The War in Heaven (36 page)

Still, it was a dark time for the angels. There were rumors of an impending conditional surrender in the wind, but not as far as Michael was concerned. They were fighting on. They would never accept Satan as the ruler of the angels—never accept his concept of a great angelic society.

“Satan has about six million of his minion pursuing us,” explained Michael. “We managed to elude them for a time, but I suspect that they will be here within two hours.”

“We will have all of your people out of here well before then,” assured Johann.

“A similar evacuation is planned for the fifth plane in just a matter of hours,” noted Michael, “orchestrated by your new commander, General Cornelius. I have met him briefly only once, but he seems to be a competent leader.”

“He is one of our best,” assured Johann. “We are fortunate to have him. He has two thousand years of experience.”

“And what of your Nikola Tesla; is there any word?”

Johann shook his head. “Sadly, no. We can’t make communication work between here and Hell. The only person who was able to make it work has been captured by Satan.”

Michael nodded. “Yes, I heard about David, I’m sorry. I know the two of you are close.”

“I feel personally responsible for him,” said Johann. “I will get him out of there no matter what it takes.”

It took a few minutes to get the evacuation underway. The process moved along at a tremendous speed. A mere half hour saw the entire field emptied of angelic forces.

The last of the humans and angels vanished, leaving only Michael and Johann. Michael scanned the skies carefully.

“I have not seen Gabriel, have you?” asked Michael.

“No,” replied Johann. “But there were so many here. He might have already gone on ahead.”

“No,” said Michael. “He would not have left until I too was prepared to depart the field of battle. He was leading a group of about fifty of our fellows, searching for stragglers. Now I am very concerned for him.”

“Perhaps he was cut off,” suggested Johann. “He might turn up later.”

They waited for more than 20 minutes. Then a dark cloud appeared on the horizon. It grew by the minute.

“Satan’s forces,” said Michael. “They were closer than we had thought. We must leave.”

Johann scanned the sky a last time before opening the portal. They vanished into the mists. There would be no further mass evacuations from this level of Heaven. The City of Zion and all of its surroundings were now firmly in the hands of Satan.

David Bonner sat on the edge of the roof of the Great Hall of Angels in the City of Zion with his escort, the demon lieutenant Lemnok. It had been an interesting experience, having a calm and civil discussion with a demon. Lemnok had told him quite a bit about the philosophy of demonkind, even bits and pieces of Satan’s plans. Assuming that it was not misinformation, it might be quite valuable.

“Would you answer me one question?” asked Lemnok.

“Sure, ask,” replied David.

“Why would you want to support the angels of Michael in their struggle against us?”

David didn’t need to think too long on that one. “Well, for one thing, they are our neighbors, and they have been good neighbors. Second, they have safeguarded humanity from, well, you guys on Earth. No offense meant.”

“I asked a question, you have answered it honestly,” said Lemnok. “Why should I take offense?”

“Good point,” said David “Still, you are not totally correct,” continued the demon. “Suppose I were to tell you that demons persecute humans not because they are human
but because we are at war with the angels. It is nothing personal regarding you and your people.”

“I would say that I have never heard that point of view,” replied David. “I thought it had to do with Satan’s jealousy toward man because he thought that God loved man more than the angels.”

“There might be some truth in that,” admitted Lemnok. “However, the real conflict is between the angels, not between us and the Father or humanity. It really has very little to do with humankind. You and your people are meddling in a war that has very little to do with you.”

“Am I to just forget what your people do to mine in Hell?” objected David.

“In Hell we follow the commands of the Father,” said Lemnok. “It is He who commands that we torment humanity. We are just following orders. It is not a good idea to disobey the Father.”

David had real issues with that statement. He knew the Father. The Father was not a torturer. Still, he would not pursue the issue.

“But you must be tired,” said Lemnok, “A quiet place has been prepared for you, a place where you may rest.”

David followed Lemnok back into the great hall. They proceeded down the corridor to a room just beyond Satan’s chambers. Unlike most of the rooms along this hallway, this one had a large golden door. Lemnok opened the door to reveal a small white room illuminated by what appeared to be a small skylight. The room was broken up by several small partitions.

“I regret that the accommodations are so Spartan,” said Lemnok. “This room was used as a resting place for Michael’s chief lieutenants. Since angels rest upon their wings, there are no beds. It is an inadequacy that I will endeavor to correct soon. But it does offer a door that will provide you some measure of privacy.”

David looked around and smiled slightly. “Thank you, Lemnok; it will be more than adequate.”

“Then I will take my leave of you,” said Lemnok. “There are matters requiring my attention. Please feel free to call upon me if you have any specific needs.”

“Thank you,” replied David.

Lemnok bowed slightly and departed the room, closing the door behind him. David breathed a sigh of relief. He walked around the room, scanning behind the partitions to confirm what he already knew; there were no windows. He then walked quietly to the door. It was difficult to determine its exact composition. It looked like gold, but it might be composed of angelic metal, a substance with several times the tensile strength of steel. It had a golden handle. He gently pushed upon it, applying ever more force. His suspicions were confirmed; it was locked from the outside. Apparently, they weren’t taking any chances on his snooping around. Despite their assurances, he was a prisoner.

David considered his options. He concluded that it might be best if he gated out. Could it be done? Satan claimed that it couldn’t, but that was certainly no guarantee. He would try to gate a short distance. His bedroom two miles away was a good choice. Try as he might, the gate wouldn’t form. Apparently there was a barrier or field that was preventing it. He leaned up against the wall and considered his options.

He considered the particle weapon. What would it do to a door of angelic metal? He wasn’t quite sure. It would probably blow a hole straight through it, one inch in diameter, maybe two. No, that was no good. By the time he blasted his way through, there would be 100 demons waiting for him on the other side.

