Holt Sorcerer - A Novel

1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-1-62488-836-6
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 360 Seiten

After her battle along side Father Macon in the small town of Engelton against the Principality, Jamie McClain volunteered for missionary duty on the small island of New Guinea. Disturbed by rumors of a primitive tribe sacrificing babies, she sets out through the jungle to find and challenge the tribal leader. When she doesn't return, her pastor calls Father Macon. Even though it is on the other side of the world, he knows he must go and find her. Tested to the max in one of the most remote spots on the earth, will Father Macon survive the jungle and the power of the SORCERER?

Autoren/Hrsg.

Holt, Dennis

Leseproben

Chapter One THE DISAPPEARANCE “Great homily,” Margaret Corning said, extending her hand to Father Macon. “Thanks Margaret,” Father nodded, “but the Parable of the Sower is so full of material that it’s not that hard to come up with a substantial homily.” “Still,” Margaret laughed, “you get more information out of a scripture passage than any priest I’ve ever seen.” Father thanked her, then continued to shake hands and greet the other parishioners as they exited the Church. It was Saturday afternoon and he had just finished the anticipated Mass. It had been a good crowd and Father had been particularly impressed with their enthusiastic response. He was talking to the deacon and his wife when Mrs. Drake’s son, Jimmy came running up to Father and stood, waiting for the deacon to finish. Father noticed the young boy’s excited demeanor and turned to him. “What’s wrong, Jimmy?” he asked. Jimmy took a deep breath. “Mom, over in the rectory, says you’ve got a long distance call from a Pastor Oli in New Guinea. She sent me to tell you.” Father thanked the young boy and looked at the deacon. “That’s a first,” he laughed. “I don’t think I know a Pastor Oli.” “Well, he apparently knows you, Father,” the deacon replied. “I’ll let you go so you can get over to the rectory.” Father nodded and said good bye then quickly made his way to the rectory next to the church. As he walked into the office, Mary Drake, his secretary, pointed to the phone on the desk. Jimmy was sitting on a couch in the corner, reading a magazine. “Jimmy, come on,” she called softly as Father picked up the phone. “Let’s give Father some privacy.” Jimmy obeyed sharply and followed his mom out of the room to another part of the rectory. “This is Father Macon,” he said into the phone after placing it near his mouth. “Father,” the voice replied, “this is Pastor Answa Oli. You don’t know me but we have a common acquaintance, Miss Jamie McClain.” Father suddenly remembered two or three years back. Jamie had helped in defeating a powerful principality in the small community of Engleton. She had gone on to Bible school and the last he had heard from her she had become a missionary in, he paused in his thought, New Guinea. “How is Jamie doing?” Father asked. “Well,” Pastor Oli replied. “That’s why I’m calling. “She has disappeared.” Father felt a cold chill shoot through his body. “What do you mean?” “She had heard of a tribe somewhere in the jungle that was sacrificing babies in their ritual,” Pastor Oli explained. “She began to pray and ask the Lord to put a stop to such an atrocity. When she did all hell, so to speak, broke loose around here. Strange apparitions began to appear in our rooms and in the church. She told me that she had to face the witch doctor of the tribe and put a stop to the demonic activity and to the ritual killings. That was a week ago. I tried to stop her but she was unstoppable. She told me if she wasn’t back in a week to call you. She said you would know what to do.” Father had grown very close to Jamie during their time of fighting the principality in Northeast Arkansas. He had introduced her to spiritual warfare and to the reality of demons. It had thoroughly changed her life. She had written him many times and Father had actually fallen in love with her but in the past eight to nine months the letters had been farther apart. He had thought of her many times, but finally reconciled his mind to the fact that they would meet again only in heaven. Apparently he was wrong. “Maybe we’re being premature,” Father offered. “Maybe we should wait a little longer.” “I don’t think so,” Pastor Oli replied. “Two nights ago the apparitions stopped. I feel that she is in a lot of danger. She talked of you often, Father, and when she left she told me that she hoped she had paid close enough attention to your instructions. She has taught me a lot and with the superstition that permeates this island, the demonic activity is strong. I wanted to go with her but she insisted that I stay behind and call you if she didn’t return. Right now I don’t know what to do. Father, what do you suggest?” Father’s mind was swirling with thoughts. He shook his head. “Let me have