My heart leapt at the meaning of Azazel’s presence. Had Michael come at last? Could I dare hope for such a miracle?
“The same as you, Sariel. I’ve decided to open my eyes and take a stand.”
A chill ran through me. I tried to rise but I only made it halfway before I collapsed back to the bed. I had never felt so weak. “I don’t understand.”
“I should thank you, I suppose. You were my inspiration. When I saw you on Riswan and you handed me the baby girl, I realized in that moment what you tried to accomplish. You tried to make a difference. You did what was important to you, despite what anyone else thought, and you embraced your decision. After I saw what you did, I made a choice too. It propelled me down a path I had often thought about but feared to take.”
I shook my head. “Azazel, I had it all wrong. You don’t want to make the same mistakes I made. I can see that clearly now.”
“Mistakes? Hardly. You, of us all, acted instead of deliberated. It gave me great pause and made me question what I believed in and if I had the courage to follow my own convictions. After serious consideration, I chose a path that suited me. I, too, will try to make a difference. It’s quite liberating actually. My place is here.”
“Where is here, Azazel?” I asked, looking around.
“Why, in Lucifer’s palace, of course.”
My blood froze. I forced myself into a sitting position. “It’s not too late for you, Azazel. You must go back.”
“Back to what? A council of the impotent? This is hardly the reaction I expected from you.”
The door opened. Kakabel stood in the doorway. She was as beautiful as ever and she smiled at me, warm and loving. Her affection was genuine, I had no doubt. There was something else in her eyes as well, a glow I had not seen before. A confidence perhaps, a self-assurance? It was good to see her. I was about to say so when a single alarming thought penetrated my good mood.
“Where is the babe?” I asked sharply.
“It’s good to see you too, Sariel,” she said with an edge.
“The baby girl, Kakabel. The one I left in your care. Where is she?”
“She is here, back in Mephistopheles’ protection. She’s been here a while now, since before you left on your little sabbatical to the physical plane.”
My heart dropped. Mephistopheles had her this whole time? I recalled his nonchalant reaction when we spoke of the girl before I entered the primordial. No wonder he had dismissed the conversation so easily. He was already in possession of her. Anger surged within me. Anger at Kakabel’s and Azazel’s betrayal.
She strode into the room, followed by Lucifer and Mephistopheles.
I pushed myself out of bed, standing dazedly. I stretched forth my wings, stiff and sore from atrophy. My armor had been removed. I wore only a blue tunic edged with silver that hung to my thighs and a wide silver belt clasped around my waist.
“Well, look at the five of us,” said Lucifer happily. “Our splintered little family is coming together again. I trust your little adventure was fruitful, Sariel? I must say, I had expected you to return to us much sooner. I did caution you about the seductiveness of the flesh, did I not?”
“How long was I gone?” I asked.
“A little over six months,” said Mephistopheles, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “We made you as comfortable as possible when we realized you weren’t returning as rapidly as we had discussed.”
“Mephistopheles,” I began, a curious thought forming. “Were you the spirit talking to the female elder, Sheerak, in Malak’s village? It appears a spirit convinced her to send a war party to kill Requel even before I showed.”
Mephistopheles grinned and looked at Lucifer. “I told you he’d figure it out.”
Lucifer chuckled. “He is a clever one.”
Mephistopheles faced me again, still grinning. “Of course it was me. I had to make sure we carried out the plan in case you couldn’t go through with it. It turns out I was right.”
I felt the desire to lash out at him but I let it pass. “Perhaps you were. It all turned out well in the end.”
“We could have pulled you back but we thought we’d let you enjoy your little fun,” he said.
Kakabel laughed. “Procreation is certainly an … interesting… experience, wouldn’t you agree?” Mephistopheles joined in with her laughter. Lucifer smiled in amusement.
Heat rose to my cheeks and my face flushed.
“Leave him be,” said Azazel, noticing my discomfort. He swung on Kakabel. “Crudeness does not suit you.”
