Light (43 page)

And Jake knew that it was done.  His
personal demon well and truly exorcised.  Now he could return to the matter in
hand.

So Jake began.  He read out the words
written by Abraham Abulafia all those years ago.

‘Lord God,’ he called, ‘Answer me.  I am
your unworthy servant.  I seek your protection.’

And he was amazed to see that each stone
on the breastplate lit up.  He was being answered in the only way possible.  It
would work.  He had been forgiven for what he had done to Sara.

That was when he heard someone groaning
outside.  Lapski, it had to be; he was coming round.  Well, it was too late for
him to interfere now.  Jake was alone within the Holy of Holies.  There was
nothing anyone could do to stop him now.

He slowly spoke the ancient words of
Abraham Abulafia and then, as had done his ancestor Cordozo, Jake spoke the
final words, ‘Oh Lord.  If my unworthy soul has found favour in thine sight
send me, I pray thee, thy Holy Light.  Let me see by its rays thy Torah as did
our father, Moshe Rabeinu, and bring us the Moshiach as thou hast promised.’

Outside the others recited Amen.

All any of them could do now was wait.

It began slowly.  A gentle warm glow that
wove its way from the altar before him.  Light surrounded him but it could not
find its way from the Holy of Holies.  Here it would remain until Jake opened
the door; but Light had been called and, once called it could not be passive.

The true Breastplate would have afforded a
protection from the wondrous power that Jake had unleashed and he would have
been able to direct the Light out through the door and to the welcoming arms of
the En Sof.

The Breastplate, however, was not complete
for Jake had succeeded in hiding the truth from his enemies.  He did not have
the complete set of the Urim and Tumim.  There was one stone missing and he
looked down at the Breastplate in satisfaction.  The stone in the position of
the Odem was no longer alight.  How could it be when it was not the Odem?  Jake
grinned in triumph.  It was when he had seen his ordinary clothes in his
bedroom underneath the priestly garments that Jake remembered.  There in his
trouser pocket he realised was the ruby that Hester Linford had given to him. 
He had been carrying it around with him ever since.

At the first ceremony he had intended to
use the ruby to dupe Lapski but he never had the opportunity.  Now that he had
switched the ruby with the Odem the ceremony would fail just as it had for his
ancestor Jacob Cordozo.

Unlike Cordozo, Jake knew exactly what
would happen.  He was quite unprotected.  He would be unable to guide the
Light.  As soon as he opened the door the Light would escape.  The En Sof would
attempt to embrace it as the creature had always intended but the Light,
without control would tear apart the monster and send it back whence it came.

Of course, everyone else who was present
would also be destroyed but there was nothing Jake could do about that.  If he
and the others were to die the sacrifice was worth it if it meant the
destruction of the En Sof.

 So Jake waited for the Light to grow, to
become strong.  Then, all he would have to do would be to open the door and
then...

The glow was stronger.  A radiant light.

Jake shut his eyes.  Soon it would be
blinding.

Even through closed lids he could see the
power, already more than enough to burn his retina.  It would not be long.  His
eyes were hurting.  He could feel his body heating up in a fire far hotter than
the hottest reactor, the brightest star and he knew that the time was now.  If
the door remained closed he would be the only one destroyed and the Light would
return to God without meeting the En Sof.

Jake made to reach forward but to his
horror found that he did not move.  He was paralysed, completely.  There was
nothing whatever he could do.  It was all for nothing...everything was a
waste.  He would be torn apart, the breastplate cast back through the
dimensions and the En Sof would still be free to find another champion to renew
the quest.

‘Dear Lord.  No.’

But Jake was powerless.

Eyes still closed he knew that they were
burning out with the intensity of the light.  The heat was becoming unbearable,
it was as if he was boiling up.

Please make it be quick.

‘Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai
Ehad.’

……………………………………….

And everything cooled.  Jake was still
alive.  He felt as if he was weightless.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was
surrounded by a golden glow.  With a sense of shock he realised that it was
emanating from him.

