“You were embodied in the physical plane in the body of Malak. Were you able to manifest your full spirit in that form?”
I shook my head. “No. I had spiritual abilities but the body was too coarse and limited.”
“Precisely. God will create two special bodies from the clay of the earth. He shall make one male and the other female. These two bodies, man and woman, shall house the souls of the two children and they will be special indeed.”
“Special how?”
“They will be able to fully manifest spirit.”
“How is that possible?”
“Recall your visions in the Akashic. What was your first vision?”
“I saw a snake eating its tail, endlessly,” I answered.
“You saw the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that is set in motion when souls forget their true nature and is seduced by Lucifer’s illusion.”
My anger rose. “The destruction of the lower spheres is no illusion!”
“That is why you will die.”
I let my anger fade. Now was not the time. I still needed answers. “What of my second vision? I saw balancing scales.”
“The laws in God’s universe demand that for every wrong action committed, one must perform a right action. There must be a harmony, you see, an equilibrium. It would hardly be fair without balance.”
“But where is the balance? Fallen kill recklessly. Where is the harmony there?”
“The same fallen who kill will be killed in future lives. The atrocities they commit will be committed on them. Balance, you see. There is a lesson there. The good will be rewarded with goodness. Evil will be rewarded with evil.”
“The evil are not rewarded with evil, they grow stronger!” I shot back. “Even as we speak, Lucifer is gathering his legions to destroy all who stand in his way. How is that punishment?”
“As you well know, our souls are eternal. Punishment will be eked out over time and at God’s choosing. For example, let us consider evil souls. When they die, they will incarnate into a lower life form in the physical then incarnate once again into a body of demon to be persecuted, enslaved, or even eaten. Does that not sound like punishment?
“There is a direct correlation to how one acts and thinks and what they receive in return. Do not doubt God’s universal laws. Did not Requel, when she died in the physical, resurrect on the heavenly ninth sphere in a body that resembled her as you remembered? Good begets good. Evil begets evil. Let the evil fear hell because they created it and there they will suffer according to how much suffering they have caused. Let the good return to the heavens where they will dwell in peace and joy in the company of loved ones.”
“Do not preach peace to me, Camael. I am not one of your students. Lucifer is destroying the heavens.”
“Then stop him, Sariel.”
I barked a laugh. “How can I do that?”
“You are Archangel, are you not?”
“I was, once. I may still possess the spiritual power of one but I certainly don’t feel like one.”
“Is a diamond covered in mud still not a diamond?”
So he knew of my third vision. I should have known. “Yes, but it does not apply to me.”
“Tell me, Sariel. When you were in the lower spheres, did you have difficulties manipulating the energies there and commanding them to do your will?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I frowned, recalling those dire moments when the subtle energies had not obeyed my will in the lower spheres. I first experienced it in Iobel’s cavern when the fallen attacked and I could not open a portal. On the sixth sphere against Mephistopheles’ fallen I also struggled until I merged with Mother Nature and the energies finally obeyed. The subtle energies disobeyed me many more times after that in the fourth when I searched in vain for the Akashic Halls. I did not know why they failed, not exactly, and I could find no reasoning behind it. “Vibrations are denser in the lower spheres, energies are coarser,” I guessed.
“True, but that is not why you couldn’t manipulate matter. Think again.”
“If you know the answer, tell me. You said you would speak plainly.”
“No. This you must discern for yourself.”
I felt my anger rise but I pushed it back down. If Camael tested me then I would pass his test. I thought back to all those moments when I struggled to manipulate the energies around me.
There was no connection I could see between the circumstances. They were in different spheres and at different times. The only common element was me. But what changed between those instances? I had never experienced such failure before when I was Archangel, only after I descended to the lower spheres …
Understanding suddenly dawned on me. “I know the answer to your riddle, Camael.”
“Tell me.”
“I had difficulty manipulating the energies only when I doubted myself.”
“Precisely. Do not forget who you are, Sariel. You are Archangel, created by God to fulfill His purpose. You were given great responsibility. The power of your mind is such that when you doubt yourself and do not believe you are Archangel, you are, in effect, distorting reality to accommodate your doubt. The very energies that served you were compelled to weaken you in order to obey your thoughts. When you know who you are, your true self emerges as does your true power.”
I felt a burden lift from my soul at his words. Could it so simple? All I had to do was believe? Perhaps it could be so simple after all … “Thank you.”
“You are welcome. Would you like to know the meaning behind the rest of your third vision then?”
I nodded, recalling the figure made of clay and imbued with seven jewels, one from each of the higher spheres.
“What you saw is the body God will create. The vision tells you that souls, despite what actions, thoughts, or sins they committed, are still as pristine as when God first made them. Only their consciousness tells them otherwise. They must go through the cycle of birth and rebirth until they realize this is so. The first man and woman God creates will aid them in their escape because God will imbibe each body with seven spiritual centers, a reflection of the seven highest spheres, to allow them to manifest their true spiritual nature should they choose to do so.
