Incarnation: Wandering Stars Volume One (28 page)

Tamael
nodded, but was silent for a moment.  “What do you want in return?”

Inwardly, Sariel smiled.  These angels had obviously spent enough time with Semjaza to learn how things work
ed
within a culture of conflict. 
“What were your roles under Semjaza
?
”

Tamael
’s golden eyes narrowed. 
“
…v
arious things.  Why do
es
that matter
?”

Sariel smiled
outwardly
now
at the vague answer.  He wasn’t going to get information from these Myndar
ym
without offering something in return.  “Because I’ve witnessed something quite unusual and I would like to know if Semjaza is the cause of it.”

“
You’ll need to be more specific
,
”
Batarel
replied this time.

“
Did he order you to make contact with demons?” Sariel asked bluntly.

All three of the angels
straightened their posture at these words.

“Demons?  What
are you talking about
?” Tamael asked suddenly.

Sariel folded his arms.  “What were your roles under Semjaza?”

It was
Jom
jael
who spoke this time.  “We
shifted
him and his soldiers
here
.  We helped him understand and control humans.  And we built him a fortress.”

“
Did any of you make contact with demons on his behalf?
” Sariel asked again.

“What did you witness?” Tamael asked
.

“Alright,” Sariel said, holding up his hand in resignation.  “I witnessed humans wearing
figurines
around their necks that gave demons the authority to inhabit their bodies.”

“
T
his is not possible,”
Batarel
replied.

“Where did you see this?” Tamael asked.

“
First tell me if Semjaza is capable of this.  Is he working with demons?”

Tamael shook his head.  “I have not seen or heard of this before.  And I don’t know any angel,
Myndar
or other, who would do such a thing.”

Jomjael
, who’d been mostly silent, folded his arms
.
  “
I
f anyone
were
capable of this, it would be Semjaza.  We have seen that
his conscience is clouded with many dark secrets.
”

“
W
here did you see this?” Tamael asked, getting back to his
line of curiosity.

Sariel turned
around and
pointed.  “
To the northeast lay two long mountains which run parallel to each other.  At the north end of the valley between them is a lake. 
Along its
norther
n
shoreline
, there are s
everal demons
who
are
constrained to this realm
.  Their location
is
fixed over the remains of dead humans.  That’s where I found the
figurine
. 
I moved one
a
nd
I
observed
the
power
it has
over them.  The demon was helpless to move beyond the authority granted
to it
by the
figurine
.”

“But how can such an object take precedence over the will of a human?” Tamael asked.

“That’s what I wondered.  I believe it has
something
to do
with
the
human’s desire to keep the
figurine
.  They are crafted from gold and humans have yet to discover metals, or the art of working them.”
10
  In
reality
,
Sariel knew this to be true.  After
the exorcism of the Chatsiyr man,
he
understood
all too well the nature of the
figurine
and its control over the human will.  But he kept this a secret.

Tamael looked to the north, then back to Sariel.  “Can you show it to us?”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I believe you,” Tamael answered.  “But I wish to see this for myself.

“I don’t believe it,”
Jomjael
answered.

Sariel slowly nodded.  “Alright.  I’ll take you there. 
After you see it for yourself, t
hen you
’ll
take me to Semjaza.”

“Agreed,” Tamael said.

Jomjael
and
Batarel
simply nodded.

*   *   *   *

In the soft morning light, Enoch followed the diverted stream
which ran from the Myndar city
of
Aragatsiyr
,
until it connected to the nearby river.
1
3
 
He was unsure how long this would take, so he chose a spot under a tree
that
would provide plenty of shade in the coming hours. 
The fact was, he didn’t really know what he was doing, or if it was possible. 
But he’d made up his mind to find a quiet place where he could at least speak to the Holy One without interruption.
  There was no guarantee that his prayers would be answered, but he was confident that the Holy One could hear anything.

Leaning against the smooth trunk of the tree,
one that looked more natural than those in the city,
he slid down to a sitting position.  The
sweet
fragrance of the tree filled his nostrils, and the
constant
gurgle of the slow river drifted to his ears.
  He knew
right away
that he’d found the right place.  Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply.

