Gadreel raised his sword of cerulean fire high above his head. He tightened his hands around the hilt as he prepared to strike the final blow. Time passed as he held still above his injured brother as the fighting around them roared to deafening heights.
βStrike down the Fallen,β roared Michael from somewhere nearby.
Gadreel looked up. All around him was death.
Simi, he thought as his gaze fell on Gabriel who just took Simiβs head with his own sword of fire.
βErase them from the Heavens,β Gabriel cried out as he walked past the rolling head of their brethren with no regard.
Gadreel hands loosened around the hilt of his sword but when Gabriel met his gaze, he tightened his fingers again as he turned to look back down at Dantanian. The fallen angel was weak and wounded at Gadreelβs feet.
With one quick swing, Dantanianβs head would be separated from his body. Dantanian would be no more.
Why didnβt he escape to the desolate place with Lucifer and the others? Did he think his disobedience would be forgiven? Do he and the others not understand that our Fatherβs forgiveness is solely designed for his favored, the humans.
βFinish it, Gadreel,β Dantanian said as he coughed. Low light shined through the deep wounds in his chest and side.
Gadreel furrowed his brows as he flared his fingers out then regripped his sword. Heβd bested his brother but searching inside himself, he could not find the desire to kill Dantanian. He knew the Fallen were wrong to question their Lord. They were not fit for the heavens. Yet, Gadreel didnβt think death was a suitable response.
Isnβt my questioning and hesitancy to carry out the orders given to me by my superiors just as unlawful? Is the penalty death?
Gadreel looked around. Headless bodies strewed the once pristine replica of the Garden of Eden landscape. It was once a place of peace and reflection. Now it will forever be marred by death and fratricide.
I canβtβ¦
When his weary eyes met Gabrielβs, Gadreel saw the questions mounting in his commanderβs eyes. He saw when Gabrielβs gaze hardened with resolve. He actually felt fear ripple through him when Gabrielβs lips thinned as he started toward them.
With a hint of a thought, the flame that encompassed Gadreelβs sword rescinded. A flick of his hand and the sword disappeared into the ether only to return when he needed it.
Moving as fast as he could, Gadreel whipped his robe out of the way, bent and lifted Dantanian over his shoulder, and made for the Pool of Province.
He risked his very existence as he ran with Dantanian in tow. Gadreel heard the calls to halt his progress. He dodged the expertly aimed daggers and arrows of his brethren who tried to stop him. To his surprise, some of the judged, the Fallen, stepped in front of some of the blows aimed at him and Dantanian.
As Gadreel jumped over the bodies of Fallen and Devoted, he knew that he would never again step foot in the Heavens. That once he jumped into the Pool of Province, a reflective gateway that allowed Angels to observe humans and crossover to the earth, without permission that the ability to cross back over or to any plain from this moment forth will be forever revoked.
βNoooo,β Dantanian cried out.
βIt is the only way to save you,β Gadreel said as he ran up the stairs to the great pool. Something hit his back, causing him to stumble forward. Dantanianβs body fell forward, hitting the tepid pool first. Gadreel followed, sighing as the water that wasnβt wet covered him from head to toe.
Gadreel didnβt have to call out for his wings to expand. His large white feathered wings flared out instinctively to slow his descent from the heavens.
Scanning the sky, Gadreel searched for his brother but what he saw wasnβt an Angel soaring through the darkening skies. What he saw was a smoking body tumble rolling toward the earth. Gadreel positioned his wings back to dive but suddenly felt an intense debilitating pain with the movement.
Gadreel cried out as he pumped his smoking wings long enough to see that they were ablaze. There was only one thing to do. He dived toward Dantanian, tucking his wings back. When he slammed into his unconscious brother, Gadreel shook off the pain and extended his burning wings to slow them before slamming into the ocean.
