CHAPTER 2 - OTHEYMM

CHAPTER TWO
OTHEYMM

Leliel had taken the form of a brutish looking Hun warrior. He worked under Archangel Wormwood and he had chosen the Huns as the Humans he most admired. Leliel was short with a broad chest and a wide head, with a flat nose and small dark eyes. His wings were deep gray, like ash.
He brought those wings around his body as he came down for a landing in the barren landscape of Purgatory. The empty cliffs of Purgatory were a good place to meet other members of the Heavenly Host, or even the Fallen.
Waiting for him there was a man. He wore blue jeans and a flannel shirt, with a baseball cap on his head. He was Caucasian, tall and handsome, with blonde hair and blue eyes. His was not smiling at Leliel, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“Ho! Lucifer! Why are you in Human form?” Leliel called as he landed.
“I’m comfortable in this form Leliel,” Lucifer answered calmly. “I don’t need to show my power.”
“I think you’ve spent too much time on Earth!” Leliel laughed. He took a few steps to get closer to the Fallen Angel and he was clearly in a good mood.
“Perhaps you’re right, but that is where I need to be,” Lucifer said, crossing his arms impatiently. “What’s the status with Gabriel and his plan?”
“The machine works, he can do one hundred souls at a time and he’s already begun. Now he wants the Keystone soul and has commanded me to find it.”
Lucifer scowled, “Already? Damn it! And the Otheymm are ready to gather as well. I don’t know if I can get him ready in time to stop them on Earth.”
“You’re little project, the Nephilim?” Leliel asked with a smirk. “You’d better get started if you want him in Heaven to stop all this from happening!”
“I know, I know!” Lucifer agreed. “We started the dreams already, but I need to meet with him now. We’ve got to move the timetable up to match both the Otheymm and Gabriel.”
“Then I suggest you get moving. I will tell Gabriel about the Otheymm and that they have their sights on a Keystone soul. I leave the rest to you.”
Lucifer nodded, turned and waved his hand through the air while speaking, “Canto Gattae Terra!” a thin beam of light cut through the air and a doorway opened. Lucifer looked back for a moment, then stepped through back to Earth.
Leliel didn’t wait for the Gate to vanish before he was already up in the air on his powerful wings. He flew through the pale gray sky of Purgatory, looking for a particular set of cliffs that would be at the next meeting site.
He found the dark area quickly and saw a figure already waiting for him, just as Lucifer had. He again lowered himself slowly, flapping his wings against the wind and settled gracefully despite his brutish appearance.
The being waiting for him appeared also as a Human male. But his skin was deep red; he had two short black horns on his forehead and a restless tail behind him. He wore an immaculate suit and shiny shoes. He smiled to see the Angel land.
“You’re late,” the man said in a short tone.
“My apologies, Satan, my first meeting ran over a bit,” Leliel said with a smile.
“An earlier meeting? What tricks are you planning Trickster?” Satan demanded.
“Nothing but the usual!” Leliel laughed. “And nothing that will stop you in any way. So I have taught you how to access your own Quizarat, as well as Feydaykin. You will now be able to stand against the Archangels when next you battle.”
“I’m curious, maybe even to a fault Leliel,” Satan said in a quiet voice. “But what do you get out of all this?”
“Chaos my friend, pure chaos.”
“You realize we may actually take Heaven away from you?” Satan asked.
“Then it’s a good thing we’re such close friends isn’t it?” Leliel asked in return, still sounding cheerful. “But don’t count your chicken yet good sir, the Archangels and Angel have plans of their own.”
“So I’ve heard,” Satan replied.
“Oh?” Leliel asked.
“You’re not the only Angel I talk to,” Satan said with a perfect smile.
“Of course not!” Leliel said again with laughter. “Then we are done. See you in the War dear fellow!” Without another word, Leliel lifted off the ground and flew away to be about his business.
The other Angels called him Trickster, but even they didn’t know what that meant. He reveled in the idea that Demons could now invade Heaven. It would be exciting and new, something they hadn’t seen since the Falling.
Leliel was prepared to have fun at the expense of everyone else. This was living! This would make this endless existence fun again! Leliel would wake them all from their tired slumber.

