Read Online Realm of the Dead by Donovan Neal - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Donovan Neal
Tags: BluA
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from the sensation of being eaten alive.
Lucifer grinned and the light sparkled off his skin. "Amazing, is it not? Most think they can steel themselves against it, but they are totally unprepared for the intensity of the pain. Do not think me cruel, for are they not the creation of the God you serve? And look at you now, writhing in agony before me. Pity. What God would devise such a creature, that it would consume its host alive? And yet there you lay, still faithful to Him. Pathetic."
Talus spoke in anguish and frustration, "What do you want from me? I told you that our mission was to secure Iblis."
"Oh, I believe you," replied Satan. "Yet I did not ask you about your mission. I asked you how many lights do you see?"
Talus looked at the hovering four orbs above him and replied. "I told you that there are four lights."
Lucifer frowned and shook his head in feigned confusion, "It amazes me that you could be so mistaken."
The King of Lies then nodded toward Hell, and Talus fell over backward, wracked in blistering pain as maggots squirmed within him, gnawing at the celestial tissue that comprised the internal organs of his body.
Lucifer smiled and nodded approvingly while his brother writhed before him and coated the cavern with screams.
* * *
Xcivicus ran to the chambers of meeting with the Lumazi and barged into the war room where Michael was said to be. He bowed upon entry and spoke to the Prince of Angels. "My lord, there is wickedness in the realm," he said between pants. "Five of those who guarded Iblis have been overcome with an illness similar to that which plagues the Fallen. Rumors say the disease that afflicts the Horde now roams in Heaven."
Michael stood to his feet and looked upon his lieutenant, coughing. "I, too, have felt unease and stabs of coughing fits. What are the signs that a plague runs among us?"
Xcivicus answered. "Chills, vomiting, and headache, but it also affects thoughts until they become erratic."
"Erratic?" Michael said. "Explain."
"One guard speaks incoherently, my lord, and cuts himself as if to ward off some unseen evil."
Jerahmeel and Gabriel stepped into the room, overhearing the last portion of the conversation.
Gabriel spoke ominously, "The Withering has come."
"Impossible," Michael said with authority.
"Not impossible," Jerahmeel said. "But made possible by thy decision to allow a member of the Fallen to return to the realm. You have exposed us all to contamination."
Michael guffawed. "Our kind visits the planet at will. We have never been affected by the Withering before, so why now? Argoth's people have surmised that the Fallen are afflicted because of self-rule and the disfiguring of their stones."
Jerahmeel replied, "The thing you say is true. Yet we have always traversed Earth under the authority of El. Perhaps His protection kept the thing at bay," Jerahmeel said, then walked up to Michael and grabbed him by his robes. "By bringing Iblis to Heaven outside the authorization of El, you hath exposed us all to ruin! Thou hast rejected God in pursuit of that which seemeth good unto thee." Jerahmeel released Michael with a shove and walked away in disgust. "Come with me, Xcivicus. We must find means to attend to the people."
Xcivicus bowed and followed Jerahmeel as ordered, leaving Gabriel and Michael alone.
Michael slumped down in a chair and placed his hand over his head. He sighed, "Jerahmeel might be right in this thing. Perhaps bringing Iblis to Heaven's shores was not the best of tactics."
Gabriel stood next to his brother and placed his hand gently on his shoulder and answered in reply, "Jerahmeel is often right in his assessments. Nevertheless, you speak aloud to a brother, friend, and one who hath been commanded to follow thee. Would not your query best be laid where it hast always belonged?"
Michael sighed. "The thing you say is true. I will meet with El and receive instruction." Michael's face
Lucifer grinned and the light sparkled off his skin. "Amazing, is it not? Most think they can steel themselves against it, but they are totally unprepared for the intensity of the pain. Do not think me cruel, for are they not the creation of the God you serve? And look at you now, writhing in agony before me. Pity. What God would devise such a creature, that it would consume its host alive? And yet there you lay, still faithful to Him. Pathetic."
Talus spoke in anguish and frustration, "What do you want from me? I told you that our mission was to secure Iblis."
"Oh, I believe you," replied Satan. "Yet I did not ask you about your mission. I asked you how many lights do you see?"
Talus looked at the hovering four orbs above him and replied. "I told you that there are four lights."
Lucifer frowned and shook his head in feigned confusion, "It amazes me that you could be so mistaken."
The King of Lies then nodded toward Hell, and Talus fell over backward, wracked in blistering pain as maggots squirmed within him, gnawing at the celestial tissue that comprised the internal organs of his body.
Lucifer smiled and nodded approvingly while his brother writhed before him and coated the cavern with screams.
* * *
Xcivicus ran to the chambers of meeting with the Lumazi and barged into the war room where Michael was said to be. He bowed upon entry and spoke to the Prince of Angels. "My lord, there is wickedness in the realm," he said between pants. "Five of those who guarded Iblis have been overcome with an illness similar to that which plagues the Fallen. Rumors say the disease that afflicts the Horde now roams in Heaven."
Michael stood to his feet and looked upon his lieutenant, coughing. "I, too, have felt unease and stabs of coughing fits. What are the signs that a plague runs among us?"
Xcivicus answered. "Chills, vomiting, and headache, but it also affects thoughts until they become erratic."
"Erratic?" Michael said. "Explain."
"One guard speaks incoherently, my lord, and cuts himself as if to ward off some unseen evil."
Jerahmeel and Gabriel stepped into the room, overhearing the last portion of the conversation.
Gabriel spoke ominously, "The Withering has come."
"Impossible," Michael said with authority.
"Not impossible," Jerahmeel said. "But made possible by thy decision to allow a member of the Fallen to return to the realm. You have exposed us all to contamination."
Michael guffawed. "Our kind visits the planet at will. We have never been affected by the Withering before, so why now? Argoth's people have surmised that the Fallen are afflicted because of self-rule and the disfiguring of their stones."
Jerahmeel replied, "The thing you say is true. Yet we have always traversed Earth under the authority of El. Perhaps His protection kept the thing at bay," Jerahmeel said, then walked up to Michael and grabbed him by his robes. "By bringing Iblis to Heaven outside the authorization of El, you hath exposed us all to ruin! Thou hast rejected God in pursuit of that which seemeth good unto thee." Jerahmeel released Michael with a shove and walked away in disgust. "Come with me, Xcivicus. We must find means to attend to the people."
Xcivicus bowed and followed Jerahmeel as ordered, leaving Gabriel and Michael alone.
Michael slumped down in a chair and placed his hand over his head. He sighed, "Jerahmeel might be right in this thing. Perhaps bringing Iblis to Heaven's shores was not the best of tactics."
Gabriel stood next to his brother and placed his hand gently on his shoulder and answered in reply, "Jerahmeel is often right in his assessments. Nevertheless, you speak aloud to a brother, friend, and one who hath been commanded to follow thee. Would not your query best be laid where it hast always belonged?"
Michael sighed. "The thing you say is true. I will meet with El and receive instruction." Michael's face
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