Legends of Amacia: Mysteries of Tiamat
Visions of the Darkness

“Harry,Mary,” the angel in the center of the living room declared. “You are greatlybeloved by the Lord. Therefore, He has His angels watching over you.” The angelthat stood behind Harry looked down at him with a warm smile, placing afriendly hand on his shoulder. Peace flooded Harry’s heart and mind andstrength entered into his body for the appearance of the angels had drainedboth him and Mary. The angel behind Mary did likewise.

“I’ve dealtwith angels before,” Hannibal declared, gazing at the angels from his seat.“Who sent you?”

The angelin the middle of the floor acknowledged Hannibal’s request with a nod andsmile. “That you have Hannibal Smith, or should I say Beowulf?” the angelreplied. “We are sent by the Almighty Ancient of Days, the Lord of Hosts – theGod of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who sent His only son, Jesus, in the flesh, whodied for the sins of the world, was buried, and rose three days later from thegrave and now sits at the right hand of the Lord interceding for His sheep, andwho is coming again to Earth to restore all things. That’s who sent us.”

“Well said,brother…well said,” Hannibal replied, smiling. “What does the Lord say?”

Gazing atthe trio, the angel declared, “I am Gabriel, and stand in the presence of God.First, know that the Prince of the West has resisted our attempts to reach youfor forty days. Had Michael not been dispatched to free us from the fight, wewould still not been able to reach you. The Lord has instructed us to revealthe truth of the situation to you. Harry, Mary, these are your guardian angelssent by the Lord to watch over and guard you. They’re charged with yourprotection. You may notice Hannibal has two guardians with him. The reason forthis is the task the Lord has given him.”

Turning toHannibal, Gabriel said, “Hannibal, you may recognize your guardians. They werethere in the village when the Dark Prince of the East was cast from you.”Hannibal looked closely at the two angels at his sides and acknowledged thatthey were. “They’re your guard and have been your guard since that day,”Gabriel said soberly. “The enemy has been massing to destroy you because ofwhat the Lord will have you to do. You’re to go into cursed Amacian underworld.The Prince of Amacia has risen once again to destroy the Lord’s people from offthe face of the Earth. Go and face him. Dezarcus is but a general. The Princeof Amacia is presently second in command to Lucifer himself. Lucifer has puthim in charge of the Earth with orders to annihilate every soul from off the faceof the Earth. The Lord will not allow this. The Lord will send you as He sentMoses to Pharaoh and the Lord himself will do battle for you. Therefore you areto go and stand in the breech for there are no others to do this.”

Harry andMary looked on in awe and humility as the angel Gabriel laid out to Hannibalhis mission. Hannibal sat there in stunned silence, taking in Gabriel’sinstructions. “As the Lord commands,” Hannibal finally replied. “His will bedone.”

Gabrielthen looked at Harry and Mary soberly. “Harry…Mary; I’ve been charged withgiving you understanding about what is fixing to transpire on the face of theEarth,” Gabriel stated. “Therefore come, all of you and see the enemy youface.” The room grew brilliant so that all that was seen was the angels. Whenthe light faded, Hannibal, Harry, and Mary were suspended over the Harry’shouse with the angels. “Look and remember what you see for this is the way itis,” Gabriel instructed. They floated some thirty feet over the house.

“Dennis!Dennis is still in the house!” Mary blurted out.

Gabrielsmiled and reassured her. “Your son is safe. Look there,” he ordered, pointingto the house.

Dennis’bedroom seemed to open before them. He lay in his bed, sound asleep. Four greatangels stood guard at each corner of the bed facing out, swords drawn. Marysighed in relief.

In aninstant, the room vanished and they were over the house again. The suburbsstretched off into the distance and a crescent moon hung in the sky partiallyshrouded in high clouds. Around the perimeter of the property every six feet,angelic guards stood at attention with weapons drawn. Just outside of theperimeter was a hideous black horde of demons. The demons circled andoccasionally tried to penetrate the perimeter. “You see. They constantly testour perimeters. Without the prayers of the saints, we grow weak and sometimeshave to retreat. Prayers are our strength,” Gabriel instructed. “Now look tothe east.”

They turnedtheir attention to the east. The house vanished as they rose many miles intothe sky over the Atlantic Ocean, giving them a worldwide view. In the Far East,they saw a great black cloud rising out of the mountains of that region.Hannibal noticed the core of the cloud seemed to hang over the western end ofSumatra. The vision suddenly increased a thousand fold and they saw the Templeof Tiamat.

