Raphael held out his hands toward the devastated area. It was instantly covered in lush green grass and wildflowers, fed by a newly routed underground spring.
“Better?” Raphael asked.
Abaddon smiled in satisfaction, nodding his head in enjoyment of Raphael’s addition. “Very nice, Raph, I will try to emulate this gift you have for beauty.”
“I don’t know, Abaddon.” Raphael patted his brother’s shoulder. “I tried for an eternity to get you out of that hole in the ground I showed you as a joke. Now you want to grow gardens? I have my doubts, brother.”
“I would have…” Abaddon began to protest as he faced Raphael. Upon seeing Raphael’s mischievous look Abaddon sighed. “Another joke, right?”
“You are such an easy target I cannot resist yet. May I suggest allowing our wards a little warning before you lay waste to something in front of them in the future?”
Catherine rushed up to Raphael, her frightened look at Abaddon’s devastation quickly replaced by anger at Raphael’s gardening touch.
“I thought you could not create life, Raphael,” Catherine said. “Why…”
“Sister,” Abaddon interrupted her, “Raphael redirected life already present. He did not create life out of whole cloth. Let us walk for a time until we are away from here. It feels good to walk on this earth and feel the sun’s warmth.”
Abaddon walked off slowly toward the small village visible in the distance. Sister Angelina immediately hurried after him, taking his arm with both her hands as they walked. Raphael waved Catherine ahead with a smile. Raphael took up a position to her right and slightly behind.
Chapter 4
Brief Respite
“The powerful Abaddon can surely destroy.”
“Thank our Lord my brother has restraint, Sister Mary Catherine.” Raphael showed impatience for the first time. “It is within the Lord’s mission for him to have wiped out not only the prison but all the surrounding villages. Abaddon was exiled in nameless obscurity for a time you humans would think of as eternity. We see the driving force of your power - innocence and purity so strong even our Lord took notice. I wish to help you, but never speak ill of my brother again in my presence, Sister. Do you understand me?”
“I’m sorry, Raphael.” Catherine fell to her knees in front of the Archangel, grasping his right hand with both of hers. “I had no right to speak so. Sister Angelina and I owe you everything.”
Raphael pulled Catherine to her feet, setting her on a path toward the village. He again took up a position near her right hand. “We will do everything in our power to help you in the years ahead, Sister. Some of what we do will be hard for you to grasp. I welcome your input, but I caution you to remember what my brother and I can and cannot do.”
“I will remember, Raphael,” Catherine promised, looking ahead at the huge figure of Abaddon walking ahead with Angelina practically attached to his side. “Does Abaddon realize how taken Sister Angelina is with him, I mean, would…”
“Would he take her as his concubine, you mean?” Raphael chuckled appreciatively at the thought. “I am not sure how he would react to Sister Angelina attempting to seduce him. Why do you ask? Abaddon will not harm her.”
“I find it disturbing to think of the hierarchy of heaven engaging sexually with humans, especially a nun like Sister Angelina.”
“I understand the rules of your faith and the bible,” Raphael stated solemnly. “You must try to understand we do not come here to desecrate what you believe. You don’t understand all the intricacies of existence. Abaddon tried to show you the complex threads of reality to ease your grief. My brother and I are not sexual predators or deviants. When we walk upon the earth we are drawn inexplicably to human wants and needs.”
“What of you, Raphael?”
Raphael laughed. “I have had more practice at resisting temptation, Sister. Besides, I do not have the darker side my brother does. Even in earthly guise, Sister, we are very empowering beings. You may find our attractiveness unnerving at times. Does Sister Angelina’s infatuation with Abaddon bother you?”
“A little,” Catherine admitted. “We take vows of chastity. As nuns we are married in faith to the Lord.”
“After all you and Sister Angelina have been through I would suggest taking a more open view of what she does.”
“But she wished to renounce her vows as a nun.”
“Easy, Sister Mary Catherine.” Raphael slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Let us not assume sin where none yet exists.”
Catherine sniffed the air.
“I smell vanilla. Are you doing that, Raphael?”
“Guilty as charged. I saw it once in a movie where this supposed earthly manifestation of the Archangel Michael came to earth. Wherever he went women would be attracted to him and suddenly smell their favorite odor. I ragged my brother Michael mercilessly over it. I made him watch it with me twice.”
“I can’t believe you watch movies.” Catherine smiled happily for the first time, which had been Raphael’s purpose in telling the story. “Vanilla is not my favorite smell.”
Raphael sighed. “You are as dense as my brother. It doesn’t matter what smell is your favorite, only… ah, never mind. Humor loses something when it must be explained.”
“I’m sure it was very funny,” Catherine said, not sure at all. “We have a very hard road ahead of us, don’t we, Raphael?”
“It could be a lot easier if we simply turned the Angel of the Abyss loose. Staying within the boundaries set out by our Lord may prove very interesting. One thing I can guarantee, you will never see the inside of a prison again, Sister. We will do our work. It will be a bad day for anyone trying to stand in our way.”
