“Considering all that Bodhi has told us, that’d make more sense,” he agreed, also mulling it over in his head.“Maybe we’re only unstoppable when we’re together.”
I hated how his words sounded so right somewhere deep inside me, giving more credit to Bodhi’s claims about us as a couple.Honestly, I hated how something so unreal could feel right when I thought about it without the bitterness that I usually felt when thinking about Lazarus Copeland.
On that train of thought, I said, “What I don’t understand is how you believe any of this, Russ.Why amIthe one trying to find the logic in all this, but you...you’re just...it’s like youwantto give Bodhi’s claims credit, and I don’t understand that.You, of all people, should be dismissing his claims as delusions or some kinds of psychosis.”
He leaned his arms on the table, his dark eyes flaring with irritation.“Because there’s no other explanation for how he could know the details of our dreams, Lissa.If you can explain that without your nonsense about childhood nightmares and the boogeyman, then I’m more than willing to listen.”
“So, rather than give him credit for a creative imagination, it makes more sense that he’s Archangel Ramiel and that I’m the savior of humanity?”I countered.“Really, Russ?”
Just then, our waitress returned with our orders, and I watched Lazarus lean back in his seat, giving her some space, and while it was clear that he was irritated, I wasn’t sure why he was upset.Same as him, I was just trying to figure this thing out, and I was trying to do it without coming to the conclusion that I really was the savior of humanity, because if I was, then we were all fucked.A flawed human should not be in charge of something so important.
After our waitress did her thing, we both began eating our dinners, steak, potatoes, and broccoli for Lazarus, a platter of fajitas for me.While I didn’t like eating big meals so late in the evening, there was plenty enough to box up for leftovers tomorrow.
A few minutes into our meals, Lazarus said, “It’s more than just the dreams, too.”
“Like what?”
Those dark eyes looked over at me again.“How can he possibly know how I feel about you, Lissa?How can he know such a thing if he’s not who he says he is?”
“It’s not a hard leap to guess that you might have feelings for me after sleeping together, Russ,” I answered.“Again, he might just be a great guesser.”
“And I’d agree with that if he wasn’t so detailed when he described how I felt about youthat night,”he shot back.“He talked about our night together, and...and there’s no way that he could know something so...so personal.”
“Okay, let’s just...let’s just think for a second,” I said, wanting to steer away from the conversation about his feelings for me.“The word Armageddon comes from the Hebrew word Har-Magedone, and that translates to Mount Megiddo, which is supposed to be the location of this...this battle for humanity, and that is not here.It’s somewhere in northern Isreal, which is a long way from here, Russ.”
“You say that like we can’t get on a plane, Lissa,” he fired back.
“Even so, if Bodhi is...is real, and we’re really talking about Armageddon, then do you know what that means?”I asked seriously.“The short version is that demons will influence men in power to gather their armies for an assault on Jerusalem with the damn Antichrist in charge.Jesus Christ will return on the Mount of Olives to fight that fight, and while it’s said that He’ll defeat the forces of evil, banishing the Antichrist and binding Satan, where does that leave us?We’rehuman,Lazarus.”
“I spent my three-day weekend reading The Bible, so I’m very aware,” he replied evenly, like this really wasn’t the craziest conversation that we’d ever had, and that was saying something when you considered that we were both psychiatrists for the mentally disturbed.“But it’s said that demonic forces willinfluencethe kings of the earth to gather their armies, Lissa.Which I take to mean that these kings will be human, too.”
“Then what are we, Russ?”I asked, and I asked because I could already feel myself believing that Bodhi Salmen was Archangel Ramiel.“Are we only human or are we something more.Are we something in between human and angel?”
“I imagine that we’re whatever God needs us to be, Lissa,” he answered quietly.
I shook my head as I muttered, “I need to re-read The Bible.”
“What?”he snorted.“You don’t know it by heart?”
I shot him a look.“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know it by heart.However, I want to re-read Revelations and then look for anything significant in other religious texts.”
“What other texts?”
“The top five most popular religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism,” I informed him.“Christians follow The Bible, Islamic followers look to The Quaran, and Buddhists refer to a number of sacred writings in the form of scriptures that align with their philosophies and teachings.”
“Okay,” he drawled out slowly.“And Hinduism and Judaism?”
“Hinduism has a number of sacred texts that include the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Samhitas, and Bhagavad Gita,” I explained.“Judaism reference the Tanakh, which is the Hebrew Bible, and the Talmud is another holy text that they use.”
His eyes widened with astonishment.“You’ve read all those books?”
I nodded.“While my practice focuses primarily on Christianity, more pointedly Catholic practices, what kind of effective doctor would I be if I ignored all the other religions out there?”
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered as he ran a hand through his dark hair.“Honestly, I had no idea.”
“Don’t give me too much credit,” I told him.“While I’ve memorized The Bible, I haven’t memorized any of the other books.”
“I don’t think thatyou’regiving yourself enough credit, Lissa,” he replied quietly, and I wasn’t going to go there with him.There were just too many unresolved feelings about this subject.
