The Genesis of Seven

by Sara M Schaller

“Gabriel, listen. I understood the consequences of our journey well before we left New York. Perhaps I wasn’t expecting anything nearly this life-threatening, but I know better now, and I’m telling you, we are continuing on,” I insisted. “I’m not about to let them frighten me into inactivity, nor am I going to let you treat me like a child. We make mistakes. We learn from them. We move on. Now, when are we leaving for Tokyo?”

  They stared in admiration and amazement.

  “You really are the sign we were waiting for,” Raphael remarked.

  “I knew I would make a believer out of you.”

  They all burst into laughter.

  After sipping some soup, I rested a bit longer. When I awoke, later in the afternoon, the angels decided we would leave for Tokyo tomorrow.

  With some help, I managed to get to my feet and I slowly hobbled to the bathroom, eager to take a shower and see myself in the mirror. All four watched me as I turned to close the door.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  My reassurance didn’t seem to convince them.

  I shuffled over to the mirror to check my reflection. Wow, that guy did a doozy on me. The entire right side of my face was bruised, already turning an ugly shade of greenish yellow. My right eye was purple and swollen, and my cheek had a deep cut that had been neatly sutured. Even my neck was marked, the hands of my attacker clearly imprinted among the shades of purple.

  A knock at the door interrupted my inspection. I opened it to find Raphael holding a plastic bag.

  “You need to put this over your hand,” he directed. “Your bandage can’t get wet.”

  I took the bag from him with a bleak smile.

  Stepping into the shower, I let the water pour over my head and wash away all the grime and pain. I knew evading the fallen wasn’t easy work. I just hoped it didn't get any harder.

  22

  Satan

  Hell, Present Day

  We were getting close. The time was almost nigh for the blood moon to rise and my freedom to be restored. I was desperate to travel to Earth. The Six’s attempts at retrieving the bag had ended in disappointment, and now disaster.

  Mammon’s screams could be heard through the entry cave into Greed. Pushing past the hellhound that guarded the cavern, I entered the city and spread my wings, taking to the air to make my way to his dwelling quicker. Upon my arrival, I found my five remaining angels anxiously waiting.

  “What happened?” I yelled.

  They all jumped.

  “We failed you,” Leviathan stated the obvious.

  “I know that. But how?”

  “I’m not sure,” he confessed. “We had them outnumbered. The ambush was flawless. We even had the bag in our possession.”

  “And what happened?”

  “Gabriel happened,” Beelzebub said.

  “Gabriel?”

  “Yes. I’ve never seen him fight like that before.” Beelzebub was clearly astonished.

  “You’re telling me Gabriel, the angel of music, single-handedly fought off five of you and took the bag out of your hands?”

  “Yes,” Leviathan whispered.

  “Well, either you all are getting rusty, or Gabriel has stepped up his game. I’ve never known him to be a fighter.”

  “Neither did we,” Belphegor added.

  “What happened to Mammon?”

  “The boy,” Asmodeus said.

  I glanced at the fallen angel writhing in pain. “The boy did this?”

  “Yes. Mammon’s greed got the better of him. He desperately wanted to take the boy out. I thought the five of us were more than enough to fight off the others. I was wrong,” Lucifer said.

  “What did the boy do?”

  “Burned him with holy water, right in the face. Then Uriel shot an arrow into him,” Asmodeus said.

  “That was after Mammon did damage to the boy.” Belphegor was anxious to point out.

  “He’s a weasel. Still managed to get away,” Beelzebub added.

  “The boy’s still alive?” I was dumbfounded.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Lucifer said. “At least, as far as we know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Mammon put a tracker on his duffel bag. I suspect if the boy died, the angels wouldn’t still be carrying it around,” Lucifer explained.

  “Are you hearing yourself?”

  “You think they’d keep his stuff?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care. All that matters is we know where they are and where they’re going, so I don’t have to do that ring trick again.”

