. So I took a road trip north.”

“Please tell me it was summer,” Six Sallie said.

“Close enough,” Brock replied. “So I take Bentley up on his offer and decide to stay with him for a day, maybe two. I loved the area where he lived. Remote country. A lot of woods to the north and west. Corn, bean fields and farms as far as you could see to the south and east over wavy, rolling land . He could tell I loved the peacefulness of it, and that’s when he told me he could use a roommate to help pay expenses. But the old farmhouse he rented was over a hundred years old and it looked like it.”

“Then I went to Pastor Samson’s church. I was really intrigued and fell in love with the place. To make a long story short, a one day visit ended up, what? Three or four years.”

“So, just in a nutshell, what are his concepts?” Seven asked.

“The main theme was the controversary between Christ and Satan. The origin of sin, our fallen world, and then he just explained all these different deceptive factors that have taken place throughout history. How paganism came into the Christian church in the 4^th century when Constantine converted to Christianity. How there was an attempt to change the law of God, which most of Christendom still adheres to yet today. Also the false teaching of a place called hell, which most churches also believe. He also explained the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation and the seconding coming of Christ.”

“Sounds kinds deep, and also a little fishy. For starters, what did you just say about hell?” Seven Sallie asked as he leaned forward and propped his elbows on the table.

“That there is no such place.”

“Where did you or he come up with this stuff?”

“The Bible.”

“The Holy Bible?”

“Right.”

“I hate to have to tell you this Brock, but you’ve been miss guided. Like I was telling your wife before you came down, I was on my way to becoming an evangelist before my wife wrecked our marriage, family and my life. As much as I dislike the idea of hell and eternal torment, I’ve been over the Bible and back. And up and down and sideways. The doctrine of hellfire is a real thing. That’s one of the main reasons why I’ve mostly rejected the so called word of God.”

“I hate to have to tell you this, Seven, but you are the one that has been misguided. I have no doubt you’ve studied the Good Book thoroughly, but you obviously came at it with the wrong approach.”

Seven snorted sarcastically, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Your making the point I was getting at. The Bible is so complex and has, what, forty different authors? You can make it say almost whatever you want. That’s why there are a zillion different denominations.”

Brock nodded his head, and smiled patiently. “And you’re making my point. Religion has watered down God’s Word and misapplied it. Traditions and compromises with the secular world throughout the last two thousand years have altered the plain teachings of Christ and His apostles.”

“Who are you?” Seven asked with a dazed expression.

“What do you mean?” Brock asked as he sat back and folded his thick, muscular arms over his chest.

“I have to admit I’m impressed,” Seven Sallie said. “But I want to get a Bible and show you where you are dead wrong about hellfire.”

“Not now boys,” Charley said. “Scrambled eggs and oatmeal are ready. There’s also bagels and juice. Then you guys can go to war.”

“What do you mean go to war?” Seven asked.

“Haven’t most wars started over religion?” she asked.

“We’re just having a civil disagreement,” Brock replied.

“We’ll continue it after breakfast,” Seven Sallie said.

“If I’m going to be your bodyguard,” Brock said using air quotes. “We need to discuss the how, when and where of that before anything else.”

“Seven, I also want you to finish telling me about your marriage and how it affected becoming an evangelist,” Destiny said.

“Before anything else, breakfast!” Charley declared. “Or I’ll whack each and everyone of you with this spatula. Even you Mr. Storm.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Brock said and then meekly bowed his head.

Everybody laughed and then ate.

X

Destiny was surprised at how fresh Seven looked despite how drunk he was the previous night. Especially after passing out and sleeping on a sofa.

“Morning, Destiny,” he mumbled.

“Good morning, Seven,” she responded more cheerily than she felt.

“Want some coffee? Mugs are in the second cupboard from the left.”

“Thanks,” she replied. Then she poured herself a cup of steaming Joe and joined Seven at the kitchen table. “How are you feeling?”

“Huh? Oh, fine, I guess,” he replied. “I wasn’t as drunk as everyone probably thinks. I was mostly tired. I haven’t slept well the last few nights.”

“No worries,” Destiny said with a smile.

They looked at each other for a long awkward moment, and Destiny tried and failed to not be mesmerized by the cute face that resembled her husband’s ruggedly handsome face. What did Brock’s sisters look like if his male cousin looked like a prettier version of her husband?  

