Sariel put down the last of his journals on the pile next to her, her hand shaking slightly as she wiped away stray tears.
She had lived a lie her entire life. If the journal was to be believed, then Heaven was built on lies, pride, and blood. Even if only half of it was true, then the history of Heaven she had been told was nothing like the truth.
Heaven had existed before the Angels, being made by the Primordial Gods and Goddesses of Air and Sky. Their children, the Gods, had come into their inheritance as the Primordial Gods had disappeared one by one. They ruled Heaven and Earth as they saw fit. The Angels had been their servants but more shockingly their bastard offspring. All Angels were descended from the Gods.
Whose bloodline ran in her veins? Would she ever know now that all the Gods had been killed or imprisoned in the Underworld?
That was another shocking fact. The Gods had not all been killed, the Rulers of the Underworld had been trapped within their own domains, and many other Gods drained of their Lifeforce and thrown into either Hell or Tartarus.
Heaven was not of the Angels’ creation, and neither was Eden. Heaven was the creation of the Sky Gods and their brethren, the beauty worked upon by generations of immortals- Primordial Gods, Gods, Angels, and Nymphs. They had been born to it, just like the Sky Gods. As for Eden that had belonged to one of the Mother Goddesses as a meeting place for their kind, for them to share experiences. It had once been a place of creation, now it was hidden away by the Angels.
More shocking were the Angels’ religions on Earth. They did not follow the Angels, they followed a non-existent God. An omnipotent God, who saw all. Little did the Humans know that God was an acronym for Governance Over Divine, the initial title for the Governing Council. She wondered how Humans would feel to find out they did not have an all-powerful God looking out for them but a bickering mass of Angels. God’s messengers. How had Gabriel put up with that for so long?
Lucifer had once been an Arch Angel, which wasn’t really surprising. He had tested the faith of Humanity along with Samael, her own father. Why had no one told her that he was the Serpent from the Garden of Eden? The Serpent Crest was originally her father’s, Lucifer had adopted it from him. Both of them had been ambassadors to the Gods from their faction, the faction calling loudest for peace with the Gods. He had written of his hope for a new future alongside the Gods. His vision for a brighter future of greater understanding where magic would once again flow freely across the world and her realms had made her eyes water.
Alas, Gabriel had been his loudest opposition, calling for the war effort.
His last entries had been about his increasing worry and anxiety about his sister. His very last entry had mentioned being summoned before her. There were no more entries afterwards.
Curious she picked up the duster and headed back towards the desk. As she was approaching, she detoured hearing voices. Michael was interrogating Patrick in the middle of the main aisle. She wondered if Michael could see the desk from where he stood, that might explain why Patrick looked so agitated.
Patrick’s eyes fell on her, and relief swept through him.
“Sariel, why are you in the library, you were assigned to Mary for cleaning duties,” Michael asked without even looking at her.
“But I am on cleaning duties, I’m cleaning the shelves. I’ve been dusting all day.” Michael glanced at her taking in her bedraggled appearance. Reading through the journals had covered her in dust. It coated her from head to foot. Patrick was relieved that she not only looked like she had been cleaning but looked the worse for wear for it.
Michael turned back to Patrick “Make sure she doesn’t stop while she is here. She is here to clean not dawdle.”
Bowing he said, “Of course, Arch Angel” To Sariel’s surprise he cast a glare after Michael as he left.
They both remained silent until they heard the scrape of the doors signalling that Michael had left.
“Are the journals true?” she asked rounding on him.
“More truthful than anything you will have read or been told. This is why the Archives are limited to only the Elder Angels and a few select Ascended.”
“Which select few?” she asked, though she had a sneaking suspicion.
“The Ascended that have been unwavering in their support of Gabriel and Michael throughout their rise to Arch Angel. Or those that do not baulk at the tasks set them. Myself and Mary were assigned to our positions by the Old Council and the new one sees no reason to remove us.”
“What really happened? How did Lucifer Fall from Heaven?”
Patrick’s brown eyes were filled with sorrow. “Gabriel. She cast him out of Heaven. He had nearly completed negotiations of peace between the Gods and Angels. He had single-handedly offered a way to end the War and stop the centuries of conflict. But Gabriel charged him with High Treason and cast him from Heaven. He was ensorcelled to prevent him ever rising up against Heaven.
He has never been heard of since. For well over a thousand years no one has seen any trace of him. The Angels made the final push, and the last of the Gods were driven into Hell, and in some cases Tartarus. Since then there has been hardly any trace of them. There has always been the occasional Pagan group worshipping one of the Gods from time to time, but the Gods have not been felt on the Earth in a long, long time.”
