Unholy Empire: Chronicles of the Host, Vol 2: Chronicles of the Host, Book 2

by D. Brian Shafer

  “The Lord fights for them,” said Lucifer grimly. “Even as Moses has said!”

  “He had better begin then,” said Kara. “For there goes Rameses’ guard!”

  The angels turned to see Rameses’ crack shock troops—his personal guard, charging the Hebrew lines. The sound of chariots and horses caused the Hebrews to race toward the beach in a panic. Moses stood firm on the rock, encouraging the people to have faith in their Lord.

  “Looks like Moses will stand between Rameses and the people,” said Kara.

  “He won’t need to,” said Lucifer, looking at a great, billowing cloud rising up behind the Israelites.

  The holy angels bowed their heads low as the cloud of God’s presence moved over the Hebrews and stationed itself between the people and the Egyptians. The horses reared and revolted, stopping their charge. The charioteers tried to regain control of their ranks.

  The cloud, resembling a gigantic, twisting column, planted itself like a tree firmly rooted in the sand of Egypt, daring any trespassers to engage it. Rameses was beside himself, enraged that once more Moses had trumped his efforts. He called for Maret-men to assemble the gods on behalf of Egypt to best this desert god once and for all. Maret-men conferred with Jannes and Jambres, and the three of them began to call upon the great gods of Egypt to avenge the honor of Pharaoh.

  General On, dumbfounded, called back his troops. One charioteer, enraged by the death of his son and tired of the tricks of Moses, charged the cloud in a violent dash. Rameses and the other Egyptians watched as he entered the cloud and vanished with a brilliant flash of light—man, horse, and chariot—never to be seen again.

  “Hold, you fools!” called out General On. “We shall not pass through that sorcery until it lifts! Tie down these chariots and mind your horses! The wind is rising!”

  “I believe more than the wind is rising, general,” said Rameses.

  Chronicles of the Host

  Red Sea Crossing

  Indeed something greater than the wind was rising. For as the Lord commanded, Moses raised his staff over the water and the sea divided itself! All through the night the winds blew, so that the Hebrews were able to cross the sea on dry land! Among the Host such rejoicing occurred as had not been heard since the announcement of the Creation itself!

  Seething like a caged animal behind the cloudy curtain, and hindered by the blowing sand that was cutting into him like little knives, Rameses could only listen in increasing frustration to reports that Moses and his people were slipping away. Our fallen brothers were at a loss as to what they should do, but urged on by Kara, they continued to fan the flames of anger among Egypt so that chase might be given when the opportunity came.

  Never one to be without coordination, Lucifer was already thinking in terms of the other side of the sea, the Sinai, and what new strategies might be employed there against a new people in a new land. Egypt was lost to him; Moses had succeeded in getting his people out. But getting them into a hostile land would be something else entirely…

  Lucifer stood on the beach on the other side of the Yam Suph, the place of the crossing. He watched as the Hebrews crossed, terrified that at any moment thousands of tons of water might come crashing down upon them. The children seemed satisfied enough, watching the figures of great sea creatures swimming in the murky waters on either side of them, as the just-rising sun shot its rays through the tidal walls. The adults, however, were in a hurry to make it to higher ground.

  Moses emerged from the crossing, Michael at his side, and stood upon a large, reddish boulder on the rocky shoreline so the people could see him and be encouraged. On and on they came—a sea of people with a promise. Aaron had already begun giving thanks for the Lord’s deliverance and many were joining him in hymns to the Most High, even though most of the people were still in the midst of the pathway.

  “Welcome to Sinai, archangel!”

  Lucifer stood with Pellecus and Rugio. Next to them were Berenius and a number of aides. Among them was Drachon, whom Lucifer had appointed as prince over Sinai in the coordination of a very new war against Israel.

  “I see you waste no time, Lucifer,” said Michael, whose own angels were beginning to gather as the number of Hebrews emerging from the divided sea path grew steadily. “Another day, another battle, hmm?”

  “Just so, Michael,” replied Lucifer. “But if I know Kara, this battle isn’t over yet!”

