In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) (22 page)
Read In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) Online
Authors: John J. Higgins
Jarahmael was in a hurry to go find Lillith and get her to safety. He rose up from his seat quickly and said to the assembled Archangels, "I take my leave as I have a mission to accomplish. Have a good day all."
Michael nodded in approval as Luciferael and Sammuael watched Jarahmael get up and leave.
Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raziel, Ariel, and Raphael then all took their respective leaves from the group and flew off out of the entrance doors to the Throne Room rather than through the skylight.
Luciferael then said to the remaining Archangels, all of whom were part of his Auxilium, "Let's retire to my palace as we have things to discuss." He turned and grabbed Sammuael and Beelzebael by the arm and then whispered to them, "Jarahmael must not succeed in his mission. Go forth and find Lillith. Use whatever resources are necessary. Find that creature of mine, Serpentalia. Find out if he knows anything. Do not fail."
Jarahmael flew to Eden, dropping quickly through the six lower Heavens. Finally, he would be allowed to look for her. He volunteered immediately for this task when he ascended with the Almighty after Eve was created. But he was not allowed to go look for her right away because the Almighty had agreed with Michael that they should first apprise the rest of the Archangels at the next morning ceremony, so all of the Angels were aware of the purposes and events in the Garden of Eden.
Jarahmael had been frustrated that he could not go immediately to search for her, but was comforted by the Almighty when He whispered to him, that this was a necessary part in the plan for Lillith's development and that he must remain patient. Now that he was finally allowed to search for her, his excitement grew as he realized that Lillith would not be returning to Adam, and that she would be set free to choose her own fate. The Almighty had cut off her return to Adam when He gave Adam a new and different mate. There was something more to that story that must be missing, he thought to himself. But for now he had to think about where she could be. His mind did think back on the few brief exchanges that they had together when he was assigned to observe her and Adam in Eden. He had feelings for her that were unlike any that he had for his fellow Archangels or even his friends Cerebriel of the Cherubim or Annabael of the Principalities.
As he descended out of the sky into Eden he saw that work on the pyramid was still in progress, as the other Orders of Angels were still arriving for the day's work. He thought to himself that he should ask Cerebriel if he had seen Lillith or anything for that matter that would indicate where she was hiding. But first he wanted to make a sweep of Eden to see if there were any clues as to where Lillith had gone. Adam had searched for her earlier but he was not the brightest creature that Jarahmael had met, and he strongly doubted his searching skills.
Jarahmael proceeded to fly over the hut where Adam and Lillith had lived. As he looked around to make sure Adam was not in the area, he noticed Sammuael and Beelzebael flying to the caves off in the distance. What were they doing here? Perhaps they had come to assist him find the missing Human.
He landed near the hut to look inside and saw that it had not been used since her disappearance. Apparently, that was the reason there was a second hut on the other side of the river. Adam must have moved himself and his new mate, Eve, out of this hut and into the new one. Looking over by the straw they had used to sleep on against the back wall of the hut, Jarahmael saw some leaves and a few branches. They seemed to be left as scraps from something else that had been worked on, but they were still fresh and alive. No indication that they were drying out or no longer growing as normally happened with such things. Jarahmael reached down and picked up the leaves and realized that the only leaves that maintained themselves like this were the ones from the Tree of Life. He looked at the branches and confirmed that they too had come from the Tree. Either Adam or Lillith must have used the leaves to make something!
She could be anywhere in Eden
, he thought. He reached down and put some pressure on the ground, but the ground was unfortunately too firm to allow any impressions or footprints to be left on its surface for him to follow. He again took to the air and flew slowly over the expanse of Eden, crisscrossing the area while looking down for any hint of the blond hair or her small frame walking about.
He reminded himself that she could not have gotten far. As a Human she did not have wings, so she could not have flown to the Earth below or to the Heavens above, nor did she have access to the rest of the First Heaven, as they all required flying over a distance of empty sky. Even the rivers circled back and around upon themselves and would not have delivered her outside of the Garden of Eden.
Could Adam have done something to her?
Jarahmael thought.
Would The Almighty have been able to see through the Human's mind?
