by Donovan Neal
Metatron landed atop the back of the Zoa and plunged his blade deep into the hide of its flesh. The giant howled, and a tentacle swooshed overhead as Metatron, unable to maintain his grip, fell from the hulking creature.
The Zoa turned on its back, and suddenly Metatron came face to face with the mouth that just devoured his friend. The jaws opened, and a beak protruded from within, jetting out to grasp him.
Metatron held the animal's jaws open and dodged the spittle and foul stench of undigested flesh that wafted over him. His muscles strained and feet slid back as the strength of the creature matched his own. The head of house Draco then opened the pores of his flesh and belted out a funnel of sound that shattered the creature's teeth. It recoiled in pain, shrieking, as Gabriel continued his assault, slicing and lacerating. The animal.
Tentacles waved through the air and the thunderous roars of a Zoa enraged echoed across the fiery plane. Enoch watched from a safe haven behind a large outcrop of rocks. He knew enough from his training that though he possessed powers, there was a time to let angels do the job that they were infinitely more capable of...such as battle. He watched from a distance as Metatron managed to get atop the creature and with his sword and slashed into the animal's wings.
Enoch pumped his fist as he saw a severed tentacle of the creature fly apart from its body and the mighty beast tumbled to the earth. The result of the battle prowess and motion-blur that could only be Gabriel.
Enoch smiled as he watched them do battle from afar. Their tandem work cowered the beast as they attempted to drive the monstrosity back from whence it came. Enoch stepped back for a better view and turned to climb over a boulder when he saw a man with six wings surrounded by blue flame. He towered twenty cubits tall and stood with a white sword drawn. Startled, Enoch fell back onto his hind.
"Thou art trespassing on the grounds of Aesir, and will surrender to examination by authority of the King."
Enoch stared at the celestial man, never having seen a Seraph other than those that guarded the entry to the Temple of God. Enoch raised his hands in surrender and replied, "I pose you no threat and my compatriots and I seek out thy King, for we are sent on behalf of God, and I seek one who resides in thy company. A man such as myself by the name of Elijah."
The flaming man seemed surprised and picked up Enoch, pointing his sword at him. "Thy friends have been dealt with even as we speak."
Enoch turned to face Metatron and Gabriel and saw that the Zoa lay face down. A Seraph stood atop it with a spear that had penetrated its skull, and ten seraphim had surrounded the duo. Each angel was shackled in chains and was being led away. Enoch crossed his wrists and raised them above his head in surrender. His captor bound him, and the two joined the others. When Gabriel saw Enoch, he nodded in greeting. The Seraph shoved him and Metatron and the three friends exchanged words.
"I am relieved that thou art safe. Are you injured?"
"I am well," Enoch said. "But where are they taking us?"
"SILENCE!" roared a Seraph.
Immediately Enoch and the two angels cried out in pain and covered their ears, for the shout was excruciatingly loud; and when Enoch pulled his hands away from his ears, his palms were slightly bloodied.
Metatron and Gabriel also had a small trail of blood that streamed from their ears, and Metatron scowled in disapproval, but he did not provoke the Seraph to further anger. He shook his head at Enoch in mute warning to keep silent.
Enoch was, however, angered, and would not remain quiet. "I am the candlestick of the Lord God, and I sit before His presence. I am Enoch, the Translated of the Lord. Is this how thou wouldst handle one who has braved the dangers of Limbus under the command of the Lord to reach thee?"
The captain of the guard stopped, and when he did, all stopped. He turned to look at Enoch and walked slowly toward him, studying him, and eying his person as he spoke.
"You are human, and not Elohim. Our treaty does not extend to thee. The King will decide what shall be done with thee. But thou wilt not be harmed until you are in his presence. We know who you are, Enoch. And it is because of this that the Lumazi Gabriel hast not been destroyed. Fear not, for the King, will surely want to hear thy words."
Enoch harrumphed. "And then?"
The captain smiled at him and said, "Then we shall know if there will be war and if you all shall die."
