Read In Exile (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book III) Online
Authors: John J Higgins
A HERO
Cain was dumbfounded when he saw the old Simian change form into that of the Archangel he knew as Morning Star. But there he was, standing in front of him on the other side of Enoch and the loyal Cherubim guard. Cain watched as Morning Star drove the Cherubim backwards, and was shocked further when another Cherubim came down out of the Heavens, picked Enoch up, and flew off into the sky with him. Now Cain would be unable to kill him before he could tell someone what he had done to Abel.
A few seconds later, Morning Star turned around and saw that Enoch was gone.
“Where did Enoch go, Cain? Where is he now?” Morning Star said in an angry and booming voice that frightened Cain. All he could manage to do was to point skyward and say, “They swooped him up and took him that way!”
“You now belong to me, Cain! I am going after them!”
Cain fell to his knees and begged, “What about me? What should I do about Abel’s body?”
“Tell the other pieces of dust that the heavenly Angels came down and captured your brother Enoch and killed Abel as he tried to protect him.”
“But what if the other Angels come back and tell them the truth?”
“The loyal Angels do not speak to Humans, Cain, the last one that did was banned from the Heavens. On my word as Luciferael, there is only one Angel who would dare do that and I have him safely imprisoned in my Kingdom. Not to worry, they will not tell them anything!”
Luciferael then took off skyward, flying quickly in the direction where they had taken Enoch.
Cain felt drained by what he had seen.
I never knew these Angels could be violent and destructive like that
, he thought to himself. Now he belonged to one of the most powerful of the Angels. Morning Star was actually Luciferael. He had fought off at least three other Angels that he could see, and protected him in the meantime. He certainly was a very powerful Being, the most powerful Cain had ever seen or imagined.
Now that it was over, Cain saw he was all covered in dirt and blood. When he looked down at himself it did look like he had been in a terrible fight. He could make it appear that he was a hero, especially with no one to contradict his version of the facts.
He looked down again at the body of his brother Abel, and thought that it may be better to just finish burying the body. He would claim that Abel was taken just as Enoch was taken. Otherwise, in his mind’s eye he could see Adam and Eve and the others crying over Abel’s body, and they would not be paying much attention to him and his story of being a hero. Yes, it was best to just bury this corpse.
For another hour, Cain finished burying his brother, and to further cover over the grave site he took control over Abel’s herd of sheep and chased them back and forth, trampling the ground and making the whole area look like there was a broad battle that occurred there.
A STOLEN SOUL
Luciferael had ascended about a quarter of the way up in pursuit of Faumiel and Enoch when he saw Cerebriel and a whole legion of loyal Cherubim descending head first, weapons drawn. Knowing he was outnumbered, and not wanting to show Cerebriel how he and his rebel Angels were accessing both the Underworld and the Earth, he diverted off and headed back to tree top level, heading away from all of them.
A few minutes later as he continued to fly, heading back to his kingdom, he began to relax again, feeling secure that he had successfully escaped. Then he heard the voice of Thantos as he approached, flying up to him from below.
“My lord Luciferael, we were lucky to escape that loyal Angel onslaught!”
“Yes, we were Thantos. How did you escape?”
“I was knocked out of the air by one of the loyal Cherubim before the battle began, my lord. I had just pulled the soul out of that Human named Abel and was going to take him back with me to the Underworld. He was going to be the first Human soul to ever enter the Underworld, my lord.”
“Excellent, it’s about time we got one of them. I always thought the souls of Adam and Eve would be the first ones to enter Hades, as they are older than any other Human.”
“I did too, my lord. But as soon as Cain murdered Abel I found myself transported over to the scene of the killing, my lord.”
“In any event, congratulations on your first soul, Thantos, that is wonderful! So where did you put Abel’s soul?”
“That’s where there is a problem, my lord. I lost control of the Human’s soul.”
“How could you have lost control over his soul? That was part of the agreement Michael entered into with me on behalf of the Almighty. The loyals are supposed to allow us to harvest all of the souls.”
“I know, my lord, but one of the loyal Cherubim cut the chains I had bound the soul with and took off with it. I was unable to get it back as he quickly ascended into the Heavens and I could not catch up with him.”
“That is terrible, Thantos, and a major injustice. We really need to find those Books of the Almighty soon so we can mount another attack and remove this Almighty from the Heavens!”
