“No Sister Angelina.” Raphael covered Angelina’s hand with his. “If I ever hinted we were to be miserable constantly in this long battle ahead, I am sorry. You and Sister Mary Catherine have endured enough sadness for a lifetime. You are also right about how joyous such simple moments as these are.”
“Even to the Seraphim of Heaven?” Catherine asked.
“Especially to the Seraphim of Heaven.” Raphael nodded his head in affirmation, taking up his coffee cup and sipping noisily. “We are pathetically devoid of imagination, Sister, and must take our lessons in happiness from humans who certainly know the definition of misery.”
“It will be our mission to make sure you and Sister Mary Catherine know as little misery as possible,” Abaddon promised. He pressed Angelina’s hand to his lips as if he were a courtier at a medieval court.
“Thank you, my Romeo,” Angelina replied with delight, stroking the side of Abaddon’s face with her hand. She turned to Raphael mischievously. “So, my Lord Raphael, you have never known sadness?”
“In the war for heaven we knew sadness. Before the Lord provided us with my brother Abaddon, I lost countless souls who were one with me. They were slaughtered in Lucifer’s quest for what he could not hope to have. Until then, we didn’t know what an Archangel was. We only thought we knew. Only in the loss of so many precious to him did our Lord create a true Archangel.”
Raphael looked on Abaddon with tears forming in his eyes. “When the Lord exiled Abaddon, banishing the mention of his name for simply performing what he was created to do, all of heaven wept.”
“Thank you, Raphael.” Abaddon grasped his brother’s outstretched hand. “You give me a gift which banishes the ages of darkness.”
“I would do much more for you.” Raphael wiped absently at his eyes. “You must think of me when you do things like dropping your sword and shield before plunging into battle. I cannot lose you in this quest.”
“You won’t, my brother.” Abaddon felt the sense of loss flowing from Raphael. “I will be better next time.”
“What happened? I mean… where did those lost in the battle for heaven go?” Catherine asked.
“Before Abaddon, we were created from light.” Raphael locked Abaddon’s hands with both of his for a moment more before turning to Catherine. “Those who perished in the battle for heaven were reduced to their simplest forms. They are threaded into everything around us - both Lucifer’s minions and those created by the Lord.”
Raphael tilted his head upwards, his hands palms up near his body.
“Thankfully,” Raphael whispered with a nostalgic whim almost palpable, “I can feel the filaments of their life forces when I concentrate.”
Raphael straightened in his chair after a moment with a sigh, looking around at his comrades. “It is hard to remember what came before but not who - both good and bad.”
Catherine reached over to grip Raphael’s hands in hers, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Thank you for remembering them for us. I…I had no idea of…”
“It was not for your understanding.” Raphael’s eyes appeared to glimpse something an eternity away. “Lucifer woke us all from a dream we shared. Nothing will ever be the same. I will hold no secrets from you, Sister Mary Catherine. As you evoke something from my memory of things past, I hope to answer your questions plainly.”
“I have never heard you speak so, Raph,” Abaddon said. “Perhaps our mission means far more than the regaining of balance. Walking here upon this reality has changed everything for me.”
“Abaddon, if only I could put into words what your appearance meant to me when first I saw you. Even with Michael flailing away with all his might we were pathetic. Lucifer’s horde drove us back with unstoppable power. We were beaten to the veritable gates of Heaven. Our Heavenly Host dropped their weapons in disgrace. I doubted all… all of what we were.”
“And then I saw you rip into the front ranks of Lucifer’s horde - black wings gliding and intensity upon your face no one in creation had ever seen before. I saw then what we needed more than anything in our reality: fear in the faces of our enemy. You were… as Sister Angelina pointed out… you were magnificent.”
Abaddon smiled at Raphael’s heartfelt words. “When Lucifer threw his weapon aside and bowed his head begging mercy I thought of nothing other than ending his putrid existence. I awoke in darkness as if I had never existed. Your face was the first I saw. You gripped my hand and talked to me. I will never forget the relief your presence provided me.”
“When you arched your sword to take Lucifer’s head, Heaven’s host sang out in a deafening roar of approval,” Raphael stated, leaning toward his brother across the table with fierce passion. “When you disappeared from our sight, leaving only the piteous, unrepentant Lucifer, we were stricken to the core of our beings. Michael bound Lucifer with the Lord’s guidance. After the battle, our Lord divulged your presence to me only after endless pleas. I will never be kept from your side again, my brother. No matter your fate in any of this, I will join you in it.”
Abaddon nodded his head in acknowledgement. “This has been a good day, Raph. I look forward to many more at your side.”
“And I at your side, my Lord,” Angelina added, her head against Abaddon’s shoulder.
“And I.” Catherine vowed. “If we should complete this task in our lifetimes will our relationship end?”
“I pledge it will…” Abaddon began before Raphael pulled away.
“Do not make promises we cannot keep, my brother,” Raphael warned.
