In Rebellion (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book II) (20 page)
Read In Rebellion (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book II) Online
Authors: John J. Higgins
Chapter 27
Lillith had been alone in Jarahmael's palace for days now. There had not been any news, nor had any of the Angels come to visit her. The last contact she had with Jarahmael was when he left her after creating the invisible hallway. Jarahmael seemed concerned that other Angels would be coming to destroy her, but she had not seen anyone at all since Jarahmael, neither Angel or non-Angel. She had heard some noises coming from the direction of the Throne Room that was situated down and to the left of Jarahmael's palace, but she did not see anything actually happen there.
As the days went by, she was growing concerned that she could may be stranded up here in Jarahmael's palace with no way of getting down from it. She was not an Angel, and so could not fly. She also did not know what would happen if she jumped from the height of the clouds that encompassed the palace itself. Even if she got down to the base of the Seventh Heaven, she had no idea of where to go from there.
At least she was safe and taken care of in the palace. Jarahmael had set up a room within the invisible hallway for her that provided her with water and any other food she may want. So she was neither hungry nor thirsty. Besides, she always carried some of the Tree of Life with her, and with that she would never go hungry or die. She was, in fact, immune to the death decree of Adam and Eve since she had not disobeyed any of the commandments of the Almighty. She was the only true Human immortal.
Jarahmael had told her that even though she was immortal, he had concerns about her safety, especially when he saw Luciferael assembling an army. He was not aware that the Almighty had Luciferael assembling an army, and there was some talk that the army would destroy the Simians and the Humans on the Earth. That also raised a question as to whether Luciferael was given some means of killing Adam and Eve, who had been immortal, the same as Lillith. Jarahmael was especially concerned that he had to leave her on her own because he would not be around to defend her. But he also knew that he had to go and attend to the problems that were occurring in the Heavens. He promised to return as soon as he could.
Lillith also recalled her conversation with the Almighty when Jarahmael had first brought her up to the Seventh Heaven. The Almighty had asked if both she and Jarahmael were willing to do anything for Him, and they both agreed. He had told her that she would have to endure some loneliness and pain before things in the Universe would get better. All she had to do was trust in Him and Jarahmael and all would be right. Neither Jarahmael nor she knew what the Almighty was talking about, and He told each of them that He could not give them any more details about it, but that it would become obvious as events unfolded.
Here she was on faith, alone and hidden in Jarahmael’s palace, hoping that Jarahmael was fine, that everything was all right in the Heavens and that he would soon return to her. She missed Jarahmael in ways she had never missed Adam. Often in the silence, she would imagine she heard something and that Jarahmael was finally returning to her.
When the Cherubim guard had arrived in the middle of the night, she almost charged out of the invisible hallway, hoping that it was Jarahmael who had returned. She did see that there was something different about this Cherubim. She never particularly liked the
Cherubim
; there was coldness about them
. Perhaps it was their animalistic appearance and qualities that made them frightening to her. She could not get rid of all her fear of them, even for Jarahmael’s friend, Cerebriel, who she had grown to like on many levels.
She was glad she held herself back from revealing herself. The Cherubim seemed to be only interested in the rooms with the mirrors. He also seemed to know that she was around, and she watched him as he stopped and became silent, waiting to hear or sense her in the palace. But she stayed silent, and he eventually left.
The mirror room raised her curiosity again and she went into it after the Cherubim had left to make sure he had not disturbed anything. She was able to look at herself from head to toe in the mirror and could not help but admire her own form. Her hair was silky blonde, with crystal blue eyes like the water in the streams in the Garden of Eden. She had white skin, soft but firm, perfect like the polished light-based walls in the palace, not a blemish or mark upon it. The Almighty made a beautiful creature, she thought to herself. She thought back when she and Jarahmael stood before these mirrors, how strikingly handsome he was with his long brown hair and intense blue eyes. For his part, he had a perfectly proportioned and muscular body, with an even firmer set of shoulders and back muscles from the long, smooth, feathered wings. He towered above her in height yet she never felt smaller than him or insignificant in any way in his presence. And how her body would melt for him when they made love. It was nothing like the crude animalistic way of Adam, this Angel gave her immense pleasure from even his touch. She missed that so much. Where was he and why hadn't he returned when she wanted to scream aloud in the empty palace? She was only answered by more silence. Better get back to the invisible hallway, she thought, and get some rest. Who knows? Maybe the arrival of the frightening Cherubim meant that Jarahmael was on his way back to her.
