At the command of Jerub ,a beacon of light had been sent out by Hareb , the Angel of Trinity Community Church,run by Pastor Jacob . And by midnight, a gathering of holy angels and ministering spirits in the three towns that surrounded the mountain Magu, had all assembled above the small Church .
As the last angel arrived, they simultaneously folded their wings behind them and bowed their heads as Hareb lead them in prayer to the FATHER .
Afterwards, guardian angels came forward to give their reports on the going ons in their towns . All of them had left protective shields around those they were assigned to .
And the reason was clear .
Tremendous increase of evil aura and energy was felt in the atmosphere around the three towns.
By the time the guardians summed up their encounters with different dark forces and spirits, everyone became eager for the Angel of Authority to speak ,they looked at him expectantly and Jerub knew he only had to give the command .
The truth was , no matter their hierarchy in the angelic order ,they were all soldiers and always ready for battle . His brothers were hungry for some action , it was part of the reason they were created ;to vanquish the enemy.
But they would have to be patient.
Jerub was now fully aware of the presence of Ethjab .
Even their evil counterparts sensed his aura . The activities of evil spirits had not gone unnoticed around the mountain side . It was were the high priest of the old deities lived .
Jerub always wondered why the FATHER had allowed the old rogue to live this long.
He was centuries old now and yet...
Rophel ,one of six sentinels who had been stationed around Magu to observe and report back to Jerub, interrupted his train of thoughts .
"The lad is being prepared for the possession as we speak", said Rophel , "I tried to warn him to go back ,..but the spirit of greed was all over him. "The whole vicinity. was agog with so many evil spirits, ..we were easily outnumbered three to one".
" Then we attack", replied a burly, heavily built angel , his voice boomed loud in the assembly. Barziel was a chief angel warrior under Jerub's command .
"Two angel warriors can take out a thousand evil spirits without blinking" he continued , as he leaned lightly on his huge spiked hammer.
He was one of the four , along with Jerub, who had been sent to war against the chief principality of the three towns, centuries ago .
"Stand down brother!" Jerub said in a firm voice , " the FATHER has given us specific instructions to only observe and report back to HIM" .
"The souls of those involved is of uttermost importance to the kingdom of the Lord of Armies "..continued Jerub, "the boy doesn't know it now , but he is an instrument for the lifting up of others".
" And so we watch and wait for HIS instructions" Hareb concluded.
The meeting finally came to an end at dawn . More sentinels had been appointed among them and everyone given instructions to keep watch and to prepare for War .
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Zebu wakes up with a pounding headache . The intense heat from the sun has practically been boiling him alive. Slowly the boy gets up, and feels stiff and tired .
He looks down and notices the black slab beneath him . No wonder his back aches so much.
The boy steps off the slab shakily, his feet dropping into a shallow pool of dark murky water.
Where is this ?
Looking all around him , he realizes he's in a swamp with mangrove trees all around him, their roots, twisting like serpents above the shallow water in which they embed their roots into.
He looks behind him ,trying to focus on the black slab in the middle of a wetland .
How is this even possible!
By the looks of it, the stone the slab must have weighed more than five buses, thought Zebu to himself.
Suddenly he screams as something slithery moves between his ankles. Zebu's eyes fly open and his senses heighten as he takes in the watery groove around him , noticing it in horror for the first time since he awoke .
The water is dark and thick, pulsing as if it has a heartbeat. He has never seen anything like this before ,neither has he ever come across a more disgusting liquid.
There it is again!
He almost jumps out of his skin, as something slithery comes in contact with his feet again.
Zebu tries to make a run for it but it's too late ,whatever it is , has a hold on him already and starts to climb up his legs .
The boy's eyes are almost bulging out of their sockets . He cries out, shouting for help,
but no one hears him ,only his voice echoes back to him , bouncing off the mountains behind the old groove .
He struggles to move , but his body refuses to obey.
As if moving with purpose, the slithery thing steadily rises up his torso , twisting around his chest and knocking the breath out of him.
Invisible hands tear off the boy's tattered clothing off him ,leaving only his linen shorts around his waist . He gasps for air , his jugular veins painfully pushing out of his neck as the thing climbs up his neck and enters into his screaming mouth.
The boy starts to struggle and choke , his pupils rolling back into his skull.
The unseen hands hold him firmly in place , allowing the evil entity to gain easy access into it's host .
