by Chuck Black
And yet …
22
PERSIAN PRINCE OF WAR
537 BC
“General Danick, we have protected and preserved the lineage for over two thousand years, and yet I am still unsure.” Validus had just returned from gathering reports from the primus commanders.
“Unsure? I would think that by now I might have earned your trust, Validus,” Danick replied.
Validus watched as the man beside them knelt down in prayer. He was a just man and a devout man of God. Every day he would kneel and pray at the time of sacrifice, but there was no sacrifice, for in captivity the rituals of the temple were discontinued.
Jerusalem lay in ruins—its gates broken, its walls destroyed, and the people bound in captivity. It was a dark time for the chosen people of Elohim. This land was familiar to Validus: Babylon, now under the rule of the great King Nebuchadnezzar. Those who were left in Jerusalem were repressed and existed day to day, trying to avoid the marauders who spoiled the country and its people.
Danick watched the praying man closely.
“I do trust you, sir. It’s my own lack of understanding that frustrates me. What is the Plan? How can we protect it if we don’t fully understand how God is going to restore the earth? It seems so …”
“So impossible?” Danick finished for him.
Validus hung his head, ashamed for his apparent lack of faith.
“Don’t be discouraged, Validus. It will be revealed in the Lord’s timing. Until then, be confident in this.” Danick pointed to the man. “Look. Look how Ruach Elohim flows through him.”
Validus and Danick basked in the glow of the Almighty as the man named Daniel lifted his hands to Elohim. Here was a place the Fallen hated to be, and so Validus came here often.
“So strong in His Spirit, yet not of the lineage,” Danick whispered in quiet reverence as Daniel communed with Elohim. “I’ve only seen Ruach Elohim this present in two other men, and only one of them was of the lineage.”
“Noah and Job,” Validus whispered back.
Danick nodded. As they watched Daniel, the words of his prayer filled the room.
“O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.”
Just then, in the middle of Daniel’s prayer, Persimus materialized through the ceiling and landed beside Validus. One look told Validus that something was wrong.
“General, you must come quickly!” he said and flew back up through the ceiling.
When Validus and Danick reached the roof, it looked as though the world was at war, at least the world of angels. Forces of angels and Fallen were locked in battle everywhere, including the sky above them.
“Why wasn’t I told earlier?” Danick said fiercely.
“It’s all just erupted in the last few minutes,” Persimus said.
“Where are my commanders? What started it all?”
Danick seemed uncharacteristically confused. It was too much to take in. It looked as though every demon in the region had been called into battle. How could they have missed this? And why now?
“Commander Kelandar reported that one of his men saw the silver streak of a messenger come from the Mediterranean Stairway. The messenger was on his way to Babylon when tens of thousands of Fallen instantly rose up to battle.”
Whatever the message was, it had to be profound.
Danick froze, then turned his eyes downward.
“What is it, sir?” Validus asked.
Danick slowly lifted his eyes and stared at him. “He comes for Daniel.”
Chills flowed up and down Validus’s spine as Danick looked upward and began to morph his wings.
“Come.”
Danick, Persimus, and Validus took flight. Validus hated flight warfare. It was too unpredictable, too uncontrollable. A deathblow could come from six directions instead of just four, and there was nothing to push off of, nothing solid to use to plan maneuvers.
Persimus looked at the chaos of battle all around them. “Whoever the messenger is, his message must be important. Many will die today.”
Danick glanced at Persimus. “Go tell the commanders to call in every warrior in the region.” Danick pointed to the epicenter of the battle where a frenzy of Fallen were attacking. “That is Gabriel, and he comes for the prophet. It is the Plan!”
Persimus saluted and dived downward, flying swiftly toward headquarters to relay the message.
Validus and General Danick drew their swords and made a wide arc to flank the fighting Fallen from the west. The closer they came, the more dire the situation appeared. Validus gazed in wonder at the spectacle of the archangel Gabriel dressed in battle gear and locked in deadly combat with the malevolent Maltrinidab, Prince of Persia of the Fallen. Hundreds of angels from Gabriel’s Messenger Order had joined in the fight, trying to protect their commander. They fought well, but they were not warriors.
Danick and Validus flew into the fray with swords and short blades slicing and cutting. They were quickly joined by a century of warriors from Commander Kelandar’s legions, and more were on the way. They had to advance quickly, for the messengers were beginning to falter.
“We need to open an avenue to get them down to the ground and to our forces,” Danick called out to his men.
By now the Fallen had positioned themselves as a formidable wall between Babylon and Gabriel. The air around them filled with the green and blue vapors of hundreds of angels and Fallen dissolving away from the skies of earth. The battle ebbed and flowed as reinforcements from both sides joined minute by minute.
