Read In Exile (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book III) Online
Authors: John J Higgins
RECKONING
Luciferael and Sammuael had broken away earlier from the main force of Glabolas’ Cherubim as the legion changed direction. The legion continued on, turned and flew over the further mountains, the loyal Angels in pursuit. In the meantime, Luciferael and Sammuael kept flying straight towards the area where Luciferael had seen Jarahmael head earlier. Now in front of the mountainside, the two of them hovered.
“There is nothing here, my lord Luciferael,” Sammuael said as he strained his eyes scanning the surface of the mountain. “Are you sure Jarahmael came to this location? I could not follow him when he ascended earlier.”
“I am positive he headed in this direction, my dear Sammuael.”
“He must have tricked us again and slipped away!” Sammuael said as he became angry again.
“Perhaps he did!” Luciferael said, acting like it was unimportant.
“Why aren’t you upset about this?” Sammuael said. His voice could not hide his annoyance.
“Because it will be of little importance, Sammuael. Jarahmael will still come to us one day. I promise you!”
“Well I am not giving up yet!” Sammuael said as the sounds of the start of the Angelic battle echoed from over the mountains. He began to flap his wings more rapidly, getting ready to fly off towards the sound of the battle.
Luciferael held up his hand to stop. “Patience, Sammuael. You will see soon enough!”
They were soon joined by a Cherubim messenger who brought Beelzebael with him.
“I am here, my lord,” Beelzebael said as he joined the two of them, hovering before the face of the mountain where they suspected Jarahmael’s home was located.
“Did you bring the blood contract?” Luciferael asked.
“Yes, as you requested, my lord Luciferael,” Beelzebael said as he reached into his tunic and brought out the lambskin vellum that Lillith had signed seven years before.
Luciferael unrolled the lambskin document and held it up before him as he called out, “Lillith come forth, it is time for you to fulfill the terms of your agreement.” As he finished speaking the writing on the document illuminated and passed through the lambskin. The illuminated writing travelled towards the face of the mountain and disappeared into it. Once inside the mountain it caused a bright beam of light to appear, breaking through Jarahmael’s spell that concealed the entrance into his cave. A few moments later, Lillith walked out of the beam of light and the entrance to the cave, stopping at the threshold to the entrance. Her eyes were glazed over as if she was in a trance.
“Ah Lillith, there you are!” Luciferael called out to her. “Is Jarahmael within the cave with you?” As he spoke, he motioned for the Cherubim messenger and Sammuael to fly into the cave and check for themselves. Lillith remained silent, reminding Sammuael of the initial attempts to get information out of that creature Serpentalia.
Luciferael moved forward and put his hands on either side of Lillith’s head, looked into her eyes and commanded. “Lillith you will speak to the truth when I ask you a question! Understood?”
Lillith nodded her head mechanically, now fully in a trance, as Luciferael let go of her head and stepped away from her.
“Now answer me. Is Jarahmael in the cave with you?”
“No, my lord Luciferael, Jarahmael is not within the cave,” she answered while remaining in the trance.
“What about your son, the hybrid Half-Angel, Half-Human boy? Where is he?”
“I do not know, my lord Luciferael. My son Enoch left earlier with Jarahmael to play with Adam’s sons Cain and Abel. I have not seen him since.”
“All right Lillith. You will be accompanying me, as we agreed years ago,” Luciferael said as he motioned for her to come towards him.
“Yes, my lord Luciferael,” she answered.
“Muto Somes Habeo Pennae!” Luciferael called out, and Lillith once again sprouted wings, her feet once again transformed into talons.
Sammuael and the Cherubim guard returned to the entrance of the cave, shaking their heads that they did not find either Jarahmael or Enoch.
The sounds of the battle still ebbed and flowed, but Luciferael was becoming concerned that they could be found there if they remained much longer.
“It is time to go! Follow us, Lillith,” he called out to her as the rest of them began to rise into the sky, flapping their wings.
Lillith, too, began to fly, even though she still remained in her trance.
“To the west!” Luciferael called out and the three rebel Archangels, Cherubim guard and the Human woman with her wings all rose above the mountain and flew off in the direction of one of the entrances into the Underworld.
“Better now, Sammuael?” Luciferael asked as they began to leave the valley where Adam and Eve’s cave was located.
“Yes, my lord, but I will feel much better once we have Jarahmael and the Almighty’s Books in our possession!”
“We will soon enough, my dear Sammuael.”
WATCHFUL EYES
Jarahmael watched as the formations of loyal Angels under Michael and Cerebriel’s command collided into one another, due to the disappearance of the rebel Angels from the valley. Raphael arrived shortly after the failed attack to assist and take care of the wounded loyal Angels. Jarahmael remained invisible and hovered off at a distance from where the Angels were regrouping and watched as a much larger contingent of loyal Angels arrived in legions headed by the remaining loyal Archangels.