“I am most happy I will never be in prison again,” Catherine replied earnestly. “Can Abaddon truly defeat Lucifer?”
“Abaddon could snuff old Lucy out like a day old candle if the Lord permitted it. Abaddon showed me the Lord’s plan. I understand the complexities require Lucifer’s survival. Good and bad are essential for life in spite of the painful conflict. Lucifer has grown too powerful and the forces of good too passive. We will remedy this imbalance.”
“It is very uplifting to hear this struggle spoken of as you have.” Catherine’s excitement manifested itself in her suddenly grim countenance. “In recent times it seems we had no weapons in which to fight evil.”
“You do now, Sister Mary Catherine.” Raphael watched Abaddon fend off a laughing Angelina as she tried to climb up on his back. “You do now.”
* * *
As the four companions walked into the outskirts of the Palestinian settlement, armed guards rushed at them from the ramshackle houses at the perimeter of the village. Angelina, her captivity still fresh in her mind, huddled behind the massive Archangel Abaddon. The militiamen screamed at Abaddon while taking aim with their AK47’s, ready to simply execute the strangers in front of them. Their leader, a squat bearded man in his middle forties, strode forth confidently as Raphael and Catherine joined their compatriots. Raphael held up his hand to the men, greeting them in traditional Arab form and Abaddon mimicked him.
“What do you want here?” The squat man asked angrily.
“We merely wish to visit one of your café’s,” Raphael explained.
Suddenly, Angelina cried out from where she hid behind Abaddon. Catherine rushed to her side, hugging the terrified nun to her. The squat man peered around at the two nuns. He smiled with a leering anticipation.
“You have two escaped prisoners,” the squat man stated. “I recognize these two infidel women with you. They are blasphemers of Allah.”
Raphael looked at the man curiously. He glanced down at Catherine as she held a sobbing Angelina. “Do you know this man, Sister Mary Catherine?”
Catherine nodded solemnly, meeting the squat man’s leer with sadness. “If there are truly demons in the form of man upon this earth, Raphael, then this man is one of them.”
“And these other men, Sister?” Aba
ddon gestured at the squat man’s companions.
“The others are unfamiliar to me.” Catherine did not look away from the man’s belligerent stare. “He was the last one I heard with Sarah.”
“Kill these two and strip the two women,” the leader ordered.
Raphael waved his hand and the men were weaponless. Abaddon moved too fast for the human eye in grabbing the startled leader up by his shirt. Abaddon glanced at his brother. Raphael nodded grimly.
“You have been judged.” Abaddon’s strident voice carried powerfully in the afternoon air. The man dangled from Abaddon’s right hand, clawing at the Archangel’s fist. “The punishment is death.”
The squat man burst into a hellish black flame, his hideous screams carrying on minute after minute. Angelina had quieted, watching the execution of her tormentor stolidly, her mouth set in trembling acceptance. Catherine released her, running forward to plead for mercy. Raphael caught her up before she could approach Abaddon.
“This part is not yours, Sister,” Raphael whispered.
“I…I should not have told you about him,” Catherine said, unable to look away. “No one deserves such a death.”
Raphael saw Angelina stand and move closer to the flaming human monster. “I think Sister Angelina would disagree. It is as our Father requested. This man must pay as the Lord assigned to Abaddon.”
Only when ashes flowed from Abaddon’s hand to be blown away by the wind did the Archangel of the Abyss lower his arm. He towered over the other soldiers prostrate on the ground in fear, their trembling hands over their heads. Abaddon reached down and grasped the first man by the arm. The man’s countenance changed instantly. He clutched Abaddon’s hand in joy. He in turn gripped his fellow soldiers. They reacted similarly. In moments, all looked to Abaddon expectantly.
“I am Abaddon, Archangel of the Abyss. You will carry this with you all the days of your lives so others may know,” Abaddon told them.
“We will do your bidding, my Lord Abaddon,” the first man exclaimed happily.
“Can you guide us to the nearest café?” Raphael asked.
“Of course, Sir, follow us.”
“Wait here while we gather our companions.” Raphael and Abaddon rejoined Catherine and Angelina.
Abaddon allowed Angelina to come into his arms. He stroked her back gently.
“I saw what he had done to you, Sister Angelina,” Abaddon said. “I would take such memories from you if I could.”
“There is no need, my Lord.” Angelina stepped back, grasping Abaddon’s hand in hers. I…I’m sorry I screamed. Seeing him… I…”
“Think no more of it, Sister. His fate was cast.”
Raphael and Catherine waited near the soldiers for Abaddon and Angelina to join them. The soldiers took turns grasping Raphael’s hand, awestruck at the power emanating from the Archangel. Raphael gently disengaged from the group when Abaddon approached. He gestured at the men who had turned their attention to Catherine with reverence.
“Let’s get that coffee, brother.”