She walked back to the invisible hallway near the entrance, but took a moment to look out once again across the Seventh Heaven's skies and made a wish and said a small prayer to the Almighty that her Jarahmael would return in the morning. She slipped back and safely tucked herself into the hallway, went to her room and slept.
Chapter 28
Jarahmael and Raziel awoke refreshed, still hidden in the pyramid located in the Garden of Eden. Gaardrael and his small detachment of Guardian Angels had slept there as well. They had slept well into the day, having been up most of the night before, hiding the pyramid’s entranceway with stones. They heard voices approaching the pyramid that grew louder the closer they came. Jarahmael put his fingers to his lips to make sure that they all stayed quiet with
in
the structure. Getting up against the wall, he could hear rebel Angels talking as they walked past. The rebel guards were searching for any stragglers from the loyal Guardian Angel legions.
Jarahmael was concerned that they might determine that the entrance had been blocked up overnight, but the guards walked past without any alarm or investigating further. After their voices faded off in the distance, Jarahmael turned to his companions and said, "We must have done a good job. They haven't noticed that the entrance has been blocked up. We need to see if we can get the portals working, and we may be able to open up a pipeline between the Garden of Eden and the Earth."
"You said you have used the portals before,
lord
Jarahmael?" Raziel asked.
"Yes, when I was trying to find Lillith. She had run away from Adam and used the portals to travel to the Earth and around the planet."
Jarahmael thought about how he had to spend another day without seeing her, despite wanting to be near her again, and make love to her. He really wished he could have found a way to have brought her with him and moved her out of the Seventh Heaven. But trying to bring her along with him would have slowed him down and increased the chances of both of them being caught. And once the rebel Angels found out how he felt about her, they could use her as leverage against him to make him do their bidding. Even if he cooperated, there was no guarantee that Luciferael and his rebel Angels would not destroy her or done far worse. He knew that he had made the right choice, and that she was safer in his palace for the time being.
His thoughts were interrupted by Raziel. "Which portal goes to the one in Aegyptus?" asked Raziel. "
We at least know that one is still open.
Shouldn't that be the first pyramid we go to?"
Jarahmael walked down the hall to the first passageway on the right. "It's this one. I think we should go there first too. Hopefully, Michael and Ariel made it there by now and we can begin to make plans to counterattack."
"Do you think Luciferael will continue to attack?" asked Gaardrael.
Jarahmael eyes glazed over in thought before he spoke. “He has made a steady and incessant attack through all of the Heavens. I am sure he will continue to attack, and move the war to the Earth as soon as possible. Though with all the fighting that has gone on for the past few days, and with Luciferael having driven the loyal Angels out of Heaven, he may take a day or two to secure his victory and gather up whatever stragglers are in the Heavens and confine them. Once he has them confined, they can no longer be a threat to him and he will not have any more distractions. Perhaps we will get lucky and he will allow his troops to rest for a day before going on the final assault. This may give us the time we need to get properly prepared for his next onslaught.”
"Will that be enough time?” asked Raziel.
"It will have to be," responded Jarahmael as he turned to walk down the portal heading towards the Earth. "Lord Raziel and
l
ord Gaardrael, I think the two of you should stay here with the detachment of Guardian Angels. We need to keep this pyramid secure. I will send for you as soon as I know more about the status of our loyal forces around the Earth. And I promise to send you replacements and reinforcements as soon as I can. I believe that the pyramid here is safe and will not be disturbed for a few days, as the rebel forces have little knowledge about its potential and I suspect they will attack in the way they know and are the most comfortable with. I am sure they will want to stream down in a great attack right from the Heavens into the Earth's skies. The rebel guards who had just passed by didn't seem the least bit concerned that anyone was hiding in here. That should give us the element of surprise when the time comes."