Too late,
Jarahmael thought to himself,
the rebel Angels have already escaped by turning invisible and vanishing.
Jarahmael then had a dreadful thought. What if the rebel Angels had disappeared to go and capture his son Enoch? Adam would never be able to fend off an army of war-seasoned Cherubim guards alone. He was not worried about Lillith, as he had left her safely concealed within their mountain, but Enoch remained vulnerable to capture by Luciferael.
Jarahmael remained invisible, as he did not want to be seen or suddenly have a large posse of Angels, loyal or rebel, trying to capture him. In order to avoid bumping into any of the other Angel in his invisible form, Jarahmael flew back slightly above tree top level. Fortunately, he did not see any Angels looking for him on his path back. Jarahmael was very thankful for that. What he needed now was to find another safe place for his family once he gathered everyone together again. It would not be safe to remain here. In the meantime, he would take Enoch with him back to their cave and rest with Lillith before deciding what their next move would be.
Jarahmael flew higher and circled over the area of Adam and Eve’s cave, making sure as best he could that there were no spies or rebel Angels hidden there to capture him or the Humans. He glanced backwards one more time at the sky to make sure no other flying force was headed to attack him and those under his protection. Jarahmael verified that everything looked normal and then he landed softly near the entrance of the cave of Adam and Eve. Turning himself visible, he entered the cave.
Eve was very upset when Jarahmael arrived and seemed afraid to look up at him. “What's wrong, Eve?” Jarahmael asked.
Adam interrupted, “My lord Jarahmael, did you not see what happened? Eve is upset because she saw something today and doesn't know what to make of it.”
“What did you see?” Jarahmael asked, thinking that it was probably witnessing some of the fighting Angels could do, especially the warring factions of Angels flying through the sky earlier. But when he looked into her eyes, he noticed that she was fearful. He tried to calm her and said, “You have nothing to fear, Eve!” as he reached out and grabbed both of her shoulders reassuringly.
“I don't know what I saw,” she said. “It was very strange, but I am afraid that something terrible has happened to Lillith.” Eve used a thrust of her head to Adam, communicating that he should take Enoch with him and out of earshot.
Once Adam and the three boys had stepped outside of the cave, Eve continued. “I was outside looking over at the direction of the cave you share with Lillith, watching you when you flew off earlier. Both sides of the flying Angel warriors had flown by that area earlier, off to a small mountain range further off in the distance. Then, when it seemed that there was no one around and some time passed, I saw movement up along that mountain there and immediately became worried for Lillith. Adam and I both know you are being hunted by loyal and rebel Angels alike for having helped us survive here on the Earth. Four Angels appeared flying over the entrance to your cave over there.” She then pointed to where the entrance to his cave was.
“I figured they had finally determined it was the place where you live. And then out of your own cave, I saw an extremely bright light and then Lillith came flying out, using her own wings!”
“Lillith with wings?” asked Jarahmael. “It can't be. She has never flown on her own power in all the time I have known her. She still has to hang onto my neck whenever we travel someplace.”
“I know, lord Jarahmael. It was a shock! I did not believe it at first. But I saw it with my own two eyes. I am not sure how long the other Angels had been there or if someone remained behind. Please be careful if you go back there.”
Jarahmael's thoughts raced. Lillith gone again! Had they finally found her, and did they intend to use her as bait or ransom to capture him? And what to do about little Enoch? Jarahmael thought about it for a minute and then asked Eve, “Would you and Adam keep an eye on Enoch for me when I leave here?”
She answered, “Yes, of course.”
Jarahmael grew quiet for a few moments, and then said, “If things go badly, you may need to take care of the boy until I return. Would that be all right?”
Again Eve answered, “Yes. I am sure Adam and I would take care of him for you.”
“Thank you,” Jarahmael said, and then walked outside to where Adam was watching Enoch play with Cain and Abel. Jarahmael took Enoch aside.
“I need to leave you here for a little while, Enoch. You can stay here and play with Cain and Abel while I am gone.”
“Okay Daddy, when will you be back?”
“It should not take me long, son. But if it does, don't worry, I will find you and be back soon.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to fly and find Mommy. Now get back there and play.” Jarahmael picked his son up and gave him a long hug, and then gently placed him back on the ground.
He walked over to where Eve had joined Adam. He stayed by them for a few moments while he watched Enoch go back to playing with the other two boys. Adam looked at Jarahmael and said, “Eve explained things, now go do whatever you need to do, Enoch will be safe with us.”
