by Sarah Carter
“Wow, that’s intense,” Avery snorts.
I smile. “Yeah, so that’s the end of the first sphere. The next sphere are the heavenly governors. The dominions have two duties. They lord over the angels and give out different duties, and they also oversee Earth as they do heaven. Dominions preside over nations and give guidance to the leaders of the world. Though, recently, humans haven’t listened to the ideas that they are given.”
“Yeah, pretty sure that’s an understatement.”
“Now, the thing about dominions is that they will never let a mortal see them. They are completely hidden, so that humans will think the ideas are theirs.”
“Humans rarely see angels anyway, right?” Avery asks.
Shaking my head, I reply, “No, they never really see them and if they do, they don’t assume it’s an angel. So, the next choir are the virtues. They have one significant job. They use their heavenly power to make sure nature and cosmos flow right. Now, I know it sounds like there isn’t much to them, but if you really think about what they do, it’s a huge responsibility.”
“I would have to agree with you on that one,” he says. “The universe itself is massive.”
“It’s a big job. Takes a long time of training.”
“I bet.”
“So, the Powers are the last group in the second sphere. They are the keepers of history, both in heaven and on Earth. They are the mechanics of ideology, theology, religion, and philosophy. They are the experts and advisors to both places. It’s one of the most powerful positions. They are also the warrior angels of God. No Power has ever fallen out of Grace. They are so fiercely loyal to God that they have never strayed.”
“That’s impressive.”
“It is. Now we are onto the third and last sphere. The first choir in this sphere are the Messengers of God and God’s army. This sphere directly correlates with humans. The Principalities carry out orders to Earth. The Dominions are the lords and the Principalities are the ones who carry out the orders. It’s like the Dominions are the foreman and the Principalities are the workers.”
Avery shakes his head. “This is all so much more in depth than I thought it would be.”
“This is ruling over two different worlds,” I laugh. “Both heaven and Earth. It’s pretty intricate work.”
“I get that now.”
“Now, the next group of angels are the Archangels. They are the highest-ranking angels of heaven. They have the most leadership and power. They are pretty much charged with the running of both Heaven and Earth. It’s like they have complete autonomy over the rest of the angels. The other eight choirs look to them for leadership. Most of the angels talk about in human lore are all archangels like Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael.
The fallen fear the archangels the most. It could be because the archangels hate the fallen. They are the generals of the army and the strongest in combat. The battles and war have kept them rather busy.”
“Do battles still take place?” Avery asks, leaning on his hand, looking totally enthralled.
I shake my head and say, “No, not like you are thinking. It’s more one on one combat now. It’s also not as much as it used to be. Angels still hate the fallen, but demons have become so much more of a problem, but the angels still kill the fallen when given the opportunity.”
“What happens when angels die?”
I frown. “Fallen angels go to hell and can’t leave. Angels become one with God again. And reapers…I don’t know what happens to us.”
“What do you mean? No one has ever told you what happens to reapers?” The look of surprise on Avery’s face is very apparent.
Smirking, I say, “No, no one knows. It’s not talked about.”
“Are there reapers in hell?”
“No,” I answer, shaking my head again. “I’ve never seen reapers in hell. Well, that’s a lie. The reapers who have fallen to Lucifer are in hell. As for the reapers who have died that never fell to Lucifer, I have no idea what happens to them. We could just disappear. I have no idea. One day I will see, I guess.”
Thrusting out his hands, Avery gasps, “But no one knows. That seems a little shady. Someone must know.”
“I think they know, they just don’t tell us,” I reply. “I think it tests us even more. We have to face our demons, literally. Each of us, one day, has to face Lucifer. If we knew what happens to us, it may change things.”
“But it’s not your fault that you are half-fallen,” Avery points out. “Why would God test and punish you for something out of your control?”
“Why does God test humans? Even angels are tested. Look at my mom. It’s all part of God’s plan. Whatever plan that is. I don’t understand it. I don’t think any of us do. Maybe the older angels of the higher choirs do. Raphael seems to know his stuff.”
Avery sits up more. “So Raphael, he’s an archangel.”
“He’s the one I have the best relationship with,” I state. “He’s kind of my go-to guy.”
“That’s a good go-to guy to have on your side,” Avery snorts. “So, what choir is left?”
I smile. “It’s the general choir of angels. It’s what Gale is. This choir has the largest population. They are the messengers to humans, the healers, and the angels who perform miracles. When a human hears the voice of God, they are hearing an angel. The voice of God is too powerful for a human to grasp. It would kill them. So, angels watch over humans and bring God’s words to them.”
“That’s kind of beautiful,” Avery whispers.
“It is,” I agree.
“To think I knew nothing of angels and all of this was going on around me my whole life. It’s hard to believe though that there are guardian angels when my sister and I went through what we did.”
It’s not as easy as that, Avery. I put my hand on his. “Avery, angels don’t make the decisions. God does. Whatever plan he has for you, this was it. Everyone makes choices.”
“It wasn’t our choice to be born to that bastard,” Avery snaps. “It wasn’t our choice for our mom to die and to leave us to that monster. We went through hell. My sister killed herself. Everything I went through after that was just as bad. There was no choice for us. We just went through it.”
