The War in Heaven (51 page)

A growing hum arose from around them as several dozen men and women equipped with newly made particle rifles charged their weapons. This was it; they were really going to do it. They moved out to join Thecla and her followers. They marched to not only aid Elizabeth, but to declare all-out war on the demon hoards.

To the credit of the children of God, it was the demons who fired first. Over a dozen fireballs roared in their direction from above. Amazingly, all but two were detonated by particle rifle fire, well short of their mark.

Elizabeth looked up at the tightening ring of demons about her. She saw the encroaching saints. It was time. She reached out toward the closest demon. A blinding beam of light emanated from her palm. The demon was sent flying. He was reduced to dust long before he reached the ground. She followed the first shot with two more before being hit by a fireball at close range.

Seventy yards away Thecla witnessed what Elizabeth had done. Now it was her turn. “Lord, grant me the power I need to rid Heaven of this plague in the name of Jesus.”

She stretched forth her hand toward a nearby demon. A ball of expanding yellow flame erupted from her hand engulfing her adversary. He writhed in agony as he was reduced to little more than ashes within the span of half a minute.

Meanwhile, David and the others fired round after round using their particle rifles. David was amazed by the faith of Thecla and several of her other followers who now also displayed the unique gift. Converting the energy resident within God’s Holy Spirit directly into a weapon of such power without any sort of instrumentality went beyond his comprehension. Perhaps that was the reason he couldn’t do it—he just didn’t have the faith to make it work. For now he would use this rifle; later, when there was more time for reflection, he would seek this new gift.

The gap in the ring of demons encircling the Holy Place was widening as ever more saints found the faith to set forth from the sphere of protection to do battle with the enemy. Some had even managed to form an effective shield of protection to protect themselves from incoming fireballs.

Though severely burned, Elizabeth rose to her feet in the midst of the demons. She swung about swiftly, engulfing all the demons around her in the flames of vengeance. The demons who had assaulted her were burned to dust as Thecla and her followers arrived to surround and protect Elizabeth.

Even more saints emerged from the protection that the Holy Place offered, to face the ultimate battle. Most were armed with nothing more than faith, reinforced by the deeds of a growing number of others. That faith yielded a weapon of immense power. The demons were falling back in confusion. Their worst fears had been realized—a second front in the battle for Zion had opened up. Their real troubles were just beginning.

In Satan’s audience chamber, the news of the events transpiring around the Holy Place reached him even as he had begun to glory over his perceived victory over the angels and humans in the northern regions of Zion. Now he weighed his options. If these two forces met, his task might be greatly complicated. He could not allow that to happen.

He needed to mobilize all of his forces from all of the plains of Heaven and bring them here to Zion to join the battle. This was the critical moment.

The humans at the Holy Place would probably not want to risk expanding their battle front too swiftly. They were, after all, little more than a disorganized rebel faction. They had offered only token resistance up to this point. They might not have the stomach for a prolonged battle. He might have many hours to focus his full effort on the collapsing angelic front. Once they withdrew, he could concentrate on this new human threat.

Under the full weight of his army, they would fold quickly enough. No, this day wasn’t lost—far from it.

At the southern edge of the forest, the leaders of the coalition forces of angels and humans were also weighing their options. This battle had gone very badly. Their hopes had been so high. There seemed little to be gained in continuing the struggle. They had lost still more angelic and human warriors.

Yet, a series of indeed strange reports had been filtered to them—reports of a woman who had rescued an angel, slain a demon with the wave of her hand, and rescued no less than 100 human captives who were helplessly awaiting their transportation to Satan’s new domain. Who was she? Word was that she had been on her way to the Holy Place. Might she have made it?

“I don’t want to imagine what might have happened to us had she not found us,” reported one of the human recipients of the mysterious lady’s grace. “The shackles fell from us with just the touch of her hand, and we managed to escape and make it back here.”

“I would like to know if she made it,” said Cornelius. “I could take a hundred human volunteers deep into the city, just short of the Holy Place. We could fight our way in from there, question those who have sought refuge there. Then we would report what we found by radio, assuming that is not too far.” He turned to Johann Kepler.

“No, that is not too far,” confirmed Johann. “While you’re there, you might try to locate David and the others. I am deeply concerned about them.”

Cornelius nodded. “I shall do as you ask.”

The council gave their approval to the plan, and within a matter of 20 minutes, Cornelius had found the volunteers to make this mission work. They all realized that they might well be walking into a hornets’ nest of demons, but they would have to take that chance. A few minutes later, they walked into the starry mists, bound for the very heart of Zion.