“Perhaps it does, Asmodeus. After all, why shouldn’t we explore the boundaries of this new creation we are undertaking? How else are we to understand what we have wrought?”
“Why do you call him Asmodeus?” I asked, already guessing at the answer and saddened by it.
“The same reason I am called Beelzebub,” she replied. “We have joined Lucifer and Mephistopheles on their path of liberation and have forsaken our God given names. They no longer apply and I’m glad to be rid of them. Although I must confess, I’ve been secretly with Lucifer and Mephistopheles since the beginning. I hid my collusion well. I never severed connections with them like the rest of our family of hypocrites.”
“An enormously important bit of information you should have shared with me sooner,” bristled Asmodeus. “There was many a time I wished to speak with our departed family members but could not.”
“Why Asmodeus,” said Beelzebub sweetly, “what benefit would that have served? There was no need to run the risk of revealing my duplicity. Besides, with your fathomless wisdom, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out for yourself.”
“You were helping them from within this whole time?” I asked in disbelief. I recalled her contentious reactions when I first brought up Requel’s child. She tried to dissuade the others from believing me.
“And an amazing job she did, too,” said Lucifer, draping an arm over her shoulders. Her eyes shined in adoration at his touch. “How else could we keep our actions hidden so well from Michael and the others? Beelzebub worked tirelessly to keep our sacred work guarded and unnoticed. Whenever one of our siblings did take a strong interest, Beelzebub was there to deflect and detract. After all, we couldn’t have them interfering.”
“But why reveal yourself now?”
“Why not?” she replied. “We are five strong and half the spheres have fallen. Our movement is only strengthening. It’s time for solidarity if we want to push this work to completion. But to answer your question fairly, it all started with you, Sariel. Imagine my surprise when you, of us all, decided to come down from your lofty perch and play in our little creation. I would have never imagined.”
I kept my anger in check. “And why is that?”
Her smile betrayed the hardness in her eyes. “Because you were an arrogant bastard. Your self-righteousness sickened me. Always God this or God that. You’re presumptuousness at claiming what God willed insulted the rest of us and you didn’t even have the grace to notice. Who were you to think you know God’s will better than the rest of us? Who were you to volunteer to speak to God as if you had special privilege? As if you could summon Him to gratify your own personal sense of self-importance? If you knew God’s will so mightily, why didn’t you know about the works the three of us were doing in the lower spheres?”
A vicious retort came to my lips but I bit it back. Then I realized, with all humility, she was right. “There is truth in what you say. Forgive me. Perhaps that is why I am here now.”
She seemed taken aback by my words and her tone softened. “You should take my anger as a compliment, Sariel. As Asmodeus has already stated, and despite what I perceived as shortcomings, you were the best of us. There were times when I wish I had as much faith as you.”
“Indeed,” said Asmodeus. “Your actions convinced me to take a stand for what I believed in. Beelzebub has been trying to sway my thoughts for years and, although I agreed with her and Lucifer’s ideals in principal, I
refused to take any action. That changed the moment I saw you on Riswan. You were different, Sariel. You became what you believed. If you could do it, so could I.”
How convenient that Kakabel heard my cry for help on Riswan and arrived there before anyone else. She had known I had taken the child, obviously.
Azazel, my dear brother, she made fools of us both.
“You will take your place by our side, Sariel,” said Lucifer. “Indeed, I have picked out a special name for you. Would you like to hear it?”
“I can hardly wait.”
“Belial. It’s another word for ‘discoverer of truth’.”
Or deceiver, depending on the context. “I think I prefer Sariel.”
He laughed. “Belial it is until we reclaim our true names! That will be a glorious day. You’ll also hear us refer to our little group as Satan. It is only fitting, I think, given the circumstances.”
The name did not sit well with me but the others seemed to enjoy it. ‘Satan’ meant to plot against or oppose. It certainly seemed to describe our little conspiracy. I smiled placatingly.
“Now on to business,” said Lucifer. “We know Requel has returned to the Astral spheres. Do you know where she is?”
“I do.”