Holy One.
  In
Y
our infinite wisdom,
Y
ou led me to this place.  Again I find myself among
Y
our angels.  Their ways seemed complicated to me, yet they revealed to me everything that has transpired…

Enoch’s thoughts trailed off as he was distracted by a mist that had risen from the river.  He watched as it spread outward from the water and began to climb the banks on either side.  It continued to climb fast until it enveloped him, blocking his
sight
of everything except the sky above. 
He rubbed his eyes to ensure that he was seeing correctly, but the mist remained. 
He looked up
and
stared in disbelief as the sun raced across the sky in a giant arc, heading quickly for the western horizon.  Suddenly, the sky dark
ened
and the stars and moon passed by with the same suddenness as the sun.  Enoch now began to look frantically around him, fearing that something bad was about to happen.  Instead, a gentle breeze began to blow.  It felt cool against his skin, while the mist began to clear.  In
a short time
, he could see the river again, briefly glittering in the light of the moon.  Only a moment later, the moon fell below the western horizon and only the stars remained, speeding across their course in the same direction.  To the east, the sky began to change from black to the darkest of blues, then gave way to
violet
before bursting forth with a brilliant orange. 
T
he sun
leaped
quickly
from the horizon and began climbing in the sky
again
.  The breeze had now grown into a fierce wind, and Enoch rose to his feet and walked toward the river, covering his face from the stinging sand that was beating against his
skin
.

Then, just as the sun touched the western horizon, Enoch felt his body lifting into the air.  The same exhilaration he
had
felt
when flying with the
Speaker
’s
escorts
, he felt now, only it continued much longer as he rose higher and higher into the air.  The valley became smaller and
Aragatsiyr
all but vanished below him as he could now see to the horizon in all directions.  He’d never witnessed something so grand in all his years
.  T
he thought occurred to him that somewhere below
and far to the south
, his
own
village
of Sedekiyr
was nothing more tha
n
a tiny spec
k
on the earth which now
appeared
as a
blue and green
mottled
sphere
, hanging in the darkness, with stars in the distance.

Once again, the sky turned light
, b
ut the light came from everywhere and nearly blinded him.  He blinked at the harsh transition, then noticed that he wa
s
flying over land again
, ascending in elevation as if he were climbing a steep mountain
. 
The terrain
looked somehow different, foreign
and indescribable
.  As the rocks and trees sped by underneath a great
city
appeared
,
white on the
mountain peak
above him.
  It was majestic and its
radian
ce
illuminated everything near it.  Enoch’s eyes began to tear, but he dared not cover or close
them
for fear of missing the beauty that he struggled to comprehend.  As he neared, he could make out a fli
ckering movement around the
base
of the wall
surrounding the city
, which
seemed to stretch so
high
into the air that the top could not be seen.  His rapid ascent was uncontrollable and
he shr
a
nk back in fear at the sight of
fire surrounding the
multi-colored foundation of the
translucent wall.  The tongues of flame burned white at their centers,
with flashes of every conceivable color
at their edg
es.  In the center of the wall
stood an open gate
,
wide enough for every member of
the Shayeth
to walk through side by side. 
But the fire burned everywhere and blocked the entrance.  The dancing colors of the flame
s
were
reflected a million times from the
wall, which appeared as though constructed of innumerable pieces of
transparent stone
, as smooth as a lake surface turned on its side.
  H
elpless against his own movement, Enoch covered his face with his
arms
and flinched, expecting to be burned, but he passed through the flame
s and the gate unharmed.

Inside the gate was a vast city stretching to the horizon and beyond.  Countless numbers of structures covered the landscape, their crystalline shapes glimmering from the light that seemed to come from all directions.  Enoch’s pace failed to slow as he approached a structure unlike anything he’d
yet
seen. 
Though the wooden intricacy of
Aragatsiyr
had
seemed incredibly fantastic to him only yesterday, this
building
made it seem like a crude abomination by comparison.  Its
floor and
walls were constructed of the same
clear material
, exquisitely
formed
into symmetrical shapes that interlocked
.
1
4
 
As he moved inside, he saw p
illars and
arches
that
supported a ceiling of water
which
both reflected what was below
it
and
the stars that
showed above.
 
Between the arches hovered magnificent and terrible creatures of light
.  Somehow, though he’d never seen them before and no one
had
ever explained them, Enoch knew they were called
Keruvym
.  T
heir
bodies, displaying both human and animal characteristics,
looked as though they were made of fire
.  And they hovered
in the air
, propelled
by six wings that moved in a blur.
1
5
  Through the windows, Enoch could see the flames outside and he felt both intense heat and numbing cold at once.