“Look what they have done in the cities, Gabriel. Those giants are feared and not to mention the wars they’ve caused and not one angel has done a thing to stop their offspring’s madness. There are no blessed families on earth. All are almost wicked.”
“Except for yours and a man named Noah.”
Michael took a breath. “What has Lucifer done?”
“He wants his own place in Heaven, above Jehovah’s throne.”
“That will never happen.”
“Then come with me. They are having another meeting tonight.”
Michael gazed into the hut. A short round woman came around the hut with a basket filled with fruit. “Hello, Mother.”
“Hello, Michael. Hi Gabriel.”
Gabriel waved. “Hello, Mother,” he said as the old woman walked into the home. “They are very sweet people, Michael.”
“I love them,” he said. “They are my family.”
“Come with me, Michael. Maybe you can settle this conflict between Jehovah and Lucifer. It was a very heated argument. You are third in command.”
“What about the Seraphim?”
“They’re afraid of Lucifer.”
“Then I’ll go tonight.”
“Good. You’re coolness should calm them both.”
Michael shook his head and turned toward the house. Gabriel walked into the brush, spread his wings and flew into the air.
The archangel cleaned his hands and finished dressing the boar and slipped into his home. He found Naomi stretched out on a pallet, her mother next to her rubbing her daughter’s round belly.
Michael took a red apple from a wooden bowl and sat next to his wife. “How are you feeling?”
“How do you think? I feel the pains. My water has not yet broken.”
“A few more hours,” the mother said. “And I will have a grandchild.”
Michael nodded. He decided to wait until evening before he set out to Heaven. Naomi closed her eyes. He placed a hand on her firm stomach, a gentle push pressed against his fingertips. “I feel the baby,” he said and bit into the apple.
“Michael.”
Michael turned to face the door. “Gabriel?”
Gabriel produced an uneasy smile. “Hello, Naomi.”
“Hello, Gabriel. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Michael, can we talk?”
Michael nodded and at the same time his stomach tightened. He took another bite from the apple and followed Gabriel outside. The skies dimmed, dark storm clouds rolled from the east. A low rumble erupted from the distant mountains.
“Gabriel, your timing is bad. I told you I will be up there this evening.”
Gabriel shook his head. “That will be too late my friend. You need to come now.”
“What are you talking about, Gabriel?”
Gabriel turned back to the home and licked his lips. Gentle rain began to patter the ground. “God has made a decree.”
Michael canted his head. “A decree?”
“Lucifer challenged Jehovah for the entire kingdom. God has revoked all the angel’s statuses and ordered us to return to Heaven.”
Michael dropped the apple. “I’ll talk to Him.”
Gabriel gazed up at the skies. “It is happening now, Michael.”
“What is happening now? Get to the point.”
“He’s going to flood the entire earth and start over.”
Michael’s knees buckled, yet he caught himself. “What?”
“Jehovah is only saving Noah and his family. Everyone else dies. Everyone, Michael.” Gabriel glanced at Michael’s small home.
“I’ll talk Him out of it. This cannot be happening.” He dipped into the house. “Naomi, I’ll be back. I have a pressing issue to handle.”
Naomi’s mouth opened. “My water, Michael,” she said. A smile played her face, followed by a wince. “My water is broken, Michael.”
Thunder rolled from the east, lightening lashed from the dark skies. The gray clouds blackened and stretched across the expansive blue like a blanket. Rain poured in a sudden shower, winds howled and whipped up across a once sun soaked land. Clay pots crashed to the ground, people began to shout and run for shelter.
Michael clasped his hands together. Naomi’s mother gathered clothes and prepared for the baby’s sudden arrival. “Our baby.”
Gabriel broke through Michael’s shock. “Michael, if you are going to convince Him, now is the time,” he said.
Michael stepped out into the wind and rain. A noise emerged from the air, deep and howling. Shivers danced down his spine. His wings spread from his back and he charged up into the violent clouds until they broke and became bright skies.
