by Swart, Karen
"The others are waiting," was his reply. He offered his hand.
I placed mine in his and we shifted to his house, right into the lounge packed with the team. My divinity kicked in and I could feel all the hellhounds’ emotions. Fear, anxiety, eagerness and... dread. My eyes found Raven staring out of the window. I needed to have a talk with her and find out what was going on.
"Kas, hell, it’s good to see you back where you belong," Lada said, getting up to squash me into a hug.
"Hey there," I greeted back, my eyes still on Raven, who seem to be ignoring all of us. Her eyes were focused on everything outside, a look of dread all over her face.
"We need to talk," Chax interrupted the bear hug and smiles. Always down to business. We all took a seat and waited to be filled in, except for Raven, who still stood like a statue and watched the outside world. Chax looked at her and then decided to continue.
"You all must be wondering what exactly happened down there. I will try and explain it as best I can," Chax began. And at the end of the sentence, the room started to fill out with all the archangels, Astin and Vulcan included. Their presence only meant that Chax actually needed support for what he was about to tell us. I breathed out and in, trying to avoid a panic attack. My fingers clawed into the couch. My heart started to pound heavy.
"Those here with me are the only ones who know what I am about to tell you. The rest of the fallen will be informed when we are done," Chax explained, his eyes fixed on mine. I swallowed hard.
"I was born an angel, like most of the fallen. Like my brethren, I trained and prepared for battle. Our Sire knew that this world would need to be protected against evil, and they came in many forms. It was soon noticed that I excelled in battles and combat. In short, I was born to kill. It wasn’t long before signs of evolution were evident. Just like Kasadya and all the other archangels, I was receiving divinity. There was just one difference. I was the first to receive it."
My breath left me in a whoosh. Other's followed. Oh. My. Soul.
"I was the first archangel, and I was placed as God's wrath. Protector of earth, heaven and souls." Chax reached behind him and pulled out a sword. A breathtaking sword. Its blade looked like moving clouds, yet as hard as diamonds. My eyes traveled to the handle, where Chax’s hand rested. Encrusted in ruby and gold, an angel with his wings open was holding a sword up towards his face.
"I was given Dies Irae, my sword, and became the keeper of all. But I was also granted a wish from our Sire. I thought about it. What more could I want? I had everything; Our Sire, my brethren and purpose. And then it came to me. We need more like me. I asked our Sire to grant me brothers and sisters, angels just like me. I am therefore the only angel with brothers and sisters." Chax looked at Caim, who smiled at him with so much love and admiration. He was simply beaming.
"I was given three brothers and a sister. I trained all of them, and they all excelled, just like me. Algra even started with her divinity, and one brother even became an arch like me. But then everything changed. One of my brothers’ hearts was not pure as all of ours. He wanted everything for himself. He let greed take hold of him. When he invited me to a secret meeting, I discovered how much greed had destroyed the brother I once loved with my whole heart. I was the one who told God about his betrayal. I was the one who led the angels against him, with my sister and brothers. It was me, and the devil you know today was my brother."
Oh, hell no!
"Holy crap!" Nanini breathed out. The others were frozen in place, and I was sure my own face mirrored theirs. We were just shocked into a stupor.
Chax looked around at the shocked crowd and then continued, "I watched Caim and Algra beg for forgiveness. But my other two brothers just wouldn’t stop. He didn’t stop. Even defeated, he still believed that he was the one who must take the place next to our Sire. There was never such a thing; it was meant for His Son and no one else. I was there when they were cast into hell. I was there when his name was taken from him. I turned my back on them and left with our Sire. But heaven just wasn’t my home anymore. I was concerned about the fallen, Caim and Algra, so much that I could not function anymore. I then asked our Sire to grant me another wish. I asked to join the fallen here on earth and assist them here. I became Chax the fallen for my brother, sister and fallen brethren."
Yeah, my eye started twitching. So badly that I had to close it.
"But unlike the other fallen, I did not fall. I was merely changed. Deep within me, the arch was locked away, ready to be called forth when I needed it again. But if I ever should call for it again, I would never be able to be fallen again. That moment came, and I reclaimed my place." Chax eyes bore into mine, the tears in mine blurring my vision.
"When Raphael died, another arch must take his place. It was either me or Kasadya. I decided to spare you of more duties, and just took back what was mine. The balance of the archangels must always be kept, so I kept it."
"And now? Now you take your place in heaven?" I asked, anger taking hold of me.
"The balance must always be kept, Kasadya," Michael replied when Chax was unable to.
Uriel walked over to me and bent down, resting her hands on mine. "Kasadya, the balance must always be kept. Each one of us has a special purpose. Raphael’s place must be taken and fulfilled to make sure that this world is always taken care of. He had no choice, and you, my dear, already have another destiny to fulfill. You, and only you, can save all the hellhounds. Think how many would have to be destroyed if not for you. In both you and Chax, others are now protected and taken care off. You are guardians." She smiled at me, but I didn’t feel like smiling.
