Prologue
Heaven was dark that day.
The clouds once soft and lined with golden rays of sunlight had become ashen and charcoal. The sound of thunder beat like drums in the distance. Rain came down in a heavy gray curtain, forming puddles in the streets. Street lamps flickered, windows were yanked shut, shops closed early for the evening.
Beyond the city lay the capital. A massive building four stories high with thick smooth columns holding up a pitched roof. Normally pure white in the sun, it now held a grayish tint with orange glows in the windows, for the capital never slept as its people did, especially not on this night.
And he stood there, for about an hour, in front of the massive golden doors that opened up to the capitol building. He knew what was waiting for him on the other side. He could feel the chill of it in the air, right down into the marrow of his bones.
He debated running, he truly did. It was not the fear of punishment that made his legs tremble, but the disappointment of the only creature alive he wished not to crush.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath into his lungs. On his back, his massive white wings fluttered as if they, too, sensed the fury ahead. He wrapped his hand around the golden handles and pulled them open, stepping inside. The sound of his boots clacking on the fresh white marble echoed around the silence. The doors closed automatically behind him. No one was in the main entrance.
He reached up, lowering the white hood from his head, his wavy blonde hair falling freely about his chiseled clean-shaven face, his sapphire eyes flashing as he noted the eerie silence. Despite the silence, he could feel eyes on him, feel the presence of several others in the room with him. He straightened, lifted his head, because he refused to bow beneath those judgmental glares.
"Michael," he called out, his voice echoing off the walls. He strode forward a few steps, then slowed to a stop as all around him, his brothers stepped from the shadows.
Gabriel was the first to come from the shadows. Tall and lean with a mass of long black curls that fell about his shoulders, his deep ocean blue eyes tracking his brother's movements warily. Instead of his long white robes of the finest silks, he wore his battle uniform; shiny pristine white armor that gleamed in the light that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.
Raphael was the next to emerge, his long white-blonde hair tied back with a leather cord, his bangs framing a nearly feminine face, but his cold hard deep set brown eyes told otherwise.
Jophiel stepped out next, her thick black hair pulled back into a sharp chignon, exposing a deep widow's peak and glaring green eyes. Behind her came Ariel, his dark hair swept back becomingly from a face that was often full of laughter and smiles, now today was twisted in a sneer, golden eyes narrowed. Azrael came next, his bedroom blue eyes filled with sorrow, his blonde hair cut in short curls close to his head. Chamuel followed him, his head shaven and his mismatched orange and yellow eyes haunted. They all wore their glistening white armor.
He turned as he heard a final pair of footsteps step from the shadows, and he watched with a kind of forlorn gaze as his mirror image stepped from the darkness in the capitol. His brother, his twin really, Michael stood in his battle regalia, a long spear gripped in one hand, his flashing sapphire eyes murderous. His long golden spun hair, much like his own, fell loose from its twisted updo, as if he'd spent hours running his fingers through it.
"How dare you step foot in our capitol after what you've done, Lucifer," Michael spoke, his words thundering off the walls, his voice hard and cold.
But Lucifer was no fool; he heard the tremor underlying his brother's words, heard the pain and the sorrow behind them, and the guilt washed upon him once more as he held his breath. He once again questioned why he had done what he had done, why he had dared lift a finger, dare destroy not only his life, but the lives of his own siblings, and for what? A premonition confirmed by a pagan god?
As if the premonition alone was not bad enough, to have heard it from the trio of gods who called themselves the Fates. And yet, Lucifer had seen it with his own eyes, heard it with his own ears, watched the future possibilities unfold before him in a spiral of madness he was still reeling from.
He could have stayed silent, sure. He could be silent and watch as everything his Father had ever loved collapsed in on itself and crumbled before him. He could watch as his Father once more locked Himself away in grievance and suffering, as he often did in the early years of their creation. He could stay above the realms and watch as everything was burned alive from the inside out. He could stay safe in his home in Heaven, surrounded by glory and light and wonders, but what kind of angel would he be if he did not speak up in hopes of preventing the bloodied future that was predicted for them?