“Let me guess,” Seven Sallie said with a laugh. “My cousin didn’t inform you that he and I look more like each other than we do our own siblings?”

“No, he did not,” Destiny said with a lighthearted smile.

“Or that I’m the better looking of the two of us,” Seven Sallie said with a cocky smirk.

“Wow, somebody’s full of themselves,” Destiny replied after a fuse of irritation was lit.

“Just so you know, I would never betray my cousin. So get rid of any ulterior motives you might be harboring about us,” Seven told her as he pointed back and forth between them.

Destiny’s mouth practically dropped to the table. “Where do you get off assuming something like that?”

“Just a couple of deductions,” he said with a shrug. “Before Brock, your sexual preference seemed to be women and I’m a prettier version of your husband and…”

“If I was less civilized, I’d slap your face right now,” Destiny interrupted with a low voice and clenched teeth. “I’ll have you know, I would rather die than be unfaithful to my husband. For another thing, even if I was single, I wouldn’t even consider being with an arrogant pig like you!”

Destiny rose hastily from the table and Seven grabbed her hand. “Destiny, please don’t go, I was just testing you.”

“Let go of me,” Destiny said as she jerked her hand out of his and turned to leave. He grabbed her again and she was just about to do a self defense move Brock had taught her when she froze. A tear was running down his cheek.

“I shouldn’t have behaved like that,” Seven Sallie said. “I have a bad habit of provoking people. It makes for an interesting broadcast or podcast, but it doesn’t win you many friends. Please, sit back down, I need to talk to you.”

“You need to talk to me, huh?” Destiny said as she slowly sat back down and eyed him cautiously. “Need is stronger than want or would like to. Are you sure you don’t want to rephrase it?”

“I don’t. I need to talk to you.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. Why do you need to talk to a woman you barely know and have just insulted?”

“Listen, I’m sincerely sorry,” Seven Sallie said as he hung his head and shook it. Then his eyes rose to hers and the intensity in them made her uneasy. “Before I pick Brock’s brain about his, um, drastic life changes, I would like to hear your version.”

“My version?” Destiny replied with a frown. “You make it sound like something about us isn’t genuine.”

Seven closed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t mean to. It’s just that ten years ago Brock was an atheist and seemed like a confirmed bachelor. If he ever did marry, I figured it would be someone like that cop chick Nora Medora. Not someone with the baggage of a former stripper and porn star.”

“Okay, well,” Destiny drawled. “That wasn’t at all insulting either.”

“I’m such a mess,” Seven Sallie said as his forehead thunked onto the kitchen table. “I should have pulled the trigger last year and blown my brains out.”

Seven began sobbing. Between that and his words, a chill ran up Destiny’s spine. Was he or is he suicidal? She recalled the night not so long ago when she almost ended her own life. The angst she had been feeling toward Seven disappeared and was replaced with love and sympathy. She reached across the table and took hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Tell me about last year,” she said softly.

He slowly rotated his head back and forth with the crown still on the table indicating no.

“Two and a half years ago I came close to killing myself,” Destiny told him quietly.

His head slowly rose and his face was as distraught as she had ever seen in a person. “What stopped you?”

“I had been drinking heavily to get the courage to take a lethal overdose of pills. Ironically, the strong drink gave me a momentary feeling of wellbeing and I went to bed instead of ending my life. I ended up having a nightmare that I was on a high precipice and I was saved by my Aunt Belle. When I awoke, it caused me to look her up on the internet. I found out she had a ministry that helped girls like me and she only lived twenty miles away from where I was living. Or maybe I should say dying. Anyway, she and I became reacquainted. She couldn’t have been more loving and understanding of my situation. Ultimately, she led me to Christ.

“Wow, so you were saved by the Belle,” Seven Sallie said with fascination.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Destiny chuckled. “But I was really saved by Jesus, who used Belle as His instrument.”

Seven snorted and shook his head skeptically. Then he recalled researching Destiny and remembered the woman he saw in illicit videos and pictures. He thought about the sultry seductress he saw on screen contrasted with the wholesome beauty that sat across from him in his brother’s kitchen. He compared the dark, empty eyes on the computer with the bright, intelligent eyes in front of him that seemed to radiate light. His eyebrows rose in confused contemplation and he nodded ever so slightly.

