Incarnation: Wandering Stars Volume One (30 page)

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” it taunted.

Sariel pumped his wings and leaped into the air,
crossing the expanse of grass
while shifting his body toward the Eternal at the same time
.

The demon scrambled
to get away, but snapped backward as if on
a
leash, unable to leave the
statue
on the ground.

Sariel came down swiftly on the pathetic creature, pinning it to the wet earth by its neck.
  In his angelic form, he
was more than
four times its size.  He leaned his head closer to the demon who was now struggling to breathe.  “Where are your friends
?
” he repeated calmly.

The demon wheezed and Sariel let up slightly on his grip.

“No
. 
…
n
o friends of mine
!
  Ack,” it coughed.  “
…a
bandoned me.”

Sariel looked up to the other angels
who were approaching cautiously
.  Their eyes were wide and their mouths hung open.

“Keep talking
,
”
Sariel ordered.

“Yes, of course. 
…l
ots of activity today.  It’s been so lonely here, but not today.  Children of
L
ight and children of men.”

“What are you saying
demon
?  You don’t make any sense
!
” Jomjael said, stepping forward.

“Children of
L
ight and children of men.  Grabbed our trinkets and carried them away.  But I’m not free.  No.  I’ll be here forever,” it said sadly, allowing its head to drop back to the ground.  Its bulging eyes now swam with an almost human longing.

Sariel
slowly
released his grip and stood up.  In several quick steps, he
reached
the
shore
of the lake.  He could see now that the once-smooth sand had been churned up as in a great migration of animals.  Another few steps brought him into the water.

There, just under the surface, the bones of some unfortunate humans lay in disarray.  “
Someone’s been here,” Sariel announced.

The
Myndarym
came quickly
, but stopped just before the water’s edge.

“I’ve never see
n
one dead before,” Batarel said quietly.

“They’ve taken the
figurines
.  See, the bones have been dug up,” Sariel said, pointing.  Then, he turned and
waded back to the bank where he
not
ed
the path of the footprints as they disappeared into the grass to the south
.

“Ha ha
!
 
THE
PEOPLE OF THE TREES!
 
THE PEOPLE OF THE TREES!
” the demon screamed hysterically.  “
They like shiny things and we like war.  Now they like war and we like shiny things.  Ha!  Trees and People.  People and Trees.  Ha ha
!
” it screamed over and over.

Sariel’s gaze strayed
across
the lake to the southern horizon. 
Far beyond his sight, between the peaks of Bokhar and
Ehrevhar
, was the village of
Bahyith
.

Sheyir
!

Sariel
unfurled his wings and
burst into motion.  The grass beneath him bent low from the
sudden
downdraft as he climbed
rapidly
into the sky.

“Quickly, we must move
!
” he
yelled
over his shoulder
.

*   *   *   *

Enoch opened his eyes.  The
river below continued to flow peacefully through the land.  The sound of the water and buzzing insects were all that could be heard.  The canopy of leaves overhead moved gently in the breeze
, casting flickering light and shadows down the bank toward the
water
.  Enoch looked to the west and noted that the sun was only a
hand’s
breadth
from the horizon.

I
must
have fallen asleep.  I’ve been here all day!

Pushing against the ground, he struggled to lift himself.  His body ached and his limbs felt weak.  He grabbed onto the tree trunk for balance and noticed that the skin on his right arm was red and felt quite uncomfortable.

Have I been in the sun too long?

Breathing deeply, he
looked to
ward
Aragatsiyr
and
took a few steps
.  Suddenly, his vision grew dim and he felt himself falling.

Enoch
opened his eyes again when he felt himself being lifted from the ground, but the whirling colors of
the
sky and trees passing in front of his face only made him dizzier.

“Drink this,” someone said in a soft voice.

Enoch could tell by the sound of stillness that he was back inside the city.  His head pounded and his body ached worse than
when he’d been beaten by the Kahyin.
  Still not ready to open his eyes, he simply allowed the cool liquid to flow into his mouth and down his throat.  The aftertaste suggested flowers and citrus fruit.

Laying his head back, he
continued to breathe
steadily
and deeply until the pounding in his head subsided
. 
Gradually
, he felt strong enough to open his eyes.  The
air was cool.  High overhead, the sky was
shaded by
a
ceiling of tree limbs woven together
. 
From somewhere
far away
, the trickling sound of water came to his ears. 
Beneath his tender
body
was a
bed of soft
ferns
,
their green fronds looking especially
bright
against his burned skin.  As he looked up,
faces began to appear at the corner
s
of his vision.

