Divinity Falling

by Nour Zikra

  “I don’t understand what happened. Everything was fine.”

  “No, Addy,” Reed said, “things weren’t fine.”

  Unlike me, Reed liked to drive at the speed limit, mostly because I’d taught him to be safe and not imitate me. In fact, whenever I drove him around, I almost always abided by the law. Even now, in the middle of an apocalypse, he chose to drive with caution.

  Along the road, a line of offices, including a post office and a photography studio, all had “Closed” signs. Only one diner had its doors open. Driving by, I wondered if the people inside the diner felt as clueless as I did. When I peered through the window, I saw only the owner. Keys in her hand, she shut off the lights and walked out as I watched.

  I sighed. “Please tell me what happened.”

  Reed scratched his head and looked through the rearview mirror at his angel. “Um, so you know how I told you things died down after the shooting at my school? Well, I lied.”

  “You what?”

  He kept his eyes on the road, but I could tell his attention was fully on me. “Just, don’t get mad. You needed to rest, and so I told a small lie.”

  “That’s not a small lie, Reed!”

  “So, um, after the school shooting, people started ambushing other people on the streets with weapons. Just all kinds of things. Guns, knives, rifles. Heck, even fire. It was all over the news at that point.”

  “Why didn’t I know about this? You should’ve told me!”

  He shrugged and took a left turn. “I wanted you to rest and I kind of . . .” He mumbled something under his breath.

  “What was that?”

  “I kind of joined the fighting.”

  I jumped in my seat. The seat belt jammed in place, pulling me back down.

  “What the hell, Reed! Why would you ever do that?”

  “Because this is a war, and I don’t want to sit back and let them win.”

  Adjusting the seat belt, I sat forward, frowning at my brother. “But there are others fighting. Why would you put yourself in danger?”

  “If everyone had that mentality, no one would fight, and we’d all die.”

  He was right, but I felt a knot in my stomach. My baby brother shouldn’t have had to do that. Besides, he had already gone to hell and come back this week. Wasn’t that enough?

  “I’m fighting for all of us.” I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. “Don’t risk your life.”

  The car stopped. When I opened my eyes, we were at a red light. The street was empty, just like everywhere else we drove. I could see signs of conflict everywhere. Broken store windows. A few smashed cars on the side of the road. Blood coating an American flag outside a bank. I felt like we were in a zombie movie.

  Reed reached over to wipe my tears. “I’m not a little kid anymore, Ade. If you’re fighting, I want to fight with you.”

  After that, we drove in silence for a while. I didn’t know where Reed was taking us, but I felt safe knowing Madadel was there. Although I wanted to punch the angel half the time, he’d managed to keep Reed safe since I’d brought him back from hell. So far, I couldn’t deny that he was useful.

  Ten minutes into not speaking, I said, “If people are fighting in the streets, where are they now?”

  “They’ve been moving all over the place. Once it ends somewhere and the innocent go down, people take their weapons and go to the next block.”

  “Kids were playing in the park just before the station exploded. Did they not know?”

  “It’s just like with the cops. A lot of news anchors were turned into demons, providing false news. This morning they said it was safe to go out again. When people don’t know any better, they’ll trust the media without question.”

  “Adelaide?” Madadel inched forward in his seat. When he looked at me, his eyes were flickering with awe. “Michael thinks you should return to your childhood home.”

  Reed peered over his shoulder at the long-haired angel. “Who’s Michael?”

  “The archangel,” I said. “Why would he want me to go back there? It’s all burned up.”

  A smile danced on Madadel’s lips. “Or is it?”

  H

  All three of us stood in front of the beige house with the brown roof and dead lawn. Erica’s house. It looked the way it had for years, as if a fire had not burned everything yesterday.

  Two houses down, the neighbor’s dog kept growling, his voice audible throughout the street. I felt like he was barking at us, or maybe at Erica’s house. Either way, I couldn’t blame him. I was in the growling mood myself; if only that was an acceptable thing to do for a human.

