Unholy Empire: Chronicles of the Host, Vol 2: Chronicles of the Host, Book 2 (36 page)

“This what the Lord says,” began Moses. “Egypt’s pride is this great river which the Lord Creator blessed upon this land. Yet you have profaned that which was given by the living God and made it into a thing to be worshiped—an abomination in the sight of God! Therefore, the Lord God shall turn this ‘sacred’ river Nile into blood so that every living thing within it shall die. Thus shall your god Sobek be humbled; thus, perhaps, you shall see that the power of God is greater than that of the gods of Egypt!”

“Then it is here on the river that we shall make our stand!” said Sobek. He quickly ordered the legions under his command to create a wall between the sacred river and Moses. They stood shoulder to shoulder, massing until the river itself was blotted out by their presence. Sobek himself stood in front of the massed legions.

“I defy the living God of Moses,” he said.

By this time Pellecus had arrived with Lucifer and was waiting at a distance to see the outcome of the contest. He whispered to Lucifer:

“Does he know what he is doing, defying the Most High?” Pellecus asked.

“He is not speaking to the Most High as much as he is speaking to the human sorcerers,” Lucifer said, indicating Jannes and Jambres, who in turn boasted aloud that Sobek cried out in defiance of the Hebrew god.

Moses raised his staff and pointed it toward the river—directly where Sobek stood defiantly in front of the massed devils. The power of the Lord shot forth, throwing Sobek to the ground and scattering the wall of demons like so many hornets whose nest has been disturbed. Sobek was paralyzed and in a panic.

Lucifer and Pellecus both moved back as the brilliant light, unseen by the humans, streamed out of Moses’ staff and into the middle of the river. Moses then walked to the bank of the river, treading directly over Sobek, and dipped his staff into the Nile. Suddenly from the middle of the river a thin reddish streak could be seen, which became more and more pronounced.

Fishermen and barges stopped whatever they were doing and looked in wonder as the Nile turned red with blood! The red ribbon continued expanding until it reached both banks of the Nile, creating a stream of bloody red water. Sobek’s own image began bleeding from the eyes and teeth. The crocodiles in the river, the very image of Sobek, began thrashing about, dying or moving out of the poisonous water.

Rameses looked in disbelief at the scene. He looked to the priests, who only offered prayers to Sobek, to overcome the Hebrew god’s visitation upon the river. But Maret-men spoke soothingly to the pharaoh.

“Majesty, this is only another trick of a prophet without a god,” said Maret-men. “The Nile does indeed flow red, but not because of the power of a god, but the tricks of a magician! Behold!”

Upon his cue Jannes and Jambres took the pitcher that Pharaoh had been holding and with Kara’s involvement, turned the water into blood. Pharaoh’s fear turned into anger as he looked upon Moses. Rameses took the pitcher, smashed it at Moses’ feet, and turned away in anger.

Lucifer, Kara, and Pellecus moved over to Sobek, who was still cringing in fear at the bank of the now red river of which he was lord. He looked up, still reeling from the power that had shot forth from Moses’ staff.

“You have failed, Sobek,” said Lucifer. “If Kara had not duplicated this with the sorcerers, Rameses might even now be freeing the Hebrews. And the Seed would flourish at another time and place.”

“My lord,” said Sobek. “It was not a trick. It was the power of Almighty God!”

“Enough!” screamed Lucifer. “You are not worthy of a great god in Egypt. Be gone! I’ll deal with you at another time!”

Sobek looked at Kara, who was muttering curses at him, and Pellecus, who smirked at his plight. Sobek then spoke one more time.

“I leave humbled. The great god of the Nile has been vanquished. But mark this, Kara! You who sit at the seat of Amen-Ra. All the gods of Egypt will be called upon to face the God if Israel. And if I can be so easily overcome, so shall all the gods of Egypt be…including Amen-Ra!”

He then vanished with an angry shriek.

“He’s right about one thing,” mused Lucifer, looking over the red river, where dead fish were already piling up on the shore. “The gods of Egypt will have to face Moses. How long you can keep up the farce through Maret-men is questionable.”

“I suspect that the judgments will come in ever-increasing complexity,” said Pellecus. “This seems to be the pattern of the Most High. Sobek proved quite disappointing in his collapse.”

“Sobek was a fool,” said Kara. “I will see to Moses’ defeat personally.”

“Yes, Sobek was a fool,” admitted Lucifer. “Nevertheless, I agree with Pellecus. The Most High will increase the pressure upon Rameses and his priests. We need more power here to deal with Moses. If he should prove successful in gaining access to Pharaoh’s heart, we are finished!”

“Moses will never get Pharaoh to change his mind,” said Kara.

“See that he doesn’t,” said Lucifer threateningly. He then vanished.

Pellecus smiled at Kara.

“How convenient that we are in a temple setting,” he said with a bit of menace. “You had better pray to Amen-Ra for wisdom!”

He then vanished also.

Chronicles of the Host

Judgment

Just as Pellecus had surmised, the plagues against Egypt intensified, each event aimed at a particular god of Egypt. For the Host, it was a wonderful time of watching the Lord dismantle the proud gods of Egypt in great terror and judgment.

