Chapter Nineteen
Jeremy looked around him as he, Gabriel and Michael sped forward. As far as he could see in front and behind himself there was a tunnel of light. The angels who formed the corridor were burning brighter than he had aver seen angels glow. He could see the individual angels along the wall of the corridor. From side to side he judged it to be about 400 feet.
He could feel their light as well as see it. And it smelled sweet like a bowl of fruit. Flying trough this light was like having the wind at his back, effortless, like sliding on ice. The lightest flick of his wings propelled him along with ease.
“Gabriel,” Jeremy said. “Have you ever done this before.?”
“A couple of times. Wild isn’t it. Like sliding through space and time on a sheet of ice.”
Jeremy started to speed up. He wanted to test the limits of what they could do.
“Jeremy,” Michael said. “Slow down. You will outrun the corridor. This is as much for conserving energy as it is for speed. But the angels along the corridor have to keep moving to the front edge after we pass them so they can keep the corridor in front of us.”
Jeremy slowed a little. He looked along the edge of the corridor and noticed angels zipping past them along the outside. Streaks of pure light. Streaks with trails forty or fifty feet behind them. He watched as they disappeared into the light of the tunnel ahead of them.
“Yee Haw,” Jeremy shouted at the top of his lungs.
Michael and Gabriel just laughed and kept flying.
***
Krendal could see the tunnel of light off in the distance. He watched it slowly move towards the earth. He had several thousand demons with him. He was awaiting the arrival of Berazel, commander of the horde from the north, a particularly nasty army of demons. They usually numbered between ten to twelve legions.
Dweena floated next to him. The light of the tunnel highlighted her beauty in an unusual way. A beauty Krendal had learned to distrust a millennia ago.
“Krendal,” Dweena said and pointed towards the north.
Berazel had arrived.
“Come,” he said to her.
Together they flew quickly to meet Berazel. He surveyed the horde as the grew closer. He smiled. Their numbers were higher than normal. He and Dweena slowed to a stop and waited for Berazel to reach them.
“Krendal,” Berazel said when he finally arrived.
“Berazel,” Krendal said.
“Meet Dweena,” He said as he pulled her forward.
“Berazel,” she said.
“So, Krendal, what do we have over there. Is that a corridor of light?”
“Yes.”
“Been a while since they pulled that trick out of the hat. What’s the occasion?”
“Gabriel and Michael with a message for some priest. The Eternal One is bringing forth a child, the prophet who heralds the coming of his puny Messiah.”
Berazel looked at the corridor, then at his horde.
“Wait here Krendal, we’ll be right back after we bust that corridor to shreds.”
“Not so quick my Berazel. Gabriel, Michael and a new Archangel name Jeremy are traveling in the center. I need to test this young one, see what he is made of.”
“What do you propose?”
“We need to disrupt them and keep the angels on the corridor busy so I can attack the three.”
“I say we just take em all out.”
“Gabriel will outrun us for sure, and probably Michael as well. I assume this Jeremy can keep up with them also. No, we need to make the three of them stop and fight. Take half your horde and fly to the front of the corridor. Make them stop. When the first half of your horde is engaged them bring the other half to bear on the rear of the corridor. While you stop them at the front, My legion will fly directly into the rear of the corridor. We should be able to reach the three before they realize what is happening. Their attention will be on us when your other half attacks the rear of the corridor.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Go now, be swift,” Krendal said.
***
Nathaniel had coordinated a corridor of light several times. He flew along the out edge watching for any hint of demons. There were usually a few that tried to disrupt the flow of angels moving from the rear to the front. More of a nuisance than anything else. He just barely caught sight of the band of demons that crashed into him before they knocked him through the wall of the corridor.
He quickly pulled his sword and took out tow of them. The others tried to flee back out of the corridor. One of them got away but the rest were handled easily by the warriors on the inner wall. That’s when he noticed it. The front of the corridor was collapsing.
Nathaniel raced to the front of the corridor. He could see the horde of demons coming from three directions. He charged to the front and began shouting orders but the battle quickly descended into a mass of beings fighting by their instincts.
