by A. J. Rand
The rest of the Grigori faded away, as they always did when we took a break. I wondered where they went during that time. Catching up with old friends, perhaps? Starting subversive efforts within the angelic hosts, hoping to win more support for their cause? I was hurting enough not to want to give it much thought.
Sariel came over and put a soothing hand to my forehead. Her touch was cool, and that coolness merged with the heat in my head to calm the throbbing tempo of pain. It didn’t go away entirely, but it did come back down to a more manageable thought level. I wondered if she could’ve taken all the pain away, or if she wanted to leave a residue for punishment. At least my eyes weren’t crossing any more, so I didn’t bother to ask. I did ask the same question of her that I had asked of Ke.
“Why?”
“Why what?” She seemed surprised.
“Why do the Grigori care about what happens to humanity?”
She shrugged. “Because we do.”
I shook my head. “Not good enough. Wasn’t humankind the downfall of the Grigori? Why would you care so much about saving them? Is it because you have to, or because you want to?”
Sariel walked over and sat down on the grass. I didn’t feel like sitting, so I paced a little to get rid of some of my tension. Chaz came over and plopped down next to the Grigori. I’m sure he was as interested in the answers as I was.
Sariel shrugged. “Either way the end result is the same, isn’t it?”
“No. You’re asking me to take your word on faith. I’ve never been much on faith. I want to hear why it’s so important to you. The other angels don’t seem to be in line with your way of thinking, so I want to hear what makes the Grigori so different.”
“The whole subject of free will and the angels is a bit complicated.”
“Enlighten me. Make it less complicated.”
She sighed, plucking a blade of grass and focusing on it. “All of this disagreement, all of these seemingly different points of view between the factions of the angels, they’re all the same part and parcel of the pattern.”
“How?” Chaz’s face was scrunched up in puzzlement. “As you just said, the view points are so different. How can they both be part of the pattern?”
“Because this war between the angels is supposed to happen, isn’t it Sariel?” I asked softly.
“It is destined to happen.” She admitted with a nod. “You couldn’t stop that part of it if you tried.”
“Why is it supposed to happen?” Chaz asked in surprise.
Sariel looked uncomfortable. Good. It meant we were finally getting somewhere.
“Spill it, Grigori.”
She looked away. What would make her so uncomfortable about––Oh shit.
“It’s a cleansing, isn’t it? That’s what happened the last time around. This isn’t about any Day of Judgment or anything like that. The worthy among the humans have nothing to do with faith or belief in God, it’s all about survival of the fittest.”
Sariel nodded. She looked unhappy.
Chaz was staring at the Grigori female in horror. “For real?”
She didn’t reply.
“Why do the Grigori care, then?” I asked softly, but the anger was tight in my voice.
“Out of all the angels, we spent time among the humans.” Sariel finally responded, just as softly, but hers was more of a touch of sadness.
“What? And we were so damned wonderful you decided we were getting a bum wrap and wanted to help us out? I’m not buying it.”
“No. We just learned to think a little differently by being among the humans, sharing their thoughts and ideas.”
“Because you would take human form?”
“Which lessened our connection to the web for the duration.”
“That would give you a taste of free will, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, but not so much as you think. We were still bound to the pattern.”
I had to stop and think about it for a moment. I was still missing something. Chaz’s mind was heading in another direction. The whole faith thing really disturbed him. It would’ve disturbed me early on after I had just left from spending all that time being raised by the church. It didn’t bother me so much any more.
“If the whole faith in God thing doesn’t really matter in the end, why is it such a powerful influence in the mortal world?” He was watching the Grigori female closely.
“It does have a powerful influence, does it not?” Sariel looked at him with raised eyebrows.
Chaz nodded.
“Maybe it works as a tool to keep humanity in line so they don’t fall in so easily with the Fallen Ones?” She seemed to be hinting at something, trying to make the kid work it out for himself.
“Is it because whichever side has the strongest influence when the war starts will win the war?”
“In a roundabout sort of way.”
That damned light bulb was back on in my head again. “The pattern isn’t set for a particular direction past this point, is it?”
Sariel shook her head slowly. “No.”
“That’s what the angelic host is so afraid of––that the onset of this war will change everything.”
She nodded.
“What are they so afraid of?” It was there, right at the edges of my thoughts, but I couldn’t grab onto it.
But Chaz did. I saw his face light in sudden understanding. “They’re afraid of us, Yesh.”
My face scrunched up, trying to grasp what the kid obviously already had.
“Think about it. What has been the attitude toward humans that has stuck out most with the angels?”
“What? Arrogance? The fact they consider us to be lesser beings? What’s so frightening about that?”
“What is one of the main things that is supposed to happen in the war, Yesh? According to Revelations, I mean?”
“I don’t––”
“New Jerusalem, Yesh. New Jerusalem comes down to earth.”