“Lord, havemercy!” Hannibal exclaimed as he saw immense armies of devils massing aroundthe Temple, but not in it. Dezarcus was present, reviewing his troops. Theirnumbers were uncountable. The cloud seemed to boil and writhe as it grew. Thevision then pulled back to a wide view. The cloud grew until it blackened theentire eastern sky. The cloud boiled and suddenly took shape: the shape of agreat draken, even the draken Tiamat. Harry and Mary looked on in amazement.

“The DrakenLord rises in the east and prepares to sweep westward,” Gabriel said. “Be alertand sober. He thirsts for vengeance.”

Hanniballooked at Gabriel in shock. “Dezarcus really is the heart of the drakennations,” Hannibal declared in an astonished tone. “He’s coming with great furyand vengeance because of his failure to keep me.”

“Yes,”Gabriel replied. “He’s insane with rage and will destroy all in his path thatresists him. Now look to the north.” Their attention then turned to the northas Gabriel pointed. Out of the cold steppes and plains of Siberia rose anothergreat cloud. Just as with the eastern cloud, this one was composed of demoniacentities. These entities were the color of blood and fire. Once again, thevision focused in and a great general was seen organizing and reviewing histroops. This one was in the form of a great werebear, standing some thirty feettall. He looked at his troops and roared a roar that shook the ground. Thewerebear saw Gabriel and those with him, and cursed, raging in fury. The visionpulled back once again. The cloud boiled violently and seemed to form into achimera: a cross between a bear and a griffin. The hideous cloud rose up to thestature of the draken cloud, obscuring the northern sky completely in its greatscarlet form.

“Lo, thePrince of the North is ready to devour all that oppose him. Look, he has joinedwith the Draken Lord of the East,” Gabriel announced, pointing at the twoclouds joining into one. The two great beasts mingled together as they turned,looking to the west with great fury. They roared in unison and slowly began tomove to the west.

“Now, lookto the west,” Gabriel instructed and all eyes turned west to North America. Yetanother sinister cloud began rising from the United States, with the core ofthe cloud directly over Washington DC. The vision narrowed once again to thecity of Washington. A deep darkness that no light seemed to be able topenetrate emanated from the city. The cloud grew and spread like a cancer overthe whole land. The demons milled with unbelievable violence across the land.Then the great general appeared, perched on the pinnacle of the Washingtonmonument. He stood nearly thirty-five feet tall with his proud head lifted upas he surveyed his domain and his subordinates. His form wasstrange...unearthly. He resembled a huge gargoyle with great wings that drapedabout his frame like a regal cape. His head resembled a man with long flowinghair and long pointed ears that protruded from under his hair. His color wasdark gray and had great-clawed hands with skin that looked like it had scales.A giant black sword hung at his side. He gazed with pride and satisfaction athis command, and then looked east seeing the draken and the chimera. His smugexpression fell as rage filled his features. His wings billowed as he pulledthe sword from his side. Then he looked and saw Gabriel and those with him. Thegargoyle prince snarled viciously and the darkness shrouded the city. At thispoint, the vision pulled back where the entirety of the western hemisphere wasseen. The cloud grew and blackened to the point that any light that strayednear it seemed to be swallowed by it as if it were a black hole. It boiled andwrithed angrily as it covered all of North and Central America. The cloud, thenlike the other clouds, began to take a form. It took the form of an immensegiant from the just below the waist up with four arms, each arm having a weaponin its hand. A colossal fearsome demonic skull sat on the giant’s head like agreat helmet. The cloud giant took a defensive posture as it raged.

“This isPrince of the West, who was promised the world by the Dark One,” Gabrielannounced. “He knows now that the draken and the chimera will take his dominionfrom him so he rages and prepares to meet them in battle. Look how he setshimself in a defensive posture awaiting the draken and chimera. He’s losing hisplace because he has failed to take the world in the time allotted to him myLucifer. This is the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful in His sight. Even thehordes of hell must obey the Lord. The western nations are under the wrath ofthe most High and are lost. The Prince of the West will betray his dominion andbillions will die in the onslaught of the draken and the chimera. Now look tothe south. Behold the stirrings of the Black Prince: Demon Emperor of thelegions of Hell, master of the foulest darkness and evil.”

