In Rebellion (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book II) (32 page)

Chapter 45

THE PURSUED AND
THE PURSUERS

Luciferael and his legions had been moving up through the Heavens with Michael's army not far behind, closing in pursuit. Luciferael had tried to defeat Michael from a defensive position at the gateway between the Second and Third Heavens but had been unable to hold the loyal Angels back. He was forced to keep retreating upward into the Heavens, all the while slowed down by bringing
his contingent of
rebel Potentate Angels along with him. No matter what they tried they could not get the Potentates to move faster. But Luciferael
’s forces
needed their energy. He had hoped to gather more of the Potentates when he went through their home in the Second Heaven ahead of Michael, but the Potentate Angels there were all gone. This made the limited number of Potentates that he had along with him all the more important.

He had handled the Potentates gently and was now angry that they deserted their Heaven just when he could have used them to help defeat Michael and his loyal Angels. Why Abrackus and the rest of them would have moved upwards in the Heavens made no sense to Luciferael. In making themselves unavailable to Luciferael when he needed the
m
the most, they proved themselves ungrateful, because Luciferael himself had shown them how to dive for energy in the newly formed stars. There would be definite retribution for this treachery!

Luciferael grew angrier as he ascended through the Heavens. As his army retreated from one Heaven to the next, he found his rebel Angel guards had deserted their posts and he could
not
find
any trace of them;
neither
his
rebel guards nor the captured loyal Angels he had left to their safekeeping. There was something amiss in the Heavens above him, but he was unable to determine its cause. This infuriated him even more because he was the new Almighty and every
one
should be answerable to him!

He had thought of taking a small group of his warrior Angels and flying up through the Heavens
to see for
himself why the captives were being released without his permission. But every time he thought he would have enough time to do so, he received news that Michael and his loyal Angels were getting closer and could attack. After the rout in the Earth’s skies and the First Heaven, he knew he had to stay close to his legions to prevent another catastrophe. He did not dare take a
nother
chance that his army would fall apart when attacked and he was not present to hold them together. He needed his army and could not afford to leave it, and then return to find it defeated and captured.

Finally, after this slow ascent, his legions broke through into the Sixth Heaven. Now it was only a matter of ascending to the Seventh Heaven and getting into the Throne Room. The Book of Creation would be an immense help to him and it was not far from his grasp. If there was any mistake he had ever made, that is, if he would ever admit to making any mistake, it was that he did not seize and hold onto the Book of Creation when he was up in the Seventh Heaven a few days before. He would remedy that situation soon.

As his legions were beginning to enter the Sixth Heaven, the battle began before he was properly prepared. Michael's Angels had moved up faster behind Luciferael than he expected and
began to attack
the rear guard of Luciferael's army, the legion headed by Suriel
, as Suriel was stalled waiting
to cross over into the Sixth Heaven
.
Michael
now
had Suriel’s rebel Cherubim in a difficult position. The rebel Cherubim were bottlenecked trying to keep the gateway open between the upper region of the Fifth Heaven and the lower region of the Sixth Heaven, as they fought off Michael’s attacks and at the same time protected the rebel Potentate Angels as they passed
slowly
through the gateway.

Ariel's legion of loyal Angels had moved up to the west of Suriel and was coming straight across the skies at him, as Michael's and Uriel's legions were coming up from underneath. Suriel's Cherubim were excellent fighters and were able to hold back the loyal Angels long enough for the rebel Potentates to finally make their way through the gateway and into the Sixth Heaven. By this time, Ariel's attack from the west began to roll up
and cause the retreat
of
the rebel Cherubim in
Suriel's legion
’s
flank. A good portion of Suriel's legion was
then
forced far to the east and out of range of the gateway and protection of the other rebel Angels now in the Sixth Heaven. This group of Suriel's Angels decided to fight their way back to the gateway of the Sixth Heaven but by th
at time
, they found Ariel’s entire legion in position, blocking them from getting to the gateway. They were trapped when Uriel's Angels moved up from below them and cut off their ability to retreat downwards as well. Soon this group of Suriel's rebel Angels had no choice but to surrender to Uriel's loyal Angels.

Suriel himself was more fortunate and had managed to cross through the gateway into the Sixth Heaven along with the rest of Luciferael's legions. He waited for the rest of his legion at the gateway into the Sixth Heaven but soon realized that they were lost. He assembled the remaining Cherubim he had in his command and requested additional reinforcements from Mammonael's legions. Once they arrived, he requested a Council of War with Luciferael. They all met in the middle of the Mammonael's legion to discuss the loss of the majority of Suriel's legion.

Suriel began speaking once everyone hovered within earshot of one another, frightened of what Luciferael's reaction would be to the news of the loss of most of his legion. “Lord Luciferael, I have lost three quarters of the rebel Cherubim Angels in my legion.”

“How did that happen?” asked Luciferael, stone faced.

“They were protecting the ascension of the Potentate Angels into the Sixth Heaven and were cut off by Ariel's and Uriel's legions. The gateway channeled us into a smaller space. Michael and Uriel were able to keep the pressure on us from below as Ariel's legions kept up the attack from the west. It took longer than expected to get the remainder of the rebel Potentate Angels through the gateway, long enough that my Cherubim were cut off.”

“I need those Potentate Angels to fight Michael's legions once we get safely back into the Seventh Heaven,” Luciferael reminded them. “It was a sacrifice that had to be made.”

“We will be in the same circumstances trying to get through the Seventh Heaven with the rebel Angel army not moving quickly enough for us to get into proper position to defend,” Suriel continued. “I am afraid that by the time we get into position
by the
Seventh Heaven
entrance
, we will be leaving a large part of our rebel army exposed to attack by Michael.”

Luciferael thought about it for a moment and then said to Mammonael, “Send your full legion and provide rear guard support to what’s left of Suriel’s legion. Hold your line as we continue to move through to the Seventh Heaven. Beelzebael and Mephistophael, you will move your Cherubim ahead and form a battle line right below the entrance into the Seventh Heaven composed of all
y
our Cherubim. All other Order of Angels are to proceed directly into the Seventh Heaven and begin to construct defenses to stop any of the loyal Angels from getting through to the Seventh Heaven. Mammonael, Mephistophael, and Beelzebael, we will personally go up to the Seventh Heaven together. Beelzebael, send some of the Potentate Angels to me, I will keep them close to my side, and that way they will be available to me as they are needed. I have a feeling that I will need their energy to finish this war once and for all.”

Luciferael looked again at Suriel. “
Lord
Suriel, you will be in charge of the defensive maneuvers until we get back. I need to get to the Throne Room in the Seventh Heaven. The Book of Creation is within the Throne and once I get my hands on it, I can use it to defeat Michael and his loyal Angels. I had made sure that the Book was there as we conquered the Heavens and I felt it was safest there. Not to worry, victory will still be ours!”

Suriel flew back down towards the gateway of the Sixth Heaven, combining Mammonael's legion with his own. Michael's legions had not yet attacked the gateway, but Suriel knew that he would not wait long to attack. Upon landing
there
, Suriel quickly arranged his Cherubim. The narrowness of the gateway would allow for some sort of defense, although he knew that the most he could hope for was to slow down Michael's legions. That should be enough time for Luciferael to get back into the Throne Room in the Seventh Heaven and retrieve the Book
of Creation
.