“As long as I exist,” Abaddon continued, meeting his brother’s eyes, “our relationship will never end, Sister Mary Catherine.”
Raphael sat silently for a long moment, trying to reason all the implications of Abaddon’s proposal. He met the two nuns’ stares without regret or hesitation.
“I am one with you all. I will end before this relationship between us ends.” Raphael fended off Angelina’s fevered embrace.
Raphael laughed. “Control yourself, Sister Angelina, I am the Archangel of light here.”
Angelina kissed Raphael’s hand. “I will remember my Lord Raphael.”
* * *
“Will you need me to guide you from here, my Lord Raphael?” Ahmed asked, still grasping the Archangel’s hand.
“You have done all you can do, my friend,” Raphael answered as Abaddon assisted the two nuns out of the large Mercedes Ahmed drove them to the airport in. “Your assistance in obtaining papers for us and setting up accounts we can access was invaluable.”
“I can never repay you.” Ahmed shook his head with a sigh, gesturing at the laughing little boy bobbing atop Abaddon’s shoulders as his wife hugged the two nuns in tearful farewell. “Will you come back to see us?”
“Of course,” Raphael promised. “We have much work ahead of us. We will surely return one day.”
“Remember, with those satellite phones I obtained for you, I am always at your service,” Ahmed reminded the Archangel, holding up his own newly acquired cell phone.
“I will remember.” Raphael clasped the little boy into his arms from Abaddon’s shoulders. “And you, little Yusuf, be a good boy. I am missing you already.”
Yusuf hugged Raphael tightly for a moment after nodding his head in solemn recognition of Raphael’s directive. Ahmed took his new son happily into his arms. He stepped back toward the Mercedes as the ever present airport security officers bore down on him. Ahmed’s wife gave Raphael a hug and kiss before slipping into the passenger side of the Mercedes with her husband and son. The small group of travelers stood at the busy airport entranceway waving goodbyes at the Mercedes as it pulled into traffic when one of the security officers grabbed Abaddon’s arm. Abaddon looked down at the stunned officer with a bemused smile. The security officer bent down, lifting Abaddon’s hand to his forehead. His partner scowled in disbelief.
“Do you require assistance, my Lord?” The security officer asked reverently of Abaddon.
“Wou
ld it be possible for you to direct us to where we may start our journey?”
“Of course, Sir, I…”
“Have you gone mad, Mazhar?” The other security officer asked. “We do not…”
Mazhar grasped his comrade’s hand. “All is well, Ender.”
Comprehension flashed across Ender’s face - understanding followed. He turned to Abaddon, smiling and gesturing. “Come, my Lord, we will escort you to the flight desk. Give my friend Mazhar your flight papers.”
Raphael handed Mazhar the papers. The security guards guided them in front of the El Al check in. Seeing the long line for departure, Mazhar indicated a willingness to propel them to the front of the line. Abaddon stopped him.
“We will wait here, my friends.” Abaddon shook each security guard’s hand. “Thank you for helping us.”
Ender took a card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Raphael along with the papers Raphael had given him. “Take this card, my Lord. Call me if you need any help at any time.”
“I will do so, Ender.” Raphael held each guard’s hand for a moment as the noisy crowd waiting in line had lapsed into silence, watching the extremely odd scene happening at the end of the line.
The two security guards walked off with a final wave. The two Archangels were dressed in dark gray vested suits with matching hats, while the nuns wore the familiar traditional garb of their order. Raphael carried a briefcase with all their various traveling papers and passports. Abaddon pulled along a large suitcase, filled with paraphernalia needed by the two nuns. Sister Mary Catherine smiled warmly at the other people in line still gawking at their group.
“We look like a circus act,” Catherine whispered to Raphael.
“Yes, but we are very entertaining, are we not?” Raphael waved at the others in line. “We have relieved these gentle people of the boredom inherent in waiting for indefinite periods to board these flying carriers. What would you suggest we do, Sister?”
“You and my Lord Abaddon look incredibly handsome,” Angelina said. “I really like your suits.”
“What is this circus act you speak of, Sister Mary Catherine?” Abaddon asked.
“She means you look like a capering monkey in a cage at the zoo,” Raphael answered with a grin.
Abaddon chuckled. “I believe the Sister included you in her pronouncement, Raph.”
“Surely not.” Raphael tugged on the lapels of his suit coat with a flourish, much to the delight of his companions.
“Do we look that foolish, Sister Mary Catherine?” Abaddon looked down at his suit.
“Yes, but it really doesn’t matter.” Catherine yanked Angelina back from Abaddon where she had absently started to grope the Archangel possessively. “Control yourself, Sister Angelina.”
“Sorry.” Angelina recognized the break in her agreement with Catherine about public shows of affection. “If you would allow me to dress in the simple clothing of a cheap camp follower as I requested you would not have to be so embarrassed about my behavior, Sister Mary Catherine.”
