Read In Exile (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book III) Online
Authors: John J Higgins
“Where are Adam and Eve now?” asked Jarahmael
Cerebriel responded, “They have moved back to the cave where they were living after being cast out of the Garden of Eden, the Cave of Treasures, as they like to call it. I am not sure whether they even realize that they missed the rebellion.”
“Is that cave self-sufficient?” asked Jarahmael.
“Yes. The climate is warm enough for them to live there year around. The cave should insulate them from the elements and the yearly seasons now that the Almighty has allowed weather to run freely across the planet. The cave will be warm in the winter and cool in the summer months. There is also a great deal of plant life and small game for them to eat and live off nearby. Not to mention that there is a running stream within the cave and a small river outside nearby where they can get water or bathe.”
“That is excellent,” responded Jarahmael.
“Shall we go pay them a visit? Unobserved, of course!” asked Cerebriel.
“Yes, we can leave now if you like,” Jarahmael said as the two of them moved towards the exit in Cerebriel's mansion, thankful that he would at least have Cerebriel’s companionship.
HUMAN BAIT
Luciferael's small party emerged from the pyramid near Aegyptus with Lillith before the sunrise. He was happy that he had been able to get her out of the First Heaven undetected. Now the question remained where the best place to keep her was, so she would remain out of the sight of the loyal Angels and particularly out of the grasp of Jarahmael. As he looked upon her, he smiled and thought what a pretty piece of bait she was. Seducing her in Jarahmael's palace was such fun and ironic. He believed Jarahmael had been destroyed before he seduced her. Now that the truth had come out, that Jarahmael had betrayed him, it was only just and fair that he would be able to do something harmful to Jarahmael and the Human he loved. It was a just dessert for all of Jarahmael's treachery to the rebel cause.
Luciferael’s plan was to move Lillith down into his Underworld, his captive trapped in a palace built for her between Hades and Hell. But he knew that she would not want to remain there very long. She would miss the sunshine and the beauty of the Earth.
“Come, let's get to Hades before the loyal Angels discover that Lillith is with us,” Luciferael whispered to the others, far enough away so Lillith could not hear. Lillith remained ignorant of Luciferael's plan and he had tricked her into being thankful that Luciferael and his colleagues were protecting her like this. It was not hard to convince her that the Almighty and the loyal Angels now wanted to destroy her after she had joined Luciferael and his rebel Angels. She had no value as a Human either as Adam no longer needed her now that he had that new woman, Eve. Anyway, Lillith had not been feeling well of late. She had never been ill before; that just didn't happen in the Heavens, and she was thankful for the company.
“Lillith, I need you to use your wings and fly along with us,” Luciferael commanded.
Obediently she joined the three Archangels and flew with them into a cave hidden along the side of a huge mountain near Derinkaeus. They descended deep down into the depths until they came into Hades and landed softly on the other side of the river there named Styx, all four sets of their wings rustling as they landed deep within the Earth.
“Beelzebael, instruct Grimory of the Cherubim to prepare a palace of gold for Lillith here,” Luciferael said, marking out a spot near one of the mountains in Hades. Tell him to assign whatever Angels of the lower orders that he needs to accomplish this. Use all the fine diamonds and precious metals you can find. I want her palace to be the envy of every Archangel who remains in Heaven!” exclaimed Luciferael.
“Sammuael, go find Morax of the Cherubim and have him start working on a cave system directly overhead. Same instructions to him, he can use whatever Angels he needs from the lower Order of Angels to accomplish this. We need a convenient system of tunnels to access the surface of the Earth. Just because we were cast out of Heaven doesn't mean we can't interfere with the Humans and Simians that were placed above us. We will show the Almighty yet that the Humans and Simians are not to be trusted, much less exalted. Now go!” Luciferael commanded, and then turned his attention back to Lillith.
Beelzebael and Sammuael both acknowledged his command, bowed and quickly flew off to find the Cherubim.
Luciferael walked over close to Lillith and picked her up in his arms, pulling her close. He wanted her after seeing her again, and he could feel the lust filling him from deep inside.
“Would you like to see my new palace?” Luciferael asked her as he pulled his head back slightly from kissing her.
She looked back, her eyes wide and open, barely breathing in her excitement at his touch. He looked into her eyes and could see that she was totally open to him once again
. The power I have over these Humans is amazing,
he thought to himself. His rebel Angels would follow him anywhere but they were Beings of Light like him.
There should be some resistance to me,
he thought,
but I have not yet encountered any from the Humans. Both Lillith and Eve were easily persuaded by me.
As he looked down upon her body, he could see that her flesh was excited, telling him that she was his for the taking. The wings that he had conjured for her made her much more attractive, more like himself, fluttering slightly as the feathers ruffled in small waves, as she stood there waiting on his next move.
