Sapphire Flame (Sapphire Wings Book 3)

I cannot say at that point if any of us really had a clear perception of the relations between the Heavens and Hells. As humans, we all tend to shape our beliefs based on our religious teachings and the things that we experience first-hand.

However, sometimes what we perceive as humans and the reality of things can be vastly different. If we have learned nothing else from being what we are, we had all learned that, and as we stood there with Malakai, I was sure that more of our foundations were about to be cracked.

The room actually seemed to darken a little as it became colder. Then, a circular black void appeared on the floor about five feet from Malakai, and from it, a cloud of thick black smoke billowed up. It hovered there for a moment before transforming into a very tall and foreboding-looking man who was dressed completely in black. He had very pale skin and long black hair that was loose and fell to his waist. His red eyes were incredibly sharp as he regarded us with quiet contemplation.

The feeling we got from him was nothing like the one that we'd initially had with Malakai. No, he was not angelic like us. His dark clothes, dark aura, everything about him spelled evil.

In a way, he reminded me of those old tales of when the Devil would appear to his victims trying to ply his trade. But something told me that we weren’t looking at the Devil, but someone who was pretty powerful in his realm.

Malakai and the man looked at each other solemnly for a moment. Then he finally spoke.

“Well, I hate to admit that I’m not too surprised that you’d come here. I am messing up what you set in motion, aren’t I?” Malakai stated.

“You knew very well that I would show up with this undertaking. I wanted to face you again and see your hate for what I’ve done to your precious ones.” the man told him. His deep voice was penetrating as he spoke and felt like it chilled my very soul.

“I see. But I’ve topped you. Noel did not fall as you intended, and I will not allow this boy to either. Your curse is over.” Malakai warned him.

This must have been the demon that Malakai had been talking about. That had me a little more than worried. Even if Malakai was confident that this demon had been defeated, it still seemed frighteningly powerful. Not to mention the fact that it had shown up there knowing that Noah was dying.

The demon didn’t seem put off by Malakai’s words. Instead, he set his gaze on Noah.

“That may be so, but you were too late to prevent what’s happening to this boy,” he responded evenly.

“He is not yours to be concerned with, Astaroth. He’s not dead and will be healed.” Malakai informed him.

“You sound awful confident about that.”

“I am.”

Noah sat back a little behind Raziel. Now he was afraid. I think he knew what all of this meant. If the demon Astaroth had come looking for him because of his sickness, then he had probably intended to take him down to Hell.

Raziel reached behind him, gripping his hand tightly. He obviously wasn’t about to let this demon take his son without a fight.

However, Malakai seemed less than worried about it. He simply held his ground, not even flinching under the intense gaze of those red eyes.

“Do you see yourself as a fool, Seraphim? You must realize that I could take you since you’re trying to protect your Half-Bloods.” Astaroth threatened.

“I do. However, I will not let you harm them and I certainly will not let you take this boy. He doesn’t belong to you, and never will.” Malakai retorted.

I don’t think that I really wanted to see a fight between an angel and a demon, but I would’ve rather seen that than have him take Noah.

Raziel’s wings came out as he watched Astaroth move a little closer.

“Rather protective, aren’t you?” Astaroth noted.

“You’ll take him over my dead body,” Raziel warned him.

“That can be arranged.” Astaroth threatened.

Raphael stepped in front of them, bringing his own wings out.

“That I highly doubt. For one, I wouldn’t think that Malakai would allow you to harm either of them; and if not him, then I would not allow it,” he said evenly.

One may not believe it, but Raphael actually did have a bit of a temper when it came to things involving his son and grandson. I was probably the only person aside from Raziel up until the curse dissolved who knew about it, but it was there. Even before Noah was born, the only thing that could really upset Raphael was when whenever it involved Raziel. I’d dare say that he loved his son more than his own life.

That had been part of the reason that he’d been so afraid initially of things with Anna Smith. He’d never admit it, but he feared Raziel being hurt again; and since Noah’s birth, that protective streak of his had only intensified. Raphael would’ve done anything to protect them, even if it meant facing certain death.

“And you believe that you can do something against me? You, whose soul has already come close to being damned?” Astaroth challenged.

“I am well aware of that, but it seems that my back has been against the wall since the day I was born. For me, this really is nothing compared to some of the other things that I’ve had to face.” Raphael responded.

“Such a brood you have, Malakai. You must be quite proud of what you managed to accomplish with this grand scheme. I’m sure that they’re cursing themselves for allowing you to do this.” Astaroth laughed.

“That I doubt. The end is justifying the means, and I have no doubt that the Seraphita will save the boy, so I suggest that you leave before it comes.” Malakai told him.

