by R M Gauthier
He rounds the corner leading to the stage, but the space is empty. He stops dead in his tracks, his gaze combs the space before taking a tentative step forward.
“Where did everyone go?” he mumbles to himself.
Suddenly, he’s sucked into a tunnel of swirling air much the same as when he ended up in The Realm of Lost Souls. He’s prepared this time and doesn’t struggle as he’s tossed around.
Finally, he hits the ground with a thud.
“Damn it, Azrael,” he yells out as he lays flat on his back.
“Fallen?” Nevaeh whispers.
“Where are we this time?” Fallen probes, infuriated as he climbs to his feet and looks around.
“The Enchanted Forest,” Nevaeh replies.
“What is he up to now?” Fallen inquires, his gaze landing on Nevaeh.
“I’m not sure,” she responds.
“Try Headquarters again,” Fallen requests, as he steps in front of her, peering down.
“I did,” she responds, glancing up at him. “It’s like they’re gone.”
Fallen lifts his gaze over her head, taking in his surroundings, once more.
“Isn’t this where we held the meeting?”
“Yeah, it is,” Nevaeh responds. “Azrael is definitely using Aaron’s magic.”
“Why was he not guarded?” Fallen accuses. “Isn’t that your job? Protecting humans from evil.”
Her face falls.
“Damn,” he regrets. “I’m sorry.”
“We’ll figure this out,” she assures him.
“I know,” he sighs. “It’s just I can’t believe he’s doing this. Why can’t he just stay where he belongs.”
“Fallen, he feels lost. Confused.” She places her hand on his arm. “Abandoned.”
“He got what he deserved, Nevaeh. He’s been pulling this stuff forever. When’s he going to quit? And why are you making excuses for him, suddenly?”
“It’s not sudden. I can just empathize with him.” She lets go of his arm and drops it to her side. “I wouldn’t want to be locked away.”
“Even if you did what he did?” Fallen grills.
“What did he really do? Disagree with both sides? Did that deserve being locked away for a millennium?”
“Whose side are you on anyway? Both sides agreed that he was too dangerous to be free. You were there, I don’t remember you objecting,” he accuses.
“I just see things a little differently now,” Nevaeh confesses.
“Why?”
“Because I know how it feels to lose the people you love,” she deadpans.
Fallen’s glare softens as he stares at her.
“Did you not miss me at all?” she whispers.
“Of course, I did,” he responds.
He steps right in front of her, places his hands on either side of her face and tilts her head up, so he can look her in the eye.
“I’ve missed you every day since our separation, but this is bigger than us, Nevaeh,” he explains.
“But, why?” she whispers. “Why can’t we be together, Fallen? It doesn’t feel right being apart.”
“I know, but we received a calling and we can’t deny that,” he says with conviction. “The only other choice is to give it all up. Is that what you want? Are you ready to give up your calling?” he queries.
She stares into his eyes for a moment before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his. The kiss is deeply passionate and soon gets out of hand. Nevaeh pulls away.
“I don’t know if I can,” she whispers, dropping her gaze to the ground.
“Exactly,” he whispers, as he runs a fingertip down her cheek.
“But I miss you so much.” She wraps her arms around his torso hugging him tightly.
He brushes the hair off her forehead, his hand travelling over her head and down her back where he squeezes her against his chest.
“Me too,” he whispers.
They remain in the embrace for a couple of minutes.
“Will you look at this,” Azrael teases. “The two lovers together again,” he mocks as he circles the pair. “How quaint.”
Fallen breaks the embrace and steps back.
“What do you want, Azrael?” Fallen questions.
“Don’t let me stop you.” He grins at his brother.
“Where’s Aaron?” Nevaeh interjects.
Azrael turns his glare on her. “He’s fine,” he insists.
Fallen steps in front of her taking up a protective stance.
“Where are we, Azrael?” Fallen enquires.
“The Enchanted Forest,” Azrael responds.
“Stop lying,” Fallen retorts.
“Who’s lying?” Azrael grins.
“What have you done with Aaron?” Nevaeh solicits, once more.
“I’ve made him a star,” he replies.
“Stop playing games and tell me what you’ve done,” Fallen yells at his brother.
“I don’t know how many times I must tell you.” He takes three steps forward bringing him face-to-face with Fallen. “I’m setting things right again.”
“What does that mean?” Fallen snaps.
Azrael clicks his tongue, disappointment written all over his features.
“Fallen.” He reaches his hand up and pats his brother’s cheek. “When we’re all together we’ll be fine.”
Fallen slaps Azrael’s hand away, stares at his brother for a moment before recognition dawns on him.
“You’re starting a war?” Fallen gasps.
“Fallen, my dear brother.” He pats his cheek again, a sinister smile taking over his features. “The war never ended.”
“Azrael?” Nevaeh steps out from behind Fallen. “How can you think such a thing?”
“Don’t be so naïve, Nevaeh. We’ve got real problems, but what I’m doing will solve everything,” Azrael reveals.
“Don’t you be so naïve. You and your cohorts couldn’t possible solve anything,” Nevaeh counters. “Especially, this way.”
