The Morning Star

by Debra Dunbar

  “And I want another vote on lands here that are under demon control. I’ve tagged someone for administration who will be fair and thoughtful. I’m requesting the areas formerly seized by the Samael impersonator. That way we can rebuild them, and work to regain human trust.”

  “No.” Gabriel said flatly.

  I heard Lux make a disapproving clucking noise. I’d had to bring him to the meeting because all my sitters were otherwise occupied. And little shit that he was, he’d insisted on being hauled around in a baby carrier strapped to my chest.

  Yes. He’d grabbed my boobs three times so far. I didn’t care, but his father was beginning to get irritated.

  Gregory reached his hand out to grip my shoulder. “Cockroach, this was discussed and voted on previously. It was decided that the demons would not be allowed any claim on humans or their lands.”

  Decided. I had been out-voted, and I was still bitter about it. “We fucking fought on your side. We deserve an equal stake here in the human world. I’m not asking for half the land-mass, I’m asking for three states. Oh, and I’d also like a section of western Canada, all of Mexico and Central America.”

  That was far more than I’d accept, but it was always best to start with an extreme position and allow room for negotiation and compromise.

  “No. The demons can be here as closely monitored visitors, but no more,” Gregory told me.

  “No. You need to fucking learn to compromise and do it in the next five minutes,” I argued. “We need a clean slate, and we need a show of faith on the part of the archangels.”

  “There are some things we cannot compromise on,” he told me. “Let’s table this and in a few thousand—”

  “Now. There was a time when you refused to compromise and you still carry the scars from that decision—you’ll forever carry the scars and the guilt for that decision. Don’t let history repeat itself.”

  His gaze softened and I felt his spirit-self caress mine. Lux made a gagging noise and I shushed the little angel.

  “I want to see us come together, Cockroach. I want demons and angels to live together and love together and create those who may return to Aaru and reclaim the legacy we lost through pride and anger. I want that with all my heart. But I cannot sacrifice the future of humankind in the process of pursuing that future. We’ve done them grievous wrongs. We must correct that and ensure their positive evolution. If that means the reconciliation of our kind is delayed a million years, so be it.”

  “We will rebuild, gain their trust. Besides, demons won’t do any worse to humans than the angels have already done,” I countered.

  “I vote yes,” Raphael said. “The Iblis has clearly demonstrated that she has all of Hel under her control. Because of her we were facing five thousand demons instead of thirty thousand. We would never have won that battle without her, or the war without help from her allies.”

  “I agree,” Uriel said. “Human losses and damage were minimal compared to what they could have been, and losses on our side could have been far worse.”

  Nyalla elbowed Gabe in the side and he grudgingly spoke up. “The human leaders of state were very impressed with how quickly this was resolved. Someone told them of the key role the Iblis played, and they are incredibly grateful for her intervention and support.”

  I was willing to bet that the “someone” wasn’t Gabriel.

  “All in favor?” Raphael asked, raising his hand.

  It ended up being me, Uri, Rafi, Nyalla, and Ahia. Gabe, Asta, and Gregory dissented. And too fucking bad for them because I had the majority on my side.

  “Okay,” Gregory sighed, shooting me an apologetic smile. “Let’s all come to an agreement regarding basic standards of conduct—angels, demons, and humans, and proceed from there.”

  “The humans should have a say in that as well,” Nyalla chimed in. Uri nodded in agreement.

  “Speaking of the humans,” Uriel added. “They should be free to leave if they don’t want to live under demon rule. Humans have a complex system in place for permission to change country of residence similar to how we handle requests to change choirs. I suggest we do the same for humans wanting to go from demon areas to the angel ones.”

  “Or from the angel areas to the demon ones,” I told her.

  “I also want a group of human spokespeople who gets the final say on common rule of law,” Uriel said.

  Ahia’s hand went up. “Human spokespeople to include a minimum of one werewolf and one Nephilim.”

  Rafi’s hand went up. “The Nephilim in the group of human spokespeople has the power of binding arbitration.”

