by Daniel Caet
“You,” Becca said without knowing if there was anything else to add.
“Genevieve was my accomplice during the entire time you were in that house, making it easier for me to visit you and not be permanently away from your life. Her attempts to have a life as normal as possible included that you could have a father and a mother. Unfortunately, the angels found you before that dream could come true and, although she managed to make you safe, that made Sadith and Liliath definitively take you away from us all.”
That explanation left Becca breathless and she had to sit on the floor. How many people had made decisions on her behalf throughout her life? How many people had tried to do their best for her and deep down they had made terrible mistakes? Becca could not help feeling a pawn, a toy in the hands of others who, despite good intentions, had ended up taking her from one place to another. But that was over. Those months of danger, death and lies had changed her. Now she felt she owned her life, a life that belonged only to her and would not allow anyone else to handle it.
“I'm sorry. It was not my intention to upset you in any way,” Helel said almost in a whisper.
“Of course, I'm sure it wasn't. And what was it, Helel? Surely you did not intend to show yourself to me as the most loving father who has always been with me in the shadow. Surely you did not intend to convince me that you are the only person who deserves my trust with the intention of voluntarily helping you in your purposes and locating the sword for you, right?”
“Is that what you really think?” Helel said, raising his voice visibly angry to the point that Becca was slightly scared. “Do you think the only thing that worries me is that? So you really haven't understood anything.”
“And what do you want me to think then? What other reason do you have to tell me all this now?” replied Becca, raising her voice equally.
“I'm dying!” Helel's eyes looked directly at Becca's with a seriousness that froze her blood and prevented her from responding for a few seconds.
“That ... that's impossible. You are inmortal!”
“No, I am not. Have you not learned anything from the volumes that I sent you? I am human, Rebecca, as human as you or any other poor mortal. The only reason I have lived so many years has been, first because of the little that remained of an angel in me, and then because of the energy that flows through this river, but my body cannot hold anymore. As a pair of old shoes comes a time when they can no longer be repaired, this body cannot stand much more. I tried to stay away from you so that you were safe, but your eagerness to find me has made me realise that I was wrong. The energy of hell that filled your mother's body and mine was transferred to you from the day you were conceived. Have you not wondered why your power is so great, why can you do things that not even Liliath or Sadith or myself are capable of doing? It is simply because the energy of the underworld runs through your veins as pure and intense as it does through this river, Rebecca. That's why I wanted to bring you here. Not for you to give me the sword, the instrument of my revenge. But to promise me that you will culminate that revenge for me and that you will free my father from his prison so that he can fix this disaster that his children have made of his creation. And for you to do that I need you to rise to your true self, to embrace who you are and what you are. I need you to become the new queen of hell!”
Truth
“But, have you lost your mind?” Becca asked, almost unable to give credit to what she heard. “Do you really think I'm going to accept a proposal like that?”
“It's not a proposal, Rebecca, it's a reality, you can't run away from who you are!”
“Who I am? What do you know who I am?” Becca shouted, her indignation growing by the minute. “You are not different from everyone else, you are only interested in your own life, your own history. You are obsessed with your revenge, you are only looking to return the damage that you think they have done to you and you are willing to do everything for it, even if that means sacrificing your own daughter.”
“You cannot hide from the creature of power that you are, Rebecca, you are a unique being, there is no one else in this world who accumulates so much power and it is essential that you embrace that power with open arms, that you surrender to it, otherwise it will kill you. That is if Abaddon and his people do not do it before. Why do you think Abaddon has been trying to locate and eliminate you all this time? He feels threatened by the power you harbour, and there is nothing more dangerous than a cornered lion. It was you who asked me for help to get rid of all those who try to kill you, remember?”
“That speech is the same one that Liliath gave me a few months ago, that I should learn to control my power so that it doesn't control me, for my own safety. It seems that you have finally agreed on something.”
“And don't you wonder why your two parents want the same for you? Do you think any of us would do something that would harm you?”
Becca did not know what to answer for a few moments, her head was spinning, not at Helel's proposal, but at how he had used the term parents. She had gone from having no one in the world to be surrounded by people who considered themselves entitled to decide for her. During her existence she had been accused many times of not wanting to get out of her confort zone and now, once again, it was her own family who wanted to revert that. Becca could feel the energy that came from the river Styx, an energy that filled everything and that was immediately answered by such an energy inside her, an energy that made her feel great. Gone was the little Becca, a coward, who did not want changes in her existence. Above all, this Becca felt free. Free to say no. Free to send to hell all those who wished to control her or considered themselves entitled to decide for her. Free to run away. She didn't even say anything. She didn't even have to think about it. Suddenly her body was no longer there, with her father, by the river. In a second, less perhaps, she was in the throne room, at the foot of the stairs, in the same place where she had appeared with Helel a few hours earlier.
