Between Heaven and Hell

by David Burnett

  Murmurs ran through the hall, and Lucifer paused as though reveling in the response.

  “Lord Michael will fight them off,” an angel on the far side of the room shouted, and several others agreed.

  “The army. To be sure. Why do you think we have an army? I believe Michael has known of this plan for eons and he built the wall and assembled an army just for this purpose. You are correct, his army will march out to confront the humans.”

  Adryel shivered. Was it true? Had Ramael known about this plan all along and kept it secret from her?

  “Michael will fail,” Lucifer pronounced. “How will his army of thousands be able to defeat one of hundreds of thousands?”

  Ramael would be in danger. Adryel began to panic.

  “We must make certain this plan is not put into effect. We must protest. We must make our voices heard, and our voices must carry the day.”

  The audience was suddenly on its feet, cheering.

  “Death to the plan,” someone shouted.

  “Lord Michael misled us. Death to Lord Michael.”

  “Seize the power.”

  Adryel looked to Lucifer, expecting him to appeal for calm, but he said nothing. He stepped away from the podium, a sly smile on his face.

  “There were guards at the gate this morning,” an angel called out. “There are four of them now. Let’s start with them.”

  Adryel began to push angels out of her way as she headed toward the door. She had to warn Ramael. As she reached the door, she stopped and turned when she heard Lucifer.

  “I share your outrage. Our leaders have deceived us. They have not protected us. They ought to go.”

  Cheers erupted across the hall and a loud crash echoed from somewhere in the back.

  “I share your fear of the plan. It is dangerous. It is, dare I say, evil. We must oppose it at every turn.”

  He looked out over the students who were milling about the room, talking in loud, excited voices. Two of them had broken one of the chairs into pieces and held the legs like clubs, pointing toward the gate.

  “But we must be calm. We must be peaceable. This is not the time for violence. Not now. Not yet.”

  Not yet? Adryel’s eyes opened wide. Had he really said that? She stared at Lord Lucifer. His expression seemed to be that of one who had said more than he had intended. She pushed through the door and past the crowd outside, and soon found herself at the steps, looking out onto the quad. The four guards still stood at the entrance, but Ramael had gone. She let out a deep sigh, and walked slowly back toward her office.

  ***

  Late in the afternoon, Adryel started home. She was thinking about what she and Ramael might eat for the evening meal when Lord Lucifer approached. She didn’t see him until he was beside her and she startled when he spoke.

  “You left early.”

  Adryel turned and looked into his eyes. “I’d heard quite enough, Lord Lucifer. I left when you said it was not yet the time for violence. Not yet? Lord Michael expects a violent response from you.”

  “Indeed?”

  “And I defended you. I told Ramael you were not violent, that Lord Michael’s fears were groundless. I see now I was mistaken. I shall apologize to Ramael.”

  She turned to leave, but Lord Lucifer gripped her shoulder and turned her back toward him. “Don’t go.”

  “That hurts,” Adryel snapped.

  “I’m sorry.” His hand dropped to his side. “I simply wanted to stop you.”

  “Well?”

  “I’m not violent. I do not expect violence. I was simply acknowledging the possibility, that there may come a time. . .”

  Adryel crossed her arms and stared at him.

  “I don’t want that any more than do you. I chased after you because I need your help in avoiding it.”

  Someone called Lucifer’s name from across the quad, and he waved, but turned quickly back to Adryel. “After you left the meeting, it was proposed that a small group, a committee, be brought together to make concrete strategies, to map an approach for opposing the plan. I know some of the members will suggest an immediate, aggressive response. . .I want to ask you to be a member of this group. Your opinions are respected. Others will listen to what you say. You can help me avoid violence.”

  “You’ll need my help for that?” Adryel doubted he would have trouble controlling a committee that he had, no doubt, appointed.

