Between Heaven and Hell

by David Burnett

  “Leave an orb in command?” Maliel bristled.

  “I may be ill.” Ami gagged.

  “Don’t forget, Maliel, the army is composed of orbs. They’re warriors. I’m certain that if it came to a fight, Adryel could take you down.”

  Maliel began to object, but Lord Lucifer cut him short. “As I said, she now has credibility, and with Ramael dead and Michael responsible, she’ll do anything for the cause. She has no love left for those in authority and nothing to lose.” Lucifer chuckled. “You’re coming with me, Maliel. You won’t be serving under her. I’ve left instructions for Brafiel to support her if there is any problem.”

  “Brafiel?” Beliel frowned.

  “The angel who tossed the stones at me this morning. The one your henchmen stomped almost to death in the square.”

  “He’s one of us?”

  “Yes. You didn’t need to know the plan. You reacted as ordered.”

  “Well, I need to know your plan now,” Beliel snapped.

  Lucifer checked the time. “Events have unfolded more quickly than I would have imagined. I should have known you’d get carried away.” He glared at Beliel. “Targeting spectators rather than throwing stones toward the steps. Now that we’re barricaded in the Institute, Michael can’t let things go. He’ll have to storm the walls and punish the leaders.” He held up his hand as a look of panic spread across Ami’s face.

  “The five of us will slip out of the school later tonight. We will leave through the small door in the north wall and head to the mountains. I’ve left instructions for Adryel.”

  “What will Lord Michael do to the students when his soldiers take the school?”

  “Nothing.” Lucifer sneered. “Michael is too weak to do anything significant. A promise to behave and a slap on the wrist. He’ll release them.

  “Adryel will tell them to resist. In my instructions, I’ve directed that she and five others are to be unyielding in their refusal to submit to Michael, and he will have to imprison them. The image of his soldiers carting away five female powers will do more for us than a hundred debates. In the north, we’ll build our army. Then, we’ll return.”

  ***

  Lucifer left the others to prepare for their departure and he sought out Adryel. He found her in her office, sitting at her desk, her head buried in her hands. She sat up as he entered, but she stared straight ahead, acknowledging his presence in no other way.

  “I want you to know what is going to happen. Michael has badly misjudged the situation. He could have surrounded the Institute and starved us out, but with the attacks on the students this afternoon, he has no choice but to terminate our protest quickly.” He paused, expecting her to reply. When she didn’t speak, he continued.

  “He has surrounded the school and he will attack us, tomorrow I would suppose.”

  Adryel shrugged, as if to say that Michael’s problems were his, not hers.

  “We will not be able to defend ourselves with rocks against soldiers with swords, but it is crucial that our struggle continue. I have a plan.”

  Again, Adryel failed to respond as he expected.

  “Should anything happen to me, I want you to take command. You will find my plans in my office, and you will carry on our fight for truth, our struggle for justice. Will you pledge yourself to do that?”

  Adryel sat still for a moment, then nodded her head, once.

  Lucifer laid his hand on her shoulder. “You have served me well so far. Do not fail me now.”

  Expulsion from the City

  Adryel lay on a blanket on the floor of her office, staring at the ceiling. It was well after midnight, but whenever she closed her eyes, she saw Ramael sprawled across the pavement, blood running from the gash on the side of his head, his life draining from his body.

  “Why was he not wearing his helmet?” she screamed after an especially vivid vision, pounding her fist on the floor. “I told him to be careful. I told him. . .If he had been wearing it. . .”

  You would not have killed him, a voice in her head told her.

  She sobbed. “I would not have killed him,” she repeated the words aloud.

  She clasped her hands as if in prayer and felt the ring Ramael had given her on the first anniversary of their pairing. It had never left her finger since the night he gently slid it on. “Oh, Ramael, I never meant to hurt you. I was so angry, confused. I never thought. . .I never dreamed. . .”

  She was so tired. She closed her eyes.

  And drifted off. . .

