by Darcy Town
Belial balked. “Helion, I can’t do that with anyone.”
Helion let her go. “Do you think everything in love comes to sex? Is that all I could possibly be talking about? Do you think that is all he wants? He adores you, he is devoted to you! Give him your time! You should realize that he will not hurt you. He would never hurt you, though you would hurt him dearly.” He left her side and followed Whitney and Paimon up the stairs.
Belial walked into her dark room. She sat on the bed and stared at the window. Tears ran down her cheeks.
Paimon stopped at the last door, the top floor. He pressed his palm to it and it swung open a crack. An unfamiliar smell of lavender and soap seeped out of what had been his study centuries ago. He poked his head in and gaped. He pulled the door shut and turned to Whitney and Helion. “Take my room downstairs.”
“Why not this one?”
“Take my room downstairs!”
“Okay!” Helion picked up Whitney and ran down the spiral staircase.
Paimon leaned his head on the doorway and willed it to open again. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. The room was nothing like what he remembered. This had been his study, a musty place with bookcases and scrolls, his old lab equipment and blueprints. Paimon pushed his hair out of his eyes. Now…now…
Soft glow lamps hung from the ceiling like stars. The walls were painted in soothing pastels, colors that faded into a soft moss floor. In place of Paimon’s desk, Furcas had installed Dahlia’s old crib. Above it, her mobile hung from the ceiling, it spun at little at the draft he’d let in. Dahlia’s baby blanket was draped over the edge of the crib, one of many gifts they had given her. Furcas had organized Dahlia’s stuffed toys, things Paimon barely remembered, into whimsical piles around the room.
Paimon forced himself to walk to the crib. Dahlia’s first teddy bear sat inside it. He picked up the stuffed toy with a shaking hand. He brought it to his nose, closed his eyes, and inhaled. He smelled Dahlia, but also Furcas. He gripped the side of the crib hard enough to make it creak. He clenched his teeth and blinked back tears.
The room contained toys that were not Dahlia’s, they were older, far older, spanning centuries. Furcas had collected wooden blocks, tops, mechanical creatures fashioned for Lilliam children. A knitted baby blanket lay half-finished on a tiny rocking horse. Furcas had painted swirls and letters on the walls in his strange ornate style. He’d planned every piece of art or placement of a toy, thought through with his loving attention to detail. His handmade quilts and clothes were folded in neat piles, all of it ready for a child that never came.
Paimon dropped to his knees. He held Dahlia’s teddy bear to his chest and sobbed.
***
Dahlia and Furcas hovered in her memory above the barren, lifeless surface of a planet. She knew through him that it was Earth. How are we here? Is this your memory?
No, not just mine. Furcas smiled. Paimon and the others, they shared memories with me later. And now I see yours, so a mix of them all I suppose.
There were only two things on the planet below. Lucifer, blue and six-winged. Halos of light wrapped around his arms, ankles, and spun over his head. He held on to her, Ladriam, red and six-winged. They kissed. Dahlia’s gaze fixed on her old body. She felt oddly dislocated, in two places at once. At the thought, the dual consciousness of Furcas and Dahlia slipped into her memory.
She broke the kiss and looked into Lucifer’s eyes. “I feel you, understand you.”
He kissed her neck, her earlobe, her cheek. He did not understand these new feelings, but he found them satisfying and pleasurable. He whispered into her hair, “Are you angel?”
“Angel?” She thought over the word. “I do not know this, I only know the material. I am Ladriam.”
“I am Lucifer.” He touched her wings, marveling at them, the difference and the heaviness, the sheen of metal, fiber, blood, and bone. Her halos spun red and silver, physical blades that cut through the air. She was sharp and soft, smooth and raw. He buried his hands in her feathers and drew her closer.
She purred at the touch and leaned into him. Nothing before had matched this sensation. His touch made dim the one-sided adoration of Him, the other. She knew that they were separate, Lucifer and Him. At her closeness, Lucifer changed from blue to white. She blinked. “You are as Him, twin similar.”
He cocked his head. “Who?”
