Chapter 15
Elisabeth~
After that goddamn kiss, I’d had no choice but to speak with Bodhi again. I was a grown ass forty-four-year-old woman, and so a simple kiss should not have knocked me on my ass like that. Especially, when you considered how I’d been despising the man for three months already.
Still...
When Lazarus had kissed me, I’d felt it down to my soul, and it had taken a level of strength that I hadn’t known I possessed to pull free from him, and even now, my chest ached with the need to find him and finish what we’d started.
I wanted Lazarus in a way that made me want to scratch at my skin like a drug addict, and I needed answers for how I was feeling right now.
So, now I was at the front doors of The Knights Group, and the security guard was looking at me like I was crazy, which I probably was at this point.
“Can I help you?” he asked through the glass.
Playing my card from last week, I held up my St. Dymphna’s credentials as I said, “I’m Dr. Elisabeth Batya, and Dr. Copeland asked me to help assist him with one of his patients, a Mr. Bodhi Salmen.”
The guard quickly scanned his clipboard, and I prayed that my assertiveness would be enough to get me inside. While I’d have him call Lazarus if I had to, I’d rather speak with Bodhi without him here. I needed to speak with Bodhi without the disruption that Lazarus brought to the table.
Looking back over at me, he said, “Dr. Copeland has you on the list, so if you could please step back a bit...”
Thankful beyond relief, I quickly moved aside, giving the guard enough room to open the evening man door to the lobby, and I hurried inside, then waited patiently as he locked up again, keeping the place as secured as possible.
“Do you know your way, or do I need to call an escort for you?”
“I know my way, but I’ll need someone to escort Mr. Salmen to one of the observation rooms,” I told him. “While I’m permitted to speak with him, I don’t have the authority to issue orders here.”
He gave me a terse nod of understanding. “Of course.”
Not ten minutes later, I was sitting in the same observation room as before, and when two orderlies escorted Bodhi into the room, I looked over to see a victorious smirk on his lips, and it was unbecoming since Archangels weren’t supposed to be prideful.
As soon as we were left alone, I got right down to business. “What would have happened if Lazarus hadn’t messed up three months ago?”
“Then it would have been Orion that would have visited you when the time was right,” he answered, and that made sense since Archangel Orion was a warrior angel, and he was called upon when you faced obstacles or needed courage.
He was also a protector and defender, and I was definitely going to need that if I was going to fight demons.
“And what is Lazarus’ role in all this?” I asked. “And don’t say to protect me, because you and I both know that there’s more to it. Why would demons be scared of a little boy? Why not just snatch up the both of us? Why did they fear him?”
“Because Lazarus was unknown to them,” he answered evenly. “It was you that they had a direct line to, not Lazarus. However, because of your connection to him, you were able to pull him into your dreams, leaving them confused as to who and what Lazarus really was.”
“Do they know who he is now?” I asked, curious to know the extent of their spiritual powers.
Bodhi-or Ramiel as I should probably begin calling him-shook his head. “No, they do not.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because even Lucifer is still just an angel, Elisheva,” he answered. “God is the only entity that knows all, and I know only what I know because I’ve been chosen to know.”
I thought about that, and ignoring how his eyes began to swirl again, I asked, “Then you know about Luther?”
Ramiel nodded. “I do, though it’s not God speaking to him. He was contacted by Sandalphon.”
It was said that Archangel Sandalphon helped with tapping into your inner strength to unleash your full potential, and that he was the bringer of power and manifestation.
“How many others have been contacted?”
“Only a handful so far by legion standards,” he admitted. “The ones that are open to believe.”
Leaving that for a moment, I said, “You still haven’t told me what Lazarus’ role is in all this.
You’ve told me why the demons were scared of him and that they’re still wary of him, but there has to be more.
If you’re already amassing a legion of other soldiers to fight alongside me and protect me, then what do I need Lazarus for? ”
“Why do you think?”
I immediately started shaking my head. “No.”
“Elisheva-”
I slammed my hand on the table, stopping whatever he’d been about to say. “If you think that I’m going to just stand by and let him become a sacrifice, then you’re very mistaken.”
“Why would you care, Elisheva?” he asked pointedly, trying to prove a point.
“You’re misconstruing what I’ve said,” I informed him coolly. “I’m not in favor of anyone dying for me, including the legions of strangers that God has chosen to assist me.”
“Elisheva-”
“Now tell me the truth,” I snapped, at my wit’s end. “What is Lazarus’ role in all this, and don’t bullshit me, Ramiel.”
Instead of getting angry, Ramiel leaned back in his metal chair, a smile growing slowly on his face, and while he was grinning in victory, I felt like I was losing this battle already. I was torn between reality and disbelief, and I seriously felt like I might be going a little bit crazy.
“He is to protect you, nothing more,” he answered, but that still didn’t sound right to me.
“Lazarus told me that you guys spoke again after I left last week, and that you mentioned God not killing Eve because of what it would have done to Adam after having experienced her,” I said, trying to remember all that Lazarus had told me.
“So, if what you’ve said is true about us being one of those prominent couples in history, then why would he become a sacrifice?
Why would you let me experience him, then take him away from me? ”
“Free will,” he repeated. “The free will that God will never take away from his children is what will determine Lazarus’ role in all of this, and it is clear that Lazarus would die for you without a second’s hesitation, Elisheva.
If Lazarus is lost to you, it will be because he chose to do that for you, which we both know he will. ”
“Can I save him?”
Ramiel leaned forward in his seat, then placed his arms on the table. “Elisheva, you can save them all. Lazarus, your parents...everyone. You are the only person who can.”
“Now, while I’m not saying that I believe you just yet, you have to tell me how I’m expected to win against demons,” I told him. “You can’t expect me to believe that I’m capable of defeating something otherworldly.”
“I’ve already explained that, Elisheva,” he replied smoothly. “Only when you truly believe will you be enlightened on that end.”
I eyed him, knowing that this wasn’t as simple as how he was making it sound. “It won’t be you, will it? It’ll be another Archangel explaining my role to me, won’t it?”
That smirk was back. “Ah, Elisheva,” he cooed. “If only you realized your true potential, then none of this would be necessary.”
“I thought you were here because Lazarus messed up,” I reminded him. “What does that have to do with my true potential?”
“I am referring to the recent events of this past week,” he chuckled, but it wasn’t a soothing chuckle, or even a particularly happy one.
“I need to get home,” I announced. “I need some sleep and clarity, and I can do neither here.”
“Clarity about Lazarus, or clarity about your destiny?”
“Both,” I openly admitted. “I need clarity on both.”
“Before you go, I must warn you that they’ll come for you again, Elisheva,” he said. “If they can get to you before the deadline, then they will.”
“Then why haven’t they come for me already?”
“Because they were winning,” he answered. “As long as you stayed away from Lazarus, they were winning. However, that is no longer the case, is it? You are here because you’re feeling exactly what I’ve been trying to explain all along.”
Ignoring that, I stood up, then left the room. After all, what in the hell could I say to that? Apparently, my epic love story came with a side dish of the end of humanity.