The Mark

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Elise was a bit confused by his rant, and cleared her throat so that he would remember she was in the room. He turned and his eyes met hers. They were black as coal and almost completely dilated. His face

was pale and he looked right through her. "Do you believe in me, Miss Orion?"

"Of course I do, sir."

"Would you follow me no matter what I did?"

"To the death, sir."

"No matter where I went?"

"Absolutely." She kept her voice calm, though her heart began to race.

"No matter where I came from?"

"Sir?"

"No matter what I looked like?"

"Sir, I don't understand..."

"No matter what I had done in my past?"

"You're scaring me, sir!"

Alexander Magorum had slowly stood up and with his eyes glazed over, he walked toward Elise. Sweat dripped from his forehead and the color was still drained from his face. With each question he got closer to her. Carefully she backed up. She was finally standing with her back to the office door and he was within inches of her face. His eyes flashed and in an instant, he had her in his trance.

Elise did not know what was happening to her, but she felt herself being pulled into his eyes. Deep, dark holes. It was as if she was falling into a tunnel or a well, for quickly the office disappeared and all she could see was darkness. Cool, damp darkness. She could feel the wind in her hair and she wanted to reach out with her arms to try and break the fall, but she was paralyzed. Far in the distance she could see a light. As her body sped toward the light, a heat started to surround her. The tun nel was coming into focus and it looked to her as if the black walls were melting. She was beginning to become uncomfortable from the heat and she had to turn her eyes from the light, for the brightness was blinding.

The heat was nearly unbearable and she heard a thud. She realized she was no longer falling but she was on her back, lying on a burning bed of fire. She could feel the skin on her legs start to peel from the intense heat, but she still could not move her arms. Her hair disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the smell of burnt hair filled her nostrils. She looked to her side. Maggots and worms spilled from her exposed shoulders onto the fiery floor. They gnawed on her flesh and crawled on top of each other to feast some more. By now she could hear screaming and she realized it was coming from her own mouth. She shut her eyes tightly to try to moisten them, but to no avail. The pain was excruciating and she could no longer reason herself into observing the scene. She simply wanted to die. Sur vival was not even an option. She wanted death and she wanted it now.

She opened her eyes and immediately the pain was gone. She knew. instinctively that she was not burning but standing in Magorum's of fice, staring into his pale face. He took a step back from her. She felt her knees relax and raised her hand to her damp forehead.

In a quiet voice, he spoke. "I've been there, Elise."

She continued to stare at his expressionless face. "That used to be my home. It was hell. There's no other way to de scribe it because that's exactly what it was. Hell."

"But... how... why...?" She felt the tears begin to stream down

her face. Could what he showed her-what he was saying-be true?

"Don't believe it when you hear that God is love. He isn't." Magorum's voice rose with intensity but not volume. "He's s******c. He likes to watch humanity suffer. On earth and in hell. He sits by and does nothing. He sent me to hell and wants to send me back, but I am not going back. Not ever."

Elise held her hands to her heart, trying to stop the pounding in her chest. She was struggling to process exactly what Magorum was telling her, but then she remembered the last question he had asked her. She mustered up her courage to speak.

"Who are you?"

Magorum's expressionless face turned into a smile. Apparently she asked the right question. His reply was quiet and soft again, as if he was trying to calm her with his tone.

"I am the one who will save the world from God." He reached out to her hands which were still clutching at her heart, and wrapped warm fingers around them. "He has destined us for hell. I will give us life. He causes famine. I will cause feast. I have been given a second chance and I will not lose this time."

Elise still didn't understand. His words made no sense.

"But... who are you?"

Magorum lifted her quivering chin with his right hand. He stared again into her eyes, and for a moment she feared another fall, but she looked nonetheless. He was standing closer than he ever had before and his voice was now barely over a whisper.

"I am the savior of the world. I'm sorry I had to show you, but most will not understand when they see me for what I really am. Don't for get what you have seen today. That's where you are headed if I lose. We're in this together and because I love you, I will save you."

"Who... are... you?" She asked one final time.

"You don't need to be afraid, Elise. The world will follow. I've been promised power, authority, and dominion. I am taking you with me, Elise. You and the rest of the world."

He stepped back from her and returned to his desk. He sat and picked up the lone paper on his desk. Then he looked up at her and spoke.

"Now, we need to get ready for this afternoon. You need to go back to your desk and compose yourself. Someday you'll thank me for keeping you so close."

Elise left Magorum's office and felt numb. She sat in her chair and looked at her arms and legs. All intact, though quivering uncontrol lably. She took a deep breath, shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. She had a lot to do this afternoon, but the vision she was just given would not leave.

