They sat there in silence. He spoke the truth, they finally had a way to break Lucifer’s Curse and free them of their own imprisonment. The Surface and Heaven had never felt so close before, their revenge was at hand and then the Angels would truly learn the full might of the Wrath of the Gods.
Chapter 12
Hera walked along the streets of New York, one in the midst of millions. But not just anyone, a Goddess walking amongst mortals again. Such had not happened since before the War of Heaven, they had no notion of her existence, no understanding that they should be afraid. She was the lion amongst the lambs, the weakening of their magical bloodlines made them so vulnerable to the Divine. They could not resist.
People stared at her as she walked past, though they had no real notion as to why. She was stunningly beautiful, most Divine had a certain degree of natural vanity, but it was more than that. Her physical appearance gathered their looks, but it was her magic and power that drew their curiosity. They were drawn to her as the moth is to the flame, but they could not comprehend why they found her so fascinating. Magic wasn’t on their radar so to speak, its existence was but a quaint childish notion to them in this age of science and reason.
They were in for a rude awakening. She smiled imagining how Humanity was going to cope with the return of magic to their everyday lives.
She came to a stop in Times Square fading out of physicality feeling the rhythm of the place. It was one of New York’s many hearts, iconic the world over and a place of pride for not only New Yorkers but for all the United States. It had a very modern beauty to it, especially once the sun had set and all the lights came on. The Coca-Cola, Samsung, theatre and store displays. It was a place that called to her because it was so alien from her memories of cities. It fascinated her. It also called to the mortals. They left their imprint and unknowingly drew from it.
As though it was a place of worship.
New York was diverse in it ethnicity and religions. It had a strong presence of the Angels’ religions but also Hinduism, Buddhism, Voodoo, Shamanism, Taoism, Confucianism and most interestingly Neopaganism. Their presences were weak compared to the Angels, but she was here, and they were not. It was a challenge she had faced before, the conversion of whole cities and peoples to her own religions. It was a task she was up to, certainly each of the religions offered their own challenge in weaning away their followers, unbelievably some of the Neopagans worshipped her already. They were but a vision away from being completely hers.
The greatest challenge, however, was the atheists. People who didn’t believe in the Gods or spirits. What a novel concept. It was nothing she had ever heard of before but then in her day, the Gods’ presence had been keenly felt. There was no denying their existence, but with their presence gone and the Angels barely visiting the Surface anymore a more rational way of thinking had evolved. They were a challenge worthy of her. Until of course she was free to declare herself to the world, there could be no denying, and their quaint little beliefs would be completely broken.
She pulled forth the essences swirling around her, the millions of imprints left by the millions of visitors and travellers passing through over the years. She spun it into the smallest thread wrapping it around her wrist. She felt the beat and thrum of the place keenly, and she gave back her own trickle of essence. The key was to attune the place to her without throwing out its equilibrium, for each person passing through to gather a small aspect of her power. To slowly be attuned to her.
For once she was getting to test her abilities with subtlety, something she certainly hadn’t needed to do with the Roman Empire.
A city’s heart was a place to win over its inhabitants, but modern cities had many hearts, each beating their own tune and essence. She had others to attune to in New York, but she had plenty of time. Each spell would be slow acting.
But New York would be hers. Completely.
And then a statue of her would stand in Times Square for all the world to see. And this one would show her in her full glory, perhaps with a couple of Angels underfoot. It seemed a fitting tribute. She smiled as she phased back into reality. There were other hearts to find and attune.
“I would say that proves Sariel’s story completely. Hera is perfectly safe and busy in some city. By the look of things she is well on her way of claiming the city as her own.” Hecate wiped her hand over the surface of the scrying pool turning the water black once again. Nyx slowly removed her hands from the pool, allowing it to return to its bright blue glow.
She became less solid, more flitting darkness “Sariel has spoken true and freed one of our own. She is blood of our blood and Thanatos has recognised the call of blood. She has no crimes to pay for, and her actions speak enough for her. We accept her.”
Nemesis sighed, she had seen this coming “With our numbers so small can we really afford to be picky, but she is still our key to the Surface. Let us not forget that, she has a purpose to complete before she can ever truly be one of us.”
Nyx created a shadow of the Beast on the wall, they all watched its seven heads silently roaring “Sariel will free Lucifer” the Beast transformed into the shadow of an Angel “but each of us will need to play our own parts, she is horribly naïve. She was nearly killed in the Borderlands, she won’t survive more than five minutes within the borders of Hell.”
“Then it is our duty to prepare her for the trials ahead” Nemesis did always have a warrior's honour that cropped up at peculiar times.
“It may be prudent not to inform Sariel of our plans. She is innocent yes but is likely to have her own sense of conscience. She may baulk at unlocking Hell and freeing Lucifer, but may otherwise contently make her way through Hell healing its victims.”
“You understand her the best at the moment Hecate, I would agree. She is likely to have an odd sense of conscience. Let her training begin but keep her in the dark.”
All present nodded their agreement with Nyx. They all wanted to be free, and with the exception of a few they had no qualms about using Sariel to do it. Even if the cost was her life.
