“I believe this also,” she said, nodding.
“How will we survive this catastrophic flood? We cannot breathe underwater. I have knowledge of this, for I have learned this lesson the hard way.” I slumped to the ground, and she knelt down by my side. “Are we not meant to survive, Gadreel?”
“I nearly drowned on one occasion, so I too have experienced this firsthand,” she said. “We shall not be required to breathe underwater, for we would be safe inside the ark.”
I sat upright and eyed her warily. “This man, Noah, will never allow us to enter the ark, and he will have God on his side.”
“Noah would never know of our presence,” she whispered, as if Noah was nearby. “We can possess one of the privileged animals as it enters the ark and remain within the animal until everything has come to pass.” She leaned back and looked at the sky as she explained her great plan. Then she got to her feet and helped me stand. She stood tall, head lifted, looking like the angel she once was. For a moment she reminded me of Coralia. There was much resemblance between them. I shook my head, as if in doing so all thoughts of Coralia would be tossed aside. She must be dead to me.
“I have never possessed another being. I am not certain I have the ability to do such a thing,” I said once I could finally speak.
“Your father was able to jump in and out of bodies with little effort. He once possessed Fornues, a giant sea creature, and he possessed Samael countless times. I am certain you can do it. You must try.”
We searched the area for an animal to possess.
“There!” She pointed to a small, hairy rodent with white spines on its back. I found the very idea of possessing such a creature repulsive.
“Go on!” she said, extending both arms in the direction of the rodent. “What are you waiting for? Imagine yourself inside it.”
I stared at the prickly creature. When the hedgehog scurried away, I ran after it, leaping toward it with the intention of capturing it. The next thing I knew, I was seeing through the eyes of the spiny mammal.
I scuttled to and fro, confused and disoriented by what I saw. This small animal had an enormously expanded field of vision which exceeded my own. The world passed by, above and on either side of me, as well as in front. It was a fascinating way to perceive my surroundings, but I was unable to focus on one thing. I distinguished the blue of the sky and green of the grass and trees, but everything else held strange hues I had never seen before. Even Gadreel was of an indeterminate color.
My vision was nebulous, but my enhanced senses of smell and hearing were enough to give me a clear view of the world. The pungent odor of worms drifted into my nostrils, as I listened to them writhing under the ground. I was inebriated from the earthy, musty, old scent of the soil and the clean, herbal fragrance of the grass. I finally made myself weary from zipping around and sat still.
Gadreel approached me and lay on her stomach in order to speak to me eye to eye.
“How do you feel?” She giggled.
“To possess another being is a strange sensation. I do not have words to describe it.” I mouthed the words, but only snorting and snuffling sounds came out. Somehow, Gadreel seemed to understand the small creature’s language.
“Do you suffer pain or discomfort?” she asked.
“I do not. Does the animal suffer?” It was not my intention to harm the diminutive creature.
“I do not sense pain, but I do detect fear,” she replied.
“Oh no!” I cried as a huge predatory bird swooped into my newly extended field of vision, its sharp, powerful talons outstretched before it. I was unable to react fast enough, and the eagle caught me in its claws and soared into the sky.
Being caught in the predator’s grip suddenly quickened memories of my father and Samael in the clutches of the giant beast that had taken them away to the netherworld. My first instinct was to abandon the hedgehog’s body and shift to my demon form, but I did not wish to desert the small mammal to such fate.
Next thing I knew, Gadreel appeared, flying alongside the eagle. The bird made a deep snorting sound at her and then a loud, high-pitched squawk. She communicated with the bird, but I did not hear words, only a series of chattering squeaks instead. The rodent’s pulse raced, competing with my own.
“The bird means to feed the rodent to its fledglings,” Gadreel said to me.
“What?” I said, though I knew what her comment implied.
“The rodent is its evening meal.”
“You mean I am its evening meal!” The hedgehog bared its teeth and wiggled.
“No! You must abandon the animal,” she said, keeping pace with the eagle.
