A big thankyou to Ray for helping me write part of this… your help was invaluable. And Happy Birthday to Zakk… sorry it too so long to get this thing up. ----------------------------------------------
Chapter Four: Betrayal At Dawn
Psalms 51:12-13
Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach the sinners your commands and they will turn back to you.
Scene One: The Hideout, Boston
It was dark, pitch black like a moonless night, where all the stars had been swallowed by storm clouds that didn't exist. And cold, he couldn't help but feel freezing chill to very core, as he had been for what felt like days. This was their method of torture… to shut him away in a box and break his connect to his God. That was almost as bad as the darkness, but not quite, the evil haunted his feverish dreams like a monster on the prowl playing with its prey that would soon be consumed by pure darkness.
Cold was all he could sense, surrounding Wolfram Gabriel and penetrating him like an evil force that wished to tear him apart. The cold he could understand and fight, with the added benefit of it numbing the numerous bruises and cuts… and deeper wounds that refused to heal, slowing the flow of blood onto the damp floor. Yet darkness was a yawning gloom of uncertainty, where time no longer existed, where he no longer existed... Where everything was blanketed out by the meaninglessness of it all. In the end, he was left to the utter cruelty of fate…
Darkness can be treacherous.
Wolf shivered in the tomb of stone, shut away from the light of the world and the passage of time, the darkness was timeless now. In all senses the world was splintered and shattered into absolute nothingness. His breathing echoed harshly in his ears, the only sound besides the slow pulse of blood throughout his slender, broken frame.
The Darkness betrayed his existence… betrayed anyone who dwelt within it. For it brought the senses to a new height, the sound and smell… sharpened by the lack of sight… it was a traitor to any who dared entire into it. Or it could eat you alive…. Swallow your mind into a chaos beyond anything you have ever known.
Darkness can be a tormenter.
Quivering insistently but only partially from the numbing cold that infested his body and made his bones ache with the frigid touch that clawed into his very soul. Was it possible that darkness and cold were conspiring against him? They never missed an opportunity to belittle him optimism, always snickering at his stubborn determination to win freedom. But now Wolf knew, with a certainty that was just as deadening as the cold that it was only a matter of time until the darkness would win. It would smother the boy, consuming him little by little, until all that was left was an anonymous shadow, nothing worth rescuing. But who knows I am still alive?… Uriel… Raleigh…Please help me…
Darkness can be patient, waiting for a chance to strike you down when you least expect it.
He hugged his knees to his chest, rocking gently to try to keep himself awake, needing desperately to know he was alive… and not in the state of limbo that seemed to be all he could experience. Even his dreams, were pitch black, haunted by demons that used him as nothing but a toy… They broke him from the inside out with the silent loneliness that filled the void. He shivered, from cold, from the dreadful realisation that the dark would devour him whole, devour everything that he was... He would die, alone and nameless, overpowered and overwhelmed by the fall of evil.
Darkness can be lethal.
Curling into a ball, the blonde haired boy sobbed silently against the freezing floor that he couldn't see at all. The coarse surface grazing against his pale skin, with each ragged breath. Just kill me now... Why make me suffer? Why torture me like this? "Why?" Wolfram screamed aloud, the sound reverberating off into the darkness and returning to him in a splintered ricochet off the walls he knew by feel were there. "Give me back my life! Where is the light?"
Darkness can be silent.
He pushed up onto his hands and knees, staring wide-eyed into nothingness, swiping at his sniffling nose as the echoes of his exclamation faded. That was his voice. He had shattered the darkness for that one moment, with the strength God continued to give him… Somehow he had not realised it was there… the spark of hope and faith being kept alive within him by God. He experienced something other than just the suffocating stillness of the darkness. There was an existence outside the confines of the darkness, Wolfram could exist outside the shadows of this prison. Smiling through tears that ran down his dirt stained cheeks to leave clean rivulets behind, Wolfram's restrained, understanding smile shone out from under his shadowing bangs... There was more out there still to live for.
"I am Wolfram Gabriel, servant of our Lord God!" He shouted at the emptiness above his head, reclaiming his identity, defying the darkness. "And you can't have me! I am not alone! The Lord is with me."