Azrael takes several steps back.
“I’d love to stay and chat, but I have somewhere else to be,” Azrael informs, then disappears in a cloud of smoke.
“I really wish he would stop doing that,” Fallen mumbles.
A figure walks out of the forest and into the clearing. The angels spin around and stare at the new arrival.
A man with long blonde hair, eyes as blue as the sky and facial features perfectly proportioned comes into view. He has a strong jaw line, a slim build and wearing a serious expression. His gaze sweeps the vicinity where he spots the angels and stops dead in his tracks.
Once again, Fallen steps in front of Nevaeh offering his protection, but it’s having the opposite effect on her. It’s starting to grate on her nerves. She can take care of herself and doesn’t need him or his manly services. She moves over and stands beside Fallen, her gaze landing on the new man.
“Who are you?” Fallen questions.
“Leo,” the man replies, his gaze never leaving Fallen.
“What brings you here, Leo?” Nevaeh probes.
“We were summoned,” Leo responds.
“Who was?” Fallen probes further.
“Everyone, I’m assuming,” Leo offers.
Fallen and Nevaeh glance at each other, no doubt wondering who called this so-called meeting and what it’s about.
They stand quietly, sizing each other up. After a moment, the sound of the other mythical creatures making their way into the clearing can be heard.
Nevaeh leans into Fallen. “What’s going on?” she whispers.
Fallen shrugs a shoulder, but remains guarded as he eyes the crowd entering the clearing one-by-one.
32
Aaron stands in the middle of the desert, sweating profusely as his gaze travels around the desolate region. Azrael shimmers into existence next to him. Alarmed, Aaron takes a step back, eyes wide in surprise as the angel/demon drifts in and out of existence.
“Where are we?” Aaron inquires o
nce Azrael is fully formed.
“At the beginning,” Azrael replies cryptically.
“What?”
“Understanding will be revealed soon enough,” Azrael clarifies.
He reaches an arm around Aaron’s shoulder, pulling him to his side. With his other arm he motions in front of him. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“It’s hot,” Aaron complains.
“You humans are a sad lot,” Azrael expresses with a side-glance at Aaron. “Instead of appreciating the miracles surrounding you, you complain.”
“That’s because, its hot,” Aaron reaffirms.
“Enough talk,” Azrael says disappointed.
He pulls his arm back from around Aaron’s shoulder, steps in front of him and bends at the knees to be eye level. “Time to work.”
Aaron gives him a dubious glance. “What exactly are we doing here?”
“This is where it all began. So, it seems fitting this is where it should be repaired.”
“What does that mean?” Aaron inquires.
“Many moons ago, we were the children who were the apple of our parents’ eye,” Azrael begins. “Then, he needed something more—”
He takes a couple of steps forward as he views the area.
“He wanted something for himself. Something that was beholden to him. That’s when the earth was first sprouted. He made everything perfect.” Azrael rolls his eyes. “In his eyes anyways.”
Aaron listens intently lost in Azrael’s unusual story. None of his religious teachings ever mention a story like this.
“She didn’t like it, but she went along with him in the beginning not thinking it would become anything more than a hobby.” Azrael unconsciously glances up as he speaks. “We all thought he would get bored eventually and this would all be put away, never to be seen or heard of again.” Azrael stares at the sky for a pause then turns his glare on Aaron. “Obviously, that didn’t happen.”
Aaron is curious where this story is going, but he’s more concerned about Azrael’s end game. He has an idea where this is heading, but he doesn’t want to go there until it’s absolutely necessary.
“I’m here to fix this travesty.” Azrael spins around coming face-to-face with Aaron. “And that’s where you come in.”
“If you think I’m going to help you end the world, you’re sadly mistaken,” Aaron reveals.
“We’re not ending the world, Aaron.” Azrael raises his hand and pats his cheek. “Just setting it free.”
Aaron takes a step back his stomach churning over the crazed look in Azrael’s eye. Azrael’s plan is not good, he knows this, so he must handle the situation delicately. He’s in the middle of the desert, so it’s not like he can walk out of here. He’d die of dehydration for sure.
“Okay, Aaron. Do you remember your teachings?” Azrael questions.
“Yes,” Aaron responds.
“Are you ready to give it a try?”
“No.”
“What’s the problem?” Azrael inquires.
“I really don’t want to do this,” Aaron whispers.
“You need to trust me, Aaron.” Azrael puts his arm around Aaron’s shoulder again, tucking him to his side. “This is going to make everything so much better.”
“What’ll happen to me?” Aaron solicits.
“What do you mean?”
“Will I survive?” he clarifies.
“We all survive, but in a much better way,” Azrael reassures. “Look, you can be a hero here. What you do will change the course of history and it’ll be your name everyone remembers.”
Aaron shifts from foot-to-foot considering Azrael’s revelation. He knows Azrael is not being truthful. However, he feels choiceless because he’s stranded, with no way out.
“If I help you,” Aaron whispers, as the wind kicks up sending sand swirling around the pair. “Do you promise my mother will be okay.”
“Of course,” Azrael replies, overly confident, a mile-wide smile across his features.