“Rebecca, stop!” the voice of Helel that had appeared behind her rang out. “You have no way out of here, so please wait, let me explain you.”
“Actually, you've already done it, Father,” Becca replied cold as ice. “Much better than you think. You have asked me to embrace my power, to accept who I am and, in fact, I have just realised that I have done it a long time ago. I accepted it the day that the school I was locked in burned out in response to the threats of a stupid girl who was only guilty of not seeing beyond her nose. That day my power was deployed around me to defend myself, to ensure my survival. I lacked control, it is true, understanding of what was the root of that power, but that is something that you and my mother have given me, at least that. I already know who I am, Helel. I am Lucifer’s daughter. But I am not Lucifer.”
Those words were reciprocated by Helel with silence and with a smile that Becca thought was of understanding if not of acceptance.
“By the way, father,” she said, savouring every syllable of that word. “You said it yourself. I am one with this place, with its energy. There are no doors in hell that can stop me.” And then her body disappeared and there was only the echo of Helel's voice shouting her name.
Becca appeared again in the Cathedral in Liege, in the center of the nave. As soon as she appeared she could hear the familiar voices of Liliath, Sadith and Charice who called her by her name as they came running towards her and asked if she was well. Becca headed towards them down the central aisle of the cathedral telling them she was fine, but what happened next took place too quickly for her brain to realise what it was. A dark shadow appeared before her, preventing her from advancing and with a deep and sweet voice it addressed her.
“Hi, Rebecca, it was time we met!”
And then the night flooded everything around her.
Her eyes tried to open and Becca could swear they had succeeded, but the darkness around her did not dissipate a bit. She could hear her own breathing, feel on her face the heat of the air her body exhaled, although the rest of he
r felt the cold around. Her brain went through her body trying to identify the state she was in and found that she felt no pain, which calmed her. She was sitting on some low backless structure, but her hands were tied behind her back. The feet were free and she extended them slightly to check that there were no other elements around her. Immediately her mind focused on hearing. Nothing. The most absolute silence. She tried to struggle with her hands in the hope that the ties would loosen, but they were perfectly adjusted. She considered for a moment to get up and try to get somewhere, but the idea of having to face the darkness without knowing what could surround her made her give up the idea. It seemed that she had no choice but to wait for her captors to decide to do something with her, but fortunately it was not long before a door opened and the room she was in was filled with light, enough to see that it was a tiny space built in wood with a high ceiling in which the beams that supported it could be seen and that seemed to be used as a warehouse given the hodgepodge of all sort of things that had been deposited on the floor.
Becca turned her gaze to the door where a relatively low and chubby figure had appeared and blocked the much desired light. The figure entered the room and untied Becca's hands, giving her time to get her eyes accustomed to the new luminosity and she could see that it was an asian man, dressed in a kind of kimono and slippers made of something that resembled esparto. The man, far from looking like a kidnapper, smiled at her and indicated with his hands to follow him outside. Becca obeyed wondering where he would take her, but knowing that she had no alternative. When she left the room she saw that in reality it was a small building in itself, completely isolated in the center of a large beautiful garden like none that she had seen before that was formed by several terraces that had been created taking advantage of the unevenness presented by the ground. A stone path traveled them down to a great lake that could be seen in the distance. Becca looked around for a way to escape as soon as she had the chance, but the garden was surrounded by huge trees that occupied everything as far as the eye could see, turning it into a kind of enclosure. The little man continued walking quickly along the stone path, relentlessly telling her to follow, but without saying a word. The air was cold, so it was not difficult for Becca to accelerate her steps to reach the man and thus get warm. When they finally reached the shore of the lake, a small tree-covered island appeared in front of her, rising in the center. It was located closer to the part of the lake that was furthest from the road and the man urged her again to follow him while he bordered the water clearly heading for that island. When they finally reached the opposite shore, Becca was surprised to find that, in reality, the distance that separated the island from the shore of the lake was very small, so much so that a small ocher-coloured wooden bridge saved the distance between them. There, on the bridge, a tall figure, dressed in a pure white kimono turned his back on her while feeding large goldfish that swirled in the water around him. The man who accompanied him made a sign that she should cross the bridge and then disappeared. Becca wondered if that was the best time to run away, but not knowing in which direction the exit could be found in that huge garden made her discard the idea and finally her feet went onto the bridge causing the wood to complain loudly, however, the figure did not flinch and continued with his task. Becca doubted whether to continue and approach him, but the man's voice, the same one that had spoken to her in the cathedral, sounded serene and clear.
“You can approach without fear, if I wanted you dead, you would already be.”
“Since I don't know who I'm talking to, at least you could tell me what the hell you want from me,” Becca replied without moving.
The man turned immediately to show her a wide smile. He looked about forty years old, dark and with a certain appeal that accentuated more due to the clothing that he wore.
