by S. J. West
“Do you think he went to the Void because he’s chosen to side with Levi?” Silas asks his dad.
“I have no idea.” Jered shrugs. “It could be that or it could be because of something none of us knows about.”
“I think I know why he went there. I think he may have gone there to confront Levi. Not join him.”
“Confront him about what?” Silas asks me.
“Azrael found Alred a couple of days ago, and Alred told Az that Levi wanted to make a deal with him. He would give Az the living world as long as he helped him win the war.”
“You’re saying that Levi is trying to make the same deal with both Azrael and the rebellion angels?” Jered asks in disbelief. When I nod, he starts to laugh harshly. “I knew Levi was an idiot, but I never expected him to be that foolish.” Jered considers the situation. “I think you’re right. I think he’s gone to the Void to confront Levi about his duplicity. If only I could be a fly on the wall when the two of them meet. Azrael may take Levi out without us even having to ask him to do it.”
That would be the best outcome, but if I’ve learned anything, it’s the fact that things rarely work out so easily.
14
(Azrael’s Point of View)
I wasn’t sure it would work. I mean, I’ve never visited the Void before, but it is the land of the dead. Having the angel of death drop by unexpectedly seemed fitting, and apparently, it’s allowed. All I had to do was focus on Levi, and I found myself at the entrance of the Black Castle.
From his memories, I know the boy spent a great deal of time here and has quite a few not so fond memories of the place. I find it rather disconcerting to see so many women walking around who look similar to Lora with their gold wings, but none of them can hold a candle to her loveliness.
“Caleb?” one of the guardians asks me. “What are you doing here? I thought you went back to the living world.”
I know this guardian from the boy’s recollections. Her name is Olivia, and she’s the one who nearly broke him with her torturing methods when he spent time here after Penelope’s death. She’s also the one who tortured Silas because she knew it would hurt Lora. By all rights, I should end her existence and give the boy the satisfaction of feeling us suck the life right out of her.
Don’t pretend you would be doing that for my benefit. You would be doing it for yours since you haven’t had a fix since you escaped. I don’t want to become your excuse for doing things you know are wrong.
“That’s not Caleb, Olivia. That’s Azrael, the angel of death himself.”
I turn to look at the top of the grand staircase to find Levi standing there dressed in a royal blue velvet robe with a shiny silver crown on his head.
All I can do is grin and laugh at his ridiculously pompous attire.
“What do you think you are? A king or something?” I scoff as Levi walks down the stairs to greet me.
“Or something,” Levi replies smugly. “What brings you to my domain, Azrael? I thought you were having fun in the living world? At least, that’s what Alred said in his last message from there. Have you had enough time to consider my offer? Are you here to accept it in person or do you need me to write it down in blood to seal the deal?”
“Oh, you mean the same offer you made to the rebellion angles for their help, too? That one?” Sure, I sound snarky, but I have every right to be upset with the liar.
“Come now, Azrael, you know you’re my favorite.” Levi grins from ear to ear as he jauntily steps off the last stair and walks over to me. Does he truly believe I’ll fall for his charms? It just goes to show how little he understands me.
“You can save your flattery for someone dumb enough to believe it. I want to know why you would offer me the living world when you’ve obviously already proffered it to the rebellion angels.”
“In all fairness,” Levi says, folding his hands in front of him, “I didn’t even know you were still alive when I made that deal with them. As soon as I learned you were on Laed-i, I knew I had a true equal who could pull his weight in my war with our Father. If I had known you were on that planet, I would have freed you years ago. Who placed you there anyway? God or Lucifer?”
“Both.” If I sound disgruntled, it’s because I am. Their betrayal still stings.
“Then it sounds like you have as much of a grudge as I do against them. I say we band together, brother, and take them both down. Are you with me?”
I take a moment to consider Levi. He’s a little too gung-ho about us teaming up. I don’t trust anyone who acts so out of their nature.
“I’m not sure yet. I haven’t made up my mind which side of this war I’ll help or if I’ll help either of you.”
Levi’s brow furrows. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that. I thought for sure you would jump at the chance to help me, especially since I’m offering you practically the whole universe as your own personal buffet. Tell me, what’s giving you pause, brother? Killing people is what you enjoy most. Why the hesitation?”
“I promised Lora I would give her a chance to prove why humans deserve to live. She’s made some compelling arguments that I need time to think about.”
“Lora is defending humanity?” Olivia sneers behind me. “I would like to hear her argument for that.”
I don’t care for this woman’s attitude toward Lora. It’s disrespectful, and Lora doesn’t deserve to be spoken about so crudely.
Levi appears to consider my words before making a reply. “Like I said, I had hoped you would see things more my way, but if you’re unsure . . . well, I can’t take the chance that you’ll decide to defend them against me.”
Levi shifts his gaze to Olivia and slightly tilts his head. I don’t realize I’m in trouble until it’s too late.
Olivia grabs my arm and whispers in my ear. “Remember.”
Instantly, I find myself trapped inside my worst memory.
