The Requiem Collection
The Book of Jubilees, More Anger than Sorrow & Calling Babel: Novel Set
Eric M. Black
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Eric M. Black
Editing by Eric M. Black
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.
© 2015, 2017 Eric M. Black
Table of Contents
THE BOOK OF JUBILEES
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
MORE ANGER THAN SORROW
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
CALLING BABEL
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY SIX
CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN
CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT
CHAPTER FIFTY NINE
CHAPTER SIXTY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Part One
THE BOOK OF JUBILEES
CHAPTER ONE
“Are you okay, Diego?” the priest asked.
At first Diego didn’t answer. He was focused on what would come next. In truth, he had momentarily forgotten the priest was there.
“Diego?” the priest questioned. When Diego didn’t answer, the priest moved to stand. Diego noticed the priest from the corner of his eye and came back from his thoughts. “Are you okay?” the priest repeated.
It took Diego a moment to focus. “I’m fine,” he finally replied. He saw that the priest was not convinced. “I’m fine,” he repeated, waving the priest back to his seat. “I had a sharp pain momentarily in my head but it is passing.”
The priest was doubtful but sat back down, observing concernedly but patiently.
Diego focused until he became comfortable with the sensation that consumed him and he could interact with the priest again. He opened his mouth but the words on his tongue were not delivered. At that moment, a sense of knowing came over Diego and he apprehended that his friends were dead. Diego’s face revealed a deep grief.
“What is it, Diego?” The priest rose sharply from his chair.
For a moment Diego did not answer. When he finally answered, his words were flat and whispered. “They are gone.”
“Who…?”
“We should leave,” Diego said numbly. He looked closely at the priest. “I will answer your questions when we get to where we are going.”
“Where is that?” asked the priest.
“Somewhere safe.” He saw the priest’s discomfort at his comment. “I don’t have time to explain. We have to go now
.”
The priest was hesitant but if agreeing eased in remedying Diego’s current state, he would do what he could. He nodded reluctantly.
They left the priest’s private quarters and traveled the hallway to the room that now housed the police. A couple of the officers glanced curiously at the two men and Diego knew they would question him later on his relationship with the priest. Diego ignored their looks and the priest and he exited the chapel.
“Will we go to the airport?” the priest asked.
Diego shook his head. “They confiscated my passport.”
“Then how were you going to travel to America?”
“I hadn’t planned on taking a plane.”
“I don’t understand. How were you going to get to America? Did you plan on swimming, perhaps?”
Diego smiled at the mild belligerence of the priest. He genuinely liked the man and he owed him some truth now that the Ark was gone; plus the priest was part of what was about to occur. “It may be better if I show you.”
Diego did not tell the priest what he was doing but as they walked, Diego placed his hand on the priest’s shoulder. The priest thought nothing of the gesture.
In the time it took for the priest to blink, their surroundings completely changed. Diego wondered how long it would take the priest to realize they were no longer in Ethiopia.
CHAPTER TWO
As they walked, Diego Columbus mused on the empty vault. The priest had taken some convincing in their new surroundings but with that accomplished, his thoughts flowed unimpeded.
He had been contacted by the priest that morning to come to the chapel as soon as he could. When he arrived, the priest met him in the courtyard and let him know the Ark was gone.
The police were called and flooded the grounds. They regarded Diego with cold antagonism, certain his remarks on the Ark of the Covenant prompted the disappearance. They questioned him for about an hour before collecting his passport so he couldn’t leave the county and moved on with their investigation.
The most inexplicable matter was the account of the missing object. They were not able to ascertain what would make the Ark unique among the other street relics of Ethiopia. Only the priest and Diego had actually seen the Ark and their description had limitations. Pictures of the Ark were forbidden and the investigators were not comfortable relying solely on the Biblical narrative.
Diego was watching the police search the treasury when the priest pierced the room. The priest caught Diego’s eye and motioned for Diego to join him but shook his head to indicate not here. The priest retreated back down the corridor and Diego shrugged and followed the priest.
At the end of the unadorned corridor, the priest entered a small doorway. Diego had to duck as he passed through. Diego recognized this was the priest’s personal living space.
The priest motioned for Diego to sit at the round table in the kitchen as the priest prepared tea for them. I could use a beer, Diego said to himself.
“I am sorry to draw you away from the treasury so cryptically,” the priest said, handing Diego his tea and joining him at the table. “I could not speak openly to you there.”
“Not at all,” Diego replied.
The priest nodded and smiled weakly. “Last night I had a dream.”
This took Diego by surprise. He was not sure what the priest wanted to discuss but did not expect a dream. Of the many mysteries he had seen over the past five hundred years, a dream was often a precursor.
The fact that Diego leaned in assiduously surprised the priest. He expected Diego to be skeptical of his lead statement.
“In the dream, angels came from above and took the Ark.” He looked questioningly at Diego. “Why would I dream that? And why would I dream that the Ark had been taken and this morning the Ark was gone?”
Diego thought for a moment. “Did you mention the dream to the police?”
“Of course. They thought me an old man who had spent too many years alone with my prayers.” The priest was silent for a moment before looking up at Diego. “What do you think? Am I a crazy old man?”
Diego smiled. “You are indeed old. But not crazy.”
