All That Is Fallen

by Brendan Carroll

  “He doesn’t miss me.”

  “Who is he with? Who do you see? Are you seeing through his eyes?”

  “Yes. I see the angel. He is speaking with the angel. His name is… his name is…” She narrowed her eyes for the first time as if trying to focus. “He is dressed in light purple. His name is Raziel. He is the angel of mysteries!” Her voice raised slightly. “He is beautiful. More beautiful even than my brother.”

  Jozsef asked a series of questions in a low monotone so as not to break her concentration. “What is he saying? Can you hear the angel? Can you repeat the words? Is there anyone else there?”

  “There are others there. My brother’s Brothers, more angels. Many more!” Her face seemed to light up as she raised her eyes toward the ceiling and smiled slightly. “They are all beautiful and dressed like birds… no, they are all different colors and light shines from their eyes. They are wonderful!”

  “What are they saying?” He asked her again. This was very bad news, but not unexpected. The descriptions sent from Africa had triggered a very old memory for him.

  “They are talking about the boy.”

  “What boy?”

  “About Galen Zachary. Lucio’s son.” She nodded her head slightly. “Lucio is there. I see him.” Her face darkened as if she were in pain. “I hate him!”

  “Why?” Jozsef was surprised by this sudden show of emotion. She had never mentioned this to him before when Lucio had been a prisoner in the palace. In fact, he had thought that she had some affection for the Italian.

  “Because he doesn’t love me. He loves my father.” She said.

  “Your father? He loves your father?” Jozsef was truly confused.

  “Yes. I see another angel. This one is all in yellow. Haniel, guardian of the west wind. A mighty warrior. He is more beautiful than Raziel. He is looking at me.”

  “What are they saying now?” Jozsef prompted her.

  “My brother is asking about Michael. Can Michael stay here if he chooses? It is not up to me, it is for my Lord, Lucifer to say. But what if Michael does not want to go? It is not up to me. Perhaps he would go if given the choice. He is a brave warrior and pure of heart. A beautiful child of man and God. Michael. Michael. My son! I see him! He is with the angels.” Her face crumpled in a terrible frown.

  “Is your son dead?” Jozsef’s confusion was complete. He hadn’t heard her speak of her son. He had thought the boy meant nothing to her.

  “No! He is alive. He is beautiful like his father.” She smiled. “My uncle, Luke. My brother, Luke. My brother, John.”

  Jozsef let out a long sigh. She was more confused than he was. No wonder she allowed him to ‘love’ her. He looked just like her brother, John, this creature’s father and he looked a great deal like her other brother Luke and they both looked like the venerable King of England, Mark Ramsay’s bastard brother/son who had taken the throne from that sniveling William Henry. It had not been his charms that had attracted her, but his face. But it mattered very little to him even though it seemed rather odd.

  “You miss them?” He asked her in wonder and suddenly leaned very close to her and looked intently into her vacant eyes. She had seemed to be a creature much like the treacherous Hubur, without feelings for anyone save herself and the pretense she put up for him.

  “I miss them, but they don’t miss me.” She said, again falling into the deadpan voice. “I was evil. I made my father ashamed of me and my mother cried.”

  “Ahh.” Jozsef wanted to hear no more of this. “Come back, Nicole!” He grasped her shoulder in his hand. “I have a surprise for you.” He had learned what he needed to know. Lucifer! Of course! Lucifer had been a great trouble to them all until his own companions turned against him. There had been many more of them in those days and Apollyon had been with them. Apollyon, the one called Abaddon by some. The dark angel with the key to the bottomless pit. The angel that had been cast into his own pit for betraying his brothers out of jealousy. The same Abaddon that now served him. Abaddon would be surprised to learn that his old friend was back!

  Nicole swayed and then blinked. The connection was lost.

  “No! Wait!” She grabbed at the candle and knocked it from the stand.

  Jozsef picked it up and blew it out.

  “I have that bath for you. Cold as the north wind!” He told her as he stood up and pulled her up with him.

