Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Death ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 6 )

Death

Chapter 5

 

Author's Notes: This chapter handles a lot of flashbacks into Duo's previous life as an angel. I don't really know much about Christian angels outside of Sunday school and popular media (aka Angel Sanctuary) and what little real information is in here I stole from Wikipedia, so don't yell at me about wrong info. Anyway, I'm only dealing with the Seraphim because I'm far too lazy to research other angels. There's Seraphiel (lord of the Seraphim, takes care of the other Seraphim including teaching them how to do their jobs), Metatron (the voice of God, gives God's orders to lower angels), Michael (commander of the Heavenly army), Uriel (Angel of repentance, the only angel that has God's permission to live on Earth), Jehoel (looks after Heavenly creature, Angel of Music), Camael (forced Adam and Eve out of Heaven, Angel of love), Lucifel (don't even think I need to explain who Lucifer is), Abaddon (Angel of Destruction, presides over the realm of the dead, was cast out for disagreeing with God on how to deal with human souls), Asmodai (banished from Heaven for falling in love with a human woman, his love turns him into a demon who kills his unrequited love's husbands, demon of lust), Astaroth (my personal favorite, Lucifer's son, fallen angel of his own desire, demon of laziness and vanity, showed humanity how to reason through math and science, has a unique brotherhood with snakes), Samyaza (fallen angel who mates with humans to create his own race of Gods, cast out for believing to be the same as God.), and Samael (Accuser, seducer, destroyer, angel of death), or Duo's angel name. I actually came upon Samael tonight. I thought it was interesting how Samael was the angel of death and a fallen angel. He tried to convince Michael to leave Heaven with him, but God refused to let Michael go. Also, Michael was the first angel to have to bow before Adam, something I imagine must have pissed him off, being God's fiery sword and having to take care of Adam and Eve like a servant. Uriel was originally going to be the one after Duo, but I think it fits Michael better. Those who know me in the real world are probably realizing how similar this story is becoming to Midnight Serenade, another story with Duo being an inhuman creature hiding among humans, only in that story, Duo is from a different world entirely and it deals more with race than religion.

 

 

Heero had only one memory from his childhood. He couldn't remember his parents or where he lived, but this one dream was so powerful he knew it couldn't be anything but real. As he floated in between life and death, he remembered a time just like this one. The light, soft touch of fingertips on his cheek, large white wings the color of snow, kind, worried, violet eyes staring at him, a melodic voice calling someone's name… his name? Heero couldn't remember. How could it be that the only two people he truly had loved looked exactly the same?

As the dream-memory faded away, Heero opened his eyes. He realized right away that the pain he had felt before he blacked out was gone. As he catalogued his injuries he also realized that all of the little cuts and bruises from the mission were gone. He was not in the place where he was shot. There was no river and trees touched the skyline. It was morning, the sun had not even risen high in the sky yet. Then, Heero suddenly remembered… Duo, shifting colors of red and violet around them, the horrified faces of the soldiers, and the feeling of being wrapped in wings. Just like before, except the wings had been black, not white.

There was a weight on his chest. It was Duo, curled up and sleeping fitfully. Except, it wasn't Duo, not really. It was the creature from his dreams. Blood seeped sluggishly from bullet wounds on Duo's side, arms, and shoulders. Large, black wings protruded from his back, but they seemed wrong. On closer inspection, Heero realized that Duo was losing his feathers and the flesh on his wings was rotting. Duo was unhealthily pale and Heero couldn't tell if it was because of Duo's inhuman qualities or his injuries. Heero didn't feel afraid of his boyfriend's appearance at all. It was probably because of the dreams, he mused. Deep down, he had always known that the one in his dreams that loved him and protected him was Duo all along. Duo was an angel, that was the only explanation.

`A crying angel,' Heero thought, touching Duo's wet cheeks in amazement. Heero wrapped his arms around his partner as he shook in the cold morning air. Duo's eyes moved frantically underneath his closed eyelids and Heero wondered what angels dreamt about.

