Mansoul looked so perfect in this vision, but I knew this was about to change. Soon there would be only one place worse than the planet Earth, and that was the terrible kingdom of God's enemy.
'There are shadow angels with him.' Talora closed her eyes and kept them closed. 'Imagine, Zephan, imagine being a shadow angel living in the kingdom of darkness, shut out from the sight of the Lord God -- never able to see his face again. Never able to gather round his throne and sing his praises. I can't start to think what it must be like.' Talora opened her eyes again, which was just as well, as she was losing height rapidly.
'Cheer up,' I said, staying with her. 'We know the war on earth will end in victory for the Lord God.'
'Shouldn't we warn the people that Diabolus is hiding below the hill?' Talora asked in panic.
'This is just a vision,' I reminded her. 'Everything we're seeing here happened a long time ago. All we can do is watch and learn. Let's go down.'
CHAPTER 6
An Evil Plan
As we swooped over the encampment, thousands of the followers of Diabolus, the shadow angels, stood below the hill and began to cheer loudly. We pulled back in fright and hovered on a rising current of warm air to listen.
Diabolus got to his feet in the centre of the gathering and rubbed his hands together. 'The town will be mine,' he shouted, and the shadow angels cheered again. 'We will smash down the work of the Creator and ...'
'We will build your statue there, O great and mighty prince,' one of the shadow angels interrupted. 'Long live Diabolus!'
We heard the cry repeated around the camp, until Diabolus was forced to call a halt to this devotion by his followers.
'Fools,' he called. 'Do you want everyone in the town of Mansoul to know we are so close? If they see or hear us, they will be ready to defend the gates.'
I watched one of the shadow angels hold up a hand. 'If it pleases your majesty, don't you think the people will be frightened by ...?'
'Yes?'
The shadow angel took a deep breath. 'What I mean is, because of your face ...'
'Yes?'
'It is a great and noble face, of course -- to us -- but the people may not ...'
Diabolus stamped in rage. 'I am entering Mansoul as a conqueror, not as a guest.'
Another shadow angel interrupted him. 'Are you sure you need us with you?'
Diabolus stamped on the ground again, and we could hear the sound rumble through the hill. 'You all agreed to come on this mission. You all agreed that the Creator has treated us badly. Is there not a place for us in Heaven? Is it right for the Creator to have all the power?'
The shadow angels set up such a roar of approval that Talora gripped me tightly, trapping one of my wings with her arm. For a moment I thought I was going to crash, but I recovered as soon as she let go. 'I think it's time we went,' she said urgently.
'I'm staying,' I told her. 'I want to see what happens next.'
'Come,' Diabolus shouted to his troops. 'We will march into the town.'
'Let me shoot the keeper of the Ear Gate,' one of the shadow angels suggested. 'I have a powerful bow. He will not be prepared for such an attack.'
'You speak well.' Diabolus sounded calmer now. 'We will all go to the town, and I shall wear a helmet and cloak so that neither my face ...' He glared at the shadow angel who had spoken first. 'So that neither my face nor my dark armour can be seen.' He turned to a shadow angel who held a trumpet. 'When we get to the gate, announce my presence.'
Talora struck out strongly with her wings and rose swiftly into the air.
'Where are you going?' I called, working hard to keep up.
'To warn the people, of course. They are ...' Talora stopped. 'Oh, Zephan, I keep forgetting.' She looked down at the army of shadow angels as they prepared to destroy the town of Mansoul. 'Is there nothing we can do to help the people?'
'Nothing,' I told her. 'Absolutely nothing.'
CHAPTER 7
Attack!
Diabolus and his army of shadow angels reached the outside of the town quickly, and hid in the shelter of some leafy trees below the high walls.
'We will be safe here,' we heard Diabolus explain to the shadow angels. 'The Keeper of the Ear Gate has not taken notice of us yet.' He called to his trumpeter. 'Go forward and announce my presence.'
The Ear Gate was tightly closed, but when the trumpet sounded the people of Mansoul rushed to the walls.