Okay, now I saw where he was going and my heart did a little jump. “The Crystal City––that’s New Jerusalem?”
I laughed. “Oh, that’s rich. The angelic host will be forced to live among the humans––like the Grigori did a long time ago.”
“In essence, yes.” Sariel confirmed.
“And Lucifer,” Chaz continued, “what was the one thing he hated and fought against for all these years?”
“He didn’t like that the humans were lesser beings and given what the angelic host was not––free will?” I was still trying to grasp all of this. “But then––oh shit. He would rather see humankind destroyed then to have to live among beings that had something he didn’t.”
“I’m betting some of the angelic host feel the same way.” Chaz nodded.
Sariel nodded. “They do.”
“And the faith thing really does play a part, doesn’t it?” Chaz looked at her curiously. “When the cleansing happens, the only humans who will survive the cleansing will be the ones that will join the angelic host in the Crystal City.”
“Yes.”
“And if the Fallen Ones can make this whole thing go down without the angelic host lifting a finger to stop them, then humankind gets wiped out, and the angels get to enjoy eternity in the Crystal City without humans running around mucking up their plans.”
“Yes.”
“So why do you suppose I got tossed into the pattern like this––to muck things up?”
“Of course, Yesh. That’s exactly it. You are the one thing that belongs to both worlds, once an angel, now a human. There had to be someone that would take both sides into account and make the decision for the rest. Without you, humans would have no say in the matter at all.”
“That is what we suspect.” Sariel agreed. “It is also why we feel that humankind is meant to survive this, or at least have a chance at surviving it. Why else would they return Ithane to us in the form of a human? She was the most powerful among us. Because of her ability to work the weaves of the web, she was once offered
a position among the Archangels. She chose to stay with the Grigori.”
“Well that was pretty bright of her, wasn’t it? Couldn’t she have done more good by becoming an Archangel?”
“No.” Sariel shook her head. “She would have disconnected herself from humanity and eventually became as the others of the angelic host are now––cold and unfeeling. That is why the Grigori care. The humans taught us the true meaning of compassion. And if she had accepted the position, no one else could have stopped Abaddon the last time around. Humanity would already be long gone.”
“So I––I mean Ithane––used to do this body snatching thing, too?”
“No.” Sariel’s smile was wistful. “But Ithane used to go among the humans and learn from them. She used to really listen to what they had to say. They were a source of curiosity for her from the very beginning.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“Wow, Yesh.” Chaz commented with amusement dancing in his eyes. “It’s really hard to imagine you as an angel.”
A short bark of laughter escaped from me. “Thanks kid, I love you, too.”
Sariel was getting up from the ground, brushing off her robes, although they didn’t really need it. Nothing seemed to get dirty in this place. I think she did it more out of habit from being in human form, down on earth playing amongst the dirt.
“I think it is time we got back to our lessons, don’t you?”
The groan came without my even realizing it was there. Sariel smiled knowingly and picked up a rock, handing it to me.
“Okay, now this time––”
Chapter 21
“So where are we going?” I asked the little cherub.
Arianna was pulling me forward by my hand, urging me along at a fast pace. Chaz grinned beside me, finding amusement at my annoyance. Ke was following along, his look somber. His look was always somber. Other than the one time he had smiled at his own expense back that first day in my apartment, I don’t think I had ever seen him in anything other than the stone-faced look he wore now.
I had spent the morning with the Grigori. I was starting to get a better handle on the whole rock butterfly thing. At least I wasn’t shattering any more butterflies. I still couldn’t make them fly, but I’d get there. I was determined. Or was that stubborn?
“It’s a surprise.” The little cherub giggled “I had to get special permission to bring you here. No human has been allowed here since almost the beginning of time.”
She couldn’t mean––
“Here we are!” She announced, clapping with delight at the look of shock on my face.
The gates were closed, but I could see beyond them into the lush foliage beyond. Maybe it was the hint the cherub had just given, or maybe it was the two winged angels with swords of flame standing guard at either side of the gate, looking similar to angelic replicas of the Queen’s guard, but I knew what this place was. My heart jumped into my throat. This place really did exist.
“The Garden of Eden.” Chaz whispered in awe when I couldn’t find my voice.
“No shit.”
One of the angels frowned at my blatant comment. So maybe they weren’t so much like the emotionless guards of the royal palace. But wow––the Garden of Eden.
“Can we really go in?” Chaz was dancing back and forth between both feet.
“Of course.” Arianna laughed again. She looked pointedly at the guards in emphasis. “I got permission.”
They didn’t seem too happy about it, but Arianna must have gotten the permission she claimed because they grudgingly stepped aside and the gates swung open. I took a step forward and stopped, eyeing those flaming swords.
