“The council is in session,” Uriel repeated as Adryel took her seat.
“Each of you will find a book on the table in front of you. As its title
indicates, it contains a plan for creation of…well, we’ll see what is to be
created. In any case, Adonai wishes to implement the plan, and he solicits your
advice and counsel before he proceeds.”
“The plan is not long, as you can see,” Uriel said. “We’ll read it now.”
***
Lucifer flipped toward the back of the book. “On the twenty-fourth page
we find an extended discussion of one of these creatures, the one called
human.” A look of distaste blanketed his features and his eyes narrowed. “I
find the plan for this creature to be most disturbing.”
Michael sat up and leaned forward, resting his forearm on the table.
“Why so? What disturbs you?”
Lucifer’s finger ran down the page, stopping halfway. “The humans will
have no predisposition to do what is good.
“In the fifth paragraph…The human creatures will be predisposed to do
neither good nor evil,” he read, then gazed around the table.
“Our nature is to do good, but the humans will be different. Their
nature will be…variable.” As he shrugged, indicating he could be no more
specific, his eyes lit up, as if an idea had just occurred to him. An evil
smile crossed his face. “Perhaps this will help.”
Lucifer reached into the pocket of his robe and withdrew the wooden
disk. “See this disk? On one side, there is an X. On the other, we find an O, a
circle.”
He flipped the disk into the air and it landed on the table, bouncing
twice, ending with the side bearing the X facing up.
“Surely, Lucifer, you don’t mean…”
“I mean this…Suppose I were one of these human creatures.” He visibly
shivered as he spoke. “Further suppose that I were to encounter a beautiful
female…such as our secretary,” he nodded toward Adryel, “walking in the palace
garden early in the evening.”
All eyes turned to her. She could feel her face growing warm and she
dropped her eyes.
“I do not mean to embarrass her, but suppose I encountered her as I
said…what might I do?” He paused, stroking his chin as if deep in thought.
“Now, it is my nature to do good, so I would wish her a good evening. If I were
human, though, with no such predisposition, what would determine my behavior?”
He tossed the disk again. This time, the large O was visible.
“I can do good, or I can do evil. An X or an O. Adryel, what are the
odds I would do good? You know the answer.”
After a long pause, Adryel turned to Lord Lucifer. “In the absence of
any other influence, the likelihood of good behavior is one of two. Half of the
time you would do good.”
“Circle, I wish you a good evening. X, I ravish you.”
BLURB:
When
Adryel follows Lucifer in his rebellion, she loses Ramael, the one she loves,
and everything else she holds dear. How can he still love her when, as the
Mistress of Hell, she has done more to thwart Adonai’s plan for humanity than
all the other fallen angels combined?
The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour.
Amazon Author Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
We recently moved to our new home
near Charleston, South Carolina. Three of my four books are set in Charleston,
and I’ve always enjoyed the Carolina beaches. I now have the opportunity to
walk on the beach almost every day and to photography the ocean, the sea birds,
and the marshes that I love.
I love photography, and I have
photographed subjects as varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of
Scotland, star trails, sea gulls, and a Native American powwow. My wife and I
have traveled widely in the United States and the United Kingdom. During trips
to Scotland, we visited Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett
family near Aberdeen, and Kismul Castle on Barra, the home of my McNeil
ancestors.
I went to school for much longer
than I want to admit, and I have degrees in psychology and education. In an
“earlier life” I was director of research for our state’s education department.
Website
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