Keepin' it Real - 1

         Steel smashing on steel, shouts jarring calls of evil and death. It rings forever in your temples and tries to shake your back teeth loose.

         But the clanging of angelic steel broadsword on twisted, spiked, demonic amalgam scimitar, tempts even the purest angelic heart to fear.

         Two more demons join the fight, swinging at the angel manically. The angel moved with speed and grace. Always perfectly in balance to defend and counter a scimitar blow. But he was outnumbered and the man he was defending was not helping          himself, by giving into the demon’s sly temptations.

         The angel knew he had lost this one. With three swings, right, left, right, his foes backed up long enough for the angel to turn and take flight. The demons threw their curses after him and then turned on the man who had attracted their interest earlier that day.

         "Javan, you are a genius!" Jezebeth, Demon of Falsehoods and Lies said two hours later. "I have been working on this one for months. You turn up and have his life ruined within hours."

         Javan smiled, self-assured and loving the rare occasion flattery was directed at him. "What's your secret? How do you get a result so fast?"

         "Oh, it is not so hard," Javan looked over at the now pathetic figure of the man. That morning he had been the most powerful politician in Europe. "I have studied my own path of thought since we began to exercise free will for our own benefit. The paths of want, desire, lust, greed, envy, revenge, and so on.

         A man’s is not much different ours. They have not seen Heaven or Jehovah as we have. But that makes it easier. They want to be a god just as much as we do. But because they have never seen a god it is very easy to make them believe that they are one.

         Once they are at the level of a god ... they have a long, long way to fall. One slip ..."

         "Or push as in this case." Both laughed as they looked at the broken man in front of them. "I wish you could stay longer, Javan. I could learn a lot from you."

         "I have to report back," Javan said. "You will just have to think a little harder. It is easy work in this culture.

         They respect and reward independence. They worship flattery; good looks; fame. They long for new clothes, sex and money. Oh, how they long for money. When you come across any that want to find Jehovah in this culture, a little trick is to arrange a short spell of poverty to dissuade them. And it doesn't even have to be poverty. Just not enough money for new clothes or a holiday or a new house can trip them.

         And they respect singers and actors. While they are looking at such trivial things believing them to be important, they don't have a chance of finding Jehovah."

         "You are right," Jezebeth was mentally noting it all. "I will think harder ... about how to get you back here again."

         Javan smiled at the compliment. The Fallen were not given to flattering one an other. He savoured this one. Spreading his dark leathery wings he said, "Until then."

         "Until then," Jezebeth replied and watched Javan fly east toward the entrance to Hades.



         It was not Heaven, but it was home and Javan the Desponder had not been there in 40 moons.

         He breathed deeply on the dank, sulphuric air as he strolled the corridors of Hades' Administration Sector. He was to meet with Gumarick, Overlord of the West for debriefing.

         Angelic beings - even fallen ones - had no need of oxygen, but Javan wanted to revive his spirit and the smell of home was helping. The stench of humans from his present assignment was beginning to fade with Hades’ scent. The sunlight of the summer moons in Europe had almost sent him blind. But in these dark corridors Javan's eyes were wide open. He was almost smiling.

         He arrived at his superior's office and paused before he knocked. He had walked slowly, but was still early for the meeting. What to do? It would not look out of place to be early, but on the other hand he could use the remaining minutes to savour the scent of Hell just a little longer.

         This he did, but still knocked on the door before the assigned time. He wanted a nicer assignment away from Europe.