He furrowed his brow. “You have been nowhere?”
“No. I already told you I went to Oharaimachi with Drella. Oh… Wait.” I dug my phone out. “I did take a couple of pictures there.”
“Let me see.” He grabbed the phone, then paused and turned to face me. “You made it your phone saver.”
I looked at the orchid and dragonfly picture on display. “Screen saver.” I couldn’t help but smile. “I changed it that same day. You made me remember how much I loved it.”
Azazel mirrored my gentle gaze before turning back to the phone, and quickly began tapping the screen. I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Oy. You’re such a brat. You know that?” I laid down beside him and touched the picture icon. “Spoiled rotten—used to getting everything you’ve ever wanted.”
“…Not everything,” he softly whispered.
“Yeah. Guess that’s why we’re lying in the dirt together. Sometimes our greatest blessings… are when we are told no.”
He handed me the phone back and carefully wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.
“You speak truth, little one. Our desires can blind us to their ramifications.”
“Yep. It’s always better to be scolded than to touch the hot stove eye.”
“Heh. What are you talking about?”
“It’s better to listen to our parents than to live through the pain of ignoring them. They tell us no because they love us. Not because they don’t want us to be happy.”
He lightly kissed my forehead then. The sudden tenderness shocked me.
“How is it you are so wise, little one?”
“Wise?” I chuckled. “Far from it. I was the one who had to touch the stove eye—see for myself. I rarely listened the first time. The lessons I have learned… I’ve come by them the hard way.”
“As have I. Yet… you are not bound in the darkness.”
“Pfft. That’s just because you’ve had so many more years to screw-up than I’ve had. If my lifespan was as yours… I’m pretty sure I’d be pinned down right here beside you.”
He laughed then. “Not if you had lived ten of my lifetimes would you be as damned as am I.”
“From your mouth to God’s ear, Angel.”
“Yes… to God’s ear. Although… I would not mind the company. It would be… magically tragic.”
“Magically tragic?” I chuckled. “And what’s that supposed to mean, Gramps?”
“Why do you insist on calling me that? —Gramps.”
“Because… I told you you reminded me of that old man in Slovakia. Remember?”
He didn’t answer, only turned his gaze to the distant ceiling.
“Did I offend you?” I barely whispered.
Azazel waited a long moment before saying, “How did you picture me in your mind, little one?”
“Oh, well… I didn’t really have a set visual, I don’t guess. I mean, I’d never actually met an Angel before. Men have painted many images of Angels, all different kinds—golden-haired male warriors… gentle, ministering lady Angels… even chubby little cherub baby Angels.”
He made a rather disgusted kind of noise. “Angels are neither female, nor are there babes among us.”
“Yeah, I sort of figured that.”
“You spoke only of other people’s thoughts concerning my kind. What did you picture, Jem?”
“To be honest… nothing good. I’ve studied way too much to romanticize Angels. I’ve never read a single account that didn’t chill me to the core. Angels are warriors, to be sure, and good at what they do. When I read Daniel’s account of the Angel who came to him… I had some seriously messed-up dreams for several days after that.”
“How did this Daniel’s Angel appear?”
“Well, he basically describes him as a glorious man, but Daniel was so terrified that he collapsed—fainted, passed-slap-out, I don’t know—right there on the river bank. He said the Angel was clothed in linen with a big golden belt around his waist. He said his body looked like beryl, his face like lightning, his eyes flamed like torches, and his arms and feet were as polished brass. Oh, and he said that when the Angel spoke, his voice sounded like a whole bunch of people were talking at the same time.”
Azazel smiled with only one corner of his mouth.
I shrugged my shoulders. “And I’m certain the Angel looked a terrible fright, seeing as what he’d been doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Angel told Daniel that he’d been fighting with someone called the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia for twenty-one days. Twenty. One. Days. I mean, come on. After someone, anyone, had been warring for three weeks straight… imagine how terrifying they would have looked—scratches, bruises, cuts, clothing rent, wings dipped in blood.” I shivered. “Anyway, the Angel told Daniel that the only reason he had made it to him when he did, was because Michael—one of the Chief Princes—had come to help him out with this other dude. Oh, and that when he was finished speaking with Daniel, the Angel said he had to go back to fighting that Persian demon-thing again, or whatever.”
“I know of the Angel you speak. His look would be terrifying to a mortal, especially during battle. I also know of Angels who have four faces and wheels instead of legs.”
“Oh yeah… Cherubim, right?”
Azazel nodded. “The same Angels men paint as precious babes… they have four wings and four faces—a man, a lion, a cherub, and an eagle. And they don’t turn their heads as we do, they go in the direction the appropriate face is looking… those wheels inside of wheels moving them about—eyes in every direction.”
“Creepy, huh?”
“To a mortal… I suppose they could be. As I could be as well.”
“Anyway… you can see why I didn’t have a clue what to expect.”
“Were you disappointed?”
“I was… shocked.”
