Zeriel sighed as he ran his fingers over the tips of his wings. "You're right. I can't let my emotions cloud my judgment. I will bring Jaylen back to Ilyan to meet with his uncle. I guess any begging for mercy is hopeless at this point?"
"Mercy is Sola's to give to those who she deems worthy. Jaylen will die in front of the clergy. He must pay for his sins . . . and yours."
Chapter 14
Jaylen frowned as he stared at his disheveled hair in the mirror on the dresser in the room he had been sleeping in. How long was he asleep? At least he felt alert and refreshed like he hadn't felt in a long time. He tried to rustle his hair and even smooth it back, but nothing worked. When everything failed, he searched through the boxes on the top of the dresser until he found a comb.
The door opened and a female voice spoke to him. "Hello."
Jaylen jumped and pulled the comb out of his hair. "Oh, sorry. Is this yours? I didn't know there was anyone else here."
"That's okay. You can have it. My name is Liaxa."
"That's a pretty name."
"Thank you." Liaxa took the comb from Jaylen and started working on his unruly hair. "My father gave it to me. He claims it means Night River in some ancient language, but I don't believe him. Gavin likes to make up stories to make mundane life more interesting."
"Gavin is your father? So you're a demon?"
"Do I look like a demon?" Liaxa asked as she trailed her fingernails down the back of his neck.
Jaylen shivered and tried to focus his mind on anything else. "Well . . . uh, not exactly."
"Then that's all you need to know. What's your name?"
"J-Jaylen. I'm fifteen."
"I'm eighteen. Who knew we would be so close in age? Usually the men around here are in their twenties. You look so young. Ready to do this, then?"
"Do what?" Jaylen yelped as Liaxa threw him down on the bed sat next to him. "Uh . . ."
"What's wrong?"
Jaylen's breathing quickened as he stared at Liaxa's hand on his knee. "Could you move your hand?"
Liaxa grinned as she slid her hand farther up his thigh.
"Stop!" Jaylen pushed her away and covered his lap with a pillow. "Please don't touch me."
"Oh? I thought you liked me."
"It's not that. I do, just not in that way. I'm chaste."
Liaxa tilted her head curiously. "What?"
"I've taken vows of chastity and celibacy. I'm a paladin."
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"My angel is around here somewhere. No one told you I was a paladin?"
"No. I thought you were just another one of Gavin's toys. He often brings young men here for a few days and they sometimes become my friends."
Jaylen unlaced the top of his tunic and pulled it open to reveal the sun sigil on his chest. "I'm a paladin until the day I die."
Liaxa reached out and placed her hand on his bare chest. "You're so warm."
They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds as Jaylen's heart was pounding so loud he could hear it. Something stirred inside of him, pulling him towards her. He wanted to resist it and pretend that it wasn't real, but everything about Liaxa was so enticing. Her large orange eyes, her feminine curves, her soft purple hair, her sweet scent . . . Jaylen needed her. But that was a problem, a big problem.
In desperation, Jaylen leapt from the bed and ran out of the room. "Zeriel! Zeriel, help me!" He ran into Zeriel's waiting arms in the hallway. "Help me."
"What's wrong? You're never this flustered."
How to explain that? "Man . . . issues."
"Did you find some hair in a new and strange place?" Zeriel asked with a facetious grin. "I told you already that it's normal."
Jaylen blushed and slapped Zeriel's arm. "No, not that. What does that have to do with anything? I need your help. I think I did something wrong."
"What would that be?"
Jaylen bounced on the balls of his feet with anxiousness. He whispered into Zeriel's ear. "I was talking to Liaxa and she touched my leg and then my body started feeling different. I don't know."
Zeriel snickered and patted Jaylen's back. "Oh, my dear little innocent paladin. What you felt was perfectly natural. It is only a sin if you acted on those feelings."
"I didn't break my vow?"
"No. Don't worry. You did the right thing by coming to tell me, though. That way I will know what things to keep you away from so you aren't in any way tempted by them."
