Читать книгу War of Wings - Tanner McElroy - Страница 9

Lucifer stared down from the top of the Rolling Hills of Peace just west of the Great Mountain at the sixty-six angels constructing his throne. They were carving ornate designs out of gold, chipping away pieces of the legs and armrests, shaping cushions from a gelatinous material, and sewing intricate details into various pieces of the throne’s cloth. The cushion of the seat was made with red velvet and had white trim. It looked old and predictably like something God would have, not something he would have chosen. Yet he felt it was nothing compared to God’s. Not even on the same level. The angels were wasting their time.

Saraquel caught his eyes and immediately labored up the hill in his direction. Lucifer noticed that Saraquel’s stringy, dark hair was long now. It flopped from side to side as he walked, and Lucifer remembered what that felt like; his own hair had been long until recently. Saraquel’s forehead wrinkled as he opened his eyes wide for a welcome greeting. He must want something. Lucifer glanced over the creature so different from him. He looked frail and uneven because his arms were unusually long for his body, yet his hands and feet were small. His skin wasn’t pristine like most angels. It was dry and scaly.

He approached Lucifer, head lowered, and slowly raised it after Lucifer acknowledged him. “Your throne is turning out to be quite magnificent, great Lucifer.”

“I am looking forward to commenting on the finished product, Saraquel.”

“We will work on it until we have pleased you.”

“Will this be worthy of sitting next to God’s throne on the highest tier of Heaven?”

Saraquel’s expression made it apparent the answer was no. “We will do everything we can.”

Lucifer stared into the distance. “Your hair. It has changed.”

“I grew it long to match yours from the ceremony.” All angels could will their hair to grow, but most kept it short for convenience.

Lucifer felt it looked nothing like his. He read the words engraved on Saraquel’s chest: Ab uno disce omnes. From one, learn all. What could he possibly learn from this sad angel? “The long hair suits you well.”

“Oh thank you, Lucifer!”

“I will be back soon. I expect you will have the throne ready upon my return.”

“Yes, sir. Will you have time to speak to me about some of my questions when you come back?” Saraquel’s eyes were hopeful.

“I will do my best to make time.”

Saraquel smiled ear to ear. “Before you go, please tell me your thoughts of the news.”

Lucifer slowed the opening of his wings. “What news?”

“The news of God’s equal. You haven’t heard? I just know it will be you.”

“No, I haven’t heard. Tell me.”

“God is declaring a Son. I figured you will be promoted and that is why we are constructing this throne for you. All of the angels have been talking about this.”

His promotion. Finally. He could barely contain himself. “I will be back, Saraquel. Thank you for the news!” Stretching his massive wings, Lucifer flew straight down off the mountain. He propelled himself south, soaring over the glorious fields on his way to the rocky cliffs at the Marble Falls.

As he flew across the Field of Tranquility, it turned a magnificent shimmering yellow. He stared at the brightness of the field with joy. He’d never seen that color in this field before. He halted abruptly at the very edge of the Marble Falls and stood on the tips of his toes for a moment. A cloud of dust traveled in front of him over the edge and climbed up around his sixty-six-foot wingspan as he looked down. He took in the majestic beauty and great depth of the roaring river below, took a deep breath of the cool, perfect air, and leaped off headfirst. He plummeted toward the water, gliding past the four waterfalls. There were four tiers that fell over seventy miles on each level, making it almost three hundred miles from top to bottom. Marble made up the rock faces, with each level lighter than the next. It started with deep shades of brown, black, and gray, and ended with light variations barely above white. As he entered the river, his speed parted the water so easily there was hardly a splash.

He quickly covered thousands of miles through the depths of the sea. On the other side, he emerged to view the never-ending black of the cosmos. The infinity of its area was inconceivable. This place was very familiar to Lucifer. He’d spent countless days there already.

Lucifer let out the most jubilant yell of his life. At last, it was his moment. He would finally be able to take what was rightfully his, the highest seat in all of Heaven. He would soon know all the secrets God kept from him. The reasoning for the cosmos itself troubled Lucifer. He had many questions about creation, but this one weighed heavily on his mind. Where did the cosmos come from? Why was it there? Where did it truly start and where did it end? Why didn’t God tell the angels about it? Lucifer always went to the cosmos to challenge his own understanding. The more he was in the midst of something he could not explain, the more he burned to know about it and everything else that didn’t have an immediate answer. It helped him prepare himself to approach God for the answers he didn’t have. Truthfully he hated having to ask God, but he pretended to enjoy the open discussions and to be gracious of God’s willingness to answer every single question. Now he wouldn’t have to. He would be God’s equal. He would know everything.

After a few hours of thought and flight through the infinite space, he noticed something very tiny but light in the far distance. His powerful senses allowed him to perceive it, but before he could get to it, there was a tremendous explosion. It was not like some of the heavenly displays of fire put on by the thrones in celebration and worship of God. No, this was an explosion within itself. It seemed impossible, but it shook the very emptiness of its surroundings. Lucifer had never seen anything like it.

