AUTHOR'S NOTES - WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD

Welcome to "Where Angels Fear to Tread"!

This fic has been a long time in the writing. I had to get my head around the story I wanted to tell, and do a bit of research on it too.

It will follow the story of Dean & Beth (my stories: Highway to Hell, All Hell Breaks Loose, Hell to Pay, To Hell & Back) from the sidelines of the angels involved in their lives - Castiel, Ezekiel, Gabriel and Sariel (plus others).

Mostly it is about Castiel's search for God, Ezekiel's search for balance, and Sariel and Gabriel's blossoming human love for each other as she begins to learn about the temptations of the flesh, and what it is to give your heart truly to another.


ORDERS FROM HEAVEN


It was the general consensus among those in Heaven, that angels didn't dream. This largely due to the fact that they have no need for sleep. Sariel's experience within her human vessel had been quite different.

Had she not known otherwise, Sariel could have excused her current thoughts and feelings for dreams from her vessel's original soul – but even though her vessel was hundreds of years old, she had not been around millennium ago, and therefore this was impossible. Instead, Sariel's experience was more like a day dream, filled with memories that had been cut up, stomped upon, dissected and then glued back together haphazardly.

In the lower levels of Heaven, where the boundaries between the ethereal realms start to merge with the physical, angels often found themselves caught between a more humanised version of existence. Right now Sariel was not sleeping, yet not truly awake.

She lay cushioned on a soft chaise that enveloped her in a feeling of comfort and ease, but it was far from the experience playing in her mind. She found herself drawn into worlds that had long past, places that had existed for mere moments, and experiences better left forgotten.

"Forward!" Michael shouted to the angels assembled before the Darkness. They had been created for this moment, to drive it back from the planes of Creation. With the power of their grace combined, a blinding light shot out, and in the blackest hole of existence, something pushed back. "Hold the line!"

Sariel blinked and now watched as their greatest warrior, Samael, knelt before their Father, his sword at his side. Reaching down for his arm, there was an electric transfer of red light that sizzled and popped, searing itself into Samael's forearm. She was beholding The Mark that would keep back pure destruction, and it had just been awarded to their most valiant of warriors, trust given to him to hold the lock and key to keeping eternal night at bay.

With another breath, Sariel found herself horrified, watching her brother refuse to kneel before their Father's newest creation. The Mark on his arm glowed red as he glared at the Creator, and then the human that stood before the gathered. "I will not pay homage to this lesser being. Where was he when you needed a warrior? Should he not bow to us? Would he be here at all if it weren't for us?" Samael demanded to know. "You love your creature more than you do the very children who risked everything for you to be able to create him!"

Tears falling down her face, the heartache never seeming to pass. "What have you done?" She asked, looking at her masculine counterpart, Michael, one of their Father's finest warriors.

"What I was ordered to do," he replied.

Uriel: he who received the Revelation of their Father and shared it with his brothers and sisters. He of the Salvation and creator of the many levels of Heaven. With deep, intense eyes he watched her as she lay half-awake, half-sleeping. The strawberry-blonde curls of her vessel were a reminder that Sariel was no ordinary angel – she had spent time among humanity, and while many vessels were more demure, controlled and neat – Sariel's hair acted as a constant reminder that there was a wild streak inside, one that would never be tamed.

What I was ordered to do… ordered… ordered to do… these words echoed through her mind. She rolled back and forth on the chaise that she semi-slept on until roused from her state by her brother.

"Sister," Uriel's deep booming voice startled her awake and Sariel sat on the lounge, looking up at the dark-skinned vessel.

"Uriel, what is it?"

"We have received further Revelation," he revealed, his tone giving nothing away.

"What is it?" Sariel asked, thinking of their absent Father. He had been gone for some time, Heaven now was run by a counsel of angels called the Thrones, from one of the highest orders of angelic beings. Few of them sat higher, a part of the Seraphim and Cherubim groups. Sariel was one of them, although her duties kept her in the lower spheres of Heaven.

"The war with Hell continues, but it is growing. We have experienced greater infiltration on the lower levels.

"How?"

"Revelation shows us that we must prepare for the unthinkable. Michael is seeking you, as his counterpart, you are most worthy and prepared to lead the legions into battle at his side," Uriel revealed.

"What battle, Uriel?" Sariel asked, confused as to what war was about to be fought.

"It is coming, Sister. Soon. The demons are rising up. There is a plot afoot, and we have yet to see the full plan revealed," he said. "Michael has asked that we locate the lineage of the first son, Cain. You are to be charged with this task."

"Why me?"

"He trusts no one else with this vital piece of the puzzle," Uriel revealed. She frowned, standing up.

"Then why is he not here, asking it of me himself?"

"Michael is seeking further Revelation. He has a war to prepare for," her brother answered. Sariel did not fully understand the implication of what Michael was entrusting her with, but she knew that it had to be done – he would not ask otherwise.

"Is the lineage not covered in the Records?" She asked, and Uriel frowned, revealing that there was something amiss.

"You must reveal this to no one, Sariel, I tell you only to sate your own curiosity so you will see the importance of this task," Uriel said and she nodded, watching him intently.

"Someone has tampered with the Records, changed them. The line is not clear, nor why it has been changed. Michael has asked that you seek out Gabriel, for he carries the lineage of the chosen children. Gabriel will know the truth."

"Gabriel? No one has heard of him in centuries. How am I to find him?" Sariel asked.

"Zadkiel has revealed he is hiding on Earth."

Sariel felt a stab of concern move through her, sitting up and looking closely at her brother. "Where is Zadkiel now?"

"Recovering."

"From what?" Sariel asked. Uriel's eyes seemed to darken and he smirked, his face showing his obvious disdain toward Sariel and her sisters.