All eyesturned to the south as Gabriel pointed toward Argentina. At first, they sawnothing. Then a wisp of a dark cloud began to grow over the Argentinean Andes.It started in small and low, and then began to grow. The vision narrowed again,showing the great volcanic massif of Aconcagua and the area around it. Themountains crawled with all manner of demons like a swarm of ants whose nest hasbeen disturbed. Their numbers could not be determined. The mountains seemed tobe alive with them. The air slowly filled with their numbers. An ominous darkpall hung over the whole area...a pall of the darkest, foulest evil man hasever encountered. Hannibal, Harry, and Mary briefly glanced at each other innumbed awe, and then looked on. The vision narrowed farther. Down into mountainitself through fissures and underground passages into the immense cavernsunderneath it the vision took them. A cyclopean black city and colossalfortress came into view with a huge volcano belching lava and ash sitting inthe background. Into the city the vision went, right into the royal palace. Agiant man nearly twelve feet tall sat on the throne with a golden crown on hisbrow and regal robes about his frame. The throne was in the form of a greatdemonic skull with glowing red eyes and razor sharp teeth.

“This isthe Emperor Zaros Sar Keleb of the black lands of Amacia,” Gabriel said. “He isthe most powerful mortal being on the face of the Earth. Now see who he reallyis.” As everyone looked on, the Emperor’s face twisted and contorted. Suddenlyfrom behind the throne arose the most formidable being any man would never hopeto encounter. It leaned over the top of the throne and whispered into theEmperor’s ear. The demon abruptly realized it was being watched and looked up,seeing Gabriel and his charge. The colossal demon rose up to full height, lookingdirectly at Gabriel and his charge. The beast stood forty feet in height withgreat bat-like wings that draped over most of his form like a royal robe. Itshead had glowing red catlike eyes that burned and from the sides of his headprotruded two massive horns nearly five feet in length apiece curving forwardand upward. The demon’s face resembled that of a tiger with a body and headstriped with dark and light gray stripes. A mane of long dark hair flowed fromits head and long pointed, catlike ears poked out from underneath the hair. Thedemon looked as if it had some form of armor on its arms and legs. A giganticdark sword hung at his side. Burning hatred and evil poured from its greatglowing eyes as the prodigious beast spoke directly to Gabriel.

“What meansyou coming here, Gabriel? You have a lot of nerve coming so blatantly into mydomain!” the Black Prince hissed. As he spoke, the angel Michael showed up witha contingent of twenty warrior angels.

Gabrielglanced at Michael and smiled. Then addressing the Black Prince, Gabrieldeclared, “We are here at the direct orders of the Lord. He has numbered yourdays!”

The BlackPrince sneered and spread his great wings in defiance, pulling his massiveblack blade from his side. “The Lord huh,” he sneered. “He cannot stop us andneither can you. The Earth is mine to do with as I see fit and I see fit todestroy it my way! No one is fit to survive my coming.” The Black Prince shookhis huge clawed fist in the air, hissing, “I will destroy you myself!” At that,the Black Prince launched himself, coming directly at Gabriel with a triumphantsmile on his hideous face.

Michael andthe angelic detachment then stepped forward and formed an angelic shield aroundGabriel and his charge. The Black Prince suddenly stopped in mid-air justoutside of the reach of Michael’s massive angelic sword, which was drawn andglistening in the light. “Not today, prince of hell. The Lord has willed it,”Michael declared fearlessly. “Go back to your darkness and tell your commanderthat his time is short as well.”

A countlessblack horde of demons rose to back up the Black Prince. Fear began to rise inHannibal, Harry, and Mary. Their guardians saw this and comforted them.“There’s no need to be afraid,” one of Hannibal’s guardians declared. “Look,the Hosts of Heaven back us up.” They looked behind them and a great shiningarmy of angelic warriors stood behind them with their weapons drawn. The armywas vast...numberless as the sands of the sea. Hannibal, Harry, and Mary turnedtheir attention back to the confrontation unfolding in front of them.

The BlackPrince snarled, trying to stare down Michael. Holy indignation lit Michael’seyes as he met the hideous gaze. Within moments, the Black Prince broke thegaze and pushed up to Michael’s sword, cursing and blaspheming. “This is notover. The world is mine and so is he,” the Black Prince growled, pointing atHannibal. “We will come for him for his treason against us. His soul belongs tous.”

“The Lordrebukes you. The world is not yours and neither is he. Now get thee hence backinto your darkness,” Michael rebuked.

The BlackPrince’s hideous face twisted in rage as he backed down. “Another time,Michael,” he snarled. “One day soon we’ll face each other again and this time,you will fall!” The Black Prince cursed again and retreated to his throne andthe Emperor. Darkness fell over the entire area so dense nothing could be seen.The vision pulled back so that the entirety of the great caverns was seen. Thedarkness was complete.

