All That Is Fallen

by Brendan Carroll

  “You know better.” She smiled. “I’m Scottish. A Celt. Or at least as much as you are.”

  Mark placed one hand against his forehead and then dropped both hands at his side.

  “All right! Come on upstairs and draw me a bath. A true Celtic woman would not shirk from such a thing. After all, how would you know if I am worthy of your attentions if you don’t sample the wares before you buy?”

  “Oh, now you remember, do you?” She smiled at him and came to take his arm. “And you think you might be worthy of my attentions?”

  “I think I might fit the bill.” He told her as they left the library together arm in arm.

  “And what if I decide that you are not the legend they say you are?” She asked as they climbed the stairs.

  “Then you can go back and refute all the tales.” He told her.

  “I hardly think that it would be fitting to relate it in public.”

  “You might change your mind and become an acolyte. You might go stark-raving mad and run off naked in the woods. You might want to write a book or compose an epic poem. You never can tell.” He glanced sidelong at her.

  “And do you not think that you might compose some poem for me?” She asked him.

  “I’m not very good at composing. I might recite one or two verses.” He smiled and opened the door to his room.

  Sophia stopped at the threshold and looked about the very feminine room.

  “Wot?” He looked about as well, trying to find whatever was wrong.

  “It’s not what I expected.” She said quietly.

  “Oh? D’ ye think thot th’ counterpane matches th’ panels or d’ ye think thot I shud use more mauve?” He pulled her inside and closed the door firmly.

  Chapter Nine of Twenty-Two

  If only we knew the power of your anger!

  Galen Zachary Ramsay sat on the edge of the outcropping, watching the lumbering beast on the plain below. It was twice as big as an elephant and had leathery black wings folded tightly along its back. It almost looked like a dragon, but it stood on four legs the size of tree trunks and had long tusks like a walrus protruding downward from the roof of its hideous mouth. It threw its head back and dug into an old termite mound. The family of meerkats that had taken refuge in the abandoned mound, scattered in all directions as great chunks of the hardened earth were thrown into the air. The beast roared and then skewered one of the small mammals on one of its tusks. Galen cringed and shook his head in disgust. They had been tracking this one for the better part of the morning. He could not tear his eyes away as it used the claw on the joint of its left wing to scrape the limp body from the tusk and then devoured it in one gulp. The blonde son of the Golden Eagle could hear the sound of the bones crunching so close was he to the beast. The unfortunate meerkat’s relatives squealed as they ran for their lives toward the next termite mound. The beast tossed its head and lumbered after them with surprising speed.

  “Let’s go.” Michael placed one hand on his ‘brother’s’ shoulder.

  Galen got up and followed the taller, dark-haired man to where the horses waited. He mounted up and drew his sword. The sword would be useless against the monstrosity, but it made him feel better. Lucifer and his warriors were already descending the rough terrain onto the plain ahead of them. Azael and Ariel were out in front on their powerful white steeds. They rode without holding the reins with a black net suspended between them. Yodiel rode close behind them with his purple mantel streaming out from his shoulders and next to him, Haniel, recognizable as the sun glinted on his silvery white hair and the golden trappings on his gray horse. Lucifer was riding out and around the right flank of the creature in a wide arc while the other eight warriors split into two groups of four and flanked the beast on either side closer in.

  Michael and Galen rode behind them. They would be sentinels when the beast was brought to ground, watching for the approach of hostile forces while the warriors were dispatching the creature.

  The creature registered the presence of the larger prey in the form of Lucifer on his white horse and began to slow down, gauging the distance and power of this new target. Lucifer turned and rode straight for the beast, making a high-pitched warbling noise, waving his sword in the air over his head. The beast hesitated and then roared, before renewing its charge, confident that its larger size would protect it from anything the smaller creature might have to offer. The moment of uncertainty was enough to allow Ariel and Azael to catch up to it. They raised up in their saddles and heaved the heavy net up and over it, riding past the thing and bringing the corners of the net to the ground as they reined in their horses. The beast’s momentum took it forward, bellowing uproariously as it tangled itself hopelessly in the strong netting. The web caught on the horns on its head and its tusks and then it pitched forward, crashing to the earth amidst a tremendous roar, sending up a great cloud of red dust.

  The rest of the angels halted near the flailing beast and quickly dismounted. They formed a rough circle around it, securing the net by pressing it into the ground with their hands. Everywhere they touched it, the material seemed to fuse with the red earth to form solid rock, sending up small wisps of steam. The beast continued to roar and bellow and kick its muscular legs against the net. It jerked its head up again and again, further entangling its horns and tusks in the mesh. Lucifer dismounted and put away his sword. He walked around it, staying clear of the lashing beast, frowning deeply at the hideous monster.

  When he was satisfied that it was securely fastened to the ground, he signaled the rest of them and they formed a tighter circle. Lucifer went down on one knee and lifted his arms to the sky.

