The Otherling

by Heather M. Walker

  Gabriel, the guardian closest to the opening within the earth and the monstrosity that was emerging out of it, said, "It's Satanael, in his Baphomet form!"

  Seraphael's resolve strengthened, both swords drawn and ready for use in his strong hands. Satanael was capable of shape shifting into many forms, and he saved that of Baphomet for when he wanted to strike the most terror into the hearts of his enemies.

  As soon as he was born from the stinking hole in the earth, Satanael launched himself at Gabriel, the guardian closest to him. He raised his clawed hand and aimed at Gabriel's heart. With one swift blow of his sword, Gabriel sliced several inches off of Satanael's claw, sending pieces of it flying into the darkness. Unperturbed, Satanael grabbed at Gabriel's throat, both hands reaching their mark.

  Seraphael, unwilling to leave his protective position near Annaleah, felt helpless to defend Gabriel.

  Annaleah felt her body tremble with a righteous rage. Her blood coursed hot in her veins as her heart pumped adrenaline with the force of thunder into her flexed muscles. Seeing the only friend she had ever come to trust and love in such a vulnerable position transformed her into something she had never known she was capable of being. It was time to be a warrior, to fight with something far more powerful than forged steel and sharpened blade. She stood and called to Satanael.

  "Let him go and fight me!" Annaleah cried, her fists clenched at her sides. Her three friends turned to her, shock and terror bright in their eyes. Satanael released Gabriel's throat and tossed him to the ground. He looked her right in the eyes, but she had already black boxed her mind. He tried to enter her thoughts, but found no entrance.

  Gabriel stood quickly, sword drawn, and moved to stand in front of Annaleah. Satanael turned to him and spat with vehemence, "You must honor her request! I have let you go; if she wishes to fight me, let her fight! You heard her. None of you will interfere."

  Seraphael charged at him with his swords, a war cry escaping his lips. Satanael grabbed each sword, the blades slicing deeply into his flesh. He lifted the blades, impervious to the pain and blood pouring from his wounds, and threw Seraphael several meters away. With his eyes on fire within their sockets and blazing a deep red, he turned, growling at Marchosias, who had struck him with her swords in the Achilles tendon. He balled his hand into a fist and struck her hard in the face, spitting on her when she fell to the ground.

  "ENOUGH!" cried Annaleah, before Michael could launch his attack on Satanael. Michael turned to her, his sword held high in the air, ready to slay their enemy.

  "Let me fight him! How many of you have to die to protect me?’ She looked at them, hoping the look of ferocity was enough to convince them. “Please, trust me Michael. Take Seraphael and the others a safe distance and let me fight him.”

  Annaleah remembered what both Gabriel and the Goddess had told her about the power of real, raw, unfiltered love. She had seen it heal her uncle right before her eyes. Perhaps it wasn’t brute force that would win this war. Maybe, just maybe, it was love.

  Satanael tilted his head back and laughed, a taunting, cruel laugh of victory. "Do as she says, Michael, and I might spare you all from death everlasting. I don't see the Illuminare here now. There will be no chance of being born again for your lot tonight. Only a deep, dark oblivion if you stand in my way. She wants to fight me, let her fight."

  With great sadness, Michael lowered his head and his weapon. Satanael rubbed his hands together in delight, a wicked smile on his lips.

  Annaleah saw Gabriel restraining Seraphael, who called out her name with tangible desperation. Hearing the pain in his voice as he repeated the word "no" over and over again, her heart ached.

  "Stand and face me, Satanael." she demanded. Satanael gave her an incredulous look, followed by one of mock fear.

  "Oh no, woe is me," he said, placing his bleeding hands on his cheeks, "here I am all alone to face the Otherling, whatever shall I do?"

  Annaleah, ignoring him, closed her golden eyes and let her heart flood with love for Seraphael. Becoming lost to her adoration, she let the rapture of her devotion to him blossom into a beautiful glow within her soul that washed over her spirit and ignited her entire being. As she did so, she felt an intense, tingling heat that spread like little lines of lightning under her skin. Pleasantly surprised by the powerful sensation, she opened her eyes for a brief moment and saw that these pulses of light became like lightning bolts dancing just under her skin, building up in their intensity, growing more luminous and forceful with their light.