Michaelturned to Gabriel with a sigh of relief. “That was close,” Michael stated. “TheBlack Prince is Lucifer’s present number two. This is the first time in twelvethousand years that he has shown himself to anyone. All thanks be to the Lordour God for His mercy and strength. We must go and prepare. The Prince willshow himself again before long and we must be ready. The Lord wants me to leavea detachment with you for protection.” Looking at Hannibal, Harry, and Mary,Michael said, “They will be your guard until this is finished. Be vigilant andpray always.” At that, Michael and the rest of the hosts of heaven vanished, leavingGabriel, Hannibal, Harry, Mary, their guardian angels and 20 angelic warriorsas their additional guard.

“That wasthe Black Prince: your adversary, second in command to Lucifer himself,”Gabriel announced. “Now you have seen the face of your enemy so there will beno mistakes. Now look into the darkness of Amacia.”

They lookedinto the all-encompassing spiritual darkness throughout the caverns. As thedarkness seemed to boil and writhe, flashes of light flickered around theperiphery of the caverns. “What’s that light we’re seeing in the darkness?”Hannibal asked in a puzzled manner.

“That, myfriend,” Gabriel replied, “is the remnant of Amacia that the Lord has redeemedunto himself. As you see, their light is faint and flickers in the darkness.That’s where you come in. You are to go to them and bring them out of thatdarkness. In the process, you will be tried and tested to the extreme, butalways remember, the Lord will be with you. The Lord wants you to bring themout and to deal with the Black Prince. Just as He sent Moses to Pharaoh, so Hesends you to Amacia. Now look and remember what you see.”

The visionthen pulled back again to where all of South America was seen. The cloud thatwas forming over Aconcagua was now monstrous, covering nearly all of SouthAmerica in its ink grip. The cloud boiled and raged as it swirled around like ahurricane. The cloud then began to take a form, just as the others had. Withinminutes, the cloud took the form of a titanic werecat. Only the head, uppertorso, and part of an arm were visible. In its monstrous clawed hand was agreat sword that seemed to pierce the very heavens itself. The cloud seemed tohide most of its figure in darkness as it covered the entirety of the southernsky. “Look; the Draken Lord, Chimera, and Giant have noticed its stirrings,”Gabriel declared. They noticed that the Draken Lord and Chimera had hesitatedand looked toward the southwest, seeing the werecat titan. They shrieked androared in unholy rage, resuming their westward movement with a much higherspeed and determination. The Giant turned his skull gaze to the south andraised his many arms in defiance and rage, yet remained in a defensive posture,turning his attention back to the east.

“The DrakenLord and the Chimera have their orders to take the Prince of the West. Theirorders came from the Black Prince himself. They have orders to exterminateeverything and everyone whom they encounter,” Gabriel explained. “However, theDraken Lord and Chimera each believe they alone should have the world as theirdominion. Therefore, they will subdue and take the Prince of the West, addinghis numbers to theirs. They’ll then turn their eyes on the Black Prince,lusting for his place and will try to take his position. This will be their downfall.The Black Prince, once attacked by them, will roar out of his place andcompletely decimate the Draken Lord, Chimera, and Giant, and in the process,eradicate all flesh from off the face of the Earth. The Lord will not allowthis to happen. Watch and see their fates.”

The DrakenLord and Chimera approached the Giant and slipped under his guard. The threeclouds merged into one. Great flashes permeated the cloud. All identity of theGiant, the Draken, and the Chimera were lost in the violence of the greatboiling mass of demoniac entities. The cloud then seemed to settle and theDraken Lord emerged first. Then the Chimera showed its face and the Giantseemed to fuse the two together into the ultimate chimera. Their evil gazeturned to the south toward the great werecat and they started to move in thatdirection. The werecat saw this and grew in stature, revealing the whole bodyof the werecat. In an instant, the monstrous cat move forward with lightningspeed and fury. It lashed out with its claws and sword at the DrakenLord/Chimera/Giant cloud. The clouds merged near Columbia and Peru. The werecattitan attacked with unparalleled violence, cutting the draken asunder. Withinminutes, the cloud that once was the Draken Lord, the Chimera, and the Giant wastorn asunder and dispersed. The werecat titan absorbed the remnants of theDraken Lord/Chimera/Giant cloud and grew in power until it straddled the Earth,with its head in the ionosphere. One titanic leg stood in Brazil and the otherleg stood in the Congo in central Africa. It raised its head and roared intriumph, raising its colossal weapon toward heaven in defiance. It thenproceeded to crush the Earth underfoot, destroying all that it could.

