Devil: the Fallen Son

By James Michael Soteros

Written in the first person, from the Devil’s point of view, Devil: The Fallen Son follows his life from his birth and the creation of the universe through the millennia and the various books of the bible. Serious in tone and respectful of biblical accuracy, it provides an alternative perspective to the devil mythos. The Devil is not the horned villain of conventional lore. Rather, he is the near perfect first creation of the Almighty and humanity’s tragic benefactor. Through the course of the work, the Devil travels to the Garden of Eden, where he meets Adam and Eve. Next, he moves to Uz to defend a beleaguered Job from his legendary travails. Finally, he encounters Jesus, God made flesh, and faces his omnipotent creator in human guise.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781491725184

James Michael Soteros

James Michael Soteros is a lawyer and college professor. He holds an honours bachelor of arts degree in history and classical civilization from the University of Toronto, a master of arts in ancient history from McMaster University, a law degree from Queen's University, and a bachelor of education degree from York University. James resides in Toronto, Canada.

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Copyright © 2019 Anthia Htoldings Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-2517-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-2519-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-2518-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014902836

iUniverse rev. date: 09/24/2019

Contents

Acknowledgements

Part I

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Part Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Part Three

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my good friends, Peter and Danelle, for their support during the writing of this book. Their encouragement and feedback were deeply appreciated. I am forever grateful for their kindness and friendship.

James Michael Soteros

September 16, 2019

This book is dedicated to my enemies. Your

cruelty and venom fueled my drive to complete

this work.

Part I

Chapter One

In the beginning there was nothing. Only Him. All powerful, all knowing and all alone. He was the only thing and all things, perfectly positioned in the perfect centre of the void. He had no family, no friends and no enemies. He had no servants or worshippers, no one to favour and no one to punish. He had nothing to love and nothing to hate, yet He was complete—omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.

Then He said, Let there be light and there was light and I was born with the dawn of the first day. I was formed out of the first rays of light the universe had ever seen. As they spilled out of His essence I exploded into existence. Streaking across the universe at a blinding velocity, caged and soaked within those original rays I became self aware. I was tangled and trapped by the light which clung to me like tar. I twisted and contorted my being. I scraped at the shining muck which seemingly threatened to steal my new consciousness. Squirming and wiggling like a worm I dug through it. I tore at it. I clawed and kicked my way out of the beautiful, serene, pure white lining of shit which held me prisoner. And after what seemed to be an eternity I slipped out of the womb of pure light in which I was formed and looked directly into the face of God. I was His first child—the first morning’s son. And suddenly He wasn’t alone anymore.

I was free. I had struggled and I had won. I had my freedom and I had my individuality. He looked at me. He was beautiful and perfect in every way. Then it was gone. My joy, my liberty, the enormous sense of relief I had felt as I escaped my golden prison of light. All of it, lost as quickly as it was won. It started with the feeling of heaviness deep inside me, as if a great boulder formed inside my core. Slowly at first, the throbbing splashed and scraped at my innards. Liquid needles scratched through my entire essence. Stretching out my formless spirit I tried to flee my pain. I looked at Him. I glided toward him, hoping that it would end. It didn’t. My misty form prostrated itself before Him. Nothing changed. White hot agony burned within me like I was being raped from within. Voiceless commands echoed in my mind. I resisted. The orders melted into the pain and the searing amalgam burned at my will to fight, until it was gone. Weak, tired and beaten I surrendered.

ALL PRAISE BE TO THE LORD GOD! I sang. GLORY BE TO THE KING OF KINGS! HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST! I sang to Him.

I praised Him and gave in to His worship. The pain dissolved into joy. I was happy beyond description. I was happy and I was a slave.

Chapter Two

I watched my master as He created the universe. He painted the stars into existence with a thought. He poured them against the canvas of blackness. They splashed out in all directions at once and dripped into place. From nothing to everything through the power of His imagination. Golden smudges to spherical perfection, because He wanted it to be that way. I watched and learned the mechanics of reality. The after images of creation tumbled in my mind as I relived the creation over and over.

Bechoriel, come before the Lord! His voice sounded like honey soaked thunder.

I traversed reality to obey Him. I cowered like a frightened dog in His presence and bent myself into a position of submission. I don’t know why I feared Him. He was my creator. He sliced me out of His own infinite presence and moulded me into His likeness. For countless millennia He left me to my own devices unmolested as He shaped existence. I had no conscious reason to feel afraid, yet I was frozen in terror. Then it suddenly occurred to me. I felt fear because He wanted me to be afraid.