  I chewed on my bottom lip and frowned. “This doesn’t make sense. That house was on fire. I swear!” I nudged Reed. “Am I going insane?”

  Reed blinked at me several times before making up his mind. “No, but this week is insane. I mean, I spent a month in hell. Now that’s insane.”

  “Should we go in?”

  Madadel clasped his hands behind his back, his wings tucked on either side of him. “Michael wants us to go in.”

  “Is Michael still with us?”

  Madadel squared his shoulders. “As a human, the courteous name to call him is ‘Archangel Michael.’ And yes, he is here.”

  I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath, “You angels are so petty.”

  Taking a deep breath, I headed to the door. Reed followed beside me. When we reached the front steps, I stopped and evaluated my decision to come here. Was it wise, returning to the scene of the crime? To the place where Erica had neglected us and where she had been a demon this entire time? Was it the safest choice we could make? No, it certainly was not.

  But we needed to find out why the house looked undamaged. If Michael—Archangel Michael—wanted us here, then there were probably answers inside.

  “Okay.” I tried the handle and, surprisingly, the door creaked open.

  Taking Reed’s hand, I stepped in. Reed appeared calm and comfortable, reminding me that he didn’t mind coming back here as much as I did. He had chosen to remain in contact with Erica, after all. I’d never understood his ability to forgive her, especially not now.

  “Please don’t let go of my hand,” I said. “I’m honestly scared.”

  He squeezed my hand. “I won’t.”

  The living room hadn’t changed a bit. On our right was the suede chaise lounge Reed and I had colored on with crayons as kids, and that Erica made us clean for an hour afterward. The champagne curtains on the front window hung in place, no sign of any burns.

  “I swear I saw the house burn.” I pointed at the curtains. “Those things were the first to go. When I opened the door, I nearly died from how strong the fire was.”

  “I believe you.”

  “Perhaps,” said Madadel, “you should not worry so much about the fire, and instead concentrate on the house.”

  Staring down the hall, I eyed my old bedroom door. “What do you mean?”

  “Does nothing stand out to you?”

  Same furniture. Quiet house. Nothing out of place. Seeing the ceiling fan spin at a slow speed was strange, but it wasn’t that unusual.

  Reed, seeming to have the same thought process, said, “What’s supposed to stand out? Nothing’s changed in years.”

  Madadel made himself comfortable on the chaise lounge. He propped his legs up and wrapped his wings around him. “I was told not to interfere with Adelaide’s journey.” Slouching lower, he closed his eyes. “She must figure this out on her own. However, I will say this: What you are looking for is under the surface and cannot be seen with the human eye.”

  I rubbed my forehead. “What?”

  Madadel didn’t respond. I eyed him for a second, wanting to strangle him. He didn’t move, and I wondered if angels slept.

  Shrugging it off, I nudged Reed again. “Let’s keep going.”

  We walked down the hall. I caught my breath when we st
opped in front of my room. Reed looked at me, hesitating. When I didn’t say anything, he opened the door. Seeing the twin-size bed I left four years ago, I tensed. My old posters were gone, along with the childhood toys I’d left behind.

  “She threw everything out,” I said. I wasn’t mad, but a sense of loss hit me. “I know it’s stupid to feel sad over little things like this, especially when I have bigger problems to worry about, but I just can’t help it. She’s taken so much from me, and now this.”

  “Let’s not think about that now. You said this is war, right? In war, we’ve got to put our fears and problems aside.”

  “You’re right.” I let go of his hand and strode into my old room. “It’s just so crazy being back here.”

  Above my bed, the window was shut and the blinds were drawn, making the room look somewhat dim. I walked over and pulled the blinds aside. Bright light shone in.

  That was when I saw it. In the corner of the wooden headboard, about the size of my fist, lurked a burn mark.

  “Look.” I pointed at the blackened wood, my hand shaking. “It was charred in the fire, Reed. That wasn’t there before. I knew I saw this house burn.”

