“You eat, just like we do?” Tony asked, sitting down beside him.

  “Oh, sure.” Lucifer shrugged. “We don’t have to eat, of course, and not all of us do, but personally, I enjoy it. I like the taste and the texture and the smell. I like the simple act itself. The same goes for sex, which is something else our kind isn’t supposed to do. But I’ve never been one to follow the rules.”

  Overcoming their hesitation, the others took their seats and began passing around the platters and dishes. When their plates were piled high, they started eating. There was very little talk between them. Tony’s stomach rumbled. He glanced down at his plate, and then across the table. There were many things he recognized—everything from roasted chicken to sliced pineapple to cannelloni ai carciofi—but other parts of the meal consisted of fruits and vegetables he’d never seen before. He took a cautious nibble of something that looked like fish but was purple rather than white. The meat seemed to melt in his mouth, and had a rich, buttery taste.

  “That’s fucking delicious,” he said. “What is it?”

  “Fish,” Lucifer replied.

  “Yeah, I guessed that. But what kind of fish?”

  “I’m afraid it is unpronounceable in the human tongue. It comes from the home planet of the Anunnaki.”

  “And who are they?” Bloom asked.

  “Aliens,” LeHorn answered. “At least, that’s what I’d always read. But it could be that what I read was wrong. Could be a lot of what we’ve read was wrong.”

  “They are another race,” Amun confirmed. “Not terrestrial to the Earth, so yes, alien to you. They have aligned themselves with our enemies in the hopes of insuring their own survival. They are reptilian in nature, not dissimilar to the Dark Ones on Earth.”

  Frankie frowned. “Dark Ones?”

  “Yes,” Amun replied. “A hybrid race of beings, part amphibian and part reptilian, who live beneath your oceans. At one point they had mastery of your planet, but that was long ago.”

  “I’ve seen them,” Tony said. “Well, a few of my other selves saw them, at least. They were commanding a bunch of fucking creatures that looked like crab-scorpion-lobster monsters.”

  “Those would be the Clickers,” Lucifer replied. “Not their scientific moniker, but the delightful name the human race came up with for them.”

  Nodding, Tony picked up a glass of water and sipped. It was the clearest, coldest, freshest thing he had ever tasted. He paused for breath, and then drained the glass and grunted.

  “You’re telling us there’s a race of…lizard people living under the ocean?” Teddy scoffed.

  “Indeed,” Lucifer said. “Even the Bible tells you that mankind isn’t the only race on Earth, Teddy.”

  “The rest of these folks can call me Teddy. You’d best stick to calling me Mr. Garnett until I tell you otherwise.”

  Lucifer spread his hands and smiled. “I thought we’d put your animosity behind us?”

  Shrugging, Teddy took a bite of his food.

  “There are many other races who inhabited your various Earths,” Amun said. “The Dark Ones, the Hodgspon, the—”

  “The what?” Tony interrupted.

  “The Hodgspon,” Amun explained. “A race of swine-like beings who dwelled deep beneath the surface. And of course, there are the descendants of the Neanderthals and other races, as well as the various ape-like peoples. Some of them are the source of your Sasquatch folklore.”

  “Wait a minute,” Teddy said. “You tell us that you’re…angels. That God created the heavens and the earth and mankind. And then in the same breath you’re telling us that evolution exists?”

  Tony grinned. “And Bigfoot too, apparently.”

  “That much is true,” LeHorn said. “I saw an Albatwitch when I was younger.”

  “What’s a…whatever you said?” Frankie asked.

  “An Albatwitch,” LeHorn repeated. “It’s what the Pennsylvania Dutch called Bigfoot.”

  “I don’t see why that’s so far-fetched,” Bloom said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve seen some shit. Demons and magic. Stuff like that. I don’t know if the conspiracy theorists on your Earths believed in Black Lodge or not, but I can tell you they existed on mine. And Teddy, you said you saw a giant worm? Behemoth?”

  Teddy nodded.

  “So why not Bigfoot and lizard people then?” Bloom asked.

  “Oh, I’ve got no problem believing in Bigfoot,” Teddy explained. “What I’m having trouble with is reconciling creation versus evolution. If God created

  humans, then where does evolution fall in?”

