To Reign in Hell: A Novel

prologue

I was set up everlasting, from the

beginning, or ever the earth was.

Before the mountains were settled,

before the hills, was I brought forth.

—Proverbs, 8:23–24

Snow, tenderly caught by eddying breezes, swirled and spun in to and out of bright, lustrous shapes that gleamed against the emerald-blazoned black drape of sky and sparkled there for a moment, hanging, before settling gently to the soft, green-tufted plain with all the sickly sweetness of an over-written sentence.

The Regent of the South looked upon this white-on-black-over-green perfection and he saw that it was revolting. His eyes, a green that was positively startling, narrowed, and his nostrils flared.

The being next to him took the shape of an animal that would someday be called a golden retriever. It shook its head and snorted, since barking was yet a few millennia away.

My gorge rises to think on’t, said the dog.

The Regent nodded without speaking.

The other continued, I mind a time when thou didst delight to see decadence.

I mind a time when there were things other than decadence to compare it to.

Verily, the dog admitted. But think’st thou this can last forever?

The Regent shrugged. No, I know it won’t. The Wave is still recent; its effects linger. Soon enough, form will be form again, and jokes like this will be too difficult to be worth the bother. But it sickens me.

Whose working is this then, milord? the dog asked.

It doesn’t matter, said the Regent. One of our archbrethren, certainly. Maybe it was whoever put Marfiel into a six-day sleep so she missed the harvest. It’s the same stupid sense of humor.

Certes thou art aware of that thou hast earned: to relax thy vigilance and enjoy this time, as thy archbrethren do.

The Regent shook his head. Perhaps, he said, that is my own form of decadence.

The smaller one laughed and wagged his tail.

It had hard green scales, fiery red eyes, and a long forked tongue, and was several times what would become known as man-high someday. You may as well call it a dragon and have done with it. It was the Regent of the North.

It—he? He, then. He lived far in the north of Heaven, beneath mountains known for vulcanism. He had carved places out of the rock at the heart of the mountain, where he could feel warm and safe.

His former shape had been lost near the end of the Third Wave, and he had taken this one. It was very resistant to the effects of the flux. His breath could break any material down to its basic components, or turn a wave of cacoastrum into living illiaster.

None of the new angels entered the Northern Regency, and no one at all lived there, save the Regent. All feared him, for it was said that he was mad, that he had been wounded deeply, and it was unsafe to be near him.

Alone, unchanging, nursing his rage and his fear, the Regent of the North turned in his sleep. The Third Wave was over now, but when the next came, he would wake.

League upon league upon league of sea rose in temperature by exactly one and a half degrees, and she basked in it. The tip of her tail broke the water and waved snake-like (had there been snakes) for a bit and then a bit. The water was a blue that an artist would despair of capturing. Above, the air smelled of the sea.

Her sea! Here she was the master. As the last effects of the raw cacoastrum vanished, she found she could command this water by an effort of will, for it was hers.

The Second Wave had driven her to create and enter the sea, forsaking her form in order to live. She could have used the free illiaster from the Third Wave to recreate her old form, but she would not leave the protection the waters gave her. And she had come to love the flowing, breathing sensuality of the currents, caressing and soothing her.

The green coiled length of her body straightened, and she closed her eyes as she accepted the warmth into herself. She sent forth a laugh that reverberated through the waters, which picked it up and carried it, as fresh currents, to every shore.

The Regent of the West was at peace, for a while. Let us leave her there.

The Youth With Golden Locks looked to the west. He rested his left hand upon the golden hilt of the shaft of scarlet light that hung from his waist and reached down to his knees. He was dressed in a tunic of light brown that called attention to his remote blue eyes. He, the Regent of the East, was a proper half-a-head taller than the black-haired, dark woman who stood at his side and caressed his arm.

She scrutinized him for a moment, then shook her head.

Too much, she remarked.

He shrugged, and darkened his complexion a shade or two.

Better, she said. But the hair is still overdoing it a bit, don’t you think?

If you say so, said the youth, and eased the curls somewhat, darkened the tone. As the woman studied this version, impatience crossed the Regent’s face.

Forget it, he snapped. It just isn’t me.

She shrugged. As you wish.

His hair grew lighter again, his form taller and thinner, and his skin took on an aspect of transparency. We’re not going to be able to do this much longer, he said. The effects of the Wave have nearly worn off.

It doesn’t matter, she said, soothingly.

I don’t understand this concern everyone suddenly has with appearance, anyway.

What else is there to be concerned with? I expect things will occur soon enough, but for now—

"I suppose. But is there any reason for me to spend all this time working on a form that I never look at anyway?"