Brigid stepped through the security gate fighting the childish urge to set it off. She quickly gathered up her possessions from the tray before continuing along the terminal. This was it, she was leaving Australia and was heading to India. She had a strange sense of pride in working her way to earn her ticket. She had earned her money through hard work alone. Her presence in Sydney was restrained to a few public gardens she had worked on.
None of the Daemons of Sydney had even known that she had walked amongst them. She had sown the seeds to return to Sydney, but she had not made any overt attempts to attune it to herself. It was far too dangerous. Australia was a mostly Christian country, and she had felt the presence of Angels in Sydney. Whether they were passing through or staying for a longer visit, she hadn’t known and had had no desire to find out. She had had a few weekends in some of the other capital cities to sow similar seeds. Her powers would slowly grow there, her passing not being known until she had long gone.
But it would be well prepared for her return. Australia, after all, was a British colony, a territory of the Empire she sought to resurrect.
She had researched the British Empire, feeling great pride over its achievement. Sure they had conquered weaker nations, killed thousands if not millions in their ever growing hunger for land and wealth but what Empire hadn’t. The only thing she regretted was that they had spread Christianity with them. Still that could be rectified by the New British Empire.
Which brought her to her current task. Britain would surely be under intense surveillance by the Angels, the British Colonies were far less likely to be. She planned to cast her net wide, and leave her subtle impressions all over the past territories of the empire before she returned to her isles. The strength it would lend her would make her stronger than she had ever been. And make it perfectly safe to turn Britain into a battleground against the Angels. She had missed out on its glory days, its brutal and dynamic history
while she had been a prisoner. Britain would be glorious once again but under her control, not the Angels’.
It would take time to nurture the colonies, but it would allow her to leave only passing traces for the Angels instead of any beacons. She would soon be able to teleport between the colonies with ease, giving her extra safety against the Angels. Fortunately, she was a patient person, even by Divine standards.
As she settled into her seat, she turned her thoughts to India. It would be a dramatic change from Australia. Australia was a sunburnt land; if the War hadn’t happened it would have belonged to a Sun God or Goddess. It was a uniquely beautiful place, with its plant and animal life being incredibly unique. She had all but forgotten about monotremes and marsupials.
Despite the age of the land, its settlement was fairly recent. There had been tribal people with loose claims on the land but nothing significant until colonisation. The Angels had left their imprint with the British, but both were fading as Australia continued to make its own identity.
India, on the other hand, was an ancient land that had been cultivated and settled for a very long time. Its civilisation was ancient, its Gods had been very powerful, being the last pantheon left against the Angels. She didn’t know if they were dead or imprisoned but their religions were still very strong. Hinduism was the dominant religion of the region, stripping the Angels of power on the Indian subcontinent.
It was a region lacking much of the Angels’ presence, but it would not be an easy place to claim. While the faith did not belong to the Angels, it was certainly strong. It was a unique challenge and was technically an affront to those Gods. But if they were the last pantheon to fight the Angels then it was likely the Angels had made an example of them by executing them. She would be able to tell once she got to India.
But it was a prize too good to ignore. India was one of the two most populous countries in the world, with numbers of people she had never seen anywhere except Atlantis. That many people believing in her would make her an extremely powerful Goddess.
She turned her attention back to the present as the plane started moving. This would be a novel experience flying for hours without even flapping her wings or even using magic.
“Have you seen Eleanor LaClarke’s new gardens? They are absolutely stunning.” A woman behind her said.
“She has really outdone herself this time. I tried to find out who her gardener was, but she would give nothing away. If you ask me though it was probably a hippie.” Her friend responded.
A hippie? What the Hell was a hippie?
“What makes you say that? Hippies don’t design European Gardens.”
“Well, one of those Pagans then. There were a lot of statues of Goddesses in the garden. Gaia, Brigid, Hera, Leto, Isis, Cailleach. There were statues of Fairies and Nymphs, Satyrs, and Sirens. Even something about the Tuatha something or other.”
“Tuatha Dé Danann, the Irish Pantheon to which the Goddess Brigid belonged” a male voice added.
She smirked as she felt the ladies irritation “Thank you sir” her voice was icy.
“No problem ladies” he responded politely before continuing past.
“Can you believe the nerve of some people, eavesdropping and interrupting?”
“Well, Jenny you at least know what the Tuatha Dé Danann are now.” She sounded more amused than anything.
“What has society come to, people butting into conversations, children drugged up to their eyeballs in orgies, heresy common knowledge. I swear sometimes God has abandoned Australia.” Strange that they concerned her more than the environmental ruin plaguing the entire world.
Brigid smiled to herself resisting the urge to interrupt the conversation. They would learn who Australia truly belonged to soon enough.
“I see I’m not the only one amused by their conversation” She turned to the male voice surprised to find he had sat down next to her. He had long blonde hair bright blue eyes twinkling with what could only be described as mischief and a wide white smile. He wore blue glasses and a well-tailored business suit. He looked too relaxed and cheerful to be a proper businessman. Was he a millionaire, merely dressing to impress or an Angel in disguise. They always had a sense of propriety.
