“Jennifer Deigh Tenney may also help, if she wishes to. I believe she will be more inclined to do so,” Azrael said, changing the expression on David’s face. “I shall explain to you what the situation is in detail, David. For now, all I can offer you is the fact that something grand is brewing behind the Gates of Heaven and Hell. And I assure you that your family, as well as the rest of the mortals, will be involved.”
“What?” David asked, his face fearful.
“We can only stay for a short while in this realm. I must release all of you, but I will transfer your locations to our hiding place,” Azrael announced. She glanced to Caelum and to David. “I ask you to join us to hear out what I offer.”
David looked down at the ground, considering. Caelum watched Azrael, studying the angel. He could not discern whether she was genuine or false. “What you said about me figuring out the truth, what did you mean?”
Azrael turned to him with a knowing smile. “The truth about your human past, Cornelius Wells.”
Chapter Eight: The Devil is the Victim
The air was heavy with the smell of mold and rust. Caelum felt the same pull he often experienced when he used his own shadows to walk through dimensions. With Azrael pulling them all, Caelum, David, the four werewolves, and the reaper arrived in a dark underground tunnel where the group of monsters waited for their leader.
Azrael strode forward with her chin high and back straight. With narrowed eyes, Caelum could see the trace of light illuminated by her invisible wings. Something about her energy, and how she behaved, set Azrael apart from the other angels he had met recently. Curiosity about the Angel of Death teased the mind of the demon. He wondered what the angel knew and what help she could offer him.
With hands buried deep in his pockets, Caelum followed Azrael. Behind him, he felt the eyes of the werewolves, all in their human forms, as he walked as if he belonged there. That's the key to confidence, after all, Caelum thought. Though he couldn't help but notice the other eyes that followed him. Monsters of many shapes littered the tunnel, all eyeing him and the human who struggled to keep up with him. Their eyes looked hungry rather than welcoming. It did not faze the demon, though David reeked of fear.
"What did I get myself into?" David asked him in a hushed voice.
"You're officially joining the monster club," Caelum told him. "Don't worry, you're her guest so I doubt any of them would have the guts to eat you."
"Gee, how reassuring." David frowned. He walked closer to Caelum, trying hard to keep up with the demon’s long strides. “Look, I understand you— things have some business to attend to, and you all think I can help you for some reason. But . . .”
“We don’t really require your help, just the keys to your family’s archives,” Caelum said.
“Whatever.” David rolled his eyes. “But aren’t you supposed to know what’s up better than us humans? I mean, my family has been researching things like you for decades. But don’t you know more by being… well, you?”
“First, please stop referring to us as things. I may have patience with the ignorance of mortals, but not all our companions here do. Besides, it’s just rude,” Caelum warned, making David flush. “Second, creatures like us aren’t exactly a tight-knit family. We don’t always know all the facts about the others. For instance, do you know what your human leader whom you call ‘President’ really does have in mind?”
“Uhm, no…” David admitted, surprised at the political turn of the subject.
“Much like I don’t know what the thing that created me is really planning to do. That’s why I’m hoping that your family’s generations of researchers may have seen and documented something that could point me in the right direction.”
“Oh.” David thought, he could see the logic behind Caelum’s statement. He had to admit that there were some prejudices that all these creatures had a singular mind. Murder, hunger and torture were among the top three. How thrilled would Jenny be to know that there are actually angel and demon politics, he thought, thinking back on his last conversation with his little sister. Another thought hit him, and he pursed his lips at the idea that Jenny may never hear from him again.
The angel they followed stopped in front of a heavy metal door. She turned around, letting her black hair dance in front of them. She looked at the human and the demon she’d invited. “I would like to speak to these two alone.”
David gulped the lump in his throat, but he knew he didn’t have much choice. Better than to be left alone with all these monsters, I guess. He nodded to Azrael. Caelum was already making his way to stand beside the angel, looking confident as always. Without being touched, the metal door slowly swung open, creaking ominously.