 

Flashback

 

Duo's eyes were squeezed tightly shut as energy, swirled with red and violet, hovered around him. He panted lightly as he held it out among the flowers he was sitting near on the wide open field. He was supposed to be in the training building with the other juvenile angels, but he felt much more at home out here. The energy caressed the flowers, making them fuller and livelier.

“Perfect!” A melodic voice said. Duo looked up into kind, golden eyes. A tall six-winged angel stood there, wrapped in white robes, long blonde hair fell in delicate curls around his strong shoulders.

“Seraphiel!” Duo chirped. Seraphiel gathered Duo's remaining energy and dispersed it.

“Samael, why in Heaven are you out here? Is it so dreary in the training hall?” Duo stood, wrinkling his nose at his name.

“I like it outside. Besides, I'm ahead of the others, so I don't need to be with them the entire time.” Seraphiel smiled and caressed Duo's loose hair.

“Are you nervous about your commencement?” Duo bowed his head and tucked his mere two wings tight to his back.

“Of course I am. This'll decide my entire future here, not to mention I get to meet Metatron. I wonder what he's like.”

“You'll find out in two days.” Duo entwined his fingers with his teacher's.

“I'll miss you. You've been a good friend to me, Seraphiel.” Seraphiel tightened his grip on Duo's hand.

“You're an interesting angel, Samael. Don't worry. He looks after His own.”

 

*****

 

Duo waited in his room impatiently for Metatron to summon him. Today he would be given his title by Him. This would entail his level of power, his job, and where he would live. It seemed like an eternity that he had lived in this building with the other trainee angels. Of course, before being `born' into heaven, he had known nothing else. He did not know what he wanted with his life here, he just knew that something seemed wrong. When he was in Heaven's buildings, he felt like a stranger. It was only when he was outside amongst Heaven's creatures and skyline that he felt whole. In just a couple minutes, his surroundings would change completely. He would most likely be separated from all of the other angels he had gotten used to seeing. Only similar classes of angels lived in the same place. He would deeply miss Seraphiel, who was the head of the Seraphim, but this was how Heaven was structured.

 

*****

 

As his door finally opened, Duo mused that Metatron was much different than Seraphiel. Where Seraphiel was tall and exuded kindness, Metatron appeared to be a mere child and was very clinical and business-like. God's Voice had the body of a ten-year-old boy with short, dark brown curls that framed his pale face and flat, expressionless black eyes. He, like all Seraphim, had six, glorious white wings. A golden fox with red eyes and six tails entwined itself around Metatron's legs. Duo had learned that only Seraphim had familiars; partners that had both bodies of angels and Heavenly creatures. However, the specifics of the Seraphim's familiars were unknown. It appeared that Metatron's familiar was a kitsune; a fox spirit. Duo knew that Seraphiel's was a Griffin named Alce, but he didn't know about the other eight.

Metatron was short and to the point.

“I, Metatron, acting as my Lord's one, true voice, give title to angel Samael; fourth level Seraphim, Angel of Death, carter of all souls. Samael will report to Yggdrasil, his permanent housing.” Duo sat stunned as Metatron swiftly left, having done his duty. Him? A Seraphim? How was that possible?!

“I'm not that good…” he muttered, tugging at his wing.

“Of course you are,” Seraphiel said from his doorway. Duo looked at him with a questioning look. “You are ahead of all of the other angels when it comes to power. Abaddon cannot look after human souls and cart them at the same time, so this position has been open for awhile. Samael, you are special. He is never wrong.” Duo nodded, still unsure.

“C'mon now,” Seraphiel said reassuringly, “we have a lot of work to do.”

 

*****

 

Every angel in Heaven knew of Lucifer. God's favorite angel who believed he should be treated as God's equal, not his slave. So, he convinced Eve to think for herself and got her and Adam expelled to Earth. He rebelled against God and he and dozens of other angels were banished to Hell. However, only a few knew the truth about the original fallen angel. God, having loved Lucifer as his very first angel, had given him half of His power, so Lucifer could do his work on Earth as well as Heaven. Because of this, He decided he needed to keep an eye on Lucifer, so He did the worst thing he could think of: He destroyed Lucifer's angelic body and placed his soul inside of a familiar's.

