The Third Heaven Series Boxed Set: Books (1-3)

by Donovan Neal

  "I am the LORD thy GOD. But who art thou and what is thy name?"

  "I am Talus my Lord, thy servant chosen by thee from the Kiln. I serve at the pleasure of my Lord."

  "Thou art indeed made from the furnace of our Kiln. Talus thou hast also named rightly, but art thou the servant of the Lord?"

  And the query struck Talus, for he was grieved that the Lord asked him if he was his servant.

  "Aye, Lord, thy servant I am," he replied.

  Hushed whispers came from his left, as members of his house muttered in muffled undertones. The Grigori also stopped their pens for a moment. But only briefly, and then continued in their stenographic endeavors.

  "You claim to be my servant, but are ye not Golem?"

  Immediately color blazed about him and images of Sasheal appeared before Talus's eyes. In three dimensions all witnessed as the Grigoric scrolls revealed the record of Sasheal's plummet into a solar flare and the stripping away of the celestial shell that was his body that he might interact with the solar flare. Heroically he endured the blast of heat and gas projected at the speed of light, until nothing was left but a charcoal shell, plummeting to the ground, void of life.

  Talus grimaced at the sight and became angry. "Why am I shown this? To what end dost this give examination of me as Prince of my house?"

  Gasps and more whispers echoed from the darkness beyond him. Mutterings of, "Does he question the Lord?" could be heard from faceless voices away from him.

  The Lord gave no reply and a spotlight shown from above the room and fell on the throne of God. God was not seated on the throne and the two cherubim which covered the mercy seat moved. Slowly they stretched their great wings as if awakening from a long slumber and both flew from their perch upon God's throne and stood before Talus, and were silent before him, and Talus became wroth.

  "Why hast thou come down from the Mercy Seat? Did I not command that ye should cover the throne of God? For above all people thou hast been honored to provide cover to the God that is Light. Who art thou that thou would not obey the command of thy prince!"

  Zarall and Jael were the two cherubs from house Arelim assigned to cover the mercy seat and spoke as one. "Art thou not Golem?" And as soon as they had finished speaking, they vanished before his eyes and the light that covered the throne of God was also gone.

  Talus, puzzled, turned to his left to look for his people and they too were gone, and none but the Grigori stood in the throne room with him in the darkness. Each hovered in ghostlike silence. A circle of beings looking down upon him whose faces were cowled in black. Then they too spoke in whispered haunts, "Are ye not Golem?" Image after image they showed Talus presiding over Sasheal's body, yet Talus in each picture never showed emotion. He stood as a statue, looking at the glimmering body that would become the statue of light El had created. Image after countless image of Sasheal's face was paraded before him, and the Watchers watched for any sign of emotion. Any sign of grief - yet with each passing picture of the angel who had saved Earth, Talus was sullen and spoke not a word, nor shed a tear for him, and when the Grigori had finished in their hovering displays of cinema, they spoke as one man. They pointed with gaseous fingers at the face of Talus, which stood stoic in an image above his head and spoke in affirmative declaration.

  "Are ye not Golem?"

  Immediately light returned all about him and the virtues floated as before, perfuming the throne. El sat within the Mercy Seat and Zarall and Jael covered the throne with wings outstretched as before. Talus looked down at his hands and they were shaking, as the witness of the death of Sasheal dredged up emotions that he thought he had suppressed, emotions of anger that El had not intervened to save him. Hurt that the first angels to see dissolution had come from his house. Wave after wave of regret, shame, and guilt swept over him. His head wracked with questions of how he might have prevented Apollyon's turn to Abaddon.

  Self—condemnation wrapped in constrictive coils of disgrace and blame squeezed to press emotion from him. He began to lose equilibrium and his head dizzied with self—recriminations, over how he could have trained Apollyon and Sasheal differently. Talus then collapsed to his knees before the Lord and his hands gripped the crystal floor to cease the feeling of vertigo, which now overwhelmed him. Nausea swept over him and his belly ached. Yet he would not release the emotions before his God nor shed tears. He would carry this burden, and pay the price of his actions of his house. For he represented all Arelim, and God had brought him here for an account. He would in his own strength shoulder the weight that plagued him.

