Before the Fall (13 page)

She was less then an inch from his face when Jeremiel quickly turned his head and his lips locked down onto hers.

The crowd roared.

Lahash pushed himself off the wall, his back straight as a rod, his hands curled into fists as he watched Jeremiel kiss Naomi. The crowd cheered, encouraging him to continue. His brother wrapped a muscular arm around her tiny waist and placed his hand on the nape of her neck. He drew her closer to him, deepening the kiss.

The crowd thundered their approval.

Lahash spun around, slamming his fist against the side of the wall. He froze in shock as fragments of mudbrick fell to the ground.

What had he done? He looked around quickly to see if anyone else saw the massive dent he’d made in the side of the building. He looked down at his hand. There was not even a scratch. He had felt a mild pressure on his hand when he hit the wall, but that was all.

He turned back in time to see Jeremiel release Naomi. She was looking at him with a glazed expression, and his heart sank. If he’d ever had any hope that Naomi would be interested in him, it was over now. His brother had won . . . again.

Lahash ran down the dirt path between the inn and another building. Anger coursed through him at the cheering that echoed in his ears. He needed to get out of the crowd—away from everyone. He wanted to be alone.

When the sounds of the crowd were in the distance, he slowed down. He looked around. There was no one in sight. He sank to the ground, dropping his head to his chest.

He could have won. He’d had his chance at the stream. He could have tripped Saleos or even shoved him away from the fish before he had the chance to spear it. That would have given him at least a few seconds. Instead, it was Saleos who had shoved him, and he had fallen face down in the mud. If he had only done to Saleos what was done to him, it could be him with Naomi in his arms.

His head shot up when he heard a muttering of voices. One of them sounded like Uriel.

“Did you see Raphael’s son? He truly is a god among men.”

Lahash groaned. Even Uriel admired Jeremiel. He was about to leave to find someplace where he could be alone when he heard his name.

“I am most impressed with Lahash,” a deep voice said.

Lahash stopped and headed in the direction of the voices. At the end of the building, he carefully peeked around the corner. Standing in a courtyard with Uriel was the tall dark haired man he had seen with him and Baka at the games.

“I am surprised to hear you say that, Lucifer,” Uriel said to the dark-haired man. “I mean, Lahash has potential but he is not nearly as skilled.”

“He is young yet,” Lucifer said. “With each year that passes, he will grow in strength. And I have no doubt that he will even surpass the others.”

“Even Jether and Joab?”

“Yes, even them. I will see to that.”

What is this madness?
Lahash thought. Who was this Lucifer to think he could make him stronger? Did he know something about his and Jeremiel’s gifts?

“There is one problem though,” Uriel said. “How will you get them to join us? Raphael still harbors ill will against you.”

Lahash leaned in. His father knew Lucifer? He’d never heard him mentioned before.

“What
did
you do to Raphael? I brought up your name up once a few years ago and his face turned purple at the mere mention of you.”

Lucifer waved his hand. “It is not of any importance. Jeremiel and Lahash will join us.”

“You will take them by force?”

“No. They will come to me. First Lahash. Then Jeremiel. The innkeeper’s girl holds the key.”

Naomi
? What was Lucifer talking about? And join him to do what?

Lahash heard footsteps headed in his direction. It was Baka. Quickly, he flattened himself against the crevice of a door. Baka looked deep in his own thoughts, too angry to notice Lahash when he passed him.

He let out a breath of relief when Baka passed, and then Lahash ran back toward the square. Strange that Lucifer knew his father. He wondered if he should ask him about Lucifer. No, it probably wasn’t a good idea. If what Uriel said was true, his father and Lucifer didn’t appear to be on the best of terms.

The noise of the crowd grew louder. He paused when he saw Saleos standing across the square, his thick arms folded across his chest. His face was a mask of fury as he stared at a smiling Jeremiel. Naomi was nowhere in sight.

“Lahash!” Jeremiel turned to a young woman who was by his side. “If you will excuse me. I need to have a word with my brother.”

The woman pouted as he left her side.

“Let us celebrate! Come. We shall go to the inn for drinks and merriment.”

Jeremiel’s excitement was contagious. Lahash wanted to stay mad at him. He couldn’t.

