“We’d hoped to put things to rights by closing the gateway, but even if the gateway was closed minutes after opening, I don’t think the damage would have been fixed,” Kobal said.
“So that means all the creatures that broke out of Hell will survive on Earth forever?” I croaked.
“No, it means they will survive until we hunt them down and kill them,” Bale replied and pulled her sword free to tap the blade against the palm of her hand. “They don’t stand a chance.”
I gazed at the humans and demons standing by the truck. “Many people will die before then.”
Kobal rested his hand on my shoulder, drawing me closer as he spoke. “Ever since they created this mess, the humans have been trying to hide it. We did the best we could to keep them safe, but it is time for the humans to reap what they have sown. Yes, many will die, but many were killed when the gateway opened, and many have perished since. Death is the way of all the worlds.”
“Not for the angels, at least not the ones above,” Shax said, his eyes locked on Raphael.
“We experienced our fair share of deaths during the battle with Lucifer. Many of the angels were slaughtered. Even a few archangels, such as myself, lost their lives,” Raphael said.
“So it’s been six thousand years since you’ve experienced death?” Vargas asked.
“We watch over the mortal realm. We experience death every single day and in the thousands,” Raphael replied.
“The more he speaks, the more I hate him,” Corson muttered.
Raphael pinned him with a steely look. “We do not fight amongst ourselves like demons and humans do.”
“I think you forgot about Lucifer and his followers,” Kobal growled.
“Lucifer wanted too much. He questioned too much and broke our laws,” Raphael said. “Angels cannot have the freedom humans and demons enjoy. Because they broke the laws, those who followed Lucifer were denied the glory of Heaven.”
“Glory my ass,” Caim snorted. “Heaven may be the ultimate goal, but you will experience joys here you would never find in Heaven.Eachplane has something to offer that the others don’t. Without any guidance from the being, it was only a matter of time before some angels started questioning things.”
“What do you mean without guidance from the being?” Vargas inquired.
“After the being finished creating all the angels, it established laws for us and retreated from our world. The angels remained to do what they were supposed to do, guide and give bliss to the souls they feed on in Heaven,” Caim replied. “And we blindly followed the laws in an unbelievablyboringfashion. Then, one day, Lucifer asked a simple question.”
CHAPTER 37
River
We all stared expectantly at Caim when his gaze focused on something in the distance. It seemed he’d forgotten he’d been speaking. “What was the question?” I finally asked.
Caim’s head turned toward me. He blinked before spreading his palms out before him. “The question was why. Why are we doing this? Why do the demons and humans have free will? Why do they do different things, while we are simply here, existing andbored? You have no idea how mind-numbingly brutal it is to do the same thing day after day, year afterthousandsof years. It wasn’t long after the being retreated that Lucifer started thinking outside the box.
“At one time, the archangels Michael and Ariel walked the Earth. I had assumed that maybe one day we would all be allowed to do so too, but I never asked if we would. I was a follower too then.”
“Why were Michael and Ariel allowed to go?” Erin asked.
“Michael was chosen to go because he could return to Heaven and Ariel because of her extremely strong connection to nature and people,” Caim replied. “Then, one day, they were forbidden from going to Earth and prohibited from speaking about their time there. The being forbid us to question them about the human realm.Noneof us asked why they weren’t allowed to return, or why it was forbidden for angels to walk Earth when we’d all been gifted with the ability to open a gateway to it. After the being left us, Lucifer asked why we couldn’t travel to the human realm. With his simple ‘why,’ he got many of us thinking, and that was unacceptable to some of our brothers and sisters.”
Caim puffed out his chest and thumped his fist against it. “Angels are to follow the laws laid down for us. We are to obey. But here’s the real question,brother,” he spat as he looked to Raphael. “Whydid we have to obey those laws?Whycouldn’t things be different for us?Whycould the humans’ laws change with the times, and the demons create their own laws, while the angels rigidly followed laws set down by a being no longer there? A being who perhaps expectedusto evolvewiththetimestoo?”
Caim practically shouted the last of his words as his wings spread out behind him and fury emanated from every inch of him.
“But no, regal Raphael, the great Gabriel, the admirable Ariel, andmightyMichael,” Caim said in a singsong voice, “wouldn’t hear of such a thing. We were punished for your inabilities to bend. Lucifer went absolutely nuts when you all turned on him and threw him out.Youmade him what he is now when you left us to die. He was once the kindest of us all, the brightest,theMorning Star! We were brothers and sisters, andyoubroke those bonds over a fucking question, you asshole.”
Stunned silence followed Caim’s impassioned words. Despite everything that had happened, I felt a twinge of sympathy for Lucifer and the other fallen angels. I couldn’t imagine the kind of betrayal and devastation it had taken to make Lucifer so malicious and insane. That betrayal caused Caim’s face to twist in grief as his eyes drifted from Raphael to the humans and demons beyond.
“And now I have turned against him too,” he murmured and his wings collapsed at his sides as his head bowed.
Without thinking, I rested my hand on Caim’s forearm. Kobal tried to pull my hand away, but I refused to relinquish my hold. Caim’s sorrow over what occurred with the angels and his betrayal of Lucifer was palpable. He had chosen me and this world over a brother he clearly loved.
“Okay, so he’s still got some deep-seated anger issues.” Hawk waved his hand at Caim before turning to Raphael. “But I have to agree, that was a dick move.”
