In Exile (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book III) (3 page)

FREE WILL

Jarahmael flew down from his palace to the Throne Room, but could see as he was entering the structure that the Almighty had already left. Taking a chance that the Almighty may still reappear and speak with him, he went up to the Throne itself, bowed and asked for the Almighty to please grant him an audience. At first there was no response, but then a bright light shone down from the skylight in the ceiling. Looking upwards, he could see the Almighty floating up there surrounded by the Seraphim and Throne Angels.

“Jarahmael, what do you need?” the Almighty asked, looking down at him.

“My Lord, Lillith has vanished from my palace and I believe that Luciferael may have taken her captive.”

“I am afraid that is true, Jarahmael. He has taken her with him, and has hidden her for the moment, and I suspect intends to have her join him in the Underworld soon.”

“Can you please make him release her, my Lord, and return her to me?”

“I am sorry, Jarahmael, but I cannot do that. Each of you has free will and has to find some solution on your own.”

“But she is being held against her will!” pleaded Jarahmael.

“That may not be true, Jarahmael,” responded the Almighty.

“I can't believe that she would willingly leave me for Luciferael!” said Jarahmael, growing agitated.

“It is more complicated than what you may know, Jarahmael. Remember I asked you if you were willing to serve Me no matter what would happen?”

“Yes, I do, Lord.”

“And so did Lillith?” asked the Almighty

“Yes, she did.”

“There are some things I cannot explain to you, My loyal Archangel Jarahmael. But things must still take their course. Once Luciferael started his rebellion a whole set of other choices were set in motion. Each and every one of My creatures who have free will, at some point will have to make choices, choices that can affect their lives and happiness going forward in their existence. That is the point of free will, My son. And it is not for Me to prevent them from making their own decisions.”

“What should I do, my Lord?”

“Whatever you think is best, Jarahmael. You have everything you need already.” The tunnel of light that shone down from the Almighty to Jarahmael then retreated upwards and in a second it was gone, along with the Almighty.

Jarahmael was disappointed. He wanted the Almighty to set things back to the way they had been by returning Lillith to him, or to at least have her released from the clutches of Luciferael and his rebel Angels. As he thought about it, he became angry.
Have I not always done everything the Almighty asked?

He needed to get away from the Throne Room, as it reminded him that the Almighty had the power to deal with this situation but chose to remain out of his problem. Glancing back at the Throne itself, he remembered that he had hidden the Book of Creation and the Book of Life. Did the Almighty know that he had already taken and hidden them? Was that what He meant when He said to him that he already had everything he needed to save Lillith? Or defeat Luciferael? Jarahmael had thought about confessing to the Almighty that he had the Books, but there had not been any time that had been suitable for him to tell Him. Even now the Almighty left before he could tell Him he had taken the Books and hidden them. If the Almighty did know he had the Books, He had not confronted him.

All the activity that had transpired since the Almighty had left a little more than a week ago was overwhelming. Jarahmael realized that the Almighty had not been present during the rebellion at all. The Almighty could have ended the war anytime He pleased. But He chose to be away from the Heavens while Luciferael and his colleagues caused their trouble. The Almighty relied upon the loyal Angels to combat Luciferael and his rebels. It was touch and go at times, but in the end the good ones did prevail.

Now what should he do to free Lillith? He paced in the Throne Room for a few minutes, needing to wear off the tension he felt. He wanted to do something but he didn't know what to do. He certainly was not happy with the Almighty. Had he really chosen the correct side to be on during the war? Maybe the rebel Angels would have taken better care of him. Not deserted him and Lillith without any real help like the Almighty had just done.

After a few moments of recalling his dealings with Luciferael, Beelzebael, Suriel and Sammuael, he felt sure that he did make the right choice by remaining loyal to the Almighty. Each of the rebel Angels was only concerned about themselves, and he could never worship or obey any of them without question. And they all had an arrogance that he could not tolerate.

He was just tired of all the fighting and disappointed that he was going to have to find Lillith all over again. He wanted to rest and have things back to the way they were — Lillith and him living comfortably together in his palace without all these problems.

Jarahmael was still upset and thought about sitting on the Throne himself. Was it not true that, he, Jarahmael, could rule the Heavens, the Earth and the Universe if he did so? None of the other Angels knew that about the Throne itself. He had only learned it by chance when he dropped the Book of Creation as he hid it in the male Sphinx on the Earth below.

Would that not be the ultimate act of rebelliousness? He could do in one gesture what Luciferael and the others had fought a war over. The Almighty was amazing in that He allowed Luciferael and Michael to sit on the Throne to conduct the morning ceremonies and they could take the power for their own. Of course, neither of them had any idea that they could control the Creation from that seat.

Jarahmael walked closer to the Throne and thought back to when he had taken the Books out of the base of the Throne, shortly after the war began. As he got closer he decided to look inside the Throne to check on the replica books he had substituted and left. Opening the seat of the Throne he found the two mock-ups he had left, the contents he knew to be empty in both of them.
No one has discovered they were missing,
he thought to himself.
Best to keep it that way for now,
Jarahmael thought. No one knew he had the Books except maybe for the Almighty and He did not seem concerned at all.

