Demon Hunters (41 page)

The sound of my food being delivered wakes
me up. I look up at the smiling old woman and smile back as best as
I can as she hurries away. I begin eating my food, but quickly
notice the card sitting next to my coffee cup. It’s like it’s
staring back at me. I grab it with the full intention of putting it
back where I found it, but I can’t. I look at the card once more
and notice on the bottom an address is printed. I know where the
official church is. I would pass by it on a daily basis after it
was constructed, but this address is on Sixty Third Street, which
is only a few blocks away from me now. I finish up my meal and
hurry out. I start walking toward the subway station, but I ignore
it. I proceed on toward Sixty Third. Mike’s words ring in my ear as
I fight my way through the growing crowd. ‘He’s asking for you.’ My
curiosity begins to grow stronger and stronger.

My Meeting With The Prophet

I turn one last corner and there it is. The
sign on the front of the building is enormous and reads ‘The Corba
Foundation.’ It’s a pretty modern looking building. Lots of metal
and glass. Pretty typical of the surrounding buildings with very
little to distinguish it. The symbol of the Church of Corba is
chiseled into the sidewalk just below the front doors. A snake
coiled around a cross. They say after Jake founded the church, God
appeared to him as a snake to thank him for his deeds. I laugh off
such things, but if it gives them something to put on their
greeting cards, more power to them, I guess.

I push through the doors and walk into the
main lobby. I notice right away that a lot of these people look
more like they belong on Wall Street than The Vatican. A lot of
business suits and smart phones. Not exactly the pious crowd. I
head to the greeting desk. I walk up and a bubbly young girl with
red hair looks up at me with a bright smile.

“Good afternoon. How may we direct you
today?”

“Hi. I’m here to see Ja..The Savior.” I say
flatly. Her smile disappears quickly.

“I’m sorry, but an audience with The Savior
just isn’t possible.”

“It’s not?”

“No. Only a select few ever get to meet The
Savior, and even then, it’s by appointment only. He must ask for
you.”

“Fine. He asked for me. Or, that’s what I
was told.” I tell her. She looks me up and down and her lips curl
into a mean little grin.

“He asked for you? Really?” She says with a
severe tone of doubt. This girl’s attitude is really starting to
piss me off. I’m just waiting for her to figure out who I am.
Freakoids on the street seem to be able to figure out who I am from
across the street. I’m standing right in front of this nitwit and
she still isn’t quite getting it.

“Yes, he did.”

“Okay. Name?” She asks as she sits down and
opens up her appointment book. I can see it all over her face. She
can’t wait for me to tell her my name so she can look down, not
find it and smugly have me escorted out. My mind is switching
quickly as I am still deciding if I really want to do this. I could
just turn and walk away, or give her my real name and watch her
short circuit right before my eyes.

“Larissa. Larissa Corba.” I’m just too
vindictive sometimes. The girl sits frozen in her place.

“What did you say?”

“I said my name is Larissa Corba.” I repeat
louder. Now the whole lobby has stopped. All eyes are on me. I feel
like I’ve got wings popping out of my back.

“I am so sorry, Ms. Corba.” The nitwit says
desperately. Just as she’s about to get up, another woman sails out
from seemingly nowhere.

“Larissa! Dear! So good to see you!” She
says. The woman is quite a bit older than the nitwit and dressed
twice as nice. She’s wearing a striking red dress and black jacket
and her hair is black as night. Her lips are stretched in a wide
smile and I can see her teeth are exceptionally white, particularly
in contrast to how red her lips are.

“Do I know you?”

“I’m sorry. I’m Morgan LaGrange. I’m one of
the regional directors here. I just heard your discourse and felt I
should come and see what the trouble was.” She turns to the nitwit
and smiles a penetrating smile. “What exactly is the trouble?”

“Uh, Ms. Corba is here to see The
Savior.”

“Her father, yes. And why have you not let
her in?”

“Uh..I..I didn’t know. I just...” She
stammers. Morgan flips her hand up quickly and just like that, the
nitwit shuts up.