He landed on the palace pearl steps crowded with angels. Some cried, others argued amongst themselves. Guardian angels lined the front entrance into the palace along with Seraphim. The uproar made his heart pound hard in his chest. Tension gathered at his shoulders as he faced guardian angels armed with spears and eyeing the growing crowd with nervous stares.
A six-winged Seraph approached Michael. The being bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Michael. Not even you are allowed to see Him. His word is final.”
“But why everyone?”
“It is His decree.”
“But I have a woman, my child is being born. Whatever happened in those holy walls between Jehovah and Lucifer is not my fault.”
The Seraph leaned closer to Michael’s ear and lowered his voice. The crowd around them teetered on anarchy. “All must die, Michael.”
Michael’s lips pulled down into a frown. “It’s Jehovah who I love and worship. I will obey His commands.” The archangel turned away from the Seraph and weaved his way through the enraged throng.
He fled Heaven like a meteor and headed to earth covered in dark storm clouds. The ocean beneath him surged, waves lifted and churned at epic heights. He reached his home and found Naomi and her mother clamoring up a hill, far from the hut covered in brackish water. The water rose before his eyes and swallowed the hut. His heart ached. The Seraph’s words drove into his mind in an endless loop. All must die.
Naomi huddled closer to her mother as people tumbled from the hill and into the turbulent wash. Shock swept over the group as the archangel landed amongst them. His face slick from the heavy rains, the wind battered against his body, soaking his wings and tunic. He knelt next to Naomi who shivered against the cold.
“Naomi,” he said and gazed at the bundle held in her arms. Her eyes fastened on him, her mouth agape.
“Michael, who are you?”
Michael kissed Naomi’s soft lips. “I’m an archangel,” he said. Tears spilled from his eyes. “And I am so sorry, Naomi.”
Naomi’s lips trembled, and then she set them firm. “Her name is Joan,” she said and lifted the wet bundle up to him.
Michael took Joan in his big hands and held her close against his chest. The baby slept through the hard rain and howls from both wind and mortals. The torrent poured down heavier as if God unleashed all the waters from Heaven at the same time. He lifted his head to the dark skies, his tears mingling with the rain.
Naomi touched his muscled forearm. “I love you, Michael. Take care of our baby.”
Michael leaned over and kissed Naomi. He stared at Joan’s tiny calm face smeared in rainwater. He could not defy God without punishment. But he could not leave his daughter to die like this. Her delicate innocence softened the silent rage in his heart. Michael made his decision.
The waters rose up the hill, people scrambled for the peak like wet rats, some fell, vanishing within its turbulent waves, screams filled his ears.
“I’m sorry,” he said. He held Naomi’s hand, her mother toppled into the dark churn. Their eyes remained locked on each other. The water rose to Naomi shoulders, Joan woke and wailed. She squirmed in his arms. The flood overtook Naomi’s slender shoulders and reached her neck, she shivered.
Michael held Naomi’s hand until the cold waters reached her chin. She lifted her
head and kept her brown eyes locked on Michael until the water flowed over her head. Her fingers loosened on his hand and slid underneath the current.
The archangel spread his wings and rose above the floodwaters. The horrified voices no longer filled his ears, just the wind and powerful howl. All the earth lay under a substantial flood. He held Joan against his chest. She fell silent as he floated further up into the air with his wings hung limp behind him.
Soon several million silver lights rose up from the waterlogged earth. Michael realized other angels waited to say their last farewells to those who they birthed or loved. The silver lights shot up from earth and towards Heaven.
Michael fled the flooded planet and entered the Eternal Kingdom. He arrived to his mansion with his bundle in hand. He landed on the rear balcony and slipped into his bedchamber and placed the beautiful brown bundle onto the soft mattress. Joan’s wet mouth curled into a smile.
“I thought I saw you return with something.”
Michael spun and spotted Lucifer’s lover at the balcony, she must have flown in behind him. “Daisy, I didn’t invite you here.”