He lifted his arm and dropped it again in
shock.  The arm was now a brightly glowing mass of radiant light.  As he looked
down at himself Jake realised the truth.  He had been transformed, now he was a
being composed entirely of God’s primordial Light.  He and the energy were one.

Jake opened the door and saw the
brilliance shine out through the portal.  There were the others; Ben, Shmueli
and Lapski and all were staring at him but, even as they stared, Lapski reacted. 
Before anyone could stop him he was running back across the threshold towards
Jake’s home on Earth and to the waiting En Sof whose tool he had become.

For the moment there was nothing Jake
could do about that.  Now he had one task to perform and perform it he did with
the single minded determination provided by the Light within.  He approached
Shmueli, his far distant cousin but made no attempt to speak to him.  It was
clear that the young man was terrified but Jake could not let that stand in his
way.  And then he reached out.

Beams of raw power shot from his arm and
entered the boy through his eyes.  Shmueli’s mouth opened to scream but Jake
could not hear the sound of it and then Shmueli too was becoming transformed as
the Light possessed him.

Now the two of them stood there glowing
brightly and their shining hands touched.

At once their arms joined together as if
they were one and Jake stepped towards and into his fellow.

Now the two forms of Light had become as
one with one head, two arms and two legs and each could share the other’s
memories.

Both their minds were focused on one
person.  The girl whom they both loved and who was also a distant cousin.

Cherry.

She was there on Earth with Faivish and
the En Sof and the Light knew what it had to do.

It passed from the Temple to the world of
mortal men.  Alex Lapski was no longer visible save as a shadow of the foul
thing that was the En Sof.  Now through eyes of Light they could see the
monster for the pitiful wretch that it was.

It was formless; a grey undulating blob as
befitted the manifestation of something that had no right to be; but, at the
same time, it was putrid, it stank like offal.  Then utilising Lapski, its
human host as a mould, it shook and grew.

But Light was not yet complete.  It was not
ready to face its enemy.

‘Cherry,’ it called without sound and she
was instantly taken into its form.

Now they were truly one and Light turned
towards the dark hybrid creature that was its nemesis.

The thing that called itself so
blasphemously the En Sof looked at Light through a thousand multi-lensed eyes
that appeared on every part of its form and Light saw its own beauty
brilliantly reflected over and over again in the glassy facets.

Then the En Sof acted.  The eyes vanished
and where each eye had been there sprouted a single worm-like tentacle that
wriggled and swayed as if each one had a life of its own.  Some of the
tentacles began to swell and grow, becoming mighty serpents with gaping fanged
mandibles and they pounced upon Light.

The jaws clamped shut upon Light’s arms
and Light shook itself to dislodge them.  It felt pain and understood its
enemy’s intent.  The serpents were feeding, draining the energy from Light into
the En Sof.  That way it could take the power and use it to its own ends.

It was something Light could never allow
to happen.  Its human components all knew that the En Sof had to be defeated. 
The demon could not be allowed to succeed in its objects for then it would gain
its greatest desire and all life would be in its thrall.

There was a scream of rage from the En Sof
as Light rose quickly into the air, pulling the enemy behind it.  Up through
the clouds it travelled, upwards always and then with a jarring suddenness
Light reversed itself and plunged back towards the earth below and, in the
process, dislodged the draining snakes.

The En Sof had absorbed some of the
energy, however.  It had taken goodness for itself and was ready to use the
strength of that goodness to fight its adversary.

Now, it grew.  It was huge, a mountain. 
Its form was metamorphosing once again.  Now it was becoming vaguely humanoid
with the usual limbs and Light grew to match it, size for size.

They looked at each other each trying to
gain the measure of the other.  Light waited.  Let the En Sof make the first
move.  See what surprises it might spring...and then it struck.  With both its
arms it grabbed for Light’s neck but it was no effort at all to parry the
attempt.

Again it thrust with exactly the same
manoeuvre but Light was ready.  It took hold of the En Sof’s wrists and
pushed...and felt absolute agony as the En Sof created a fresh appendage which
it inserted deep into Light’s chest.  The pain was unbearable as the arm began
to slash and tear with reckless abandon.  What was it doing?  How was it inflicting
so much damage?

