by Lori Aisling
“Most of the archangels have been taken and I don’t know where! Michael called us all to the great room this morning to finalize and execute a plan to find God. Shortly after the meeting started, they were all poisoned, displaying systems of paralysis similar to what you described.”
“But not you. And why is that, Jer?” I questioned, suspicion creeping into my mind.
“Michael asked Metatron and I to find The Lord’s scribe when he did not arrive on time for the gathering. By the time we heard the screams and raced back, our brethren were all immobilized, unable to fight, and we couldn’t stop them from being taken. There were just too many traitors, we couldn’t fight them all. They were our own! Seraphim and Cherubim I have known for centuries! So many of them turned on us. Oh Amara, how could we have been so blind?”
“Where is Metatron now?”
“Looking for you! He and I fled to Death’s realm immediately when we realized The Light was overrun. We saw the devastation that happened at your home, Amara. I’m saddened you were left to fight alone.”.
“I wasn’t alone, I had Lucinda. And in a way, I had Callon, too,” I stammered. Regaining my countenance, I pushed my mate from the forefront of my mind and continued. “You’ll regain control of Heaven and all those involved in this disloyalty will be severely punished. We only need to find the realm our foe is hiding in. She won’t prevail; today is the day she dies.”
Confusion clouded Jer’s face, his eyebrows drawn in concentration. “She? What are you talking about, Amara? Jophiel is not a traitor! She has confessed to her sins and she will atone for her failings. She was used as a pawn to stir discontent amongst us, distracting us from the true depth of the treason, and she was indeed fooled to believe lies fed to her by the resistance. She allowed her pride and ego to accept as truth an illegitimate paper correspondence leading her to believe God wished for her to rule beside him, as an equal. For her to bond with the Lord himself would have created enough divine grace to overthrow Hell. You know that’s her main objective- it has been for eons. She would be blind to any counter measures to sway her from that goal. You must understand she has a two-part method to her devotion to The Light. Since our creation, Joe has been one of Heaven’s most stauch followers of the Truth. Many millennial ago, she allowed her ego to override her better judgment-”
“Shocking,” I mused.
Shooting me an exasperated stare, he continued, “She once tried to tempt Lucifer into an eternal bond, feeling her sacrifice would tip the scales. She reasoned his loyalty to their bonding would allow The Light to prevail, as he would not allow his beloved to fall. Her logic was lacking, as she never accounted for his dedication to Hell being as strong as hers to her own cause. Of course, Lucifer never had any intention of bonding to an angel of The Light and instead, used her as a playtoy. If you only knew the debasement and degradation he reaped upon her, you might have more pity. She remained pure and untouched, until Lucifer.”
I should have felt compassion for her, but instead I found myself chuckling. “She actually thought she could tempt the Prince of Darkness? For God’s sake, he wrote the book on temptation. I knew her ego was immense, but I guess it truly knows no limits.”
“He changed her, Amara. When she finally realized he was only playing her and would never give her the bond she sought, she returned to The Light, broken and betrayed. She vowed Hell and Lucifer would fall, hence her dogged pursuit of Callon and her weakness to the lies she was told concerning The Lord’s plan to make an eternal vow to her. You see, her loyalty is only to the Light and the destruction of all things Dark. The only beings in existence who could overpower him are Callon and God. And now you, of course.”
“Lucifer believes in the design The Beginning created, Jer. Don’t get me wrong, if he thought he could reap more power for Hell with an eternal union, he would consider it. However, all of you are so misled concerning the bond. It’s not something that can be used as a ploy or power play. The binding comes from trust, acceptance, loyalty, and the relinquishing of self. Joe and Lucifer would have never been able to complete the process, as their base devotion would never have been to each other, but rather their cause. Jophiel wasn’t willing to submit and embrace Lucifer. She was sacrificing herself for The Light. In the end, all she did was allow him to steal her purity and harden her from ever being able to accept a true bond. To surrender to another in this fashion is far beyond the desire for the power the other holds. Callon could have been Heaven’s door greeter and I would have still given myself to him wholly. The Beginning recognized our mutual forfeiture of self and accepted our bond. Can you now understand how this entire situation is nothing but madness? There is no selfless vow between an archangel of the Light and a demon of the Dark; the bond would never solidify. This is only a matter of betrayal and mutually beneficial teamwork.”
