Chapter 12 #2
All this fuss over someone who wasn’t in their midst?
He didn’t know who he resented more: the Creator, the only one who knew all, for vanishing without clarifying all, or the Council and the instructors for propagating the belief that He was yet making all the decisions behind the scenes.
They’d held His name over Luc’s head for his entire existence, telling Luc the Creator had great plans for him, when the reality was the Creator couldn’t care less.
If only Luc could rearrange buildings with a flick of his wrist, he would give the Creator a piece of his mind.
Hadri produced a folded parchment from his pocket and opened it.
“Bring me a candle from along the wall there.” He indicated the wall by their entry point.
Luc acquiesced with a sour twist of his lips.
“I don’t understand,” he remarked, handing Hadri the candle. “If the Creator has abandoned us, why do we revere Him? Why bother speaking His name at all?” His tone was acrid, and he expected Hadri to reprimand him again, but the old architect only nodded.
“An excellent question. Do you see this list?” He held up the parchment, and Luc realized it was a list of supplies for an addition to the Lessons Hall.
“These are the supplies we need for our current architectural projects, along with instructions as to where the supplies should be delivered. Each member of the Council is in charge of delivering their own lists to this chamber after every meeting.” Hadri indicated the other entry points spread around the chamber’s perimeter.
He placed the list in the brass bowl and set flame to it, and the parchment disintegrated into sparks, then vanished completely into the darkness above them.
“We revere the Creator,” Hadri explained, “because our continued existence depends upon it. We cannot summon supplies for ourselves. We do not have His power. And the borders of our world are not impregnable. The Void presses in on us at all sides. Without the Creator’s protection, we would be powerless.
Everyone knows this. So we keep His absence a secret because knowledge of it would send our entire community into a panic.
And we keep this chamber a secret because we do not wish to test the limits of the Creator’s good will toward us.
In this spot, you can ask for anything your heart desires, and if the Creator wills it to be, He will make it so. Just like that.”
Hadri snapped his fingers.
“Can you imagine what would happen if the average angel knew of this place? The Creator would be overwhelmed with trivial requests. He might choose to leave us based on that alone. You asked for the purpose of the Council. It is this: we deliberate among ourselves what to ask for and when to ask for it. The lower councils send us requests, and we decide how best to present them before the Creator or whether to present them at all. And yes, we tell them the decision came from the Creator because without His backing, what real power would our words have?”
Hadri sighed and shook his head.
“Frankly, I hate the whole business. I do wish this power, this access to Him, could be distributed somehow. I don’t enjoy lying to my friends, and I didn’t enjoy lying to you.
” He put a hand on Luc’s shoulder. “For that, I am sorry. But I’ve never been able to come up with a better way of doing things.
I can’t think of a satisfactory solution.
Perhaps you will.” He smiled, and Luc felt the weight of it.
“I have full confidence.” He patted Luc’s shoulder, and Luc eyed him with suspicion.
If his thoughts had been confused before, now they were brimming over with befuddlement.
“Is that my purpose?” he asked. “To come up with a solution?”
At once, Hadri’s seriousness departed; he broke into a full, hearty laugh.
“By the aether, no,” he promised, but his laughter was no comfort to Luc.
“Hadri,” he urged, gripping the architect’s arms, “what did you see in my vision? You saw it, didn’t you? You said yourself that the entire Council sees them.”
Hadri sobered, apology creeping into his gaze.
“The Council sees all and is sworn to silence. I cannot tell you. I am sorry.”
“Hadri, please! I swear, I won’t tell anyone.”
“I believe you, but I cannot. We must let events take their natural course.”
“You believe that? You? What about all those inventions of yours? You mean to tell me all of those were Council-approved?”
“Of course not. Most members add personal items to their lists from time to time, but—”
“Then tell me what the Council wants from me!” Luc flung his arms wide. “Why am I here?!”
Why had he been sequestered in the Library, hounded by instructors, and paraded around by Council and council members alike his entire existence? He had no true friends but Hadri—not that he’d wanted them, not often anyway. What did it mean? He didn’t understand, and he feared he never would.
“I won’t tell you because it doesn’t matter,” Hadri noted, his gentle tone grating. “It doesn’t matter what the Creator wants from you, what the Council wants from you. It doesn’t matter what your vision is.”
“I thought that was the only thing that mattered! It’s what I’ve been told my entire existence!”
“Well, forget what you have been told! Forget everything!” Hadri snapped. It was the first time he’d ever raised his voice to Luc, and he stepped back as soon as he’d said it, red-faced.
“I’m sorry,” Hadri amended. “It’s just…” He gestured to Luc. “You are here. You have the most power you can have as an angel, and you can do anything with that power, whatever you wish to do. What is inside of you will determine your destiny more than anything I could tell you.”
Luc frowned. He felt that Hadri was trying to pacify him with a bunch of pretty words, and he wanted to be angry with him for that. But Hadri was his friend, and the earnestness in his eyes hovered between apology and concern. Perhaps Hadri wanted to tell Luc but felt he could not. Perhaps Michael…
Hadri wouldn’t upset the status quo.
“I understand.” Luc forced himself to relax, though his voice still held a bitter edge. “Forget I asked.”
“It’s all right.” Hadri held up his hands. “Say, I know what will cheer us up. Have you visited your house yet? I went by there earlier, and I believe it’s almost finished. Furnishings and all!”