In themidst of its orgy of destruction, a strange Mars-sized comet with a reddishhaze of debris around it came out of nowhere from deep space streaking into theinner solar system from the northwest like a missile. Hannibal, Harry, and Marysaw it and gaped in astonishment. “What in the world is that?” Hannibal whispered,as the strange comet seemed to appear like a phantom, passing inside the moon’sorbit but missing the Earth itself by two hundred thirty thousand miles. Thecomet rained a grievous hail of rock and ice, both water and methane, on theearth as it passed by, hitting the werecat titan repeatedly with massive energybolts as its magnetic and gravitational fields and the Earth’s magnetic andgravitational fields interacted. Asteroids pummeled the giant cat in the headand body as the electron bolts from the comet arced like a colossal Van DEGraff generator, striking the werecat in the chest and running down its leg,touching the ground in Argentinian Andes, pulverizing the mountain range todust over an area the size of Montana. The comet suddenly came in so quicklythe titanic werecat was blindsided by the comet while it stomped Africa andSouth America into dust.

When thecelestial body unleashed hell on the dark werecat titan, the cat stopped andissued a shriek as it staggered, first grabbing its head where the asteroidshit it followed by its abdomen where the electron bolts from the comet struck.The great sword dropped from its hand into the Pacific Ocean, creating amonster tsunami of two hundred feet as the werecat dropped to its knees. An eerielight flashed from inside the great figure as the planet-sized comet wreakedhavoc on the demoniac titan. The electron bolts enhanced the eerie flashinglight that seemed to erupt from the werecat’s body. The giant werecat howled inmortal agony as its substance seemed to dissipate under the barrage from thegiant comet and the lights erupting from within the cat. The lights grewstronger and stronger fed by the energy from the comet, dispelling the cat’sbody. Within minutes, the werecat titan began to lose its shape, spreading outand obscuring the entire planet. Hannibal, Harry, and Mary looked on in numbedastonishment. With one last salvo of plasma bolts from the comet, the lightswithin the cat burst out of the cloud and the body of the cat and the clouddissipated, revealing the world permanently scarred with portions of severalcontinents shattered and submerged in the oceans. Other continents and islandswere altered in shape, including South America where the Argentinian/ChileanAndes had been completely restructured around Cerro Aconcagua. In place of thetallest mountain in the western hemisphere sat a plateau the size of Montanastretching from the Chilean coast to just two hundred miles west of BuenosAires. The plateau ranged from sea level on the west coast to six thousand feetin the center and eastern areas. Mountain ranges of varying sizes split theplateau into several geographic zones with the entirety of the new land massbeing surrounded by a massive jagged mountain wall with peaks upwards of twentythousand feet. The terrible comet that seemingly smashed the dark werecat tobits and restructured the surface of the Earth pulled away from the planetbefore killing every living thing, leaving the world eternally scarred.

“Whathappened? Where did the monster go?” Mary asked in a shaky tone. “Why did thekiller comet leave?” Mary suddenly broke down and sobbed, overwhelmed by theapocalypse she just witnessed.

Harry puthis arm around Mary as her guardian angel touched her on the shoulder. “Whatdid we just see?” Harry asked Gabriel bluntly. “What was that weird planet,comet, whatever the heck it was? Will it do what you just showed us?”

“What youhave just witnessed is the defeat of the Black Prince,” Gabriel explained. “TheLord’s people who are right under his very nose will defeat from him fromwithin. That’s what those flashing lights were that ultimately destroyed theBlack Prince: the Lord’s remnant in Amacia. You, Hannibal, are the lightningrod that will help them do this.”

“What aboutthe comet?” Hannibal asked, still stunned by what he saw. “What is it? I saw itattacking the Black Prince and seemingly assisting the light trying to get outof him. What’s the deal here?”

“Thatcomet, as you call it, is what your kind calls Gabriel’s Hammer,” Gabrielstated. “It’s a rogue comet the size of Mars and is one of the Lord’s mightyweapons brought out to deal with the Black Prince and his allies. There’s muchmore going on here than I am allowed to share with you right now. For now, justbe aware that this rogue body will not overturn your civilization as Nibiru didwhen Amacia fell in the 1st Age of Humanity. The majority ofhumanity will survive the Hammer’s passing, but it will shake the planet andrestructure it somewhat as it goes by. The Hammer has a specific job to do inaddition to giving the remnant of Amacia the strength to overcome the BlackPrince.”

“What jobis that?” Harry asked as he held Mary close. “All I saw it do is kill hundredsof millions of people as it destroyed that monster. What can we do in the faceof such violence on a planetary scale?”