'Where's Captain Resistance?' they called to each other when they saw Diabolus and his army below. 'Find Captain Resistance at once!'
A man in lightweight silver armour stepped forward to cheers from the crowd. I nudged Talora. 'If that's Captain Resistance, there's going to be trouble for Mansoul.'
Talora held my hand as we hovered, careful not to let our wings clash. 'What is he going to do?'
'Not much. You know how the giskos run all round us on Eltor? They're tame. They've never seen an enemy, so they wouldn't be prepared if one came.'
'So?'
'It's the same here. Did you see any soldiers in the town when we explored it?'
'No.'
'There aren't any. That man in thin armour is the only person in Mansoul who can fight for them.'
I noticed that Diabolus was careful to keep his head low, probably afraid the people would be frightened by his face -- as one of the shadow angels had already hinted. Diabolus spoke with such a clear and gentle voice that even his shadow angels looked at each other in surprise.
'People of the town of Mansoul, you will see that I am here, like yourselves, to serve the Lord G ... The Lord G ...' He stopped and cleared his throat, unable to use the name. 'I am here to serve your great King,' he continued. 'I have come to help you.'
'Help us?' Captain Resistance called in surprise. 'We're all happy here. We have no need of help.'
Diabolus went to tip his head back, realised his helmet was slipping, and held it firmly with one hand. 'Surely you are aware that you are captives in this town,' he shouted.
The people at the Ear Gate turned to each other. 'What does he mean?' they asked.
'Let's hear what our visitor has to say,' someone shouted to Captain Resistance. 'He may have come to tell us something good.'
Diabolus wasn't waiting for permission to proceed. 'People of Mansoul, I am so very sorry for you. Of course, I know that the Lord G ..., the King, is great and powerful, and everything he has told you is true, but he has not told you the whole truth.'
'Go away!' someone in the crowd called, but I noticed it wasn't Captain Resistance. I was really worried about the captain. His armour looked too flimsy for battle. Not only that, he didn't even seem aware of the danger.
'You had better explain what you mean,' Captain Resistance called down slowly. 'You're certainly mistaken if you think the Great King has deceived us. We are free to live as we like, and we have chosen to live like this.'
'Really?' Diabolus answered, and his voice now sounded much louder. 'Do you really think you are free to do as you like?'
I noticed Diabolus was careful to keep his face towards the ground, and he drew his cloak even more tightly around his dark armour. 'If you are as free as you say, are you free to pick the fruit from that tree by the castle?'
'The Tree of Knowledge?' Captain Resistance shook his head. 'We cannot eat from that. The King has said we are not to.'
'Then you are not free.'
This seemed to get Captain Resistance thinking. 'The Creator has made us, and we are free,' he called down at last.
'Go on then,' Diabolus shouted. 'Pick the fruit and eat it. If you do that, you will be like the King. Can he not do as he chooses?'
'Of course he can,' the captain replied angrily.
'You are right,' Diabolus called to the people staring down at him from the top of the town walls. 'He can. And are you the King's own people?'
'We are,' everyone shouted back in agreement.
Diabolus nodded. 'Then it is only fair that you should be free to do as you
choose.'
I watched with Talora as the people held a long discussion. We could hear some of them saying surely the King would be pleased that they were doing what was only right and sensible. Then, all of a sudden, they rushed off to pick the fruit.
Talora clenched her fists in frustration. 'And we can do nothing to stop them!'
We watched as Captain Resistance leaned over the wall to hear the visitor more clearly. Below the walls, one of the shadow angels drew back his bow from the shelter of a rock by the Ear Gate and took careful aim.
I flew up higher so I could see the tree where I'd sat with Talora earlier. Then I looked back at Captain Resistance. Just as a woman reached out to take the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, the arrow found its mark. Captain Resistance fell from the town walls and landed at the feet of Diabolus. Dead. The woman passed the fruit to a man who was with her.
'Make way for Lord Innocence,' someone by the wall shouted.
A man hurried forward and leaned over the fortifications, trying to see where Captain Resistance had fallen. I think he recognised Diabolus for who he really was, because he opened his mouth and began to shout the name. But before Lord Innocence could complete the warning, he too fell to his death, pierced by an arrow from the shadow angel's bow.