“I can’t even begin to explain God’s plan for you. There has to be one.”
“That’s BS,” Avery growls. “God? What did he ever do for us? Put us through hell. It’s not about choices, it’s about punishments.”
I grab both of his hands in mine. “Avery, your sister is safe. Your sister is safe and with your mother. She has been in heaven this whole time. Heaven is perfect. Heaven is paradise. She has not been suffering. Actually, she stopped suffering when she died. She is whole and happy.”
Avery squeezes my hands and looks down. “That’s true. It’s still so fresh. That whole idea. My entire life all I thought about was her being someplace horrible or not existing at all. I thought what if we don’t go anywhere when we are dead and that was her whole existence. That torture was all she ever knew.”
“But it wasn’t,” I urge. “I promise. She’s okay and happy. Plus, now your father is where he belongs. You put him there. He won’t ever hurt anyone again.”
Looking up at me, Avery gasps, “That’s true. I haven’t thought about that. He can never hurt anyone else.”
I shake my head and smile. “No, he can’t. He’s at the hands of the devil for the rest of existence.”
“I thought God was all forgiving,” Avery declares. “I’m surprised broken souls can’t repent.”
“There are some things you can’t come back from,” I state. “Also, everyone is given the chance to repent. That’s my job. I try to get people to see their wrongs and make things right. A lot of them can’t.”
“I thought God doesn’t make mistakes.”
I shrug. “Again, I can’t assume anything when it comes to them. I mean, they are so beyond anything we can comprehend. Even us angels, we understand more than you but still don’t get it entirely.
”
“There are so many grey areas,” Avery whispers. “It’s easy to understand why people are so confused.”
“That’s very true,” I agree. “We all have lessons to learn. We all have different paths.”
He looks up at me. “What do you think our paths are now?”
“I have no idea,” I reply, shaking my head. I sigh. “All I know is that I’m supposed to protect you because you are supposed to save the fallen.”
“Why me though? What am I going to do? I’m just a human. I’m not even religious.”
Still shaking my head, I say, “I don’t know. We both have these paths though. You are supposed to save the fallen and I am supposed to find the light.”
“I think it will be a lot easier for you to find your light than for me to save the fallen,” Avery states. “You have the light in you already.”
“The dark part overshadows everything,” I reply. My shoulders fall and I sigh. “It’s not as easy as that. Look at how the fallen angels fell. Look at how reapers succumb to Lucifer’s will. It’s not as easy as going, oh, I found the light.”
“But it’s inside of you already,” Avery points out. He reaches out and squeezes my hand. “You have been scared to feel the light. Maybe it won’t be as hard as it seems once you…try.”
I frown. “I guess. We will see. We should get going.”
“Where are we going to hide?” Avery asks.
“An old monastery,” I say.
“A monastery?” Avery replies. “Is that a holy ground?”
Throwing money on the table, I say, “Yes. It’s been around for a very long time. It’s definitely holy ground. The demons know not to go inside because a great battle took place there. It was cleansed by the archangel Michael. We will be safe for a little while at least. Maybe I can come up with a game plan.”
“Sounds good to me.” He slides out of the booth and extends his hand for me. I glance at it for a second and then grab it. He helps me up. We come face to face and stare at each other for a minute. Finally, I clear my throat. Avery gestures forward and we walk. I lead him back to the hallway and into the broom closet. He looks at me. “Aren’t people going to wonder where we went?”
“Like I care,” I snort. “They will justify with some sort of story. It’s what humans do. Who knows. They might not even notice. Now, come here.” I grab Avery and pull him against me. He wraps his arms around me and we’re gone.
Chapter 7
This time we land on our feet. We are standing in a very old stone building. The roof is broken away and missing. “Well, we’re here.”
“Where are we?” Avery asks, spinning around.
“England,” I answer. “No one comes here anymore. It’s abandoned. We will be okay for a little while.”
Avery walks around. He runs his hand down the wall. “This place looks old.”
“It is old,” I say. “Very old. A great battle between the fallen and white angels happened here. It had to be cleansed. There was so much blood, the energy was off the charts. The humans ran scared. They didn’t understand what they were seeing or even feeling. It was chaos.”
“Have you ever seen a battle?” Avery asks, turning towards me.
I shake my head. “I have been in battles but not in the context in which you are speaking.”
“Battles? What kind of battles?”
“A few fallen angels. Reapers who have fallen to the darkness. Lots of demons. The usual.”
“That is not the usual,” Avery states.
Smiling, I say, “It is for us. I’m not human and you have to remember that.”
“So, you’ve killed?”
“Killed what?”
He shrugs. “Anything?”
“I lost track of demons. I don’t even count them. Because I have the seraph blade, I can kill other things. I have killed fifteen fallen angels and seven reapers.”
“Are there really that many reapers? Do the good and bad mix that often?”
“Well, sometimes those pairs produce more than one offspring.”
“They actually stay together?” Avery gasps, looking shocked.
