The Ancients and the Angels: Celestials

by M.C. O'Neill

  ***

  The sun was shining its ruddy afternoon glow outside and the time was almost at hand for her grand presentation. Venn’lith chewed on the idea that she would soon meet an unearthly lifeform from another system and, for some reason, this notion didn’t faze her. In truth, the only difference between them and any run-of-the-mill elf were those moth-like wings and that some of them were a bit taller. This Cadreth was certain to be easy on the eyes, she surmised, as every one of the Aldebarans that she had glimpsed on the screen was, without any doubt, beautiful. Considering this, she wrapped the large red cape over her shoulders and set off.

  After their home announced the arrival of the visitors in majestic grandeur, the elfmaid ran into Kaedish and his mother in another one of their upper lounges. As Venn’lith expected, the young lad was fidgety and his mother was trying to get him to maintain a presentable behavior.

  “Wow, Lith! You look great!” Glynna’s son remarked with a welcoming chirp. His eyes were scanning her fine figure, unable to help himself as he was approaching that age where the female form was a budding interest. Venn’lith supposed that she was quite the prime specimen of such a shape and, for that, she could forgive Kaedish.

  As her mood was lifting all for the better, the elfmaid decided to humor the young lad as she smiled. “Thank you, Kaedish, you too are looking…well.”

  His mother made a wan grimace to Venn’lith’s veiled slam and tucked her son behind her. Ever since first meeting the maiden, Glynna couldn’t put her fine finger on why this teen bothered her. Was there some truth to what Quen’die had said in her defense the other day? It was hard to discern, as she was so angry at her daughter during her rebuttal to the accusations that she was not listening to them and forgot half of what was said, in all honesty. Deep inside, Glynna admitted that she was feeling a pang of regret for that terrible Moonday. Then again, she knew that she was also directly involved with the abduction and murder of a teenage maiden and that she would sooner or later come to her senses about her own behavior and goals.

  “Eh, Lith,” Lady Reyliss stammered. ”I am going to head down to meet our guests. Will you walk down with us?”

  “No, Glynna,” she answered. “I have a thing to attend to before I manage that. Feel free to go on ahead of me.”

  Ever since moving to this mansion, Venn’lith loved to meditate in a special upstairs alcove. It was so calm there and the thin vaulted window allowed for the spring breeze to soothe her nerves. Already the sun was dimming to blood red and she knew that everything that was to happen would prove to be the most perfect that night. For a moment, she closed her heavily-decorated eyelids and soaked in the sounds of the imported wildlife from their grotto below. Thoughts of the aliens, the exodus, and even her new position fled her mind as it was left holding nothing more than the immediate sensations around her. With the strongest of inhales, the scents of the wonderful day nursed her dirty soul and she knew that she was ready for the night.

  With much ceremony, Venn’lith descended the swirling main staircase into their home’s giant foyer. Her entire household was present as was the throng of newcomers across from them. The Aldebarans were surrounded by the official blue robes of the Royal Guard for diplomatic escort. This was quite the visit, she guessed.

  “Here she is, Prince Stolas, my lovely daughter Venn’lith!” her father announced with bursting pride. The maiden held her nose higher upon hearing this declaration. It was time to assume her new role as a soon-to-be royal.

  “Good evening,” she oozed the words out of her lips which Ping had designed with nary a flaw. She was not concentrating on any one form of this entourage, as they were nothing but the abstracted shapes of garish tall people amongst the national blue robes.

  He was tall. Very tall, but not at all near the size of a natha. He appeared about the same age as her father, but yet at the same time, it was difficult to guess in exactness his years. There was something about his eyes that seemed almost ancient. Prince Stolas received the elfmaid’s hand and kissed it with a sense of graceful ritual. “I am very pleased to meet you, Maiden Venn’lith.”

  “Prince Stolas, I presume,” she inquired with her thickest Xochian accent.