He embraced her tightly as he flew down through the caverns to his own palace, at the lowest level of Hell itself. A grander replica of his palace in the Seventh Heaven, Mephistophael had done a great job replicating Luciferael’s own design. Where it was vast and beautiful in white and the intense blues of the Seventh Heaven, here it was designed in the bright colors of Hades and Hell, reds, oranges, violets, and blacks. The walls upon which the colors endlessly churned reflected magnificence and force.
“Look around Lillith, this is a copy of one of my finest creations. You have never been to my palace in the Seventh Heaven, but I have replicated it here. Can't you just feel the energy within the walls?”
Her hand stretched out tentatively near the walls, as they did appear to be composed of churning flames.
“Not to worry Lillith, nothing here can harm you in my new realm as long as you are under my protection. The heat will not affect your flesh as it would to any other Human or Simian. They would be burnt to a crisp in matter of seconds. Go ahead touch the walls. See what it feels like.”
She finally placed her hand against the wall and her body began to glow. Luciferael watched as the energy from his palace transferred some of its powers to her. Even though she was composed of flesh, the walls provided pure energy to her molecules and tissues. As she grew in power and energy, she became even more attractive to him, and made him lust for her even more. Perhaps she could become more than a creature of mud.
Her body now energized, she moved back into Luciferael's arms and then entwined their bodies yet once again. He thought back to when he first had her in Jarahmael's palace in the Seventh Heaven, in Jarahmael's mirrored room. He missed having mirrors around him.
It’s a shame we did not bring the mirrors along with us.
Luciferael then had a further thought.
When Jarahmael is captured I will force him to make more mirrors, after all I do have Lillith and I am sure that traitor will do anything to get her back!
OUT OF THE DEEP SLEEP
Adam and Eve had been awoken shortly after Luciferael and his rebel Angels had been cast out of Heaven. Michael had thought it best to make them unconscious during the fighting stage of the rebellion and to keep them that way. This way they would not be aware of the disruption that had occurred in Heaven nor give them any memories of the details of rebellion, all for their own protection.
Although there were the more primitive Simians who were also on the Earth at the time, their minds did not have the same level of reasoning as these two Humans. Michael had followed the Almighty's commands about Angels having very limited interactions with Adam and Lillith, and then eventually Eve. It was one of the reasons that he was awkward around Lillith when she was with Jarahmael. The Almighty had wanted these Humans to not rely upon the Angels but to create on their own.
Michael brought Raphael down with him to awaken Adam and Eve and told him that they would stay hidden right after the Humans were awoken. That way they would not know of the Angels’ involvement.
As Michael and Raphael hid themselves right after waking the Humans, he thought about what the Humans had done to the Universe. Adam and Eve had displeased the Almighty by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, directly against His only commandment to them. Unfortunately, in gaining the knowledge of good and evil they brought death upon themselves, as it was one of the ultimate evils for a Being made of the Earth. It was their act of disobedience that triggered the start of Luciferael’s rebellion.
Luciferael expected the Almighty to immediately destroy the Humans, but instead He simply cast them out of the Garden of Eden in the First Heaven and had the Angels place them near a cave on the Earth below. Infuriated, Luciferael and his Auxilium of Archangels, loyal more to Luciferael than the Almighty, tried to take over the Heavens and rule it as their own. And Michael shuddered when he thought about it, because Luciferael had almost succeeded. If it had not been for Jarahmael, Luciferael would now be the new Almighty.
Adam and Eve’s movements caused Michael to refocus his attention on them. Having been made unconscious at the start of the rebellion, they had not yet had an opportunity to adapt to their new world. And he was sure that they would need help, even though it was not his assignment. Non-interference was the command of the Almighty.
Michael could feel that Adam was still angry with Eve for having eaten of the forbidden fruit, but the Human man tried not to show it. The Humans had been in paradise and now they were off living in a cave. They had to fend for themselves and find food which did not handily grow on the trees around them like it had in Eden. And as the temperatures changed here, they were going to have to make arrangements to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Looking around, Michael knew he had fulfilled his duty in awakening the Humans, and then flew back off into the Heavens, leaving the Humans on their own.
A PLEA FOR FORGIVENESS
The two Humans awoke and looked around their surroundings in the cave. It took them a few moments to realize that they were no longer in the Garden of Eden and they had been cast out. Neither had any idea of how much time had passed. There was nothing that they had needed to take care of, and now it would be mostly their own survival. Eve sat up first and looked over at Adam.
“You are still angry with me, aren’t you?” Eve asked Adam.