Astaroth regarded him quietly for a moment, then chuckled darkly.

“Very well. I can wait. I may have lost these, but I’m certain that at least one of your brood will end up in my realm someday. However, I did want to ask this one something.” he said, looking over at Raphael.

Raphael stood still, though his eyes went hard again. It was almost like he was bracing himself for something.

“I’m sure that we already know, but you may go ahead.” Malakai allowed.

“Very well. Then I pose this one question to you. How has it been that you are able to cover your sign from the rest of your clan?” Astaroth asked Raphael.

Sign? I wondered. What in the world was he talking about?

“I pride myself on being good at hiding. It’s another angelic gift that I was born with, and the one that they decided not to suppress.” Raphael answered solemnly.

“Are you quite satisfied?” Malakai asked, “If so, then you should return to where you belong.”

Astaroth laughed again as he turned back into a black cloud. He hovered for a few minutes, then sunk back into the ground.

Raziel looked up at his father as the room returned to normal.

“Dad, what was he talking about?” he asked him.

“Punishment,” Raphael answered, turning back around to look at him and Noah.

“What kind of punishment?” I asked.

In all these years, I’d never seen anything wrong with him to suggest that there was something that had happened, and in a way, I was rather disappointed to think that he’d been able to hide something like this from me.

“I suppose that you should show them. But before you do, I will offer a bit of explanation. What you’ll see here is not the result of sickness. It’s a form of punishment when an angel commits a sin yet can be pardoned if they prove themselves worthy of it. It can also be hidden if one knows how to manipulate their energy correctly.” Malakai explained.

At that, Raphael’s wings suddenly changed. They became completely black.

I’ll admit that if I had seen this after what happened to Noel and without Malakai’s explanation, I would’ve been afraid of what was going to happen to him. But he’d apparently been hiding it for a long time. Perhaps even before we’d known about what happened with Noel.

I did recall quite well that Raphael had rarely shown his wings for years after he’d gotten them. I guess that we’d all assumed that it was just a matter of not liking to. But he had more than likely been figuring out a way to hide this in that time, and he’d done a damn good job of it.

“But… you’re not sick from them,” Raziel whispered.

“No, and he will not become sick. This and the illness are actually two different things, even though they look the same. Although his wings are black, they are not toxic, and as the soul redeems itself, the black will begin to fade. They were actually much darker than this when he was first placed under the restraint.” Malakai explained.

“When was that?” I asked.

Raphael thought about it, “I believe that it was right after Noel was sent away. I had a strange dream about being on trial, and when I woke up, my wings were black.” he admitted.

“That long?” I said in disbelief.

“Redemption takes a long time.” Malakai told us, “And really, he’s done well on that end. As I said, the black has faded quite a bit since then.”

Now that I really looked, his wings were more of a dark grey than black. But to think that he’d been hiding it since he was sixteen. How in the world had he managed that one? It still boggles my mind, especially considering his closeness with Raziel. I didn’t think that he could hide anything from him. Though I had always been rather good at reading Raphael, Raziel had always known everything about him aside from the events that had occurred before he was born. To think that he didn’t know this was incredible.

But then, I had thought there was nothing that he could hide from me either.

“It’s not just the color,” Noah added quietly, “It’s also put a restraint on his power.”

“This is true. As the first born, Raphael was going to be the leader. It really never was meant to fall on you, Michael. But because of the problems, the cap was put on him as part of what you could call probation. Thus, leadership shifted to you.” Malakai confirmed.

“That does make a little more sense. I couldn’t see myself being the second born and having all of the power in this family just by chance.” I lamented.

“Not at all, though you do have the breaker ability, which allowed you to free him from Noel before, along with a bit of help from me,” Malakai informed me.

“That freedom also allowed me to escape what eventually claimed her. I admit that I’ve always been grateful for that.” Raphael added.

Raziel looked down and sighed, “I’m glad of that. I don’t think I could handle you being sick too.” he admitted.

“While it’s true I’m not sick and dying from this, it has put a substantial limit on my abilities. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but it has impaired me from being able to do what I have needed to, and that includes being able to use one of my own special abilities.” Raphael admitted.

“What was that?” I asked.

“To put it quite simply, he was to be a healer like Gabrielle. However, his powers will be much more extensive than hers once they’re released. The truth is, if his powers weren't sealed with this, he more than likely could've stopped the progression of Noah's illness himself.” Malakai told us.

Now things were starting to fall into place. Raphael’s reluctance to get involved in the first place, his immense guilt over Noah’s condition. He did blame himself because his actions had placed these limits on his abilities, and if not for those limits, we very well may not have been where we were.