“To be consumed? Never!” Why did I feel like I would be abandoning my father and Samael?
“Dracúl, this is nature’s way,” she said. “The eagle and its eaglets must feed. Besides, the bird caught the rodent fairly.”
“That is where you are mistaken.” I refused to abandon the small body. “I occupied the rodent’s body at the time it was seized. I rendered the animal defenseless, and now you say I must abandon it to be devoured by vicious hooked beaks?”
Gadreel looked at me, shamefaced. “I shall try to convey your feelings.” She began her high-pitched yelps. The eagle issued a harsh cry as she continued to communicate with it. Then the bird’s jarring screech became a low, snickering call. Gadreel glanced at me with a haunted look on her face and shook her head.
I abandoned the hedgehog’s body and, in my fiend form, swooped around the eagle, confusing it, which gave me a chance to grab its two powerful wings from behind.
Gadreel gasped and stared openmouthed at my curled horns and enormous, spiny, black wings. The eagle cried out and released the hedgehog.
“Save the rodent!” I yelled to Gadreel.
Looking bewildered, she glanced at the hedgehog tumbling toward Earth and launched herself after it.
I held on to the massive predator, my eyes following Gadreel until she caught the little animal. Then I sank my teeth into the eagle. The bird’s heart beat rapidly to supply its body with more blood to compensate for the fluid I was consuming. I detected the sloshing sounds of the heart’s four chambers filling fast with blood.
The eagle screeched as we dove and arched across the sky. After a while, the powerful bird weakened, its body limp. I was in a trance as I fed from the majestic fowl. We began to flip repeatedly while plummeting toward the ground.
“Release the bird!” Gadreel yelled from the ground. “Release the bird at once, Dracúl!”
I lurched out of my stupor and relinquished the bird. It fell into her arms. The earth was near and coming at me fast. I flapped my wings to slow my descent and avoided crashing.
Upon landing, I returned to my human form. I was relieved to see the hedgehog scurrying about in good condition. Then my sight fell upon Gadreel, who wept over the eagle’s lifeless body.
Her shiny, wet face and reddened eyes touched me. “Had I known you would feel such pain, I would never have fed on the stubborn fowl.”
“Shall the eagle’s life be lost now that you have consumed its blood?” There was a hint of anger in her voice.
I proceeded to her and crouched by the eagle. I placed my hand over its powerful pectoral muscle and detected the bird’s heartbeat. It had a powerful thump. “Our feathered friend will outlive this day.” I flashed an epic smile, as if the fact the bird would live was my doing.
“You are cruel and evil,” she said, glaring at me. “I do not perceive what you did as humorous.”
My body drooped and I lifted my hands as I plopped on my rear, staring at the ground. Then I looked up at her, my hand over my heart. “I had not fed in some time.” My words came out hoarse and brittle, so I cleared my throat. “I did what I must to survive. I get no amusement from what I do.”
She looked at me sideways, those eyes reminding me of my beloved Coralia.
“Why do you judge me?” Heat tingled my neck and face. “Your words are harsh and unmerited. When
the eagle stood to tear the rodent apart you claimed it was nature’s way.” I picked up a stone and flung it hard into the grass. “I did not choose to be what I am. I was born this way. I cannot survive without the blood of the living.”
I clutched my chest as a sense of emptiness washed over me. Once again I was rejected for simply being me. I hung my head. If kindhearted Gadreel cannot find it in her heart to accept me, no one ever will. I rose to my feet and prepared to leave.
“Wait!” Gadreel yelled, hurrying to me.
I stopped.
She stood before me, resting her hands on my arms. She tried to smile at me, but it was as if the effort would wound her. “Apologies, I have a tender spot for these birds, since one of them saved my life once… and the lives of my daughters. Nevertheless, I should never have been unkind. I do not believe you are cruel or evil. I sense you are kind.” Her words were as comforting as her brown-eyed gaze. She caressed my face, and the feel of her soft hands touching my skin soothed me. I nuzzled my face against her hand, and a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
“We must head north to Shuruppak without delay,” she said. “I sense the movements of many animals. They have begun to board the ark.”