  I am strong, he told himself and on bended knee, he said through gritted teeth, "I am a mover of stars."

  His chest felt heavy as if an invisible and crushing weight stood atop his sternum, his heartstone pounded and raced within him, and it seemed to splinter as if it would explode into powder. Yet still no tears would come from his eye, no confession to the Lord of what ailed him. Only the straining declaration that left his mouth - "I am the high prince of house Arelim." Hunched over on bended knee with great drops of sweat beading from his brow, he looked up at El in agony.

  The Lord God looked upon Talus, frowning in sadness, then spoke softly to His son.

  "Are ye not indeed Golem?"

  "Arrrrggghhhhh!" Talus screamed, and then he awoke as if from a dream, gripping the sheets of his sweat-soaked bed.

  *********************

  Jared walked alone to worship at the mountain. Evil scampered across the countryside, and men laid wait for robbery and lurked privately for blood. Murder, rape, and slavery reigned throughout the land. Jared remembered the ways of old, the days before he possessed the 'sight' and had become Seer to his people. He had grown weary protecting his tribe from the child slayers in the opposing region. Many of his own people had died to the false god Molech, a being who demanded the blood of their children. Jared and his people had fought his worshippers for years, and when Enoch was born, he trained his son in the ways of the Creator. For the others of the plain worshiped beasts, yet Jared discerned by revelation that there was but one God and that He was invisible to men.

  And when he had returned from the top of the mountain Jared built an altar within his house and worshiped, and prayed to the God of Creation. And the prayers of Jared reached the ears of Heaven and God visited him in a dream. For Jared had fallen asleep on his pillow when a man cloaked in fiery raiment appeared before him. "Behold, man of God. For El, hast sent me to thine house."

  "What is thy name?" asked Jared.

  "Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? My name has been given by the God of Heaven and Earth, and he has sent me to be a protector to thy kin. For a champion hast arisen from thy loins and he shall testify in days to come. The God of all the Earth hath seen thee. Nevertheless, I am Jerahmeel, and God hath sent me to be a shield to thy house."

  "And who am I that I should be seen by the Lord?" asked Jared.

  "It is not for me to know the Lord in this thing, but know that when the cup of iniquity of this generation is full, God will spare your house and from thee shall spring forth new life."

  Jared was afraid for the brightness of Jerahmeel and knelt to worship him, and when he began to do so, Jerahmeel frowned and spoke. "See that you not do it, for only the Lord God Almighty commands such worship, for I am His servant, and to His knee, we all bow."

  And when Jerahmeel finished speaking, Jared looked up and the angel was gone. But Enoch his youngest son beheld the thing from a distance and had hidden under his bedding, and the boy pondered in his heart the words of the angel and believed God from a youth because of what he had seen.

  And in the passage of time Jared went the way of all men and was buried with his fathers, and Enoch his son looked over the grave and vowed a vow to worship the God of his father. For the Lord God had protected his tribe from harm, and espoused justice. For in those days, the fallen of angels roamed the land and plagued men and tasked them with burdens to cause men to worship them as gods. Lucifer h
ad assigned his legions that remained on earth to watch over every tribe of man. And when men rose up to worship the God of Heaven, Lucifer tasked Watchers to see that they were smitten. One such Watcher was Molech, and he taught men to make swords, shields, and all manner of artifacts for war, and made known unto them the metals from the earth and the art of working them into bracelets and ornaments, the use of antimony and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones and all coloring tinctures. And in exchange for such knowledge, Molech on command of Lucifer established that all firstborn children must be given to him in the fire, and the plainsmen of the region feared Molech, for he had destroyed their families and ceased only when they sacrificed their children.

  Yet Enoch and his people would not bow to Molech, for Enoch's vision had emboldened him that faith in the one true God would keep him and his people from harm. And Enoch grew into a wise man and stood as a priest for his people. He took unto him a wife and she bore him a son, and Enoch named him Methuselah. Enoch then looked upon his son and vowed a vow to the God of Creation.

