CHAPTER 8 | genesis II

📎A/N. Hello my lovelies. Welcome to the weekend! It has been such a tragic week, first the devastation in Baghdad and then the events in the US. My heart goes out to all the families affected. The streets of Heaven is too crowded with Angels that should have been left on Earth.

Also, I would like to thank all of you who sent lovely messages regarding my fathers illness. You're support is greatly appreciated.❤

I hope you enjoy this chapter... it may answer some questions... but then again it may not. ;-)  Don't forget to vote!

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Ryker took another drink and met Keira's startled gaze.

Good, it's about time someone else is on the back-foot.

Ryker had been on autopilot as he listened to Deacon unfold a history he was blind to. After ignoring his initial reaction to lash out at his mentor and friend he now only wanted answers. Keira, unable to meet his unwavering expectant stare, broke eye contact and looked away. Not willing to back down, he stood his ground.

"I'm not getting any older so I can wait as long as you can," he said, his voice coming out harsher than intended.

Keira let out a deep breath and reached for the drink that had been left for her. "How well do you know the Bible?" Keira asked as she stared at the amber contents.

Ryker shrugged his shoulders. "As much as anyone. It's a diverse collection of writing from a lot of people."

He watched as she cradled the drink in her small hands. The clinking of ice as it made contact with the sides of the glass rang through the silent room. Keira cleared her throat. "Biblical scholars look at the Bible in a different way than the average churchgoer. The reality is that in addition to its importance as a human artefact that was written by over 40 contributors over a 1500-year period, it tells us a lot more than people realise.

Keira paused and finally looked up at him. Her expression was strained as she continued. "Most of Christianity's belief structure is focused on the new testament, a forgiving and loving God. The old testament illustrates a darker, not so merciful God."

"I always wondered about that," Ryker said. "Between banishing, drowning, slaughtering entire cities, sending ten plagues and killing first-borns, I could never work out how Christianity thrived and grew."

Deacon let out a dry laugh. "That's because it's based on Jesus's teachings and not the actions that came before," he said, joining the conversation.

Keira nodded in agreement. "You have to remember, that the documented stories were written down hundreds of years after they actually happened. As with anything that is repeated verbally through multiple generations, a little gets lost in the translation."

Ryker sat on the nearest armrest. He wasn't sure where this was headed, but it looked like it was going to take a while to get to the point.

"I'm with you so far," he said, "but I have no idea what this has to do with a door."

Keira glanced over at Deacon and then back at him. It was clear she was leading up to something, but for the life of him he couldn't work out what.

What do Bible stories have to do with our current situation?

"Most Christians know of, and pretty much accept that the fallen angels were cast out of Heaven," Keira said.

Angels? Heaven? Careful to not roll his eyes he said, "They tried staging their own coup or something like that."

"That's right," she confirmed. "They were granted free will and some of them started to believe they were more powerful than God. It escalated, and they were eventually cast out of Heaven. A third of the angels fell when Lucifer failed in overthrowing the Kingdom of Heaven. Among those that fell with him was Leviathan, who was bent on revenge after God had condemned her lover, Behemoth, to Hell after he had killed another angel."

Ryker froze. She's talking like this actually happened.

He pulled himself out of his shocked state and his head whipped to face Deacon.

"I know this sounds far-fetched, but I assure you every word is true. You need to understand the full story – from the beginning," Deacon said.

Ryker raised his hands. "I didn't say anything."

Deacon cocked his eyebrow. "You didn't need to." He turned to Keira. "Please continue."

She let out a tentative smile and bit her bottom lip as if searching for how to begin. "Most of the fallen lesser angels lost their wings and were the first demons to walk the earth. The higher angels retained an extraordinary amount of their angelic gifts. The belief was that God hoped they would realise the error of their ways, repent and return to heaven."

"If God could banish them, surely it showed the Angels he was more powerful," remarked Ryker.

"If that was their only gripe things might have turned out so very different," said Keira. "They were stuck on the belief that God loved man more than he loved his angels. They were so jealous that after their banishment, they set out to break God's faith in his creation. What's more, they believed that man was inferior and not worthy of his love. So, they walked the earth proving their point. Corrupting one city after another. They fed off the sins they incited and revelled in man's downfall."