Maybe not. But as a Regent, I should think—

That’s another thing. There was a time when it actually meant something to be a Regent.

I remember.

When we first created this place, he gestured vaguely around them, "it meant that I was responsible for a quarter of the terrain of Heaven. And it was needed then. Our brethren from the Second and Third Waves needed guidance and leadership. But we’re secure now. There hasn’t been an influx in thousands of days. And if there is another, Yaweh will call us—"

You certainly are in a foul mood today, aren’t you?

He stopped. You’re right, he said after a moment. Sorry.

It’s all right. Is there something I can do?

She said it with no special emphasis, but he suddenly felt the grass beneath his bare feet grow thicker and longer.

Yes, he said. I think so.

The healer was tall, full-bodied, and pale of complexion. She wore a gold cloak over white garments. A silver chain around her waist held a six-pointed star. She faced the sword-bearer, who was large, well-muscled, and brown haired. He, also, wore a cloak of gold.

Yaweh, he said, wants to put it in his throne room, in a case, next to his sceptre.

Fitting, she said. I suppose it is cumbersome—and you don’t need it now.

Not for a while, at any rate. And I’m near to the Palace, so I can easily fetch it when I need it.

The healer studied the massive sword which the other carried over his right shoulder. Then she looked away.

I hope, she said, that you don’t need it for a long time.

He nodded without speaking.

He stood in the center of Heaven and looked about it, having chosen to have four eyes today. He noticed that with less than two looking in any one direction, he couldn’t see as well as he ought. He resolved to set someone to discover the reason for this.

Outside of Heaven, cacoastrum still did its mindless, eternal dance of destruction. One day, he knew, he and his brethren would face it again, for that was the way of the universe. When that happened, he would again feel the sorrow of losing his brothers, perhaps one of those who had been with him from the beginning. He would know the joy of seeing new ones created from illiaster, and the pleasure of watching them become aware of themselves and the others around them, but nothing could heal the pain of loss.

Again, as he had so many times before, he wondered if there couldn’t be a way to end the conflict forever.

He sighed, and, with his four eyes, looked about the ways of Heaven. He saw that it was good. But not quite good enough.

second prologue

"There’s plenty of pain here—but it don’t kill.

There’s plenty of suffering here, but it

don’t last. You see, happiness ain’t a

thing in itself—it’s only a contrast with

something that ain’t pleasant."

—Mark Twain, Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven

There seems to be a lot of work left to do on it, said the Regent of the South. All you have is the barest outline.

I know, said Yaweh, but what do you think of it so far?

The Regent licked his lips. I … to be honest, I’m afraid of it—afraid to hope for it. It seems like a dream. Of course, it’s what we’ve always wanted, but—I don’t know, Yaweh. Can it be done?

I think so. The one who’d be best at it is working on the details; he thinks so.

The Regent raised a brow over a bright green eye. Lucifer?

Yaweh smiled. Who else? He and Lilith are— He stopped, as a look of pain crossed the Regent’s face. What is it, old friend?

The other shook his head, then smiled, ruefully. Lilith.

I’ m sorry I—

Don’t, Yaweh. If everyone had to apologize for all the hearts Lilith’s broken, we could hardly speak to each other.

Yaweh studied him closely. Does she know how much hurt she causes?

She didn’t do any hurting. I did it to myself. It was stupid, really. I wanted her to move into the Hold with me. She wasn’t sure, and I tried to push her, without thinking, and— He punctuated the sentence with a shrug.

Yaweh studied him somberly for a moment, then sighed. I wish there was something I could do for you.

The Regent shook his head. It doesn’t matter. I’ll get over it. Maybe it’ll teach me something. But enough. What do you want me to do?

Yaweh cleared his throat. In order to accomplish this, we need the cooperation of every angel in Heaven. But when I mentioned the Plan to one of the angels who dwells here, he had a strange reaction. Rather than being excited by the idea, he was frightened by it.

The Regent’s eyes widened. Why?

There will be some danger associated with it. I don’t know how much yet, but certainly some. He understood that, and was more frightened by the Plan than happy with the idea of the safety that would follow. He shrugged. It’s natural, now that I think of it. Most angels remember little or nothing of their first Wave—the one that created them. Our hatred of the flux comes later.

I don’t believe that any angel could fail to see what we gain with this, Yaweh. We may have to explain it to them, but certainly not more than that.

Yaweh sighed. I hope you’re right.

I am, said the other. It may take a little time, that’s all.

