An Unholy Redemption Chapter 7.1

At the bottom of the garden he closed his eyes to reminisce about his old power. But his emotions were dormant. There was no red light, no wings, just the weight of human flesh around him. He pondered on the night ahead. Why would the Most High lead him on this path? He sighed at the realisation that the Most High was still directing and controlling his life like a puppet on a stage. “You’re not infallible you know, oh great one,” he said looking skyward. “When the time is right and when you’re not expecting it, I’ll seize my opportunity and return as an angel. You will reap my anger tenfold for this humiliation.” Lucifer watched as the cat stalked a bird on the ground. The stealth and patience of the cat was remarkable. In one leap the cat had the bird in its outstretched claws, blood and feather scattered everywhere. Lucifer looked again at the sky and smiled.

“Luther, lunch is ready,” Lucifer turned to see David leaning out of the kitchen window. “Okay I’ll be right there.” He bent down and stroked the cat, which pulled its ears back, warning him off his catch. Lucifer walked back into the house. “Put the television on Ruth. I want to see the news and find out if there’ve been any developments in the east.” David was sitting at the dining table waiting to eat his plate of chicken, chips and peas as Lucifer entered the living room. Ruth was changing channels on the television trying to find the news. “Hurry up, Luther you must be hungry. That’s it Ruth, leave it there, the news is on in a minute. Luther, I suppose you have heard of the growing tension in the east and General Silas, the terrorist. He’s scaring people all around the world, especially now he has nuclear capability. I don’t think he will ever use them though.”

“Why not, after all he is a mad man,” Ruth replied.

“Well, if he did it would mean the destruction of him and his own country. Who’d want that?”

“Someone with nothing to lose I expect,” Lucifer argued. “I expect if someone hated humanity so much, it would be better to destroy it than be part of it.”

“I expect so but we are all part of God, and destroying man will be like destroying God. No, I think we will leave that to the devil and his arrogance. They say that General Silas is the new antichrist.”

“Really” Lucifer said with interest. “Do you think it’s possible for the lord of darkness to take human form?”

“If he is as deceitful as we’ve been led to believe, I guess he could.”

“But what about if he’d been forced into human form? What would you think of him then?”

“Well maybe it’s part of God’s plan to teach that vile wretch a lesson for whatever reason. Only God knows the answer to that.”

“Aren’t you hungry, Luther?” Ruth had noticed Lucifer was not eating much. “It’s all this talk of religion. It makes me sick to the stomach.”

“Quiet, the news is on,” David interrupted. They all listened as the news reader started his report. “In a meeting of government officials representing the world nations yesterday, it was apparent that there was genuine concern over General Silas and his almost completed nuclear capability.

He now has missiles that can reach nearly every country in the world. Talks and sanctions are

being implemented immediately. One government spokesman clearly stated that military action was a last and final resort through fear of provocation. The eyes of the world are watching General Silas and everything is being done to calm the situation.”

“You can switch it off, Ruth. I’ve heard enough,” David said. “Switch it off yourself. I’m not your servant!” Lucifer watched and smiled as David did as he was told.

“You have to let him know who is in charge.” Lucifer turned to Ruth. “Have you ever been controlled or told what to do Luther? Or do you like being in control? I like a man who’s in control of his life and emotions.”

“Ruth, behave yourself,” David reprimanded his wife.

“Well, I’m not the man for you as I’m definitely not in control at the moment. That’s only

temporary though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” David said as he walked towards the hall.

“You are a mysterious man Luther. I fear you and yet you excite me. Do you have that effect on everyone?” Lucifer didn’t answer. Ruth looked towards the door. “It’s some of the important men from David’s organisation. They’ve come to see you, David’s prize. You are honoured. Well I suppose I better play the dutiful wife and clean this table and make some tea.” Lucifer heard whispering in the hall. Then the door opened and David walked in beaming from ear to ear as he looked at Lucifer. It was like he was giving Lucifer the once over before his important guests could see him. “Please come in,” David said and held the door open. He nervously ushered in three men all dressed in black suits. One man was aged about eighty with white flowing hair and beard to match. He tilted his head forward and looked over his glasses at Lucifer while steadying himself with a walking stick. Lucifer noticed the stick handle was made of brass and was shaped in a lion’s head. The second man was in his forties, very straight and upstanding with an air of arrogance and contempt as he stared at Lucifer. The third man to enter the room was in his late fifties. He was holding a black book closely under his arm and had a vast array of pens in his suit jacket pocket. “This is Jeremiah,” David said pointing to the oldest man. “He’s our oldest serving member. He knows all the ritual and every facet of its existence.”

