Memory's Door (A Well Spring Novel) (16 page)

“I have most of the New Testament memorized. In multiple translations.”

“Really?”

“The curse of a brain that retains almost everything I ever read.”

“Guys! Talk more later.” Dana grabbed their hands. “Let’s. Get. Out. Of. Here. Now!” She ignored the stinging sweat trickling into her eyes and called out to the Spirit of God, “We acknowledge you are the one who takes us into and out of the spiritual realm. By faith in who you are. On our own we can do nothing, with you all things can be done. And nothing can be done if we don’t believe.” She paused and gripped Marcus’s and Brandon’s hands even tighter. “In faith, we ask, please take us home.”

Instantly the familiar rush of going through a gate filled Dana’s mind and heart and body. Her next breath was one of the cool air of Reece’s Pacific Northwest backyard. Her breathing slowed and she glanced at Marcus and Brandon. The professor sat with wide eyes, but Brandon had already turned toward Reece, who now stood on the grass a few yards to the right of the fire pit. “What was that?”

Reece raised his eyebrows but didn’t speak. Brandon glanced at Doug, then back to Reece. “What were you two thinking? Why did you send us in there? Do you know how close we came to being killed? There wasn’t even time to figure out how we were supposed to fight. We’re not even close to ready for something like that.”

“Exactly,” Reece said.

“You’re insane, Reece.” Brandon slumped back and folded his arms.

Marcus rocked back and forth on the bench. “My assessment is that’s precisely why Reece sent us through that particular gate into that particular realm. I’m assuming he had no knowledge of the specific kind of attack that would come against us, but he knew it would be one we couldn’t handle.”

“Okay, Professor Genius, tell me why.”

Dana leaned forward, elbows on her knees, and answered before Marcus could speak. “Exactly what we realized when we were inside. If we’re going to take on the Wolf, we need our belief to grow. We need to rely on the Spirit more than ever before. We need to take to heart we can do nothing without Jesus.”

“Yes, that’s the most significant part of it, Dana.” Reece eased back over and sat next to Brandon. “But there is another part as well.”

“Which is?”

“As you know, I believe we’re about to enter a phase of battle far more intense than we’ve experienced up till this point. You needed to see the severity of what the enemy can bring. You needed to see how the enemy can sometimes attack without a specific enemy to fight against. How do you fight against nature inside the spiritual realms? What are the weapons you can wield? If you think you can do it on your own, you will die.

“If you surrender to Jesus and put your faith in his providing what you need, those weapons and ideas will come precisely at the moment you have to have them. I could have told you these things, but would you have grasped the lesson and the need as thoroughly as you now have done? I think not. And you all need to grasp it firmly.”

Reece stood. “I suggest we take a short break to allow the emotions of your journey to settle a bit more, get something to drink or eat from my kitchen, and then we’ll gather here once again. Let’s say in ten minutes.”

“And the point of discussion?” Dana asked.

Reece cracked his knuckles. “It’s time to tell you about the Wolf.”

NINETEEN

F
INALLY THEY
’
D GET ANSWERS ABOUT THE
W
OLF
. B
RANDON
snatched a grape Powerade out of the refrigerator and stepped onto Reece’s back deck. Who it was or what it was. How they would go after it. What kind of attack plan they’d put together, and the steps on putting it in motion to destroy the beast. Brandon gazed toward the fire pit.

Part of him relished the idea of taking down the Wolf. And part—if he was brutally honest—was scared. He’d seen what the demons had done to Reece’s eyes. What if the Wolf came after his voice? Or Marcus’s brain? Could they be as strong as Reece seemed to be after losing one of his greatest pleasures—taking photos, seeing the beauty of the world all around him—if something happened to one of them?

A strange feeling swept through Brandon. That he would soon have to face that question. Was it a premonition? Or a thought from the enemy? Singing had been his life since he was fourteen. He was the Song. He had to sing, right?

The back door opened and Marcus shuffled up next to him. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They made their way over the hundred yards to Reece’s fire pit. The others were already there.