***

Kayla Carpenter was wrist deep in dead plants.
Winter was coming and end of the season work was essentially clearing out detritus from gardens and flower beds and preparing for the following year’s plantings. Kayla was hard at work and wiped her brow to catch the sweat that was running down her forehead.
She was immersed in her work, thinking of how to explain to the new hire exactly how to do the necessary work without making the boy feel stupid or something. Since she was the owner’s daughter, it was up to her to make sure everyone did the required work the right way.
Kayla was working in the gardens of a barn bistro and flower shop. Inside the barn they sold prepared food, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as local postcards and books. It was a busy shop that had a large greenhouse full of flowers during the season.
Kayla was used to being approached by customers of the bistro, or by friends from the local community since her family had lived in the area for many generations. But she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the call until the third try.
“Excuse me, miss? Can I speak to you for a moment?” she heard come from behind her.
Kayla leaned back onto her knees and turned her head to see who was speaking. Her first thought was that she saw a handsome man, but he had red hair and that always stopped. Her cousins were redheads, and always getting into scandalous trouble, so she humorously associated red hair with trouble.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” she replied to the man, who was tall, and very well dressed, she could tell the suit cost a lot.
“That’s alright dear, I just wanted a moment of your time,” the man said in return. Kayla smiled, always aware that she was representing her mothers business and it paid to be polite.
“Yes?” she prompted.
“I was wondering if you could recommend a local restaurant for this evening? I just rented a house in the area and I don’t know it very well.” He smiled brightly and watched her as she thought a moment.
“Well, the nicest place around her,” she began, thinking she should talk about the most expensive place since he looked wealthy. “Is the Château. It’s right off of Route nine and easy to find. You just take this road that we’re on to the stoplight, turn left onto nine and follow that until you see the place.”
“Is the food good there?” the man asked.
“I’ve only been once, for a special occasion, but yes, it was very good,” she said, remembering the great meal she had there a few years earlier.
“Thank you miss -?” he waited for her to fill in her name.
“Oh! Kayla, Kayla Carpenter!” she stammered out as she realized he wanted her name.
“Thank you Kayla Carpenter,” he said warmly. “My name is Andrew Spur. I just rented the house with all the statues, do you know it?”
Every local knew that house. An eccentric owner had brought a dozen or more statues when he built the place. Some were in the garden, some along the driveway and some on the roof of the house. It was very strange.
“Yes, I know the place,” she answered with another smile.
“Good. One more question Kayla, do you own the gardening business?” Andrew asked, gesturing towards her work.
“No, my mother does actually,” Kayla replied pleasantly.
“Ah! Well, thank you Kayla, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
“You too!” Kayla said cheerfully. Andrew walked to an expensive sports car, which made her chuckle, thinking men and their toys. She turned back to her work and forgot about Andrew within minutes.
Andrew drove away towards the house he had rented, pleased with himself for finding Kayla so quickly and recognizing the necklace she wore around her neck. He had verified his suspicions and now he just had to reel her in.
He decided then that he would wait a week before approaching her again. That should be enough time to prepare everything else they needed to do. Plenty of time.