  “Who do you think created evolution?” LeHorn challenged.

  “I don’t know,” Teddy replied. “Until today, I would have never thought angels and little grey aliens were the same thing, but here you are. I reckon I just don’t know what to believe anymore.”

  “It would be easier if we started at the beginning,” Amun said. “I assure you; I can answer all of your questions. I suggest you enjoy your meal while I explain.”

  They returned to their food. Tony couldn’t believe how famished he was. Indeed, he couldn’t remember ever feeling so hungry. He felt as if he were eating for an army. Pausing to chew a mouthful of duck (or at least, he assumed it was duck) he wondered if it had something to do with what had just happened to him. He’d felt himself die across the worlds, felt all of those other selves flow into him, becoming one. In a way, he supposed he was, in fact, eating for an army. An army of one. An army of him. He grinned at the thought, and then noticed that Amun wasn’t eating. Instead, the alien—angel—whatever he was—sat watching them, one by one. Then his attention returned to Tony.

  “Tell me, Tony,” he asked, “how was the universe created?”

  Tony swallowed his mouthful. “The Big Bang.”

  Amun turned to Teddy. “And you, Teddy? How was the universe created?”

  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

  Amun focused on LeHorn. “And you, Nelson? How would you answer my question?”

  “I’d say that the universe has always existed in one form or another. This is just the latest version of it.”

  “And all of you are correct.” Amun sounded pleased.

  “But they can’t all be correct,” Frankie argued. “They contradict each other.”

  “In the beginning,” Amun replied, “there was another Engur.”

  The Exit frowned. “Engur?”

  “That’s our word for universe,” Lucifer explained.

  “Nammu, who was very powerful, decided to make a new universe. So he—”

  “I’m sorry,” Frankie interrupted, “but who the fuck is Nammu?”

  “Shamu the whale’s cousin,” Tony quipped.

  Amun’s expression was stoic and patient. He waited for their laughter to subside, and then continued.

  “Nammu is our name for the Creator. It is but one name of many. There are a multitude of names—God, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Adoni, Ptah, and many others. To the Bakuba people, he was Mbombo. The Egyptians called him Atum. The Maori believed him to be two deities—Ranginui, the Sky Father and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother. In the Cannanite religion, he was named El. He was Vishvakarman in Vedic mythology, Marduk in Babylon, Coatlicue to the Aztecs, Viracocha to the Inca, and Nanabozho, the Great Rabbit to the Ojibway.”

  “God is not the same as Allah,” Teddy argued. “That’s just nonsense.”

  “I’ve got to agree with the old man,” Bloom said. “The shit I saw done in the name of Allah wasn’t very Christian.”

  Frankie’s fork banged against her plate. “The Christian’s have done more than their fair share of bad shit.”

  Tony poured himself another glass of wine as their voices rose. LeHorn joined in the fray, attempting to play peacemaker and failing. Only the Exit stayed quiet. His eyes darted back and forth, as if he were watching a tennis match. Finished pouring, Tony was about to put the bottle back on the table when Lucifer held out his glass and tipped it toward him. Tony obliged.

  “See?” Lucifer whispered. “If things had gone differently in Eden, they wouldn’t be having this debate right now.”

  “PLEASE.”

  Amun’s voice was like a cold wind. Tony shivered in his seat, and his skin prickled. The single word seemed to echo through the room, reverberating off the stone walls and crashing back into them. When it was clear that he commanded their attention again, Amun continued.

  “If it will help expedite matters, I will refer to the Creator as God, but I urge you to examine your heart, Teddy Garnett. For the first time, you are whole. You have been born again. And thus, you possess knowledge that was never yours before. If you search inside yourself, and contemplate my words, you will find them to be true.”

  Teddy nodded reluctantly.

  “Nammu—”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Lucifer interrupted. “Just call him God, or they’ll start arguing again.”

  “Very well.” Amun nodded. “God created this universe—your universe. To do so, he destroyed the universe that existed before this one, harnessing all of its energy, and all of its power, and channeling them into a creation of his own. This is what your scientists refer to as the Big Bang.”

