“Yes, I am like you,” Astaroth continued, with a smile more ominous than cordial. “Yet I have been privileged to remain by the highest Council’s side for such a time as has allowed me to be present for many of the Council’s decisions regarding our governance.” He paused. “They like to pretend that the Creator is behind these decisions, that He is involved in each and every detail of your existence. But where is the Creator? Hmm? Have any of you seen him? Friends, it’s been several aeons since He walked among us. And now, He has created a new world. With new creatures to attend to. Yes, I think it is quite clear. He has abandoned us! The Council is feeding you lies!”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Nearby, Lila heard rumblings of both assent and dissent.
“Lila, what’s happening?” Eva asked, her voice quivering. “Why is Adrianna up there?” She pointed.
Lila opened her mouth, but no words came out. She knew everything; she knew nothing; what could she say?
“Yes! You have been lied to!” Astaroth held up a scroll. “I hold in my hand a missive written by the Council scholar, Raziel—you all know him—stating that not only has the Council not physically met with the Creator in over four aeons but that the majority of the decisions that affect us are not even brought before Him. These are clear instructions regarding the types of requests that the Creator should receive and the types of decisions that the Council will make on their own. Without oversight from the Creator…orfromus.”
The noise in the hall steadily increased. Some angels stood and called forAstaroth to step down, to be reasonable. Others pulled those same angels back into their seats, demanding that the truth be made known.
“And what of the recent increases in protective measures?” Astaroth bellowed over the clamor. “Michael knows he cannot control us forever.Thatis why he is building an ever stronger warrior force. The watchtowers—what are they for? Tospyon us. To keep us in our places. To keep us fromgatheringandquestioning.”
“Hey guys, he must be drunk.” Beni chuckled, but it was half-hearted. His face gave away his fear.
Other angels had started to notice the armed guards posted in front of the doors. A few tried to leave, but the guards shoved them back.
“What’s more, what’s more,” Astaroth continued, “you all know Master Lucifer, who is being held captive in his own home. But do you know the real reason for his captivity?” The last word thundered throughout the hall. “He is beingsilencedfor threatening to uncover the Council’s deceptive practices and questionable intentions.”
Lila raised her eyebrows at the blatant falsehood. Anyone who believed Luc cared about the plight of the common angel did not know him well. But perhaps many angels in the room did not know him well because, with this announcement, the rumbling of voices grew until their words trampled over each other.
Astaroth continued speaking.
Let us make our own government,he said.Let us free ourselves from the Council’s outdated rules and practices.But by then, no one was listening, for those who wanted to leave had become indignant to the point of physicality, and others, spurred by panic, followed them in an attempt to break past the warriors and through the doors.
Lila stood, intent on finding her own way out. Eva was staring trance-like at Adrianna; Castor merely looked annoyed, as if he didn’t understand the gravity of the situation at all. And Beni…He looked like he might break into song, but only because he couldn’t abide tense situations.
Someone screamed in the back corner of the hall, and Lila couldn’t see what had happened through the wall of bodies now on their feet, but she heard the rumors soon enough.
Not moving, not moving, not moving. She’s not moving.
Her soul isgone.
Lila hauled Eva up before she could hear another word.
“We’re getting out of here.”
“But Adri?—”
“Now!”
All at once, the hall exploded into chaos. Tables and chairs overturned. Platters crashed to the floor. Bodies crashed into bodies, some getting knocked off balance and thrown underfoot. Lila tried to weave a path through the crush, but Eva was dead weight behind her, pulling her backward.
“Eva, we have to leave!” Lila yelled as angels shoved her left and right.
Her best friend shook her head, her face pale as a sheet.
“Eva!” Lila tugged her into a shallow alcove; it offered little protection from the crowd but wasn’t next to the doors, at least. “Listen to me.” She cupped her friend’s terrified face. “Wehaveto leave or—” Lila cut herself off as an angel dropped right in front of them, blood soaking the chest of his white robes. Eva tried to turn, but Lila gripped the back of her head and forced her to look at the wall.
The angel’s body twitched; it convulsed as though possessed by something other than itself. A shimmer of gold rose from the body, so brief that someone not watching intently may not have caught it. It rose, and then was gone.
Lila blanched.
Her soul isgone.Was that what the crowd had meant? A simple spark rising into the aether? A soul?
It couldn’t be. There was no way that…
But the angel’s motionless body and the crimson liquid staining a nearby warrior’s sword didn’t lie. The warrior looked as shocked as Lila did at what his sword had wrought, but he had no time to react before the crowd rushed him. They swallowed him up, stripping his sword from him. Soon, the blade was held aloft by someone who, no doubt, knew less how to use it than he had.
