Now Dujas would far preferred to have come upon matter that was travelling in a direction other than that of the two armies, but beggars can’t be choosers, and he had little choice but to board his only ticket out of the battle.
Being of intangible spirit matter, Dujas was not restricted to the ordinary mode of hiding to which a mortal would be subject under such circumstances. Accordingly, he was able to move directly into the cube itself, completely secreting himself from view.
The cube was not hollow. Rather, being a spirit, Dujas was able to exist within the dense matter of the cube itself. It was just as well that this was the case as the mischievous piece of matter continued slowly on its trajectory, travelling directly through the battleground once fighting had begun. Frozen with fear, Dujas remained completely still within the body of the cube, desperately hoping that he would not be discovered.
It was only after the matter had floated another five thousand metres past the sounds of battle that Dujas dared to poke his head out to look at his surroundings. As he did so, he was frightened to see two spirits immediately below him, so he instantly pulled his head back into the cube. A few moments later however, the singular sight that he had seen during that brief peek pricked his curiosity with such intensity that he dared to take a second look.
The second look confirmed what he thought he’d seen on the first occasion. It was his brother Kieran being ruthlessly tortured by an opposing spirit. It was clear as he watched that Kieran was in a very bad way, and that he was deteriorating at every instant. Not once, however, did it occur to Dujas that he should assist. Rather he watched, not enjoying the scene, but not caring enough to do anything about it either.
The last thing that Kieran saw before drifting into a complete daze was the face of Dujas poking out of the cube. This indeed was a peculiar sight, that only added strength to the theorem that he had been hallucinating at the time of this vision.
Once the enemy spirit had finished torturing his brother, Dujas speedily pulled his head back inside the cube for fear of being seen.
101 samuel
Meanwhile the remainder of the battle was not going as well for Lucifer. All of his rebel spirits had fallen back and were hesitant to reenter the fray. This battle was somehow different to senselessly attacking the weak and, at the first sign of stiff opposition his forces were starting to question the likelihood of victory, as well as reconsidering the general worthiness of the cause to which they had subscribed.
Lucifer was absolutely furious at their hesitance and quickly used all of his powers of gentle diplomacy to meekly encourage his forces to return to battle.
‘You worthless dogs! If we are defeated we can never return to the Kingdom! Attack now or suffer the consequences eternally!’ he screeched at his army.
These comments had an effect and hesitantly all prepared to return to battle.
As Lucifer screamed at his forces, General Anas, who was used to his commander's tantrums, wondered how they might achieve better penetration. He was not the brightest of military commanders, so the only strategy that he could think of was one that mirrored the approach that they had taken to training each division. This clever strategy involved simply having all of his military divisions attack just one Son of the Morning, whilst using the rest of the rebels as a diversion. Whilst not overly original, the strategy certainly had some merit as it would centre the aggression of two hundred million of his best trained soldiers upon a solitary soul.
As the good general considered whom, amongst the opposing forces, they might trial this tactic upon, his mind turned to Samuel as he recalled the old score that he had to settle with him. Indeed, Anas was not one to let a score go unsettled and he had diligently maintained the payback list that he and Lucifer had agreed to. While Lucifer had insisted that Caleb be placed at the top of said list, Caleb was not present, and besides, Anas felt more hostility towards Samuel than Caleb anyway, their confrontation having been more personal to him.
Once his noble leader had calmed a little, as the troops prepared for their next attack, Anas proposed the strategy to Lucifer, who very much liked it. The general did not reveal to the president, however, just whom he intended to target or his leader would have persuaded him otherwise. While Lucifer did not like either Michael or Samuel, he certainly knew of their power and they would have been the last two that he would have selected for this attack. But no mention of Samuel was made and, having received the presidential seal of approval, Anas briefed his divisions, with word of the strategy also being passed to those who were to act as the diversion. All of these communications occurred as they moved steadily back into formation.
As they approached, Lucifer’s forces waited for the general to identify the intended victim. Spotting his foe, Anas smiled as he directed his divisions to attack Samuel. Seeing Anas pointing at him, Samuel perceived that the forthcoming attack would be a strong one, so he steeled himself for it in two ways.
Firstly, he focused upon his faith that Jehovah would be able to discharge the responsibilities that had been placed upon him, thus unlocking the eternal door for the faithful, and slamming it shut upon the wicked. Secondly, Samuel visualised the outcome if he and his brothers were not victorious. Importantly though, he did so to motivate himself to courage and strength, not in fear. He thought of Lucifer and all of his animals returning to the Kingdom to attack Sarah, Rachel, Cindy and all those that they loved. He thought of their tears as they were told that the Sons could never return. Not for a moment was he concerned about the implications for himself, though perhaps he should have been.
Such faith, strength and selfless motivation, simply could not be matched by self-interested devils who were seeking power and authority that they were not ready for, worthy of, nor entitled to. It was little wonder that upon impact his attackers began to bounce off Samuel as balls thrown against a concrete wall.