  Satanael clicked his tongue, amused. "So that is your tactic, to blind me with beauty? I already thought you beautiful, Annaleah. If you wanted me, you should have simply said so." His tone was still filled with mockery. Satanael, filled with pride and self-assurance, made no effort to attack her, his hubris allowing him plenty of time to taunt her.

  A peaceful gratitude filed Annaleah, mixing with the power of love within her, and she closed her eyes once more to go back within.

  How perfect, she thought, that he wouldn’t even think to strike out at her, so sure was he that what she was doing couldn’t harm him.

  Annaleah felt the love for her friend Seth course through her being. She relived the first time she’d met him in the fifth grade. He had been her only friend and had stood by her when none of her other peers would. She saw his youthful face, dimpled and smiling, his blue eyes warm with returned friendship. She thought of the countless secrets told, the laughter they had shared, and the bond that held them together to the ends of the earth. As she concentrated, she felt the arcs of light merge together, snaking their way into each other until her entire body began to buzz and emanate a dazzling golden white light that she could see through the thin layer of her closed lids.

  His mocking tone now gone, Satanael asked, "What is it that you are doing, Annaleah? Whatever it is, it won't work. Pitiful and pathetic really, to think that you could conquer me with such an insubstantial effort."

  Annaleah, feeling the power of love surging through her, was at peace. With complete trust in the Goddess, she prayed for assistance. With the voice of her mind and heart she prayed in silence, "Help me, Oh Goddess, and fill me with the love you had for Satanael before he fell. Let it course through me with the height of its power, and fill me with its intensity."

  As soon as the last word of her intention was formed in her mind, Annaleah burst into golden flames, which, though they sprang from her, neither consumed or burned her. She was infused with an emotion so forceful and overpowering that she was amazed she was able to stand in the midst of it. Images burst into her mind, their strength instantly fortifying and devastating all at once.

  Annaleah saw the great and beautiful face of the Goddess, the protean lights shifting in passion for Satanael. She saw the handsome angel he had been before he’d fallen. He was holding the Goddess tightly in the blissful action of devoted love.

  From a distant place, she heard Satanael screaming, angry and confused as the golden light from her fire leapt from her blazing form and ignited him. The fire of love had become very unfamiliar to him. It was nothing like the flames of Hell, and it wounded him deeply.

  "What are you doing? Stop it at once, you filthy bitch!" His words were like the memory of a dream that happened long ago. They reached her as if they had been spoken from a far off place, but they no longer mattered. More visions came to her, of sonnets Satanael had written for the Goddess, ones only the high archangel of music could write. She saw him working hard, with tenderness to guide a legion of angels to sing in full chorus of his love to the Creator.

  Annaleah heard his anger turn to anguish. The hot poison under his words was gone, replaced instantly with tangible anguish. The cry he unleashed from the place where he had once kept his soul hung in the air between them, heavy and somber. His cry was that of a wounded animal, and it echoed his pain into the sky.

  Annaleah opened her eyes and watched as he did his best to recover himself. He drew his breath in through sharply
pointed teeth in order to puff up his chest in an effort to appear larger and more ferocious. He knew her battle tactic now, and she could see the hatred for her in his eyes.

  With obvious rage and all flickering of amusement gone from his eyes, Satanael threw himself at her. He was rewarded for his effort by bursting into flames and bouncing off of her, leaving her unharmed.

  Screaming in agony, he unleashed a myriad of curses that she had never heard before. Unaffected, Annaleah stood her ground, still enveloped with the Holy fire of burning love.

  As Satanael screamed and rolled on the ground in torment, a great bolt of lightning tore across the sky, followed by a resounding clap of thunder. Looking up, Annaleah saw that a host of Ophanim had ridden on the lightning bolt and were descending from the heavens, each holding a great and heavy length of chain blessed by the Goddess Herself.

