I lower toward the cage of the angel and see him scrunching back nervously.
“Good,” I say. “Tell me where he is and I will let you free immediately.”
“Done and done,” he points at the cage beside him.
I light my gift and see an angel curled up against the sides of the cage. His body is slumped and it appears his muscles are not contracted.
He’s dead.
“Gabriel!” I shout. I rush over toward his cage while the other angel starts shouting behind me.
“You promised to rescue me!” the prisoner says. “You have broken your promise, you have!”
I swoop toward the floor and look for a large rock similar to the one that rescued me. I can’t find one. I fly back up to the cage where Gabriel is and begin to rattle the bars of the cages.
“Michael?” he says. “Is that you?”
“You’re alive?”
“Barely,” he says. “Lucifer stabbed me when I refused to oppose the Origin.”
“Then we have a shared story,” I say. “Keep on breathing. We are getting you out of here.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The Escape
“THEY DON’T EVEN CLOSE THE DOORS.” Auro laughs, his eye patch contorting as we approach the exit from the dungeons into the Temple. “They must not have believed it was possible for anyone to escape.
“There should be guards posted nearby,” Koryn says.
He’s right. Two Ceremonials stand at the Temple side of the entrance and another large angel clad in full armor holds a spear upward. They stand at perfect attention, like we once did in training.
“Their backs are to us,” I say. “The Prince posted them to prevent others from breaking in to free us from the dungeons.”
Koryn laughs. “He never imagined we would break out to free them from his tyranny.”
I gesture for Auro. He grabs Gabriel who leans against my shoulder. “His wounds are bad. We need to get him to healing balm soon.”
“I can handle myself.” Gabriel pushes off me.
Now that he stands in front of me in the full light, I see how bad his injuries are. Brown splotches of blood the shape of flowers and rain drops randomly stain his white shirt. His face droops, lacking the normal chiseled out of stone appearance that I have come to know. And his hair, which once accounted for his title, looks stringy and thin.
But when Gabriel has his mind set on something, he is as strong as the steel of the cage I escaped from. He may be the only angel in the universe as determined as I am to get his way.
Auro approaches Gabriel. His shoulders pulled back, and his mouth closed tightly, causing little wrinkles to fold on his cheek and forehead. He places his hands on Gabriel’s side.
Gabriel reaches for his sword.
Auro’s mustache turns downward as he backs up.
“Fine, have it your way.” I raise my hands and laugh. “You have to go and make everything challenging don’t you?”
I creep toward the entranceway, carrying the small wooden knife I carved from Terra’s pipe. Koryn and Auro follow me close behind. I motion for each to take one of the two Ceremonials while I approach the main guard with the spear.
“If you can show them mercy,” I whisper. “Do it. We won’t fight this war like they did.”
Koryn nods.
In unison, they both spring from behind. Auro stabs his guard right in the side of the chest and then again in the back of the legs. The Ceremonial drops to the ground trying to scream, but Auro muffles the sound by covering his mouth with his hands and dragging him back into the dungeons.
Koryn makes quick work of his as well, taking him down with one quick punch to the temple. The guard collapses into his arms, completely unconscious and Koryn returns to us with the body.
“Take them to the cages unharmed,” I say.
Two prisoners approach and take the two guards into their arms and carry them off into the prisons.
“What now?” Auro asks.
I hold my hand out, calling for him to quiet. I want to watch what happens here.
One of the prisoners holds the Ceremonial guard that Auro captured in his arms tightly. The Ceremonial kicks the prisoner repeatedly but the prisoner does not retaliate. He wrestles him into the cage without taking a swipe. He obeys my order and is rewarded with a bloodied and bruised face.
The other prisoner does not show the same restraint. Instead he takes the opportunity to make unnecessary shots at the fully surrendered Ceremonial. He kicks the angel and then pounds his face against the cage.
It disturbs me, watching the two different angels, both presented with the same challenge. Both filled with anger and bitterness for their imprisonment. Yet one rises to do what’s right, while the other goes out of his way to do what’s wrong.
I don’t judge, only observe as it wasn’t long ago that I would have acted just like that second prisoner. So consumed with my vain need for vengeance, some empty sense of superiority that I would have inflicted pain on any Rogue I could get my sword into.
I feel ashamed of my own vengeful heart but I vow here and now that if I survive this ordeal, I will no longer allow rage to control my actions. I will serve the Origin selflessly for His purposes and not my own.
“We can get out of here,” Koryn says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we could take the Temple with these numbers.”
“No, this isn’t the time for that battle.” I say.
Auro agrees. “We don’t have trained warriors, and we can’t just start handing out weapons to villainous Rogues.” Auro pauses when he realizes he is talking to Koryn, a former Rogue. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Koryn says. He then lifts his weapon. “And while you did in fact give a weapon to a ‘villainous Rogue,’ I’ve had a long time to think and I am as faithful to the Origin as any of you.”
“Then we focus on escape,” Auro says, “not victory, at least for right now.”
“They don’t know that we are free, so let’s overwhelm them with surprise.” I say.