“Very good. Do you think she will recall where the child is?”
“I believe so, but it hardly matters. I think I know already.”
“Excellent! Where may that be?”
“I cannot tell you.”
Silence fell. Beelzebub folded her arms, almost as if in triumph. Lucifer threw me a sidelong glance. “Cannot or will not, Belial?” he asked softly.
“Will not.”
“Think carefully on your next words,” said Lucifer, his voice almost remorseful. “I shall ask only once more. Where is the child?”
Oh Requel, what I do next I do for you. You were always the best part of me.
“I will never tell you, Lucifer. I will be true to myself from this moment forward until the day I die. I am not part of your little cabal. I could never be. This twisted lot caused countless billions to live in misery. If that is your legacy, your sacred work, then I curse it. I curse you all!”
Asmodeus staggered back as if struck. Mephistopheles scowled and Beelzebub leaned in close, glaring. Lucifer held up his hand. “Do you think to resist our will, brother? You couldn’t possibly. Even if you were at full strength you couldn’t. I will not abide this betrayal. Your words will get you slain, Belial. Is that what you want?”
“My name is Sariel, just as yours is Sammael! A pox on your Belial and your pseudo names born out of failure and guilt. You say you will not abide me? I will not abide you! I don’t need to know God’s will to know that vile monstrosities such as yourselves must be held accountable for what you’ve done. I defy you. I defy you all!”
“Do you think you can challenge me?” Lucifer cried, his body flaring into the horned beast. The others shied away from him. Asmodeus cowered in the corner. “You have no idea the full strength of my might! What you encountered against Mephistopheles is but a trifle against my full power! I will destroy you for this.”
“If you want to destroy me, then you will find me on the ninth! Come Lucifer! Bring your armies, bring your full might. I’ll take you all on!”
“Enough!” said Lucifer. “Seize him.”
I raised my arm to swipe downward and open a portal. Mephistopheles leapt at me before I could complete the motion and grappled me to the ground. Beelzebub tackled me as well, pinning my arms. Asmodeus stared down at me sadly. I struggled against them but it would have been easier to move a mountain. I was still severely weakened by my time in the physical.
“Oh I’m going to enjoy this,” breathed Mephistopheles into my ear. “I may have failed to mention some of the side effects of possession. You see, you’re not as strong as you once were, not physically or spiritually. You never will be again. A side effect of living in the flesh. I admired your prowess in our previous battle. To channel Nature Herself against me? Bravo, Sariel. I learned from that humbling defeat. I can do it now too, but far better. Perhaps I’ll rip you apart with the sheer power of what you have shown me. I think I would like that.”
I struggled vainly against their grip even as my mind reeled at his words about my lack of strength. Did he speak the truth? Was I forever weakened? I certainly felt like it.
Lucifer leaned over me, saddened. “You have hurt me, brother. Deeply. I tell you now I will take my armies to the ninth and ravage it utterly. I know about the fortress there and the paltry band taking refuge within it. I was willing to let them be for your sake but not anymore. I also know Requel is there. We tracked her spirit back. Did you think we would have left anything to chance? Mephistopheles had his doubts about you. I did not. I was never so disappointed to be wrong.” He turned to the others. “Kill him.” He stalked away.
“Gladly,” said Beelzebub. Her arms tightened around my throat. I reached up, trying to pull her hands free. Her strength was endless.
Darkness swirled around my vision.
Requel, I’m sorry my love. I couldn’t protect you. I couldn’t protect our son.
My vision began to fade. The last thing I saw clearly was a poorly fashioned stone necklace wrapped around my right wrist. Requel’s necklace. The one I had discovered after she died the first time.
We’ll find him and take him home. I swear it. My last words, my last promise, to Requel echoed in my ears.
God help me, I would keep my promise.
A low growl escaped my throat and rose to a thunderous rumble. I summoned all my strength and felt it explode within me. Grew weaker? I scoffed at Mephistopheles’ words. I was never stronger. I was Archangel!