“The one who created me, the one I am with and yet apart.”
He shook his head. “Him. No, He created me as well, not twin. I am Primangel, six-winged, as are you.” He smiled and kissed her, marveling at the gift God had given him. Lucifer would sing a thousand songs to Him for this wonder. He hummed into her hair, his hands in constant motion across her body.
Ladriam kissed him. With each touch and caress, new elements came into being beneath their feet. He wrapped his wings around her and brought her close. He wanted to be closer, to join with her once more, though he did not know how to do so. Ladriam wrapped her arms around his shoulders seeking the same outcome.
Paimon, Berith, and Andrealphus came to hover in the air above them. Sensing a change, Lucifer and Ladriam looked up. The three Archangels gaped at her. They recognized her at once as Lucifer’s equal.
Berith touched down first and tripped, put off by the planet’s physical form. He regained his footing and bowed to them both. “Primangels, a mighty task you have succeeded in.”
Lucifer drew back his wings and turned Ladriam to them. “Ladriam, Primangel of the material.”
Ladriam smiled at the three. “There are more of these angels? Many more?”
Andrealphus came down to the earth. He bowed. “Do you not have your own Archangels?”
“I do not know.” She pointed towards the darkness of the sky. “I was that, the dark matter, Hell. I had no body, no wings. I was all, now I am apart. But you.” She looked at the four. “Where are you from?”
Lucifer answered, “Heaven.”
“And there are more of you?”
“Yes.” Paimon came down last. He reached out to touch her arm in curiosity. He sniffed her hair. “There are the countless vastness of them. Too many to know of, too many to recognize.”
Lucifer shifted his gaze from Ladriam to his Archangels. “You three have changed. You no longer act as one. You are unique.”
Berith nodded. “This act of creation has changed us as it has changed you.”
Lucifer touched his brow. “He and I are separate now completely.” He frowned, odd that the separation did not cause him discontent.
Andrealphus clasped his hands. “His plan is wondrous.”
Ladriam danced away, leaving the four gaping. They knew only song and flight, this movement of the body was foreign, exotic, and beautiful. She smiled and leapt across the barren ground. She called back to them, “You all speak to Him?”
The Archangels shook their heads. Lucifer followed her. “Just us two, you and I.” He trailed her in leaps and bounds across the ground. Nothing held more interest to him now. He had no desire to return to Heaven, no desire to ponder the universe. He wanted her, only Ladriam. Thoughts of his disconnect with God were forgotten.
Berith touched the stone beneath his feet. He sat down and picked at the shiny metal. He formed and moved it, sensed its design. He buried his hands in rock, fascinated with the physical material. He built shapes in the stone, his smile as innocent as a child’s.
Andrealphus leapt from the ground into the atmosphere. He folded his wings and fell, enjoying the sensation of gravity. He leapt repeatedly; the experience of falling made him laugh every time he dropped back towards the planet. “How strange this is! Paimon, do you see?”
Paimon stared into the universe, unblinking. The stars transfixed him. He was entranced by the mathematical perfection of the bodies in the sky; he sought to know this perfection for himself. He wanted to know it all. He saw in equations, in numbers. He understood how everything was, the rules and logic behind the elements. He touched the th
ings around him, measuring, calculating. He followed Ladriam and Lucifer as they created new materials with each mutual touch. The laws and rules changed around them, bent, and reformed. He found their attraction to one another curious.
Lucifer chased Ladriam across the ground. They ran into a boiling ocean. They gaped and held hands as they dipped their toes into the liquid. Ladriam laughed and splashed Lucifer. He leapt into the air and carried her with him. They skimmed the surface of the water and spiraled through it and back into the air. Their laughter rippled across the surface of the water. The combination of the sound created ice and steam.
Ladriam questioned Lucifer about Heaven, her questions and curiosity endless. He spoke to her, told her everything he knew, unable to keep anything from her. She told him of her place, the place known as Hell, the darkness, peace, and emptiness. Lucifer and Ladriam regained their footing upon the land and shared a dance.