  Reed examined the mark. He put his fingers on it and immediately jumped back, yelping in pain.

  “Are you okay? What happened?”

  He puffed at his hand. “It’s hot!”

  I followed in his steps and touched the burn mark. Rather than feeling heat, a chill traveled down my body. The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end. I gasped and squeezed my eyes shut.

  “Addy?” Reed put his hand on my shoulder. “Addy, let go! What are you doing? Let go!”

  “I can’t.”

  “You’re going to burn your hand.”

  “No, I won’t. It feels cold to me.”

  Behind my closed eyelids, a spark of light appeared. It wasn’t vibrant, but it let me see movement, reminding me of the vision I had when Lucifer gave me his blood water.

  “I’m seeing something.”

  “What?”

  My eyes narrowed in on the movement. I saw a round-bellied woman walking into a room with her hands resting on her lower back. Short of breath, she sat down on a couch, raised her feet, and closed her eyes. She rubbed and rubbed her big belly. When I focused on her face, I recognized her immediately.

  “It’s Erica . . . Pregnant Erica.”

  She looked so young. She could’ve passed as my sister with only a year’s difference between us. For the longest time, I stared at her face and belly, mesmerized. Was I the one she carried, or was it Reed? Although Reed was born after me, I couldn’t remember Erica pregnant with him. I’d seen a few pictures showing me hugging her stomach while Reed was a fetus, but being two years old at the time made it hard to cling to those memories.

  Reed was still next to me, his hand where it had been this whole time, on my shoulder. He nudged me now. “What else do you see?”

  Once he said that, I noticed Erica moving her lips. My vision’s lens moved around until I discovered to whom she was speaking. Not far from her feet stood a man with long black hair and solid-black eyes. His face bore no expression.

  “Lucifer,” I said, gritting my teeth.

  “What is he doing there?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Lucifer offered something to Erica. While she admired the item, Lucifer pierced his thumb with what looked like a needle.

  Realization hit me. “I think he’s doing the same thing he did to me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think he’s making Erica drink his blood.”

  My eyes homed in on the item in Erica’s hand. Sure enough, it was the wooden chalice with the snake engraving spiraled around the circumference.

  Erica brought the cup to her lips and drank deeply. Cringing, I shifted my vision’s lens to her belly. I felt certain she was carrying me inside her. Lucifer would not be in the picture otherwise.

  She handed the chalice back to Lucifer and threw her head back. A second later, her stomach shoved this way and that, the baby kicking violently. Erica rubbed her hand against her belly, but the fetus would not rest.

  A twinge of pain in my chest made me cry out. I reached for Reed and gripped his hand.

  “What’s going on?” he said. “Addy, you’re scaring me!”

  “It’s poisoning the baby!” Moisture descended my cheeks, and I screamed. Every time the baby kicked, my chest burned. “It’s poisoning me.” My body shuddered.

  “Addy, let go! Get out of there.”

  “I can’t. I need to see everything.”

  “But it’s hurting you.”

  Ignoring Reed, I tried to control the pain and dim it down. I looked back at Erica and found her screaming, too. Although I couldn’t hear her, her wide mouth and red, agonized face told me what I needed to know. “Oh, God, I think she’s giving birth.”

  “Addy, please . . .”

  “I’m fine.” I wasn’t, but I didn’t want him to worry.

  I pushed through the pain and tried my hardest to see what this vision was trying to tell me.

  Looking around, I noticed Lucifer was gone. He had done his part as a father. That left Erica screaming alone as the baby kicked. I couldn’t help it; in that moment, I felt sorry for her. Her worth had been tied to Lucifer’s agenda of creating me this whole time.

  Through a blur of pain, the baby finally came. Erica stopped crying and closed her eyes. Her entire body surrendered to unconsciousness.

  Pain left me. The baby, covered in blood, lay on her face at the end of the couch with the umbilical cord still tied to Erica. For a few seconds, she didn’t cry.