"I come not as an enemy, brother," Lucifer whispered, watching the anger and betrayal darken Michael's eyes, and he swallowed thickly as pain assailed him. Michael was so much more than a brother to him. They shared a creation day together. They were the only angels who bore the same wing patterns, the same faces, the same eyes, lips, and ears, the same cheekbones. They'd often play jokes on the others to see if anyone could tell them apart. They'd spent hours playing pretend and fighting evil together with nothing more than sticks and flowers.
But all that childishness, all that innocence, was dead in the sapphire eyes that glared across the room at him.
"What I speak is truth," Lucifer tried again, wetting his lips, "Dear brothers, sister, please, heed my words. The human race our Great Father hast created this night, their terror will bring a new kind of evil to the realm of mortals. The innocent children below will crumble before their wrath, believe me, I have seen this with mine own eyes."
"Blasphemy," Ariel barked immediately, swinging his arm out, his long silver cape gliding across the marble to flash the scabbard of his sword, "What you speak of is poison! How dare you accuse our Great Father of creating evil!"
"To take the words of three women," Chamuel agreed with the curl of his lip, "They are not, but witches, dear brother, can you not see the spell they cast upon you? They shed the blood of infants, are you not blind? You have seen what comes of the words from their lips!"
"You saw what they did to the Atlanteans," Azarel said softly, "What they've done unto the Greeks. The Egyptians. And all those who have come before them. Tragedy and misery and woe befalls those who heed their words of trickery."
"Be they women or not," Jophiel added, cutting Chamuel a glare that made him roll his eyes, "They speak truth, dear brother, they are not to be trusted, yet here you stand before us, believing their lies over the Truth of our Great Father. How could you lose faith in the One True God?"
"I lose not my faith in our Great Father," Lucifer snapped, offended at the suggestion, and this earned a flagrant snort from Chamuel, only furthering Lucifer's anger, "How dare you question my loyalty! I have done aught for our Great Father! I have bore witness to the slaughter of innocents in the name of His Glory! I remained silent when He Banished the Eve and Adam of the Garden! I remained silent when the child Abel was murdered by his own brother! I said nothing when He ordered the deaths of the infants in Egypt! I have held my tongue and I shall hold it no more!"
"Heresy!" Ariel shouted, grabbing his sword and tearing it from its scabbard. Lucifer threw his cloak back so it settled to the floor, his wings flaring out wide, casting shadows and stirring magic in the air that made the very ground shudder.
"Stupidity," Lucifer barked back, then whirled on Michael, "You are no fool! None of you are! It is not treason to speak warning, to take precaution! I do this not to frighten or to offend our Great Father, you know this! I love Him! He is all that I am and all that I shall ever be! He is my God and my Father, my Creator, and my Life! My words are meant to protect Him!"
"Your words are nothing more than a mimicry of a trio of witches," Ariel yelled, coming forward and Lucifer threw his hand out in warning, preparing to summon his own magical attack. All at once, the weaponry around him was being exposed from his siblings, and he watched in agony as Michael tightened his grip on his spear.
"I saw it with mine own eyes, brother, please, listen to me," Lucifer pleaded helplessly, "Brother, twas no trick! I watched the creatures tear themselves apart and the mortals of others! We may have the One True God, yes, in this, I am certain, but there are those who wear the title, those who have created their own mortals, who will be affected by this, and badly! The humans our Great Father has created are flawed, and deadly so! Tis not our Father's fault, but the fault of the poison the humans have within their souls!"
"Souls created by our Father," Jophiel pointed out grimly, "Therefore, you call our Father flawed."
"They are mere humans anyway," Chamuel sneered, "What sort of catastrophes could mortals do anyway?"
"They are going to destroy their own realm," Lucifer exclaimed, making his siblings scoff and shake their heads in denial, "Tis true, I swear it! I have watched them commit the most grievous of sins in the name of our Holy Father. I watched them tear babes from their mother's arms, slit their throats while they are still wet with birth. I have watched them take those of color and shackle them in cages like animals. They play these wicked games and create weapons of mass destruction. They tear apart the gift our Holy Father has given unto them! These creatures are not meant for that realm!"
"Enough," Michael shouted, making Lucifer go still, "What you suggest by law is treason." Lucifer swallowed hard.