  “But why?” LeHorn asked. “You’re right about having knowledge we didn’t have before. I can tell already that I’m different. Even my vocabulary and the way I speak have changed, for the most part. Folks who knew me before would say that’s an improvement. But for everything that’s bouncing around inside my head, I’ll be damned if I can understand why God did this.”

  “Because he could, and because he desired something better. The old universe was disorderly, chaotic and primal. He wanted a universe of reason and order. Of darkness and light. A universe that was logical, even if it didn’t seem so to its inhabitants. And so, he made one. When it was over, all of that energy, right down to a subatomic level, was transformed into all that surrounds you—changed into the universe that you know, and all of its dimensions. He used that same energy to create life, in a myriad of forms, throughout the levels. And there were other lifeforms that developed via the process you call evolution—but even that stemmed from the initial act of creation.

  Amun paused, and then turned to Teddy.

  “Your wife, Teddy? Did you see her as your selves merged and became one?”

  “Rose?” Teddy’s voice was thick with emotion. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I saw her every time. We were always together. We always found a way.”

  “That’s because your energy recognized each other,” Amun explained. “It was attracted to each other, because it stemmed from that initial act of creation.”

  “Soulmates,” Lucifer added. “That’s what your kind called it, but it’s really just science. Atoms recognizing other atoms—realizing they were once part of the same whole.”

  “Indeed?” Amun turned to Tony. “Tell me, was there someone whom you saw in every life? Someone who was always there?”

  Tony smirked. “I had a lot of lady friends, Amun. Guys like me…it’s hard to settle down.”

  “I didn’t say the attachment had to be romantic. Was not your friend Vince by your side, in every one of your lives?”

  Tony paused, and his mouth hung open. He shifted in his seat. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess he was.”

  “Soulmates,” Lucifer repeated.

  Tony noticed Bloom frowning at the mention of the word.

  “In addition to creating life,” Amun continued, “God created us, as well. Just as your kind have had many different names for the Creator, and many different theories regarding his being, so too did you for us. If it helps, think of us as angels. Our task was to watch over the multitude of life he had created, and to serve his will. Greatest among us was Lucifer, the Morningstar.”

  All of them turned toward the fallen angel. Smiling, Lucifer spread his hands and performed a mock bow at the table.

  “I was,” he agreed proudly, “until I decided to help humankind. Then I became the black sheep of the family. But don’t let my brother undersell you. He held a position of some power, as well. He was the Voice of God—the Living Word.”

  “And now we have both fallen,” Amun agreed. “And the other angels, the ones who rebelled, were sentenced to dwell in Hell, where even now, they plot and scheme and amass their army. Soon, Satan will make his move against the throne.”

  “So that’s what the fuck this is all about?” Tony asked. “Hell is going to try to invade Heaven, and you summoned us here to fight Satan?”

  “No,” Amun insisted. “Satan is a powerful foe, to be sure, and eventually—before this is over—we will have to deal with him, but he is just like Lucifer and myself. No, the seven of you have been summoned to battle the Thirteen.”

  “And who are they?” Tony asked. “Demons?”

  “Not demons,” LeHorn said. “They’re something else.”

  Bloom nodded. “I’ve encountered one of them before. You’re right. They’re way worse than demons.”

  “They exist on the outside,” the Exit said, speaking so quietly that Tony had to strain to hear him. “They slink along the walls and gnaw at the doors, trying to get in.”

  “Correct,” Amun said. “God used the energy of the old universe to create this universe, thus transforming that energy into something new. But he was not the only thing left behind from that previous Engur. There were thirteen other lifeforms from that previous universe who escaped its destruction. Their names are Ob, Ab, Api, Apu, Leviathan, Behemoth, Kandara, Meeble, Purturabo, Shtar, Kat, the Unnamed, and He Who Shall Not Be Named. All of you have faced one or more of them throughout your various lives. Frankie and Tony witnessed the horrors that Ob and his kind inflict upon the Earth. Nelson encountered servants of both Api and He Who Shall Not Be Named. Bloom is familiar with Kandara. Teddy barely escaped a brush with Behemoth, and his world was overtaken by Leviathan, whom Tony also had a brief encounter with. And the Exit…well, your path has crossed each of them over time.”