“Of course.” Abaddon pretended not to notice as Angelina climbed onto his back, hugging him tightly as if he were a pony ride.
“Would you like a horsey ride too, Sister Mary Catherine?”
“I’ll walk, Raphael.” Catherine answered, looking disapprovingly at Angelina. She glanced at Raphael after a moment with a smile. “Perhaps another time?”
“Now that’s funny.”
The odd looking group walked into the settlement without further notice. The soldiers guided Abaddon, Raphael, and the two sisters to the only café inside the settlement. Although rundown on the outside with a battered awning to shield the sunlight, the open-air café was a joyous sight to the two sisters after so long in their bleak prison. The soldiers seated them at two tables they pulled together quickly. The soldier Abaddon had touched shook hands with the scowling owner. A look of understanding flashed over his countenance. The café owner shook his head with a look of sadness.
“I have been an idiot,” the owner stated with a shrug of his shoulders.
The soldier grinned. “I as well, but no more, thank Allah. Please serve my new friends, Ahmed. My comrades and I are going home to our families.”
The owner clapped the soldier on the back.
“It will be as you say, Mohmar. I will serve everyone well.”
Mohmar embraced Ahmed before gesturing for his men to follow him. The owner approached the Archangels’ table while greeting and putting a hand on each of the confused customers sitting at the other tables. Each patron the owner touched shared his enlightenment. Finally, the owner stood in front of a seated Abaddon, who looked doubtfully at the chair straining under his bulk.
“I am Ahmed. How may I serve you?”
“Would you bring three coffees and one tea?” Raphael gestured toward Abaddon’s chair. It became solidly stable. “Sister’s, will you eat also?”
“I am very hungry,” Catherine answered, suddenly aware of how famished she actually felt.
“Me too,” Angelina agreed. “I could eat anything.”
Ahmed laughed. “I will bring you a feast, young woman, but first your coffee and tea. I will be right back.”
“He speaks perfect English,” Catherine marveled.
“No, Sister Mary Catherine,” Raphael replied. “You hear English when he speaks. Abaddon has given you and Angelina power over your earthly Tower of Babel so we may do our work more easily.”
Ahmed served the coffee and tea in clear cups with a flourish before hurrying off to prepare the food.
Abaddon took a sip of the strong coffee. He smiled at Raphael. “This is very good, Raph.”
“Yes it is.” Raphael sighed as he sipped his with pleasure.
“When must we leave to visit our first victim?” Catherine asked. “The little boy is very close to this settlement. He was the reason Father Joseph brought us to the Holy-land. Soldiers guard the hovel where the child resides. We were imprisoned before we could step inside.”
“Father Joseph had read of the child in the papers. He requested permission to visit him from our Archdiocese in Boston,” Angelina added. “He asked Sister Mary Catherine, Sarah, and I to accompany him. I believe Catherine was the one he would not have left without.”
“He died horribly in prison.” Catherine stared unseeingly toward the street as she remembered hearing Father Joseph’s unending screams.
Ahmed brought their food with the help of his wife. After placing the food on the table, she grasped each of the Archangel’s hands, smiling at them without saying a word. She and Ahmed then walked to the kitchen hand in hand. Raphael jolted upright. Abaddon, who had his back to the street tensed in anticipation.
“Well, look who came to see us,” Raphael exclaimed. “That’s far enough, Lucy.”
Dressed in all black robes and headdress, Lucifer stopped ten feet away from their table. The other patrons, sensing after their enlightenment the evil Lucifer had always been able to hide, quickly fled from their tables away from the handsome figure in the street.
Abaddon turned his chair so he faced Lucifer.
“You morons are poisoning the balance.” Lucifer seethed, eyeing Catherine and Angelina appraisingly. “This is not as it should be. You two must…”
“Silence!” Abaddon barked in fury. “It is you who have poisoned the balance. We are merely restoring it with truth. It was not heaven injecting foul creations of your evil into helpless souls.”
Lucifer smiled for the first time.
“Very well, Abaddon, but know this - my creations are not bound by any rules. They absorb light. The first I know you seek to exorcise will wipe you from existence as a man might swat a fly.”
“We will heed your warning,” Raphael replied, “since after all, you are Lord of the Flies.”
Abaddon laughed, looking at Raphael fondly. Catherine and Angelina observed the exchange tensely, knowing they looked upon the devil himself.
“Laugh now oh mighty Ang
el of the Abyss!” Lucifer screamed in fury, pointing angrily at Abaddon with his left hand. “Soon, you and Raphael will be gone. Your precious little nuns will be having their skin flayed from…”
Abaddon leaped from the chair, bearing the dark robed Lucifer to the street surface. Abaddon’s dark wings and trappings appeared as Lucifer squirmed helplessly beneath the Archangel. Abaddon lost all illusion of human appearance in his passion.
“Leave now and speak no more,” Abaddon whispered in Lucifer’s ear so intensely his words were like physical blows. “Pray your demon is my match. If he is not I will come to gather pain from you in payment.”
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