The Awakener (The Watchers of Men)

by Amanda Strong

  Trent pretended to stab his heart. “Such a killjoy.”

  Caitlyn stared at Trent and Micah agreed, “You’re right. This isn’t what we’re after. Let’s keep moving. Ready, Damon?”

  Damon was standing on the next hidden hatch. Wonder if that was a coincidence.

  “Methuselah built this chamber,” Micah said as they passed through the third chamber, which was made of faded, red bricks. When Damon was again on top of where the next hatch was, Eden decided, He knows where the hatches are.

  The fourth chamber was also made of brick, the room larger, the ceiling ten or eleven feet high. There were four brick columns nestled in the corners of the square room. Between each pillar, the ceiling once again formed arches. In the middle of the room sat a square table with a large, golden triangle resting on the top.

  “It’s an altar,” Micah said, running his hand along the top of the table. “And this,” Micah pointed at the gold triangle, “is the small, golden delta.”

  “Delta?” Andrew asked.

  “A delta’s a triangle made out of pure gold. Enoch had two made, one small and one large. He inscribed on them some of the hidden treasures of Heaven.”

  Trent’s mouth gaped open, speechless, his eyes scanning the delta up and down.

  The triangle didn’t look small to Eden. It was two dimensional, about four feet high and six inches thick. How much is this worth if it’s made of solid gold?

  Caitlyn pointed and asked Trent, “What do all the markings mean?”

  The engravings reminded Eden of a homemade board game with linked square spaces making a swirling path along the delta. She could almost see kids rolling a dice and moving their game pieces along the spaces. She saw there were symbols at the ‘start’ and the ‘end’.

  Trent’s eyebrows gathered together. “Interesting,” he muttered.

  “Care to share?” Andrew asked, folding his arms across his chest.

  “It’s fascinating really—” Trent began.

  Micah cut him off, “Some things aren’t for us right now. Besides, we need to keep moving.”

  Trent sighed heavily. “You’re probably right. But promise me we’ll come back.”

  Micah gestured to Damon. “Ready?”

  Again, Damon stepped to the side and removed the barrier of bricks. This time the stairs were decent sized and made of smooth, gray stone.

  Stepping off the last step, she saw the walls, floor, and ceiling were all that same light gray stone. It felt granular to the touch. There were five bronze columns resting in each corner and, counting the walls, she realized the room was shaped in a pentagon. In the largest corner of the room sat another stone altar.

  The five ornate columns had metal vines running down them, shaped to look like ivy. She saw the leaves ran along the arches between the columns as well. It felt like she’d walked into a Roman temple, the altar also draped in metal ivy.

  “The room’s made from granite. And the vines are copper; that’s why they aged green,” Micah commented next to her.

  “It’s beautiful,” she exhaled.

  “Like you,” he whispered, giving her a wink.

  She smiled, feeling a warmness creep across her face. For a moment, she almost forgot they weren’t the only two in the room.

  Then Trent yelled, “Yo Micah, you ready or what?”

  Snapped back to reality, she stepped to where Damon had already opened the passageway. Chamber six, also made of granite, had six bronze columns and six walls, making it a perfect hexagon. The vines were replaced by engravings in the granite walls and ceiling depicting stars; she counted twelve star constellations. More fascinating to her were the stone tables lining the walls, containing artifacts: gray vases in every shape and size, hand-sculpted pottery, and odd-shaped metal pieces, some long and smooth, and others round and ragged.

  “No touching,” Micah warned Trent, whose fingers were inching toward one of the metal pieces that looked like a spear. She adored this new side to Trent. All guys are still little boys dying for a treasure hunt.

  Damon lifted the square piece of granite to open the hidden hatch. Marching down to the next level, Eden realized the guardians were no longer with them. Entering the seventh chamber, she was saddened to see only Sage. Where’d Gabriel go?

  Still, her warm light was enough to brighten the space. Eden saw the room was made of different stone and, examining it closer, she discovered fossils embedded in it. She could make out seashells and small, ancient sea creatures. She skirted the room, counting columns. When she reached the seventh pillar, she noticed the room was a heptagon now. In front of her was granite altar, with a single bowl on top. It was shallow but wide, made from earthy brown clay. She was curious to know what it had been used for in the past.

