“He made his choices, and I made mine.”
“Did you truly think he would accept any of Lilith’s sisters in her place?”
Well, he had for a while, but whatever captivated him about Lilith had not extended to her sisters. “We all make mistakes, Abaddon.”
He considered her for a moment “That is so. The Arch Angels let me live. Then what does bring you here?”
“Destruction or more specifically your perchance for it.” She wasn’t sure if she had said the right thing, she felt his gaze intensify. She knew that playing to his destructive instincts was the best way to get her what she wanted, but perhaps that too had changed.
“Destruction is such a beautiful thing” he crooned “what destruction are you seeking Agrat?”
“Disease”
She felt sure that he would be smiling if he had any flesh “a most wondrous and destructive force. A new interest of yours?”
“Yes, I have come to appreciate its destructive qualities and its usefulness. I was hoping to obtain some of the diseases that are sure to be sweeping your territory.”
He waved a shadowy hand “You have my permission. Bring beautiful destruction to other parts of the world” he faded away his voice echoing around his lair.
She glared at any Demon that so much as looked at her, summoned up her magic to defend herself and materialised an array of medical swabs and syringes to obtain the diseases she had come for.
Ariel’s army didn’t stand a chance.
Chapter 24
Gabriel marched up the Skybridge, everyone scrambling out of her way as fast as they could. Some even threw themselves off the bridge to avoid her. If she weren't so furious, she would have been amused.
The Council had summoned her, her, to explain her recent actions. They were most unhappy with her, but she didn’t care how unhappy they were. She did care however that they had developed enough of a backbone to dare summon her. Now she had to take time out of her hectic schedule to sit through this ridiculous farce. Why didn’t they get it? The Council didn’t really have power, it was the Arch Angels that did.
The other Arch Angels had forewarned her of the Council’s intention, they were already sitting in session waiting for her, and they were worried about the outcome. She was the most powerful Angel in their history, she would destroy the Council before they took her power. And she felt sure many people realised that.
She had prepared for this accordingly. She had summoned up power from all of her vestiges and then she had teleported into the Palace cells to drain the Divine prisoners. It was her secret that not even Michael knew that she could teleport within the Palace. No one was meant to be able to teleport into the Palace, the Skybridge was the only port of entry. Yet she had discovered that the Queens of Heaven could and she had become its de facto queen with Hera’s imprisonment.
She had shared that knowledge with no one.
When her summons had come she had almost flown into a rage but she would not destroy her precious labs and all the discoveries within. She had absorbed the power of her vestiges then teleported into the cells and gone through each and every cell and taken the power from every Divine.
She held so much power within her now that everyone around her could sense it, could feel the threat in the very air around her. She wondered how the other Arch Angels had never realised that they had Ascended to Godhood. She had known as soon as she had been crowned Arch Angel, the extra power granted to her had been all she needed to push her into the highest echelons of the Divine. She had not discussed it with the others, they somehow seemed ignorant of the fact. Even the populace seemed ignorant of the fact that they had Ascended to Gods.
She honestly thought it was rather obvious. They absorbed and held so much of the Gods’ powers that it could not be helped. So much power swirling around Divine bodies was always absorbed and the physical transcended to the magical. But the funny thing about Ascending was that it was all mental. The others hadn’t realised, and so their mind followed old behaviours. They had to eat because they felt hungry, they had to sleep because they felt tired.
She ate for the pleasure of it, and she slept to relax but she didn’t need to, and she knew it. Even Michael exclaimed that she just always seemed to keep going. Perhaps that was why she managed to get so much more done, because she knew she didn’t need to stop.
She marched through the entrance doors of the Palace, all around her people hurried to get out of her proximity. Lesser and Ascended watched her with fear, satisfaction and calculation. She studied them all and stored away their emotions and faces. Those who thought she was getting her just desserts would pay for their insights.
She smirked to herself before schooling her face into perfect blankness. She could feel the Elder’s trepidation at her approach, they could feel her power approaching as a wave of doom.
She stopped outside the Council Chambers, her face schooling into calculated anger. All her newly ascended Elder stood outside, barred from entering the Council that they now belonged to.
In true theatrical style, the chamber doors blasted open as she marched in, the new Elders following after her. She would not dance to the Council’s tune, they would dance to hers. Or they would die.
“Gabriel, what is the meaning of this?” roared many of the Council members.
“Arch Angel Gabriel” she corrected them. Ignoring their protests she marched into the middle of the chamber, frustrated that until this was done, she could not sit in her throne. “What is the meaning of this?” she glared around the chamber.
On their thrones, the other Arch Angels hid their amusement, but they let it pass down their connections to her. They did not support the Council’s actions so they would let them burn alone.
She glared around the room waiting for anyone foolish enough to be the voice of the Council. Many kept looking at the Arch Angels as though expecting them to voice the Council’s objections. The fools! Did they think her husband or cousin would voice objections to her publically? Did they think the other Arch Angels would be so foolish to publically air their concerns? The Arch Angels looked after themselves and kept the Council out of their disagreements.