“Perhaps we can ask Father to join us? He would be pleased.”

“I’m sure he will be,” Lahash mumbled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I won’t be able to join you. I still have chores to do. Father is already angry with me for coming. I should get back.” He headed toward the city gates.

Jeremiel followed, jogging beside him. “I know that look. You’re angry with me. You told me to win.”

“I know that.”

“Then what is it?”

He threw a glance at the inn when he passed. Maybe he should go in there with his brother. An image of Jeremiel kissing Naomi flashed across his mind. He walked faster.

“Nothing.”

“Come now, brother. We keep no secrets from each other.”

He stopped and turned to Jeremiel. He took in the concerned expression in his blue eyes. Sunlight was setting behind him, giving him a crown of light around his head. He did look like a god, like their father. It didn’t matter if he told his brother about Naomi. It didn’t matter if someone else thought that he had potential. His father would probably call Lucifer a mad man for even thinking such a thing.

His father cared for him. He had no doubt about that. But it was painfully obvious that his father adored Jeremiel.

No, it was better to keep to himself and count the days until he could leave.

Lahash forced a smile on his face. “I need to move the herd to the west pasture. It will take a while to do so. Tell mother I’ll sleep out there with them.”

“Then I will join you.”

He sighed. It was hard to say no to Jeremiel. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to think about the race and how close he had come to winning. Most of all, he wanted to dream about the kiss that almost was.

U
riel cocked his head to the side as he studied the dark-haired angel suspiciously. When Lucifer had asked him to search for the strongest men in Jericho, he hadn’t questioned it. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal. It was actually fun as he went from inn to inn in the large city, challenging the locals to wrestling matches and assessing their strength. A side bonus was all the women he attracted.

He had no reason to mistrust Lucifer. His life was exactly as Lucifer had promised: adulation from women, the freedom to love and be loved by them in any way he wished. He had expected his exciting life to be an endless delight, but one day he awoke with a strange feeling. The naked beauty in his arms did nothing to take away the strange sensation of emptiness.

To make matters worse, he could have sworn that he had seen Rachel. He ran down Jericho’s city streets chasing after her. She was nowhere to be found. He brushed it off, thinking that maybe it was someone who looked like her. But after that, he couldn’t seem to get back to his old self. He found it less enjoyable to bed the women he met . . . not that it came to a complete stop though. Lucifer saw to that, encouraging him to do more. Though why Lucifer would care, he had no idea.

Until one day when he was at a small village inn just outside of Jericho and a brother of one of the women he had bedded confronted him with sword in hand, claiming that he had soiled his sister and that she was with child.

Lucifer dismissed the brother’s rants and told Uriel to do the same. Ignoring Lucifer’s advice, he searched for the woman. He had wondered if his child would be like Jeremiel. Like Raphael, he wanted to raise his son. After weeks of searching, he couldn’t find her or her brother. Though he asked around in the small village, no one seemed to know who they were. It was as if they had never existed.

“Lucifer, you must change Saleos. Now.”

Uriel looked over Lucifer’s shoulder and saw Baka charging toward them. “What is he talking about, Lucifer?”

“Leave him to me,” he muttered. “Ah, Baka. I see that we are eager today. I have yet to make my decision whether or not I will have Saleos join me. Are you not satisfied with the generous gifts I have so graciously bestowed on him thus far?” Lucifer’s voice was soft and melodic. Underneath his smooth tones, Uriel could hear a touch of irritation.

Baka’s eyes blazed as he approached Lucifer. His bulky body, rivaling the size of some archangels, loomed over him.

“Your gifts are not enough. It was obvious to all that Jeremiel had been holding himself back.”

“And so he does. He pays heed to what he is told to do—unlike others. Saleos is strong enough . . . for now.” Lucifer lips curled into a smile that made Uriel shiver.

“Uriel has identified other men in Jericho who may be more worthy of the gifts I can give them. Some of them even rival Saleos . . . only they are not as stubborn.”

“Saleos yields to me,” Baka growled.

“He needs to yield to me.” Lucifer’s voice was deathly low. “And if you want your sons to rise as leaders in my army, you will do as I say.”

“
Your
army?” Uriel asked.