“Then if not the power of a bond, how were they able to succeed thus far?”
“What you overheard in the café that morning with Joe must have in fact, been true. There’s obviously something, somewhere, which allows the siphoning of one’s power. I’m still foggy on it as I have seen nothing written, anywhere, mentioning such a spell, ritual, or object. But the key wasn’t for a bonded couple to hold the strength, the truth is proven in Callon and me. He was Death. Although I mirror his power, we didn’t share the responsibilities- the role was his alone to conduct. If that were not the case, I would’ve been granted a cloak the moment we became eternal mates. For example, should you and Joe bond, you wouldn't be the Lord’s Angel of Beauty and Grace. You would only don that duty should she fall. Obviously, the same would apply if it were you who were bested and she were left behind. No, we have been bested by a demon who desired chaos amongst the souls. He cares not for the design, only his perverted lust for total control of the suffering, and he cares not for The Dark or The Light, his only desire is complete domination. Lucifer granted Belial that desire by allowing him to rule over Hell’s prison, but when approached with a better offer and no rules concerning the souls, he took it. He has been dealt with, his vessel destroyed. I will discuss with Lucifer and The Lord the tainted soul’s sentence, but I’m choosing annihilation. The Timeless must realize there are dire repercussions for sedition of this level. The tantalizing offer that swayed Belial to turn his back on his Dark Master was made by an angel with no dedication to the souls, no loyalty to Heaven or Hell. The fate of mortals and Timeless are irrelevant and of absolute unimportance, therefore a solid bargaining chip to use with the Dark lieutenant in exchange for condemned souls and lesser demons to fight to destroy both factions. Promises of utter anarchy and the ability to decide their own destinies was adequate fodder for the disgruntled cherubim and seraphim who defected.”
I could almost see the pieces falling into place for poor Jeremiel as my words filled in the missing gaps. God’s Angel of Hope and Truth would have never come to this conclusion on his own, he kept too much faith. His ice-blue eyes met mine, shock reflected in their depths as realization took hold.
“Oh my God, Amara. It’s Ariel.”
A Price So High
I gave my friend a sad smile, nodding my head. “Yes, Jer. We should’ve seen this sooner. For an archangel to have no loyalty or devotion to the souls was never healthy and surely a sign of malcontent. She was overlooked as her dedication to her role concerning the base creatures seemed endearing at its best, or ‘quirky’ at its worst. In hindsight, The Light should have indeed cared more for the creatures of the destructed realms; after all, they were placed there by The Beginning along with the mortals. Her resentment grew until presented with the chance of increasing her strength. The thought of controlling Callon’s power to destroy the factions was exactly the fuel she needed to create and execute a plan. Lucifer’s lackey was merely a tool to project her forward.”
“But what of the souls?” he whispered, his eyes filling with tears.
“Should her plan come to fruition, they would have been given to Belial to torture. Mortal
s would have been reduced to mere slaves to the realm, given her disdain for them, I would assume. What the leader of hell would have done to them isn’t something I want to even think about. Now that he has been dispatched, I assume she plans on recruiting another lesser demon to deal with what she considers unimportant; she will never get the chance to accomplish her goal.”
“How do we stop her if we can’t find her? We have scoured this entire world looking for The Lord, and sent out numerous search parties to others. That was the base of our meeting today. We were going to flood the realms, en masse, in an attempt to flush out our foe and find our King.”
“I have a plan and it will work. I’m going to Hell, and you and Metatron are coming with me. I need Lucifer to see we are finally working together to save the factions, and present him with a united front.”
“Why Hell? For God’s sake, Amara, we can’t trust him! He doesn’t care if God is found, and his fondness for Callon will only go so far.”