“Arch Angel Gabriel, you have been summoned before the Council for grave concerns about your recent actions. Such actions include publically wielding vast amounts of magic in Skybridge Square, admittedly for Council granted activities but we are concerned about the way you went about it. We are also greatly concerned about your recent actions in creating Elder Angels. We are who we are because we were born this way, to so casually create more of us and without prior consent is of grave concern.” Gabriel studied Camael as she spoke. It was clear she did not share these views, she was smarter than that and any concerns she did have she expressed to Gabriel. They weren’t allies, but they weren’t enemies. She was simply being a voice so that the Council would not wallow in nervousness until someone eventually chose to present the charges.
Her part done Camael sat down and maintained eye contact with her. She was not scared of Gabriel, she was wary, but she was herself a formidable woman. They respected each other. She gave a slight nod, she would seek out Gabriel later to discuss her own concerns far from the Councils ears. She might also provide her with the names of those who had cajoled the Council into attempting to reprimand her.
“As an Arch Angel, I do not need to run every action past the Council. Perhaps my actions in Skybridge Square were a tad too much but bravery should be rewarded, to independently assess who should Ascend out of that many would take too long. We need greater power as soon as we can.
As for the Elder? We are who we are by the grace of our blood. The same blood that now flows through their veins. We are the might of Heaven, its greatest asset, and yet we are few and far between. Breeding will take too long even with the recent repeals. We need Elder now to help fight our battles. Only the most worthy have been granted Ascension, those who have long served us loyally and have battled and worked hard for their
places in Heaven. Let them be rewarded.”
“You cannot act alone in your decisions, Arch Angel or not, you are not above the law. Your actions have been a serious breach, you do not command our species Gabriel, and you certainly cannot go about creating whatever you want. We are not your creatures to make as you please.” Maalik jumped up in anger.
Gabriel turned her cool glare to him, her face remained impassive. So he was the driving force behind this. She would have to remove him at a more suitable time. “What I do, I do for the good of the Angels.”
“That is your perception, Gabriel. From where the rest of us stand you have gone mad with power and developed a God complex. I move that Gabriel’s power be limited until the Council has properly reviewed her actions and can properly ascertain whether her motives are indeed for the good of us all.”
She was actually surprised at what he was proposing, in theory, it was possible, but no one had ever dared to try and curb the power of an Arch Angel. Then again no Arch Angel had been as powerful as her. A quick glance around the chamber revealed that most were as shocked as she was, the Arch Angels were horrified, she could feel their anger. Some Elder looked thoughtful, others were nodding along.
“You could do that true. In which case you will have to deal with the millions of Tengu that have been created within the Dragon Empire. You will have to somehow create Divine creatures to battle the unknown millions of Divine beings overwhelming the world. Who will supplement our armies with disposable Divine? How will our Elder numbers be protected? My actions may be called into question but everything I have done I have done to make us and keep us strong.”
“What have Tengu got to do with us?”
She kept her savage smile inside “I created the Tengu, I can turn them against the Dragon Empire. But if my powers are bound then we shall simply have to fight all the Dragon Empire’s creatures. As well as all the creatures within the British Empire, Heradmantium Empire, and Great Babylon.”
A pregnant silence filled the chamber and Gabriel waited for the inevitable. As much as many of the Angels disliked her they could not fault her for the things she did on their behalf. She was a powerful figure in Heaven’s history, even the Gods had respected her creations.
She waited patiently, maintaining conversations with the other Archs as well as Nuriel and Zerachiel. There were rounds of intense discussion passing around the chamber, but it sat in silence as the Angels said what they needed to with complete privacy. Any that spoke to Seraphim had their conversations passed right along to Gabriel. Behind her, she felt her Elder stirring, many passing things to her.
After a time, Camael stood up again “The Council has reached a majority. The Arch Angel Gabriel will not be bound or limited. Some of her actions will still be investigated and if found wanting she will be called before the Council again. In the meantime, the Council would prefer it if you maintained your current course in the protection of Heaven and the Angels.”
Of course they did. Much of the Council had no backbone, they well understood just how valuable their Arch Angels were in defending them. She marched forward to her throne, but she did not sit down. Instead she turned to look back at her Elder standing as a crowd, watching the proceedings they had not been allowed to join.
She hid her triumphant smile as the other Arch Angels stood up, even Azrael, then as one they spoke. “The Arch Angels open the Council to all Elder, find your seats.”
Shock rippled through the Council, but there was nothing they could do to overturn the unanimous decision of the Seven. Such a decision usually held the support of all the Elder in their guards.
The Arch Angels waited until all the new Elder were seated before they sat and continued the agenda. Gabriel sat there smirking to herself, glad the illusion spells hid the Arch Angels. She didn’t feel as though she could keep her satisfaction hidden.
Much later another meeting was occurring in a smaller chamber within the palace. It was attended by the Seven Arch Angels, their captains, and Nuriel. They sat around a table looking at the holoprojections displaying Amsterdam. Other images flickered with the weather reports, satellite pictures and video clips.