Ryker cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "So why didn't God intervene?"

Keira sighed and sunk back into the couch. "For one, Lucifer and his cohorts never interfered or broke the free will rule. They pushed boundaries, but never forced anyone to do anything against their will."

She picked at a non-existent piece of lint on her trousers and her lips set into a grim line. "This wasn't enough for Leviathan, who's hatred festered and grew in proportion with her desire to corrupt. Once she had crushed and taken away her victim's dignity she took their souls."

"That's possible?" Ryker asked, now transfixed to the story.

"There were a lot of things that should not have been possible but were," Deacon said.

Keira threw Deacon a sympathetic smile. "Before anyone knew what had happened," she said, "entire cities were under her control. Leviathan had corrupted the citizens beyond salvation. They were reduced to puppets for her to command. She was like a disease spreading across the earth." Keira visibly shuddered.

Ryker leaned forward. "So what did Lucifer and the others do?"

Keira met his curious gaze and raised an eyebrow. "They knew he wouldn't stand by and see man reduced to being her slaves so they make a speedy exit, and got the hell out of dodge."

"What happened then?" he asked.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Deacon and Keira stole furtive glances at each other.

Deacon was the one to break the silence. "The flood," he said softly.

Ryker's eyes widened. "You mean 'The Flood'?"

"Yes, but it didn't happen the way you've been led to believe," said Keira, taking over the conversation once again. "The Book of Genesis was originally written in Hebrew. As with the English language, Hebrew words can have multiple meanings. The translation of text from one language to another can be tricky. Knowing how certain words were used at the time and within its culture prevents distorted translations. Unfortunately, this particular episode in our history is one of them."

Deacon snorted. "Think about it," he said, "Forty days and nights of rain cannot cause a flood whose waters rise to those levels. If that were the case, we'd have been wiped off the map long ago. Not a year goes by where it doesn't rain consecutively for that long somewhere across the globe. Texas is still there after their 45 days of rain. And Wales in the UK didn't float away into oblivion after one of their villages had 85 days of rain earlier this year."

"So does that mean the bible is wrong?" asked Ryker

Deacon shook his head. "No, the Bible is right. There was a flood. It is the translation of what happened that was incorrect."

Ryker looked at Keira and Deacon expectantly. "Don't leave me hanging. What happened?"

"A comet broke away from the Oort Cloud that surrounds our solar system, entered our atmosphere and struck the Indian Ocean. The impact caused a series of mega-tsunamis that covered the majority of Mesopotamia before slamming into the mountains of Ararat in Turkey and falling back to leave a flood that lasted months."

Ryker continued to stare at her. "That was a bit of a coincidence that of all the places to hit, the comet landed right near that hotspot," he remarked dryly.

"Hmm... it was, wasn't it," Deacon said as he raised an eyebrow.

"And that would have been that, but..." said Keira, picking up from where she had left off. "somehow Leviathan and her followers escaped before the tsunami hit. They laid low but continued to weave evil. Everything she touched was tainted. Every person doomed for eternity."

Keira tapped a finger on her glass and once again appeared to be studying it. "If possible, the belief she was greater than man and should rule over them only compounded. Her hatred of man and God increased exponentially. She thrived on their suffering and servitude. Leviathan wanted to show him that his beloved children were nothing but cattle to be slaughtered and used as required if they didn't bow to her will. This time, she surrounded herself with people that worshiped her as their God and Saviour. The Order of Chaos only served to fuel her already out of control fire, and they carried out all manner of horrific crimes in her name." Keira's voice faltered, and she let out a shaky breath. "Leviathan ruled over Sodom and Gomorrah."

Ryker studied Keira with a piercing scrutiny. Why he was shocked at this revelation was beyond him. "I'm listening."

Keira again picked at lint he was sure wasn't there. "Both cities rested along a fault line and, as fate would have it, one day a series of earthquakes opened it up, and tonnes of bitumen deposits were thrown up into the sky. As they fell back down, they ignited, and a fiery burning mass engulfed the area destroying the cities in the process."

"Fate, huh?" he said as he folded his arms across his chest. "Let's guess, once again, Leviathan escaped."

Her expression told him all he needed to know. Somehow Leviathan had evaded death a second time.