  Michael and Galen took up positions well away from them on opposite sides and watched the horizon for signs of approaching danger. They turned their backs to the proceedings as Lucifer began to chant in the high sing-song voice they had learned to dread and love. In all their years with the grim troop of warriors, they had never learned a word of the language they spoke to one another, but they knew better than to look back as Lucifer performed the necessary rite to banish this monster back to the chaos from whence it had come. The sky deepened from light blue to dark purple and then a green flash erupted behind them. A hot wind buffeted them, whipping their hair into their faces and then it was over. The two Templars turned about and saw the smoking patch of seared earth where the beast had lain. Azael and Ariel gathered their net and began to fold it between them.

  Lucifer motioned the two men over and sat down on the stump of termite mound. These things always seemed to drain him temporarily.

  “My sons.” He said after a moment as they knelt on one knee in front of him. They were bedraggled, dusty and smeared with grime. Lucifer, on the other hand, seemed immune to dirt. He was as pristinely clean as the first time they had laid eyes on him and he seemed endlessly aggravated that they needed water for baths and drinking and other things that he found time consuming and wasteful, such as food and new clothing and boots from time to time. And never mind the calls of nature! Lucifer simply did not understand and did not want to understand the workings of the human body. At one point, when Galen had broken his arm in a tumble down a gully, the angelic chieftain had threatened to leave him for the vultures before Michael had intervened and Lucifer had healed the wound with the wave of his hand. But time and circumstances had shown Galen to be as fearless and courageous as any of his warriors and Lucifer had grown fond of him in spite of his disdain for his humanity, which he insisted that they could do away with any time they chose and join him in form and spirit. Both Galen and Michael had sat long into the nights pondering this possibility, but neither of them had ever figured out exactly how they might accomplish this feat short of committing suicide. “I have sent a message to Uriel.”

  “My uncle?” Michael’s face lit up. Even though they had been with these creatures of light for a very long time, neither of them seemed to have aged a day. They still looked like they had when they had first found the angels in the ba
sement of the Wewelsburg tower.

  “Yes, yes, whatever.” Lucifer waved one hand tiredly. “I have sent him a message. I had hoped to clear up this infestation before returning to the north, but it seems the more we destroy, the more we find. It has been said that one should always do what is to be done with all strength and heart until the work is finished, but I can see no end to this labor. If there were others, in other parts, doing other similar things… then perhaps this would be our purpose, but these are not the days of old. It is my opinion that they are too great in number for us to pursue one by one. Our services may be better spent elsewhere.”

  Michael nodded. They had banished an average of two to three creatures a day for at least ten years and always there were more and lately they had been growing in size and ferocity. This latest one had been quite formidable, but there were bigger, even uglier things wandering in the wastelands that had once been Africa. There were no more elephants. All the giraffes and zebras had been annihilated. The great herds of antelope and wildebeests were decimated and even the lions and hyenas were disappearing as these voracious creatures roamed the land, killing and eating everything that moved including people.

  “May I ask you a question, Master?” Michael ventured when he did not go on.

  “Of course, my son.” Lucifer’s expression changed. They had exchanged many ideas in the time they had spent together, but they had never reached any common ground.

  “Why do you stay here? I mean, don’t you have a home… somewhere… up there?” Michael looked up at the sky.

  “Ahh. Yes. Home.” Lucifer bobbed his head up and down rapidly. “We have what you might call a home. Yes. But we have a duty here. Before we were captured, we were fighting the evil one. When we were released, we found that he was as yet unvanquished. Our work here is not finished.”

  “You were not sent here to protect mankind. For what purpose did you fight the Ancient Evil?” Michael risked another question on a touchy topic. He had tried to question the chieftain before, but had received a knock on the side of his head for his impudence.

  “We serve the Creator.” Lucifer told him blandly. “It is our purpose. Nothing has changed.”

  “Do you… are you…” Michael floundered. He was treading on very thin ice. “Does the Father still communicate with you?”

  Lucifer’s eyes narrowed sharply and Michael cringed, expecting another blow for his trouble.

  “Unlike men, I do not have to be reminded of my duty. I am told once. That is enough. When our work is finished, He will call us home or send us elsewhere. I would not presume to question His will. If He did not approve of what we are doing, He would let us know.”

  “Then how do you know that it is time to go North?” Michael raised both eyebrows.

  “You are an insolent creature! The God who created me did not fail to give me a brain! He sent me here to lead my brothers in this war. Do you not think that He would give me the wisdom to lead them?!”

  Michael could only nod and thanked that very same God that he was not flying across the desert floor.

  “Are we going home?” Galen asked, unable to control his excitement at the prospect. He had never once complained, but he was weary of this endless and seemingly hopeless chase. He missed his father and he wanted to see his mother and Luke Matthew and the others. He even missed the little Tuathan, but was very glad that Lucifer had sent Vanni and Selwig home before the war had come. He couldn’t imagine the little elf, riding full speed across the deserts and rocky plains with his yellow bag clutched to his chest and his golden curls flying in the wind. The thought made him smile.

  Lucifer suddenly had his chin in his hand and his face was very close.

  “You are smiling!” The chieftain looked at him from his left eye. This was the eye that he always used when he was trying to learn something new. “Why? You want to be with your kindred spirits?”

  “Of course!” Galen’s smile faded. “You are with your brothers. I want to be with mine. I have served you well. Can you deny it?”