"Michael, please--"
"Enough," Michael said, throwing his arm out as if to physically cut the pleads of his brother, "I will have no more of this heathen poison fill the ears of the loyal. You defied our Father's laws, to stay out of the affairs of the other creatures who claim to be gods. You went to see the Fates of Misery and Woe. You have been poisoned by their lies and their heresy and now you whisper it into the ears of the loyal, make them question their Faith in our Holy Father. On this night, I, Michael, Archangel of Protection, The Right Hand of God, sentence you to Hell where you shall rot for the rest of eternity, forced to feed of the blood of those you love so dearly, for your betrayal shall forever run through your veins."
"No!" Lucifer shouted. He ran at Michael, slamming into him and sending them both to the ground. Lucifer kicked the spear from Michael's grasp and Michael snarled, swinging his elbow around into Lucifer's mouth, sending blood flying to the white marble.
"Not in the Great Hall," Gabriel said suddenly, his voice carrying over the scuffle, "Sully not the floors of our Father's Hall, Michael!" Michael grabbed Lucifer by the shoulders and the two of them vanished from the hall, appearing before a set of large golden gates, beyond which was hidden by a thick of evergreen forest and rolling blue fog. Michael kicked Lucifer away and backed away toward the gate, breathing hard as he summoned his spear once more.
"Don't do this, brother," Lucifer panted, holding his hand out and summoning his own sword, gripping it tight, "Please, listen to me not as a soldier, but as a brother--"
"You lost that when you betrayed me," Michael shouted, his breath hitching for a moment and he blinked hard, chasing away tears that burned the backs of his eyes, "When you betrayed our Father! How could you do this?! We trusted you! We all trusted you!"
"Michael, I did this for the good of our Father and our People," Lucifer argued, watching Michael warily as his brother stalked him like prey, "Listen to me, the humans are dangerous. You have seen how easily they are corrupted. Look at what happened with Adam and Eve, how they fell prey to their own sins, to their own evil--"
"It was Hades's fault," Michael practically screamed, lunging for his brother, but Lucifer spun out of the way and blocked an attack with his sword as Michael whirled after him, "That vile filthy demon should never have been able to get into the Garden! He forced himself upon Eve--"
"He did no such thing," Lucifer exclaimed incredulously, "While I myself am no fan of the Greek godling, he certainly forced nothing on no one in that time! Eve was the one who--"
"He tricked her!"
"He did not! He came unto her with no name and she was the one who seduced him, because Adam was poisoned--"
"He was not poisoned! She had no idea what seduction was!"
"You are not that stupid," Lucifer argued in frustration, "They ate from the tree--"
"Because a demon told them to!"
"Granted, yes, but they had knowledge then of what they did and what they were doing. Adam knew what he was doing when he shunned Eve, and Eve knew exactly what she was doing when she bedded the Greek. But you see now? You see their inability to control themselves? Eve knew it would hurt Adam, she knew it and that is why she did it! Don't you see brother, she knows revenge, and as does Adam! They know revenge and they have let it poison themselves! They let it poison the children, Cain and Abel! The disease is spreading quickly, brother! Now that the children have returned unto the Greek underworld, the disease has given pause! We must act now!"
"Act," Michael sputtered, "You wish to wipe out an entire race because of what? Some stupid words from a bunch of witches?"
"I wish to wipe them out to protect the other races, the other realms," Lucifer cried, "Michael, do you not see! They are smart, so incredibly smart! Have you not seen how quickly they adapt to their environment? How quickly they create things? They will quickly learn to destroy themselves and their world, and sooner or later, that destruction will reach other realms! What happens when they realize that Heaven, Earth, and Hell are not the only realms in existence?"
"They will not," Michael argued emphatically, but he had no further argument, and Lucifer threw his hands up in exasperation.
"Damn, brother, please!"
"Enough of your lies and your deceit! I cast you to Hell!"
Michael spun his spear and vanished, making Lucifer whirl around just in time for Michael to thrust his spear through Lucifer's shoulder and into his wing. Lucifer's scream tore through the air as Michael twisted it and Lucifer crumpled.
"No more of your lies," Michael managed, glaring down at Lucifer with eyes overflowing with tears, "No more." He gave the spear a sharp twist and reeled his hand back to land the crushing blow.
An explosion of color followed.
And a star fell on that dark day in Heaven.