  “True.” He nodded. “I can bully the other members and force them to go along with what I want, at least publicly, but I need to win their minds, not just control their actions. They will know I am non-violent, but if you are there to support me, it will give me credibility. Will you do this for me. . .for us? Come to our first meeting. You’ll be committing yourself to nothing, not even to a second meeting.”

  Adryel stared at the pavement. He was asking her help again. She smiled and looked up. “I will be there. Tell me where and when.”

  The Challenge

  Lucifer sat in a private room at the back of the tavern. Located on a side street near the Institute, it was his common haunt in the late afternoons after class. With him were Maliel and Uzi. Maliel had worked as Lucifer’s assistant for a number of years, while Uzi taught mathematics at the Institute. He and Lucifer had known each other since they were very young and he was the only angel who Lucifer trusted completely.

  As the three of them talked, Beliel arrived. Beliel lived across the eastern mountains, and, happily, had been visiting friends in the city. Although he had planned to begin the journey home that morning, Lucifer had prevailed on him to stay a few extra days to assist in his project. Beliel and Maliel had known each other while they were students at the Institute, and he had studied with both Lucifer and Uzi.

  “A perfect alliance.” Belial nodded at the group and then dropped into a chair. “Everyone’s here. What’s the proposal?” He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

  “We’re waiting on the last two members of our little collective.” Lucifer took a drink of ale and glanced through the open door. “They’ll be along shortly.”

  Maliel’s face flashed with confusion. “Two others?”

  “The orb and the student,” Uzi mumbled. “Though why we need them, I’m certain I don’t know.”

  “Well, Uzi, we need Adryel, first, because when she arrives she will be the brightest one in the room.”

  Maliel began to chuckle when he heard the word brightest.

  Lucifer turned to glare at him. “Case in point.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “If you had even half an iota of brain matter inside that skull of yours, Maliel, you’d know I meant bright as in she’s more intelligent than any of you three.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing whatsoever to do with her being a power.” He paused, glancing around the table. “Second, she will give us a certain credibility. Paired with Ramael—Michael’s minion—she will lend our group an air of perceived objectivity.”

  “And she’s pleasing to look at.” Maliel smirked.

  Lucifer chose to ignore him. “The student, her name is Ami, is young, but she has potential. She works hard, she’s very eager to please, and she’s—”

  “Pleasing to look at.”

  Beliel and Maliel spoke the words in unison, and then they laughed and high-fived across the table.

  “Imbeciles,” Lucifer mumbled.

  The commentary did nothing to deter Beliel from continuing to heckle. “Why, if I didn’t know you better, Lucifer, I’d think you were an orb in archangel’s clothing. Keeping company with beautiful females. . .”

  Maliel jumped back into the fray. “You should have heard him at council meeting. He talked of ravishing the orb—in front of her pair!” Maliel chuckled hysterically as he imitated Lucifer presenting his example of how a human might behave. “He said, ‘I am good, of course, so I would wish you good evening, but if I were a human I would ravish you.’ Right. . .if he were human. . .” Maliel snickered and the others joined in. “Seriously. You should
have seen his face. Wished he were human right then and there, I’d say.”

  “Bravo.” Beliel applauded mockingly. “Fantastic impersonation, Maliel. Really. The voice, the mannerisms. . .I mean, you sound nothing like him, but that. . .” Beliel clutched at his stomach as though the laughter was becoming too much to bear, “that was simply priceless.”

  Lucifer shook his head and cast his eyes upward. “Are you toddlers quite through?” He didn’t wait for a response. “And you, Maliel, you are so predictable. Your mind always in the gutter. You might make a good human.”

  The comment put an abrupt halt to the folly, and they sat in silence for several moments. Lucifer idly toyed with the two disks that he drew from his pocket. Maliel and Beliel quaffed their ale, and Uzi leaned back, his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

  “Why are you so afraid of the humans?” Uzi asked. “You surely don’t truly believe they would ever be able to attack the city, much less take it.”

