Daniel’s wings flickered as he rocketed upwards. Uriel followed, his form rising to catch him.
“I don’t think so!” Mikaela shouted. She extended her arm and a large blob of blackness spat out. The murky darkness zoomed towards Uriel and split open, turning into a monstrous jaw that bit Uriel’s torso hard. The archangel struggled as the jaw’s teeth sunk into him, slowing his ascent. With a mighty huff, Uriel extended his large arms and broke the blackness apart.
Though the distraction was short-lived, it was enough for Daniel to soar through the sky and burst through the clouds. As he flew towards the clear space above the clouds, he felt awe at what Uriel truly was.
A floating sigil of white light loomed above him, four hectares large. It was composed of a triangle in the middle, inside a larger circle, all encompassed by several tilted squares, spiraling out to the edge, which had several of the smaller patterns repeated. Several smaller characters and lines went around the sigil.
“You… are Uriel?” He spoke to himself, doubting the sight. “Uriel is the first of the ophanim?” He shook the question out of his head and analyzed the patterns.
Down below, Ariel felt Daniel’s presence. Behind her, one of Daniel’s swords neared and his voice echoed from within it.
“I have found Uriel! The first of the thrones!”
Ariel thought of how not all angels had forms like hers. That there are variations, such as the small, animal-like cherubs, the ivory-white virtues, and the huge craft-like thrones.
“Strike as I strike! I am above the clouds!”
Ariel nodded at the order and signaled to Mikaela. The angel reached for Mikaela’s hand and commanded the light to take them. They vanished into thin air only to appear above the clouds where Daniel’s glowing sword guided them.
Mikaela’s eyes couldn’t fathom the form above her. Her green eyes reflected the sigil that was etched in the sky. “That’s Uriel?” The witch’s memory served her well as thousands of symbols and sigils that she’d studied over the years appeared behind the lids of her eyes. When a pattern matched, Mikaela announced the sigil that was closest to the one above them. “He’s a giant celestial vehicle. A Merkabah!”
Gravity betrayed Ariel and Mikaela as their weight attracted the earth below. From the distance, they saw the figure that was Uriel flying into the sky towards them. Without a moment to waste, Daniel coordinated his blade to spear across the sigil, focused on the center. Mikaela followed cue and gathered dark energy in her palm to send the bolt towards the blades. The energy arched from one sword to the other, bathing them in blackness. The first blade struck the center of the sigil while the arching bolt followed closely. Acting like a magnet, the rest of the blade changed directions and flew to hit the same area the first had. The mix of energies gathered in one spot, then exploded.
Dark smoke filled the sky as Ariel and Mikaela fell. Ariel grabbed for Mikaela’s arm, and without a word, Daniel directed a glowing sword to guide their travel back to earth. The dust cleared before they’d vanished, and Mikaela caught sight of the cracks that branched out from the focus of the impact.
In the blink of an eye, Mikaela found herself standing on her feet again with Ariel holding her firmly. She looked up and saw Uriel descending from the clouds. For the first time, Mikaela smiled at the sight of him. Her eyes focused on the scar that marked Uriel’s head. The scar didn’t look like broken skin, rather, it was similar to a crack on a pottery. Faint light poured from the crack, as if it was bleeding.
“It was a success,” Ariel said victoriously. “Daniel, we can finish him!”
Daniel descended from the clouds, hovering above the two women. He nodded in agreement. He extended his hands over his head, pointing to the sky above and clasping them together, creating a snapping sound. His swords appeared from all corners, soaring to position themselves above Daniel. Each glowed brighter as they gathered together, metal on metal melding together. The light flashed, bathing them all in white light. The light dispersed and revealed a massive sword hovering above them, as large as an airplane.
The Uriel standing above them slammed his fists together, and parts of the sigils from above the clouds began to rotate. Energy pooled in the sigil, and soon, balls of electricity shot down to the ground. Uriel raised his hand to direct the energy at his targets, but he suddenly felt something halting his movement. The dark pupils of his eyes glanced to his outstretched arm to find dark thin lines wrapped around it. The lines expanded and constricted him, shackling him in place.
