Chapter 1
12,000 BC
Deep in the inky fringes of the universe, a dazzling, golden angel sped past a pale, red planet as he furiously wrote in a notebook. He was measuring the rate of expansion of the universe at its outer limits. He tried to focus on the complex mathematical measurements he was making, but his mind was conflicted. He was one of twenty-four angels in Archangel Academy being trained to become heaven’s first Earth archangels to assist General Michael in protecting the people of Earth from the attacks of Dark Angels and their demon hordes. Although this flight was just a class exercise, the platinum-haired scout knew he had to do his very best. After all, Lucifer, the Headmaster of Archangel Academy, had personally chosen him for this difficult task. But he was also very anxious to return to heaven. His best friend at the academy, Kai, had nervously confided to him that Lucifer was planning a secret surprise for heaven.
Even in the four-hundred-and-fifty-four-degrees-below-zero vacuum of space, the lone angel felt warm all over just imagining the excitement and fun that surprise would be. Lucifer was famous for being bold and creative in everything he did. No angel had ever planned to surprise all of heaven. Kai seemed so passionate when he shared this secret, his right hand seemed to shake with excitement. I cannot miss that. I must get back quickly, the scout vowed silently just as he completed the last steps of a mission no other student had wanted. Whoever accepted this practice drill would have to go to the very edge of creation for an entire week alone and be out of contact with heaven the entire time. But when Lucifer asked this angel, his love for Lucifer gave him the courage to say yes. “And now, I can go home to that fantastic surprise Lucifer is planning,” he sighed into the darkness. A wide smile filled his face as he took one more look at the pulsating edge of creation just yards away from his brilliant, golden wings.
Just as he was about to turn around and head back to heaven, he saw three Sentinel angels speeding toward him. Normally, Sentinels were quiet, introverted angels who stood guard over sectors of the universe. But as the trio came closer, Scion saw that something was terribly wrong. Terror covered the faces of each angel.
“Treason! Treason!” the three shouted to Scion. “Lucifer has gone mad. He is leading a rebellion against the Lord, and many angels are following him. Come at once. General Michael has ordered everyone to return to heaven and fight off the rebels.”
As the three sped off to alert others across the cosmos, Scion froze with a fear that no angel had ever felt. He had recently shared a Throne Room secret with Lucifer that had enraged Lucifer. What Scion had feared was now happening. His hands shook so violently that he dropped his notebook and pen. His heart raced. His entire body felt limp. With a scream of sheer agony, the huge angel dove toward the surface of the dark planet below faster than he had ever flown. But after a few thousand feet of descent, he passed out and tumbled head over heels, slicing through the hot, volcanic surface with such force that his body did not stop until he finally splashed into the fiery, molten core, ten thousand miles underground.
***
Light years away, all hell was breaking out in heaven. The once glorious choirmaster of heaven was enraged with wounded pride as he savagely sliced through a dozen angels with one swipe of his eight-foot sword. His once brilliant blue eyes were now fiery black with hate. Thousands of rebel angels swarmed around him, fighting for him with a fury never seen before in heaven. Angel wings, arms, and heads flew all around him as thousands of unarmed, loyal angels were dismembered by their fellow angels who now had swords—something no angel had ever possessed.
Screams, cries, and moans filled the air as twenty thousand angels were being killed by sixty thousand of their former friends. But all was not lost. The Four Living Creatures who guarded God’s Throne Room shot into heaven’s blue canopy, high above the battle. With each Creature having six wings and gleaming bodies completely covered with eyes, they were able to move like lightning above the battlefield, seeing everything and giving rapid orders to General Michael and his army of Cherubim and Seraphim warrior angels. None of them had swords. They had something better.
As Lucifer and thousands of his rebel angels pushed forward toward the Throne of God, the Four Creatures guided Michael to array the remaining hundred thousand angels around God’s Throne in sixty-four rows—six-winged Seraphim at the front and Cherubim in the rear ranks. Michael’s voice rang out, “Worship!” and the Four Living Creatures and thousands of cherubim began to worship, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come. Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed and were created.” The staccato blasts of many trumpets released a powerful anointing that looked like a glistening, golden blanket drifting down on the thundering worship of the Cherubim.
Then, the air suddenly became electric with the unseen Presence of Almighty God. Lucifer and his rebels halted for a second as they felt the atmosphere shift, but then Lucifer roared defiantly and charged the Throne with even more ferocity.
As the rebels came within three hundred feet of God’s Throne, they raised their swords for the final slaughter of the unarmed angels surrounding the Throne. The Seraphim on the front ranks were now so close to the rebels that they could recognize the faces of former friends, former teammates in games, and former choir members. As the Seraphim beheld those beautiful angels’ faces now darkened with evil, many began to weep for their deranged and murderous fellow angels they had loved since heaven began.
It was over in an instant. Michael shouted, “Fire!” and six thousand Seraphim angels—whose name means “burning ones”—shot a wall of white-hot flames one thousand feet high out of their eyes and mouths. Lucifer and his rebels slammed into each other as they fell to the golden streets of heaven just before hitting the wall of fire. Within moments, Lucifer realized he would never reach God’s Throne that day. With a hideous howl, Lucifer commanded his army to retreat to Earth. Michael’s army pursued them until they reached the upper atmosphere of the new, blue planet. The Great Rebellion had begun.