"Even after thousands of years, your lineage continues to resist the truth. Our Mother is locked away and gone, and you have been given a second chance under our Father – yet you still insist on being petulant little children."

"What have you done with our sister, Uriel?" Sariel rose to her feet, her anger coming easily to the surface to match her hair.

"We have sent her to the Healing Garden, she will recover. Next time she might be a little more forthcoming when we have questions."

Sariel glared at Uriel, but dared not push him. He had come under orders from the Thrones, and to show such obviously disregard for a Heavenly order could only bring about further pain. "You disgust me," she uttered at him, "I am the leader of my sisters, any action against them should come through me."

"You are nothing, Sariel," Uriel stated.

"My beloved brother seems to think otherwise," Sariel pointed out, referring to how Michael had charged her with the task of locating Gabriel and getting the information he required. "Now get out of my sight."

"Don't you wish to know what information was imparted to us?" Uriel questioned and she stared coldly at him. "The third sphere, he is hiding in there. Typical, like the coward that he is. In with the souls of the mud monkeys."

"Get out," Sariel ordered, and this time Uriel vanished without further provocation. Her heart felt as if it might beat out of her chest, her rage was such that she considered going immediately to Michael and demanding answers. He could not have ordered the torture of their sister, that would have come from Uriel or one of his superiors. She filed that away for future action, drawing her attention to what was to come. Gabriel.

It is easy enough to travel around Heaven. One only needs to know where they are headed, and then have the necessary clearance to reach it. Sariel's clearance was of the highest order, and so she could access many areas lower spheres could not. She blinked, thinking of her sister Zadkiel and then felt herself lifted in that direction.

The Healing Garden was one of the greatest wonders created. Sariel's lineage felt most at home here, closest to their Creator when they walked through the countless trees, bushes and flowering garden beds of the Garden. Medicinal herbs of every kind grew here, an ethereal marker for what was found in the Earthly realms.

Sariel stopped to lean over the lavender, smelling its beautiful scent before moving on. It was the oldest herb in Heaven or on Earth, and her favourite. She picked a strand and carried it with her as she approached the healing waters.

"Sariel!" A soft voice called out to her and she hurried toward it. "You have come."

Chamuel, angel of healing and compassion was in the water, holding their sister aloft in the water. Zadkiel's long dark hair floated out through the water like tendrils of seaweed, her eyes closed serenely which told Sariel that Chamuel had placed their sister into a deep healing trance.

"I just heard what happened, how is she?" Sariel asked, kneeling by the pool of bluish green water.

"Uriel and those savages, they are getting worse. Anyone who dares to get in the way of the Legion …"

"Hush, now is not the time," Sariel cut in, cupping her palm to her ear to indicate that they were being listened in on. "How long until she wakes?"

"She will wake when she wakes," Chamuel said with a sigh.

Sariel slipped into the water beside them, her robes billowing out in the warmth that cushioned them. Without a word, she knelt beside their sister and reached a hand out to touch her forehead.

Instantly Sariel was teleported into her mind, and fell to her knees in pain. She gasped for the injuries that had been sustained during Uriel's questioning and crawled forward.

"Zadkiel!" She called out, finding the strength to stagger to her feet. "Zadkiel!"

The screams that surrounded her faded, and a fine mist crept in around her legs, tickling its way up her body until she came face to face with a hidden and scared angel. A mere glimmer of light compared to her usual radiance, Zadkiel peered tentatively out through the mist at her sister.

"Is this a trick?"

"No," Sariel replied. She raised her hand, and a symbol glowed on her palm, a sign that only the Lady's Legion knew. With a breath of relief Zadkiel waved her hand and the mist departed, leaving the slender visage of the angel's vessel with long brown ringlets falling to her waist and deep chocolate eyes staring back.

"Uriel tells me I am to go to the Third Sphere," Sariel said, raising her eyebrow. She did not believe for a moment that Zadkiel had given up her twin, her counterpart in Heaven, though Uriel clearly thought he had gotten the upper hand with their sister.

"Uriel is blinded by zealotry," Zadkiel replied, wrapping her arms around her. "If this is the way Heaven plans to move forward in the absence of our Father, then I fear I will have no part of it Sariel."

"I am sorry," Sariel said softly, reaching out to take the other's hand. "Heaven's host moves in mysterious ways of late, and I do not approve of their tactics. I will take it up with Michael when I see him next. In the meantime I need to find Gabriel, it is important."

"I do not trust Uriel with him," Zadkiel said.

"I don't plan on telling Uriel anything after what he has done to you," Sariel replied with a frown. "I will report directly to Michael. If indeed there is anything of import to tell him."

"We just wanted to be left alone, Sariel," Zadkiel said with tears in her eyes. Her eyes belied an age that her face did not reflect. She was ancient, and the years without guidance from their Creator had not helped. She was lost, and she felt it deeply in this moment of betrayal. She had been tortured for information, by her own brothers, and the universe was suddenly not safe anymore.

"He's on Earth," Zadkiel said finally, coming to a decision. "In the guise of a Trickster."


AUTHOR'S NOTES

There is some reference to future events not yet covered in Dean & Beth's journey - I have tried to keep it as spoiler free as possible, or at least allude to possibilities rather than definites in the storyline because to be honest, even I don't know where the writers are going to take Supernatural, and for the most part I am following that journey and incorporating my own side stories and OFC in Beth.

I have some very definite ideas on the angel story I want to tell, and the unfolding storyline around The Darkness does support it quite well, though like everything I write, there's always a twist ;)

Updates will be sporadic as I'm going to try and time them with the Dean and Beth timeline and when it's updated.