Rise of the Fallen (18 page)

Seven demon warriors arrived just as Validus recovered his sword.

“Get him out of here,” a command came from behind Validus.

He turned to see Captain Nosh, Ral, and five more of his comrades arriving. Ral went to Persimus and began helping him back away from the ensuing battle.

In a flash, the sound of crashing steel filled the air. Niturni attacked Validus with ruthless determination. The strength and skill of Niturni was frightening.

Validus heard a yell from his right side and turned to see one of his comrades fall. Validus thrust at Niturni to set him back so he could cover for the injured warrior. Moments later, Validus saw Captain Nosh slice through his opponent, and the demon dissolved into a green vapor that sunk into the earth.

Niturni pressed hard, but Validus stood his ground, covering for his wounded comrade. One more demon fell, which put the angels at an advantage. At that, the demons hesitated but didn’t retreat. They were waiting for reinforcements. In the lull, Captain Nosh and his men backed away.

“Grab him and let’s get out of here before more Fallen come!” Nosh commanded.

Validus and one other angel reached for the injured angel, but as they lifted him up, their hands slipped through the bluish vapor that rose up to Mount Simcha. Validus’s heart sank.

“No!” The other warrior glared at Validus, then turned to join Nosh in their retreat.

Validus ran to catch up with Ral. He grabbed Persimus around the waist to help carry him out of the city. Persimus was fading quickly. The blood loss was severe.

He heard Niturni yelling from behind him. “This is all you will ever do—retreat until there is no place left to retreat to.”

Validus glanced over his shoulder at the cursing demon he had once called his friend.

Niturni held up his hand. “I will kill you, Validus. I will kill you and your feeble friend!”

Validus hurried with Ral to get Persimus to safety. Validus could feel him sagging. “Come on, Persimus. Don’t you dissolve on account of a little scratch.” Blood was everywhere. The gash was deep, and Validus suspected an artery had been cut.

“He hesitated. You saw it,” Persimus moaned.

Anger boiled inside of Validus. Anger toward Niturni and toward Persimus. Anger toward himself for allowing this to happen and cause the death of a fellow warrior.

“He won’t hesitate again, and you’d better not either. What were you thinking?”

Persimus moaned something unintelligible. Validus and Ral struggled to get him out of the city as the other warriors gave cover. Once outside the city limits, they found a cattle trough with a few inches of dank water and laid him near it. Persimus was nearly unconscious and slipping away fast.

Healing usually came quickly to angels and demons alike, but there was a price, and the price was pain—searing white-hot pain. Water accelerated the process for angels, but it also amplified the pain. They called it the Curing.

“You stay with me, Persimus. You’re not leaving me alone in this fight. Do you hear me?”

Validus scooped up some of the water and cringed at what this would mean for his friend. He let the water drip from his hand onto the wound. Whatever life was left in Persimus came screaming back as the water sizzled in the wound and steam rose up with his cries. For a seriously wounded angel, the
Curing was his only hope, but the pain it caused was overwhelming. Validus had seen angels choose to dissolve rather than bear it. Persimus’s eyes bulged and the veins in his neck stood out. Validus grabbed Persimus’s good hand to give his friend something to hang on to.

The water helped, but it was not enough. Validus reached for more.

“No!” Persimus screamed. “Just let me go.” His voice faded as the pain receded. “Just let me go.”

“That’s not happening, soldier!” Captain Nosh said.

Sorrow and guilt swelled within Validus. He hesitated. “Fight it, Persimus. We need you! Elohim needs you! This world needs you!”

Validus reached for another handful of water, and this time he did not stop despite the pleas of Persimus. After two more attempts, Persimus fell unconscious, but he did not dissolve away.

“Let him rest here until he recovers,” Captain Nosh said. “Ral, you stay with Validus.”

Validus looked up at the captain, whose eyes were fierce.

“You’ll have to answer for this, warrior.”

Validus felt the sting of his comrade’s death all the more and knew this would not bode well with command.

He and Ral stayed beside Persimus for the next eight hours, waiting for their friend to awaken. His thoughts filled with Niturni, Persimus, and finally Tamaral.

Had he risked too much for a young woman who was of no significance? And yet he could not help but think that the hope of humanity rested in the hearts of people like her. Were there many? Validus didn’t believe so, but for those who did exist, he vowed to fight to the very end.

15
 

2242 BC

Your unauthorized actions escalated a conflict within Nimrod’s city that ended up costing the life of one of my warriors!” Commander Guilden’s face was red with anger.

Validus lowered his head. “That was never my intention, sir. I never expected—”

“That is why you follow orders, warrior. That is why you do not disappear from your detachment by yourself, especially into a city that is laden with Fallen.”

“I wasn’t alone, sir.”

“Yes, so I understand. And now your poor judgment has put others at risk too,” Guilden spit back.

“I was just trying to protect the girl, sir,” Validus returned, but it only made the anger in Guilden’s face more evident. Validus knew there were probably dozens of warriors listening outside the abandoned farmhouse just a few miles from the city.

Guilden stood, clearly trying to control his emotions. He came face to face with Validus. “I would demote you, but you are already at the bottom of the rankings, so instead you will be given every watch duty as far from humans and angels as possib—”

“Attention!” Guilden’s vice-commander shouted.

Validus was already standing at attention, but Commander Guilden turned 180 degrees about and snapped to attention.

“Is this the warrior?” General Danick asked, his face rigid with command.

“Yes sir,” Commander Guilden replied a little too enthusiastically. “We lost a man because of him.”