As he and Marcus settled into chairs, Doug rubbed his knees and glanced at all of them. “The past ten months have been stunning.
We’ve made significant progress and our numbers are growing. Of the ninety-six men and women who have gone through the training school at Well Spring, ninety-two say they want to go through the advanced training once we start those courses. And these men and women have taken the Warriors Riding message of freedom back to their friends, their families, their communities.

“They are leading their own retreats, in their churches, at retreat centers, in private homes, and in cabins across the nation. And over the past three weeks I’ve received e-mails from groups starting Warriors Riding retreats in Australia, South Africa, Wales, France, and Brazil. This message, dear friends, truly is starting to spread to the nations. The prophecy is coming true.

“But . . .” Doug clasped his hands. “The Wolf has risen and is growing stronger daily. The time has come for you to act on the reason you were brought together in the first place.”

Doug glanced at Reece who somehow picked up that it was his turn to speak. The big man adjusted his sunglasses and pushed back his beat-up dark tan Stetson. “As you might have suspected, who and what the Wolf is isn’t obvious. A direct assault, while often brutal, isn’t the most efficient or most thorough way to destroy an enemy.”

Marcus looked up from scribbling notes in his journal. “It’s to accomplish it from the inside out. The most strategic course of action is to present seemingly important distractions or inconsequential battles to take the focus off the major assault.”

“Exactly,” Doug said. “While you’re fighting the enemy attacking your home out front, there’s another contingent setting charges in your crawl space and you don’t realize it till it’s too late.”

Dana pulled her hair back. “In other words, you’re saying the Wolf isn’t something like the government trying to restrict religious freedoms, or Hollywood and some of the garbage they’re putting out, or atheistic groups trying to shut down Christmas.”

“Well said.”

“I’m loving this intro and discussion, I really am, but can we get on with the show?” Brandon wheeled his forefingers around each
other in a circle. “You know? Go ahead and give us the name of the Wolf? Him, her, them, whatever?”

“The Wolf is not a human.” Reece massaged his fist.

“I’m lost,” Brandon said.

“But while we can’t know with 100 percent certainty who the Wolf is, we believe the Spirit has shown us a specific person to go after.”

“Now I’m not only lost, every map in the universe has vanished.” Brandon ran his fingers through his hair. “The Wolf isn’t a person, but he is a person. Do I have it straight?”

“Yes.” Reece smiled.

“What? Am I the only one who feels like he’s not making any sense?” Brandon glanced at the others, then broke into song.
“Just a sphere of perplexity, that’s what the universe is these days . . .”

“‘Ball of Confusion,’ the Temptations, 1970, Motown,” Reece said.

“How do you do that? I didn’t say the words even close to right, plus sang the wrong melody. I’m never going to stump you. You’re a music encyclopedia.”

“Only from 1962 through ’78. After that all the good music died.”

“Why ’78?”

Doug cleared his throat. “Gentlemen.”

Reece nodded and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Think back to last year when we went to church together and the professor’s eyes were opened and he saw demons masquerading as mundane ushers. Remember how the pastor challenged his audience not to drink even a sip of alcohol or go to even one R-rated movie for a year? And how Marcus saw the demons putting stones inside the backpacks of the people in the congregation? There is nothing wrong with making a personal choice not to drink alcohol or go to R-rated movies. But for one Christian to weigh another down with rules and regulations that are not their own . . . that is the greatest enemy of Christianity. Religion. It’s what Jesus hated the
most. What he fought against with the Pharisees. And his onslaught against religion is what got him killed.

“The spirit of religion is an enemy who is crushing churches, dividing fellowships and friends, turning God from a person into a manifesto of dos and don’ts that crush the spirit and turn Christianity into a program devoid of true godly power and devoid of love.”

Brandon leaned back in his chair. “I like the speech, but I’m still tempted to sing another verse of the Temptations song.”

Dana folded her arms. “I’m still confused as well. I get it about the spirit of religion, but there has to be a more clearly defined expression of the Wolf than that.”

Reece turned to Marcus. “Professor?”

“I would surmise that in the spiritual realm the Wolf is the spirit of religion, but in the physical realm that spirit manifests itself in a variety of different ways, including that of human nature. So while the Wolf is a spirit we must be aware of, and probably at some point engage, it is highly likely the Wolf can also be manifested in human individuals who are being used by the Wolf to carry out its design.” Marcus pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Is there any accuracy to my assessment of the situation?”