“I think now is a good time if you take a
moment for some personal reflection.”

“Yes, ma’am. Praise The Savior.”

“Praise The Savior.” Morgan says and the
nitwit runs off through some door along the wall. She turns back to
me. “Larissa. We have waited for you to come for so long.”

“You have?”

“Yes. I understand one of our subordinates
made contact with you and told you about The Savior’s requests to
see you.”

“Mike, right.”

“Mike. Yes. I am sorry for the deception,
but some of us are aware of your reluctance to see your father. Me
being among them. It was our opinion a small subterfuge was the
best way to deliver the news to you. I honestly didn’t think you’d
come even after you heard.”

“I wasn’t at first, but I guess I just got
curious.”

“Well, for whatever reason. We’re happy to
have you. Come with me.” She takes my hand and I notice her
fingernails are about the same shade of red as her dress and her
grip is oddly cold. Like ice. She drags me toward the elevators and
pushes a button. The doors slide open and we walk in. A very
luxurious elevator. Plush carpet on the floor, soft lights along
the ceiling and marble tile along the walls. Morgan pulls out a key
and pushes it into a small button on the control panel and then
calls for the penthouse level.

“This isn’t exactly what I was expecting a
church foundation to look like.”

“A lot of people think that, but the reality
is we need to treat this church as a business, at least to an
extent. We need to coordinate charity organizations from here and
administrate the growing number of worship houses across the globe.
There are some real world duties we attend to here, such as
insurance and corporate funding. We’re just the nuts and bolts of
what the church hopes to achieve.”

“And what is that exactly?”

“I think that is a conversation for you to
have with your father.”

The elevator stops suddenly and the doors
open. I step out and my jaw drops. I’ve never seen such a place. My
eyes go right to the enormous windows that make up the entire north
wall of the penthouse. From where I am, I can see the better part
of the city’s skyline with a small bit of Central Park thrown in
for good measure.

“This is as far as I can take you. Praise
The Savior.” Morgan says as the doors close. After my shock of the
view wears off, I begin taking in the smaller details. I can see
the kitchen and dining room at the far end of the living room. I
turn to look upon a very handsome sitting area with two large
chairs and an overstuffed sofa all set a few feet from a huge
fireplace. The walls are painted an eggsHell white with cherry wood
accents.

“You made it.” A voice comes from above. I
spot the spiral staircase leading up to another level. I see an old
man coming down. He’s so small with graying hair and weathered
features. As he comes closer, I begin to recognize him.

“Dad?”

“Not quite the way you remember me, is
it?”

“No, but it’s been a while.”

“I realize.” I look upon my father and I can
barely accept that it’s him. He’s so small and frail looking. He
does not look like the man who I was told was so strong and
energetic. I remember his hair being so shiny and dark, but it
looks like someone sprinkled it with dust. His skin was tighter as
I recall, but now it’s just drooping and hanging loosely. He’s
gotten so old.

“How’ve you been?” I ask quickly.

“Good. And you?”

“Fine.”

“I understand your shock. When you haven’t
seen someone for so long, it can be quite a thing when you finally
do meet again.”

“Whose fault is that?”

“Fair enough.”

“Look, Mike said you wanted to see me.”

“Mike? Oh. Right. Yes, I did.”

“Here I am. What is it?”

“Do we have to get down to business right
away? Would it kill you to spend a little time with your
father?”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Larissa, honey. Please. It’s been too long
as it is.” He says. His eyes are pitiful and pleading.

“I could stay for a drink.” I say. His face
brightens.

“Excellent! Why don’t you go and clean up
while I set things up down here?”

“Fine. Where’s the bathroom?”