  Unable to put out the flames, Satanael's cries of pain turned again to that of hatred and anger. He stood, prepared to retreat into the gaping maw of the earth from which he had come. When he reached its entrance, the Ophanim blocked his entry, spreading out their enormous wings to bar his way. Infuriated, Satanael screamed profanities and lunacies and tried to force himself through the Ophanim. Annaleah watched as they threw their chains around him, binding him within their lengths.

  "Satanael," a voice Annaleah did not recognize spoke, "for crimes innumerable against the Goddess and all of mankind, you are hereby sentenced to serve a thousand years chained to the bottom of the Euphrates river." After this simple statement, the host of Ophanim pulled the chains, eliciting another cry of rage and pain from their prisoner. Annaleah watched the great gouge in the earth begin to seal itself, taking with it the stench of sin and sulfur as they ascended into the sky, Satanael still ablaze with the light of pure love.

  With the terrible hole gone, and Satanael banished with the ascending Ophanim, Annaleah, her body still inflamed, looked for her friends. They walked toward her, swords abandoned now that victory had been achieved. In their eyes she saw a weary myriad of heavy emotions. A fresh wave of flames washed over her, and flickered their light into the darkness. These Holy flames summoned forth the ones who had been hiding, waiting for the chance to come to her for redemption.

  It was finally time to redeem the Fallen.

  Chapter Forty

  Redemption

  From all around her they came, some creeping out of the shadows while others manifested themselves out of thin air. Still others came on wing, landing softly upon the damaged earth. Annaleah's fire had gained in strength, its golden light shining out several feet from her luminous body, dancing and flickering in a glorious light show. Though many of the Fallen were coming, they all stood at the edge of the light, seeming hesitant and unsure of how to proceed.

  "Do not fear me, nor the love which will redeem you to your rightful places in the Heavens. Come to me, and know the Goddess once more." Annaleah's voice rang through the clearing, and calmed the troubled hearts of those who had forsaken themselves.

  The first Fallen, her head down in both respect and shame, approached Annaleah. Her silver eyes glistened with tears as she moved toward the Otherling. One wing was folded against her back, while the other was held out at an angle, bleeding, clearly broken in the battle. Red clay and blood dirtied her otherwise beautiful robes. Her long brown hair clung to her face in places, held there with dried blood and tears.

  "I stand before you, Otherling whose name is Annaleah, and before the Goddess Herself," the Fallen said. "I wish to confess my sin of siding with those who fought against the Goddess during the Original Fall. All these countless years I’ve held onto the fact that I never fought on the side of the Dark Ones in wars against the Light. My heart is full of suffering, but has never been open to the darkness of true evil. With all my being, I repent and ask for redemption." After she had spoken, the Fallen closed her eyes, waiting on the response of the Otherling.

  Annaleah held out her hand to the Fallen before her, and said, "Vassaga, Fallen angel of the Heavens, your repentance has been accepted. Stand with me in the light and love of the Goddess and be redeemed." As the Fallen angel took Annaleah's hand, the fire that enveloped the Otherling leapt onto the Fallen, encasing her form with the brilliant fire. It consumed her and healed her, the broken wing stopped bleeding and straightened. Now, held out against the sky, the full span of both her wings glistened with the same powerful fire that shone from Annaleah.

  As the light grew in both intensity and size, the ground under Annaleah's and Vassaga's feet began to change. The light touched the ground where it had been scarred and torn, and healed the terror it had undergone in battle. The great gouges inflicted in the soil sealed over, hiding the angelic and demonic blood that had spilled onto it once and for all. Emerald green grass sprouted forth from the dirt and beautiful flowers bloomed within the leafy blades in a myriad of vivid colors. The flowers, with their blossoms, hid the stench of war and death with a sweetly enticing perfume. The night was now alive with the transformation of the clearing back into the Holy site it had once been.