  My heart pounded and I felt lightheaded with the realization that I’d won this battle. Me, an imp, had won.

  No, me, the Iblis, had won.

  “Agreed,” Gregory said. “Ahia, I want you to head the formation of the human council. Work with Candy to pick a werewolf representative or two, as well as the Nephilim. Work with Gabe to identify human heads of state to contact and allow each independent country one representative. We’ll weigh their votes based on their population size.” The archangel turned to Asta. “You work with Uriel and put together a proposed list of common rules of law as well as behavioral standards. Use the ones the humans already have in place as guidance, and add to that rules that would make sense from an angel and demon perspective. I will continue to monitor gates and head the Grigori, while Raphael is now in charge of the rifts and any who come through them.” He turned to me and what I saw in his dark eyes took my breath away. “The Iblis will be ultimately responsible for the demon-owned areas and their compliance with the rule of law, regardless of who she puts in charge of administration. She is also in charge of policing and disciplining any demons who choose to live in the angel-controlled areas. These are your demons, Cockroach. It’s your responsibility to ensure they behave.”

  My eyebrows shot up. Lux snickered.

  “Well, your definition of behave anyway.”

  That was better.

  One by one the angels left. Gabe and Nyalla headed upstairs to possibly undress and discuss the day’s events. I turned to Gregory, Lux still strapped to my chest his little hands firmly affixed to my boobs.

  “Moon?” Gregory asked, his voice husky, his eyes dark as he looked at me. “Maybe some private time first, then moon?”

  “Can you give me a couple of days?” I unstrapped Lux and handed him to Gregory. “I want to take care of a few things in Hel first before I spend a day relaxing on the moon with my family.”

  He cuddled Lux against his chest and nodded. “Understood. After that show of power you just performed, I could imagine you would need to head back there and reinforce your leadership ability.”

  Yeah. I wanted to have a serious chat with Remiel about where we stood going forward, as well as present him with the profiles of some angels I thought he might like to take on a date. Hopefully he’d swipe right on one or two. Then I needed to talk to Doriel, make sure my Lows had enough bitey fish and that the demons in my dungeon hadn’t died. I also needed to fly around Hel and basically glower at the residents, ensuring they remembered who exactly was in charge now.

  Weird. I didn’t really feel in charge, but I guess this was one of those fake-it-until-you-make-it things.

  “Two, three days max,” I told him. “Enjoy some time with Lux, and if you need a break, Nyalla can give you a hand, or Snip, or…Gimlet. If you can find him.”

  I hadn’t seen Gimlet since I’d returned, and I got the feeling he didn’t want to be seen. That was okay. Some things took time. Some things took millions of years. And if he wanted to show up in a revolting Low form to take care of my kid, then that was okay with me. He was Lux’s uncle, after all.

  I sat beside Doriel, sipping the wine one of her staff had brought to me. She still looked like shit. Well, her spirit-self looked like shit, and would always bear those scars even after she’d healed. Her corporeal form was looking much better than the last time I saw her.

  “I
’ve never met this guy, but someone told me on good authority that the Samael imposter was an Ancient named Luziel?”

  She started. “Luziel? He died during the war.”

  Figures. “You actually saw him die?” I asked, just in case.

  “No, but he served under Amendadiel, and he claimed Luziel died. I remember it was right after the battle for the sixth choir, the one before that final battle.”

  So Samael lied. No big shock there. “Is this Amendadiel guy still alive?” I asked, wondering if it had been him impersonating the former Iblis.

  “He was at the fall. I don’t recall seeing him afterward, but I slumbered quite a bit as did he. We weren’t awake and active at the same time. Besides, we never really got along. Although we got along better than Luziel and I.” Doriel sniffed. “That angel. Joins with Samael one time, and thinks they have something special going on. Nasty orange bug of a creature. As if Samael would even look twice at something like that.”

  Ah, jealousy. Seems that wasn’t just a trait inherent in Angels of Order.

