Exile of Lucifer (28 page)

216          CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile           of Lucifer
an angel who would lead those areas. Kara looked for his name but
saw it nowhere. He didn't say anything at first.
"I see Rugio shall head up your warfare," he finally said.
"Naturally."
"Naturally," agreed Lucifer.
"And Pellecus will establish your area of teaching and philos-
ophy," Kara said. "And create your own academy I suppose?"
"Who else?" asked Lucifer. "It is his dream and he teaches
what I tell him."
"Berenius at worship? Is his heart pure in this?" asked Kara,
surveying the list.
"He worships as I please and whom I please," said Lucifer.
"All very interesting, lord," said Kara. "Some of the most
capable angels in Heaven seem to be helping your guidance of
earth. The man shall be very fortunate to be stewarded by such
competent leadership."
"I quite agree," said Lucifer, waiting for the obvious question.
"I cannot help but see that my name is nowhere to be found,"
said Kara finally. "I'm certain that you have not yet devised my sit-
uation, or perhaps it was an oversight?"
"No, Kara," said Lucifer in good humor, "not at all. Your
name will appear on the list..." (Kara beamed with pride.) "...after
I have been named steward officially. You see, Kara, until I have the
position secured none of these names mean anything. Least of all
yours. I am withholding your name as a means of motivation for
you to make certain of the outcome. You see?"
"Yes, I see," said Kara resignedly.
"Now, Kara, hear me out," said Lucifer. "You are the most
important element in this mission. You are one of the three pivotal
players in this."
"I'm listening," said Kara.
"Pellecus represents all that must be taught or re-taught to the
Host. His ability to bring about a desired philosophy will be criti-
cal to changing the habits and behaviors of these poor wretches
who have been taken in all these years by the Academy. Change

"We rise or fall as one."                    217
what one believes and you change what one does--and ultimately
who one is.
"Rugio of course represents my ability to wage war--the force
and enforcement of the new world. It is unfortunate to thinking
angels such as you and I that we should still have to deal with brute
force--however--as we have recently seen the Host is not above
brawling. For the time being Rugio and his commanders will see to
our warfare. That brings me of course to you, Kara."
"And why am I the most important of these three?" asked
Kara skeptically.
"You represent my ability to communicate with the authori-
ties, Kara. You are my voice in Heaven that legitimizes what I am
doing. You see how neatly the three areas work together? Philoso-
phy, warfare and relationships--together you three are the heart of
this crusade. That is why I am holding naming your position to the
last, Kara."
"Which brings me to my news," said Kara, still upset and not
satisfied with Lucifer's attempt at flattery.
"Ah yes," said Lucifer. "The reason you came. Well?"
Kara assumed the demeanor of an Elder, settling into a famil-
iar role once more. "As you know, minister," he began, "the Most
High shall very soon end His Creation with the completion of man.
Hence your commission to write an inspiring work for the occa-
sion. Another one of my proposals to keep you tied in closely with
the event."
"So I thought," said Lucifer. "I have already completed it.
When man is born he shall be greeted by my music!"
"And he had better get used to it," came a voice from the
doorway.
"Ah Pellecus," said Lucifer. "Where is Rugio?"
"He shall be here shortly, lord," answered Pellecus, who took
his seat at the table. "He is shoring up support in the Legion of the
Northern Portion."
"Excellent!" said Lucifer. "You were saying of my music..."