“They will essentially be angels on earth with the exception that their bodies will suffer, grow old, and eventually die. But their souls can once again rise to angelic heights while incarnated and remain pure as they once were. It will be up to each soul to determine how much they manifest their true divinity in each incarnation. Those who do will pay their spiritual debt and eventually break the cycle of birth and rebirth to reclaim their rightful place as angels once more. Those who do not will suffer birth and rebirth until they do.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“Easy? Hardly. Some souls will suffer a million incarnations before they rise from their own consciousness that imprisons them and soar to spiritual heights once again.”
“This all sounds very fascinating but my concerns are far more immediate,” I said impatiently. “Lucifer is on his way to the ninth and even with my full strength he cannot be stopped. I need your help.”
“You shall not have it.”
I felt my anger surge. “Why is that?”
“To be involved is to delude ourselves. We shall stay above it all.”
Did I sound so pompous at one time? No wonder Requel was so angered with me when I spoke to her so when she first asked for my help. It angered me as well. “Cowards! Lucifer’s actions hurt us all.”
“Sariel, can’t you remember who you once were?”
“I long for it every day.”
“Then become that soul! Rise above this delusion.”
“Rise above it? You sound like Lucifer even as he destroys the lower spheres and comes to destroy the ninth. Should I ignore him as well? What about the forty-thousand souls united to defy him. Should they be slaughtered while I watch from above? What about Requel and what they did to her. Sh
ould I forget? Should I forget that they’re trying to kill my son? Answer me, damn you!”
“This discussion is over.”
“No, it is not! You hypocrite! You say to rise above it but you yourself cannot help but dabble in the affairs of us lowly souls. Tell me Camael, who was it that sent Iobel’s people from the second sphere to the seventh so they could try and rescue Requel before she died?”
Silence. Camael shook his head. “Farewell, Sariel.”
“Wait,” said another. “I wish to hear more. I, for one, do not know what Sariel speaks of.”
I focused on the wizened angel in the back. “No? This group happens to know a great deal about Requel, my son, every vision I saw in the Akashic, exactly what happened to me in the physical, yet you do not know about Iobel’s people going into the seventh sphere to rescue Requel because of a vision Iobel had been given? A vision given by one of you that told Iobel to send his people there to help her? I find that most curious.”
“Is this true, Camael?” said another voice.
Camael exhaled slowly. “I’m afraid so.”
The others gasped. “Camael, you betray your own ideals!”
“We took in a helpless child. Why shouldn’t the mother be helped as well?”
“According to Iobel, it was a female who sent the visions. So which one was it?” I asked, my eyes darting between the two wizened female angels. “Reveal yourself!”
“It was I,” said one of them, standing. “I asked Iobel to send his people there. I opened the portal for them.”
“Say nothing more, Avenel,” said Camael.
“So you would send others to do your bidding while you hide in a cave and preach rising above delusion? You sent them to die! Is this what you call rising above it all?”
“It was the right thing to do!” replied Avenel. “I was trying to help. Tell him Camael.”
“You shame us, Avenel,” said another.
Chagrin radiated from the group like heat from a flame, and I understood why. They saw me as an elder brother because of my Archangel heritage, and I caught them in a lie.
“The shame is in doing nothing,” I said quietly. “It’s not so easy to stand aside and do nothing, is it? I thank you, Avenel. You tried to help my beloved. You will always have a friend in me. As will you, Camael.”
Camael cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Please, look beside you.”
I turned. A basket lay beside me that had not been there a moment before. Within it, a babe lay wrapped in swaddling. He reached up to me. Love filled his eyes. My heart melted. I reached down and lifted him tenderly. He grabbed my nose, his eyes never straying from mine. So innocent. So filled with love. I knew I could never abandon this child. I would fight the world to protect him.
“He is your charge now,” said Camael.
I shook my head. “I cannot take him. I must face Lucifer. I will only endanger him if he is with me.”
“You must for we cannot care for him any longer.”
“But you have to! He will be safe here.”
“He is where he should be.”
“In a city under siege?” I asked sharply.
“With his parents.”
“You don’t understand.” My resolve weakened. “I cannot stand against Lucifer. He will destroy me.”
“Yes, he will. But the child’s place is with you nevertheless. Where else should he be? Our time here is done, Sariel. Goodbye.” He clapped his hands three times.
The cave and the wizened angels vanished. I sat on an open ledge, the child in my arms.
“Let’s go home. Your mother awaits.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“He is so beautiful.” Requel cradled our son in her arms, her head pressed against his. His little hands batted the necklace charm around her neck. It was the same charm I had preciously kept around my right wrist since her passing, now restored to its rightful place.
“He is not the only one,” I said through a blur of happiness. I watched the two halves of my heart joined together at last. They were my family, my joy. It was a singular moment of overflowing bliss. I realized in that moment I would do anything to protect them from harm. Anything. My heart longed for the day when we could all be safely together.
She smiled, her eyes in love with the bundle in her arms. “Do you know his name?”
I shook my head. I had often wondered. “Tell me.”
“Admael.”
“Admael.” I repeated softly, trying it on my lips and my ears. It was a good name, a strong name. It meant ‘bright one’. “My son.”
