"Grim looking lot here, hmm?" said Lucifer, whose own
appearance had taken on an angry countenance devoid of the joy
280 CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile of Lucifer
he once maintained as worship minister to the Most High. The joy
of the Lord had become a rotting corpse.
The angels laughed uncomfortably. Those whose appearance
was more distorted than the others laughed the hardest.
"Rugio, you're looking particularly...convincing today,"
Lucifer said.
More laughter.
"It comes and it goes, lord," said Rugio, "depending on the
mood. As long as I don't think about Michael too much I can main-
tain some dignity."
"Well. Perhaps one day we will recover your godlikeness!"
Rugio laughed. "Or at least bring Michael down from his,
lord!"
Lucifer smiled in agreement.
"Well. All of us realize the precarious position we are in,"
began Lucifer. "Because of the stubbornness of the Most High, the
blind loyalty of the Host, and A'dam's position of authority, we
now face a war that seems to have little chance of success."
He paced around the large flat boulder that served as the
Council's makeshift table. The Council sat around it listening to
their leader--their only hope. The faint sounds of the angels
already in torment could be heard echoing slightly through the
room. It was chilling to those who knew their fate was taking them
to a similar end.
"Up until now I would have told you that our chances were
none and that we all faced certain judgment in Sheol like our mis-
fortunate friends we hear screaming in agony day and night!"
A few of the angels shivered at the sound of the word Sheol.
"To be fair I warned Amman and his angels in particular that
to profane the Temple as they did on that day was incredibly pre-
sumptuous. The Lord may be longsuffering but He will only be
presumed upon to a point--this we all know! However, I am here
to report that the Lord has given us an incredible gift in the form of
two trees in Eden."
Lucifer enjoyed the effect of his words as the angels looked
intently at him.
"The battle will be played out in the minds of humans." 281
"Trees, lord?" asked Pellecus skeptically.
"Fruit trees," responded Lucifer.
The Council snickered
"Interesting gift. What sort of fruit do these trees yield?"
asked Pellecus.
"Death."
The Council sat up.
"These trees yield death to A'dam and to Eve."
They looked at Lucifer, baffled. Some wondered if perhaps he
was losing his mind. Pellecus tried to ascertain where Lucifer was
going with this. Kara, who was accustomed to the more dignified
deliberations of the Council of Elders was astonished at the lack of
decorum. Lucifer held up his hands.
"Let me explain," he said. "Several earth days ago I was med-
itating in the garden. Yes, I know I'm not in the habit of frequent-
ing Eden since the rebels in Heaven expelled us. But I felt drawn
that day as if inspired. I knew that a strategy--a plan of war--was
formulating in my mind. Thus I found myself in the center of the
garden near the trees where I had promised to build my throne.
"As I meditated on these things the two human creatures
interrupted my thoughts. I would have destroyed them if I could
but they are protected by their privileges in the Lord and so I con-
tented myself to listening."
Lucifer smiled and clapped his hands together. "It seems that
the Lord desires A'dam and Eve to choose well or die! For it was
explained to A'dam by the Most High Himself that should they eat
of the fruit of these trees, covenant will be broken and they will live
no more."
The Council looked at Lucifer vacantly, trying to digest the
meaning of this. Pellecus alone seemed to grasp the significance
and nodded his head.
"Don't you see?" asked Lucifer. "If A'dam disobeys God he
breaks the agreement with Him. He will have transgressed and lost
his position of authority. He will lose legal right to this planet and
we will be rid of him once and for all. Then I will have authority on
282 CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile of Lucifer
this planet and can carry on the war with a much more convincing
argument."
"The fruit is nonsense really," said Pellecus who understood.
"It is merely a point of choice. I doubt seriously the Lord will kill
A'dam."
"Whether A'dam dies or not is hardly the point," said Lucifer.
"The critical aspect is in the choosing. Choice is what lost us our
place in Heaven. It may well be that A'dam's choosing will help us
win it back!"
Kara sat up interested now.
"You are saying that A'dam must eat from these trees know-
ing full well that if he eats he will die?" Kara asked.
"Yes, Kara," said Lucifer.
"What creature in his right mind would choose against the
wishes of his Creator?" he asked.
Kara felt the cold stares of every angel upon making so stupid
a comment to so many who had made such a choice. Kara stared
back defiantly.
"Then the challenge is to steer A'dam in the direction of that
choice, correct?" said Kara, trying to move on quickly.
"Yes."
"We cannot even appear to A'dam right now, much less speak
to him," Kara continued. "How do you propose to convince A'dam
to do this? Surely the Lord has told him about you...about us."