* * *
Mary poured out spikenard over the feet of Yeshua and wiped them with her hair. All of the disciples were taken aback by her actions but Judas, Judas spoke aloud his disgust of the act.
"Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor?"
"Let her alone," said the Lord. "Against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you, but me ye have not always."
Judas lowered his eyes and ruminated to himself. Such a waste. A year's wages poured into the dust, and then to be rebuked by the Rabbi before all.
Judas wrestled with himself, his thoughts like crashing waves pounding rocks. His will vacillated and tossed on the eddies of suggestions and possibilities while his mind fed upon choices that fueled his primary desire for profit.
Lucifer amplified every negative thought and accentuated every rationale that ran counter to Yeshua's teaching. A chorus of enticements played in his mind to justify a decision he knew Judas had nestled deep within his heart. A submerged course of action, Lucifer need only nudge the greedy Human's thinking to bring it to pass, and thus the King of Lies spoke in righteous indignation to this open and willing ear.
What decent person would allow such extravagance to be poured on His feet? With all the need here? Not to speak of the regions roundabout. Is this what we should expect of a King who serves the people? What loss to thyself, for such an item would have fetched a month's wages after deposit into the purse, and none would have been the wiser. The agitated Judas excused himself in a flurry and stomped off, his mind fuming over an opportunity lost and increasingly open to suggestions from the Enemy.
You do know that He hast never allowed you to be a part of His inner circle," the sympathetic voice whispered to his mind. A whisper that sounded so much like his own voice.
I am Judean, Judas thought, and have these simple Galileans been given charge over our temporal affairs? No! Do these unlearned fishermen understand or have letters of learning on matters of finance? No! Yet they sit at the Rabbi's inner circle while I sit on its fringe. How can a man who controls the purse not be a part of a leader's inner circle?
The Voice breathed into his hearing.
Yeshua is a great teacher, but surely He will get us all killed by the Romans.
Judas nodded to himself as he walked to the market.
Exactly! If He has no interest in overthrowing Rome, then what good is He? What good doth healing, teaching, and even casting out of devils do if we are crushed underfoot by Roman occupation? He will bring such attention to us as to compel Rome to strike us down with the sword. What have I gotten myself into? For three years I have sojourned with this group. For three years I have toiled, receiving the hospitality of others. To rejoice in the gain available in this age, and for what? A poor, wandering gypsy of a madman, who adds no value to my position? I cannot let this happen.
Lucifer edged his thoughts more toward his own designs.
Perhaps He could be compelled to bring the Kingdom of God in by force?
Judas's eyes lit up at the thought.
What a clever idea! What if He were confronted by the powers of this world? Then He would be compelled to show the might of God, and usher in the Kingdom now and Rome would fall!
"That's good! That's very good," Judas murmured softly to himself.
The voice continued to feed his mind.
If Yeshua were killed, the people would rise up in wrath at His martyrdom, and end the stench of Rome from off of us. Hmmm, there could indeed be profit in this. Judas mused. If He lives and ushers in the Kingdom, then I will be at His side and my position wi
ll be assured in this new government, but if the people rise up against Rome because Rome has killed one of its own.
"Hey, watch yourself!" a man said.
Judas frowned as he bumped into a person. "Watch yourself!" he said.
Is the thing possible? Yes. We could shake the dust of Rome off our feet!
Judas arrived at a fish vendor, pulled the purse of the group from under his shawl, gathered his selections and paid the merchant. He scowled as he looked at the Roman inscription on the drachma and the merchant noted his visible disdain.
"One day brother...we shall be free of Roman rule. One day, one of us will have the power to see it come to an end."
Judas smiled, and replied back, "One day soon my brother," Judas said. "One day soon." Iscariot then turned to rejoin the disciples.
Lucifer smiled as he watched the human return to the Son of God, knowing that very soon...he would be ripe for possession.
* * *
"Arrrgghhhhh!!!!!" screamed Talus.
His cries of anguish echoed across the gulf into Paradise, but his howls simply melded into the moans of the damned. Lucifer, the source of his torment, castigated his captive as he hung from an acidic cross of fire. Charon, the Angel of Death, watched in silent witness to Satan's cruelty as he swaggered back and forth.
