Chapter 44
The small cloud of yellow feathers fell into the depths as the jaws of the serpent clenched. He opened his eyes, trying to rid himself of the image of the shattered creature, but the blackness remained. His body was racked in pain as he attempted to move within his tomb of darkness. His muscles seemed as if they were encased in a leaden shroud, which blocked out all light and sound. An ache throbbed behind his temples and his ears hummed in a watery stillness. He was unable to make sense of it all.
He recalled a somber celebration morning, with many faces absent. Arella whispered about an influx of angels from other worlds and what that portended. He remembered hearing an explosion to the west and word spread that there was an attack. He headed towards home, with Shadow on his heals, when a blast of heat and light grazed his shoulder, narrowly missing his face.
The blow had sent him reeling and careening toward the trees below. The boughs of a large pine impeded the momentum of his fall, and he had managed to grasp a branch, changing his trajectory into a violent arch that allowed him to swing out and drop to the ground without serious injury.
Gadreel! He remembered seeing Gadreel. After his fruitless search of the last day he inexplicably found the one he was seeking. His old friend, whom he longed to talk to before it was too late, appeared, miraculously, in the very woods that he fell into. He recalled thinking that there was hope for Gadreel, whose eyes showed regret and sorrow.
Then a flash of light had thrown him back. And Shadow! No! He relived the loud screech and the touch of his pair bond’s wings against his face.
‘Shadow,’ he muttered and heaved with arms that seemed to be remembering how to move. Bright light filled his eyes, causing a watery dew to briefly cloud his vision. He wriggled free of the weight and sat up. There, beside him and still partially on top of him was the limp body of Shadow.
‘No, Shadow, move. Please move. No, girl, you are going to be OK.’ He shook her and begged her to move. But she didn’t. He looked at her lying there and horror filled him as he spotted the bloody tangle of her side. He continued shaking her, trying to get her to stir, but she remained lifeless and unmoving.
The impact of what the scene suddenly dawned upon him. His precious Shadow was dead. From what? From Gadreel. Yes, his old friend tried to kill him while they talked and this beautiful animal, that now lay lifeless at his feet, saved him. He would make Gadreel pay for this. How could his best friend have changed so drastically that he would be willing to kill Ariel and Shadow for some insane desire for more freedom? Yes, Gadreel would pay for this.
But looking down on the limp figure of the griffin drained all of his resolve, and he only succeeded in falling on top of her, sobbing helplessly.
He didn’t know how long he lay there, impotent in his sorrow. He had never known death and this new understanding threatened to upend his comprehension. The animal had done nothing to deserve this. How was it possible that an innocent creature should pay for the selfish mistake of another? His sadness brought on a rage that ignited in the deep emptiness inside. He pounded his fists into the scorched earth and let out a scream of primal loss and fury. The sound echoed and faded on the wind, replaced by a furious escalation in the sound of thunder and explosions to the east. He stood and knew that he must join the battle to defeat this destructive foe.
‘I am so sorry, Shadow,’ he said. ‘I will be back for you. I promise.’
Taking one last look at his pair bond, he leapt into the air and shot out of the trees. On the borders of celebration plain, concussive explosions rocked the land. The traitors advanced mercilessly toward the great mountain, their progress marked by the line of destruction that lay in the wake of the massive line. Rolling billows of smoke erupted from the area of the western gate, the same place where he and his housemates had celebrated the completion of their first year at the academy.
Where should he go? He suspected many of his fellow angels were trapped in the tightening vice along the celebration plain. If that was where the defenders of the Kingdom were making their final stand, he would join them.
He flew towards the east. Periodically, he crossed paths with some of the rebels, but easily fended off their attacks with the power shield he had learned in his lessons with Gadreel. The thought of his former friend caused a tightness in his throat and tears to well up in his eyes. No! There would be time to grieve later. Now was not the time for such things.
The northwest section of celebration plain was reasonably quiet. If he flew fast enough, he thought he might punch through and reach the relative safety of friendly lines.
An explosion erupted behind him. He turned his head and saw an angel pursuing him. He dove down into the woods in an attempt to lose his pursuer. A lightning bolt hit a tree to his side, causing a shower of splinters, as the great trunk split in two. He veered sharply, heading to deeper cover. Branches tore at his clothes and skin as he maneuvered left, right, and left again. Another explosion hit the ground directly underneath of him and fire engulfed him. He burst through the other side and continued his treacherous course through the thick trees. He thought of Shadow and decided it was enough.