  "If thou wilt be to me as thou wast with my father, I will teach my son to call upon Your name, that his life and the life of my people might be long in the earth." And God had respect toward Enoch and came down to see who would pledge such fealty to him. The Lord showed himself to Enoch, and Enoch walked with God and God with him. The Lord came down daily to see about Enoch. Enoch grew greatly in wisdom and his renown for reconciliation of the people of his tribe flourished, and the Lord blessed him with much cattle, sheep and camels. He led 300 men, all trained and sworn to defend the tribe against the plainsmen who sacrificed their children to the false god Molech in the fire.

  Yet there arose a day when the plainsmen that surrounded the tribe of Enoch said, "Let us spy out Enoch that we might take their children to save ours alive, and feign tribute." Thus, they sent emissaries to pay false tribute to him, and on that day, the envoy for the plainsmen spoke and said, "Who is like unto our god that is the god of the dark, for he chases away the sun, and covers the land in his starlight. He gives us children, bread, and rain. Who is as our god?"

  Enoch looked upon the emissaries and replied, "There is no God but El; what you serve are but images of the Great One, images who hold thee in contempt. Specters who think it nothing to snuff out the life of thy people, for thy false gods, know that the life of the flesh is in the blood, and thy master seeks naught but to bring low all that bear the image of the Almighty. Even now the servant of the living God hast shielded me from thy plan to take my life, but hast spared you that ye might find Him."

  And the plainsmen were afraid, for Enoch knew their hearts and the thing that Enoch spoke bore witness with them, and they sought to heed Enoch in this thing, and some turned from following the false god Molech to worship the living God. The angel Jerahmeel had warned Enoch to shelter his son, and Enoch hearkened to him and hid Methuselah away from the camp of meeting for he knew that the children of Molech sought to take other tribes’ children that they might offer them in the fire.

  And lo the Grigori that shadowed the emissaries of the plainsmen saw and heard what Enoch had done and recorded the deeds and brought them to Lucifer's hearing. And the thing that Enoch did made Lucifer wroth, and he traveled to find Molech, and Charon escorted his master.

  Molech bowed when Lucifer arrived at his abode, and said, "To what brings my liege to the realm of Shinar, that you honor us?"

  Lucifer was silent and walked towards Molech and slapped him across his cheek knocking him to the floor. Charon stood aloof watching in silence.

  "You have allowed a man to give rise to the knowledge of El. Word has reached my ears that a whole tribe of worshippers hast arisen under thy very nose. For through you, El hast made false my claim that we are God." Lucifer turned and then spoke to Charon, "Go, find and destroy this Enoch and his people, and save none alive."

  Charon turned and lifted himself into the air, and Lucifer shrouded them all in a mist and he and Molech followed him to see this human who had dared to defy them.

  While the plainsmen still sat with Enoch, the sky grew dark, and the clouds in the air turned a putrid green, swirled, and the men of the plainsmen became unnerved and the Chieftain among them spoke. "You have spoken Death into the air, and now Death comes for you."

  Immediately, a great wind flew into the tent of meeting, and a mist rolled into the tent, and three shadows entered and all light was absorbed by the images. And when the trio had entered, Jerahmeel released his mace from his side, and the three fallen angels saw that one of the Lumazi stood to bar them.

  "If you seek to take his life," Jerahmeel said, "Then know that you forfeit thine own."

  Lucifer chuckled and said, "Kill them all."

  Charon moved to lift his scythe to reap the life from Enoch, and Enoch stilled himself of fear and stood to face the Angel of Death, for Enoch was filled with faith, believing that nothing was impossible to the God he served as he walked with the living God. Emboldened that God Almighty protected him, he spoke aloud that all might hear. "The Lord is my life and my salvation, what can a creature made by my God do unto me?" Enoch walked toward Charon and drew the sword from his scabbard, believing that he could cut down Death himself, and he spoke to Charon.

  "Cease, thou Death, and come no further I forbid thee. Withdraw thy presence, I command thee I in the name of the Lord!” Charon immediately stopped his advance and sheathed his scythe.

  Men and angel alike were amazed that Enoch had spoken with authority and that Death returned to his place, and Lucifer and Molech were aghast, for a human had stayed Charon's hand as Enoch spoke with the voice of God.

