We'd been climbing for what seemed like hours. These white marble stairs seemed to stretch on for forever. Were I still human, I'd be so out of breath right now.
Michael had led us through the city of Heaven, with its glimmering white skyscrapers looking like something straight out of a utopian film. The clouds surrounding the city seemed to reflect the light coming from above, which I now knew was Grey's dad- God himself. Everything in the city therefore seemed to literally glow. It was so bright it began to give me a headache. After living in dreary, rainy environments for so long, I don't think my eyes were fond of the sudden adjustment to light and color. Grey seemed irritated as well, but I think it was for a different reason.
Around the city walked silvery figures, like what I'd imagine ghosts to be like, but they glimmered as if draped in silver thread. They glowed just as much as the city around us. Whenever I'd stare at one for a moment too long, their eyes would flick to mine and my headache would pulse, forcing me to look away.
"Souls of times past and times to come," Michael had said quietly.
"Why can't I look them in the eye?" I had asked.
"Because you're Fallen," Grey had interjected rather gruffly.
I tried not to let his sour mood get to me too much. I knew how hard it must be for him to be back here after abandoning it centuries ago. I couldn't imagine what this must be like for him. I couldn't imagine what was going through his head right now. I wouldn't want to see God after Falling. Hell, I didn't want to see God now and I was created as a Fallen.
"The souls here are pure. Yours isn't. At least, for now. Once you Pledge, you should be fine. They just recognize what you both are, so they're defending themselves by projecting God's light through their eyes so you can't look at them. Heaven is not a painless place for those who haven't earned the Light," Michael had explained. "It was one of the first defense mechanisms the Archangels and Our Father put in place when Lucifer fell. If he ever tried to invade Heaven, he will feel what you're feeling now. Pain. From all angles."
"Brutal," I had mumbled under my breath, pressing my temples in an attempt to ease the discomfort.
Now, as we walked up this ascending marble staircase into the sky, my head continued to throb. I knew who was waiting for me at the top, and that didn't ease my discomfort. Meeting my maker- hmm, not something I thought I would be able to do while I was still alive.
"How much higher do these go, Michael?" I complained.
"Just a bit further. You will know when we get close," he replied in that suave voice of his.
"How will I know?" I asked.
"Trust me, you'll know. You'll both know," Michael glanced back at Grey and I over his shoulder.
I'm guessing he was referring to our headaches. I hadn't asked Grey if he had one too, but with the way his brows were furrowed and that irritated look in his cerulean eyes- I could feel his pain as clearly as I felt my own. His gaze shifted to mine when he saw that I was looking back at him, those otherworldly eyes twinkling a little as he looked at me. I could've sworn I'd felt my headache stop for a moment.
"There it is!" Michael announced proudly and I swung back around, seeing the stairway coming to an end above us.
Light radiated from that ledge, like the sun itself sat atop it. As we approached, I could see massive white pillars rising from the ledge up into the sky like a ruined Greek temple. The sky around us began to change from white to the colors of a vivid sunset- pink, purple, blues, and oranges. They all swirled wildly around us as we climbed.
This was it. This is where light began and ended.
Michael climbed the last set of stairs and I followed, a little gasp escaping my lips when I felt Grey's hand slip into mind from behind me.
I'd needed that reassurance.
Whatever happened, he was here.
With that knowledge, I took the last step onto the gigantic marble platform. A searing pain erupted behind my eyes and I let out a groan, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. After a moment, the pain became somewhat bearable, and I was able to open my eyes. The platform was circular, maybe the size of a volleyball court, with huge white pillars that stretched up into the illuminated sky above us. Beneath each pillar, there stood a glowing figure with titanic wings. Some of them I recognized, like the three angels who had Unlocked my soul a few months ago. Others I did not, and they looked upon me with disdain and pity. I could feel their judgement saturating the air around me until I could almost choke on it.
"Enough, children. Judgement is my job, not yours," a voice boomed from the epicenter of the light, which hovered in the sky above us.
The voice was neither masculine or feminine, but rather an accumulation of both. I had assumed it would be masculine given Michael and Grey referring to God as their 'father', but I suppose I was wrong.
I looked up at the light, flinching at how bright it was. I covered my eyes a little, but didn't cower beneath God's gaze as I thought I would've.
I could feel the tension in the air as tangibly as I felt Grey's hand in mine.
And I watched as the light began to aggregate, glowing brighter and brighter, but also smaller. Slowly, the light had shrunk from taking up the entirety of the sky above us to a size comparable to Michael or Grey. The light then began to look more and more like a person, and slowly descended from the sky down to the marble platform, coming to rest a few feet in front of me.
