Children of the Archangels

CHAPTER 47: THE FORGOTTEN ANGEL

If Luke were to have eaten the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, he would've clearly remembered all the events that led to his loss more than a dozen years ago.

Luke was brought to the Garden of Eden by three escorts (and no not the prostitute kind): Michael, Xyi, and Jurgen. At the time, Michael was the Tempest in charge of the expedition. Xyi and Jurgen were his underlings, but Xyi had some experience doing a Garden Run before, as had Michael. However, this was Jurgen's first rodeo.

Jurgen was hot-headed and easily frustrated. Xyi was calm but loved to push Jurgen's buttons. The two made for a toxic combination—a combination Michael usually had to step in the middle of.

But things escalated quickly. Luke did remember being a child and seeing the hilt of a small knife, just like the one Victor chose to carry on the Garden Run, moments before they entered the inner sanctum. But he was too lost in the light to warn Michael and Xyi, nor would they think anything of it. There was no rule banning weapons in the Garden of Eden.

The four of them had crossed through the inner sanctum and arrived at the tree. As Michael fed Luke the fruit and watched him sputter, Jurgen made his move. He gathered as much of the plants in the Garden as his bag could fit. He picked out any he could find, and of course stuffed the bag with as much fruit from the Tree of Knowledge as he could carry.

He returned just as Luke stabilized, and everything was going well. All he had to do was escape the Garden and return the plants to his master. He would make good use of these herbs that the Creator sought to keep hidden from humanity. These herbs could cure diseases and make humans stronger, but the Creator couldn't have any of that. Suffering kept humanity humble and subservient to the Creator.

But his master sought to level that.

Yes, all he needed was to escape the Garden, but Xyi had to be nosy. Xyi had to notice the weight of Jurgen's bag. He had to go snooping around and open the bag. He had to reveal to Michael that he had taken fruit from the Garden. He had to insist that the fruit be left behind.

But Jurgen didn't come all this way to founder. He couldn't face his master with a face of failure. He had been branded with the symbol of their cause, and the scar on his neck would remind him that he belonged to the third rebellion that would level humanity with its father.

Michael stepped in, and snatched the bag, taking the lead as the Tempest he was. House of Raphael, they didn't produce too many leaders—just medics and air benders. Jurgen would love to see him work his medicine to heal himself. He unveiled his knife and jabbed it forward, intent on stopping Michael at all cost.

But Xyi had to get in the way.

Eventually Xyi collapsed to the ground with the knife stuck in his gut. Michael whipped out a dagger and slashed at Jurgen's face in frustration. He drew blood, but Jurgen licked his wound and fled with the bag, a couple of herbs flying out from the unzipped back pocket. As much as Michael wanted to chase him down and stop him, his first priority was to try and heal his teammate. But Jurgen knew that wouldn't happen.

As soon as he left the Garden, the statues seemed to creak. Their heads seemed to converge on him. Their arms cracked as they moved like cranes to reach for their flaming swords, frozen in stone, which blazed to life once the cherubim's hands grasped the hilts.

Michael soon appeared seconds behind with Luke in his arms. The forest behind him was burning and making its entrance onto the scene was another angel. It figures—Michael wouldn't have abandoned Xyi so quickly unless he was flushed out by something more important.

But as the cherubim came to life and started sending walls of fire at Jurgen, he noticed that the other angel was not a cherub with four heads and two pairs of wings, but a normal angel with wings of fire. He sent ball after ball of fire at Michael, until he tripped and dropped Luke on the ground. Michael rolled forward and his chubbiness finally caught up to him. He tried to recover and grab Luke, but the heat of a flamethrower emanating from the angel's sword kept him away.

Michael was forced to abandon two of his teammates that day.

And as Michael fled promising to return to Luke, Luke was left behind, lost to the world as he faced an angel with white wings of fire pondering what to do with the lost child. A hand extended towards Luke's face, and he felt warmth pass through his body...