Angel of Wisdom

by Julia McKnight

  “No. Where is he?”

  “I don’t know. I just got back from a civil war in the Congo.”

  “Oh, right. How did everything go?”

  “The Pygmies are being slaughtered left and right. They’re the biggest casualty in this war. I managed to get the war leaders to draw a truce, but who knows how long it will last.”

  “Great job, Raphael!”

  “Go find Azrael. I’ll keep an eye on Aileen.”

  “Thanks, Raph.”

  Uriel closed his eyes and looked for Azrael. He saw him walking in a makeshift hospital in the jungles of South America. He teleported himself there.

  As soon as he materialized and saw Azrael he called out, “Az, I need your help!”

  Azrael turned toward him. “Uriel, what are you doing here?”

  “I need to know if you have taken the soul of a little girl into your keeping. Her name is Deirdre O’Connor, and she’s eight years old.”

  “No. The only souls I’m about to take with me are the ones here. An influenza has broken out, and there isn’t enough medication for everyone. Of course, the very old and the very young will be called home first.”

  “All right, let me know the moment you have her in your custody.”

  “Why? What has happened?” Azrael asked.

  “Gorgoneia has kidnapped her.”

  “I’m sorry, Uriel. She will not have long then.”

  “We’re going to save her!”

  “We are?”

  “Yes!”

  “Well, I’m rather busy right now with the souls that are ready to depart this world.”

  “Okay, but when you’re finished here, please find me. I need your help tracking this water demon,” Uriel said.

  “No problem. I will find you when my job here is complete.”

  Uriel teleported home. He walked into his chamber and found Raphael and Aileen paging through a book together, discussing it. She didn’t look as pale, and he was grateful to Raphael for healing her and making her feel better.

  “I found Azrael. He said Deirdre is still alive, although he fears she does not have long,” Uriel announced.

  Aileen looked up and exclaimed, “We must find her, Uriel! We can’t delay any longer!”

  “We will, but first, we must have a plan of action to defeat Gorgoneia,” Uriel declared.

  “Right, we will need the rest of our brothers then,” Raphael stated. “I can get Zerachiel.”

  “Perfect. I’ll go find Michael and Barachiel,” Uriel replied.

  “Wait, Deirdre is my niece. I don’t want to be left out,” Aileen insisted.

  “Of course, come with me,” Uriel ordered.

  Chapter 12

  Uriel and Aileen teleported to Mexico where Michael was dealing with a demon drug lord who oversaw the drug cartel. Aileen looked around at their surroundings. Green fields of marijuana and opium grew as far as the eye could see.

  “You do this on a daily basis?” she asked.

  “Do what?” Uriel asked impatiently.

  “Teleport all over the world saving humankind,” she replied.

  “Yes, it is my sworn duty, as well as my brothers.”

  “I don’t know if I could do this every day,” Aileen stated.

  Uriel looked down and grinned at her. “When you’ve been doing this as long as I have, it gets easier.”

  “How long have you been doing it?”

  “Since the creation of mankind.” Uriel stopped walking, then turned back to her and said, “I need you to stay hidden. There’s a lot of demonic presence, and I can’t afford for you to get entranced at the moment. Can you stay here and out of sight?”

  “I can do that,” Aileen agreed, and she quickly hunkered down in some bushes.

  Uriel drew out his wings and flew into a bunch of demons loading trucks with white packages of cocaine. He took out his battle axe and chopped off their heads and limbs. They screamed in pain. He was a blur flying amongst them, killing and hacking. He heard a gun click, and he turned around.

  A demon and Aileen stood behind him, and she had a gun cocked to her head. The color had drained from her face, and she had a terrified expression. Uriel stopped his fighting to keep the demon from shooting her. He noticed she had gone very still to keep the demon from hurting her any further.

  “Greetings, Angel. What brings you to Mexico?” the demon asked.

  “I’m looking for my brother Mikey. Have you seen him?” Uriel responded.

