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will slip back into their old ways. It’s the nature of humans to be motivated at the beginning of a great endeavor and then to lose interest over time. I’m sure that in a few generations they will have forgotten Joshua and become another mediocre nation of humans who are enslaved to their passions and forgetful of their gods.”
    Kara looked up scornfully.
    “A wonderful summation, Pellecus,” he said. “Provided we were in a classroom and you were lecturing. But we have been ordered by Lucifer to stave off the attack. Khasis is proving himself of little worth.” He smirked at Khasis, who stood silently nearby. “So teacher, the question remains—how do we stop Joshua at Jericho?”
    “Perhaps we don’t,” came the voice of Lucifer.
    He motioned for everyone to remain seated at his appearance. They were meeting on the rooftop of the king’s great house in Jericho.
    “I sense fear in the king of Jericho,” said Lucifer. “Which means he is defeated already. Fear is a great weapon—a weapon which we have become very adept at using. Unfortunately it cuts both ways.”
    “Are you saying we simply give up Jericho?” asked Kara.
    “Not at all,” said Lucifer. “But it occurs to me that Jericho is only the beginning of a very long campaign, to be followed with the task of creating a new nation with no king and only the memory of Moses to guide them. I quite agree with Pellecus. Given time these people will disintegrate into the madness of the rest of humanity.”
    Rugio stood up, a bit angry at what he was hearing.
    “So we let them in?” he asked. “Surely we must resist!”
    Lucifer looked at his chief warrior.
    “Of course we must resist,” he said, speaking in comforting tones. “Wars are won in the long term, Rugio. If we must give ground here and there to win the war, then so be it. It is who is standing in the end that matters.”
    “May I speak, my prince?” asked Khasis cautiously.
    Kara snorted and was about to say something when Lucifer stopped him.
    “Of course, Khasis,” he said. “Jericho is, after all, your responsibility. I simply asked my three most important rulers to assist you in any way they might.”
    “I am of course grateful to you for their assistance,” Khasis said, bowing slightly to the others in humble recognition. “But I must add that the talk here seems to be drifting from how to stop Joshua to whether or not he is to be stopped.”
    Pellecus smiled at Khasis’s bold assertion.
    “Excellent observation,” said Pellecus. “But I believe what we are saying is that you should do all you can to stop the Hebrews—by all means!”
    Kara snickered at Khasis’s dilemma. Rugio grunted angrily under his breath and then exploded.
    “Khasis is right,” Rugio blustered. “We cannot simply give Jericho up without a fight. They must know we will resist them.”
    “Of course we shall oppose them,” said Lucifer finally, looking upwards toward the heavens. “The Most High has shown what He intends to do in this war—He was quite clear at the Jordan when He stopped the river for them. He will fight for them so long as they remain faithful to Him.”
    Rugio responded, “Then our course is…”
    “Our course, as always, is to defeat them at Jericho,” said Lucifer resignedly. “It shall be a long war, my brothers. And there shall be many battles. And perhaps the Seed shall even find its way to fruition in this miserable land.”
    At the mention of the Seed a chill went through all the angels. Lucifer looked down over the little city of Jericho and glanced at the walls around it. “But ultimately the outcome of the war will not be decided by walled cities. It shall be decided in the hearts of men. And so long as the war is dependent upon men remaining faithful, we shall have hope.”

    Joshua knew that the enemy had scouts all around him and prepared himself to fight, reaching for his sword. But the man simply stood there. Puzzled, Joshua remained still and silent for