“I must apologise, I suppose I have lost my manners, but I have assumed that the presentations were not necessary. Hasn't your father told you about me?”
“Abaddon,” Becca replied, knowing that she was not mistaken.
“That's right, I see that my suspicion was true and we are not complete strangers. I've heard a lot about you too, Rebecca. In fact, you have generated a considerable stir among my subordinates with the death of Jofiel, an incredible feat.”
“One I'm willing to repeat at any time,” Becca replied, trying to sound as threatening as possible.
“I fear it would not be so easy for you here, nor with me,” Abaddon replied, laughing openly, “but I appreciate your courage. You have inherited the boldness of your father and the impetus of your mother, that is evident. Tell me something, do you know where we are?”
"Obviously not, since I'm not here on my own free will!”
“You don't even guess it?”
“Considering the look of this place and your beautiful costume, I guess I'm in some corner of Japan.”
“That's right, you guess correctly. You are in Japan, more specifically in Ise Jingu, the temple of the goddess Amaterasu. Although perhaps I should say temples, it is actually a complex of more than one hundred and twenty temples dedicated to the goddess. Would you come with me?”
“No, I will not! I am not interested in any of this, I repeat that I just want to know why I am here, what you want from me.”
“If you could have some patience, I think you would understand me,” said the angel, and Becca thought she could detect some tension in his voice. “It is this way.”
The angel crossed the bridge and led her away from the shore of the lake in the direction of the forest surrounding the garden.
“You'll see Rebecca, this place is very special. Men tend to think that we angels can appear wherever we want, that we can move to our free will. And it is true once we are here, but when it comes to accessing your world we have to use specific places, doors if you prefer, just as you must use them to access the underworld. Those are heaven gates, doors that had to be created on my father’s orders when he entrusted us with the task of taking care of his creation,” he said as they headed down a stone path flanked by lanterns placed on wooden poles that moved away from the garden and went into the forest. “The creation of these doors in specific places in your world was entrusted to a group of angels who were, let’s say, the pioneers among us. One of them was named Aniel.” Abaddon paused as if pronouncing that name had provoked some kind of emotion, but immediately seemed to recover and continued. “Aniel came to this land and fell madly in love with humans, to the point that she decided not to return to heaven and stay and live among them. Humans, meanwhile, saw in Aniel the figure of a goddess who loved and protected them and gave her a new name, Amaterasu, the goddess of heaven. Many were the times when her brothers tried to convince Aniel of her mistake of living among humans, trying to persuade her to return to heaven with them, but her response was always the same, this was her place, among those whom she loved. The years went by and Aniel ended up falling in love with one of those beings that were so important to her, and she had children and these in turn had theirs. Aniel soon began to forget who she was, to lose her angelic nature, contaminated by humans and their mortality. She was not the only corrupted angel, many others of my brothers fell into the same error and, although my father allowed it at first, soon those Nephilim, children of heaven, showed their true nature, perverse and corrupt because they were also children of men. My father, frightened by the danger that threatened his creation, ordered their extermination. Many angels tried to defend their offspring and were equally exterminated. In the case of Aniel, my father was especially cruel and decided to send the angel who had loved her most to execute his punishment, end Aniel and her children. That angel wanted to fulfill my father's orders and eliminate Aniel's children, but she intervened begging him not to. In exchange for his forgiveness, that angel only asked for one thing, that Aniel renounced her love for humans and returned to heaven, to return to him. But Aniel, unable to remember the heat of the heavenly light refused and the angel, broken by the pain of having to snatch
the life of the creature he loved most, had to execute my father's sentence. That angel, unable to get rid of the pain of that death, gave himself up to cause many other deaths, feeling that each of them freed him a little from the burden of Aniel's fate and became the angel of destruction, the bearer of death by divine mandate.”
“You,” Becca indicated in an accusing tone.
“That's right, I was the hand that snatched Aniel's life at my father's command and with it, much of my own,” he replied, his eyes lost in the trees. “The men she loved so much built this temple around the door of heaven that she had created and have since kept her memory, but that love has been only the constant memory that humans were the ones who corrupted her, the only ones responsible for everything that happened.”
“The only one responsible was you! You could have chosen not to do it, I do not have any mercy for you. You decided to choose the easy path!”
“The easy path?” replied the angel, suddenly turning angrily to stare at her with eyes full of rage. “Do you think that living without Aniel has been an easy path for me? Aniel gave up my love and God’s love for you, for disgusting monkeys who consider themselves lords of creation. I tried to reason with her until exhaustion, to make her understand how wrong she was, to make her understand that your love cannot be compared to the love of heaven, but she refused again and again to listen to my reasoning. She was absolutely obsessed with her human lover. A betrayal that heaven could not forgive.”
