Gods of Shadow and Flame
Page 69
David gazed at the feline with undisguised joy. "You understand, then."
“What, that though she has given you her heart and now must sleep within her garden for all eternity, she still may dream wonderful dreams of life, love, and family where she feeds her loyal familiar an endless variety of perfectly prepared fishies?” Midnight managed to look haughty. “I didn’t doubt it for a second.”
Morlekai just shook his head, expression one of speechless awe.
"Yes, Morlekai. She still lives. And in some future turning of the wheel, you just might win her heart again." David smiled warmly at the man by his side, gently squeezing his hand. "Thank you, by the way, Morlekai."
The older angel blinked. “For what, dear David?”
The young man solemnly touched the scars where once Morlekai’s wings had been. Brilliant as gold flashing in the sun, the wings of an angel, soaring upon the heavenly skies. David’s gaze was gentle. “You gave up so much, to fight by her side.”
Morlekai flashed a bemused smile even as he gazed at the suddenly solemn pair of angels, their own wings shining a brilliant gold. His chuckle held a touch of bitterness. “Not so great a sacrifice as all that, my dear David, as Uciel and Uriel can attest.”
The female angel nodded, gazing at Morlekai sadly. “Hot and passionate he was. Filled with the fires of wrath and retribution.”
Her companion tilted his head in agreement. “It was not simply justice he craved, as would an angel of battle, dangerous ground that they tread, but vengeance. Wrath, fierce and hot as any lord of Hell’s.” He sighed. “We feared for him. We truly did.”
The female angel smiled gently. “Yet his Fall was by choice. His wings did not decay with corruption, sending him hurling deep within the bowels of Hades. Rather, he exercised his own free will. Freeing himself of their burden, freeing himself to live by his own code. And in doing so, he chose a path that allowed him free vent to his darker passions.”
David smiled and nodded. “And yet he does so in such a way that he helps defend the very bulwark standing between Heaven and Hell. The Midnight Garden. First realm risen from Hades, and all that stands between the worlds above, and the depredations of those Fallen lords below.”
Morlekai's smile was fierce, cold. Oddly out of place in the gentle garden. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The killer of killers is the savior of their victims. For I am the hot scalpel that burns away the gangrenous rot that would claim us all." He pinned the angels speechless with his implacable glare. "Judge me not for reveling in the hunt. Judge me not for glorying in the kill. For the warrens of Shadow are my hunting grounds. And those jackals who seek to worm their way through to the land of the living will find me waiting for them. Blade sharp, aim true."
Midnight, ancient god once known as Endless Night, flashed a predatory grin. “This is why I like him. Not afraid to bare his fangs for a worthy cause.” The great hound once known as Death of Stars barked in happy agreement, licking a suddenly laughing Morlekai, whose fierce countenance instantly became the gaze of a man stroking a beloved pet, and the mood was suddenly gentle once more.
“Silly Hound,” Morlekai chuckled softly, gently scratching Rage between the ears, a gesture the hound obviously adored.
David gazed sadly at Morlekai. “For your companions, I am sorry.”
Morlekai sighed. "As am I, dear David." He gazed back at the vast glade filled with flowers and laughter. "They sleep, now. The wounds they suffered in Hades were fierce, the weight of Shadow weighing upon their souls a terrible burden indeed."
David nodded. “If their spirits can bear the terrible potency, they shall awaken as strong as any Delver has ever been. But it would ever weigh upon them, the pull of the realm of dreams and the next life ever tempting them to surrender and be free of that potent weight of power, free their souls of all woe and care, to begin life anew.”
Morlekai clenched his eyes tight, turning away, unable to bear others witnessing his pain. “I have bonded with them both, as strong as any, save the woman I have always loved, laying before us even now. It would tear my soul, to lose them once more.”
David gently squeezed Morlekai’s hand. “You are always welcome to free yourself of your own burdens, dear Morlekai. Please don’t forget that.”
Morlekai gave vent to a mirthless chuckle. “Lose all memory? Become fully mortal, unaware of my past, with no memory of those I loved? With no more awareness of the terrible struggle before us than any other innocent soul?” He shook his head fiercely.