***

Cormac wasn’t dreaming now.
But the dreams stayed with him throughout the day. He remembered them vividly and he was tempted to try stepping out of his body again, in his waking life, but he paused, wondering if it was all some fantasy.
He was diagnosed with a mental disorder, and it was possible that these dreams were something new, something unknown that was a malfunction of his mind. The idea that he could be fooling himself made him stop and avoid trying the technique as he stood in his apartment remembering the voice of a blue skinned devil.
He tried to go about his day, eager to get to work and write, thinking it might be possible to create a story out of his dreams, but when he tried to write them down they became slippery and hard to remember.
Puzzled, he stood away from his writing desk and decided he would take a walk to clear his head. That usually worked to get the creative ideas going again. As he put on his shoes, all the memories came back to him and he thought about the sword that came from his chest.
He stood, looked out the window, hoping that the strange man would be there, but the street looked empty. He walked slowly down the three flights of stairs and reached the street easily. Seeing no one, as the sun was setting, he turned left to walk towards the trail and the river.
The town was small and filled with struggling people. Many of them were on welfare or other social services. The local outpatient rehab was filled with first timers and second timers, but it wasn’t a bad town, just sort of lonely in a way.
Cormac watched the sky and saw a flock of crows fly overhead. Crows had always roosted wherever he lived, since he was a teenager. He had always thought it was strange, but he welcomed their murmuring talk and croaking. The crows flew about, settling in the trees that grew along the quiet street.
Cormac reached the corner, and still the street was empty. There were a few people that walked their dogs, and some neighbors that had kids, but no one was out now, around dinner time.
Cormac turned left again and walked down the next street towards the small forest that grew along the Hudson River. There was a trail that led from the street down to the river that connected with another trail that wound along the riverside from the nearby bridge to the small park.
The sun was sinking and the street was shadowed in twilight. It reminded Cormac of the beginning of the dream, where he was running from the shadow Demon. A shiver ran through him and he laughed at himself.
Of course, seeing spirits and ghost meant that he believed other creature could be real too, but since he had never seen anything else, he thought its wasn’t likely. He continued walking towards the path that cut through the edge of the woods.
When he reached the end of the street and the beginning of the path, he stood under the lit streetlight and looked down the hill into the woods. At the bottom of the path, where it met with the other path, Cormac saw a light blue shape moving.
Of course, he thought, I would see a ghost now! He stepped onto the path, not really worried since they never spoke to him or bothered him in any way. His feet crunched the stones that lined the top of the path and he started down into the trees.
It was darker in the woods and that made it easy to see the glowing blue light of the ghost. It appeared to be a middle aged man, wearing pants and a shirt, but his motion was strange, like he was – scared.
Ghosts never looked worried in any way when he saw them. They looked confused sometimes, or unhappy, but never frightened. This ghost looked positively freaked out. He kept looking backwards as he hurried down the second path.
Cormac went a little faster, his curiosity sparked, wondering what a ghost would be scared of. He looked down the other path as it ran against the path he was on, he could see quite a ways down.
At the top of the hill, in the dying light of day, Cormac saw another shadow coming. The ghost saw it too, and started to run away. The shadow moved quickly and was soon standing in front of the ghost.
Cormac could see the large shape of something big, taller and wider than a man, but with glowing red eyes. Cormac thought it might have horns too and suddenly he thought he was looking at a Demon.
The shadow paused for a second and then bent in a weird way and seemed to engulf the ghost. It was soundless, but Cormac was sure the ghost had screamed before it was suddenly just gone.
“Hey!” Cormac yelled down the path. “Stop!”
He wasn’t sure why he was yelling but something about the whole situation seemed wrong. Something consumed the ghost and that can’t be what’s supposed to happen he thought. The shadow turned to face him and a shiver of fear went through his body.
The shadow moved and suddenly it was coming towards him, fast, moving trees out of the way and he could hear its footsteps and it crashed through dead branches and leaves. Cormac felt like he should draw his sword, but even that thought was odd in the middle of the growing fear.
Just as the shadow reached his path and stepped towards him, as the red eyes held him still, like a deer in headlights, another shape appeared before him. A brilliant white light, like the sun at noon lit up the forest all around him. Cormac was blinded by the light and he threw up his arm to block anything coming.
He heard nothing and lowered his arm, blinking from the bright flash. When he realized a man was standing in front of him, he jumped back in surprise.
“Hey! Who the hell are you?” he cried out, moving away from the man.
As his vision came back, he realized it was the man who he had seen outside his house. He was still wearing jeans, a flannel and a cap, and he was smiling like he had done something clever.
“Who the hell am I indeed,” he said.
Cormac didn’t understand what had just happened but it seemed that this man had stopped the Demon or whatever was coming at him. He should probably speak gently to this man.
“Yes, who are you? Why have you been standing outside my house?” Cormac asked, as politely as he could manage under the circumstances.
“Why don’t we go back to your apartment and I’ll explain everything?” the man suggested. Cormac nodded and turned to walk back up the hill. Finally, he thought, I’ll get some answers!

