Good Angel

by A. M. Blaushild

  “We should never talk about anything in the hallway. Ever again.” Archie said, shaking his head a little as they entered the Practical Magic classroom. “I have no idea what happened, and I haven’t processed my opinion on it yet.”

  “Maybe we’re just making a new friend?” Iofiel suggested, though she similarly didn’t know what to think. She was debating if asking Maalik about a ‘Santiago’ was a bad idea or not. It would probably tip him off. “She did say several times she just wanted to help. And we need help! So it’s a good thing.”

  “If you say so.”

  Next class meant even more trouble. Archie at least had already been taking it, and as Iofiel thought the extra time had led to additional confidence. Unfortunately, this did not seem to help him overall. The whole class was engrossed in attempts at a simple fire spell. Simple according to the teacher’s aid, who appeared to some horrible three-headed lizardman.

  The actual teacher didn’t actually comment. His name was the Great Prince Stolas, and he was an owl with very long legs. This was very unsetting to Iofiel, though the other demons did not seem bothered.

  To be fair, most of the students were quick to learn. Archie, by the end of it, had managed a small ball of hot light between his two palms. Iofiel, of course, had nothing. Angels were capable of destructive magic, but their casting methods were different. No matter how hard Iofiel thought and spoke and rubbed her hands together, nothing clicked. Even when the demonic owl had hopped over and handed her a black stone meant to amplify her power.

  She tried not to leave class bitter, but she was a little more than emotionally exhausted. She knew it was pointless, but she couldn’t afford to not try either. That’d be suspicious. Then again, that tall owl did have a certain glimmer to his eyes, a certain ‘I know what you are and I am ready to watch you fail miserably’ look. Or maybe she was just tired.

  She had the rest of the afternoon off, as did Archie, since they shared a schedule now. They walked out of class together, towards the demon half of the building. “Hey, we should go over the homework. Would it be weird if I just hung out in your room? I know we’re kinda in this together now, but I also don’t want to be some antagonistic force inserting herself into your life like this.” Honestly, she wanted to slump to the ground and not move for a while, but Souls had assigned an essay and reading, and both of them needed more practice with their magic as well.

  “Like Santiago.”

  “Yeah! But seriously, we need to study, and at the moment you’re the only one who explicitly knows I’m doing this, so...”

  “As mentioned, I live alone. It’s a special thing, since I’m an imp and all, and I guess they didn’t want anyone bothering me because of it. But if they didn’t want that, maybe they could have done more to just let me fit in? Like teach me more about the world before whirling me off to uni? It’s like I’m getting special treatment but no help at all. Which figures, but...” Archie stopped his rant to dig a key out of his pocket. His room was at the very end of the corridor, a little bit tucked away. Enough to suggest it wasn’t a normal room.

  “Who is your patron anyway?” The door opened after Archie slammed into it with his shoulder. It was smaller than Iofiel’s dorm room, and far colder too, with rough stone walls and a dirty floor. The room was shaped like a half circle, with a single bed at an awkward diagonal, suggesting it might have begun its life as a storage closet. The other half had a makeshift desk, little more than a piece of wood held up by two boxes, both of which appeared to be ripped and overflowing with colorful rolls of cloth.

  Archie seemed apologetic about the sad slate of his room, taking a few second to look around, dramatically sigh, and glance sadly back towards Iofiel, who was modest about the whole affair. Demon rooms were probably all this bad. That made sense according to her morals.

  “...Just one of the Fallen. Don’t really know him well.” Archie sat on his bed, the only thing in the room that wasn’t covered in dust. “Back when I was born, I guess he was checking things out, and instead of getting killed for being made faultily, he asked that I be allowed to stay. I know I’m talking about this like I wasn’t there, but I nearly wasn’t. Fully conscious, very recently, but it still feels like something I shouldn’t be able to remember.”

  “I know what you mean. I remember being created, but my first day is still a deep haze. It was all overwhelming, taking in everything about existence all at once.”