“I am sorry, dear David. That is one choice I refuse to make.”
“Is it pride?” asked the female angel softly. “Can you not let that go, dear Morlekai, who once flew freely with me, soaring endlessly in the perpetual sunset of our golden skies?”
Morlekai gave an abrupt shake of his head. "No, Uciel. Not pride." He checked himself. "No, I will allow no words of falsehood to flow from my lips. I will be true to that, at least." He grimaced. "Yes, there is pride. Pride and a fierce resolve to stand strong. For I will take hot satisfaction in what powers I have claimed during my struggles in Shadow and within the depths of Hell itself! But know this, Uciel. 'Tis not simply my own dark glory that bids me stand perpetual vigil. Forever aware. It is my love for this garden, my devotion to this land, all the realms of Faerie, man, and the Heavens above that compels my vigil.
"For the woman who has claimed my heart formed this sanctuary out of love and sacrifice heretofore unknown in one forged in so dark and wretched a place. It is a sacred bulwark, forever in need of sentinels to guard its walls from all who would seek to send this sacred garden spiraling down into the cruel Abyss once more.”
He glared at the two solemn-faced angels. "I will fight for her garden. I will lay my life down for this cause, if needs be. I do not fear my own oblivion. I do not fear my own death, like those cowardly foes that would rather debase themselves like jackals in Hell, feasting upon the carrion of fallen souls, than stand tall and proud as a wolf, fierce and free, facing down the doom that will eventually come for us all with courage and conviction!"
Rage barked in agreement, eliciting a soft chuckle from Morlekai, fearsome countenance instantly easing into bemused affection. “There, my Malek. Rest easy, my friend. For you and I shall always fight our common enemies side by side. In this life or the next, as the wheel turns.”
The great hound nodded contentedly, giving his friend a firm lick before padding over to his mistress, to curl up by her side, even as the angels looked on.
Midnight gave Rage an approving nod. “Very good, Hound. Let us rest then, slip back through our mistress’s dream within the mortal realm once more.” He gazed up at David, flashing him a very smug grin. “Our deal still holds, David.”
The boy laughed. "Of course, beloved Midnight. All the fishies you desire, as per our accord, millennia ago."
The pleased looking cat gave a solemn nod, closing his brilliant sapphire eyes, joining his companions in sleep, all three bathed in a golden shaft of sunlight, seeming to sparkle and fade away, like morning dew before the gentle sun.
Morlekai sighed, smiling gently and shaking his head. “How much time has passed in the mortal realms, dear David?”
The boy gazed sadly at his friend. “I was dead, Morlekai. My connection to the ebb and flow of time within the mortal realms was broken.” He gently touched the golden seam upon his chest, sparkling with the love of a girl who had made the ultimate sacrifice. “I suspect, however, that I shall never lose that connection again, for all the days our realm circles the brilliant sun above.”
Morlekai nodded. “For now you are one. With the sacred tree, with the garden of life, and one with Jess as well.”
David smiled. “Go, Morlekai. Whether a year or a century has passed, go home to those you love. Whether friend, adviser, or husband, at least one of those souls will need you in the days and years to come.”
The wingless angel laughed, flashing a casual wave at the solemnly staring pair still standing
sentinel by the great tree of life. “Farewell Uriel, Uciel.”
“Farewell, Morlekai.” Uciel raised her hand. “May your blade always strike true, angel of battle.”
“So long as the cause is just,” he said, even as his admiring gaze took in the vast woodlands and lush fields full of the sounds of laughing children and the wonderful aroma of wildflowers blossoming in the height of perpetual spring. The wingless angel gave a satisfied nod, feeling to the depths of his soul that no matter how bitter the sacrifice, this realm, so far from the Heavens as it may be, was a realm well worth fighting for. A realm well worth dying for. No doubt David could see it in his eyes when he waved farewell.
With a bittersweet burden upon his heart, Morlekai walked toward the field full of laughter and song, whistling a sprightly tune even as he faded from sight, knowing that one day he would be reunited with those he loved.
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