The Creator took Lucifer’s hand. “My Shining One, so it is said, so it shall be done.”
And sea creatures and birds of every size and shape appeared in the air and in the sea.
The Creator blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply."
And that was the fifth day.
Mercy, Lucifer, and Samael gathered around the Creator, sitting at His feet under a peach tree. Lucifer plucked one of the soft fruits and allowed his fingers to caress the fuzzy surface. He took a large bite. “This is good,” he mumbled. “We need more of these in the circle of life.” He pointed at Samael and winked.
“I’ll get right on it.” Samael laughed and rested back on his hands, tilting his face toward the new sun as if trying to capture the warmth on his skin.
“The Earth is a beautiful place,” Mercy said, her voice filled with both admiration and melancholy.
“But it still feels lonely,” Lucifer interjected, mumbling around another bite of peach. “Something is missing. It isn’t dead anymore but—even with all of the life we’ve created—it feels empty, somehow.”
“Careful with fruits,” Mercy warned. “They’re good until you have too many. Or until you find there are no more, and it’s you to blame for them being no more.”
Lucifer shrugged. “I can’t hear you above the noise of self-righteousness, Mercy. Something about guilt and balance, am I right?”
Mercy cast her gaze down, as if chastened, but recovered quickly from the sting of his words. “Yes, of course it has everything to do with balance. Moderation in all things. A lesson you’d benefit greatly from, if not for your childish and selfish ways.” Her hair lightened from its usual auburn to a dingy silver, showcasing the change in her mood. The muscles in her arms tightened as if she readied to fight.
A sly smirk crept over Lucifer’s lips, and he shook his head dismissively. “Don’t take everything so personal, Mercy. We all have our roles in the grand scheme of things, but aren’t you ever off-duty?” He let out a deep breath. “And you know I’m never selfish with you.” He brushed a touch across her fingers and relaxed a little as her hair began to darken again.
Samael stood and plucked a piece of fruit from a low-hanging branch then bit into the succulent harvest. He watched the birds of the sky clean the cherries from the trees and the bees eating the nectar of the flowers.
“All of this life force will be drained without order. There are too many predators, almost.” He drew his brows together as he appeared to consider something. “Let the Earth have animals of various kinds. Ones that eat of the Earth, and ones that eat of the flesh. Where there is life there must surely be death.”
The Creator looked hard at Samael, his eyebrows furrowed. “What sin have they committed to suffer death?” He asked.
“None,” Lucifer stated. “Nor have trees or flowers, but they give their life force freely so life may prevail. Sometimes, no sin needs be committed to suffer death. Death is not the punishment. And where there are predators, there must surely be more prey, but up and up? The food chain cannot end with berries and birds.” He finished with his eyebrows raised in a gentle challenge and scoffed for good measure.
Samael smiled and nodded his agreement at Lucifer before they both looked back at the Creator, awaiting his judgement.
The Creator glanced at Mercy. “And what is your will?”
“Life is precious. Your creation should not be wasted.”
“Get off the fence, Mercy. What do your words even mean?” Lucifer nudged Mercy’s foot as he needled her, gratified to see her hair shimmering wiry gray again.
“And your will Lucifer?”
Lucifer shrugged. “I have no vested interest here, My All, “ he said.
“Just a desire to meddle?” Mercy asked through clenched teeth.
Lucifer turned to Samael and Mercy, studying each of them closely. “How about this for a solution? When an animal falls, let it once again give nourishment and balance back to the earth.” He patted Mercy’s shoulder. “So no life will be wasted.”
“You aren’t so bad, really.” She ran the back of her fingers up his cheek and over his ear, brushing against his short dark hair as her thumb ran down the curve of his jaw and lingered.
Lucifer basked in the loving gesture of acceptance from his old friend. He reached up and met her hand on his face, twining their fingers together. His hand easily overshadowed hers, yet they were almost equal in strength. Their eyes locked.
She raised his hand to her lips and skimmed a kiss across it. The highest honor one angel could bestow upon an other. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“Yes.” Samael nodded slowly as he agreed. “And add this. Let some of the the smallest of creatures be fierce and deadly and some of the largest creatures be slow and clumsy.”