Validus fought his way closer to the archangel, fully understanding that the message he carried was of eternal significance for both realms. He caught glimpses of the thunderous duel between one of Apollyon’s worst and one of Elohim’s best. Their swords collided time after time in a blur of white and black steel. The mere ferocity of their battle caused others to back away.
As the battle raged on, it seemed it would not end until every angel and every demon was dissolved in the fury of the fight. Validus vanquished dozens of Fallen in just a few minutes.
Then from the heart of Babylon came both a blessing and a curse. A legion of demons rose up to join the battle at the same time that a fiery column of bluish flame shot down from heaven onto Daniel. The humble and repentant prayers of the prophet had moved the hand of God.
Thunder and lightning exploded across the sky as another silver streak arced from the Mediterranean Stairway. Another messenger?
General Danick had maneuvered to the right side of Gabriel, and Validus was on his left. Other messengers and warriors were above and below to protect not Gabriel but the message that he carried.
“Who comes?” Validus yelled out above the thousands of clashing swords.
Danick finished a slice, sending his foe into the Abyss of darkness, then chanced a look to the west. “It is Michael!” he called.
Those three simple words struck fear into the darkened hearts of the Fallen before them. The powerful archangel, commander of the Warrior Order, exploded into the battle like a thunderous hammer, blasting his blade of righteousness through twenty demons in an instant. Curses from the Prince of Persia filled the air as Michael engaged him and assumed the fight for Gabriel.
“Go, Gabriel,” Michael said.
Gabriel retreated north.
“Come, Validus,” Danick called.
They broke off from the fight and retre
ated with Gabriel.
Behind the wall of battle, Gabriel looked as fierce as fire. “I must get to Daniel.”
Danick nodded. He led them back and away, then downward to earth. Validus scanned their surroundings constantly, knowing that the Fallen would be targeting Gabriel the moment he was unprotected.
“Sir, the Fourteenth Legion under Sorak’s command comes.” Validus pointed southwest toward the Red Sea.
Danick diverted their path to intercept the legion of fresh warriors. Without pause in their course, Danick called out to the captain of the legion, “Follow us!”
Danick swiftly led them to the undulating lands southwest of Babylon, and Validus praised Elohim for the solid ground beneath his feet once again. From there Danick led an assault with the Fourteenth Legion directly into the city of Babylon.
The fighting in the streets of Babylon was no less intense once the Fallen comprehended the new attack, but Validus fought like the warrior he was created to be. The minutes passed like hours as the battle for the telling of the prophecy culminated in a final push at the chambers of Daniel.
Danick and his mighty warriors breached the lines of the Fallen, and finally Gabriel entered the chambers of the prophet. Within, there was no need for the protecting blades of the warriors, for the room was filled with the Spirit of God and no demon could endure the burning flame of the Holy One.
Validus had hoped that once the Fallen realized that Gabriel had made it to the prophet, they would retreat from the fight in defeat, but it was not to be. The fury of their loss fueled their unquenchable thirst for revenge, and they fought on. At the end of the telling of the prophecy, Gabriel joined his sword once again to the battle, not willing to leave the warriors in the bloody circumstances of his mission.
At day’s end, over nine thousand warrior angels had given their lives to the mission of the prophecy. As the wounded were gathered and the vapors of dissolution receded from the earth, Gabriel and Michael stood before the solemn assembly of tens of thousands of holy angels.
“Archangel, was the prophecy of the Plan?” Validus dared ask.
Gabriel’s eyes were softer now, etched with sorrow for the sacrifice of many, yet full of the joy of the words of Elohim. “It was.” His voiced rumbled.
“Please, Archangel,” Validus continued. “Tell us the prophecy that our hearts might be encouraged in our duty to our King.”
Gabriel glanced toward Michael, then across the faces of noble warriors. A hushed silence swept across the congregation of battle-weary angels.
“O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision: Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”
Validus memorized every word as Gabriel spoke, but one word echoed over and over in his mind: Messiah, the Anointed One. Since the beginning, Elohim had alluded to such a man, but never in such a way as was foretold to Daniel.
Jerusalem, the city of the chosen, lay in devastation, its wall in ruins. The command would one day go forth and, with the command, the beginning of the clock—a countdown to the arrival of Messiah.
Validus pondered the words a thousand times, waiting for the culmination of the Plan and perhaps the fulfillment of their own mission.
23
THE CHALLENGE
Present Day
Validus trailed Carter to a bus station, where another incident with a demon was salvaged by a guardian.
Carter then traveled to the forests of northern Minnesota. Evidently the school shooting had really affected him. Validus was perplexed to say the least. The young man was a hero by human standards, yet he was retreating and hiding.