  “Did you learn what you wanted to know?” She asked him as he drew her toward the bathroom in her apartments.

  “Don’t you remember?” He asked her.

  “No… yes. I saw Michael.” She frowned slightly.

  “Yes, your son.” He picked her up easily and carried her into the bathroom. A cool breeze brushed their faces and goose bumps stood up on her arms.

  “Ohhh.” She smiled as he set her down on the edge of the marble tub. “This is wonderful!”

  “A promise is a promise.” He smiled at her.

  ((((((((((((()))))))))))))

  The ‘dinner’ went quite well even though Sophia refused to accept any of the locusts that Lucifer offered her. She was not allowed to sit at the table with them, but was relegated to sitting in a chair near the stove. Occasionally, Lucifer would hold out a piece of bread or cheese to her. One of his warriors would take it from him and deliver it to her and he would wait to see if she liked it. His disappointment at her refusal of the insects was quite evident though he said nothing to her. She found it most difficult to eat the bread and cheese and drink the milk he gave her under the close scrutiny of the six warriors he had kept with them. They watched her in seeming fascination while Lucifer told Mark and Edgard about the creatures roaming the plains in Africa and how he and his band of warriors had chased them and banished them one after another until he had come to the realization that it was fruitless. They would have to do away with the source. Once they had accomplished that, the rest would follow.

  The two Templars listened in growing dismay as Lucifer told them that he suspected that the woman masquerading as Ruth Kadif was most likely the ancient terror, Hubur, who had created such monstrosities in the days before men had spirits. It was worse news than they had expected. The angel also spoke with great anger of the presence of Abaddon in the palace at New Babylon. This piece of trivia seemed to upset him more than the presence of Hubur.

  He was of the opinion that it had been Abaddon’s treachery that had lured him and the others into the trap that had imprisoned them for eons and he spoke of avenging himself on the dark angel. He asked about Metatron and Kemuel and Seraphiel. These names raced through Mark Andrew’s mind like bolts of electricity. More memories flooded his brain and he was stunned to realize that there was even more that he had forgotten. Metatron, Kemuel, Seraphiel. Marduk, Nergal, Shammash. How long had it been? He had no idea how long an eon actually was in terms of celestial time. The Watchers had strayed far from the Creator, but the memories were as fresh as yesterday to Lucifer. Sophia listened to these things in complete silence, which made Mark Andrew was eternally grateful, but she was not allowed to sit at the table with them even after the meal was over. She hovered near the sink between Yisrael and Tafel. The other angels had drifted from the room one by one.

  Sophia put the kettle on the stove and turned on the burner. Lucifer was out of his seat and at the stove beside her before any of them realized that he had moved. Sophia let go a short shriek and jumped back when he suddenly looked over her shoulder. He was very agitated and his cloak moved on his back as he seemed to flutter about the stove, raising and lowering his head rapidly as he examined the burner and the flames coming from it. Sophia clamped her hand over her mouth and made a small choking noise as the hint of feathers rustled from beneath his cloak and what appeared to be the tips of wings brushed the stone floor near his feet.

  “What is this Uriel?” Lucifer glanced back at Mark and twisted the knobs on the front of the stove. Another burner leapt to life with blue and yellow flames. “Are these things connected to the nether
world? This is very dangerous. You should not have brought this contraption into your household.”

  “Thot’s me stove and it ’as nothin’ t’ do with th’ underwarld.” Mark Andrew stood up. “It’s just gas and I didn’t bring it to men, they brought it to me.”

  Sophia grabbed the angel’s hand as he placed it in the flame and stood looking at it curiously.

  “Stop that.” She fussed at him. “You’ll catch fire!”

  Lucifer looked down at his unaffected flesh and then into her eyes. She quickly averted her eyes from his gaze and dropped his hand. He moved back to the table more slowly, keeping his eyes on the young woman.

  “I see.” He said as he resumed his seat. “It is not what it appeared to be.” He continued to look at Sophia as she turned off the extra burner and checked the kettle. After a few moments, he returned his attention to Mark and d’Brouchart.