"Lucifer and the other fallen angels knew she would be back. While they were more than happy to feed off man's sins, they knew there was a line that should never be crossed. So they waited for her next move, before deciding whether to intervene."

"How noble of them," Ryker said, his sarcasm hard to miss.

Keira sighed and briefly closed her eyes. She breathed out and looked directly at him. He tensed. Her expression was tortured as if she were in abject pain. It took an extraordinary amount of willpower not to move closer and comfort her from whatever was eating her from the inside.

"Leviathan's third assault on man was something no one expected," she said in a quiet voice. "By now, she truly believed she was a God. Like him, she had her believers. What she didn't have was 'man'. She wanted to create her own children, and so she did. She desired offspring that were stronger than man and she wasn't about to make the same mistake as God. These children were to be absent of free will, bending to her every wish and desire."

Keira's voice cracked, and her shoulders sagged. "So, she made her own creations, fashioned from man. Leviathan forcibly removed the essence of man, took their mortal bodies within a fraction of death, and breathed her own will into them." Her eyes darted tentatively towards Deacon. "The first Primordial Vampires. They were neither alive or dead and existed only to serve their master. With her life giving breath, she also 'gifted' them with an innate need for blood. The havoc and chaos were absolute. Not satisfied with this she then gave them power to turn others to this non-dead – non-alive state."

Ryker's throat constricted, and he was sure a bead of sweat had erupted on his forehead. He rubbed his brow. This can't be true! The stories were supposed to be a superstitious tale.

Every nerve ending was in pain as he slowly swung his head to face his friend. Deacon's hollowed eyes reinforced the revelation.

Deacon stood and walked over the to the window. He stared out onto the street below deep in his own thoughts. Ryker glanced back at Keira, who gently shook her head. This next part needed to come from Deacon. The silence stretched on.

Deacon clenched his fists and turned back to face them. "In her maddened state she hadn't realised, or cared that we still existed; trapped in our own minds, tortured every moment while she suppressed our will to her own. It didn't matter how much we fought or rebelled, we were unable to penetrate the walls that separated us from our bodies. We had to watch, unable to look away as we did unspeakable things."

Deacon raked a hand through his hair. "I lost count of the men women and children that were discarded. The lives that were lost, the innocents who paid the price for simply existing. I am still haunted by their terrified eyes at the moment of death. Hoping right up until the last moment that salvation was coming. To be held a prisoner in your own body, to watch as your own hands take the last breath from someone. To feel your body hum when you take someone against their will. To feel her adrenaline surge at every debace act you have committed in her name. We didn't even have the power to take our own lives," he said with bitterness. "She controlled every action, every movement our body made was only by her command."

Seeing Deacon was unable to continue, Keira began to speak. "Lucifer and the others knew they needed to intervene before God did. Leviathan was too powerful to kill. The only option left was to cast her down to hell. At least then she would be reunited with Behemoth. The only problem was they didn't have the power. Had this been Heaven—their domain—they might have been able to, but Earth was the realm of man, and only man had that power."

"By chance, Lucifer heard of a growing population of people with unique abilities. Some could heal the sick; others could converse with nature, yet others could control the elements. What he discovered shocked even his jaded sensibilities. Without exception, everyone with these abilities was a descendant of a demon who had intermingled with the human population."

"Nephilim. You're telling me that witches are Nephilim?" Ryker interrupted.

Keira nodded. "Magic had to start somewhere," she said. "Demons had lost their power, but somehow a slither had been passed on to their progeny. Whether it was God's intention all along, we'll never know. But, Lucifer saw a solution to his problems. While he could not find a way to send Leviathan to hell, they could. So, in secret, he worked with them to enhance their skills. It was then he discovered that the witches who called their power from the earth had the capabilities to open a doorway between the earth and hell.

Ryker let out a hiss between his teeth. "This is the door that the witches have been protecting?"

"Somehow Leviathan learnt of the threat. Before too long, witches were being targeted by the Primordial Vampires. They were hunted and cut down without mercy. Knowing they needed to divide in order to conquer, the witches dispersed across the globe to strengthen their skill and build the doorway to hell. It was the only way to ensure their survival."