  Glancing around, Eden saw Damon leaning against one of the walls, in the shadows.

  Willow stepped in front of him and asked, “So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

  Damon stared back at her. “No hiding things from you, I guess.”

  “Nope.”

  His eyes dropped to his feet. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just taking it all in.”

  Willow’s lips opened, but Caitlyn said, “Look, there are moons now too.”

  Distracted, Eden gazed up. The star motif now showed all phases of the moon from full to new. She sought out Trent. Surely, the stars and moons meant something. He was examining one of the pillars.

  She squatted by him. “What do you see?”

  Andrew overheard and stepped closer. Eden could feel him lean over her.

  Trent glanced at Eden and then with a, “humph,” stood and strode towards Micah.

  “Maybe it’s time we start telling the rest of the story, Micah,” he announced, grabbing everyone’s attention. Eden stood and nearly knocked Andrew backwards.

  “Sorry,” he muttered, backing up. She stammered, “Its ok…” but he was already retreating, not looking her way. Sighing, she plodded over to Micah and Trent.

  “Yeah, I think you’re right. I think we’re far enough into the temple. We should be safe,” Micah agreed.

  Oh great, Eden thought, catching the eyes of the others.

  “Let me rephrase that,” he said quickly, seeing the reaction. “We shouldn’t be overheard now.”

  She stared back at him thinking, Who in the world could overhear us down here? They were farther underground then she cared to think about. She didn’t want to start hyperventilating.

  Micah cleared his throat. “Let me begin by telling you a little more about angels. Not all angels are guardians. There are different hierarchies, or ranks, within angels, with different powers. In the highest ranking, or first hierarchy, of angels there are Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. These angels have specific jobs to do for the Captain and are granted power and knowledge to do it. Sage is Seraphim. They’re the closest angels to God. Eden’s guardian is Cherubim. He’s actually the leader of the Cherubim. He called down the angels with the flaming swords earlier to protect us.” Eden glanced around, wishing Gabriel were visible.

  “Demons have an order too. Astaroth was a Prince of Thrones. I don’t want to spend too much time there, other than to point out that the Devil isn’t that creative, and uses the same titles for his leaders, or princes. So that gives you a little understanding of the position Astaroth held. He was one of the more powerful demons. The other black demons you saw are what they call their pawns, minions, or just plain demons. They aren’t that lethal.” Micah paused, hearing the sounds of disagreement. “Unless there are a lot of them, like there were today. If there’s no end to their supply, even the most powerful of angels can fail. You all saw the hooded demons, right? Those were Astaroth’s Elite guard. Only princes of the first hierarchy have them. Anyways, enough on that, let’s get back to angels. So, we have the first level with Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. Then there’s a second and third level; most of your guardians are angels from the third level. Some are ranked higher, like Sage and Gabriel.”


  “What’s a Throne?” Andrew asked. “You talked about Seraphim and Cherubim, but not Thrones.”

  “To tell you the truth, Andrew, I’m not one-hundred percent sure exactly who or what they are. In the Book of Enoch, he referred to them as the ‘many eyed-ones’. They’re portrayed as wheels conjoined, covered in eyes, in the Bible. Their primary purpose is to carry the Captain’s chariot. They see everything and they move the Captain’s plan forward. I’m not sure how exactly.”

  “Wheels with eyes… sorry I asked,” Andrew mumbled.

  Micah chuckled. “Well, it may be figurative. Cherubim are said to be part man, ox, lion, and eagle. Looking at Eden’s guardian, I can picture how his feet are like an ox, totally immovable, his body’s a lion, fierce in battle, and his eyes are eagles, missing nothing.”

  “That’s really cool,” Willow said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Eden wondered if she was cold or just got goose bumps.

