16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Scotty
“It’s Uriel. He’s jealous of all of us.” Michael was adamant, and I’d like to say I agreed with him, but...
“I believe it’s Gabriel. He mentioned the upcoming vote for the head of the Celestial Council. I think he found out about Uriel’s affair with Nakir, and I believe Gabriel murdered Nakir and Tork to try to frame Uriel.”
Michael stared at me. “Why do you think Gabriel would...? He’s not aggressive at all, Scotty. Uriel would kill anyone who threatened him or his position on the Council. Gabriel would never kill an innocent like Nakir.”
I wasn’t surprised to get pushback from Michael. He disliked Uriel, just as many on the Council did. But, in my mind, Uriel wouldn’t kill a lover. He was a being who experienced emotions, and if he loved Nakir, he wouldn’t kill him. He’d be sad about the betrayal, but murder would never be a part of his agenda.
Gabriel, on the other hand, was an unsympathetic being. He had no emotions, but beneath the surface, he wasn’t perfect. He didn’t like Uriel. That much was easy to see if one opened their mind, but I could see Michael wasn’t there yet.
“Look. We have one shot. I corner Gabriel as Nakir when Gabriel is alone. I ask him why he killed me and see what he has to say. You’ll have to be nearby, but you don’t have to be seen. If we get a confession, then we can proceed to the Council. If we don’t, then you can destroy me and banish me to Hell. I won’t protest, and I won’t try to find a loophole.”
Michael stared at me. “How convinced are you that it’s Gabriel?”
“I want to be wrong, Michael, but—”
“Wait, is this a fight in the Celestial Realm? Tell me why this involves us?” It was Dash, and the protest didn’t surprise me. He was protecting Keir, and I couldn’t blame him. I’d protect my Jay the same way if given the chance.
I turned to Dash. “It involves you if there’s an uprising in the Celestial Realm as all Hell cracks open. This could be the end of all of us if we don’t figure it out.”
Keir choked on his margarita. “So, this is the beginning of the war?”
I wanted to tell my friend no . I wanted to say it was just a little dust-up between the realms, and humans would be just fine, but that might give them a sense of complacency, and we couldn’t afford to let our guard down, especially right now.
The truth was, none of us knew when the fight would begin. “I’m not sure, Keir. I just want to try to hold it off as long as I can. That’s why I want to try to see the reaction from Gabriel when I confront him...as Nakir.”
“So, you’re going to transform into the cherub and what?” It was a fair question from Dash.
“I’m going to ask Gabriel why he killed me and decapitated my lover, posting his head on the Gate to Hell. It should bring a reaction from him, don’t you think?”
Michael and Dash laughed at the same time. “You’re playing with fire, Scotty.”
“I’m in love with a prince of Hell, Dash. I must love the burn.”
The laugh from the collective audience was a bit hard to take, but I wasn’t leaving my demon behind.
“Well, we might as well go do this now.” Michael’s cell phone rang as he finished his drink. “Jophiel? What’s wrong?”
Their voice was frantic. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. If they were calling Michael, something terrible must have happened.
Michael hurriedly left the room, and I turned to Keir and Dash. “Who’s in the walk-in?”
“A ninety-five-year-old man named Burgess Kincaid. He’s being cremated tomorrow. We’ll drop him off at Steinbeck’s in the morning. We leave on Wednesday if the world doesn’t end tonight.” I could see Keir wasn’t joking.
“I don’t think it’s quite that bad. Probably something to do with closing the portals. Jo’s been working on it.” I glanced at them to see concerned expressions.
“Are they closing the one here?” Dash studied my face, so I knew I couldn’t lie.
“No. This is the only portal they want to leave open. They want to bring the fight here to you.” Keir nodded before wrapping himself around Dash, the two of them hugging.
Michael returned to the room appearing a little shaken. “Okay, Scotty, let’s go. We’ve got work to do.” He then turned to Dash and Keir. “Is anyone staying here while you’re gone on your vacation?”
“No. Should we ask someone to stay?” Dash’s eyes danced between Michael and me.
“I think Adonis should stay. He’s nearly impossible to kill and doesn’t spook easily. If the neighborhood kids see nobody coming and going, they might decide to break in and look around. That’s all you’d need.” I didn’t mention that we had no idea if anyone would come through that portal, so it would be best if an immortal was there to greet whoever did.
“Oh, I didn’t think about that. Great idea, Scotty. Well, let us know if there’s anything we can do for you guys before we leave. Don’t bother us until we return unless it’s time to fight.”
Dash was staring at me, so I gave him a grin. “Promise. Have fun, you guys.”
Michael and I went down the stairs as quickly as possible and through the portal in the receiving bay. When we stepped out on the other side, I grabbed his arm. “What did Jo want?”
“Nyx and her minions have disappeared.”
I stared at him, but Michael didn’t crack a smile. “Disappeared?”
He nodded. “They’re gone. Beelz called Jo. She’s on her way to Limbo. We need to get to the Celestial Realm now. We need to try to head off whatever this is.”
We discussed what each of us would do and went our separate ways. A weight was on my shoulders that I’d never imagined, but I had to be sure everything went smoothly. I didn’t have a lot of time to pull it off, but I was determined.
When I arrived outside the Council building, the butterflies in my stomach had changed into pterodactyls, and I didn’t see them calming anytime soon. The courtyard was filled with folks chatting, some sitting at tables and having coffee.
