Wings that Guard Me

Chapter 26 Seraph

I've been wrestling with my conversation with Raphael. I don't know what to think about the information he gave me. There's no reason I should believe him. But I know that at least part of what he said about my kind is true. They are lazy, they have lost the purpose of our cause.

Not that anyone is brave enough to say something, if they've even noticed that is. But I still don't understand what he means about us being at war with ourselves. We are not fighting a civil war, it's forbidden. Any uprising would be dealt with immediately because of the last and only civil war that split our two peoples to the extremes of the realms. That's what makes him and me enemies. Our entire history is built on that, our entire culture and society is designed o prevent it from happening again. That and the fact that the Creator confirmed our ancestors in our Righteous or Fallen states. We couldn't fight if we wanted to. It doesn't matter what rank or sub rank you're in, there is no fighting the system.
I've decided to keep my silence while I try to comprehend his words. I'm not talking to him or Grey about it until I've figured out all I can.

Still, some of things have me begging myself to go to him for more answers. Like how he said that he knows more than any of us has a right too. How does he know so much about my people? It's not like we exchange information or have pen pals or anything.

I finally realize I won't be able to come to grips until I know everything. That meaning that I have to talk to him again. Maybe I should talk to Grey first. He'll probably tell me not to believe Raphael or even talk to him. Knowing Grey, he'd probably throw a big temper tantrum at even the thought. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't talk to Grey just yet.

Finally gathering my courage I exit the house and walk to the edge of the front yard. It's Saturday so there's not school. I look over the scenery before me and just say to the seemingly empty air, "I'm ready to talk." I know he'll hear me. He's probably been watching me since our first talk. While I wait I climb the tree that is at the edge of the front yard. I don't have to wait long before I see him.

"You called?" I try to ignore the smirk on his face.

"I have questions." I said flatly. Okay, maybe being rude to the demon from hell isn't the best idea, but I'm not going to change just to be nice to him. 

"And here I was hoping for a social call." He smirks. I take a deep breath, I can't let him get to me no matter how irritating he is.

"What are you?" I ask. Of course I know that he is a Fallen, but that's not what I mean by that question.

"I'm a demon." Is his simple answer, like it's obvious. But I see his eyes, I see the twitch of the corner of his mouth, there's something he's hiding.

"No, you can touch my halo. You failed the tests of recognition. You're not. What are you?"

"What, and we can't evolve?"

I shake my head, "No, the Creator made it so neither Angel nor demon could-" that's all I get out before he cuts me off.

"The Creator? Your precious and all powerful Creator. He doesn't care about you, he confirmed you with us so he wouldn't have to worry about another rebellion. You are not his crowned creatures. You're his security, his army, you're expendable. His precious little humans aren't even though they are killing each other, course you lot aren't much better. All he cares about is what that my people don't hurt his precious jewels in this realm, you mean nothing to him." He sits down on the sidewalk like he's bored.

I shake my head furiously, though who I'm trying to convince I'm not entirely sure. "No, he cares. When my parents died he sent support, he set up out society, he built our world."

"He has deities and essences to do all of that for him. He's too busy taking care of this dimension to bother with yours. Tell me this, if he really cares that much, have you ever seen him?"

I stop and think, I must've seen him at least once. But I can't remember ever seeing him in person. Of course I know what he looks like, we all do, I think. "I-I must have seen him."

He snorts. "Yeah, that's what I thought. We might not trust our leader, but at least we see him, he doesn't hide himself from us, we all have the opportunity to meet him. Course, most don't take that opportunity, I mean who wants to be disappointed when they meet their idol?"

I huff a sigh. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Alright, fair enough. I'm a mixed breed, a disappointment. My father was a bounty Fallen, my mother was a death-squad angel. I don't know their names, I don't care. I don't know where they are now, and I don't care. They deserve the punishments they were dealt for having me." His tone stays mild, indifferent even. How can someone talk about their own parents being punished severely so nonchalantly?

"Your mother is what?" I'd never heard of what he said before. And I spent years studying and researching my own culture and history.

"A death-squad angel. You know, the angels they send out to keep the balance of good people and bad people in this dimension. The ones sent to eliminate human threats." He watches me intently.

"No!" I shout, "The agency would never! We would never hurt a human. We would never hurt each other like that!"
He snorts as if to say, 'that's cute you believe that' but then he looks at me again. He reads my appalled expression and betrayed eyes. He sees all my hurt and anguish at even the thought. "By God, you really don't know, do you? You have no idea what your own people do? Oh this is just rich! The perfect little angel doesn't know that her own people sabotage her work. How betrayed you must feel, how angry! Now you see just a fraction of what my life is like."

I scramble to latch onto a decent thought. I knew my people were corrupt, sick even. But I never imagined that they would betray their own people. The whole purpose of our existence is to protect and help the humans and their realm, no matter how far gone they may be. Why would someone us try to sabotage that purpose by going out and destroying the humans and their realm. That was the work of the Fallen, not us. I remember hearing legends and stories about the "Balance" angels who kept the evil in the world from completely overpowering the good. But I always thought that they did that by blessing certain humans or parts of their realm with over abundance of good. I'd seen many examples of that in human history in my studies.

"Maybe we should call it a day, Angel. You look like you could use the night to process." I don't respond, so he gets off the sidewalk and leaves without another word.