Although the attack had already commenced, Samuel remained perfectly still and intensely focused, while his attackers descended in ever increasing numbers, hoping that the sheer weight of their numbers would ultimately break down their opponent.
Samuel’s faith was so strong, however, that just as the greatest concentration of spirits was about to hit him, he was permitted for a moment to peer into the future.
An image came into his mind of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, nailed to a cross. This image would have been terrible, but a moment later he saw the resurrected Christ, even his older brother Jehovah, smiling radiantly and holding out his hands so that Samuel could behold the print of the nails in his hands. At that moment, through faith, he had been permitted to see that Jehovah would overcome all things, as he had promised, and that good would triumph over evil forevermore.
Instantly he understood that, while much tribulation lay before all those who inherited the earth, any victory of evil over good would only be temporary. Due to that critical sacrifice, darkness would forever remain subject to light.
The impact of this vision, and the things that Samuel comprehended and knew as a result, had a startling effect upon his person. His countenance, which had been bright before, trebled in brightness such that he shone as brightly as did Jehovah. Temporarily, he was borrowing from the strength of God himself. Samuel’s faith was so strong that it had become redundant. Knowledge had replaced belief and it had enabled him to unlock a power that only his elder brother had accessed previously.
Seeing this, Samuel’s opponents ceased their attack and began to retreat in fear.
Once the attack had ceased, Samuel opened his eyes and, seeing his assailants retreating in fear, he moved quickly from his set position and began using his newfound strength to afflict those who had sought to afflict him. In that instant he shifted from defence to attack, launching himself at large groups of the rebel forces and sending them spinning every which way, shrieking and wailing as they went. Indeed, the concrete wall began throwing itself at the balls, rather than the other way around.
Samuel’s brothers, u
ntroubled by their weaker attackers, witnessed this scene and immediately took strength. Their faith magnified as they saw the impact that their brother was having upon Lucifer’s army. In the moments that followed, each of the ten thousand Sons, save three, were permitted to see the same vision that had come upon Samuel.
As was the case for Samuel, their faith became redundant. No longer did they believe that the Son of God would dispel all darkness, they knew it. For them the atonement had already occurred and the complete victory of good over evil had already been secured. Consequently, Lucifer’s forces were then confronted with not one, but almost ten thousand beings, each with the countenance and strength of God, afflicting and driving them wherever they pleased.
The wailing and screaming of hell itself will be no match for the sounds of suffering that emanated from over six billion damned spirits retreating at maximum speed, and trying desperately to avoid the Sons of the Morning. There was no way that Lucifer could have stopped them fleeing, even if he had wanted to, and of course he led the retreat.
Once Lucifer’s forces had fled another fifty thousand metres from the Kingdom, and the Sons had ceased pursuing them, Lucifer finally sought to try and stem their retreat. Having eventually brought them to a halt, Lucifer ripped into them.
‘You morons! Get back there and fight or we will never be permitted back into the Kingdom!
‘Their numbers are so few. How can you possibly justify a retreat?
‘I tell you that I will not grant power or authority to a single coward. Those of you who distinguish yourselves in this battle will be the ones that receive a position of authority in the new order!’ he screamed.
One particular spirit who, like all of his comrades, was absolutely terrified at the thought of going back into battle, had noticed that Lucifer had not been involved in the fighting at all. He took a chance and spoke when most wouldn’t.
‘Lucifer, I will go back into battle if I’m immediately behind you when I do.’
This sentiment spread rapidly through the rebel forces, and each and every devil began demanding that Lucifer lead the next attack.
Lucifer was absolutely terrified at the thought and had to think laterally to avoid this outcome.
Suddenly, changing his manner, he said calmly, ‘Alright, my worthy brothers and sisters, I will lead you into battle but I suggest that we change tack.
'Rather than attack the Sons of the Morning, we will head directly for the Kingdom and attack the cowards who would not come out to fight us.’
Without thinking, a major from one of the more recently trained divisions raised a concern.
‘Lucifer, didn’t we enter into a covenant not to return to the Kingdom if we lost the battle?’ he asked foolishly.
In response,, Lucifer exploded into an obscene tirade during which he spoke many words that essentially said very little.
At the end of a rather lengthy discourse, all that he had succeeded in clarifying was that, in his opinion, they had not lost the battle, but rather they were simply changing tack within the midst of an ongoing skirmish. This was completely at odds with the opinion of the Sons of the Morning, who were rejoicing that they had overcome their evil opponents.
102 a shot in the arm
Just as Lucifer was about to lead his forces in their descent upon the Kingdom, Masias returned looking satisfied for the first time in many months.
Although Lucifer felt the urgency of attacking the Kingdom as soon as possible, once he had heard a few small details from Masias about his encounter with Kieran, he thought that it was entirely healthy that this intelligence should be shared with his whole army.
Consequently, he allowed Masias to give an account of his attack on Kieran and, of course, he covered in the most intimate detail the many tortures that he had put his victim through.
While the account was disjointed and broken in nature, due to the madness of Masias, he was able to convey his success sufficiently well to the audience.