Duo was introduced to Luc before any of his Seraphim brothers. When he was told that he was being assigned a fallen angel for a guardian, he was more than a little nervous, but that subject never really came up between them. Lucifer was nothing but courteous to him. They quickly bonded and became friends. Later, much, much, later; He would realize the mistake of having Lucifer report on Duo's progress. He did not see how much Lucifer loved his young charge and when He did, He felt a feeling He had never experienced: jealousy. But, by then, it was too late.

 

*****

 

Lucifer waited on Duo's shoulder as the young Seraphim stood on the threshold of their new home. Lucifer knew this place well, he had lived there for what had seemed like an eternity. He could feel his charge's nervousness and did not blame him. Today they would meet all of the other Seraphim. Metatron stood close to Duo's side, as though he was afraid the other angel would flee. It was almost comical, the calm expression on the small angel's face and the look of anxiety on the taller one's.

 

The structure was massive and reminiscent of an ancient tree. The exterior looked to be made of pure, white marble, but it was actually organic wood. Golden vines intertwined throughout it, even on the inside. Duo's footsteps fell silently on the stone of the hallway as Metatron guided him to a room. The house looked beautiful, but sterile and lonely. Because of this, when he entered the room where he was to meet his brothers, he was presently surprised at how warm it made him feel. The structures in the room where reddish brown, how wood was supposed to look, and the floors were soft, like carpet or grass, but were flat and shimmering like stone. Through cracks in the floor, purple and blue spiral grass poked through, but this looked more elegant than decayed. Large, silver trees stood about the room with orange and pink leaves shaped like thick, long strands of hair. Nine angels, including Seraphiel, stood and sat around the room. Despite the fact that they all possessed six, pure white wings, and a similar form, they had very little in common physically. Metatron nodded to them as he introduced Duo.

“This is His choice for the role of Angel of Death, Samael. Samael, you have already met Seraphiel,” Seraphiel smiled brightly at him. Alce, his Gryphon, looked up at him, his gold, eagle eyes staring right at him and his lion tale twitching anxiously.

“Michael, Angel of War,” a tall, pale angel with long straight red hair and chilling, ice-blue eyes, a sword tied to his white belt, leaned against one of the trees and barely acknowledged Duo. A black dog, the size of a horse, sat next to him, his eyes just as blue as his angel's, blue flames licked off of the beast's fur and his gleaming white teeth and claws were disproportionately large for his jaws and lion-like paws.

“Uriel, Angel of Judgment,” another angel that was leaning against a tree looked at Duo with impatience. He had black-green hair that was short and done in a spiked, punkish style. He was very tall with dark skin and hard, brown eyes. Standing near him, as tall as Uriel's chest, was a chimaera. The creature looked like a tiger but had a mix of white stripes and brown spots, it had a crocodile tale, a snake tongue, and its back legs looked amphibian.

“Jehoel, the angel of Music,” a short, pale, female angel sat Indian style of the grass, smiling sweetly up at Duo. She had short, blue hair that was beautifully curled around her silky cheeks, wide, magenta eyes, a golden key around her neck and an ivory flute fixed to her belt. On her shoulder perched a giant bird with a white beak, silver eyes, and long, curled, red and shimmering gold feathers; a phoenix.

“Camael, the Angel of Fertility,” sitting at Jehoel's left side was a taller, female angel. Her skin was the palest of them all, almost white, with long, straight, jet-black hair, slanted, orange eyes and an odd serpent creature wrapped around her body. The creatures body was jet black and had no scales, it had a shark's head and deep emerald eyes, and fins just like a shark's.

“Abbadon, the Angel of the realm of the Dead,” an angel of medium height stood in the middle of the room, his skin pale, his eyes slanted and black, and his hair violet. He smiled kindly at Duo and Duo immediately took a liking to him. He imagined that, because of their jobs, they would be seeing a lot of each other. At Abbadon's side was a silver wolf with black stripes, yellow eyes, and three tales, twice Abbadon's size.

