The Bliss (The Angel Star Prequel Novella) Read online

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  With heavy legs I push forward, and follow Lucifer from a distance. There is no night, just as there is no definite day in Heaven, yet a profound darkness appears to have fallen. So much so, that a roaring fire burns at the center of the stone temple where the others are gathered for the Conveniō. It is not my place to be seated among them, but I stay back between the trees, able to see and hear as much as anyone else.

  The Seven, the council of the highest order, are seated on high stone thrones embedded with precious jewels that depict the status of their ranking. Rafael, of course, is seated at the center, flanked by Micheal on his right, and Gabriel to his left. The rest of the council of Archangels stretches out on either side; Uriel and Selaphiel, then Jegudiel and Barachiel. They appear solemn, concerned, decided. A deep fear boils in the pit of my stomach for my brother as I watch him slowly approach the council and take a knee before them.

  A long hush falls over the Gathering, and just when I can no longer stand the wait, Rafael rises, his thick white wings folding in place behind him as he steps forward to stand in front of Lucifer.

  “Do you understand why you are here, Lucifer? Do you understand that you have broken the Code of the Guardians?”

  My brother’s lips are still, only the slightest nod of his head, dark hair blowing in the gentle breeze, shows he answers Rafael’s question.

  “You have not only stepped beyond your duty as Guardian of the Sixth Gate, but you have decidedly made yourself known to your charge, spoken to her, convinced her otherwise what should have been her own right to decide.”

  A unified tremor weaves through the gathering at this. Free will is not to be tampered with.

  Gabriel rises to his feet and stands just behind Rafael, both their expressions are grave. I watch as Rafael’s hand waves across the meditation pool, soft ripples forming beneath his palm, and I know by their eyes that what Lucifer has opened himself up to has been monitored longer than even he realizes.

  “We’ve opened the portal to the Bliss and we have seen what it is you desperately try to

  keep to yourself.”

  The muscle in Lucifer’s cheek twitches.

  “Her well being is guarded with shadows, your shadows Lucifer. Shadows you wish to darken each and every time you enter the Bliss.” Rafael pauses, perhaps to give Lucifer a chance to defend himself, but there is nothing but agonizing silence. My brother still stares at the ground in front of him. Rafael steps back and continues. “It is by unified decision that you are to be cast out, Lucifer. You are no longer a Guardian. You are no longer a Prince of Heaven.”

  My heart beats until their words are drowned from my ears. No, it can’t be.

  “Is this the punishment for curiosity?” But Lucifer offers no further argument and rises to his feet, fists clenched. He will not fight their sentence because I’ve seen it in his eyes. This is what he wants. This is what all those hours of Reflection have led him to – this yearning to touch the untouchable, seducing the darkness that allows a human to become so fragile. This all along has been his Bliss.

  A dark smirk pulls at his mouth, and suddenly, the mood of the Gathering shifts.

  I move closer at the edge of the trees, tensely poised to throw myself at the Arch’s feet if

  Lucifer asks them to reconsider. But he is laughing. A deep, relieved, unfamiliar ring emanates from his chest.

  “Yes, cast me out!” he laughs. “Rid Paradise of the one whose heart is black and corrupt because your little pool of water says so, but mark my words, for the sentence you give me is your own. My desire to understand what lies below Heaven will be my power. The human is stronger, more complex, than you give her credit for, and I am the only angel who understands that harnessing such beautiful chaos will garner power.”

  Everyone gathered is silent. Apprehensive. How foolish they were to have thought Lucifer would be quietly accepting.

  The fire at the center of the Gathering spews purple flames and all at once infuses the air with the smell of rot and fury. The ground quakes, weaving a tremendous crack across the stones, splitting them apart, sending a few scrambling for balance, but nothing is louder than the ripping, the breaking, of what could only be Lucifer himself.

  His back bent, Lucifer leans over in agony. His white wings unwillingly unfurl from his shoulder blades, shooting up and out, expanding as the feathers ignite into flames. In moments, the flames burn out, leaving his once beautiful wings thick with the blackest ash.

  My heart is in my throat. The others are frozen where they stand, unable to comprehend what has just gone so horribly wrong, and my brother stares at them with fury in his eyes.

  Rafael raises his mighty sword as the others shield their faces. “This is what you’ve become! This is what you truly are!”

  “No!” I shout, rushing forward, but I am too late. A brilliant light spews from the tip of the blade, blinding Lucifer, swathing him in the darkness he has chosen over the light we all abide by. He will never see Heaven again.

  His eyes bleed as he runs his fingers over them, but there is nothing he can do. From now on they will be of no use to him.

  A low sound comes to my ears and I want to run to my brother, but to my surprise it is not a sound of pain. It is laughter again, rising, building, mocking us all. Staggering to his feet, Lucifer clumsily reaches the tree line where I’ve been standing, and I am no longer hidden from the Council. He cannot see me, but somehow, he knows I am here.

  “Hadrian,” he whispers hoarsely. “Avenge me.”