  Hearing a door open, she looked up to see Ramael coming to her as he always would when he was delayed at the palace, draping his robe across the chair and settling into bed next to her. She turned on her side to kiss him, welcome him home.

  “I love you,” he said. “Do you love me, Adryel?”

  Her eyes fell on his wound, deep and red and wet with blood.

  And she awoke screaming.

  Not wanting to sleep again, not wanting to risk another dream, she rose and dressed. Walking to the window, she looked out at the quad. Almost everyone else had chosen to sleep there, safety in numbers perhaps, or simply the fact that they had, together, embarked on a grand adventure, and together they would stay. . .until the end.

  The remains of a bonfire still glowed in the center, and she could see the bodies huddled close for warmth. On the parapet, a couple of figures treaded back and forth, on guard, watching for the soldiers. Lucifer had warned of a surprise attack and, even though they slept, his students were prepared for a fight.

  Lighting a candle, she crept down the hall. The wooden floor creaked, and she repeatedly glanced over her shoulder to make certain she was alone.

  At the end of the hall, she reached the solarium. Windows covered the wall, padded chairs almost begged to be sat upon, and outside a small garden lay between the building and the rear gate. It seemed as if something was always in bloom there, and she enjoyed siting in the solarium in the afternoon, feeling the warmth of the sun and soaking in the colors of the flowers.

  Ramael had kissed her for the first time, in fact, as they stood in the garden one evening at twilight. He had asked her to pair with him as they sat on one of the benches, sharing a basket of sugar cakes.

  Now, he was gone. Dead at her hand.

  She had no tears left.

  She blew out her candle and sat next to the window.

  Strange. . .

  Her eyes had strayed to the wall, and she realized no one was on watch in the rear. If Lord Michael wanted to surprise them, this would be the perfect route for him to use, slipping in the back, surrounding the quad before anyone even knew he was coming. She didn’t expect Lord Michael to attack by surprise. She expected an opportunity to surrender, to walk out of the Institute, hands raised, past the guards who would laugh at their weak attempt at defiance.

  But she had been wrong about other things.

  As she considered whether or not to find Lord Lucifer and tell him they were vulnerable, a movement in the garden caught her eye. Several cloaked figures were creeping toward the gate. It was dark and they seemed to be dressed in black. She could not identify them. She watched as one of them stumbled, and she heard the curse that followed. Beliel, she thought.

  “Quiet, you fool.” Maliel’s voice?

  One of the others pulled Beliel to his feet and no one moved for several moments. Then, one of them lit a small torch. As it flared, she clearly saw Maliel, and Beliel stood next to him.

  What were they up to? Nothing good, certainly.

  The one holding the torch lifted it higher now, and she gasped. Lord Lucifer, Ami, and Mia were clearly visible. The group picked their way through the garden. Beliel removed the bar and pulled open the gate. In the silence of night, the hinges creaked, and Lucifer put out his hand to stop him. They stood still for several moments, then, one by one, they slipped out, into the city.

  A pit opened in Adryel’s stomach.

  Lord Lucifer was leaving them. Leaving her.

  She r
ushed down the stairs. The door to the garden banged against the wall as she ran through it. Lucifer was the only one left, and he whirled around, the sword in his right hand poised to strike.

  “Adryel,” he exclaimed.

  “What are you doing? Where are you going?”

  Lucifer peeked through the opening and whispered to someone on the other side. Then he turned to her. “I have to leave. I told you, Michael’s soldiers will assault the Institute tomorrow, and we will not be able to stand against them. I will be banished, cast out from among the host of heaven, perhaps to one of Adonai’s new planets. With me gone there will be no one, no one, to speak the truth, to stand up for the host of heaven, to protect the city from this monstrous plan. With no opposition, the human creatures will run wild across the entire creation, corrupting and destroying whatever they touch. I must carry on the fight.”

  “What about the rest of us?”

  “No one will notice if a small group leaves. If our entire company were to break out, the guards would be alerted. The five of us can move without notice. We’ll slip out of the city before first light.”