“Upstairs, third door on the right.” He says
as he hurries to the kitchen. I turn and head for the stairs. It’s
a long, rail staircase. I walk up and as I reach the top I have a
sudden urge to kill myself. The second floor’s even better than the
first. Deep, luxurious white carpet with real wood molding along
the ceiling. I notice his bed through an open door to my left. It
is by far larger than a California King. Custom made, I assume. I
turn away quickly and head down a narrow hall. I stop at the third
door and open it to walk into something that would have put the
ancient Greeks to shame. Marble tile as far as the eye can see with
large elaborate frescoes. I pass by a large steam room and right
next to the Olympic-sized bathtub is a Jacuzzi and large open air
shower. I turn a corner and finally discover the sink, or sinks.
He’s got six of them in a row against the back wall with a long
panel mirror stretching across them all. I give myself a good look
and my hair’s a bit tossed and I’m not liking the state of my
makeup. I give myself a once over real quick and wash my hands. Of
course, he has motion detection faucets. I put my things back
together and try to find my way back.

I step out of the bathroom and I immediately
hear a new voice from below.

“You need to tell her now!”

“I will tell her when the time is right,
Damon. I won’t be pushed. Not by you!”

“Fine! Just make sure you tell her soon.
That’s all I’m saying.” I peer over the banister and I see him.
He’s younger with brown hair and pale skin. He turns from my father
and storms back to the elevators. I hear them shut as I reach the
first floor again. I walk over to my father who is settling on the
sofa with a bottle of wine in front of him and two glasses.

“Who was that?” I ask as I sit down in the
chair directly across from my father.

“Damon Lewis. My right-hand man.”

“Sounded kind of pissed.”

“He gets like that sometimes.” Dad says as
he fills the glasses. He hands one to me. It’s a deep red wine and
I can smell the bouquet even before I lift the glass to my lips.
Say what you want about my father, he knows his wine.

“What’s he so anxious for you to tell
me?”

“Not now. I really just want to talk. Get to
know you.”

“Well, I only came here to get this message
you claim to have for me. If you’re not going to tell me now, I
might as well just go.” I say as I begin to get up.

“Wait! No!” He barks pathetically.

“Then what is it?”

“You’re about to turn twenty-five, aren’t
you?”

“Yes.”

“Have I ever told you about what brought
about the Church of Corba?”

“I’m out of here.”

“Now just sit down this second!” He screams
as he leaps up. “This is important. You need to hear this.”

“Fine. Talk.”

“That’s better. It was about thirty years
ago. Two demons had taken Heaven and were using it in a bid to take
over the world. All that’s not important though. It’s what happened
afterward.”

“I know what happened after. You and mom had
me. Ten years later you decided you wanted to be God and left us.
Fifteen years later, here we are.”

“Your mom always said you were a lot like
me. I’m starting to see the resemblance. Now will you shut that
mouth of yours and listen? When Heaven was returned, it left a hole
in the universe. A big one. Ivar pointed it out to me at first.
Before I knew what to say, an energy surge poured out of it. Ivar
got away, but it hit me dead on. I honestly don’t know what
happened after that moment, but the next thing I remembered was
waking up in a field and being free of the demon that was in
me.”

“Hold on. Demon in you? Are you saying all
the times mom said you were possessed, she was telling the
truth?”

“Yes. I don’t know how it happened, but I
had been cured. I guess it had just been a day or two that I was
gone. When I got home, I found your mother crying her eyes out.
Everyone thought I had died. Even though I was right in front of
her, Gwen still didn’t totally believe I was there. I had to prove
it to her.”

“How did you do that?”

“Well, that is kind of the way you came to
be.”

“Ick.”

“It wasn’t long after that, your mother and
I married. At that point, just a small group of people thought of
me as some kind of second coming and the story of Heaven’s return
spread like a virus. When the whole Heaven incident became more
widely known, I was approached to start a movement to those who
believed me to be a new messiah. When that began to take off, the
so-called Church of Corba was proposed. I didn’t want any part of
it at first, but I remembered something about my time after I was
blasted by that energy surge. It was abstract and difficult to
focus on it, but something was pushing me to found the church. A
message from somewhere was telling me I needed to do it to save
everyone. I tried to divide my time between you and the church but
it was too much and I had to choose one over the other.”

“And me and mom were the lucky losers.”

“It wasn’t that simple. I thought long and
hard about everything, but I saw a larger goal in sight, and then,
one night, I had a vision.”