THE FALL (Rapha Chronicles #1) (The Rapha Chronicles) (20 page)

“I have come to claim what is mine.”

Adam paused and looked up through tear-drenched hair to see Lucifer, a glow encircling his head and a golden garment draping his body.
“So nice of you to present my mate so conveniently.”
The mocking voice continued.
“And you’ve taken such good care of my seed. How kind!”

“You are too late,” Adam spoke in a toneless voice. “She is given.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Sacrifice? Don’t tell me the Great One’s developed a taste for blood!”

“He asked, we gave. It is over. Now go away.”

“But… but what about my seed?”
Lucifer sputtered.
“She is mine by right! I was first! What is inside of her
is mine
!”

Adam chuckled as fresh tears spilled and he brought her palm to his cheek. “I am so glad she is dead rather than in your clutches. Thanks be to Adonai for His wisdom.”

“Then I will remove my seed from her body!”
Lucifer strode toward Eve, his hand outstretched, clawlike fingers contorting and grasping as if to will the inhabitant of Eve’s body out of hiding.

But Adam’s voice carried authority in his grief. “You will not touch her!
all
is given. All. Is. Adonai’s!”

There was a mighty flash of light and a roaring flame enveloped Lucifer as he emitted a high, piercing shriek and disappeared. All was silent once more.

Adam sat staring where Lucifer had vanished, astonished at what his eyes had just beheld.

But the strange events of that day were not over. A voice spoke, bringing once again the contented breeze of paradise.
“Well done! Your trust and obedience are a pleasing fragrance to your heavenly Father.”

Adam looked to where the man, looking like a bit of the sun had come for a visit, once again reclined on the rock. As before, the brightness of His form made it difficult to make out His features but His voice was filled with joy.

“Rejoice! This day your enemy’s plans are thwarted. Adonai accepts the sacrifice of your greatest treasure.”

“Does she know,” Adam looked to the peaceful smile on Eve’s still features, “that we did something right?” He stroked her cold cheek.

“She is held in Adonai’s embrace. There is no deeper joy.”

The man came toward Adam,
“However, the heartache of offering the blood of the beloved as a sacrifice for sin is not something the Father asks of his children. He asks it only of Himself. Receive back the gift given, renewed and restored through your faith.”

Then the shining man placed a hand on Eve’s head. The heavenly glow encased her body and was absorbed. Immediately her chest rose with a deep breath and her eyes fluttered open. She gazed at the man before her, joy flooding in. “It’s You!” she exclaimed.

The man laughed,
“Yes, dear one. But you are not the lamb, so rise.”
He assisted Eve down from the altar, and then placed her hand in Adam’s.

Adam looked at Eve’s hand in his, then hungrily drank in every feature of her face before hugging and spinning her as he whooped with joy and she laughed, returning his eager kisses. Finally they stopped and Adam placed her feet on the ground as they turned toward their heavenly visitor with sheepish expressions.

“Thank you,” Adam said, stealing glances toward Eve’s flushed cheeks and glowing eyes. “I do not deserve such joy.”

The heavenly messenger laughed, then said,
“All heaven rejoices with you. However,”
when he continued, his voice was gentle,
“your task today is unfinished. The covenant of Eden must be renewed with blood until the promised One is given. As the priest of your household, Adam, this task is yours.”

“But I have no lamb to give,” Adam said.

“Adonai provides the lamb.”

No sooner was the word spoken than the provision appeared. A young lamb trotted into view, a stout yearling, and, with a plaintive bleat, it started up the hill, its hooves clicking against the rocky ground, until it stood between the two parties.

“You must bind him and place him on the altar,”
the man’s voice continued.
“Approach, son of man, and receive the tools of sacrifice.”