They were not quite prepared for what they found on the other end of the gate. They walked into a bustling crowd of humans. For a moment, they thought they had walked right into the Holy Place itself, but no, they had emerged right on course. The men and women were marching out in all directions, singing songs of praise to God. The soldiers could do little more than go with the crowd.

Before them they could see flashes of light and hear peals of thunder. What was happening here?

It took a few minutes to piece the events of the past couple of hours together. It was incredible. Cornelius radioed his findings back to the war council. In light of what had happened, they dared not withdraw. They had to fight on, hold out. Time was on their side if they could weather this storm.

A new plan was hastily drawn up. They would send angelic warriors directly into the heart of the city to join the swelling human throng. They could be ferried there by human pilots, gated there through the mists.

At the same time, they would double their efforts to the north of the city. Somehow, they would hold. The very knowledge that help was on the way would strengthen their resolve.

The demons were waging a fighting retreat against the swelling human force. More and more they were compelled to pull demonic reinforcements from the northern front in an effort to shore up their defenses in the heart of the city.

Within his throne room, Satan’s air of calm was swiftly evaporating. The old prince of darkness was back. He paced back and forth like a lion in a cage as his court stood before him, awaiting his commands.

“I will not be defeated now!” he raved. “I will be master of Heaven.” For a moment he stopped, then he turned to his advisors. “Yes, I know what we shall do. General Krell, pull thirty legions from the northern front. Those that remain will hold Michael’s forces at bay until the mission of these legions is complete. Order the thirty legions to completely surround the humans. God cannot claim that they are anything but combatants. They are fair targets. Once the legions are in position, they will fire the most massive fireball barrage that the universe has ever known. The humans shall be reduced to burnt meat. Then they will fire a second volley to finish the job. Only then shall they once more focus their attention on the angels at our northern wall.”

Krell looked his master with a look of astonishment. “My lord, two fireball assaults of that magnitude would drain our already low resources. Since the destruction of Sheol, the crystals are no longer being renewed. Our warriors have been engaged in battle for many hours, they have drawn the power in these crystals down to a quarter of their capacity. Such a use of force would nearly exhaust them. If the attack failed, we would be most vulnerable.”

Satan flew into a rage. “Are you questioning my orders? I hope not. For if you are, there are others who would gladly accept your position as master of the armies.”

Krell dared not question the master again. “It shall be as you command.”

“Then go do it!” demanded Satan.

Krell bowed and walked from the room as the others watched in silence. Yes, the old Satan was back.

“Governor Molock,” said Satan. “You will assist in a little project that I have been preparing. Proceed to the gate room and oversee its progress. You will be my eyes and ears. You will see that it is completed in a timely manner.”

Molock had no idea what project the master was referring to. Yet, he was not about to question it. “I live but to serve,” he said, bowing before his master and making his way to the gate room, leaving Satan and Metastopholies alone in the chamber.

“We have spoken of this before,” said Metastopholies.

“Of what?” said Satan, who had made his way back to his throne.

“Your anger,” replied Metastopholies. “When you are in this state, you make poor decisions. Krell was right. If your fireball attack fails, matters will be worse.”

“It will not fail,” replied Satan. “Why must you be so negative?”

“To counter your rash overconfidence,” replied Metastopholies. “Someone has to. The others fear to do so; therefore, the task falls to me.”

“Be careful where you tread, old friend,” warned Satan, simmering anger in his eyes. “Do not test our friendship.”

Metastopholies showed not a trace of emotion as he stared into the master’s eyes. “Then know this, my lord, heed my words well; today your leadership will be tested. I see a place of darkness, cold and foreboding. It is a place of total isolation, where chains will bind you for a thousand years. It has been awaiting you since eternity began. Beyond it is something even worse, a realm of unquenchable fire. There may yet be a way out for you, but will you find it? The decisions you make here and now will have a profound impact on your destiny. Are you a prisoner of that destiny, my lord?”

With those words, Metastopholies left his master’s presence. He did not ask his permission, nor did he bow, as was customary. He simply walked out
the door without so much as a glance back. No one else would have gotten away with such an act of insolence.

Satan sat down, pounded his fist on his throne, and was silent. What was happening? Why was his victory unraveling? No, he would triumph. Though all would question his leadership, he would triumph. It would take but an hour to institute his plan, see it to completion; then, everyone would see and understand his genius. It was his destiny to rule.