your phone number, Pastor Oli,” he finally said into the phone, “and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” Father wrote down the number as Pastor Oli dictated it and then with some final words of encouragement, he hung up. He stood, staring at the set of numbers as he pondered his level of involvement. He couldn’t just let this thing go. Jamie could be in serious trouble. But, he was in Arkansas and Jamie was on the other side of the world. New Guinea was a long ways away. He quietly prayed in the Spirit as he sought an answer. “Everything okay?” Mrs. Drake asked, interrupting his time of prayer. She was standing in the doorway and she could see the concern in Father’s eyes as they met hers. “I’m afraid not,” he replied. “A very good friend of mine appears to be in serious trouble.” “In New Guinea?” Mrs. Drake asked, snarling up her nose. Father nodded. “Her name is Jamie McClain. I met her a couple of years ago in the Northeastern part of the state and for the last seven months she has been serving as a missionary to a small tribe of people in New Guinea. Apparently, she has stirred things up in the spiritual realm there and she may be in trouble.” “But what can you do?” Mrs. Drake asked, hoping he wasn’t considering going to New Guinea. “I can pray,” he answered with a shrug of the shoulders, “and listen for instructions from the Holy Spirit. The solution is in His hands.” Mrs. Drake shook her head. “I can only pray and help you intercede, but I will do that,” she encouraged. “I appreciate that, Mary,” Father smiled. “Whatever decision is made, I think it will be a fast one. There may not be a lot of time.” Mary could tell that the weight of the dilemma was huge on Father. “I need to get Jimmy home, he has some homework to do. But I promise I’ll spend some time in prayer for you and your friend.” “Thanks Mary,” Father nodded. “Her name is Jamie McClain.” Mary smiled a sad smile, then turned and left the doorway. Father heard her “round up” Jimmy and together leave the front door of the rectory. In the silence, he prayed and asked the Lord for an answer. “I’ll do whatever You want, Lord.” He walked over to the doorway and turned out the light, then walked back over to the church. He had left the lights on and he wanted to turn them off and lock the doors. He continued to pray in the Spirit as he flipped each switch, each one allowing more darkness inside the church. The altar lights were the only ones that remained illuminated and as he turned from locking the front door and started down the isle toward the altar, he felt the urge to kneel and pray before the Lord. He slid into the third pew and pulled down the kneeler, then placed his knees on its padded rail. He placed his hands on the back of the pew and looked up at the altar. He prayed for almost fifteen minutes when suddenly a vision began to form on the wall above the altar. This was nothing new to Father Macon. He was very proficient in the gifts of the Spirit. He knelt, watching as the whole scene unfolded. He wasn’t sure whether the scene was in his mind or actually being “projected” on the wall but it was very clear and very vivid. It showed Jamie being bound to a large stake. Around her were what appeared to be natives with spears and implements of war. One very ornately dressed man held up something that looked like a skull covered with feathers and began to shake it at Jamie. He then turned and shook it in the direction of Father. A large snake began to crawl from the ground, winding its way around Jamie’s body as it climbed up the large stake. As its large head attained the same level as Jamie’s head, it, too, turned and looked menacingly at Father Macon. As Father continued to watch, the snake began to tighten its grip on Jamie’s body. She squirmed under the pressure but made no sound. He could see that she was struggling to breathe. With difficulty she shook her head to gain enough freedom from the grip of the snake to look at Father and speak. “Psalm 57,” she said. Then the vision vanished. Father waited for a few seconds to make sure the vision was finished. Convinced that it was, he quickly got up and made his way to the sacristy where he kept a copy of the Bible. He picked up the book and found Psalm 57. As he read, the words pierced his heart: Be merciful unto me, O God…for my soul trusts in you: yes, in the shadow of your wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performs all things for me. He SHALL SEND from heaven, and SAVE me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up…My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Father read the entire Psalm and closed the Bible. He looked at the small crucifix that hung above him on the wall. He knew what he had to do. He knew what the Lord was asking of him. He knew that Jamie’s life depended on his obedience. But, there was something else; something of a much greater magnitude. He had felt the “tug” of the Spirit before and...