In Rebellion (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book II) (31 page)

Chapter 44

STAYING AHEAD OF WHAT’S BELOW

Two columns of winged Angels ascended to the Seventh Heaven, a sight not seen in many days.

Cerebriel approached up and from the west, ascending from the Cathedral of the Cherubim in the Sixth Heaven towards the
entrance
of the Seventh Heaven. He had retaken his Cathedral, capturing the rebel Cherubim who had been left behind by Luciferael to guard the captured loyal Cherubim.
Cerebriel’s
loyal Cherubim
under the command of Zachiel
had been trapped there when Luciferael declared war on the Heavens.
Zachiel and the others now joined with Cerebriel’s column swelling its ranks and keeping it composed of only Cherubim warriors.
As Cerebriel looked at his column
, he
thought about how they all had become quite proficient as fighters in this rebellion, no matter whether they fought for the loyal or the rebel Angels.

To the east was the column of Angels led by Jarahmael. His legion, on the other hand, was composed of every type of Angel. He had begun with a few Cherubim and Gaardrael's Guardian Angels as they ascended from the First Heaven. He added additional loyal Angels to his ranks from the Angels he liberated from Luciferael's rebel captors, as they moved up further through the Heavens. The liberated Angels among his rank were highly motivated after being captured and held as Luciferael’s prisoners, and they were determined to fight back against Luciferael and his rebels if they were given the opportunity.

Because Jarahmael’s legion was composed of different
types of
Angels
who did not all travel at the same speed
, it was not as compact as Cerebriel's disciplined column of Cherubim Angels. Jarahmael was concerned because his column was stretched,
and
it could be dangerously exposed if Luciferael realized that
it
was in front of him, heading towards the Seventh Heaven. If Luciferael caught up to
Jarahmael’s
legion
, it
would not be able to respond effectively to attacks because of all the slow moving Angels in the
rear
, and it would take time to tighten up his own ranks. Jarahmael knew that
the danger was growing as
Luciferael was coming up through the Heavens behind him, heading towards the Throne Room. At least that is exactly what he would do, if he was in Luciferael's position. Scouts had just told him that Luciferael was advancing behind him at a faster pace. To
quicken
his column of Angels Jarahmael ordered the Guardian Angels fly up and down the line urging everyone to move faster.

Cerebriel's Cherubim in their entirety were ahead of him as the two columns were approaching the
entrance
into the Seventh Heaven. On the favorable side, they
would be able to
recombine their forces, having cleared out the lower Heavens of any loyal Angels who could potentially be held captive by Luciferael's forces. That meant all the loyal Angels were finally out of the control of the rebel Angels, and Jarahmael felt relieved that none of the loyal Angels remained captive, even though he knew that a final showdown between the loyal Angels and the rebel Angels was rapidly approaching.

In order to protect the stragglers he had in his column, Potentate Angels for the most part as they did not move as quickly as his other Angels, Jarahmael decided to enlist the help of Cerebriel's Cherubim to act as a rear guard, and quickly flew up to meet Cerebriel at the
entrance
into the Seventh Heaven.

“Good, we both made it, Cerebriel,” Jarahmael said with relief in his voice. “Scouts have told me that Luciferael is not far behind us; he should be coming through into the Sixth Heaven any time soon. We barely got out of the upper Fifth Heaven before his advance Cherubim scouts were entering into the Fifth Heaven from below.”

“Did you see him advancing? What about Michael? Any word?” Cerebriel asked.

“No, to both questions,” said Jarahmael. “But you know Luciferael has to come here. He will want the Almighty’s Book from the Throne Room and will be looking for a way to defeat us. If things work out right, Michael will be the hammer and we will be the anvil with Luciferael's legions locked in between both of us. When we all get positioned we will attack from both sides to neatly trap Luciferael, once and for all.”

Jarahmael again felt a sense of guilt pass through him, uncomfortable that he had not told Cerebriel that he had already removed the Books, but he knew it was best kept a secret from everyone at this point. This way no one could tell Luciferael where the Books
we
re located in the event that they were captured.

Cerebriel smiled. “It will be good to get things back to normal here.”

“Yes, seems like forever since we had a morning ceremony. I need to go back to my palace to check on Lillith,” Jarahmael said. “I am concerned that my column is moving too slowly, as those Potentate Angels with their
o
rb forms cannot fly as fast as the other Angels. We definitely want and need them on our side though.”

“Agreed,” responded Cerebriel.

“Would you send down some of your Cherubim to guard and protect the rear of my column as they come up into the Seventh Heaven?”

“Consider it done,” responded Cerebriel. “Anything else you need?”

“Yes. Once the Dominions and Principalities get up here in the Seventh Heaven, have them
fortify the entrance and
work on putting up impenetrable gates
.
I would like to
make the gateway into a
defensive position
for us
.”