"Is this how God treats those He loves? 'Blessed be the death of His saints,'...pssfftt. Foolishness. We have both seen our share of death. We have seen the embodiment of men's fear smite both angel and man down."
Lucifer chuckled. "But I do not fear. I do not fear death because I command it! Know that my plans for the Godking cannot be stopped nor thwarted by those who even now seek to rescue thee, for in seven days' time will my hands grasp the prize of Paradise!"
The Prince of Darkness exulted as behind Talus, the black, self-constructing cadmine bridge, built itself across the gulf. An unstoppable, plodding and arced marched scaffolding that stretched, clawed, and with every day, inched closer toward Paradise and join the realms of the righteous and unrighteous dead.
Lucifer waved his hands in giddy elation. "I will make Yeshua bask in the very pain He hath made for us for He sits in judgment over all, and makes even His own image...His own image, to taste separation from Himself. To experience the void when one is distanced from God. Oh, yes, the Godking willingly evokes punishment as to serrate another from the Author of Life, but is too cowardly to undergo what He Himself would make His own creation endure. But this...this...will...end. For I will cause El to know this intimacy...to know separation. And when I am done, He will know sin in a way that is beyond the mind of both men and angels.
"For El, in His audacity, hath come down. And come down to do what? To usurp me? To destroy me? These petty incursions by His Son to deny my people habitation within the Clayborn will NOT stand, and His ill-gotten attempts to undue the plague of sin that I have unleashed upon the Adam will be for naught.
"For soon, I will inhabit one close to Him, one He cares for, and with the same, betray Him into the hands of His own sin-stained image. The very creation that El loves, this chattel of soft flesh He so dotes over, will I move to destroy Him, and on that fateful day I will stare into Yeshua's eyes as the man He loves brings Him to dissolution. And I will stare into His face, that He might know what He has caused me to know...the gnawing pain of abandonment."
Lucifer's lips turned down and his brow hard as he thought on the perceived injustice of his condition, and then shook his head and laughed at the irony of it all.
"Indeed," he quipped, "I will wound El in a manner unknown since His bleeding at my hand for I will destroy His physical shell, and then He will experience separation from Himself. HE WILL ACTUALLY BECOME SIN! Oh, yes! I will make the Almighty experience in the flesh what He Himself would allow others to know...what...it...is...like...to...die. For I, my brother...I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE!"
Lucifer smiled at Talus while his captive's head hung limp and blood streaked down the Arelim's face. The Evil One then floated, hovering and drew close to whisper into Talus's ear.
"Thou shalt see, for His spirit will descend into Hell, and while dis-empowered in Paradise, I will cross over the gulf and finish what He and I began when El sat on the throne and my sword missed its mark. I will take the spirit of His Son, His beloved Son, and use Him to engine my rise again to Heaven and will forever end the tyrannical rule of the Father."
Lucifer grinned in smugness, proud of the ingenuity of his plans, and confident in his control. He cocked his head and observed that perhaps Talus was not listening,
"Nothing to say? No witty remark? No retort? Perhaps you think you can just ignore me?" Lucifer turned his head up, stroked his chin and muttered, "Hmmpff." He then lowered himself back to the ground.
"I see this subject poses no interest to thee, and that perhaps I have digressed from our initial topic of conversation. Let us return then, shall we? For there is indeed a matter of most importance that we must settle, you and I."
Lucifer then waved his hands and five brilliantly illuminated orbs shown into Talus' face.
"I shall ask you again. How many lights do you see?"
Talus was silent and with glaring eyes, he scrunched his face and contemptuously spat on the ground at Lucifer's feet.
Charon, having observed the tirade, chuckled at Talus's obstinance.
"Do I amuse you slave? Very well...smite him until the Arelim bleeds." he said to Charon.
Charon paused and turned to face Lucifer, folding his arms in defiance.
Lucifer smiled and spoke in sarcastic pentameter. "Doth Death hath compassion on this angel?" He harrumphed. "It matters not. You will not challenge me in this thing."