Lucifer, feeling significantly buoyed by this joyous news, spoke after Masias in a manner very different from his recent dialogue.
‘You see, my noble brothers and sisters, we can and will defeat this enemy. If Masias can overcome and torture a Son of the Morning, just imagine what we can do to the cowardly spirits who have chosen to hide in the Kingdom in preference to coming out to fight us.
‘We will now take a wide loop, away from our previous opponents, and will enter the Kingdom by a different way.
‘It is likely that all of the other spirits will still be gathered in the same place, awaiting word of the outcome of this battle.
‘We will bring them more than word. By the time the Sons of the Morning realise what has happened, we will have taken possession of the Kingdom and, having lost, they will be obliged to leave, never to return.’
Lucifer was being a bit selective about the timing of things. There was no reason why the Sons shouldn’t arrive back before them, but he definitely didn’t want his forces focusing upon that possibility.
As his supporters were not overly bright, they failed to deduce this.
Having spurred on his army in this fashion, he led them away from the Sons of the Morning, in a very wide berth, with the intention of descending upon the Kingdom.
103 the missing sons
After the initial joy of victory, Michael and his men conducted a count to ensure that all were present and accounted for.
There were ten thousand Sons of the Morning and clearly Lucifer was not among them. Accordingly, they should have numbered nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine. When only nine thousand nine hundred and ninety seven were counted, it was quickly established that Kieran and Dujas were missing.
Fearing the worst, they spread out quickly to find them.
After enduring the attack, Kieran had continued to drift in the same direction as the space matter within which Dujas was concealed.
As Dujas remained within his cocoon he perceived that the danger may have passed. The sounds of battle had subsided, suggesting that the battle had been won or lost.
For one dreadful moment the noise had become deafening as Lucifer and his army passed right by him, screaming in agony as they were pursued by the Sons. This increase in noise had only lasted a few terrible moments however, after which everything went quiet.
Now suddenly, as he pricked his ears, a new sound troubled him as he heard the Sons calling both his name and Kieran’s. This sound revealed to him that his brothers had been victorious, and that it was Lucifer’s hoards that had retreated directly past him, screaming and screeching as they went. Realising this, and hearing them calling his name, he wondered how he might join them without revealing that he had been hiding.
A thought came to him and he dared to peer out from his cube for an instant. As he did so, he was pleased to see Kieran still floating nearby.
Seizing this opportunity he exited his shelter and hurried over to him. Then, having put his hand under Kieran’s head to assume the position of one who was concerned for a fallen brother’s welfare, he began yelling at the top of his voice, ‘I am here, I am here but please come and help Kieran!’
It only took a few moments before all of the Sons were gathered around Dujas and Kieran, desperately trying to establish whether their brothers were alright.
They were relieved to find that Dujas appeared fine; however Kieran was a vastly different story.
Michael was on the scene early and, seeing that Dujas was alright, he asked urgently ‘What has happened to Kieran?’
‘I’m not totally sure,' responded Dujas, portraying his most concerned demeanour. 'I heard his screams whilst in battle and I hurried to find him. When I arrived I saw a spirit attacking him mercilessly. I frightened the spirit and then chased him for quite some time, but he was incredibly fast and somehow got away. I then returned to find Kieran in this state,’ said Dujas, closing his comment by placing his unused hand over his face, as if to fight back tears of grief and concern.
> Because of their concern for Kieran, none of the Sons noticed that the countenance of Dujas was completely at odds with the rest of them, who still shone brilliantly.
Kieran was in a dreadful state and they could elicit no response from him. Desperate with worry, the Sons could do nothing for Kieran except get him back to the Kingdom as quickly as they could. They headed in that direction but it was slow progress as Kieran couldn’t fly, and the direction of his drifting had to be constantly realigned so that he was moving in the right direction. As they travelled slowly in this manner, Michael wept silently as he thought of the news that Cindy must soon receive.
104 secret attack
While the Sons were tending to Kieran, Lucifer’s army had travelled back towards the Kingdom by an alternate route. As they moved in on the exact location of the vote, Lucifer maintained his forces at a height of five thousand metres, hoping to maintain the element of surprise. He wondered whether the Sons had returned yet and hoped that they hadn’t. Notwithstanding his concern, he had revenge in his heart and this mission would be far easier than confronting the Sons directly, a tactic that hadn’t proved successful thus far.
Even if they were there, Lucifer deduced that much damage could still be done. While three thousand Sons may have been able to protect seven thousand of their brothers, there was no way they could hope to protect over thirteen billion. Inflicting pain and suffering on some weaker souls would at least partly satisfy his thirst for revenge. If the Sons weren’t there, they might just be able to secure a complete surrender before their enemies returned.
Before long, as the devils flew, they could see the location where they had been outvoted and the vast multitude of assembled spirits came into view. They descended, and as they came within a distance of two thousand metres it was clear that each of the thirteen billion spirits, including Father, Mother and Jehovah, was looking away from them focusing on the sky where the brightness of the returning Sons could be seen.
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