“Asmodai, the Angel of Harvest,” on Jehoel's right side stood a very tall female angel. Right away Duo noted that there was something frightening about her, something off. She was easily the most beautiful of the angels, but there was something in her eyes… Her long, blue-black hair was in a loose braid down her dark-skinned back, her skin was adorned with white tattoos that looked like intricate scars, and her eyes were a deep, dark blue, like the ocean. Standing next to her was gigantic black-blue, serpent-like dragon that outweighed anything else in heaven. Its eyes were slit and red, its scales shimmered with gold specks, its black and green wings stretched immensely, and its large, grey talons clawed at the soft ground.

“Astaroth, the Angel of Redemption,” another angel, standing near Asmodai, that made Duo feel as though something was very wrong. He was short like Duo with long brown-red hair and green eyes. His hair was done up in an intricate style like a geisha and he was the only one wearing cloth over his arms. He eyed Duo strangely, with interest, as though he knew a great secret, or wanted to devour him, or both, Duo couldn't decide. A large, black snake with orange, blue, and green speckles and yellow eyes was wrapped around him. Unlike normal snakes, this one had spines like a crocodiles on it's back.

“And Samayaza, the angel of Science,” a tall, pale angel stood far from the others as though he wouldn't have anything to do with them. He had short, dark brown hair with a left grey eye and a right blue one. There were hundreds of green-red tentacles wrapped around him but because of the way he was standing, near a glimmering lake behind him, Duo couldn't tell what amazing creature they belonged to.

Duo smiled at all of them, still unsure of himself.

 

*****

 

Shortly after meeting the other angels, Uriel left for Earth. The Angel of Judgment was the only angel allowed by God to live on Earth. It was his job to weed out humans who deserved to be punished and those who needed to be saved. Despite his job, Uriel was a pitiless angel. He cared neither for humans nor his fellow angels. He was also the only angel other than Michael who was permitted to carry a heavenly sword.

 

Months and years flew by for Duo. His first missions went off without a hitch, much to God's pleasure. Duo threw himself into his work, earning the title of Shinigami among Heaven. Also in this time, he learned much about the other Seraphim; the good and the bad. It turns out that even in Heaven, there were dark secrets.

Duo quickly became good friends with Asmodai and Abbadon. Duo reaped his souls and brought them to Abbadon who either sorted them into Hades or brought them to Heaven, so they spoke a lot in between Duo's assignments. But, it was Asmodai who surprised Duo the most. On the day they met, she had sent many chills down Duo's spine, but since then she had gone out of her way to befriend the younger angel.

 

*****

 

“Wait up, Sammy,” a rich voice called to Duo as he hurried to his room. He wrinkled his nose at the nickname. Asmodai laughed at him.

“You have a cute face.” Duo blushed, then tried to hide his reaction under a calm and cold façade like the other angels. Asmodai tilted his chin up and leaned in, brushing her lips against his ear.

“Don't hide your feelings,” she whispered. Duo could feel her shapely chest rub against his own flat chest. “You're not alone.” She kissed his cheek like a sister would her baby brother. She grasped his pale hand in her tanned one and shook.

“The name's Azzy. Pleased to meet ya, Sammy.” Duo blinked as she walked past and he felt her silky hair brush his arm.

“Strange,” he murmured.

 

*****

 

Among the dark secrets were trivial little facts about the others. Duo was not a gossiper, but he liked getting to know about others. Metatron had given humans their alphabet and tarot. Michael was the commander of God's army. In times of war, the deadly angel was known to take over the body of human's to sway war in God's favor. Oddly enough, Michael had been the one employed to take care of Adam and Eve before they had been thrown out. Duo imagined that an order like that had done a lot of damage to the Seraphim's pride. Duo, himself, couldn't understand it. Angels were God's original children. They served Him loyally, doing whatever He wanted, yet it was humans whom He loved. Jehoel took care of all of the animals in Heaven, including the monster Leviathan, who guarded the gates of Heaven from demons. Camael was the angel who had to throw Adam and Eve out of Heaven. There was one angel who no one knew anything about: Astaroth. For some reason, Luc had demanded that Duo not speak to him. But, it was from Asmodai that he learned the darkest secret of all…

 

*****

 

Azzy leaned back against an ivory tree, crossing her shapely legs as she and Duo lounged in between business. She leaned in close to him, just like she had before.