Charon roared and spread his bony wings. His tentacled arms spanned wide and he fell to the ground and snorted. Hell lurched when he did so and the creature heaved in displeasure. As a bull ready to stampede, Charon snorted, then roared.
Lucifer took a step backward and grabbed the locket of keys around his neck. Hell instantly obeyed the command of the Prince of Darkness and flaming tendrils descended moved to restrain Charon. He heaved the coils off him and pulled from his ashen robes a scythe, slicing the creature's coils. Hell roared in pain, and she lurched so that even those in Paradise felt the tremors and collapsed to the ground as the rumbling ground began to fissure. And when Talus saw that Charon fought back against his captor and that his rage might sunder the righteous dead, he screamed at the Warden to cease.
Lucifer then commanded Hell to stop her attack, and she paused, and he spoke to Charon. "Thou art my slave, but if the desire to serve me is distasteful to the Vengeance of God, then, by all means, listen to the shrill voice of the living dead."
"Charon..." Talus said, "it may be that thou canst fight Hell throughout eternity, and it may be that thou canst perhaps resist this cretin and one day be free of his leash. One day...perhaps, but if thou continue, destruction to the realm of Paradise will most assuredly come. Cease, I beg thee...and do what must be done."
The skeletal mare snorted in retort. He looked with socketless eyes at the ceiling of Hell. Her flaming and acidic strands hung ready to continue their assault at Lucifer's command. He looked past Talus to the denizens across the gulf...humans who did not deserve his vengeance and they too looked back, watching the spectacle from afar. He then eyed Talus who stared at him with eyes that understood forced servitude.
"Please, great one," Talus said, "do what thou hath been bidden."
Charon then eyed Lucifer and roared again. Smoke and fire and ash erupted from his person as the echo of his rage flooded the hallways of Hell, and in the roar that all in Hades heard, rang the message that he would have recompense in time. That there would one day be vengeance. Lucifer, self-assured, and smiling, stood his ground eying the Warden, gloating in the control he exercised over the lives before him. He stared in silence at the angel of death to see if re-education was needed, as to whom the angel served, and patiently waited.
"You will obey my comma
nd and strike the Lumazi until he bleeds," Lucifer said.
Charon grunted, paused for a moment, and then his scythe disappeared. He pulled a glowing flagellum of fire from beneath his smoke cloaked wings. The weapon of angelic torture hung limply from his bony hands as Charon stared at Talus and spoke.
"Butttt yoooo doo notttt dessserveeee veeengeeeanccee..."
A tear streamed from Talus's eye and he screamed at Charon. "DO IT!"
And Charon, powerless to exact righteous justice, roared in anger and did so.
His bony hand gripped tight around the Kiln forged handle, and he heaved it over his shoulders. Its three barbed and fiery thongs stretched out in fury through the stench of brimstone, and the angelic weapon of torture bit into Talus's chest. The crack of its sting against flesh cascaded through the cavern for all within the realm of the dead to hear, and when Charon pulled the whip away, plumes of blood and strips of angelic flesh soared through the air. Hell savored Talus and released her maggots to feed upon the open wounds.
And Talus – the mighty prince of all Arelim – screamed
And Lucifer, Lucifer stood watching in smug satisfaction---smirking in nodding approval.
Chapter Nine
Trials
Enoch and his companions crossed meadows of fire, and the sweltering incalescence of Aesir made the air twist in gaseous eddies. Flames floated as musical notes across the land. Hues of orange, yellows and golds dotted the landscape. The party marched over a hill and sitting at the base of a valley, great towers of flames jetted into the sky, and Enoch knew from his study of Grigoric scrolls that he viewed the great Seraphim city of Ashe. The Aerie and the mountain of God were surely sights to behold, but before him was a city of living flames. Towering spires and houses of fire erupted before him and men of great stature lived within. The city was named aptly, for all that the eye could see burned; and smoke emanated into the air, carrying aloft the constant aroma of burning wood, but the sight and scents were nothing compared to the sounds that assaulted one's ears, for, behind the crackling of flames, there was music.