“Didn’t you say that you are trying to make a deal?” Mark asked.
“Yes, this is true,” Demien replied.
“Well, what’s the holdup? Wouldn’t you take anything that is offered as a deal since you are desperate?” Mark retorted.
“No, when you make a deal with the devil, you have to keep the upper hand.”
“Whatever, man,” Mark replied.
“Lay off, Mark,” I said.
“Oh, Ms. Suck Up is going to tell me to lay off. The only reason you’re mixed up in this mess is because you want to fall back in good graces with God.”
Mark’s words hurt. It was true that was the reason I joined this assignment. But after a few lifetimes, she grew on me.
“You shouldn’t have eaten that apple,” he threw out with a smug expression.
I lost control and started at him. Adam grabbed me and pulled me back. “It wasn’t an apple! Jerk!” It wasn’t that fact that people refer to the fruit as an apple. That was the common misconception. Everyone there knew the truth, which was beside the point. I just hated the reminder. I was tired of being blamed for the downfall of mankind. Let it go already. It happened.
“Back to business,” Demien demanded. “Mark, let me remind you that you pledged allegiance to Angel. You can walk anytime, but I don’t think you really want to do that. You all know what to do.” At that, Demien vanished.
I woke up to my alarm, confused and disoriented. What a strange dream. I sat on the edge of my bed obsessing over the dream and what to make of it. Finally, I decided it must have been an effect of all the strange occurrences that have been going on lately.
Twenty-Five
Vanessa
The gravel road led to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. The road had ended a few miles behind us, but he continued driving on the forest floor, dodging gigantic trees. A few of the trees had a huge hole in the trunk which Demien drove straight through. The forest was thick and lush. The forest floor was rugged and uneven. I saw the need for a Hummer.
The cabin was made of logs. It looked like a Lego log cabin. It was obviously made from the redwood trees, surrounding the place. We, obviously, were not in Oklahoma, anymore. From the outside, the cabin looked fairly decent in size. It was two stories and had an attached three-car garage. On each side of the entrance stood two men well over 6’5”, posed in a military stance, holding rifles.
“What are we doing here?” I asked soaking in my surroundings. Carved on the door was a list of at least a hundred names. I glanced over the list quickly. The last name was my name, Vanessa Scanlon, which I found strange.
“You will be safe here,” Demien said as he opened the door.
We entered the house without another word. It was bigger than I thought. The door opened to a beautiful entryway. The walkway was lined with azaleas to my left and to my right were my orchids. Each flower bloomed as my foot reached it. One at a time, bursts of deep purple to my left and sparkling, gorgeous white to my right. It was magic. It had to be. There couldn’t be any other explanation.
To the right of the walkway was a gourmet kitchen. It had granite countertops and a gorgeous backsplash to complement the countertop and floors. The granite was white with silver specks and tiny red hearts in the corners of each tile. The walls were a very pale yellow. A wooden plaque hung over the entry leading into the kitchen. It had the phrase “You are my reason” carved into it with the year 1457.
To my left was a game room. There was a stage for a band to play in the far-left corner. On the back wall in the center of the room hung a large, flat screen TV and a surround sound system above a wood-burning fireplace. In front of the TV sat a few recliners and a couch with a love seat. Across from the stage were a couple of pool tables, a ping pong table and a couple of arcade-style games.
“Is this your house?” I asked in amazement.
He didn’t say anything in return, which I had grown used to.
“Go ahead,” he said, guessing that I wanted to look around the game room.
The door suddenly busted open. A man with blonde hair that fell just past his shoulders and blue eyes stepped through the door. His lanky build was overloaded with bags… my bags.
“Vanessa, this is Adam.” Demien introduced us. We nodded heads in greeting.
“I can’t get over how different she looks each time. I would think she would carry a visible identifying mark or something.” Adam shook his head as he squeezed past us.
“Upstairs, third door to the right,” Demien yelled after him.
“Yeah, I remember,” Adam replied, sarcastically.
“Why does