“And numbers,” Auro says.
The two prisoners return. I pull aside the soldier who followed my order.
“You had the opportunity to get revenge. Why didn’t you?”
“I was once a Ceremonial myself,” he says. “And it was revenge that moved me into those dungeons. I had a lot of time to think. I’ve learned that if the opportunity for that hollow emptiness comes my way again, I am going the other way.”
I reach into my shirt and hand him the last wooden knife.
I turn to the prisoners behind me. They hush their mumblings.
“Congratulations, my brothers. You are free.”
I leap forward into the air toward the open door.
Behind, the soldiers scream a yell of long compressed fury.
I enter the outer chambers of the Temple followed by thousands of prisoners. We resemble a swarm of insects after the hive cracks open on a rock. Some of the prisoners drag against the walls while others land with a run onto the fiery coals toward the exit.
The armored angel stands just ahead.
I grit my teeth and fly toward him. He jabs his spear upward toward me. I dodge it, but barely.
I sigh with relief and look back to watch him stomp his foot.
The other angels now fly over his head, catching his attention. He draws his sword and curses at the mass emigration. He swings his sword at one low-flying angel, slicing the wings right off of it. He then jabs the short sword on his waist right into the former prisoner’s heart.
The guard continues his advance on the escapees with great precision. Untrained warriors, they stand no chance against him. I am so close to the door and freedom is just a few feet away, but I will not run from a righteous battle.
I soar toward the soldier and land beside him.
“Apophos,” I shout. “You rebel against the Origin. Stop this madness. Join the forces for good. Fight alongside the army of creation who fights on behalf of the Creator.�
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“You’re dumb,” he says. “You rebel. Not me.”
He jabs his spear at me. I shift to the left and roll onto the floor.
“Listen to me,” I say. “I know it’s hard for you to understand complex ideas, but this battle is way too important. If you don’t see this, you will be on the wrong side of the Origin.”
He laughs as he points his spear again. “You really are a fool. Did you not even for one second ever see through my act?”
“Your act?”
“Always make them underestimate you,” Apophos shouts. “You idiots never took a minute to find out what my caste was, did you? Too busy assuming I was an idiot to see that I was a Scribe.”
I gasp at this long con he pulled on all of us. I don’t even know what to say.
“I have studied this world long enough to make my choice,” Apophos says. “The Origin won’t even put up a fight. And you know who becomes the next in line to supplant the Prince? Good, old, simple-minded, and nonthreatening Apophos.”
“It’s always about power,” I say. “Well then I see you have made up your mind.”
“Indeed,” he lunges toward me with his spear.
My skin ignites, and I leap into the air and grab his neck from behind.
“Let us go free,” I say burning his neck with my own gifting. He drops his spear and I leap on top of him. The flames from my legs engulf his chest. Tiny flares ignite across his shirt and clothing.
“AAAaarrgg,” he screams as his body simmers. His beautiful olive skin chars and crusts over.
“Mercy!”
“Where can I find the Prince?”
“His forces,” he screams. “They are headed toward the Origin’s Mercy Seat.”
“Then we will have to surge up toward heaven.”
I release him from my grip. He grabs at his charred skin and begins to weep with pain.
“Apophos, you thought you were so smart that you became a fool.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The Last Reunion
I MAKE ONE LAST STOP in the Garden before I turn toward the heavens to finish this war once and for all. I dreamed of this place many days in those dank dungeons, and now that I stand here rubbing my fingertips once again along the coarse leaves, I am overcome with joy.
In a world of trouble, I have learned that I must embrace the good or else I will be consumed with the bad. A constant dwelling on anger and darkness will turn my soul dark. The battle for Heaven may be imminent, but I will not begin until I know the battle for my heart is put to rest.
I drop to a knee and scoop up a handful of dirt. I watch it fall between my fingers. The individual grains so insignificant on their own, yet together they form a planet so valuable it makes the ultimate trophy of a battle between God and Lucifer.
I whisper a prayer under my breath. “Let me just become one of a wave of countless loyal angels.”
A short, stubby creature trots up to my face and starts licking my nose. Short, yellow fur, with a downturned mouth similar to an animal I once knew. An animal that died far too young.
It slides its body against my side. I stand and lift it up into my arms, looking into those all too familiar eyes which bear a striking resemblance to my breed.
This is a descendant of my breed. An offspring that I did not take part in guiding. In the absence of us Designers, the Origin’s creation was able to continue on without us.
“Your father was a mighty warrior,” I say as my eyes water. “A beast so powerful that even angels were made to fear him.”
“Much as they would have done before you,” Sal says. “But now look at you. A lone rebel in an unwinnable war.”
I look up to see Sal descending onto the ground. He is not in armor, nor is he followed by anyone. But I extend my wings all the same, prepared to lift up and fly away.
“Don’t make me fight you,” I unsheathe my sword.
“No,” he says. “That time will come, but it is not now and it is not here.”
I don’t respond.
“I came for a final farewell,” he says. “I suppose our friendship deserves at least that, don’t you?”
