Incarnation: Wandering Stars Volume One (17 page)

The elder looked around and his eyes grew stern.  “I have no secrets from my people
.”

This seemed to contradict their previous meetings where only the men participated.  Sariel
had apparently misjudged the tribe’s custom on the matter.

In the absence of discussion, the elder tried to initiate
something
.  “You were taken to the valley and you stayed until the evening.”

“That’s correct,” Sariel replied.  “
How long have you known about the curse?”

The elder
’s eyes went wide and he glanced quickly to the men sitting on either side of him. 
“Two years,” he answered
with a scowl
.

“And how did you know that the valley was cursed?  Did you see it with your
d
athrah
?”

The elder leaned forward.  “No.  I sent a gathering party to take reeds
from
the lake.  Only
three men
came back
.  Th
ey
told me that the others had killed each other, or killed themselves.  The
y
looked sick
. 
I didn’t want
their
sickness to spread to the rest of my people
. 
I put
them
away.”

“Put
them
away?” Sariel asked.  “What does that mean? 
Are they
still alive?”

“
…only one
. 
H
e is very sick.  We keep him outside of the village.  No one is allowed to go near him, except for the one who brings him food.”

“Can I see him?” Sariel asked
quickly
.

“I want to know what
you found in
Arar Gahiy
,” the elder
stated
, getting straight to the point.

Sariel sighed.  “I found
those who cursed your people.  But I need to speak with the man to understand
how they were cursed and how to keep their sickness from spreading to others.”

“The sickness
will
not spread,”
the elder assured
with a wave of his hand
.

“How do you know that it won’t unless you understand what the curse is?”

The elder thought for a moment.  “Very well.  The one who feeds
him will
take you.  Then you will tell me what you found.”

Sariel nodded in agreement.

*   *   *   *

It was now well into the middle of the
night
and Enoch was
thoroughly
exhausted. 
The weeks of walking, dodging danger, foraging for food, and troubled sleep had worn down his courage and sapped his strength.  He’d delivered his message, perhaps narrowly escaping death, only to be drawn further into
this
strange and complex culture where he always seemed out of place.
E
ach day, each hour, presented some new challenge.  And
now, as he neared the gate that marked the boundary of Semjaza’s city, he wondered if the
Speaker
would consider him
just
a messenger or part of Semjaza’s rebellion.

The passage through the wall was darker than before, as the moon sat lower in the sky.  With a sense of foreboding, Enoch approached the entrance, knowing that the guards were somewhere near.  But toward the end, his fears seemed to dissipate
, replaced by a sense of calm.
  By the time he exited the gate, he
realized
why.

Standing boldly at the center of the
clearing before the gate, was a
nother
angel. 
I
nstead of the dark
er
features that he’d seen from the others, this one
had
radiant, amber skin
and white hair, with burning golden eyes. 
It wore a covering of pure white cloth that fell to its feet, with
a
wide belt slung across its chest, made of an unknown material that seemed to glow with bands of gold and amber. 
Enoch couldn’t tell whether it was male or female. 
And t
hough
it was
similar to
Ananel
, E
noch immediately sensed something different about this one.

“
Du
er
u a spaumadurinn sem
Semjaza s
a
ndir
i
hans
stadur
?”

Without
Ananel
to
interpret
for him
, Enoch was left to wonder what the words meant. 
“I am Enoch of the
Shayetham
. 
Are you the
Speaker
?”

“
I am.  And you are the human
Semjaza send
s to
speak in his stead?” the angel
repeated
, in perfect execution of Enoch’s own language.

“
I am
,” Enoch replied.

The angel eyed him suspiciously, then
took a few steps forward.
  “You are acquainted with the Holy One, and yet you keep company with criminal
s
.  How is it that you find yourself speaking on behalf of a traitor?”

Enoch quickly glanced behind, but the guards gave no indication of being offended. 
“The Holy One gave me a vision which led me to this place
.  Now Semjaza sends me to
—
”

“Come with me,” the angel
interrupted
.
  “We will speak somewhere more comfortable.

Al
though
twice
the height of Enoch,
the
Speaker
walked slowly enough for him to keep pace.
 
As soon as they
rounded the bend and were out of sight of the main gate,
two other angels stepped out from behind
the jagged rocks.
  Their darker brown tones made them blend in with the
cliffs
more
so
than the
Speaker
.