Adam crossed to take a golden bowl from the shining hands. Inside was a length of rope and a sharp knife. Tears already glimmered on Eve’s cheeks but she moved forward to take the lamb’s head in her hands, stroking and kissing it. “I am so sorry,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

Soon, the lamb was bound and lay quietly upon the altar. Adam recalled the scene of sacrifice in the garden and repeated Adonai’s words. “Our sins are conferred onto this innocent one. Adonai’s spirit binds with this accursed flesh, thus the knife is plunged into His heart; the blood that flows is His divine blood.”

As before, this was the first time the animal struggled. According to instruction, the knife rose, glimmering in Adam’s trembling hand, and plunged into the lamb’s heart. Through his tears, Adam allowed the blood, set aside as holy unto Adonai, to flow into the bowl as their divine visitor directed.

When all was complete the man said,
“Step away.”

Adam and Eve complied and when fire from heaven enveloped the altar, they trembled with fear and fell to their knees. Then, when the terrifying rain ceased, both saw in the smoke that rose to the sky, the disfigured form of a man, dripping streams of blood from countless cruel wounds, arms outstretched, muscles straining with torturous pain, eyes peering through the smoke until his gaze locked with theirs. The torn lips gave a smile of recognition and moved with unheard words, then his body was wracked with one final spasm of pain and the man’s head fell forward. The vision billowed upward with the rising smoke, and faded.

They were speechless; eyes still locked on the smoke that rose heavenward, a swiftly building monolith, until it began to spread, reaching swiftly to the north and south horizons and beyond. Finally, where horizontal and vertical met, the sun’s rays shot out.

“Adam, dip your hands in the bowl.”

Adam walked to the stones and the golden bowl where he had drained the lamb’s blood, surprised to discover the liquid was clear. In fact, it seemed a shame to stain it with his bloodied hands, but he plunged them into the sparkling fluid and watched the red stains disappear without a trace.

“Now eat what the Lord has set aside as your portion,”
the man instructed.

Adam hesitated, eyeing the lamb that sizzled and smoked on the stones that still glowed from the firestorm. “I… am not accustomed…. In the garden Lucifer consumed the lamb and—”

“Fire burned him,”
the Holy One finished the thought.
“It will not be so for you whose stain is cleansed. When you eat the lamb’s flesh, you partake of his death and cleansing through fire. In this way, you are one with his death and yet you live.”

“Might Eve be allowed to share the portion with me?”

“No, it is the priest’s job to eat of the sacrificed lamb. Trust Adonai. When all is accomplished to fulfill the covenant, provision is made for those in your care.”

As Adam chewed slowly, the Holy One continued,
“This sacrament is to be observed as a reminder to you and your descendants of Adonai’s steadfast love. In this way, the evil one is defeated in your flesh until the sacrifice that heals all is given.”

With those final words, the light of the man’s presence began to fade until Adam and Eve were left staring where His eyes had been, an after-image of peace and joy wreathed in fire.

Thus they remained on the hilltop beside the blackened altar while the crossbeams of smoke continued to rise above their heads.

Finally, as the sun edged toward the western horizon, Adam and Eve made their way back down the mountain, arms entwined.

“Did it hurt?” Adam asked.

“On the altar?”

“You cried out as if in pain.”

Eve smiled and her head fell against Adam’s shoulder, “It was too beautiful, too… fulfilling. I was absolutely free, no fear, I couldn’t even imagine the word. Even now I can’t imagine ever needing anything ever again. I am not even hungry!” She laughed.

“Did you really die?”

“I can’t be sure,” Eve replied, a bemused expression on her face. “I was aware of all that happened but I was so peaceful there was no desire to move and no need to even breathe. It was like,” she paused, eyes squinted in concentration, “like those times I fell asleep in Adonai’s arms. It was pure bliss. I wanted to laugh when Lucifer spoke because I felt so… so free.”

Later, an exhausted but joyful Adam whispered, “Thank you,” to his Maker as he drifted to sleep with Eve nestled in his arms.

