“Yet you recognized me in raven-form and you spoke my name before you were told it. I would wager you also knew Azote’s name when you encountered him.”
I recognized the stubborn gleam in River’s eyes as she lifted her chin. “That doesn’t make you my uncle, or Lucifer my father,” she replied.
“My fellow brothers and sisters are trying to communicate with you from Heaven,” Caim said instead of arguing with River over her lineage.
“Why?” I demanded. “What is Angela exactly?”
“Humans call them Guardian Angels; angels call them guides. Because of the laws laid down many years ago, angels will not travel to Earth anymore. Over the years, they have developed guides to get humans to do their bidding. Guides are rarely used as it requires a lot of power. However, because River cannot openly communicate with the angels like some of her ancestors could, they had to find another way to reach out to her. They are using this Angela’s spirit, her soul, to connect with you,” Caim explained.
“She’s only a child,” River whispered.
“She’s dead; her age doesn’t matter,” Caim replied bluntly. “They most likely chose a child because she would be less intimidating to you.”
“Why am I the only one who can see her?” River asked.
“Because you are the one they want to see her.”
“What are they trying to guide River into doing?” I inquired.
“Alas, I do not know the answer to that,” Caim replied. “But they are trying to show her something.”
“And we’re supposed to believe anything you say?” Hawk asked. “You’re about as evil as it gets.”
Caim folded his arms over his chest. “You are no longer human, yet your mind is still so small. Humans are the ones who deemed angels everything good. They held the angels in such high-regard while they made demons things of evil and disgust. Humans feared the demons because they looked different, yet they worshipped the angels for their perceived perfection in looks.
“When some of those angels fell, humans deemed the fallen more evil than demons. So much eviler that in a great deal of human lore, the humans imagined one of their disgraced angels as the ruler of Hell. They gave Lucifer horns, a tail, turned him red, called him Satan and other ridiculous names, but most of all they made him the ruler of all things evil andbaaad.” Caim waved his hands around his face as he drew out the word bad.
Dropping his hands back to his sides, he continued speaking. “Yet he is not the true ruler of Hell, something you now know. Humans esteemed to be like the angels who remain above, but you missed one vital thing about all three of our species.”
“And what is that?” River inquired.
“We areallflawed. Perfection can never be attained. Yet you humans kill yourselves trying to become something you can never be; perfect. Angels were created by the being you hold above all else, but even that being is flawed. It has to be flawed; it was created with a world that has imperfections.
“Unlike the being, none of us were created in the very beginning, but we all came into existence in one way or another. Humans and demons evolved in unimaginably hostile conditions. The being forged the angels in the image of man. We are simply more powerful forms ofhumans,and humans are about as imperfect as it gets. It’s pure stupidity to believe anything can be perfect, or that it can be entirely good or bad,” Caim retorted.
“Pure stupidity does describe a human perfectly,” Magnus said and ignored the irritated look River gave him.
Caim’s wings fluttered forward. He settled his spikes onto the rocky ground. I stepped forward to launch at him as the hackles on the hellhounds rose and they emitted a low rumble.
Caim held his hands up in a pacifying gesture. “If I had come here to fight, we would be fighting, Kobal.”
“Where are the other fallen angels?” I demanded.
“With Lucifer, fighting against your followers,” Caim replied. “They believe me to be out doing reconnaissance.”
The hounds spread further out around us, creeping forward with their heads low and their eyes locked on Caim. The skelleins watched us from the other side.
“What do you want to discuss?” I asked.
“I was thrown from Heaven with Lucifer. I sheared off my wings with him on Earth and I followed him into Hell, but I cannot follow him in what he is doing now. If Lucifer succeeds in ending the human race, or somehow regains entry into Heaven to continue his war there, it will be the destruction ofeverythingand I have no wish to die.I have come here to offer my help to you.”
CHAPTER 9
River
Many things in my life had astounded me, but when Caim announced this, I was pretty sure someone could have pushed me over with a finger. His eyes held mine, the varied colors within them coalescing together. His jet-black hair stuck to his forehead from the sweat running down his flushed face. The black clothes that had transformed from raven to angel form with him stuck to his skin. I realized that, like me, the heat of the oracle affected him more than the demons. That was the reason the angels hadn’t been seen near it before.
“Interesting,” Magnus murmured.
