Chapter 24 #3
“First, I request that you take a more active role in my sister’s salvation. My family drops many hints, but I am feeling the need to be more direct about the matter.”
“Your family is being thwarted by the very Universe herself; it’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they can’t. And that seems to be rather vexing for them.”
I got the sense the archangel, hidden safely behind his shroud, nodded his agreement with my statement.
“This is correct. I have a better sense of who she is, where she is, and why the Universe masks her presence. It is not that the Universe wishes to bar us from assisting and preserving a member of our family. It’s that the Universe is masking her power, aiding our gambit to prevent the End of Days from happening in the first place.
The process of masking her power is why we are being blocked from accessing most information about her.
I have made better progress than my brothers, but not that much better. It is quite frustrating.”
I bet; the archangel had as much to lose as I did.
“You’re not making any offers beyond what I was already willing to do myself, so the first element of the bargain is easily met on my end.
I like living as much as you do. I’m going to guess there is a catch, and the catch is that this arrangement will last for however long I live, for better or worse. ”
“You are correct.”
“My house has plenty of space for her to stay if she needs a place to stay in the future.”
“It is less that she will need a place to stay but that she will be surrounded by the heavenly host and the forces of my brother’s many hells, and that is a lot for any soul to tolerate for long stretches.
She will need to deal with our family for the entirety of her natural lifespan and beyond.
Your home would become her sanctuary—and you will have the power required to safeguard her and keep even us at bay when she needs space to recover and thrive. ”
“Any stays lasting longer than a month will require the gift of a horse, chicken, or cow as an offering. You can deliver the bribe to my gates when she is in residence so that she is not disturbed.”
Some conditions were easier to meet than others.
The archangel laughed. “Easily done. I will grant you that concession.”
“All right. What is your second condition?”
“You will permit me to escort you to the valley again so that I might teach you to unlock the full potential of your power. This will allow you to shapeshift in full, taking on all traits of your chosen species, including weight. A year after your walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will help you train in how to shapeshift safely. You will need some time to fully recover after your walk.”
“I don’t have the energy to handle those transformations,” I replied in a regretful tone.
“Right now you do not, this is true. But your walk through the valley will gift you with everything you need—and it will allow you to finish cultivating the seeds you have planted within my father and brother. I offer my gratitude for your workings, by the way. My brother does not fully understand what you have done, only that he has found working his shrouds to be of more ease than before. You have not removed the necessity of the shrouds, but you have improved their effectiveness. And as for my father…”
I smiled a little, giving the archangel time to gather himself and find the words to express his true meanings.
“Hugh’s guilt was founded on another’s sin.
It meant having to accept that God is not and never has been a perfect entity.
Hugh is expected to be that perfect entity, but in reality, He is a father who loves His children and made a terrible and dreadful mistake, one that cost all His children a great deal.
I didn’t really do anything. Hugh did the hard work.
He accepted the mistake, He acknowledged the sin, and He offered forgiveness to all parts of Himself.
I just made the reality of the situation and the weave match.
As for your brother, that was easier. He hides that he is the Lord of the Morning underneath the darkness everyone believes he is.
He needed someone to rebalance his weave.
There was nothing actually wrong with his.
The strands were just in the wrong order is all. ”
“I do not think you appreciate the complexity of what you have done. Not even the Fates could have accomplished such a thing.”
In so many ways, I pitied the Fates, especially after learning they had been without free will or choice in their role in the past, present, and future along with life, death, and the many states between. “Would they have wanted to? Or have been willing to?”
“No.”
“If you feel it will help me finish what I started, I am willing to walk through the valley again. Just try not to traumatize my family and friends too much.”
“There will be a little trauma, but it will pass in time. One will be traumatized more than others, but that is part of the price. These things must come to pass for that bright future to grow.”
“All right. What is my timeline for my walk? I’m willing.”
“It will happen in time. You would have to make drastic alterations to your current course for you to step off this path. All I will be doing is making certain you walk through the valley again rather than pluck you out before you come too close to the boundary.”
Sneaky angel. “I see. You’re going to be stalking me so I do what you want.”
“Yes.”
I laughed. “Carry on, Gabriel. Death doesn’t scare me.
” Not anymore, at least. Even if I died, I understood my fate, and it would be love and light no matter which way I went.
Even sleep would be a paradise. “Should this backfire and I do actually die, you’re on the hook for my home and all my animals until their dying day. Of natural causes, of course.”
“I agree to these terms, but I am confident you will enjoy a pleasant stroll through the valley. You will be more pissed about the circumstances once you return from the valley, and I am of the belief you will be quite miffed you needed to leave the comforts of the valley and those keeping you company to return to the mortal coil.”
“I do have a tendency to be grouchy about almost dying.” I shrugged. “I’m sure anyone stuck with me can deal with it. And if they can’t, well, that’s their problem. What is your third requirement?”
“When you decide to wed, and one day, you will, you must throw a most extravagant ceremony so I can attend. I do love weddings.”
Selfish angel. I scowled. “Some women like the pomp and circumstance, but I am not one of them.”
“I know. That is why the third condition is actually one that will cost you, at least a little. In pride, mostly. How dare society indicate that you must become a pretty for your future husband to visually devour on your wedding day? Your future husband will be made appealing so you can visually devour him in case that helps.”
I thought about that. “I accept your terms conditional to you coercing Darlene into helping with everything. I might be an excellent secretary, but I am not a wedding planner.”
“No coercion will be required, I assure you.”
“I will not like that part, but I do agree to it.”
“Excellent. Go blow your nose, wipe your eyes, and leave me to tend to your beasts. I will text the information for the dinner reservation to your phone. Transportation will be provided, as will appropriate apparel. That is only fair as I am the one inconveniencing you.”
“You’re hardly inconveniencing me, especially considering what you’re doing to help these poor horses. Also, why isn’t conveniencing a word? It should be a word.”
“Humanity is selfish, that is why. Were people more concerned with being a convenience to others rather than focusing on how others inconvenience them, the world would be a much better place.”
That it would be. “I hate how true this is. Well, it should be a word, so I’m going to start using it until someone decides it is a word. Convenience is a real word, so I am of the opinion that conveniencing should also be a word.”
“I wish you the best of luck on your quest to cajole humanity into changing words for your amusement. You will need it.”