Lucifer waved a hand, silencing him, as he continued to glare at Baka.

Uriel watched as Baka’s hands curled into fists, waiting for what he expected to be fierce blows between the two. He was astonished when Baka took a step back, unclenched his fists, and gave his head a slight bow. Baka, the fiercest warrior in all the land with a reputation for yielding to no one, was yielding to Lucifer.

He knows who we are.

Uriel had heard the rumors spoken in hushed voices in all the cities he had visited. They spoke of angels roaming the Earth. He and Raphael with a couple of other angels had been the first to come down with Lucifer. Over the years, others had joined Lucifer. And even though they had all kept a low profile, somehow the humans knew.

He had thought this would stop Lucifer from encouraging more angels to join him. He had thought wrong. Lucifer wanted more. He had been furious when Raphael decided to have nothing more to do with him and was satisfied living in the countryside in relative anonymity with Rebecca and Jeremiel. It had been even worse when Lahash was born.

“If the change occurs, it will be done at a time of my choosing,” Lucifer said.

“What is this change you speak of, Lucifer?” Uriel asked.

Lucifer arched an eyebrow.

And then it hit him. The pieces of the puzzle slid together: the search for the strongest men in Jericho, the recruitment of more angels, the army.

“You can’t do this, Lucifer. It is not for you to decide who is to become one of us.”

“Who says they will be one of us?”

He balked. “Demons? Are you talking about demons? You can’t be serious!” He turned to Baka. “You cannot mean to want Saleos to become a demon?”

“I want my son to be as powerful as his brothers,” Baka growled. “My progeny shall live forever through Saleos.”

“And what of your other sons?”

“Jether and Joab are born of one of you. They are Nephilim.”

“For now,” Lucifer said.

It was like a veil had been lifted and he could see Lucifer with new eyes. He was finally seeing what Rachel had told him long ago. He felt his stomach plunge as he began to see Lucifer’s true self. How could he have missed it?

Rachel’s sweet voice echoed in his mind. ‘Your heart is pure’ she had said to him. Was it true? Was this why he refused to see or even believe that Lucifer was so in love with power that he would turn to evil?

He shook his head. Rachel was wrong. He wasn’t innocent or naïve. He was selfish. He wanted what Lucifer could offer him. He wanted freedom from his role as the Archangel of Death and all the responsibilities that came with it.

“Come now, Uriel.” Lucifer placed a hand on his arm and spoke gently to him. “Surely, you knew. Don’t tell me you’ve turned a blind eye to all that was happening around you.”

He ducked his head, ashamed. And then it hit him: Lucifer had known that he would.

“Changes need to be made here. Humans are weak and not worthy of all they have. It is
our
kind that watch and protect them. It is
our
kind that brings balance when the evil of man overwhelms their weak spirit. So our kind should be in command and be served by them.”

He couldn’t believe what Lucifer was saying. Deep in his heart he knew it was wrong. Lucifer had spat out nonsense like that before. He had always ignored it. He never thought Lucifer would do something to act out on it. He had to convince him somehow to stop.

“The Nephilim are enough,” Uriel said, lifting his head to meet his eyes. “They are revered by the humans. Look at Jeremiel. Others see him as a god. Why not stop at that and be satisfied?”

A flash of anger crossed Lucifer’s face and he smoothed it over. “The Nephilim are powerful, but they will not be enough. They have only half the gifts we have, and they are mortal for they are tainted with human blood. No, the only way is to change them.”

“You mean you will change the humans and the Nephilim?”

“We shall start with Jericho. I will journey there while you wait here. Keep watch on Jeremiel and Lahash. Jether and Joab will give you no problems. They have learned their place well.”

“And Saleos? What of Saleos?” Baka asked impatiently.

“Perhaps if his attitude has changed by the time I return...”

“You shall have it. He will serve only you, just as Jether and Joab do,” Baka said.

“Then when I return, Saleos will be the first to be changed, followed by his brothers.”

Baka’s smile sent shivers down Uriel’s spine.

He had to do something. He couldn’t just wait around for Lucifer to come back. He couldn’t just stand by and watch Lucifer slowly build an army of demons. He had to go back home and tell the others.