Jarahmael said, “Thank you,” then turned, forced himself to smile and wave to Enoch as he flew off, headed back to their home in the neighboring mountain. His mind raced as he flew faster. Lillith flying and then leaving with other Angels? What the in Hell was going on?
CAPTIVE TRANCES
Luciferael and his rebel legions returned to the Underground, with Lillith flying in between the members of his Auxilium. Although she was still in a trance as a result of the power of the blood contract, Luciferael did not want to risk an escape attempt. He realized that her bond to Jarahmael and their son, the Human and Angel hybrid child, was a strong one. She had managed to elude his search parties for seven years now, and if it wasn’t for Luciferael’s cunning and the power of his spells, she would still be free.
Sammuael still appeared upset that they had not succeeded in capturing Jarahmael yet, but Luciferael had other things on his mind. He was growing increasingly concerned about this hybrid Angel and Human. What would happen when this hybrid reproduced? With Angelic energy flowing inside the immortal body of this Human, it was possible that this combination could be more powerful than either of the two parent species.
Luciferael and his Auxilium broke off from the main force of rebel Angels as they descended down past the First Pit of Hell. Glabolas and a few Cherubim guards accompanied the Auxilium, keeping a close eye on Lillith as they continued to descend. Down through each of the remaining layers of the Pits of Hell they flew, ultimately arriving in the Seventh Pit and entering the huge meeting hall of the Pandemonium Palace.
Once they were back in their throne room, the seven rebel Archangels took their seats on their elevated chairs and looked down upon Lillith, satisfied that she was secured by the Cherubim.
Luciferael began the discussion, asking his colleagues what should be done with Lillith, and the Humans and their children.
Damiel began the discussion. “My lords, I suggest that Lillith should be confined to this level of the Pit of Hell. It’s the deepest part and most difficult to escape from or to penetrate in order for someone to release or set free this immortal Human.”
Sammuael spoke in response, turning sideways to address Luciferael directly. “I also think she should be kept in this trance-like state, my lord Luciferael. The last time that we allowed her to move around in the Underworld, she escaped and outsmarted the guards.” Sammuael shot a look at Glabolas, stressing his complaint that the Cherubim guards were not adequate to deal with Jarahmael.
Glabolas spoke up, violating the protocol that Angels from the lesser Orders in Hell should not speak without permission or at the specific request of the rebel Archangels. “I know that my lord Sammuael is still angry that we were unable to prevent Jarahmael from stealing Lillith away those many years ago, but Jarahmael is a crafty one, and as much as I like to not have to admit this, I do agree with Sammuael that we should keep the Human woman in this trance. Is that even possible?”
“Beelzebael, what do you think?” Luciferael asked. “It’s your spell.”
“I believe it is possible, my lords, but of course Lillith is the first one we have tried this blood contract with. Serpentalia was easy to put into a trance as you well know, and memory erasing worked on that lesser creature as well. I do not see why it would not work on her. But to be on the safe side, I will make sure that we will keep Lillith’s blood contract hidden from her and at another location. It is the item that exerts control over her now.”
“Excellent idea Beelzebael!” Luciferael exclaimed. “I was amazed at how effective the powers of that contract were over her!”
“Where should we keep her?” Mephistophael asked as he pointed to where Lillith remained standing, still in her trance.
“Remember the terms of her blood contract that she has to provide rebel Archangel offspring as well,” Beelzebael said.
“Then let’s keep her here, in one of the rooms of the Pandemonium Palace,” Suriel suggested.
“Who gets to make offspring with her first?” Beelzebael asked.
“Luciferael, of course!” announced Sammuael. “He failed to do so earlier because she was already impregnated by Jarahmael!”
There was a period of silence, as Sammuael’s comment could have been interpreted as an insult to Luciferael. And Luciferael shot a glance at Sammuael, but he was in such a great mood at having outmaneuvered Jarahmael as well as Michael and the loyal Angels that nothing was going to dampen his spirits this day.
“Since I will have her first, let’s move her to my palace. Once I have mated with her and had a child, the rest of you will have the opportunity to produce offspring according to your birth order,” Luciferael said. “Sammuael next, then Beelzebael, Mephistophael, Mammonael, Damiel, and finally Suriel.”
“That will take quite a bit of time, don’t you think?” asked Suriel, as he was last on the list.
“There should be no hurry, Suriel! We have plenty of time,” Luciferael responded. “Feel gratitude that you will even have access to the immortal Human woman to have offspring!”
“Yes, my lord,” Suriel responded, realizing that he had been chastised for his desires and impatience.
“Now I want to discuss another topic with all of you, my Auxilium,” Luciferael said as he stood and walked before them, stretching his legs. “What should we do about the Humans and their offspring that still live on the Earth above?”