“Yes, it is as you say, little one.”
“Sorry I was messing with you before, Uriel. Drella warned me not to play around like that.”
“Drella… The Seeker who was once the human you loved?”
I nodded and tried to sit up. “He told me you weren’t the type to be trifled with. I forgot. You’ve just always been so pleasant with me up until now… I guess I got too relaxed. Seriously sorry, Uriel. It won’t happen again. Promise.”
I gratefully took the cup of water he offered me.
“You were teasing me… because you felt comfortable with me?”
I nodded again. “Yeah. I just thought it was funny—having to run get my stone filled every few days, seemed like. But since I met you, that hasn’t happened even once.” I lifted my pendant. “See? Still filled to the brim with tainted blood.” I snorted softly. “I’d been thinking about that lately. That’s all. Guess that’s why it just sort of popped out of my mouth like that.”
“Oh… I see.” He took the empty cup from my still-trembling hands. “I do not mind if you feel comfortable around me, Witness Jem. If you would like to tease me again in the future, that will be fine. Please warn me in advance of your intent, and I will not become angry with you.”
“That’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Besides, it’s not really fun to tease someone if you give them a heads-up that you’re teasing them.”
“…I see.”
I took a deep breath. “Well… I can almost focus again… and my lungs seem to still be able to fill to capacity—I was kind of worried about that.”
“Apologies, little one.”
“Please don’t apologize anymore, Angel. I was the one in the wrong. I know that. And… I learned my lesson.”
He helped me to stand, and then gently held my arm until I was steady on my feet once more.
“I must be going now,” he said softly.
“Yeah. Sure. No problem. Don’t worry about it. I’m good to go now. Thanks.”
“I can change his blood out for mine, if that would please you.”
I furrowed my brow as I looked at the Angel, and then followed his gaze down to my pendant.
“Azazel—if you wish it, I can remove his tainted blood and let you replace it with my own.”
“What? No. No. Azazel’s blood is fine. Really. It’s just fuel, right? The Angel doesn’t matter.”
“…If that is how you feel.”
We both looked away and stood there for a silent, awkward moment.
“I truly must be going,” he said quietly.
“No. Sure. No problem. Go on. Don’t let me keep you. I’ll holler when it’s time to move on.”
When Uriel suddenly disappeared without another word, I released a long breath and slowly sat back down.
“Holy jeez…” Note to self… Never. Do. That. Again.
*****
I found what I needed in Austria with little problem. By evening of the second day, I was ready to go on with the next leg of my journey. Yet, I wasn’t quite ready to face Uriel again so soon. I decided instead to rent a lovely little cottage in the mountains and catch up on my writing.
I spent the first day curled up on the couch enjoying the fireplace. I spent the next three days reading, two and a half days writing, and the last half of my final day in the mountains snuggled up under a blanket in front of that roaring fire. That whole wonderful week was a much-needed escape from the world… and from the creatures I was never meant to see.
When I returned the keys to the caretaker, I decided to travel to Spain via the Nether.
I mean… I’m just supposed to call Uriel when my fuel actually runs out, right? Instead, I whisper his name every time I determine where it is I am to go next. “No wonder his nerves are on edge. Jeez… He said I hadn’t caused him any problems, yeah, but I haven’t made things easy for him, either.”
I finished my coffee and took a deep breath.
Time to find a quiet spot and start meditating.
When I opened my eyes, Paltiel was there… but he wasn’t paying me any attention. He was taking and passing out orders with a large group of what I assumed to be other Angels.
They were deep into their strategic discussion when I timidly stepped up behind the raven-haired Angel and whispered, “I need to go to Brazil, Paltiel.”
He didn’t even turn to face me, only waved his hand toward the blurry spot on the opposite wall. I stepped through like usual and beheld the rare beauty that is Rio de Janeiro.
After I changed the book I had for the one I was needing, I spent the next couple of days taking in the sights and enjoying the lively city.
When I was done with the touristy bit, I settled into my rented room and began reading. It was rather enjoyable, actually. This particular tome was fascinating—held my interest from cover to cover. I finished the entire thing before putting it down even once.
I closed the book, sighing and exhausted, then stumbled toward the bed and collapsed atop the covers. I was fast asleep in no time—dreaming about ancient things and long-forgotten epic battles—when I sorta felt someone playing with my hair. I squirmed a little and then curled up on my side.
In my dreams… Attila the Hun was weaving a broken arrow through my curls—his nose bleeding down into his mouth, teeth covered in blood. I sucked in a sharp breath as I sat straight up in bed.
“Hello, little one.”
“U-Uriel? Wha… What are you doing here?”
“I heard you passed through the Nether on your own. I came to check on you. Are you well?”
“Y-yes. I’m fine. Paltiel told on me again, huh? He truly is a little traitor,” I mumbled under my breath. “I guess that guy really does have a loose tongue.”
“He simply mentioned the fact in passing. That is all. Who called him traitorous and told you he had a loose tongue? Those do not seem to be the particular words you would have chosen, had the idea been formed solely by you.”