“Yes… I remember.”
We both fell silent for several heartbeats.
“Hey… Tell me what you meant before by magically tragic.”
He took a deep breath and paused. “It would be tragic for you to share in my curse, yet magical to have such a friend at my side throughout the ages.”
“Fr-friend?”
He ignored my stuttered question.
“Let me see how we could make such a thing possible.” He glanced sideways at me. “First, you must seek out Gabriel.”
“G-Gabriel?”
“Yes… Gabriel, the blessed Prince. Tell him you love me and wish to join me here. Then you must do something terrible while he’s watching you.”
“Love? Terrible?”
“Yes, terrible. He won’t believe you have simply fallen for me by your words alone. You must do something atrocious that would warrant his wrath. Something like I would do.”
“Azazel, there’s no way in the world I would ever—”
“Oh, hush now, child.” He smiled softly as he gently patted my shoulder. “I was only teasing you. In truth, if you did thus—proclaim your devotion for me—Gabriel would probably just try to protect you. He’d come here and curse me further—place a rock upon my head as well.”
“Upon your head?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “So I could not continue to taint your precious little heart.”
“Y-you aren’t tainting me. I would never—”
“Shhh,” he whispered. “Now… show me the pictures.”
I just lay there, silently staring at his striking profile.
“…Azazel?”
“It was but jest, little one.”
When I didn’t say anything, he turned to face me.
“Do not look at me thusly, child.” He squeezed me a bit tighter. “And stop trembling. The last thing I want is for you to fear me.”
“I don’t fear you, Azazel. It’s just… sometimes I forget who you are. You put me at ease. I mean, you act so normal, so sweet. I have to keep reminding myself that you are Azazel.”
“Jem, I am not
pretending to be anyone other than who I am. The Angel you see before you and the Angel you have read about… we are one in the same. Tell me, little one. Can you be wholly defined by a single act, a single day, a single moment in your life?”
“N-no. Well, at least I hope not.”
“And yet… I have been. I am not saying that what you read about me is not true. Nay, that would be a lie. Alas, that single epic decision is not the whole of the Angel lying next to you. Nay, not even the crumbs. Just like you, my fair-haired little friend, there is so much more to who I am.”
I didn’t say anything. I just rested my cheek against his side, listening to his strong, slow heartbeat.
The light from my phone had already faded away. The softly flickering candles hauntingly illuminated his ancient, cracked skin. Silent tears trickled from the corners of my eyes before I could stop them.
“Jem?”
“…Yes?”
“What you said a moment ago… about wishing you had a friend you could laugh with?”
“Yes?”
“I would very much like to be that friend.”
I didn’t say anything. I simply held my breath. I didn’t mean to. It just… happened.
“I know I am not a girl.”
I muffled a snicker as I glanced up at him. He was staring at the distant ceiling, smiling softly.
“I cannot join you for dinner whilst we whisper about the hoity-toity people sitting around us. I will never be able to sit with you in the sunlight. We cannot share a meal upon the ground surrounded by wildflowers as I listen to your silly fantasies about boys. And I will never stroll hand in hand with you through South America as we gaze at the wild orchids and pink dragonflies. I dream about those things, yes. Alas… such a day will never come.”
“…Azazel.”
He turned to face me. “The reason you do not claim any close friends, little one, is because of you. Not them.” He brushed my hair back as he spoke. “I sensed your fear of emotional attachment when first we met. Remember?”
I didn’t answer.
He smiled again. “You changed the subject. You would not speak about it then. Same as now.”
Still, I held my silence.
“I want to be your friend, Jem. Yet I will leave the subject with this… Who could I possibly betray you to? Tell me, little one. Of all the things that cause you fear in a relationship—unfaithfulness, back-stabbing, lying, or even death—which of those could you lay at my feet?”
“None… I suppose.”
“That is correct. I will always keep your secrets, always cherish our time together. I will be the trusted companion you have forever denied yourself.”
I swallowed hard, but didn’t speak.
“And as you well know… the excuse you used before does not hold true with me.”
“Excuse?”
“Yes. You said there was no point in bonding too deeply with mortals—they die.” He squeezed my shoulders a bit tighter. “I will not die on you. Promise.”
I almost chuckled.
“Now, show me where you have been and all that you have learned. Bring your world down into my desolate chambers, and I will gift you with knowledge not found in any book.”
*****
“Where did you say you found this structure?”
I glanced from the picture of the old cross-shaped church, up to the Angel’s sharp profile. “Near the Carpathian Mountains. Do you know them?”
He shook his head. “The names of places are not now what they once were. I cannot be certain where it is you speak of. Yet… I have seen woodwork akin to this.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Eons ago.”
“Eons, huh? We believe man didn’t possess such knowledge, eons ago.”
“And that is because your race is yet simple—infantile in your understanding.”
I rolled my eyes, where he couldn’t see.
“Also,” he continued. “I never said it was man.”
“Stop right there, Angel. I’m not ready to delve any deeper than that.”
