Zeriel hadn't seen anything like that power before. Glowing magical wings? "Whoa."
Oviel groaned then unlocked the shackles around Zeriel's wrists. "Come on."
"What?"
"Let's go get him. Damn everything. Just damn it all. Those powers are my fault, after all. I'm in too deep to back out now. Well, come on, Zeriel. We need to get to Jaylen before the guards do."
Chapter 17
Zeriel and Oviel flew as fast as they could out of the city and scoured the countryside for any signs of Jaylen. Where did he go? How far could those magic wings have taken him? The night sky was clear again after the lightning calmed down. Normally that would be a good sign, but the lack of energy made Zeriel uneasy. If that power was tied to Jaylen, then its sudden disappearance could indicate a decrease in life force. The longer they searched, the worse Zeriel felt. This was his fault.
Oviel stopped and pointed at the dark water surrounded by reeds. "Down there by the pond. There's blood." They landed and Oviel summoned his purple mage-glow, shining it over the area. "There's a lot of blood, Zeriel. I don't feel good about this."
"Don't say things like that." Zeriel dipped his fingers into the crimson pool that glistened on the smooth stones. He brought it to his mouth and licked the blood. "It's Jaylen's blood."
"You can tell what his blood tastes like?"
"It's a Fallen thing. The bond between a fallen angel and his tainted paladin is even closer than a Holy Angel and his pure paladin. The darkness flows through both of their blood."
Oviel trudged through the deep loose sand. "I know that much. And if one of you dies . . ."
"Don't go there right now. That's another reason why we have to find Jaylen."
"If we do, he's not going to be the same boy."
"Stop talking about it."
"Though, those were light magic wings, not shadows or dark magic."
Zeriel watched the edge of the pond. "I don't know what to tell you."
"Maybe Jaylen is clinging to his purity. It's ultimately futile, you know? Once a paladin's angel falls to demonic forces, the paladin's soul is instantly forfeit and tainted."
"Then he's stronger than we thought." Zeriel followed the trail of dark blood down the sandy bank of the pond until he spotted a flash of pale skin in the middle of a clump of cattails. "Jaylen!"
"Get him out of the water. It's freezing."
Zeriel took Jaylen in his arms. "Jaylen, come on, buddy. Wake up."
"Is he warm?" Oviel asked, kneeling next to them at the water's edge.
"No. He's really cold."
Oviel made a worried whimpering sound. "Sola help us. I thought we were kneeling in water here, but it's not water. The pond is frozen over. He's lost so much blood."
"Do something. Do something!"
"What do you expect me to do? I don't have any of my herbs or potions."
"Fine. I'll try something." Zeriel laid the unconscious boy down on the ground and leaned over him. He placed his mouth over Jaylen's and began trying to resuscitate him. As he breathed into his Master, Zeriel prayed. He didn't know who or what he was praying to, but he prayed to any force that would listen to his pleas for help. He couldn't lose Jaylen. Long minutes dragged by until Jaylen took a breath on his own. "He's breathing."
"Good. We got here just in time. We have to take Jaylen somewhere safe and get him stabilized, or he won't make it. He is too weak to survive a trip into The Veil."
"Then we'll find another place. Help me get him up."
The swooshing of massive wings accompanied the deep voice from behind them. "No one is going anywhere."
Oviel growled. "Carvael."
"I see that you have completely fallen to darkness, Zeriel."
Zeriel spun around to face his father. "Father-"
"No. You are no longer my son. I've disowned you." He held out his hand as his divine golden sword materialized in his grasp. "No son of mine will be a demon. That's what fallen angels are. You're a demon. You disgust me. You belong in Hell and I will personally see to it that you are never allowed to interact with any humans for the rest of your miserable existence. And hopefully that will be ending soon as well. You deserve to die for your transgressions."
Zeriel watched Jaylen's shallow labored breathing. More blood seeped from the boy's wounds and soaked into the dark sand. He didn't have much time. "I will surrender and come peacefully if you promise to get Jaylen to a healer."