And my beloved wife and child waited for me.
I balled my fist and swung. It crunched into Beelzebub’s face. Her grip went slack and I threw her off of me. I surged to my feet, grabbed Mephistopheles’ arm, and flipped him over my shoulder. He fell hard to the floor. I followed it up by dropping my knee into his chest. The breath expelled out of him. The impact of the blow cracked the floor beneath us as if a tremor ruptured the floor.
I rose to my feet. In the corner, I saw my shield and sword. I willed them to me and they obeyed.
Mephistopheles, wheezing and clutching his chest, staggered to his feet and summoned his own blade. I swung at his head with all my might. He countered, silver sparks flying, swinging wildly in return. I ducked. The force of his missed blow blasted a wall outwards behind me, pulverizing stone into a fine vapor.
Beelzebub grabbed my legs. Sharpened teeth bit into my calf. I cried out and pivoted, smashing the bottom edge of my shield into the back of her neck. She slammed into the floor. I stabbed downwards, my blade piercing her chest and into the stone beneath.
“Sariel!” thundered Lucifer, a hulking, looming figure. His arm reared back and a burst of black lightning speared forth. I raised my shield to deflect it. My shield exploded, ripping from my arm. I vaulted backward, blasting through the wall, then another, and still another. I twirled, smashing through more stone walls until I exploded from his palace and spiraled downward to land in the streets below.
Dazed, I lay in a small crater. My wings were crushed, my right leg was bent backwards, and my left arm was useless. With the last of my strength, I willed a portal to open beside me. A colorful meadow lush with tall grass and mountain flowers beckoned from the other side. Grunting against the pain, I rolled into it.
“Sariel, I’m coming for you!” Lucifer’s voice roared after me.
I slammed the portal closed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
I lay on my back awash with dizziness, nausea, and pain. My left hand clutched the remains of my shield, nothing more than a torn handle in my bloodied grip. My right hand still held my sword although I did not know how. With every breath, fresh agony rippled through my torn body.
I never felt better.
The sun, brilliant and beautiful, peeked behind towering silver clou
ds and looked down on me as a loving mother would tend to her child who had fallen ill. I felt the gentle touch of her warm rays and it sent tingling energy coursing through me. How long had it been since my astral eyes beheld the glory of the higher spheres? It seemed like an eternity. There were moments when I feared I would dwell in the darkness of hell forever. The beauty and wonder before me moved me to tears and I could only watch in tender amazement.
I inhaled deeply, despite my protesting body, and fed my starving senses the fresh fragrance of violets, daffodils, and sweet alyssum. Their sublime scents filled my head and brought me to a place of peace. I closed my eyes, letting the gentle breeze sweep over me, absorbing the purity of this untainted place.
This is what Lucifer would destroy without a pang of remorse. This is what I must protect.
I gathered prana from the warm energies surrounding me and pushed them to my crushed wings, my arm, my leg. Slowly, I felt the pain ease, the bones knit, the astral flesh reconnect.
I climbed to my feet and stretched forth my wings. I beat them slowly feeling myself rise off the ground. The joy of flight! How I had yearned for this very moment in my years in the primordial. I lifted my face to the sun, closed my eyes, and climbed higher. I couldn’t remember feeling so free, so like myself of old.
At several hundred feet, I hovered, letting the gentle thermals keep me aloft. The view was spectacular. The ninth was different from the other spheres. It was the culmination of the lower spheres gathered in one place. Here, paradise was truly felt and tasted in its oceans, mountains, deserts, islands, sunsets, sunrises, and cities. It was a land of marvel and wonders and existed as the waypoint to the upper spheres.
Only the higher spheres surpassed the ninth in beauty but each of those spheres leaned towards a unique characteristic. Lush earth filled the tenth; oceans dominated the eleventh; sun-drenched and tropical lands permeated the twelfth; eyrie heights filled the thirteenth; cosmic beauty filled the fourteenth; the holy city where the Seraphim dwelled was on the fifteenth; and then there was the sixteenth.
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