  “Exactly! Other demons got to be children, you know. Children in Hell, of course, but they don’t get it. I haven’t lived. I don’t know shit! I know less than that. You know sex? I keep hearing about it, and I get the concept, but hell — I don’t know what it is, and I am scared to find out.”

  “Oh, you should probably learn about that. A lot of humans are really into it.” Iofiel didn’t know if it was appropriate to sit next to him on the bed, if she really had any business being nervous about the implications of anything after she’d changed majors just to be nice to this imp. Still, she sat on the floor.

  “I know! So when it came up in class, I was like... sex. Right. Of course. But what is it? I’m sure you know.”

  “It’s how babies are made in the human world. Where humans come from. They mash their genitals into each other and it feels good.”

  Archie looked deeply troubled by this. “You don’t know either huh.”

  “The thing about babies is real. But no, I don’t really understand the social aspect of it. Angels are all— well, all supposed to be asexual and aromantic,” Iofiel said, “As in, not feeling sexual things or romantic things. And even if we do, we’re not supposed to act on it.” It was almost weird to recite this to Archie, almost weird to remember these imprinted rules she’d already begun to forget. “We’re supposed to be genderless too, but that’s not as strict. I’m a girl, but I guess I decided that because I was made with long hair, and that’s more common for girls,” she trailed off for a moment. “We’re not supposed to need sex or gender or romance, you know, even if we want it.”

  “Why do humans need it then?” Archie asked, looking a little uncomfortable.

  “Cause they’re human, I guess. I don’t know,” Iofiel said, “I guess humans are supposed to love themselves, and we’re not supposed to be selves. I mean, what are you?”

  Archie looked away for second. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know shit about the world, and that includes me.” He was speaking quietly. “I’m a boy. I just learned what sex is, I don’t know if I’d ever want it, and I don’t really get what romance is.”

  “You’ll figure it out, you know. We’re both still so young. Humans get years to figure this stuff out.”

  “Yeah. We’re not human though. But—”

  “But we’re human-like, aren’t we? And you don’t need to get romance or sex to be happy or loved or whatever.”

  “I don’t know what love is.” Archie fell back onto his bed. “I know it’s a feeling humans feel, and demons can too. And when you love someone, you’d do anything for them. And it’s supposed to be great.”

  “Angels aren’t supposed to have love, since we’re not supposed to… prioritize only humanity and our Creator above all else. But I know it’s not just romance, not just some profound thing I’m not allowed to feel. You can love a pet, or a city, or a type of food. There’s friendship love, and family love, and I think I know what that’s about.”

  “Oh yeah,” Archie said. He was still laying on his back, looking up at the ceiling with one arm dangling towards the floor. “Yeah, I guess. Guess I’ll find out then. Demons aren’t supposed to put our relationships above our jobs either, but at least we’re allowed to date. But I guess at least I’ll have time to learn if any of this is for me.”

  “And I’ll have time too,” Iofiel said. “Right? And you know what? You’re a lot like me, Archie. We’re both young, and don’t know heck about the world, but we can both figure things out with time. That’s cool, right? That we’re in this together?”


  “Yeah. No, it is,” Archie said, softly. “I appreciate it.”

  “Me too. And you know? I can friendship love you. I don’t know you that well still, I suppose, but I kinda love you. Cause you’re like me, and you’re with me, and I really, really like that. I love you. I love everything.”

  Archie was quiet for a moment. “And I think everything is awful.”

  “We should study.”

  “Yeah.” He sat up, and started fishing his crumpled notes out of his bag. “And sorry, I didn’t mean that. I love everything. The world is awesome. I just wish things would... like me a bit in return.” He slipped onto the floor and arranged his stuff neatly, a textbook on one side, a binder on the other. Iofiel really wished he had a rug.

  They sat in silence for a minute. “So what is the devil like?”

  “Phew.” He took a moment. “I don’t know? I’ve... barely seen him barring propaganda. Scary, maybe. I’d ask you what your leader is like, just to make a point, but I don’t know anything about your hierarchy.”