Far away a pair of piercing eyes had beheld the rising smoke. The long-awaited sign was given. If he kept his face toward the northern star, he should reach them by daybreak. Hopefully that would be soon enough.

Chapter Eighteen

Attack

The night was a suffocating, velvet blackness when Adam woke with a start. A distant, bloodcurdling howl drifted in on a cold breeze. Closer at hand, something large and snarling pounded the earth with its footsteps accompanied by the explosive groans and crashes of trees ripped from the ground.

“What is it?” Eve’s frightened voice whispered as Adam slipped from the warmth of their shared woolen cloaks to peer into the darkness. He had no answer. No animal in their region was strong enough to tear up trees and certainly nothing in his experience could explain that hulking, black shape that stood staring toward their dwelling with glowing eyes.

Cold fear flowed through his body.

“I AM His Word that sustains you,”
the Holy One had said.

Adam tried to recall more of Adonai’s words, any words, but when he looked back at those glowing eyes, holiness felt extinct. A putrid stench blew across his skin and swirled through the confines of their shelter, bringing panic in its wake. They were trapped here! How could he defend Eve against this monstrosity? Perhaps the only hope was for him to draw the creature away.

He inched toward the door but Eve’s hand clasped his arm with surprising strength. “What are you doing?” When he whispered his intentions her nails bit into his skin. “No! We are stronger together. It is the enemy’s way to separate us because then his job is easy.”

“If it comes to fighting, you will only be a hindrance….”

“Do you really think
that
will be defeated by strength?” she hissed. “Look at it. Why do you think it just
happened
to show up after our sacrifice?” Her volume rose as she heard and believed her own words. “Lucifer wants us to believe we are vulnerable. Nothing can touch us and
nothing
is going to ruin Adonai’s plan!”

She moved in the dark to find the golden bowl that still contained the remains of the lamb’s blood. “
This
is why we have nothing to fear. Lucifer knows this. Perhaps we need to remind him.”

She strode to the entrance of their shelter and, with her bare hands, dipped and spread the liquid around the opening. Then she placed her still-dripping hands on Adam’s head and ended by applying it to her own head and the portion of her clothing that covered her belly. “There!” she announced to the darkness, “The blood of the lamb is mightier than evil!”

The night erupted with anger. Snarls and howls were all around them. Evidently the monster in the trees had not come alone. If Eve had not stopped him from going out into the night…. Adam broke out in a cold sweat as he considered that possibility. He spared another cautious glance out of the shelter and, from the position of the stars, surmised darkness was only three-quarters complete. With that quick glance he also detected at least five more pairs of glowing eyes. Eyes of that sort were made for darkness but retreated during daylight. How would he and Eve survive until the sun? Furthermore, what were they to do the next night? And the next?

“Human!” The harsh voice made Adam’s skin crawl. “Give us what belongs to our master and you will live.”

Eve stepped to Adam’s side. “Nothing here belongs to your master, so go!”

The speaker’s guttural laughter was joined by a chorus of hisses and growls, “The pretty one thinks to defy the master of this world! You are his. Your flesh is joined to his. What grows in you is his!”

Eve wanted to shout more brave words, but the accusations replayed those horrible moments of abuse at Lucifer’s hands. She was there again, trapped, defiled, and stripped of innocence with his hate-filled breath in her ears.

“Yes, woman,” the monster replied, enjoying her thoughts, “you know. You belong to the Lord Lucifer. There is no escape.”

“You would call Adonai a liar?” Adam shouted. “The lamb’s blood cancels Lucifer’s claim.”

Again their unseen opponent laughed. “Woman, you have been joined to this world’s ruler. Why do you grovel with this maggot in his hole of stone? Come quickly and my master will be merciful to
it
.”

Another round of appreciation erupted in the darkness and Adam’s bravery quailed. How could they stand against such forces? Where were the troops of celestials coming to their aid? Had Adonai ritually cleansed them so their spirits could join Him when these servants of evil consumed their flesh? Okay, maybe just
his
flesh since Lucifer obviously still had use for Eve. With that thought, he reached for his mate in the dark and pulled her close. Her fate would be worse than death. “Get the knife,” he whispered. “It came from Adonai’s hand. Protect yourself with it.”