“So tell me about a year ago,” Destiny gently prodded.

“A year ago yesterday I came this close to killing myself,” he told her as he held his thumb and index finger an eighth of an inch apart, then shrugged and chuckled sarcastically.

“What stopped you last year if you were this close?” Destiny asked as she imitated his thumb and finger gesture.

“You’re gonna think this is weird, but a song came into my head and it actually stopped me.”

“A song?” Destiny asked intrigued.

“Yeah, have you ever heard the band Staind and their song ‘Outside’?”

“Stained? You mean like my knees are grass stained?”

“They are? What have you been doing?” Seven Sallie said with a smirk.

Destiny rolled her eyes, closed them and then sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry,” Seven Sallie said quickly. “I know I’m obnoxious. But can a leopard change his spots?”

“No, but a person can change their character.”

“Point taken, even if I don’t believe it,” Seven Sallie said, as he raised his hands and showed her his palms.

“Okay, continue, what about a song?”

“Yeah, so rage and anger, fear and loathing had me pushing a gun so hard on my temple that it left a red ring when I eventually pulled it away. I was just about to pull the trigger when some words from the song popped into my head. It went like this. ‘I lie here in bed, all alone I can’t mend. But I feel tomorrow will be okay.’ That part in particular. Tomorrow will be okay, began to echo in my head. I lowered the gun from my head and put on the safety.  A week later, a video I had put on YouTube went viral. Not long after that my podcast just snowballed in popularity and I quickly became this polarizing figure.”

“So what led to your despair in the first place?”

“I guess I was just weary of life. Did Brock tell you about my marriage?”

“Unfortunately, Brock has told me very little about his family. As he likes to say, he wants to look forward not backward. I did know you were divorced though.”

“Good ole Brock,” Seven chuckled. “Man of few words. When we were younger it added to his mystique as a tough guy. Last night when he grabbed me and talked into my ear. That was the most he had ever said to me at one time.”

Destiny perked up. “He told me he quoted a verse from the book of Revelation to you and it had a profound meaning.”

“Yes,” Seven Sallie said with wide eyes. “It was weird. And just as weird was him telling me that he came here more as a spiritual mentor than a bodyguard. I mean Brock, a spiritual mentor! I’ve only known him as a professional thug and an atheist.”

“Why did Revelation 10:11 have such significance?”

“Wow, the big question for me is how did Brock know?”

“The Holy Spirit,” Destiny replied without hesitation.

“Yeah,” Seven responded with a skeptical look.

“Once again, what’s the significance of that verse to you?”

“The short answer is that verse called me to be an evangelist. But before I followed the calling, my marriage came to an abrupt end and I ignored the call and, well, the truth is I backslid.”

Destiny stared at him with a gaped mouth. “Okay, what’s the long answer?”

“How much time do you have?”

“Personally, I have all day. I don’t know how much time or even what exactly you and Brock have to discuss,” Destiny told him.

“You and me both. How about for now we do a medium version?”

“Fine by me.”

“Well, let see, where to start…” Seven Sallie said, and then leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “I grew up Catholic. Brock too.”

“Yeah, I know,” Destiny said as she leaned forward in full attention.

“So, I started deejaying at parties when I was sixteen. When I was eighteen, I got a job deejaying at a rock station in Minneapolis. One day I we were broadcasting on location at a Marylin Manson concert. I came across these holy rollers that were protesting his concert. You know, Marylin Manson being a Satanist and all.”

“I didn’t know.”

“You’ve never heard of him?”

“I’ve heard of him. I don’t know anything about him or his music. When I was younger, I was mostly into country and rap.”

“Country and rap, now that’s an interesting combination.”

Destiny shrugged. “Now I’m into gospel, classical and because of Brock, jazz. But please continue. You came across some, um, holy rollers protesting.”

“So amongst the protesters was this cute Mexican girl that went to my high school. Salena Ramirez was her name and we got to talking. We were civil with each other, but got into a major disagreement about her purpose at the concert venue. I said Manson and his fans had a right to do their thing at the arena. She said that she and her church family had a responsibility to protest evil events such as the concert in their community. She and I hit it off in a strange way and I wanted to see her again. She wasn’t allowed to date outside of her faith, so I started going to her church. It was a real conservative fire and brimstone type church.”