Jarahmael did not want to rule over anything so he decided against taking over the Throne. But he did think about the Books he had removed and hidden. They had spells and words that could accomplish what he wanted without having to take over the Heavens.
Ah yes! I can use them!
He finally had a plan to save Lillith. No time to waste standing up here in the Throne Room! Jarahmael stood up and took flight right from the Throne Room and headed back to his palace. He had to find Lillith!

Back at his palace, Jarahmael needed to move the mirrors he had made from his room of light. He wanted to secure the mirrors and to make them and the crystal prisms more readily accessible to him if he needed them on the Earth. He looked around at the fourteen mirrors, each made painstakingly by him for all of the other Archangels. When he had made them he intended to make a gift of each mirror to his fellow Archangels. But once the rebellion began he could no longer simply give them these mirrors. After what he had witnessed in the rebellion and its aftermath, he did not want to give any of the Archangels any more powers, not even to the loyal ones.

How to transport all these mirrors down to the Earth? He could make numerous trips through the Heavens with them, but that would surely raise suspicions. He reached over to pick one up and feel how easy or difficult it would be to move when suddenly he felt the crystal pyramid in his tunic prod him. Yes! That will work! He can absorb all of the mirrors into the crystal pyramid and carry them out like that. One by one, he aimed the crystal pyramid at each of the mirrors and absorbed them. Now he would be able to move them all without suspicion.

He wondered about the other thirteen crystal pyramids that were within the mirrors. There would be time enough for him to explore them once he got the mirrors out of his palace. It would only be a matter of time before Raziel and Ariel remembered that they had deposited the crystals in the mirrors before the rebellion, and that they should retrieve them for the greater good of the Archangels.

Hiding them now would give Jarahmael a built in explanation for not having the mirrors or the crystal pyramids. He could blame Luciferael and his rebel Angels for taking them from his palace when they had control over the Seventh Heaven in the midpoint of the war. If the mirrors remained here though, he would have to produce them. The Almighty had told him, that he had all he needed to save Lillith. Maybe it’s the mirrors and crystals that had the powers he would need. No time to waste.

The new assignment from the Almighty would give him the perfect cover to carry out his plan to find and free Lillith. He and Cerebriel had been assigned by the Almighty in the morning ceremony to keep an eye on the Humans. That would allow him legitimate access to the Earth on a regular basis. Cerebriel was never much interested in the Humans, he preferred to work with the building of the pyramids. Even so, he was glad Cerebriel had been assigned with him; the two of them had been through a lot together in the past, and they trusted one another. Even better, Cerebriel had an intimate knowledge of all the pyramids on the Earth, and Jarahmael may be able to conceal the mirrors in them, at least for the time being, without anyone except for him and Cerebriel knowing.
Off to find Cerebriel. He will certainly help me find Lillith as he has done in the past,
Jarahmael thought as he leaped a few steps, stroking his agile wings and taking flight.

Jarahmael flew down through the Seventh Heaven and into the Sixth Heaven to Cerebriel's palace. Cerebriel’s home was located in the midst of the Cherubim Angel compound, Cerebriel was their leader after all. As Jarahmael slowed down to land at the entrance to the palace, he was thinking of what to tell his friend about his plan.

Would you please help me hide these magical mirrors I constructed, my friend, I want to keep them secret from both Luciferael and from Michael?

I think not, Jarahmael thought to himself. Even though Cerebriel trusted Jarahmael and was his good friend, Jarahmael knew that Cerebriel would answer honestly if asked about the mirrors’ whereabouts by Michael or any of the other loyal Archangels.

On second thought, Jarahmael decided he was not going to even mention he was moving any of these items to Earth to Cerebriel. He still felt uneasy not being able to tell his good friend everything. But if he told him it could create a problem for Jarahmael and his plan. If Cerebriel decided to help him and did not answer the inevitable questions from Michael and his other Archangels, Cerebriel would end up in trouble. If Cerebriel did not know, then there was nothing to answer about and he would be telling the truth.

Jarahmael flew into the entranceway and walked down the hallway, calling out his friend’s name as he passed a few rooms. Cerebriel walked to the doorway to one of his rooms and motioned for Jarahmael to join him. Cerebriel had survived the rebellion well, and Jarahmael felt reassured seeing his friend looking well and rested. Despite what they had survived, things had calmed for Cerebriel and his Cherubim at least. Jarahmael always liked Cerebriel's palace, even if it was not as large as his own. It was also built of cloud-like materials and it hung lower in the Sixth Heaven and seemed more solid and firm, more like a floating rock, rather than a cloud.

“Greetings Cerebriel! Have you heard anything from Earth?” asked Jarahmael.

“Everything is quiet,” responded Cerebriel. “My Cherubim guards have not seen or located Luciferael or the fallen Angels yet. We have been assisting the release of the Simians out of their caves where they were hiding during the war. They are gradually returning to their normal lives, hunting and fishing for food, some of them returning to their nomadic ways, others choosing to continue to use the caves as shelter.”

“Any news on Adam and Eve?” asked Jarahmael.

“They had kept them unconscious during the war at Michael's insistence. This way they were not aware of the divide among the Angels and it will make it simpler for them to begin their new lives on Earth. It won’t be long until they are blending in among the other more primitive Simians,” responded Cerebriel.

“Did not Michael fear the Simians remembering the war?” Jarahmael asked.

“Not really. When we were assembling our legions on Earth we had decided that the Simians would not be able to communicate as effectively as Adam and Eve, so at the most this war would be a myth or forgotten memory for their kind.”