He stared, frozen. The massive explosion seemed so far away. If he hadn’t seen it with his own two eyes, he would have never believed it. In mere seconds, the sound of the thunderous blast assaulted his ears and thrust him backward with an unreal force. He was shocked by what was happening and awestruck at the newly formed objects flying around. One of them smashed into him hard enough to be broken by his body like butter parted by a hot knife. The mass broke off into many pieces, but Lucifer was injured. Though his shoulders took the main brunt of the blow, his left side was extremely bruised. Still, he would heal quickly. Not even this could spoil the news of his promotion.

Lucifer quickly realized he was in harm’s way. He rushed back along the pathway he had come, through the water, up the waterfalls, and over to the Great Forest of Harmony, just south of the falls, where he crashed to the ground. He was confused, amazed, and completely exhilarated. He stopped under a large apple tree to try to figure out what had happened. He went over the event in his head and attempted to make sense out of it with logic and mathematics.

He had a firm grasp on how energy and matter worked together, so he tried hard to figure out a way they could have related to each other in order to cause such a tremendous explosion. He started to weigh all possible explanations without factoring in any divine intervention. He was sure he was the only angel who ever considered the nature of things first. He picked a large golden apple from the tree above him and bit into its juicy flesh. Could God have caused this explosion?

He sat under the tree for hours trying to figure it out, but he could not. It frustrated him, and he couldn’t let it go. He got up and paced back and forth. He would figure it out no matter what. He was determined not to ask God for this answer.

Lucifer headed just a bit north of the forest to a transparent bridge made of exorbitant golden boulders that floated on the air and stretched for miles across the river. Although the bridge was unnecessary for crossing because the angels could simply fly, it actually received much use because of the views it offered and its comfortability. He could nurse his injuries there. When he sat on the golden bridge in one place for more than ten seconds, it slowly loosened and formed to his backside and even his wings. He lay on it with his wings fully expanded, for it was rejuvenating his joints. He decided to stay there until he came up with the answer he was seeking about the cosmos or God came calling to announce his promotion.

“I can’t believe it. A Son is coming soon!”

Lucifer opened his eyes to see three angels huddled together on a boulder a hundred yards away.

“He will be as glorious as our Father.”

“I wonder what he will look like. I’m sure he will look like the great Lucifer.”

Lucifer smiled, closed his eyes, and sank into his boulder to stay hidden. Of course, he would look like Lucifer. He was the one being promoted.

“No, I heard he is even greater than Lucifer in every way. I heard he is like the Father Himself and we will be able to look upon Him! His name is Jesus.”

Lucifer’s eyes shot open. He struggled to get up from his boulder, but the sudden movement didn’t allow the gold to expand. He was trapped. The motion sent a sharp pain through his entire left side, and in an instant his injuries were back.

“When will we be able to gaze upon him?”

“It was announced by the cherubim that the Son of God will be arriving in Heaven soon!”

Lucifer gasped, and the perfect air turned thick and traveled through his chest like a viscous liquid. His head tingled and his vision blurred as a sudden blackness consumed him. How could God have betrayed him? Was his performance at the Ludus Paradisus anything less than worthy of a promotion? What other angel could have done everything he had? How could He do this to Lucifer? How could He look past him? This couldn’t be true.

He would ask God himself. He deserved answers now. As Lucifer started back up to the Great Mountain, he began mentally preparing himself to go before God without revealing his thoughts or emotions. This would be quite a feat, but he had done it before. At least he thought he had. Maybe he wasn’t actually able to hide things from God and God just let him think he could. He shook off that thought and started refocusing. As he was approaching the gates that surrounded the heavenly city, he could feel his chest about to burst through the tiny chains of his armor.

“Open, Barterus.”

The dominion quickly opened the gate to the inner city. He bowed as Lucifer approached, and his helmet fell to the ground and stuck in the soft dirt. Lucifer did not alter course and stepped on it, driving the helmet deeper into the ground. It felt good. He stopped, picked it up, and handed it to the dominion. “My apologies.”

“No, Lucifer, I am sorry it fell in your way. Is everything all right, sir?”

“No, Barterus, it is not.”

Lucifer walked to the transparent golden ramp but did not look down. He was wrought with frustration. He crossed the seraphim bridge and it didn’t seem quite as beautiful anymore. Lucifer didn’t feel small beneath the statues this time. In fact, he had never felt bigger than in this moment. He needed to feel big since God was trying to make him small.

He crossed the courtyard. At the fountain, he washed his hands and splashed water over his hot face. He took a deep breath as he realized what was about to happen. He could do this, he assured himself. He had to. Lucifer walked up to the first step of the staircase and knew there was no turning back. He would never turn back.

He had always looked forward to the awesome feeling of euphoria on the golden staircase to the upper tiers, but this time it was wholly absent. When he noticed the difference, he stopped. He was a little disappointed but knew this was a confirmation that he was onto something. He was on a mission, so he shook it off and began his walk again toward his supposed creator. God had better not have a Son.