“Ever the teacher, eh, Professor?” Brandon grinned.

“And ever the student as well. It is difficult to teach if you are not open to learning those things you do not yet know.”

“Yes, you are accurate, Professor,” Reece said. “Completely.”

“So even though there’s no way the Wolf is using only one person, there is a person you’ve targeted. That we need to confront.”

“Yes.” Reece turned toward Doug and opened his palm.

Doug placed a piece of wood on the fire. “For over a year we’ve sensed the Spirit telling us the Wolf is using a man named Carson Tanner.”

“The radio show host?” Dana sat up ramrod straight. “On the cover of
Christianity World
? Named one of the new century’s most influential evangelicals? I met him at the National Association of
Broadcasters four years ago. He was just starting to get big, but now he’s pulling in serious numbers. Plus he’s got columns in two major magazines and is a frequent guest on TV shows and podcasts. People follow what he says. You’re not serious when you say you think he’s—”

“What about you, Brandon? Heard of him?”

“Yeah, don’t know many people who haven’t. The best-selling books, the filled arenas when he does his speaking tours . . . people love him. They call him hard-core. Radical. That he’s getting people back to the Bible and to living a pure Christian life.”

Dana laughed. “You’re going to have to sell me hard on the idea of Carson being the Wolf, Doug. He’s charming, smart, knows his Bible cold.” Dana smiled. “He’s handsome.”

“What do his looks have to do with anything?” Brandon frowned. “I think we all know what he looks like. We don’t need to dwell on—”

“I’m not dwelling on his thick blond hair, his tan skin, or his trim athletic build, Brandon. I’m thinking that Marcus might not know what he looks like, and I’m trying to give the professor a visual to work with.”

“I’m aware of him,” Marcus said.

Brandon snorted out a breath. “Yeah, Dana, I’m sure that’s exactly what you were—”

“Enough.” Reece raised his palm, the reflection of the flames of the fire pit turning it a dark red. “Have you ever listened to his program?”

“Yes,” Dana said.

“How long ago?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, a year and a half ago. Maybe two and a half years.”

“When he first started he did a lot of good for a lot of people. But as his audience grew, he changed. We don’t think he’s one of the most influential evangelicals today. He is
the
most influential. He is allowing the enemy—through his ministry—to put rocks in
his listeners’ spiritual backpacks the size of Volkswagen Beetles. But let’s be clear. Our enemy is Carson and it isn’t Carson.”

“Great. More confusion.” Brandon rolled his eyes back in his head.

“Carson is only the Wolf because he’s allowed the spirit of religion to embed its claws into his life and soul.”

Dana pulled her sweatshirt tighter against the rapidly cooling evening. “All right, for argument’s sake let’s say Carson is the Wolf—what is our action plan?”

“We’re going after him,” Reece said. “The enemy has been hunting us, trying to take us out. Now the hunters will become the hunted.”

Marcus twirled his pen. “Will we look for an opportunity to engage Carson directly, or try to gain permission to enter into his soul, or proceed into some other spiritual sphere to engage the spirit or spirits influencing Carson?”

“My suspicion is all three. But Doug and I haven’t sought the Lord on the answer to that yet. Or our next steps.”

“Why not?” Brandon said.

“Because we are the Warriors Riding plural, not the Warrior Riding singular. We will seek the answer together.”

“Shouldn’t we do something in the meantime?” Brandon stood and paced. “Like send out an e-mail blast to our trainees telling them to boycott the guy and tell their friends and family to do the same?”

“Crawl, walk, run,” Reece said. “First we will pray about it. Together and individually. Then we’ll gather to hear what the Spirit has said to each of us about what actions to take from here.” Reece turned to Dana. “Are you with us here, Dana?”

“Yes, sorry.” She slid her cell phone into her pocket and looked up. “Crazy days at the station.”

Doug stared at her for a long moment. “Too much to handle?”

“No, it’s going really well.”

Reece stood. “My friends, as usual, it has been an intense
evening so let’s bring it to a close. A reminder that we’re headed to Well Spring next week for our next round of training. We’ll see you all here at my house on Thursday at noon.”