Read In Rebellion (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book II) Online
Authors: John J. Higgins
“Sounds like a well thought-out plan to me,” Faumiel said and the other loyal Cherubim agreed. “Remember though, the loyal Angels on the Earth desperately need these weapons!”
Chapter 12
BEELZEBAEL
IN THE FOURTH HEAVEN
Beelzebael and his lead legion blasted through the last remnants of resistance from the Virtue Angels, easily overpowering their efforts to defend their Heaven. The leaders of the Virtues weren't even in the Fifth Heaven when Luciferael and his army assembled itself. They had gone to the Earth earlier that day to observe the changes that were occurring because of the fall of Adam and Eve. The dreaded day had come when “free will” had created sin and there would be consequences now throughout the Universe. It was no longer a concept, but a cancer that was spreading rapidly across the Creation.
With the meager resistance by the red tunic clad Virtues overcome, Beelzebael and his armed legions poured out of the gateway of the Fifth Heaven and into the golden shades of the Fourth Heaven's sky. Beelzebael was enthused at their progress. The Fifth Heaven had already been conquered and now his legions were already attacking the Fourth Heaven even before the first day of the rebellion was finished.
Beelzebael thought it brilliant that Luciferael decided to attack on the day that the majority of Angels loyal to the Almighty were out of the Heavens, down on the surface of the Earth. This made effective resistance to the rebel Angels difficult if not impossible for those few Angels who remained in each of the respective Heavens. The element of surprise was also in the rebel Angels’ favor, as no one had expected an attack, especially in the confusion that followed the cataclysmic day when Adam and Eve betrayed the Almighty.
Landing on a golden cloud that was his first step into the Fourth Heaven, Beelzebael looked quickly behind him to make sure the rest of the legions were keeping up with his advance. The first ranks were composed of Cherubim and they quickly outmaneuvered the Dominion defenders that were flying above the golden clouds. Once these Dominions had been captured, they were passed back along the legion to the Guardian Angels for safekeeping. Beelzebael’s legions were again unencumbered and headed towards the lower region of the Fourth Heaven. Small detachments of Dominion Angels had set up defenses to prevent the rebel legions from moving through. Ratzuziel headed one of the detachments of loyal Dominions and he could be seen shoring up the cloud defenses. They had little to defend themselves by way of weapons, while Beelzebael was well armed with the weapons obtained from the stores in the Sixth Heaven.
But the Dominions were able to slow down Beelzebael's progress, by keeping their defensive walls tight. The swords and axes did not do much against the walls. As the walls were also constructed of hardened light, it was tough going to get through them. Another detachment of the loyal Dominions was led by their leader Hashmallim. They stayed concealed in the Hall of the Dominions and were able to overwhelm some of the rebel Guardian Angels who entered the structure thinking that it was empty. By disarming the rebel Angels through brute force they were able to gain control of some weapons. A mad dash by this core group brought these weapons for use by defenders at the gateway to the Third Heaven against the rebel army.
Hashmallim and his second in command, Ratzuziel, turned out to be great tacticians for the loyal Dominion Angels. They forced Beelzebael to halt and battle it out with them and their followers. The two Dominion leaders had constructed the defenses in such a way that the rebel army
had to pass through a narrow channeled maze in order to get through the gateway into
the Third Heaven
.
This forced the rebel Angels to send their warrior Angels in, one at a time, where the Dominions could fight back, regardless of how greatly they were outnumbered.
Jarahmael was with Suriel's legion of rebel Angels when it entered into the Fourth Heaven. The fighting
in the upper region
was already finished by the time they arrived. At first, Suriel's legion moved quickly through the Fourth Heaven, but like the rest of Beelzebael’s legions they became stopped by the bottleneck
down below
created by the defenses of the Dominion Angels. Beelzebael saw Suriel and Jarahmael when their legion moved
down
and summoned the two of them for a council of war to find a way through the Dominions
’
defenses.