  “It seemed difficult,” Leviathan remarked.

  “It was. I was drawing too much on my past.”

  “Well, now the tracker is in place, you won’t have to do it anymore.”

  I nodded.

  “What’s our next course of action?” Lucifer wondered.

  I smiled. “Another attack.”

  “What? Why? It didn’t work this time, and now they’ll be expecting us.”

  “Right, but they won’t be expecting me.”

  “You?” Belphegor repeated.

  “Yes, me.”

  “How are you going to manage that? I thought you were stuck down here?”

  “While the six of you were disappointing me on Earth, I was working on fixing that problem. As of tonight, my capabilities will be restored.”

  “How?” Lucifer asked.

  “That’s my business.”

  “The seer and the sorcerer.” Realization flashed across Leviathan’s face. “I completely forgot. I’m sorry.”

  “No matter. I took care of it myself.”

  “You did? Who did you find?”

  “Astrid and Tabitha.”

  “Astrid and Tabitha!” Leviathan was outraged. “But they’re the least competent!”

  “You say that, but they delivered.”

  “You’re satisfied with their performance? They can be very disrespectful.”

  “My problem isn’t with disrespect, Leviathan, it’s with defiance. Astrid and Tabitha are disrespectful to me with their strange quirks and snide remarks, but I simply need them as a means to an end. Now, if they were to act on that disrespect and try to betray me, then we would have a problem. But I don’t think they’re capable of doing such a thing.”

  The five of them stared, not expecting such a tirade.

  “So, I don’t need to find you another seer and sorcerer?” Leviathan was still disbelieving.

  “No. Now, I expect all of you to formulate an attack plan and discover the whereabouts of the archangels.”

  “Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

  “And make sure Mammon is a part of it.”

  They nodded.

  I turned on them and began the short journey back to my quarters, where I went to check on Tabitha and Astrid. The sight upon entering the portal room was not a welcome one. The seer and sorcerer were standing in front of the invisible barrier I ordered them to stay away from.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded.

  They both jumped. The fact this was the second time this had happened today made me realize they feared me more than I thought.

  “Nothing.” Tabitha tugged on Astrid’s arm and stepped away from the barrier.

  “It’s just…there was lots of noise and banging,” Astrid confessed.

  I glanced at the invisible surface. “And why should that concern you?”

  “It doesn’t,” Tabitha clarified.

  Astrid, however, remained silent as a dreamlike quality overcame her. She approached the barrier with her hand stretched out.

  “Astrid, don’t!” Tabitha pleaded.

  Before I realized what she was doing, it was too late.

  Her palm rested on the barrier, and her hair flew back, revealing her white eyes. Before any words could escape her mouth, Tabitha grabbed her hand and pulled it away. She must have seen I was about to do so myself, and that would have led to the Hellfire consuming her again.

  “Astrid?” Tabitha
shook her sister’s shoulders.

  “Fourteenth sphere,” she mumbled incoherently.

  I approached her. “What did you say?”

  “Fourteenth sphere. There’s a fourteenth sphere,” she continued to mumble.

  Tabitha shook her sister forcibly, concern palpable in her voice. “Astrid!”

  Astrid finally regained control and demanded, “What’s in there?”

  “Astrid,” her sister chastised.

  I stared at the seer, who seemed to challenge me with her blind gaze. “None of your business.”

  Her countenance clouded again as she whispered, “Fourteenth sphere. An angel’s drive in the fourteenth sphere.”

  I ignored her ramblings and asked Tabitha, “Is everything in place for tonight?”

  “Of course,” she replied, her attention still on her sister. “You know what she’s talking about.”

  It wasn’t a question. Of course I knew what Astrid was talking about. At least, I had assumed the existence of a fourteenth sphere. Astrid’s words only validated my assumption.

  “I will say this once and only once. You and your sister had better reign yourselves in, otherwise I’ll send you straight to the rivers.”