“Oh. Umm… Yeah. Well, I might have heard Azazel mention something along those lines… maybe.”
“Is that so?”
“Are you mad at me?”
“Of course not.” He sighed and looked away. “You now fear me. You fear being honest with me… and you fear calling out my name.”
It wasn’t actually a question, so I just stayed silent.
“You have no need to fear me, Jem. Your Drella was right. I can be a bit… straight-laced… no nonsense.”
“Harsh and unreasonable.”
He met my gaze then. “Yes… perhaps I can be all of those things.” He paused, staring directly into my eyes. “I spoke to my brothers concerning what transpired between you and I.”
“Your… brothers?”
“Jophiel told me to loosen up.” He glanced down. “This I cannot do. Yet, Gabriel explained that if I were more observant concerning you… I would soon be able to tell by the tone of your voice and the look in your eyes, if you were playing with me… teasing me.”
“Yeah… most times, I guess you can.”
“Do not fear me, tiny Jem.” He gently took my hand. “I will not hurt you unnecessarily, ever again.”
“Unnecessarily?”
He didn’t respond to my question, only smiled softly and released my hand. “I sought you out for a few reasons this day.”
“So, how did you find me?”
He furrowed his brow. “I am an Angel, child.”
I just stared at him.
“I wanted you to know I have an important summons coming up. There may be a small span of time where you cannot reach me. If you call to me and I do not come, that does not mean I did not hear you. Stay where you are and I will come to you when I can.”
“Ooo… kaay… But, can’t I just use the Nether while you’re busy?”
“Such a thing may not be possible. The summons I speak of… it will affect the portals to all realms—the Nether included.”
“Oh… I see. Okay then. No worries. I’ll just wait for you, al
right?”
He smiled. “That is my wish, yes.”
“Okie dokie. I’ll hang tight until you come rescue me.”
“Yes… Well… Are you all finished here?”
“Yeah.”
“Where do you need to go next?”
“Paris. But I’m too tired right now. I thought I would get some rest and then head out again after breakfast in the morning.”
“Very well. You sleep now. I will wait for you.”
“Excuse me?”
“I will be here when you wake. I will take you to Paris.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Aren’t you gonna sleep?”
“Angels do not sleep.”
“Oh, yeah… I guess you’re right. Well, never mind then.” I scooted to the edge of the bed. “I’m not gonna make you sit here all night—not that I could actually sleep with you watching me—we’ll just go on to Paris now.”
“No. It will take time for you to find other accommodations. Sleep here. If it bothers you, I will leave.”
“I don’t know how knowing someone was watching while I slept wouldn’t bother me.”
“Oh… I see.”
“It’s just… I mean… What if I drool, or snore, or talk in my sleep?”
“Yet, those are natural things that all humans do. Such is to be expected.”
“But won’t staying here with me all night be an unnecessary hardship?”
“I should not have referred to your needs as such.”
“Uriel, you have to have more important stuff to do than babysit me.”
“If I am summonsed and must leave, then I will do what is required of me. Fear not. Now, sleep.”
“I can’t just fall asleep because you told me to.”
“Then, tell me a story.”
“Umm… It’s supposed to be the other way around. The person not going to sleep tells the story.”
“Yet, you are too excitable concerning the stories of my kind, little one. You seem to live for such knowledge.”
I sort of shrugged my shoulders. “In for a penny in for a pound, right?”
“Well said, tiny Jem. Still, my stories… they would not bring about comforting dreams.”
“Yeah… you’re probably right about that.”
“Jem?”
He waited until I met his heavenly gaze.
“In a short time from now, your loneliness will meet its end.”
I furrowed my brows. “Talk about coming outta left field. And just what makes you think I’m lonely? I’ve never been more content in my whole life.”
“We were not speaking of contentment.”
I crawled under the covers and stared up at the ceiling. “…I’m not lonely.”
“As you say, little one.”
I rolled over and looked him in the eye. “Are you lonely? Is being an Angel… lonely?”
He smiled. “I have an extremely large family and many responsibilities. Rarely am I granted the luxury of being still. I do not have the time to be lonely.”
“Being super busy is not the same as not being lonely.”
“No, tiny Jem. I am not lonely.”
I turned back to the ceiling, feeling the burn of coming tears. “…Azazel is lonely,” I barely whispered.
Uriel did not speak.
“How do you know I won’t be lonely forever?”
“I thought you said you weren’t lonely.”
“…I’m not.”
“Tell me where you are in the prophesy, little one. What mysteries have you uncovered thus far?”
“Many people have already uncovered those mysteries… long before I came along.”
“Very well then. Tell me how many previously uncovered mysteries you have recorded thus far.”
“I’m pretty close to the end… maybe.”
“I would very much like to hear what you now know. Have you yet read of the trumpets?”
I nodded.
“Tell me of the Angels with trumpets, Witness Jem.”
I glanced toward him. “Were you one of those Angels?”
He smiled softly. “Please… tell me their story.”
