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As if he had timed his entrance perfectly, Micah came rushing into the room through a side door. The Tyrant glanced at him, a frown on his face. Micah staggered, stopping after taking a few faltering steps. In the Tyrant’s shadow, Micah looked even smaller, even more like a boy.
“Who is this?” barked the Tyrant. “Do you let children play in your grand hall?”
“I’m not a child,” Micah said, straightening out. “I’m a Cherub.”
“A cherub?” the Tyrant seemed taken aback. “Impossible.”
“It is possible. And it’s true, tell him.” Micah looked at me, then.
The Tyrant also turned his head toward me. “What is this?” he asked.
I nodded. “It’s true,” I said. “Tyrant, meet Micah. He was… is… the cherub I answered to in Heaven.”
The Tyrant didn’t seem to believe what he was seeing. He turned around to look at Micah again, who was doing everything he could to make himself look bigger. “How is this possible?” he asked. “Cherubs… don’t fall.”
“It was a surprise to me, too,” said Micah.
“But… how? I do not understand.”
“I would gladly offer an explanation, but I don’t have one for you. Cherubs weren’t meant to fall, but here I am, standing before you, about as mortal as they come. I take it I’m the first cherub you’ve seen?”
“The only cherub I have seen in my many years on this planet.” He looked up at Helena. “You have been hiding one all this time?”
“Micah has been with us since the beginning, yes. I am not hiding him, he is a part of our community.”
“And you take orders from this boy?”
“Not a boy,” Micah put in, “And no. I… well, cherubs aren’t good at leading. We were literally not made for it. So, I defer to Helena and her judgment in all matters.”
The Tyrant shook his head. He looked like he was about to keep going, but I placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. “It looks like you’re having a lot of trouble wrapping your head around this,” I said. “I get it, but we’re a little pressed for time. How about we move on?”
Helena graciously nodded, as did the Tyrant. Micah then jumped in. “Anyway, sorry I’m late; I wasn’t expecting to be summoned so suddenly.”
“It’s my fault,” I said. “I lost track of time.”
“What she means to say,” the Tyrant put in, “Is we had things to discuss.”
He was clearly still salty that I had made him dig into his past. He hadn’t enjoyed doing that, and I understood as much. But I had needed to know, I had needed him to be honest with me about something, anything about who he was. I had let him out of the cell, but he was going to have to work for my trust.
“Has there been a development?” asked Helena, “Is that why you called for us so suddenly?”
“Right,” I said, stepping toward her. “I need to talk to you about Medrion, but not about what he did. About what he said to me.”
“Said to you?” Helena asked, frowning.
“Yes…” I paused, suddenly unsure about what I was about to tell them. “Before he escaped, he told me… about Lucifer.”
A wave of cold silence pushed through the room. Even the frogs and the birds fell silent for a moment.
“Why would you bringhisname into this sacred place?” Helena asked, a scowl creeping upon her pristine face.
“Medrion told me, as I stood in front of him, that if I killed him, I would never know the truth about Lucifer.”
Helena shook her head. “What truth? He was the first to break God’s heart,” she glanced toward the Tyrant as if he himself had been the second, “and was punished for it. End of story.”
“Medrion seemed to think Lucifer has something to do with what happened to us.”
“Likewhat?”
