Sherkanim lowered his head to the ground. "Elijah, you have been with my people for many a day now, and I hold you in high esteem. I have witnessed the Burning of Gabriel and Metatron. There is no wickedness that they deserve such a punishment. The king will not allow the people to submit them again to the burning so that the people might behold their crimes. He keeps this sight to himself. This is not seemly. But he is the king and his orders we obey unless countered by the God-king himself. You would have me place more faith in thee and thy words than the king whom I have served generation past generation?"
"But is he thy king?" Enoch said. "And if not, where is the true king to thy people?"
Sherkanim looked at Enoch in silence. He walked toward the door, opened it and spoke over his shoulder. "I will not speak to my king concerning this thing. I will take the horn and return it to its rightful place, but know that I will not forgive a second trespass on thy part."
"Thou knowest the truth, King's Guard," said Elijah. "Thou hast known it for some time. And if two humans now know it after but a few days amongst you, how much more doth the people know something is not as it seems. Help us, Sherkanim. We have not the means to acquire both the horns that they might reveal Camael's charade, and their execution is in but one day's time."
Sherkanim paused and turned to speak.
"I make you no guarantees." And he closed the door behind him.
* * *
Michael left Jerusalem and traveled to the Aerie of the Ophanim. Upon his arrival, all the subjects of Eladrin bowed in homage to the Chief Prince who wore a gear from Eladrin's own body as a crown above his head. The escorts to Eladrin hovered and ushered Michael to their lord's chambers. Gleaming stars hung over the throne and four small gyroscopic wheels twirled in front.
Michael bowed his head and spoke. "I have not made time to thank thee and your people for thy aid with the renegade Lucifer. I surmised the enemy would never expect to see thy people in battle. Thy appearance created confusion and granted the time we needed. In this, you have my thanks, great king. Nevertheless, I saw thou wast wounded in thy skirmish with the Angel of Death. Are you recovered, my friend?"
Eladrin twinkled as a glittering star, and the four faces of the King of the Ophanim spoke in unison. "We are healed from our encounter with the Archon of Vengeance."
"He struck us," the eagle face said.
"But one cannot destroy omniscience, any more than the Archon can himself be destroyed," the bear face said.
"We are healed from our encounter," Eladrin said.
Michael bowed. "Charon is indeed a formidable foe, and who but the governor of Time and Omniscience itself could have hoped to forestall and occupy him whilst we completed our tasks? You have the thanks of my kin and I, and if God allows, we are at thy disposal."
Eladrin smiled and returned Michael's bow, as all four of his faces swiveled in gyroscopic rotation. "You honor us, High Prince. But pleasantries alone did not bring thee to our door. "
"Pleasantries was it not," the eagle face said.
"You seek something," the bear face said.
"What do you seek?" the ox face said.
They spoke as one. "Dost you bid us come on thy behalf once more?"
Michael sighed, then opened his mouth to begin his intercession.
"It is with a heavy heart that I report the Withering hath come and even now assails my people. A plague of such destruction that it leaves its victims without sanity. To wit, I know the Seraphim have balms to soothe this disease, but alas, the Schism hast kept our people at bay. I seek reconciliation on my people's behalf in hopes of healing, and to this end, I have sent emissaries to the Seraph seeking restoration. And lo, my ambassadors have passed beyond the veil of Grigoric sight and I am no longer able to tell of their welfare. For this cause, I adjure thee to take me to Nephanos in the land of Aesir that I might determine the plight of my people there, and mayhap if El wills, seek reconciliation that there be no more division. For to set foot in the land of Aesir will incite war, but pray tell, if the King of the Ophanim be my witness and intercedes on my behalf, I might gain an audience and forego possible war. Therefore, I plead with thee on behalf of my race, if thou might do this thing, great Eladrin. Wilt though ferry me to Aesir on the hope that our three races might once again be one?"
Eladrin rose from his thrones. His gears creaked and hummed as a machine that revved to life. The four faces became stern and Michael backed away, unsure if he had offended the king.
"We are honored to know the Chief Prince seeks reconciliation for all people. We will escort thee to the realm of Aseir, but know that your presence may not be welcomed for it was thou who stood with Lucifer's deception. Nephanos may not forgive what was done in deceit to his people, but if thou seek to confess thy transgressions to thy brother that he might forgive, and come to the altar and lay down thy gift to appease, then yea, Michael of the Kortai, I will ferry thee to Aseir."