Jake screamed, so did Shmueli and Cherry,
and he understood.  The En Sof knew their nature.  When it was one being Light
was strong but separate it was just the three mortals who would be no match for
the enemy.  Using that part of Light that it had absorbed the En Sof was
dividing them into the human elements.

And suddenly Jake, still glowing, was
standing on the floor but he was his normal size.  Shmueli and Cherry, also
alight with divine power, were next to him but the enhanced En Sof was towering
over their heads and it reached down towards them.

With taloned fingers it grabbed Cherry and
lifted her into the air.  Jake looked at Shmueli, who even though composed of
Light was still able to display his fear, and he reached out for his young
compatriot.  But, before they could merge, the En Sof struck again and Jake
found himself caught in the massive fist.

He struggled but there was little he could
do.  The En Sof was intent on his destruction and it could crush out the life
from him if it so desired.

He awaited the end.

But it did not come and he found himself
being lifted up to be level with the hideous face of the enemy.  Modelled on
the features of Alex Lapski it was only a cruel Frankenstein approximation of
the original with bloodshot eyes and a snout that was reptilian rather than
human.

‘So, Jacob Tranton.  You sought to trick
me, but you have failed.  Within the three of you is the Light and when I
absorb you then the power will be mine.’

And Jake looked across at Cherry equally
prisoner in the beast’s other hand.  Alone they were nothing but together they
did have a chance.

The beast roared.

‘No.  Do not think that you can link.  You
are too far distant.  First, the girl.’

And the En Sof lifted Cherry high above
its jaws.  There was nothing Jake could do but, in that instant, Shmueli
appeared.  Weightless, full of Light, he had conquered his fear and had risen
high into the air to drop onto Jake.

Instantly their forms merged but, without
Cherry they were still weak, and not yet the being called Light.  They were,
however, stronger than they were singly and with a massive push they were
released from the monster’s hand.

As one they shot into the air, after their
comrade, as she headed for the wide open vicious jaws and Jake led the attack. 
There was only one possible thing he could do.  If the En Sof could change its
form why not he?  He willed the change and felt their joint arm tighten.  Yes,
it was working.  Tighter and tighter, becoming ever thinner, and stretching out
the surplus material until it was a filament of golden wire.  Then it wrapped
itself around the En Sof’s arm and the two ends were pulled taught through
sinew and gristle.

There was a snap as the hand holding
Cherry was severed and black oil-like liquid spurted from the wound.

Jake dropped and then they were under the
tumbling girl and again Light was one.

Now it knew the danger of its enemy.  It
could not let the En Sof divide it again.

Light soared into the air, higher and
higher, until it was far above the monster and then Light looked down upon the
En Sof.

The creature stared back malevolently and
then it rose to meet its adversary and once more a limb emerged.  It grew, it
stretched, it opened a mighty claw and made to slash through Light but this
time Light was ready.

Now Light grabbed the waving black limb. 
It pushed and shoved and threw itself downwards and, as it dropped, so Light
changed.  It thinned out, to become an enormous golden sheet with which to
smother the beast that had the effrontery to take on one of the names of the
divine.

Down Light plummeted and then it was upon
its quarry.  Light flowed around the En Sof entombing it within its form.

The monster struggled but Light was
crushing it, making it impossible to move and the En Sof was forced to shrink
in the midst of the constricting energy.

Now as a glowing ball with a jet black
heart Light rose into the air and up towards the heavens.

Higher it climbed, up through each of the
seven heavens towards the abode of the Almighty.  Within the reluctant
passenger still attempted to heave and struggle but it was quite impotent.  And
then it was there.

Everything was white, the white that is
the total mixing of every colour of the rainbow, the pure white of God Most
High and something beautiful moved.

So far as the component individuals had
any separate identity they could not see what the wondrous thing was but they
knew that it was beyond their wisdom.  So, too they all knew that this was the
place in which they had no right to be.  Even the cohesive force of Light could
no longer protect them and they were cast down, out from the realm of the Lord.