Jarahmael then took his leave, turned and went down to the portal. A quick flash of light illuminated the passageway and then he was gone.
Gaardrael took over as Jarahmael had left. "Better make sure we are all in good positions in case the rebel Angels do discover how to the use the pyramid or that we are in it. Everyone duck into one of the passageways and stay alert! Keep talking and any other noise to a minimum. Let's not give ourselves away. "
Chapter 29
Michael and Ariel received a warm welcome when they flew down through the Earth’s skies towards the pyramid. The legions of refugee loyal Angels that surrounded the area around the
Aegyptian
pyramid cheered when the two Archangels arrived just before sunset. Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael had thought them to have been captured, destroyed, or permanently cut-off from them after Luciferael's legions cast out the remaining defenders of the First Heaven
.
All the loyal Angels felt that Michael was now their leader. Luciferael had become distant to many of them as Michael became closer to them. As time had gone by, they felt that Michael acted more as a personal agent for the Almighty, not someone with his own agenda and who was replacing the Almighty. Unfortunately, when Michael went missing and the loyal Angels were driven out of the Heavens, the loyal Angels became disheartened and believed all was lost. Now that the Heavens were in the hands of Luciferael and his group of rebel Archangels, it was up to Michael to revive their spirits and give them hope. They all needed to pull together and defeat Luciferael and his rebel Angels if they would ever have a chance of joy again, because they knew they would become slaves to the rebels’ whims under the rule of Luciferael and his Auxilium.
Michael and Ariel slept soundly in the
Aegyptian
pyramid that night and it felt good to see Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael when they awoke. They all walked together to the entrance of the pyramid to watch the sunrise. It was poignant moment for them, as they had been so used to being part of the morning ceremony for all of the Angels, when the Almighty would appear. They wondered what had happened to the Almighty. He been absent since this revolt began, and they all desperately wanted His guidance and counsel. But for now they were on their own in dealing with Luciferael.
Michael was being briefed by the other Archangels about the preparations they had made for war in his absence.
"We have twenty legions here,
lord
Michael, four
legions of Guardian Angels, four legions of Potentates, four legions of Principalities, four of Dominions and four of Cherubim.
" said Gabriel.
“We are still waiting for
lord
Cerebriel as he finishes assembling the legions around the pyramids in Medius, O
ccidentus, Chinaeus, and Indigus
. The other pyramids in
Centrus, Granaeus, Derinkaeus, and Gympaeus
were not being worked on at the same time that the revolt began so there are no Angels to assemble from there," reported Uriel.
"All told, our legions should outnumber Luciferael's. He has one third of all the
Angels assembled as rebel
legions under his control. We have
close to the remaining two thirds of the Angels, minus the number who
are trapped as prisoners or captives
, which we figure to be at least a few thousand, We also believe that more of the Potentates are trapped up in the Second Heaven as fewer of them would come down to the Earth to work on the pyramids.
If we can get to the captive loyal Angels in our Heavens, we can use them to increase our ranks as well," reported Raphael.
"How is the weapon situation? All of Luciferael’s rebel Angels were fully armed before he began any of his attacks,” Ariel asked as he remembered his own capture when he had tried to find out why Luciferael and his rebel Angels were arming themselves in the Fifth Heaven.
"We have about a third of the force here armed as best as we can with tools rather than actual weapons,” said Uriel. “We have been waiting for
lord
Cerebriel to round up the tools from the other pyramids. He was able to send the tools from the
Chinaeus and Indigus
pyramids as they are closer but he went personally to speed the retrieval of the tools from the pyramids in Medius and O
ccidentus
.”
Michael asked, "Why did it take so long to get these tools?"