***

Leliel walked confidently into Gabriel’s lab.
The rest of Gabriel’s palace was made exactly the way a Spartan King would build a palace, filled with marble and gold, decorated with tapestries and fine carpets. But the lab was as modern as those found on Earth, and Gabriel could do anything Humans could, and more.
“Leliel, this is a good time!” Gabriel called from the far table. “I’m putting the finishing touches on a new cancer that Azrael and I developed. Not as inspired as when he created AIDS, but good enough I suppose.”
Leliel nodded along with the Archangel and crossed the room to stand close by. He didn’t understand the creation of sicknesses or disease, but he knew Gabriel was as good at it as the other Angels of Death.
“You have news of the Otheymm?” Gabriel asked and he took off his gloves and tossed them in the trash.
“I do,” Leliel responded with a dark smile. “The four families have come together again; these are the surviving children, two males and two females.”
Gabriel turned on his stool to face the Angel of Night. He gestured for Leliel to continue.
“They have trained for years, according to my source, and they are powerful enough to make it to Heaven. In fact, they are almost ready now.”
Gabriel smiled grandly. “Is that so? Excellent! And they will bring the Keystone soul with them then?” The excitement was evident on Gabriel’s face. His powerful jaw was clenching and his hands were moving about.
“I believe so, yes,” Leliel confirmed. “I’m sure we can take the girl from them when they arrive. Have the others be ready and we’ll catch them when they enter Heaven.”
“Yes we will!” Gabriel said with obvious glee. “Then we will have what we need to bring God back among us! I have already designed the machine to work through the Human’s internet. We will get a majority of them that way, then we can use them to round up the rest of the world!”
Leliel grinned with the Archangel, knowing privately that Lucifer would be working against that plan actively. And of course the Demons were interested in the Keystone soul themselves. Soon Heaven would be gripped by chaos and Leliel could use that to his own advantage.
Yes, he thought, this is going exactly as planned.

***

Andrew stood in the basement with the other three Otheymm looking at their creation. On the floor, they had carved the symbol of the Kabbalah Tree, a design of circles and lines that connected them.
The Tree would act as the Gateway, the Gattae that the Book described. The Otheymm had carved the design into the floor and added the elements they had acquired over the last several years.
The circles in the design were the Sephirot or the attributes through which God reveals Himself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the metaphysical realms. Each circle needed an item, a sacrifice of some kind, and it had taken years to collect the needed items.
The Otheymm knew that what they had done would likely keep them from going to Heaven after death, but the plan was to live forever instead of die, and all four of them were determined to see this through to that end.
“For Keter, which stands above conscious will, we have the finger bone of a famous leader,” Andrew intoned in a serious voice as he looked over their work.
“For Chochmah, the highest potential for thought, we have the brain of a brilliant scientist. For Binah, the understanding of potential, we have an Olympic gold medal.”
“For Daat, the intellect of knowledge,” he continued, “We have the life works of a brilliant but mad man. For Chesed, the loving kindness, we have the heart of a great lover. For Gevurah, or strength, we have the hand of a mighty warrior.”
“For Rachamim, mercy, we have the collected tears of a Saint. For Netzach, victory, we have a sword. For Hod, the glory, we have an ancient Bible. For Yesod, the foundation, we have a brick from the Wall of China. And last, for Malkuth, the Kingdom, we have a King’s crown.”
“So we have everything we need except the Keystone?” Jessica Finn asked, in her husky, sultry voice. “And you have found her?”
Andrew stepped away from the carving and objects to face the others. “I have found her and seen the necklace. She has it. I will approached her on Monday and invite her here. We will take her then.”
“And finally we will go to the Garden!” Michelle Hope said happily.
“Yes, that will get us there, but you do realize that’s when all our training will count. We will likely have to fight Angels or Archangels. They are going to be powerful. They’ve been around since the beginning of time!”
“I will protect you,” James Bell promised in his deep low voice. His giant hangs squeezed together at the thought.
“We will have to fight together,” Andrew insisted. “This will be harder than anything we’ve ever done. But we have planned and researched and trained for this. This is our right! Our destiny! We will reach the Garden and find the Tree of Life.”
The four Otheymm looked at each other with those words in mind. These four had worked so hard to reach this goal, this promise, this ideal. This was something no other Human could accomplish. They had been born to do this.
“Let’s go back upstairs and have dinner. We can discuss the best way to trap Kayla Carpenter,” Andrew suggested. He ushered the other up the rickety stairs, back into the mansion where servants had prepared a large meal for them.

