by J F Cain
His reply gave Aranes the impression that he wanted to get rid of her, but not because he didn’t want to speak to her. It seemed like he wanted her to go away for another reason.
“Alright, I’ll be in our room,” she replied and, without asking for an explanation, she headed for the door.
Lucifer’s expression turned contemptuous.
“What’s the matter? Afraid of finding out the truth?”
His certainty seemed odd to Abaddon. Unscrupulous lies were in the Dark Lord’s nature, but he wouldn’t say something that could be verified easily and so immediately.
“Aranes …” he called commandingly.
She turned to look at him, bewildered by his tone.
“Yes?”
“I wanted to ask you about what Kadu said. Can a place really be concealed so that other beings cannot see it?”
Aranes had been expecting that question from her sharp-witted partner sooner or later.
“It’s not common, but it can be done,” she answered guardedly.
Abaddon sensed uneasiness in her stance, as if she was trying to avoid giving a clear answer.
“And who has this ability?” he asked, his intense gaze pinned on hers.
Aranes hesitated for a moment. Her partner had an exceptional memory. How could he have forgotten such an important piece of information? Perhaps he was asking for another reason.
“Come on, Aranes, say it,” Lucifer urged her, with an imperceptible trace of anxiety in his voice.
“The Eternal Source,” she responded, as if having heard the Demon.
The Dark Lord’s lips spread in a victorious smile and he turned to look at his rival. Abaddon was barely able to keep the unpleasant surprise from showing on his face and in his aura.
“Alright, we’ll talk later,” he said blankly. That explains why you were in such a rush to send the Exorcists away, my love.
Aranes nodded and left the room. She had realized why her partner hadn’t wanted to discuss it with her.
“Are you convinced now?” Lucifer asked with obvious satisfaction.
The Celestial tried to justify the indisputable reality. No matter what the truth was, he wouldn’t let his enemy enjoy the victory.
“I’m sure there was a very important reason why that happened,” he declared. Maybe it has something to do with me being tested.
The father of lies slipped his hands out of his pants pockets and flung his arms out as if surprised that it wasn’t obvious to him.
“Of course! The Source wants to take her away from you. It’s an insult to It for a Dark Angel to touch the most magnificent entity It has created till now.”
“If that were the case, It wouldn’t have allowed her to be incarnated on Earth for my sake,” said Abaddon calmly.
His apparent calmness didn’t fool the Lord of Darkness. He was sure that the Supreme Authority’s stance bothered the Celestial. And this was a very good opportunity for him to sow the seeds of doubt.
“She was forced to do it to create a new being. The child that Aranes is carrying inside her will have powers that none of us possess. But it will be neither Angel nor human. And, of course, it will also have its father’s dark nature,” he pointed out with hidden pride. “In Its efforts to fight me, It has created a crossbreed whose evolution even It cannot predict.”
Abaddon shot up from the armchair and, approaching the Demon, assumed his armored ethereal form. He grabbed him from the lapels of his black jacket and they both vanished from the sitting room.
CHAPTER 20
Abaddon and Lucifer appeared on the shore of a lake nestled among tall, snowy-peaked mountains.
The Celestial punched Lucifer, making him stumble backward.
“You called my child a crossbreed?” he asked in a fiendish voice unfitting for an Angel.
The Dark Lord had to summon all his self-control not to punch him back.
“Abaddon, I’m not the one who did it,” he protested, looking offended.
The Angel conjured his swords and glared at him.
“Neither did the Source. You’re a liar!” he shouted and leaped into the air.
Lucifer saw the enraged Celestial swooping down on him and realized that he would be taking out his anger at the Primordial Power on him. He thought that this was really unfair. It was also unacceptable for him, the greatest Demon, to be playing the role of an Angel, showing tolerance and forbearance. Forced to suffer this humiliation too, he conjured his armor and sword. He considered himself the most powerful Ethereal, but prudence demanded caution. He didn’t know what he would be facing from an evolving entity that drew unknown powers directly from the Source. Even if the rumors about the powers bestowed by Aranes’ secret name were exaggerated, it would be wise not to risk it.
Abaddon swung his red blades down on Lucifer’s sword, propelling it downwards. The Demon retreated, making it clear he didn’t want to fight.
“The truth might hurt, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” he said, his tone practically friendly.
“The truth here is that you are the worst entity ever created,” the Dark Angel retorted scornfully and attacked again.
“Maybe the problem is that I am also the Source’s creation,” Lucifer replied as he parried the next attack.
Abaddon lowered his left sword, aiming for the Demon’s knee.
“It didn’t give you your arrogance. You developed that all on your own.”
A seasoned fighter, Lucifer intercepted the blade and immediately twisted his sword to block the second one heading for his right shoulder.
“Even if that were true, why didn’t It forgive me like It did Aranes?” he asked, his voice betraying that it bothered him.
The fact that the Dark Lord had the audacity to compare himself with the Superior of the Angels and to constantly underestimate his intelligence enraged Abaddon even more.
