Even Angels Fall (Book 3)

Tymician

I can see him well: Lucius, the first day I met him.

In the courtyard of Heaven’s End, the first son of God stands poised and strong. Around him, Angels lounge on plump pillows, some naked with only their wings to cover them while others embrace the newly developed fabrics draped along their forms.

Lucius, young, thin, and slightly frail enchants them as he walks the length of the square. His wings lay reposed, slapping against the back of his legs with each peaceful step. He wears a long ankle skirt, fastened with a rope. The clothing is such a simple thing and yet, it adds to his superiority, to his genius.

He speaks lightly, nearly in a whisper, forcing their attention, keeping their eyes solely on his lips. I observe him from afar and watch every graceful move he makes. My distraction is noted.

Metatron pauses in his teaching and explains. “His grace, Lucius, the second child of God.” There is adoration in his tone that I return my gaze back upon my tutor with earnest. “He is full of beautiful words. You should sit and listen to his sermons. The Angels simply cannot get enough of his speeches. He lives and breathes for the human species. It is truly hypnotic, his vocation.”

I bow my head, “Forgive me for my impudence.”

“Of course not. He is impossible to ignore. This is only your second day. Every question you have, do not hesitate to ask it.”

“I have one.” He gestures eagerly. “I mean this of no great respect or lack of love. God is cherished. But.” I look toward Lucius. “Why did God create His own set of children?”

Lucius’ crystal eyes flip up to meet mine. It sends a rapid chill down my spine even as I hear Metatron chortle. “I knew you would be like them.”

My brows knit, “Like who, your grace?”

“Ariel and Dane Monte. They came just days before you. They had questions too.”

“Is it wrong to have questions?”

“Not at all. It is the type of questions however, that sets us apart, Tymician. You will find this out in life. I will answer your question but for you to understand I must start with God’s first child, Lilith.

“I have told you of Atlantis and the burial of the four thousand Souls. Nature and God split ways and thus Heaven and Sheol were created. Nature in her dire need for forgiveness, a rare need, I might add, created Lilith, a daughter of both of their Light. But Nature does not possess such a talent as God to create a living child. She does not possess love. Lilith is therefore incomplete. She is flawed. Nature presented Lilith, a broken child to God, and God turned her away.”

Pity burns in my heart. To be turned away by God, I could not imagine the pain. “Why would He do that? Will God not love her because she is imperfect?”

“Of course God loves her. God loves, that is who He is. But understand Nature. She cannot access Heaven. What better way than to create a being that can access both?”

“God will not trust Lilith because of Nature?”

“He trusts Lilith. It is Nature He does not. Lilith has abilities of profound earth qualities. She can twist into soil and mold into trees. Nature exists too much in Lilith. God denied her and I believe He made the right choice. There are too many lives here. This is our only safe haven. It was too soon after Nature’s massacre of Atlantis and I had not forgiven such unfathomable destruction.” Metatron pauses, adjusting his robes. “A few hundred years later, God felt He made a mistake but by then Lilith was too tainted by His dismissal. She grows spiteful and vengeful, helping Nature kill and harm humans. In an effort to end the quarrel, God created Lucius.” A smile spreads upon his lips widely, “When I held Lucius in my arms, he was a squawking babe. He cried and cried and only rocking put him to sleep. We had hoped that Lucius would melt Lilith’s heart and they would become the best of siblings but it did not go as planned. Instead Lucius brings us only greater happiness and Nature only more bitterness.”

--

Lucius is a good man I tell myself. He is God’s son and my best friend. He is lost and desperate. He has been inside this pit of Darkness for too long and he has forgotten the taste of the Light. I must help him remember what it feels like to have the touch of the sun upon his skin, to have Angels surround him, creatures that love and worship him.

I must force out this growing hate in my heart. He is not the Devil of Hell to me. He is the first son of God and I love him as my brother. He only does this desecration because I betrayed him. He knows no other way to seek his vengeance. He has been in this cruel place for far too long.

If I would only give in, he would embrace me and apologize for all the mistreatment. He would replenish my dying Soul with his own Light and smile as I stand upon my own two feet. He would laugh with me and tell me he never had any intention of killing me.

--

Lucius drops a net full of apples and oranges at the feet of his friends. “Gifts from Earth.” He steps back as the crowd snatches for samples. I sit at the edge, watching in humor. He loves it when they act like wild dogs. It is a game to him. He saunters over toward me but I make no move to rise. My friends and I have lost all reverence when it comes to his lordship. Lucius flexes his wings as if to rid himself of the dirt.

Melek sits beside me, a thick headed man with arms of steal and stone. Though a warrior, he and I have had the most in common amongst this lot of creatures and have become friends. “How was your trip, your grace?”