Validus remained still, but his heart sank into the earth. How had a simple act of compassion for a young, unprotected maiden elevated to such a disaster as to draw the attention of General Danick? It appeared now that for however long he survived this mission to the Middle Realm, his life would be filled with the most mundane duties and responsibilities.

General Danick came to Validus and eyed him up and down. His glare eased slightly when he looked into Validus’s eyes. “I know you, warrior, don’t I?”

“I helped you when you were injured on the roof of the ark, sir. It was brief.”

Danick stroked his chin. “And you were one of the three angels Michael chose to execute the judgment.”

Validus lowered his head, ashamed that he had let the general down so quickly in his duty on earth.

The general turned and walked away, talking as he did so. “The report says you witnessed Nimrod incite the people against Elohim. What did you see?”

“Nimrod stood before the people and declared that anyone who believes in God is a coward. He promised to build a great tower as a symbol of their determination to live without God and to be gods unto themselves.”

General Danick turned back around and looked at Commander Guilden. “That is valuable information, and it corresponds with the word I’ve just received from Michael regarding the city. If Nimrod continues to unite all of humanity against Elohim, our mission will fail more quickly than before the Great Purge.”

“Yes sir,” Commander Guilden said. “But according to the report of Persimus, Validus remained longer than he should have and put the lives of his detachment at risk.”

General Danick glared at Validus with steely eyes. “Why?”

Validus fumbled for words. “Because … of a maiden, sir.”

Guilden added his glare to the general’s.

General Danick walked back to Validus, peering deep into his soul through the window of his eyes. “Leave us, Commander,” General Danick said without taking his eyes off Validus.

Guilden and his vice exited the farmhouse, and Danick turned and walked toward a window that looked south.

“At ease, warrior.” He seemed to be gazing at some distant scene. “Tell me about the maiden. Why did you risk yourself and other warriors for her?”

Validus took a couple of needed breaths, trying to relax so his speech would not be so stilted. “I happened on her one day and was taken with her devotion to Elohim. After watching her for a few weeks, I have felt compelled to protect her. I am grieved to the heart for the warrior that we lost. It should have been me and not him.”

“You have seen other men and women who followed after God and His ways.”

Validus looked over at the general, not sure if that was a statement or a question. “Tamaral is different, sir. I don’t know why, but she is different. I couldn’t detach. She prayed, and I was … moved beyond my own understanding.”

Danick looked back at Validus. He looked peaceful, calm, not at all what Validus expected from a rebuking general. “Validus, do you know what the Plan is?”

The question reminded him of the conversations he had had with Persimus years earlier. He was quite certain that many other angel warriors had wondered the same thing, but nothing tangible had been revealed as of yet and they fought for the Plan in faith.

Validus shook his head, feeling as though he was the only angel alive who did not know. “No sir, I don’t, not beyond understanding that it is a way for Elohim to save the people.”

The general walked back to the center of the room. “Nor do I, but I believe Elohim will one day save man through man—or rather
a
man.”

Validus furrowed his brow as he tried to understand what General Danick was saying. Even if there were such a man, Validus had seen the influence of most godly men wash away in a single generation. Noah was a perfect example. And yet …

“Show me the girl, Validus; then we will decide what to do with you.”

Validus took General Danick, Commander Guilden, and twelve escorting warriors into Nimrod’s city to Tamaral’s home. They found her grinding wheat
on a flat stone. Nothing spiritual, nothing profound, but within just a few seconds of seeing her, General Danick turned to his aide.

“Pull three companies off the western front and get them here now. Commander Guilden, you will expend every resource you have to protect this girl until my men arrive. Do whatever it takes. We must get her out of this city and to a place that we can more readily defend. Is that clear?”

Commander Guilden looked at Validus, then back to General Danick. “Yes, General.” He turned to leave.

“And, Commander, warrior Validus is being reassigned to my staff.”

Validus was as shocked and confused as Commander Guilden looked.

“Yes sir,” came Guilden’s hesitant reply; then he left with his new orders.

Danick turned to Validus. “You come with me.”

A few hours later, Validus found himself privy to a command meeting where the leaders of the angel Warrior Order were discussing strategy.

“This city is strategic for more than one reason,” Danick said as he laid out a map of the Shinar region. “Desgard is inciting Nimrod to lead a rebellion against Elohim.”

“Yes,” Brandt said. “But there are still many people in the outlying regions who have not been affected, especially the descendants of Shem. Do we expend resources to save a city that may not be salvageable?”

“Perhaps not,” Danick said. His words were spoken slowly and carefully. “Except that heaven is concerned as well. Although Desgard is attempting to unify the people against God through Nimrod, Michael has told me that this city instead will be a place of division and we are to be ready. We must not abandon this city yet.”

Danick looked up from the map. Validus stood at the back of the tent, watching the two great commanders decide the fate of angels and men. Primus Commanders Kelandar, Guilden, and Porthan were also gathered around the table, evaluating the situation.

“Commander Guilden, Shinar is your region. What do you think?”

Guilden shook his head. “Nimrod is a powerful force among the people. In spite of our efforts, the Fallen have been able to establish a stronghold in the valley. And now Nimrod is building a tower in defiance of Elohim. It is hard to believe this city will do anything but unify the people against Elohim. It grieves me to say that I agree: the city appears unsalvageable.”

General Danick looked fiercely on his commanders. “Unacceptable! Over seventy percent of the population of humanity is in the Shinar Valley with the rest not far away. The Purge was just one century ago. Have we failed already? Are we to concede victory to Desgard before the waters have fully receded?” Danick glared at his commanders. “No! I will not abandon the whole of humanity to the evil plots of Desgard. There must be another way!”