Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Beginning

Chapter 10: The Offer on the Table

Chapter 10: The Offer on the Table

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." 1 Thess 4:16 (NIV)

The Seraphim gazed questioningly as Michael swiped a set of candelabra from a white marble slab with one hand, a body held firmly over his shoulder with the other. Laying the body down, Devin's stark white skin stood in contrast to the crimson stain of blood, spreading like oil on the seas, across his clothing. His heart slowly beat, fleeting thumps of labored pumping steadily slowing to near nothingness. The erratic "thump thump.....thump....thump...thump thump" echoing in the room as curious onlookers filed in.

"Water! Bring me a basin of water!" Michael yelled into the mob around him. Rythmic humming of a nameless tune began to fill the air as his hands methodically began to tear the cotton clothing from the young mans torso to expose the gaping wound left by Abaddon's sword Soul Reaper. A light grey haze began to form above Devin's body signaling that his soul was readily making its escape from the fleshy confines.

Michael taking notice to the change in the body before him quickly threw his hands down on the yound mans chest, stopping barely half an inch above the skin as he unleashed an ear splitting "NO!" forcing the young mans soul back into his body.

The onlookers jumped back in shock, mesmerized by his determination to save a dying mortal. Bodies were roughly shoved aside as a cherub forced his way through the throng with a stoup grasped firmly in his hands.  Holy water sloshed from the chalice as Michael quickly slid the container next to the young mans body.

Jagged black ribbons of infection becan to spread from the open wound across the nearly translucent skin as Michael began his work. Tearing a large chunk of cloth from the bottom of his robes, the seraph began cleansing the gaping hole in the boys abdomen with holy water. The steady *drip *drip *drip of blood rolling from the marble table being the only other sound in the room. Each time Michael dipped the makeshift, blood soaked rag into the holy water, it turned a light shade of pink, then clear again. Thin wisps of smoke filtered through the air, hissing from the wound, much like that of searing flesh, as the water came into contact with the poisoned blood. Slowly the blood receded back into Devin's body, the punctured skin of his abdomen gradually sealing itself seamlessly, the black lines of unholy infection dissipating.

Sighing softly, Michael leaned over slightly, gave a small breath of life, kissed the young mans forehead, and turned away. "Take this mortal to a quiet room. Bath his body and wrap him in linen. Do Not disturb him once these tasks are complete. I will see to him personally once he awakes. I must now go speak with my father."

A shudder rippled through the Seraphim gathered in the room as God made his presence known. "Speak to me about what? Your insolence? What in Gehenna possessed you to bring a living mortal here beyond the golden gates into the sanctum of my home?" The steady tone of his voice heavily ladden with an obvious disappointment directed towards his favored Archangel.

Michael bowed his head slightly in reverence towards his father. "Sir, as you well know, my brother Abaddon..." he nearly spit the words out as if they were a foul taste as he spoke them "Abaddon was battling with a mortal that possessed otherworldly abilities. The man I speak of was either blessed by you..." a long silence ensued before he spoke again "Or, he received a blessing from Lucifer. If this is indeed accurate, then I believe there may be a need to have the ability to fight this potential menace. In order to do that, I will need the boy for a vessel to combat this threat."