"Thank you. I was so scared."
He smoothed Jaylen's bangs. "Go get something to eat, and I will talk with Liaxa to explain everything. I should have set up boundaries before you two met. That's my fault. I often forget how young you are. I have to let you know something, though. I am very proud of you for adhering to your vows and not faltering."
Jaylen looked up into Zeriel's white eyes. "You're proud of me?"
"I know that look. Your father never told you that, did he? You and I have a lot more in common than I first thought." Zeriel smiled as he pushed Jaylen gently towards the kitchen. "Go on, now. After you eat, come find me in your room. There have been some developments in the human world that we need to discuss."
* * *
After eating the strangest breakfast he had ever had of black oatmeal, hot salty chunky milk, and raw fish, Jaylen hurried back to his room in an attempt to avoid any more uncomfortable encounters with Liaxa. Hopefully Zeriel was able to explain things to her. That was a feeling that Jaylen didn't want to feel again. Females made him extremely nervous. His mother was the only woman he trusted to touch him in any way. Female affection was the one thing that made Jaylen continuously question himself.
Even though he was a noble from a very influential family, Jaylen hadn't been courted by anyone, even before he became a paladin. In Vilyron, courtships began at around age twelve, but Jaylen had been spared those years of formal dances, chaperoned walks in the park, and intimate discussions about marriage, lineage, and children.
Jaylen stepped through the doorway to see Zeriel sitting on the edge of the bed with his wings draped down, touching the floor. He was focused on the small notebook in one hand as he drank wine from a glass in the other. That was the first time he had seen Zeriel drinking any kind of alcohol without telling him to. Jaylen went over to the bed and sat next to the unusually solemn angel and looked at the ink on the faded pages. "What is that?"
Zeriel traced the sketch with his fingers. "A drawing."
"Is that a baby angel?"
"Yep. That's me."
"Awe! You were so cute. And the angel holding you on his shoulders . . . is that your father?" Jaylen asked.
"Yes. We were so close back then. He was a great dad when I was little." Zeriel closed the notebook. "But things change."
"How long ago was that?"
"Let's see . . . I was three then, so . . . one hundred and thirteen years ago."
"Oh, you're old."
"I'm actually very young for an angel." Zeriel said. "Carvael is over four thousand years old. He was around for the founding of Ilyan."
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"No. Angels can't have female children. I'm his only child. He swore that even if Sola begged him, he wouldn't give her another son. He claimed that I was enough of a failure to last another four thousand years."
"Why did he say you're a failure?" Jaylen asked, still observing the sadness in his angel's eyes.
"To understand that, you have to understand Carvael. My father is the highest ranking angel and direct consort to Sola. I was raised to be great like him, to be the next archangel. He was the best father I could have ever asked for until I was your age. Once my wings grew to the point that I could fly and I essentially hit puberty, he completely changed. I tried my hardest to follow orders, but I just wasn't cut out for it. I wanted to make him happy, but I couldn't go back to being that little angel he loved to carry on his shoulders and show off to the others in the court. Then the final straw was when I made the biggest m
istake of my life."
"What was that?"
He rubbed his forehead and set his now empty wineglass on the table. "The entire Doran situation."
Jaylen saw his opportunity to get the answers he had been wanting. "What happened with my father? I don't know much about him at all. Please tell me."
"Not now."
"Please!"
"I said not now, Jaylen." He snapped at him and pushed him away. "I'll tell you when the time comes. Don't pressure me."
"That's why you're on probation, isn't it?" Jaylen asked. "What all did you do?"
"I did many things that a Holy Angel should never do. I was immediately arrested by my father and escorted back to Heaven where I faced the Angelic Court. They deemed me unfit to continue with my full angel status, so they put me on probation and took away most of my power until I found a way to atone for my sins."
"Is that why you agreed to be my angel?"
"It's part of it. I believed that if I served you well, then Sola would see that and reinstate my power. Though now I guess I'm in even more trouble."
A deep voice echoed from the doorway. "Yes, you are."
