CHAPTER 26
"You were right about Sammael," Thane said. "About me having heard of him and everything." The angel's story was remarkable. Thane had made himself listen intently in the beginning, but soon he became enthralled and hung on Armaros' every word. He was now a slave to the account. He did, however, have a question or two he wanted to ask.
Armaros broke himself free from the past and smiled at the boy. "I remember things in such detail, that sometimes the line between past and present blur a bit," he said. He looked from Thane over to Father Lucas and Basia. "I see, however, that I am inside a trailer. This is not the first estate. There are no beer signs in heaven."
"That was fascinating Armaros," Father Lucas stated. "Thank you for telling us. I feel . . . I don't know . . . privileged maybe. Or lucky perhaps. Whatever it is I feel, gratitude is what I'm giving. I know that a first person account of the fall of Sammael is an exceptional thing."
"Yes. Thank you," Basia agreed. "I've heard the story of the war in heaven told once before, but your perspective is different to say the least. And very enlightening."
"Who told you of the fall?" Father Lucas asked. Thane thought he heard a drop of envy mixed with the padre's curiosity.
"Raphael," she answered.
"Raphael?" Armaros asked. He appeared incredulous. The big angel's voice was rife with skepticism.
"Yes, Raphael," Basia repeated. She smiled and both the envy and the skepticism left the room. Her beauty and warmth held power. None of the other three were immune to her allure.
"The archangel is our benefactor Armaros," Father Lucas said. "I think maybe Basia forgot that we hadn't told you that yet."
"No Mundy, I didn't forget," Basia said. "I just thought that it was time our hosts knew a little about us. We, after all, know a great deal about Armaros here. And Thane's life has been an open book for the both of us-one that we've read cover to cover. It doesn't seem fair to me that we're sitting here cloaked in secrecy while an angel, trusting and forthright, tells us stories of cosmic importance."
"You're talking about the same Raphael?" Thane asked. "The same angel that taught Armaros?"
"Archangel Thane," Father Lucas said, "and yes we're talking about one and the same."
"That's who taught you the magic," Armaros said. "You told me that we had the same teacher, but I didn't believe you. I didn't know that Raphael had been active here on earth."
"I wouldn't say he's been active," the padre replied, "his visits are very infrequent."
"And what is the purpose of these visits?" Armaros asked.
"I'll let Basia tell you everything," Father Lucas said. "She's older, wiser, and far prettier than I am."
Thane agreed with the pretty part. Anybody would. And the wiser part? Well that could be possible to. But as far as Basia being older than Father Lucas, that seemed impossible to the young man. The priest must have been joking. Thane knew the padre liked to kid around.
Yet somehow it seemed plausible. Father Lucas did kind of yield to Basia. All of his mannerisms were subordinate in nature when she was around. And Thane recalled just a moment earlier when she said something about having read his life like a book. Had she known him as a child? Did she, much like Armaros, watch over him as he grew, yet remain unseen?
Thane was staring. She looked younger than he did. She looked strong and perfect. She was talking to Armaros about something that was probably important and fascinating, but Thane's thoughts were of a more primal nature. He couldn't help it. Luckily he regained himself in time to hear Basia say something that confirmed his intuition.
"Raphael knew the time of the prophecy was at hand," Basia began, "but as you know angels have trouble relating to linear time. Thus, Raphael first appeared to me shortly after the First Aliyah. That was the year 1894. I was twenty years old."
Thane did the math. It was easy addition. Strangely, he wasn't bothered by the fact that he had been lusting over a hundred and twenty year old woman.
"What was the First Aliyah?" he asked.
Basia gave Thane an apologetic look. 'Sorry," she said. "It's just a name given to a time when a great number of my people migrated to Palestine from Eastern Europe. The czar of Russia had been assassinated in 1881, and not surprisingly the Jews were blamed. After that, Russian authorities continued to push Jews out of business and trade until Moscow was almost entirely devoid of Jewish people. But it's okay. By the time my family left, Zionism had taken a hold of us all and we were ready to reestablish the homeland. Israel stands today because of my family and others like it."
"I never would have guessed you were Jewish," Thane said, "or that you were over a hundred years old. After today I'm going to be a hard man to surprise."
"I know the feeling," Basia replied. "I never really think of myself as being Jewish anymore Thane. Just like I doubt that Mundy thinks of himself as being a Roman Catholic priest. Once the mysteries of the heavens have been explained to you by an archangel, such subdivisions of faith seem . . . I don't know . . . tedious perhaps. I know that Armaros hasn't told you of certain things yet, but after he does you'll understand what I mean. Just let me tell you that things are probably a little different than you thought. Also, I know how it feels to be sitting where you are right now. It wasn't that long ago that I sat beneath an orange tree in the middle of an orchard that was planted on the outskirts of our moshava. Maybe four hundred people lived in Rishon LeZion then, so it was easy to disappear. It was there that Raphael came to me. He told me wondrous things Thane. He taught me all about the mysteries that Armaros is telling you now. And he told me of you."
"He told you about me a hundred years ago?"
