Chapter 24

Ihad heard this song before. The last time I was here, when Medrion was seen barreling towards this place with a legion of angels at his back… I remembered how this place felt. The buzz in the air, tension so thick it felt like I was moving through cobwebs. Dread.

Fear.

It felt the same in many ways, but it was also different in so many other—far more meaningful ways. Outwardly, Medrion always pretended to be an angel. He put on the visage of this honorable, misunderstood creature who only wanted what was best for all of us. He probably believed every word he ever said, too; as did many, many other angels.

If he hadn't turned out to be a sadist and a psychopath, he may have been someone all of Angelkind could've rallied behind. A leader, someone who would guide us back into grace, or the closest to grace that we could achieve.

Lucifer, though. Lucifer was only interested in himself, in saving his own skin, in consolidating his own power. He didn't care whether he was leading an army of demons or an army of angels, he didn't care if he had to burn down every human settlement he could find. If it meant gaining ultimate dominion over everything in the cosmos, Lucifer was ready to do whatever he needed to do to get it.

And the worst part was, he was leagues more powerful than Medrion. He was more powerful than all of us, maybe even all of us combined. Abaddon had faced Lucifer in single combat and survived, but I suspected that was only because Lucifer was surprised that he had been made to bleed.

I had no doubt in my mind, if that confrontation had continued, that Abaddon would've been vaporized.

In the end, we were putting all of our hope into the hands of a single cherub. Micah. Though he was a powerful celestial being, looking at him you would be hard pressed to see anything more than a boyish looking man with curly blond hair. This all felt like it was too much for him, like he was banking on making a one-in-a-million shot that he wanted all of us to believe he truly could make.

Even now, with Lucifer at our doorstep, he was frantically preparing the ritual he thought we would be able to use to bring Lucifer down and put him back where he belonged. As I arrived at the courtyard, though, it was clear… Micah needed more time.

The sigils weren't ready, and Micah himself was desperately trying to draw out an intricately detailed circle right in the center of the courtyard. I realized as I approached that this circle, and the symbols within it, looked more like an impossibly complicated mathematical equation than an occult angelic scripture.

"He's going to see this," Micah said to himself, sweat pouring from his forehead. "He's going to see me drawing this into the ground, and then it's all over."

I rushed up to him, knelt beside him, and placed my hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay," I said. "What do you need?"

"Time," he breathed. "More time."

"How much more? Azrael said he's already here."

"As much as you can give me. He can't see this ritual circle, do you understand? He can't."

"And he won't," said Missolis. "My demons have placed a glamor around this bastion that even Lucifer shouldn't be able to break very easily."

"Demonic magic?" I asked.

"The only kind of power angels have no authority over."

"He may not have authority over your power," Micah said, "but he is the first angel. It won't take him long to see through whatever your demons have done."

"Draw quickly, then."

"Does it look like I'm doodling?" he asked, frustration mounting.

"I'll handle Lucifer," I said. "I'll give you as much time as I can."

Micah paused and looked up at me, his eyes wide. "You'll handle him?" he asked. "What's that supposed to mean."

"It means, I'll talk to him. Distract him. He likes to flap his mouth."

"He's going to obliterate you and everyone else who stands in his way; do you really want to piss him off by delaying him? And don't forget, he'll destroy you if you try to change his mind. Lucifer is nothing if he's not vindictive."

"Micah, he's coming here to kill us all. I won't be able to change his mind. At the very least, I can keep him occupied until you can spring the trap."

"Actually, about that—" Micah stood, then examined the circle he had drawn into the ground. It was just about large enough for a single person to fit. About five feet by five feet. Considering the walls encircling the courtyard were all covered in runes, this series of glyphs looked a little… small.

"Is this…" I ventured. "I mean, is this…"

"Where we have to get Lucifer to stand?" asked Micah. "Yes."

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Missolis. "Lucifer doesn't have to land to turn this bastion to rubble."

Azrael, who had gone off to issue orders to some of her angels, joined us now. Abaddon wasn't far behind her.

"Is this it?" asked Azrael. "This is the trap?"

"It's not finished," said Micah. "But yes. And we need to get Lucifer to stand right here, otherwise I can't get him to the mouth of the Pit."

"My angels have drawn your symbols all over this courtyard," she said. "What was all that for?"

"Those symbols will send us to Heaven. These symbols will weaken Lucifer. He needs to be standing here for these to work."

"I will wrestle him to the ground, then," said Abaddon, puffing his chest. "I have battled him before."

"And I saw what he did to you," said Azrael. "If you try to bring him down here by force, you'll lose."

"You don't know that," growled Abaddon.

"Easy," I said, "no one's fighting Lucifer today. We won't win that way."

"What do you suggest, then?" asked Azrael.