218          CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile           of Lucifer
"That man shall best be accustomed to your music, lord, as it
shall be with him on earth always!" said Pellecus. "In one fashion
or another."
"Well put," agreed Lucifer. "How fortunate shall this beast
called man be!"
"As I was saying," continued Kara, "the Most High shall very
soon create man. It is shortly after this is accomplished that the
steward shall be named. This is all I know."
Lucifer paced the room a bit, thinking. "We need more, Kara,"
he finally stammered. "I cannot possibly make an intelligent move
with so little information." He looked pleadingly at Kara. "Is this
all you have?"
"My lord, it makes sense that none of the Elders would have
all of the information," said Pellecus casually. "After all, the Lord
prides Himself on His knowledge. It keeps Him ahead of us and
therefore in control."
"Nevertheless I need more," said an angry Lucifer. "I am tired
of Heaven's plodding. I am tired of waiting. I am weary of indeci-
sive posturing by a God who is not powerful enough to rein in his
angels, and yet clever enough to create a world. I am ready for
action!"
"And so am I," came a new voice. It was Rugio.
"Rugio! You are always my inspiring warrior," said Lucifer.
"Yes, my friend, you will one day see action--this I pledge!"
"I have returned from a discreet survey of the commanders of
the Hosts by legion," he said. "I must report that though many are
with us, including some of the most powerful angels in Heaven,
most are undecided or completely loyal to the Lord."
"We must win over as many as possible while there is still
time," said Lucifer. "However, we have always known that we
should never achieve a majority in Heaven. That is why we have
planned accordingly. That is why I asked you here, Rugio."
Lucifer invited the angels to be seated at the table. He took his
usual spot at the head and after a moment or two began lecturing.
"As Kara has indicated, typical of our Lord, we shall not know
until the last possible moment what His ultimate intentions for

"We rise or fall as one."                     219
earth are. I believe that earth is to be mine. The prophecy bears wit-
ness to this as does sensibility. Our Lord is a God of mercy and
good nature.
"I believe that given the overwhelming response in the Coun-
cil of Elders to have me named, even in spite of some resistance
there, the Most High will in fact name me lord of the new world.
And may I remind you that your stake in the new world is no small
thing either!" The group looked around at each other, satisfied.
"However, until that occurs we are merely speculating. I therefore
place the following to you, my most trusted friends." Lucifer set-
tled into his chair and began the lecture.
"The way I view things there are three distinct ways in which
this will play itself out. The first way, and the way that we must
work towards and hope for, is that the Lord will name me steward
outright. There will be no questions and the authority shall pass to
me. Michael, Dabran, Crispin--all of those who opposed us--shall
suddenly be in the uncomfortable position of having to accept the
Most High's decision."
"I shall particularly want to visit Crispin on that day," said
Pellecus.
"I believe we all shall have some visits to make," agreed
Lucifer.
They laughed.
"But until that happens," said Lucifer, "we must continue to
be vigilant and industrious--and above all, discreet. We must not
give up on any angel who might possibly join us. And we must not
give in to those who will not. That is the first scenario and, I hope,
the eventual one."
The group all nodded in agreement.
"But given the erratic nature that our beloved Lord occasion-
ally displays, we must also look at a second scenario. It is quite
within the realm of possibility that the Lord will request that I
administer the earth from on high--that is, from Heaven--so that
my duties here will not be hindered in any way. In such a case I
would have to appoint an embassy on earth and establish my

220          CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile           of Lucifer
authority through another until some opportune time, at which
point, I would vacate Heaven and assume complete control."
He looked the group over carefully. "I would entrust this tem-
porary earthly ministry to someone whose ambitions would not
become a nuisance later on." He looked squarely at Kara. "I'm
afraid, Kara, that leaves you out altogether--at least in this instance
and until I was firmly established. Only then would I bring you
down to govern with me."
"I don't understand at all," protested Kara.
"You are far too clever for your own good, Kara. You are
ambitious by nature and given certain advantages will take them. I
therefore have decided that so long as I remain in Heaven...so shall
you!"
Pellecus and Rugio gave each other a smug look.
"I must say that my loyalty for this body is certainly being
tested," said Kara.
"It isn't that I don't trust you, Kara. It's simply that I don't
trust your ambition."
Kara remained silent as Pellecus and Rugio snickered.
"And this brings us to the third and most difficult possibility,"
continued Lucifer.
"Which would be?" asked Pellecus.
"Rebellion. Opposition. In short...war."
Pellecus and Kara both jumped from their chairs. Rugio alone
remained passive and fixed. They began to protest and Lucifer
waved them down.
"You have just demonstrated the wisdom of having warriors on
one's side," said Lucifer. "You two, largely ignorant of warfare, com-
pletely panicked at the mere mention of the word. Rugio however,
trained in the craft of war, remained vigilant. And this is why war,
though a catastrophic risk, is still a possibility--and a winning one."
"Nonsense," said Pellecus, fully recovered from the devasta-
tion of Lucifer's suggestion of war. "How can we face the Most
High and the Host of Heaven, most of whom are loyal to Michael?"
"Several ideas come to mind immediately, Pellecus," answered
Lucifer casually. "Do you think I have not thought this through? You