“Havefaith, my friend,” Gabriel replied calmly. “You’re not ready to understand theHammer’s task yet, but you will. You’ll replace the answers about the Hammer whenyou reach the Black Prince’s domain in the Amacian underworld. The Lord allowedyou to see this because it’s part of the Black Prince’s ultimate defeat.Remember, those who trust in the Lord need not fear the Hammer. He willpreserve His people in the midst of the calamity you just saw. Noah is yourexample. Trust the Lord and you will be spared.”

“Goodwords, Gabriel,” Hannibal murmured. “I believe, but must admit that I’msickened by what I just saw. Is there any way this terrible fate can beavoided?”

“No,”Gabriel stated bluntly. “The Lord has decreed it and it will come to pass. Butremember, visions such as this often become reality in ways you don’t expect.Trust the Lord. He will protect you and your friends in what’s to come.”

“I pray Hedoes,” Mary blurted out, still trembling in fear at what she saw, “because ifHe doesn’t, then we’re done for.”

“He’llprotect us,” Hannibal reassured Mary. “We must believe. Besides, there’s no wayto know when this will actually take place. It could be months or years downthe road. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“And youwill,” Gabriel chimed, touching each of them on the shoulder in turn to givethem peace and strength. “The day is set and isn’t far off, but certain thingsmust take place before it can happen. You have a little time to prepare forwhat’s coming so don’t dawdle.”

At thispoint, the vision shimmered and faded, leaving Gabriel, Harry, Mary, Hannibal,and their guardians in the living room of Harry’s house.

“Where areour guards?” Hannibal asked, looking around.

“They’reoutside with the others guarding the perimeter,” Gabriel answered. “They’ll beassigned as needed. Most will stay here with you and Dennis,” he said to Mary,who sat in her chair, very pale and shaken.

Harry satin his chair with an equally troubled look on his face. Hannibal sat where hewas, pale also but very calm and a great peace was upon him. Gabriel looked atHarry and Mary with a sober expression. “Harry, you are to go with Hannibal toguard his back,” Gabriel ordered. “It’s the Lord’s will.”

Harryprotested the order. “I can’t!” Harry balked. “I can’t leave Mary and Dennis.They’ll get them, and if they don’t, that rogue comet will!”

“Oh you oflittle faith,” Gabriel scolded. “Have you not seen and understood what the Lordhas shown you? The Lord has His mighty hand on all of you. Mary and Dennis willbe perfectly safe. Do you not remember the confrontation with the Black Prince?The Lord will hide them in the palm of His hand and not one hair of their headswill perish. As for the Hammer, it will only kill those whose time has come inthe Lord’s will. I’m permitted to say that Mary and Dennis will not perish bythe Hammer. It’s not the Lord’s will for that to occur. They have a job to do,just as you and Hannibal have jobs to do before He calls you home. Besides, youknow you want to go with him and that’s where the Lord wants you…at Hannibal’sside.”

Harrylooked at Mary, who was feeling like a leaf driven in the wind. Mary shruggedand said, “If that’s what God wants, who am I to say no to Him after what I’veseen. Has He really said we’re not going to die by this thing?”

Gabriel sawthe look on Mary’s face and went to her, kneeling down in front of her andtaking her hand in his. “That’s what He has decreed,” he declared. “You’re safefrom the wrath of the Hammer. It will not take you, your son, or even yourhusband. The Lord has a great work for both you and your son…work that willgreatly benefit you both and many others.”

“Thankyou,” Mary whispered, her tone wavering. “But even with this reassurance, it’sstill so overwhelming, so….”

Gabrielpatted her on the hand, smiling warmly. “I know what you’ve experience thisevening is completely overwhelming,” he stated, “and I know you’re having ahard time emotionally comprehending it. But fear not. The Lord is good andrighteous; He will not put any more on you than you can bear. Therefore, theLord will make it so you can take this one piece at a time. Most of this willbe like a dream to you on the edge of your consciousness and when you are readyto handle it, the Lord will have you remember it. He will also give you a peaceabout what you’ve seen tonight.” Gabriel touched Mary on the forehead with hisindex finger. At that, a great unspeakable peace flooded her mind and soul. Sheregained some of her color and ceased to be shaken.

Gabrielturned to Harry. “Mary will be all right,” he declared. “She’ll be protected,as will your son. As for what you’ve seen, you shall remember it and ponder it.Understand the enemy we face. Go with Hannibal.” He then place his hand onHarry’s shoulder, strengthening him and giving him great peace about what wasseen and what he had to do. “It will be all right. Remember, the Lord’s will issupreme,” Gabriel proclaimed. “Even the hordes of hell and monsters of theAbyss must obey Him.”