We had no time to say anything more to it. Instead, our attention was drawn to an intensely bright light that was now descending from the ceiling. I felt my own wings coming out in reaction to it, as did the others. I don’t believe that I’d ever felt such warmth as what came with this amazing illumination.

As we watched, the light condensed into a large sphere that reflected just about every color imaginable in front of us and had many flapping wings coming from its sides.

“I was awaiting your call Malakai.” a soft voice emanated from it. The voice sounded like a mixture of male and female.

Malakai smiled at it, “I told you that I would return, although I’m a bit concerned that I may have lost too much time.”

“Yes, I am aware of all of that. However, there is still time left. But I must ask you again, are you willing to pay more of a price for all of this?” the sphere asked.

“I am. I’m prepared to do whatever I must to ensure that Noah survives and can have a good life.” Malakai answered.

Noah looked down and cringed a little, holding his shoulder. I turned to see that black was trying to spread. Raphael immediately moved over to him and Raziel, kneeling down behind him and grabbing his wing with Raziel. The black stopped almost immediately, though I could tell that it was taking all of their strength to stop it.

The sphere seemed to watch as they did this.

“You need not worry so much. We will not let him die for the time being.” It told them.

“I won’t let him die anyway, and I’m not going to let him suffer while you debate on what you want to do.” Raphael shot back.

I wanted to help them, but there was nothing I could do there. I wasn’t one of those blessed with any type of healing power. Still, there had to be something that I could do aside from just standing there.

That was when I decided to play my own card. I was still the leader per se under Malakai. It was time for me to step up.

“You’re the Seraphita, aren’t you?” I spoke up.

“I am.” The sphere answered.

“Then you can hear me out.” I continued.

The sphere floated a little closer, and I had a distinct feeling that I was being looked over.

“You are the one they named Michael, are you not?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then you were the one appointed to lead the misfits when the original almost fell with the youngest for a demon’s continued influence.”

Nothing like putting it bluntly, I thought.

But I just continued on. I needed to make sure to appear as I should be in front of this powerful Angel. If anything, it may help save lives.

“This is apparently true, although I don’t like the idea of our family being called misfits. But it doesn’t matter. What I want now is to talk Nephilim to Angel about what’s going to happen here.”

“Michael!” I heard Raphael whisper harshly.

I knew he didn’t like this. He probably thought that I was driving us into further trouble.

“If there are no objections to this, Malakai, then I will accept.” The Seraphita stated.

“None at all,” Malakai replied, glancing over at me with a smile.

I had the distinct feeling that he was more than approving of me doing this. He may have even wanted us to speak here. It made me consider that perhaps he had everything planned out, or just knew straight out how to handle negotiations with an Angel like this.

“What do you wish to happen here today?” the Seraphita asked me.

“My greatest wish in this is to have Noah healed. However, I can’t see it coming without a price, and it seems that prices are high when it comes to these things.” I answered.

“They are most of the time.” the Seraphita agreed.

“Then tell me, what would the price be in this instance to have him healed completely?” I asked.

“For that, I must pose my question to you. What price would you be willing to pay?” the Seraphita answered.

That was a hard question. But I knew better than to hesitate.

“I think you know that any one of us here would be willing to pay whatever is necessary, and that includes our own lives.”

I halfway expected Raphael to say something then, but he didn’t. I think that in the end, he knew that it was the truth for all of us, and he and Raziel would probably be more than willing to give up their lives to save Noah’s.

The Seraphita seemed ready to test us on that though. It turned its attention back to Raphael.

“Tell me, would you really be willing to do such Raphael Renaldi?” it asked.

“Of course I would, but I think you already know that,” Raphael replied, his voice now sounding a little strained. He was still struggling to stop the black from spreading.

Raziel glared up at the Seraphita as he held on as well.

“We both would.” he managed.

The Seraphita seemed to consider the answers. It floated back a little to regard us again.

“And you Malakai?” it said.

“To forfeit my life would mean relinquishing my light and becoming a Fallen One again. However, I would have no regrets in doing such if it meant saving one of my own.” Malakai answered.

At this point, one may wonder if the Seraphita had the power to take a life so easily. The truth was, it did. This was one of the most powerful beings ever created, and it reigned high above most of the other creatures in existence. It was really no surprise that God would allow it to choose between whether something lived or died. Fair or not, in the end, it wasn’t up to any of us.