Dahlia felt their overwhelming love and excitement. She couldn’t hold it all in. It is undiluted, potent.
Furcas nodded, his attention fixed on Paimon. Pure.
Paimon caught up with the two as they kissed. He watched the mechanics of it. “You are two parts of a whole.”
The two Primangels looked at him. Ladriam nodded. “I feel this is true.”
Lucifer ran his fingers across her bare skin. “I want to be one.”
Paimon looked them over. “How did join you before, when you created this?”
Ladriam looked at her hands. “I do not know. I did not have a body. I was drawn to a light. I thought the light was Him.”
Lucifer nodded. “I too had no body.”
Andrealphus and Berith landed nearby. Berith carried chunks of metal and he smiled. “You have created wonders that will absorb attention for eternity!” He bowed to Ladriam. “You are a miracle.”
Andrealphus nodded. “We should show you Heaven.”
Ladriam grinned. “I would love to see it.”
Young laughter rang in the air above them. They all looked up.
Furcas sighed. Don’t laugh at my long hair. It was a phase.
Three adolescent angels dropped to the ground, two rambunctious blondes, and a shy, reluctant brunet. Dahlia recognized Furcas instantly. Younger and beautiful, his eyes were large, and his lashes thick. His brown hair ran down his back in waves. He looked at his feet and stayed behind the other two.
Twin blonde boys jumped around on the planet beside Furcas. They appeared similar in every way except one had two wings while the other had four. Helion and Belial shared everything, their thoughts, feelings, and souls intertwined. The twins were one in the same, yet separated into two vessels.
Helion held his brother’s hand. “Belial has been made Archangel!”
Belial smiled wide-eyed and innocent. He turned in a circle showing off the new set of blue wings. “It was after the creation! Helion and I were singing and they appeared!”
Lucifer perked up. “I now have eight.” He looked at Ladriam. “As you have none of your own, do you want one?”
Ladriam did not understand him. She smiled and held on to his arm. “I have you!”
Andrealphus hugged the twins. “This is wonderful! What is your ward, Belial?”
“Innocence.” Belial hugged Andrealphus, the two stayed locked in an embrace. Belial flapped his four wings lifting the two off the ground. He felt as light as air. Helion danced around the pair, feeding off the happiness of his sibling.
Lucifer drew Ladriam over so that he could examine Belial. He inspected Belial’s wings and halos with curiosity. Paimon joined him and did the same. Lucifer looked to Helion and Furcas, and introduced Ladriam.
In Andy’s arms, Belial fixated on Ladriam. He let go of Andy gently and stumbled over, stupefied. “Primangel, you are perfection.”
Ladriam looked over the boy. “As are all of you.”
“No, you are more.” Belial touched her hair, her skin. He trembled. “I wish to be as beautiful as you.”
Ladriam smiled. She looked at Lucifer who nodded. She cupped the boy’s face in her hand and kissed his cheeks. Belial’s body shimmered, shifted. The Archangel’s hair grew longer, silkier, her hips rounded, breasts formed, her lips pouted out. Belial blinked, female. Patterned on Ladriam’s body they could have passed for sisters. Her wings stayed blue. She remained Lucifer’s Archangel. Ladriam let her go.
Belial looked down at herself. She trembled in joy, her eyes seeking out Ladriam’s. “Thank you, Primangel!” She looked to her twin. Helion gaped and grinned, caught up in her excitement. The twins linked hands and ran in circles around the other Archangels.
Andrealphus stumbled after them. He could not take his eyes off Belial. He caught up with the pair and reached for Belial. She let him draw her into an embrace. Andrealphus ran his hands across her body.
She laughed at his expression. “What is it, Andrealphus?”
“I…” Andrealphus did not know what he felt, he wanted to hold her, not let her go. He smelled her. He did as Lucifer had and kissed her cheek, then her lips. Belial closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the sensation. Helion stared at the pairing with curiosity.
Paimon watched them with interest. He took in the nuances and touches, marking the process down methodically in his memory. He saw rules change as the pair continued their embrace; equations and numbers filled his vision as he recorded their feelings. He measured their sensations, but did not feel anything himself. Nothing stirred in him. His mind was comprised of a string of cold numbers and facts.