“There has been widespread disbelief among the Angels in the more remote locations that Luciferael started a rebellion. They believe this was part of the Almighty's plan and that only the entrance to the Heavens may have been blocked for a reason the Almighty has not told us yet. That is why
lord
Cerebriel has had to go personally to each of the sites and explain,” said Uriel.
"Any news of the Cherubim from the Sixth Heaven arriving with stores of weapons?" asked Michael hopefully.
“No. Not that we have heard," said Gabriel. “Why? Are there weapons on the way?"
"Yes," said Michael. “
Lord
Jarahmael had the Cherubim in the Sixth Heaven seize weapons and had them sent secretly through the Heavens to the Earth. We hope that they were able to get through to the Earth without Luciferael finding and seizing them."
"
Lord
Jarahmael is still free and on our side?" Gabriel asked with surprise. "There have been rumors that he joined the rebel legions. I heard he was with Suriel and Beelzebael during the fight in the Fourth Heaven."
“Yes, he is both free and on our side,” said Michael. "He was the one who freed both
lord
Ariel and I. He sent us ahead while he and
lord
Raziel are working to keep the pyramid in the Garden of Eden out of Luciferael's control."
Then, as if on cue, Jarahmael emerged from one of the passageways in the pyramid behind Michael, who was facing the Archangels. They all smiled when they saw Jarahmael and at first Michael thought it was something he had said that made all of them smile. Then
Michael
felt a nudge on his back, in the space between his wings.
"Greetings brothers!" announced Jarahmael, a smile on his face at seeing his fellow Archangels. "I see
lord
Michael has taken over and dominated the conversation again," Jarahmael teased him. Then he walked around and Michael and Jarahmael reached across and shook hands with one another.
“How did you get here?" asked Gabriel.
“Right through the portal in the pyramid," Jarahmael said, proud of himself as he explained. "Michael, Cerebriel and I had been assigned to find Adam and Eve before the war began and to block off the portals within the pyramids. The Almighty did not want the Humans to be able to use the pyramids to get themselves back into the Garden of Eden and the Heavens."
“Speaking of Adam and Eve, has anyone checked on the Humans?" asked
Gabriel
.
“I checked on them this morning," answered Raphael. "They still remain literally unconscious to the rebellion."
"Good. It's best that way. There is too much going on to be worried about them being exposed to danger from the rebel Angels,” said Gabriel. “They have proven to be poor at following directions and we certainly don't need them getting one of us captured or destroyed in the middle of this rebellion.”
“Not to mention, it would be a bad idea for them to become too familiar with us. They will not be residing again in the Heavens even if we succeed in pushing Luciferael back. The Almighty was not happy with them for eating the forbidden fruit and I can’t see
H
im reversing
H
is decision. They were incapable of following just one simple rule," added Michael.
“What about the rest of the Simians on the planet?" asked Jarahmael.
“Cerebriel had Annabael send some of the Principalities to keep an eye on them. They were put into caves for safekeeping and should still be there waiting for the war to be over. The Simians that have been on the Earth are very obedient. There should be no problems with them," said Raphael.
“We need an overall plan to combat Luciferael and his legions," continued Michael as he walked out into the sand. He bent down and began to draw a map of the Earth and the First Heaven as the rest of the Archangels assembled around him. “Any suggestions,
lord
Jarahmael? You have seen Luciferael and how his legions operate when they have attacked before."
"I believe that he will consolidate his power in the Heavens now. There were still pockets of loyal Angels remaining within each of the Heavens. That will take a day or two," responded Jarahmael.
"Are there large numbers of loyal Angels for him to contend with?" asked Gabriel.
“It's hard to tell, since many were unarmed throughout the war and disorganized. No one expected this to happen, so there was no coordinated leadership to resist the rebel Angels. My sense is that their allegiance to Luciferael will remain true as long as he appears to be undefeatable. If we succeed in breaking that alliance apart, I think Luciferael’s rebel alliance will begin to crumble.”
Jarahmael knelt down by the map drawn in the sand and motioned for them to come closer. "But I do have a plan that I think will surprise Luciferael and his legions. Come closer, I will show you."