“Until recently,” Sariel countered. “Once again Heaven is talking of another cleansing. But if the Pagan groups have been around for so long then why now?”
“Humans, and other mortals. Their beliefs give both the Gods and Angels strength and power. The power base Heaven needs to have supremacy relies almost entirely on Human belief with a small amount of Jinn. It is why the lands of God have always felt the need to spread their message into other lands. But now Humans are turning away from the Angelic religions in droves, seduced as the Council would say, by science. But science is not the only culprit, though it is one of the main reasons in the Western World. People are converting to the ever-growing abundance of New Age Religions and beliefs which are a resurrection of forgotten Gods and rites.
The Human world is changing beyond Heaven’s ability to control it. Thus, Heaven’s power is undermined, and the Elder’s powers weakened. That is why you as an Elder are so important to their plans.”
“And just what are their plans?” she asked.
“To bring about the Apocalypse again and force the Human world to heel. When the planet is scarred once more, then the Humans will fear Heaven for a long time.”
She shook her head in horror. The Apocalypse? That couldn’t be? Even she knew that the Old Council had declared that it never be used again. Its effects were uncontrollable, and the Angels were not immune to its destructive power. It had killed off a great deal of the Old Council, prompting their banning of it. It had killed off her parents, how could Michael even consider using it?
She backed away from Patrick very afraid of what he might have to say. Turning on her heels, she ran out of the Archives.
Patrick watched her go, she would be back. She had to, but the seeds had been sown, she would hunger for the journals of other Angels. She would no longer trust Michael and Gabriel, and in her desperation, she would turn to either Mary, John, or himself. And once she did then the truth would no longer be hidden.
In the early morning, as the purple was being lined with streaks of pink and orange, Sariel made her way back to her rooms to find both Gabriel and Michael waiting for her. She was barely in the door before they both began yelling at her.
“Where have you been?”
“I was in the tower.”
That stopped them momentarily. It was clear they had feared she had left the palace, the fact she had not seemed to placate them massively. A new voice in her wondered the real reason they didn’t want her leaving the palace. Why did she suddenly think there was another reason?
“We were worried sick about you, you didn’t turn up to your morning lesson,” her brother said as he wrapped his arm around her. It had been a long time since her brother had shown any sign of affection to her.
Sariel turned to look at him haughtily. Michael suppressed a smile, he could see the similarity to Gabriel in that action. “When did I have to report day and night what I am doing? I needed to be alone and think?”
“You don’t even have the common decency to turn up to our lessons when we go out of our way to train you,” Gabriel yelled before Michael shushed her.
Sariel didn’t know who was more surprised, her or Gabriel. He never told Gabriel to be quiet.
“What did you need to think about, Sariel,” he asked kindly. She hadn’t seen this side of him in a very long time. She gave in and leant into his embrace.
“I was thinking about the War, the Fall, and how important my place is here in Heaven and the responsibilities that I have.”
That stunned them both, even Gabriel smiled at her.
“That is surprisingly mature of you, Sariel, it is pleasing to see you embracing your responsibilities. Perhaps this means we can get past all this petty fighting and return to our normal relationships. I hate having to baby you, Sariel, I’d rather have my sister with that sharp mind she used to have.”
“In the future, Sariel, please let us know where you are. We were worried.” Sariel nearly collapsed from shock when Gabriel said it and was even more shocked when she gave her shoulder a squeeze.
Sariel smiled at them both as they rose and left the room hand in hand. But as soon as they had left, she ran over to her door and opened it a crack. Sure enough, she could hear their whispering.
“This is a good thing, Gabriel, she is finally seeing what we have wanted her to see for centuries. She is starting to accept her roles. If she continues, she can be handled better, she can be distracted with visiting the Citadel or something else as a token of our trust.”
“She cannot stray too far from the Palace or the spell will weaken. We cannot risk that,” she hissed in response.
“We have to do something. Otherwise, she will revolt or run away. Then we would have a whole new set of problems.”
Their whispers trailed away as they walked down the corridor. She closed the door again. Spell? What spell? And what would happen if it weakened? What did the spell do? Sariel wondered, but she had no idea, though her imagination ran wild with Heaven falling out of the sky.
Intrigued she decided to head back to the archives. Michael and Gabriel had far too many secrets, and while they may not be the same as what Lucifer or Patrick alluded to there was still something they were hiding.
She was going to find out what it was.
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