Darkness can be beaten.
"All I need is some light…"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bright lights shone through his heavy eyelids, the burst of colour rousing him faster than any other means could. Wolfram Gabriel, Archangel of God, and brother of the Fallen One Lucifer lay on the cold hard stone, the boy had been beaten close to the edge of mortal life, nearly killing the powerless youth. He wanted to open his eyes, but soon smells rushed into his nostrils, or rather, he became aware of the odours, so very different than those of his prison. They were strange smells, he remembered the soft smell of the fields of his home… when he had been free of his chains, the earthy smell of the city roads and the sweaty, dusty smells of the stables. Memories wanted to rise in his mind, yet nothing appeared to him… The smells he now encountered, when his consciousness returned were crisp, sharp smells, sour and foreign, almost like machines.. grease and oils. They burned his nose on the inside, the force of it pushed him the last inch to the waking world.
"You foolish boy, wake up!" The steel-capped boot impacted hard with the thin boy's side, leaving the helpless child gasping for breath, while he struggled to remain conscious as his vision blurred.
"You will get nothing from me." The Blonde spat out, when he was struck harshly across the jaw for his smart remark, his emerald eyes burning up into the features of Abaddon, when he found enough strength to even stir from his place on the ground. "I will never yield… for the Lord is with me…" And the boy was set to crash hard against the stone floor, his temple striking the floor with a solid crack, red streaks already had dried on the worn sandstone.
"Then why are you lying here, Angel? Can't you see God has long since abandoned humanity and his angels?"
Uriel… please help…
Abruptly a small form was dragged into the room, the ginger mane stood on end as the Devil hissed and seethed like a living flame. The English Cat Devil was known to be rather vicious, the two pursuers that pushed the feline into the room instantly bowed to both Abaddon and Lucifer. Before they vanished once again out the doorway beneath the house where the chamber was built to house the Archangel and prevent his powers from been set loose.
The instant stormy blue eyes settled on the blonde curled further back in the shadows, the Cat was scrabbling over to Wolfram's side. In response to the clawed hands that shook his shoulder to wake him a little, Wolf blinked open emerald orbs that shimmered with a pain and confusion that seemed to blanket the poor boy, preventing him from even stirring slightly from where he had been thrown. "Ray?" He gasped out, his breathing coming hard as his broken ribs put a strain on him.
He grinned widely at the blonde youth, showing his fangs with a flash of white as he hugged the boy tightly. "Yes, Wolfram? I see we are in a little predicament here, perhaps you might want to explain why?" The flicker of confusion in his eyes showed the Angel just how much the Sinner didn't understand about this particular situation. The blood shared between Lucifer and Wolfram wasn't common knowledge…
The Archangel laughed softly, the emerald eyes reflecting some of the humour the Cat Devil held. "Lucifer… is after Uriel… And considering you're my Contracted… He knew to bring you here… to keep me alive."
"Hmm," The Devil narrowed his blue-grey eyes, they scanned the room for long moments, testing each escape there was from the stone chamber. "Keep you alive. Right, yes, of course." There was a vent above their heads… one that would certainly lead to the surface, since they were underground in the basement. There was a chance for escape… the opportunity only needed to present itself.
"I do want to live." A whimsical smile flittered across the boy's lips as his fingers rubbed over the cat's perked up ears, trying to calm his own nerves to keep from hugging the familiar Devil to him. He needed to remain calm… or end up with a lot more trouble on his hands then he could handle, with Abaddon standing over them watching with dark merciless eyes.
The devil looked upwards, his grin fading a little as he realised just how injured the boy was. "How would we go about this?" Crouching down, his tail curled around his legs, while he observed the other people in the room. Patience… the cat reminded himself, not wanting to end up injured and unable to protected his Contractor… though their Contract wasn't quite as strong as others…
"You won't be going about anything, Feline." The blue eyes of Lucifer pinned the cat to the spot, the taller powerful Fallen One stood leaning against the wall. His power rose around him like a cascade of dark holy energy, one that burned the kitten a little as it coiled around Wolfram to hold the boy in place like a set of heavy chains. "There is no escape."