  “But what about the rest of us?” she snapped this time, angry at being left alone, at the mercy of Michael. He would kill her as he had Ramael.

  “I left a letter for you on my desk. As I told you, you are to take command of the Institute. You are to resist as long as you have the strength to fight. You must show that we are not children at play, and we will not rest until we are victorious.” He paused, looking into her face. “In the end, Michael will offer everyone clemency. Reject it. The entire host of heaven must know we will fight on to the end.”

  “Take me with you. One more. . .”

  “You pledged to continue the fight in my absence, and I need you here. I need someone I can trust. You shall not surrender. Should Michael imprison you, you must continue to resist. We have friends in the city and they will insure that everyone in heaven hears of all you must endure. You have become a symbol for us and I need for you to continue the struggle. Will you do this for me?”

  Adryel stared into the dark garden.

  She sighed. What did she have left to lose?

  The council cared nothing for the ordinary residents of the city, the angels, the powers, and all of the others. They were useless.

  Ramael was gone. Lord Michael had abandoned him in the gutter. Lord Michael was her enemy.

  Still. . .why did her stone have to strike Ramael? She didn’t aim it in his direction. Why did Adonai allow it to strike him, rather than some other soldier? And when Ramael fell, why did Adonai not restore his life? He had given new life to others who had died. Those angels had been injured in accidents, she reminded herself bitterly, they had not been tossed aside by Lord Michael.

  Michael could not be trusted. Adonai could not be trusted.

  Everything she had believed in, everything she had trusted was gone. Why would she even want to live?

  She nodded her head. Adonai, Lord Michael, the council, they would all pay. She was Lord Lucifer’s now. What he asked, she would do.

  The rules had changed.

  Lucifer smiled, clapped her on the shoulder, and slipped away. Then, Adryel barred the gate behind him.

  ***

  The next morning, she found Lord Lucifer’s letter.

  Calling an assembly, she related all he had written, all he had told her. She said anyone who wanted to leave could do so. She assigned a group of ten to wait in the gatehouse—a small set of rooms beside the front entrance, designed to house the night watchman. When the soldiers attacked, they were to slip out, taking advantage of the confusion that would follow, then announce what Lord Michael’s army had done. She mounted guards on the rear wall, returned to the solarium, and sat down to wait.

  Time ceased to have meaning. She watched as the day wore on, as the shadows shortened and then grew long again. She had nothing to do, no classes to teach, no lessons to plan, no meetings to attend. She would never go home again. She had no meals to cook, no pair to welcome, no bed in which they might lie. She waited for the soldiers. She would allow them to imprison her. She waited to die.

  Darkness fell, and she stretched out near the fire with the others. Only six had chosen to leave, and they had departed just after sunset. She heard the voice of the town crier floating over the city, calling midnight as she dosed off.

  “Guards. Soldiers,” a lookout shrieked. “They’re coming.”

  Adryel was on her feet before she was fully awake. A loud shout came from across the wall and a loud BANG, like a thunderclap, was followed by the sound of splintering wood as a bolt of lightning leveled the front gate.

  Only Lord Michael could do that.

  Almost as an echo, she heard an explosion from the rear. The shouts of the guards rang through the school, and Adryel knew the rear gate was gone too. Students screamed and began to run, some toward the wall, where they seized rocks and began to pelt the soldiers, others toward the buildings in search of safety.

  Adryel scrambled to the steps leading to the Commons and called for the students to stand their ground, to fight, to surrender only in death, but she saw it was a futile effort. Easily three times as many guards as students filled the quadrangle. Those who opposed the guards were disarmed, subdued, and flung to the ground.

  An arm reached around her body, and she screamed as she was lifted into the air, carried down the steps. She kicked, hit, and bit the guard who held her, tasting blood. He yelped, slapped her across the face, and dropped her to the ground. She struggled to regain her footing, but he stepped on her chest and held her. Looking up, she found Dariel. He bent to see if she was all right, and she ran her fingernails across his face.