"It won't be me telling A'dam anything," said Lucifer. "My
voice is useless in Eden until I have authority on earth. It will be an
earth creature that will convince A'dam to eat of the tree."
"An earth creature?" said Kara.
"Yes," said Lucifer. "There is only one other person to whom
A'dam confides, besides the Lord."
Several angels muttered the name Eve with contempt under
their breaths.
"Yes, just so," said Lucifer. "It is through Eve that we shall
convince A'dam. He will listen to her, I am sure."
"And what will convince the woman to do such a thing?"
asked Kara doubtfully.
"The battle will be played out in the minds of humans." 283
"Another earth creature," said Lucifer, smiling. He began pac-
ing the room.
"Earth creatures have a definite weakness for one another.
And Eden is full of weaknesses, Kara. There is in the garden one
peculiar beast who is more cunning, more intelligent, more capable
than all the rest. From what I know of Eden there is only one like
him. As it turns out his favorite place to dwell is in the area near the
two trees. Eve has frequently seen him near that meadow and has
befriended him, as she has all of the beasts in Eden."
He leaned over the stone table looking directly at Kara.
"And though, as you remind us, Kara, I cannot appear to the
humans or speak to them outright, at least until I come into author-
ity, I can use a medium which is well-known to the human crea-
tures! I would say the war is about to take an interest
ing turn for
the Most High!"
"You mean to say," said Tinius, "that you can actually teach
the serpent to talk to the woman?"
"No, Tinius, hear me out," said Lucifer. "Brothers! I have not
been idle in my visits to earth. I have found that we have a great
advantage over the material nature of this planet. Not only are its
contents able to be manipulated, but so are its inhabitants--so long
as they are unknowing or willing. The beasts of earth--at least the
lower beasts--can be quite easily controlled."
"By what means?" asked Pellecus.
"Through the mind," answered Lucifer. "Those beasts which
possess a mind of some sort and a bit of personality are entered in
through the mind. Granted they are stupid and instinctive and
therefore easily controlled. The serpent seems to be somehow dif-
ferent and affords greater opportunity for exploitation. The greater
the reasoning ability, the greater the potential to serve us. This
includes A'dam. As we gain more of A'dam's confidence, we gain a
greater potential to aid us."
"Or harm us," said Pellecus. "Should A'dam become incensed
by these things."
"Agreed," said Lucifer. "That is why it is of utmost priority to
strip A'dam of his authority. So long as a human operates under the
284 CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile of Lucifer
authority of the Most High we are paralyzed. But once he has no
legal right over us I suspect we will be able to force certain conclu-
sions that will be to our advantage. The battlefield is not in Heaven or
in Eden--the battle will be played out in the mind of humans."
Pellecus stood up.
"In the interest of clarification," he said, "and for an accurate
rendering in our earthly chronicles, let me summarize. Through the
serpent we will encourage Eve to independence. A'dam breaks
covenant with the Most High and surrenders legal authority of this
present world to us. All well and good. But what does that do to aid
us in the end? Is not the war already lost?"
Lucifer glared at Pellecus, his purple aura beginning to seize
him. Pellecus eased back into his place.
"The war is never lost," Lucifer said. "Once we have obtained
right over these mud-men and distort the image of God, just as
many of us have been disfigured, we shall have drawn the game.
No winners, no losers. The earth will remain ours, Heaven His.
How could the Most High possibly recover A'dam after he chooses
against Him? Will He judge humans along with angels? And is it
fair to so just a God to judge angels and not humans who are guilty
of the same act of disobedience? If He will not condemn His most
beloved creature for His own blatant transgression, how can He
possibly condemn us who are guilty of a lesser crime?"
"Lesser crime?" mused Pellecus.
"Yes, Pellecus," said Lucifer. "Our crime was merely crossing
a line which was implied and never fully stated. There was no law
in Heaven forbidding our adventure. We chanced and we failed. In
the case of A'dam, however, there is a law in place which, if broken,
is an outright rebellious and willful action that is hostile to God.
Stated law is always more powerful than that which is merely
implied. I believe in the end we will be exonerated because of
A'dam's fall--because his sin will be truly outlaw! The Most High
will act, rather than see his most beloved creation condemned."
Everyone agreed.
Lucifer looked at Rugio and then Pellecus. "I told you that
love would be the deciding factor in all of this. The Most High so
"The battle will be played out in the minds of humans." 285
loves these creatures that He will do anything to see them pre-
served. Yet He loves them enough not to violate their ability to
choose freely to love Him or turn from Him. Such a dilemma! The
Lord has repeated the same mistake on earth that He did in Heav-
en, by creating something that can turn against Him. This is the
blindness of love--and this is why we shall win the war in the end!"