“For balance,” Mercy interjected.
“And order.” Samael flashed his wide, easygoing grin again.
The Creator nodded. “So it is said, so it shall be done,” He granted. And He created every kind of creature to roam the Earth and said, “Go forth, be fruitful, and multiply.” He paused, gazing at his angels. “To honor you Samael, I shall make the lion strong and fierce like you. For the lion, the greatest of beasts, will control the circle of life and death in these lands, fearing no other animal. Just as you, Samael, fear no other and keep order in the Heavens.”
Samael kneeled, bowed his head, and kissed the Creator’s hand. “Thank you, My All.”
“In addition, I will make you like the lion and allow you to roam the Earth, free and wild at your will. You are truly my most feared warrior, and you will remain unconstrained by boundaries,” He said, raising Samael to his feet. “You shall not only be known as Samael, but now you will also be known as, The Lion of Fire and Angel of Death.”
Lucifer raised his eyebrows. Greatest? Most feared? He leaned in closer to the Creator. “And what role for Mercy?” he questioned.
“Or you?” the Creator asked, ignoring his question. “What is it you want, Lucifer? The others have created much here.” He spread his arms wide, indicating everything around them. “It is the life you wished for, is it not? Now, tell me, what will you bring?” Something in his tone suggested provocation.
Lucifer drew away and stood shoulder to shoulder beside Samael. Yes, Samael had his value as a fearless warrior. His impressive build appeared more menacing than either Lucifer or Mercy. He’d make a powerful foe when the time came, but Lucifer never had to worry about that. The Creator’s favored son didn’t fear Death. But power came in different forms and brute force didn’t always win. Sometimes, other methods, such as tactical maneuvers, won the war. And Lucifer knew how to play that game well, so he continued to stand alongside his powerful brother as he maintained steady eye contact with his Creator.
When enough time had passed that gazes were met, returned, and understood, he turned around, surveying the land. Something is missing. He looked up to the Heavens above, his mind’s eye resting briefly in the Third Heaven where the Creator alone dwelled, his own home in Second Heaven, and finally the First Heaven where lesser celestial beings roamed. His mind processed the entire hierarchy in one brief moment.
Whether the Creator was aware of it or not, He’d offered him a chance to truly make his mark on the new creation, and to truly impress Him. Only the most spectacular suggestion would cement his position in the Creator’s favor. Something to restore him to greatest—greater than Samael. Lucifer licked his suddenly dry lips and whirled around, his words spewing forth in a rush. “Let us make ones in our...” he hesitated, unfamiliar fear choking his flush of confidence. “In our image,” he finished.
Samael turned toward the Creator, his eyes alight with excitement. “And let them—”
But Lucifer cut him off, eager to bring the idea forward as his own, to bask in the glory of the Creator’s approval by himself. “Let them rule over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, the animals of the land, and all life forms over the entire Earth.”
The Creator let out a mighty roar, and the birds in the air scattered and creeping things hid from sight. “This is blasphemy!” His voice sent a shockwave over the land, wiping out trees and flattening even the smallest blades of grass. “You seek to create an order over which you may rule. You seek to be me!”
A rush of anxiety and uncertainty formed a hollow in Lucifer’s chest, and he slumped his shoulders and massaged the area absently. His mind scrambled to collect the thoughts to correct the Creator’s assumption.
“You dare to suggest we create lower life forms in our image?” He bellowed.
Mercy bowed at the Creator’s feet, a long-held habit, and Samael moved in to kneel alongside her. He maneuvered Mercy behind him and positioned his body to shield her from direct contact with their Creator.
“Bow and beg forgiveness.” Samael pleaded with Lucifer, turning slightly but not once looking up from his chosen spot on the ground.
Lucifer stood his ground, tall and proud. “It is my free will to choose,” he said with confidence. “And it could be the greatest achievement. I’m right. You’ll see. If you will listen to reason.”
Mercy gasped, the sound audible over the distant crash of waves.