“Stop it David,” Jeremiah said. “You’re embarrassing me. Forgive him, he’s very enthusiastic. I believe you can never know everything. If you did, what would be the point of existing?” He held out his hand to Lucifer who kept his hands by his side. Embarrassed, Jeremiah dropped his hand and looked at David. “Um,” David said, quickly to gloss over the awkward moment. “This is James. He’s the current master and head of our organisation.”

“That would explain the arrogant look he’s giving me.” Lucifer stood up to meet James’ eyes and glared. When James saw his angry look, his whole demeanour changed to as if he were a scolded puppy. “This is Daniel, he’s our scribe. If you don’t mind, we’d like him to write things down as we discuss them.” Lucifer nodded in agreement. “Please sit down gentlemen,” David said. “I’ll see how Ruth is doing with the tea.”

“So where are you from, Luther?” James asked.

“Somewhere far from here.” Lucifer was being cautious, not wanting to give too much of his story away. “All I know,” he continued, “was that I received a bump on my head courtesy of a mugger which left me with suffering acute amnesia.”

“I hope the wound wasn’t too severe. Why don’t you let Jeremiah take a look? He’s a retired neurological surgeon.” Lucifer saw the ruse that was being acted out in front of him, but still he went along with it. Jeremiah took hold of Lucifer’s’ head and it to one side to see the wound, as James continued his questioning. “So you don’t fully remember anything about where you come from and who you are?”

“I just remember waking up in a hospital bed feeling -” There was a gasp and Jeremiah’s walking stick fell on the floor. Lucifer turned to see Jeremiah’s face looking very pale.

“Let me get that for you.” David had entered the room again. He bent down to pick up Jeremiah’s stick, then he assisted Jeremiah back to his chair. Jeremiah then looked at Daniel and nodded. Daniel lifted his eyebrows, then quietly scribbled something down in the black book. Ruth walked in carrying a tray consisting of a teapot, cups and a selection of biscuits.

“Now, don’t eat too many biscuits, boys. I don’t won’t you to fill yourself up before the big

dinner this evening.” An eerie silence made its way around the room. It was quite clear that nobody wanted her there. Sensing an air of disapproval Ruth turned on her heels. “I’ll go and phone Mary to see if she’ll accompany Luther this evening.” Nobody except David acknowledged her presence. “Thanks darling, see you later.” David kissed his wife on the cheek and shut the door. Lucifer noticed Jeremiah staring intently at him as if he were an excited child bursting with impatience, wanting to ask an important question. The only thing stopping him was the look he kept getting from Daniel. Now Ruth had left the room James continued. “David told us he first saw you this morning in a lion’s cage, playing with a lion. How is this possible? How do you command and control such a beast?”

“I didn’t control it, as you put it. It was mutual respect unlike what you showed me when we

first met. I knew who he was and he knew who I was, nothing more nothing less.”

“There is one thing we have to tell you before we can allow you to attend out ceremony this

evening. David, would you mind waiting in another room?” David obediently left and closed the door. “Now then Luther,” James was sitting relaxed in his chair. “The three of us are the head of an ancient mystic order called the Watchers -” Lucifer interrupted, “When did your organisation start?”

“It goes back thousands of years and began in Egypt. I’m telling you this because our scriptures tell us that after a falling star, and during a pre-assigned time which was yesterday, a stranger will befriend a lion. He will be known by a mark on his head that he has carried with him since time began. During this time, we must relate this story to help him remember and understand who he was and where he came from. Only then will he fully reveal his name and the lost secret for which we have been searching since time began.

The story begins with a man of his time - for now I can’t tell you his name, however he was the head of a peaceful tribe. They lived in the east off the land without the need of buying or selling, exchanging things for the benefit of the whole tribe. War, disease and hate were not in their knowledge. They lived in paradise on earth. They worshipped the sun and the spirit of nature which they believed guarded and helped them. They always had enough water and every year the crops did well. No matter how bad the weather had been, there was always enough for people to feed and quench their thirst. However, there was another tribe that lived across the desert in the west. Its leader was an atrocious character, jealous of his neighbours in the east. He could not understand their way of living and the prosperity that went with it. Why did his own crops always fail? Disease was rife and his tribe was always hungry and thirsty. So he decided to call upon a skilled spy by the name of Joshua. He was the founder of our organisation. Joshua was sent undercover to the tribe in the east to try to establish and understand where they were getting their power from. After spending many months observing their way of life, he returned to his master to relate his intelligence. The Master of the West listened eagerly as his spy explained how he had seen such wonderful humanity and kindness encompassed in love. They were led by a man emanating great light, who had something about him not from this earth. This leader always had his oldest high priests walking by his side. Every day, when the sun was at its highest, he would leave with these two men and go off to a place in the dessert.

