Read In Exile (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book III) Online
Authors: John J Higgins
BACK TO THE SURFACE
Lillith was glad to move into her new palace that was connected to a series of caves that extended from the Underworld, all the way up and through to the top of a mountain on the surface of the Earth. The construction had taken the rebel Cherubim a great deal of effort to break through solid rock to reach the surface of the Earth, but it was well worth it to Lillith, because it now allowed her direct access to fresh air from the surface. The majority of her palace had been built in the upper reaches of the cave system above the region of Hades, and on the border with Hell. The new grand hallway of her palace was concealed as a small hilltop, and blended into the surrounding landscape. It was indistinguishable from the rest of the mountain range. Unless someone knew that it was there, they would never see it.
Luciferael had given orders to make the surface of the Earth accessible to her palace after he discovered she was pregnant with a child. He warned her that he was afraid that the Almighty and loyal Angels could still be hunting her, so despite having access to the Earth, it would be safest for her to remain hidden from any of the loyal Angels, Humans or Simians. Yet he told her that he knew that Hades and Hell were not appropriate places for her to live with her Half-Human child. So the compromise was to assign his Cherubim to build this palace for her. But to keep her under his control, he also warned her that if the loyal Angels found out that she was having a child that had been fathered by an Archangel they would hunt the child down and destroy it as an abomination. She heeded his advice and kept her trips out into the countryside of the Earth to a minimum, lest she reveal herself to the loyal Angels or any other creature who could identify her. Lillith was saddened that the child would never know his father, as Jarahmael had been destroyed in the rebellion. Her heart still ached, as she had been in love with Jarahmael and would have still been with him had he survived the rebellion. She also knew she had to keep those feelings concealed from Luciferael. She felt he would get jealous if he knew that she still loved Jarahmael. She did not want to anger him because she did fear him. Nevertheless she was appreciative that he had taken care of her from the time Jarahmael went missing until now. And she believed that Luciferael, despite his self-centeredness, would give her anything she desired.
It was not hard to hide the fact that she loved Luciferael less. Luciferael had always kept a certain distance from her, even more so after he discovered she was pregnant. She could see that it was awkward for him. She knew he hated the fact that Humans and Simians existed at all, much less that she was going to give birth to yet another one. Luciferael could destroy the child, or at least cause it great harm if she was not careful in dealing with his feelings. Now that he was the ruler of Hades and Hell, he was taking himself even more seriously, and was consolidating his own power, and interested less and less in others.
With the new palace, Lillith was happy to have access again to the surface of the Earth. She could again smell the flowers, grass and trees in the summer breezes that would pass by the entrance to her new home. She also had vent openings like fireplaces in each of the major rooms that provided fresh air and sunlight into the underground rooms.
The rebel Cherubim have done such a great job,
she thought. Although this was not Eden, her home in Eden was never as beautiful as this one. It made up, in part, for the loss she had suffered when she was removed from the Garden.
Her pregnancy continued without any complications; after all, she was an immortal herself carrying the offspring of another immortal. She often wondered what her life would have been like had Jarahmael survived the rebellion. Would she still be living in Jarahmael's palace in the Seventh Heaven? Or maybe in the Garden of Eden, that was the place where the two of them had met. Maybe living for a time in each place? The more she thought about it the more she missed Jarahmael. Her connection with Luciferael turned out to be fleeting and sporadic; it did not sustain her, and loneliness took over once again.
She did not know what she would do with this child. Hades and Hell were never designed with the idea of raising a child, as it was a place for the dead and not the living. From a Human perspective, it was not a place one would want to visit even briefly. But she was haunted by the problem of what would she do if Luciferael decided he wanted to raise the child.
No, he will never want to raise this child
, she thought, his hatred for Humans is far too great. Even though the child was of immortal parents, she was afraid that Luciferael would change his mind about the child and find a way to destroy it, or imprison it, in the new world he was constructing known as Hell. She constantly wondered if there was a way she could save the child from either of those fates.