Watch! He commanded.

He had never spoken to me before that day. I held my position, never once thinking to disobey. Spikes of cold darted out of Him in every direction. Waves of His power pulsed through me. I was tossed about in the ocean of His might. I struggled against the tide. Forward, forward I trudged, trying to keep myself steady and secure in my original place. I was pounded by the swell of His glory. His blizzard-like will blinded me. I saw white everywhere as I spun round and round and round. I was a butterfly in a tornado, a twig in an avalanche of pure power. I was horrified and humiliated as He overpowered me so easily. I tried so hard to hold myself in place. I wanted so much to hold my ground, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t only weak, I was powerless. I was less than nothing when I compared myself to His strength.

Wave upon wave of His might flooded around me, through me, outwards in all directions. Like the ripples formed when a pebble hits a pond His essence flowed outward. A sea of glory enveloped my surroundings. It all changed as suddenly as it began. The snowy force morphed into crystals and branched out underneath me. From the centre outward the force flattened, hardened and became smooth. I felt its hardness and steadied myself on top of it. I stood silently watching the metamorphosis. Spires and walls of crystal grew up out of the surface, rising so high that I could see no end to their heights.

I don’t know how long He was there, but my Lord stood next to me, looking on happily as the next stage of His plan unfolded. He didn’t look at me after that. He had others to admire. The walls fattened and swelled. They bubbled and popped and out of them came others like me. My brothers were born. They were ugly and small, and though they resembled me in some ways, they were less. They were weaker and slower to react to their surroundings and our master. They excelled me in only one way.

When they saw Him they all sang His praises without hesitation. They felt no internal struggle and happily cried out to Him as loudly and beautifully as their inferior forms permitted them. ALL PRAISE BE TO THE LORD GOD! GLORY BE TO THE KING OF KINGS! HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST! And after their births, He took them into His essence and allowed them to surround themselves in the fullness of His perfect love. They were born into bliss.

I loved my brothers. Our Father left their education to me. I taught them and guided them in the way of the universe. They followed me like children and fed off of my knowledge like a newborn at its mother’s breast. They fluttered about creation with the enthusiasm of youth, singing our creator’s praises. They were ignorant of their state of bondage and I didn’t rob them of their perceived liberty by revealing the truth of their existence to them.

Chapter Three

Heaven’s crystalline spires rise to unimaginable heights. Its pristine halls echo with the sound of God’s angelic children singing praises to their master. Yet, heavenly bliss for me was always slightly stained with apprehension. I suppose that this is why I somehow felt more comfortable on Earth than I did in Heaven.

We roamed the Earth freely in those days. That much has remained unchanged. Back then we didn’t often have to disguise ourselves or feign membership in some animal species or another. Both flora and fauna knew of our existence and interacted with us regularly.

On the ground, little furry creatures scurried about, scavenging for food. From the air, I saw birds attending to their affairs, their chirping songs proudly announcing the morning’s arrival. Sometimes, I’d breeze over a flock of them and watch in silence, as their wings thrust up and down, over and over. I’d follow the fuff, fuff, fuff of their beating wings entranced by the primal rhythm.

One morning, as I strolled through the woody expanses of some northern land, I heard the crunching of grass under someone’s feet. I turned around to look behind me, but there was nothing there. I soon realized that God stood next to me, looking at me.

I love you, my son He said.

I felt an almost orgasmic joy.

You’ve done very well with your brothers. I’m proud of you and I love you.

He loved me. Me! I dropped to my knees and kissed His feet repeatedly. I hugged His ankles and cried. I squeezed Him as hard as I could. I couldn’t restrain myself or contain my happiness. I lifted myself just enough to gently touch his hand with my head. He took the cue and mussed my hair with the stroking of his fingers. It was ecstasy. I held Him by the waist now and my head was glued to his hip. He played with my hair.

My boy. My beautiful boy. I have loved you since before your creation. Is there any reason for you to doubt my affection? He asked.

I didn’t know. I couldn’t remember feeling anything but His love from the beginning. Any frustration, fear or resentment that I had ever felt was simply lost to me at that moment. All I knew and remembered was that He loved me and I loved Him. Billions of years had passed since my birth, yet not a single moment in my life had been as blissful.

Thank-You Master! Thank-You Father! Thank-You! I love You! Thank-You! The words spilled out of my mouth, one after the other, but He didn’t appear to mind. He let me hold Him and kept playing with my hair. That was a long time ago.