“Ladies first,” Caelum offered the angel, who looked at him blankly before stepping inside. The demon followed after, gesturing to David that he should move.
Anxiety filled David at the thought of being trapped in a room with an angel and a demon. Almost sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. He laughed weakly, Caelum looking back at him questioningly. David caught sight of the large and skinny wendigo only a few feet away, and his laughter died as he rushed to duck inside the room.
The room looked to be a maintenance room for the tunnel, with all the equipment cleared out. The walls were bare concrete with an exhaust fan at one corner as its only ventilation. Empty except for an aluminum table at the center with four chairs, it looked like an interrogation room from a horror movie. Caelum moved to take his seat, crossing his legs and placing his elbows on the table, his fingers intertwined. His composure didn’t seem to bother the angel, who moved to take the seat in front of him.
David was left standing by the doorway, unsure of what was expected of him. He made eye contact with the demon, who raised a brow at him and nodded to the chair beside him. With his heart beating in his ears, David awkwardly moved to the chair next to Caelum, tripping on his feet as he did so. Once seated, he exhaled audibly.
“Are you alright, David?” Azrael asked him. “I understand mortals require certain nutrition. Please do not hesitate to request anything that you may need.”
“No, no, no!” David waved his hand and shook his head at the same time. “I- I’m fine. I mean, I was sleepy about thirty minutes ago, but after someone cost me the coffee I was saving up – including my car and the report I was working on – I- I think I’m awake now. Yes.” He nodded with forced enthusiasm, his ramble at an end.
Caelum looked at him. “I was not the one holding the steering wheel.” His annoyance with the human beside him clear.
“Well, if that is all, I believe we can proceed to our discussion.” Azrael leaned forward. “I understand that the mortals are still unaware of the situation between the worlds; therefore, it would be best to explain it to David.”
“Uhm, thanks…” David said, his ears reddening.
“I believe I must inform you of what we, angels, do,” Azrael announced. “Unlike what a majority of your kind believe, we are not merely guardians who protect mortals in the name of God. Most of us have duties far more important than that. A few angels are tasked with guarding the lives of certain mortals who have a duty in the service of either Heaven or the mortal land. But the rest of us are have duties outside of such.
"Unfortunately for all of us, God left many centuries ago. But He left the care of His creations to the angels. Heaven was placed under the rule of the archangels, with the highest authority entrusted to Michael, the second angel."
"Second angel?" Caelum repeated curiously.
"You heard correctly. Michael is the second angel God created, born out of His image. The first angel, on the other hand, was born out of His ideals. 'And God called upon light.'" Azrael quoted. "The First Angel, the Bearer of Light, Lucifer."
David's eyes widened. "Well, that does make sense."
Azrael continued her story. "Michael has been locked away in his chambers for as long as I can remember, letting Raphael deliver his orders. The last time I heard that
Michael appeared before the rest of Heaven was more than three hundred years ago. The very day I began to suspect him." She then turned to Caelum. "It was not long after I met you as a human."
David glanced at Caelum, who had his lips pressed into a thin line. He made no comment, only stared at Azrael, waiting for her to continue.
"I understand that you have read the journal. I saw you write in it many years ago. It was during the plague that killed many in Sweden, do you remember that?" Azrael looked to Caelum.
"Perhaps you’ll refresh my memory."
"I am always present in times of great deaths; wars, plagues and catastrophes. I reap the souls of the victims to end their suffering and listen to their regrets." Azrael's eyes were solemn, as if remembering all the poor souls she’d taken. “That year, I was present when the disease outbreak was started by the war. The plague you were meant to foretell.” She eyed Caelum, who furrowed his brows together.
“So, my assumptions are correct, then?” Caelum asked her. “I—I mean, Cornelius Wells was a prophet of Heaven.”
“Yes.”
“And Ariel was the one who delivered the message to him,” he added. Azrael studied him carefully, alarmed by the mention of the name. There was no point in hiding the truth once it was already out in the open.