Zeriel gasped as he stood and backed away from the tall grey-haired angel with the golden wings and waist-length braids that stood in the doorway. The angel wore white robes and had golden chains hanging around his neck. A woven crown of grape vines rested on his head and a leather-bound notebook was tucked into the belt of his robes. This angel actually managed to look older than thirty years old. Deep wrinkles accented his mouth and eyes, reflecting his status of wisdom and experience.
Jaylen had the instant and unexplainable urge to run away really fast . . . or pee his pants . . . or both. Who was that? He hadn't seen Zeriel so afraid of anyone before, not even demons. This angel seemed like much more than the angels of the paladins around Ilyan. Thinking quickly, he switched into spirit sight. The angel's aura was such a bright white that Jaylen's eyes burned and he had to go back his normal vision.
The angel's glare was fixated on Zeriel. "Did you think you could cause trouble like you have and not be hunted down? Did you believe that you could hide in The Veil of all places? Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me, boy."
"Father . . ." Zeriel stepped back until his wings hit the wall. "You're here. Why did you come here?"
"To find the fugitive angel. Zeriel, you are hereby under arrest and summoned to the Angelic Court in an emergency meeting."
"What? No. I'm needed here."
"With your renegade paladin?" Carvael asked. "Yes, I've heard. We've all heard. It would be against everything I have been working for to allow you to continue weaving your tapestry of lies and deceit. You will face Sola and the court. All of your secrets will be laid out for all of Heaven to see. They will be the ones to judge you and decide on what to do with your pathetic soul. And as for you, Jaylen Corrifus, you will be taken back into the human world where you will be reunited with your physical body, taken to King Talyn, then undergo a full soul purge exorcism."
Zeriel screamed as he clutched Jaylen to his chest and sheltered him in his wings. "No! Father, have mercy. He's fifteen. He won't survive a soul purge exorcism."
"He wouldn't survive anyway. We will complete The Cleansing one way or another. Jaylen's public humiliation will serve as a lasting reminder and warning to anyone who ever tries to do this in the future."
"You can't do this!"
Carvael raised his gold wings menacingly. "I can do whatever I deem necessary for the spiritual welfare of all people."
"You're the archangel of protecting children! Jaylen is a child and you want to publically torture him?" Zeriel asked. "You're a monster."
"No, you're the monster, Zeriel. I know what you are. What you've done is beyond forgiveness. With your bond to Jaylen, you placed everything on his soul instead of your own, like the coward you are. Every sin must be atoned for. Jaylen will pay for his sins and yours with his flesh and blood."
Chapter 15
Carvael held out his hand where a glowing golden sword materialized out of thin air. "Surrender now, Zeriel. If you help me take your paladin back to Ilyan, your sentence will be lighter. Do the right thing . . . that is if you still know the difference between good and evil."
"No!" Jaylen yelled as he ran towards Carvael. Suddenly, a blast of light threw him backwards to land on his back on the other side of the room. Coughing and rubbing his eyes from the blinding light, Jaylen stood up and held out his hands as another surge of power radiated from him. When he unleashed it, the same light exploded outwards and slammed into Carvael, causing him to stumble out into the hallway, completely thrown off guard.
Shouting filled the house as Gavin, Liaxa, and the angel Dante rushed up to Carvael. The demons sent blades and shadows flying as Dante used his light magic to form barriers to block Carvael's massive sword.
"Go, run! We can't win against Carvael." Zeriel picked Jaylen up and took off running through the magically-charged chaos. "Nice work back there. Gaining new powers all the time, huh?"
Jaylen reached out to Liaxa who was summoning a large shadow. "Liaxa, come with us."
"No, Jaylen. I'll catch up with you later. You have to go!"
Zeriel rushed down the hallway and then slid outside into the darkness. "Stop flirting with demons, Jaylen. Let her work. She is doing this for you."
Axaniel landed in front of them with his bow drawn. "Go! Get through the rift. Get Jaylen back with his body before Carvael has it destroyed. We will hold your father off as long as we can. If we can injure him, he will have to return to Heaven to recover before he will come after you."