  “Luziel claimed that he and Samael were partners,” she continued. “That they were inseparable, that he knew the Iblis better than anyone. Liar.”

  I bit back a grin. “So Samael got around, huh? Luziel, an endless stream of Angels of Order…you.”

  She shot me a narrowed glance. “Samael made no one promises. If there was mutual pleasure to be found in an action, he was always willing and usually the instigator. That angel could tempt the Creator to sin. So yes, he got around, and no, he would never have been exclusive to Luziel, no matter what that worm may have said.”

  Well, whether it was Luziel or Amendadiel, or Billy Jo Bob, the guy was dead. And at Samael’s hand too. I wondered if the demons, or angels at the battle had spread any rumors.

  “I guess he’s truly dead then,” Doriel added somberly. “Samael, I mean. I was such a fool to trust that imposter.”

  “You had hope,” I told her. “That’s not a foolish thing.”

  “Well, it is foolish to hang on to the past when it hinders you from your future.” She shifted on the seat to better face me. “And are you here to tell me a bit about that future?”

  “Yes I am.” This time I did grin. “We have demon lands across the gates. And as soon as you are able, I want you to take administrative control of them. I’ll send you the list of agreed-upon policies and procedures from the Ruling Council meeting, and you’ll need to coordinate with both human government as well as the oversight committee, but I’m putting you in charge of it. Don’t fuck up.”

  “I won’t.” She grinned back. “I’m not an imp.”

  Epilogue

  I felt him enter Hel. It was as if the world had cracked, tilted on its axis, shifted to the left a few miles. None of the Lows around me, eating beaks and throwing knives at each other seemed to notice, but then again I was the Iblis. I was fully the Iblis. And just as Gregory had been linked to Aaru and his angels, I was connected to Hel and my demons.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told my Lows. None of them paid me the slightest bit of attention as I stood and transported myself to the center of the disturbance.

  Which put me smack against Gregory, my spirit-self half merged with his as I appeared. He sucked in a breath, wrapping his arms around me to keep us both from toppling over from the impact.

  “And what brings you to my little slice of heaven?” I asked, remaining merged with him. I kept my tone casual, but the considerable impact of this moment wouldn’t have escaped me even without the Hel-tilting-on-its-axis feeling. An Angel of Order in Hel. Yeah, I’d tossed Bencul here, and Lux had temporarily resided in Hel, so technically Gregory wasn’t the first Angel of Order to step foot here, but he was the first to do so voluntarily. And he was the first archangel.

  More significantly, he’d violated both his vow and the terms of the treaty he’d drafted. For an Angel of Chaos that was big. For an Angel of Order, it was momentous.

  “A personal errand.” Judging from the harshness of his voice, this wasn’t a pleasant errand for him. He wasn’t shoving me away, or separating his spirit-self from mine, so I took comfort in the fact that whatever bad thing he had to do, it didn’t involve me.

  For once.

  “I need to escort you.” I was the one who eased my spirit-self back and took a step out of his arms, putting on my business hat. When I’d first stepped foot into Aaru, he’d been by my side to ensure none of the angels harassed me. I’d need to do the same here. The archangel could definitely take care of himself, but having a chain of battles that led to a trail of dead demons in his wake wouldn’t be good for either his reputation or mine. This visit needed to look like it was planned and sanctioned, and that would only happen if I were by his side the whole time.

  He revealed his wings. “Of course.”

  Yep. All about business. I revealed my wings as well but left the sword hidden. No sense in making this look like I was marching a prisoner around or putting ideas into some random demon’s head that there was about to be a fight.

  “So…where to?” As if I didn’t know. Personal issue. Not about me. Could only be one other thing that brought this archangel to Hel.

  “I’m looking for my brother.”

  He knew. I hadn’t told him, but I was guessing Raphael had.

  “Can you sense him? His whereabouts?” I was curious about this. Gimlet had been wandering around among the humans for fucking forever and none of the angels had noticed him or realized he was actually Samael, the Fallen archangel. Gregory had been among the humans pretty much twenty-four seven for the last ten thousand years and hadn’t sensed him. I knew he had that bond with his other siblings, but maybe the banishing had broken it with Samael.

