Heaven's Night

by Harry Aderton

  “What other explanation is there? Angels fall, lifeless, their bodies contorted in death. Other bodies simply vanish. No one knows why. No one knows where their souls go. They cannot be sensed in the ether, even soul mates lose touch of their other halves. So where do they go?”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but paused, dumbfounded. Angels falling lifeless? Vanishing? It was preposterous. “There must be an explanation,” I managed after a moment.

  “And I have given one.”

  “Listen to yourself, Requel. You speak as if souls were the same as the creatures on the physical plane. This isn’t the physical world, there is no physical body to shed. They cannot die.”

  “The lower spheres are more like the physical plane than you think! Bones break. Limbs sever. Angels bleed and, yes, they die!”

  “Astral bodies are made of subtle matter and light. How can they bleed or be harmed in any way?”

  “Their bodies are no longer subtle in the lower spheres. They’re heavier, denser, and more akin to physical flesh and bone than astral light. They’re changed. Have you ever looked at the devastation yourself?”

  I hadn’t. But the impact of her words stunned me. “How can that be?”

  “Does it matter? It’s happening.” She pulled her simple robe closer about her body as if she was cold. Perhaps she was. “There’s a reason I wanted to speak to you today, something I need to tell you, to share with you—”

  “Requel,” I said patiently, clasping her hands in mine. “I have listened to what you have had to say and, with the exception of the bleeding and the dying, I have heard it a hundred times already during council. We are asked often by the other orders to intervene but we cannot. You know this.”

  Her eyes flashed anger. “The lower spheres are ravaged and you cannot intervene? How can you say that? It was one of your own who caused this! If it wasn’t for Sammael, none of this would have happened! You can refuse to call him by his true name and call him Lucifer but that is a small punishment for the deeds he has committed. An Archangel started this war and only Archangels can end it! But you refuse and the astral plane suffers. Is this what you want?”

  “Of course not, but my wants are irrelevant. God’s will cannot be denied.”

  “Who says this is God’s will?”

  And there it was. I was hoping it wasn’t true. I should have known it when I first saw her again. Maybe I did and I chose to deny it. But I could not ignore it. Not now.

  She had lost faith.

  Faith is what defines us as children of God. Through faith, all is possible. It’s open trust without attachment or desire for something in return. It’s knowing so strong that doubt and fear cannot intrude. It’s unconditional surrender. And it’s what God feels for each one of us individually. Is it so hard to return it in kind? Requel thought so. But what she failed to understand is that when an angel loses faith in God, the angel loses faith in himself. In reality, there is little difference. Spirit is spirit, after all. When faith is lost, an angel’s abilities suffer. Like Requel’s ability to ascend any higher than the tenth sphere in the astral world.

  “You must not go back,” I said simply. “I’ll stay with you here and we’ll work through this. I’ll stay as long as it takes to regain your harmony. And when you feel well enough, we’ll go home to the Causal. Together.”

  She smiled, so full of love. So lost. “I can’t. Farewell, my love.”

  “Wait. Don’t go! We can stay here and discuss this further. In fact, I will even take it up with the council on your behalf. Will that help?”

  She nodded. “Every little bit helps. But I must depart.”

  I felt like the ground was crumbling beneath me. “Please, is there anything I can do to convince you to stay?”

  Hope flared in her eyes. “Yes. Merge with my mind. Know my thoughts. I need you to understand. I need you to see what I’ve seen. I need you know everything.”

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. I knew in that moment I had lost her. “I will not enter there, it is not allowed by Divine law. Your mind is your own. Tell me what you want me to know. Please?”

  She knew I had lost her too. “Promise me you’ll keep me in your heart. You are always in mine. Goodbye, Sariel.” With that, she faded. I was alone.

  My one regret in this life is that I did not do as she asked. Sure, it was a violation of Divine law, but so many souls could have been spared. I will never forgive myself for refusing her.