TRANSFORMATION
Cerebriel led his Cherubim downwards, heading towards the field where Cain had murdered his brother Abel. He was relieved that Enoch was already rescued and on his way up into the First Heaven. Cerebriel knew that he would have some explaining to do to Michael and the Almighty, but he was sure that it had been the proper thing to do. Saving Enoch was not interfering with the Humans, because the boy was only half Human.
As they broke through the last set of clouds, Cerebriel could see that Thantos and Luciferael were already fleeing the area. They could try and cut off Luciferael, but Luciferael’s escape could be another trick or set-up for an ambush. Thinking better of it, Cerebriel held up his hand to halt their descent, then circled with his hand and raised it upwards, pointing for the legion to disperse among the clouds they had just passed through. He had led the legion down from the Heavens in an assault configuration, afraid that Luciferael and his rebel Angels had started another major attack. Now in a defensive position, they waited in case a rebel attack was next.
After a while, Cerebriel’s attention was drawn to the skies above him. There he saw that the Almighty, and His Thrones and Seraphim, were headed down to the Earth, lighting up the ground below that was entering into the darkness of night. The difference in lighting made the area on the ground even more beautiful, like a spotlight highlighting colors in an otherwise black landscape.
As the Almighty and His entourage passed by, the Almighty spoke to Cerebriel and said, “I am pleased the boy Enoch has been rescued, Cerebriel. Have no fear, that was the right thing to do. Place the boy in the Garden of Eden, I want him to live there. You will also find the soul of Abel in the care of another of your loyal Cherubim. The soul of Abel, too, is to be taken to the Garden of Eden, for that shall be his new home as well. Now go!”
Cerebriel was pleased that the Almighty approved of his Cherubims’ decisions about Enoch and the soul of Abel. Now he had to make sure that there would be no interference as they finished their journey into the First Heaven and Eden. No one had been there since the end of the rebellion, so it would be good to check on that paradise once again.
With a signal to return their weapons to the sheathed position and an arm gesture indicating that they should continue to rise upwards, Cerebriel’s legion moved upwards again into the Heavens.
They were some distance behind Faumiel’s Cherubim as they entered through the First Heaven’s gate. Cerebriel could see them off in the distance as they were approaching the entrance into the Garden of Eden. Much further in the distance, he could see the Pillar of Fire guarded by one of his loyal Cherubim still in place at the gateway that used to open upon the Earth. Cerebriel motioned for the two closest Cherubim to come near, and told one to find Gaardrael, leader of the Guardian Angels, and the other to find the Archangel Raphael and request that they meet him in the Garden of Eden. Cerebriel then dismissed the rest of his legion a small distance beyond the gate at the First Heaven, and relieved them for the rest of the day, so they could return to their homes in the Sixth Heaven for the night.
A little while later, Cerebriel caught up with Faumiel and Bakiel, the Cherubim who saved Abel’s soul from Thantos. They had just gently deposited both Enoch and Abel in the Garden. Both Enoch and the soul of Abel were confused, as everything had happened so quickly. Enoch was in much better shape, more amazed at the wonder and beauty that surrounded him here. Abel’s soul, on the other hand, was in a daze, frightened, and his face constricted, looking like he was in pain. The shadows of his hands kept touching his throat where Cain had cut Abel’s former body.
Bakiel reached out and stroked the disembodied soul’s forehead, or the area where it would have been on his former body and tried to calm him from his fear. Bakiel told Abel’s soul that it would not be long now and they would ease his pain.
Cerebriel spun Enoch around him slowly, making sure that there was no harm done to him before their escape. He saw the lump underneath Enoch’s tunic and pulled it down to reveal Enoch’s wings, folded together to make them as inconspicuous as possible. Gently unbinding them, Cerebriel let them expand into their full form. They were white and beautiful, fully developed but the wing muscles that stretched across Angels’ backs and around to their chests over their sides looked emaciated and weak.
“Have you ever used your wings, Enoch?” Cerebriel asked, but he already knew the answer.
“No, never,” answered Enoch. “I did not know they could be used for flying. My mother and father warned me about them, told me they were a birth defect of some form and that I had to be very gentle with them otherwise they would fall off! Don’t tell my parents, but at one point I wanted the wings to be gone and did try to use them, hoping that they would fall off so I could be like my brothers.”
“What happened?” Cerebriel asked.
“Not much, I was able to get myself off the ground by a couple of inches, but then crashed into a wall a few feet away as I could not control the direction. And they didn’t fall off as promised by Adam and Eve.”