  “Great one, the cloud is lifting!”

  Rameses watched as the cloud that had separated them from their quarry did indeed dissipate. He looked at General On, who nodded his head.

  “Maret-men!”

  “Yes, my pharaoh,” responded Maret-men. He looked up from the shrine he had innovated in his attempt to conjure up the gods of Egypt. Jannes and Jambres, exhausted from the night’s intercession, looked up as well.

  “The gods of Egypt have heard you,” said Rameses. “The cloud has been destroyed. Now, take your place with the men and take the gods with you!”

  Maret-men bowed and reluctantly took his helmet once more. He had hoped that his success in garnering the support of the gods would buy him a place on the Egyptian side of the sea—for in his heart he knew he would never see Egypt again.

  “Farewell, great one,” he said. “May the gods always smile upon you!”

  “General On, sound the pursuit!” said Rameses. “I shall enjoy the spectacle from the sacred soil of Egypt. It is not fitting that a pharaoh should engage in the hunting down of criminals and sorcerers!”

  “Yes, my lord,” said General On. “But are we to pursue them…through there?”

  He pointed to the gaping pathway in the water that divided the seas.

  “Where else?” asked Rameses. “Our gods are with us now. Go while they are still fighting for us!”

  “As you command, great one,” said General On. “Sound the alarm. Divisions prepare. May the gods of Egypt smile upon us!”

  A great cheer went up among the division commanders.

  “And may the God of Moses have mercy upon us,” added Maret-men under his breath.

  Kara stood beside Rameses in his chariot, encouraging him while he watched his troops move onto the dry sea bottom between the great walls of water. The Host had all but abandoned the Egyptian side of the sea and had joined the Hebrews with Moses on the other side. Kara ordered his demons ahead of the Egyptians to throw the remaining Hebrews into panic, so that those already on the other side would know that the wrath of Egypt would yet be satisfied.

  Sar, governor of Goshen, was Kara’s lead demon. He raced ahead of the chariots with thousands of other demons and was met by a large group of holy angels who were streaming in to throw the Egyptians into confusion.

  “Stop them,” said Sar, as he grabbed his sword and began to swing it wildly at the Host moving in. Chariots began to topple as holy angels pulled off wheels and frightened horses. General On was barely able to stop a general panic by calling the troops to order. He turned to Maret-men.

  “What devil is doing this?” he pleaded.

  “The god of Israel is fighting for them,” said Maret-men. “We must get out of here before we are all killed!”

  “Nobody leaves this place,” said General On. “I would rather die than go back to Rameses in shame.”

  “I am not a soldier!” said Maret-men. “I refuse to die by the hand of a Hebrew’s wicked god!” Maret-men threw down his helmet.

  “Then you will die by the hand of a pharaoh’s general,” said On. Maret-men only had time to turn his head before he was run through by General On’s short sword. He looked up, surprised for a moment, and crumpled in the chariot. The men around their commander watched in horror as the general casually kicked the dead magician onto the ground. He looked at those around him, held up his bloody sword, and shouted, “Death to anyone who turns back! And death to the Hebrews!”

  “Death to the Hebrews,” repeated Kara. “How dramatic these humans are!”

  “I think we should put s
ome forces on these walls,” said Berenius. “Do you suppose that they will remain?”

  “Of course they will,” said Berenius. “The Lord Creator of the seas will not risk drowning his own people to destroy Rameses’ army. They will catch the Hebrews before they get halfway across!”

  “Still, I want your legions in support of these waters,” said Kara, almost in a panic “See to it!”

  Kara noticed that the chariots, which seemed to have recovered from the earlier assault by the Host, were now thundering down the pathway toward the Hebrews.

  “I’d say that someone is going to be slaughtered,” he said.

  As the last of the Hebrews passed through the divided waters and onto the beach, every angel, both good and evil, gathered to watch the conclusion of this remarkable episode. The atmosphere was tense with hostility. The demons hissed and jeered the holy angels, using all manner of foul and abusive language and profaning the Lord’s holy name.