Far from being frightened by the two deaths, the people ran to join their friends in eating the forbidden fruit. I stayed where I was with Talora, flying slowly just above the walls. It wasn't long before the people returned for another look at Diabolus. He certainly seemed well pleased with himself.
'Ah, Mansoul,' Diabolus shouted to the people leaning over the town walls. I nudged Talora and pointed out how tightly Diabolus still held his cloak around his dark armour. 'You will see that I was indeed right in advising you to eat the fruit.'
Diabolus was now sure of the crowd's attention, and I think everyone in the town was there to hear him. 'Can you not see that you are now as great as the Lord G ..., as the Creator?'
'How so?' a young man asked.
'Because you are free to do anything you like.'
'Where's Captain Resistance?' a woman shouted. She must have been at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil when disaster struck, and missed seeing the captain being shot by the arrow. 'And where's Lord Innocence?'
'Ah, yes,' Diabolus called back. 'How sorry I am that two of your leaders chose to end their lives so tragically, by jumping off the walls of your beautiful town. Unfortunately some people are unable to face the truth. It is, of course, the truth that I come here to tell you today.'
'Truth? What sort of truth?' the young man called down. The way he asked his question sounded as though he was willing to listen to the answer. I mean, he didn't make it sound like a scornful retort.
Diabolus obviously sensed the same thing. 'You have been prisoners of the Creator, and now ... now you are free,' he called back, still keeping his cloak wrapped tightly.
Talora took a sharp intake of breath as the people of Mansoul looked at each other and smiled. Diabolus was saying what they obviously wanted to hear. The fruit must have tasted good, and now they thought they were like the King, able to make their own choices, even if it meant disobeying the Creator.
Diabolus called up again. 'Mansoul, you are now a poor, defenceless town.'
'What can we do?' a young woman shouted in alarm. It was a terrified cry for help.
'You need someone strong to defend you,' Diabolus told her. 'Be warned, when the Creator hears what you have done, he will invade Mansoul and carry you all away as prisoners.'
The people shook their heads and began to discuss this anxiously. I touched down just inside the walls with Talora and we walked among the people, unseen, listening to their worried discussions.
'We want you to be our king,' the young man called down at last to Diabolus.
'Yes, be our king,' the cry went up from along the walls.
CHAPTER 8
A Warning
We watched in dismay as the large Ear Gate swung open and the people led Diabolus and his shadow angels up to the castle in the centre of Mansoul -- seating him with honour on the throne where the Lord God had sat so recently. The atmosphere now felt very different. I could sense hatred filling the chamber, although the people obviously thought everything was fine. As soon as Diabolus had greeted them they left, returning to their own homes after an eventful day. And everyone seemed remarkably pleased with their new king.
'Be quick,' Diabolus warned his shadow angels as they gathered round. 'Make fast the town gates. We have work to do. There are some people in Mansoul who will not accept me.'
'Tell us who they are,' a shadow angel snarled.
We kept still, even though we knew Diabolus and his followers wouldn't be able to see us. It's the sort of thing anyone would do in this situation, especially ordinary angels like us.
'The Mayor of Mansoul is likely to make the most trouble,' Diabolus explained. 'His name is Understanding. He recognised me, and I think he has already guessed my plans for the town. But he is not alone.'
'And who else will not worship you?' several shadow angels asked in unison.
'Conscience, the Keeper of the Law.'
One of the shadow angels pushed his way through to the front and bowed before the throne. 'Understanding is sound asleep in his house,' he reported breathlessly.
Diabolus clapped his hands in pleasure. 'Then you must be quick and build a high wall to trap him inside. Seal his door and windows with timber. I do not want the smallest ray of sunlight piercing Understanding's house. Do you understand?'
'You want us to turn his house into a prison?' a shadow angel asked.
Diabolus grinned, and it wasn't a nice sight. 'Yes, a prison. Cover Understanding's windows as well as his door, and he will be my prisoner for ever.'