"I don't make deals with demons. Oviel, get Zeriel in shackles and control him. I will take the boy."
Oviel hesitated as he stared at Jaylen's bloody and bruised body.
"What are you waiting for? I gave you an order! Arrest Zeriel so he can face the Angelic Court."
"No."
"What did you say?"
"I said no. I won't let you take Jaylen. I'm done being ordered around and treated like some kind of criminal just for the way I feel about people. I know now that I shouldn't have killed Gawain. I should have rebelled. I should have saved him. Now I'm going to save Jaylen in his place."
"How dare you?" Carvael pointed the tip of his golden sword at Oviel threateningly. "You would defy me and the will of Sola?"
Oviel backed up defensively. "Listen, Carvael, I'm not wanting to fight or anything. I simply think there are better, less violent ways to solve this. You know I'm devoted to Sola and the court. I messed up one time and that was decades ago. I want peace and for us all to work together to find the best course of action."
"Will you or will you not arrest Zeriel?" Carvael asked.
"I . . . no."
"The you are as bad as he is in my book. Aiding and abetting a Fallen is punishable by swift and immediate execution. You are a traitor as well, Oviel."
"No, no, no. That's not what I want. Would you just listen to me for a minute so I can try to explain this?"
"There is nothing to explain. You have chosen your side. There's no going back now. Sola have mercy on your souls."
Zeriel focused on his father and spread his ebony wings out. "Now, Oviel!"
Dropping to his knees, Oviel kicked out his leg as he spun, sweeping Carvael's legs out from under him and sending him flailing to his back. "Get his sword!"
Without thinking everything through, Zeriel lunged forward and touched the hilt of the divine sword. His vision flashed white as a searing pain shocked through his veins. He fell backwards, clutching his left hand. "Damn it!"
Oviel's light magic swirled in a vortex in the air, holding Carvael at a safe distance. "Sorry. I forgot you're Fallen. Get up and fight. You'll be okay."
"I don't feel like I'll be okay."
Oviel pushed Zeriel out of the way with his foot. "Fly or something before he slices you."
He scrambled to his feet and stood between Carvael and Jaylen. "My demon magic won't harm you, will it?"
Oviel flew into the air and sent a ball of mage-glow towards Carvael. It exploded against the ground, throwing up a cloud of sand and ice. "I don't know. Just do something!"
Zeriel hadn't had much of a chance to hone his new abilities, but he needed to try to use them anyway. Slapping his hands together, a thick black shadow formed in front of him and descended over the area. Thrusting out his hand, a shadow sprung out of the ground and blocked the heavy golden sword before it dissipated. He leaped into the air and sent a volley of black shadow spikes flying down at high speeds. They ripped through Carvael's robes, but the archangel was quick to dodge most of them and avoid any serious injury.
Carvael spun the heavy sword over his head and slammed it into the ground, splitting through the stones by the bank of the pond. The ice behind him cracked and shattered, flying up and hovering there. He grinned as he pointed at Oviel. The razor-sharp fragments sped through Oviel like he was nothing. It happened so fast that Zeriel wasn't sure they did anything until drops of blood fell by Oviel's feet. The golden blade flashed in the harsh mage-glow and hot blood splattered onto the icy ground.
"Oviel!" Zeriel watched in ho
rror as the heavenly sword impaled his friend from the front and exited cleanly along his spine. Oviel froze as thick blood poured from his mouth. He didn't make a sound as Carvael pushed him off of his sword with his heavy boot. Oviel crumpled to the ground in a bloody tattered mess. His wings went limp as his light turquoise feathers became soaked with crimson.
As Zeriel summoned another shadow, the dark sky filled with the sparks of heavenly light magic and the sound of wings. Ten angels, all in full metal armor, landed in a circle around Zeriel and aimed their silver arrows directly at him.
Carvael started laughing hoarsely as he stood up with his hand applying pressure to the wound in his arm. "You are surrounded, Zeriel. Stand down and face your punishment with some scrap of dignity. Haven't you been enough of an embarrassment? Do you have to die that way as well?"