They watched in silence as they saw Lilith kill Senoy amid a maelstrom of wild magic. The recording had been captured by a journalist who was presumably dead. The Chaos storm unleashed in the fight had wiped out much of Amsterdam and what that hadn’t destroyed had been destroyed in the battle beforehand.
“It is safe to assume that all Angels in the vicinity were killed in the Chaos Storm.”
“But why was it unleashed and how?”
Nuriel flicked a file to the codex, it unfurled on the holoprojections. An image of Sariel appeared with a checklist next to her. They glanced over all the family details down to her skills, top of the list was the Chaos Goddess. “It is safe to assume that the Chaos came from Sariel, she is believed to be the Chaos Goddess by all with the Gods’ empires. Her perchance and abilities disturb many of the Divine, and there seems no limit to the amount of Chaos she can channel. As for why? I hypothesise that Sariel came to the defence of Lilith and upon finding her dead unleashed Chaos as a kind of emotional outlet.”
“Why would Sariel come to the defence of Lilith?” Joan asked for she was unaware of Sariel’s family details.
Nuriel flicked a glance at Michael, who made no move “Lilith is Sariel’s mother and from my information they have become close following the unleashing of Hell. My information also points to Samael being wracked with grief, our hoped slowing of his progression through Abaddon’s territory has not eventuated.”
“Are we sure that Lilith is dead though? She has a knack for slipping away.” Gabriel used her magic to flick through the images on the screens.
“We cannot be sure until traces and signatures can be pulled from the area. Especially with the Chaos Storm about much of those will likely be lost soon.”
“So we need to perform a trace quickly before they are lost.”
“Doing so would require someone to venture into the Chaos Storm. That is a huge ask for anyone.” Michael glanced around the table, none immediately volunteered though Nuriel looked thoughtful.
“Of course, it is a huge ask, Chaos can kill all Divine. That is a terrible risk just to confirm if one Greater Demon is dead.”
“If one condition were met I would consider doing it.” All turned to look at Nuriel.
“What condition would that be Nuriel?” Gabriel studied her, she was full of surprises.”
“I request to be able to empower myself beforehand. I will need a great deal of power to defend myself and to pick through the Chaos Storm quickly enough to perform a trace.”
Gabriel glanced at the other Arch Angels before turning back, their decision had been unanimous. “We find that acceptable Nuriel. You may empower yourself as much as you need to, but be careful not to kill any of the Gods.” She flicked a glance at Uriel and Jophiel.
“Thank you, my Arch Angels, I will begin at once.”
“Do you have anything to perform the trace on?” they all turned to look at Azrael.
“I believe I have some old traces that will suffice.”
Light filled the room as magic floated from Azrael to Nuriel “use this, it is far more recent.”
“Thank you, Lord Azrael.”
After the meeting had ended and she had left Michael stopped his uncle “how did you acquire a more recent trace?”
He just looked at his nephew “The Reapers visit all places Michael, her signature was strong in Amsterdam.” It was also strong in Great Babylon, but he wasn’t going to mention that he had been there. “I have traces of several of the Greater Demons which I have passed on most to Nuriel already.
Nuriel stopped as Raphael caught up with her “Nuriel this is crazy, you don’t have to do this.”
“I do. It is my job, it is my duty. There is none more capable than I. Therefore I would be shirking my duty.” She also had her own reasons for doing it.
He he
ld her in his arms “you will be careful?”
“Oh course I will, I’m always careful. Besides I will have more power than I usually do, I will be safe.”
“I don’t like this.”
“You don’t have to.”
He had no answer or retort for that. He just held her close, she was quite surprised. They were in quite public setting. Apparently he cared enough for it to be made public and that surprised her, but it also pleased her.
“Don’t worry Raphael, I do know how to look after myself.”
Nuriel looked at the door before her, the door she had been barred from visiting for centuries. She like the rest of the Elder had been banned from all the prison cells after too many Gods had been killed. They were among Heaven’s greatest assets, their power was automatically fed into Heaven’s defences, and the Arch Angels could utilise their power at any time. It was what made them so powerful and dangerous.
Now she was being allowed to utilise the cells, yet while she would take the power it was not why she had asked to be allowed into them.
She pushed the door open and walked in. The God on the floor looked up at her and smiled. His smile had allowed him into countless women and men’s beds. He was a true philanderer, but then he had never settled and broken no vows. Though he had broken many hearts. He was a beautiful man with a touch of masculine that made him distinctly male. Not that any of his lovers had ever been in doubt.
His eyes were like liquid sunlight and could enchant many, his naturally black hair had often been turned golden, but either way it was always fairly short. He had rarely covered his body with much clothing, using its allure to capture his lovers. And he had had many lovers.
“Not sneaking around today Nuriel?”
“No, I am allowed to be here this time.” She crouched down in front of her father. Even to the casual observer they were recognisable as father and daughter. She had inherited much of his beauty, from her gold-streaked brown hair, how his hair had been when he fathered her, to her lithe frame and warm sunlit eyes. She permanently had glamour on them to make them appear simply amber.
A Gluttony Of Faith Page 27