In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I)

by John J Higgins

"Yes, flying at night feels different, cooler, and not as dangerous as I first thought," responded Mephistophael. "We actually seem to be flying faster than during the day and the lack of light is not a problem at all!" he yelled back.

  Beelzebael turned over on his back as he flew, performing a corkscrew maneuver, enjoying the freedom of the cooler, thicker atmosphere.

  Mephistophael smiled, watching Beelzebael experiment and enjoy himself. He then mimicked the maneuver himself and then added a move where he moved his body like a porpoise in water. Laughing, he called over to his friend, "This really is a lot of fun, we need to do this more often!"

  There were no lights on the ground when they landed in Eden. The Garden was not totally dark as all of the Heavens did have a slight glow to them. The Archangels could easily function as they were not limited to visible light like the Humans were, they could see all ranges of light and radiation. But just to be sure, they were cautious at first, moving carefully, tucking their wings neatly against their backs. They were not sure if they were the only Beings up and moving around at night here in Eden.

  "No one around that I see," whispered Beelzebael to Mephistophael.

  "Let's be careful just the same," responded Mephistophael looking carefully about. "Just because we don't know much about the night doesn't mean there aren't other creatures that do!"

  "Understood, but we are immortal, I've never heard of anything that can harm us," said Beelzebael a bit more boldly as he puffed his chest out.

  "True but we do not wish to be discovered. Remember we are here to surprise and capture Lillith. Let's not give our position away and lose her," Mephistophael whispered back.

  Mephistophael thought again to himself. Why shouldn't they be out at night? Well, maybe it wasn't an issue. It had never been actually prohibited; in fact, he couldn't think of anything that was prohibited when it came to any of the Angels. Nothing like this had ever been discussed before or any advice sought from the Almighty or with the Order of the Virtues. He had to snap his mind back to their mission. They were there to capture Lillith and bring her back to Luciferael before Jarahmael could find her and return her to the Almighty. Neither of them wanted Jarahmael to beat them to it and to fail Luciferael's command.

  The two Archangels had landed by some of the trees near the pyramid, so they would not be easily seen. They moved forward quietly now, creeping towards the opening of the pyramid on its eastern side. The casing stones placed over the building blocks of the pyramid reflected a white glow all around the structure.

  "Keep a close eye out for Cherubim Angels, they have been working closely on this pyramid," whispered Beelzebael as he ran up the steps to the entrance of the pyramid.

  Mephistophael looked carefully about as he followed Beelzebael closely up the steps.

  Once inside they both breathed a sigh of relief.

  In front of them they saw a long hallway with various passage ways along the side. They were both struck by the fact that the walls were speaking to them as they walked down the hallway, describing the events of creation. Events that they were quite familiar with.

  "Strange that the Almighty would bother to have the walls explain the Creation to anyone passing through the halls and passageways here," commented Mephistophael.

  "Yes, why would He allow all this knowledge to be so easily accessible to the Humans?" questioned Beelzebael aloud.

  "We definitely need to discuss this with Luciferael to see what he thinks about it. But it surely appears that these Humans are being treated better than we are!" Mephistophael whispered back angrily.

  "All these passageways on the sides lead to dead ends," Beelzebael said as he looked down the corridors.

  "I see that too, Beelzebael," Mephistophael said as he peered down one that was particularly long.

  "These passageways have pictures of other locations. Maybe some form of map of the other pyramids?" Beelzebael speculated.

  "It looks like all of them so far are on the planet Earth," responded Mephistophael.

  "Do you recall seeing pyramids such as this when we were destroying the dinosaurs?" asked Beelzebael.

  "No, but I was not looking for them either. It would not surprise me that the Almighty has had large groups of Angels working on these structures during the day, subdividing the Angels into crews that can expedite the formation of new pyramids. These must be additional efforts made by the Almighty that have not been discussed or disclosed to Luciferael or the rest of us," Mephistophael responded, his voice indignant. "It appears that this is one more thing where all of Luciferael's Auxilium have been kept in the dark!"

  "Come, let's finish looking through this pyramid, see if Lillith has found a place to hide here," said Beelzebael.

  As they continued further they came upon a great hall in the center of the pyramid. Shafts had been cut through the ceilings that extended to each of the outside faces of the pyramid hundreds of feet away. Starlight came through the shafts, brightening the interior of the grand hallway. The letters of the words throughout the walls of the great hall glowed still and shed more light into the room where the Archangels were standing. The two Archangels proceeded to look through the tunnels that went underground and wound up on the other side of the pyramid.

  After the two Archangels spent hours searching through all the shafts and passageways Mephistophael concluded: "I don't see any other places to search here."

  "I agree, Lillith is not here," Beelzebael responded, disappointment in his voice.

  "Jarahmael may have already found her," Mephistophael responded. "Or perhaps she has found another place to hide."

  "Maybe that Serpentalia creature had it wrong, but I think Sammuael took over the creature's mind when he interrogated him," Beelzebael said.

  "Or Lillith may have found her way out of the pyramid undetected by using one of these passageways," said Mephistophael.