After a few seconds, Zebu's limp body is released and hovers above the dark liquid like a rag doll on strings . Soon it starts to move of it's own free will .
The entity within transports it's host's body effortlessly to dry land and places the lad on his feet .The eyes gently open ,trying to adjust to the rays from the sun .The evil being after so many decades ,once again views the world through human eyes.
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Ethjab had inhabited many bodies as a deity before , exhausting their essence after some years and moving on to another willing victim, mostly one of his dedicated followers .
But non had had such a rich and vital essence as this young boy did.
The body was strong and the mind ,alert and sharp .This vessel had a lot of potential he could exploit .
Saluu had definitely out done himself this time , the demon chuckled to himself.
Zebu's pupils suddenly transformed into slits like that of a reptile ,allowing the demon to see into the spiritual realm .
A smile formed on his host's face as the demon saw his minions flying all around him ,some perched on nearby trees , and others along rocky boulders .
Very few flew down or even pay any respect to their old principality. Most of them looked away in disdain ,their hideous faces not masking their hatred for Ethjab.
" What insolence is this," the demon shouted , " have you all lost your senses , or do you not know who stands before you!".
" Yes we do , Ethjab " ..snickered a huge evil spirit named Ulgar, " it is you who is out of place here!".
Ethjab smiled within himself, he knew this spirit well .This fools did not know who they were dealing with.
Evil spirits were beneath demons and knew their place,...but obviously this one didn't.
Maybe a demonstration was needed , but first, he would allow this insolent fool to continue talking ,..well, just for few more minutes . He kind of enjoyed Ulgar's yapping.
" It has been more than two hundred years, Lord Ethjab" ..sneered Ulgar,... "We have a new Prince now , and you would have to combat him in the ' Orith Abyss' if you want your throne back".
Ethjab moved slowly towards Ulgar and stopped in front of the spirit . The putrid smell the fiend emitted from his nostrils , matched his ugly bat like frame.
However, the evil spirit was not fazed by Ethjab's obvious challenge and brazenly sneered into the demon's face .
Different Green ,yellow and red eyes , stared at the two. Suddenly a chant began from the flying hoard above, jeering them to fight .
Most called out Ulgar's name , openly edging him on against Ethjab. None of them wanted the demon back . He had ruled with an iron fist when he was prince over the three towns . If any evil spirit could match the demon , it was Ulgar. He was one of their most powerful and meanest malevolent spirits .
Ethjab didn't show the slightest fear but simply addressed his opponent in a taunting
Voice,.."So, tell me, imbecile,..who is this prince that sits on my throne ?".
Ulgar went insane at the insult and with madness in his red bulging eyes, brought out his jagged sword and lunged forward to attack the demon .
But Ethjab saw it coming and was ready.
With lightning speed, Zebu's body went limp , and flopped to the wet ground,while a thick green smoke filled the air .
Within seconds, Ethjab shape shifted before his kind into one of his many forms.
He emerged as a twenty feet lion, with the face of a human and the tail of a scorpion , spiked with poison . From his back emerged bat like wings ,each spanning more than fifteen feet in length . He was huge to behold.
Long ago, in another place long forgotten, he and his brothers had used this same form to intimidate the people of Persia , there they called them Manticores . They had been invited by the principality , Ahura , to reck havoc on those who refused to worship him .
For years, they terrorized them until they succumbed, re-building the Ahura shrines they had originally pulled down.
Ethjab looked down proudly at his opponent, thoroughly enjoying the bewildered look on Ulgar's face . The Spirit glanced around for support , but the others had cowered and hidden themselves behind trees and rocks , no one wanted the wrath of their old prince.
Ulgar was humiliated . He slowly backed off and placed his sword on the ground, kneeling down before the beast .
"I believe I asked you a question, imbecile!"...Ethjab continued.
Without looking up, Ulgar answered in a quiet and humbled voice .. "Humrak",..
It is your brother, Humrak. He is our new prince.
"You lie, fool " growled the demon, roughly grabbing Uglar and swinging him across a tree as if he were nothing more than a lizard,.. "my brother would never betray me!".
"But Ulgar is telling the truth" cried another spirit who hid behind a rock ,.. "go see for yourself at the new throne room in the south sky of Magu mountain , great one".
Ethjab looked up at the skies . His inhuman face filled with hurt as anger welled up inside him.
'Humrak was playing with Fire'..
But deep down inside ,Ethjab knew his brother would not give up the throne that easily,.
..but neither would he .
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To be continued
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