Jarahmael continued quietly, “We will have trouble holding here if Luciferael brings the full weight of his legions to bear down upon us, as he does have our position and legion outnumbered and out-armed. And to make it worse, his legions have
previously occupied the Seventh Heaven and he could have surprises in store that we do not know about. Make sure you send scouts.
We don't have enough real weapons to go around for everyone and most of our captive loyal Angels are inexperienced when it comes to fighting.
”

Cerebriel then spoke, “And, if he gets his hands on th
e Book of Creation,
he may be able to use spells on our Angels.”

Jarahmael continued without elaborating about the Books. “Just make sure that our position is flexible enough that we can send down an attacking force against Luciferael if need be. I am hoping that Michael has not been defeated and is pursuing Luciferael from behind. That will force Luciferael and his legions to fight on both his front and his back, giving us the advantage of our loyal Angels attacking the rebels simultaneously from above
and from
below.”

“Agreed, but what if Michael was defeated by Luciferael in the lower Heavens?” Cerebriel asked, a troubled look passing over his face.

“Then I have led us all into a position where we shall be trapped and conquered,” Jarahmael responded. “We just need to keep faith that this is a good plan and that it will actually work. There was no other plan that I believe would have been successful.”

“Yes, that is true,” Cerebriel answered. “I will make the arrangements, Jarahmael.”

“In the meantime, I am going to my palace and will return soon. If something happens before I get back here, send someone to find me.” Jarahmael said as he was preparing to take flight.

“All right, I will look for you when you get back,” responded Cerebriel.

Jarahmael flew from the gateway of the Seventh Heaven towards his palace, passing over the Throne Room along the way. When he looked down through the skylight as he flew over, he saw a group of at least six rebel Cherubim guards lounging around the Almighty's Throne. He was pleased with himself that he had removed the actual Books out of there earlier, and had done so, right under Luciferael's and the other rebel Angel's watchful gazes! He began to circle overhead in the sky, staying just out of the rebel Cherubim's view from below. He could see that the rebel Cherubim were stationed around the Throne, guarding it. He
realized that he
could not leave rebel Cherubim warriors in the Throne Room who could attack his position at the gateway from behind. Although he had only seen six of them, they could wreak havoc and if they attacked at the right moment, it could weaken the loyal Angel army at a very vulnerable time. He thought about the damage he himself was able to do acting alone by maneuvering behind enemy lines.

As much as he hated to not be able to check on Lillith, he turned around and headed back towards the Throne Room. As he approached, he could see two of Cerebriel's loyal Cherubim entering the Throne Room. They would have no idea that Luciferael had left some of his rebel Cherubim guards within the Throne Room to protect the Books. They would be outnumbered three to one, by seasoned and experienced rebel warriors. Jarahmael knew he had to assist quickly and
went into action.

When Jarahmael got to the Throne Room, he dropped down from the sky through the Throne Room's skylight, ironically, the place that Luciferael would use to enter the Hall for the morning ceremonies. As he came through the skylight, he could see that there were six burly rebel Cherubims already fighting two of the loyal Cherubim. He drew both his swords as he came in from behind them, causing two of them to turn around to fight him. Jarahmael kept the two of the Cherubim busy, making the odds better for Cerebriel's two loyal Cherubim as they fought the other four rebel Cherubim. Now it was two of the rebels to one for each of them. The rebels were good fighters and it took longer than Jarahmael expected to finally disarm
his two opponents and assist the other two loyal Cherubim disarm theirs.

Just then, Faumiel flew in through the skylight and announced to Jarahmael that the rebel forces under Luciferael were preparing to attack the
entrance into the Seventh Heaven.
They had made it through the Sixth Heaven and discovered that there was a legion of loyal Angels between them and the Seventh Heaven. Now Luciferael’s rebel legions were looking for a weakness to breach. Faumiel had been sent by Cerebriel to get Jarahmael to return quickly, to help with the fighting and the strategies as Luciferael's entire
rebel force
could be brought to bear on their position.

Jarahmael told the two loyal Cherubim to confine the rebel Angels and that he would send reinforcements to them. Jarahmael flew over the Throne itself and checked on the status of the fake Books he had left inside the Throne. He saw that they had not been disturbed.
Luciferael will still think that the Books are here. Good, he will keep fighting to get back here.

Jarahmael flew back up through the skylight and headed to the
entrance
for the Seventh Heaven. He landed near where Cerebriel was issuing commands to his Cherubim Angels as they were lining up to withstand an attack by Luciferael's rebel army.
The Dominions and Principalities were working furiously reinforcing
two immense pearly white gates.
The doors themselves were lying flat and being finished by skilled Principalities, who were becoming proficient in working with the
streaming and hardened white light
.
Jarahmael walked
over to the gates as they were finishing their work on them, preparing to hang them in place. He just hoped they would be up in time to seal off the Seventh Heaven from the attacks of the pursuing rebel angels.
The sounds of war grew closer and the loyal Angels knew that they would have to fight hard to save themselves and to defeat Luciferael.