10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Scotty
“Why am I behind bars?” I would continue to shout until I had no voice left.
What had I done wrong? Why would I be jailed? What the fuck was going on?
A Celestial guard stepped in front of the cell. “Shut up. Nobody is going to help you. You broke the rules.”
Uriel stepped beside him, a smirk on his pinched face. I wished to hell I could choke him. His smile fueled my anger to the point I was raging.
“Hello, Scott Locke. You never belonged in the Celestial Realm in the first place. Jophiel and Michael had an unnecessary sympathy for your plight, but I knew you were unworthy of being here. I knew you were just a street rat. You killed a man and wounded another during your human life. You got away with it then, but you still ended up dead because you were nothing. You’ve just proven it to everyone.
“I was pressured to exalt you to a level you shouldn’t have been because of your past, and you made a mockery of the Celestials’ faith in you by killing the cherub, Nakir. Now, you will pay.”
“Uriel. What’s going on?” It was Gabriel, of all people. His face was filled with anger I couldn’t decipher.
“I’m here to check on Alba Protectoris. He came before the Celestial Council and was deemed more than worthy of elevation. You were the only Arch that fought against it. Now, he’s in jail. Why?”
Suddenly, Uriel began pacing and yelling at Gabriel, bringing more Archs into the jail. When Michael came in and saw me behind bars, he didn’t appear to be happy.
“Why is Scott Locke behind bars?” Michael asked as he stepped forward. He snapped his fingers and motioned for a guard to step closer to him. He jerked the keys from the guard’s grip.
Michael opened the door and extended his hand for me to step out. The cuffs on my wrists fell to the floor with a loud clank, and I stepped outside the bars and was pulled into Michael’s arms. I sobbed for the first time since my life went to Hell.
“You’re okay now, Scotty. We’ll get to the bottom of this together.” Michael took my hand, ignoring Uriel’s loud protestations as we walked away.
Michael led me out of the Justice Center and through the streets until we arrived at a small condo on the garden level of a building reserved for high-ranking Celestials to reside. “It’s not much, but it’s mine. Come inside and let’s talk.”
With a nod of appreciation, I followed Michael inside. I needed help, and hopefully, he had some answers.
We sat at the small table on the back porch of Michael’s residence. After a few minutes of silence, Michael sat forward and patted my arm. “Please tell me what happened.”
“Jay and I were ordered to find a cherub and a lesser demon who had broken into one of those empty condos being built behind Club Limbo. When we found them, they told us they were in love and were only looking for somewhere to spend time. We didn’t want to cause them any more problems, so we reported that they were playing a prank, that we’d spoken to them, and they’d vowed not to do it again.
“I guess we were saps because we didn’t destroy them. We took their word that they’d walk away from each other, and we moved on to our next assignment." That was it, in a nutshell.
"Which cherub was it?" Michael clasped his hands on the table.
“It was Nakir. I believe he was Uriel’s assistant. We didn’t kill him, Michael. Rumors are going around that Nakir was killed by Jay and me, but he was one of the cherubs who attended the Creator. We didn’t feel his offense was worth his elimination. I suppose love makes everyone its fool.”
Michael chuckled. “Uriel aspires to be at the left hand of the Creator, but it hasn’t happened in millennia. The Creator doesn’t need the personal touch, so he lends his attendants to those of us on the Council, and we basically give them something to do. I don’t take advantage of the program, but those like Uriel believe it sets them above the rest of us to have cherubs at their disposal.”
I seriously gave two shits less about any of that. “How can I get back to Jay? I’ll renounce my—”
“Don’t say it!” Michael reached up and put his hand over my mouth.
“Heed my warning. There are always listeners, Scotty. We might be in the Celestial Realm, but there are still those looking to get ahead. In that way, we are much like the underworld. Your shortcomings are another being’s leg up.”
“How are we supposed to be better than the dark lighters if there’s so much animosity among our kind. Maybe Uriel is right and I shouldn’t even be in the Celestial Realm. I’ve made mistakes, Michael." Thinking back on what I did by killing Billy and wounding his lover, I probably hadn’t deserved the second chance I’d been given.
“Scott, you were driven to do what you did by jealousy. You cared about Billy, and he betrayed you. Human nature pushes humans to seek revenge for being hurt. Your life shows that you were a good person aside from one impulsive act. You were worth a second chance.” I truly appreciated Michael’s kind words.
“I have a question for you. What happens if one of you guys makes a mistake? I mean, an Arch. You have rules, right? Do you have revenge impulses?”
Michael stared at me for a moment. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
“You weren’t human, right? You were created to be a helper to the Creator. Do you have impulses like humans?”
He seemed to consider what I’d asked. “Yeah, I guess we do. What’s your point?”
“Well, what if one of you had a relationship with a cherub and you found out they cheated. If you killed them in anger, would you be punished? Is it wrong for your kind to kill someone for revenge?”
For a minute, I was worried he’d kill me for even asking because his face seemed to contort from wanting to laugh to pure rage. Michael sprang to his feet and thrust his arms high in the air before he began dancing around his small back patio. He was still dressed in his Celestial robe, and I couldn’t help but laugh as it flowed around him. He appeared to be filled with happiness.
“What’s going on?” The suspense was killing me.
“I may finally get a wish to come true. Stay here and don’t answer the door. Feel free to rest if you’d like. I’ll be back.”
Without another word, the Arch shot into the sky and was gone.
His offer of a place to rest was tempting. I was bone-weary, and closing out the world for a while offered a respite from my troubles, so I went inside and sacked out on his couch. Maybe I’d wake in an hour or so to find it was all a bad dream? I certainly hoped so.
Maybe my sweet demon would be lying by my side in our home. That would be my wish come true.