The wind picked up and swirled around Him in an undulating fashion. “You dare to stand before me, your Creator, with your chest puffed out, clinging to blasphemous desires?” His voice rose with each syllable until Lucifer’s bones seemed to rattle with the force of it.
The whirling, raging current of air whipped toward Lucifer and engulfed him, small sticks and stones shredding and tearing at his skin. Mercy screamed out a protest, her hair a blinding white glow, and Samael shielded his eyes from the Creator’s wrath.
Lucifer tensed, folding his long wings tightly against his body as if to protect them from harm.
“I shall cut you down and make you crawl on your belly, never to let your puffed up pride stand before me again.” The Creator pointed a steady finger directly at Lucifer.
Lucifer’s body compressed. He gasped for air and let out a high pitched scream of agony. His legs and arms gave way to a shapeless form, and he crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain.
Mercy gripped Samael’s arm, her nails piercing his bronzed skin. “Do something Samael,” she pleaded. Her white hair lifted in the breeze, strands crossing her face and batting against Samael’s cheeks, but she didn’t try to calm herself or hide her turmoil from the Creator.
“This is unjust, Father. Why is your punishment of Lucifer so severe?” She watched him as he continued to struggle against his own shape, a moving mass on the ground.
“Lucifer is misguided and proud, my All. Please show compassion and forgive him,” Samael begged, also coming to Lucifer’s aid.
At his plea, the winds died down and the Creator spoke. “My children. Samael, Mercy, your work here is complete. Between you, you have entrapped the Darkness and ensured it can’t return. I must now judge Lucifer’s request. Leave us. Return home,” He demanded as he pointed to the Heavens.
With one last look toward Lucifer but with no argument, Samael extended his small, golden wings and waited as Mercy unfolded her own. Then he took her hand firmly in his before they flew straight upward, into the Heavens.
The Creator fell to His knees, landing with a thud that sent small fracture lines across the surface of the garden. “Why are you always so proud and willful, my son?” He sobbed around his words.
Lucifer, in the form of a snake, slithered to the Creator’s feet and wrapped himself slowly around Him. “Forgive me for wanting to honor you, my All,” he said, surprised he could still speak in this hideous form. Inching his way in careful undulations, he moved farther up the Creator’s body, winding behind His torso and neck as he climbed.
The Creator stroked Lucifer’s smooth skin. “My misguided child, how does your blasphemy honor me?” He exhaled a long sigh.
“Not blasphemy. Never blasphemy.” Horror washed through Lucifer at his plan gone awry. “You are the most magnificent, one like no other, yet You made Samael and me to resemble Your image, which is truly the highest honor, indeed.” Lucifer’s head slinked up and stroked the Creator’s cheek, near His ear. “Let’s populate the Earth with millions to worship you. What better honor than to have this new being be in Your image, to sing Your praises across all the Earth?”
The Creator held Lucifer close to His neck. “I forgive you, my child,” he whispered. He squeezed the snake’s belly, breaking him open. At His command, the winds picked up Lucifer and rotated around him. The mass accelerated faster and faster, the centripetal force bursting forth limbs, and Lucifer’s form took on that of his original body. Finally, the winds moved away at the command of the Creator, and the air grew still and quiet. Lucifer collapsed on the ground, whole again.
“Come,” the Creator commanded.
Lucifer tried to stand and obey, but his weak legs buckled beneath him. He hit the ground with force, and white-hot heat shot through his wing and down his freshly remade arm, exploding pain throughout his body. “Why must you torture me, My All? Why do you make me feel pain?” he cried.
“There is a lesson to be learned from pride,” He countered. “You were right when you suggested death is not the punishment.”
Lucifer steadied himself and gritted his teeth, although not enough the Creator would see his pain and frustration. “It is still my will to honor You and create ones in Your image. The only image of any value.”
The creator shook his head as if disappointed and exhaled a sigh. “My willful child, if I grant you this request, you will pay a price for your disobedience.”
“And I’m willing, my Father. I wish only to grant You the worship You deserve.”