“I believe most of the plane is listening to their conversation, but when you’re that loud what do you expect?”
He chuckled “So true” he looked at her tilting his head “You must get this a lot, but you look very familiar. I’m Ryan by the way.” She had found Australians to be uniquely direct in their conversations and likely to jump from one tangent to the other with no notable pause.
“Actually, I don’t.” Smiling she added “Brigid.”
“After the Irish Goddess?” Her blood ran cold. He had to be an Angel, but why couldn’t she sense his Divinity or powers. Was this a new trick of theirs? Had they developed assassins undetectable to traditional God powers?
“Yes, my family were quite entrenched in Irish mythology” that was completely true.
“Fascinating, usually it’s a mythology few beyond Ireland know of. If people have any interest in Mythology its usually Egyptian or Greek.”
“My family is Irish that’s our excuse” the modern way of being so direct still felt rude to her, but he didn’t so much as blink.
“I’m a professor of Celtic Mythology and Irish History. I’ve always found it fascinating, and so different from Mediterranean Mythology.”
“That would be because it was. Less interference from nearby cultures.”
“Until the Catholic Church came along that is and started changing and destroying the truth. Did you know they actually made the Goddess Brigid a saint in an attempt to convert the people because they were so loyal to her?”
“Really? I knew she was sainted but I didn’t know why.” Perhaps she could learn more about what had happened to Ireland after her clan was lost.
“Yes, it’s a fascinating story. Brigid was a truly fascinating Goddess, a personal favourite of mine, especially considering her influence extended well beyond Ireland and the British Isles but even throughout Gaul and the north of Europe.
Her eyes widened in surprise even as her mind started turning. She knew her influence had been surprisingly large considering she had been imprisoned while it spread but she hadn’t known she had reached mainland Europe.
“Tell me more I fear my knowledge is patchier than I thought it was.”
“Gladly” he smiled back, she could feel his sexual interest in her, see his eyes light up at being allowed to talk about what he loved.
Modern men were far more interesting and honest in their approach.
Sariel groaned as she pushed the bed covers away. She felt strangely out of sorts, as though she wasn’t properly recovered. Then again considering she had almost been at the state of Desiccation two meals and a night’s sleep would not be enough to fully heal her.
She froze when something moved on her bed. She desperately cast out a frail attempt at sensing, cursing her brother for not properly training her when three sets of tongues started licking her face.
She rolled off the bed onto the floor laughing in a heap of wings and bedding. Cerberus jumped down after her trying to lick her again as she squealed and rolled about the floor. He was much smaller, friendlier-seeming and less dangerous.
“He decreases in size when within the castle, makes it easier to navigate the halls. His large size is only really needed at the gate.” Said a sorrowful voice. It was though all the sorrows of the world had been distilled down into that one voice.
She pushed herself up past the bounding Cerberus to see Thanatos standing in front of the window. Instead of the unnatural sunlight shining through it was a void into darkness, flashes of white and blue showing crying people running through the darkness. It was clear his powers weighed heavily on his spirit.
He looked wearied, heavy bags under his eyes, messy hair dropping off his head and his skin was exceptionally pale. Paler than the other Gods. Surprisingly he
was the same height as her, and she was still stuck in her child body.
His wings were the most vibrant part of him, gloriously glossy black, iridescent with green, blue and purple. But it was his two-toned eyes that were the most striking, violet near the pupil and jet black edging the whites. At a glance, they appeared dark blue or purple. It was unusual but striking.
He didn’t look old, most Gods were very vain about looking in their prime, but he looked world weary. As though he was ready to give up on it all.
Just as she had studied him, he had studied her “You don’t look much like Samael, you must take after your mother. But your eyes are definitely his, and your wings.”
“I do not remember him. They both died not long after my birth.”
“I wonder why he mated with Lilith, she seems an odd choice for him. But then they are both Fallen so there is some sense to it.”
She stepped back stunned “My parents were Fallen Angels? No, they can’t have been, they both died in the War. If they were Fallen Angels then I would not have been accepted into Heaven, I could not have become an Arch Angel. They were heroes of the War.”
“And who told you that? Michael or Gabriel? Neither would admit to the fact that they betrayed him and Lucifer and cast powerful spells on them and their followers. Their spell was a stroke of genius that took everyone by surprise. It locked down the Underworld completely, threw out Lucifer and all of their enemies, casting them into the depths of Hell.” His voice grew distant.
“That day Angels fell from Heaven like rain, they darkened the sky over Eden, their shrieks of agony reaching as far Alexandria. They transformed as they Fell, twisted by the Curse. But none so much as Lucifer, he bore the full brunt of his sister’s wrath. His roars rent the Heavens, outrivalling the fiercest storms. His Fall was mighty as his form twisted into the Beast, it was so powerful it ripped through the Surface into the Underworld. That is how Hell was formed, and he has been trapped there ever since.”
The Angels' Pride Page 14