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Chapter Two
SARIEL
We walked the rest of the way to my apartment in silence. I waited for Euriel to explain why he had been following me and why he didn’t intervene when I was attacked, but he ventured no further comment, and I wasn’t about to ask for it. Instinct told me he was trustworthy, but I knew he was Fallen, and therefore tainted and not to be trusted. I hadn’t seen him much in my time working for Concordia. Although he came down to London now and again on cases, Euriel worked for one of the northern branches of the UK, still involved with the team that had caused his fall. I couldn’t understand it, but I didn’t want to know more. Gabriel always told us, knowing more aboutsin opened your mind to it, made you easier to tempt, made it easier to fall. So, we walked in silence.
As we arrived at my apartment, Euriel slowed, and I turned back towards him.
“Why do you insist on working alone, Sariel?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Is it a problem?”
“It could be. As strong as you are, there are threats out there just as strong, if not stronger. I might not know you personally, but I know your history and I can’t see you being content to spend your time here on earth simply hunting down nests of hellions. You were meant for more than this.”
His tone seemed pitying, and I bristled at it.
“I was meant to serve as Gabriel’s right hand after his last one betrayed him and his kind,” I said coldly. “My only intention while I’m down here in this miserable existence is to earn back my place in Heaven, and with all due respect Euriel, you are most certainly not the being qualified to help me do that.”
I had meant to insult him but he merely grinned. “Ah Sariel, what are you afraid of? Still believing that sin is catching?”
I glared at him. “Why Euriel? Do you believe your weakness is infectious?”
He shook his head still smiling and my anger rose inside me. How dare he smile about this, about this betrayal of his people?
I took a deep breath to calm myself. Wrath was a sin too, I reminded myself.
“I merely want to return to my life and my purpose, Euriel. If you are trying to distract me from that...”
“I’m not,” he said quickly. “But I know what it’s like to be where you are, Sariel, and I would like to help you.”
“You know what it’s like to be punished for something that... never mind,” I muttered. I didn’t regret what I’d done, but I still didn’t understand why I’d done it. Maybe that was why I wasso angry at Euriel. He’d been a role model of mine for so long, seeing him fall had affected me more than I wanted him to know.
“I don’t know why you’re here, Sariel,” he assured me. “Gabriel didn’t say. Just that you were being punished for insubordination and that you were to work for the Concordia until you remembered where your loyalties lay.”
I nodded. I was loyal to Gabriel, but my actions said otherwise, and I was still torn.
“Anyway,” said Euriel. “What I meant was, I've been where you are, trying to prove myself, but you aren’t going to do that on the... well, they aren’t even real missions, are they Sariel?”
I opened my mouth to retort, and he continued quickly. “They’re wasting your skills and your abilities. You’re a damn good warrior and you’re a natural leader, yet you’re working alone. You need to get over yourself and get yourself a team, some real assignments, not this petty rubbish.”
My irritation spiked again. “Palmer won’t give me a team. He says I’m unproved in the field. Three thousand years as commander of ten thousand angelic warriors, but I’m unproved. Idiot.” I rolled my eyes and Euriel smiled.
Euriel nodded. “And as an angelic commander, you were well thought of, but leading a Concordia team is different. Angels are designed to follow orders, to never question, to have unshakeable loyalty, and discipline. A Concordia team is comprised of different supernaturals, often with different beliefs, morals, and biases, including your own.”
“I’m not biased,” I said.
Euriel laughed. “When I called Palmer your superior, you snorted at me. It's no secret at your branch you believe yourself above everybody else.”
“I'm an angel,” I said. “I do rank above everybody else.”
“Only by Heaven’s reckoning,” said Euriel gently.
“Heaven’s reckoning is the only one that matters,” I said pointedly.
He gave a frustrated sigh. “And while you keep believing that Sariel, you are not going to get anywhere. Palmer will keep you down, and your punishment will go on for decades, if not centuries. You want to prove yourself? You need to lead again, and you’ll only do that here if you find the humanity within yourself and connect with a team. Just think about it.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it again. Maybe Euriel did have a point.
“Palmer won’t give me a team to lead,” I said.
