The Guardian

by Carol Robi

  "Will he help?"

  "I don't know. Probably, but only when he knows we are sure to win. That is how he works."

  "Let us hope for goodness, my brother," she says before bending her knee lightly in a kind of curtsy I’ve seen her do before to only him, and he does the same simultaneously. Their brotherhood of guardian angels has different formalities than Raphael’s brotherhood of warriors.

  "For goodness we hope, brother," he replies before rising from their special curtsy.

  He then steps closer to me, wrapping me securely in his arms before we soar high into the dark skies again.

  Chapter 27

  The days keep flying by fast and busy, filled with school, renovation works, friends, homework and training with the angels.

  Penuel stays over every night after our usual practice at the park, lying on the bed with me. We have become very good friends, mutually respecting each other and acknowledging that we want the same thing.

  He tells me great tales of the past. Of when the dinosaurs lived here on earth, giant animals that prowled all the lands. He tells of the various ice ages, and how they revolutionized the kind of creatures we see on earth today. He even tells me about the days of Gondwana and Pangea, and how the heavenly beings had feared that the earth wouldn't survive, home to all living creatures in this part of the universe, and the great lengths they had gone to, to protect those creatures living here then.

  He then tells me of the evolution of man, how the heavenly beings began to realize that the son of man was an intellectual creature and not just any animal like the rest- making his own tools, learning from his mistakes, finding solutions to his problems and even going as far as to develop his own form of language.

  He tells of how the heavenly beings had held a great assembly, and discussed the implication of these intellectual creatures. He tells of the age of the great amendments up there, when the Principles of Divinity or what he sometimes calls the Laws of God had been amended by the majority so as to favor the son of man, to make him the ruler over all on earth.

  He also tells of how a great fraction of the heavenly beings, under the leadership of Archangel Abaddon the destroyer, had rejected the new laws. How could such feeble creatures, that up to a few tens of thousands of years ago had been eating their own faeces and children, be made rulers of a world?

  The heavenly beings were then divided into two factions. The pro-side had tried to explain that earth was just one planet among billions of others, and what was so wrong about angels ruling the rest and letting man rule the one? Abaddon and his followers though were adamant. What if they eventually evolved to be near as clever and strong as the angels? They argued that there would be a revolution, or a hostile takeover in the future.

  However, the majority did manage to pass the laws making man the ruler of his world, and the chooser of his own fate as long as his species lives. A number of watchers had then been sent to the world, to live among man; to protect him from extinction by natural selection, because man was very weak compared to other creatures in the world, and to guide him towards goodness and godliness. Those watcher angels are called guardians.

  "What is godliness?" I asked.

  “A concept,” he answered. “A concept of what is right and what is wrong, that had been written in the heavens, and approved by the heavenly beings. This concept has undergone numerous amendments with time, for different scenarios have arisen making it necessary to adapt. Take for example the concept of an eye for an eye. Over time we angels realized that this concept couldn't work. The sons of man would just kill each other senselessly. The concept had instead been changed to turn the other cheek or do to others as you want done unto you.”

  "The laws of Moses and the gospel?" I said questioningly.

  "Yes, that is how they are known here on earth."

  "So the angels sent Moses?"

  "No, the heavenly beings sent a guardian. I was Moses."

  "You were Moses?" I asked in disbelief.

  "Yes, I am a guardian. Like I was telling you before, guardians have been sent to this world so many times before, since the elevation of man to ruler of world, to guide him."

  "I hate it when you say him. What about all the women?"

  "There are no gender pronouns for us heavenly beings. All men women and children are he. It is the sons of man that misinterpreted the concept."

  "So you wrote the bible?"

  "Just the books of Torah. Other guardians and humans wrote the rest of the books in the bible. There are thousands of other manuscripts that have been lost over time."

  "Why would you write that the world was created in six days? No one believes that!"

  "And I don't expect anyone to believe it in this age. They did believe it in those days, and the simple idea helped them avoid constant pondering beyond their brain capacity. But over time as man's intellectuality grew, they discovered how impossible that concept was.

  That was the work of the guardians then, make things as easy to understand as possible for the particular generations. It was never our intention that the story of creation would be preached to the people to this date. We just assumed all men would have discarded that story ages ago."

  "Ok. But... so what happened? How did some angels fall?"

  "It happened when the first watchers were sent to earth. Those angels -Archangels, seraphs, warriors, angels of death, healers or intellects; All those angels that had spoken against the elevation of man, and shown open disobedience and defiance against the principles of divinity, were demoted to be watchers."

  He must have noticed the look of apprehension that I gave him, and he nodded in agreement. "Yes, I was demoted too. I used to be an Intellect, now I am a guardian. I was one of the defiers, and so was Araqiel."

  "So much for democracy in heaven!" He’d chuckled lightly at my retort.

  "You misunderstand me, Caroline. There is democracy in the heavens. But there is also the principal rule of majority. Once a law or a judgment is passed by the majority, the case is deemed closed. All should get on board and move forward.