"Well, not you exactly. But he did know that the sons of prophecy were to be born soon. It's just that his idea of soon and our idea of soon are very different."
"Are you saying I'm a son of prophecy? What does that mean?"
Instead of answering the question, both Basia and Father Lucas turned to Armaros. Thane could see that the two expected something from the big angel. Armaros shook his head gently.
"No," he said, "I haven't told him of the prophecy yet. I had planned on getting to that once he knows more of my own story-perhaps after we reach the point where I meet Enoch. We're getting ahead of ourselves again." The big angel then turned to the young deputy and continued, "Be patient Thane. I have in mind a certain order that I want you to know things. I think this particular order will best serve the greater good and the ultimate means to an end."
"Absolutely," Thane answered. "I didn't mean to press."
"It's my fault," Basia said. "I only intended to answer some of Armaros' questions and comfort Thane by letting him know that I could relate to his situation. I went too far."
"No, no," Armaros rebutted. "You could not have known that I hadn't told him yet. Any reasonable person, like you, would assume that would be the first thing I would tell young Thane here. And maybe it should have been. I don't know. But he will know the prophecy of Enoch soon enough. For now, I would know a bit more about you and Father Lucas here."
"Raphael taught me much the same things that he taught you," Basia said. "Of course I could never be as proficient as an angel, but I have always practiced hard, and my talents have always proven adequate. I am particularly adept with a blade. I leave the divining to Lucas. He's the magician."
"Hardly," Father Lucas scoffed. "I'm just no good with a sword so I put all my efforts into learning the magic. I had to make myself useful somehow. I couldn't imagine failing Raphael."
Thane cringed at the priest's choice of words as soon as they rolled past his lips. He looked to Armaros and was happy to see that the big angel seemed unaffected by the remark. Thane didn't know the nature of Armaros' current relationship with Raphael, but he assumed that at some point it had become strained. Armaros was, after all, a fallen angel.
"And what was it that Raphael asked of you? In exchange for the training and the magic and the particles of the Uncreated that were given you, what did the seraph a
sk in exchange?" Armaros questioned the two of them.
"We were to look after the boys. And help you when the prophecy began to unfold. Raphael always knew that you would do your part when the time came," Father Lucas answered. "I was also charged with finding Basia. She had been enlightened for a little more than forty years by the time Raphael called upon me. Luckily, we had the magic, and we were able to find each other relatively quickly. We went to work shortly after that."
Thane did the math again, and concluded that Basia and Father Lucas were about the same age. He almost mentioned it aloud, but decided against it. There was, however, something he had to get off his chest.
"I'm sorry but what are particles of the Uncreated?" Thane asked.
"No I'm sorry Thane," Armaros said. "Now it's me getting ahead of myself because of my own curiosity. Give me just a moment more and I will answer all of your questions, but for now just know that the particles of which we speak are tiny pieces of God. They are the smallest elements of matter. Modern scientists are still a long way from identifying them. Raphael obviously bestowed an increased concentration of them upon our friends here. That's why they no longer appear to age."
"Laminins," Thane said. It was more of a question.
"No," Armaros countered. "They're much smaller than that. And they're in everything."
"I've aged a bit the last hundred years," Basia interjected. "I don't think I look twenty years old anymore. More like twenty- five."
"At that rate," Thane added, "you might live to be two thousand years old."
Thane saw Basia in a completely new light. It was different from before. He didn't like it. The yearning was gone; it had been replaced by a stare of reverence. That wouldn't do.
"I'm still human," she said. "Nothing special, and if things go as we all hope they do, well . . . never mind."
She was holding back. That was obvious. Thane couldn't figure out why. What was it that she couldn't reveal here? Amongst this company. Unless the timing was off again. Armaros was in charge here, and Basia would not want to make things any more difficult for the big angel.
"You say that you went to work. What do you mean by that?" Armaros asked.
"The first thing that we did was procure ourselves a home: a safe headquarters from which we could work," Father Lucas answered. "Most of our endeavors since then have been archeological in nature. We have accumulated a vast amount of information and artifacts that relate to the prophecy of Enoch. But we didn't stop there. We dug deeper. We researched the Watchers, the Nephilim, the giants, Sheol, the Flood-anything and everything that related to that time in pre-history. And we studied you Armaros. We've assembled a pretty accurate time line that we think shows what you've been doing the past eleven thousand years or so. There are gaps of course. Maybe you could help us with those someday. It's all stored away neatly, but it's easily accessible if we need it."
Armaros was smiling. "Where is this hideout of yours located," he asked.
"Once the Connally's decided to call this land home, we set up shop here to," Basia responded. "It's close if we need it."
"We may," Armaros said. "One last question: Is there just the two of you?"
"No," Basia said. "There are two more."
"Who?"
"Major Jibril Gamal. Israeli Special Forces."
"And has he also been visited by Raphael?"
"No," Basia answered. "He was visited by Azazel."
"And he's still alive to tell of it?" Armaros stated more than asked. "Who else?"
Basia shared a glance with Father Lucas. It was the priest that answered. "Here's where things get a little surprising."