Chapter 34
Present Aeon
All of Heaven seemed to be in the Banquet Hall for the continued feasting, Lila’s group included: Beni, Castor, Eva, even Adrianna.
Under the vaulted stone ceilings and the light shafting through the stained-glass windows that lined half the room, the angels feasted on savory pies and stews, sweet breads and cakes, nuts and fruits.
When they’d come in, Castor and Beni had sat down next to each other at one short oak table, and Lila had sat at the table’s head.
This left Eva to take the seat next to Lila, across from Castor, and Adrianna to take the seat across from Beni.
To their left and to their right, angels greeted and jostled one another; they shouted and laughed at the long tables that characterized most of the vast room, but the mood at Lila’s small table remained subdued.
Even Beni, taking the hint from the rest of the group, picked at the flaky crust of his bean pie.
“So,” he attempted, “did you all go to a couples’ thing without me? Or have you been doing couple things without me?” Beni grinned.
“Oh, honestly!” Eva exclaimed. “Does your mind always have to go there?”
“Hey, I’m just asking! Everyone’s obviously pissed at each other.”
“Everything’s fine, Beni. Eat your food.” This came from Adrianna.
“Everything’s fine?” Eva snapped. “That’s what you have to say? This is the first time we’ve eaten together since—”
“I told you I’d explain everything soon.”
“Soon? When is soon? No. This has been going on long enough, and I demand to know what you’ve been up to or else I’ll…I’ll…”
“Eva, shut up, will you?!” Castor groused. “Not everyone wants to hear your high-pitched whining all the time. No wonder Adrianna leaves. She’s probably sick of hearing it after an aeon.”
“Hey!” Lila jabbed her knife at Castor. “You better watch your mouth when you’re speaking to her.”
“Or what? You gonna tell your little friend? Is he going to punish me from his position on the—Oh, wait. He’s not there anymore.”
“You know what? Maybe I will. And I have news for you.” Lila tipped her chair back and gave him an icy smile, a cool stare. “You were right. We were more than friends during lessons. You might even say we were friendly.”
Castor’s face darkened.
“How dare you.”
“Oh, yes. I would dare. You might have put your hands all over my things, but you don’t know where my hands have been, and you never will.”
Castor shoved up from the table.
“Who do you think you are? Huh? Without me, you wouldn’t exist. You owe me.”
“You’re wrong. Without the Creator, I wouldn’t exist. He made me the same as He made you. The only difference is I can do more with half a soul than you ever could with a whole one.”
“You don’t have your own soul, Lila. You’re not a real angel.”
“You can’t talk to her like that!” Eva shot out of her chair.
“You never would have made it out of lessons if it weren’t for Lila!
I know why the Creator gave you a partner, Castor.
Because you’d be useless without one!” Reaching across the table, she shoved Castor’s chest, and he stumbled back, eyes wide with shock.
The veins in his neck bulged as his skin turned red with outrage.
“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.” Beni threw up his hands. “Let’s everybody calm down.”
The tables nearest to them had begun to pay attention to the argument, but Lila couldn’t bring herself to care. She was tired. She was done.
“What’s with you?” Castor snapped at Eva.
“What’s with me is you’ve always treated Lila like she’s beneath you.”
“Oh, I promise, she’s been beneath me many times,” Castor sneered.
“Wow, I never would have guessed. I just assumed you’d make her do all the work.”
“Worry about your own house, Eva. Just because you’re not getting any—”
“Guys, where’s Adrianna?” Beni frowned, looking around.
They all glanced at the empty seat Adrianna had recently occupied. The secretive angel had disappeared right under their noses while they’d been arguing among themselves.
Suddenly, from the front of the hall, there came a loud whistle. Demands for silence ensued, and everyone quieted, raising their cups in anticipation of a toast.
Castor bristled but sat, and Eva followed him, scowling.
Lila stared at her half-eaten pie, hoping the toast wouldn’t take long so she could leave with some of her dignity intact.
She could feel everything she’d never said to Castor bubbling to the surface, and if she stayed near him much longer, it was going to explode out of her like a lessons experiment gone wrong.