The Seraphita seemed to think it all over for a few long moments. In that time though, I began getting an idea. If it did decide that it wanted to take a life, maybe I could bargain with it. Even though Raphael had always been the one who was good with that before, it never hurt for me to try my hand. After all, I’d always considered myself pretty good at it when I went up against my father while he was still alive, and who had been any more stubborn than him? Certainly, this Seraphita would find some humor in something I could come up with. If anything, it might just be amused by us enough to help.

It finally spoke again, “I can heal him, but I won’t do it without a price being paid.”

“Then how about we bargain over it?” I suggested.

I’ll admit that I was probably just going to end up picking things off of the top of my head, but I wasn’t about to back down.

“That sounds pretty interesting,” Malakai commented, crossing his arms.

“What kind of bargain?” the Seraphita asked. It didn’t sound annoyed at all. In fact, it sounded intrigued. That was a good sign.

“You know as well as any of us that I won’t go for one of us being killed over this. However, I do want to save Noah. So what else could be exchanged for that?” I inquired.

The Seraphita seemed to think it over for a moment.

“A willing exchange? I may consider that. However, this is not an exchange that you would be able to take lightly.” It finally said.

“I’m aware of that, and I have a proposal for you.”

“Do tell.”

“I’ve seen that limits can be placed until a debt is repaid. Set your limits on us and spare the boy’s life.”

I knew that it was a dangerous bargain. Limits themselves tended to be when it came to the ones like us, and looking at what they’d done to Raphael before, I knew that in the end, it may hurt us more.

But I wasn’t willing to let Noah die, and I certainly wasn’t willing to think that that demon could take him. So I was prepared to see what the Seraphita would agree to.

“You drive a hard bargain with this Michael Renaldi, not to mention that you fully understand where you stand here. I will say that I admire that. However, I am not sure if you would agree to the limits that I would want to set.” The Seraphita said.

“Name your price and we’ll see,” I told him.

Near me, I could hear Noah breathing harder. We were running out of time now, and I wasn’t sure of how long Raphael and Raziel could hold on. I was praying inside that I could do this. If not, then the worst was most certainly coming.

The Seraphita bobbed up and down a little as if in contemplation.

“Very well then. I will heal the boy. But in return, I will take two things.”

“Like what?” I dared ask.

“They will both be temporary, though you will not know how long because they must be earned back. The first will involve you Malakai.” the Seraphita explained.

Malakai nodded, “Name it.”

“You will go back and live in as their leader once again, though a pair of your wings will also be used to heal the boy. You may retain your powers as a Seraphim, however, you will not know how long before you may return to the Heavens at all.” the Seraphita told him.

“I can handle that. But I do have two small requests. First of all, I’d like to retain this current body, as it is the one I prefer in the mortal world. Then, I'd like a favor with the two human females that have joined the Renaldi family.” Malakai responded.

“I will give you the human form if you agree to the terms, and I will wait to hear what you want concerning those humans after I decide my second condition.” the Seraphita said.

“Then I agree,” Malakai answered with no hesitation.

I suppose it was a good thing that he cared so much about us. He was going to be giving up a lot in the end. But what was he planning with Sara and Anna?

The Seraphita then turned its attention to us again, “The second term will involve Raphael and Raziel Renaldi.” It announced.

I did dread this one now. If it wanted them to give up something, what was there left that they could give up? Raphael was already paying for the things that had happened with Noel years ago. What more was there for him?

“Go ahead,” Raphael responded.

“I am aware that your powers have a cap on them from previous transgressions. However, if I grant this request, the cap will be completely reinstated. You will have to start over. Raziel Renaldi will fall under this as well.” the Seraphita stated.

“I’m willing to do that.” Raphael agreed.

“Me too,” Raziel added.

But this didn’t seem fair to me, so I went ahead and spoke up.

“I’m afraid I can’t. I think that it would be better if there was some other way.”

“So you disagree with such? You were not even aware of this until recently.” the Seraphita noted.

“I wasn’t, but beings Raphael has suffered under it for so many years now, it just doesn’t seem right. Besides, he and Raziel have done nothing wrong to deserve such a thing, so I think it’s unfair, considering that it should only be punishment.” I explained.

“Yes, I can understand your point of view. However, what would you think that I should take from them aside from that?” the Seraphita asked.

“If anything, I don’t believe that you should cap their abilities. That only seems to lead us into more trouble, and as I said, it’s not something that’s warranted. Instead, why don’t you just leave them with a sign of your favor?” I suggested.

“A sign of my favor?” the Seraphita repeated, almost sounding thoughtful.

Well, here went nothing, “Don’t cap their gifts, but turn their wings black until they are done with your debt.”