  Dariel seemed to have taken Ramael’s command. He called for his guards to check the buildings, to bring everyone to the quad.

  They would kill them all, place them in a mass grave, and hide what they’d done.

  Thirty minutes later, Lord Michael strode into the quadrangle. As he walked toward the steps, he stopped and looked down at her.

  “She tried to rally the rebels.” Dariel’s bandaged hand hung in a sling. “He seems to have left her in command.”

  Sadness crossed Michael’s face. He sighed deeply and shook his head as he walked away, climbing the steps.

  He ordered quiet.

  “Lord Lucifer has fled the city. He saved himself, and he left you here to die for his cause.”

  “He will continue the struggle,” one student shouted.

  “You can kill all of us, but the struggle will live on,” Adryel screamed.

  “He will continue his search for power,” Lord Michael thundered. “That indeed will live on.”

  “We are prepared to die.” Adryel looked around, drawing nods from the others. “Go ahead and kill us.”

  Michael sighed loudly. “No one is going to die.”

  “Liar.”

  “You murdered my best friend,” an angel shouted.

  “You’ve now come for us.”

  Adryel spoke to the crowd. “Lord Lucifer told us that Lord—” She sniffed and wrinkled her nose as if she smelled spoiled fish. Michael was scum. Why should she call him lord? “He told us that Michael would try to deceive us,” Adryel shouted. “Don’t trust him.”

  Insults rained down on Michael from all sides. He walked over to Adryel. “We will harm no one. You know you can trust me. Can you have them simply listen?”

  Adryel sneered at him and spit, hitting his forehead. A cheer went up from the students.

  Michael wiped his face, and returned to the steps and waited. Gradually, the shouting died way.

  “No one has been harmed except those who attacked my soldiers. If you will renounce Lord Lucifer and acknowledge Adonai, you will be free to go.”

  “And if we don’t?” The voice came from someone on the wall.

  Michael looked around at the faces of the students and his eyes finally rested on Adryel’s.

  “You will be expelled fr
om the city.”

  ***

  In the end, about a third of the rebels accepted Michael’s terms. Two mornings later, at dawn, Adryel and two hundred others sat in wagons at the north gate, their hands tied behind their backs, their feet bound so they could only shuffle, not walk or run. Unwilling to renounce Lucifer and pledge loyalty to Adonai, they had been named as traitors and, as Lord Michael had warned, they were being expelled from the city.

  In spite of the hour, it seemed as if the entire population had turned out to witness the students’ expulsion. Adryel had expected the catcalls and the insults that were hurled at them, but she found not everyone supported Lord Michael. As her wagon rumbled through the city, she learned that the students who had been assigned to alert the population had performed well. She overheard angels grousing about the tales of brutality, of students who were beaten and humiliated by the soldiers. Those who told the stories had left the Institute as the soldiers had entered, but their tales seemed true enough that the denials issued by Lord Michael rang false to many ears.

  At several intersections cheers were raised for the captives. Children dashed up to the wagons, ignoring the guards’ orders to stay back, and stuffed sugar cakes into their pockets. Bystanders tossed rotten fruit at the guards. She heard bits of reports of opposition that had flared across the city. Twice, she caught glimpses of pitched battles between the soldiers and angels who had come out to rescue the rebels.

  As the first wagon was emptied, the one carrying Adryel drew up to the north gate. A tall guard grasped her about her waist and lifted her out. He unbound her and, gripping her arm firmly to prevent her from fleeing, he pulled her through the gate, out of the city.

  She looked out on the wide, barren plain. Not a single tree stood between them and a row of tiny, gray peaks far to the north. Brown grass covered the ground, and Adryel could hear it crunch as one of the guards stepped on it as he hauled a reluctant angel away from the wall. Small, prickly bushes dotted the landscape. Adryel knew wild animals roamed the prairie after dark and that water, even after a rare thunderstorm, was scarce.