Chronicles of Lilith - 3
As I prepared to leave Shuruppak, rumors about a man named Noah, who claimed to be God’s prophet, came to my attention. According to my human servants, this man said God speaks to him and has told him there shall be a catastrophic event. Every living thing on this planet shall perish, except those beings selected by God Himself.
The servants laughed and took pleasure in ridiculing this man. They called him insane. I, however, have learned throughout the years that there is always some truth to the ramblings of the insane. I would like to see this man, Noah, and listen to his preaching, thus my departure would have to wait.
In the middle of the night I awoke to booming thunder, the likes of which I had not heard since the days I wandered in the wilderness with Gadreel when we first arrived on this planet. I leaped out of my bed and ran to a nearby window. The sky was ominous, with large bitumen-black clouds gathering to form gigantic ones. My superior vision allowed me to see things in the darkness that no other being could. A flash of lightning lit the world white for a moment. Rain began to fall, first tapping on the window and then becoming a rapid succession of beats.
I threw on a garment and ran outside to get a better look. There were still people outdoors, servants slow to finish their tasks for the day and others who came out to see what was happening. They ran for cover as storm clouds spat their loads of water. Sharp droplets of icy-cold water needled my shoulders and back. I shivered under the prickly feeling. The rain came in torrents now. Puddles formed, and the puddles became streams. They grew into rivers. I ran to a nearby tree to take shelter under it.
I hid from the people running and screaming in fear and shifted to my serpent form. The torrent became more intense, and the night grew darker with the bruise of thick, angry clouds. A wall of rain moved over the tree I stood under, and the drops drummed against the canopy. So much water fell from the skies that the sound blurred into one long, whirring tumult.
Many of the people of Shuruppak left their flooded homes and wandered the streets like lost souls. They had never seen a storm of this magnitude. Some had only been familiar with the morning dew. I had seen enough. I spread my wings and took to the sky. Flying had never been more difficult. The rain pelted my wings, while bolts of lightning threaten to spear me as they sliced the air to my left and right.
The earth shook and sent shockwaves rippling through the ground like water, destroying houses in an instant. Fires exploded everywhere, and the smell of smoke twisting through the air between raindrops was acrid on the hot breeze. Regular clatters rang out as structures crumbled apart and fell to the ground. I needed to escape, find shelter, but where could I hide from such devastation? The skies were becoming more and more dangerous. I flew toward the coast, but my wings grew too heavy and sodden to keep me airborne. I fell to the beach.
I looked toward the coastline, wincing and moaning, feeling the pain of my fall. I had been to this beach before, but it looked strangely unfamiliar now, abnormally vast. I thought maybe the darkness of the night was playing tricks on my vision, but then I realized why the beach looked so strange. The surf had drawn back hundreds of miles; the abandoned sand twinkled in the moonlight despite the rain.
I gasped at a black line on the horizon and watched as a colossal wave swept toward me at hundreds of miles per hour—rushing, roaring, angry froth foaming from between its lips. I stared, eyes fixed, as the wave surged in. I knew it was impossible to escape it. Heat had never left my body as fast as it did in this brief moment of realization. The torrent came after me, granting me a few seconds to enjoy breathing the ocean air before it wrapped me in frigid foamy fingers and dragged me to the ocean floor.
I struggled as sand and briny water filled my lungs, causing them to expand and burn. As the wave moved, it pulled me along with it, like it wanted me to witness the devastation it would cause. My death would not be simple or fast, for the powers granted to me by the fruit from the Tree of Life would sustain me. Powers I once cherished now seemed a curse.
As the wave pushed me along, I crashed into debris in the water. Every stab, rip, and fracture my body suffered brought me immense pain. Men, women, and children drowned, their dead bodies floating around me, yet I remained alive.