  The demon grinned. “My boys probably finished him off, just like I will finish you off. Then I will enjoy this one before I cut her up into little pieces and throw her to my dogs.”

  “I don’t know if that is such a good idea,” Uriel told him.

  The demon took aim at Uriel, then grunted as a sword pierced him from behind. He dropped to his knees and Archangel Michael stood behind him. He drew out his sword, and the demon died.

  “Sorry if I was late to this party. A lot of innocent villagers needed to be evacuated and protected,” Michael said.

  “No problem. I might have started the party a little too early anyway,” Uriel replied with a smile. He walked over to Aileen and looked her up and down. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she whispered.

  “Listen, sweetheart, the others are fighting demons in much worse conditions. Do you mind if I take you home to rest?” Uriel asked.

  “Yeah, that would be great,” she agreed.

  “Mikey, find Barachiel and the rest of them for me,” Uriel ordered.

  “Already on it,” Michael replied and teleported.

  Uriel pulled Aileen into his embrace, and his wings unfolded. Then they were off the ground. They flew higher and higher until his home came into view. He glided into his chambers and deposited her there.

  “I thought you were taking me home!” she exclaimed when she realized she was in his rooms.

  “I meant my home. It’s the safest place for you right now. I can’t go out there and fight if I have to worry about your safety too,” Uriel explained.

  Aileen sighed and nodded. She looked like she was too tired to argue.

  “Lay down and rest,” Uriel commanded. “When we finish gathering everyone, we’re going to meet and decide how to find Deirdre and kill Gorgoneia.”

  Aileen walked over to his bed and laid down. She was asleep immediately.

  Uriel closed his eyes and saw Raphael and Zerachiel in the middle east, so he teleported there. He walked around the little village in the desert until he spied his two brothers talking, and he went over to join them.

  “Hello, Uriel,” Zerachiel greeted.

  “Hi, Zerachiel. How many?” he inquired.

  “Not sure yet. This village is a target for Islamic terrorists, and they are recruiting child soldiers. I have helped place what’s left of the village men alongside strategic points of the village to take out the terrorists, but divine help is needed if the villagers are going to survive another attack.”

  Uriel nodded and brought out his battle axe. It glowed blue, indicating that demons were nearby. Zerachiel and Raphael drew out their swords, and they glowed their respective colors.

  “I’m in the mood to dispatch demons today,” Uriel declared.

  “Me too,” Raphael agreed.

  All around them, the village grew eerily still. Children were hidden out of sight, and Uriel could hear the villagers silently praying to Allah for help and guidance. Whether it was Allah or God, his Father was the same entity, although he was known throughout the world by different names.

  “They’re here. I can hear the vehicles approaching,” Zerachiel announced.

  Gunshots rang out, and Uriel heard grunts and groans. A flash of red orange appeared at his side, and Mike showed up with his sword and shield drawn. A dazzling white light emerged, and Barachiel brought out his white bow and arrows.

  “I suppose today is as good a day as any to kill some demons,” Mikey stated.

  “Zerachiel, where do you nee
d us?” Uriel asked.

  “Barachiel and Mikey, why don’t you join the soldiers on the outskirts? The rest of us will engage in direct combat with the demons to prevent any more deaths to the villagers,” Zerachiel decided.

  “Good plan,” Barachiel said, and in a flash, he and Michael were gone.

  “Let’s go where the action is!” Uriel commanded.

  He flew to meet the demon terrorists. His brothers were right behind him. He saw the demons spilling out of their vehicles and running to kill the soldiers. Uriel flew into their midst and started striking and hacking.

  To the innocent bystander, it looked like the terrorists had turned on each other and were killing each other. Uriel, Raphael, and Zerachiel were fighting and causing confusion and death amongst the terrorists. Uriel saw Barachiel’s arrows hit the demons here and there.

  When there were just a few weak demons left, Uriel nodded and Raphael and Zerachiel backed off. They left them for the village soldiers to kill. The brothers regrouped back in the middle of the village. Mikey and Barachiel joined them, and the brothers flew home to clean up.

