“She is magnificent,” Raphael whispered, covering Catherine’s hand with his own.
“You…you are the Archangel Raphael?” The relief in Catherine’s voice was almost palpable.
“Yes, Sister Mary Catherine, our Lord has heard your prayers through these long months. Did you feel his will when my brother touched you?”
“I know what I am to do,” Catherine answered happily. She looked into Abaddon’s eyes at last. “I thought at first you were the dark angel.”
“My Lord allowed me to feel the purity of your soul when he bid me come and take you away from here. I am Abaddon.”
“The Angel of the Abyss?” Catherine whispered.
Raphael chuckled, shaking Abaddon’s shoulder slightly in good humor. “Do not be afraid, Sister Mary Catherine. My brother is the only one of us who can stand against Lucifer. If you are ready to leave we can take you to your first trial or give you time to rest.”
“What of the screams I heard? Please! We must help them.”
“The screams emanated from the men who tortured you all this time,” Abaddon answered. “The Lord gave me a second mission: to punish your torturers.”
“I…I understand.” Catherine shuddered at what punishment would evoke the screams she had heard. “What of the other prisoners held on each side of me?”
“They are still there,” Raphael stated.
“We must free them too,” Catherine insisted.
“It will be done,” Abaddon agreed readily. “What manner of clothing would you like, Sister Mary Catherine?”
Catherine for the first time realized she lay naked in Abaddon’s arms. She blushed but met Abaddon’s inquiring gaze directly.
“Can you acquire the traditional habit of a nun for me? I…I am very partial to the traditional church trappings.”
Abaddon glanced over at Raphael. His brother communicated a picture of what the traditional nun’s garb would look like. Catherine was instantly clothed in the flowing black robes of her calling. Even her feet were sheathed in the prim black shoes she was so familiar with. Abaddon allowed Catherine to stand, steadying her in the rubble of the entranceway. She quickly strode to the cell door adjacent to her cell on the right.
“This cell and the ones on my left hold the only survivors from our volunteer group.” Catherine bowed her head. “We came to the holy land with such hope and…”
“Think no more of those times, Sister,” Raphael interrupted her.
Abaddon moved past Catherine. He pulled the cell door from its moorings as if it were a tissue paper curtain, setting it aside gently so as not to have loose debris injure Catherine. Inside the cell, a skeletal figure huddled in fear, covering her face and cringing at what she anticipated to be more torment. Abaddon grasped the woman’s hand as he knelt next to her. The transformation, as it had been with Catherine, was instantaneous. Abaddon drew the woman to him, allowing his healing power to gradually seep into her consciousness, slowly overcoming the shock of his touch.
Catherine watched Abaddon’s healing gift in her own state of shock, glancing wide-eyed at Raphael. The Archangel grasped her hand reassuringly.
“He…he is very impressive,” Catherine managed to say.
Raphael laughed. “He is the man as you say. Make no mistake, Sister Mary Catherine, the balance between Lucifer’s forces and our Father in heaven still rests in your hands. My brother and I must support you without interfering in this delicate dance.”
“I…I do understand the importance of my part.” Catherine watched her friend’s miraculous recovery in Abaddon’s arms. “It’s just… well… I feel so…”
“Don’t think about it, Catherine. Accept it and go on as if you were following your calling, because you are,” Raphael coached her. “We have a long journey before us. Just as your faith has been miraculous, you must accept the answer to your prayers to be every bit as miraculous.”
“I will,” Catherine said, her determination taking over. “It seems my friend Angelina has embraced our new circumstances willingly.”
Angelina, her body whole and healthy again in the grasp of Heaven’s most powerful Archangel, trembled unbelievingly in Abaddon’s gentle grasp. The joy of her first pain free moment in over a year obliterated all other thought. She grasped Abaddon’s face with both of her hands. She kissed him, overcome with the relief coursing through her body. Catherine looked questioningly at Raphael. Surprise registered on his face. He felt Catherine’s questioning gaze and turned toward her with a shrug of his winged shoulders.
“It seems my brother will have many temptations to face here.” Raphael grinned appreciatively. Abaddon’s arms tightened around Angelina’s body involuntarily. “Just out of curiosity, Catherine, is Angelina a nun also?”
Catherine watched Angelina’s nearly naked body writhe in apparent ecstasy within Abaddon’s grasp. The relief from torment, coupled with her instant attraction to Abaddon’s power, fueled an embrace beyond the moment. Reality shimmered for an instant. The time continuum reacted to Abaddon’s momentary abandon to earthly attraction. Angelina drew back, her breath coming in short intakes of air as she stared into Abaddon’s eyes with desire she had never dreamed of feeling. Abaddon set her down gently, dressed head to toe as Catherine had asked for in explaining the garb she wished to be clothed in. The Archangel’s visage shone with a need so blatant his black wings virtually glowed as they flexed in a panorama around the two. Angelina glanced longingly at Abaddon, reaching for him again before noticing Raphael and Catherine’s staring at her.