  But that did not happen in this case. Abaddon the Apollyon rallied angels against their brothers, and I am embarrassed to say I was one of those that followed him, in spite of the fact that I knew majority rule is the ultimate decider. So I will disagree with you and say, yes, there is democracy in the heavens. It was us that tried to threaten it. An action I regret to this date." I saw the raw anguish on his face, and I hoped for his sake that someone tells him soon that he is forgiven.

  "So the new order of watchers were sent out into the world of man, and Abaddon the destroyer was sent to imprisonment in Tartaros. We were not meant to alter man’s life or educate him, we were just to watch and be sure that his species was not rendered extinct, for those were hard times for man. The animals around him were bigger, stronger and faster than he was. Without our protection, the sons of man would not have survived those ages."

  "However, as time went on, most of the watchers got restless. Longing for the day they would be called back home. So they began to cut corners with their orders, with the encouragement of our leader, Samyaza. Some began to teach the men how to read, write, count the days according to the position of the sun and astronomy. All harmless exercises, except for the fact that the brains of the sons of man had not developed enough to understand such concepts.

  So the sons of man began to fight among themselves, killing what they feared or did not understand. Like the example of a girl that had been bitten by a cobra, when the local doctor gave her medicines that he’d been given by one of the watchers, and the girl lived, the people called out both the doctor and the girl, accusing them of witchcraft. The two were stoned to death. For until that day, the community had been used to the idea that once bitten by a cobra, one died. The sudden change or idea of how such an antidote had worked was too difficult for them to understand. There were several cases like that throughout the world. Some cases with even worse implications."


  "There were also cases of some watchers that had begun consorting with the females of the sons of man, and even had children with them. The resulting children were beasts, for the human and angelic beings are not to procreate together. You have for sure had your biology lessons, and understand why a lion and a human cannot procreate. How could it be then that an angel, whose anatomy is in all complexity so different from that of a human, should procreate with a human?

  Those were dark days, I tell you. Before when the problem had just been some angels being overzealous teachers, we received a warning and some long lectures. But when they began to procreate with humans and birth Nephilims, The ruling Archangels were furious...”

  “Who’s that?” I asked.

  “Who?”

  “The ruling Archangels?”

  “Oh, the Seraphim? Currently it’s Archangels Gabriel and Michael.”

  “Currently?”

  “Yeah, since Abaddon’s imprisonment.”

  “And before?”

  “Before them it was Archangels Hanael and Raphael.”

  “Who is Hanael?” I asked curiously, having never heard her name mentioned before.

  “Archangel Hanael, she’s fallen now,” he said, sounding slightly uncomfortable, which spiked my interest.

  “Oh. Why?”

  “Let’s just say she barked the wrong tree.” He refused to say anymore, so I let it go and asked about something else.

  “So exactly how many Archangels are there in total?”

  “Five,” he said.

  “And only two rule?”

  “Yes, only two can be Seraphim.”

  “And Abaddon, he’s never ruled?”

  “No, he’s never ruled, because he never did manage to get any of the two female Archangels to be his Sara.”

  “What is a Sara?”

  “A title given to a female Archangel in rule. Archangel Gabriel is Michael’s Sara, and he is her Seraph. One cannot be Seraph without a Sara, and vice versa.”

  “Ok...” I said thoughtful. “So a pair always rules.”

  “Always.”

  “So what did happen with the Nephilim?” I ask him today as I walk beside him, kicking at some small stones on my path.

  “The Heavenly Assembly condemned them to death!” I gasp soundly at what he says. “And those watchers that fathered them were found guilty of sacrilege...”

  “Sacrilege?”

  “Yes, sacrilege, for there is a Principle of Divinity that declares that all heavenly beings are holy, above all else. Heavenly beings consorting with humans are thereby committing sacrilege against themselves.”

  “That’s a stupid rule! You can’t just declare yourself holy!” I chuckle.

  “And I suppose it is not equally stupid for man to declare himself above all earthly creatures, to the extent that if one were to consort with an animal, say a dog, he’d be stopped, incarcerated even?”

  “I can’t believe you just compared humans to dogs!” I exclaim.

  “My point exactly,” he states, and it takes me a moment to catch on his meaning.

  “Either way, whether you think it reasonable or not, there’s was a most capital crime, according to our laws, and deserving of capital punishment. But because the heavens were still recovering after the shock of the great rift heralded by Archangel Abaddon just a few thousand years back, the Seraphim decided to be kind. They offered the guilty a chance at redemption, but only if they’d kill all their offspring...”

  “No one would agree to that...”

  “Some did, but most didn’t. And hence a great war broke out, the first angelic civil war- a most vicious war that nearly broke down the governing structure of the heavens, only this time it was Archangel Hanael that led it, bitter at having been dislodged from power by her brothers. She eventually lost the war, so she and all the watchers found guilty were sent to join Abaddon, imprisoned in the great world of Tartaros, to stay there until judgment day.”

  “So you agreed?” I ask with apprehension, suddenly seeing him under a new light, and not a flattering one. “You’re still here, so you agreed to kill your offspring..?” I breathe easier when he shakes his head in answer.

  “I never did break the cardinal law to consort with humans,” he says gravely, his dark eyes flashing.