Jarahmael remembered that the Almighty had waited for Adam to be honest about how the two of them behaved together, so He had to have been able to know more than what Adam initially told Him. But Adam seemed to be honest about his pain after she had left, and it was consistent with Adam telling the truth that Lillith had just disappeared on her own.
Jarahmael leaned against one of the trees and thought about his search. He had searched many places in the Garden of Eden and she was nowhere to be found -- not on the ground, not in the river, not in the hut.
Where could she possibly be?
He could not think of a reason why Lillith or Adam would build something from the Tree of Life. It was the main source of nourishment for them. The fruits of the other trees were for enjoyment and would be satisfying, but it was always the Tree of Life that kept their flesh in check and their bodies immortal. He knew that no one had tried to destroy a Human before, there were no weapons here, nor were there any creatures that could harm them. The dinosaurs were never allowed anywhere near this lofty area.
Jarahmael thought further.
If one wanted to travel away from the Garden of Eden, wouldn't they have to take parts of the Tree of Life with them? But how would they leave here?
It was late, so Jarahmael took off heading upwards towards the Heavens. As he broke through tree top level he saw Sammuael and Beelzebael leaving one of the caves off in the distance, their black tipped and maroon tipped Archangel wings leaving streaks of color to anyone who would have been watching the western side of Eden. He would fly over there and find out what they had been doing all this time. Perhaps they had their own special assignment, not from the Almighty but from Luciferael himself.
Sammuael and Beelzebael landed softly on the firm ground, carefully avoiding making any sound. They knew that Jarahmael was down here searching for Lillith and did not want to have to deal with him. How could a Human have escaped the Garden of Eden? Or why one would want to leave Paradise? It all seemed bizarre to them, but this whole idea of Humans did not make a lot of sense to any Archangel within the Auxilium. Sammuael pointed towards the cave where Luciferael had told them to search. Serpentalia used the cave as his home, the place that Luciferael had seen when he had taken over his mind not long before. It was a deep cave that went under one of the mountains there, and a great place for Serpentalia to live, out of the sight of others. The cave was always pitch dark so no other earthen creature would be able to follow him to his lair at the furthest depth. Luciferael had given Serpentalia the ability to see in the darkness and in the blackest night, perfect for a creature now commanded to spy.
Sammuael and Beelzebael were Beings of Light and could see through any darkness, as light was the opposite of the dark, and one of the first things the Almighty made to begin the Creation. The two Archangels took off again after gaining their bearings, flying below tree top level and directly into the open mouth of the dark cave, using their own light radiation so that every corner in the cave was illuminated, bright and clear.
"Serpentalia, where are you?" Sammuael called out aloud, relying on the depth of the cave to keep the sound of his voice from being heard outside.
"We have a question for you," Beelzebael called out to the serpent.
"Do not be afraid. We have been sent by your creator, Luciferael. Come forth!" commanded Sammuael.
They landed about three quarters into the depth of the cave, their radiation brightening up the last area and furthermost points within it. Beelzebael was looking deep into the back recesses of the cave when Sammuael turned to see part of the wall moving next to Beelzebael.
"There you are! Come out here!" commanded Sammuael again.
Beelzebael finally caught a glimpse of the movement and stepped sideways so he could see the creature more clearly. The creature's skin color was exactly the same as the pattern on the wall of the cave.
"Great camouflage!" said Sammuael. "Luciferael did well when he created you."
"That could come in very handy!" said Beelzebael, a bit surprised that the creature was able to be that close to him without him sensing him. Beelzebael did pride himself on being aware of his surroundings.
"Yes, it does come in handy," responded Serpentalia in his distinctive hissing voice. "And who exactly are you?"
"We are two brethren Archangels of your creator, Luciferael. He has sent us here to get some information," Sammuael responded.
"Do you know the Human woman named Lillith?" Beelzebael inquired, turning to look closely into Serpentalia's green glowing eyes. "Speak up creature!" he commanded.
"Easy Beelzebael! Give him a minute to collect his thoughts," Sammuael said as he stepped forward and touched the serpent's head gently, turning his head so he could now look into the creature's eyes himself.
"We have little time to waste, Sammuael. I don't want to be delayed because of this creature's inability to think or answer quickly," Beelzebael added impatiently.