  When Lucifer saw that Charon did not move to destroy Enoch as commanded, he moved his hand to destroy Enoch himself. The Shekinah Glory glowed about Enoch and manifested around him. A great flash of light then burst in color and blinded all present. El suddenly stood over Enoch and took him from the hand of the enemy, and Enoch could no longer be found among men.

  Lucifer stood humbled in the eyes of men and all who had seen Enoch forbid Death to come near him, and became wroth, and lo, to prevent word from spreading of what El had done. Lucifer stretched forth his hand and destroyed the plainsmen that had worshiped him. Jerahmeel took advantage of El's distraction, fled with Enoch's family, and saved them from Lucifer's wrath.

  Enoch also was dazed by the light and when his sight returned to him, he opened his eyes and saw the Lord's rear and that he was lifted into the sky into the black of night. He noted the curve of the Earth and the planet grew small as he looked behind him. Suddenly giant orbs with rings shot past him as great balls of flame, and the further he traveled single stars became groups of stars, and groups of stars became a multitude, and the multitude became as lone stars themselves, to where Enoch could no longer tell a multitude from a star. Further, away he lifted, until he approached a great light and when he passed the barrier of light there was as it were a wall of great darkness and about him and he heard the howling of a creature that defied imagination, for brimstone came from its mouth and locusts swarmed about him and he raged in screams. Enoch heard the tumult and though he flew toward more light, he felt winds buffet him as hands attempting to strip his flesh from his body, and when he passed a wall of wind, the prismatic cyclone dropped him on the terrace of a canyon, and he looked about him, knowing that he had traveled to a far country.

  The clouds were alive and birds and winged horses flew throughout the air. Round about him men with great flowing wings and dazzling in color went to and from a great white mountain in the distance. Music filled the air and some of the men flew and others ran, and some galloped on great creatures with wings and one as the son of man came to him and spoke.

  "Welcome, Enoch, son of Adam. Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven." Enoch trembled in fear, for the man was three cubits taller than he was, and his skin was as Tanzanite. "You...you know my name?" Enoch replied.

  "Indeed, El has told us much about you and I
welcome you to the Kingdom. Come, for El awaits you.” The angel took Enoch by the hand and they flew to the Mountain of God and lighted upon the apex of the steps. Towering at the steps were four men that blazed with fire all about their bodies and they roared in deafening repeated tumults of "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is The Lord God Almighty!" Enoch was afraid, for they looked upon him, standing to bar his path. The man touched Enoch's ears to prevent deafness and spoke. "Be not afraid, for the master has summoned you; the Seraphim will not harm thee." Enoch beheld the wonders, and the scent of perfumed cinnamon invaded his nostrils. Enoch marveled as they walked on the finest glass, inlaid with gold throughout. The four flaming Seraphim turned aside, that Enoch and the man might pass, and when Enoch entered, he saw the palace of the living God, gleaming with all manner of gemstones and the ceilings moved with stars, and angels who decked the hallways of the palace sang songs that exalted El.

  Enoch entered the throne room, and he was sore afraid for round about were cisterns of flame, and floating about the throne were mists with eyes and they looked upon Enoch, and enveloped him, and he immediately was covered in a scent beyond all he had ever smelled. Enoch beheld that God was seated on the throne and lo His train filled the temple, above Him were two cherubim with great wings that covered the throne, and underneath the throne were great creatures with four faces that moved, and Enoch was sore afraid for who could look upon the face of God and live? And Enoch bowed and prostrated himself before the Lord, and knew that he was a man riddled with sin. And the Lord God spoke.

  "I AM the LORD thy God, the God of thy father Jared, and the Creator of all men. Stand before me and be thou perfect." And the Lord waved his hand and Enoch's clothes fell from him, and the angel that stood beside him took his clothes and cast them into a cistern of fire before the Lord, and the room stank and the Virtues that floated before the throne immediately settled over the smoke that came from the clothes and the aroma of the room changed, and the angel took a coal from the flames and held it within his hands, and gave it to Enoch. "Take eat, that thy iniquity may be purged, and speak as the oracle of God."