“She never behaved in that way,” he growled.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lucifer said resentfully. He evaded yet another of the Celestial’s attacks and drove him back to give himself the chance to speak. “She obviously didn’t tell you that to keep you alive she broke the Rule that forbids us to intervene in a mortal’s death.”
The Dark Angel began to circle his rival, the threat of another attack burning in his fierce gaze. Lucifer mimicked him, tracing an imaginary circle, ready to parry the next strike.
“I knew you would end up accusing Aranes,” Abaddon said scornfully. “Sorry to disappoint you, but she’s told me.”
The great slanderer hadn’t expected that. He regarded his rival suspiciously. It was obvious he wasn’t lying to cover his partner.
“Since when is truth considered accusation?” he asked, adroitly manipulating the discussion.
“Since it’s come out of your mouth,” the Celestial replied through gritted teeth and charged again.
Lucifer warded off the one blade and with his free hand managed to grab Abaddon’s wrist. The Angel shoved the Demon so that he fell back onto the pebbles along the shore and, as he tried to force his blades down to his rival’s throat, he swept him into the lake. The serene waters mirroring the snowy mountain peaks were suddenly disturbed as the two hyperdimensional entities rocketed across its surface. Their passage caused the water to split violently, creating large waves that spread out in lines.
The Dark Lord struggled to keep the ever approaching red blades away from him. They had reached the opposite shore when he reacted decisively: he pushed against Abaddon, who was dragging him along, and once they had stopped he kicked his opponent in the stomach. The Angel flew back a small distance and landed on his feet. Seeming unaffected by the blow, he looked at the Demon who was getting up and charged him again.
In the heat of the battle, neither of them noticed the Ethereal who was watching them from afar, hidden in the dense forest. The Archangel Uriel glowed in his armor and long white skirt, enveloped in his shining aura. His shoulder-length straight brown hair framed
his beautiful pale face, and his blue eyes were pinned on the two entities who were resolving their differences on the far shore of the lake.
Gabriel appeared next to him in his ethereal form, also enveloped in his radiant energy field, which—like the other Ethereals’—became visible in the physical dimension because of the difference in the supernatural energy’s vibrations.
“Do you know who it is?” asked Uriel, without taking his eyes off the skirmish on the lakeshore.
“It’s Abaddon,” said Gabriel, watching his old friend sadly.
Uriel regarded the entity fighting with the Celestials’ eternal enemy more carefully.
“It doesn’t look like him. Only his weapons and his fighting technique remind me of the commander of the Defenders.”
“Some things about him have changed,” Gabriel commented vaguely.
“They seem to be fighting about the Superior,” said Uriel. He turned and looked at his spiritual brother with questions burning in his bright eyes. “Is what they are saying true?” he asked, knowing that Gabriel was close to the leader of the Dark Angels.
“Abaddon, yes. As for Lucifer, I don’t think any more needs to be said.” Gabriel dragged his gaze away from the duelers and turned to the Archangel. “Why are you here?”
“I followed Lucifer. His absence from current events caught my attention. I assumed he was up to something.”
So you’ve listened to their entire conversation, Gabriel thought. “He’s always up to something,” he observed blankly, as if the Fallen’s activities were of no concern to him. What interested him more was the fact that yet another Archangel had found out about the Source’s actions, most likely because It willed it.
“Is this why the Superior has been away? She was incarnated on Earth and conceived a child with Abaddon?” Uriel asked with confusion written on his face.
Gabriel simply nodded.
“I don’t understand,” the other Archangel said, disquieted. “How did the Source permit this to happen?”
“It always works in mysterious ways.”
Uriel’s mind couldn’t fathom the revelations.
“Are you certain it was Its choice?”
“I find it hard to think of a single decision the Superior has made that hasn’t been Its own,” Gabriel answered confidently.
“My brother, what are you saying?” Uriel protested, looking vexed. “The Superior has free will, just like all of us.”
“I wonder how free it actually is,” Gabriel replied with composure.
Uriel stared at his spiritual brother speechlessly. The news had shocked him, and so had the fact that their freedom of choice was in doubt. He didn’t know how to handle the situation, especially the doubt shown toward their Creator.
“We have adjusted to many changes in order to perform our duty, but this is going overboard. We’re talking about the Superior, here!” he said, unable to believe his ears. “I’m going to convene the other Archangels. We have to find out what is going on,” he added with determination.
“I will be there,” Gabriel replied tersely. When Uriel’s presence had faded away, he turned toward the two duelers once again. “Nothing remains secret forever,” he muttered and followed the other Archangel to Elether, watching until the very last moment as the commander of the Defenders launched yet another attack against the Lord of Darkness.
Lucifer deflected the flaming swords and stepped back to put some distance between them.
“This clash is pointless,” he shouted with irritation. “I’ve nothing to gain from accusing Aranes. Just the opposite, I feel compassionate toward her because she doesn’t understand that the Source is using her.”
“I’ll convey your concerns to her. I’m sure she’ll appreciate your interest,” Abaddon replied caustically.
The Fallen shook his head as if pitying the Angel for his blindness to the truth.
“The Source has used both of you, Abaddon, and now It wants to split you up. As soon as the child is born, It will take them away and leave you here on your own. You can’t be so stupid that you don’t see that!”