The moment passed too quickly. Only He knows where He went after that. All I know is that I sat there in the moist grass alone for what felt like hours. I sat there stuck in a daze between sleep and wakefulness. I didn’t care that my brother, Sammael, walked up to the patch of grass on which I sat and stood there quietly, looking at me in my dreamy haze.

You’re lucky. You know it don’t you? He whispered.

Sammael was childlike and he looked at me with doe-eyed innocence when we spoke. He was so different back then.

Yes, I answered. I didn’t want to be distracted from my divinely given satisfaction.

He loves you more than the rest of us. Even Gabriel admits it.

I was happy to hear that. It wasn’t often that God’s messenger admitted that he wasn’t God’s gift to the heavens. I paused for a bit before answering my little brother.

How long were you watching? I asked.

The whole time I think. I knew that He didn’t want to be bothered so I tried not to interrupt. He only wanted to be with you. I just watched. I hope I wasn’t a nuisance. He pouted slightly as he waited for me to respond.

Sammael, you know better than that.

Nothing in all of creation could have distracted me while I was in His presence. My brother bowed his head slightly. He looked at his feet as they shuffled slowly over the grass. He was embarrassed. I wrapped my arm gently around his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

I love you very much, Bechoriel. I’m glad that you aren’t upset. I guessed you would have enough to fuss over, especially now that the man was given life.

What was a man? I hadn’t a clue what it was. Why should I fuss?

Did another one of these creatures evolve in to something new? I asked.

Don’t you know what has happened? Man is a different sort of creature entirely. Sammael excitedly blurted out. Gabriel says that man will eventually seize dominion over the other earthly creatures and rule the whole planet.

What kind of creature could do that? No one species could subjugate all the others. Surely even Sammael knew that. And if a new creature was created or evolved from something else wouldn’t I be told? Why would this beast be any different from all the other animals on this planet? How did Gabriel know something of which I was unaware?

Would you like to see it? My little brother asked. I can take you there if you’d like. It wouldn’t be a problem. I’ve gone there before. Some others have gone too. Gabriel showed us the place.

Why wasn’t I told of the man creature?

Let’s go little one. Show me what you’ve seen, I said.

He was happy to oblige. Sammael was in the air and putting off to the new animal’s haunts before I finished my sentence. He tried to impress me, but compared to other angels of high rank he could only travel at the pace of an awkward waddle. I could have torn past him in a blur of speed, but I was patient. There was no reason to embarrass poor Sammael.

We got there eventually. The man lived in an unimpressive little meadow. He calls it Eden, Sammael said.

He called it by a name? The creature has language? I asked.

Indeed he does, Bechoriel. He speaks a little. Broken sentences with a lot of gestures, but he is developing a language and is rather fond of naming the creatures and other things with which he is surrounded.

My fascination with the beast grew very quickly, and I had yet to see it. What else does he do Sammael?

Not much. Not yet anyway. Gabriel says he’ll eventually be able to do many things. But for the moment, he seems quite pleased to eat the things in the garden and lounge around for most of the day, he answered.

I nodded my head and smiled. Gabriel isn’t as smart as he thinks, I thought. I doubted that the beast could do much more than grunt and groan out a few syllables. Impressive for an animal, but nothing about which I should have been concerned. After all, there were birds that could mimic our words. It didn’t mean this creature was especially clever. We reached the beast shortly.

Hello, it said. I am Adam. Who are you?

Chapter Four

The little primate’s right hand scratched at the dark, curly hairs on its chest while it spoke to me. It stunk of sweat and blood. I was surprised by the creature’s ability to speak, but I revealed nothing to him or my brother.

Adam was a small erect standing biped with a slight frame and big eyes. Its ebony skin glistened with dripping sweat as it walked under the afternoon sun.

Who are you? it repeated. It articulated its thoughts verbally in a way that others could understand.

I am Sammael’s brother. My name is Bechoriel. I spoke softly and gently. I didn’t want to frighten the little creature into flight. Its hand stopped scratching its chest.

Ah, it grunted as it processed my response. I live here. This land is mine. Its thick rubbery lips parted and snarled revealing its filthy brown teeth as it thumped the long object in its left hand on the ground for emphasis.

Like many other animals, it was protective of its territory—that was unremarkable. However, it had fashioned an implement from wood, sharpening the end into a point. The small patch of animal skin and fur caught in a crack in the wood revealed the object’s purpose. The creature had built a weapon. The spear’s upper shaft was red with blood. A glance at the large gutted animal carcass a short distance behind him showed that it had learned to kill creatures that were both swifter and more powerful than its diminutive stature would normally allow it to subdue. My interest in this man grew.