“Well, that’s an interesting proposal.” Malakai mused, looking back up at the Seraphita, “It would show that they are in your debt, and it is possible to do without taking or limiting their abilities. After all, Michael does have a point of that causing more harm than good, and we would not be here if Raphael had been able to heal his grandson.”

The Seraphita thought it over, “Very well then. I will concede to that. But there will be one more thing. The boy’s wings will be black as well until the debt is deemed paid.” it finally said.

“As long as he’s okay.” Raziel agreed.

I knew that he and Raphael didn’t like that part of it, but they were willing to accept it. Anything to help Noah.

The Seraphita then turned its attention back to Malakai, “And now, about your request for the two human women.” it went on.

“Of course. I have a favor to ask concerning them.” Malakai agreed.

The three of us looked over at him as well. Malakai certainly seemed to be taking liberties with this angel. In fact, he’d seemed quite confident that he’d get what he wanted from the start.

As we watched, the Seraphita hovered a little closer to him.

“What kind of favor are you requesting?” it asked.

“I know that it is not in their original plans, but I am sure that you are fully aware that those plans change with anyone once they are involved with the Nephilim clans. Since I am giving one set of my wings to Noah, I figured on another trade.” Malakai explained.

“I am listening.” the Seraphita said. Now it sounded very interested.

“I know what it is to love a human woman. Being given such a chance opened my eyes to it. For that, I propose that you grant Sara Morrison and Anna Smith the gift of being Nephilim as well, along with their original youth. I will offer up two more sets of my wings to compensate for it.” Malakai explained.

“Have you lost your mind? You’ll be demoting yourself!” Raphael said in disbelief.

“Not at all. If anything, I find it a much better thing than remaining as I have for so long, and you have no need to worry about me like you are. I will earn them back in time.” Malakai assured him.

The Seraphita also seemed a bit surprised by the offer.

“You would be willing to give up everything for two humans?” it said.

“Of course. I love humans more than most because I have lived among them, and I love this family. Sara and Anna are part of it now, and I’d like them to stay with it forever. It is the least I can do for such kind women who have accepted us as we are.” Malakai explained.

Everything he was saying was the truth. Malakai did indeed carry a deep love for Sara and Anna, just as he did for the rest of us, and it was at that moment that I think we all understood the truth. Malakai may have been chosen for whatever the purpose of this family was, but he’d truly come to love it. It truly had hurt him that he’d had to sit by for so long and watch as things happened. Really, the Seraphita’s wishes for him weren’t punishment in his eyes. He longed to stay with us, no matter what happened to him. He was longing for the family that he’d had to leave behind.

The Seraphita seemed to give the whole thing careful consideration before finally giving its answer.

“Very well. I will agree.”

“Then let us begin,” Malakai told it.

The room filled with bright light, and Malakai and Noah were lifted up into the air in front of the Seraphita. As we stood back and watched, Noah’s remaining wing dissolved along with the stub of the other, and then, one of the sets from Malakai disappeared, reappearing out of Noah’s back. But also, two of the other sets disappeared as well.

Then it was over.

The light faded away as the Seraphita disappeared, and Malakai and Noah sat up from where they’d fallen on the floor.

Noah held his head for a moment.

“What just happened?” he whispered.

“Are you alright?” Raziel asked, hurrying over to him.

“I feel like I was smacked with a frying pan,” Noah admitted.

I took a moment to glance at his wings as he said that. They were completely black, just as the Seraphita had said they would be, and I saw that Raziel’s had also turned black. It looked like they were to keep that trait for however long the Angel had deemed it, but at least Noah was alive.

“He’s cured, and it looks like the Seraphita at least lifted the caps that were placed. It seems that It did a favor as well with this.” Raphael noted, stepping up beside me. He looked more than relieved.

“So only black wings,” I noted.

“It seems so,” Raphael agreed.

“The Seraphita works in Its own mysterious ways, and one cannot say that It’s a heartless creature. I think that we’ll be in for a pleasant surprise once we arrive home.” Malakai said as I helped him to stand again.

“Tell me, why did you do that? I know that you lost a good deal of your power in giving away three sets of your wings.” Raphael pointed out.

“I think you know why.” Malakai answered, “It’s my gift to this family for the things that I should’ve been able to prevent. I only wish that I could’ve done it sooner to allow it for Maya as well.”

“So what will this mean for Anna and Sara?” I asked him.

“The same thing it means for the rest of you. Their clocks have stopped, and they’ve returned to the point when they were most alive. They will also gain their wings in a short while. That’s why we should return as soon as possible.” Malakai answered.

For the time being, we’d have to agree. But I was determined to find out the answers we had wanted all along, and I was certain that I would once we got back home.