Beelzebael looked at Jarahmael and smiled. “You decided to join us in the overthrow of Heaven?” Jarahmael could see that Beelzebael's eyes were watching his reaction very closely
. I am sure he doesn't trust me,
Jarahmael thought to himself.
Suriel also cast a sidelong glance at Jarahmael.
Nor does Suriel
, Jarahmael thought.
Jarahmael looked right back into Beelzebael's eyes and said in an arrogant tone, “Yes, my
l
ord Beelzebael. The Almighty has been playing favorites with the Humans and placed them above us.” Jarahmael stressed the words in his response, making it sound like it was Jarahmael who had been insulted directly by the Almighty's actions, and that Beelzebael's feelings didn't matter to him at all, as though Jarahmael was far above him. Jarahmael also turned to Suriel as he finished his sentence as if to say the same to him, that Suriel was not an Archangel on equal status with Jarahmael. All the while, Jarahmael was conscious of where his swords were in relation to his hands under his tunic.
Both Beelzebael and Suriel moved as though Jarahmael's words and attitude pushed them backwards, taken aback by the boldness of the tone used by Jarahmael in his answer. Jarahmael was sure they did not expect that from him
. He was also
sure that in the new scheme of things, it would be the Angel who
had
the boldest and deadliest stance that would gain power under Luciferael's reign. And he was not going to be subservient to any of the members of Luciferael's Auxilium. Jarahmael thought that under different circumstances these two would have fought him on his attitude alone, but with all the commotion and uncertainty of the success of the rebellion, they would be too fearful that Jarahmael may truly be able to harm or destroy them if he decided it necessary.
“Ah, you must have loved Luciferael's speech then,
l
ord Jarahmael,” said Suriel, trying to regain his status.
“Was not there for it, nor did I hear it,” said Jarahmael dismissively to the two of them.
“Where were you then,
l
ord Jarahmael?” asked Beelzebael in a sickly sweet and humble voice.
This did not trick Jarahmael into lowering his guard — he knew that Beelzebael was hoping to catch him in a mistake or lie.
“Arming myself, Beelzebael,” he responded, purposely not addressing him by the title “
l
ord” usually used among the Archangels as a sign of respect. And then Jarahmael opened his tunic just a bit further so Beelzebael and Suriel could see the double swords he had strapped on, in addition to the spear on his back and the trumpet across his chest. “I prefer to choose my own weapons.”
“Every weapon you could fit on yourself from what I can see,” said Suriel with a laugh.
“What can I do for you?” asked Jarahmael, smiling for the first time now that he was sure that they knew he was not to be trifled with.
Beelzebael feigned not being sure what to do and asked, “We are stalled at the front of the legion, the Dominions have created a bottleneck that we are not able to get through. Do either of you have any suggestions?”
Suriel jumped in first, trying to reassert that he, too, was a force to be reckoned with and he certainly did not want Jarahmael to make him appear weak or uncertain. “Keep hammering them with the Cherubim. They are the toughest fighters and will break through in no time.”
“Jarahmael, what do you think?” asked Beelzebael, ignoring Suriel's response.
“Suriel's idea sounds good to me,” he responded and noticed Suriel's face get brighter that he was being acknowledged.
“I don't want to know what Suriel thinks,” said Beelzebael. “I want to know what the
l
ord Jarahmael thinks about these things.”
“I saw how some of you attacked the dinosaurs on your own,” said Jarahmael. “Maybe one of you two should go in and clear out a path.” Jarahmael thought back as to how they took over the destruction of the dinosaurs, doing most of the damage to the creatures themselves. To further bait Beelzebael and Suriel he then added, “If I was at the head of the army, I would have been the first one in there clearing out a path. But not everyone leads from the front, some lead from the back.”
Most Angels would have been insulted by such a remark, but for Beelzebael and Suriel it appeared to be a compliment, as the two of them beamed proudly.