“I was uncomfortable with how often the church emphasized people going to hell, but yet they also had a strong mission to warn people about such a doom. I actually liked the old fashioned values they espoused, and I really got into learning about Jesus. Salena and I also fell in love with each other. I quit deejaying, joined her church and was baptized. Giving up deejaying was the hardest thing I ever did. Being a radio personality, albeit small time, made me very popular at school. I could have practically any girl I wanted. But the church had me convinced that all secular music was evil and Jesus was coming back tomorrow. Also, my love for Salena lessened the sacrifice. She was saving herself for marriage, and we planned on getting married right after we graduated from high school.”

“Shouldn’t you say we were saving ourselves for marriage?” Destiny asked, and then pressed her tongue into her cheek.

Seven looked puzzled for a few seconds before continuing. “It was too late for me, but Salena understood.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, in the last few weeks leading up to graduation, Salena had become reserved. I got the feeling she was reconsidering marrying me, and she was. The head elder in the church was this fifty six year old man who was very wealthy. His wife of thirty five years had died six months earlier from breast cancer. She had been unable to get pregnant early in their marriage, so they adopted a boy. He had always wanted a child of his own. Since most of the congregation married young to avoid sin, all of his candidates were young. They only married within the faith you see.  So he put his sights on Salena. Not only because she was so beautiful, but because her family was poor. He offered to not only pay off their house, but buy them a newer nicer home.”

“Salena was torn up inside. When she broke up with me, she said she had prayed and prayed over whether to marry the rich old guy or me. In the end she said she didn’t have a choice. If she married me, we would have to run away because her family would be so angry. She said that even though she loved me deeply, she couldn’t forsake her family’s well being or leave her church. So, a few weeks after we graduated, she married the rich elder. Then on April fool’s day the following spring, Salena gave birth to a baby girl. A child whose grandparents were more than a decade younger than the baby’s father.”

“Do you know if she and the older rich guy are still married?”

“As of about a year ago, yes. Salena is the most loyal person I have ever known. If he lives to be in his hundreds, she will be by his side.”

“What she did to you doesn’t sound very loyal.”

Seven shrugged. “I guess that goes to show how rotten the human condition is. But to be honest, I never viewed what happened between us as disloyal. She never cheated on me. She just informed me of the situation and the decision she  made. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t painful and I wasn’t angry. As a matter of fact, an element of revenge ultimately led me into a horrible marriage.”

“How’s that?” Destiny asked and then tucked a leg up under herself and leaned closer as she propped an elbow under her chin.

“Salena had a cousin that was a year younger than us. They hated each other. Wait, I shouldn’t say that. Brit hated Salena while Salena simply disapproved of Brit’s behavior. So, Salena and I had only been broken up for one day when I found Brit on my doorstep.”

“Is Brit short for Brittney?”

“It is. So, before joining the church and Salena and I becoming an item, I sort of knew Brit. She was the girlfriend of a friend of mine for about a year. Brit wasn’t quite the beauty that Salena was, but she was incredibly sexy. Short skirts, perfectly applied makeup, long auburn hair, sultry eyes and a coy, yet flirtatious demeanor.”

“So she didn’t go to church with you guys, I take it.”

“No, she did. At church she’d be dressed in long skirts or dresses and no makeup. Then you would run into her at a mall or something and she almost looked like a hooker. Let’s see where was I?”

“Brit showed up on your doorstep.”

“Yeah, so Brit shows up and tells me how sorry she is and Salena is a fool, and it’s so gross her marrying a guy three times her age. So I immediately put the moves on Brit and she tells me she’s not that kind of girl. I said you could have fooled me. By the way, I used to be kind of obnoxious?”

“Used to be?” Destiny replied with a giggle.

“Anyway,” Seven began after a shrug. “Brit slaps me. I apologize. Then Brit tells me she’s been going to her friend’s church and it is way better than her family’s. She tells me thy have Christian rock bands that play Sunday evenings, the men don’t wear suits and the women don’t dress like they’re Amish. Yet they had a zeal for the Lord. Brit intrigued me on several levels. Like I said, she was sexy, but I now perceived she wasn’t a slut because she turned down my initial advances. Yet I also knew she wasn’t a virgin because of my friend. I also liked how interested she was in Christianity. And I also thought by hanging out with her for a while might annoy Salena. Brit and I even attended her wedding.”