"Now, Daniel!" Mikaela shouted.
The massive sword was ablaze with the light zoomed towards the crack on the archangel’s head. Uriel's eyes widened, helpless against the assault.
"ASTOUNDING!" the voice boomed.
Just before the blade hit the target, the space around Uriel’s form distorted, and a small vial materialized. It hit the tip of the blade and broke. From the small vial came a torrent of green liquid that covered the blade which then lost its inertia and dissolved as if bathed in acid.
A figure appeared above the sigil and bare feet stepped on the cracks. “Forgive my tardiness, brother.”
“Raphael,” Uriel boomed. “I need not your help.”
“Quite the contrary, I say,” Raphael chided. “To have such rabble wound the likes of you.” The same vial that had cracked before appeared on Raphael’s hand. He then poured the seemingly endless contents of the vial on the sigil. The green liquid seeped into cracks, filling the spaces between. In a matter of seconds, the damage to the sigil began to dissolve until they vanished completely.
“Brother,” Raphael called. “I have failed, as you can see. The forces we were sent to vanquish surely are on par with me. The witch is to be prioritized. Her power is alarming.”
“Agreed, Brother Raphael. We shall.”
Daniel felt his stomach drop upon seeing Raphael. Not only had he healed Uriel, he was also able to stop the attack and dissolve the blades as if they were nothing. Daniel, Mikaela, and Ariel watched in terror as Raphael began to whisk the vial around, scattering more liquid to douse the entire sigil. For a moment, Daniel thought the sigil was dissolving, but as Raphael slowly vanished along with the sigil, he realized that Raphael had cloaked himself and the sigil from their sight.
Uriel’s human form remained, his mouth twisted in a morbid grin, a sight that sent fear into Daniel. Uriel’s Adonis form pulsed, and lightning began to crawl from his braces. A bolt of lightning from above them struck Uriel, and before Daniel could utter a word, the archangel appeared directly in front of him. Uriel sent his heavy arms to slam against Daniel’s shoulders, earning an agonized scream from the angel’s lips.
A pained grunt escaped Caelum as he and Enoch landed on a set of huge rocks, miles from the battle. He steadied himself on his feet, climbing down from the stones. He turned to stab Enoch with a complaint but the words hung dry in his throat at the sight of the two humans who seemed to be in shock by their arrival.
“Caelum!” David greeted, reaching to embrace the man only to think twice and awkwardly switch his position to shake his hand instead. “How’s— Uh, how is Mikaela?” David asked. Jenny, however, pinched his brother’s arm and proceeded to point at the man Caelum jumped in with.
“Oh.” Caelum turned from the siblings to the awkward man standing behind him. “As much as I’d like to celebrate our reunion, formal introductions first, I suppose.” He held his palm out to Enoch as if presenting him to the siblings. “David and Jenny, this is Enoch, also known as the Scribe of God, apparently.”
The siblings gaped at Enoch in awe. “You’re Enoch?” Jenny said in disbelief. He nodded. “So, you’re the one who made those riddles in the tower? And that library?”
Enoch smiled at the girl. “You solved my riddle, then? I am honored that there are mortals that know the fundamentals of creation!”
“A lot of grade schools taught that too, you know?” David pointed out, earning him another pinch from his sister.
Cae
lum massaged the back of his neck. “So, with all the introductions done, I believe now is a good time to share stories.” Caelum turned to Enoch. “While our allies are keeping the big macho man over there busy, mind answering the questions you’ve been dodging?”
Enoch hunched and sat down on the ground. “I suppose it is time to tell you.”
The siblings looked at each other, then took a seat in front of Enoch. Caelum remained standing, leaning on the rock and watching what looked like a couple of kids gathered around a campfire to hear ghost stories.
Enoch took a deep breath and closed his eyes. What came from his lips was more like a burden than a confession. “I am an Archangel.”
The mention of the fact made the siblings recoil. “Wait!” Caelum protested, removing himself from the rock. “You’re in cahoots with Uriel back there?”