Growling softly, Raleigh cringed slightly under the menacing sapphire gaze, moving his own down to the floor, but his eyes became steely as a determination filled him swiftly. "Lucifer..." It was a warning and a threat all in one word…
A smirk flittered over the older brother's lips as he gazed down at the pair, "So… the kitty finally shows his claws." The Fallen One laughed coldly, his eyes narrowing sharply on the feline Sinner. "And shows me how blunt they are." The dominating ex-commander of some of heaven's most elite showed through in the stiff stance and hand that rested lightly on the handle of the gun strapped to his thigh.
"Your words don't concern me, Fallen One." The feline's face hardened, glaring back at him with unrestrained hatred shimmering in his stormy orbs. "That smirk will not hold you long." Yet he remained aware of the weapon at Lucifer's belt, a single bolt from that would kill him in an instant… without his horns, the Cat Demon was not strong enough to repel such an attack unless his Contractor gave him the power to.
Wolfram's brows knotted together as his blurred gaze tried to focus on his older sibling. "You're the traitor to Heaven…" The smaller frailer blonde tried to push himself up off the stone, the Sinner helped to set him against the back wall, the grey eyes concerned for his friends wellbeing. "I was the one that exiled you. Samael exiled the others…"
"YOU BASTARD!" Lucifer bellowed livid, moving forwards to attack the downed boy, while the gun was snatched from its holster and raised level with Wolf's head. "Your death is assured…" The older was far closer to snapping then anyone bar his little brother had ever seen. The sheer burning hatred burned in his blue eyes as he stared his brother down, the feeling of betrayal scorching his soul even darker.
Abaddon stepped into his way, hands coming up to restrain him, sending the weapon clattering to the ground as he stared hard into the Fallen One's eyes. "Enough Lucifer… We need him alive. He is more use to Focalor that way… not dead."
Raleigh's eyes flickered from Lucifer back to Wolf's pale face, rather bemused somehow by the situation. "Bargaining...?"
"No…" The boy gasped out, his shallow breathing limiting his voice to a bare whisper. "Tortured… and then used as bait… Yet, they have gained absolutely nothing from me…"
Lucifer abruptly was calm again, like a stone statue, smirking in that infuriatingly smug way at the pair. "Oh, you have given us what we want. A way of drawing out your fellow Archangel Uriel."
The feline hisses quietly at Lucifer, before turning back to his ward. "Tell me, you didn't call her..."
"I had too…" The boy whispered softly, head bowed. "She is the Light… and it is time for her to awaken…"
And Lucifer was laughing, as the sounds of the preparations above for the Angel's arrival could be heard penetrating through the stone and into the basement. "She's already on her way…"
"You don't even know… what she is…"
Scene Two: St Uriel's Church, Maine
The dawn fell down on them like the walls of Jericho had, crashing down to wake those who had needed the rest from the long flight from the different reaches of Canada and up into Alaska. The sky lightened with a swirl of colours in every hue imaginable, shining down with a beauty of biblical proportions… The bell clanged softly as the breeze pushing against it, the stillness of the place seemed off… making some wary. Keziah and Samael were no longer where they had been sleeping that night. They were gone.. as if they had never existed. Some questioned but didn't choose to understand… the pair where holy. And thus obeying the Lord's Will.
"In the name of the Magdalan Order, you are all under arrest."
The click of a gun been loaded was the first sign that something was wrong… The cold metal pressed against the back of Raum's neck, making the German Devil flinch slightly at the sensation. His eyes turned back to spy Zakk holding it, "Traitor." How could Zakk pull a weapon on him? They had been through so much, and not it had just come down to this. Anger sparked in the Devil, while he felt utterly betrayed by the one he had even felt was his brother in the true sense of the word. The red-haired man prepared to twist and attack him as his instincts demanded the threat be handled, with force. Yet, a gentle presence stopped him.'There is more at stake here.'
The Crow's violet eyes blinked in surprise and shock at the voice that echoed to his ears alone, speaking mind to mind with him. 'Speak, who are you?' But the soft sigh that echoed in his mind told him instantly who it was and he stiffened immediately. 'Keziah?' How had she created such a contact to his mind? There were so many questions then… too many to be answered.