“Do you know where we angels come from, Sammy?” Duo blinked. He had never so much as considered that. He wondered why that was… Who was he? Had God just created him? Or was there something else? Azzy smiled, understanding his bewilderment.

“Not a single angel can say that they remember. Well, any Heavenly angel. That is one of the many prices to pay for falling, remembering your birth. Not all of us became what we are in the same way.”

“What do you mean?” Duo asked, obviously puzzled. He fidgeted with the white cloth he always wore. Asmodai's smile turned dark.

“Do you know of Sandalphon?” Duo nodded.

“He's an archangel.”

“He is also Metatron's brother.”

“So? We're all related-,”

“That's not what I meant,” she interrupted, “I mean, they came from the same mother; twins, in fact.” Duo shook his head.

“No, that's impossible. God created all of us. There are no other Gods.”

“No, there aren't. But, we weren't born from Gods, Sammy.” Duo clasped his hands over his ears. It wasn't true… he was a child of God! Wasn't he? God didn't lie… right? But then, why did he feel things no other angel felt? What were these things inside his head? Strange sensations, not quite memories, but something he couldn't grasp…

Azzy grabbed his arms and brought them down.

“Some of us were manufactured, like cattle, by Him, to do a job. Others, angels like you and me, were born on Earth, as humans. We died, but possessed enough spiritual power for Him to change into angels.” Duo stared at her, stunned, yet understood.

“He strips our memories, our names, even our fucking emotions to become His servants. Except,” she put a hand on his knee, “sometimes, something goes wrong. Like with you and me. Something triggers a regression to our humanity. We begin to feel. But, you're the anomaly, aren't you? Your emotions never died. Your humanity never fizzled out. You forgot, but you still feel, somehow-,”

“Azzy,” Duo said firmly, “what happened to you?” Her ocean eyes clouded.

“If I tell you, will you answer a question?”

“Sure,” Duo nodded.

“If it came down to it, who would you go with? Me or Him?”

“You,” Duo said, shocked by his own resolve, and the fact that it was no contest at all. What kind of angel was he?!

“Alright. It was Autumn, Harvest time, my time. I saw her in an apple orchid. A human. And I remembered something. Not really a memory, but a feeling. Love. As soon as I remembered that emotion, I wondered how I was surviving without it. It hurt, but it was a good kind of hurt. After that, I started to feel all sorts of things. Anger, jealousy, fear, all sorts of things. So much, I'm afraid one day I might go insane.” Duo placed his hand on hers.

“You'll be ok, Azzy.” She shook her head.

“No, not this time. All I can think about is her…,”

“Tell me.” Asmodai smiled in a way that she never had before and Duo wondered how something so beautiful could be seen as wrong by God.

“She has this short, curled, red hair that burns like fire in the sunlight. And eyes, the color of green apples…,” Duo leaned on his hands and thought how something like that might feel like.

 

*****

 

“Samael, God has a special assignment for you,” Metatron told Duo as the other Seraphim gathered in their home.

“What is it?” God had never asked Duo for anything other than the usual assignment.

“In Egypt, a King is keeping slaves of people who worship Him. Our Lord wants them freed. He had even chosen a human to deliver this message to him and show the Pharaoh what power God possesses. It is up to one angel to deliver these… powers on the King and his people if he does not free his slaves.”

“And He chose me?” Duo asked, confused. Michael stared at him coldly.

“Metatron, I do not understand. Samael is just the Reaper! I am His Commander! I should be in charge of this important task.” In a rare show of emotion, Metatron glared at him.

“Know you're place, Michael! He has spoken. Samael is to go to Earth and deliver ten plagues. That is all.” Metatron turned to Duo. “It will be relatively simple with your abilities. The spiritual energy that you possess is… well, unusual. Still, Uriel will check out your work, per His orders.” Duo ignored Michael's strange stare. As Duo walked out, Asmodai slapped him on the shoulder for good luck.

 

*****

 

Well?

“Well, what?” Duo muttered. Luc pecked him on the neck.