Could he fight? He could, but he would ultimately die. That much was overwhelmingly clear. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Oviel crawling across the frozen ground towards Jaylen then looked up at Zeriel and placed his finger over his lips. The wounded angel scooped up Jaylen in his arms and quickly flew off into the sky back towards Ilyan. He was out of sight before any of the attacking angels knew what had happened. That was all Zeriel needed to know. If Jaylen was going to be taken care of, then he could face whatever horrific fate Heaven had for him. Acknowledging defeat, Zeriel's shadows faded and he held out his hands to his father. There was no point in fighting this. He lost. No Fallen was a match for an archangel, especially not an archangel with a squad of angelic guards.
* * *
Being back in Heaven wasn't as pleasant as Zeriel had remembered it. That could have been in part because of the black bag that was secured over his head to keep him from seeing the place again. The angels who pulled him forward by the enchanted shackles told him that Fallen were not worthy of seeing the glory of Heaven. He knew that he wouldn't be around for much longer anyway. Secretly, Zeriel hated the flashy gold and white archways, the vineyards, and the far-stretching rolling hills of green grass and tiny yellow flowers. It never rained, it never stormed, and everything was perfect. Too perfect, sickeningly perfect. His first trip into the human world was a complete sensory overload. There was snow and fire, rain and lightning. The cacophony of voices had filled ears which had been accustomed to only soft music, calm speaking, and the rustling of wind through the always-green leaves of the trees in the orchards. Now, the lack of ambient noises was disturbing to him and made him question if he had indeed gone deaf.
When the black cloth was pulled off of his head, he blinked in the bright ambient light that always existed in Heaven. For some reason, he found it even more annoying than usual today. He could tell by the tall white columns and the purple panes of stained glass that stretched from floor to ceiling that he was in the Angelic Court hall. The angels left him in the middle of the stark white room, still in shackles, and took their places at their desks.
Zeriel felt all of their eyes glaring down at him judgmentally. There were over two thousand angels in attendance and each of them knew who he was. He was Archangel Carvael's only son, after all. If there was any sort of royalty amongst the angels, Zeriel would have been the equivalent to a prince.
Why was Tarael in a white robe with a golden stole around his shoulders and sitting in the front desk? Zeriel groaned a little. He forgot that Tarael was the newly-appointed court speaker. Just when he thought this was going to be embarrassing and monotonous, it suddenly became miserable.
Once the angels had taken their places, Tarael stood and spread out a stack of papers on the desk in front of him. "Fallen Zeriel, you have been brought here to face the Angelic Court of Heaven for condemnation of your sins. You have been charged with the following crimes: working with demons, corrupting your bonded paladin, assault of an archangel, interrupting The Cleansing, evading arrest, blasphemy, treason, and willingly becoming a fallen angel."
"That's not true! Well, that last one is true . . . and most of the other stuff, but I didn't assault an archangel."
"So you admit to turning Jaylen Corrifus into your demonic thrall?"
"What?" Zeriel asked. "Where did you get that from? That is a lie. I love Jaylen."
The room erupted in gasps and frantic whispers. Tarael hit his gavel on top of his desk. "Order, order. We will maintain order unlike the savages in Hell. Zeriel, are you confessing to having a prohibited sexual relationship with your paladin?"
Zeriel sighed and rolled his eyes. "Not like that. I didn't mean it like that. Sola help me. You guys love to make everything out to be the worst case scenario, don't you? Do you thrive on drama?"
"Answer the question."
"I just did. The answer is still no. I haven't had any inappropriate contact with Jaylen. That's so absurd that it's almost comical. Almost. I meant that I care for him and would never enslave him with my demon magic. He is still pure in every way."
"Except for the demonic mark that was branded over?"
They got him there. "Well . . . there is that. You won't believe me, but I have an explanation that I thought sounded pretty good until you started glaring at me like you are right now. I thought that mark would make it so I could still be around him and his light magic even after I turned into a full Fallen."
"Is it true that you sold three of Jaylen's soul segments to an elven merchant in The Veil?" Tarael asked.