“It is as the cherub said,” Ke put a gentle hand on my arm. “The gates would not have been opened to you otherwise.”
It was reassurance enough. I stepped inside. Wow––imagine that. I was the first human to set foot inside the Garden of Eden in thousands of years. I don’t know if it was because of the years of imagery shoved down my throat by the church, or if it was because this was the version of Eden set within the confines of the Crystal City, but it seemed to have an edge of beauty I had never witnessed before. It was the one place inside the Crystal City not covered by that strange, depressing indigo hue. The light here was bright and warm, casting the garden into a relief of colored brilliance. It was so bright, so breathtaking, that it almost hurt the eyes to look. Father David would be green with envy. I couldn’t wait to tell him.
We wandered through the Garden for a bit, with Arianna taking us to this place and that, showing off the natural settings of the Garden. And it was, natural I mean. Nothing on earth could have grown in this way, so perfect and raw, yet still so sculpted and perfectly placed. But it had once been on earth. Or had it?
“Is this the actual Garden of Eden, or is this the Crystal City version of the original?” Hey, I had to ask the question.
“There was only ever one Garden of Eden.” Ke replied, looking into a pond at our feet. “It was one of the earliest contentions among the angels, that the humans were given just one more thing the angels never had.”
“Chaz, come on over here.” Arianna called to the kid. “Let me show you something.”
Chaz looked at me and I shrugged. “Go ahead kid, you’re not tied to me. I think I can manage without you for a bit.”
He grinned and headed away to follow the flighty little cherub. It left Ke and me alone again. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I had so many conflicting emotions where he was concerned. Part of me wondered how much was from the time I spent as Ithane. He looked as uncomfortable as I felt, so I decided to take pity on him.
“So what’s the deal with the Garden, anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
I sighed. Why did I always have to clarify my questions for the angels? “Well, there are so many stories about it, and legends past the biblical texts. What’s the real scoop?”
Ke nodded, finally understanding what I was asking. “The Garden was the original site created for the humans. It was sort of a test site for physical creation.”
I smiled. “A prototype?”
He frowned, rolling the word over in his mind. He finally nodded. “Yes.”
“So give me the inside scoop––was the Garden really created in six days, or did it take thousands of years, like some of the more scientific types theorize?”
I must be hitting the tough questions, because he seemed to have to work through each thought in his mind before answering.
His frown deepened. “That is not an easy question. The answer to both is yes.”
“How––?”
“Time is not linear in our realm. It is only linear in the human realm, because it is the only way humans can grasp the mortality of their lives. If they could wrap their minds around the idea of non-linear time, they would be as immortal as the angelic host.”
“I see. So that is why the immortals are the way they are. It is not just because of their ability to connect into the energy the way that they do, but they have also grasped the concept of non-linear time.”
“Yes.”
“There are scientists who have built theories on non-linear time. Does this mean they will become immortals, too?”
“No. They grasp the concept, but they do not accept it as part of their reality. If they could, then they would become immortal, yes. But it is not likely.”
“Okay then, how about the whole mystery surrounding the forbidden tree?”
“The Tree of Knowledge?”
“Does it really exist?”
“Yes, would you like to see it?”
“No kidding?” He was looking at me with expectation. “Why not? As long as I’m here, I might as well get the full tour.”
Ke turned and led me down a path to the other side of the pond, away from the direction that Arianna and Chaz had gone. I followed along, but I was full of questions so the silence between us didn’t last for long.
“So the whole thing betwee
n Adam and Eve and Lucifer really happened?”
“In a sense.”
“Meaning?”
“When humans were first created, they were given free will. But they never used it. They saw no need to. Everything was provided for them, they had no real choices to make. Life was very simple and the so-called paradise that humans purport was a reality.”
“I don’t know.” My look was skeptical. “It all sounds pretty boring to me.”
“It would not sound so boring if you were not of aware of your own potential.”
“And that’s what the apple did? Make them aware of their potential?”
“Yes. The apple was pure symbolism in physical form, if that makes sense. What the apple was in reality was a direct connection into the web.”
“So the apple linked the humans into the web so they could see what their true potential was?”
“Sort of. It allowed them the essence of grasping the difference between linear and non-linear existence. It was this grasp, and seeing the far-reaching future potential of man, that drove them to behave in the way they did. To the first humans, who knew nothing except paradise, the exposure to human potential both good and bad would be a bit overwhelming.”
“Talk about sensory overload.” I whistled.
“Yes.” Ke nodded. “Ironically, it was the exposure to both linear and non-linear time, that also made humans aware of the possibility of linear time. The understanding of it is what made them mortal.”
“So before that, humans were immortal?”
“Yes. Those first humans chose the path of mortality.”
“And that’s what Lucifer was counting on when he tempted Eve to eat the apple?”
“We believe so. No one can say for certain.”