Then, in the early evening, he and the two elders would return to the rest of the tribe who would bow on the ground and give praise for their return. The Master of the West grew even angrier at such news. He ordered Joshua to return and follow the man into the desert to establish why he went there. So the spy obediently did what his master had ordered him to do and returned to the east. The next day, the master and his two elders left the tribe, closely followed by Joshua. After a short distance, the elders stopped and knelt about twelve feet from each other, their faces angled towards the sky, hands outstretched. The Master went to each of them, kissed their foreheads and whispered something in their ear that sent them into a trancelike meditative state, uttering a strange language. He then carried on walking. It was then that Joshua cautiously walked past the two elders, their eyes white and oblivious to his presence, still chanting their mysterious words. It wasn’t long before the Master stopped at a mound of rocks formed in a perfect circle. Inside the circle was a stone altar. At each side of this altar stood two ten feet boulders with something inscribed on them, something that was not legible to the illiterate spy. The spy waited and watched from a distance as the Master knelt in front of the altar with his face towards heaven. It was then that Joshua looked up and noticed the sky’s blue veil starting to open. Emerging from its blue depths, a bright light made its way slowly down to the Master below. Watching with a mixture of awe and fear, the spy saw the Master outstretch his hands to accept what was now being bestowed upon him. In a blinding flash, the light shot down into the Master’s being making his whole body glow in a glorious white light. Joshua shook with fear as the light left the Master’s body in a beam of light and shot into the two elders, forming a perfect triangle of light. Overcome with fear, Joshua threw himself down into the desert sand. It was then that his fear subsided and love entered his heart, a love of unimaginable power, pure and unconditional. The sand became wet as he wept. The energy within the triangle turned his hair grey and took away all his physical pains and emotional worries. It was then he realised he was not worthy and should not be witness to the sacred coming together of heaven and earth. Covering his eyes from the light he made a speedy retreat back across the desert to his own tribe in the west.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Lucifer interrupted. “Our ancient brethren passed down this knowledge with a purpose. That purpose was to communicate this story at the appropriate time and to the appropriate person.”

“Well, how do you know I’m the right person?”

“All the signs are there. It will all be explained in the ceremony this evening. May I continue?”

“Please do,” Lucifer replied sardonically.

“Due to the prolonged absence of his spy, the Master of the west grew angry and impatient, so he sent two of his guardsmen to Joshua’s house to see what had become of him, informing them they were not to return without him. It wasn’t long before they returned with Joshua. The Master was shocked by his new grey hair and disturbed look on his face. He ordered him to tell his story. Unfortunately, Joshua was still overcome with emotion at what he had witnessed and informed his master that he could not and would not divulge his experience. It was impossible to explain such beauty and spirituality. The Master was infuriated by such insolence, so he ordered Joshua’s family to be bought before him to help persuade him to speak. Seeing knives at the throats of his loved ones worried Joshua, so he informed his master that he could not tell him, but pleaded that he spared their lives. He would show him the way to where the Master of the East went at high twelve, then his master could see for himself. His master agreed and ordered that Joshua’s wife and child should stay captive until his safe return. The following day Joshua and his master, accompanied by his two guardsmen, hid and waited for the Master of the East to arrive. It was not long before he arrived with his two companions.

All three of them knelt and Joshua threw himself to the floor, covering his face with his hands. The Master of the West ordered his two guards men to position themselves behind the two elders and wait for his signal. The sky parted and the light appeared, moving slowly down, ready to be received. Observing this luminous sight, the Master of the West, instead of being humbled by the light’s presence, started to feel more powerful and greedy than ever before. He could have greater control over his people, if not the world. His crops and water supply would never be found wanting. With increased strength he would be able to fashion metal into gold and swords to protect that gold. He would be a king. Trembling in the sand, Joshua cautiously lifted his head to see his master steadily walking up to the altar with a hammer in his right hand. In one movement, he had taken the Master of the East by the throat and was demanding the secret of his light, warning him that death would be the consequence of a refusal. With light still flashing in his eyes, the Master of the East replied, ‘I cannot give you the answer you seek, it is only known by me and the light from above’. Anger grew in the Master of the West as he absorbed more and more of the light. He signalled to his guardsmen who simultaneously bought their weapons down on the two elders’ heads. If he were not given the secret, he would take it. He brought the hammer down with a crashing blow on to the other master’s head, which laid him lifeless at his feet.”