Divine Destruction (The Return of Divinity Book 1) (37 page)

Griffin stopped at the closest edge of the podium and tried to appear casual. Itishree grinned touching him on the shoulder with a small act of affection. She climbed the last two steps of the raised platform. Itishree took her notepad out and placed it upon the lectern. She cleared her throat and looked out upon the Assembly hall. Gabriel was menacing the planet’s representatives. The hall had become a gathering of terrified clumps of people. Smart devices collecting video and still images. Flashes plumed here and there. Itishree tapped the dual microphones with her fingers. She could barely hear the dull thunks over the cries of panic.

“Mr. Gabriel, please join me at my side,” Itishree said. Her voice squeaked a little, almost cracking.

The Archangel looked over it’s left shoulder, then turned and walked to the podium. He only required three steps at this massive size. Gabriel stood over Griffin enveloping the vessel in his energy.

Itishree found her place in the notes she had written on the train. Her heart lept into her throat but she forced it back down.

“Father, lend me your strength,” she asked the heavens to herself.

Itishree relaxed and spread her feet shoulders width and inhaled her last breath as an unknown mortal.

“The words of God,” Gabriel boomed over the hall’s intercom system. It was Griffin’s voice. But he was no where near an open microphone, Itishree thought. Since Gabriel had backed away and had not slaughtered anyone in the hall, the ambassador’s and other attendees had drawn closer to their original seats. A few had taken seats wherever they felt safest. Most stood, ready to flee.

“People of Earth,” Itishree began. “Over the modern history of man, since the advent of recorded time, the Archangel Gabriel has delivered the word of God. There have been spans of time between his travels to us. Sometimes centuries, or longer. When Gabriel spoke to Abraham the message was of faith beyond reality, courage, trust in your creator, and the demands of God. This message was forgotten. Moses brought the imprisoned people hope, taught mankind that slavery was an ugly sin, established the most basic laws of God, and gave clear demonstration of God’s power over man. This message forgotten.”

Itishree looked out over the assembly again, pausing to moisten her throat. She pushed away her fears and she vowed to never be afraid again. This is too important, she thought. “Be here now, be the love,” she heard her father say.

“With Mary, God gave you a pure mortal and prophet - Jesus. He had to be hidden from the scourge of mankind until adulthood. Jesus brought you God’s message of love, forgiveness, clear demonstrations of God’s mercy and ability. But you hung him and left him to die. A direct immutable creation of God, slain at the hands of mortals. God’s gift destroyed.”

A few in the assembly had caught on to what they thought was the jest of this display. Cries of woe sprinkled throughout the hall. Wales were audible from a few.

“Buddha was given the message of suffering, sacrifice, and inner peace. God taking the wealthy and bringing him down low to experience the emptiness that countless millions would suffer after him. A significant number of you listened. Mankind slowly opening eyes and ears. But the rest of you, forgotten.”

Itishree found herself pointing at the assembly. When had she become emotional?

“With Muhammad God believed you were ready for governing, for complex laws to protect the peace, ensure prosperity, and establish communication and economy that would span across the gulfs you had created. This message was most difficult. You had to be forced to listen, to read, to understand. And, to this day, you murder each other, refusing to acknowledge God’s majesty.”

Gabriel’s brilliant, massive form reached upward, as if to touch the vale of heaven, and again the horn blasted into existence, riding a torrent of lightning.

Itishree paused for several moments, letting the horn seize the assembly’s attention. The lightning crackled around Gabriel’s outstretched arm. Deafening thunder echoed off the walls. Itishree blinked as the cracks of sound seemed to burn around her. Gabriel froze in a posture from what Itishree imagined a Michelangelo statue. One foot on his toes. The Archangel’s torso lengthened to support the horn. He seemed to reach into another universe.

Itishree’s view of her audience had been momentarily blinded. But once the lightning had subsided she saw heads coming out from under tables. Many people cowered against the walls of the massive hall. They were in fear of their lives now.

“You took each opportunity and made it into a separate and divisive religion. Each religion you made into an instrument of hate. The once promised people are now the oppressors. Apartheid moving from one nation to the next. This must end. Combined, these messages are the word of God. There are no religions.”