Again the enemy in the dark read his thoughts. “You would dare to defy us? You are nothing! We come from long lines of kings with knowledge you cannot imagine! Our master honors the lowly human to graft her into his glorious lineage. Choose resistance and we will
take
what is his.”

Adam could tell the vile being
hoped
to shed blood. They had not come to talk, they had come to feed. Indeed, they were sounding more impatient by the second.

“Adonai help us,” Eve breathed.

“Adonai is weak!” Their opponent shouted to a chorus of snarls and clatter of metal. “His creation is taken from Him! He sits in heaven and allows it! He will stay there as we rip your flesh!”

The air was stifling and the patch of night stars was obliterated as the enormous creature rose to the height of the trees. There was something familiar about its elongated, sinuous silhouette. When a membranous wing unfurled against the night sky, Adam gasped in recognition and declared, “We have met one like you before. Wasn’t it your queen who bowed to Adonai and begged release from Lucifer’s slavery?”

Silence. Then an angry hiss, “Human! Adonai murdered our queen for her mingled blood. You defile her memory!”

No!” Adam shouted. “She lives and chose to honor Adonai by casting off her royalty.”

“You lie!” The bloodthirsty snarls broke out again. “The Lord Lucifer said….”

“
Lucifer
lies! You know this.” Then came a flash of inspiration, “Did he promise that you would rule, yet you are his slaves? Did he say that you would be superior to all creation yet your bodies fade day by day? Even now he uses you to do what he cannot! Or did he fail to tell you about the fire from heaven that repelled him today?”

The creature screamed with rage and fear once more clutched Adam’s heart. He had seen the mocking, proud Lucifer fall today when…. Adam searched his mind. Something he had said in his grief had carried tremendous power. What was it?

“Lucifer will devour you! He has raised us! He has given power!” The mob closed in. An overwhelming smell of death descended.

“Adonai, deliver us!” Eve whispered although she could see no hope. She clutched the knife to her heart.

“Surrender to us, humans. You are defeated. There is no escape.” The evil voice droned on.

“Adonai!” It was the only sound Adam could force from his mouth but his voice was weak, drowned in a sea of hatred. Perhaps the knife had come to their possession for this moment. He was overwhelmed with the ease with which they could die, cheating evil of that pleasure. An image of him driving the sharp blade into their hearts blazed in his mind. Was this Adonai’s directive? His hand groped toward Eve, reaching for the blade, but a piercing pain screamed through his being and he yelped as his hand was pinned against her with the sharp knife. His hand had stopped her from piercing her own throat!

With the pain of the blade came clarity.

“We smell your blood, human. Finish it!” The voice quivered with anticipation.

“Why have you not done it yourself?” Adam gritted the words as he yanked the knife from his hand. “Does the blood of the lamb repel you? Are we so close yet out of your reach?”

Suddenly, the words Adam had spoken on the hilltop spilled out in rage from Eve’s lips, “YOU WILL NOT TOUCH US! ALL IS GIVEN! ALL IS ADONAI’S!”

Instantly, a flash of light behind the murderous warriors interrupted their shrieks of rage. The enemy forces were blinded by the piercing glare that flooded the woods and reflected off the wet stain on the entrance of their dwelling. Adam and Eve blinked at each other in amazement to discover their own brows lit with what seemed to be flames. Their astonishment continued as they looked back towards the spectacle of their enemies lit from behind by what appeared to be stars approaching through the trees. The gnarled, armored bodies of their enemies crushed together, heads whipping from side to side, arms upraised as if to deflect mighty blows, swords flailing as they stared with horror at a blinding light advancing on all sides. Shrieks of pain and fear erupted from the confused hordes as they began to cut down their own.