  Tabitha gasped. “That’s worse than being incinerated by your Hellfire.”

  “Yes,” I threatened, “because it’s painful like the Hellfire but for all eternity.”

  Tabitha nodded and held on to Astrid, who was oblivious to our conversation.

  “Now, is everything in place for tonight?” I repeated.

  “Yes. Got my potion bowl and everything.” She indicated the utensils on the table.

  “Good.”

  “You have the coins we were promised?” Astrid asked, once again present.

  “Astrid!”

  I sneered. “Yes, I have your money.”

  “Good,” the seer replied.

  I left them then and retreated to my private quarters, where I sat at my desk and gazed around the room. There were bookcases on the far right wall filled with books and all sorts of objects—statues, coins, old helmets, and weapons. Anything I liked during my travels to Earth, I would bring back as trophies and put on my shelves.

  Opposite, the entire left side of the room was my personal arsenal, where I kept all sorts of weapons. Rows of swords and knifes were neatly mounted to the wall, ready whenever I needed them. Behind my desk were enormous maps of the world so I could plan attacks and know the whereabouts of the things most important to me, such as the beings I kept alliance with. I had used these maps to track the Sacrarium as well, but my attempts at locating them over the years were unsuccessful.

  I busied myself by polishing my swords and analyzing the maps, but the remainder of the day passed slowly in my desperate anticipation of the night. At some point, Lucifer came to present his plans. It seemed Gabriel and his horde were currently in Johannesburg. Lucifer wanted to wait to strike until we knew their exact location because he suspected they would start to travel again soon.

  “I think that’s a good decision,” I replied absentmindedly. “Sorry, I’m a little preoccupied.”

  “I can tell.”

  I glared at him.

  “Which is why I will take my leave. You have more important things to take care of tonight,” Lucifer said.

  Far too anxious to sit idly by, I stood up and went to find Tabitha.

  “What’s your progress?” I demanded as I entered the portal room.

  “Progressing nicely,” she said, bent over some sort of magical telescope.

  “Whatever’s in there isn’t too happy.” Astrid pointed to the gateway across the room.

  “Astrid! What did I say?” Tabitha implored.

  “That he was going to throw us in the rivers if we didn’t behave.”

  “Yes, so behave.”

  “All right.” She sighed. “But it’s true. Whatever’s in there isn’t happy.”

  “I suspect they aren’t,” I murmured.

  Tabitha returned to the telescope and peered through. “It’s almost time.” She glanced at me. “Did you get the feather?”

  I held up the pure white object and set it beside a bowl on the table.

  She returned to the telescope and said, “It’s time. Are you ready?”

  “Yes.”

  Tabitha released the telescope and reached over to pluck a feather from my wings, making sure not to touch my skin, then placed the black feather in the bowl.

  “You could have been more ceremonious than that,” Astrid commented.

  I glared at her even though she couldn’t see me. She must have sensed my irritation because she stopped speaking.

  Placing the white feather on top of the black one, Tabitha slid a knife across the table to me. I picked it up and slashed my palm across the middle. Blood began to ooze to the surface, and I turned it over so the drops landed on the feathers. When there was a decent amount of blood, Tabitha started to chant in a rasping voice.

  Astrid took up the same chant, though her hair remained covering her face.

  I squeezed my hand again, eliciting another stream of blood. When I looked into the bowl, a smoky haze shrouded its contents. Something was happening.

  A loud banging on the other side of the room pulled my attention to the gateway. I glared at the invisible barrier and turned back to Tabitha, who was undisturbed by the noise. Her chanting grew louder, and the smoke grew thicker. Her voice took on a mesmerizing rhythm. When it abruptly stopped, and Tabitha fell to the floor, I realized I had closed my eyes.

  Astrid went to her sister’s rescue, bending down and tending to Tabitha, who lay unconscious.