“You’re kidding!”

“I am not. It was even Brit’s idea. She actually had to talk me into it. I’m telling you, those two cousins did not like each other at all. I was young and naïve. I didn’t realize just how evil Brit was. She hid it with a cloak of religiosity. By the time we had gone to Salena’s wedding, Brit and I had gotten together about a half dozen times. During those times we would kiss, but every time I tried to go further she would make me stop like the good little Baptist girl she was supposed to be. After the wedding though, she was all over me. We had sex for the first and she was beyond passionate. We became an inseparable item and she was insatiable in the sack. I was smitten and I was in love.”

“When we were together about a year, she ended up pregnant. She was devastated. She was only days away from graduating high school and had just turned eighteen a month previous. She wanted to get an abortion. This devastated me. I justified the sin of our premarital sex because we were in love and I intended on marrying her one day. But abortion? I was adamantly prolife back then.”

“Not anymore?”

“I’m all about choice now. Not that abortion isn’t an awful thing. But we shouldn’t dictate or judge what another person does. How about you?”

“I guess you and I are opposites. I was pro abortion most of my life. But since I became a Christian, I’ve taken a different perspective.”

“Well, even though I’m pro choice now, it should have been a red light that a supposedly devout Christian woman was considering abortion when she found herself with an unwanted pregnancy.”

“What’d you do?”

“I tried to talk her out of it. I told her we should get married. She would have none of it. I told her we should talk to the pastor and his wife. We confessed to them that we had been having sex and now found ourselves with child. They both agreed with me that we should get married. I guess with three against one, Brit reluctantly agreed. Now that I’m older and wiser, I think that was a big part of Brit’s infidelity.”

“How so?”

“Well, just like she really got off having sex for the first time after Salena’s wedding. I think when she became resentful at being tied down with a husband and child or she was simply angry with me for making her trapped. She ended up taking solace in other man’s arms, and then some. I forgave her twice, but the third strike she was out. For our daughter’s sake, I probably would have forgiven her a third time, but the way I found out was just too humiliating.”

This surprised Destiny. Seven didn’t seem like the type that would forgive adultery once, let alone twice or even three times. “So she cheated on you three times.”

“I caught her three times. The last year or two we were together, she probably had sex with other men more than me. I’m not exaggerating.”

“You know how you said you are pro choice now?” Destiny asked. “Do you think you would have agreed to an abortion back when Brit became pregnant if you had your current mind set?”

“That’s a complicated question,” Seven Sallie said. “Without knowing the end from the beginning, yes. To be saved all the heart ache of being married to someone like Brit, absolutely. But, Mia, my daughter, is the love of my life. Even though at the moment she can’t stand me. She is the love of my life.”

“How old is she now?

“Fifteen.”

“So would you have gotten an abortion then or not? Your answer was ambiguous.”

“No, I would not have agreed to an abortion. I would go through the whole ordeal with Brit again for the sake of my daughter. Talk about sacrifice. I’m not all bad then, am I?”

“No,” Destiny agreed and then smirked. “Then again Hitler loved dogs.”

“Gee, thanks,” Seven Sallie said with disgust as he rose from the table and sighed. “I need more coffee.”

“Sorry, that was a low blow.”

“Don’t be, I liked it.”

“Now tell me about your call to evangelism,” Destiny said, relishing how easy it was to get Seven to talk.

“Not right now, I’m tired of talking. Now it’s your turn. Tell me what led a girl next door into being a stripper and porn star.”

“There’s not a whole lot to tell. Other than being an extreme exhibitionist, my previous life was pretty boring. You probably know the most dramatic thing that happened to me. It was in the early days in Minneapolis when Brock saved me from being raped and probably murdered.”

Seven leaned back in his chair as his eyes narrowed. “Brock saved you from being raped. How long ago?”

“Eleven or twelve years ago now. You didn’t know about that?”

“No, I thought you and Brock met just a couple years ago in Iowa. You knew each other over a decade ago?”

“Just as acquaintances at a night club we both worked at.”

“All right, your turn, go ahead.”