  When they reconvened, Aileen was awake from her nap, and Azrael had returned to join them. They all met in Uriel’s chambers and sat around the wooden table loaded with maps to discuss their plan of action.

  “We need bait to ensnare Gorgoneia,” Azrael said. “She likes human sacrifices.”

  “I can be the sacrifice,” Aileen volunteered.

  Uriel frowned at her. He was not happy at the thought of her putting her life in danger. If anything happened to her, he didn’t know what he would do.

  “I think you should stay here,” he protested.

  “No, I need to go. I’ll drive myself crazy waiting here for you guys and my niece,” she argued.

  Uriel was unhappy, but he kept silent, waiting to hear what his brothers had to say.

  “Let her go. We need all the help we can get in this mission,” Azrael stated.

  Aileen smiled gratefully at him. Uriel knew there was no way she was going to just sit in his abode and twiddle her thumbs when her niece’s life was at stake.

  “We will also need to have followers of Gorgoneia chanting and calling for her,” Azrael continued.

  Uriel thought and then suggested, “What if we pretend to be her followers?”

  “It might work. We will need to be near a place of water,” Azrael added.

  “What about the little girl? Where is she, and how do we get to her?” Zerachiel asked.

  “If Aileen is the bait, then Gorgoneia will take Aileen. I will follow them, and it is my hope that she will take Aileen to the place where she took Deirdre and all her victims,” Uriel answered.

  “If you want to follow them, it might be a better idea if you are also bait alongside Aileen,” Azrael advised. “Otherwise, Gorgoneia might kill you or entrance you before you have a chance to find Deirdre and save her.”

  Uriel nodded in agreement. “Very well, Aileen and I will both be bait.”

  “How do we keep him from being entranced?” Aileen asked worriedly.

  “We can blindfold him, and you will be the one who gets entranced,” Michael stated. “It’s easier to break a human out of an entrancement than an archangel.”

  “Has an archangel ever been entranced before?” Aileen inquired

  “Gabriel has been,” Uriel answered when no one spoke.

  “What happened to him?” Aileen pressed.

  “He is now a mortal man,” Uriel responded in a tight voice.

  “Oh,” Aileen replied.

  “What should we do for weapons?” Barachiel asked, changing the subject.

  “Well, if we believe the texts, then we need things that can reflect her image back at her,” Aileen answered.

  “You’ll need light and mirrors. If you are underwater, there will be no light, and you will need light for reflection,” Azrael declared.

  “We will have to follow Uriel and Aileen,” Zerachiel proclaimed. “If they both are bait, then we must follow to make sure we don’t lose Uriel in the process.”

  “We can carry the lights and mirrors with us,” Michael added.

  “I’ll stay on land and oversee the operation from there,” Azrael said. “If you need anything, I’ll be in a position to get it for you.”

  “Perfect,” Uriel agreed. “Now, where should we go to convene and call for Gorgoneia?”

  “The place where she has the most cult followers is Greece,” Aileen responded.

  “The Mediterranean Sea is there,” Azrael said.

  “How about we try the island of Crete?” Uriel asked.

  Raphael nodded. “That sounds like a good suggestion.”

  “All right. I’ll get the supplies we’ll need,” Michael announced.

  “Great, it’s settled then,” Uriel concluded.

  “I’ll meet you all at Crete tomorrow,” Azrael stated, and he teleported elsewhere.

  Azrael’s exit ended the meeting, and the brothers dispersed. They went their own separate ways and left Uriel and Aileen alone.

  Chapter 13

  Aileen looked at Uriel and said, “I suppose since you and I are going to Crete tomorrow, I’m staying over?”

  Uriel nodded. “We will waste less time this way. We leave the moment it grows light in Crete.”

  “All right,” Aileen agreed.

  She looked around her and smiled.

  “Your room looks just like a library. I’ve noticed that you have quite a few textbooks that are priceless,” Aileen acknowledged.

  Uriel cleared his throat and answered, “Yes. You’re more than welcome to them. If you have everything you need, I’m going to go for a walk. I like to have a clear head before a battle of any kind.”