Finally,Gabriel turned to Hannibal with a stern expression. “You know what needs to bedone, Hannibal,” Gabriel said firmly. “The Lord will be with you. Remember whatyou’ve seen and ponder it. Understanding will be forthcoming. Look to the skiesfor the signs so you’re not caught unaware.” Turning to the three of them,Gabriel stated, “I am Gabriel, and stand in the presence of God. Remember whatyou’ve seen tonight. Remember.” At that, the room grew bright to the point thatthey had to shield their eyes and when the light dissipated, Gabriel and theguardian angels had vanished. They looked at each other in amazement andfatigue. The peace of the Lord was upon all of them. Hannibal looked at theclock and his jaw fell open.

“What isit?” Harry ventured.

“I rememberlooking at the clock just before praying. We’ve been gone for only threeminutes!” Hannibal exclaimed.

“Threeminutes! My God! How did that happen? I could’ve sworn that we were gone fornearly four hours!” Harry returned in amazement.

“God ishow,” Hannibal returned. “We’ve been allowed a glimpse of what’s going on inthe spiritual realm. Things that happen in the spiritual realm always have amirrored reflection in the world that we know. The world as we know it is aboutto change in ways we can’t yet comprehend.”

“Hasanything like this ever happened to you before?” Harry asked.

“No, I’vedealt with fallen angels and their power while I was in the occult world. Butnever have I had a visitation like the one we just had,” Hannibal returned in asubdued, humbled tone. “I’ve had dreams and such where things were shown to me,but always they were a bit cryptic. Never have I ever been shown something sostraightforward. The Lord is definitely merciful to have allowed us such aglimpse. I don’t know about you, but my flesh even now is having a somewhatadverse reaction to what we’ve seen. It’s made me nauseous.”

“Now thatyou say that, so do I,” Harry said in realization. “It feels like I got somekind of flu bug or something. How about you, honey?” he asked Mary. She noddedin agreement.

“I feellike I’ve been run through a meat grinder,” Mary admitted. “I don’t quiteunderstand why and can’t seem to remember most of what we saw except that wehave angels guarding us and that you need to go with Hannibal. Yet, even withthis reaction that we’re apparently having to the vision, I seem to have agreat peace about it.”

“Me too,”Harry chimed. “What about you, Hannibal?”

“Yes, Ifeel it too,” Hannibal answered. “As for your not remembering most of thevision, Mary…it’s okay. The Lord will bring it back to you in time when Hedeems you need it. But, just for your curiosity, we were shown what the greatdemoniac princes of the world are up to. A great war is fixing to be fought inthe spiritual realm that will spill over into our world and potentially reshapeit. The Lord is fixing to grab onto the ends of the Earth and shake up ourworld again. The vision was so dramatic that it has affected us physically likethe visions Daniel had in the Bible so don’t worry about not remembering it.When you need certain details of it, I’m sure the Lord will open it to you.”

Maryaccepted Hannibal’s explanation of the evening’s events, nodding her head yes.They looked at each other for a few moments in silence. The fatigue of theencounter showed on their faces. Hannibal finished off the drink he had beennursing on over the evening and sat the glass down beside his chair. He thenretrieved some of the pictures he’d passed around and proceeded to put themback in the backpack. Harry sat there with somewhat blank expression on hisface as he watched Hannibal put the pictures in the pack. He shook himself andspoke up, saying, “It’s getting late. Why don’t you stay the night? Besides, ifthe vision is affecting you the way it is me, driving may not the best of ideasright now.”

Hanniballooked up, taken back by the offer. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose,” hereplied.

“It’s noproblem at all. We’ve got the spare bedroom that no one ever uses.” Harry stated.He looked to Mary for verification.

“That’sright. It’s no problem,” Mary agreed. “We have plenty of room. You’re welcomehere anytime.”

“Besides,”Harry continued. “I think we’re better off sticking together tonight after whatwe just witnessed. I don’t know why I feel that way, but I just do.”

“The Lord’sprompting you, isn’t He?” Hannibal suggested, as he looked Harry in the eye.

“I don’tknow about that. Maybe He is. It’s just I got this thing down in the pit of mystomach that telling me that you leaving us tonight would be a very bigmistake,” Harry explained.

“All rightthen. I’ll stay,” Hannibal conceded. “I do think you’re right. I’m getting thesame feeling. I replace when I follow those promptings; it is the right thing todo. Only when I second guess it and ignore it do I get myself into trouble.”