"What about the guards in Ilyan?" Zeriel asked.
"Oviel has been working behind the scenes to bribe and influence them just for this occurrence. Get Jaylen back in his body, then run. Take him somewhere where Carvael won't be able to go."
"You don't mean-"
Axaniel summoned a glowing arrow and started towards the house. "If it comes to it, then yes. Take Jaylen to Hell and hide."
"That's too obvious. Even angels have demonic friends with eyes everywhere. I'll take him into the outskirts of Heaven. They'll never think to look directly under their noses."
"Then you'll want to get some more paint. Go now. I'll be in touch."
"Thank you for this." Zeriel said.
"It's for Jaylen, not for you."
* * *
"Jaylen, are you there?"
"Give him some time to fully wake up. Remember that his body has been vacant for a couple of days. It could take him a while to fully recover."
Jaylen groaned as he listened to the two voices around him. He could barely make out who they were. His body ached, nothing crippling, but enough that it was obvious something had happened out of the ordinary. He opened his eyes and was thankful for the dim mage-glow in the bedroom.
"He opened his eyes." Zeriel took Jaylen's hand and leaned over him. "Jay, can you say something to let us know that you're okay? You've been out of it for about an hour."
An hour? Jaylen squeezed his angel's hand. "Zeriel . . . I feel really weak."
"And your throat sounds dry." Oviel helped him sit up and put a glass to his lips. "Drink as much as you can. It will help you get back to normal."
The smell of the thick liquid burned Jaylen's eyes. "What is this?"
"Just a potion that helps with the reuniting process. It's perfectly safe."
Oviel was right. Jaylen immediately started feeling better after choking down the thick viscous liquid. "Thanks."
"No problem. Zeriel, I'll be going now. I advise you to leave as soon as Jaylen is able to function normally. I've done what I can, but the guards won't stay away forever. You need to know something. If Carvael comes here and begins asking questions, I will have to tell him."
"I know."
"I can't lie to an archangel."
"I understand, Oviel." Zeriel said. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I didn't mean to get you caught up in all this. I had n
o idea things would get this bad when I saved Jaylen from The Cleansing."
Oviel closed the lids on his vials and jars of ingredients. "You were brave. I'll give you that, Zeriel. I didn't want to kill my paladin. I wasn't prepared for that. I didn't even get to say goodbye how I wanted to. I'm not to your level of rebellion yet. I won't say that Sola is wrong, but it's hard, you know? It's hard to watch so many innocent men be slaughtered and for what? All us angels know the truth behind The Cleansing, that it won't bring back the sun, but we still kill the men we bond with. We kill our friends who have relied on us for years. The sun will return just as it always has. We don't have to kill to bring it back. So why do we do it? I'll tell you why. To make the people put their trust in Sola. We sacrifice a few lives here and there so we can save the souls of the masses. I used to believe it was worth it. I thought it was a noble cause . . . until I had to kill my first paladin two hundred years ago."
"Gawain?" Zeriel asked. "Wasn't that his name?"
"That was him. He was a wonderful man, so wonderful that I fell for him. Hard. We had a relationship that went beyond what it should have been. It was my fault, but he broke his vows for me. I believed that we would be happy together, but then they announced The Cleansing. It wasn't that I didn't know it was coming; I just tried to not think about it. I was young, stupid, and inexperienced then. Of course, I went along with what the clergy wanted. When I dragged that golden blade across Gawain's neck, I felt his life drain from his body and watched the sparkle fade from his eyes. In that moment, a part of myself died with him. I wasn't the same after that. Sola found out about my relationship with Gawain and I was placed before the Angelic Court for judgment. Like you, I was put on probation, but only for a month. It wasn't anything serious. I got my status back after I helped Tarael raid a den of werewolves in Wolfekin."
"If you could go back and change things, would you still kill Gawain?" Zeriel asked.
Angel of Darkness Books 1-5 Page 10