  “I want to tell you about another group of angels. They’re angels from the second hierarchy. They’re the Watchers.” For some reason, now Eden’s body was covered in goose bumps too. “The Watchers are a group of angels given heavenly knowledge and power. During Enoch’s dad’s time, a group of these Watchers decided they wanted to be with mortal women. Angels are forbidden from having,” he hesitated, “human relationships with mortals, let’s just say. The Watchers knew they’d be cast out of heaven forever, if they did, but Semjaza convinced them to swear an oath to each other that they’d go down together and do whatever they wanted. So Semjaza, and two hundred other Watchers, made the pact, and came to earth, marrying mortal women and having children.

  “Now this isn’t like in the books where an angel falls from heaven for a hot girl. These angels knew they were banned from Heaven, and they wanted man to be miserable like they were. They used their power for evil. They taught mortals forbidden arts of enchantments and divination, sorcery and astrology, and one of the leaders, Azazel, taught them the art of war. He showed them how to forge weapons: swords, knives, breastplates, and shields.

  “The angel’s offspring grew to be giants that consumed everything. When the food and wildlife was gone, the giants began hunting down men, eating their flesh and drinking their blood.” Micah paused, peering at the group. “This is what Enoch was born into. When he was old enough, he went into hiding to stay safe, from not only the giants, but also the fallen Watchers. Enoch was lifted up to speak with holy angels a lot. As you can probably guess, people were praying pretty hard to be spared from the monsters. Well, another group of angels heard their cries. They’re known as the Holies. They’re angels from the first hierarchy. They’re basically next in command after the Captain. In this room, on these pillars, are the names of the seven Holies.” Micah turned to Trent. “Want to read them now?”

  “Yeah.” Trent pointed to the granite column in the point of the heptagon. “This one says Michael; he’s over the best part of mankind and over chaos.”

  Chaos? Eden didn’t have time to ask what that meant, for Trent was moving to the next pillar. “Raphael, over the spirits of men.” Trent moved swiftly to the next. “Raguel, who takes vengeance on the world of luminaries. Remiel, the holy angel who’s set over those who rise. Saraqael, over spirits who sin in the spirit.”

  They were looping back around the room as Andrew muttered under his breath, “Are we supposed to remember any of this?”

  Caitlyn shrugged. “Let’s hope there’s not a pop quiz when he’s done.”

  Andrew laughed quietly as Trent continued, “Uriel, the holy angel who was set over the earth and Tartarus.”

  “Tartarus?” Damon cut in.

  “The lowest level of Hell. The place prepared for the vilest and most evil of sinners,” Micah answered, peering at Damon. Eden was pretty sure Damon’s brow was permanently bent down by now.

  I wonder if he’ll have a new wrinkle between his eyes when we leave this place, she mused.

  Trent interrupted her thoughts. “And finally, the last one’s Gabriel.” She did a one-eighty, facing Trent. Gabriel? My Gabriel? “He’s over Paradise, the serpents, and the Cherubim,” he finished.

  She felt a subtle, warm breeze behind her and turned to see Gabriel’s blue gray eyes gazing back at her.

  “You’re one of the Holies?” she gasped.

  He nodded once.

  “I had no idea—all this time. Why didn’t you tell me? Oh wait, I mean, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to—”

  “Eden,” Gabriel interrupted. “Calm down. It wasn’t necessary for you to know about me, who I am. Personally, I would’ve told you from the beginning. It’s not that important.”

  “Not important? You’re one of the Holies! Your name’s on a pillar!”

  Gabriel’s lips twitched.

  “What?” she asked. “Why do you look like you’re about to laugh at me?”

  “You’re right. My name is on a pillar.” Gabriel’s tone was bemused.

  Having his name on an ancient pillar’s probably the last thing Gabriel cares about. With a suck in of air, she covered her mouth with her hand. Memories flooded in. All the times she called him weird nicknames, trying to nettle him into saying his name. The times she complained to him about schoolwork, or a thousand other stupid, little things, and all the nights she cried to him about Micah not liking her. Her cheeks burned with shame.

  I even called him a cheater for not climbing through the tunnel with me! She was mortified. She glanced at him, meeting his steady gaze.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his faint accent sounding more pronounced for some reason.