It had rocked her world, but now that she knew she was safe, her mind started to process the experience. Who else knows about this? Why was she chosen to see this? Had he really been in hell? How could he control her mind?

Her body relaxed and her breathing steadied. What she felt wasn't terror, at least not anymore. But what was she feeling? Could she put it into words? Only one seemed to fit so she claimed it.

This must be what power feels like.

She looked at his office door. A faint trail of smoke ascended from beneath the closed door. She wasn't alarmed, for the faint smell of in cense often flowed from his office. She closed her eyes and another shiver ran up her spine. At the same time she experienced fear and excitement. She had always felt there was more to him than just rul ing Russia. She had been given a gift today and her suspicions were now confirmed.

Magorum would rule the world. Sooner than later.

And she was by his side..

"Who are you, Alexander Magorum?" she whispered under her breath.

When Thomas pulled into the garage and opened the door of his car, the smell of lasagna filled his head. He reached up and pushed the remote button to close the garage door. He grabbed his briefcase from the passenger's seat and got out of the car. He could feel his stomach rumble and he remembered all he had eaten today was a granola bar for breakfast that morning.

Christie was the first to see him. She ran toward him and jumped in his arms. Soon Sarah was sitting on his foot, her legs and arms wrapped around his leg. He stiff-legged it into the kitchen where he found Robin tossing a salad.

"My life is really good, did you know that?"

Thomas shuffled over to Robin and gave her a kiss.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving. The smell of lasagna hit me in the garage and my stom ach started to holler for food. How long 'til we eat?" The girls giggled and loosened their grip on their father. Thomas set Christie down and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Fifteen minutes. Here-have a breadstick." Robin tossed Thomas a warm garlic breadstick from a basket in front of her. "I got a new student today."

"Really? In March?" Thomas took a bite and walked to the fridge

to grab a Coke.

"Yeah, it's a transfer situation. Darling little boy. His name is Isaiah Hamilton. His mother is from India and he has the most beau tiful big brown eyes and light brown skin."

"Where did he come from?" Thomas took his Coke and sat at the

counter as Robin added the finishing touches to the salad. "From Shelton, Michigan. They've been here only a week or so."

"Smith and Brumsby has an office in Shelton. I was there once for a regional meeting. Nice place. At least they won't have culture shock, moving from Michigan to Indiana."

"They seem like nice people. We might see them in church, actually."

"Why? didn't invite them, did you?"

"Of course I didn't invite them, Thomas. But I did get into a strange conversation with Isaiah. I wrote down the name of our church and sent it home with him." Robin picked up the salad and nodded to ward the family room. "Get the girls and I'll get dinner on the table."

Thomas rounded up the girls from the family room and helped

them put their toys away quickly. Then he sent them to the bathroom to wash their hands and minutes later all four Larsons were sitting at

the dinner table, heads bowed in prayer..

"Bless mommy and daddy and grandpa and grandma and Chris tie and the lazza we are about to eat. Amen." Sarah's smile was as wide as her face when her daddy raised his head.

"Thank you, sweetie. That was perfect."

Thomas put a breadstick on both girls' plates and served up the vegetables, as Robin dished out the lasagna. Soon the girls were de scribing their day and in great detail telling every conversation they'd had since breakfast. At one point, in between stories, Robin looked at

Thomas and said, "No one ever said having daughters was a quiet job." Soon the girls finished their food and took their plates to the sink.

"May I be excused, daddy?" Christie stood next to her father, arm around his shoulder, big green eyes looking into his own.

"Of course you may," he answered.

"How about me?" asked Sarah from the other side.

"How about me what?" Robin asked. "How about me being scused, too?"

"May... I..."Robin gave her a clue.

"Daddy, may I be scused, too?"

Thomas kissed her on the forehead and said, "Nicely done, honey. Yes, you may." As she ran from the kitchen, he called out to her, "Don't trash your bedroom. It's almost time for bed."

Thomas turned to Robin. "Peace and quiet."

She nodded. "Tell me about your day."

"First, finish your story. Tell me about your strange conversation with this new boy. I'm not happy you invited him to church." It's not that he didn't trust her, but with laws that prohibit proselytizing, Christians had to be extra careful.

Thomas waited as Robin wiped her mouth with her napkin and took another quick drink of water.

"It's not that big of a deal, Thomas. Because he's new, I kept a close eye on him most of the day, putting him with kids with similar inter ests. He told me he was a Pacers fan and I hooked him up with Alex Starkwell. He's a fanatic. They seemed fine."