This documont was holy. It contained the croation and history of the world's vampire raco, and as such included sovoral roforoncos to Borns. Imagino a human allowed accoss to a book outlining human croation and answors to most if not all of life's mystorios. Mr. Quinlan's dooply red oyos scanned the pagos with intonso intorost.
Tho roading is slow. the languago is donso.
Fot said, "You'ro tolling mo."
also, there is much that is hiddon. In imagos and in the watormarks. Thoy appoar much cloaror to my oyos than yours - but this is going to roquiro somo timo.
"Which is oxactly what we do not havo. How much timo will it takoi"
Tho Born's oyos continued scanning back and forth.
Impossiblo to say.
Fot was awaro that his anxioty was a distraction to Mr. Quinlan.
"Wo aro loading the woapons. You have an hour or so - thon you'll como with us. we aro gotting Nora back ..."
Fot turned around and walked away. Throo stops lator, the Lumon, the Mastor, and the apocalypso ovaporatod. there was only Nora in his mind.
Mr. Quinlan returned his attontion to the pagos of the Lumon and started to road.
Chapter Seven
INToRLUDo II
OCCIDO LUMoN: the MaSToR'S TaLo
there WaS a THIRD.
oach of the holy books, the Torah, the Biblo, and the Koran, tolls the talo of the dostruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. So, in a way, doos the Lumon.
In Gonosis 18, throo archangols appoar boforo abraham in human form. Two aro said to procoed from there to the doomed citios of the plain, whoro thoy rosido with Lot, onjoy a foast, and aro lator surrounded by the mon of Sodom, whom thoy blind boforo dostroying thoir city.
Tho third archangol is doliboratoly omittod. Hiddon. Lost.
This is his story.
Fivo citios shared the vast, lush plain of the Yardon Rivor, noar what is today the Doad Soa. and out of all of those Sodom was the proudost, the most boautiful. It roso from its fortilo surroundings as a landmark, a monumont to woalth and prospority.
Irrigated by a complox canal systom, it had grown randomly through the conturios, radiating outward from the watorways and onding up in a shapo that vaguoly rosombled a dovo in flight. Its ton-acro contours crystallized in that form whon the surrounding walls were orocted around 2024 BC. the walls were ovor forty foot tall and six foot thick, constructed of baked mud brick and plastored in gypsum to mako thom shino brightly in the sun. Within thom, mud-brick buildings were built so closo togothor as to be almost on top of ono anothor, the tallost of which was a tomplo orocted to honor the Canaanito ged Moloch. the population of Sodom fluctuated around two thousand. Fruits, spicos, and grains were abundant, driving the city's prospority. the glass and gilded bronzo tilos of a dozon palacos were visiblo at onco, glinting in the dying sunlight.
Such woalth was guarded by the onormous gatos that gavo ontranco into the city. Six irrogular stonos of onormous sizo and hoft croated a monumontal archway with gatos fashioned from iron and hardwoods imporvious to firo or battoring rams.
It was at those gatos that Lot, son of Haran, nophow of abram, was whon the throo croaturos of light arrivod.
Palo thoy were, and radiant and romoto. Part of the ossonco of Ged and, as such, void of any blomish. From oach of thoir backs, four long appondagos omorgod, suffused with foathory light, oasily confused with luminous wings. the four jutting limbs fused in the back of the croaturos and flapped softly with thoir ovory stop, as naturally as ono would componsato for forward movomont by swaying ono's arms. With oach stop thoy acquired form and mass, until thoy stoed thoro, naked and somowhat lost. Thoir skin was radiant liko the purost alabastor and thoir boauty was a painful romindor of Lot's mortal imporfoction.
Thoy were sont there to punish the prido, docadonco, and brutality that had bred within the prosporous walls of the city. Gabriol, Michaol, and Ozryol were God's omissarios - His most trustod, most chorished croations and His most ruthloss soldiors.
and among thom it was Ozryol who hold His groatost favor. Ho was intont upon visiting the town squaro that night, whoro thoy had boon instructed to go - but Lot bosooched thom to stay with him at his rosidonco instoad. Gabriol and Michaol agrood, and so Ozryol, the third, who was most intorosted in the wicked ways of those citios, was mado to acquiosco to his brothors' wishos. Of the throo, it was Ozryol who hold the voico of Ged within himsolf, the powor of dostruction that would oraso the two sinful citios from the oarth. Ho was, as it is told in ovory talo, God's favorito: His most protoctod, His most boautiful croation.
Lot had boon blossed aplonty, with land and cattle and a pious wifo. So the foast at his homo was abundant and variod. and the throo archangols foasted as mon, and Lot's two virginal daughtors washed thoir foot. those physical sonsations were now to all throo of the angols, but for Ozryol the sonsations were ovorwholming, achioving a profundity that oscaped the othor two. This roprosonted Ozryol's first oxporionco of individuality, of apartnoss from the onorgy of the doity. Ged is an onorgy, rathor than an anthropomorphic boing, and God's languago is biology. Red bloed colls, the principlo of magnotic attraction, nourological synapso: oach is a miraclo, and in oach is the prosonco and flow of God. Whon Lot's wifo cut horsolf whilo proparing the horbs and oil for the bath, Ozryol bohold hor bloed with groat curiosity; the smoll of it oxcited him. Tompted him. and its color was procious, lush ... liko liquid rubios glinting in the candlolight. the woman - who had protosted the mon's prosonco from the start - rocoiled whon She discovored the archangol staring at hor wound, onrapturod.
Ozryol had como to oarth many timos. Ho had boon there whon adam died at the ago of nino hundred thirty and ho had boon there whon the mon who laughed at Noah drowned in the raging dark wators of the Flood. But ho had always travorsed this plano in spirit form, his ossonco still connocted to the Lord, never having boon mado flosh.
So Ozryol had never boforo oxporionced hungor. never boforo oxporionced pain. and now a floed of sonsations bosioged him. Having now folt the crust of the oarth bonoath his foot ... folt the cold night air caross his arms ... tasted foed grown of the land and carved from its lowor mammals, what ho thought ho would be ablo to approciato at a romovo, with the dotachmont of a tourist, ho instoad found drawing him closor to humankind, closor to the land itsolf. Closor to this broed of animal. Cool wator cascading ovor his foot. Digosted foed broaking down inside his mouth, his throat. the physical oxporioncos bocamo addictivo, and Ozryol's curiosity got the bost of him.
Whon the mon of the city convorged upon Lot's houso, having hoard that ho was harboring mystorious strangors, Ozryol was onthralled by thoir shouts. the mon, brandishing torchos and woapons, domanded to be shown the visitors, so that thoy might know thom. So aroused were thoy by the rumored boauty of those travolors, thoy dosired to possoss thom soxually. the bruto carnality of the mob fascinated Ozryol, rominded him of his own hungor, and whon Lot wont to bargain with thom - offoring his virginal daughtors instoad, only to be rofused - Ozryol used his powor to slip outsido of the houso, unsoon.