  The light continued to radiate in beautiful, undulating waves from Annaleah, flowing over and encompassing the Fallen angel Vassaga. Annaleah, acting as a conduit for the Goddess' love, channeled the memory of Vassaga's creation to her, sending with the vision the emotions laden therein. Both Annaleah and Vassaga witnessed the moment the Goddess had formed love and light into the angel that became Vassaga. Together, they saw the look of raptured concentration as the Creator sculpted light into wings, hair, eyes, and a face. When the form pleased her, the Goddess blew a breath through the being's nose, and life burst forth from the angel. The newly born Vassaga, after taking her first breath, began to sing an impassioned hymn to the Goddess. As the vision of the birth took place, all sin was removed from the Fallen, and she was born again in the Light clean and whole, all wrongdoing forgiven.

  Annaleah knew that Vassaga was finally ready for her reunion with the Goddess as Vassaga withdrew her blazing hand from Annaleah's. Vassaga, beating her wings against the deep cobalt of the sky, rose into the Heavens, spiraling upwards, singing in Enochian of her love for the Goddess, and how she awaited the euphoria of finally seeing Her face again.

  Annaleah could feel the communal courage and hope that surged through the Fallen at seeing one of their own redeemed. It was a joyous thrumming that permeated the air and reverberated their sentiments in her heart.

  They all tried to come towards her at once. Annaleah knew that in Her infinite wisdom, the Goddess had prepared for the onslaught of the Fallen all converging towards her. Each was met in their own private clearing in the woods, having their own sacred and private audience with the Goddess and Annaleah. Though many gathered around her at once, it seemed effortless to hear their claims and purge them of their long held sins. As each Fallen came close enough to be touched by the radiance of the Holy fire, Annaleah could feel the power of the Goddess helping her to guide each one out of the shadows that had lingered in their souls. She had always loved and trusted the creator, but she was left all but breathless by the beautiful way in which the Goddess came to meet each of her now redeemed children. That was the omnipresent glory and power of the Goddess, to be able to address each one privately and personally, all at once.

  From all around the clearing, thousands upon thousands of multi colored lights rose into the sky and ascended until their brilliance could be seen no more.

  Michael turned to Marchosias, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you join them, Marchosias? I know the Goddess will be overjoyed to see you in the Heavens again. She has spoken of you with a great fondness and aching in her spirit."

  Marchosias nodded. "Yes," she said, smiling. "I think it is time to go home. See you there." She brought two fingertips to her forehead, and gave her friends a parting salute before walking towards the convergence of the Fallen. It wasn’t long before she too, rose into the sky in a swirling of protean, shimmering light.

  Annaleah s
miled at her friends, feeling their eyes upon her as she moved through the throng of Fallen that had finally grown thinner. The ascending lights of the redeemed were fewer and fewer in the sky. When the last lingering lights could no longer be seen, Gabriel, Seraphael and Michael made their way across the clearing to her.

  Smiling serenely, Annaleah felt a glow in her soul that was full of a gentle, yet beautifully powerful love and peace. The luminescence and adoration of the Goddess blazed within her, making her feel all the more beautiful.

  "The Illuminare are coming," she said simply, a peaceful smile on her lips. As soon as she spoke this, several forms made their way into the clearing. They were darker than the night that surrounded them and appeared to be made of condensed shadows so deep and dark that no light from outside would shine through their solid forms. Within this impenetrable darkness, sparked bolts of light like powerful lightning and sporadic flashing arcs of illumination, as though fireflies were alive within them. They held the shape of angels, but did not move like them. Instead, they flowed with ethereal, ghost like grace, seeming to have no feet. One glided around Annaleah, circling around her and then ascending into the sky before descending again and making its way to her once more. They seemed to be dancing almost, a strange ballet of mysterious spiritual importance.

  Annaleah, still inflamed with the spirit of the Goddess, opened her arms in welcome to the enigmatic Illuminare. In return, their dance slowed, and several glided over the ground and hovered before her. The nearest reached its hand inside its chest, not stopping until most of the arm had disappeared inside its inky depths. A few seconds later it withdrew its arm, and within its hand it held an earthen pot the size of a large human fist. This it handed to Annaleah. Annaleah took it with great reverence. Many more Illuminare followed suit, placing their sacred vessels at her feet before withdrawing a few meters away.