She preferred knowledge over life.
Daddy taught about me about the Cedar tree that sat in the midst of the garden of Eden, he'd said it bore no fruit and hadn't been appealing. His in depth knowledge was breathtaking when I became old enough to decipher what he meant. Who would eat from a fruitless tree?
I put Jennifer's name with her face and remembered seeing her picture at Pam's.
Nathaniel and I had ended up at a Waffle House on Plank Road somewhere between Metairie and Ethel, there had been extreme commotion and I considered the latest series of events. Kerri wasn't dumb by a long shot, maybe a bit easily influenced but not dumb. Daddy saw her demon in the room and tried to rid her of it by baptizing her, it only made it more dominant. He hadn't been prepared for what he'd seen that evening, she never mentioned the abuse she'd endured beforehand. He'd thrown the bitch in the baptismal pool with all his might when he showed himself. I could yet hear her chants when we played church, they were repetitious and alike each time. I'd researched her name only because Martin had put so much emphasis on it, Kerri Charun. Kerri had meant dark, dusky---Charun was a demon, depicted among snakes. His function was to escort the dead, I'd come right out and asked Nathaniel just who the fuck did Martin think he himself was!? "Belial, one of Satan's most significant demons," Nathaniel casually said while unbuttoning the sleeves of the shirt he wore.
"The Dead Sea Scrolls mention him being associated with fornication, wealth and pollution of the Sanctuary, he has his own Temple. Often remembered for the influence he had on the Egyptian Army---Pharaoh's Army."
I was tired, I had to be because it sounded to me like this old nigga was saying the demon Martin proclaimed to be was as ancient as The Children of Israel. "How intimate are u with Genesis 29?"
I couldn't really recall knowing the scripture not right off hand. He continued.
"The maladjusted soul, Belial is the ruler of disturbances---of the soul, the mind, u can find pictures of him being depicted as the Ruler of Earth, fornication brings u nearer to the demon. Some sources claim he is second to Lucifer. Louisa McNamara, her aura lingers; the effect she had on men was unpleasant they did not have the power to resist her no matter how righteous they were. Your grandmother saw evil and sought out spiritual redemption after she had been exposed but warned. No matter how many times they would lock Martin away as a child, he could not be contained. He would appear underneath the tree, the vault door would be opened and he would speak about the Man, the beautiful Prince. He has never had a sexual preference, Im sure u have met Denard Pyle his protege, he has always been relevant and your mother would not approve of him, she had begun to see Martin for what he was after it was too late. Tell me of your sister."
I didn't really know what to say about her, she was who she was. I loved her but she had shown her true colors when I got out of jail unexpectedly. I didn't know what to think about her now. "She was always a protector," I said thinking back to how the seizures would attack at school and she would defend my condition. I remembered Josh and how he had been senselessly killed because of Redd, she had seen the---I remembered the black tahoe.
"What about Veronica Griffin. I know she worked for Martin, her and Twan had dealings before, Makil is her son. I know she was killed." I said.
He smiled. "She and Martin had unfinished business, had nothing to do with the money. Veronica---have u saw her body? How do u know she is really dead? Kinda hard for me to believe, she wanted Cliff dead and Martin saw to it. Makil knew and hated her. Before he was killed he'd gone to the FBI about the heists, and well lets just say it got back to Martin. He always said he wasn't supposed to have life anyway. Your father testified against him and he was sentenced to 13 years, out of nowhere the conviction was overturned, he was a free and compensated man."
I knew Veronica was dead.
"As a matter of fact Veronica's son is Martin's nephew. He tried to take up Cliff's slack and kept him out of trouble but that was the least he could do."
My heart was with Troy, I would marry him, in prison or not! I was done with relationships otherwise, however I was having withdrawals from Dario something serious! I had fucked up. I wanted Troy to be a part of my child's life, I had seen his loving side he wasn't a wolf! As stubborn as he was being I still felt like he would be on the other end of the phone begging and pleading to see me real soon. I needed to tell him about the Orchard and the bodies, surely he knew about it all, he had called Procell a snake! I wanted him free, I would move on, just us! I was confused about which tree the apples had come from, or how old they were. It couldn't have been the Tree of Life if it hadn't produced in years. I saw it vibrantly glowing but fruitless, had I chosen knowledge over life? Trenton had said to learn the difference between the apples! Hadn't he chosen fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? God had said they would surely die! I began to breathe shallow and uneven, my children! I wanted to live---
Nathaniel watched me.
Could I change things now? I needed the tree to produce the fruit, what was fulfilling the prophecy? Was it Ayden? Hadn't Nathaniel said it was being fulfilled? I needed to eat from the Tree of Life, but Daddy said it had no fruit! Many people had heard about the Tree of Life and buried their loved ones underneath the wrong trees, my great grandfather allowed them to Nathaniel said. After my grandmother lost the land people would fall dead digging graves, she said the ground was now tainted. He also said the snakes and rats eventually plagued it and killed the fruit before it ripened, in 1995 it began to produce again and the tree had glowed. Old man fretted losing the Orchard because it had not produced but the trees began to bud as he laid under the tree with the shovel across his chest. The land was barren, the sifted bones had been planted but the soul hadn't been sacrificed.