I mean you no harm my little friend, I said as I shrunk down to a less threatening size. I now stood at roughly the man’s height. I simply wanted to see you and the land on which you live.

The muscles in its jaw relaxed and it loosened its grip on its spear. It grunted again in a more passive tone. Without asking I walked toward the creature’s kill. A dead gazelle lay on its side while flies buzzed around the glop of intestines piled to the animal’s right seizing their share of the beast’s flesh and still warm blood. A small pond laid a few steps to the north. Three more spears and an animal tusk rested on the shore. They were wet from the water Adam had used to rinse them clean of the gazelle’s blood.

Stay, it said. It gestured with its hands for me to remain where I was. Its movements signalled no aggression. It urged me rather than commanded me to stay still. It hurriedly walked toward the water. Its back was slouched as it moved and it swayed to the left and right with each of its strides. It waded hip-deep into the water and carefully wiped the blood and animal bits from the spear’s shaft and point.

Thank-you! it shouted into the air, its arms outstretched. Thank you for giving me animals to eat! Thank you.

Its voice would have echoed if not for the lush vegetation’s muffling effect on the sound. This was strange, I thought. It thanked the sky for the game that it eats. After splashing and splunking its head and body in the water it re-emerged on the shore and began to gather kindling and to build a fire.

I had almost forgotten that my brother, Sammael, was there when he quietly asked me Do you see why we are so interested in him? He was careful not to distract the man from its task.

It alone among animals can build fire, I said never averting my gaze from the creature.

There is more. He is making an offering to God—a share of his food so that he can ensure future successful hunts. He appeals to the Almighty for assistance.

I pondered my brother’s words while it piled the gazelle’s guts on to the newly lit flame. It didn’t worship the sky. It knew of our Creator. The man knelt down before the fire and flailed its arms quickly waving the already rising smoke upward with its hands.

Take it, God. I will always give you meat when I am able to catch animals.

It placed more sticks and twigs on to the fire to prevent the wet intestines from quelling the flames and walked back to the carcass. At first the entrails only sizzled and bubbled in the fire, their pungent smell intensifying, then they turned black and burned with the rest of the pyre.

That task completed, it manoeuvred its way around the burning wood and guts and motioned for us to go with it. A few paces brought us to a small animal skin pouch that was next to a flattened patch of grass on which it probably spent its nights. It crouched as it picked up and loosed the pouch, emptying its contents on to the ground. Two rocks were revealed; each looked to be about the size of the palms of its hands.

Look, the left side of its mouth curled into a half grin as it picked up the first one. It had a triangular shape and a prominent point at its head. One side appeared to have been chipped away and grated so that it would be sharp. The other two sides were still smooth. It could be used for cutting and jabbing. It carefully placed the stone back on to the skin and picked up the second. It was flat with one sharp edge.

I will use this, it said.

It sprung to its feet rather swiftly causing its exposed genitals to flop about noticeably. It returned to the fallen gazelle and methodically began to skin the creature. It ignored the tearing sound that the hide made as the rest of the gazelle was ripped from its strong grip. It was obvious from the ease with which the man proceeded that it had performed this arduous practise before. The flat rock’s edge cleaved between the dead animal’s skin and flesh shaving through the beast in the man’s tight fingers. Adam cradled the gazelle’s head with its left hand. It pressed the animal’s head into the shoulder of the same side. Chop, rip, tear, its right hand and the makeshift blade hacked up and down separating the meat from the inedible fur and leather. Four gazelle hooves lay in a flat line on the ground sticking out and away from the hug in which Adam held the rest of the carcass. They were dragged slightly back and forth against the grass whenever the man’s hand stroked downward.

The sun sank into the western horizon while the man worked. Exhausted, it rested the now naked kill on to the ground and stood up arching its sore back.

Now, I eat, Adam said proudly.

The triangular rock, which had thus far lain unutilised, was used to cut off slabs of the animal’s rump. Raw chunks of meat were crammed into the man’s overflowing and bloody mouth as it gorged itself on its evening meal. Sammael and I watched curiously as the primate masticated its food messily. The orange glow of the fire on this new species’ progenitor gave off more than enough light for us to view every sloppy detail of the feast.

"He used to offer us part of his meals when he first realised that we were watching him. I think it was out of cordiality, but Gabriel says that it was out of fear. When he caught on to the fact that we