Keira took a drink from her glass of scotch. Her face grimaced as the liquid ran down her throat. "It took many generations, but eventually, the covens succeeded. There were now seven entryways to hells gate. If one failed, another would be ready to stand tall."

"So how did you get Leviathan in? I hardly think sending out invitations to her going away party was going to work," Ryker said.

"No, that's where Lucifer and the others came in," she said. "After whispering in more than one Pharos ear, an army was amassed to take on her stronghold. At first, the battle was brutal, even though the army outnumbered her Vampires."

"So what happened," he asked.

"By pure luck–or accident, one of the witches realised there was a link between Leviathan and the Vampires in which she controlled. The only problem was they needed to be near the Vampires to sever the connection. Working in groups of three, the witches cast spell after spell. When they were cut down by the Vampire hoard, they were replaced by another set who would take up the challenge. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the Vampires on the battlefield faltered. The connection had been severed and Leviathan no longer directly controlled their every move."

Deacon returned to his seat. "I cannot describe the weight that had been pulled from us. We were deep in a field of blood and death. Chaos occupied every inch of ground. All I could manage to do was stand and stare at my hand; my fingers. It had been a lifetime since I had been the one to flex them. To feel the simple act of opening and closing my fist; to be the one who's thoughts controlled ones own body."

Deacon leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "And that's when the 'Culling' began. In our confused state we were easy targets for whatever was left of the attacking army. The three witches who broke the link were joined by others who reinforced the spell. It was the only way to ensure the connection could not be re-established before they had succeeded in their goal. Somehow, one of us had the wherewithal to beg for mercy. Coming to our senses, a great number of us threw down our weapons and surrendered..." Deacon trailed off and shook his head from side to side. "To my horror, the majority continued to fight. I would like to think that their minds were so far gone that they knew not what they did. Nonetheless, even with their superior strength, it had been so long since their minds were required to think for themselves, their movements were slow and laboured. In a heartbeat, the battle was over. We were surrounded by a sea of blood as thousands of headless vampires scattered across the plain. As I knelt with my hands behind my head, I wondered if I too should have paid for my sins and died alongside the others."

Deacon's body slumped in defeat. Ryker, unable to move, stared at the man he considered his father. This wasn't the strong unbendable man he had known for two centuries. This was a man haunted by his past, unable to forgive himself for past sins. Transgressions he wasn't responsible for.

Not sure how he could lessen Deacon's pain, but needing to do something, Ryker retrieved the Glenfiddich, topped their drinks and handed Deacon his glass.

"I'm sorry," Ryker said as he laid his hand on Deacon's shoulder and squeezed lightly.

Ryker groaned inwardly. His words felt so inadequate.

"What happened next," he asked Keira.

"This time, Leviathan was unable to escape her fate. While Lucifer didn't participate in the battle, he was more than helpful in detaining her for the witches. She was taken to Göbeklitepe and, after a gruelling two days, the doorway opened, and she was pushed through. It took another day to ensure that it was sealed tight."

"How did you get her through the door? I hardly think that she went willingly," asked Ryker.

Sadness once again fell over her features. "No. Four witches and two Primordial Vampires sacrificed themselves to make sure she went through that door and stayed there," she said. "She didn't go without a fight and swore revenge. Right to the moment the door shut and was sealed, she was hurling abuse at the witches. Leviathan vowed she would return and cut them down, and her parting words to the Vampires were not flattering either."

Ryker was confused. "Why worry, she was locked in hell?"

"We were so focused on Leviathan," said Deacon, "we forgot about the Order of Chaos. In the aftermath of the battle and her capture, they were nowhere to be found."

Keira nodded in agreement. "We have no idea how big they may have grown or even who they are. Since that day, witches have remained at each of the doorways making sure she can't get back and fulfil her promise."

"But she has tried?" Ryker said.

Keira confirmed what he now already had guessed. "There have been a few attempts to unseal the door, and they have come close a few times."

"What happened?"

Pain flittered across Keira's face. "It was dealt with."

"So whatever happened to Lucifer?"

She sighed and stood up. "That's a story for another day."

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📎A/N. So now we have some answers... although, I think there is a little more to the story than meets the eye... What do you think??

Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed the chapter. Each little star makes my day and is worth its weight in gold!

Till next time, take care and be safe.

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