“Callon is gone, Jer. I was able to remove his essence from Ariel during the battle this morning. He has returned to his realm to exist amongst the void.” My hands shook and I dipped my head to avoid the look of pity and sorrow I knew I would find on Jeremiel’s face.
“But his soul, Amara! We can still find him and you can usher him to his next cycle. He will be reborn.”
“No, that isn’t how it works for Callon. He doesn’t have a soul,” I whispered, forcing out the string of words I never wanted to speak. “He was destined to always ‘be’, like God. Which is why we mustn’t delay further. For her to have taken the archangels, I fear Ariel has moved into her backup plan. Since she could siphon Callon, she plans on using that same tool to reap the power of God and the archangels in an attempt to defeat Lucifer. Heaven will fall on its own without a leader, and the high angels gone. She only needs to remove Luc to successfully destroy both factions. Even if I were to defeat her after that time, what good would it do? And be aware, Jer, Lucifer has been right thus far. He questions whether archangels even have souls. This could very well be the actual end for all of you if we fail.”
I saw a sense of anger and resolve settle onto the handsome angel’s face as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed a few keys. “Seattle. Get here, now,” he barked before hanging up. “I know being God’s Angel of Truth and Hope makes me seem soft, but rest assured, Death, you have never seen a fight until you see someone battle for something they truly believe in. Hope is a very powerful tool and I have it in excess.”
Light flashed and Metatron stalked into my office, fury rolling off him in waves. “Tell me you have something. Anything,” he growled through clenched teeth, looking back and forth between Jer and me.
“Actually, thanks to Amara, we have everything we need to know now, and it’s time for us to shut up and follow her lead. We’re going to Hell, I’ll fill you in while we find Lucifer.”
For the first time since I met him, Metraton was speechless. He stared at his brethren, mouth agape and eyes wide until Jer slapped him on the shoulder and the three of us stepped into the bowels of Hell.
I chose to manifest close to Lucifer’s home, though I’m not sure it really mattered. I was ceratin he would detect the angelic grace of my two companions and if I couldn’t find him, he would find us. I was right.
“How dare you bring them into MY realm?” Satan bellowed, storming towards us. “You overstep your bounds, Death. Explain yourself. NOW!” he demanded.
Metatron began to step forward, ready to open his big mouth and I elbowed him in the stomach. “Shut the fuck up, ‘Tron. Don’t say a damned word unless I tell you to,” I hissed. “We need him, and he needs us. I won’t tolerate a pissing contest.”
The angel clenched his fists, but remained silent as Lucifer approached. I stepped forward to meet the Prince of Darkness, holding his penetrating stare. He strode right into my space, looking down at me, his amber eyes flaring, demanding an explanation. “We need to talk, Luc. We need to work together to fix this shit, and I’m not leaving until we can come to an agreement.”
“Oh, but Amara, what makes you think I want you to leave? We had such fun when you last visited, didn’t we?”
I heard Jeremiel’s sudden intake of breath, but I ignored Satan’s prod. “We both did what we needed to do. My stance hasn’t changed. I only wish I could’ve done more, sooner.”
“Good. So now that my kingdom is reduced to a skeleton crew, literally and figuratively, please tell me: what the fuck else can I do for you?”
I heard the bitterness mixed with sarcasm in his voice and I knew I needed to tread lightly. Lucifer had indeed shouldered a lot of loss by condoning the annihilation of the condemned souls and permitting me to eradicate many of his treasonous demons, as well; he didn’t have to allow that. He could have made everything much harder on me and the realm of Light by shutting me out; yet he saved my life and provided me with Lue. Without her, I’m not sure I would have made it this far. When compiling the facts, The Devil was truly more than generous and his world was now a burning, crumbling mess around us.
“Heaven has fallen, Luc.”
“Why would you say that! It’s not true!” Metatron shrieked his indignation.