“Oh, Catherine, what does this mean?” Angelina’s gaze darted back and forth between Abaddon and Catherine. “How…how have we been delivered? I…I never…”
“I am Abaddon,” the Archangel of the Abyss said simply, clasping Angelina’s hand in his. “Do not be afraid. This is my brother Raphael. We have…”
Angelina threw herself back into Abaddon’s arms, clasping her hands tightly around his neck and kissing him with an intensity Abaddon returned until Raphael grasped his brother’s arm. Abaddon pulled away, his eyes betraying the violent emotions battling for control of his being. He held Angelina at arms length, disbelief evident in his features. Angelina looked unabashedly at him, all earthly platitudes swept aside.
“We…we must save your fellow captive.” Abaddon released Angelina into Catherine’s sympathetic grasp, allowing Raphael to draw him toward the other cell.
After Abaddon pulled the adjacent cell door back from its moorings, Catherine rushed in, calling out in joy to her fellow captive.
“Sarah,” Catherine called out haltingly, rushing forth to embrace the emaciated corpse in the corner of the dank cell. She hugged the unmoving body in her arms, beckoning with her eyes for Abaddon to hurry.
Abaddon grasped Sarah’s hand in his, looking into her sightless eyes with an almost human dread. He held her hand for a long moment before placing it again by her side. Abaddon met Catherine’s imploring look with resignation.
“She is with our Father.”
Catherine held Sarah tightly to her as she knelt beside the Archangel. Catherine could not hide the anger welling up inside. “Can’t you…”
“Do not ask it, Sister Mary Catherine. I cannot do this for you.”
“You are an Archangel. You…”
“I am not the Creator,” Abaddon interrupted. “I cannot give back life, Sister. Your Sarah is in a much better place and has been for nearly a day.”
“How do I know any of what you say exists?” Catherine’s bitterness at not having arrived in time to save Sarah spewed forth in her words. “Just because you sucked face with Angelina, doesn’t mean…”
“Enough!” Abaddon ordered, the darker aura around him heralding his rage. “My future for years to come will be entwined with yours, Sister Mary Catherine. Please accept what I can and cannot do. I do not lie.”
Angelina ran up to Abaddon past Raphael’s grasp, wrapping herself around Abaddon’s leg and holding on tightly. Angelina held her eyelids clasped shut in
quiet supplication. Abaddon’s anger dissolved instantly at Angelina’s touch. He turned to Raphael almost accusingly which prompted a laugh from his brother.
“What disturbs you, brother?”
“How is it, Raph, I had no warning of this girl’s attentions?” Abaddon gestured impatiently for Sister Mary Catherine to be silent a moment longer.
“God works in mysterious ways, my brother,” Raphael answered curtly.
The two Archangels stared at each other for a moment before both of them surrendered to raucous laughter.
“Oh, Raph,” Abaddon blurted out in the midst of his amusement, “I am so happy to have you here.”
“As am I, my brother, as am I.” Raphael considered Catherine’s flushed, highly perturbed face blend into the moment. “I would council magnanimity in this instance.”
“My friend was not a joke.” Catherine clutched the dead woman to her. “Sister Angelina, please stop acting like some…”
Angelina released Abaddon suddenly and covered Catherine’s hands with her own. Catherine looked away. She began to cry softly. Angelina brushed her hand over Sister Sarah’s unseeing eyes, closing them gently. Easing Sarah from Catherine’s grasp, Angelina lowered the body to the floor. Catherine sobbed piteously, hands covering her eyes. Abaddon and Raphael stood together, silently glancing at each other uneasily as Angelina put her arms around Catherine for a moment. Angelina then pulled Catherine to her feet.
“Catherine,” Angelina whispered softly, “they are not laughing at Sarah. Come, let us leave this awful place.”
Abaddon placed his hand on Catherine’s shoulder.
“Sister Angelina is right. I am sorry if you thought we were making light of your friend’s death. Her trials are over. She is with my Father. Please come with us.”
Instantly, the Archangel’s and the two women were standing outside the small hellish prison.
“Let me show you something, Sister Mary Catherine.” Abaddon waited until Catherine looked up at him before taking her hands in his own.
Catherine’s face took on a look of bewildered awe as the very fabric of reality shimmered into visibility for her to see. Catherine’s hands gripped Abaddon’s desperately, needing his touch to keep her sanity. Angelina looked on fearfully, letting Raphael steady her in the midst of Abaddon’s revelation of existence. When Abaddon allowed the glimpse of eternity to fade, the two women gasped breathlessly in shocked realization. Catherine met Abaddon’s inquiring look tearfully before bowing her head.
“I…I am sorry I doubted you.”
“It is nothing, Sister. I only wished to comfort you in your loss. Sister Angelina, are you well?”
Angelina fell to her knees, bowing her head and raising her hands in supplication. “I am a nun no longer, my Lord. I wish only to serve you.”
“Sister Angelina!” Catherine admonished.
Abaddon grasped Angelina’s hands and lifted her up. Angelina stared defiantly into Abaddon’s eyes.
“I am not our Lord, Sister.”