Must be that they constantly strive to outmaneuver one another with the least amount of effort,
Jarahmael thought to himself. Fighting the dinosaurs had been one thing, but fighting an equal force was quite another. There was little risk of harm in attacking creatures that could not defend themselves. But here, where there was real risk involved, leading from behind the lines was a way that they could attack with the least amount of risk on their part and yet they could claim much of the glory.
“What a great idea!” said Beelzebael. “Why don't you go and clear out the bottleneck for us,
l
ord Jarahmael.”
Taunting Beelzebael for his own satisfaction, Jarahmael responded, “But I am not the one in charge of either the army or the legion. The glory should be yours.”
“No, be our guest!” said Beelzebael, raising up his hand and cutting off Suriel from volunteering.
“Gladly!” Jarahmael responded, stepping back while he pulled out both his light swords in one quick, fluid movement, points of both swords simultaneously just below the necks of the
other
two Angels.
Beelzebael and Suriel had tried to jump back but Jarahmael's reflexes were far faster than either of theirs. Jarahmael did not consider it a success to get glory for the least amount of effort – he had always worked hard on his own skills.
Jarahmael grinned. “I think we should let Suriel's idea have a chance first. If you do not succeed today in clearing out the passageway, I will take to the front line and do it myself at first light. It's near dark now anyway. Even if we get through the bottleneck soon, we will not be able to get the entire legion through to the Third Heaven tonight.”
Jarahmael turned and
took off
to
find a cloud or
some
other
place
where
he could rest, as it had been a long day. As an afterthought, he turned and said to the two of them standing there, “Be sure to send someone to wake me.” And as
Jarahmael flew
off,
Beelzebael motioned with his eyes for Suriel to follow the Archangel. For no matter what Jarahmael said, neither Beelzebael or Suriel trusted him, and they were not going to let him out of their sight.
Chapter 13
MICHAEL’S UPDATES
It was all quiet on Earth as Michael and Cerebriel flew across the planet. They saw nothing out of the ordinary. There were no attacking Angels, nor any recent destruction. Nor was there anything out of the ordinary at the pyramid at Aegyptus. The Orders of Angels were still working on the structures there. Some of the Principalities were applying the polished outer casing for the grand pyramid, making the structure shine as it reflected the light from the sun. Dominions and Cherubim were continuing to carve the two sphinxes out of two large outcroppings of rock, formed there for just this purpose.
Michael and Cerebriel flew along further to where Adam and Eve had been cast out from the Garden of Eden. When they had flown over the nearby caves earlier that day, they had not seen the two Humans. But now, they found the two of them making themselves at home with the supplies that had been dropped off by Gabriel and Uriel only the night before.
Michael turned to Cerebriel as they flew over silently and used his mind to communicate with Cerebriel. “We have located them as the Almighty wanted us to do. Let's stay out of sight
and make them safe.
”
They landed and approached surreptitiously. Speeding up their wavelengths into light, the two Angels became invisible so they could observe the Humans more closely. They watched as Adam and Eve ate the little bit of food that they were able to gather. The Angels could tell that Adam and Eve were very upset by the streams on their faces where their tears had flowed. They had to take care of themselves, now that they were no longer in the Garden of Eden where everything they ever needed was immediately available without toil.
Michael and Cerebriel remained invisible as they approached the Humans, waiting until after they had finished eating. Each of the Angels snuck up behind the Humans, then reached out and touched their foreheads. The Humans were immediately put to sleep by the Angels’ touch. The Angels changed back to a more solid form and became visible as they lifted each of the Humans in their arms and flew off into the air. Their destination was the pyramid in Aegyptus. Once there, Michael and Cerebriel took the Humans deep within the pyramid and laid them on the floor where they remained unconscious and asleep.
Michael turned to Cerebriel. “At least that is done. They will remain asleep until we wake them. This will give us time to determine what is going on. With the two Humans now buried deep within the pyramid they should be safe, especially with all the Cherubim who are loyal to you around to help guard them. Now we can turn our attention to other matters. Let's see if any of the other Archangels have returned.” Michael and Cerebriel then walked out of the pyramid.