  “I am,” he answered with a bold affirmation. “We have been very anxious to finally meet you in the flesh and I must say that the reality outweighs the notion.”

  To that, Venn’lith plastered an engineered smile to her face. Outweighed, she cringed? Was he trying to call her fat? Now was not the time to react with uncertainty or resentment. If she had ever gained wisdom of any desultory designs from him, she would be sure to have her revenge, just as she did with that twerp Quen’die and the foul Gonduanna Princes. “Charming,” she intoned in a wry manner.

  The Aldebaran guests were a collection of beings dressed in some of the most wonderful clothing that she had ever laid her eyes on. She hoped the Hegemony would trade these amazing goods on her new world, because some of the ladies in their attendance were adorned in the finest blood-red and dead-black ball gowns that she could never have, in truth, imagined. What were these materials? Were they hewn from animal hides and plant fibers not known of this earth? Some of the fabrics seemed to contain a swirling inner glow as if charged with mana, but were much more natural than those tawdry animated designs made on Earth. At that moment she could not wait to go shopping on another planet.

  “Maiden Venn’lith,” Stolas broke her fashionista’s daydream. “May I please introduce to you your companion for tonight?”

  Stepping out from the tall pillars of blue robes and lavish, otherworldly couture on cue, the raven-haired lad smiled upon seeing the maiden. He was almost as tall as Prince Stolas, and as he approached Venn’lith, she straightened her body by reflex as if to inform the male that she was to hold the upper hand that night. Her posturing didn’t matter, as against her 5’10”, almost eight feet was quite a task to match. Regardless, she was impressed in all honesty, as he would make for a wonderful playmate.

  His tunic was the same hue of red as worn by the others of his company, and paisley-like designs swirled and swam throughout the fabric as if they were some chaotic, abstract cartoon. Upon closer inspection, Venn’lith wondered if his clothes were not just animated, but indeed alive. The high-collared, black summer cloak draping over his broad shoulders housed the same roiling textures. His pale blue eyes bore into her defensive demeanor while she feasted back at his natural beauty as well as his amazing outfit.

  “Good evening, Maiden Venn’lith,” he said with a gentle tone as he took her hand to kiss it. “My name is Cadreth.”

  Undercover Angel

  Sleep. Such a terrible waste of time, Lucifer thought as he waited for his host to finish her bout of it. He wondered how the elven species ever got anything done as they remained in a twilit stasis for six hours every day. Minn’dre’s period of rest was, in particular, long this night due to her body adjusting to the dark lord’s infiltration, but if all went as planned, she would grow accustomed to it. There was so much blood, as she didn’t take to the infernal process very well, but she did manage to survive it. At least this body was better than a stupid farm animal, but not quite as hilarious.

  “Wake up, Lazy Legs. Time to eat your ostrich eggs!” sang the voice in the back of Minn’dre’s conscious. Soon the little rhyme was followed with a sharp slap to the face.

  “Huh?” She opened her eyes yet could not quite recognize her whereabouts. “What the…”

  It was morning and the streaks of sunlight bled through the curtain in soft rays. It would most likely rain later that day. Staring straight ahead, the elfmaid jumped to full wakefulness to see that a strange lady was all but straddling her feet at the end of her bed. At that moment she wished she really did own a caster. The lady was so unearthly and dark, like smoked brass mixed with copper.

  “Who are you?” the maiden could not muster the strength to yell from the confusion of the awakening and raw fear. Her throat was filled with morning frogs. “
What are you doing?”

  “Let me guess,” the lady began. “Next you want to know what I want, yes?”

  “I want you out of here,” Minn’dre could think of no other response. This had to be one of those embedded nightmares. Her mind was ruffling through its dulled memory banks to recollect why everything had been so terrible as of late. She knew something was wrong, but could not quite remember why.

  “Well, kiddo, that’s not in the plan for today,” the lady smiled with a simmering hint of anger beneath it. “We’re going on a trip because my boss says we have to, and when my boss says we have to, he means it. Dig?”