I hope you’re right, he repeated. In any case, Lucifer will be coming this evening, and we’ll go over the general plans then, and discuss things in more detail. There is an archangel named Uriel who can help you—

"Help me what, Yaweh? You still haven’t told me."

Let me save it for tonight.

The Regent looked at him closely. Whatever it is, you don’t like it, do you? Yaweh shook his head. The Regent changed the subject. I’ll want to go back to the Hold soon. It’s quite a walk.

All right. But can you wait until tomorrow? It’s been a long time since you’ve slept under my roof. We’ll be having some pin-dancing. I would be pleased, he added.

All right, old friend, said the other. I’ll stay the night. Have you brandy?

Yaweh nodded. They both stood at once, as if a hidden message had come to them, and embraced. I don’t see you often enough, said Yaweh.

Heaven has grown too large, said Satan.

one

Descend, then! I could also say: Ascend!

’Twere all the same. Escape from the Created

To shapeless forms in liberated spaces!

Enjoy what long ere this was dissipated!

—Goethe, Faust

Primordial ooze. Flux. Chaos. Cacoastrum.

The essential of the universe, in all its myriad forms and shapes. Essence.

Any and all combinations of form and shape exist within this essence. Eventually, of course, cacoastrum may deny itself. Order within chaos.

How many times is order created? The question has no meaning. A tree falls in the forest, and the universe hears it. Order doesn’t last; cacoastrum will out.

The flux creates the essence of order, which is illiaster, which was the staff of life long before bread had the privilege. It can’t last, however. Conscious? Sentient? Self-aware? Perhaps these things exist for a timeless instant, only to be lost again before they can begin to understand. They may have shape; they may have the seeds of thoughts—none of this matters. One of them may be a unicorn, another a greyish stone of unknown properties, still another a girl-child with big brown eyes who vanishes before she really appears. It doesn’t matter.

But let us give to one of these forms something new. Let us give it, for the sake of argument, an instinct to survive. Ah! Now the game is different, you see.

So this form resists, and strives to hold itself together. And as it strives, cacoastrum and illiaster produce more illiaster, and consciousness produces more consciousness, and now there are two.

The two of them strive; and then they find that they can communicate, and time means something now. And space, as well.

As they work together, to hold onto themselves, a third one appears. They find that they can bend the cacoastrum to their will, and force shape upon it, and command it to hold, for a while. They build walls at this place where the three of them are, and a top and a bottom.

Cacoastrum howls, almost as a living thing itself, and seeks entry. The three resist, and then there are four, then five, then six, then seven.

And the seven finish the walls, and the top, and the bottom and for a moment, at last, there is peace from the storm.

The Southern Wall of Heaven stretched long and stark. It spanned six hundred leagues and more, fading out of sight above, where it met with the azure ceiling. Its length was unmarked; its width unmeasured; its touch cool; its look foreboding and ageless.

The Regent had built it in the days of the Second Wave, and expanded it in the days of the Third. He had built his home into it, and out from it.

The foundations of the Southern Hold were deep into the bedrock of Heaven, carved and scorched with the fires of Belial, made immutable by the sceptre of Yaweh. Plain and grey like the Wall, the Hold rose over grassland and stoney plain, even and unbroken until its northern wall ended abruptly and became a roof that sloped sharply up to the top. There it blended into the Wall, giving the impression that the entire affair was an accidental blister from the Wall and would soon sink back into it.

The only entrance was built into the northern wall of the Hold. Here were placed a pair of massive oak doors, with finely carved wooden handles.

A visitor to the Hold, no matter how often he had been there, would be moved by the stature of the hard grey edifice—lonely, cold, distant, and proud. Like the Regent of the South himself, some said. But once inside, the illusion was shattered.

The visitor, a medium-sized golden haired dog, padded through the hallway. Being a dog, and therefore colorblind, he didn’t see the cheerful blue of the walls. But he noticed the brightness of the lamps of iron and glass, one every twenty dogpaces. The oil for the lamps, pressed from local vegetation and refined in the basement of the Hold, had been scented with lilac.

The dog continued until he came to an archway. There was a small chamber, with large green couches and overstuffed chairs. The north wall held a burgundy-colored buffet, with cups and bottles of cut glass and stoneware. The lamps were always low in this room, but the dog heard the sounds of breathing, and smelled a friend.

He leapt onto a couch, facing this friend across a table of glass. Neither spoke; the dog moved slightly toward the Regent, who was seated with one leg on the table, his left arm across the back of the couch, his right hand loosely holding a glass into which he was staring. The dog caught a strong, sweet smell from the glass.

’Tis but cheap wine, milord, he