  "Come, it's getting late. Sunrise will be here soon. Let's return to Luciferael's palace and tell him what we have found," said Mephistophael, now in a low voice. "Or what we have not found."

  Beelzebael responded, "Not to worry. We did what we could, the Almighty keeps changing things without our knowledge or input. So we never know what to expect anymore when we are trying to complete our missions."

  "Time to go," said Mephistophael as they slipped out of the pyramid and took off, flying into the darkness of the night.

  Chapter 33

  JARAHMAEL CONTINUES HIS SEARCH

  It had been a long night after Jarahmael had gone to Serpentalia's cave and discovered that Beelzebael and Sammuael must have learned something from the creature. It was something significant enough to send the two Archangels back upwards into the Heavens and reason enough to erase the serpent's memory. The next morning, Jarahmael decided to make another overhead sweep of Eden as the sun rose. He saw no sign of Lillith and he landed on the ground near the Tree of Life. Maybe he would find a sign of her there.

  As he approached the Tree of Life, he inspected it closely. At first, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. But on more careful inspection he could see where new branches had sprung up. And with the scraps of leaves and branches he had found near her bed in the hut, she must have taken some of the fruit and a number of branches with her. That was good, he knew the Tree would produce food even off dismembered branches. She will have something to eat, no matter where she went, he thought with relief.

  His other searches had proven fruitless this morning, so he decided to go talk to his friend Cerebriel. Perhaps he would have some suggestions. He had never had to search for someone before. The Almighty's creatures all seemed to stay in the areas where they had been placed. Although the dinosaurs created by Luciferael were the exception because they roamed all over because of their size and tremendous appetites, but they had all remained on the Earth.

  When he thought of Lillith, he could still smell her hair, feel the touch of her breath on his face when she was close to him. The way her eyes would hold his, it was as if they lo
cked together; neither could look away when they caught one another's gaze. He thought about her lips and imagined how they would feel against his own. Now she was finally free of Adam, but she was gone from him as well. He really must find her.

  Jarahmael flew over to where Cerebriel was supervising some of the other Angels who were polishing the white casing of the pyramid and interrupted as politely as he could.

  "Greetings my trusted friend. I have inquiry to make of you. Do you have a moment?"

  Cerebriel put up his hand to stop whatever the other Angels had been saying to him.

  "What's wrong, Jarahmael? Are you alright? You look disheveled. What are all those branches and twigs doing in your hair?"

  Jarahmael could feel that his level of brightness was diminished. He knew he was a sight and never remembered seeing any other Archangels like this. They were always bright and solid, knowing exactly what to say or do in any circumstance, the select few of the Almighty. What is happening to me? he thought.

  Cerebriel pulled Jarahmael closer to whisper to him. Jarahmael beat him to it and whispered quickly, "Something has happened to Lillith. She ran away from Adam and was replaced by the Almighty as the female of the Human species. The Almighty sent me to find her so He can speak with her, but I have not succeeded. But at this point she has no purpose. You don't think that this is merely a ruse to find her so the Almighty can destroy her as He had destroyed the dinosaurs, once they outlived their purpose."

  Cerebriel's eyes focused closely on Jarahmael's as he listened.

  "Short of being missing, the Almighty wanting me to find her is a good omen, is it not?" asked Jarahmael hoping for reassurance from his friend.

  "Yes, it is a good sign Jarahmael," responded Cerebriel. "The Almighty would not have sent you to retrieve her if He had decided that she should be destroyed. He wouldn't want to see her at all, if our experience in destroying the dinosaurs is an example. Have you gotten any rest?"

  "Right!" sighed Jarahmael with relief. "Not really. The problem now is how to find her. If you see any sign of her please let me know. For now, I am going to return to her hut over on the other side of Eden and see if she returns at nightfall. Talk to you again soon, dear friend."

  "You need to get some rest Jarahmael," Cerebriel said, concern in his voice.

  Jarahmael then took a few steps and flew off to her hut in Eden. I will seek out Adam in the morning if she doesn't appear tonight. Maybe he can tell me something further.

  Chapter 34

  LILLITH AWAKENS

  Lillith awoke on the cold floor of the pyramid in the place called Aegyptus when the sun came up over the East the following morning. She reached behind her into the backpack for one of the pieces of fruit she had collected in the Garden of Eden the day before. The fruit tasted especially good, now that she was on her own and away from Adam. She collected herself and moved to the entrance way that looked out onto the plain surrounding the pyramid.

  She quickly ducked back inside the doorway when she noticed a large group of Angels appear in the sky and descend upon the fields before her. They did not see her and went about their business, allowing her to come closer and peer out of the hallway. She stayed in the shadows so she would not be seen as she looked back outside.

  When she saw a few of the Angels landing outside the entranceway, she quickly moved deeper into the pyramid staying as quiet as possible. She did not know whether they had followed her here and if they did, how hard it would be for them to find her. These were types of Angels she had not seen before, none of them looked like her Archangel Jarahmael. She decided it was best to stay hidden and wait to see what these Angels did. She could hear sounds of the Angels doing something outside, loud deep noises, frightening in some ways to her, some making the building itself shake.