Most would probably think it’s the moment Lucifer caged me inside my prison, but it isn’t. It isn’t even the moment I realized I might never escape my jail cell.
Instead, it’s the day the first human found me. The intense hunger I felt to snatch their soul right out of their body was like no other pain I had felt before. All I wanted to do was grab them through the bars and suck the very life out of them. I don’t have to touch people to kill them, but whatever my cage was made out of also prevented me from killing people from a distance.
We’re trapped! Olivia won’t let you out of this memory until the war is over. Caleb groans in despair. We won’t be able to help Lora! What have you done, Azrael?
“I’ve doomed us to a fate worse than any type of hell,” I say as I watch the woman who found me approach my cage and ask me who I am and why I’m there. She was so innocent and pure. I knew reaping her soul would taste lovely, and the monster inside me craved to rip her apart to hasten her departure.
This was the moment I understood why Lucifer and God placed me inside my own personal hell. They knew I could never change my ways, not without purging myself of the need to feed first.
“I’m sorry, Caleb. I’m so, so sorry.”
(LEVI’S POINT OF VIEW)
All I can do is sit back in my office chair and giggle like a young schoolgirl. Azrael may have the power to suck a soul right out of its body, but he’s never been too bright. Any animal can be trained to fetch, but it takes a bit more intellect to trap a creature who can kill you with one thought. All that time he was imprisoned must have turned his brain to mush. How did he not see my betrayal coming? The imbecile.
It’s just as well. I don’t think I’ll need him to win this war. I have Leo. He’s all the insurance I could possibly want to insure a win.
A trip to the window of my office gives me a perfect view of him riding a leviathan like he was born to do it. That wasn’t always the case.
The memory of him running into my office when he was twelve years old is so clear I can almost hear him call out my name…
“Dad!”
Leo came running into the room looking very proud of himself. His blond hair bounced against the tops of his shoulders as he crossed the width of the room with youthful exuberance.
“I did it! I finally did it!” He ran around my desk and propelled himself into my arms. I caught him easily and sat him on my lap.
“Did what, son?” I had no idea at the time what he’s talking about, but it made me happy to see him so pleased with himself. Even then, he looked so much like his real father that it was disconcerting.
“I tamed a Leviathan!” Leo pumped his fist in the air with pure joy. His cheeks were flush with excitement and his bright blue eyes shone with pride. “He did exactly what I wanted him to do and even let me ride on his back.”
“Really?” It was an interesting development at the time. His powers had grown so much since I brought him to the Black Castle. I knew in that instant that he was ready to start learning a new trick that would finally give us everything we needed to win the war and conquer Heaven.
“I knew you could do it.” I hugged Leo, causing him to giggle. “I never had a single doubt that you would win them over. Everyone loves you around here.”
“You’re the best, Dad.” Leo tightened his arms around my neck. “I don’t ever want to let you down.”
“You never have and you never will, son.”
Leo sat back and looked into my eyes. “When are we going to help all those people trapped in Heaven? I feel like I’m ready. Don’t you think I’m ready?”
“Almost. We have all the time in the world to properly prepare you for it.” I brush away his hair from his eyes. “I thought one of the girls was going to trim your hair for you today. I’m surprised you could even see the leviathan, much less tame it.”
“I’ve decided I want to grow my hair out as long as yours because I want to be just like you when I grow up.”
His sentiment touched a part of me that I didn’t even know existed.
Ever since I brought Leo here to live with me, I’ve found myself understanding what it means to be responsible for someone else. I also learned that you can control someone even more profoundly with love than you can with hate.
Leo’s love for me is unconditional. He believes everything I say and does whatever I instruct him to do. I couldn’t ask for a better tool to use in the war against my Father.
“Come on.” I set Leo back on his feet and stood up from my chair. “Let’s go outside and I’ll show you a new trick you can do with your powers.”
“What kind of trick?” he asked, taking my hand as we walked out of my office together.
“It’s one where you open a portal to any realm of reality you want. Have I ever told you that you have the capability of phasing into Heaven? Your mother passed that ability down to you and it’s going to come in very handy once we invade the living world.”
“Why would I want to go to a place as horrible as that?” He scrunched up his face in disgust. “I don’t want to get trapped there like everyone else.”
“Yes, but you do want to save them and bring them here to live with us, right?”
Leo nodded. “That’s what you’ve been training me to do.”
“Well, in order for me to reach Heaven to help make that happen, I need you to open a door for me.”
“Like a real door?”
“Nope. It’s more like a tear between two worlds. Once you phase to Heaven, you’ll open this tear for me so I can take care of God and finally rule Heaven the way it always meant to be ruled.”
“How do I make a tear?”
“I’ll show you. It may take a bit of practice but—”
“We’ve got all the time in the world,” Leo finishes for me in a bored voice. “You’ve said that all my life.”
“As soon as you can open a tear and keep it open, I promise you we’ll go to the living world and finally help all those people realize what a bad man my Father truly is.”
“I’m glad I have you as my dad, and everyone there will be happy to see you. I just know it!”