  “Metatron holds the key to the ritual that can banish this dark one.” Lucifer picked up his goblet and finished off the last of the Slivovitz. “That much is certain. He must do his part and we will assist him.”

  “That was our plan as well.” D’Brouchart agreed. “It should be simple enough, but the war has made things a bit complicated. We have had other priorities and there is the coronation on Friday. I must see to it that the crown is properly restored to the Merovingian bloodline.”

  “Ahh. Yes. That again.” Lucifer waved one hand in dismissal. “I have learned of this. Our brother has promised many things to these people.”

  “And we have been charged to see that it is so.” D’Brouchart nodded.

  “I will take my warriors into the netherworld and seek out Metatron and the others. When we return, another Council will be in order and then we will lay our plans.” The chieftain told them. “We will need to make use of everything at our disposal. I suggest you work on organizing your forces here while I am away. I should not be gone long.”

  “That would be a miracle.” D’Brouchart muttered. “The last time we met with the Watchers, we planned a great Council and expected to meet within a few months and it has been twenty years!”

  “You have lived too long on the earth, Nathanael.” Lucifer laughed. “Twenty years? What is that? The earth moves about the sun in circles of immense speed. The great Andromeda approaches even now and the time of the last annihilation will come long before she arrives. These are but fleeting moments in the Cosmos and we will soon find ourselves in another place and another time. I sometimes wonder why our Father would bother with this experiment. But it is neither my place to question Him… nor yours. I would welcome a change of pace. There are many places where strife does not rule the day. When men are returned to their proper place in the All in All, we may be able to rest and enjoy our existence, leaving these misbegotten sons of Sophia to oblivion.” He jerked his head toward Sophia and added “Your pardon, Sophia.”

  “There is the question of the two Templars you have in your service, brother.” Mark Andrew spoke up as Lucifer made signs of leaving the table. “What will you do with Michael and Galen? They belong with us.”

  “They will always be exactly where they belong and where they belong is where God wills that they belong and they belong no other place.” The angel frowned slightly at him. “They are creatures of free will. They do not belong to me. It was never my intention to keep them so long. It surprises me they fared so well, especially the son of the Golden Eagle. I did what I could for them, but he is very fragile. The Golden Eagle should thank the Father he has been given such a son.”

  “Then you will allow them to come or go?” Mark pressed him a bit.

  “I will. They have served me well as I have said. They earned their wings, so to speak.” Lucifer smiled. “I will give them the choice to stay or go with us.”

  Mark sighed and looked down at his hands. Somehow, he knew that his brother would not be seeing his son for a long time. He stood up and d’Brouchart stood with him.

  “I would see your household now.” Lucifer told them as he started down the hallway toward the library and foyer. “This is a peculiar dwelling, not nearly so free as in the elder days. I should think you would have much trouble if you decided to move your dwelling to another land in time of need. You would have to abandon this structure for the most part, though I find it quite sturdy in construction.” The angel ran one hand along the wainscoting in the hall. “It is almost as if men have made temples for households, but all these things are transitory. Even your great pyramid has suffered much, Uriel. I had the pleasure of visiting when we passed through Khem. Now, there is a land much changed from what once was. The forests are gone and the heavens no longer wash the dust from the air. A terrible thing has happened in Khem.”

  “That much is certain.” Mark Andrew muttered and glanced at the Grand Master who gave him a dark look.

  “And your great temple is reduced to rubble, Nathanael. I saw it only through the eyes of the little one and when I tried to find it in the world, it no longer stood.” Lucifer continued. “A new temple stands on the ruins, but there I found the thing of God, abandoned and forgotten by men. Much desired by the Ancient One, but even Samaoth is fearful of its power.”

  D’Brouchart cringed. He was speaking of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem and the Ark of the Covenant. Mark Andrew had assured him that the Ark was still in the new temple built by Omar, the Prophet, though the city lay abandoned in the scorching rays of the summer sun and the cold of the desert nights. Indeed, it had again been forgotten as the people fled from the land after the war. No one had dared to enter the Holy of Holies to remove it. They may have forgotten the ark for what it was, but they had not forgotten the disaster that had killed the entourage which had accompanied the usurper into the Temple.