I ducked behind a white marble pillar and closed my eyes, picturing Nakir the last time I saw him. He was adorable, and my heart hurt that he’d been murdered. As Celestials, we were taught that life, any life, was a gift from the Creator and should be honored as such. How had the thirst for power become more important than honoring that gift? More importantly, how had that happened in the Celestial Realm?
I opened my eyes and was a little dizzy. My line of sight was much lower to the ground than it had been a moment ago. I glanced at my body covered in a Celestial robe. I touched my cherubic face to find it was the human face I’d seen on Nakir, not the lion, the ox, or the eagle they sometimes wore. I glanced down to see the hooves I expected, and I wiggled a little in my robe to feel two sets of wings on my back instead of my usual one.
“You can do this.” It was a little pep talk to myself because I was going in alone.
I stepped from behind the pillar, put my hands behind my back as I’d seen cherubs do, and slowly traversed the stairs on my much shorter legs.
“Nakir? Where’ve you been?” It was Chasan, the cherub who had told me Jay and I were rumored to have killed Nakir. If Chasan thought I was the cherub, I must have remembered him correctly.
“I’ve been trying to figure out how to get back.” Seemed like the best answer to give. Non-committal, but not a lie.
“Uriel—”
Suddenly, I was grabbed by my short hair and dragged down the hallway leading to the Celestial Chamber, where the Council convened daily. I couldn’t look up to see who it was, and as I was about to reveal myself, we ran into two Council members, one of whom was Gabriel. The other was Remiel.
“Oh! It’s back. Where was it? Did it run away after killing the demon?” Remiel asked.
“I didn’t kill Tork.” It was time for me to speak up.
“Rumors have circulated that the balanced pair made you kill the demon and put him at the Gate of Hell. How did you get in and out without being discovered?” Gabriel asked.
“Don’t answer their questions, Nakir. Go to my home and wait for me,” Uriel demanded, putting his hand on my back, and ushering me toward the exit.
Suddenly, Gabriel grabbed my arm and picked me up, tossing me over his shoulder. “You’ve been hiding him at your abode, Uriel. No wonder you wouldn’t let me in when I dropped by to walk with you to the Council meeting.”
Uriel stared at me before he turned to Remiel. “I don’t—didn’t have Nakir staying at my abode. He disappeared. I’ve been looking for him everywhere. When I couldn’t find him, I assumed he was eliminated and reported him as such. Someone murdered his lover, but it wasn’t me.”
Gabriel cleared his throat. “It had to be the cherub, of course. He then ran to keep from facing the wrath of Lucifer. We know they’d love to get their hands on one of the Celestials. We should turn him over and satisfy their taste for retribution.”
I decided it was now or never. “What if I tell them you killed my lover and put him at the Gate of Hell. That means you went down to the underworld on an unsanctioned visit. I saw you put his head on a spike.”
“Nakir, what do you mean you saw him?” Uriel asked.
“He’s a liar! Damn him to Hell!” I expected a protest from Gabriel—not from Remiel. Was it possible it was a conspiracy?
I gasped. “You helped him!”
Remiel grabbed me while Gabriel reached for Uriel. “We found you with the cherub and you were killing him.”
My head was twisted, so I closed my eyes and released the vision of Nakir, returning to my normal state—except I was naked because the robe was shredded. Eh, it wasn’t perfect.
I disregarded the order to never touch an Archangel unless invited and grabbed Remiel’s hand, twisting his arm behind his back. “You weren’t what I expected, Remiel. I knew Gabriel was guilty, but I can’t believe you worked with him to frame Uriel.”
Gabriel and Remiel both lunged at Uriel, but I stepped between them. “You will answer for your crimes.” Both laughed as Gabriel drew a sword and swung it toward my head.
I dodged to the right, and the sword came down on my shoulder, but I had Uriel behind me. I would die defending him, even though I didn’t like him. We defended the innocent, or so Jo had taught me.
Suddenly, the sky lit up and it began to rain—which was quite unusual for the Celestial Realm. I turned to Uriel and grabbed him with my left arm which I could still use. “What’s happening?”
“The Creator is crying for the deception by two of his trusted Archangels. And, Uriel, you know you broke the rules, so you will atone, but you two will admit your guilt to the Ruler of Hell.” It was Michael, and I was relieved.
“Took you long enough.”
Michael’s booming laugh broke the tension in my body. Four Celestial guards filed into the room and escorted Gabriel and Remiel from the hallway.
Michael turned to Uriel. “You need to go to the Creator and confess your actions. Do we know what happened to Nakir?”
“Only the Creator knows,” Uriel answered.
I was sad that perhaps Nakir had met his demise, but the fact that neither Gabriel nor Remiel had been surprised to see the cherub gave me a little hope that perhaps he still existed somewhere. As I studied Uriel, I could see he had hope, too.
Uriel left us alone, presumedly headed to meet with the Creator, so I took the robe Michael offered and covered myself. “You did an amazing job, Scotty.”
“How is Jay?” That was all I cared about. I understood that Heaven and Hell stood in the balance, but I was selfish.
“Let’s go to Limbo. Jo is meeting with them, but I got a message from a frantic cherub named Chasan that his friend was in trouble, so I came as quickly as I could. Who knew Gabriel and Remiel would collude? Well, it just goes to show you that we all have free will, and they wanted Uriel out as the Council leader. We are accountable for our decisions. Let’s get you some clothes.”
I nodded and started to follow Michael when something sunk in. “Wait! Are we going to Limbo? Will I get to see Jay?”
Michael nodded, and my heart began to gallop. I couldn’t ask for anything more than to see my mate. Maybe there was light at the end of the tunnel?
I sure as hell hoped so!