“Great!”Harry bubbled with satisfaction. Even as he spoke, Mary had risen from her seatand left the room. Harry yawned and looked at the clock, which read 11:30 pm.“I don’t know about you, but I’m up way past my bedtime,” he said wearily.

“I’msomewhat used to staying up late. I don’t like to but when I really getinvolved in something the time just runs away with me,” Hannibal answered.“It’s been only in the last week that I’ve actually gone to bed at a somewhatreasonable hour.”

“The Amuletkept you up all hours of the night, didn’t it?” Harry said, handing him theAmulet.

“Yes, itdid,” Hannibal said, pocketing the Amulet. “I can’t remember how many days Iwas up into the early morning messing with it. Many times, I fell asleep at thedesk. You know…a desk is not a very comfortable place to sleep.”

“I’m sureof that. I’ve had my share of falling asleep at the desk,” Harry agreed. Aftera brief pause, Harry continued, “You know…you completely surprised us tonightwith what you shared. For a while there, I was like a deer in the headlightswhile you told us about your past. I had no idea you had such a…shall I saycolorful past. You’re just full of surprises. Maybe in the morning, you canfinish telling us about the Temple. I’d like to know more about the Library.”

“Sure,”Hannibal replied, nodding. “You know, that dig is still ongoing. I have myclosest and most trusted associate in charge of it. Presently, the work in theLibrary will last for years. There appears to be a complete history of humanityall the way back to the beginning.”

As hespoke, Mary re-entered the room. “I have your room ready,” she announced. “Ifyou need the bathroom, it’s across the hall. I don’t know about you guys, but I’mready for bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good nightand thanks,” Hannibal returned thankfully.

“You’rewelcome,” Mary said, smiling with an added nod. “See you in the morning.” Atthat, she disappeared into the house.

“Let meshow you to your room,” Harry said, getting up from his seat.

Hannibalrose, retrieving his pack. “Just a moment,” he said. “Let me go outside andlock up the truck.”

“Allright,” Harry answered, following him to the door. Hannibal went out to histruck and retrieved a duffel bag. He locked the truck and paused, lookingaround intently at the darkness before returning to the house. “You carry achange of clothes with you?” Harry asked while locking the front door.

“Yes, Ido…all the time,” Hannibal replied following Harry to the guest room. “I neverknow when I’ll need them. Tonight is a perfect example. When I showed uptonight, I had no idea that the Lord was going to show us what He did. Ithought we were just going to have dinner and discuss the pros and cons of youcoming with me on the expedition. I had no idea that we were going to get aglimpse of how big this thing is this quickly. I’m still a bit like a deer inthe headlights.”

Harryopened the door to the bedroom and stepped aside. “Me too; here’s your room. Ifyou need the bathroom, it’s right across the hall,” he said, pointing to a doorjust across the hall from the bedroom.

Hannibalquickly surveyed the room as he entered. “Thanks. This’ll do just fine,” hereplied. “What time do you usually get up in the morning?”

“Usually,we’re up by 7:00 am; however, for now, there’s no set time to get up because Ihave the next two weeks off. I don’t have to do a thing if I don’t want to,”Harry explained.

“Okay,we’ll talk some more in the morning,” Hannibal said. “Good night and thanksagain.”

“Noproblem. See you in the morning,” Harry answered as he went down the hall tothe master bedroom.

Hannibalsmiled slightly as he watched Harry disappear into the master bedroom. With asigh, Hannibal closed the guest bedroom door. Sitting down on the bed afterlaying his pack and duffel bag down, he tried to grasp the events of theevening. The image of the Black Prince haunted and troubled him. Oh Lord,what in the world am I getting myself into? I had no idea it was getting this deep,he thought. Hannibal sat there, staring out the bedroom window pondering whathe’d seen and trying to understand the significance of it for nearly tenminutes. The ghostly images of the werecat cloud being demolished by Gabriel’sHammer haunted him.

A noisejarred him out of his thoughts and he looked around for the source of thenoise. It came from the hall. He immediately investigated. Opening the door, hepeered out to see Dennis coming out of the bathroom and sleepily plodding downthe hall to his room. Hannibal gently closed the door and leaned against it,thinking, It’s just Dennis. I have to stop thinking there’s something aroundevery corner out there to get me. Going back to the bed, he opened theduffel and procured some sweat pants and shirt, which he changed into. Afterlaying his clothes in the corner on a chair, he knelt down beside the bed,poured out his heart in prayer for ten minutes, and then climbed into the bed,drifting off into a deep fitful sleep punctuated by dreams and nightmares of anextremely bizarre nature.