"A mother can see evil in their children before anyone else can. Talk to Louisa, she will explain to u everything u need to know. She has always been prominent in her own beliefs and is the cornerstone, whether she admits it or not. Even though she never approved of your mother she would love your energy. Martin was 40 she was 17, a runaway---she called her a blue eyed Jezebel and said the dogs would eat the flesh from her face."
I remembered the dream, his words chilled me. I was playing with fire and wanted to know Nathaniel's role when he was one of Martin's followers. I pictured Sharon's petite waist and wide hips, the figure she claimed Kerri destroyed, she always reminded her she weighed ten pounds at birth.
"Louisa gave Martin life, she's entitled to riches whether he likes it or not. There is no record of his birth, she'd known he was not of this kind and locked him away. He was granted so much power through knowledge. The book, your father searched for his name but could not decipher the text it was written in, he prayed. Nevertheless as the Bible says, 'The prayers of a righteous man availeth much,' I've never found a sinner's prayer in the Bible. Sharon was a succubus who destroyed him, she sold her soul to the devil a long time ago to please a man."
The waitress wore a Santa hat and had a wreath bracelet on, she offered Nate more coffee before asking me if the grapes were sour. I'd been twirling them in the small bowl with my fingers for a half an hour. My appetite was absurd and I wasn't able taste them since I had drank the wine. The waitress held a glass of water with lemon inside, it felt as if my skin began to burn from being in the vicinity of the citrus. I reminisced how Trenton had me sick from shit I was allergic to when I was pregnant with his son, and how he was having difficulties believing I was carrying his child. He only acknowledged him the day of the altercation with Brown and said he looked like his Grandad, nothing would make me believe anything other than he loved his son. I needed to find him to determine what it was he wanted from me, he had become evil in the end. I asked Nathaniel when the waitress left about Trenton's childhood, and how he even got tied up with Martin. He just said something happened to Trena and Trenton saw it take place. I could tell it was an emotional topic but was still confused. Finally he said, "No one can live on the land without paying the price. Beautiful place, u ever wonder why he didn't have a home built years ago? Jennifer always said she could feel the evil there, said she wrestled with a demon and left with only the clothes on her back and the car still running. She'd gone to the Orchard, Trenton had sent her one evening at sunset. He'd put her in the hospital and for a year after she was found on the street days later, she was in a trance. She described what she had wrestled with as a white demon . This was in 2006, she said he had come from the burning tree that sat on the east side of the Orchard, there were two angels holding swords above. Martin had the marriage annulled.
" My son visited her everyday, she did not know him. She spoke of rushing waters to the nurses, and ranted about the demon's virgins. Only a few could see the truth in what she was saying and knew she had a special sight. Life was not promised, the tree burned furiously, 'we will all perish because of the unrighteous woman, she warned.'"
Oh.
He tried to tell me where I could find Louisa but I already knew where she lived, I was quite fond of her for whatever reason. I took a chance and asked about Christy, I still planned to visit her mother. Nathaniel hadn't met her personally but knew of her and that she'd dated his son Tobias also she was an assassin for Martin, and not just any kind. She was in debt and responsible for recovering the 3 million from Lamont, Veronica had given it to him in cash and it was inside of a safe.
Hmmm....
She'd let her deadline pass and I knew the bitch was smart, she wouldn't just stay around and let a nigga kill her. Troy had the safe...but that didn't seem right. None of it had, I knew that bitch. It was going on 3 a.m. and I was so hungry I needed him to leave because my bald headed ass was about to lose all etiquette with the blueberry waffles I decided to order.
Then he mentioned blueberries. What had I missed, I focused on his arms even though he had on long sleeves. Surely not but I inquired as he stood and grabbed the leather coat from the back of his chair before asking the waitress for the check who only stood a few feet away at the dairy box.
"The pale horse, who is HE and aren't there four?" He smiled, the gold on his canine teeth gleamed under the hanging lamp.
"The pale horse represents death, the other three are white red and black. The white one represents Christ."
He waited for me to stand up, I advised him I would stay but he refused to leave me behind. I knew where to find Jennifer and would look for her, she had to talk to me, she could hear the water too. He negotiated by saying meet him at the Orchard. I hadn't known whether I should go back so soon but wanted to know what they found. I was willing to bet it was something Trenton had buried in the metal box. Louisa, Issa as she insisted I called her would also be on my agenda. I wondered how she felt about visiting the orchard as well.
The pale horseman, I knew who he was. Nothing else could guard the tree of life, except death.