Abaddon muffled his laughter at Angelina’s statement with his hand. Catherine looked at him accusingly. This caused Raphael to also temper his enjoyment of an all too familiar scene.
“You promised, Sister Angelina,” Catherine reminded her wayward friend.
“I know.” Angelina allowed Catherine to put an arm around her shoulders. “I will strive to keep up appearances. See how the women in line are looking at Abaddon and Raphael. It’s disgraceful.”
Catherine recognized Angelina had a point. Women walking through the airport detoured so as to pass by the Archangels with appraising looks of flirtation, even the ones dressed in full length burkas. The other women in line had not turned away from Abaddon and Raphael at all. They were prodded by impatient males near them when their turn came for check in. The Archangels accepted the attention with amusement, enjoying the consternation it caused Catherine.
“Relax, Sister Mary Catherine,” Raphael urged as they shifted forward in the line. “We are not undercover agents. It doesn’t matter if we appear to be a circus act.”
“It will take some getting used to. Sister Angelina is not too thrilled with this added focus on Abaddon by these throngs of females either. Jealousy is sinful, Sister.”
“As is arrogance, you smug little…” Angelina bit off the finish of her sentence as Catherine laughed and hugged her.
“We are such a pair.” Catherine held Angelina at arms-length. “Forgive me. Raphael’s sarcastic wit is beginning to rub off on me.”
“He is an instigator.”
Raphael immediately took on a look of total innocence.
“Me?” Raphael gestured at himself with an award winning act of utter confusion. “What of the Archangel, Buddy Love, here? I am merely trying to achieve order amidst chaos, a thankless job at best.”
Raphael’s protestations of outrage provoked more muffled laughter.
“If we do not attain some semblance of control the airport security forces will take us into custody,” Catherine said moments later. “We are acting like a bunch of juvenile delinquents.”
“He started it,” Raphael accused Abaddon immediately.
“No, you.” Abaddon pointed at Raphael.
“Oh boy,” Catherine exclaimed as the two Archangels poked at each other, much to Angelina’s amusement. “This is going to be a long day.”
* * *
Seated in the first class section of the airliner, Raphael shifted slightly in his seat next to Catherine. He peered over at where Angelina was patiently adjusting Abaddon’s seat belt while suggesting more comfortable ways for him to sit. Raphael relaxed in his seat only when Abaddon seemed content with position. Catherine covered Raphael’s hand with her own.
“You worry too much, Raphael. Sister Angelina will take good care of Abaddon. We could not fit the two of you next to each other.”
“I’m not worried.” Raphael grinned mischievously. “I was going to adjust Abaddon’s seat a little.”
“Don’t you dare, you big prankster.” Catherine smacked the back of Raphael’s hand. “You have not been very angel like today.”
Raphael nodded in agreement, sighing in satisfaction.
“I have had a great time today, Sister Mary Catherine. Even waiting in the lines was enjoyable. I look forward to our San Francisco adventure.”
“Is it really so bad to be an Archangel?”
“Just different, Sister. As I explained, we are a little short on imagination. I have hopes my time on earth will cultivate what little I have.”
“I think you underestimate yourself. No one could be as ornery as you are without an imagination.”
“Ornery?”
“What would you call it?”
“Playful,” Raphael suggested.
“Maybe.”
Catherine sniffed the air suddenly as a beautiful, dark haired stewardess leaned down over Raphael attentively.
“Can I get you anything before takeoff, Sir?” The stewardess asked suggestively, leaning close to Raphael’s neck. “You smell so good I could just…”
“Raphael!?” Catherine hissed. “I smell vanilla, you rascal.”
“Hmmmmmmmm… and chocolate,” the stewardess added.
“I don’t require anything at the moment.” Raphael lightly stoked the stewardess’s hand with his fingertips where it rested on his chest. “Thank you just the same.”
“My name is Lola. Ask for me if you need anything.” Lola whispered. She straightened reluctantly.
“Glad to meet you, Lola, I am Raphael.”
“You sure are.” Lola gave Raphael a quick kiss on the lips as Catherine elbowed Raphael.
Both Abaddon and Angelina were looking over at Raphael with amusement. One glance from Catherine turned their attention away abruptly as Lola sauntered toward the front of the plane.
“You elbowed me, Sister,” Raphael complained. “That wasn’t very Christian of you. Did you miss my answer to Sister Angelina regarding the fac
t it would not be sinful for us to have a little fun.”
“No, but I didn’t know it included seducing airline stewardesses. There is a certain moral imperative to what we do, don’t you think, Raphael?”
“Yes, Sister Mary Killjoy.”
“You can be so annoying.” Catherine chuckled in spite of her attempt at disapproval. “You did that on purpose just to see what kind of reaction you would get from me, didn’t you?”
“Yes?” Raphael acknowledged, looking sideways at Catherine. “And your point?”
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