Michael bowed in thanks. "All that I am, yea even to the laying down of my life, will I give in service to the king to save my people, if he will but answer my petition. Thank you for agreeing to my request. When do we leave for Aesir?"
Eladrin turned a gear within his great circular body and when he did so, a great light flashed, and Michael and Eladrin were no longer in the throne room, but atop a cliff that overlooked cities made of fire. The vault of heaven reverberated with visible echoes, while Seraph, Malakim griffins, and horses with flaming chariots roared across the skies.
"The thing is done. Behold, the land of Aseir."
Michael looked over the fiery plains and beheld a battalion of Seraphim menacingly flew in attack formations towards their position. Michael put his hand on the hilt of his sword, swallowed hard and looked hopefully at Eladrin. "Pray for me, my friend, and pray that my efforts bear fruit. For if I fail, if the King will not hear my cause, I am afraid that my aims will only have hastened Heaven to find herself once more at civil war."
Eladrin hovered scanning the Seraphim soldiers ascending towards them, and his four faces each nodded nervously.
The Second Death
Deep in the bowels of the Earth, Yeshua opened His eyes, and when He did He smiled, for he beheld the faces of those He so longed to see. David and Moses, and a host of others surrounded Him as He laid with His back on the ground.
"Master?" queried David said, kneeling over Him. Yeshua's eyelids fluttered open and beheld the throng.
"It is good to see you, my son," Yeshua said. "I've waited many days for this moment. It is very good to see you indeed."
Yeshua then stood to His feet and all that surrounded Him immediately bowed. Multitudes upon multitudes of the righteous dead...men, women and children from every race and tongue fell on bended knee. As far as the eye could see, row after row of onlookers lowered themselves in a human wave for all knew the Son of God had finally come.
The Lord touched the heads of those immediately in His presence and spoke. "Rise, my children."
Moses looked upon his lord and reached out to gently touch the Master's nail pierced hand.
"My King," Moses said through quivering lips, "what have they done?"
Yeshua replied softly. "Only that which hast been ordained. Fear not, for all is well."
"But Lord how is it that thou art here?" Abraham said.
"Will thou at this time restore the Kingdom, Lord?" David said.
Yeshua lifted His hands in abeyance, seeing they were full of questions and spoke to the spirits of His children in Paradise. "Hear my words, and let all take heed. For all of you have desired a better country and hath waited by faith for me to come. Know that ye shall see the fruit of thy desire, for soon we shall depart this place and you shalt take thy number in my kingdom. The Father hath prepared for thee a city and is not ashamed to have you call Him God, for by faith hath ye quenched the mouths of lions, been warned of things not seen, and have condemned the world, warning them of my coming. You have by faith sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country. Thou hast looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, for you have seen this promise afar off, and shall see it to thy face."
The throng cheered, and Daniel, the former prime minister to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, bowed and spoke to his Lord. "But my King, thou art here. Will we not at this time lodge in our Father's house?"
Yeshua smiled. "Soon, my son, for there is yet an enemy to be undone." Yeshua looked about.
The Lord then spoke aloud. "Dismas, where art thou? Come here and let me see thee."
From somewhere in the massive sea of humanity, various ones moved as one man made his way through the throng. And as he approached the Son of God, others spoke aloud wondering who the man was that Yeshua inquired by name to see to his welfare. The Jewish male of nondescript station meekly walked and stood before the King of Kings, looking upon his Lord. He immediately cried and kissed the Lord's feet, and would not be consoled. The Lord then knelt down and lifted him to his feet.
"Did I not tell thee that on this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise?"
Dismas, the thief who hung by the side of Yeshua on the cross, then replied, "The thing is as thou hast said, my Lord, but what of the other fellow?"
The taunting voice of Satan echoed from Hades over the gulf for Yeshua, and the sound carried the melodious tune of temptation.
"Surely, the Son of God hath no fear of me, for who am I but a dog to our Lord? But these, the spirits of righteous men...are not Elohim, not the Trinity.
"Will the Son of God give His life for sinful men and not these who are the righteous dead? Come to me, Yeshua. Come and I will mayhap spare these vagabonds whom thou hast let settle in Paradise, but if thou forbear know this, if thou do not surrender, the bridge will soon be complete. Who then will stop my march across the gulf to reap thy beloved image and use their spirits to fire my kiln?"
The Son of God's brow hardened and His eyes grew stern. "Come Dismas...and behold the judgment of the Father on those who would deny the Son."