  “Even now he works to devise a plan wherein he might employ the power of God to his own designs.” Lucifer entered the library and stopped short to stare at the wolfhounds on the hearth. “Ahh! Great beasts. Wonderful.”

  “My dogs.” Mark Andrew told him shortly. “Astro and Scooby.” The dogs perked up at the mention of their names and then got up slowly, stretching their long legs and bodies.

  “What do they do?” Lucifer raised one eyebrow as Astro left the hearth and came to snuffle at his boots.

  “They are old, brother.” Mark Andrew told him. “But they are faithful friends and true. They love to run in the meadow a bit and they will howl and bark at the approach of strangers.”

  “Then I am not a stranger to them.” Lucifer held out one hand tentatively to the dog. “Astro? A strange name. What tongue?”

  “American.” Mark told him solemnly.

  “Oh, one of the new languages. I see.” Lucifer knelt briefly and smelled of the dog’s head before standing again. “He could rip out a man’s throat and yet he is complacent toward me. I fail to see why such a beast would let us subdue him.”

  “You are with his master.” D’Brouchart told him. “If Brother Ramsay accepts you, so will they.”

  “Ahh. That is loyalty.” Lucifer nodded and then looked about the library at the impressive collection of books. “Do you not know these things in your head, Uriel?”

  “Most of it.” Mark looked about as well and wondered for the first time why he had collected the books. Most likely to fill the empty shelves. The library had been empty when he had purchased the house. Some the books there were worth small fortunes to collectors. “I wrote some of them myself.”

  “Why?” Lucifer picked out a particularly old book bound in cracked leather, embossed with gold lettering. A collection of works by the American author, Mark Twain. He flipped through the pages and perused the pen and ink illustrations depicting Tom Sawyer on his various misadventures. “Did you write this one?”

  “No. A better story teller than I wrote those tales.” Mark Andrew smiled. “But he was lost. A professed atheist. He wrote an interesting book called Letters from Earth wherein the devil, Satan, wrote letters to Heaven about the conditions he found on earth
. Very interesting, but pure fiction.”

  “I see. Perhaps I might have the work read to me sometime.” Lucifer smiled. “It would be a good source of insight into the human mind. They seem to excel at fictions. Some have dedicated their lives to making fiction into fact.”

  “That is unfortunately very true.” D’Brouchart agreed.

  Christopher Stewart sat in front of the computer with an angel on either side of him. He had been explaining the workings of the device to Haniel and Amuhael when Lucifer and the two Knights entered. D’Brouchart nodded to the Knight of the Holy City and motioned for him to stay put when he started to rise. “Perhaps you would like to see the gardens?”

  “Actually I would rather see the Golden Eagle’s portion of this dwelling.” Lucifer handed the book over to Haniel. “Read this and remember it for later. We may entertain ourselves after the sun sets by listening to your recitals of new tales.”

  “As you wish, brother.” Haniel immediately sat down on the floor and began to read the book.

  Mark stood barring the doorway with a sour look on his face. Lucifer’s request to see Lucio’s room was very strange and he did not want the creature upstairs, poking around.

  “This way.” Edgard pushed Mark aside and led him from the library. Mark followed them reluctantly up the stairs. They made their way down the hall and stopped in front of Lucio’s room.

  “Where is the Golden Eagle, du Morte?”

  “I have no idea.” Mark shook his head. “For all I know, he might be…”

  The Grand Master opened the door to Lucio’s bedroom without knocking. Lucio frowned at them in consternation. He was sitting on the bed, shirtless and bootless while Catharine knelt in front of him working on his right index finger with a pair of tweezers and a needle. The Italian let out an involuntary yelp when she stabbed him with the needle by accident.

  “Santa Maria!” Lucio said and then jerked his hand away from Catharine as blood ran down finger. Lucifer darted about the room, almost too rapidly to see, taking in everything in the room in only a few seconds.