“Are you feeling better?”
Ananel
asked softly.

“A little,” Enoch replied, his voice sounding harsh.

“Drink some more,” a female voice said from the left.

Enoch opened his mouth and allowed
more of
the refreshing liquid to be poured in.  He closed his eyes again, and felt the irresistible pull of sleep. 
Haven’t I slept enough?

“Are you hungry?”
Ananel
asked.

Enoch thought for a moment
,
then realized that he was famished.  “Yes
.
”

Before he could say another word, s
omething smooth and sweet was
placed
into his mouth, and he began to chew out of habit.  Though it was the most delicious thing he
had
ever tasted, he struggled to chew it for the dryness in his mouth.  Eventually, he worked up enough saliva to swallow it. 
And a
fter another sip of the flowery drink, he
felt strong enough to sit
forward.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t think it would take all day.  I must have fallen asleep.
”

Ananel
smiled.  “You’ve been gone for seven days, little one.”

Enoch
suddenly lifted his head.

By now, all the spaces around him were filled with the crouching bodies and eager faces of the Myndarym.

“Seven days?  But I was just out by the tree—”

“
We were w
atching you from the city.  One moment you were there and the next moment you were gone.”

Enoch closed his eyes again and tried to make sense of what he was hearing.

“Then we saw you again.  We were worried for you,
but we didn’t want to disturb you.  So we waited until you stood up…or tried to.”

Enoch
rubbed
his eyes
and when he opened them again, he noticed that his palms appeared to be glowing.  A soft radiance shone from the only part of his skin that wasn’t in pain.

“You’ve been in the presence of the Holy One,” someone on his left observed.

“
It’s coming from your face as well.  You must have
deliver
ed
our petition?”
another
said over
Ananel’s
shoulder.

Ananel
leaned forward.
  “Did you get an answer?”

Enoch simply looked up
from his hands
.  He had neither the words, nor the strength
,
to have a discussion of this magnitude
yet
.  But his face must have
spoken
what he was unable to.

Ananel
’s golden eyes seemed to look through him, but their intensity faded suddenly.  “
He needs time,” he said finally.  “Let’s get him bathed and prepare him a meal.
”

“
We’ll talk later,” he said
to Enoch.

Enoch was grateful to have some time to compose himself. 
As the cool water from the stream eased his burned skin and refreshed him, he meditated on what had just taken place. 
Even while
satisfying his ravenous hunger with the most delicious and strange foods, he
was lost in his thoughts.
  He had seen and heard so many things that he knew it would take years before he understood it all.

But now, as he
paced by the
pond at the center of
Kiyrakom
, as he called it, he felt
confident in what he needed to say to the Myndarym. 
Overhead, t
he night sky was dark and clear, revealing gleaming
,
silver stars
that were
crowded into every available space.
 
From the perimeter of
the Place of Meeting
,
tall trees reached their foliage toward the center
, creating a partial canopy that would offer shade during the day.  Their bright, graceful leaves stood in stark contrast to the twisted and knotted trunks that dug into the earth, sending out great roots that traversed the ground in search of water.  From above and beneath, it seemed as though the trees were attempting to protect and shelter the inhabitants of the city
.  Only days ago, this had been the most beautiful place Enoch had ever seen.

That was before the vision.

The image of the
White
C
ity
was
still burned in
to
his mind.  The vastness and beauty of it was without equal.  The
Keruvym
and
Ophanym
around the
G
reat
T
hrone seemed
as if they were
made of light
;
their strange bodies made to live in a different world altogether.  The
T
hrone
itself, bluer than the deepest part of the Great Waters,
was so large that Enoch couldn’t even compare it to anything in this world.  And
at the center of this display of power and beauty was the Holy One,
whom
the angels couldn’t even approach
for it seemed that they would be destroyed by
the r
adiant glory that surrounded Him.  Yet, Enoch was invited closer and given a place of honor and privilege.

“Enoch,”
Ananel
said quietly.  “How are you feeling?”

Interrupted from his thoughts, Enoch saw now that all the Myndarym
were
gathered
.
  He could see the eagerness on their faces. 
Ananel
was the only one who appeared
to know what Enoch was about to say. 
His hopelessness was visible.  Tears began to form involuntarily in Enoch’s eyes as he glanced up to the sky, then down again to the
strange
beings
that had accepted him into their city.

Wandering Stars.

Though once magnificent creatures to behold, their beauty
now seemed pale in
comparison to those around the throne.  Where Enoch used to feel admiration and awe, he now felt sadness and sympathy.