Premortal

Chapters 76 - 77

Chapter 76 – Slander

Jezebel was disgusted with Lucifer and psychotic in her hatred towards Caleb. For that matter she hated every spirit stupid enough to support her parents' plan.

She, like Lucifer, would have taken the greatest of pleasure in simply forcing all spirits to follow them, if it was within her power. She was tired of playing by the rules of the Kingdom. This precious principle of agency was painful. Other than in cases where the principle protected her individual freedoms, she felt it entirely unnecessary. She was blind to the cankering of her soul, and also failed to join the dots between her misery and her failure to live according to the principles of happiness that had been established within the Kingdom. She rejected these principles venomously and venomous she had become.

In this moment of anger she struck upon a brilliant strategy that, of course, operated entirely outside of the laws and principles that could have brought her peace and growth. Jezebel was second only to Lucifer in the extent to which her integrity had disintegrated, and it was upon her unhealthy disregard for this principle that her strategy was built. As she reeled in anger, contemplating Caleb and the other spirits that so annoyingly clung to the original plan, her mind turned to those of her own sex. She thought of Tara and Sarah and most of all she thought of Rachel, that virginal beacon of light for the old order. Oh how she hated her. She sat and obsessed about finding just one shred of indecency or evil about her so that she could shout it from the rooftops.

As she thought upon this, the anger on her face, all of a sudden, turned into a sly smile. At just that moment it had occurred to her that she didn't necessarily need to discover wickedness in Rachel in order to shout it from the rooftops. With this thought in mind she joyously left her abode, and that same hour, she called an emergency meeting of the female inner circle.

An hour later nineteen hundred of the least feminine of female spirits gathered at the request of their leader. They constituted the maximum number of Jezebel's inner circle that could be gathered at such short notice.

'Ladies, come to order!' Jezebel shrieked in a manner that was not unfamiliar but was ordinarily effective.

'I have called you here urgently because our cause needs a shot in the arm,' she commenced.

A combination of murmurs arose from the crowd that consisted in the main of 'you can say that again' and 'that is an understatement'.

Jezebel waited for the murmurs to subside and was the antithesis of patience as she did so.

Once they had subsided just a little she yelled, 'Ladies! I have devised a plan that is sure to bring us more support. We are going to call into question Rachel's integrity and good character and use her as a means of converting others to our cause.'

A general noise of disapproval arose from the crowd and Joslyn voiced the general opinion of the room.

'Jezebel, none of us can understand how you are possibly going to call into question Rachel, the annoying wench never does anything wrong.'

Jezebel replied with the basis of her brilliant plan.

'Who says she has to do anything wrong in order for us to discredit her?'

Following this statement a stunned silence came over the room, which was most unusual for this particular gathering. Though they rarely had something useful to say, they ordinarily said it anyway. Those who were the most advanced in evil, even amongst this lofty company, gradually started to catch on and loved what was being proposed. For the remainder Jezebel had to join the dots.