  “No, of course not. Lord Michael’s army would, no doubt, be more than a match for even millions of those creatures. No, that was simply a hypothetical example of what could conceivably occur. Although. . .” Lucifer smiled, “it did generate quite a response, didn’t it?”

  “It did. It did.” Uzi nodded vigorously. “I almost took cover when the students began to throw chairs against the wall. I was afraid they were going to march to the palace en mass to protest the entire plan. Attempt to lynch Lord Michael, perhaps.”

  “That would have been premature.” Lucifer sighed. “The humans will pose no real threat to us.” He raised his hand to cut off any protest. “I am correct, mind you. They will be evil. Living among them will be a miserable experience, and I pity those angels who are given responsibility for dealing with them. I hope, however, never to lay eyes on a single one.”

  “Then why the outrage? Why protest at all? Purely concerned for the welfare of others, are you?” Uzi snorted.

  “It is a time of great change in our world. The humans will become important players in our universe. Times of change are times of opportunity, and I mean to make the most of the situation.” He looked toward the door. “Here. Our other members have arrived.”

  ***

  Adryel had run into Ami as they both searched for the meeting place. They had peered into the tavern cautiously, not certain they wanted to enter, but Adryel had spied Lucifer sitting in the back room.

  “Lord Lucifer, I’m sorry we’re late. Neither of us has ever ventured into this part of the city it seems, so we didn’t know exactly where to find you.”

  Lucifer stood to welcome them. “We haven’t been here long. Wine? Ale?”

  Adryel chose wine, while Ami reached for a mug of ale.

  “Does everyone know each other?” Lucifer looked to Adryel and Ami. “Of course you know Professor Uzi. This is Beliel, and this is Maliel.” Lucifer pointed at each in turn. “They are friends of mine.”

  “You were Lord Lucifer’s aide at council,” Adryel said to Maliel.

  He nodded, but did not respond, his face contorting as though he were fighting the urge to smile.

  She shrugged and took a sip of her wine, looking to Lord Lucifer as he continued to speak.

  “Now that we’re all here, as you know, we are meeting to determine a strategy for combatting the infernal plan that was presented to the council. I’ve outlined my objections and, I assume from your presence, you agree with me.”

  All five nodded.

  “Everyone seems to agree it is a matter of concern, Lord Lucifer,” Adryel said. “The council is expressing its apprehension and requesting that certain aspects of the plan be explained further. It would seem to me that until the council receives a response there is really nothing to combat.”

  “Adryel, have you seen the council’s—what are they calling it?—oh, yes, a request for clarification?”

  “Of course I have seen it. I distributed copies of the draft to the members. Have you read it?”

  “I have, and I quote, ‘We are concerned about the creatures referred to as humans. Will any safeguards be in place should they choose to do evil?’ I, for one,” Lucifer shook his head, “would tremble in fear should I receive a letter like that concerning some action I proposed to take. I would literally fall over myself developing safeguards. Wouldn’t you, Uzi?”

  “Oh, no doubt, Lucifer. No doubt.” Uzi laughed. “I too would quake in my boots.”

  Adryel gave a small smile to acknowledge the sarcasm, something Ami, Beliel, and Maliel seemed to take several moments to comprehend.

  “It was a pro forma protest, if you can call it a protest at all. It demands nothing,” Lucifer exclaimed. “It requests information. What if the response is simply ‘No’? What will the council do then?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose they might—”

  “Nothing. They will do nothing. That is why we need a strategy now.”

  “But Adonai’s response may contain a list of safeguards. . .”

  “The response may not come until he is ready to breathe life into those creatures, and then it will be much too late. If we are to offer opposition, we must act.”

  “So what do you suggest?” Adryel sipped her wine and awaited his response. Lord Lucifer typically had a plan in mind before he called a meeting. He consulted with others in order to win their support, not to receive their suggestions. It would be most unlike him not to have a strategy ready to go.

  “We should gather a force of our own and attack the palace.” Beliel’s eyes sparkled. “Once we are in control of the city, Adonai must pay attention to our ideas.”