He spotted the precipice of a small cliff, and hit the ground, skidding to a stop and spinning quickly. Smoke from the raging fires that dotted the landscape hung thick in the air, and washed over him as he crouched and readied himself for the attack. Suddenly, his pursuer burst through the smoke, angling upward in an attempt to crest the rocky outcrop where Ariel stood.
For a brief moment their eyes met. Molochel’s revealed surprise at seeing his prey, now in a position to strike. And Ariel’s were filled with rage. Rage at this blasphemous attack. Rage at his friend’s betrayal. Rage at the death of his lovely Shadow. With all of his might he mustered the powers inside of him. He slammed his hands together and sent a tremendous bolt towards his adversary. The blast caught him directly in the chest, instantly contorting the look of surprise to one of understanding. His momentum instantly reversed and he smashed with a sick thud against the rocky face of the outcrop. Momentarily, the body hung there against the rock, defying gravity, before it slipped off and dropped like a sack of bockets to the ground below.
The sight sickened him. He and Molochel were never close, but knowing he had done such violence made him gag, reflexively. He turned away quickly, intent on not losing his resolve.
To his north and south was a sea of madness and destruction. Buildings belched columns of smoke. Giant craters pockmarked the streets. Whole parks were being consumed in hungry walls of fire. Where should he go? If only he could find a friend. He thought of Gabriel and wondered where the Cherubim was in this chaos. Then it occurred to him. Gabriel would be at his post, in the throne room. His mind made up, he turned toward the upper reaches of the great mount.
What he saw as he flew up the steep slope gave him a glimmer of hope that a defense was being mounted. Scores of angels, along with many telmid, were being organized along the base of the mountain, led by a single Cherubim. With their shields forming a solid barrier, and swords held at ready, they appeared to have established a formidable bulwark. New lines were being formed as each wave of retreating defender hit the outer defensive perimeter, and in some places the formation seemed hundreds of rows deep.
Flying higher, he saw more angels descending the mountain to take their place in the wall of defense. After a long flight up the precipice, Ariel finally reached the clearing that he had so recently visited for the first time. As before, two armed sentries patrolled the arched entrance. He marched up to one of the guards and asked if they might know where he might find Gabriel. The sentry pointed inside and stood aside to let him pass.
There were a large number of Cherubim present in the garden, some bringing messages from the battle with others leaving to carry out specific orders. Ariel had no idea how he would find his friend in this crowd, but held onto the hope that Gabriel would know what was going on. He passed a line of Cherubim, swords drawn, on their way toward the
exit, obviously off to join the battle.
Then he heard a familiar voice.
‘Ariel! Ariel, over here.’
He turned towards the sound and saw Gabriel.
‘Gabriel! I am so glad I found you!’
‘Ariel, what happened to you? You are covered in blood. Are you OK?’
It was Shadow’s blood. He hadn’t had time to clean himself off. He looked at his clothes and arms and then at his friend. Seeing Gabriel caused all of the emotions to come rushing to the surface in a torrent of words.
‘Gadreel tried to kill me and Shadow saved my life. She died to save me, Gabriel. I was trying to talk Gadreel into giving up this cause, when he hit me with a bolt of power. The blow knocked me out and when I woke I found Shadow dead. Then, coming here, Molochel attacked me and I hurt him, possible mortally. It was so awful to see him that way. I pray that I didn’t kill him.’
Tears began flowing again as the emotions of what he had just been through were released. Gabriel put his arm around Ariel’s shoulder and held him tight.
‘Gadreel…wanted to kill…me.’
‘I am so sorry, Ariel. I am so sorry for everything.’
He had been right to come here. Just being in the company of Gabriel, and so close to the thrones of the Kings, made him feel safe. Somehow he knew that everything would be all right in the end.
‘They are beating us on all sides. Do you think that we can stop them? Are the Kings going to defend us?’
‘Do not worry, Ariel. We didn’t defend the gates intentionally. We are also pulling back to the mountain and forming a tight perimeter at its base for a purpose. You are safe now, and victory is at hand.’