Nathaniel turned around to have a look behind and saw Krendal’s legion bearing down on Gabriel, Michael and Jeremy. He pulled his sword and held it directly in front of him. He brought his right boot up swiftly and kicked his sword just below the halfway point on the blade. It rang out vibrating with angelic force. The vibration spread and he saw the exterior of the corridor move towards Krendal’s legion. He looked past Krendal’s legion and could see the other half of Berazel’s horde attacking from the rear.
“Gabriel,” he said then burst forward towards the battle in the center.
***
Gabriel, Michael and Jeremy all stopped as they watched the front of the corridor collapsing.
“Jeremy, stay close. Michael, can you feel his presence?”
“Yes, both of them.”
“Both of them?”
“Krendal and Berazel.”
“Krendal will come for us. Organize the legion.”
Michael quickly moved through the disoriented angels, giving directions and positioning them to protect the center where Gabriel and Jeremy watched the battle unfold.
“Jeremy,” Gabriel said. “Krendal has come for you. He will try to turn your heart. Do you understand? This is not a battle to be won with you sword, but with your heart, with your will. Resist, with everything inside you, resist.”
Michael returned to Gabriel and Jeremy.
Together they looked through the angels surrounding them and watched Krendal’s forces drawing near. The demons formed a single line as they reached the angels. The bore into the center of the angelic line. The angels were slashing and beating the demons as they came at them. Two other legions flanked the angels and forced some to divert their energies away from the single file.
Gabriel watched and waited. He had seen this strategy before. He knew that Krendal was waiting for the opportune moment to burst through the line into the center where it would just be the three of them.
“Jeremy, do you see how the center of the line is slowly being divided? Do you see the hole beginning to emerge?”
“Yeah, I do. What are they doing?”
“They are opening up a doorway in the line for Krendal to come through. He will have several rather nasty demons with him. Then a whole legion will come in behind him. Be ready to act quick. Use your instincts. No mercy. Hold back nothing.”
Jeremy felt helpless just waiting for the inevitable to happen. The hole continued to grow a little larger. The single file was no longer coming direct at the center. As the demons reached the line they veered slightly away from the center trying to push the angels away from it. It was working. It was just a matter of time before they would flood the space around them.
Michael and Gabriel closed ranks.
“Jeremy, they will come directly at us when they break through then they will surround us. When they do immediately turn your back to Michael and I. Follow our lead. We’re about to teach you a trick or two.”
Gabriel smiled a big melon eating grin at Jeremy.
“You will prevail Jeremy, you will prevail.”
The first demon to get his torso into the hoe in the line screamed curses at the three of them. A sword quickly cut him in half. A second pressed through and was cut in half. A third, a forth, a fifth, then three demons shot through the line and screeching as they came at them. Michael waited, sword drawn and held out in front of him, then suddenly, with a flick of the wrist he cut the first demon in half. Gabriel got the second.
The wall broke apart in front of them and demons began pouring forth racing to reach them first. Behind them came Krendal and his hand picked assassins.
He three Archangels easily handled the front line of the horde attacking them. It did not take long before the demons began swirling around them. Jeremy could feel his wings being clipped slightly and his legs and arms being cut.
“Jeremy, turn outward and put your back towards me and Michael.”
Jeremy turned around and felt Gabriel and Michael press their wings back against his. Then Gabriel and Michael rose up above Jeremy and quickly descended hooking their wings together in the process. The wings locked together and the three Archangels began to revolve counter clockwise. Jeremy slashed at the demons swirling around them. He hit one square in the chest and the demon screeched then exploded into a puff of rancid brown powder. He slashed another and the same thing happened to it. Puffs of brown powder surrounded them as they continued to battle.
Then, everything cleared out in front of Jeremy. The demos still swirled around them but they seemed to disappear from in front of him as they came around. As the space in front of him cleared Krendal began to descend in front of him.
Slowly like he just had all day to float around on a cloud or something, Krendal descended. He stayed out of range of Jeremy’s sword, but was close enough for Jeremy to smell the stench.
“Jeremy, How are you?” Krendal said. “Want to dance?”
Jeremy stared at Krendal.
“Let’s see, you, Jeremy are an Archangel on a mission for the Eternal One. Yes?”
Jeremy slowly shook his head. He held his sword out in front of him daring Krendal to come closer.