  “No,” the maiden croaked, half in a dream. “I got fired.”

  “Not your boss, Silly!” the lanky shadow argued. “Mine! He says that I need to look out for you until we get off this rock and that’s exactly what I’m going to do, so deal with it. Now, if you’ll excuse my cattiness, I’ve just come back from a very long trip and had to do some rather unpleasant things there, so try to be copacetic, okay?”

  Minn’dre’s mind at last made recognition of this rude awakening. “Hey! Aren’t you with the Black Hood? You mean to say you just spoke with Travius?” It was all coming back to her in a flurry. “Hey! lady, you hit me last week and put me in the hospital!”

  Sammian wet her pinky finger and slicked one of her fine brows with it. “Guilty as charged, and if you don’t want a repeat performance of that, you’re going to get up, get out of your frillies and start a brand new day!”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you, you fiend! You tried to kill the king and then you beat the tar out of me! To the Nine Hells with you and Travius!” the maiden growled in defiance as she jumped to the head of the bed on her haunches. Her signature long blond bang fell over half of her face and hid one of her eyes which could not contain its fright.

  The rogue angelic was not in the mood for the elfmaid’s lack of obedience. It was true she had held some reservations, and even a pang of guilt for slaughtering forty elves on Mars. For the cold flight back to Earth, she reflected on her duties and came to the deep conclusion that Ui would never forgive that transgression. As far as Sammian had considered it, her fate was sealed and she had better make the best of her new role. It was so odd, she thought, when she was in the throes of killing them, she didn’t seem to care, but regret continued to creep into her mind as she had so much time to meditate on the matter while making the long freezing return.

  Her tough body lunged down the length of the bed and clawed Minn’dre’s neck in one movement. The maiden felt like she was going to suffocate at that very instant. Sammian was strong, very strong, and it was now no surprise to Minn’dre why the fiend’s assault from last week had put her out for so long. Her menacing breath smelled like sweet flowers as she was but an inch from her face. “Exactly. You are coming with me and you are going to get up now!”

  Lucifer crawled his way from the back of the maiden’s nervous system and up to her brain. If he delayed his revelation to his new employee any longer, she was indeed liable to kill off his host. The infernal emperor flooded the elfmaid’s body as she cracked her back and rolled her eyes into her skull to adjust to the possession process.

  “What are you doing?” Sammian loosened her grip in shocked response. If she ever killed one of Lucifer’s subjects, even by accident, she could expect her new master’s wrath to be as extreme and as unforgiving as Ui’s. Thus far, she had performed his requests to the fine detail, but any infernal knew that the “Morning Star” was never to be crossed and failure was not tolerated, well, unless you had carte blanche like Glasya. “Minnie? Are you okay? I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to push so hard. Eh…please don’t die!”

  When Minn’dre began to chuckle, Sammian’s intolerance resurfaced and she wanted to punch the elfmaid’s face in with her full strength. Such a strike, of course, would have also gone through the bedroom’s stucco wall bringing her back to her original dilemma.

  “Sammian, it’s me,” Lucifer said as he was still smiling with Minn’dre’s mouth.

  The angelic peered with care, deep into the maiden’s eyes. There was now an unearthly light roiling through them and seeing this took Sammian aback some. What had just happened with this maiden, she wondered?

  “Who’s me?” Sammian asked, a bit chilled.

  “I am Lucifer now, Sammian,” the maiden divulged with a calm purr. “Can you not see me in her eyes?”

  The lady launched herself aback; in one part through fear and the other from respect. In a fleeting instant, she worried that she was going to be reprimanded by the boss for her heavy-handedness.

  Although she meant no insubordination or doubt, Lucifer was crafty as all the infernals were known to be, a quick double check was almost mandatory. After all, this could be some sort of hazing ritual concocted by her new brethren to test her mettle and trust. Perhaps it was Asmodeus or Mammon or any of her old crew from before the Rebellion who would be more than happy to play a welcome-back joke on her. It would be characteristic of Vinea to pull such a prank as she had always been involved in some sort of droll nonsense, even before the Fall.