Instead of reassuring Aaron, Azrael’s smile sets him on edge. His mind twists with thoughts of how he got involved with this situation in the first place and how he can escape.
“All right, Aaron.” Azrael grabs Aaron’s shoulders and gives him a little squeeze. “It’s time.”
Azrael couldn’t look happier. In fact, he resembles a kid in a candy store. He turns around scans the horizon once more—carefully.
“I’m going to miss this,” he exclaims.
He turns back to Aaron.
“Let’s get started.”
He claps his hands together, rubs them up and down against each other, his mega-watt smile turning sinister, as he stares down at Aaron.
33
One-by-one a representative from each species wanders into the clearing. Most visibly upset with being summoned once again. The undercurrent is highly charged, and no one seems to know exactly why they’re here.
Leo views the crowd, keeping his distance as he attempts to remain in control. The difficulty level for him is off the charts because tensions are running high. He scans the vicinity again, only this time he’s looking for something specific—more accurately—someone specific.
Feeling a presence drop down beside him, Leo smiles knowing it’s Dominick. His senses kicked in long before he spotted him. He fights the smile aching to break out across his features as he turns to greet the dragon.
“Hey,” he blurts out and the sudden desire to slap himself over his lame greeting is overwhelming.
“Hey,” Dominick replies, then smiles at Leo. “Do you know what this is about?”
“No. Nothing’s happened yet,” Leo comments.
As Dominick glances around the clearing, Leo stares at him. The air around them is heavy with tension.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Dominick whispers without even a glance in Leo’s direction.
“I concur,” Leo responds, pulling his eyes away from Dominick and viewing the thickening crowd.
At the head of the group, Nevaeh and Fallen watch closely as the last of the creature’s amble into the gathering. The ramblings drift across the air, as most wonder what has brought them here again, so soon. Gathering in this manner is dangerous. Organizing another meeting so close to the last one is unprecedented, which is what has this crowd on edge, ready to explode at any moment.
“We need to calm this crowd,” Nevaeh whispers as she eyes the mythical creatures.
“I’d like to know who called this meeting,” Fallen whispers back.
“Are you telling me it wasn’t you?” the burly man with short red hair, who drove the questioning at the first meeting, barks out from behind the angels.
Fallen spins around pinning him a fierce glare, while Nevaeh simply answers.
“No.” She leans back giving him her full attention. “We’re not sure who did, Sherman.”
Fallen turns his fiery glare on Nevaeh.
“Aye,” Sherman responds. “Thank you for your candor.” He gives Fallen a hard stare before softening his features and giving Nevaeh nod.
She simply nods back.
As conversations raise the noise level amongst the group, a rumbling below the earth grabs the angel’s attention.
“Do you feel that?” Nevaeh inquires, while gawking at Fallen.
“Yeah,” he responds, while investigating the ground. “You know what that means?”
“What are they doing here?” she inquires, her features overcome by concern.
“I have no idea,” Fallen responds and steps forward.
A bright ray of light descends into the center of the clearing causing the crowd to take several steps back creating a circular opening in the middle. Everyone stares up as the beam grows in radius. The rumble under the earth grows louder and shakes the dirt beneath their feet causing everyone to shift off balance.
Some creatures fall to the ground while others take flight, hovering a couple of feet above. The noise grows even louder, and the light shines brighter, triggering
the group to cover their ears and shut their eyes. One final push of light and rumble of the earth sends everyone running for cover.
Everyone except Nevaeh and Fallen.
They stand side-by-side knowing exactly what is happening, but their curiosity is peeked.
With a sudden flash of light and a deafening bang everything stops. The light dims, the sound disappears and in the middle of the clearing are an army of angels. Some have white wings, others black, but they all appear ready for battle. They’re impressive standing in typical solider formation, covered in metal armor that’s head-to-toe chrome, some accented with black metal, the others white.
“What are you doing here?” Fallen inquires, as he takes a step closer to the newest arrivals.
“We have a situation, General,” one of the black winged, black armored angels’ steps forward and responds.
“More important than Azrael being on the loose?” Fallen solicits, sarcastically.
“Yes, Sir,” the angel replies.
Fallen glances at Nevaeh.
She moves to stand beside him her gaze shifting to a male angel with white wings and white armor.
“What’s happening, Khamael?” Neveah bids.
“Must be something massive if you’re here,” Fallen proposes, as he glances at Khamael, then shifts his gaze to another large angel with black wings. “And you, Marut. What brings you up?”
“It’s as Khamel said, we have a situation,” he reveals, his gaze shifts around the crowd, then falls back on Fallen. “We shouldn’t be discussing this here.”
“Then where?” Nevaeh probes.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Sherman declares. “You will not leave us in the dark. We demand answers. We want to know why we were summoned here?”
Marut stares at Sherman as if he’s a bug that needs to be swatted away. However, it’s Khamel that steps forward.
“You all were summoned here?” he calls out.
There’s a resounding ‘yes’ throughout the group.
Khamel glances over his shoulder at Marut and the two have a silent conversation that ends with Marut shaking his head.