“Only a few more hours of daylight,” Cerebriel said to Michael.
“True. The Angels on the Earth will then be making their way back up into the Heavens. And we still do not know what’s going on!” Michael exclaimed.
Both Angels noticed something breaking through the clouds above. It first appeared as a slight reddish form that grew into one of the Angels as it came closer. Michael recognized it as Volac, one of the major Dominion Angels who usually remained behind in the Fourth Heaven when the others went to the Earth to work on the pyramids. He looked haggard and worried as he came closer, landing unsteadily near Michael and Cerebriel.
Michael could see that there was fear in his eyes.
“My
l
ord Michael, there is an army of Angels invading the Fourth Heaven. From what I can tell they are being led by the Archangel Beelzebael. They have been rounding up all the Dominion Angels who remained in the Fourth Heaven during the day. We have been trying to resist but without any type of weapons they have been overrunning us. I have come down through the Heavens to see if I could find some help to push them out of the Fourth Heaven. I don't know how much longer the Dominion Angels can hold and I'm afraid that the rebel Angels will start attacking the Third Heaven soon.”
Michael turned to Cerebriel and said, “We are sure now that these armed Angels under the control of Luciferael are rebelling against the Almighty and the rest of us Angels. We will need to find some way of defending ourselves.
Lord
Cerebriel, do you think any of the tools we use to build the pyramids would be of any help? Or do you think there is some way you can have your Cherubim create new weapons?”
“It took us some time,
lord
Michael, to make all those weapons. We can use some of the stone cutting lasers and other cutting tools. But I don't know what defenses the tools can provide against the light source swords, spears and hammers that are now in the possession of the rebel Angels,” Cerebriel replied, his eyebrows contracted as he was still thinking.
“The tools can at least be a start,” said Michael. “What we need to do right now is to warn the other Angels working on the pyramids around the Earth that they should remain here and not attempt to return to the Heavens
.
Otherwise the rebel Angels can capture them one by one. Would you send some of the Cherubim through the pyramid system to warn the others and prepare them to assemble to fight back the rebel Angel legions?”
“Certainly
lord
Michael. I will assemble some of my most trusted Cherubim and
send
them to the other pyramids right away,” responded Cerebriel. He then turned and flew off to the other side of the pyramid where the majority of Cherubim were working.
“What about the Fourth Heaven?” asked Volac, flustered and clearly agitated that Michael was not coming immediately to his aid.
Michael gently put his hand on Volac's cheek and said, “Not to worry. I will be going there myself along with you and whatever Angels I can quickly assemble here.”
Michael quickly looked around and summoned Baldago, a Cherubim with a cat-like face and two others of the Cherubim that were closest to him.
“Baldago, take your brethren and go forth and bring the rest of the Angels in Aegyptus to me. I want all of the Orders of Angels to come assemble here. Tell them to bring whatever tools they have with them.”
“Yes, my
l
ord Michael!” Baldago acknowledged the command and flew off, followed by the other two Cherubim.
“How many Angels would you say were in the rebel Angel army, Volac?”
“There were thousands,” Volac said with beads of light rolling out of his eyes as tears. “We only had a small group of the Dominions left in the Fourth Heaven. There was little we could do to stop them from overrunning our beloved Fourth Heaven.
Lord
Beelzebael led the legion and they quickly swarmed over our main assembly Hall and began using it to confine our Angels. The ones who are left and still free have been trying to block the rebels from passing down to the Third Heaven with the Principalities.”
Michael listened inten
tly
as Volac continued.
“I went to find Annabael in the Third Heaven but she was down here on the Earth along with her entourage. I found Haniel of the Principalities who had remained in the Third Heaven in her stead and warned him of the rebel legions that were fighting in our Heaven. He, too, has been constructing defenses to hold them back. They have been solidifying the cloud structures in their Heaven and forming walls in the Heavens to prevent Beelzebael and the rest from getting through their skies. He sent me on to find you and gather the rest of the Angels on Earth to come to their aid and win back the Heavens. But they also do not have any weapons to work with.”