Enoch shook his head. “I used to be.
His response surprised Caelum. “I see now why they needed an archangel to chase after you, but would you care to elaborate on that?”
Enoch thought. He recalled the visions of his past. “I cannot explain what I am, but I will tell you my story.
“It was the time after the great flood, when my ancestors shared word of the might of God. He had cleansed the world, and could cleanse it once again should we, man, ever go astray. The stories of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah that burned, and the might of the archangels were known to everyone. The fear of God was one thing that all men and women alike would carry in their hearts.”
He then recalled the sight of a man who’d visited his home ages before. He had woken from his slumber when his room filled with pure white light coming from the windows and doors. He lifted himself from his beddings to find a mighty, beautiful, and shining being standing by his opened door. A movement had driven his gaze away from the shining being to a man who was dressed no fancier than he was. The man was wearing a brown vest, gray robes, and simple sandals. He didn’t look remarkable; his face could easily be lost in a crowd. The man offered him bread from a basket seemingly weaved from dried olive twigs and said the words he would never forget.
“They fear me, my wrath told in songs. I ask you, come with me. I will show you my kingdom. For you will be my voice, and men shall know me as I love them.”
Of course, he had not easily trusted. But the being by the door was clearly of a divine nature, and upon that realization, he instantly knew who the strange man was. He fell on his knees, and tears pooled in his eyes. He could not utter a word from his trembling mouth.
The man dropped the basket, seemingly alarmed by his reaction. He kneeled in front of him. Tears filled his eyes; he saw the divine being at the door reach for the visitor, as if to stop him. Yet, the visitor took his hand instead and encouraged him to stand.
“Tell me, Son of Man. What is your name?”
He looked at the visitor, wondering why an omniscient being like him would ask. He tried his best to answer. “E-Enoch… I-I-I am Enoch.”
“Enoch, will you walk with me?”
Enoch had nodded, and took his hand. The being by the door took out a long beam of light from his hands and tapped it on the ground.
“Incredible…” David meekly said. “You’re telling me that God himself took some random guy to Heaven just so he could see it? Like some sort of open house for a house?”
Enoch chuckled at the poor simile. “Yes, yes you’re right. When I was there, I was given a title. I am the Scribe of God. With it, I was given a place among the Archangels.”
Enoch’s joy suddenly turned into a swath of sorrow. “It was when God left that everything came spiraling down. I left the heavens and lived my life among the mortals.” He looked at David and Jenny, into their eyes, searching. “If the two of you managed to enter my library, I am certain you are my descendants.”
“WHAT?!” the two yelled.
“Wait!” David demanded, holding his hands up, “Wait! Wait! Wait! Are you telling us that the Tenney family were born from an Archangel!?”
“Tenney.” Enoch thought to himself, ignoring David’s outburst. “Yes, the successors who kept looking for my vault. You were given my blood, the talent to see beyond the veil.”
“Does this mean we’re… we’re...” David kept yapping. “The Tenney are Nephilim?!”
“Heavens, no,” Enoch said, waving his hand. “My body was still mortal, only my soul was different.”
Jenny, who had remained silent, asked quietly, “What did you mean, ‘see beyond the veil’?”
Enoch explained, “I see the world as God sees the world. True in all its beauty and cataclysm. You, of the Tenneys, can see through the illusions the mortal eye cannot.”
“Oh.” Jenny wondered, “So that’s why our family always knew of the supernatural and studied it.”
Caelum clapped his hands, attracting the attention of the others. “As much as I love this family reunion, I am inclined to be more interested in what Grandpa Enoch here was doing at the site where Hell broke loose?”
Enoch showed his doubting smile. Caelum grabbed his hand as he couldn’t help but think that Enoch would run away again. “Enoch,” Caelum said. “We’ve been through this. I know it’s still early in our relationship, but I really think you should stop running away and tell me who this secret lover of yours is.”
Enoch rolled his eyes. “I keep saying that I don’t know, because at this point, nothing else was said.”
Caelum squinted, Enoch’s words unclear to him. “What do you mean?”