Ariel hoped his friend wasn’t just being overly optimistic. He had just witnessed the mass of attackers pouring across the celebration plain on all sides. They must have millions of traitorous arella approaching the very base of the mountain at this moment. How was victory at hand?
‘But how are we going to stop them? They have so many and are using powers that most of our defenders cannot stop.’
‘Have faith my friend. We have a secret weapon on our side that is infinitely more powerful then anything they could ever imagine.’
‘What is this secret weapon?’
‘Not what, but rather Who is this secret weapon. It is Michael.’
‘Who is Michael?’
Gabriel just smiled and said, ‘Michael is our King, Ariel. More specifically, he is the Supreme Archangel, the military commander of our forces; he is the wrath of the Kings. And I think he is just about to stand and end this battle for good. Watch,’ he said and turned toward the throne. ‘It is time.’
He looked at the three figures seated on their thrones. On the right sat Adonai, but he was not dressed in his plain brown robe. A silver, metallic singlet of mail hung over a brilliant, white garment. Before him stood a line of Cherubim, each carrying an article of armor. One by one they came forward and delivered their burden onto Adonai.
First, a silver helmet was fastened under his chin. As it clasped, the thrones of the Kings began to glow softly. Next came the breastplate. As the two edges came together, it snapped audibly and seemed to fuse to form a solid, glowing covering. At its center crouched a lion, etched in intricate gold and ornamented with gems of seven different colors. The thrones glowed a bit brighter.
As each new piece of armor was added, the brilliance of the thrones increased. Ariel noticed that the two trees, situated at a distance from the Kings, were also glowing and becoming brighter, matching the luminosity of the thrones. And as the armor neared completion, a bright line appeared under the surface of the ground, linking the trees and the thrones in a perfect equilateral triangle. The intensity of the light grew and grew, until it was possible to see that a thick cord of root linked the three objects together. It was a stunning sight.
The final Cherubim approached the throne holding a long wooden box before him. Adonai smiled at the angel, then reached out his hand, unclasped the lock, and opened the lid. Light poured from the box as he lifted a golden trumpet from inside. Something incredible happened to Adonai at that moment. His kind face became a chiseled mask of intensity that seemed to be as the lightning itself. His eyes took on the appearance of flaming torches. He rose and stood on legs that looked like burnished bronze and his body appeared almost crystalline in composition.
As he stood, the sea shot out before him in a rush, just as it had at Gaia’s creation, but this time Ariel understood what was happening. As the wall of water filled the scene before him, the sky opened up and they were suddenly outside of the mount, looking down at the intense battle raging far below.
‘It is time, Ariel. When Michael gives the signal, lift your sword high, OK?’
‘All right,’ he replied, still confused.
Ariel sensed a sudden shudder beneath his feet, as if the very mountain upon which they stood was about to erupt under him. He turned in the direction that the quake had come from and saw the most amazing site. Michael left his throne and stood in the midst of the fiery stones. In his hand was the long, golden trump. He lifted the instrument to his lips and played a long, piercing note, perfect in tone. As he played, Michael became a dazzling light, brighter than the largest sun. The light was so wonderful and cleansing. Ariel raised his sword and it vibrated, but his eyes were fastened on Michael. It was too beautiful to turn away.
Suddenly, Michael opened his mouth and with a voice that sounded as if every voice gathered below was suddenly speaking together, he said, ‘It is finished!’
Shafts of light splintered from the pillar of perfect, hot light that was Michael. Ariel looked up and saw that his diamond sword was absorbing the light, and glowing like a shaft of intense starlight. He looked below at the millions of raised swords, all glowing like his.
As the echo of that voice faded out across the plain, a wall of light, emanating from the top of Mount Kol and those millions of diamond blades, washed across the celebration plain in a rush. In its wake, the prone figures of the attackers writhed in agony, clutching ears and eyes and rolling in obvious misery.
After a long second of silence, the sound of wailing and crying drifted up toward the mountaintop. Michael spun and returned to his throne, but the horror remained. Ariel noticed the figure of Hasdiel, dutifully recording the scene, a look of profound sadness upon his face.
As he watched, he felt that intense misery. Somewhere on the field below, his best friend was among the writhing figures. A cold tear rolled slowly down his bloodstained face.