His mind focused on the problems of gating. What prevented the gate from forming? Was it a barrier or some sort of damping field? There was a difference. If it was a damping field, any gate either made by human or
angel would not function within these walls. There was one way to find out, though he had never tried it. Again he attempted to open a gate. A misty field of stars appeared before him. He stepped in and emerged 12 feet away, on the other side of the room.

“Yes,” said David. Now he knew what he was dealing with. It was not a damping field, but a barrier that probably surrounded the whole building. Again he tried to gate out. This time he was just outside the wall of the building. Again no luck; the barrier must be right at the outer wall itself. He could gate anywhere within the building, but not beyond it.

He had a scheme to get out, but it carried with it considerable risk. In reality, it was downright crazy. He sat down on the floor and began to concentrate. In midair before him, a particle rifle began to appear. Slowly it assembled itself, from barrel to stock. The process went slower than usual. It was the better part of 40 minutes before the task was complete, and it left David feeling rather drained.

“Yes, much better,” he said, giving the weapon a quick once over. This would be far superior to the particle pistol, if it worked. He had some concerns. How would he test it?

There was a commotion out in the hallway. David put his ear to the door. He heard a myriad of footfalls. Then he heard the double doors of Satan’s chambers across the hall opening. What was going on? An idea occurred to him. It was crazy, but he had a good feeling about it. He took a deep breath as a misty field of stars appeared before him. He stepped in.

He emerged into the semi-darkness behind the deep blue curtains at the back of Satan’s audience chamber. He had made it. He had about 3 feet between the curtain and the wall behind it. He cautiously peered through a tiny gap between the curtains to see a group of about a dozen demons in the chamber, gathered in a circle. Satan was among them, though this time he had taken on his characteristic dark visage. In the middle of their circle
knelt an angel whose white robes were spattered with blood. His wings were torn to shreds.

Wait, David knew this angel—it was Gabriel. He felt sick to his stomach.

“Well, well,” said Satan. “Who do we have here? Why, I do believe that it is the archangel Gabriel. My, my, you have been careless this day.”

“Please spare the melodrama,” said Gabriel, pain in his voice.

“You’re losing this war,” announced Satan, “you know that. Now I have you, and that meddling youth, David Bonner. I shall be transporting both of you to Hell, there to find your own terrible eternities. For you and your angels, it shall be a fiery cavern in the depths of Hell. You have been a pain in my side entirely too long, and now you shall pay the penalty. As for that boy, he helped Serena escape from me, and now he will take her place in the great Sea of Fire.”

“You don’t have the right,” insisted Gabriel. “He is a child of God.”

“And a combatant in this war,” interrupted Satan. “I have every right. He is mine.”

Satan turned as he heard the sudden low hum from behind the curtains. Out stepped David, his particle rifle in hand. “So I’m yours, am I? I think that is a matter of opinion.”

The other demons immediately went for their swords, as David trained his weapon on the master of darkness himself.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said David, his voice calm. “This weapon is quite capable of turning your master into a footnote in history, and you know it. One pull of this trigger and your war is lost.”

“And after you do, my minions will be upon you in seconds,” retorted Satan. “You won’t get out of here.”

“That might be true,” admitted David, “but you won’t be around to see it, and I suspect that several of them won’t be either. The way I look at it,
it will be more than worth it to remove you from this universe. One life in exchange for the eternity of billions … I’m cool with that.”

Gabriel looked to David. “Shoot,” he gasped. “This is your one chance. Without him, his followers will be lost, his war will be lost.”

“A strong argument,” replied David, drawing closer. He turned to Satan. “What do you think? Shall my friend and I depart, allow you to live to fight another day, or should I blow you to subatomic particles right here and now?”

Satan’s rage was in his eyes, but it remained contained there. “And how will you get out? You can’t…you are trapped here.”

“Actually, I’m not,” replied David. He turned to Lemnok. “Remove that angel’s shackles. I’m taking him with me.”

“You can’t gate out,” said Satan. “I told you.”

“Actually, I can,” said David, looking at Satan’s minions. “Now, here’s the deal. Gabriel and I are walking out of here. Anyone tries to stop us, and your boss gets it.”

There was a long silence. It was Satan who finally broke it. “Release the angel…do as he says.”

The wave of Lemnok’s hand was all it took to make the shackles around Gabriel’s wrists and ankles release.

David glanced but a fraction of a second at Gabriel. “Can you walk?”

“Yes,” said Gabriel, “but I can’t fly.”

“You only need to walk.” David brought his weapon to within inches of Satan’s back. “Sir, we are going to the roof; your people here aren’t coming with us. They set foot out of this room within the next five minutes or sound an alarm, and you will live on only in history books. Do I make myself clear?”

“Abundantly,” said Satan, barely in control.

By now Gabriel had risen to his feet.

“Ready to go?” asked David. “Yes,” replied Gabriel.

David motioned for Satan to walk to the door, while David walked behind. Gabriel walked at David’s side. The others stood in stunned amazement.

“You will instruct the sentry to clear the hallway,” said David, who once more looked to Gabriel. “You will need to watch our backs.” David drew the particle pistol from his belt and switched on the power. Then he handed it to Gabriel. “Do you know how to use this?”

“Yes,” confirmed Gabriel.

“I hope you don’t have to,” continued David. “But if someone draws a sword, don’t hesitate. If that happens, I’m afraid that things are going to fall apart very quickly. Then I’ll have to take out this guy first. At this range, that is going to be messy … very messy. Then we’ll blast our way out of here, taking out anyone who gets in our way.”