The War in Heaven (21 page)

All the while the three moved up the canyon. How much farther? She wasn’t sure now. There was a sound of flapping wings above as a demon descended toward them. The three children who had accompanied them moved to intercept the attacker. But it seemed like a David and Goliath battle. Suddenly a dazzling beam of light, then another, bolted skyward striking their would-be attacker. The demon exploded in midair, in a blinding flash. What was left was a boiling rain of blood and shattered body parts scattering over a wide area. Then out of nowhere someone stepped into her path.

“Nice of you to join us, Bedillia,” said Kurt, a broad smile on his face and a Tesla rifle in his hand. Three other soldiers stepped out of the shadow of the rocks, weapons drawn. “We’re getting you out of here right now—your friends too.”

Tears welled up in Bedillia’s eyes; he was really here.

Kurt took Bedillia’s hand. “Remember what I told you? No one gets left behind, no one. Now go with Corporal Lawrence. He’ll see to it that you get gated out of here.”

“No, I can’t leave until I see these other people to safety,” objected Bedillia.

“Yes, you can,” corrected Kurt, “getting these people out is my job, soldier. Your job is to gate out of here right now and report straight to Abaddon. Appraise him of our situation. I can’t spare anyone else. Tell him I’m going to need backup. He’ll understand what you mean.”

“Yes, sir,” said Bedillia, the slightest smile coming to her face. “I’ll pass the message onto him.”

Kurt smiled then kissed Bedillia on the cheek. “Welcome home, Bedillia.”

Bedillia’s smile broadened. She and the others followed the corporal into the cover of the rocks. He handed her a sphere.

“Can you make the trip back to Refuge alone?” asked Lawrence. “We’re kind of busy here.”

“We’ll manage,” said Bedillia. She took the sphere in her hand. In a few seconds, a foggy field of stars appeared before them. “Take my hands,” she said, turning to her friends, “we’re going home.”

“Thank you Lord, thank you Jesus,” said Leland, over and over again. He was weeping for joy.

The three stepped into the cool fog together. Their surroundings faded into the mists. This place felt awesome. It was like walking on a cloud. A moment later they stepped through the ring into Refuge.

A cheer broke out that was wonderful to hear. Bedillia walked into the midst of the assembled crowd. She was still in considerable pain and could hardly believe that she was back. It took only a few seconds to find Abaddon.

“Kurt says he needs backup,” said Bedillia, her tone cold and distant. “It’s a mess over there. You’ve got your first battle of a new war.”

Abaddon nodded to Lenar who had also heard Bedillia’s words. A minute later, 20 armed dark angels, eight marines, and another hundred of Abaddon’s children entered the ring and vanished. This thing was rapidly escalating into the thing that so many had feared—war. Abaddon placed an arm around Bedillia hoping that it would help. “You’ve had a terrible experience. I want you to report to your quarters. And I don’t want you to be alone; that wouldn’t be good right now. Take as much time as you need.” He placed a finger under her chin, looked deeply into her eyes. “Thank you, Bedillia. You did a wonderful job. We all love you very much.”

Bedillia nodded and walked toward the door. She found Tom just two steps away. She practically fell into his arms. She had been so strong up to this point, but now her lips were trembling.

“I was afraid I was going to lose you,” said Tom, holding her tight. She was shaking all over. “I’ll take you home and stay with you, if you like.”

“I’d like that,” she said. They vanished into the corridor, arm in arm.

“Where is this going to end, Abaddon?” asked the dark angel Eleazar, stepping up from behind. “Are we just going to keep sending men, angels, and your children into that bottomless pit of a ring? And that’s what it is, my friend, a bottomless pit that will consume as many of our people and resources as we send into it. We’re not ready for this, not yet.”

“Perhaps not,” replied Abaddon, turning to his old friend. “But the time has come to send a message to Satan. Perhaps he needs to know that his hold on this place is not as absolute as he would like to think.” Abaddon paused. “I will not allow this to go too far, I assure you. We needed this, and it will pay dividends.”

Within a minute, the first of many dazed human refugees stepped from the ring. They were greeted with applause.

Abaddon watched as they were guided away to the commons, their largest meeting area. Most of them already had their shackles sheered off by his children. The others would be done presently. He wondered just how many of these poor souls he could manage to free before he was forced to withdraw his forces. This had been a major and not very well thought out change in strategy. He only hoped that it would yield favorable results.

T
he skies above the Valley of Noak were calm now. Twenty minutes ago, they were ablaze with the flashes of angelic swords, demon fireballs, and human particle weapons. Lenar looked skyward with concern. He now had nearly 2,000 of Abaddon’s children, and 47 dark angels patrolling the area. An additional 28 humans, mainly in support roles, were also here, reassuring and guiding the rescued slaves of this dreadful place through the gate, and into Refuge.

They had rescued 257 repentant souls at last count, and rejected so many more. Abaddon’s children found a second calling in this task. They could discern which of the victims of this terrible place had truly repentant hearts. These people alone would make the journey to Refuge. It was a tragedy as to how many human hearts had not been driven to repentance by this terrible experience. But one way or another, this operation had to come to an end. The demons of this place had largely retreated, but reinforcements were surely on the way. They didn’t have much time.