  “He has always had the ability to hide himself from us.” Gregory looked around. “I sense him here. I know he is in Hel, but I cannot locate him precisely.”

  Good thing I could. Another somewhat unwelcome talent that had come with my being fully the Iblis. I stilled myself, reached out around me, and sifted through all the beings in Hel. “He’s up near Eresh.” I told the archangel. “I can transport you there.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”

  I reached out to touch his arm, more because I wanted to have a physical contact with him than any need to do so during teleportation. In a flash we were amid a series of glass and obsidian monoliths, all arranged in clusters of crooked lines, as if some drunken architect had set up the grid layout then gone to sleep it off while the spires took root. Down past a row of glittering glass sat an impossibly beautiful being in human form, his white-blond hair shining in the reflected light from the monoliths, his wings outstretched to catch the sun. He was sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed in his upturned face, a brown paper bag in his lap.

  I held back a few steps as Gregory advanced. This was personal between them, but I was curious and wanted to hear. I was the Iblis. I was Gregory’s partner. Those were my excuses for eavesdropping.

  Plus, if this didn’t go well, I wanted to be here, not just to intervene if necessary, but to comfort my beloved. I got the feeling Samael’s sin was the same as all the other archangels, and pride wouldn’t allow him to forgive easily. The Fallen looked up at his brother and scowled. I crossed my fingers behind my back and offered up a quick prayer to whoever the fuck might be listening to me at the moment. I wanted this to go well. I needed this to go well. The fate of all angels hinged on these two coming together.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Samael scowled.

  Okay, so this wasn’t going well. Maybe I’d need to summon my sword after all.

  “Something I should have done two-and-a-half-million years ago,” Gregory replied, continuing to walk forward and stopping when he was a few feet from his brother. “Apologize. Push aside my pride and anger, and humble myself before you. Beg for your forgiveness—a forgiveness I know I don’t deserve.”

  Samael opened the bag of cookies and took one out,
stuffing it into his mouth then carefully chewing it and swallowing before replying. “No, you don’t deserve forgiveness. I’d be happy to admit my own failings in the war, but that final battle… I showed you mercy and you struck with the intent to kill me. Then you punished half the angelic host. You doomed us all. Me, I could forgive. But every Angel of Chaos banished to Hel? Forced to forever be trapped in corporeal form? To never experience the freedom of Aaru again? The wrong you did me—that’s easily forgiven. I know you brother. I know who you are, and I love you even when you do these things to me. But I can never forgive what you did to the others.”

  Gregory stood stoic as his brother spoke. “The banishment is lifted. Those few things not negated by Bencul’s forgiveness have now been wiped clean. The treaty is dissolved. There are demon lands in the human world, and more than one Angel of Chaos sits on the Ruling Council. As for Aaru…we are also banished to suffer the same fate you did. Aaru will be left to our children, and the only way our home will see life again is if we can all come together in a spirit of forgiveness and understanding. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I beg of you not to take your anger out on the other Angels of Order as I did against the Angels of Chaos. And more importantly, I beg that you forgive your siblings, who had no part in that original banishment.”

  “None of them raised a hand to stop you,” Samael snapped back.

  “Uri lost her mate and her child, and has suffered horribly for what she claims was a lack of strength. Gabe was and will always be rigid and unbending, but he loves you. And Rafi has been horribly lonely in Aaru since your banishment. He was young, and so close to you. Of all of us, he would never have lifted a hand against you personally in battle, nor ever banished the Angels of Chaos. He is too close to being one himself to do such a thing.”

  Samael’s face softened at the mention of Rafi. “How is he? I’ve missed…him.”

  I’ve missed you all, was what he’d wanted to say.

  “He is bonded to a young Angel of Chaos who has been living among the humans up in Alaska as a Nephilim. He’s in love, happy. Will you visit him?”