  Someone appeared in the vision, taking in the scene with obvious rage and immediately snatching the baby up. It took me a moment to realize the figure was Grandma Di with her bob haircut. Seeing her made me relax.

  Somehow, my grandma managed to cut the umbilical cord like an expert and wrap the baby in a towel. In return, the baby opened her eyes and blinked at her before letting out a wail. I still couldn’t hear the sound, but it vibrated inside my head like a distant memory.

  Erica did not look at the baby. She glanced to the side, her eyes moving past Grandma Di.

  I watched until there was no more to see. Then I withdrew my fingers from the burned headboard. Just before my physical contact ended, the baby in the vision doubled. Somehow, there were two babies, side by side, in Grandma Di’s arms.

  The second baby looked unusual, though. It had a veiny red body, practically skeletal. Its unblinking eyes looked pitch-black, just like Lucifer’s.

  Grandma Di didn’t seem to notice the second infant. It took me a second to realize, but the baby wasn’t physically there. Unlike the original baby, I could see right through it, like a ghost.

  And this wasn’t the first time I’d seen this monster.

  My fingers came off the headboard.

  Reed tilted his head to see me better. “What happened?”

  I sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at my brother. “I have a twin.”

  Reed’s eyes grew wide. “What?”

  “It’s not human. It’s some kind of demonic double.”

  Had it been yesterday or two days ago when I’d seen that veiny demonic thing? I couldn’t tell the days apart anymore. They jumbled together. But I knew I’d seen this monster, this twin. It had grown, like me, except it had become something out of a nightmare. Just as Lucifer had obviously intended when he gave Erica his blood.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  ADRIEL

  Castilla, another fallen angel, landed a punch on my stomach, making me groan. I remembered her from long ago, before she joined Lucifer’s army.

  “I’ve missed you, brother,” she said and punched me again.

  I gritted my teeth. “Can’t say I’ve missed you.”

  Lucifer had had my hands shackled to the ceiling while I stood on two feet, my head slumped. At some
point, someone must have wrapped a cloth around my bleeding forearm to slow down the blood.

  I’d woken up ten minutes ago to Castilla smacking me across the jaw. She’d been singing an old lullaby the angels loved to sing. “Up the hill we go, into the light we go, until our old wings can fly no more.”

  When she saw my eyes flutter open, she landed her first out of many punches, hitting me in the ribs. “Good morning, sweet angel—or should I say, demon.”

  In the midst of a groan, I managed to ask where we were, but she didn’t answer. Either way, it didn’t matter. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open; pain and exhaustion weighed them down, and the white fluorescent light in the room felt far too bright. Still, before my eyes surrendered again, I glimpsed a ripped punching bag hanging from the wall ten feet behind Castilla, and a boxing ring in my peripheral vision.

  “I told you once to please, come play with me, but you had to leave, leave me and go,” she continued singing. “Now you sit still with your human by your side, and both of us know, you will return once more.” She gripped my cheeks. “I love that song!”

  Her blows went on for what seemed like an eternity while she sang. I didn’t know whether to fall asleep or cry out in pain.

  “Oh, sweet, pretty angel,” she said, slowing down her attacks. “You have strayed so far from home, haven’t you?”

  I opened my soulless eyes to stare at her. “I like where I am.”

  She grinned. “I am sure you do.” She patted my cheek. “You are going to be such a help to us.”

  I saw Lucifer before Castilla did. He approached her from behind, his arms folded. The door he came through closed slowly, letting in a little sunlight.

  A line etched between his brows. “Why have you wrapped his arm, Castilla? I told you to let him bleed out.”

  Castilla cowered and dove back, almost hiding behind me. Unlike the other fallen angels, I realized, she wore a worn-out shirt to cover her scars.

  “Step forward,” Lucifer snarled at her.

  “My lord.” Her eyes stayed on the ground. “I only thought it might be more fun to torture him. Isn’t that what you wanted? To hurt him and get back at Adelaide?”