“Ow!” Duo snapped.

This is wrong and you know it. These people have done nothing wrong. He wants to kill innocent children simply to show that He can do so.

“I have no choice.” But they both knew that that was a lie.

 

*****

 

Duo had taken a lot of shit on this job, basically killing innocent people. But, taking the lives of hundreds of innocent children was the worst thing thus far.

Duo walked on the bank of the river, his bare feet touching the water, but not really feeling it, unseen by all that were near him. He took his scythe and slit one of his wrists, letting his dark blood poor into the river. The water quickly turned a deep red as on lookers gasped.

The first six plagues went off one after another. God did not expect the Pharaoh to fold, so did not wait for his response before having Duo wreak more havoc.

 

*****

 

Duo stood in the palace, secretly admiring the structures that human hands had made. He plucked a single strand of hair from his head. The hair wriggled and expanded, turning to hundreds of other strands, then turning into asps. The snakes fell to the ground, writhing excitedly. Duo ordered them to spread out, to attack anyone they could find. He didn't know who he felt more sorry for, the snakes, the people, or himself.

 

*****

 

Duo walked through the town, confident that no one would ever see him. It would be many, many years before this belief was shattered. He striped his robe down to his hips, exposing his bare back. Using his scythe he cut into his ribs. Focusing his power, soon gnats, beetles, and locusts erupted from the wound along with disease, invisible to the naked eye, but not to him.

“Seven down, three more to go,” Duo said tiredly.

 

*****

 

“Their skies are forever dark, their streets are on fire from the storm, and people are covered with disease and still the Pharaoh won't do as he is asked?!” Duo asked angrily. What kind of ruler would put his subjects in such peril?

“You have God's orders, Samael,” Metatron placed a hand on Duo's arm, “you know what you must do.”

 

*****

 

Duo sat on the floor of his room, his legs tucked close to him, his hands clasped over his ears, and his entire body was tense. He could still hear the screaming, that horrible screaming… it reminded him of something from a long time ago… the screaming of parents and the smell of death. He thought he would be used to that smell by now, but he could never get over it. Strong arms and black wings wrapped around him.

Are you okay?

“No,” Duo muttered, shaking. “Why won't it stop?” Lucifer rested his head on top of Duo's and his black eyes narrowed in anger.

He has no right to make you do such things.

“Don't, Luc…”

No! He hasn't changed and He never will. We should leave, get you away from here-

“No!” Duo shouted, “I know you and He have history, but I can deal with this, I can!” Lucifer shook his head.

You're so stubborn, we're both are, I guess. I'm not giving up on you. Duo smiled

“Thank you.”

 

 

*****

 

 

One day, Abaddon, Astaroth, and Samyaza disappeared. It happened right after Abbadon and Samyaza had taken council with God. No one would talk about it, per God's orders, but they all knew that He was furious about something. Astaroth had always made Duo nervous with his odd, leering stares and Samyaza kept to himself all the time. However, Duo greatly missed Abbadon. While he did talk with the other Seraphim from time to time, it was Asmodai and Abbadon that he was good friends with. As always, it was Asmodai who had the answers to all of Duo's questions.

 

*****

 

“They fell,” Azzy said calmly, as though this was a common occurrence.

“Fell?” Asmodai smiled darkly.

“They needed to talk to Him. Abbadon disagreed about how God was dealing with the human souls. He believed that He was being to stern about those sent to the Underworld. He had become weary of his position, I'm sure you can relate.” Her stare was knowing. That was the thing about Azzy, she always seemed to know everything about him. Duo didn't respond to that, not wanting to talk about his feelings about his job out loud.

“Samyaza, on the other hand, much like your familiar,” she looked at Lucifer with a great deal of respect, “believed that angels should be treated the same as God. But, He does not take arguments from his servants. He cast them all out. As for Astaroth, well, there are rumors…” Duo leaned forward. Lucifer glared at her. Well, as much as a crow could glare.

Don't speak of things you don't understand. Duo looked at him in concern.