Gabriel moved. He pulled the gigantic horn down to his chest with his left hand, and outstretched his right. A sword appeared in his right. This had been the first time Itishree had seen Gabriel’s sword. At his current size the sword was a meter wide and at least six meters in length. The sword just blinked into existence. It was the same color hue as Gabriel but it lacked the movement of internal light Gabriel’s form hinted. The sword seemed lit from a constant light. A never ending energy, Itishree imagined.

Gabriel moved the sword above the heads of the gathered ambassadors and then stopped over an older gentlemen. Then the Archangel turned his head toward Itishree. She was jolted back to her notes. The feeling he was waiting on her was overwhelming. She chanced a glance toward the ambassador in which the massive sword hovered. On the placard in front of him was written, ‘Israel’.

“The people of Earth have made an abomination of God’s message. You have used God’s word to profit and become rich. You have used God as a badge to wage war. You have used God to discriminate against each other. You have used God to murder each other. And, you have used God’s name to destroy your home. All of your sins are at an end.”

Itishree saw Gabriel move again and she paused. The Archangel drew the sword hilt back to his waste. The assembly cried out together.

Itishree cried out, “You will abandon your nations states, your religions, your greed, and your sins. This begins with the unification of Israel!”

Gabriel’s arm rushed forward. The Archangel impaled the Israel ambassador with the full width of the sword. The representative was split from throat to groin. As Gabriel lifted the incredible sword, the man came with the sword. Gabriel canted the sword and caught the ambassador’s legs on the long arced table, pulling the flesh off the sword. Blood and worse sizzled off the sword’s energy, self-cleaning the blade. The body flopped, in pieces, over the narrow table, surrounded by many many screams.

“Your judgement is nye and God tells you this: You will come together and leave this planet. The resources of Earth are at a precarious point. Every new soul brought down brings you closer to oblivion. Mankind’s only hope is to learn to work together, respect each other, nurture each other’s skills, and leave this planet. Your edict from your God is space. All of these worlds are yours if you can work together.”

Gabriel’s sword disappeared with a crack of close thunder.

“Your days on Earth are numbered. The word of God!”

Itishree lifted her notepad from the podium and walked down to the floor of the assembly hall. Griffin reached out his hand and took hers. Together, hand in hand they left the hall. Itishree was shaking with fear. The words she had delivered scared even her. She glanced at Griffin, her eyes large and moistened with oncoming tears. “What have I done?” She asked no one. Everyone.

“What must be done,” Griffin said, squeezing her hand.

Gabriel remained behind. His form glowing with blue white light. No one in the hall moved.

They made their way down the long arching ramp of the foyer. Itishree stopped and tugged Griffin to a stop with her.

“Griffin, something has been bothering me these last few days. When we saw each other, for the first time, physically saw each other for the first time, in IKEA - something passed between us. What was it?”

“You’re pregnant,” Griffin blurted out.

“That is one way of getting to the point,” Gabriel thought in Griffin's head. He hadn’t realized when the Archangel had rejoined him.

He glanced over at Itishree. Her mouth was open.

“Yeah, Gabriel did that in IKEA,” Griffin admitted. He put his hands out and made a childish shrug.

The look on Itishree's face didn't change.

“How?” Itishree squeaked.

Griffin could feel Gabriel inhale about to take over and say something biblically cryptic.

He cut the Archangel off, "That blue light that seemed to pass between us when we were coming out of the 'waking dream,” Griffin made quote signs in the air. “It was a soul.”

She looked back at Griffin and focused her resolve as they passed through the front doors of the main building. The Sun seemed more brilliant than before.

“Is Gabriel in you now?” she asked.

“Yes,” came Gabriel's reply from Griffin's lips.

“Good. I want to have conversation with you, asshole Archangel!” What started out as a normally aspirated sentence grew into a scream.

“My mother is going to kill me! My Auntie is then going to kill me again and you too. She's going to kill you Mr. Gabriel!” Itishree was roaring.

Griffin could feel her teeth grinding and took a step away from her. She was making fists in the air.

“That was our first kiss on our first date, and you knocked me up the day before!” Itishree hissed.

“You have been given the soul of…” Gabriel began to say but stopped because Griffin cut his access to his vocal cords with the mental words, “You should remain silent or she is going to claw my face off and get us both killed.”

“I can't believe I've been in this country for six days, barely had my welcoming interview, and I'm pregnant. My life's plan are discarded. I'm not happy Mr. Angel!” Itishree was back to screaming.

The end.