Destiny took a deep breath and sighed. She now agreed with her husband. She wanted to look forward, not back at her twisted life. She didn’t mind talking about her past when she was ministering to young women who were involved in similar things that she was. Or if she happened to be sharing her testimony to a group. But she had never talked about her past with a man who was most likely a current a customer in her in her former world. He even admitted looking at the evidence of her former life. So she relied on what had become her habit in difficult situations over the last couple years. Prayer.

IX

“Seven,” Six said as he gently, yet firmly slapped his brother’s face and yanked him to a sitting position. Seven groaned and his eyes fluttered.

“Leave me alone,” Seven replied. Then he laid back down on the sofa and was fast asleep.

“Well, I guess we have supper without him,” Six said with a sigh. “I guess you’ll have to discuss your involvement with his death threat situation tomorrow, Brock. Sorry.”

“It’s just as well,” Brock shrugged. “We’re tired, and I didn’t really feel up to it tonight anyway.”

Seven had arrived at his brother’s gothic funeral home well on his way to intoxication. He completed inebriation with a couple healthy swigs from a flask, vomited and passed out. So the foursome had supper and the two ladies listened to the two cousins reminisce. Seven’s drunken behavior as he snored on the sofa was the elephant in the room. This, among other things, left the typically docile Destiny with growing irritation to go along with her increasing tiredness. Her emotions roiled as she and Brock retired to their room after dinner.

First she had seen a ghost like figure. Then she met the ghost like figure and discovered her to be Six Sallie’s wife Charlotte, aka Charley. This led to information that her husband and his cousin were trying to prank her. Then she meets Brock’s other cousin Seven Sallie for the first time and discovers he looks more like her husband’s twin than his own actual twin brother. Seven is also drunk and gives her an awkward, sloppy hug and tackily brings up her former life as an adult entertainer. Then Seven passes out instead of discussing his bodyguard needs over supper, which would seemingly only add more time to their stay in the Twin Cities.

But what had her the most frustrated was her husband. How could she and Brock have had such a close, intimate relationship and yet she knew so little about his family? The only picture she had seen from Brock’s past was his high school senior portrait. This youthful image of Brock had fascinated her. She had gotten to know Brock after his life of violence had marred his handsome face with three separate scars. In addition, a decade in the Florida sun made the lines of his features more pronounced. Then she meets Seven, and he currently looks more like the teenager in Brock’s senior picture than Brock himself.

“Can I punch you in the stomach?” Destiny asked her husband with an eerily calm.

“Huh?” Brock responded with bewilderment. Their spiritual daughter Amy is the only one who had ever asked to punch him when annoyed. But why would Destiny be annoyed with him? He wasn’t the one who was passed out drunk.

“Why do you want to punch me?” Brock asked now intrigued and ready to brace himself.

“Oh, never mind,” Destiny sighed and then sat down hard on the bed.

“Come on, Dee,” Brock said soothingly. “One of the reasons you and I have such a great relationship is we communicate.”

“Do we?” She asked with a defiant scowl. “Then how come I know so little about your family or your childhood?”

“You know I like to look forward rather than backwards.”

“Hmm…” Destiny groaned as she clutched her head in her hands.

“Listen, Dee, I’ve told you before that Six and I were best friends growing up, and Seven and I were, well, cousins. What more can I say, other than to tell you frivolous stories of youthful mischief?”

“Couldn’t you have at least told me that you and Seven look alike? I was expecting him to look like Six not you.”

“I guess we do look similar, don’t we?”

“Ya think?”

 “You see, Bent and Tito were identical twins,” Brock said. “Whereas Six and Seven are fraternal twins.  When we were kids though, some people thought Seven and I were the twins and Six was the cousin. Other people called Seven and me doppelgangers. But that’s not accurate. As far as I know, doppelgangers are people that look alike, but are not related. Obviously, being cousins, Seven and I have the same grandparents. By the way, I’m sorry.”

“Once again, I’m just tired,” Destiny said and then yawned.  “Besides, you’re used to knowing you look alike, so it’s not on your mind.”

“It is more than you realize.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Seven’s face has never been a punching bag, or worse yet, been slashed by knives. To be honest, I noticed that you couldn’t take your eyes off of him for a while.”