She found some comfort when she would gaze out of the entranceway to her palace on the side of the mountain. From there she could see Simians off in the distance. They were Human-like but not particularly intelligent. They lived in a valley by the next set of mountains. Perhaps if she left the child there, they would take it and raise it as their own. It was a possibility. Or perhaps she could make her presence known to them and have them help her care for the child. But the more she thought about it, the less of a good idea it was. It may raise the attention of not only the rebel Angels under Luciferael but also the loyal Angels and the Almighty Himself. It was quite a predicament to be in. Best to be thankful she had this palace and Luciferael had allowed her to come to the surface. She also yearned to speak with the Almighty again, but she knew that was no longer possible, due to her association with Luciferael. Resigned to her circumstances, she would deal with the rest of the problems another day.
ASSIGNMENT OF GUARDS
Beelzebael and a squadron of rebel Cherubim were assigned by Luciferael to guard Lillith at her palace that opened onto the Earth. Lillith was critically important, as she was still the bait to capture Jarahmael, and the rebel Angels knew that he would attempt to rescue her from them at some point. Glabolas and his Cherubim were assigned to capture Jarahmael, because they had been experienced in fighting during the rebellion and had a score to settle with him. The loyal Archangel was instrumental in bringing about the rebel Angels’ defeat, because he had made arrangements to get weapons moved out from the Sixth Heaven during the rebellion. Additionally, Glabolas and his rebel Cherubim Angels were captured trying to prevent those same weapons from getting into the hands of the loyal Angels. The rebel Cherubim had failed, and it was one of the major reasons the rebel Angels lost the war.
Since Lillith’s palace opened up high on a mountainside, the rebel Cherubim were placed on the neighboring mountain peaks, guarding Lillith. They would also rotate among themselves, riding the upper clouds, that way they could remain inconspicuous and watch for Jarahmael’s approach.
Unfortunately, Jarahmael was having difficulties locating Lillith’s palace. Luciferael was disappointed that it was taking so long for Jarahmael to find the place, but pleased nonetheless that the location they picked could remain hidden from all the loyal Angels. For Luciferael certainly did not want Lillith to be found and retrieved by the loyal Angels. He wanted Jarahmael to be the one to make the attempt to save Lillith. Luciferael wanted Jarahmael as his captive.
After a time, Luciferael decided to make it easier for Jarahmael find Lillith and his trap, so he sent Sammuael on a mission to make sure that Jarahmael would find her.
Sammuael disguised himself as a Simian nomad and went to the marketplace of a local tribe. He knew that Jarahmael had some interaction with the Simians there and they would be the logical choice to reveal Lillith’s location, without making it look like the rebel Angels were arranging an ambush to capture him.
Sammuael made friends with a few of the tribesman and spoke to them about coming with him to his home, enlisting their help in moving some items. He made sure they went close enough to Lillith’s palace that they could see it from a distance, and prearrangements with Beelzebael made sure that the tribesman could see the beautiful blonde haired Human walking around her mountainside entranceway.
He also made sure that he asked the tribesman about the Simian leader Guline, as he suspected that Jarahmael would be in contact with him at some point. Jarahmael, Michael and Raphael had saved the Simian’s life from certain destruction by a dinosaur, so Jarahmael knew him and would trust him. Just as Luciferael planned, it was not long until Jarahmael found out about the sighting and would put himself in harm’s way to save Lillith.
EXILE
Months passed since Jarahmael had hidden his mirrors and the Books. He kept a low profile, not wanting either group of Angels, the rebels or the loyals, to know where he was or where he had been. Finding Lillith remained his top priority and he believed that she was still under the control of Luciferael and his rebel angels. Jarahmael continued to hope that he would find Luciferael or one of his rebel angels and follow them back to the entrance to their Underworld. He also held out hope that Lillith might escape from the control of Luciferael, but knew that was unlikely, remembering how scheming and charming the Prince of Heaven could be when he wanted.