“Interesting. Lilith refuses to come from hiding. It’s bemusing. My entire childhood she terrorized me but the moment my wings matured, she has not shown her face.”

Iabiel lays naked with only her wings drenched over her form. Her long black hair, smooth as silk plays in her fingertips. “You are perfect where she is incomplete. Of course she fears you.”

“And what has she to fear?” He asks her simply. “She is my blood. Despite her loyalties, she is safe for I am an Angel, the only son of God. But I will settle the score if only for amusement. Perhaps I will simply contain her in a Nephilim prison.” His friends laugh at his joke. I merely gaze at him.

His crystal eyes find mine. “What is on your mind, Tymician?”

I blink suddenly aware that everyone had their attention piled upon me. I sit up straight on my pillow and adjust my short dentai wings, flexing them out before pulling them into my back. “Why do you journey to Earth?”

Lucius thinks upon his response. “To see the destruction that lies beneath us. I do not ignore it as you do.”

Iabiel flicks her gaze up harshly, “That is cruel of you.”

“It is fact.” He spins away from us and suddenly his voice breaks out. “How many of you gaze out onto Heaven’s End? Do you observe your brothers’ suffering? Do you care for your sisters’ cries? You hanker to return to Earth but when was the last time you examined it?”

There are no walls in Heaven. There is no privacy, no end to the distance that his voice carries. Angels heard him for miles. I flick my eyes around, hoping for the moment my Soul Mate arrives. I’d feel it but still the sooner I saw her, the more content I’d be.

Metatron steps up, “What is this upset, your grace?”

“Earth laments and the Angels do not weep. They joyfully repose and gorge on Nature’s own conception.”

“What would you have them do, Lucius?”

He ignores Metatron’s inquiry. “Do you accept this entrapment without question? You are an ensnared rat, and you sit and nipple at the crumbs tossed to you with glee. Have you forgotten the Soul given to you?”

I flick my gaze up and Ariel stands beside her glorious husband, Dane Monte. Ariel dresses in a thin white linen over her breasts and hips, barely covering her beautiful form and Dane has only enough to cover his own hips. He is a mammoth of a man, and beside her, appears only greater.

Ariel looks upon him with contempt upon her blond brows. “I’ve been trapped, sire, and this is no prison. No one pokes with a prodded stick, no one jeers and pesters and there is no altar waiting for us to be sacrificial pawns to someone else’s god. You stir waters that need only calming tides. Why? Because you have the talent of speech. You are special, Lucius. Do not make yourself a martyr because you are bored.”

It is plain his distaste for Ariel and Dane. He flexes his wings before replying, “When was the last time you looked upon the Earth, Ariel?”

Dane intercepts and answers for her, “I watch every day, your grace. Thousands of them were under my care. All this death and carnage is now because of us. Ariel and I were their only salvation and because of unknowledgeable creatures that strove for more, we are dead and my people mourn and rage.”

Ariel places a slight hand on his arm and I cannot look upon them any longer.

Dane calms before he continues. “God’s decree that we remain in Heaven and thus that is what I will do until the end of time. His breath is my breath. His choice is my choice.”

It was obvious he’s unhappy with such a response. Lucius bristles, “It is the wrong choice.”

--

When we Fell, our objective was simple: Help save the human race by destroying that which harms it. We thought it would be an easy answer. Nature was the cause and her terrible witch of a daughter, Lilith. But Sheol was a much graver place than we could have imagined. The Darkness was a thick tar that soaked into our pores. We found we had to fight for our own survival first. Gerald was the first to die, eaten alive by the wicked Vetalas.

Where there had been three of us, now there were two. Alone in the vastness of Sheol. We ran as often as we could but I got tired easily where Lucius did not. He had a Soul of endless proportion while I needed to recuperate. He protected me, saved me countless times.

Others arrived. It was to our biggest surprise when more Angels joined our band. It revitalized our hope. We began the building of the first and only town Mictlan.

“Oh how the mighty have fallen.”

I keep my eyes shut upon the voice. To give attention is to acknowledge her and I wish not to do so. I doubt she will give me much choice. I am chained and weak. A perfect victim, a fly caught in her web. Laughter fills the room and I hear her high heels click against the stone floor. My breath quickens, my pathetic state bringing me to an almost human level.

Her fingers grip my face, sharp nails digging into my cheeks and I nearly feel the pinpricks of their tips. I give into the inevitable and meet her gaze.

Eyes the color of forest leaves, hair blacker than the darkest skies, skin the color of falling snow and lips, the color of cherries She’s as beautiful as remembered but with the deviousness shining in her gaze and the smirk upon that tempting mouth, I know what kind of woman she is and abhorrence comes easy for me.

“Lilith.”