The three of them—Castor, Eva, and Lila—surveyed each other with unspoken insults until a deep, familiar voice boomed in greeting at the front of the room. When Lila looked up, she saw Astaroth, head of the architect council, speaking from the hall’s ornamented wooden dais.
“Friends and fellow workers,” he began, “I myself am a common artisan like you.” As he said this, Astaroth gestured to his layered cream and gold robes, which were anything but common, having been woven with precious stones throughout.
Gold makeup shimmered in striking designs on his tan face, and gold beads accented the long locks of his black hair.
A great orator, Astaroth was known for his lengthy and rousing speeches during banquets.
Lila thought he could be overly dramatic and had no true understanding of architectural subjects, but crowds loved him.
She would have looked away and tuned him out, but a flash of topaz caught her eye. For there, poised stoically beside the dais, stood Adrianna, her old necklace winking in the light and a sword at her waist that Lila swore had not been with her earlier.
Lila’s heart sank to her stomach, its emptiness a hollow that could swallow her up. Dread plucked at her, and she froze.
Was it now? Were they planning to overthrow the Council now?
Lila glanced around the hall, noting, for the first time, that the heavy oak doors had been shut. Before the doors stood warriors, but also…angels she knew were not warriors, bearing swords.
Like Adrianna.
Lila swallowed. Her heart pounded in her ears.
When Adrianna had approached her, she’d made it sound like the dissatisfied faction would attack the Council directly. Lila hadn’t thought anyone else would be involved.
But none of the Council members were present at this gathering.
What were they planning by locking so many angels in the hall? She didn’t like it. But nobody else appeared to notice, distracted as they were by Astaroth’s shining presence and seductive words.
“Yes, I am like you,” Astaroth continued, with a smile more ominous than cordial.
“Yet I have been privileged to remain by the highest Council’s side for such a time as has allowed me to be present for many of the Council’s decisions regarding our governance.
” He paused. “They like to pretend that the Creator is behind these decisions, that He is involved in each and every detail of your existence. But where is the Creator? Hmm? Have any of you seen him? Friends, it’s been several aeons since He walked among us.
And now, He has created a new world. With new creatures to attend to.
Yes, I think it is quite clear. He has abandoned us! The Council is feeding you lies!”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Nearby, Lila heard rumblings of both assent and dissent.
“Lila, what’s happening?” Eva asked, her voice quivering. “Why is Adrianna up there?” She pointed.
Lila opened her mouth, but no words came out. She knew everything; she knew nothing; what could she say?
“Yes! You have been lied to!” Astaroth held up a scroll.
“I hold in my hand a missive written by the Council scholar, Raziel—you all know him—stating that not only has the Council not physically met with the Creator in over four aeons but that the majority of the decisions that affect us are not even brought before Him. These are clear instructions regarding the types of requests that the Creator should receive and the types of decisions that the Council will make on their own. Without oversight from the Creator…or from us.”
The noise in the hall steadily increased. Some angels stood and called for Astaroth to step down, to be reasonable. Others pulled those same angels back into their seats, demanding that the truth be made known.
“And what of the recent increases in protective measures?” Astaroth bellowed over the clamor.
“Michael knows he cannot control us forever. That is why he is building an ever stronger warrior force. The watchtowers—what are they for? To spy on us. To keep us in our places. To keep us from gathering and questioning.”
“Hey guys, he must be drunk.” Beni chuckled, but it was half-hearted. His face gave away his fear.
Other angels had started to notice the armed guards posted in front of the doors. A few tried to leave, but the guards shoved them back.
“What’s more, what’s more,” Astaroth continued, “you all know Master Lucifer, who is being held captive in his own home. But do you know the real reason for his captivity?” The last word thundered throughout the hall.
“He is being silenced for threatening to uncover the Council’s deceptive practices and questionable intentions. ”
Lila raised her eyebrows at the blatant falsehood.
Anyone who believed Luc cared about the plight of the common angel did not know him well.
But perhaps many angels in the room did not know him well because, with this announcement, the rumbling of voices grew until their words trampled over each other.
Astaroth continued speaking.
Let us make our own government, he said.
Let us free ourselves from the Council’s outdated rules and practices.
But by then, no one was listening, for those who wanted to leave had become indignant to the point of physicality, and others, spurred by panic, followed them in an attempt to break past the warriors and through the doors.