  “Are you crazy?” Adryel wanted to laugh. “Your force of. . .of whom? Students? Thugs? Your force would go to battle with Lord Michael’s army?”

  “If we took them by surprise. . .”

  “If you had surprise on your side, you could possibly get through the outside door.” Adryel could not hold back her laughter any longer. “I say possibly. Most likely not. Lord Michael already expects trouble of some sort. His guards would take you out even if each one of them had a hand tied behind his back.”

  Beliel snickered. “You have a lot of faith in your pair’s ability.”

  “I do. You should become better acquainted with his ability before you decide to make war on him.” Adryel turned to Lucifer. “Surely this is not your idea.”

  Lucifer shook his head. “Not at all. I see the same ending to Beliel’s plan as you do. . .Are there any other suggestions?”

  “What would you think of a debate?” Uzi folded his hands across his stomach. “Someone who opposes this plan could issue a challenge to debate it. Make it a public discussion in Palace Square. We know the general public would not come to the Institute, but in Palace Square? They would attend in droves. The square would be full. Those who did not attend would hear reports of what was said.” Uzi’s face lit up with excitement. “You might stand against the plan, Lucifer, and you might challenge another member of the council. Uriel, perhaps? Or even Michael.”

  “It might work.” Lucifer ran his hand though his beard, as though contemplating.

  Adryel smirked. A debate sounded exactly like something Lord Lucifer himself would suggest, two angels matching wits with each other. Lord Michael and Ramael were expecting him to adopt Beliel’s suggestion of an insurrection, but a debate would be non-violent. An angel’s ego might be bruised during a debate, but not his body. Besides, a spirited discourse might just sway the council.

  Adryel decided to steer the discussion further in this direction. “What if you were able to excite the crowd, as you did the students yesterday? What if the council saw the faces, heard the voices of the angels in the city? Might that move them more than logic alone? If logic was all that was required, then the archangels would have agreed with you while we sat at the meeting, would they not?”

  “It might. What are you thinking, Adryel?” Lucifer’s eyes sparkled.

  Even Lord Lucifer responds to flattery. . .
r />   Adryel turned her head so he would not see her smile of satisfaction.

  “The council will meet again four days from now to finalize its response. What if your debate occurred in Palace Square, as Uzi suggests, immediately prior to their meeting? What if we were to sit around the table with the shouts of the crowd ringing in our ears?”

  “Now that idea has potential.” Lucifer stared at the ceiling, as though considering the issue. “It just might work. . .Can a debate be arranged so quickly?”

  Flattery was one thing, but Lord Lucifer was buying in too easily. It was clear that this was his idea. It had to be. And that meant Lord Michael and Ramael were mistaken. Lord Lucifer did not want violence. Unless, of course, he had ulterior motives. . .

  There was one way to find out. She would word things in such a way as to gauge Lucifer’s reaction. That would tell her all she needed to know about whether or not his motives were pure.

  Beliel began to speak, but Adryel cut him off, eager to dangle her bait in front of Lord Lucifer.

  “Why not? We can write the challenge now, this afternoon. It can be posted tonight. If no one is willing to debate, we can still set up for one. You can make your argument, and you can point to the empty lectern as evidence that the council is reluctant to even consider what is best for the ordinary angel. You can have the crowd calling for Lord Uriel’s blood before you’re finished.”

  “His blood?” Lucifer raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Why, that sounds a little harsh, Adryel.”

  She smiled. He had confirmed for her that he had peaceful intentions. “Oh. I meant it figuratively, of course.”

  “Yes, yes. Of course.”

  “And if someone will debate, the result will be much the same. You will make the crowd see what will happen with hordes of humans assaulting the city. The council will literally feel their fear. You will take part in the debate, won’t you, Lord Lucifer? I’m assuming you will want to speak against the plan.”

  Lucifer seemed to be studying his hands, rubbing his wooden disk between his thumb and forefinger. “If that’s what the committee thinks best. . .”