“It is true. Metatron and Jeremiel are the only two archangels left, the rest were dosed with the same toxin as me and they were taken from the realm. The Lord is still missing, and Callon is now gone. So please, I beg of you, help us restore The Beginning’s design. I know you believe it’s the true path. I’m sure you saw how I repopulated much of your prison during my recent battle; I didn’t kill them, Luc. I sent them to you. I don’t want Hell to fall.”
His eyes softened as he stared at me. “You say Callon is gone. Are you sure, Amara?”
“I was able to pull his power away from Ariel. It was laced through her grace, but it was not hers to possess. It returned to me, then dissipated into my home realm. You were right: He has no soul.” I refused to look away, I didn’t want to appear weak to the Devil standing before me, but nonetheless, I felt a tear fall down my cheek.
He reached out with his thumb and wiped the tear from my face. “You did say Ariel just now, correct? That daft little bitch finally fell off the ledge. I must say, we should have seen this coming. I’m truly sorry about Callon, you know I respected him. However, I am struggling to see how I can help.”
“Your hounds, Luc. They are the key to everything. We need them to find the angels and God, then they will need to drain the toxin from their bodies like Lue did for me.”
Lucifer’s brows shot towards his forehead as he processed my request. “You want my hounds to save the very Timeless who hunted, slaughtered, and tortured them, thereby forcing me to keep them kenneled for hundreds of years in order to either save them from sure death or instigate a bloody war between me and the other archangels. You have moxie, woman. I’ll give you that.”
“We’ll make a deal. Jeremiel and Metatron can sign for The Light stating your hounds will never be hunted for sport again. They will regain their place in your operation and never be used as a pawn against you, I know you care for them, Luc. Barter with me... let’s figure this out so we can kill the bitch and put things back the way they were. What do you want?”
Lucifer tipped his head back and started at the sky, his arms folded across his chest. He looked back at me and I saw the familiar flames begin to fill his eyes as he stared at me. “I will take your deal concerning my hounds. Punishment to the Timeless who pursue them for sport will be 300 years in my prison. My second demand is going to take a much greater sacrifice. What do I want? It’s simple. I want you, Amara Rush.”
Twenty-One Guns
Jeremiel and Metatron both erupted, but their yells sounded muffled and foreign, as if I were protected inside a vacuum of some sort. Lucifer stared at me, his eyes questioning and consuming as he ignored the other two archangels.
I felt like I was dying inside and yet the only thing I truly cared about was fixing the faction
s and restoring the design. “What are your terms?” I deadpanned.
“Amara, NO! Do not do this! For the love of God!” Jeremiel cried.
Spinning on him, I let anger flood me. “Then what the fuck do you propose, huh? For thousands of goddamn years, you and your Kingdom wallowed in opulence and beauty. The Light is pure! The Light is truth! The Light, The Light, The LIGHT!” I sing-songed. “But dammit, Jer, all it took was one crazy goofball, who is one of yours, I might add, to completely DESTROY Heaven, Hell, and risk every mortal soul in existence! And let’s not forget, she KILLED my mate. So please, I beg you, tell me what the fuck other option is there at this point?” I seethed, screaming at the only person on two legs I considered a true friend.
“There has to be something, Amara. We can work something out. We can look for them ourselves. Maybe Lue can help with the toxin, like she did for you,” he stammered, looking genuinely horrified.
“There’s no time for that, Jer. Who knows how long it would take for us to find them. And even if we do, there is no way Lucinda alone can save all the angels and The Lord. It simply isn’t possible. It will take days for all of hell’s hounds to milk the toxin from their bodies. Lue was only a puppy, but she worked non-stop for over a week just on me, and my dose was light.”
“I don’t know what to say. More than anything, I want to preserve the design and save Heaven. But I feel this sacrifice is not yours to make,” Metatron spoke, sadness drenching his voice. “Why would you do this for us? You are The Counterbalance, you hold no loyalty to either faction.”
“I won’t do it for Heaven or Hell. Although I want both realms to function as the divine plan intended, every one of you selfish bastards can rot for all I care. If I don’t do this,” my voice caught and tears rolled in fat droplets down my face, “then Callon died for nothing and I can’t live with that.”