“We shall find a way to beat the rebel Angels back,” Michael said reassuringly. “Did you see Luciferael or any of the other Archangels?”
“
Only lord
Beelzebael
as he
was leading the masses of Angels as they came through our skies. He was followed by a large number of Cherubim and other Angels. They pushed right through us!” Volac answered.
“No Luciferael? Sammuael? Mammonael?” Michael asked.
“Not that I could see,
l
ord Michael.”
“That's strange, because they were at the head of the destruction of the dinosaurs,” Michael said, thinking aloud. “Luciferael would be leading the attack if he was there or surely the others would be competing with one another, if I know them at all, to take part in the attack.”
“
Wait, b
ut I did see the Archangel Jarahmael and
lord
Suriel in the legions following behind Beelzebael's, my
l
ord.”
“Was
lord
Jarahmael a captive?” Michael said, concerned for his friend.
“That I could not tell. He was armed though, as was the Archangel Suriel.”
This news made Michael worry.
In the meantime, the Angels around the pyramid of Aegyptus were beginning to assemble between the two sphinxes in front of the pyramid. Baldago came up to Michael as he was standing there and interrupted his thoughts.
“My
l
ord Michael. We have assembled the Angels as you requested. We are forming ranks by the Orders of the Angels. The Guardians are there towards the back, Cherubim in the front, Potentates hovering over to the left and on the right are the Dominions and Principalities. We have the Virtues forming a back-up legion over to the right as well.”
“Good work Baldago,
lord
Cerebriel will be proud of your work, as am I,” Michael said, feeling a bit reassured that they were making progress. “As Cherubim I know you are well familiar with the weaponry we used to destroy the dinosaurs. Would you arrange the tools we have available so that each of the groups have an equal share of the laser cutters. They may be the only real weapons we have against the rebel legions.”
Baldago nodded and said, “Yes
,
my
l
ord. Consider it done!” Then Baldago motioned to the other two Cherubim around him and they all flew off to the various legions of assembled Angels.
This may be the first line of real defense
, Michael thought. He would take this group along with him to reinforce the Principalities and then try to regain the Dominion's Heaven. But where was Luciferael? This troubled him. And news that Jarahmael was in the rebel legions. Did he get back to the Seventh Heaven and consult with the Almighty? Was this the Almighty's plan and His doing? Or was Jarahmael captured or turned? Why would Jarahmael arm himself against the lesser Angels? It made no sense that Jarahmael would be part of a plan to destroy the Humans. He was in love with the first woman, Lillith, after all. Was she still in the Seventh Heaven in his mansion?
Too many questions and not enough answers raced through Michael's mind. He wished that Cerebriel had returned already, but he knew he was rounding up the other Cherubim and Orders of Angels from the remaining pyramid sites on the Earth. No easy task. They were the only Angels that have any form of weapons to battle back against Beelzebael and his legions.
Then there was the issue of the Principalities that resided in the Third Heaven, who were used to building, not destroying. They, too, had no weapons, nor even tools available in the Heavens as the tools were all being used by the Angels down here on Earth.
Michael thought to himself
. We could easily be kept out of the Heavens with no weapons. We would not have any means then of getting the weapons for ourselves from the Sixth Heaven and would be purely at Luciferael’s mercy, not even able to get a foothold in the First Heaven.
And then a particularly frightening thought came to him. What if Luciferael and the other Archangels and their legions under their command had already split their forces? Beelzebael attacking and conquering all of the Heavens from the Fifth Heaven and below, and Luciferael with the rest of the rebel legions attacking the Sixth Heaven and above. They would then possess all of the weapons that had ever been made, and would be able to take over the Seventh Heaven unopposed, as it often remained empty when the Archangels were gone. Could Luciferael take over the Throne Room and remove the Almighty Himself? All would be lost and the Universe would be an unbearable place with Luciferael and his cohort of Archangels in charge.