into the city.” I was going to tell him about the horses and the elite guard, but he cut me off.
“How many of you imbeciles do I need to tell me Moses got into the city? I got it, all right? And here you all are comfy at home while Moses wanders around Egypt completely unopposed.” His eyes seared each of us. I knew not to say anything right then, but one of the others did not.
“What did you expect us to do when the heavenly host showed up?” he blurted out. “You were certainly no match for them when we were in heaven. Don’t blame us for getting out before they saw us and turned the wrath of you-know-who on us again.”
Oh, my. Bad, bad answer. No one was ever allowed to remind Satan of how Michael had thrown us out of heaven after the rebellion.
Over the centuries, I’d seen Satan throw just about every kind of fit you might imagine. I’d seen rage that melted demons’ wings and violence against his own kind that in any other created species would be unimaginable. But I had never seen Satan do what he did that day to the demon who dared to say what all of us were thinking. I dare not say what happened, but suffice it to know our former comrade was no more.
“Any other comments?” he snarled to the rest of us as he wiped away the demon ooze that dribbled out of his mouth. Disgusting, I know, but it gives you a hint. Of course, not a word was spoken. No one even thought out loud. Everyone fled for his post. I was glad to be going back to my perch to resume my duties of watching the Hebrews when Satan stopped me in my attempted exit.
“Does Moses have any weapons to use against Ramses?”
“Not to speak of, sir. He has his shepherd’s staff, but that’s about it. Nothing to worry about, although it does have one pretty impressive add-on feature.” I was remembering what I had seen in the desert. “He can turn his staff into a snake. I saw him do it back there at the bush.”
For a moment, Satan didn’t seem to know what to do with this information. God hadn’t been all that favorably disposed toward using snakes for anything since that episode in the garden. Satan summoned one of the demon princes who specialized in magic and told him to position himself with the court magicians.
“Whatever Moses does with his staff, make sure they can duplicate it,” he hissed to the prince, who did not speak but just nodded and whisked away toward Ramses’ palace.
“You.” Satan was speaking to me again. “Dog his steps. Watch every move. If he hears from God, I want to know about it. Do not allow Moses to leave Egypt with the Hebrews.”
I took to flight in search of Moses without asking any questions, but I kept thinking about that last statement. Surely Satan was not suggesting that I might be able to keep Moses from doing anything, much less liberating the slaves. Since we were not allowed to ask follow-up questions, it was a constant battle to guess what Satan meant by what he said.
C HAPTER 5
A T FIRST THEY just stared at one another as if each had seen a ghost. Moses, weathered and leathered, a man who had battled the desert and survived, seemed out of place but oddly at ease in the opulence surrounding him. Aaron stood by his side, uncomfortable and unsure of where he was supposed to look, so he stared at the floor. Ramses sat on his throne in splendor, dressed in his royal robes, with a look of confusion and disbelief all over his face. Moses had no trouble getting in to see the pharaoh because as soon as Ramses heard that someone claiming to be his long-lost brother had arrived, he canceled the business at hand and had Moses ushered into the throne room.
Ramses spoke first. “You’ve returned from the grave, my brother. Have you come back to us to take your place in the royal service?”
“No, Ramses,” Moses said. “We both know I have no claim to the royal lineage. I am the son of Hebrew slaves.”
“Nonsense,” Ramses replied. “We played together as children. We were as
“How many of you imbeciles do I need to tell me Moses got into the city? I got it, all right? And here you all are comfy at home while Moses wanders around Egypt completely unopposed.” His eyes seared each of us. I knew not to say anything right then, but one of the others did not.
“What did you expect us to do when the heavenly host showed up?” he blurted out. “You were certainly no match for them when we were in heaven. Don’t blame us for getting out before they saw us and turned the wrath of you-know-who on us again.”
Oh, my. Bad, bad answer. No one was ever allowed to remind Satan of how Michael had thrown us out of heaven after the rebellion.
Over the centuries, I’d seen Satan throw just about every kind of fit you might imagine. I’d seen rage that melted demons’ wings and violence against his own kind that in any other created species would be unimaginable. But I had never seen Satan do what he did that day to the demon who dared to say what all of us were thinking. I dare not say what happened, but suffice it to know our former comrade was no more.
“Any other comments?” he snarled to the rest of us as he wiped away the demon ooze that dribbled out of his mouth. Disgusting, I know, but it gives you a hint. Of course, not a word was spoken. No one even thought out loud. Everyone fled for his post. I was glad to be going back to my perch to resume my duties of watching the Hebrews when Satan stopped me in my attempted exit.
“Does Moses have any weapons to use against Ramses?”
“Not to speak of, sir. He has his shepherd’s staff, but that’s about it. Nothing to worry about, although it does have one pretty impressive add-on feature.” I was remembering what I had seen in the desert. “He can turn his staff into a snake. I saw him do it back there at the bush.”
For a moment, Satan didn’t seem to know what to do with this information. God hadn’t been all that favorably disposed toward using snakes for anything since that episode in the garden. Satan summoned one of the demon princes who specialized in magic and told him to position himself with the court magicians.
“Whatever Moses does with his staff, make sure they can duplicate it,” he hissed to the prince, who did not speak but just nodded and whisked away toward Ramses’ palace.
“You.” Satan was speaking to me again. “Dog his steps. Watch every move. If he hears from God, I want to know about it. Do not allow Moses to leave Egypt with the Hebrews.”
I took to flight in search of Moses without asking any questions, but I kept thinking about that last statement. Surely Satan was not suggesting that I might be able to keep Moses from doing anything, much less liberating the slaves. Since we were not allowed to ask follow-up questions, it was a constant battle to guess what Satan meant by what he said.
C HAPTER 5
A T FIRST THEY just stared at one another as if each had seen a ghost. Moses, weathered and leathered, a man who had battled the desert and survived, seemed out of place but oddly at ease in the opulence surrounding him. Aaron stood by his side, uncomfortable and unsure of where he was supposed to look, so he stared at the floor. Ramses sat on his throne in splendor, dressed in his royal robes, with a look of confusion and disbelief all over his face. Moses had no trouble getting in to see the pharaoh because as soon as Ramses heard that someone claiming to be his long-lost brother had arrived, he canceled the business at hand and had Moses ushered into the throne room.
Ramses spoke first. “You’ve returned from the grave, my brother. Have you come back to us to take your place in the royal service?”
“No, Ramses,” Moses said. “We both know I have no claim to the royal lineage. I am the son of Hebrew slaves.”
“Nonsense,” Ramses replied. “We played together as children. We were as
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