Enoch kept swaying his head, eyes looking side to side in doubt. “You see, I’ve recorded everything that happened and will happen. From the moment God took me to this very day.” A haze of doubt still lingered in his expression. “But from the moment Lucifer escaped his prison, nothing else was said. I’ve depended upon the scroll all this time, and everything has happened as the scroll would say. Yet, this event marked the end of the scroll…”
Caelum smirked. “I guess I kind of understand why you’re so indecisive. It’s like moving away from an overprotective family or lover. You’re an aimless mess afterwards.”
“Until you came,” Enoch said to Caelum, with serious eyes.
Caelum raised a brow. “I have said this before, and I have no trouble saying it again. I am not interested in such activities.”
Enoch sighed and said something that changed Caelum’s perspective of him.
“I’ve known that Michael and Lucifer have been planning something all along. However, I never thought they would succeed.”
Chapter Fifteen: Storm Clouds
An overwhelming sense of fright plagued Ariel and Mikaela upon seeing the disappearance of Uriel’s sigil. Now, as they looked up to the sky above, there was no trace of the sigil that was the true form of Uriel. Mikaela couldn’t help but believe that the real Uriel also left. The sudden turn of events had gotten worse with the change in movements of the human-like form of Uriel. From the stoic tower that fought only when it struck to the lightning fast, herculean beast that truly defined the word ‘might.’
Daniel fell from the sky, landing next to the two and creating a depression in the soil where he crashed. He grunted in pain and forced himself up, recovering quickly. A bolt of lightning struck the area where he stood mere seconds earlier.
A shockwave roared across the land as Uriel landed, having regained his human form. He lifted his eyes to his targets and his voice boomed across the skies. “I am the wrath!”
Glancing over his shoulder to the women with him, Daniel concluded that he would need to separate Uriel from them. He threw his hand up in the air, the swords in his hand slipping from his fingers to float above his head. Ariel and Mikaela watched as the sword glowed and erupted, creating multiple copies of the blade to shower down, stabbing in all directions. Ariel felt the swords’ vibrations, and the way they did so made her realize that Daniel had more to his arsenal.
Before Daniel could make his next move, a flash of light blinded him, and before his eyes co
uld recover, he felt a bone crushing grip on his neck. With a roar, Uriel slammed Daniel into the ground once again. Daniel choked, unable to utter a word. Uriel lifted him again to slam him back on the ground, his strong arm tossing him around like a ragdoll.
Just a little bit more, Daniel thought. Though his body did not break from the impact, he could feel a terrible weakness overcoming him. Daniel feared that once Uriel successfully renders him immobile, the archangel would use the light of pure energy to vaporize his existence completely.
Uriel reeled back his fist as he grinned down at Daniel. His hard knuckles crashed against Daniel’s face, then his body. Though broken and beaten, Daniel’s determination still did not falter.
You are not the only one who shares the might of God.
The ground exploded as Uriel slammed his fists into it. Dust filled his vision, and when it all cleared, Uriel quickly rose in his confusion. Daniel was no longer where he’d pinned him.
I am Daniel. He who is God’s Justice.
In a flash of light, Daniel appeared before Ariel and Mikaela. His clothing was ripped, but his eyes were filled with courage. “I shall distract him,” he said. “Ariel, do you feel the songs of my blades?”
Ariel nodded, “Yes I do. I know what needs to be done.”
“Very good, Ariel. Our goal is to bind Uriel!” Daniel disappeared with a gust of air.
Uriel remained where Daniel had left him, looking for the angel he must bring down. Suddenly, his back arched. A blade struck him from behind. Uriel swung a fist to catch his attacker. His arm was met with only a gust of wind, then Daniel appeared behind him once again and slashed at his back.
The archangel was stunned by the speed of the lesser angel who appeared from all directions to strike, only to vanish before he could counterattack. Frustration was painted in Uriel’s face as a white hot blade appeared, speeding straight for his eye. Uriel dodged the blade, but Daniel disappeared again in a whirl of dust before he could strike.
The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set) Page 57