  “No. I would not deny that you are brave.” Lucifer drew back. “You miss your brothers. I see. And your… mother.”

  “Yes.” Galen glanced at Michael and Lucifer let go of him.

  “Tell me, little one,” Lucifer sat back on the lump of hardened clay. He picked off a nodule of the red dirt and crumbled it in his hand, allowing the dust to drift away in the breeze. “What is it like to have a mother?”

  “What?” Galen frowned at him. “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t either.” Lucifer smiled at him. “What is it like? Did your mother have dark hair? Like the other… like Sophia?”

  “No, she has hair like mine.” Galen told him and ran one hand through his tangled curls subconsciously.

  “Ahhh.” Lucifer reached out to touch his hair. He leaned forward and smelled of Galen’s hair. “Does she smell like you?”

  “I doubt it!” Galen almost laughed. He smelled terrible. He hadn’t had the luxury of a bath in several days and there was no such thing as deodorant or even soap in this godforsaken wilderness. “She always smelled like vanilla.”

  Michael smiled and sat down in the dust at Lucifer’s feet.

  “Vanilla? What is that?” Lucifer asked him.

  “It’s a flavor… and a smell. It tastes as good as it smells.” Galen answered and returned the smile.

  “And you have tasted your mother’s hair?” Lucifer frowned.

  “Of course not. When you use vanilla as a scent, it just makes your skin or your hair smell good. If you put it in your food or your drink, it makes it taste good.”

  “Ohhh! She anoints her body with vanilla oil. I see!” Lucifer nodded. “Do all females do this?”

  “Most of them. Not all use vanilla, but they use good smelling stuff like flower scents and other spices.”

  “That makes sense.” The warrior king nodded. “And Sophia? Did she anoint herself with vanilla?”

  Galen looked at Michael for help. He had no idea. Furthermore, Lucifer had never asked questions about Sophia before. He had thought that she had been forgotten.

  “Sophia probably used a floral scent.” Michael suggested. “She probably used something like jasmine or roses.”

  “Oh.” Lucifer looked up at the burning disc of the sun. Another difference between the warriors and the two Templars, the sun did not burn their skin or their eyes. Michael could feel the sweat running down his back now and Galen’s neck was already deep red from endless sunburns.

  “You’re burning.” Michael pulled Galen’s hood over his fair hair.

  “Ahh. Well!” Lucifer stood up. “We will be going north. I will confer with Uriel and see how it goes there.”

  Galen jerked his head around to smile broadly at Michael.

  “Do not tempt me.” Lucifer warned them. “I will release you from my service when I am ready. Not before!”

  The two young men watched as Lucifer mounted his horse and signaled the rest of his band to saddle up. The prospect of going anywhere other than after another of the great creatures made them feel like singing and as they climbed onto their horses and rode away, side by side, they began to sing an old song that Merry had taught them when they had been small boys. Galen’s stomach growled, reminding that they had not eaten anything of substance in two days.

  “On the road again! I just can’t wait to get on the road again!” Their voices were not the best, but they put their hearts into it as their unlikely companions all turned in their saddles to look back at them in wonder.

  Lucifer reined his horse about and came back to fall in beside them. He listened for a while and then held up one hand.

  “What manner of praise is this?” He asked them when they stopped singing.

  “It’s just a traveling song that my mother taught us.” Galen explained with some embarrassment.

  “It does not glorify the Creator?” Lucifer narrowed his eyes at them.

  “Of course it does!” Michael told h
im. “It glorifies the roads along which He leads us home to our friends and family.”

  “Ahhh. I see.” Lucifer nodded. “You will teach us this song of glory and we will add our voices to yours.”

  Galen’s mouth fell open and Michael raised both eyebrows.

  “Oll roighty then!” Michael smiled. “It’s really quoite simple.”

  ((((((((((((()))))))))))))

  “Are you quite sure of this?” Jozsef threw the handwritten report onto the desk and wiped his brow with a white, linen handkerchief. “Could it not have been just some sort of mass hallucination? The desert does strange things to the mind.”

  The dark-skinned man who stood in front of the desk seemed more than willing to agree with anything the Prophet said, but he cringed instead and shook his head slowly. The gold earrings in his ears jingled as they brushed against the high collar of his uniform. He was from one of the southern regiments. His head was covered by a blue turban and he wore the shalwar-kameez typical of the desert troops.

  “The man who made the report is very reliable, Your Grace.” He bowed his head slightly. “He would not deliberately set something down on paper, if he did not believe it to be true. The message was brought north at great peril through the wastelands and then through the treacherous country on the Sinai Peninsula where the heathens hide in the hills and shoot strangers at will. There were more than thirty witnesses to the incident and they saw this happen not once, but three times.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant.” Jozsef stood up. “That will be all. You will find accommodations with the sergeant-at-arms and join us tonight for supper.” The Prophet smiled graciously at the man. “How long since you’ve had a real meal?”

  “A long time, Your Grace.” The man relaxed a bit.

  “We are roasting pigs tonight.” Jozsef told him. “They are fine animals for barbecue.”

  The lieutenant’s mouth fell open slightly and his expression changed drastically as the color drained from his face.