I watched in utter amazement as the light dimmed, revealing a woman with skin like the night sky and eyes that glowed like the moon. Golden freckles that twinkled like starlight adorned the bridge of her nose. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, and angular like Grey's and Michael's. She was draped in an elegant white cloth that shimmered like the glowing clouds around us. It flowed around her body like water, curling around her feet like fog around a mountain. Her silvery eyes slowly fell on me and held my gaze for a moment.
"You are brave, my daughter. Most of my children do not look me in the eye," she said softly, her lips curling upwards in a faint smile.
"You're their mother, why should they be afraid to look at you?" I furrowed my brows a little.
"To you, I'm a mother. To some," she motioned to Grey and Michael, "- I'm a father. To others I'm neither. To others I'm both. I am all of them and none of them. Some of my children fear me, some of them, like you, see nothing to fear."
"I don't mean any disrespect," I murmured.
"It's not disrespectful. You have beautiful eyes," God smiled.
She looked down at Grey's hand, which was still firmly placed in mine. Her head slowly tilted to the side, her eyes slowly gliding up Grey's arm and meeting Grey's eyes.
"Welcome home, son," she said, her voice a little stiffer.
Grey merely clenched his jaw in response.
Her eyes flicked back to mine.
"You brought my son home to me," she breathed softly, her voice as melodic as a song.
I tore my gaze from hers to look back at Grey, who seemed just as confused as I was.
"Unfortunately, we have more important matters to discuss than this. I am aware that one of my other children, Lucifer, had deceived you into Pledging your soul to Hell, yes? And whilst you were unable to Pledge to Heaven, you pledged to Azrael? But now you are unPledged, correct?" God spoke with such authority, goosebumps erupted across the surface of my skin.
"Uh- I mean, yes," I glanced back towards her.
"You understand, my child, that because we can't recreate the Pledging during an Angelic transition, you will have to be conscious for the Pledging? It will be painful," she said softly, her gaze flicking briefly to Grey, then back to me.
"I understand," I replied quickly.
God looked to Grey and narrowed her eyes a little.
"Do you understand, son?" She asked sternly.
"Is there any way to make this less painful for her?" Grey growled out through gritted teeth.
"No, unfortunately there isn't. Will you behave or will I have to restrain you?" God eyed Grey slowly.
"He'll be fine. Let's just do this," I answered for him, squeezing his hand a little.
I needed him here. I needed him with me. I needed him to control himself because I needed him in order to survive this.
He squeezed my hand in response, stepping beside me and bringing my hand up to his lips.
"I've got you," he murmured against my skin.
God eyed us both for a moment, as if astonished or puzzled by what she saw. Then, she straightened her back and took a step towards me. I turned and looked into her eyes, those eyes which burned with the silvery light of a million moons.
"Are you ready, my child?" She asked, her voice slowly swirling back into the genderless, omnipotent voice it had been when we'd first arrived.
"Yes," I whispered in a voice that wasn't my own, squeezing Grey's hand tightly.
That was when I felt it- the fire. It burned in my chest, searing at the skin right above my heart. I could feel the skin blistering in the heat and melting off of the muscle. I screamed out in agony, but the pain- it echoed in my head so loudly I couldn't hear myself scream. Everything was white, a blinding, searing white. I closed my eyes, but it wasn't enough. Everything was white.
I could feel my muscles seizing and convulsing of their own accord, my jaw locked open in a silent scream I couldn't hear. I felt my knees hit the hard marble floor, my back arching and my head flying back as if I were being held up by that pain in my chest.
I could feel Grey's hand. Tightly clutched onto my own. Refusing to let go, even as I screamed and convulsed. He was here. He wasn't leaving.
I felt my muscles above my heart begin to rip themselves open, like the a badly sewn seam. They popped open, a fresh scream erupting from my lips. I heard this one echoing in my head, banging around like a ping pong ball that never came to rest. My muscles continued to seize in sheer agony, tears streaming down my cheeks as I felt my chest rip itself open. When the bones cracked, the air was stolen from my lungs, my scream dying in my chest as quickly as it had begun.
And then-
Silence. White. And silence.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN my lovelies!
Sorry, I suck at updating these days. But there's only one more coming so.
Did you catch that?
One more chapter.
ONE.
MORE.
CHAPTER.
Any final guesses on names for the third and final installment of the Grey series???