'Your prisoner for ever, for ever, for ever,' the shadow angels chanted.
Diabolus seemed overjoyed to hear them. 'If we are able to keep Understanding in darkness long enough, he will become blind. I know things about people.'
Understanding, the Mayor, stayed asleep while the shadow angels turned his house into a prison. But the Keeper of the Law, Conscience, was much more difficult to deal with. Diabolus said he was hiding somewhere in the town, and ordered his shadow angels to find him immediately.
That night they failed in their task, and the next morning Conscience stood in the market square and shouted so loudly to warn everyone about Diabolus, that Mansoul seemed to shake with an earthquake. Talora and I felt excited by this act of rebellion, for it seemed Diabolus would never be able to silence Conscience. But Diabolus could see that one moment Conscience would tell the people they had to do one thing, and then quickly contradict himself. This left everyone confused about what they had to do -- or not do -- to be good citizens.
'There is no longer any need for you to catch him,' Diabolus told his angels. 'His preaching will be to our benefit. With a little encouragement from you, Conscience will say that the King's Laws are not important. Go and see to it.' He clapped his hands. 'Hurry!'
The shadow angels poured from the strong tower where Diabolus now sat on the Lord God's throne, keen to do their master's bidding. I don't know how the shadow angels managed it, but it wasn't long before Conscience got fed up with deciding what was right and what was wrong, and declared it was just too much trouble to keep trying to please the King.
'Since the King is not here to see you,' he announced, 'you might as well do whatever you want.'
'What happens when the King comes back?' a man asked. Clearly not everyone one was being taken in.
Conscience shrugged. 'You can always behave more honestly and devotedly when he does.' He smiled in a sly sort of way. 'Maybe I should say, if he comes back.'
Although this seemed to satisfy everyone for a short time, by evening we saw small groups of people crying, saying they had neglected their King. By early the next morning Conscience seemed to have thought things through. Maybe he'd spent the night remembering how everyth
ing had been so good and peaceful when the Creator God had been here. So Conscience stood up again in the market square, just as the sun was coming up over the hills.
'People of Mansoul,' he called, 'I can see now that we have done wrong in not serving the mighty King of Heaven.'
Talora reckoned Conscience was wasting his time. Most of the people were still in bed, and she said he'd have done better to wait until everyone was up. But Conscience probably knew he was early, which is why he shouted even louder than usual. Louder? This time his voice made the windows rattle right through the town, bringing people running out of their houses in panic.
The commotion must have woken Diabolus, for he hurried from the strong tower, joining what was already a large crowd of people in the market square.
'Conscience has gone mad,' Diabolus explained to the people around him, when he had their attention. 'He tells you to do something one moment, and tells you the opposite the next. What use is a madman like him in our town?'
That made some of the people laugh, and others quickly joined in. Indeed, it was obvious that most of the people now considered Conscience not only mad, but a real nuisance. No one seemed to notice that Diabolus had referred to Mansoul as our town.
A thin man we'd not seen before pushed his way through the crowd to Diabolus. 'My name is Choosing,' he announced breathlessly.
Choosing looked for something to stand on, but could find nothing suitable. He raised an arm and whistled to get seen, and in time the people became quiet.
'I was a friend of Conscience, before Diabolus came into the town,' he said, in a thin voice that went well with his figure. 'A long time ago, with help from Conscience, I chose to serve the Lord God faithfully and honestly. But now Conscience is nothing more than an object of fun all through Mansoul.' He paused for a moment as though deep in thought.
'I hope Choosing has come to help,' Talora said in dismay. 'Oh, Zephan, I really hope Choosing is on the Lord God's side.'
'I'm not so sure,' I said. 'I think he wants power. Let's see.'
Diabolus put an arm round Choosing's bony shoulder in a friendly way. 'Come to my tower in a few minutes, my friend,' he said. 'We can talk there.'
As soon as Diabolus was back in his tower, smirking all over his face, Choosing knocked impatiently on the door. A shadow angel opened it and ushered Choosing into the throne room. Talora and I managed to squeeze in just as the door was slammed shut.