  “Come on,” I taunt with a smile. “A few thousand years of loneliness here in the world and you never got tempted?”

  “No,” he says solemnly.

  “Not even once?” I ask with disbelief, slightly unsettled with the odd intensity in his eyes as he peers back at me.

  “Never! I was in love with another.”

  “Another what?” I ask, my curiosity piquing.

  “Another angel, of course...”

  “Araqiel!” I jump to say, and a flicker of something yet indeterminate crosses his features before he shakes it away and smiles back at me instead.

  “No, I didn’t even know her well then. Just another.”

  “Another watcher?”

  “Yes, she’d been demoted to a watcher”

  “Where is she?”

  “Not here,” he says sadly after a long pause, the heavy melancholy in his eyes disquieting, so I look away. “Out of the twenty seven angels that had been sent to this world as watchers, only three of us remain."

  "Who is the third?" I ask curiously, knowing that he and Araqiel are the first two.

  "Samyaza."

  "What? Wasn't that the name of the leader of the watchers that convinced the others to stray?" I ask puzzled.

  "Yes, he was the one. But unlike the others, he had the stones to do that which was required of him...”

  “He killed his children?” I ask in a horrified whisper.

  “He did,” Penuel says with detest. I don’t know what disgusts him more, the idea that Samyaza consorted with humans, or that he killed his own children. Either way it is clear that Penuel is very much repulsed by the remaining watcher.

  I overheard him in the Park last Sunday, telling Araqiel that he’d contacted Samyaza, probably to ask for help. It must have been a sad day for him to have to ask for help from someone he clearly despises so much.

  Chapter 28

  I sit up on my bed slowly and watch the dark haired angel lying on my bed, his chest rising slowly with each breath he takes.

  I’m sure he is awake, though, for I’ve never seen him actually sleep. However, at this moment as he lies on his back, eyes closed and his beautiful facial features completely relaxed, I am almost tempted to think that he could be just a teenager, not a heavenly being that has lived for billions of years or more.

  "Morning," he says in his quiet manner to me, and I smile before responding.

  "Morning to you too," I say. "Dad will be here soon."

  "Maybe I should let him find me here. It’ll be easy explaining why we are always together if they believe me to be your boyfriend." He says this in his calm quiet voice that I admire so much.

  "You want to be my boyfriend?" I ask in the most uncool way that I bite hard on my lip to scold myself. He smiles up at me warmly, his eyes still closed, his long eyelashes lying beautifully, majestically long over his flawless olive skin.

  "I do not consort with humans, dear Caroline," the words said are patronizing, but his voice is smooth and endearing in its quiet tone. "But I think it will be easier for me, now that I have to shadow you everywhere."

  "Won't the other angels assume you have fallen, you know, consorted with a female of the son of man?" I ask, mocking him by using the same awkward words he often uses.

  "Haha! Don’t worry, I will not consort with you Caroline. So my conscience will remain clear, hence my Essence will remain divine. Suspicions and assumptions are unnecessary for us angels, when all one has to look at to find the truth is one’s soul," he says winking at me. I let the meaning of the words sink in, as I stare at him with admiration. It is hard to believe that such a perfect being could have fallen from grace in the past.

  "My friends wi
ll expect you to kiss me if we are in a relationship," I say to him, and for some reason cannot stop my eyes from wandering down to his full soft lips.

  "Control your thoughts, little girl," he says chuckling lightly, his eyes still closed. I smile back, though he doesn't see it. I do not mind that he puts me off, because he does it in such a gentle way and manages to inject some humor into it. Plus I do not think I like him that way. He is hot, and I admire the person that he is. I would also make out with him, given the opportunity. But if I have to make a choice, I would rather have him as a friend than a lover.

  "Oh...” I feign a groan. "What has a girl got to do to get kissed around here?" I pull a pillow over my head to complete the dramatization. Penuel tickles me then between my ribs, reducing me to hysterical laughter that I try to muffle down, before I realize he is bent over me, his knees planted on either side of me.

  "First, morning breath is a turn off," he says, before planting a small kiss at the tip of my nose. "And two, stop hanging out so much with angels. Hang out with teenage human boys, and they’ll offer to kiss you every moment they can!"

  "I don't want to hang out with angels. You demons just won't let me go!" I complain good-naturedly and he shushes me with a finger across my lips.

  "Your dad is walking up here. So am I your boyfriend or not?"

  "Only if you can kiss me," I taunt him, "despite my morning breath."

  "For you, anything," he says playfully as he places a warm kiss on my lips.

  Yeah! Second kiss! Even though both were done for untraditional reasons. Whatever, they are both super-hot guys, and I won't let anything burst bubble right now.

  I freeze in his arms as the door is pushed open, and I quirk my eyebrow at the beautiful angel hovering above me.

  "Hi," dad says slowly, when he pushes the door and finds Penuel sitting on the edge of my bed. I admire how he assesses the situation calmly before walking over to give the teenage looking angel a handshake. I keep forgetting just how liberal Danes are when it comes to such matters. Mom would be screaming at the top of her head and clawing at the boy right now.