“I'll say what I like, Morning Star,” she said condescendingly. “Astaroth is Lucifer's son, with another fallen angel. Though, God does not know that. If he did, Astaroth would not be here. He probably followed Abbadon and Samyaza, or gave them a place to stay, who knows.” Duo stared at Lucifer, who turned his head away in shame. Duo felt betrayed. After all of this time, Luc had never mentioned a child. “There are rumors that Samyaza has a plan to create Heaven on Earth, though I doubt that he could ever accomplish that.” She sighed. “We'll just have to get used to the fact that they're never coming back.”

 

*****

 

“Why didn't you tell me?!” Duo yelled at Luc, who was in his humanoid form. They were alone in their room, neither of them wanting an audience.

There was a fallen angel named Lilith. We did not love each other, rather, we wanted to make God angry. When Astaroth was born, Lilith and he disappeared. When he showed up in Heaven, I was shocked. However, he is my son and I will not sell him out to God. Duo settled down at Lucifer's depressed tone.

“What do you think happened?”

There is a demon world, Hell, where all of the fallen angels go. With me gone, it is Astaroth's place to rule. He probably brought Abbadon and Samyaza there. They will be safe. Safer than the rest of us.

“Why, would God hurt them?” Duo asked, disbelieving that his Lord would hurt his own children, but he had seen what He did to humans who did not follow him, so why not angels?

“Fallen angels… if He finds them, He will exact the ultimate punishment.”

“He'll do what he did to you? Make them familiars?”

“No, Samael. He will rip out their wings, making them mortal, gouge out their eyes, carve the symbol of betrayal on them and display them for a lifetime. Disobeying God is a serious crime. I am the only fallen that was able to return to Heaven without facing this fate.” Duo was shocked. He had heard rumors of punishment for renegade angels, but he had never believed them.

“So… what do we do?”

Nothing. Nothing we can do. But, no matter how long Duo thought of that, he just couldn't accept it.

 

*****

 

Asmodai walked across the field, wildflowers unfolding in her steps. It was spring again, the time to come to Earth to insure that the flowers and harvests would be fruitful. But, in reality, she had no interest in her job anymore. It was only her. Asmodai mused that one of the perks of being an angel was that she could watch her for as long as she liked without ever being noticed.

Springtime in Ireland was the same as everywhere else. In the field of peach trees, blooming with ripe, orange-red fruit, small white flowers covered the ground. The girl, now a young woman of twenty-one, was dressed in a white dress and green apron that matched well with her eyes. Her name was Fiona and she had been recently married to young farmer. Asmodai did not know what his name was, nor did she wish to know. As she saw the two together, her heart ached. She had forgotten what that pain was like. She hoped that Samael would never know it, that if he did fall in love, he would find a way to be happy with it. But, they were angels, so it was quite impossible. She couldn't even touch the woman she loved. All she could do was watch Fiona intently as she went about her everyday chores. Asmodai wished she could live as simply as these humans. True, she had her duties just like them, but they could feel their emotions without fear, and some were not slaves. Asmodai wished she could feel the grass and flowers she had created with her power instead of merely watching them bloom and grow.

 

Asmodai had given life all over the world, had been doing so for longer than she would ever remember. She wondered if she had it in her to take life. She was no Angel of Death. She often wondered how Samael could stand it, the screams of his victims. But, she believed that she could. Really, it was easy enough to kill a creature, it was simply the aftermath that was difficult.

She watched, unseen as always, as Fiona's husband led a young, blonde girl to the shed. His name was Adam. It fit him, she thought, for Adam had also given up Eve for another woman, except this Adam's wife did not know about his betrayal. And she never would, Azzy would see to that. The beautiful, simple girl did not deserve such a swine of a husband, who slept with a different girl every week. Asmodai did not know if she could take a life, but by the end of the night, she would find out.

 

As Asmodai used her power to suck the life out of Adam's body, her only regret was that she would be leaving Samael all alone. She only hoped that the young angel would figure things out for himself and get out of his prison before he lost his sanity. She was not so far gone to realize the darkness that had gripped her. She had just ceased to care. Fiona's screams tore at her, but as much as that hurt her, a part of her felt too dead to watch her cry.

 

 

End Chapter 5