Sammuael slid his arm down along Serpentalia's neck in a comforting gesture. Now with his arm around Serpentalia, he said reassuringly, "There, there . . . just tell us whatever you know."
Beelzebael stayed quiet in deference to Sammuael. Sammuael was the beloved of Luciferael, the rest of the Auxilium came after him in Luciferael's consideration and attention.
Serpentalia was still a bit confused, and also cautious; he had never met or spoken to any of the Archangels other than Luciferael. He had however seen two other Archangels outside of Luciferael, and knew more existed because of it. He had seen them observing the Humans one day, but he did not know their purpose. These Archangels could be here to set a trap for him. These two could be lying that they were sent by Luciferael and were only here to get the information out of him for their own purposes. Or it could also be a test by Luciferael to see where the serpent's loyalties lie. But it could also be that they were telling the truth and Luciferael had sent them to gather the information from him.
"How do I know that what you say is true? If you have come from Luciferael himself, why then is he not here?" asked Serpentalia after a moment had passed.
Beelzebael grew even more impatient and reached over to just grab the serpent by his neck. Sammuael remained calm and grabbed Beelzebael's arm, preventing the Archangel from touching the serpent. Sammuael then said soothingly to Beelzebael, "Let me handle this. Wait for me by the entrance of the cave."
Beelzebael looked at the two of them and walked off in disgust.
Sammuael continued. "Now, now, Serpentalia is your name, right?"
"Yes."
"And Luciferael has created you?"
"Yes."
"And we knew exactly where to find you?"
"Yes."
"Well then, think about this. You should trust us. First, because we know who you are by name. Second, we know where you live. And third, we know exactly who created you. If we hadn't been sent by Luciferael himself, who else would have known any of this? Have you even set eyes on an Archangel other than your creator?"
"Yes, I have, there were two Archangels that would observe the Humans on occasion."
"Did they ever see you? Ever speak to you?"
"No, they did not."
"So you have had no interactions with them. They don't even know you exist, much less who created you, or where you live."
Serpentalia paused for a moment and then relaxed his posture so he was not as rigid standing there, but he still remained blank in much of his demeanor.
Sammuael continued, "Luciferael had other matters to attend to, so he sent us. I am Sammuael and my colleague is Beelzebael. You have each of our names now. So you need to trust me on this."
Still not sure that he had connected properly with the serpent, Sammuael decided to take a different approach and focused his eyes on the creature's. Looking deep into Serpentalia's eyes he was able to place him in a trance.
"All right Serpentalia, tell me, did you see Lillith recently?"
"Yes."
"Where was she?"
"She was at the pyramid in Eden and decided to go in there and use it for shelter. That was the last I saw of her for the evening. I haven't seen her since."
"All right Serpentalia, tell me about seeing other Archangels like us in the past."
"Yes. I saw two hiding in the trees, watching her and Adam. Both had dark brown hair. I couldn't see their eyes since they were flying away from me. One had white wings like yours but the upper tips were colored in silver, where yours are black and the other had wings tipped in deep blue."
"Thank you for your help. Look deeper into my eyes. You will remember nothing of this. Not even that you met me or my colleague. Do you understand?"
"I understand and obey."
"Now as soon as our light departs the cave, return to where you had been previously in the cave, doing whatever it was before we sought you out."
Finished with interviewing the serpent, Sammuael walked out to the entrance of the cave and nudged Beelzebael.
"The creature saw her the other night go into the pyramid over yonder as she sought shelter. He says that was the last he saw of her. She must still be inside. Oh, by the way, the creature has also observed our brothers Michael and Jarahmael here in Eden, observing the Humans.
Beelzebael responded, "Something has been afoot for a long time, I fear. This evidence confirms it. Why has this knowledge been kept from us?"
"We will have to discuss this with Luciferael. Gain some guidance," Sammuael responded, adjusting his wings.
"What about the creature Serpentalia?" asked Beelzebael.
"Nothing to worry about, my friend. I took over his mind as Luciferael had done in the past. I erased all memory of what he had seen the other night and any trace of our appearance today."
Now it was time to report back to Luciferael. The two Archangels took flight and headed back to the Seventh Heaven. They knew where Lillith was hiding; all they needed was Luciferael's permission to seize her.