“Yes. The angel Ariel was one of those dispatched to Earth to deliver the message of the archangels to the humans. She was meant to warn as many of the humans in the area about the plague through you. However, your fears got the better of you and made you turn away from your responsibility as a prophet.”
Caelum balled his fists tight as the words stung him. But still he kept his silence, much to David’s surprise.
"But that is a past that can no longer be retrieved," Azrael said. "However, it was due to those events that everything was set in motion.”
"How so?" Caelum asked.
"It all started when the angel assigned to you developed unwarranted emotions. The angel, Ariel, fell in love with a mortal man." Azrael's red eyes pierced Caelum's, who set his jaw tight at the implications. "I was not present when Ariel was taken away by Gabriel to be questioned in the court of Heaven, but I heard her verdict. And the day I heard it is the day I began to doubt the archangels.
"Unnecessary desires towards the mortals are considered great sins against Heaven. It tempts lust, greed, and rebellious acts in the name of such desires. The punishment for what Ariel did was meant to be either banishment or death," Azrael clarified. "You already know that neither of those was the punishment she suffered," she said, looking at Caelum.
"Her punishment was imprisonment, and the memories of her crimes were erased," Caelum confirmed.
"Who do you think ordered her punishment to be lessened?"
"Michael." David was the one to answer. Both the angel and the demon eyed him curiously, as if they’d forgotten his presence. He shrugged. "You did say Michael is like the leader of Heaven now, so I assumed."
“You are correct," Azrael said. "It was Michael. There was a great argument in Heaven when Michael insisted on sparing Ariel's life. Most angels were completely loyal to Michael, but Gabriel's loyalty was to God's direct orders. Even I, who remained on Earth at the time, heard about the noise in Heaven when it happened. But in the end, Michael won."
"Was it really so bad that you began to suspect Michael just because he spared her life?" Caelum wondered.
"After the great disorder the last angel who committed such sin started, yes."
"There is another angel who fell in love with a human?" David was interested.
"Yes. We discussed him earlier." Azrael waited for the two to remember. When the truth dawned on their faces, she confirmed their deductions. "Lucifer."
He didn't need to be part of a family of supernatural documentarians to have heard legends about the infamous angel. Lucifer, the one who rebelled against Heaven when God commanded all angels to bow down to the humans, or so the stories say. Other less accurate translations of the story was that Lucifer was merely the Devil, the enemy of God who, for some reason, punished those who disobeyed Him. But for David to hear from an actual angel that Lucifer did love a human? It was like finding out that werewolves had a more feline origin than canine.
"So," David cleared his throat out of nervousness. "You're telling us that Lucifer fell in love with a human?"
"No," Azrael said, confusing the two. "Actually, Lucifer loved all humans."
"Oh," David nodded with bewildered eyes. "All humans, then."
"I don't understand. Why did God banish Lucifer then, if he loved the humans like he was supposed to?" Caelum asked.
"Because he committed a taboo," Azrael said. "He created what the humans refer to as the Nephilim. He fell prey to lust and fathered many hybrids."
“Fathered?” Caelum scoffed. “Lucifer, the so-called hater of mankind, slept around and made human-angel hybrids?”
Azrael shot him a look meant to curb the jokes, but she couldn’t deny the truth in his crude statement. “Yes. That is the reason God unleashed the great flood. To cleanse the world of Lucifer’s Nephilim. You may be familiar with it; the story of Noah’s ark.”
David nodded, unsure of what to say or what to think. Caelum, however, had plenty to say. “And because Ariel didn’t get the same treatment as Lucifer, you think there is a connection with this so-called plan to release Lucifer from Hell.”
Azrael had a knowing smile on her lips as she explained further. “I am the Angel of Death. I am the only angel who, even today, is free to walk amongst the mortals and speak to them directly. That is, only after they have been released from their physical vessels. And the day the angel Ariel’s life was spared is when I started listening.