Judgment Two: Heka, fertility goddess

Following the humbling of Sobek, god of the Nile, the Lord caused a great multitude of frogs to come upon the land. Since these were sacred to the fertility goddess Heka, the Egyptians would not touch them. But Jannes and Jambres duplicated this judgment as well; thus Pharaoh was not impressed, although he later begged Moses to pray to God and get rid of the frogs.

Judgment Three: Geb, god of the earth

Moses then stretched out his staff and struck the ground. Millions and millions of gnats came from the dust of the earth. Geb, maddened by his inability to counter Moses, begged Kara for assistance. This time the magicians Jannes and Jambres could not duplicate the miracle; they called upon Pharaoh to make peace with Moses.

Judgment Four: Khepara, the scarab

Next Moses commanded that great swarms of flies, sacred to Khepara, the scarab-headed god, to swarm the Egyptians. They poured into all the houses of the Egyptians, including the palaces and temples of Rameses and the priests of Thebes. And to demonstrate that God was indeed in control, no flies plagued Goshen, where the Hebrews lived. Still Rameses would not relent. He refused to let the people go.

Judgment Five: Apis, the sacred bull

The Lord then caused a pestilence to sweep the land so that the livestock of the Egyptians began to die—cows, horses, goats, sheep. Even the sacred bulls of Apis at Heliopolis died in the plague. Pharaoh sent to Anipur in Goshen, who confirmed that indeed not one Hebrew animal had died in the plague. All of Egypt cried for relief. But still Rameses remained hard to Moses’ demands. But at the insistence of the priests, he convened a meeting to discuss further the strategy against Moses…

C
HAPTER
18

“Is there nothing the gods can do to help us?”

“Great one, every district is reporting that their animals are either dead or near death,” said On, governor-general of Egypt. “The army stands ready to move into Goshen and crush this rebellion in a final bloody battle!”

“That would be utter folly,” countered Kephti. “It would be exactly what Moses wants us to do. If we go in forcibly against the Hebrews they will certainly defeat us with their sorcery.”

“Lord Pharaoh,” insisted On. “I command the greatest and best trained army in the world. Give me the word and I will take the great divisions, including the veterans of Kadesh, and the chariots, and destroy every Hebrew in Egypt!”

“That would be defeating the purpose of keeping them,” said Anipur. “We need the slaves to build our cities!”

“
You
need them, you mean,” said On. “If you had a better handle on the situation in Goshen, we would not be facing such a catastrophe.”

“Enough of this nonsense,” said Rameses. “If my own council fights itself, how can we possibly overcome the Hebrews?”

Rameses stood up from his place at the council of war in his palace at Thebes. As he walked the sound of dead flies crunching under his feet could be heard throughout the room. Most of the live flies had dissipated, but the millions of dead ones created a horrible stench throughout Egypt. Pharaoh looked down at his feet.

“Look at my beautiful palace,” he said. “And the sacred sites. They are covered with dead frogs and gnats and flies. The country reeks of dead animals. The river is still rotten, so that we dig for water like desert scoundrels. And Moses demands that we release the people. But how can we? If we give up the Hebrews, we will lose the ability to recover from the disasters that have befallen us”

He looked the council over.

“I am open to suggestions as to how to deal with Moses,” he said. “I cannot, as much as I would like to, resort to the military option just yet, Commander On. But be patient, for I promise that one day you will be in hot pursuit of Hebrew blood.”

The council was silent for a moment.

“Majesty, may I speak?”

It was Maret-men.

“Of course Maret-men,” said Rameses. “I have hardly heard from you since you last were able to duplicate Moses’ crimes against us—some three plagues ago.”

“Great one, it is true that the arts of Egypt have fallen short in duplicating the works of the demon god of the Hebrews,” said Maret-men. “But I propose something new. Rather than duplicate a work against us, pray allow me, majesty, to create a work of evil against Moses. I shall use all of my powers to conjure up an evil spirit that shall harass Moses, so that he will beg to work in the brick pits of Goshen!”

“Interesting,” said Rameses. “The black arts of Egypt, the secret knowledge and dark wisdom of centuries against a simple desert spirit—a demon, as you have proposed. What do you think, Kephti?”

“I believe the gods of Egypt are crying out for revenge, majesty,” said Kephti. “What better way to destroy the wisdom of Moses’ god than with the wisdom of our own gods? It seems quite fitting.”

“Agreed,” said Rameses. “See to it!”

Kephti, Maret-men, Jannes, and Jambres met together to discuss the strategy against Moses. It was decided that all the priests in the land must enter into a time of ceremonial cleansing and fasting in preparation for the great that would be raised from Thebes. Once the period of cleansing was complete, they would bring upon the Hebrews and upon their prophet a plague worse than any in Egypt’s history.

“Then it is settled,” said Kephti. “I shall proclaim a time of cleansing and fasting among the priests throughout the land, and then we shall conjure up such a fierce wrath against Israel that they will kill Moses because of their affliction!”

“But Lord Kephti, you cannot enter into a temple for the cleansing,” said his aide, pointing to a reddish outbreak on his arm. “Sir, forgive me, but you are unclean!”