“No. I am not!” Adam responded but he did not sound convincing.
“I would undo that day if I could, Adam,” Eve said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I wish there was something I could do to make this all better and get us back into the Garden of Eden. Do you think the Almighty will eventually forgive us?” she asked optimistically.
“I don't know,” said Adam. “The Almighty is pretty strict in His ways. I heard He destroyed all of the dinosaurs when they did not meet His expectations. That could be us next,” he said with a worried look on his face as he sat up.
“What if we do something that shows we are sorry, something where we suffer to get His attention?” she asked.
“I am not sure that will work either with the Almighty,” Adam responded.
“I know He seems to be quite upset with us, but He has also told us how much He loves us. It’s worth a try,” added Eve.
“I have an idea,” Adam was getting excited that there could be a way to be forgiven by the Almighty for eating the forbidden fruit. “Let’s go down to the river. We will pray to the Almighty and promise Him that we will pray all day, from morning until nightfall to show Him how sorry we truly are, let the water rush over and cleanse us as we stand and pray for forgiveness.”
After a few moments, Eve responded, “Yes Adam, that sounds like a good approach. We can show the Almighty that we are extremely sorry for what we have done. Well, it was me mostly.”
Adam looked over at Eve and his heart melted, remembering how frightened she was that she would suffer her fate alone.
“I decided to join you, Eve. I did not want to be alone again. Come, let’s go give it a try!”
Eve’s eyes were welling up with tears again at Adam’s sacrifice for her, and nodded her head “yes,” as she was afraid that she would not be able to answer Adam aloud without sobbing.
The two of them left the entrance to their cave and walked down toward the rivers.
“Why don't you take this spot, Eve? I will go over the ridge there, where the next river runs. I want you to stand in the river and pray to the Almighty to forgive us. Do not leave the river until the Almighty has communicated to us that all is forgiven and that we can return to the Garden of Eden to live out the rest of our days. “
Adam gave Eve a hug and kissed her as he started walking away.
“I will do the same as you and pray all day in the water for forgiveness.” Eve called after him. Eve watched as Adam walked over the ridge line and disappeared. She could hear nothing but the sound of some birds and the sounds of the river's current passing over her. They were far enough apart that neither Eve nor Adam could see one another and were not able to hear one another.
Both of them stood in the water praying to the Almighty for His forgiveness for their disobedience, and promised that they would sacrifice the whole day and spend it in prayer. Their prayers sent waves of sorrow and piety throughout the Earth and into the Heavens themselves, wafting like smoke on its way into the sky.
Jarahmael and Cerebriel heard their prayers as they were flying down to the Earth to check on the Humans under the Almighty’s commands. The two Angels dropped down through the Heavens but remained hovering high above where Eve and Adam were standing in the river. They wanted to stay at such a distance that Human eyes could not detect the Angels observing from above. They watched Adam and Eve as they prayed and supplicated the Almighty. Both Angels were moved by what they saw.
“What do you say? Let's fly up to the Seventh Heaven and request an audience with the Almighty. See if He would reconsider forgiving these two Humans from the Garden of Eden?” Jarahmael asked Cerebriel, both of them slowly thrusting their wings.
Cerebriel responded with a softness that he seldom had or used. “Yes, I think we should try, Jarahmael. Unlike Luciferael and his rebel Angels, they are trying to repent. They should be forgiven.”
“Let's go then! We shall see if we can convince the Almighty to grant them mercy,” said Jarahmael, changing the pitch and speed of his wings to begin his ascent to Heaven.
“All right! Let's go,” responded Cerebriel, changing his wings' pitch and flapping to keep up with Jarahmael, who had gotten a small lead in front of him.
It was not long before they disappeared in the sky, flying up through the Heavens on their way to the Throne Room in the Seventh Heaven. All the while they could hear the prayers of both Adam and Eve wafting upwards as they ascended.
As they reached the Seventh Heaven, they heard the prayers of Eve stop while Adam continued to pray.
“What happened to Eve's prayers?” asked Jarahmael as he looked at Cerebriel. “Do you still hear her prayers?” he asked, unsure if it was only him who could not hear her prayers.
“I don't hear her prayers anymore either,” Cerebriel said.
“Perhaps something has happened to her,” responded Jarahmael. He was concerned that if something happened to them while Jarahmael and Cerebriel were assigned to watch over them, it was the two of them that had failed and that would displease the Almighty.
They flew into the Throne Room looking for the Almighty, but a Cherubim guard told them He was not there and was not expected to return.
Jarahmael turned to Cerebriel and said “We better go back down there and find out what happened.”
“Agreed!” said Cerebriel, and the two of them flew off and began to descend through the lower Heaven, headed towards Earth.