Suburban Vampire: Book of Origins

MALEK, also known as JEREMIAH: Part Two

JERUSALEM

33 CE

Malek had been to Jerusalem before. He'd been there when he was mortal; not as frequently now that he was immortal. He did not know why he had been drawn to the holy city of the Jews at the time, but he was drawn, inexorably, as though it were a magnet. He came upon the city just as they began preparations for the high holy days. Displaced Jews from all over the world would be coming to Jerusalem for the festival of Passover, one of the holiest of days in their religion. Malek was, of course, familiar with the story of Passover and how the God of the Hebrews delivered them from Egyptian bondage more than a thousand years before. Modern Jews had been praying for a similar deliverance, but Malek saw little evidence that any such deliverance was coming anytime soon. The evidence of Roman rule, although kept relatively subtle, was still quite visible, much to the chagrin of the hard-liners. In fact, the Roman Governor himself was making an appearance in Jerusalem that week, having come from his headquarters in Caesarea especially so he could watch over the goings-on and make sure any rebels or messianic claimants were taken care of.

Malek asked himself why he was there. He was not Jewish, and had no dealings among the Jews. He certainly did not celebrate Jewish holidays. So why did he come to Jerusalem?

A possible answer came when such a great clamor rose among the throngs of people. It was a celebration – they were saying that their messiah had come that very day. Of course, Malek had to see this event for himself. He knew that the Jews had a particularly bad history with people claiming to be the messiah, their foretold ruler who would liberate the Jewish people forever. He knew that the only thing these "messiahs" did was to get a lot of people, mostly fellow Jews, killed. But this day, a young Rabbi was riding into town, and there was something different about this man.

"It is the Rabbi from Nazareth," a young woman cried as Malek approached the crowd. They were waving palm branches, some throwing their coats on the hard-cobbled streets before the coming of this promised one. Malek peered through the throng and saw something he did not expect; a young Jewish man, dressed humbly, riding not on a stallion, or in a chariot, but on a donkey. "He has come to deliver us!" The young woman continued. "He will bring to Jerusalem the kingdom of heaven! The heathen idolaters will flee before him!"

Malek snorted. To him, the Rabbi wasn't particularly interesting, at the time. He was just one more failure-to-be. Just then, he heard a voice in his head, a voice he hadn't heard in several years. The voice of Baalseth.

"You are here to serve me. There is one here who I want; one who I desire. You will make this man my servant."

"As you wish," Malek said under his breath.

*

For several days, Malek lurked in the shadows. He watched as the Rabbi from Nazareth drove merchants and money-lenders, all of whom demanded exorbitant rates from pilgrims who had not been able to bring their own sacrifices for the altar of their God, from the grounds of the temple. He listened as the Rabbi railed against the hypocrisy of the leaders of the Jewish religion. He also listened as the Rabbi taught people to love each other. That last sentiment made Malek sneer. Love even ones' enemies? Ridiculous. This fools' teachings will go nowhere. He noticed he was not the only one who felt that way, as slowly, over the course of the week, some in the crowd began turning away from their 'messiah'. Where was this deliverance? They wanted a warrior with a flaming sword and the wrath of Yahweh, not some backwater preacher teaching forgiveness and performing an occasional magic trick. Their dissatisfaction began to rise. Malek shook his head. This man is yet another failure for the Jews. If I had any sympathy, I'd feel sorry for them.