  As Requel faded away, I reached out with my intuition, tracing her vibration through the ether. I felt her descend to the lower astral spheres. Once there, I felt another vibration beside her. No, not quite beside. More like intermingled. And it felt strong. Extremely so. The vibration easily resonated Seraphim level.

  I frowned at this. For it to intermingle with hers so completely must mean … it was a soul mate.

  A stab of jealousy pierced me. I was her soul mate and no other. Did she presume to have another over me?

  I should have known at the time that such raw emotion was a warning sign. The taint from the war wasn’t just in the lower spheres but had started poisoning all the spheres. I should have known. But I didn’t. I was too angry.

  My anger quickly faded and my intuition resurged. I immersed myself in peace. I felt like myself again. And I realized the vibration intermingled with my beloved Requel wasn’t a soul mate. How could it be? I, alone, was her soul mate. There could be no other. I searched for another explanation and I found one in a flash of insight. Impossible as it seemed, my intuition knew it to be true.

  It was a child.

  * * *

  “Pretty scenery.”

  A voice rumbled behind me, low like the sound of distant thunder. I turned, raising an eyebrow. Gabriel stood on a cliff’s edge, looking down the cliff face that dropped endlessly. An amused smile played across his lips as he glanced around. His ethereal frame, strong and commanding, radiated light with intensity. The darkness of the night could not resist his aura. He looked at me, his eyes depthless like the vast pool of infinite spirit.

  “Is all this really necessary?” he asked.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. Gabriel had the ability to defuse even my most melancholy of moods. But I would not let him sway me so easily. “No, brother, but it suits my thoughts.”

  The landscape I imagined was stark against a night sky, a craggy cliff dusted with newly fallen snow. I sat on the edge of the cliff, perched on a stone outcropping as the howling winds whipped at me from behind and sent sprays of snow swirling over the edge.

  I had remained in this bleak landscape since returning to the Causal plane after my rendezvous with Requel. I felt as if my heart lay misplaced. Not a physical heart, for I was clothed in a body and layers of light, but the spiritual center in my chest that swells with love.

  In God’s creation, only those with hearts are capable of love. As they are equally capable of loss.

  I had shed my astral body as I phased into the Causal plane and it felt good to release the burden of it. The denser vibrations of the astral body are not required in the Causal where only a body of fine light will do.

  The Causal plane is unlike the astral – it is not comprised of spheres with varying vibrations. It is singular and subtle.

  Thoughts are things in the Causal and only those who can fully control their thoughts can safely will themselves into this plane. We often referred to the Causal as God’s dreamscape, for anything that could be imagined could be created instantly.

  The cliff scenery about me materialized from my thoughts and mood. I had seen it in the physical plane once, and the parallels to my mood seemed obvious and fitting.

  “Do you plan on staying here for long?” Gabriel kicked a stone over the cliff edge and cocked his head waiting for the stone to hit bottom. It never did. I made the pit endless.

  “Does it make a difference?” I asked.

  “Of course it does, brother. I don’t much care for this place you’ve concocted and I’d pre
fer to leave.”

  “Then leave.”

  “Ah, but I cannot do that.” He sat alongside me. “What kind of brother would I be if I let you wallow alone? Real wallowing takes company. Only misery shared is misery worth having.”

  I laughed but felt no mirth. “Michael sent you,” I said matter-of-factly.

  Michael knew when discord resonated within the Causal. Ever since Lucifer fell, Michael investigated all inharmonious thoughts. I always thought he blamed himself for Lucifer’s betrayal. How he could have stopped him, I do not know, but I have learned never to underestimate Michael’s abilities. He was the greatest of us because he was closest to God.

  “Indeed he did,” Gabriel agreed. “But I would have come anyway. So, are you going to tell me what Requel said that motivated you to materialize such dreariness or must I continue to sit here and endure this irritating wind?” His red and white robes danced about him and his golden, shoulder-length hair snapped forward like a banner as the wind kicked up. It was fortunate he bore no wings. In the Causal, wings aren’t required, otherwise they would have fluttered as fitfully as his robes.