  “Sammian, please remain calm. I assure you it is me,” he intoned in his gentle way. “You do remember when I ordered you to carve the mark on our dearest Minn’dre?”

  “Uh, yes,” she blurted. Many others of the hells could have indeed known about this mark by now, but Sammian was under the impression that such a happening was to be kept a secret between her and Lucifer. “I do.”

  “That sigil is not merely a calling card or a tracking instrument. It is a portal which will allow me entrance into our most gracious host.” Lucifer lifted Minn’dre’s body up from the bed and grabbed a summer gown from the pine wardrobe while moving in a confident, almost regal manner that contrasted to his host’s usual, mortal gait. “Does this make sense?”

  “Yes, Lucifer. I was aware of such things as spontaneous possession, but I didn’t know exactly how it worked.” Sammian followed her master’s movements, a bit befuddled. “There was always a spell for it, but I thought you needed to be in a summoning circle to perform it. Like I did with the lamb.”

  “That is not always necessary,” he said as Minn’dre’s head was, for the moment, stuck in the openings of the flimsy gown. “I found a new port of entry into a body. Before that unfortunate lamb last week, such a process had never been tried. Admittedly, I was a bit apprehensive with doing it myself. I suppose you could say that our little blond friend was the first possessed mortal being.”

  “Hmmm,” Sammian chewed on the information. “It does seem like it could come in handy. I wish I had used this ability during my tour as an erelim. I could have really pulled the wool over some of my interrogation subjects with that!”

  “In theory that sounds like an excellent ploy,” Lucifer complimented his ward. “But unfortunately, this spell does not work on us. I do like the way you think, regardless. Perhaps we could make you an erinyes when you return my home. I am always in need of disciplined internal security as you can probably imagine.”

  What an amazing office to hold, thought Sammian. The suggestion set her face alight with pride as the master confirmed that she was doing an excellent job. To gain his approval, and at last, his true love, was tantamount to her. “Oh, yes! Absolutely. I’m your lady.”

  Lucifer looked around the room with the maiden’s eyes and peered at her bedroom door. “Who is in the home right now, Sammian? I believe I can hear rustling beyond the door.”

  “Eh, I believe Minn’dre’s mother is up and about in the front room, Lucifer,” the angelic shrugged her shoulders as it was only a guess. “I know the father is away on business in the north of Atlantis or something. With that martial law, travel is highly restricted and he shouldn’t be back any time soon.”

  “Very well,” he began. “Apparently you have divulged yourself to be in compact with the Black Hood as I have seen in a newsscroll dated last week.”

  The dark lady locked up a b
it at that. It was rumored that Lucifer’s wrath could come after terrific calm and such violent outbursts were unpredictable. Was this how he prepared himself for punishment, she wondered?

  “This is fine,” he assured as he gazed out at the wan morning sun through Minn’dre’s little window. “I’ll inform Glasya with a message to cover for you as an infiltrator or spy who had attempted to thwart the assassination. We can even say that you were at the arena and knocked the caster out of that crazy old coot’s hand. How does that sound to you?”

  Sammian rolled her eyes and grinned at that. “Espionage has always been my forte, master, but now I get to be a hero? Kind of funny, but yes, I like it.”

  “Wonderful,” he continued to stare out at the wooded backyard. The beauty of Earth’s nature was so pleasant to the eyes, and Lucifer reminded himself to create a facsimile of it when he got back to the Inferno. His jealousy of the mere notion of this creation made him hate it just as much as he lusted for it. “I need your empathic skills when we meet Mother. I unfortunately only have the powers of my host in this form and I cannot do anything beyond Minn’dre’s natural abilities. Certainly, I can read minds and simple things like that but, for the most part, I am still a weak and fragile fishie”

  “Certainly, my lord.” Sammian bowed her head. “What will you have me do?”