He drags his hand along the bark of a nearby tree.
“How did you find me,” I ask.
“That idiot Apophos. He can barely put a sentence together, but he can somehow manage to lose a whole trove of prisoners. He will have plenty of time to make that empty head of his figure out the consequences of his failure after an eternity in the dungeons.”
I debate for a moment whether to tell Sal how Apophos was actually a scribe but I hold my tongue.
“Fine, don’t answer,” Sal says. “It’s of little consequence to me what you think anymore. The Prince already has firm control of Earth. Soon he will take heaven and when that happens, where will you go? I want so bad to force it into your head that when the Prince wins this battle, you will have no escape Michael.”
“But it’s wrong. Don’t you get it? We were created to serve the Origin. We will never find joy serving anyone else. Even if you were successful you only bring yourself separation from the one who gives you life. We weren’t meant to live for ourselves.”
“You’re always so dramatic,” he says. “The Prince is rising in power and I intend to rise with him.”
“You always were this way, striving after ambition.”
“That’s why I am where I am today and why I will always succeed.”
I lower the cub to the ground. “The real question is what will you do when the Origin judges you?”
“Judges?” he laughs. “Since when has the Origin ever judged anyone?”
“We live in a time of firsts,” I say.
Sal beats his wings and lifts up into the air. “I’ll see you in heaven. And when this is over, I’ll be judging you.”
His form appears to change shape as he ascends higher and higher. Seeming more and more like a speck in the sky until he vanishes from view.
The cub’s mother walks toward me growling. I realize that she thinks me a threat. I have already had one contentious confrontation, I don’t need another. I smile and kneel down. “I’m a friend, but I know better than to taunt an angry mother.”
Several angels land beside me as I watch the two beasts leave.
“That was quite an escape,” Celles embraces me.
“Took you all long enough to get here,” I laugh. “You missed my reunion with Sal.”
“Never would have thought I’d say these words,” Gabriel says. “But that makes the healing balms seem like a pleasant alternative.”
Scars still stretch out along his arms and his eyes are still tired but he looks a world of difference from the slumped over angel in the cage.
“Our armies convene in heaven,” Gabriel says. “Are you ready to lead them?”
“We have an army?” I ask.
“What did you think we were doing while you were in those dungeons?” Celles says. “It was our only hope to bust you out of there.”
Tinus lands beside Celles.
“She won you over?” I ask.
“She’s pretty persuasive,” Tinus says. “Also it always bothered me that you didn’t carry a weapon I forged.”
Tinus holds out for me a brand new blade. The bright sunlight burns my eyes as it reflects of the spotless golden foible. The handle, layered with fabric fits perfectly in my hand. I hold it out and I thank them both.
Another friendly face walks out from behind the trees.
The sight of Christine floods my mind with memories of her parallel. It was Uriel who was the first to befriend me. Uriel called me out for being consumed with my own rage. And it was Uriel that I allowed to die.
“I am sorry.” The words escape my mouth before I have a chance to hold them back. “I never meant for you to lose him. I know how it feels to miss someone you love and it breaks my heart that I allowed it to happen to you.”
“I don’t blame you,” she says. “I blame them. But now, we need to make this right. F
or Uriel, for Terra, and most of all, for the Origin.”
I look over at Gabriel.
“This won’t be a war of revenge,” Gabriel says. “We have learned that revenge violates the Origin’s laws. We will fight this war out of honor and respect for the king. We fight this war to restore his lordship.”
“He’s right,” I say. “Christine, we both know first-hand. Vengeance is empty.”
“Perhaps,” she says. “So I will choose to put my trust and faith in the Origin. That he will restore my broken heart.”
I am proud of Christine. She is stronger than Gabriel or I ever was. She is able to let vengeance go. She is able to step forward and fight with the right motives and intentions. She is a powerful being in the spirit.
“Don’t we have a war to fight?” Auro says.
“I’m ready to lead you,” I say. “If you will join me.”
“We didn’t come here to pet your animals,” Tinus says.
“And my loyalty extends beyond a few hurts.” Auro says. “You were created to lead us at this time.”
“Uriel would have wanted me to fight alongside you.”
I smile. So this is it; I have my captains.
We leap up into the air, prepared for the battle in heaven.
Chapter Forty
The Heavens
I ENTER the great, black, swirling tunnel, and travel toward the Heavens.
The journey is easier to travel than to understand. It stands as one of the greatest of the Origin’s mysteries. It’s as if Earth, the planets, the stars, and the whole of the universe are like a body of water. Everything that we know or experience exists within that enclosed world that is the liquid. But we angels are able to emerge from that metaphorical water and crawl out onto the land surrounding that pool. That land is the Heavens. The Heavens are the entirety of what is outside of the Origin’s creation.
And once we enter the Heavens, we stand in the very presence of the Origin Himself. When the lights of heaven beam down on our skin, it feels like that moment when something truly good happens. It’s a purity of radiance that only increases the closer the Holy of Holies becomes.
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