Daisy remained at the balcony entrance. A backdrop filled with white sky and green hills stretched across the view. Her green eyes narrowed. “Others have lost their families and you brought her here. You have broken His law.”
Michael’s face reddened. “She is just a child.”
“Other children died down there, Michael.”
“What are you going to do?” He straightened, his armor flashed over his muscled frame. “Are you going to tell Jehovah my transgression against Him?”
“There’s a new power in Heaven. Lucifer will soon make his bid for God’s throne. Destroy it now or this act will be used as a reason for war.”
“What act are you talking about, angel? Mind who you are speaking to.”
“An archangel, law breaker. Lucifer is Jehovah’s number two, and I’m Lucifer’s lover. One whisper in his beautiful ear and it will be war.”
Michael balled his hands into fists and approached Daisy. “You are coming here to threaten me with war.”
Daisy bristled but did not move. “It is not a threat. God killed billions just as a show of power to Lucifer. Lucifer wants all angels to have free will.”
“But at what expense. He defied Jehovah and Jehovah’s will is law.”
“And what did you just do?”
“She’s a baby. A mortal child, not some gourd headed giant.”
Daisy looked passed Michael. “No.”
Michael spun around, his mouth dropped open. An angel stood next to Joan who now sat upright on the bed with wings perched upon her back. “Joan.”
The angel gazed at Michael and Daisy. “God has decided to make her an angel. No one goes against the will of Jehovah,” the angel said and glared at them both. “You will pay for you transgression, Michael. And as for you, Daisy, no one threatens the kingdom with war.”
Daisy bit her bottom lip. “Then I will tell Lucifer of this act. God takes away our freewill yet favors you. He saves your child and destroys the children of others.”
Michael ignored Daisy’s words and walked over to Joan. He lifted a silk tunic from a chair back and draped it around her naked body. He turned back to Daisy. “Then I guess this means war.”
Daisy spat on the floor. “Then war we shall have.” She turned and walked out onto the balcony and spread her wings. She flew into the bright daylight and from Michael’s view.
Michael placed a hand on Joan’s head. He kissed her forehead and stared into her large brown eyes and the brilliant white wings upon her back. He looked up at the angel who gave him a slight bow before vanishing.
38
Joan opened her eyes. Michael’s fingers trembled as he moved his hand from her small forehead. His face became drawn, his eyes reddened and lines wrinkled his brow.
Joan swallowed, tension built up in her belly and her leg muscles twitched. “Daisy Lane,” she said.
“Yes.”
“They already wanted to fight, Michael. They needed a good reason to fight.”
“Daisy had a change of heart just before The Battle of Seven Gates.”
Joan shook her head. “I don’t believe her heart softened. It was a ploy to spy on the kingdom for Satan.”
Michael stood from the couch and doubled over.
Joan leaped up and steadied him. “Sit down, Michael.”
Michael sat and turned his chiseled face up to hers. “I loved your mother.”
Joan kissed her father’s dry forehead. “You fell in love with her. Was earth a terrarium for the angels back then? Did God really love His creations or did He treat them like tiny pets?”
Michael shook his head. “He loved them, Joan. It broke his heart when he destroyed His work.”
“What is your punishment for bringing me here, Michael?”
“You must save us from Oblivion.”
Joan leaned closer. “That is not a punishment.”
Michael swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “You must sacrifice yourself to stop Lucifer.”
Joan lowered her head. “I’m the one, I must go into Oblivion,” she said. A faint weariness washed over her, as if all the strength she owned drained out her body.
Michael cleared his throat. “I started the war, Joan. Not Lucifer.”
“Wrong, Michael. You defied God by bringing me here. Lucifer made a choice to pursue violence. He wanted power and the opportunity presented itself. Like a peaceful demonstration turned into a riot, looters breaking into stores to steal. Black intensions piggy backed on a noble cause.”
