Page 16 of Light

She left the room.

Gabriel paced, bare feet slapping against marble as he strode back and forth, wishing he could shut it off for a while—close his eyes as the humans did and go to sleep.

He could, of course, place his body in a form of stasis. Something rarely done, but for those tempted by desire, loss or longing, there was an option. It was meant to stave off a fall. Meant to ensure seraphim had another choice, one that didn’t end in darkness and the absence of their Father’s love.

He brushed the thought aside, resuming pacing. He needed a mission—something to take his mind from the woman and thoughts of what could be. Marching out of his room, he stopped at the arched door frame of Chamuel’s room and knocked. A golden-haired man rose, draping himself against an arch.

“Gabriel, you look divine as always.”

Gabriel raised a brow, peering around Pierre. “Is Chamuel here?”

Pierre turned to look behind him and seemed just as surprised as Gabriel to find he was alone. He shrugged. “It appears he is not.”

Gabriel scowled, backing out of the doorway and stopping in front of Michael’s door. “Michael?”

The angel looked up from his easel, giving him a bored smile. “I’m not interested in going on one of your missions to save the humans, Gabriel.”

“I had hoped to join you on one of yours,” he said, realizing the futility of asking Michael for anything as the words left his mouth.

Michael sighed. “I have no mission at present.”

Of course he didn’t. His time on Earth had long passed, and in his glory, he had been awarded a reprieve from further tasks.

The next several rooms were empty; most of his siblings were likely on the mortal plane. There were so many wars, famines, and political intrigues of late; it was a wonder he hadn’t been called to some greater purpose. But he had been tasked with wiping nasdaqu-ush from the Earth at the dawn of their creation, and as he’d yet to succeed in fulfilling that task, it remained his only assignment.

When he reached Uriel’s room, he knocked at the edge of a marble arch and waited as the pair drifted to the door, hands clasped. Something terrifyingly close to jealousy stirred in Gabriel. He shoved it down, forcing a bland smile onto his face.

“Uriel, I hoped to unburden you for a time. I am in search of a mission. Shall I take yours until you’ve settled into your new life?”

Uriel grinned sheepishly, giving his full attention to Henry. “Raphael has taken my mission,” he said.

Gabriel ground his teeth. “Very well.” He turned around, not waiting to hear more from the couple whose newly radiant haloes were jarring in their intensity.

After several more failed attempts, he found himself standing at the top of a great marble staircase. Below, hills sloped into an expansive distance. Dotted between the greenery were glowing orbs of light. They speckled the landscape, appearing as millions of tiny stars winking lazily among fields upon fields of green.

He wasn’t sure why he’d come to the humans’ domain. He rarely did, having so little interest in them. Today, something had called him, beckoning him to witness. This was where Adalaide would go when she died. Her soul would travel through the pearly gates and find its place among the others, drifting below. If…

He didn’t finish the thought.

Seraphim couldn’t communicate with the souls of humans, couldn’t truly say whether they preferred this state of being to their human one, but it was where they would remain until the battle at the end of times reclaimed the Earth for Alaxia or failed.

They would remain in spirit form until they were ushered into a new era where planes collided, becoming one, and all their souls found solace in the new bodies their Father would create for them. When evil, death, and suffering were wiped from that plane, human souls would be given utopia.

But what if seraphim weren’t welcome in that new paradise? Surely, their Naphil would stay with them. It was just another reminder that tethering her soul to his would mean suffering whatever fate awaited him and his brethren.

With new resolve, he marched toward the hall of chambers.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Dina said, racing to his side.

Gabriel continued on his path, now more determined to leave Adalaide to whatever fate would release her from his grasp.

“I’ve seen Sanura. She’s in Egypt, creating more of her creatures. She is building an army. I killed several, but I need you.”

It was perfect. Just what he needed to distract him from her. “Let's go,” he said, pulling out his sword.

They landed atop a stone and clay building as Gabriel ran a finger down the sword, setting it alight. A sandstorm whipped around them, obscuring their view and making it impossible for the humans to see them in solid form.

Screams rang out as creatures, too fast for the humans to escape, darted between buildings, wreaking havoc. A child dropped her blanket and turned in the whipping sand to grab it. A creature with glowing yellow eyes snatched the child by the hand, dragging her into the dark.

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