  “The closest thing we have to a leader is Archangel Michael, the One Who Is Like The Light.” Iofiel recited. “To be honest, I could tell you quite a bit about the leaders in Heaven! We have a ton of them. I’m just trying to figure out if that’d be treason or not...”

  “If something that small counts as betrayal, than I think we’re both traitors by now.”

  “Dude. Really?” Iofiel stared at her work. “...We should focus on our homework.”

  “Oh. Yeah.”

  8: Amicable Foes

  IOFIEL RETURNED TO her room late that night, collapsing into bed without a word. The room was dark, and Maalik made no mention of it the next morning. He redid his spells, hiding her angelic nature once more. This time on the faded, blue carpet of their dorm room.

  He was a bit quiet, and a little bit stern, fussing over her hair, concerned every time she yawned that something awful had happened to her last night.

  “I’m good,” she eventually told him. “But... I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  “No offense, but you’re kind of an idiot. I mean that in only the best way.” Maalik shook his head sadly, “But I’m resigned to wait. Just be smart, okay, Blue?”

  Iofiel kept this in mind. She only had her human classes today, and, while she had missed them last Wednesday, she had absolutely bonded with Archie last night. Enough that she was able to discreetly lean over and ask to look at his notes, and for the rest of class she alternated between reading catch-up and taking her own. Effective! Four hours later, and she felt smart as hell.

  The day flew by without much commitment, and before Iofiel knew it was seven PM, and Archie had found her perched in a tree outside and reminded her they had plans.

  Iofiel didn’t know there was a library, as she hadn’t stumbled upon it in her exploration of the Hub. Then, the library was one of the few side buildings. Actually, the most secluded; it hung half behind a cliff face and half off one, essentially hidden from view unless you knew where to look. It was a small building too, and a modern one, made of painted red planks and with a clean white trim, like a human house.

  It was the size of a house too, not an elegant grand library but roughly seven rooms and five times that in bookshelves. Santiago was waiting for them upstairs, in a small room with black painted walls and a large table in the center. It smelled faintly of apples and smoke.

  Santiago looked menacing in the shadows of the glittery black curtains, but she smiled broadly at them. Fangs bared, but Iofiel was good at reading a room.

  “Hey, you actually came!” She remarked.

  “You did sort of threaten us.” Iofiel took a seat across from her, Archie joined following suit.

  “What’s your name, by the way?” Santiago put her backpack on the table, and began to unpack, removing three binders, each in a different color. Then she opened a pencil case, meticulously laying out a rainbow of pens and pencils as she spoke. “It’s cool. Almost everyone I know has kind of picked up that you’re an angel by now, and if you’re still nerved, last I checked we’re alone in the building.”

  “What about...?” Archie pointed slowly to a shape leaning between two bookshelves, and Iofiel leapt to her feet when she realized it was a person. They didn’t blend into the shadows, on second glance, but they were hidden enough by the darkness regardless.

  “Oh, that’s just my asshole girlfriend Damien,” Santiago said, “Say hi, Damien.”

  Damien huffed, and joined them at the table. Any sort of brooding look she was trying to send was ultimately ruined by her large, sparkly blue and green butterfly wings.

  “Hi,” Iofiel said with a little wave.

  “Hey.” She waved back. “This is stupid.”

  “Damien’s kind of a funny name.”

  “It’s —” She flushed, looking away and combing her dark hair with her fingers. Only the left side of her head had combable hair, as the other side had been pulled into several rows of tight braids. “It’s my name, okay? I like it.”

  “Wait, demons name themselves? I just mean, a demon named Damien is a bit... funny.”

  “Oh, I thought you meant — Oh. No. We’re named at birth from some big list.”

  “You know, a demon named Damien is funny,” Archie said, “Like a human name ‘Hummie’.”

  “Or ‘Man McFlesh’.” Iofiel nodded intensely.

  “What are you kids even talking about.” Santiago had her head in her hands, watching with amusement.