The corners of the Creator’s lips tilted down. “Then this will hurt me far more than it will hurt you, Lucifer, my Morning Star.” He stood and stretched his arms wide. “I cast you down to have dominion over the Earth. It is your duty to rule the Earth, watch over your creations, and guide their ways.” He gazed at Lucifer. “You will still crawl on your belly from time to time, never to fully enjoy your original form permanently, but this is to remind you of your place in the natural order, and that I, alone, am the one true Creator.”
Lucifer fell to his knees. “Then I’ll crawl to honor You and celebrate Your Glory.” He kissed the hand of the Creator. “They’ll worship You and call on the name of the Most High obediently,” he offered.
“No, my son. Like you, they shall have free will to call upon me,” He corrected. “If they are to be created in my image, then free will must exist.”
“Agreed.” Lucifer smiled. “Then let’s create them. It’s my will and my greatest wish.”
“So it is said, so it shall be done.”
Lucifer
A low rumble emanated from the ground, and I watched curiously in anticipation of the Creator’s next move—it could be opening a pit wide enough to plunge me into the center of the darkness, with how badly He’d taken my suggestion. I was taking a risk in sticking to my desire to create life in spite of the threat of His wrath. And, truth be told, I wanted to create life to see what it felt like as much as I wanted to create life to honor Him. Only He knew how it felt to do that...I wanted to know, too.
But sweat dampened my hands as I wrung them together, and apprehension gnawed at my gut. He didn’t understand me as well as I’d thought—I really did also want to please Him. That part wasn’t a lie; that truth should have shone through all else. Anxiety fluttered my wings against each other, the familiar rustling soothing my spirit and the soft draft cooling my skin. All would be well.
A small pool of water emerged from the rumble and wet the earth, clear and inviting. It lapped gently against the land, carving a circle and widening it at the Creator’s will.
The Creator focused on the water, which flowed without shape, forming a border along a portion of the land, about sixty-feet across. The waters spread out filling in crevices, creating small inlets and streams, and a
ppeared level with the ground on which we stood. As it continued to flow, the living water moved upward in a curved oblong pattern, blocking out the other portion of the land from every side. When He was satisfied, He held up a hand and the water seemed to pause as if awaiting further instruction. More curiosity ran feathered tendrils along my insides. We were fenced into a lush, green paradise.
“From the depths of the earth, Life giving water flows. From this source, The Pool of Life, I shall create a being who shall dwell in this land, thriving in this protected garden we shall call Eden.”
I held my breath as the bubbling waters mixed with the surrounding dirt to produce a puddle of clay. The Creator spun the clay with a gesture of His finger until it twirled by itself, a whirlpool of rippling mud.
Transfixed, I watched as the rotations molded, blending into a lump.
I laughed. “That looks nothing like us.”
The Creator ignored me, and I pressed my lips together, unwilling to disturb Him further while His mood was so unpredictable.
More mud oscillated over the shapeless wad, wrapping and stretching, as limbs were fashioned and more recognizable features knitted together. Hair and fingernails sprouted from the creature, and he—for it was a he, even if not all that...impressive—appeared almost tolerable.
But I couldn’t help myself and barked out another short laugh. “Still not exactly in Your image, My All.”
My Creator glared at me, and I again fell silent under the weight of His gaze.
I redirected my thoughts to the male creature, lying, apparently without a spark of life, in the mud. His skin shone red and blotchy where it showed between the streaks of brown—the sensitive skin of a newborn. But he didn’t awaken any feelings of protectiveness in me. No. In fact, he irritated me. His mere existence aggravated me, but his passivity, like a display of weakness, angered me more.
I edged closer to inspect the catatonic state of our new creation. “Why isn’t he moving? He looks so...weak.” I frowned.
The Creator sucked in a deep breath and exhaled toward the nameless creature. His lifeforce swirled around the docile male, awakening the cells of His new creation’s body. He reached out His hand toward the being and touched its finger with His own. Electricity shot into the lifeless form and animated its heart. I heard the pounding as blood flowed and coursed through its veins. Excitement bristled in my belly at His handiwork.
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