“Adam and Eve?” Cerebriel asked, slightly confused.
“Yes, kind Angel, my parents are Adam and Eve!”
“Oh yes, that’s right,” Cerebriel said aloud but thought to himself,
we removed the memories of Enoch being the son of Lillith and Jarahmael.
Now that he was in the Heavens and safe, he could be told the truth. Then he thought further. If Enoch was anything like Jarahmael, and Cerebriel suspected that he was, Enoch would take off trying to find Lillith and Jarahmael and make sure they were safe. Enoch did not even have a rudimentary knowledge of how to fly like an Archangel, must less fight in mid-air like one. It was best to keep that information from him for a while longer, let him continue to believe that Adam and Eve were his parents and Abel here was his true brother.
“We can help you learn to fly up here, Enoch,” Cerebriel said. “I spoke with the Almighty, the One who created your parents and this whole Universe, this place included. He wants you to stay up here with the Angels, both you and your brother, Abel.”
Raphael was the first to arrive from Cerebriel’s request. “I heard what has happened. The Humans really do have a separate life force within them, this soul. May I see?”
“Yes, of course, lord Raphael. He needs your help,” Cerebriel said as he pointed towards the glowing shape that was Abel’s soul.
Raphael looked over at the soul of the former Human Abel. It was in the same shape as was the body left on Earth, but made of bright light substance similar to the light waves of the Angels. Raphael reached into the energy field itself and Abel’s soul turned various colors slowly one to another, the fastest wavelengths of light first and then through to the slowest and finally back to the midrange. Abel’s shape shifted as well, and no longer did he appear constricted and frightened, nor did he keep touching his neck area. He was now relaxed and smiling, glowing and taking up more space with his energy field.
“He will be fine now,” Raphael said. “He needed to have the memories of his pain removed. It seems that these souls may be indestructible, at least by anything I would know. The danger to their well-being is the memories or fears more than the physical harm had been done to the earthen body. Abel still felt that he was in his Human body and still had the feelings as though he had never left his body. Strange phenomenon for sure.”
“Thank you, my lord Archangel Raphael,” Abel said. He appeared more like himself now, not only as an energy force.
“You are welcome, Abel. You have impressed the Almighty by your kindness and generosity as a Human, and He has bestowed upon you this special gift of coming directly to the Garden of Eden because of your murder.”
Enoch then spoke to Abel, “I am so sorry for what happened down there on Earth, I cannot believe that Cain would do that to you! I will go down and deliver retribution upon that cowardly brother.”
Abel put up his hand even though he still looked frightened at the sound of his brother’s name, Cain, and said, “No, I do not want anything bad to happen to my other brother, Cerebriel. Let him be, live his life out without any harm from me. I forgive him for what he had done.”
“But you had everything to live for, Abel!” Enoch insisted.
“That is all over now, my brother. I am happy and content here now.”
Gaardrael then arrived and descended into the small group. “Is this the Human soul known as Abel?”
“Yes it is, Gaardrael,” Cerebriel answered then made introductions. “Gaardrael, this is Abel and Enoch, both from the Earth.”
“Pleasure to meet both of you! I am the leader of the Angels here in the First Heaven, we are known as the Guardian Angels. And we will be working more closely with the Humans and Simians on Earth after today. Your sacrifice has brought that about, Abel.”
Enoch and Abel both nodded that they understood.
“I see that Enoch already has wings,” Gaardrael said as he looked at Enoch carefully.
“Abel, the Almighty has told me that you can, if you so choose, join the ranks of the Guardian Angels. This is not a requirement. You have been placed in the Garden of Eden according to the Almighty’s instructions. You can stay here as long as you like, for eternity if you choose. You can also join my ranks and live as we do, as Guardian Angels. You will be given wings too, if you choose to join us.”
Abel was overjoyed at hearing that and enthusiastically agreed.
“I will return tomorrow, Abel, and we shall get you transformed into one of my Order. Then we can begin to teach both of you two how to fly, if that meets with lord Cerebriel’s approval.”
Cerebriel nodded affirmatively and said: “Both of you have had an emotional and difficult day. Get some rest and we shall begin tomorrow as a new day!”
The Angels bowed to take their leave for the evening. They then flew off from the Garden of Eden into the deeper Heavens, leaving the two Humans standing near Adam and Eve’s former hut in the Garden of Eden.