The young Furcas stared at Paimon with unconditional adoration. He could not move. The expression on his face caught between pleasure and pain.
Paimon looked up, sensing Furcas’ attention. His eyes caught on the youth. He stared without blinking.
Young Furcas blushed scarlet and dropped his eyes. I was such a lovesick fool. I admired and adored him.
What about him? What did he feel?
I don’t know if he felt at all about anything at that point. He was, is, odd.
What do you mean?
Each Archangel was an aspect of Lucifer. Paimon was his intellect, he valued…recognized nothing besides that.
Furcas’ presence there did not make sense to Paimon, so he turned from the boy and ignored him. He concentrated on his numbers, but his eyes sought him out again. There was something off about him. He stared at Furcas, considering this inconsistency. That there was an inconsistency in perfection…it did not make sense. But perhaps this was normal?
Paimon could readily admit that he had never regarded one of the guardian angels before. They were all the same, singers with no substance, no point. They were unimportant to his thoughts and so he had no reason to know of them. But this guardian angel was not one of the vast countless mass. He was unique, but it was not even just that. Paimon tilted his head. He saw new formulas around the boy. He watched his numbers change, the source of it…the boy. He, a simple guardian, was changing things. The realization unnerved him.
Paimon did not understand this young angel. That was his first problem and he treated all problems the same. He would observe Furcas, pin down the differences, rationalize, and categorize this being. He would learn why it held sway over him so that he could set it aside and ignore it.
He crossed the distance and leaned into Furcas. He stared down his nose at the youth, examining him with clinical curiosity. Furcas went weak-kneed. He could not look up at the Archangel. He stared at his feet instead. Paimon touched Furcas’ wings. Furcas sank to the ground in a euphoric daze.
Paimon tore his hand back, not expecting that reaction. He looked at the others then back to Furcas. He found that for once he did not know what to do. He helped the boy up and put a rock in his hand. “Explain this.”
No, hello what is your name?
It was how he related, through things. Meaningful conversation and expression of feelings are his weak points.
Furcas took the rock and broke it into pieces. He saw a rock studded with gemst
ones and shiny metals. He understood its beauty, its intrinsic worth, but nothing more. He blushed and stammered, unable to say anything of substance to the Archangel.
Paimon gave Furcas a minute to embarrass himself before he pointed out other rocks and explained about them in detail. He found this task of teaching satisfying. He would make this feeling angel like him, unfeeling. He knew that if he could do this, the boy would no longer be a fluctuating force. He sat by Furcas and dove into a lecture.
Furcas tucked his knees to his chest, happy for the attention. He watched Paimon talk. He enjoyed the sound of his voice. The meaning of the words was meaningless.
Furcas’ outright interest in every word that came out of his mouth pleased Paimon. The boy soaked it in like a sponge. Content to have an audience, he launched into a speech that left Furcas entranced, but everyone else bored.
Furcas organized the rocks Paimon discarded by color.
Berith joined the rock lecture and added metals, the two Archangels quickly overwhelmed Furcas with information. After a time the Archangels soared into the air, and their discussion turned to substances on the other planets. Paimon felt odd. He touched his chest and looked around him, noticing they were missing their student. He looked back at Furcas and hooked a finger, indicating he should follow. Furcas did, eagerly. At his smile, Paimon shook his head, unsure of why he had asked the young angel along.
On the planet, Ladriam danced and Belial broke off from Andy to follow her. Belial gazed at her, mesmerized with the feminine form that Ladriam possessed. Ladriam noticed Belial dancing beside her. She took Belial’s hand in her own and the pair set off around the empty planet. Their laughter rang for miles. Belial stared at Ladriam, memorizing and copying her laughter, the toss of her hair, the way she moved her body.
Above them Lucifer, Andrealphus, and Helion soared together, watching the pair. Helion dipped. “The others are confused why Belial was made Archangel.”
Lucifer stared at them. “They should not be confused about anything. We do not question why.”