“Brock,” Destiny said as she stood and wrapped her arms around her husband. “Yes, I was intrigued at seeing a pretty boy version of you. But I’m in love with the soul behind your warm brown eyes. Because of your character, you are the most attractive man on the planet to me. You being handsome and having a killer body is only secondary to my desire for you.”

“Dido,” Brock said with an affectionate smile. “Behold, thou art fair my love; behold thou art fair. Thou hast dove eyes within thy locks: Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.”

Destiny giggled. This wasn’t the first time Brock quoted the Song of Solomon chapter 4 to her. “My teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn,” she responded.

“So true my love,” Brock said grinning. “Look at those pearly whites. And your lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely.”

“My neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory.”

“Now my favorite part,” Brock said with a low voice.

Destiny winked, smiled seductively, and made herself available to her husband.

“Thy breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.”

Destiny scowled. “For the first time, the twins part is spoiling the mood.”

“No, forget about that,” Brock said as he took her hand and eased his wife toward the bed. “Thou art fair my love; there is no spot in thee.”

“Okay, I’m back in the mood,” Destiny giggled. “You’ve ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.”

“How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! And the smell of thy ointments than all spices!”

“Oh, you like the smell of Ben Gay on my sour elbow?”

“No, I like the smell of Grace upon thy neck,” he said and then sniffed and kissed her neck.

She giggled. “That’s perfume you said ointments.”

“Hush. Thy lips oh my spouse, drop as the honeycomb.”

Destiny gave him a sexy pout and he kissed her before he continued. “Honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.”

“That must be gross,” Destiny frowned. “I’ve been wearing these clothes for three fourths of a day now.”

“Okay, that’s enough wooing then. Let’s know each other.”

“We already know each other.”

“You know what I mean.”

A half hour later, Destiny snuggled against her husband. She was relaxed, content, and feeling a deep sleep coming on.

“Dee, I need to tell you something before we go to sleep,” Brock said with surprising energy.

“Hmm?” Destiny murmured as her eyes fluttered and then closed as sleep began to suck away the consciousness.

“I was really excited to tell you something important when we first came to our room. Then you became hostile and wanted to punch me,” Brock said in a low voice.

Now her eyes flew open. She hoped he wasn’t about to ruin her blissful post coital mood. “What?”

“Do you remember when Seven was taking a swallow from his flask and I grabbed him in a bear hug.”

“Yeah.”

“Well something miraculous happened. Do you know how Luke 12:12 says for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say?”

“Well, yeah I…”

“So when I grabbed Seven, my only thought was to stop him from getting more drunk than he already was and behaving like an idiot. Then I found myself talking into his ear. It’s like it wasn’t me, it was miraculous. I told him the real reason  I was there to help him, that it went beyond the death threats and being his bodyguard. Then I quoted Revelation 10:11 to him. Thou must prophecy again before many nations, and tongues and kings. Then he went slack in my arms. Then he mumbled something about that was more than a decade ago. Nobody knew but me, how did you know? Then he suddenly fled to the bathroom to throw up. Then, as you know, he passed out on the couch.”

Destiny rose to one elbow and with wide eyes looked at her husband. Then the glow of the table lamp made her squint. “How did you know to quote that verse in Revelation?”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Brock said with a chuckle and an expression of awe on his face. “It was miraculous. It had to be, like I said about Luke 12:12, the Holy Spirit. And it must have a profound meaning to Seven personally. If you would have asked me what Revelation 10:11 said on our drive up, I couldn’t have told you. I’m mean obviously I’ve been over the book of Revelation numerous times. But Brock in and of himself wouldn’t have had a clue what that particular verse said without the Divine calling it to my memory.”

“Wow, it must be profound if you went third person on yourself. You hate it when people go third person on themselves.”

The couple talked for almost an hour until Destiny drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep. Brock opened his Bible and read various scriptures he had underlined until sleep came to him also.

Destiny awoke to the smell of coffee. She looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. The red glowing numbers told her it was 5:53am. She sniffed again and couldn’t resist. She dressed in jeans, Brock’s Minnesota Vikings sweatshirt and slid her feet into a pair of Ugg’s. She made her way downstairs expecting to see Charley. Instead she saw Seven sitting at the kitchen table staring at a mug of coffee. She was turning to sneak back upstairs when his eye caught hers and he waved her over. She took a deep breathe and trudged over to him.