Yeah. Sure, I understand why, but that still doesn’t explain my biggest question.
What about us?
"Kasadya, speak to me?" Chax pleaded.
My heart shattered into a million pieces and fear gripped me. I was going to lose the one thing that had become the very reason for me to continue. Nanini was right; we can’t live without the other anymore. So, I braced myself and asked the question that was running through my mind as he spoke.
"Does this mean we can’t be together anymore?" I knew it was selfish.
Chax was before me in a flash and lifted me up from the seat in a second. "You will always be mine. We merely have other duties, but you are mine." His lips descended on mine and my tears mixed in with our kiss. A few coughs had us breaking apart. "I am yours, and you are mine. That will never change, my amo." My damn eyes just wouldn’t stop crying. Relief didn’t even cover what I felt. I hugged him again and my body melted into his.
How amazing love is. Just freaking amazing.
"Alright, now that everyone knows what is going on, what the hell are we going to do about that new problem trying to get through the wall?" Max asked, a still stunned and gaping Nanini on his lap.
Chapter 12
"We don’t have much of a choice. If the creatures Chax explained find a way through the wall, earth is doomed," Michael replied, his face calm as ever.
"Okay, what does that mean?" Nanini asked.
"It means that we will be taking the fight right to them. We are going back to destroy those creatures and ensure that they don’t ever reach earth," Chax explained.
Oh goodie, we're going back. Hell, at least I get another go at Ballen. I grinned just thinking about it. Yeah, his head is going to make an awesome headpiece.
"So, when do we go?" Ben asked, his face not so happy at all.
"In two days. We need to regroup and get some rest before we take them on." Chax face was set in stone. His eyes, however, spoke volumes.
This wasn’t going to be as easy as the demon breakthrough. I had a feeling we were in for the fight of our lives, and many of them will be lost.
"Will the angels be joining us?" Zurita asked, looking at Michael.
But Michael looked towards Chax for an answer, because he was their leader now. Hell, that's going to take some getting used to.
"Yes. With what we have seen, we are
going to have to use everyone available, even the Apprendos." Chax eyes landed on Raven, whose back stiffened at his words.
She didn’t budge at all. But I could feel her distress. That's it. The moment this pow wow is over, we are going to have a talk. The feelings I am receiving from her are really bugging the crap out of me.
"Then, we will leave to prepare for war, again," Jophiel added. He was not one for many words, but he could be a treat sometimes.
"Vale," the archangels greeted and shifted out. Next to follow were Vulcan and Astin.
"Kasadya, I will need to return and assist the angels. Vulcan and Astin will be taking over here with the fallen." My heart gave a strange thud, and I swallowed hard.
All will be well, my amo. I need to make sure that the balance is restored and that the angels are prepared for this war. I also believe that there might be some information about the creatures to help us.
I nodded, understanding that he now had other responsibilities.
He gave me a quick kiss and shifted out.
"Am I the only one seriously bummed out at the moment? I mean, did any of you see that one coming?" Nanini blurted out, when she was sure Chax was gone.
"Nope," Abby replied.
"Hell no," Lotan pitched in.
"Can you guys tell me what happened down there? How the hell did Raphael end up dead?" I asked and watched as Raven made a bee-line out of the lounge.
I'll hunt her down later. Now I need to understand what happened.
Max and the others started to tell me what happened the moment they stepped into hell. My heart broke when they told the part of Raphael's death. I'm going to miss that stubborn, crazy angel.
We continued catching up while making some lunch. I gobbled it down like it was the first time I had eaten in my life, they guys cracking themselves up over my indulgence.
I, of course, had to spill about my time with Mr. Demon as well. There were a few gasps and a lot of angry faces. I should be rolled up in a ball and lying in the corner after everything that ass did to me. But there was no such luxury in my life. We fall. We get back up and kick the hell out of evil. That pretty much sums up a life of a fallen.
When everyone was content and ready to enjoy a moment’s peace, I made my way through the house to find Raven. After a long search, I found her outside near the small pond.
"So, are we going to do this the hard way, or the easy way?" I asked as I approached her.
With her back to me she kept her eyes on the water and didn’t reply. Okay, there is something seriously wrong.
“Raven, talk to me. I can feel what is going on inside you," I pleaded with her but didn’t move to join her.
I didn’t want her to feel pressured, and my instinct was telling me that she was very near the point of born.
"Nothing, Kas. I will be fine."
"Yeah, that might work with Zurita and Caim, but not with me. What the hell is going on?"
"Drop it, Kas."
"No."