“Aranes will never permit something like that. She loves me!” the Dark Angel retorted angrily.
Lucifer picked up a faint trace of doubt in his voice.
“I hope that her love for you is stronger than her devotion to the Power she serves,” he replied condescendingly.
His aura began to swirl around him and grow denser until it became a dark cloud that cloaked his form entirely and he passed silently into the invisible dimension. Abaddon was left alone on the lakeshore. The Demon’s last words were stuck in his brain.
He assumed his human form and returned to his room in the castle. He slipped his hands in his pants pockets—acting relaxed so that it wouldn’t show that he had just returned from a battle with the Lord of Darkness—and stood by the fireplace, near the armchair where Aranes was sitting.
“So, what did you want to discuss?” he asked calmly.
“Firstly, about the concealment,” she replied, setting aside the other matters on her mind for the time being.
Abaddon shrugged.
“I don’t think we have anything to say about that.”
“I had spoken to you about the Source’s capabilities and how It operates,” his mentor persisted, regarding him with her probing gaze.
“I remember that. I just didn’t expect It to cover the Demons so that they could kill Guardians,” Abaddon returned sarcastically.
As always, Aranes regarded his attitude with understanding.
“There is no battle without loss. What really bothered you is that you couldn’t prevent their death.”
The Dark Angel didn’t think this was the right time for psychoanalysis. No doubt, Lucifer was watching him and he would prefer if his enemy didn’t find out his weaknesses.
“I can’t prevent anything. The events are beyond my control,” he said neutrally.
Aranes had pinned her gaze on his, trying to guess his thoughts.
“Even if that is sometimes the case, I explained to you that how such events turn out depends on you.”
“And you also explained that the Source never does anything without a reason. The problem is that no one knows Its reasons,” he remarked.
“Abaddon, I wouldn’t want you to misinterpret Its actions,” Aranes said with an utterly serious expression on her face.
“There is nothing to misinterpret. It’s obvious that It is doing everything necessary to further Its plans,” he responded, so impassively that neither Aranes nor Lucifer, who was listening in on the discussion, could figure out how he truly felt about the Supreme Authority. “And since we’re on the subject of Its plans … I was wondering what our child is going to be,” he went on as indifferently as he could.
“A beautiful creature with unique abilities,” she replied, watching him carefully.
Abaddon arched an eyebrow.
“What do you mean by ‘unique’?”
His persistence convinced Aranes that he hadn’t been alone in the sitting room before. Lucifer had approached him again at an emotionally vulnerable moment. The Dark Lord’s behavior was so predictable that she would have realized it even if her partner was trying to hide it.
“I’m not precisely sure. You see, it’s the first time that such an entity will be born,” she said with total honesty.
Abaddon’s inscrutable gaze was still pinned on hers.
“I would really like to know what lies behind this. Why does the Source want to create a new species?”
“Nothing in the universe remains constant; everything evolves. Our child will be part of that evolution,” Aranes explained.
“And what nature will it have?” Abaddon slipped one hand out of his pocket and made a questioning gesture. “I mean, will it be an Angel or human?”
A smile formed on the lips of the mother-to-be.
“It will be both. I assume that its powers will exceed ours.”
“In other words, a crossbre
ed,” said Abaddon with displeasure in his voice.
The smile faded from Aranes’ lips. The unacceptable description of their child told her who Lucifer had used to turn her partner against her and the Source. She stood up, took the few steps separating them, and looked at him sadly.
“Abaddon, what are you saying? This child was created by our love, not some sick mind in a lab.”
The Dark Angel had never seen his partner so grieved. He quickly slipped his other hand out of his pocket and wrapped her in his arms.
“You’re right, forgive me. The fact that you’re leaving has upset me,” he explained, caressing her hair. He was sorry he was worrying her, but it was important for him to find out how true Lucifer’s claims were. “For how long will you have to stay at the Exorcists’ fortress?” he asked without showing his frustration.
“Until I give birth.”
He pulled back slightly to look at her.
“And after?”
“It depends on what has happened by then.”
The diplomatic reply made it clear to Abaddon that his partner didn’t want to discuss the matter, at least not now that he was feeling down. That meant that the Dark Lord had guessed the Sovereign Power’s intentions correctly.
“Why is the Source forcing you to leave my side, especially now that you’re giving birth?” he asked straight out. That was the question eating at him and he had to find out without delay. The explanation of the trials they would both have to face wasn’t enough. He felt that It had something else in mind. As for Lucifer, he didn’t care if the Demon concluded that he had influenced him. In fact, that would serve him well in the future.
“I decided this on my own,” Aranes replied.
“Is that so?” His expression was plainly disbelieving.
“No matter what I say, I won’t change what you’re thinking.”
“It’s obvious why,” Abaddon pointed out melancholically.
Aranes regarded him silently, a shadow of sorrow reflected in her silver eyes.
“Sometimes silence speaks louder than words, my love,” he added and he let her go in a gesture that betrayed his disappointment.
“Words are necessary in separate beings, Abaddon. We are one,” she returned almost pleadingly.