  I stopped the wind and began to speak. Soon I told him everything. He sat stoically throughout until I finished.

  “Are you certain she has a child?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Quite certain.”

  I looked into his face, expecting to see some hint of disbelief or concern. He showed neither. I should have known better. Gabriel’s intuition was as keen as mine and he felt the truth of my words as much as I did.

  Intuition, out of all the God given senses, holds a characteristic that no other perception can claim – one that defies reason, emotion, wants, or desires. It cannot be tricked or misinterpreted. It simply reflects truth.

  “What you’re saying is quite extraordinary, Sariel. It defies the laws of God.”

  Gabriel actually said Elohim when he referred to God, but I have changed this reference and all references to simply ‘God’ because His names are infinite.

  “God’s law dictates that no child is born because there are no new souls,” he continued then he shrugged. “Looks like God changed His mind.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “Come, let us find out. You promised Requel to discuss her cause in council so let’s do exactly that.” He held out his hand.

  I took it and he lifted me to my feet. “And who will be the third, brother?” I asked. It took three Archangels of like mind and urgency to call an emergency council.

  He smiled. “Do you think your dark mood could escape Michael’s attention? He has already called one on your behalf. The others are waiting.”

  I suddenly felt foolish. Michael was the exception to the three Archangel rule. He was our leader and could call council at his discretion. Michael intuitively felt my needs even though I was reluctant to approach him.

  In that moment, my heart swelled with love for him. For all my Archangel brothers and sisters, my family. I loved them all so dearly.

  It would be the last time all of us gathered together.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Brothers and sisters, let us convene council.”

  Michael raised a hand as conversation ceased and attention turned his way. Ten of us sat around a circular table perfectly balanced on a center pedestal and made entirely of the purest crystal. The bench on which we all sat, also crystalline, encircled the table like a ring. The entire room glowed from the spiritual auras emanating from the ten divine souls gathered there. The ceiling above peaked with high open windows that let shafts of sunlight spill on the floor. White doves cooed on the sills and on polished wooden rafters. Tapestries depicting scenes of creation hung from the walls. The room emanated endless peace and harmony, as it always did, when materialized from Michael’s mind.

  The nine other souls around me represented the highest of angelic orders, the Archangels; those chosen by God at first creation to represent His will. In no particular order around me sat Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, Uriel, Ramiel, Kakabel, Azazel, Raguel, and Zerachiel – all those remaining of the Twelve. Sammael was missing, of course, ever since he decided to wage war on the lower astral spheres. Also missing was Mephistophiel who followed him.

  “Let us begin,” Michael said quietly, the gentleness of his demeanor belying his appearance. Michael embodied strength from his chiseled features to his powerful frame. His aura radiated peace and flared like a newborn star. “I called this meeting to order on behalf of Sariel who has recently returned from the astral spheres. Brother, please tell us what you have discovered.”

  All eyes turned towards me. For the second time that day I spoke of my meeting with Requel. I felt their skepticism when I relayed to them the claim that angels could die. Indeed, their incredulity only matched my own. But when I spoke of Requel and her child, I sensed their surprise.

  “I find it difficult to fathom,” said Kakabel dismissively after I had finished. “No child is newly born. God created all souls at once when He cast them from himself. All of us know this.” She crossed her arms, clearly agitated by the notion. I leaned back, my eyebrows raised, and more than a little surprised by Kakabel’s reaction. She was always the most vocal of my sisters, but her words were typically imbued with compassion and understanding.

  “Who is to say what is possible or impossible?” countered Raphael, folding his fingers reflectively and resting his elbows on the crystal table. Of us all, Raphael was the most devoted to God’s universal laws. His intelligence was endless.