  Late in the day the noises stopped and she cautiously ventured closer to the entranceway and looked out. She saw the Angels assemble themselves and then fly back upwards into the Heavens, a beautiful sight as they were flying into the reddish and orange colored sky as the sun was beginning to set off in the distance. She could relax now, it seemed that none of them were looking for her. They must have been working on some large figure of one of the Angels composed of stone that was positioned in front of the pyramid. She could see that the stone statue was in the form of an animal's body crouching on the plain with the head of a handsome Angel. Although she wanted to go look at it, she did not know what could be lurking out there as darkness fell, her curiosity about it could wait until tomorrow. Besides she was exhausted from waiting for the Angels to discover her as she hid all day.

  The next morning she awoke early, happy to be away from Adam and not feeling as fearful as she had the day before. She returned to the entrance way and looked out once again and watched as the Angels arrived again shortly after dawn. She stayed near the entranceway and watched outside and was not as worried about being found, but she still stayed hidden in the shadows.

  Lillith noticed that some of the Angels who were landing out front resembled the large stone statue. All the Angels were winged but there were a variety of them in different combinations. Some had the head of an Angel on an animal's body, some had the head of a lion with the body of Angel, some had the head of a dog, some the head of a cat, some a head of a jackal and some the head of a large beaked bird. She also recognized some of the other Angels as being of the same type of those that were working on the pyramid in Eden. The first type was tall with red bodies and white wings, the second type had white bodies and were blue winged, and there was a whole different type of creature that did not appear to be Human-like at all. They were ten foot spheres, pulsating orbs of light, who floated in between the ground and sky, moving wherever the work was going on and shooting out rays of jagged blue and white light that helped move or cut the rock. For Lillith this was an impressive thing to watch. She had only seen a little of the work done on the structure in Eden, and from a far distance.

  She thought that Adam would have spent days and days watching this activity if he knew how it was being done by these winged creatures. Then she smiled to herself because she could see this and he could not; Adam was still trapped in the Garden of Eden. He can be in charge of the Garden, but I can be in charge of this whole new world!

  This place was a lot like Eden with palm trees and a river that ran beyond the pyramid and near another one of the stone statues the Angels were building. With seeing so many different Angels, she wondered whether there were any other creatures like her and Adam. She had not seen any of her kind and it struck her that she may be alone here.

  Then she thought about her Archangel Jarahmael. She didn't see any Angels like him either outside. Did he come to this place? Was there some way to communicate with him? She never knew how to send him a message in Eden, and he appeared and disappeared at his own will, it seemed. If she did not know how to contact him in Eden, how would she find out how to do it from here?

  She was tempted to go talk to one of the Angels, but was worried that they may return her to Adam. And she certainly did not want that. She decided to spend the rest of the day going through the passageways and chambers within the pyramid to see if there was something else she could discover. She became less and less fearful about being seen or caught because as the day progressed none of the Angels came inside the pyramid. As far as she could tell they were intensely focused on working on the statue that was sitting in front of the pyramid. This was fine with her because it gave her plenty of time to explore inside the pyramid without being seen or caught.

  Later in the day, she returned to look outside from the shadows and had the chance to look over at the second statue that appeared to be finished off in the distance, facing this closer statue. It was different though, in that the far one had the face of a female. Softer and gentler than this one of a male in front of the pyramid, and both were beautiful.

  She was hungry and ate some of the fruit she had carried along with her. Opening her backpack she noticed that the
branches brought with her from the Tree of Life continued to produce fruit. This was great because it meant she could be self-sufficient, and would have a continuous source of food. The fruit satisfied both her hunger and her thirst. She realized that she could stay wherever she wanted to indefinitely and did not have to worry about darting out for food or water and taking the chance of being seen by the Angels. And since the Angels only seemed to appear in the daytime, that would leave her the entire night to move around and explore if she liked.

  The sunset that night was again particularly beautiful. She had only seen the sunsets in Eden, and felt that wherever this place was, she could be quite content.

  She found the passageway that she had come from the night before last and tucked herself in against one wall, and using the fronds and backpack made a cozy place to sleep. It was not long after she had fallen asleep that she began to dream of different places. The walls in here whispered to her, but they were unfinished, so the stories were incomplete, making her wish that she was back in the pyramid in the Garden of Eden with its talking walls. She began to see the various passageways she had gone past to get here. In her dream she was traveling from one place to another using these passageways, and was constantly running from someone or something. It was Adam who was initially chasing her, but then she had visions of other creatures who she could not see; they were always just out of sight but she could hear them following her, and catching up!

  Engulfed in her dreams, she continued to look for Jarahmael with his deep blue compassionate eyes and long flowing brown hair. The blue tips on his wings seemed to make the blue in his eyes radiate, penetrate her. Her dream allowed her to relive the first time she had met him, when she first knew that she could never feel the same about Adam again. Adam remained more of an animal, without sophistication or any of the depth that the Archangel had revealed, even in those few moments.