Rise of the Fallen by Chuck Black Page A

soon their lines began to falter.
    And as was always the case, a war between the angels and the Fallen meant there was a war between men. The fates of the spirits of men were the same as that of the angels and demons—all went to prison, the righteous to be comforted and the wicked to be tormented.
    Those of the Carrier Order left the Hall of Vision to experience the horror of war firsthand. For each child or righteous man or woman who died, a carrier angel was waiting to take them to Paradise in the heart of the earth, where they would be comforted as they waited for the redemption of their souls .
    But for the wicked men and women who died, demons of the Draeger Order were waiting to drag their souls to torment, also in the heart of the earth. A great gulf was fixed between the place of torment and the place of comfort so that none could pass from one side to the other .
    Twelve wide tunnels led into the heart of the earth, six for the draegers and six for the carriers. During the battle for Kish, many souls of men and women would be taken. If Validus lingered too close to the action of a draeger, Persimus would turn away, for the vivid horror of judgment of the wicked was hard for him to watch.
    As Validus continued to sweep across the battle, capturing fight after fight, the eyes of heaven watched and the trumpets of the guardian towers of MountSimcha sounded. All 144 trumpets resounded with sorrowful notes proclaiming the end of thousands of angel warriors. Voices of heavy sadness sifted through the trumpet blasts to add to the sorrow welling up in Validus. He struggled to stay on the portal, but he knew that nearly all of heaven was watching his portal to reveal the end of the war for earth.
    The lines of angel warriors collapsed, and the Fallen descended on them in a frenzied slaughter of merciless conquest.
    “How can this be?” Persimus asked.
    Validus didn’t reply. He wished he had been wrong all along.
    Validus searched for Commander Danick and found him courageously leading a band of fifty warriors out of the fray. By some miracle they fought to a hill and were able to keep the higher ground west of the city until the demon forces around them considered it too costly to finish them off when there was so much city to plunder.
    Commander Danick led his remaining men away from Kish to a safe haven some distance from the city. Validus spotted two other bands of angel warriors fighting their way clear as well. He wondered how long they could survive in a world now controlled exclusively by evil men and more evil demons. He feared for them and for the few righteous men and women who remained.
    Validus could take it no more. He flew the portal to a distant view of the conquered city and stepped away. The marble floor caught the tears of the angels as they wept for their brothers and for mankind. Validus’s sorrow was so deep he could not weep. He launched himself into the air, spreading his wings wide to catch as much lift as he could.
    “Validus!” Persimus called, but Validus could not stay in the thickness of such heavy sorrow. He dodged fellow angels and exploded out through the high arched doors of the Hall of Vision.
    Zion looked dark and heavy. He glanced toward the Holy Mount where the Throne Room of Elohim was. Michael and Gabriel stood near the fiery pillars as if waiting for some order. Their swords were drawn, and they gazed across the holy city, watching.
    Validus fled from the sorrow, but there was no place to go. All of Zion was filled with the sorrow of evil’s conquest. Lightning and thunder shook the Upper Realm, and fear mingled with the grief of all. Validus flew across the cityuntil he was skirting the open fields and hills of the outer lands. He thought he could hear the cheers of hell, and he covered his ears.
    How could Elohim have allowed the power of Apollyon to culminate in such victory … in such destruction? He dared not think the thought, but it would not leave his mind. Had He