'Stop making foolish mistakes… Trust Zakk… He is doing the right thing by all of us. He's protecting you.'
Flashes of blue moved into his field of vision, the burn of holy energies rattled through his body as others were herding into the centre of the Churchyard, the only ones missing were Samael and Keziah. The Magdalan Order swarmed over the ruins like insects, their blue uniforms standing out against the dark stone and green pine. Barriers shimmered around the Sinners and Fallen Ones of the group numbering about ten or so… They didn't resist. They found no reason too…
"Yeah right, with a gun pointed at my head." Raum growled out, his cold eyes staring down the Brother who looked so wounded by the disgust directed at him. However, turning slowly, his arms raised as he let his gathering energy subside again to simply drive down into nothingness. Reluctant to do so, he still followed the directions of his friend and Servant of his Lord.
"Trust me, Raum, I haven't betrayed you… The Order wishes simply for the safety of the innocent." Zakk said, sandy brown hair flopping down into his face, "I would not hurt her people… for the world." His blue eyes turned to meet that of one of the Sinners. They are the innocent, thrust into a life that has been nothing but cruel to them… "Love strikes those who know not what to do about it. In some ways Keziah is right…. In others I prefer my own way." The Militia stalked away from where two other burly humans gripped either of the German's shoulders, pushing him towards the waiting transport. They were prepared for the worst…
The white-haired Fox Demon smiled widely at the Brother, revealing fangs in the dawn glow, her green eyes sparkling with cunning mischief. "Brother, Brother… You wish me in chains?" She taunted, wagging a finger at him. I know you too well… my Love.
"No." Zakk flushed crimson at those words, blue eyes glittering with emotions as he gazed at her, "Caelah… It's not like that." He could never betray his love, though a halfbreed, she was the only one to ever fully understand his peculiar sense of justice and honour.
Emerald eyes narrowed on his then, the vixen shaking off those who held her, obviously not caring as guns instantly came upon as soon as she had begun to move. For her, they were not a threat… not when Zakk would protect her… she had her faith, not in God, but in him. The Crow wanted desperately to stop her to tell him to just leave it be… not to make this even more of a mess of this rather odd situation. Her tail swished lightly behind her knees, the white vixen gazed firmly at him as she stalked towards him, ignoring the weapons pointed at her.
And she grinned, tugging the weapon from Zakk's fingers and wrapping her arm around his waist, stunning those around her. "Oh come on! You think the Order is here to really arrest us?"
That made everyone actually consider the situation…. Though the Order now had an agreement with the Pursuers, still it didn't mean that they would give up on the ones that had asked for protection over a year before. There was too much out there that was tracking down these rogues to let them run loose without the watchful eye of others… Time had no place for them, so they had to make their own spot in time.
"Cae…" Zakk cradled the halfling close to his body, arms wrapped around her as she re-holstered his weapon at his belt. "That was good." And he grinned happily against her short snowy white hair.
Raum blinked once and burst out laughing, "Okay… nice one… Point taken for the dramatic side of it… Can we get going now? Before we end up as barbecue?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Strong fingers curled over her lips, stopping her words before she even uttered them to tell Zakk to go to hell as she watched the weapon been pulled on Raum. When Samael pulled her back against his chest, his chin resting on the top of her head, wrapping her up in his winged embrace. "Shh… Trust me…" He lifted her tightly against his powerful form, stepping back from sight. "Tell Raum it's alright…"
Doing as he suggested, she shuddered a little at seeing the Sinners and Fallen Ones being taken away by the Order, rage sparked in her at that. How dare they… And the brush of his fingers down her forearm made her break from her thoughts and look up at him, uncertain what to make of this particular situation that seemed to capture them. Or so Keziah thought for herself… Clearly the Devil knew what was going on. 'You know don't you?'
"Yes." Samael responded, eyes focusing towards the north of the Churchyard, as if he sensed something that was threatening to destroy his hard worked plans. "Asmodai is back… and he has friends… this time."
"You arranged this didn't you?"
"Yes… It was the only way. The safest way for them."