  She shook her head, aware her friends were gawking now, all except for Willow, who only had eyes for Damon.

  Gabriel stepped closer. “I’m sorry I laughed.”

  Taken back by his apology, she sputtered, “No, it’s not that at all. I’m the one that’s sorry. I’ve treated you like my own personal diary for the past year. I’m so embarrassed.”

  Gabriel’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh that. Don’t worry, Eden. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

  “Really?”

  He grinned. “Guarding you has been some of my most enjoyable and entertaining years. You shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are.”

  Her heart squeezed. “Thank you.”

  His smile reached his eyes. It didn’t help her pathetic attempt to control her emotions; her eyes welled. Not wanting to make a scene, she took a deep breath.

  Trent cut in, “Don’t want to interrupt anything here, but are we ready to move on? I don’t know about you, but I’m dying to get to vault nine.”

  Micah glanced at Eden and she nodded back at him. “I’m good. Sorry.”

  Damon went to work revealing the next hatch. When Gabriel took a step forward, Eden grabbed his arm. “Do you have to leave again?”

  He turned and gazed down at her. “I’ll stay for the rest. Now catch up.”

  Chamber eight had the same fossils in it, and Eden overheard Andrew tell Caitlyn he thought it was limestone. There were eight granite pillars this time, and though they were embellished with carvings along the tops of stars, moons, and suns, there were no inscriptions for Trent to read. Again, there was an altar in the center of the room, and this time the ceiling was decorated with a large sun, as well as the moons and stars. The room was interesting, but she was anxious to get into vault nine.

  Micah didn’t walk to either side of the room though, but leaned against the altar. Soon everyone congregated, waiting for direction. “This is where my vision ends. I don’t know where the entrance is,” Micah announced.

  “You saw the other openings in visions?” Willow asked.

  “Yeah,” Micah said. “I saw everything, even what happened by the well, although some of that was a bit sketchy.”

  More like terrifying, Eden thought as Trent grunted.

  “Great,” Andrew muttered.

  Micah glanced around. “I’m open to ideas.”

  �
�Do you know the way?” Willow asked Damon. His eyes clouded over, almost like he was trying to remember something. He shook his head. “But you knew the other ones, didn’t you?” Willow probed. He nodded slowly.

  “Maybe there’s a hidden message somewhere,” Trent offered. He began scouring the walls and pillars. Andrew joined in.

  Gabriel shifted his weight, catching Eden’s eye. “Do you know?” she asked.

  Gabriel and Sage exchanged looks and he said, “This one’s for you to figure out.”

  She wished she could think of a convincing argument, but knew better than to question two high-ranking angels. Damon’s lips began twitching. He’s probably asking whatever will listen for help.

  “But you’ve seen inside the ninth vault though, right?” Willow asked Micah, tapping her index finger against her lips.

  “I’ve seen parts of it. I know we get into it. I’m just not sure how. Its sealed shut.” Micah still leaned against the altar, crossing his ankles.

  “But all the vaults were sealed,” Damon stated.

  “Yeah, but this one has a different kind of seal. It’s not meant to be found by just anyone.”

  “You aren’t just anyone. You’re the Seer,” Damon countered.

  Willow peered at Damon, her face puzzled, and then she hopped on her toes. “But he isn’t supposed to find the opening. We are.”

  Micah smiled. “Good, Willow. You’re using your gift. Trust your instincts.”

  Willow missed the admiration on Damon’s face because she was already stepping away, but Eden caught it. With head down, Willow slowly moved five or six feet and then stopped. She peered up at the ceiling, and Eden’s eyes followed. They were standing directly under the large, swirling sun motif.

  Willow tapped her foot on the ground. “The opening’s here.”

  Damon dropped to one knee and touched the spot she’d indicated. Eden wondered why he wasn’t already saying his ‘magic’ words.

  After pushing the dirt around with his finger, he said, “There are markings here.”

  Trent bent down and Eden scooted closer to get a better look. Symbols were engraved in the limestone, kind of like cursive writing.