  “What do they want?” Tony asked. “To rule?”

  “No. The Thirteen intend to destroy this universe. Motivated by hatred, loathing, and revenge, their goal is to fashion yet another universe—one that returns to primal chaos, rather than order and logic. To do so, they will extinguish all life in this universe, across all the levels. So far, they are succeeding. Your task is to stop them.”

  They sat in silence for a moment, staring at Amun and then each other. Finally, Tony cleared his throat.

  “Then we’re fucked.”

  “Why can’t God stop them?” LeHorn asked.

  “I was wondering that myself.” Teddy raised his cup and sipped.

  “Because,” Amun answered quietly, “God is dead.”

  Teddy choked, spitting his drink all over the table.

  “You okay, old timer?” Tony asked.

  Scowling, Teddy waved at him. When he spoke again, his voice was raspy.

  “Don’t call me old timer. And what do you mean, God is dead?”

  “God created this new universe, but the Thirteen were set on destroying it. For eons, their battle raged. When God created us, our original task was to serve as an army—foot soldiers in the war against the Thirteen. Seeing that God had created an army, some of the Thirteen did the same. Ob created the Siqqusim, Ab the Elilum, Api the Teraphim, Behemoth his worms, Leviathan his creatures of the sea, and so forth. Some of them were created as a mockery of our kind. Others served different purposes. In the end, our side triumphed. While not defeating them, we managed to drive the Thirteen and their armies off to the far reaches of the universe. They were decimated. Weakened—no longer able to pose a threat. And thus, God then created life and populated the planets. Some of those lifeforms still exist today. Others do not. His greatest creation of all was you—humankind. You were supposed to be different. You were made in his image. He meant for you to be the grand culmination of his original plan—the reason for destroying the old universe.”

  “That doesn’t answer Teddy’s question,” Frankie said.

  “It will,” Amun replied. “You must have patience.”

  “I reckon I’m all out of patience,” Teddy growled.

  “And yet you must have it,” Amun insisted. “Time passes differently within these corridors, but it still must pass. There were some among our kind—some among the angels—who grew jealous of humanity. They resented being tasked with the charge of watching over you. They felt that, having served faithfully and fighting against the Thirteen, their status should be favored over yours.

  Also, as I said before, life was evolving elsewhere in the universe via the process of evolution. There were lifeforms appearing not by divine will, but by science and nature and biology. Our brothers saw no reason why you should be favored over those other forms of life. For the first time, God was questioned…and found wanting. Eventually, an angel named Satan led a rebellion. The timing was well-planned. God was already weakened by his fight with the Thirteen, and Satan and his rebels seized upon the opportunity, intent on destroying humankind. Most of our brothers chose sides, and the numbers were in Satan’s favor.”

  “But not me,” Lucifer murmured.

  “No,” Amun agreed. “Not you. You chose a third side.”

  “The Thirteen?” Teddy asked. “You aligned yourself with them, didn’t you?”

  “I aligned myself with humanity! Everything I did was for you, Teddy Garnett, so you’d better start treating me with a little more respect.”

  Tony flinched at the anger in the angel’s voice.

  “Align myself with the Thirteen,” Lucifer spat. “If you knew how many Siqqusim I slayed, how many vampiric mermaids I skewered on my sword, how many worms I hacked to pieces…”

  “I’m sorry,” Teddy apologized. “So, you…tried to help us?”

  “Indeed, he did.” Amun nodded. “Lucifer tried to awaken humanity. He attempted to reveal all of the universe’s truths to you, so that you could help prevent Satan’s forces from assuring your own destruction. For that treason, Eden was sealed; shut off from the rest of the Labyrinth—the rest of the universe. Mankind had their knowledge taken away. And Lucifer was cast out. Now, not only was God in a weakened state, but his greatest warrior, the Morningstar, was no longer there to defend him. We remaining angels rallied. In the end, Satan’s rebels were defeated, and cast into Hell, but it cost us much, and it left God un-whole.”