“There’s nothing noble about defying Jehovah. Don’t you see? I lose you. You are my last connection to Naomi, your mother.”
“You have memories of her, Michael.”
“I loved her, Joan. Just like I love you.”
Joan placed a hand on Michael’s warm face. “But no one can go against God’s law. Not even you, archangel.”
“I loved your mother.”
“I know,” she said. “I’ll get us something to eat.”
Michael leaned back in the plush sofa and closed his eyes. “Why do you think Daisy has not fallen?”
Joan walked into the kitchen and returned with bread on a wooden board and a crystal decanter filled with golden olive oil. She placed both on a small table near the sofa and went back to the kitchen for a wineskin and two crystal wine glasses. She poured the red wine and handed a glass to Michael and sat across from him. She sipped the wine and tried to force the hurt from her heart.
“Daisy is always angry and it’s directed at me,” she said. “As for her not falling, I don’t have an answer.”
Michael gazed at the red wine and took a sip. He sat the glass aside and tore some bread from the loaf and drizzled olive oil on it. “Anything else?”
Joan pressed her lips together in thought and swirled the wine within the glass. “I remember you telling me Jehovah will not start the Second Coming.”
“The world is not ready for Jehovah to start the Second Coming. We will be short of souls if He did.”
“Oblivion cannot happen either, Michael.”
“I know. Allowing us to enter earth so freely allowed Lucifer’s camp to do what they want. Lucifer wanted us to exercise freewill without suffering any repercussions. The problem was the mortals adopted the same idea. Too many of them in fact and it forced Jehovah to start over again.”
Joan sipped her wine and gazed into the deep red liquid. “So they are forcing His hand again. They want Him to destroy His works and start over.”
Michael leaned forward. “Is that what you think, Joan?”
“Back then it was easier for Him to start over. It broke Lucifer’s plans to corrupt the entire planet. But now everyone knows about God. Lucifer’s corruption is more difficult to accomplish. There are not that many demons on the earth to corrupt mortal souls.”
“But there are enough.”
“But not enough to cause a
spread of evil like before, when Noah lived.”
Michael took a bite from the bread and chewed. “What are you saying?”
“Lucifer doesn’t want the earth. He could care less about us. He wants Heaven and is determined to show the other angels God is an inept ruler. Daisy is the instigator. If she causes enough trouble there may be another war. This time it will lead to God’s expulsion, or He will destroy us all and start again.”
“Not just earth,” Michael said.
“The entire kingdom and it will break His heart.”
Michael downed his wine, his cheeks reddened. “Lucifer is waiting for the other angels to turn against God.”
“Yes,” Joan said. “How are they, Michael?”
“They are bothered, but not to the point of rebellion. The stalemate is making some edgy.”
“God wants us to solve this without His involvement.”
“…and there will be no Second Coming right now. It’s either we destroy Lucifer and send him back to Hell. Or we are all doomed.”
Joan blew air from between her lips. “Jehovah will wipe the slate clean and start again. I don’t want that to happen. We need to stop Lucifer.”
Michael rose from the sofa, his legs strong as he crossed the room to get another filled wineskin. He returned to the sofa and poured more wine into their cups and sat the skin aside. “I believe Lucifer was hoping all mortals lost their faith in God. That is why the Hell Force attacked. How has Daisy been fighting?”
Joan searched her mind and started with the attack in Los Angeles. “She could have killed Temeculus and Lord Wrath. The opportunities presented themselves more than once.”
“But she didn’t.”
“No,” Joan said and took another sip from her cup. The strong wine refreshed her and helped calm her anger. She reached for the bread and pulled it apart and ate without olive oil, its buttery taste filled her mouth. “She’s been second guessing my leadership abilities from the start.”
“Did you let her?”
“It bothered me enough until I did second guess myself a few times. I should have attacked earlier or the breach would not have happened in France.”
Angels of War Battle of Archangels (Book 3) (Angels of War Trilogy) Page 16