“Alright… After the first four trumpets sounded and the first third of the former Roman Empire was destroyed, it was the fifth Angel’s turn. When he sounded… a star fell from heaven and was given the key to the bottomless pit. So, what do you think he did?”
Uriel was watching me, smiling with only one corner of his mouth.
“He opened it, of course. And do you know what happened next?”
Uriel’s smile widened. He nodded his head, only once.
“When he opened the pit… smoke filled with locusts belched forth. Now, these locusts were told not to destroy the grass and trees and stuff, but instead to torment the unbelievers for five months.”
“The ones without the heavenly seal upon their heads.”
“Yeah. So… you know what it’s talking about then.”
“I do. Tell me, little one. What do you believe the prophesy is talking about?”
“So-called Christians who were way off the path.”
“Meaning?”
“Well… after the barbarians conquered the Roman Empire, they brought their pagan ways with them, of course. Slowly, but eventually, their idolatrous ways tainted Roman Christianity with things like… superstitions, puppet statues that moved, and a bunch of other ridiculous artifices.”
“Yes. Go on.”
“I believe these particular practitioners had wholly polluted real Christianity, thus they no longer carried heaven’s seal upon them.”
He smiled softly. “You are wise, little one.”
“Not really. I just like reading history—stuff other people have already recorded.”
“As you say, Witness Jem.”
“Yeah, whatever. Okay… Now, because of all the other prophesies, it is known that a day in prophesy equals a year in real life—proven over and over. Thus, this locust torment thing would last one hundred and fifty years. A month is thirty days, right? Five times thirty, and there you go. See?”
Uriel tilted his head to the side and smiled again. “Go on.”
“Okay… Now these locusts weren’t just any old regular locusts. They had a stinger like a scorpion, and were the shape of horses prepared for battle. They wore gold crowns on their heads and had the faces of men, but hair like a woman’s. You still following me?”
The attentive Angel tilted his head to the other side but didn’t answer, only continued to half smile.
“Okay… A locust is an insect that rises from the desert, right?”
“At that time, yes.”
“But remember that these weren’t just regular old locusts because of that scorpion stinger thingy they had going on.”
“Among other things, yes.”
“Well, if you look back in history…” I slid off the bed and grabbed one of my books. “…around the seventh century, things and events perfectly matching this description took place.”
“And they were?”
“Mohammed and his followers—Mohammedans. Not only did they come from the deserts of Arabia, but legend states that Mohammed began his conquests when locusts fell from the heavens and landed in his hand with the words We are the army of the Great God inscribed on their wings. Also… hair like women and faces like men—the Mohammedans grew their hair long like women do, but they also wore beards and mustaches… obviously men faces. But the style at the time—partly via Roman influence—was to have a clean-shaven face.”
“And what of wearing golden crowns and being shaped like battle horses?”
“History records that the Mohammedans wore yellow turbans that resembled golden crowns, and of course they rode horses out of the desert. Now, the one hundred and fifty years fits perfectly into their timeline as well.”
“How so?”
“It was exactly one hundred and fifty years from when Mohammed started in 612 to when Bag
hdad was made Peace City in 762. Although some historians claim that the time shouldn’t begin until Mohammed’s first invasion against Christianity to the end… which was from 629 to 779—again, one hundred and fifty years. Until the Turks came along. And this all falls perfectly in line with the other times of the prophesy.”
“That makes sense.”
“Yeah, and also… the Mohammedan invasion covered what was once a third of the Roman Empire.”
“The second third of the Earth.”
“Exactly. Now, the locusts had a time limit—one hundred and fifty years—but the same is not mentioned of the smoke that belched forth with them. That smoke was said to darken the sun and the air. The sun and the air—both big, major things, right? Okay, as has been proven throughout the prophesy… these big things are used to represent great, important, relevant things upon the Earth.”
Uriel smiled again.
“That smoke was used to darken the light of knowledge and true religion. The smoke hung around after the locusts had ceased warring… and still darkens the understanding of Mohammed’s followers to this day. Oh, and the prophesy also states that they had a king over them. This king was the Angel of the bottomless pit. It says his Hebrew name was Abaddon, but that his Greek name was—”
“Apollyon.”
“Yeah… Apollyon. His name means Destroyer. You know him?”
“…I do.”
We both fell silent for a few moments.
“So… is that as far as you’ve come in your studies?”
“No. Did you wish to hear more?”
“I am curious as to your take on the last two trumpeting Angels.”
“Okay. Well, the prophesy says that two more woes were yet to come—the last two trumpets. When the sixth Angel sounded, a voice came forth from the altar and told the sixth Angel to loose the four Angels he had bound up in the river Euphrates and that they would slay the third part of men.”
“So… the final third part of the ancient Roman Empire.”
“Yeah… One third of the Empire fell to the western barbarians, one third fell to the Arabian Moslems, and now the last third would fall to the Turks.”
Uriel and I held each other’s gaze for a quiet moment.
“It’s hard for me to believe, but… despite all these other things that had happened, there were still those who refused to give up their pagan, idolatrous ways.”
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