“For centuries, I have kept my eyes and ears open to the events that have been unfolding. It was Heaven’s duty to make sure the mortals would stay on the path God laid out for them, yet that hasn’t been the case in a very long time. Sin has spread like a disease across the lands and only a few of the angels have lifted a finger about it. I am free from Michael’s reach because of the vow I made to God: to protect the balance of the living and the dead. Therefore, I do not see what is happening in Heaven directly. Everything was silent, though. For so long, everything was silent, and I was inclined to abolish my doubts. That is, until the prophet who Ramiel had meant to protect died, and fate had it that I reap his soul myself.
“Prophets are messengers of Heaven and God. And as you may know, angels tend to whisper what prophecies these chosen ones will deliver. Though, that is not always the case,” Azrael said. “Some prophets don’t need to hear the voice of an angel to see the truth. There are very rare cases where prophets can decipher and hear the secrets of the worlds of God that not even the angels know. And long ago, Ramiel’s prophet unlocked one secret that convinced his angel to rebel against Michael himself.
“He lost his voice days after he heard his prophecies, never to speak them. All were curious how sudden the illness to his throat grew. But Ramiel heard what he did, and both of them paid for listening.”
“What did they hear?” David leaned forward, engrossed in the story of the angel.
“Ramiel listened to the mind of his prophet, and he claimed it was Michael speaking the words they heard. ‘You shall enter the Gates again, my brother.’”
“Brother.” Caelum repeated the word. “And you think he was speaking to Lucifer.”
“Michael never acknowledged anyone as his brother besides Lucifer,” Azrael claimed. “Michael adored Lucifer, he always has. Before the day the prophet confessed to me, however, I always assumed Michael loved God more. Perhaps I was mistaken.”
“Did he hear anything else?” David asked. “If Michael wants Lucifer to return to Heaven, did he say how it will happen?”
“Sadly, no,” Azrael said, remorseful. “I know nothing that will free Lucifer from his cage. Though I have been gathering evidence. Actions from the angels that were suspicious, all under the orders of Michael. Blind fa
ith has deluded their judgments, and they followed every one of Michael’s whims. They removed themselves from Earth, leaving the humans to their own devices. And this is the result of it all.” Azrael sighed heavily. “And there was the recently deceased prophet, John Maxwell Saunders.”
“What about him?” Caelum furrowed his brows.
“You led him to make a false prophecy, did you not?” Azrael eyed Caelum, who nodded. “Raphael saw it all, I know he did. And yet, he did not warn Ariel that you were intercepting the message that she was relaying to the prophet. And when I reaped Maxwell’s soul, do you know what he told me?”
Both of them shook their heads. Azrael continued her story. “He said he did not intend to send that final message that he felt as though he was being controlled to say all those things. And he did not pull the trigger on his own. At first, I thought it was you who had influenced him to commit suicide, until I looked into Maxwell’s memory and saw a familiar face.
“Daniel, Raphael’s loyal servant.”
“Okay, I’m getting really confused here,” David blurted out, gripping his hair as he took a deep breath. He lifted his head again to address the two. “So in short, Lucifer likes humans but a little too much, and God banished him for it. Some prophet tapped into a conversation between Michael and Lucifer, according to this Ramen-fellow. There’s a possibility that Michael wants Lucifer to return to Heaven, but you don’t know why or how they will do it. Then there’s that guy I’ve been hearing about, Maxwell, who was murdered by another angel?” David ended, cringing at the short but correct summary he’d produced.
“Yes,” Azrael confirmed flatly.
“And his name was Ramiel, not Ramen,” Caelum corrected him.
“So, if Lucifer apparently isn’t this human-hating angel, what’s so bad about him returning to Heaven?” David asked. Caelum looked to Azrael for the answer.
“Because it will cause great anarchy amongst the angels. God banished Lucifer for a reason, and with Michael’s influence over the majority of Heaven, the angels will be divided. Not only that, the timing seemed to be more suspicious.”
The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set) Page 29