  Every high-ranking demon under Lucifer stood near the evil leader, who saw pharaoh’s chariots finally appear in the distance. He noted the angels, both dark and holy, gathered around the scene.

  “Quite reminiscent of Eden, isn’t it?” Lucifer called out to Michael and Crispin. “All the angels gathered around for the final decision.”

  “As I recall, the humans made a poor showing of it that day,” added Kara, who had joined his leader. “But it will soon be over.”

  “Looks to me as if it already is,” said Crispin calmly.

  Lucifer and Kara looked up, as did the other demons, who began dashing about wildly. The humans too were looking and pointing into the sea, running up from the beaches to higher ground, screaming for their children, dragging their livestock. The sea had begun to collapse on the Egyptians.

  “What…?” was all that Lucifer could muster, as he watched the instrument of his vengeance being swept away in the violence of the rushing waves. The people began raising a great cheer, dancing, singing, and expressing their praises to the Most High God.

  Michael, Gabriel, and all the other holy angels cheered their Lord as well, enjoying the celebration of the Israelites. Serus looked at Lucifer, returning his glare with a broad grin. Gabriel likewise returned Kara’s cold looks with a smile. Pellecus, unable to stand the thought of being confronted by his old enemy Crispin, vanished. Only Crispin seemed aloof from the celebration.

  Michael noticed this and turned the guardianship of Moses over to several warriors for a moment. He walked over to Crispin, who was watching the revelry from atop a large, jagged rock. Michael watched the carnival-like atmosphere for a bit. Then he spoke up.

  “Looks like most of Lucifer’s crowd have cleared out,” Michael said. “They never were ones to be good sports.”

  “They’ll be back,” said Crispin. “As always.”

  “What troubles you, teacher?” said Michael. He often used this term with Crispin when something was bothering the wisdom angel. Crispin turned to Michael.

  “They are celebrating their freedom from Egypt today,” he began. “Tomorrow they begin their freedom in the desert. I have seen these people, Michael. They are quick to turn, hasty to rebel. I only hope that they remember this day, for I believe the time will come when they shall need to.”

  In the midst of the torrent, Berenius and his legion mustered all their strength to stave off the water, but they could not stop the deluge. It crashed down upon the Egyptians, scattering horse and rider, tearing apart the great weapons of Pharaoh, destroying the greatest army in the world.

  The shield that Kara had ordered to hold back the waters gave way as the power and presence of the Almighty overwhelmed it completely, scattering the fallen angels who had created it like so many leaves in a storm. The devils shrieked in anger and fled the scene, abandoning the Egyptians to their ignoble deaths.

  General On saw the waters closing in behind him and struck his horses violently, but in the end it was useless. The waters came in on him and smashed him against his chariot, killing him instantly.

  All that was left of Rameses’ army were the bits and pieces of uniform, weaponry, and bodies of drowned soldiers and horses that washed up on the beach near him. Incredulous, he looked at the small guard who had remained with him and said nothing. He then threw down his sword and screamed to the heavens:

  “I submit to You, God of Moses, that the gods of Egypt are weak in Your light. Go now, take Your people, and leave me alone. For I have done battle with You…and I will fight with You no more.”

  He looked down at one helmet with an insignia of special rank upon it, the waves lolling it against the rocks. It was the helmet of General On. Rameses walked over and picked it up, noting the deep gash in its side.

  “General On,” Rameses said, speaking to the helmet almost tenderly. “We have both been fools. You have paid with your life…and I have paid with my kingdom.”

  He looked at hundreds of helmets and other military objects now blanketing the beach and ordered his men to pick up everything. All that he had was now lost. He would forever keep this helmet and the other remains as a perpetual memorial to the folly of contesting the true and living God.

  CHAPTER 20

  “It won’t be long before they turn on Moses.”

  Chronicles of the Host

  New Life, New Hope

  What a glorious day it was when the waters shut forever the door on Egypt, and the children of covenant began a new life in a new land. From the morning of the first day in Sinai, the Host recognized that, apart from the Most High’s grace and provision, the humans stood little chance of surviving in the desert. We also kept a wary eye for the enemy, although for the time being, they seemed to have vanished just as the Egyptians.