I press my lips together. My mom and dad didn’t stay together. They haven’t even spoken since I was a baby. Sighing, I say, “Yes, sometimes they stay together. But who am I to know anything?” I reply. “I’m not God. I never assume anything. Assuming makes us look like complete asses.”
He gives me a look. “Funny.”
“What?” I counter. “It’s true. It’s God. We are pawns in this great universe.”
“Pawns? That sounds a little harsh.”
“You know what I mean,” I groan. “We all have paths that we follow. Only God knows what’s really going on.”
“True.” He starts walking farther into the building and I follow him. “So, when was the last time a human was here?”
Leaning against a wall, I say, “It’s been a very long time. It’s almost hidden from humans. There’s a lot of power here. It’s not invisible to the human eye, but the human brain will skim over it. The priests who lived here were very solitary. They knew about the angels. They had contact with them. The fallen angels came in one day and slaughtered most of them. The white angels got here too late. Most of the priests were dead. A great battle broke out. It was bloody. Rivers of it flowed through the monastery. There was so much evil released. Demons were coming out of the woodwork. Michael had to come through and bless the monastery. The stories I’ve been told are awful. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to live through the horror.”
“How old are you?” Avery asks.
“19 angelic years,” I answer. “It’s different for Earth, but I’m 19.”
“So, compared to me, what are you?”
I roll my eyes. “Like I said, the time is different. I’m 19 angelic years. I’m comparable in age to you, but I’ve lived through 76 earth years.”
Avery’s eyes widen. “Wow, that’s crazy.”
“I didn’t become a full reaper until 10 Earth years ago. I’ve lived on Earth since then. It’s confusing. Every time I go to heaven or hell, time lapses. It’s not an accurate system. Yesterday, I spent a few hours in both places and by the time I returned to my apartment, two days had lapsed. I’ve never been able to figure it out.”
“I guess heaven is eternal.”
“That it is,” I sigh. I turn around in a circle. “Hmmm.”
Looking at me, Avery says, “What?”
“I need to strengthen the runes,” I whisper. I whip out my seraph blade and make it into a dagger. I start to carve symbols into the stone wall.
He walks over to me. “What does that say?”
“It’s angelic script,” I say. “The angels have their own language.”
“Do you speak it?”
I shrug. “Yes and no. I speak every Earth language. I just choose to speak English. It’s my favorite. Angels are blessed with the gift of language. We understand everything.”
“Interesting,” Avery whispers. He puts his hand up to the rune and it quickly blinks out. “Oh,” he gasps. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. It’s still there,” I assure him. “You just can’t touch angelic things.”
“Will I burn alive?” He quickly asks, with wide eyes.
I shake my head. “No, only a seraph blade will make you burn alive.”
“What are the rules? What should I know?”
Crossing my arms, I inquire, “What do you mean?”
“Rules of heaven and hell,” he answers.
I go back to carving runes into the wall. “The rules of hell are much more important than the rules of heaven.”
“Tell me about demons.”
“There are ten levels,” I reply. “The lower levels are pretty dumb, easy to kill. They just push humans around and try to lure them to do bad things. The higher demons are the ones who torment people. Levels higher than 8 can possess people.”
“What makes Azrael so evil?” Avery as
ks.
Stopping, I turn and look at him. “He’s one of the oldest demons. Level 10, as I mentioned before. Possession is as easy as breathing. That’s why I was so scared when you invoked him. You’d probably end up dead.”
“What does he do?”
“Annoy me to death,” I sigh. “He can cause a lot of harm. But his true joy comes out of torturing the souls lost in hell. He’s sadistic.”
“How did you meet him?”
I start to carve runes on the next wall. “It was my first time in hell. He approached me and asked for the soul. I was scared. I don’t care what anyone says, I was scared shitless. Hell is very scary at first.”
“It’s not anymore?”
“Yes and no,” I answer. “I have become somewhat used to it, but I’m not evil. Not fully.”
“You’re not evil at all,” Avery groans. “Will you please stop?”
Choosing to ignore him, I go on. “I don’t think I will ever get used to hell. I don’t get pleasure from seeing people tortured. It still gives me the creeps. The stuff you see down there will give you nightmares.”
“It’s that bad?” Avery exhales, with scared eyes.
“Yeah,” I whisper back, looking down. A shiver runs up my spine. “It’s your worst nightmares coming true. It’s pain, so much pain. And fear.”
“For the rest of existence.”
I look up at him. “Broken souls, yes. Unbroken souls can repent, but it has to be true repentance, not just because you are scared. It’s a lot harder to get saved in hell. Difficult, but not impossible.”
“But my dad?”
“Will burn for all eternity,” I reply. “Are you sure you are alright with that?”
He nods. “Yes, I’m okay. He deserves it.”
Pressing my lips together, I hesitate before I speak. “I saw everything. I saw everything he ever did.”
“What?” Avery snaps.
Trying to reassure him, I put my hands up. “It’s part of my job. Sometimes I choose to ignore it, but with your father I watched.”
“You had no right!” Avery screams. He looks furious.
“Let me explain why I’m telling you this,” I say. “You weren’t the only ones.”