“You are my Lord.” Angelina ignored Catherine’s hand gripping her shoulder. “They tortured Sister Mary Catherine mercilessly and all the while she prayed for them. While the rest of us were screaming in agony, she cried out as if she herself were being tortured. She is a saint. God rightfully answered her prayers. I prayed too.”
Angelina paused, her face taking on a cruel set as she remembered her captivity. “I prayed for God to strike my captors dead. When day after day my prayers went unanswered, I lost my faith.”
Abaddon remembered his Creator’s final wish before Abaddon’s departure. “I believe you are mistaken, Sister. Let me show you.”
Abaddon cupped Angelina’s face with his huge hands. She closed her eyes. In seconds, Angelina saw and heard the Creator’s wish to see the nuns’ captors punished. Angelina witnessed Abaddon fulfilling the Lord’s request in the cruel guards’ last moments of hell on earth. Angelina did not cringe at the ghastly deaths. She smiled happily.
“Brother, Sister Angelina has a warrior’s look,” Raphael observed.
Angelina opened her eyes, a look of willful contentment still apparent on the nun’s face. “I am grateful to have seen this but it changes very little, my Lord. I am not the same woman I was. I want to be with you always in any way you will let me.”
Catherine spun her friend around. She gripped Angelina’s arms tightly. “You don’t mean that. Please, Angelina, don’t say such things until you’ve…”
“Sister Mary Catherine,” Angelina interrupted her. “Each of us must do what we feel is right. I love you with all my heart. It was only your voice which kept me alive all these long months. My Lord Abaddon will be with you and I will be with him.”
Catherine released Angelina, seeing her friend’s mind was set. “Very well, Sister but these two are Archangels, the Seraphim of Heaven itself.”
“I will not hold that against them.” Angelina smiled at Abaddon and Raphael.
“I fear I cannot be all you wish,” Abaddon said finally to Angelina. “My course here on Earth will be with Sister Mary Catherine. My Creator gave me a darker side I am barely in control of. Now Raph here is an angel of light. He…”
“Do not wave me around as if I were a flag, Dark Brother.” Raphael pointed a warning finger at the smiling Abaddon. “Perhaps Sister Angelina here was meant to temper some of your darker urges. Our Lord probably knew it would take the three of us acting upon our individual strengths to keep you in check.”
Angelina moved into Abaddon suggestively. “See, my Lord, you are the darker brother while I am the darker sister.”
Angelina stroked Abaddon’s left black wing with reverence. “Perhaps my Lord Raphael is right. I have survived to fulfill a purpose Sister Mary Catherine cannot.”
“Come,” Raphael gestured with a wave of his hand, “let us talk this over somewhere my brother may taste coffee. It has been ages since I have had a cup of coffee. We must take on less daunting appearances. How about these?”
Instantly, the two Archangels were clothed in khaki military cut clothing, with black jump boots. Raphael eyed Abaddon’s dark visage as if figuring what to do about it. Finally, with a wave of his hands, both he and Abaddon wore headdresses of white, with a dark band. Raphael nodded, satisfied with his work. He held his arms up in a questioning gesture to Abaddon.
“What do you think, brother?”
“No robes and sandals?”
“Too casual,” Raphael answered. “What do you think Sisters? Are we inconspicuous enough?”
“You both are very handsome.” Angelina clung to Abaddon’s arm. “I liked your black wings though.”
“They are still there, Sister,” Raphael explained; “but not quite in this moment.”
Catherine looked closely at Abaddon’s scarred visage. “You still look like the Angel of the Abyss.”
“That will not change,” Abaddon replied. “Some things cannot be hidden.”
“You both are far taller than average. What of those scars?” Catherine continued appraising Abaddon and Raphael.
“They were formed by the blows of Lucifer’s horde, during the battle for Heaven,” Raphael answered for Abaddon. “He was our shield. Such scars will seep through any attempt at disguise, Sister.”
“They are glorious.” Angelina stroked Abaddon’s face softly with her fingers.
“Sister Angelina, you will need to quit fawning over our protector. Can you not control yourself even a little?”
Angelina turned away from Abaddon to face Catherine.
“No, but I will try not to embarrass you in public.”
“Thank you.” Catherine turned to Raphael. “I would very much like a cup of tea, ah…”
“Call me Raphael, or Raph, if you like Sister. We’ll have to come up with a nickname of some kind for the Angel of the Abyss here. Abaddon is not a common name anywhere on Earth. Such was our Lord’s will until recently.”
“I would ask you to use my name even if it is rare. It h
as been an eternity since I heard my name spoken. I do not wish to have it dismissed on a whim, Raph.”
“As you wish, brother. Let’s go.”
“I have but one more item to take care of here, Raph.” Abaddon disengaged himself from Angelina and walked a few steps away.
Abaddon raised his left fist. Where once the fenced off prison stood, a barren black circle of sand lay in its place. It was as if the complex had instantly ceased to exist. The Angel of the Abyss stared at his work of destruction for a moment, sensing he should do more, but unsure of what. He turned to Raphael who had placed his hands comfortingly on the nuns’ shoulders as they averted their eyes from the act of raw power.
“Something’s missing, Raph. I feel it, but I just…”
ARCHANGEL Page 3