He smiled. “I will change that… in time.”
When I didn’t respond, he used his one free hand to gently play with my curls. It was extremely relaxing… unsettlingly so.
“And what secrets did you glean within this marvelously made structure?”
“Oh… Well, the book I had stumbled across in Japan told me of the one I needed in Hronsek. I have it… here.”
I pulled it from my bag and flipped to the ancient pages that had caught my attention.
“See here where it reads about the seven seals?”
He squinted at the words. “The seven seals… What exactly are you the Witness for, little one?”
“The fulfillment of the last prophesy.”
“The end of days,” he barely mumbled. “Tell me. Will the seals soon be broken?”
“Best I can tell… they already have been.”
“What? All of them?”
I nodded.
“And how do you know this? Even Angels are not privy to the end of days.”
“Well, I don’t know what day will be the last day. My job is to decipher about where we are—during my lifetime—in the fulfillment.”
“How are you to know that?”
“By studying history. I can’t record what will happen, only what has happened. I don’t have any idea if my generation is the last one or not. I’m simply to write down how much of the Revelation has come to pass. Then, the Witness who follows me will take up their quill where mine left off, so to speak.”
“If all seven seals have been broken, then the end of all things is upon us.”
“Well… yes and no. You see?” I opened my journal. “We are basically at the end of the prophesy, yeah, but what’s left could take thousands of years to come to pass.”
“Or… a single day.”
“True. Some of the fulfillment happened in rapid succession, while a thousand years separate some others.”
“So… the four Horsemen have come forth?”
“Yeah, a long time ago. In truth, I didn’t think you’d know about this kind of stuff. You were banished ages ago.”
“What is, has been.”
I looked into his hauntingly beautiful eyes for a quiet moment. “Yeah… whatever that means. Anyway—”
“Who was the rider of the white horse?”
“Well, it wasn’t really a who. More like a when. The prophesy was revealed to a man named John in like 95 or 96 AD. That was during the rise of the Roman Empire. If you follow along with Roman history, you can clearly see where the first four seals—the Horsemen—came one right after the next.”
“What happened with this Roman?”
“Rome, actually—it’s a country. Romans are the people living there. At that time, Rome ruled the world. The seals—or Horsemen—came in order: white, red, black, and pale. Horses usually represent war, right? Especially during that time. The colors are pretty self-explanatory. White–purity. Red–blood. Black–death. Pale–sickness.”
“Such is the case, yes.”
“I’m not gonna go into a super detailed version for you. Number one… you probably don’t care all that much. And number two… you weren’t roaming around during that time so a lot of it’s just gonna be lost on you.”
He smiled with only one corner of his mouth. “I believe I can follow along.”
“Yeah, whatever. Nutshell version, nonetheless. This all has to do with Christianity, right? White horse–purity and prosperity. The rider was given a bow, a crown, and he went forth to conquer. The bow–war. The crown–a laurel, duh.”
“Why duh?”
“Romans gave laurels to great warriors accomplished in battle. Now, I told you this prophesy was written in like 95 or so. Domitian was the Emperor of Rome at that time. Nerva came on in 96. So for like the next eighty years or so Rome conquered the world, bringing about peace, harmony, and civility—at least to a degree. And even though there were
some times of persecution, Christianity flourished during that time—first seal, first Horseman.”
“What happened after the eighty years?”
“Commodus. Total douchebag.”
“What do you mean?”
“This dude named Gibbons wrote, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.” I retrieved my copy whilst talking. “He said… If man were called to fix the period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus. And that’s when the White Horseman was sent forth—the prosperous time before Commodus.”
“What did this Commodus do?”
“He was a joke and a jerk. Rome had a few real losers to claim the title of Emperor. Commodus was one. As were Elagabalus, Caligula, Nero—to name a few. Commodus was placed on the throne at age eighteen by his dear old dad, Marcus Aurelius—first time that’d ever happened. Marcus Aurelius was considered the last of the five good Emperors, and Commodus’s reign will tell you why. Commodus liked himself a lot more than he liked his people. Let’s just say… he didn’t play well with others. I’ll bring you a book about him the next time I pass through.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Okay, first seal/White Horse—done. Now comes the Red Horseman… he was given this huge sword and sent forth.”
“Do you know when?”
I nodded. “Civil unrest and revolution in the Roman Empire. It lasted like ninety something years. It started with Commodus, and went all the way through to the year 284. Many Emperors claimed the throne at that time. More than thirty of them were assassinated. There was a six-year span where nineteen tried to reign, but were slain. You can just imagine what shape that whole kerfuffle left the Empire in.”
“Not good.”
“You ain’t lying. It was basically ruined—just a mere shell of its former grandeur. The White Horseman represented the time of Roman prosperity. The Red Horseman represented all those following years of internal strife within the Empire. That’s when the third seal snapped and death rode forth.”
“The Black Horseman.”
“Yeah. That rider carried a set of scales.”
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