"Soul segments? No. I would never sell any part of Jaylen's soul."
"Then how did an elf man named Sulstair acquire them? By the look on your face, you know exactly what we are talking about."
Zeriel raised his shackled wrists so he could rub his eyes. "Sulstair? That's the elf from the shop. I bought paint from him."
"So you admit to your crimes?"
This was all becoming a muddled mess of information. "Hold on a minute. I'm getting very confused. I gave him three locks of Jaylen's hair in exchange for a can of white paint. That had nothing to do with his soul."
"It had everything to do with it." Tarael flipped through some of the pages and held one up to study it. "The hair you took wasn't from Jaylen's physical body in the human world that you left behind, was it?"
"No . . ."
"Then you actually removed part of his soul when you clipped his hair. The stand-in body he acquired upon passing through the rift into The Veil was a condensed manifestation of his soul taking the form of his body."
Oh Hell. Zeriel had no idea that was how that worked. Now those angels were attempting to accuse him of purposely selling Jaylen's soul? "You have to believe me. It was a mistake. I didn't know."
"Of course you knew. Every angel knows that. That's why we never make deals with demons like elves."
"What would an elf want with a pure boy's soul?" Zeriel asked.
"Any number of evil things. If the elf is powerful enough, he could bind those segments of Jaylen's soul to him or an archdemon. That was your ultimate plan, wasn't it? You goal was to summon a demon army using the soul of your young paladin as the bait."
"Do you hear the words coming out of your mouth? You angels all know me. Would I do something like that?"
They all spoke in unison. "Yes."
Desperation coursed through him as he looked out at the sea of angels that he had once foolishly believed were his friends. "Someone has to stand up for me! Someone here knows the truth. Andre, I see you on the back row. I know we just met in The Veil, but you saw how much I cared for Jaylen. We talked about your son being so close in age and then you stayed to fight off Carvael because you-"
"Excuse me?" Andre stood up from behind his desk. "The Veil? Why would any Holy Angel be found in The Veil? I can assure the court that I have never stepped one foot in that place."
"Are you serious? What did Carvael do to you, huh? Did he threaten you with probation like he loves to do so much? Did he threaten to hurt your son?"
Tarael slammed his gavel on the desk. "Enough of your lies, Zeriel."
"Lies? I'm not the one who's lying. I swear
on my wings that Andre was in The Veil. He stayed behind and fought alongside Axaniel. That's it. Of course. Axaniel, where are you? You can set this straight. Axa, where are you?"
"Axaniel was killed in The Veil after attacking Archangel Carvael. He was a traitor and nothing pertaining to him will be admissible in this court."
Zeriel's heart sank. "Axaniel is dead?"
"Yes. Did you actually believe that you could corrupt your fellow angels and force them to fight for your demonic purposes?"
"Force them? I did no such thing. Axaniel volunteered. He confronted Carvael so I could take Jaylen to safety. Carvael attacked us, not the other way around. Axaniel was defending himself and us."
"Where is his lover?" Tarael asked plainly.
"Lover? What are you talking about?"
"Holy Angel Oviel. They were having a prohibited relationship. If your story was true in the slightest, then Oviel would be here to defend his partner."
Zeriel shook his head. "Oh, I see what you're trying to do, and I'm not falling for it. I don't know where Oviel is and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. You can't trick me. This is completely ridiculous. For being a bunch of Holy Angels, you all are conniving and plotting backstabbers."
"Backstabbers? You call us names while you are the one standing before us in shackles with the evil black wings of a Fallen. Nothing you say in this court will carry any weight with us or Sola. We will not be swayed by your lies. We know that you purposely had Gavin the incubus's thrall mark your paladin. Then you planned to use Jaylen for your rebellious ideas. We never should have given you permission to bond with another paladin after what happened with Paladin Doran. And where is Archangel Carvael now? You killed him, didn't you?"
Killed him? Did he die in such a short amount of time? "No! He's the one who brought me here. He arrested me himself. All of you watched him bring me in here not ten minutes ago. I'm being set up. Is this actually happening right now?"
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