  The people quickly fell into a routine of moving within the power and presence of the Most High, either following His great column of smoke by day, or resting under His fiery Presence at night. But the question on everybody’s mind was: Where is Moses taking us?

  Ever vigilant, Michael stationed his greatest warriors about the camp, always cautious, always watching for any movement or intrusion by the enemy. But it was quiet…too quiet.

  We knew that the enemy was only regrouping for a future strike. All we could do was wait patiently. As for Lucifer, wherever he was, the Host realized that he was spoiling for revenge following the exodus from captivity…

  “Four hundred years of captivity thrown away,”

  Lucifer stared coldly at his war council. It was the first convening of this level of leadership since Moses’ victory in the desert at the Red Sea. Attending were Rugio, Pellecus, Kara, Berenius, and the seven leaders of the seven world regions. All of them were curious as to their next move, but none of them dared ask Lucifer outright—especially Kara, who had fallen out of favor since the disaster in Egypt.

  “Four hundred years we kept the vile Seed contained,” Lucifer continued. “We had them broken and hopeless.” He began manifesting a bluish aura as his anger welled up. “How foolish of us not to have killed Moses as a child!” He looked at Kara. “And you, Kara, I hold responsible.”

  Every eye shifted to Kara, who squirmed a bit. Pellecus couldn’t help but smile at Kara’s discomfort. Rugio also smiled. Kara looked back defiantly.

  “My lord, I understand my responsibility in this,” Kara began. “But may I remind you all that four hundred years were prophesied before the people should be delivered? How could I combat the words of the Most High?”

  “You fool!” snapped Pellecus. “Everything we are combating is prophetic. And it all has to do with the bloody Seed. The Seed is the supreme prophecy with which we must contend. If we cannot prevent these smaller events from occurring, we shall never stop the Seed and its destructive intent!”

  “Well said, Pellecus,” said Lucifer, beginning to calm down now. “All of these smaller ‘events,’ as you put it, are a part of the larger plan of the Most High. Indeed the four hundred years were spent and the people were freed just as God had promised. And so
the Seed continues down its damning path.”

  He looked over the group, which was meeting on the Dead Sea plain. The area was littered with pieces of salt and dead branches, still giving evidence of the massive destruction that had occurred here in Abraham’s time. Lucifer picked up a large salt-encrusted stone.

  “You see how the salt has encased this rock?” he asked, showing it to all the other demons. “The Seed of the Most High—that which He nourishes and cherishes—is like the stone inside this salt. Our task is to penetrate the outer shell and get to the heart of the matter!”

  Lucifer violently flung the stone against a much larger rock, shattering the salty casing and exposing the rock. He then picked up the rock and held it in front of the others.

  “We must get through the influence and impact of the Most High’s Presence,” he continued. “We must expose the Seed and destroy it. But in order to do that, we must evade the presence of God. Even now He accompanies them day and night.” He sighed. “How pathetic that so great a God is reduced to the task of a caretaker to this rebellious lot, who would turn on Him without hesitation!”

  The others laughed a nervous laugh—the first such liberty they had felt comfortable enough to take since the meeting began.

  “And so the attack must come, my brothers. We must compromise these people and put an end to the Seed’s threat. But we have learned that it shall not be through an external offense. We’ve seen that brutal force is only contested by the Host. We must somehow penetrate the hearts of Moses’ people and create disturbances from within.”

  Pellecus looked around to see if anyone else was going to speak, then began talking. “The humans have shown a marvelous capacity for self destruction. I suggest, my prince, that, left alone, they will find their own way to compromise the Lord’s working in their pitiful lives.”

  “I quite agree, Pellecus, but we cannot take that risk,” chided Lucifer. “We must remain proactive and on the attack—relentless and unyielding—but subtle and, as I said, from within. We must divide the nation from its heart; then its head will follow. We must work around Moses and not through him!”