  “You of all should realize the absurdity of this notion,” replied Kakabel. “Why should a child be newly born, and to Requel of all angels? What purpose does it serve?”

  “That question is for the Creator,” said Michael. “The purpose is His until by His grace He tells us otherwise.”

  “The angelic daughters of God are not physical creatures with gestation periods like those found in the physical worlds,” Kakabel pressed on. “We are spirit. Even if angels were privileged to give birth to a new soul, I can think of far more efficient methods.”

  “So can I,” I said. “But that does not change the fact that she has one.”

  “Has the child been born yet?” Azazel asked from across the table. His straight flowing white hair framed a triangular face and an aquiline nose. His piercing eyes emanated a fathomless wisdom and awareness.

  “Yes, but not in the same way a physical creature is born from a womb,” I replied. “The babe seems to have been created separately and placed in Requel’s care.”

  “Like a mother figure?”

  “Even so. I had never sensed such a bond. There was a connection there greater than those of soul mates. In all ways I could glean, she was the child’s mother and the child loved her as I imagine any child should.”

  “And it is your imagining which I find difficult to accept,” said Kakabel. “I doubt not your sincerity, Sariel, but I know emotions can misconstrue facts. Even from your retelling, I sensed great emotion within you. And should I dismiss the fact that Gabriel came to you on a cold and dark precipice? That you would visualize yourself in such a fashion after your encounter with Requel is revealing in its own right. Perhaps meditation is in order for you to center yourself to determine if what you discovered is indeed accurate.”

  “I know what I sensed and I stand by my words,” I said firmly.

  “I believe that you believe. But is that enough?” She turned towards Michael. “Is that enough to convene an emergency council?”

  “There is another point to consider,” Uriel spoke for the first time. Like Michael and Gabriel, Uriel radiated strength but it was not outward like Michael’s or surging beneath the surface like Gabriel’s. Rather, his strength was one of will and resolve and it emanated from him like heat from an open flame. “I am intrigued by this notion of dying that Requel had mentioned. Death is only found on the physical plane, so how can it be in the astral?”

  “I find it difficult to believe it is,” I said. “But Requ
el insisted souls vanish and cannot be sensed in the ether. The vanished souls must go somewhere.”

  “But we are spirit,” said Azazel. “We cannot die.”

  “If a new soul can be born such as Requel’s child might have been, I ask you – cannot another die?” Gabriel prompted.

  “But if this is true, then why have we not heard of this phenomenon before now?” asked Raguel in a deep voice. Raguel’s strength lay in his intensity and the conviction of his faith. His appearance was slight compared to Michael’s, and his brown hair fell loosely, even unkempt, about his face, but his aura consistently emanated a deep purple zeal that others could rarely attain. “Surely we would have heard of this before now.”

  “Agreed, brother,” said Kakabel. “Which is why I find these claims exorbitant to say the least.”

  “You dismiss this matter too hastily,” said Raguel. Kakabel opened her mouth to retort but Raguel held up a placating hand first. “Peace, sister. I, too, have difficulty believing angels can die but I have known Requel for a very long time, and she would not speak falsely. Sariel would not have brought this forward if he did not believe it in his heart as well. That alone convinces me there is some truth in this. My concern is why it has escaped our notice? Are we not supposed to be the wisest of the wise?”

  Uriel nodded. “This needs to be examined more closely. Perhaps one or few of us should go and examine this phenomenon.”

  “But would that not violate our rule not to interfere in Lucifer’s war?” asked Kakabel.

  “Is observation a violation? I hardly think so,” rumbled Gabriel.

  “The moment we give credence to this war by acknowledging any affect or impact it has on us or on the planes, then we are violating our own mandate,” said Kakabel.

  “Then perhaps our mandate needs to change,” Uriel replied.

  Michael leaned forward. “Now we come to it and it is the primary reason why I called this meeting. We need to discuss our role, if any, in this war that Sammael, nay Lucifer as he calls himself now, has brought upon us all.”