  “You will plant a suggestion in her mind that her daughter is at work. You will also remind her that you are a special guest in this home. At first, she will be shocked to see you, but you must grab control of her quickly before she makes a scene.”

  Minn’dre looked so different under the control of her master and somehow her natural beauty was amplified by his consciousness. Sammian knew at that moment that she loved her master no matter his form. His pure power and mind were the focus of her heart, and she decided that she would kill ten score more of the elves for him if he so desired. So many good things were on their way for the both of them as this love was more selfless than Ui could ever have from her.

  “Yes, of course,” Sammian smiled like the devil she hoped to be and Lucifer could feel it from behind his back through pure intuition.

  “Be gentle, Sammian,” Lucifer warned. “For I don’t need any murderous drama connected to this home and ultimately, to our forces out there. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” she bowed once again. “I will remain in control. Promise.”

  “Excellent.” He turned the maiden’s body around to face Sammian. “You will also promise not to let any of the others in our ranks know that this maiden is inhabited by me. Think of me as a silent observer. As an erelim, you had to practice much furtivity. This will be no different.”

  The door leading to Minn’dre’s mother’s hypnosis was beckoning and the infernal lord was growing anxious to begin his plans for the new day. “I am most pleased to see how fine you look this morning after such a long trip, my dearest Sammian.”

  “Thank you, my lord.” Such sentiments thrilled Sammian as she could feel her coppery skin blush and she couldn’t stifle a tiny giggle. Her nerves fired warm tingles as not only relief settled in her, but pride and the warmth of her love’s acceptance. “Why do you say this?”

  Lucifer turned to the now-clean mirror to check Minn’dre’s look. “We will need to be at our best appearance for today because we will be going before a live studio audience.”

  For All the Doomed Children of this World

  So the flow began…

  Atlantis Youth Parliament

  “Last night our Princess Regent had to make some difficult decisions and deliver some rather frightening news. We are all in this exodus to our new world together and nobody gets left behind.

  “My father, Centeo Mitlan, has been working diligently with Circles of Finance from all over the world for decades to make sure that our economy flows efficiently. With our grand move to the Taurus system, he won’t be able to merely kick back and enjoy the ride.

  “ Neither will you. I am speaking specifically to all the children of this great kingdom. We are the future, as we are the first generation on this exciting new planet to thrive there. It is we who will take the reins as the first wardens, the first explorers, the first architects and builders. Yes, we’ll even be the first celebrities there. Generations upon generations from now, our descendants may even pray to our names as gods.

  “Before any of this can begin, we must get there and before we get there we must prepare. We must say a heartfelt goodbye to this planet Earth and that will take some work on all our parts. This is why my family, in conjunction with our government and the Aldebaran representatives, has developed the Atlantean Youth Parliament.

  “To be quite honest, we know that we are essentially racing against the clock. On a brave day coming up this Tenthmoon, we will all be aboard these arks to our salvation and destiny. That isn’t much time when you think about it. Such a tight schedule requires order and structure and the Atlantis Youth Parliament will see to that. Our lives depend on it.

  “Beginning this Moonday, this great movement will be taking applications for officers, pioneers and volunteers. All sorts of wonderful positions are available to each and any one of your possible skill sets. If you’ve ever been called ‘worthless’ or a ‘loser’ at home or at school, you will learn that even the likes of you are indispensable when it comes to joining this effort. You will realize the value of your innate talents as you prepare this world for a grand journey to an entirely new realm.

  “Visit your local recruitment center posted in your mail which will inform you of where you can sign up! Aptitude tests will determine where your skills are most needed and you will be given your assignment. Each and every one of these tasks is vital whether it be in an upper management position or custodial duty.

  “You must remember, and I say this with all sincerity, that nobody will get left behind. I am your Prime Warden Venn’lith Mitlan, and I invite each and every one of you, with love.”