We stood in her chambers deep within Iobel’s keep. It had only one window and the sun was just beginning to peek over the mountains, casting orange shafts of light into the room. I stared at the sunrise, wondering if Lucifer would come this day. I had only returned from the tenth sphere with my son a short while ago but a full three days had passed since he threatened to ravage the ninth.
“I don’t understand,” said Requel. “Why wouldn’t they watch over him any longer?”
“They felt he should be with us.”
“But where can we go where we will be safe?”
“Nowhere.”
“Then how are we to protect him?”
“There is but one way,” I answered firmly. I could think of no other that would protect my beloved wife and son. “We stop Lucifer. Here. Now. Once and for all.”
“But Iobel has already called for an evacuation. The fortress will be emptying out soon.”
“I know.” I turned to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“To stop it.”
* * *
“Do you know what you’re asking?” Iobel said heatedly. “You told us to evacuate so we could escape Lucifer’s invasion. Now you say we should stay?”
“This is our single, best opportunity to stop him. We will not get another.” I leaned against the wall in Iobel’s study, my arms folded. Iobel sat behind his desk and stared out a window.
“He cannot be stopped, Sariel. His armies must number in the millions and you say he’s bringing his entire legions here. How can forty thousand stand against millions? It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s insanity!”
“If God is on our side, how can we fail?”
“Do not speak to me of God!” shouted Iobel. He stood, his chair toppling backwards. “Where was God when Lucifer grew in strength? Where was He when the lower spheres fell? I cannot hear about God at this moment. I have to protect my flock.”
“And where will they go?” I asked calmly. “The ninth won’t hide them for long. Lucifer will ravage this sphere, he has vowed it. Many of your flock cannot ascend to higher spheres. Even I am limited to the tenth. Where then will you go? Will you bury yourself underground as you did before?”
“If I must,” he snapped, his face flushing. He began to pace. “We will go wherever we can find safety.”
“There will be no safety, Iobel. Think!”
“You underestimate me, Sariel. I lived for years evading fallen. I am quite adept at it. We will survive.”
“Survive? You would have perished underground in the second sphere had I not opened a portal for you. Who will open a portal for you next time when the fallen knock at your door?”
“I can’t listen to this right now. I have my flock to see to.” He moved past me.
I laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t run, Iobel. Let us stand together as one and oppose him.”
“And what purpose will that serve?” He spun on me angrily. “It will only mean our deaths that much sooner.”
“It will mean more than that. Far more. It will mean that the orders of all angels stood united against this common threat. It will speak of our defiance, our intolerance. It will mean that we will neither acknowledge Lucifer’s dominance nor allow ourselves to submit to it! Our voices will be heard in our actions, Iobel. Let the higher spheres listen to what we did here. Let them take heed and follow our path! Only united will Lucifer ever fall.”
>
“Sophistry! Pageantry! That is all I hear. Death is death, Sariel. There is no meaning to it. There is no message to be learned from it.”
I exhaled slowly. “Cowardice does not become you, my friend.”
His eyes hardened and turned to ice. “Cowardice? You go too far, Sariel! We cannot all be as strong as you. What are we compared to you, anyway? You are Archangel. We are not. The things you do are mighty and of God Himself. We have no such power. We dwell in your shadow. We always have. I curse the day God ever saw fit to create a ruling order as powerful as you! On that day, He forsook the lower spheres by giving Lucifer, Mephistopheles, and the other flawed souls the power to destroy and dominate us!”
I glared in return. “Have I not stood and fought by your side? Have I not suffered? Have I not fallen? Do not place me on a pedestal which you may so easily topple when it suits your need, Iobel.”
He exhaled, his shoulders slumping, and sunk into a couch. “I am sorry. I did not intend to place you in the same ilk as Lucifer and the others. My emotions got the better of me. All I am saying is that we are different, you and I. You do not fear death. To me, that is all I can think about. I was born immortal, Sariel. I was Cherubim! The thought of dying terrifies me to no end.”
“I fear death too, Iobel.” But I fear the thought of Lucifer hurting my family most of all.
Iobel stood and placed his hands behind his back then shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid the answer is no, Sariel. I will not call off this evacuation. What you say has merit but I must think of the safety of my flock first. I am sorry. Truly.”
“You are mistaken, Iobel,” I said sadly.
“I know you feel that way but my answer will not change.”
“No, you are mistaken in believing I was asking for your permission. I wasn’t.” I turned and strode out the door.
* * *
I soared high above the city, higher than the tallest towers with its snapping banners and spanning bridges. The air was crisp up here. I raised my sword in my right hand and flared it with light. It was late afternoon, the sun beginning to descend in the west.
The city lay below me, stark against the mountain cliffs like a bear cub snuggled tightly against its mother. I reached out with my senses and felt the fear emanating from the masses down below. It radiated like heat from a stone. Mixed with the fear, however, were traces of defiance, with the need to confront and rebel. These souls had had enough. They felt compelled to stand and fight for what they believed in. I nodded to myself. It would do.
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