5 Ariuk #3
“Ariuk, you’ve been acting out ever since Uriel was punished.
There was much discussion on whether to assign you an additional mentor aside from Raphael but I don’t think that would be in your best interest,” Jophiel began but I called bullshit.
I had seen a handful of angels reassigned when needed. No one wanted me, plain and simple.
I didn’t understand why Raphael was absent though. Did he not want me anymore? Had he discarded me like everyone else had? I felt like he would have said something…
Jophiel continued, “Adding in your trips to the human plane, we just cannot let your insubordination of the rules continue. You disregard your manners. You avoid the other angels. And I’ve heard talk of you being rather rude to some individuals who used to be your friends.”
I clenched my fists as my blood boiled. Of course, everyone had changed the story to fit their narratives. I had to be the bad guy because Uriel, my father, had challenged god—allegedly. I still wasn’t sold on that shit yet.
Fighting against the perception wasn’t even worth it at this point.
If someone had wanted to give me a fair chance, they would have.
So, I just hummed my response, gesturing for them to go on.
Beneath the apathetic facade, I was shitting my pants though.
Who knew what these three were plotting to do with me?
Other than direct challenges to God like Uriel’s and Dante’s, punishments around here never amounted to much. Some of the angels were no longer allowed in certain gardens – ironic – or they could no longer play in the yearly games but there was no actual crime up here.
Which in my opinion, kind of made things boring.
And yes, that was one of the many reasons I enjoyed escaping to the human realm, filled with free will and chaos. Granted, crimes against the council sounded like it was dangerously close in severity to my father’s alleged crimes.
“Ariuk, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.
These are heavy claims against you.” Jophiel stated, the three archangels moving closer to my chair, until they were hovering over me.
Fear licked up my spine but it tangled with an emotion I wasn’t familiar with.
It felt warm and dark, if that were even possible.
It reminded me of the tangible entity that I had seen wrapped around Uriel moments before he was perished out of existence.
I leaned into it, confused when confidence replaced the fear.
This doesn’t feel angelic at all, I thought to myself.
I didn’t know why the entity was here now or what I was supposed to do with it since I was actively in the middle of being condemned by Jophiel and his clique. I thought about asking for Raphael but if I learned that he no longer wanted me, it might break me.
Realizing that I hadn’t answered, I managed a small shrug to cover up the building anxiety in my chest. Should I have probably tempered my snarky tone while talking to the ones deciding my fate?
Probably. But the confidence now swarming inside my chest was giving me two thumbs up and who was I to deny myself one last bit of snark before I was condemned?
“There’s nothing I’m going to say that’s going to change your mind.
I can beg for you guys to see it my way, but you’ve made up your mind.
I’m the problem and everyone else is perfect.
Why was I called in here anyway? Just for you to tell me how much I suck as an angel?
I get it. Everyone tells me all the time.
They tell me I should smile more. That I should engage more.
That I need to just give into Miel because you guys won’t recognize that we’re not a thing anymore.
But maybe, everyone’s not as nice to me as you think they are.
Maybe there’s a reason I work at golden gate #1 and it has nothing to do with being antisocial.
” My anxiety and that stupid confidence was taking over my mouth and I was going to pay for all of those words very soon.
Gabriel’s expression darkened, his wings snapping out and flapping furiously.
“How dare you speak to us like that? Uriel might have once been your mentor but the gratitude we once showed him is not extended to you. I can see that his evil has seeped into you. It is the only explanation for your attitude and the darkening of your wings.”
That hurt a little more than I wanted it to, knowing that the entire council knew about my black feathers. Still, maybe I’m just done playing with everyone’s shit.
Deciding to bite my tongue, I sighed and leaned back, waiting for whatever punishment they bestowed on me. So long as they didn’t require me to hang out with the others or marry Miel, I could endure anything else.
“Ariuk, we’re trying to work with you here.
We wanted an apology and a promise to correct your transgressions, but you don’t seem remorseful in the slightest. We cannot have that here.
” Gabriel glared down at me, shaking his head.
“We were trying to find a way to combat your future, but I think it’s for the best that you comply with it. ”
“Comply with what?” I glanced between the three of them, the confidence waning and returning to fear. “What the heck did you guys do?”
Michael leaned forward, patting my arm. It was meant to comfort me but it just freaked me out even more.
“Child, it is not what we did but what your mentor did. You see, Uriel had been working toward acquiring a mentee for hundreds of years. When he was finally granted that status, he was overjoyed. You were created for him, and we knew you were destined for great things.”
Gabriel sighed, dropping to his knees at my side. He was still taller than me even so. “We should have known but we didn’t see it until it was too late.”
“What was too late? What are you getting at?”
“Uriel wanted power, Ariuk. He needed strength to challenge God. He needed you.” They all waited for me to catch up, but I was so fucking confused.
“For what? Needed me for what? Stop fucking pausing and just spit it out!”
They glared at me for my use of foul language, language I had picked up on earth, but I didn’t care.
Jophiel took a deep breath and gave me a small smile.
It almost seemed sinister, but archangels couldn’t be evil.
It was in their job description or something.
Then again… Uriel was the prime example of why that wasn’t the case.
“Uriel needed leverage to gather enough power. It wasn’t enough that the transaction had a hefty price. He needed a soul.”
“No one deals in souls,” I blurted out. Except for heaven. I still couldn’t shake the slimy feeling of that last soul I had cleansed in the golden lake.
“Not here. Not in heaven,” Jophiel agreed.
My eyes widened at the mere thought that Uriel’s fatherly love had been an entire lie. I had been created to help him get a chance at God’s seat and he had failed? Oh that motherfucking, cocksucking, son of a-
“Ariuk, your soul is with the Devil,” They stated in unison.
I cried out at the sheer pain of knowing what my life would become.
A soul was my very essence, the very crux of my being.
Without it, I was nothing. “He sold my fucking soul to the Devil?” I screamed, shooting up out of my chair, wondering where that confident dark entity had run off to.
How dare it leave me to deal with my own emotions.
A firm hand forced me back down, Jophiel gripping my chin forcefully to meet his darkening hazel eyes. “Behave yourself.”
“No!” I spit at him, “You just told me the one thing I can’t repent for. My soul?” Tears streamed down my face, “That’s my everything.”
And the Devil himself was holding it. No wonder everyone thought I was so fucking evil.
Did they know or did they just assume? Was this why my wings were turning black? Was it why I enjoyed the debauchery and chaos of human folly over the divine gardens?
“Ariuk, we’ve tried bargaining, but he doesn’t like broken deals.”
“What does that mean?”
All three archangels stood up, their pearly white wings beating in unison three times before settling. Moments later, silence filled the room, a chill running across my skin.
“It means, you can’t stay here. Your place in heaven has been revoked. Ariuk, you and your soul belong to the Devil.”