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The Siege - One the reality of the spiritual plane, Ted motivated others to seek enlightenment, that state of truth and awareness in which the soul is free and at one with God. He carried out his work with humility, giving all the credit to higher forces. After relocating to Shreveport, where he settled into a quiet mobile home park, he wasted no time in finding a place where he could pursue his psychic work. A local bookstore proved to be ideal. Ted was accessible there to an intelligent, curious clientele, many of whom were already attuned to ideas about the paranormal. For a year he did an average of five readings a week, coming to know some of the regular customers very well. They were a diverse, intelligent group of people whose interests, Ted soon realized, extended to other subjects than the psychic. Sometimes they discussed UFOs, and he listened with great curiosity. There were a few events in his own past that he’d never been able to explain, even to himself, and some of the things he now heard made him question those experiences all over again. As Ted listened, he began to accept the idea that perhaps UFOs and aliens might exist, but by no means was he convinced. His new friends, however, paid a lot of attention to the subject, bringing up many unfamiliar names and places, openly discussing their beliefs. They told Ted that the ETs were wonderful, benevolent beings from other worlds, or perhaps some other dimension, here to help us through com- ing times of trouble. Ted agreed that the planet’s condition was terrible, and he really had no argument with their faith in the aliens’ ability to rescue us from catastrophe. Having never thought about such things before, he listened more than he talked at first, curious to understand the UFO phenomenon. And even though his friends managed to blend their ideas about aliens harmoni- ously into their larger metaphysical views, Ted couldn’t help questioning the relationship of the two. If aliens were real, he wondered, why had his guides never told him about them? Were they spirit, like angels or souls of the dead, or were they physical beings? Such questions were entertaining to discuss with Felicia, Masquerade of Angels 8 The Siege - One Beverly, and the others, but they didn’t dominate Ted’s thoughts. For the most part, he focused his energy on the psy- chic readings, until something set off a change in his contacts with the spirit world. After his move to Shreveport, the guidance and information he’d always received from the spirit helpers seemed to intensify. Where before, he’d received messages while in a deliberate, meditative trance state, now the spirits came to him in a different and disturb- ing way. It started in 1989 when he began to wake up in the night, sensing strange entities around him but unable to understand their communications. When these visits were over, Ted felt agitated and had trouble getting back to sleep. And then the disturbances grew more palpable. He awoke frequently, startled from rest by the touch of invisible hands on his face, stroking his hair, brushing against his arms or legs. Deprived of sleep, he took medication in order to rest for a few nights, and then he’d discontinue it. But exhaustion inevitably drove him back to using the sleeping aids. And no matter what he did, the visitations continued relentlessly night after night, jarring his nerves and leading to mental and physical fatigue. Ted was familiar with spirits delivering messages, but these new spirits, if that’s what they were, spoke to him of things he couldn’t grasp or even clearly remember. And he didn’t like the feeling of their touch on his body. Eventually, his health deteriorated. Ted recognized all the signs—jittery nerves, fear of the dark, restlessness, inability to sleep without sedatives. These were the same symptoms he had back in the 1970s. He had ignored them, until fear and exhaustion drove him into voluntary retreat in a psychiatric unit, and he didn’t want to make that mistake again. But he didn’t know what to do to change the situation. Dedicated to his work, believing that his psychic gifts should be used to guide others to an understanding of God’s reality and plan for humanity, he strove to continue with the readings. Yet, constantly intruded upon by the nighttime visitors, Ted felt his strength and concentration ebbing away. Masquerade of Angels