  Archie ignored her. “What if an angel was named ‘Angel’? That’d be pretty messed up.”

  “It’d be Angeliel probably, and yes, you’re very right.”

  “I think I can guess why you two are so bad at school you got Santiago to abduct you in the first week of class,” Damien said dryly. “Don’t you think it’s time you bozos focused?”

  Iofiel drew her binder out of her bag and slammed it onto the table in one loud motion. “You should have seen us last night!”

  “I’m not going to bother doubting. You were fantastic, weren’t you?” Santiago’s voice seemed determined to drip with sarcasm whether or not it was intended. Her eyes were always twinkling. She’d make a good sales demon, though Iofiel had trouble picturing her looking like a proper human. “Now, let’s talk souls... Do you know what they are?”

  Archie raised his hand before speaking. “We don’t have them, humans do. I know they’re energy, but I don’t really understand what’s so special to them.”

  “They’re like little energy packets coded to each human body, so they’re all unique,” Iofiel explained. Though she didn’t necessarily know how to answer his question, she had trouble keeping quiet when she felt she had even the smallest bit of relevant information to add.

  “They don’t matter, much,” Santiago said. “Only in that Heaven and Hell are locked in trying to secure more than the other. Perhaps some ancient being told us this, perhaps we made it up, but it’s always been the belief of Hell that in the End Game, whichever side has more souls will ultimately win. Battle notwithstanding.”

  “It’s like souls are coins,” Damien joined in, “Coins that... Wow, I regret starting this analogy instantly, but now I need to finish it. Coins, and Heaven and Hell are coin collectors, and also the only two dudes in the universe. If one gets a coin, the other doesn’t. And at the end of time, there’s a big coin show with only one blue ribbon to go around, see?”

  “That actually raises more questions than not,” Archie said.

  Damien looked away. “Soul shit is all about lying. I mean, I guess somehow they’ve found a way to stretch your education on it for three years, but it’s all about lying.”

  “What are you majoring in?” Iofiel asked pleasantly.

  Damien blinked with wide eyes, “Humanities. I’m a third year. My aim is to assimilate into the human population and manipulate them from the inside. Most likely from a position of power, such as a minor political office or something with a financial edge. Plus... San
tiago will be able to visit.”

  “Awww,” Santiago leaned over and affectionately held Damien’s hand, taking care not to disturb her display of pencils. “You are capable of positive emotions!”

  “Fight me.”

  “Aww...” She cooed. “Babe...”

  “So this is romance!” Iofiel exclaimed, happy to finally see an example in person. Archie was twirling his pencil between his fingertips an inch above a sheet of lined paper, seemingly waiting for everyone to get back to work.

  “I might be being a bad role model to you two, sorry,” Santiago instantly fixed her posture, brushing her dark grey hair back behind her pointed ears. “Damien wasn’t too keen about hanging out with you today, so I consider the mere fact she isn’t spitting in your faces right now a major victory. She really is a great person, and my girlfriend, and I love her. She is simply also a complete nitwit when it comes to certain matters.”

  “Wait, how old are you?” Archie asked. “You’re in our class, right? But you don’t seem like a freshman.”

  “This is my fifth year here.” Santiago smiled slightly, barring her fangs. “I enjoy skipping from major to major. Hell’s never suited me, so I’m staying up here for as long as they let me. I’ll graduate at some point, but it’s my decision when.”

  “Hopefully this time will be the last,” Damien grumbled.

  “Listen, I’m giving you all this time to get established on Earth. By the time I graduate, I expect to be living in a moderately sized apartment in the city. Or a country mansion.”

  “Can we... get back to studying?” Archie said, shifting in his seat.

  “Yes. Of course. So, we haven’t started practicing yet, but the crux of soul sales is one’s ability to manipulate and lie. It is fine to pride yourself on fairness, but it will get you nowhere, and no one is keeping track. Give them what they ask and nothing more, while setting the stage for their downfall. I bring this up because I am rather concerned about... both your social skills.”