“What a pity. You could be doing something significant with your power, your strength.”
Jeremy’s head began to fill with thoughts about reigning over kingdoms, huge kingdoms. His will began to desire to serve Satan.
“There is sooo much more than what you have been offered Jeremy. Sooo much more. Don’t resist what your heart really wants. An you feel it? Can you feel the true nature of your heart coming to the surface. Have you not wanted to do more than what Michael doles out to you. To fly like the wind when you want to, wherever you want to. Just think, you could go to the earth, where you would be so much more powerful than any of the pithy humans. In fact Jeremy, you could materialize a body for yourself, a body you could use to enjoy any, no, all the pleasures deprived you now.”
Jeremy felt his will for the Lord fading and an overwhelming desire to abandon Gabriel and Michael and strike out on his own. He gazed into the nothingness around him as they swirled.
Suddenly his sword was snatched from his grip by Krendal. He back off a few feet and admired it. Jermy stared in disbelief.
“No, not the sword Gabriel gave me.”
Jeremy tried to reach out to grab it back but was too locked in with Gabriel and Michael to reach Krendal.
“So, Gabriel gave you this sword did he. Tell you where he stole it from?”
“He didn’t steal it,” Jeremy said.
“Well of course he did Jeremy. Where would he get a sword like this? And then just give it away.”
Krendal held the sword up and stroked the blade with his finger.
“No,” Jeremy said. “You’re a liar Krendal. A Liar.”
“Stick and stones Jeremy, sticks and stones. And swords too.”
Krendal moved in closer to Jeremy. The stench began to choke Jeremy. He gasped for air. Krendal slowly twirled the sword to his side.
“He stole it Jeremy, and then he lied to you about where he got it.”
“He said he would tell me later where he got it. He said then it would make sense.”
“Yes. Give you the stolen goods, send you into battle with it. And tell you later that he made a thief out of you too. Isn’t that just like Gabriel though. He has always been a liar Jeremy, always. I have know him for thousands of years. He never changes. He is just a liar and a thief. And you want to fight with him? Tsk, tsk, Jeremy.”
Jeremy felt his will draining away. He felt like he was just hanging on the wings of his friends. His mind was swirling in thoughts, out of control. A fog of confusion.
“Come Jeremy, come. Have everything your little angelic heart desires,” Krendal whispered to him as he continued to twirl Jeremy’s sword.
A cold sweat was dripped off Jeremy’s face as his eyes grew heavy. Krendal lifted Jeremy’s chin up with the tip of his sword.
“Hmmm, what do you say Jeremy. Want to taste real freedom? Do what thou will?”
Jeremy leaned back into his two friends. He could feel their bodies moving about as they continued to fight off the demons.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” Jeremy said.
“What?” said Krendal.
Jeremy straightened up a bit.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Jeremy felt a his will grow stronger.
He focused his attention fully on Krendal.
“As for ME and MY HOUSE, we ― will ― serve ― the ― LORD. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Jeremy snatched his sword back from Krendal and quickly slashed it at him.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD,” Jeremy said.
Krendal backed off from Jeremy and started laughing.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD,” Jeremy said.
Each time he said it, Jeremy could feel his will growing stronger.
“Hey Krendal, ya know what? As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Krendal smiled at Jeremy and looked him in the eye.
“Almost had ya boy. Almost had ya. You will be mine some day. I’ll wrap you up and put you in my pocket like a watch.”
“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD,” Jeremy said.
Krendal rose above Jeremy and gave him one last look. He screeched and shot off into the darkness. All the demons quickly followed till they were all gone.
Michael and Gabriel unhooked their wings from his.
“You ok Jeremy?” Michael.
“Yes, I am just fine. Krendal better hope I never see him again though. The nerve of that demon.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Good. You have prevailed.”
He and Michael tapped their swords together.
“Let’s regroup everyone and resume our journey,” Gabriel said.
Michael began rounding up the angels.
Gabriel looked at Jeremy.
“You have prevailed. Now he knows he cannot have you.”
The two Archangels tapped their swords and joined Michael and the rest of the angels.
© 2011 John Pearson All Rights Reserved.
description of the corridor is cool…