There was no time to question. Adam gripped the knife tight in his hand and ran toward the still-dazed leader even though the creature’s form was a living nightmare, alive with carved symbols etched in the iridescent flesh that towered high above Adam’s head. With a mighty leap that made Adam feel for a moment as if his feet had wings, he bounded up and plunged the flaming knife high into the reptile’s body. A terrifying, gurgling scream hissed from the monster’s lips as the blade pierced the thick hide. The sound of their champion’s pain drove the blinded warriors into an even greater panic and they fell to stabbing, biting, and tearing one another. Adam leapt aside as the leader’s enormous body whipped, convulsed, and, with wings flailing and clawed arms grasping, fell to the ground, crushing several of his troops in the process. All the while the light in the woods grew brighter and Lucifer’s groping, blinded servants continued their self-destruction.

Eve remained in the doorway with the golden, flame-filled bowl in her hands, ready to repel any who approached. But there was no need. The sources of light caused such fear among the enemy that they continued to drive themselves against their own swords.

As Adam returned to her side, she noticed one creature in those fearsome ranks that held her gaze even as it dodged and ducked the swords around him. Obviously, the light did not blind this one.

As gray daylight began to silhouette the branches of the trees, they beheld a most welcome sight. A huge, shaggy shape came bounding through the trees, toppling injured enemies in its path—its joyful, ferocious baying echoing off the arms of the mountains around them. A moment later it ran straight at the humans. Reflexively, Adam stepped in front of his pregnant mate but the bedraggled beast slid to a halt, barking and quivering from the tip of a muck-crusted nose to the end of a matted tail. Adam and Eve laughed and reached to caress the ears of the animal that, crazed with delight in their presence, proceeded to lick every inch of them she could reach.

She was hardly recognizable beneath the grime but it was the dog Adam had named Eden, who had elected to join them on that heartbreaking last day in the garden. They had no idea how the faithful beast had found them, but her delight in being united with them was the perfect balm to chase away the remaining darkness from their hearts.

But this was not the end of happy reunions. Along with the bright heavenly hosts who continued to herd the remnants of their enemy into a tighter, snarling circle, another figure was seen picking his way through the dead and wounded. Eve was laughing at Eden’s antics as she reared up on her hind legs to place massive paws on Adam’s shoulders while the young man stumbled under the dog’s weight, when she spied the mysterious stranger. He was not one of the enemies. In fact, the heavenly army appeared to treat him with utmost deference although he was quite ragged in appearance and did not blaze with their inner fire. There was something familiar about the way this one moved, though his shoulders were stooped with fatigue and his hair and clothing were caked with mud. Then Eve caught the glimmer of a keen eye beneath the lank hair and she gasped. Following her gaze, Adam peered at the stranger then whooped with joy and bounded through the trees, embracing him with an exuberance that rivaled the dog’s greeting. Eve also trotted to him with open arms as quickly as her awkward frame would allow.

“Rapha!” she screamed with delight. “How did you… where have you… why aren’t you….” she stammered, too many questions filling her mind to voice just one.

For his part, Rapha held the young people at arm’s length, drinking in the sight of them. “You are well,” he whispered, relief and joy etched on his tired features.

“Excuse me, sir,” one of the celestials addressed Rapha. “One of the enemy bears the mark of Adonai. What are your orders?”

Rapha turned to Adam. “Well?”

But Adam appeared lost in wonder as he clapped Rapha on the back, laughing as a cloud of dust rose from Rapha’s garment. “I am discovering friends everywhere I look. One more will be welcome.”

The angel led them to a spot a bit removed from the other defeated hosts to where a deformed man creature sat, quiet and composed, though his bulbous eyes peered in wonder from his fierce, spiked helmet. When he spied Rapha and Adam he put his face to the ground.

“Masters, I swear to serve you as long as I live. And if I am to be slain, it would be an honor for my blood to be spilled by your hand.”