Him reading her thoughts was nothing new… It had always been that way… it always would be that way. If there was one certain thing, it was Samael hated Lucifer… And Keziah knew it. "Lucifer…"
Lips brushed over her dark indigo hair as the Devil brought her fingers up to the jewelled collar strung around his neck. "I just want to protect you from that bastard." This is the only way I know how to do that…"I won't let him take you like he did, Wolf…"
"Everytime you transform… I fade a little more… and find myself lost in a dream world." Her voice caught on that, Her eyes closed tightly at the thought of completely vanishing into nothingness. "I don't' want to vanish…"
"Have you ever thought you won't… that this is the dream? And the Dream is the reality?"
"Maybe your right?" For the first time, she actually considered his words, considered everything she had heard and seen, willing to take the chance and believe a little more in who she was. "I'm Uriel?"
"Yes." Gaining a soft purr from her, Samael smiled at that and his hands traced down her side, letting her fingers trace over the leather band around his throat. Feeling connected to her, through both the contract and the bond that stretched between them, a solid connection forged by blood…
"So you will let me?" This was his chance… He had just gotten her, been allowed to now be with her. He wouldn't let go again, yet he had a duty to protect her and the others from being stopped. The Order needed to take them to Boston, it was the safest way to travel. And Wolfram… They needed to find him…
"What will happen to me in the end?" Keziah questioned quietly, eyes peering towards the north, now able to feel the terrible arches of power that raced through the earth before the Fallen One. "I'm scared of that Sami…"
The old pet name made him flinch, remembering the child she had been only a few years ago… and the duties she had to her people even then. She was salvation for him. One that never judged him for his duty as Angel of Death… to being about the death of those who people loved. Many cursed his very existence, others were remarkably tolerant of him. This was destroying Keziah… and part of his heart. How can you love two parts of the same person? Keziah and Uriel, one and the same, yet their personalities were different… or so he thought.
"Maybe it doesn't really matter… because I got you…" She smiled warmly up at him… "Now let's go kick Lucifer's ass…"
"With pleasure my Lady, with pleasure…"
The crystals around his neck pulsed along with his heartbeat as he held Keziah in his arms, the rush of Miasma around them spiralling in black plumed vortex around them. His eyes watched the young girl's form seem to flicker, as if someone was tuning reality to a different channel. Fire rose from the earth, scorching heat of a solar origin sparked into life, mingling with the demonic miasma a fierce radiance twisted around them. Her fingers reached up to trace the circle of horn-bone around his head, brushing away his bangs to reveal it, "Let light bring salvation."
"Samael?" Keziah murmured, her silvery-gold eyes flickering closed she heard the howl of outrage come from her Contracted. "Sami?" She felt the warm fingers reached out to flutter over her cheek, her eyes flickered shut under the soft caress.
"Trust me…" A growling purr echoed in her ears, making her start at she felt lips brush over her jaw, "Please…" His clawed fingers drew her own up before her eyes, "Look." The claws that were usually there had vanished, the predator from her dreams had returned. The miasma dyed his wings pure black as it feed him its power, strengthening the body curled around her own. "We will get Lucifer… I promise."
"Justice… not revenge…" She managed to breathe out, her face pressed into his shoulder as he pulled her tightly into his warm body to turn her into his embrace… His teal eyes darkened to almost ebony gazed at her with a longing and passion that almost frightened her. "What are you doing?"
"Bringing you with me…" And Samael's silky lips brushed over hers for the first time.
Her eyes wide as she jerked back in surprise for this was the first time… he had ever done that. Her body being seized from her grasp as something buried deeply within her struggled to break free from her control. Consciousness seemed to be slipping away from her grasp, Keziah was flung into nothingness as indigo locks changed to gold and orange, like living fire, golden eyes blinked open.
"Salvation in the face of adversity." The low danger sound echoed in the Devil's throat as he touched her lightly, claws sliding over her throat with a lover's touch. His emotions were screaming at him, her scent strong in Samael's senses, calling the aggressive need for possession from within his primal heart. She was his. It was as simple as that. "My salvation."
'Uriel help!'
"Wolfram…"And burning wings erupted forth to cast the Bell Tower with the eternal light of God.
Oh a bit of a cliffy on that… The next chapter will be the first big battle… and also a bit more of the past is revealed… Sorry it took so long to get up… I just hope its good…