  I was far more interested in what lay inside the bowl. Waving the smoke away with my hand, I reached down and touched something metallic. Pulling it out, I saw I was holding the chain of an amulet.

  Raising the object to eye-level, I examined it. The amulet was comprised of two interlocking diamond shapes, one black and one white, overlapping each other in the middle. The pieces were smooth and polished and felt like they were fashioned from bone.

  Forgetting about Tabitha and Astrid and the wound on my hand that was already healing, I placed the amulet over my head and let the metal slide down my shirt.

  Fortified, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pouch of coins, which I threw on the ground next to Astrid as Tabitha stirred and sat up.

  “Your payment, ladies.”

  Astrid grabbed the pouch before I could touch it again and helped her sister to stand.

  “It’s been a pleasure working with you,” I said.

  Without a word, they floated from the room.

  The banging at the barrier started up again. I smiled and strode closer. The noise continued until I stood directly in front of it.

  “You can fight all you want,” I said, pulling out the amulet and stroking it, “but nothing is going to stop me now. Before long, I’ll not only have my sphere…I’ll have yours as well.”

  23

  Jordan

  Johannesburg, Present Day

  The next morning, I woke early, around five a.m. I’d slept so much in the past few days, it was understandable why I didn’t want to do it anymore.

  “You’re up early.” Zadkiel looked up from the newspaper he was reading.

  “I’m just eager to get going again.”

  “How do you feel?” Gabriel asked.

  “Better than yesterday. Still slightly achy, but I’ll manage.”

  “Sit,” Raphael demanded. “I want to see your hand.”

  I went over to the kitchen table. Medical supplies surrounded him as he restocked his bag. I sat down in the chair next to him and gave him my hand. Raphael took the bandage off and examined the wound. Since this was the first time I had seen it, I gasped.

  “That’s pretty nasty.”

  “I know. I’ve been worrying about it, but it will be fine now, as long as we treat it.” He spread some antibiotic cream over my hand and wrapped a new bandage around it.
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  I noticed the sizeable knife jutting out from behind his medical bag. “Wait a minute, you all had weapons. Where did they come from?” I remembered Uriel shot the fallen angel and Zadkiel had brandished a hand axe.

  “You think we’ve been traveling around unarmed?” Uriel replied.

  “You mean, you’ve had them on you?”

  Zadkiel raised the leg of his pants to reveal the portable axe. Uriel reached inside his carry-on and took out the small crossbow. Raphael grabbed the knife in its leather sheath and set it in front of me.

  I turned to Gabriel.

  “Why do you think I insist on wearing this?” he said, indicating his shirtsleeves and vest. He reached behind his back and retrieved a hand sickle.

  My eyes widened. “You’ve all been armed this whole time? How has nobody noticed?”

  “They’re holy, sanctified weapons,” Uriel said. “They don’t show up on human radar.”

  “Like the backpack?” I recalled Gabriel’s comment from our time in Heathrow.

  “Yes,” Gabriel said.

  “So, are these the weapons you battled with in Heaven?”

  “No. We consider these to be portable weapons,” Zadkiel explained.

  “For larger battle, we have others,” Raphael added.

  “Is that what you keep in the chests?”

  “Among other things,” Gabriel said. “I keep my violin in there too. Zadkiel keeps books. We all use them differently.”

  To me, this was not normal. Angels weren’t weapon-wielders. But this fact only made them ten times cooler.

  “When do we have to leave?” I asked.

  “Not for a few hours. I suggest you relax now because it’s another long flight, and I know how restless you get,” Gabriel said.

  I smiled. We had only known each other for a short time, but he had already caught on to my quirks. I had him somewhat figured out too, like how he paced in times of contemplation, decision-making, or frustration.

  When it was time to go, we made our way down to the lobby.

  “Whose car were we in the night the fallen attacked?” I asked.

  “Mine,” Raphael answered. He approached the hotel footman and explained that we needed a large SUV or perhaps a van.