The priest exhaled. He was trying to mask his emotions but felt very anxious; he relaxed slightly at Diego’s words.
Even though the priest had not described the angels, Diego knew one of the angels in the dream would be Shamsiel. He knew the story of Shamsiel well:
When the first man and woman were betrayed by the serpent and removed from the garden, Shamsiel was assigned to protect the garden. The serpent was also expelled but allowed to remain in the Land of Eden. Shamsiel was verbal in his disagreement of that decision and more, thought the serpent should be put to death. Word of the disagreement reached the serpent.
The serpent advanced upon Shamsiel early one morning at the locked gates of the garden. “You are Shamsiel?” the serpent asked.
“You know I am,” Shamsiel replied.
“You are the Guardian of the Garden?”
“Again, you know I am.” Shamsiel grew frustrated at the serpent’s inane questioning.
The serpent looked up at Shamsiel with black eyes. “And as the Guardian of the Garden, you are the voice of God in matters of the garden?” The serpent did not expect an answer but paused. “So why does a voice of God’s own mouth disagree with itself?”
Shamsiel drew his sword and the sword burst into flames. He growled at the serpent. Shamsiel had never killed another creature, earthly or heavenly (it was forbidden) but now felt an anger rising. Shamsiel was bitter at the decision to spare the life of the serpent and in that moment, the bitterness turned to anger. If pushed, he decided, I will kill the serpent and abide whatever punishment. “What’s your point?”
“You are a voice of God – God who commands that I be spared – yet with your own mouth have spoken that I should be put to death.”
Shamsiel remained silent, offering only an unremitting stare.
The serpent continued, “I should be put to death for my betrayal. Do you not agree?”
Shamsiel nodded.
“How do you serve a God that allows evil to live?” the serpent asked. “I nearly brought down mankind and yet here I am to plot further on other methods of destruction.”
Shamsiel thought on the serpent’s words. He knew what the serpent spoke was true. He felt the world should have justice yet justice was not served as long as the serpent lived.
The serpent watched Shamsiel’s face and guessed his thoughts. Satisfied, the serpent pressed more. “I am not remorseful that mankind no longer lives in the garden. I am, however, remorseful that I was removed from the garden. You should see the wonders contained within.” The serpent knew this would antagonize Shamsiel as none of the angels (including Shamsiel) had been allowed to enter the garden. “Tell me,” asked the serpent, “why do you guard that which you know not what is inside? Is the garden still a place of wonder or has the garden decayed now that no one dwells within? Do you actually guard a rotted tomb?”
Shamsiel was livid but the serpent had gained his interest. “Get to your point,” he commanded.
“My point is that you waste your time here. You command legions of angels yet you stand idle for all time in defense of a gate against me. Your existence is meaningless so long as you guard this gate and yet I roam free throughout the land when I should have been put to death.”
Shamsiel lowered his sword and the flame lessened. “You speak true.”
Shamsiel’s words were barely audible but the serpent heard them clearly. “I can show you a different way. Join me. Renounce your service and join me in creating a just world: a world in which ethereal beings stand above humans, as is our rightful place.
“You are supremely loyal, yet a slave. Mankind was given free will, free to choose that which, if nothing else makes them happy. In return for that freedom, they turn away so easily. Join me. Together we will create a world where men recompense for their sins.”
Shamsiel was not sure wh
at happened next. He felt as if in a dream. He should have killed the serpent. Instead, the serpent’s words had hypnotized him.
He dropped his sword and walked forward to the serpent. It was then he realized his decision. It was not too late. He could have picked up the sword and returned to his position. But he chose not to return.
Shamsiel took his first step in cooperation with the serpent and after a few steps, he turned to look back at the gate. Standing at the gate with his old sword was Cherubim.
Shamsiel had made his decision. That decision filled him with shame; but also, the decision filled him with hope. He was now on the path to a just world. The shame would fade and purpose would take its place.
Shamsiel turned his back on the garden and followed the serpent into the Land of Eden.
Diego had heard the story many times. He always thought it was ironic that Shamsiel once cursed the serpent for causing the downfall of man but in the end, chose to follow the serpent, turning his back on God as man had done. Diego knew that with the Ark (or what was in the Ark), Shamsiel and the Watchers could regain the garden.
Diego cursed himself for verifying the existence of the Ark. He should have known better. He had lived long enough to know that confidential conversations did not exist. His comments were instantly cited online and spread from there. He was positioned in Ethiopia to protect the secrets of that land yet he had freed the most surreptitious of secrets with his own mouth.
“What are your thoughts?” the priest asked.
Diego looked at the priest. “It’s not time for this discussion.”
“What do you mean?” the priest asked.
“We’re going to visit and old friend. When we get there, I’ll explain everything.”
“What do you know?”
“In good time, Father,” Diego answered, “In good time.”
CHAPTER THREE
Juan had a television that he rarely watched; in fact, the television was more to keep up appearances than anything. He wondered briefly if a baseball game might be on when he heard a knock.
He rose from his recliner and was shocked when he opened the front door. “Diego?”
“Aye, Diego.”
Juan grinned and embraced his oldest friend.
“You act like you’ve missed me. It’s only been a few hundred years.”
Juan laughed. “Yes, I missed you. Please, come in.” It was then he noticed Diego’s companion.