"I don’t want to discuss anything, alright?!"
"I am not budging, either. Spill it or I will kick it out of you."
Yeah, that seemed to have worked the other times.
In a flash she was up and in my face. "Just. Leave. Me. Alone!" With that, she shifted out.
Holy Crap! Something was very wrong with her. I closed my eyes and focused on my divinity. I could feel her emotions. I just had to find a way to figure out how to locate her with them. But there was nothing, not one emotion. Raven had completely disappeared. Oh crap. I shifted to Zurita and Caim's room, almost knocking the door of its hinges. The door flew open and Caim stood there, ready to battle.
"Kas, what’s wrong?"
"You guys need to tell me everything about what happened to Raven down there. Something’s wrong with her." I stormed into the room without any invitation.
Zurita was already sitting on the couch, where Caim joined her.
"What do you mean?" Zurita asked, her face masking dread and concern.
"When she came to see me last night, her emotions were out of control. The same thing happened when I was near her in the lounge. I found her outside and tried to get her to tell me what was wrong, but she just exploded and shifted away. And I can’t picked her up anywhere. We have a huge freaking problem, guys."
"She was too quiet after the episode," Caim muttered and rubbed his face.
"What episode?" I asked, looking between them.
"When we rescued you, she and Abby disobeyed Chax’s orders. They went in with us to retrieve you. They were sneaking behind him to reach you and free you. But he got whiff of them and grabbed Raven. Then something happened," Zurita started to explain but stopped to recollect her thoughts.
"What?" Come on, we don’t have all day.
"He looked at her and was shocked. He accused us of trickery, dropped her, and fled backwards away from her. That's when Chax used the opportunity to attack. From there, everything was chaos."
What?
"Was he scared of her or something?" I was confused like mad.
"Not that I can think of. It sort of looked that way, but he was angry as well," Caim replied, as confused as I was.
"She isn’t sleeping anymore," Zurita said.
"Maybe she's just rattled about the whole thing. I mean, meeting the devil isn’t an everyday thing." Nope, not at all.
"We'll see if we can find her," Caim said, standing up and moving to fetch his weapons.
"No," I replied.
Shocked, they both looked at me.
"I am not going to make the same mistakes again. Give her some time."
"What if she creates more trouble for herself?" Zurita wasn’t happy with my decision.
"I trust her, Zurita. Yes, she is young, and she is going to make a lot of mistakes in her life. I trust her to do the right thing. You both need to trust her too."
"With her temper? I don’t think this is a good idea," Caim replied.
"Yeah, we both have an out of control temper. But having lived through my own teenage disasters, trust me, pushing her is just going to make it worse. We'll keep an eye on her, and hope she doesn’t do something stupid." I got up and walked to the door.
"I hope you are right, Kas," Zurita said behind me.
I stopped and turned around to look at them. "Me too.”
I turned around and walked out of the door. I reached out again, trying to find her. Again, nothing. Crap! Am I doing the right thing? I know that when Chax hunted me down every time I wanted to explode, it just made things even worse. I wanted to give her the time she clearly needed that he didn’t want to give me. I just wanted to cool down and try to figure out things. I was sure that it's the same with her. I ended up in Chax’s room, sitting down on the couch. The memory of our fondue played over in my mind. It was great memory, but at the same time, I felt sad. I looked around at the empty suite and wondered if this was going to be my new life? Sitting around alone, waiting for him to return from heaven. Can this really work? I mean, I'm a fallen bound to earth, and he's an archangel, with angel’s duties, bound to heaven. What if this doesn’t work out? My heart was heavy, and I couldn’t help the sadness I felt. Can I survive without him? Thinking back, I did ok without him, but something was always missing. Now that we found each other, I didn’t feel like that anymore.
"I can feel you all the way up there. Sitting alone isn’t really a good thing for you." Chax’s voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
"I agree. I cook up all kinds of strange dilemmas and stress about too many things."
He smiled and sat down next to me. "Want to discuss it?"
"I was wondering how an archangel and a fallen were going to live together?"
"I see."
"You know I have my destiny down here, and you now have your destiny up there. Are we even going to see each other?"
Yeah, I was whining. Can you blame me? Just look at him!
He smiled and grabbed hold of me. He placed me on his lap and we looked
at each other, a grin on his face.
"I won’t lie to you. It will not be easy and sometimes it may border on chaotic. Now that I have reclaimed my place, I must lead the angels and protect not just heaven, but earth as well. I also have to carry Raphael's duties until another arch is born to take over. It is not an easy task."
My heart dropped all the way to my stomach. Yeah, and there is the drop line.
"Kasadya, we can make this work. We just need to work together. Both of us have a duty towards heaven and earth, and both of us are duty bound. But we can make us work as well." He leaned in to kiss me.