  She nodded at him, and he walked out. Having Aileen in his chambers made it seem so much smaller. The only people who had ever been in there were his brothers. A female human in there unsettled him.

  He went to the cliffs where his former brother Gabriel used to go to think. He sat down and prayed again to his Father. When all that greeted him was silence, he stared around him gloomily.

  Uriel was the Chosen One to communicate all dealings between angels and humans to his Father. He didn’t know if his Father was displeased with him or not. He had turned a deaf ear to Uriel’s pleas.

  Uriel got up and started walking and thinking. His brother Gabriel had said for him to give in. Give in to the suffering and the torture. Gabriel told him it was deliverance and not sin. Uriel didn’t know what it was anymore.

  All he knew was that it was painful, and the pain only eased when he was near Aileen. When he was apart from her, the pain increased. She filled his thoughts night and day. He constantly wanted to know where she was and what she was doing.

  He walked back to his chambers, frustrated and annoyed. He opened the door and saw her sitting at his desk, reading a book that was from one of his priceless collections. She looked up from the book, and he was struck by her beauty. Her red hair flowed around her, and her green eyes stared at him.

  Uriel didn’t know what came over him, but he crossed the span of his chambers. She rose up to greet him, and he silenced her with a deep kiss. Her mouth opened to him, and his tongue entered and plundered mercilessly. His arms came around her, and he molded her to fit his body.

  Uriel heard Aileen moan and felt her opening herself to him. She held onto him tightly. Groaning, he picked her up and carried her to his bed. He laid her down gently and covered her body with his. Uriel looked down at her and spoke through a thick haze of lust.

  “Aileen, I just want you to know that I’m about to commit a grievous sin. I am about to lay with you. If you don’t want me to, then order me out of this chamber, and I’ll leave you alone.”

  Aileen clung to him tighter. “Uriel, I don’t know if I will live or die tomorrow. I just know that right now, I really need you to make love to me.”

  Uriel kissed her deeply, and then looked into her eyes. “I don’t know if I
will live or die either, but I promise that as long as there is breath in my body, I will keep you alive and safe.”

  She kissed him back and buried her face and tears in the crook of his neck. Uriel held her until she stopped crying. Then he extracted himself and began to take off his clothes.

  Hearing her gasp, he turned to face her and saw appreciation on her face as she stared at his chest and biceps. His male pride caused him to grin at her. Slowly, he unzipped his pants and watched her eyes trail his fingers and movements. When he finished undressing, he went to Aileen and helped her take her clothes off. Now it was his turn to stare. Her breasts were perfect orbs. Her stomach was flat and her hips flared out. The red curls that covered her mound made his cock throb with excitement.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

  “So are you,” she whispered back.

  He spread kisses all over her face and neck and moved down her body. Uriel worshipped her breasts with his mouth, and she arched her back for him. He stopped and leaned back to look at her.

  “I’m not sure what to do,” he confessed.

  “Have you ever lain with anyone?” Aileen asked.

  “Never. It is forbidden, and I have always been able to control myself.”

  Tears welled again in Aileen’s eyes, and she gently guided his cock into her body. Her woman’s mound was wet and ready for him, but she was tight, and he was big.

  Uriel stilled as his body joined with hers. Her flesh was tight and wet. It fit around his appendage quite nicely, and for the first time, he realized why so many of his former brothers risked their immortality,

  This was home, and this woman made him feel so many emotions all at once. She connected to him in a way that he had never felt with anyone before. Uriel gritted his teeth and moved slowly. Aileen moaned his name and wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing him deeper into her core.

  New sensations assaulted him, and tension built up within him. The tension coiled and urged him to move deeper and faster inside of her. His thrusts caused her to buck and moan beneath him. He rode her until he exploded and emptied himself into her.

  Uriel called out her name and collapsed beside her, catching his breath. The tension in him disappeared. He felt like she had sucked him dry until he had nothing left to give. She laid next to him, panting and glistening with sweat.