VESSELS OF WAR

CHAPTER SIX

JACOB

It stood there at the entrance of my office staring at me. A glazed human shaped icicle. Like a statue of ice, except for the blazing fire that sat in It's eye socket.

My fingers ran through the curves of my face as my eyes blinked over and again. It still stood there.

The hallway was empty and there was no one was insight. I swallowed the fear that rose in my gut, breathing heavily to stifle a scream. 

          "Jesus!" I whispered, feeling a dizzying spell come on.  Shaking the fog off, I saw it's outstretched hand bid me to come.

           "No." My head shook, tears poured out of my eyes so quickly, it felt as though a tap was connected to my eyes. I wiped the water off, but it kept coming down hard. 

           "You will work for me!" It stated, touching my head with its iced claws.

          A sudden anger filled my heart and I glared at it, my eyes still a pool of tears. "How dare you?" I ripped its fingers off my head.

          "How dare you tell the servant of the most high God to work for you?" Did you miss your way or did no one warn you that my life is a no go area for entities like you?"

It jerked back at my forceful declaration. And right then I felt the water dry from my eyes and I could see it clearly. Apart from the fire that burned in it's sunken eye socket, It had no face so I had no way of determining it's facial features.

It continued to back away while I roared in prayers. "Be gone now in Jesus name!"

It stooped to the floor and melted into a puddle of water. Before I could wrap my head around what just happened, the water soaked into the ground and dried up.

          "Jesus!" I screamed.

It was now my turn to jerk back. I glanced both ways before running out of the administrative offices and back into the church auditorium.

Few days ago, my father had channeled almost everyone who attended the last church service into a Shukura vessel, and now this.

Somebody bumped into me as I ran into the church auditorium.  I stumbled into the hard object while still glancing behind me.  

My father caught my hand and forced me to look at him. "What is it?" He came closer to me while till holding my right hand. " What are you running from?"

I pointed at the door. He glanced up above me and saw nothing, I too knew there was nothing there but fear couldn't bring me to say it. The air tightened in my chest, I couldn't breathe.

         "Calm down." He pulled me to his shoulders and  held me still.

         "What did you see?"

        "The Icicle man." I whimpered.

He temporarily let go of me and pushed his brows up in confusion. "What icicle man?"

I glanced behind me again, swallowing hard. "Over there." I pointed at the direction where I'd raced away from.

       "I don't see anything."  My father retorted.

Seeing that I was beginning to sound crazy, I left him there and went to seek refuge at the altar. On my knees, I communicated the heavens, seeking to enter the realm of the spirit.
My mouth was already flowing in tongues when I saw him again. He stood there on the raised altar, water still dripping off him.

I stopped praying and stared at him fearfully. "Why are you here?" I asked quietly, also aware of other people praying in the room. Plus, a very unfocused Pastor Kelvin was casting out the devil out of some ladies.