"We rise or fall as one."                     221
overestimate the Host's ability to wage war--especially on itself.
You saw what happened at the Academy--complete chaos! The
angels untrained in war were virtually ineffective as compared to
those who were warriors. Not even Kara or Gabriel were effective.
I tell you that should it come to open conflict, Heaven will be
thrown into disarray and the Lord will do anything to prevent this
from happening.
"He cannot abide disorder--and that is our advantage. I
promise you He will compromise rather than risk a rift that will
forever echo His impotence in His own Kingdom. Trust me, friends,
there is pride in this--yes, pride in the Most High God--and He
will not allow His name or His Kingdom to be associated with such
disgrace. He will beg me to take the earth's stewardship! That is
why if it comes to war, we can win."
"Still it is an enormous risk," said Kara, still reeling from the
horrifying thought of war in the Heavenlies that might jeopardize
his standing in the Council of Elders. Kara's assumption all along
was that if Lucifer did fail in this enterprise, Kara would maintain
his place on the Council and explain that he had been completely
deceived with everyone else.
"Something else happened at the Academy, if you recall,"
Kara continued. "Michael merely entered the room and the order
was restored."
"True, Lucifer," agreed Pellecus. "Michael's commanding
presence might put an end to any outbreak of conflict--as well as
put an end to your dreams."
"May I remind you that you share in the outcome of my
dreams for good or for bad," said Lucifer. "We rise or fall as one.
We fight not only for freedom but now for our very existence. We
crossed that line long ago."
"Still, Michael presents an enormous problem," protested
Pellecus.
"Agreed," said Lucifer. Looking at Rugio. "Rugio?"
Rugio understood the cue and stood up to speak. "I am pre-
pared with one thousand specially selected warriors to personally
see that Michael will not be involved in the conflict on that day. We

222          CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile           of Lucifer
will hold him until it is over. Don't let Michael concern you any fur-
ther." He sat down. Pellecus and Kara were incredulous at the
prospect of even one thousand angels paralyzing the most power-
ful angel in Heaven.
"You believe that these angels will oppose Michael?" asked
Kara with a sneer.
"As I said, these are angels whom I have selected personally,"
Rugio answered. "All of them have certain grievances against
Michael and bear him no friendship. They are quite motivated to
carry out the task. Yes, they will do well."
"So you see how it plays out?" asked Lucifer. "We ask for the
stewardship. If it is denied, we march on the Temple. There we
humbly restate our position as well as our intention to take, if nec-
essary by action, that which we are requesting. Michael is taken by
Rugio's guard and held in a remote part of the Kingdom and is pre-
vented from interfering, and the angels are paralyzed. Another por-
tion of our warriors led by Prian will hold the Temple. Nathan will
take still another small group of warriors to earth and along with
Berenius will make claim to Eden. The Lord, I assure you, will
relent in the face of strife at His sacred doorstep and a collapse
among the Host will soon follow.
"I know Him well. You must trust me on this. This is why,
Kara, you are so vital to me now. You must continue to advance our
cause in the highest circles of Heaven while there is time."
Kara looked resignedly at Lucifer, still stinging from his earli-
er rebuke. "Yes lord, of course," he said. "But the Chief Elder has
had misgivings in light of the tension. Dabran has succeeded in get-
ting close to him. He might even call for a more thorough dialogue
on the issue."
"Prevent this, Kara," said Lucifer. "As Chief Elder, indecisive
as he is, he is important to us. You must regain his confidence. It
will do your own destiny good." Kara looked quizzically at Lucifer.
Lucifer walked over to the schematic of the future earth
administration. He took a golden writing instrument and scrawled
upon the scroll. He tossed the pen down and invited the three
angels to look at what he had written. On the top near Lucifer's