Lucifer stood to conclude the Council.
"Brothers," he said, "be encouraged. I promise you that the
next time we meet it will be in Eden. I swear to you that earth shall
be ours. A word of caution, though, on the angels who vacated
Heaven with us. Rugio, you must make sure your commanders are
keeping the legions intact. Many of them are recklessly chasing all
over the universe--some have even ventured near Heaven itself.
They are acting berserk and chaotic. This battle, though winnable,
is far from over and we must have organization, authorities, prin-
cipalities and powers in place for the struggle to come. See to it."
"I will so organize," said Rugio, who began conferring quietly
with the warriors who sat next to him. Lucifer dismissed the group.
"Where to now, lord?" asked Pellecus, walking over to
Lucifer.
"I have a visit to make," said Lucifer. "To the serpent."
287
Chapter 19
"In a few moments, Archangel,
clearing out of Eden!"
Eve's mind kept going back to what A'dam had told her about
the trees. What a horrible thing to plant in a garden! She wished
that the trees were not there. But A'dam assured her that as long as
they remained obedient to the Lord's wishes, they need not fear.
She determined that like her beloved, she too would never again
venture into that meadow.
A rustling noise startled Eve and she turned to see the serpent,
gracefully wandering toward her through the brush. Of all the crea-
tures in Eden, the serpent was the most social and seemed espe-
cially to favor Eve. He was a beautiful beast, with smooth
reddish-brown hair and gorgeous green eyes. He had powerful legs
that he used in snatching fruit from some of the lower limbs of the
trees. Eve liked the serpent. He was friendly. He was beautiful. But
mostly she felt a tinge of compassion for the serpent because of all
the beasts in the garden, the serpent was the only one of its kind.
He sidled up to Eve. She began stroking his soft coat. The
green eyes looked into her eyes.
288 CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile of Lucifer
"You are my favorite creature in Eden," she said, gently
caressing the animal.
The serpent nuzzled Eve as if it understood her. She laughed.
"If only you could talk," she said. "Then whenever A'dam
was in other parts of the garden I would have someone to talk with.
And so would you," she laughed.
From a distance, unseen to Eve, Lucifer watched the scene. He
snickered to himself in delight.
"Don't you worry, Eve, " he said to himself. "The serpent will
be talking to you soon enough!"
----------------
Kara and Pellecus were looking for Lucifer. They had scoured
the Heavenlies searching for their illusive leader. Kara suggested
that they search Eden once more and thus they landed in the north-
ern border. They could see many of their fallen brothers, in the air
and about Eden, but their Lucifer was nowhere in sight. Kara was
amazed at the hideous transformation of these who had abandoned
their place in Heaven. Some were totally maniacal--shrieking and
streaking about as if completely insane. Others lolled about, looked
up at Kara, and then went back to whatever they were doing. Pel-
lecus shook his head in disgust.
"So this is the freedom Lucifer promised," Kara said. As he
spoke, a horrible looking angel dove at him, screaming, "In the
name of the Most High God!" and then disappeared into the sky.
Pellecus jumped back, startled.
"And to think some of these were the greatest in Heaven,"
said Pellecus. "Is it any wonder we lost?"
They continued on in the garden to an angel whom Pellecus
recognized, perched in a tree. The angel, named Corin, was a for-
mer teacher at the Academy and knew Pellecus quite well.
"Hello, archangel," said Corin, ignoring Kara.
"Greetings, Corin," Pellecus said, ignoring the archangel com-
ment. "Where is Lucifer?"
"Ah, Lucifer," said Corin. "The greatest angel ever. You shall
one day see that, Pellecus. Believe me!"
"In a few moments, Archangel, it will be you and your angels clearing out!" 289
Corin's eyes were black and void. Pellecus knew that the bril-
liant mind he once possessed as an instructor at the Academy had
been given over to complete darkness. He inwardly bristled at such
a waste.
"Corin, where is Lucifer?" repeated Pellecus.
"Lucifer is wherever Lucifer will be!" Corin answered mockingly.
"Dear Corin, my colleague, look what you have done to your-
self by your disgraceful behavior in Heaven," said Pellecus. "If
only you had listened more to what you were teaching than to what
you were taught."
Corin looked at Pellecus with his black eyes and laughed a
bizarre laugh. He began to shake uncontrollably and make strange
sounds. Pellecus and Kara watched as the former teaching angel's