Remembering those words makes me grin.
Not everyone will be happy to see me. I’ll make sure of that.
15
(Lora’s Point of View)
Relief. That’s what I felt after being able to tell Jered and Silas who Caleb really is. I could tell Silas was disappointed I didn’t confide in him sooner, but he said he understood why I had to honor my pledge to keep it a secret. I’m not sure he really did or if he was just saying that so I wouldn’t feel any guiltier than I already did.
Once I proved to Desmond that the breakfast I ate didn’t cause my stomach to revolt, he discharged me and made me promise not to overdo it during training that day. I promised him I wouldn’t and quickly made my way upstairs to change clothes. By the time I made it to Warrior Hall, my group was already in a holo-room which meant I had to wait for them to finish their program.
While I sit in the back of the room and wait for them, Malcolm walks over and sits down with me.
“That was one hell of a secret you had to keep,” he says, not sounding at all mad that I didn’t tell him or anyone else who Caleb actually was.
“I’m surprised you’re not mad at me.”
Malcolm looks at me with surprise. “Why would I be mad? Azrael has always been a putz. I’m surprised he didn’t try to blackmail even more from you. I was told he has feelings for you.”
“Who did you hear that from?” I don’t remember revealing that during my confession to Jered and Silas this morning.
“Jered told me about the kiss at the wedding.” Malcolm’s face darkens with a scowl. “Why would Azrael do that? Does he just want sex?”
“Sex?” I ask my question a little too loudly. The students in the room turn to look at us. Uncomfortable laughter can be heard from more than a few of them. I hang my head in shame. “No,” I groan, “he doesn’t want sex. I mean, I guess he could but he hasn’t mentioned it. Why was sex the first thing that came to your mind?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” he says with a shrug. “He hasn’t known you long enough to have feelings for you, and you can have sex with another person without emotional attachment being involved.”
“Oh, I see.” Malcolm doesn’t understand exactly what’s going on with Caleb. That’s why his mind jumped straight to sex. “Caleb is still conscious inside his body. What Azrael feels for me is what Caleb feels for me. Does that make sense?”
Malcolm sits up straighter, clearly distressed by what I’ve said.
“Are you saying Azrael trapped Caleb inside his own body?”
“Azrael said they were merged into one another now and that they will stay that way forever.”
The thought of Caleb’s new existence saddens me. If Azrael would let Caleb have control occasionally, my friend wouldn’t be doomed to a half-life where only his thoughts and emotions can affect the world.
“That poor kid.” Stunned, Malcolm leans his back against the wall appearing saddened by my revelation.
“You want to know what the worst part of all of this is? You discovered how to let Azrael out of his cage. If we had simply told someone where we were going and what we were going to do, Caleb would still be with us.”
I turn my head away in shame. Regret seizes my heart in a firm grip that will probably never fade away. So much could have been prevented if we had only been less foolhardy.
“Hey, don’t blame yourself,” Malcolm says in a kinder voice than I feel like I have a right to. “Caleb made the decision to sacrifice himself to let Azrael out, right?”
All I can do is nod because I don’t feel strong enough to say anything.
“Sometimes people make mistakes, Lora. Most of the time you don’t even know you could have done something differently until it’s too late. The two of you went down there with good intentions. Don’t think about what could have been because what happened is already in the past. All you can do is look to the future. If you want to help Caleb, find a way to d
o it here in the present.”
I look back at Malcolm hoping he can help me figure out how to do that.
“I’ve tried to convince Az to give Caleb control of his body every once in a while, so he doesn’t feel so alone.”
“I assume Azrael refuses because he’s scared Caleb won’t willingly give him back control?”
“Yes. That’s what he said.”
“Then, you need to approach the problem at a different angle.” Malcolm sits back and thinks about my dilemma. I pray he can figure it out because I’m stumped for a solution. There is one question he might be able to answer for me.
“Do you have any idea why Az is in the Void right now?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one,” he says, raising an amused eyebrow. “Azrael is probably giving Levi a hard time for promising the living world to both him and the rebellion angels. No one likes to be played the fool, especially not him.”
“Why especially not him?”
“He’s literally held peoples’ lives in his hands,” he says, holding out his own hand to demonstrate. “You don’t think that gives someone, angel or not, an ego trip? That’s why none of us liked him that much. He was so full of himself it was irritating. Plus, we could never sense when he was around and that was disconcerting, to say the least. You never knew if he was there to be your friend or the last face you ever saw. Friendships are built on mutual trust, and none of us could ever fully trust him.”
One of the doors to a holo-room opens, and I see a sweaty Silas step out with Emi, Keelan, Sariah, and Storm bringing up the rear.
“Go be with your friends,” Malcolm encourages me. “If I think of something that will help you with the Caleb problem, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks for keeping me company.” I hop off my seat. “I appreciate it.”
“Anytime.”
As I walk over to my team, I can tell how bone tired they are already. Maybe if I had been in there with them, they wouldn’t have had to work so hard.