Jarahmael also had additional problems. He often thought about his decision to violate the Almighty's commandment against interfering with the Humans by telling them the truth about Luciferael and showing Adam and Eve the secret to fire. Even though he knew there would be consequences, he felt it was the right thing to do. Maybe part of his helping the Humans was based on a feeling of responsibility for them that stemmed from his involvement with Lillith, and more or less stealing her away from Adam. Regardless, he knew he made matters worse for himself with the Heavens when he provided the Humans with secrets about hunting and farming. He justified it to himself because he feared the Humans could not survive without knowing these things. And what did it matter at that point anyway? He knew there was no turning back.
For now he dedicated himself to search the Earth for any place Lillith may have hidden herself or have been hidden by Luciferael. He began his search for her starting near Aegyptus because it had a connecting portal to the Garden of Eden and she would have been familiar with the place. He found no trace of her there. He then slowly expanded his search across the rest of the Earth, searching for any indication of Lillith or an entranceway into Hades and Hell. He would search during the day and at night, hide himself in places convenient to where he was searching to rest, never staying more than one night in a place. He would be harder to find if he kept moving.
Despite all the heartache he endured, he did find peace in flying along the Earth, often sitting in clouds when he would take a break from looking for Lillith. Looking down, he could see how the Earth was becoming more colorful as life spread more and more across the planet. Once the seeds had been planted, the Earth was populating itself with plants, insects and animals. The Simians too, those who were the predecessors to Adam and Eve, were still living in various caves over the surface of the Earth or roaming across plains and deserts, making homes and encampments across the planet. He watched the Simians carefully. Perhaps Lillith had escaped Hell and was able to blend in with them and survive.
He also learned to blend in with the Simians. It took a number of attempts, but he learned to discipline his mind and slow down his vibrational rate and become solid as a Simian. He had to condense himself and reduced his size from nine feet tall to six feet. He still stood out because of his height, a chance he took because it made searching for Lillith easier. The Simians were about five foot four, and being taller allowed him to look over their heads easily. Besides, whenever he stayed off at a distance it was difficult for them to gauge his height. Even on the rare occasions when he would walk among them, they just took him as a taller Simian from another tribe. And, he was not particularly concerned about being found out by the Simians as neither the rebel or loyal Angels took much interest in them.
In this Simian disguise, Jarahmael had made friends with Guline, head of the Simians. Guline still bore the scar from being attacked by the dinosaur the day that Jarahmael, Michael, and Rafael saved him. Guline would look at him strangely at times, making Jarahmael unsure if he knew that he really was an Archangel in disguise. Regardless, friendship with Guline proved helpful in Jarahmael’s quest to find Lillith. He could converse with the Simians, as language was not a barrier for the Archangels. Guline had connections with most of the tribes of the Simians, and this made it possible for Jarahmael to use the Simians as extra eyes and ears. In his conversation he would ask if they saw anything out of the ordinary, and by asking groups from region to region he was able to narrow down likely places where the entrance to Hades and Hell may be located. Jarahmael knew that Luciferael and his rebel Angels had no fear and thought little of these Simians and would travel without regard as to whether they were seen or not.
Then one day Guline told Jarahmael that a tribe of Simians had heard of a strange cave on top of one of the nearby mountains. Flying beings were seen traveling out of chimneys up on top of this mountain. Even more interesting, some of the Simians had seen a beautiful woman walking in and out of one of the caves up at the top of the mountain. A group of the more adventurous Simians wanted to go up there to find out more, but were deterred by the stories of these large winged creatures flying in and out of the mountain. They had interest in the beautiful woman, but their curiosity did not overcome their fear of these creatures.
Now that Jarahmael knew Lillith’s location, he wasted no time and flew off immediately. He was going to free his Lillith!