***

“So first of all, who are you?”
Cormac and the stranger had walked in silence for the two blocks back to his apartment. Fortunately, he thought, none of his neighbors saw him bring the strange man inside. He was sure he didn’t want anyone to know about it.
“You may call me Nicholas,” the man said, with a small smile.
“Ok, Nicholas,” Cormac said with no small amount of attitude, “What is this all about? Why am I having these weird dreams? And why are you standing outside watching me?”
“Let’s start at the beginning shall we?” Nicholas said calmly, turning to take a seat in the large chair in the living room. Cormac moved to the desk chair and turned it to face the man.
“You are not an ordinary Human Cormac,” Nicholas said, his stare suddenly intense.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Cormac said in return, still annoyed and unsure.
“You were adopted as a child and never met your birth parents,” Nicholas went on, sitting comfortably in the chair.
“That’s true,” Cormac agreed.
“Your mother was a Human and your father was an Angel,” Nicholas said as if it was obvious.
“Wait, what?!” Cormac asked. “Are you crazy?”
“I’m sure you have never felt like other people, you feel like you don’t belong, relationship are hard for you to manage, you feel alone most of the time, isn’t that right?”
Cormac shut his open mouth for a moment. “That’s true, but it’s because I am bi-polar and have mood disorders, not because I’m half-Angel!”
Cormac didn’t want to discuss those feelings, the feeling he’d always had about being different, feeling like he should have been born in an earlier time. Those thoughts made him uncomfortable.
“Cormac, I know this is hard to take in quickly, but we don’t have a lot of time. Do you want proof, would that help?”
Cormac didn’t know what he was agreeing to, but he nodded silently. Nicholas stood up out of the chair. There was only about four feet between the two men and Cormac looked up to watch Nicholas’s face.
Suddenly he felt that pressure feeling return, like when he was near a ghost, or the shadow creature, but this was even stronger. This was making him fall to the ground at Nicholas’s feet.
Cormac immediately got angry. That this man could drive him to his knees was unacceptable. Cormac pushed himself back up to his chair, and even though it felt painful, he forced himself back into a sitting position in the chair.
Nicholas smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Wings, giant white wings appeared behind the man. A glow surrounded him, like he was standing in sunlight instead of inside a simple apartment.
Nicholas was powerful, majestic. The spiritual pressure was enormous and Cormac had trouble facing him. But the smile on his face kept Cormac there, working to keep his head upright, to show strength in the face of such power.
Then it all went away. The glow, the wings, the pressure, all vanished. Cormac took a deep breath again and let it out in a rush. Nicholas sat easily back into the chair.
“Do you believe me now?” he asked.