In addition to that, Carter had picked up a vexer-possessor at the bus station. By Carter’s lack of reaction to the vexer-possessor, Validus dispelled the notion that he could see into their realm.
He followed Carter to a lake in the Superior National Forest, where he chose to camp and hide. Validus wondered how long he would stay in hiding and why the vexer-possessor seemed so interested in him. Perhaps the demon was assigned to torment Carter because he had thwarted the attack at the university.
Validus watched the vexer-possessor demon from across the lake. He had seen worse vexers, but even still, Carter was in for a miserable time. It would be a test of the man’s inner strength, especially since he was unprotected by Ruach Elohim, the power of the Spirit of God. Validus had seen no evidence in Carter that he had opened himself up to the vexer-possessor actually entering and taking possession of him, so he was not concerned in that regard.
For three weeks, Validus watched and was fairly impressed with Carter’s resiliency, although from what Validus could see, the vexer had not fully unleashed on him. It was a curious situation.
Validus made a quick trip back to Drayle University to join up with Tren and exchange information. It turned out that Sydney Carlyle was being watched too. Validus was surprised when Tren told him Carlyle had been arrested and interrogated by the FBI. Evidently she had tried to recover Carter’s vehicle, and the gun in his trunk ignited a fire of activity by the authorities. Now with Carter’s disappearance, both he and Carlyle were high on their suspicion list.
Validus and Tren decided to continue as they were and meet again in another three weeks. Validus returned to the lake in the Boundary Waters just in time to see Carter escape a vexation episode by the vexer.
At the peak of the vexer’s ranting into his spirit, Carter jumped into the water. Validus could not help the smile that crossed his lips as Carter almost taunted the demon by delaying his return to shore. The man had spiritual instinct that usually only the strongest believers had, and Validus was amazed.
After that incident, however, the vexer turned active, tormenting Carter at every opportunity. Spilled food, a fallen shelter, insect bites, and a black bear treeing him were just a few of the demon’s tactics. Validus kept his distance simply because of Carter’s strength of mental and emotional stability. He seemed, for the most part, unfazed by the actions of the vexer.
The days that followed became intriguing. Carter built a makeshift raft and began taking extended trips onto the lake. Each time he did, the vexer left, evidently to report to Durgank. Validus saw a pattern forming. Carter was smart.
One day, Validus watched as Carter took his usual trip onto the lake and the vexer left. But this time, Carter continued across the lake and landed his craft near Validus’s lookout. Validus kept cover behind the trees as he watched Carter do something spectacularly unusual. He dismantled the raft, hid the evidence of its construction, and bolted into the forest at a dead sprint …
As if he were trying to escape from someone.
Validus stayed still, staring at the remains of the raft as the reality of Carter’s actions made its full impact.
“How can this be?” he whispered.
Chills flowed up and down his spine as he considered the magnitude of what Carter’s actions meant. All his suspicions came flooding back. There
was only one conclusion—Carter knew when he was both in and out of the presence of the vexer! And with extreme clarity!
Validus had seen both believers and nonbelievers experience a sense of the presence of angels and demons, but this man—this Drew Carter—premeditated and planned an escape from a vexer.
Would Carter be able to sense Validus’s presence? Was his hunch about Carter’s awareness at Drayle University more than a hunch? Just how far did his ability to sense their presence go?
In that moment of understanding, Validus caught a glimpse of his call to protect Drew Carter.
Then he shook himself from his analysis and took after Carter, keeping a safe distance. As he followed, he continued to be astonished. Carter was actually trying to outrun a vexer.
Validus watched Carter collapse under a tree to catch his breath. In spite of his noble attempt, Validus knew it was a pointless endeavor. No man had ever … ever … escaped from a vexer on his own. Vexers could smell the tracks of their victim in a crowd of a million people. Tracking Carter in the forest would be as easy as following a trail painted in fluorescent colors.
Validus drew his sword. As crafty as Carter appeared, he did not understand the risk he was taking. If the demon was intelligent enough to understand what he was attempting to do, he would become a primary target of not just the vexer but of all the Fallen. An unprotected man becoming a target of the Fallen had little chance.
Validus began tracing his way back to Carter’s camp. He had to intercept the vexer before he became aware of Carter’s plan. He made it to the lake where Carter had dismantled his raft and looked across it to the camp, but movement to his left caught his eye.
The vexer was already coming, and he was not alone. Two warriors were with him.
It was an assassination squad, and the vexer was leading them straight to Carter. Something had changed even without the vexer understanding Carter’s escape attempt. Durgank had made the call on Carter’s life.