“We’ll eventually need to begin an organized pullback,” said Abaddon, standing by Lenar’s side. He looked over at a group of humans who stood guard around their staging area, Tesla particle rifles in hand. They had played an important role in today’s battle. “So like children with a new toy they are,” he said, smiling slightly.

“That is some toy,” said Lenar. “Some of those demons knocked down at short range an hour ago by those very weapons have not even regenerated yet—they remain as dismembered parts. I’d not thought that possible. The weapon might be more potent than we had at first imagined.”

“All the more reason to build them in large quantities,” replied Abaddon. “That task will fall to this Victoria van Voth. I pray that this operation was worth it.” He turned his attention to more pressing issues. “We shall pull the human aid workers out first. Then the angelic and human warriors shall withdraw from the field. My children shall bring up the rear.” Abaddon again considered his options. “Perhaps I should allow several thousand of my children to roam Hell freely, live off the land. We have not the means to feed their numbers properly at Refuge. They might well become a potent curse on Satan’s minions, gorging themselves on demon flesh. They might enjoy that.”

“An intriguing concept,” replied Lenar, gazing up toward the ridgeline above them. “I have sentries up there. They will give us plenty of warning in the event of a counterattack. It will take only a few minutes to evacuate our forces through the gate. I want as much time as possible to get these victims to safety. In truth, I am surprised we haven’t been attacked as yet.”

Abaddon nodded. He could remember a time when Lenar was anxious to pull out once the mission objectives were accomplished. Now he was pushing the envelope. “Don’t wait too long.”

Abaddon turned to the other problem in their staging area, the place where those who could and could not go through the gate to Refuge was decided. He had stationed several of his dark angels here to enforce the decisions that were often unpopular. Those selected were sent into a cordoned off area where their shackles were removed, and they were sent in groups into the gate with a human volunteer from Refuge to guide them.

Those rejected were escorted down the canyon, still shackled, into the open valley to await the return of Satan’s minions and the continuation of their eternal sentence. They would be confined to a small region of the valley by Abaddon’s children until they were ready to withdraw. Abaddon regretted the necessity of this; he desired that none should continue to suffer, but he couldn’t have such people as these in Refuge. They were unpredictable,
lovers of self over others, potential liabilities to a community that worked for the common good.

Abaddon bolted skyward toward the top of the canyon to survey the situation from a broader perspective. Here he encountered one of Lenar’s sentries. The sentry bowed his head in honor of his commander.

“Are they still there?” asked Abaddon, gazing across the valley, toward the mountains on the far side.

“Yes, they remain,” said the sentry, pointing to a high mesa on the far side of the valley, about four miles away. “But now there are far more of them than there were just half an hour ago, perhaps a thousand, at this point.”

“What are they waiting for?” asked Abaddon, almost under his breath.

“Perhaps they are sizing up the situation,” suggested the sentry. “They are certain neither of our numbers nor our capabilities. They were routed rather severely by our initial attack. I would imagine that they will only counterattack once they can be certain of victory.”

Abaddon nodded. He knew they needed to withdraw. This terrain would be difficult to defend against a force so large. Yet he still delayed. He had to evacuate as many slaves as he could. It was inhumane to do anything else.

On the far side of the valley, Cordon scanned the abandoned Plunge of Desolation using a glowing sphere that acted to greatly magnify the enemy camp. This attack came as a complete surprise to him. It was out of character with the tactics the rebels had used up to this point. It was bold, perhaps a bit too bold.

There had been a steady stream of humanity up and down the narrow canyon, escorted by dark angels. He turned to his aide, Rolf, then pointed
to the growing group of humans on the valley floor. “They’re separating the wheat from the chaff.”

“What?” asked Rolf.

“Somehow they are discerning which souls are worthy of being saved and which are not,” replied Cordon.

Rolf shook his head. “How could they possibly know that?”

“If we knew that, my friend, we might be one step closer to bringing an end to their rebellion,” said Cordon.

Cordon turned to review the growing force Governor Molock had assembled on the mesa. They were over 1,400 strong right now, seasoned warriors all. Very soon he would have double that number. For reasons totally unknown to him, Molock had placed him in charge of this assault. Cordon had not complained, but he had found it curious.

“This couldn’t have happened at a worse time,” growled Molock, approaching Cordon and Rolf. “The master has summoned me to come at once. He has been called to stand in assembly before the Father and with the other highest angels. General Krell and I are to stand at his side. I believe this will be the day. He is going to make his challenge to Michael and Gabriel; I am certain of it. Now what am I to tell him?”

“Why tell him anything?” asked Cordon. “If I may be so bold as to advise you, my lord, speak of it only if he asks you directly. The position of these rebels is in flux, and the territory they occupy virtually indefensible. I have already sent a force of 300 on a long loop, to engage them from the south. We shall move on them from the north within the hour, and they will retreat through their portal or be annihilated it is that simple. And we shall learn much about them before this is all over. Perhaps I will even learn the whereabouts of their hidden base.”

“That may be,” replied Molock, “but if all goes well, you will have but a fraction of the resources you have now to accomplish it, for we will be at war
with the angels of Heaven. Both General Krell and I will be fighting at the master’s side.” There was a momentary pause. “I am placing you in charge of my territories, of the forces under my command that remain. Bring this rebellion to an end Cordon … I am depending on you.”