Retracing the steps that Ananel had taken earlier, the
small group
descended the mountain pass until it opened onto the grassy plains
.  To the west side of the road,
several
massive figures waited.  B
eing evening, Enoch expected to see tents or temporary shelters of some kind.  But
the
angels
, who all bore the same radiant look and calming presence, stood in the open. 
Perhaps they didn’t expect their task to take long or else they didn’t need to sleep.  Enoch thought it was probably the latter.

“This way,” the
Speaker
said, heading
between the others until he and Enoch were standing on the other side of them
.

“
I bring Enoch
, prophet
of the
Shayetham
.  As you can see, he
knows
the Holy One.
”

A murmur of curiosity arose from the crowd.

Enoch wondered how these beings could
see
that
he
knew
the Holy One. 
If he were back home in Sedekiyr, this question would consume his
thoughts
for days.  In the back of his mind, he knew that there would be time to consider these events in greater depth, but for now he tried his best to maintain concentration on the present.

“Tell us, Prophet. 
Now that you are among friends, h
ow have you come to speak on behalf of
Semjaza
?”

At this, the crowd was silent.

Enoch
looked up to th
e eyes of those gathered and saw a mixture of curiosity and concern.  Surprisingly absent was the judgment he expected.  “The Holy One gave me a vision of things that have already passed, and some that are yet to come. 
From this vision came a message, which I was to deliver to the
Wandering Stars.
  And in doing so, I was brought to the
throne room of Semjaza. 
While there, one of his guards an
nounced your presence
at the gate
.
  So, he sent me to deliver a message to you.”

The
Speaker
’s eyebrows dropped as he looked to the other angels, but everyone kept silent.

“Do you wish to know the
vision that I was given
?”

“No,” the
Speaker
replied.  “That is not meant for our ears.  Just tell us Semjaza’s message.”

“
He
told me,
‘
I repent of my disobedience.  I will need time to meditate upon my actions, but I will take council at the break of daylight.  Then I will be ready to accept whatever terms he is offering.
’
”

The
Speaker
knelt to the ground so he could look eye-to-eye with Enoch. 
“Is that all he said?”

“Yes,” Enoch answered,
now
worried that he’d left something out.  “I…  He didn’t say anything else.  But if you want to know anything, I would be pleased to answer whatever you ask.”

“It’s too easy,” another angel said, speaking over Enoch.

“Agreed,” the
Speaker
replied.

“What should we do now?” another asked.

The
Speaker
thought for a moment.  “It is the way of the enemy to think the worst.  For now, we will take him at his word
.  If he is indeed willing to repent of his actions, we will expect him to comply with our orders.”

The
Speaker
turned now to Enoch.  “Enoch, will you return into the city and deliver a message to Semjaza?”

“I will
.
”

“Good.  Tell him that I accept his repentance and the terms of peace that govern it.  Forgiveness is not for me to decide.  But we will safely escort him and all of those under his command or influence
to the
E
ternal
R
ealm for ju
dgment.  We will wait until the rising of the sun to hear his decision.”

Enoch nodded
. 
“Shall I go now?”

“Yes,” the
Speaker
replied.  “These two will
escort
you back to the gate.”

The
other
angels
who accompanied the
Speaker
only moments ago now stepped forward.
  One took the lead and began to walk
back along the road that led into the mountains.
  Enoch wanted, more than anything, to stay in the company of so many of the holy angels, to talk with them and ask them about their world and about the Holy One.  Instead, he obediently turned and followed, with the second angel taking the rear.

The next hours passed i
n silence
with
Enoch lost in his thoughts.  He wondered how Semjaza would react to the
Speaker
’s message.  He felt a growing sense of dread at returning to the
throne room
.  Suddenly, his stomach dropped.  He had been with
Ananel
on his first visit. 
Would the guards allow him entry into the city this time?
  Would the escorts accompany him?

As they neared the gate,
Enoch
saw
that Semjaza’s
guards weren’t at their posts. 
It seemed
strange, but
he
was immediately distracted by the realization that his escorts had stopped walking and he was now in front. 
“Are you not coming?”
he
asked
, turning around.

“No, little one,” the angel on the left answered.  “We will not enter the city.”

Enoch felt his brow wrinkle and tried to quickly smooth it.  “
Are you not permitted?”

“Our reasons are quite complicated.  Our answer should suff
—
”