Yeshua then made his way through the multitudes and all parted for their King, each lightly touching Him as he passed, blowing kisses, and bowing before the God of all things.
And after a great distance, Dismas followed Yeshua to the edge of a great gulf. They looked across the way, and what they beheld was horror, for fastened into the cavern walls were angels with shredded wings, appealing for mercy. Some were strung by their necks and splayed out, eaten alive by maggots that peeled the flesh from their bones. And men...scores and scores of men...men of every rank and station...men from every tongue and hue, and men from all birth enfolded within the walls, cocooned and screaming, Moaning as their teeth were set on edge as flames and maggots ate their extremities, but for some their pains were expounded upon as Lucifer had assigned specific daemons to their souls. And his daemons were adept in their skills, flaying men, and even to the opening the bellies of women who had surrendered their young to human sacrifice. Dismas watched as their bellies healed within the flames, and the daemons slashed them open again, repeating the process in gruesome perpetuity.
And men whose lust for all things carnal had their organs of sex pulled from their bodies, but within the Realm of the Dead, the spirit did not die. Alas, they felt the pains of flesh amplified, and those whose entrails were torn from their bowels were then forced to eat their own organs. Vomit and putrid masses of blood and phlegm reigned across the chasm. Screams, moans, and wails carried themselves as floating notes of sheet music across the gulf, into the ears of the righteous dead who stood on the other side. Yeshua took in the sight and frowned, for He knew that in this place, Adam was never meant to dwell. He then found what he had searched for and pointed across the way that Dismas might see.
Dismas followed the finger of the Lord, and lo, raised upon tendrils of burning phlegm, was the man Gestas, who also had been crucified with the Lord. Dismas was moved in such abhorrence that he sought to avert his eyes, but the images of what he saw could not be erased from his mind for Lucifer took special delight in Gesta and would gleefully see the fruit of Gestas's sin and arrogance fully bloom in his domain. For the Prince of Evil held Gestas suspended over the floor. Daemons with knives of angelic origin slashed, jabbed and stabbed him as with a bayonet; and they removed pieces of his flesh and ate it before his eyes, but the flesh grew back so the torture had no end.
Yeshua turned His head from the sight. He scanned to find the one man in all of creation who had joined himself with the cause of Lucifer...he who had allowed Lucifer to possess him...he whom the Lord had supped with and given love...the only man to have washed His feet and yet betray Him for thirty pieces of silver. Alas, the eyes of the Lord found he whom His soul had loved...Judas.
Lucifer stood before the former disciple and gently caressed Judas' face for the Lord to see. The Devil smiled, as he saw the Lord from across the gulf and nodded to his former master, then lifted the terrified Judas by the scruff of his neck. Hell's tendril scrolled down from the ceiling and snaked around the traitor's neck. Judas squirmed, kicking against the air, purple face gasping for air as his hands pulled in vain against the arm that suspended him for all in the Realm of the Dead to see. And Judas was then beset by tendrils that pulled his arms, legs, and neck, and stretched him so that his bowels emptied and he split limb from limb, and the torso fell in heaping bloody slabs before Lucifer.
Lucifer's eyes narrowed, and a grin found his face. "Again!" he said. The Lord of Darkness then touched the key that made Hell his slave, and when he did so, the remains of Judas crawled toward one another, and the maggots of Hell scurried across the flame and phlegm-filled floor to carry the head of the traitor. The undead carrion reattached his limbs, and Judas inhaled and breathed again, but only for a moment as Hell lowered a sole tendril to wrap around his neck, and lifted him once more. More vines entwined his arms and legs, and once more stretched him wide until his eyes bulged and burst into white bleeding pustules of blood. His body ruptured into pieces and fell afresh in blood-soaked chunks to the floor.
"Again," Lucifer shouted while he glared at the Lord.
Yeshua turned away and spoke to those who had watched the horrors with Him. "They who abide within Hades have their reward. Now, come, we have little time."
Lucifer watched the righteous dead depart from the edge of their side of the gulf and grinned in salivating anticipation to handle the Son of God. Waiting for his chance to drape His broken spirit within the realm of fire and brimstone, and mount the Son of God's body as a throw rug beneath his newly formed throne.
And Judas...Judas watched in tearful remorse as Yeshua left him to the mercies of his true rabbi. His pitiful screams echoed as a hymn into the ears of the Devil, just before his body burst anew into bloody chunks.