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current life. Shall I remind you of the way you felt when you arrived in my lair?”
    I find myself repeating every feeling, emotion, and sensation I had when I found myself in Lucifer’s cave. I am there again, repeating the experience. I am not recalling it or thinking about it. It is happening again. I hear the chanting again, and I still cannot place the language. Only this time, I don’t hear the loud boom of a voice. Only the chanting fills the room. I am confused again and light-headed. I try to stand, only to fall against a bookcase. My legs are so weak.
    “I remember!” I scream. “Please stop it!”
    In that instant, it is over. My body feels fine again, but my mind is a wreck. In front of this thing, I am nothing. I have no power. He controls me, and for a lifetime or beyond he will, or so it seems. I see no avenue of escape. Strange, when I had felt sick and in despair in the dark cave, I seemed to have some intangible hope. Now, as I stand here, with no pain and, in fact, feeling good, I sense no hope. My eternal life is under the control of this beast. If I do not do what he commands, my life will be miserable. I still do not know what he will ask of me, but I know that I cannot feel the way I did a moment ago for all of eternity.
    “I will do as you ask, Prince,” I say with no emotion.
    With a very faint smile, he asks me to sit at my desk.

C HAPTER 5
    The Assignment
    You are wise and gifted, Thomas. And that is why I chose you,” he starts.
    As he says those words, I recall he also said he chose me because I had long since forsaken the Bible, I have great intellectual potential, and I have extraordinary talent. Am I to believe this or am I being deceived? I certainly believe I am all of those things, but I am not convinced that is why he has selected me. In the end, I decide it doesn’t matter. He has control over me at the moment, and meeting his demands seems my only way out. To be frank, I have no allegiance in this spiritual battle, and only moments ago I didn’t even believe in such nonsense. At least I know now that I’m special to him, and maybe I can exploit this favoritism to my advantage.
    “I still don’t know what you want of me,” I reply.
    He slides next to me and whispers into one ear and then the other, almost at the same time: “I ask nothing more of you than to achieve what you already crave. You desire fame, fortune, to counsel important men, and to be pursued by exotic, beautiful women. I want you to have all of that, but I will give you even more. I will give you the power to influence history, to see your theories and philosophies in practice, for your name to be known throughout the world, and for people to fear you. Your writings will be among the most revered and will influence nations. I will give you what you can’t achieve on your own.”
    He rests on the corner of the desk when he has finished.
    “But what is it that you want me to do to get all of this?” I again ask. It is clear he knows my heart, but it is not a coincidence that he first lays out all the wonderful things I could obtain prior to telling me what is required to achieve such treasures.
    “You are a great writer, are you not?” he asks me. I smile slightly in agreement. “You are able to communicate ideas that go well above the average person. Isn’t that correct?” he asks. I once again confirm his statement. “You are a man of influence and persuasion, or have I misjudged you?” I affirm his supposition a third time.
    He instantly vanishes from sight. Without a word, without motion, without anything, he disappears. Yet I still feel he is not distant. I think about all the things that I confirmed in our conversation. I am a man of influence and persuasion, though I know in my heart I have more potential. If only I could get the proper sponsorships and connections, people would understand my abilities. I also know that I am a great writer, regardless of what certain publications, like the