The giant wave hit Shuruppak. It was nothing like the waves which lap the shore every minute of every day. This was a gigantic wall of water, cold and powerful. It came over land with the power of a volcanic blast. It moved over the city with more ease than a wave over the sand, reducing houses and structures to rubble and killing every living thing.
My broken body filled with water, sand, and debris until the weight of it fixed me to the ocean floor. People, livestock, uprooted trees, and all manner of structures floated past me. The rain continued to pour.
The sky was now hinting at sunrise. Nothing escaped my eyes and ears, but I was immobile. Every inch of my body throbbed with pain, and the cold of the water chilled my bones. As I lay motionless, I watched a large wooden vessel approach. It was the greatest ship I had ever seen. It glided over the water’s surface, throwing its shadow to the sea floor as it sailed past me, turning day to night. I overheard people singing and the roar, moo, bleat, and bray of animals coming from the vessel. Not everyone had perished. Some shall go on, while I remain imprisoned in this watery grave. The weight of the water pressed down on me, crushing me, as the rain increased its depth.
The feeling of drowning never left me. The feeling of panic, unable to take breath, to inflate my lungs. The slow filling of my larynx—gagging, coughing, briny water forcing its way through my nostrils and into my lungs like acid. I would drown and die, and after a moment of peace, the process began again.
A familiar recollection filled the void in my head, spinning memories of Beelzebub lying at the bottom of the Euphrates River bound in chains, disfigured by suffering and hate. Is that also to be my fate? Shall I become a grotesque monster wallowing in fear, self-loathing, and pain? A sharp, loud wail pierced my psyche, and I realized it was I who did the screaming.
I sat upright with a jolt. This was the most vivid and lifelike vision I’d had to date. My heart thumped and my bosom heaved. I looked around the room. Everything appeared as it should. I left my bed, walked to the window, and looked out to the sky. It was blue and clear. There was no sign of an approaching storm. Still perturbed by my vision, I got dressed. I had to visit this Noah and listen to his words. I had to figure out a way to escape the flood.
*
I called on Asmodeus, Gremory, and Sila to accompany me to see Noah and to devise a plan of escape.
The streets in Shuruppak were filled with people, especially near the center of town. Thick crowds parted as the four of us approached, letting us walk by without
delay. I am certain they sensed the power emanating from us—power not to be challenged.
We hurried over to where a group of men stood shouting and snickering. Finally, we saw the cause of the commotion. An older man stood atop a makeshift wooden platform, yelling over the voices of the crowd. “The evil of mankind has moved God to destroy the world by way of a flood.”
“Shut up, old man!” one of the bystanders yelled.
“What you say is ludicrous!” another said. “You should be confined to an asylum for the mentally insane!”
“Get down from there, foolish old man, before we drag you down!” someone added.
The citizens of Shuruppak grew restless and violent. They wanted to silence Noah, but I wanted to know more.
My companions and I stepped before the crowd.
I raised a hand. “Silence!” Upon listening to my voice, the crowd shrank back and grew silent. I turned to Noah. “You say God shall destroy the earth and its inhabitants with a great flood?”
Noah shifted his steady gaze to me. His appearance of authority was palpable. “You do not mock me.” He furrowed his brow. “Yes, the skies will open and rain will come down in torrents, filling every waterway until they all spill over the land. The water will continue to rise until the earth returns to its pre-creation state of watery chaos.”
His words made my skin prickle and filled me with dread. “God revealed this to you?”
“God spoke to me, for I am his faithful servant.”
“And shall He allow His faithful servant to perish alongside the murderers, rapists, and thieves?” I asked, raising my eyebrows as I awaited his response.
“God has instructed me to build a great wooden vessel that will float over the floodwaters. My family and I, and all those who repent and follow God’s plan, will be safe within this vessel until the storm ends.”
My shoulders hunched, and I wrapped my arms around myself. This was the vessel I had seen in my vision. Like my vision had indicated, it shall all come to pass.
Son of the Serpent Page 9