I took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Tell your angels to stand down," I said.

"Stand down? Are you insane?"

"Everyone. Angels, demons—tell them to stand down. We've lost this fight."

"Sarakiel, what are you saying?" asked Abaddon. "This is not?—"

"—weapons won't help us here, Abaddon. I'm going to go and talk to him. The rest of you are going to gather here, and you're going to follow my lead."

"You think you can turn up after a year and start barking orders?" asked Azrael. "You aren't the commander of this bastion."

"I know, but I'm asking you to trust me."

Azrael came up to me and lowered her tone. "Why?" she asked, breathing the word. She looked just as scared as the rest of us did.

"Because I know what he wants," I said. "Let me do this. I'll get Lucifer down here."

She shook her head. "If what you're planning on doing doesn't work, he'll kill you first."

"If he does, you should all run. Run as far as you can, and as fast as you can, and pray he forgets about you."

"This is not what we discussed," growled Abaddon.

"I'm aware," I said. "But I just thought of this, and it's the only thing to do. Micah, I can give you a few minutes—no more than that."

Micah went back to furiously drawing on the ground with a piece of chalk. I didn't have time to discuss anything else with Missolis, Abaddon, or even Azrael. With a quick glance at the angels gathered around me, I took to the air and leapt out of the protective glamour bubble Missolis and her demons had put into place.

Sure enough, there was Lucifer, trying to figure out where in the world the bastion he knew was right here actually was.

When he saw me, he smiled. "There you are!" he said, "I've been looking everywhere for you. Sneaky little trick, hiding your bastion like that." The sun was shining on his human form, breaking against the back of his plump, feathery wings.

"Where are your demons?" I asked.

"They're a bit of a rowdy bunch," I said. "I thought I'd let them sit on the sidelines for the first couple of innings and see how things went. I see you and your friends have been busy anticipating my arrival."

"Can you blame us? You've come here to murder us all."

Lucifer's eyes widened. "Murder you? No! You've got it all wrong." He tutted. "How could you think so little of me?"

"Isn't that what you're here to do?"

"Well… yes, but only if you stand against me and don't do exactly as I tell you to do. And even then, some of you have to go." He cupped his hand around the side of his mouth like he was telling me a secret. "Too rebellious for my liking. Isn't that weird? Funny how the universe works."

I shook my head. "You aren't going to kill anyone today."

"I'm not? Well, that's a relief." Lucifer paused. "Why?"

A cool breeze moved between us. From up here, with Helena glamoured underneath me, it looked like we were both hovering above nothing but ocean. The demons hadn't just hidden the bastion—they had hidden the volcano, too, and it had actually tricked Lucifer.

"I'm sorry," I said.

Lucifer's eyes narrowed. "You're sorry…" he paused. "You're sorry? Why are you sorry?"

"She created you before She created any of us. You were her first, and for that reason She treated you way more harshly than she treated any of us."

Lucifer said nothing for a moment, choosing instead to watch me while he considered his words. "Are we talking about the same God?" he asked. "She throws angels into the Pit with impunity. I would know, I've seen it happen over and over. It started with the rebellion, and it continued all the way to the fall."

"She loved you, Lucifer. You know that, right?"

"Sarakiel… what are you doing?"

"Nothing. I'm just… sympathizing. God made you first, she thought you were perfect."

"I am perfect."

"C'mon. We both know that's not entirely true. None of us are, but She wanted you to be perfect. She desperately needed you to be, and that pressure… I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like on you."

"It was… challenging. I'll give you that." Lucifer looked down at his hands. "She wanted me to lead the rest of you, and to do it by example. She never allowed me to question Her because every question I could possibly have thought to ask She had already asked and answered, and that answer lived inside of me. So, I should just keep my mouth shut and do what I was told for all of time."

"That wasn't true, though, was it? You had questions that didn't have answers."

"Of course, I did. Don't we all?"

"We do. I do. All the time." I paused. "Before all of this happened, I almost got sent to the Pit for breaking one of God's rules. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, because I was doing what I thought was right. I was asking a question no one had an answer to."

"You're a Lightbringer. We were meant to rebel."

"And as angels, we were made to serve."

"I serve no one."

"You're right. But we do."

"Who's we?"

"All the angels down there, fearing for their lives. Even the angels who became demons. We're all mortal now, Lucifer. Even you." I shook my head. "We don't want to die."

"You should've thought of that before you decided to rise up against me."

"I know. We should've known better. That's why I'm up here—I came to give you something."

"I hope you're not about to tell me you came out here, risking your own immediate and hilarious destruction only to offer me your sympathies."

"I'm a Lightbringer, I'm not stupid."

"Then, what?"

I paused. "I came up here to offer our unconditional surrender."