Author's Note: An Interlude, staring a demon and an angel, important to the story. Enjoy!

Carte Blanche

Interlude

The tiny demon scours across the dirty land, sniffing and searching. Food, food, food. It's stomach was yearning for something, hungry. Food would not satisfy it, but it could temporarily relieve the hunger.

It climbs over a rock, looking around. Two other demons are fighting in the distance. Growling, the tiny demon leaps down and circles far around them, heading to a leaning tower. Home base.

Inside, it crawls around, hissing softly. Up stairs, no, not up there. To the back where more demons are, it needs company now. No, not there, other demons might be in a bad mood. To the front again then, but there's nothing out there-

The sound of scraping comes from the left. The demon turns, seeing another of its kind dragging something. Interested, the demon approaches, but the other demon hisses. The small demon backs away, taking off.

The demon's name was once Air. Something like that. Maybe it was Are. Or Arrrr. It can remember a pretty place with tall grasses and a golden sky. Air can remember tearing the grass, digging in the ground and throwing dirt. So Air was thrown from the pretty place.

Now Air was here, searching for that nice feeling. Air didn't know what the feeling was, but it was warm, fuzzy. But there was no warmth, no happiness in this dark world.

Air scrambles around, searching, sniffing, growling, looking up at the billowing black clouds above. Sometimes flashes of light came down from the clouds, with noise loud enough to make the ground shake.

Finding a nice little alcove, Air rests, curling up and leaning its head on the dirt. Growling can be heard in the distant. Sometimes the shrieks got loud, very loud, and Air would join the others, screaming and jumping and attacking random objects with them. It was fun, to destroy things. Rip them to pieces, it gave Air a good feeling.

A soft breeze comes, along with a different smell, one that didn't smell of death or ash. It smelled fresh. Air lifts its head, searching, climbing back onto its legs to follow the scent.

Another breeze blows, bringing more pleasant smells, bringing warmth. Air scuttles quickly, moving quicker and quicker. The scent and wind gets stronger. Air finds himself in a large open area, and in the middle of the space itself was a crack.

It was floating in mid air, it was small, and through the crack, a warm light was shining. Air retreats back, feeling the light brush over him, burning the skin. Air stares at the crack, knowing that warmth, remembering it from a place long ago.

Yet, Air feels... hate. Hate for that terrible bright light. Air jumps up and down, growling, turns in a circle. What would Air do to make this light go away? Air didn't want the warmth anymore, not if that light was going to burn.

Then Air gets an idea.

Masssster. Massster can get rid of it. Master was the most powerful in this world. Master can do anything. Master can take his blue flames and attack this light, send it back to where it came from. Excited, proud to have something to give to the Lord, Air turns around and scuttles away, toward the distant tower that rested in a canyon. There, he could bring Master, and the light could be gone from existence.

Curiel is staring up at the puffy gold clouds, feeling white light bathe her. No one was around, and this world was so large, so vast, she had enough time for herself. To take a break before following her teacher. She was learning about the importance of the different heavenly steels, how they were used, how they could be used. Construction, that is what she's learning. Soon, she can start building new homes for the human souls to come home too.

Feeling a powerful presence above her, she opens her eyes and sees a figure bathed in white, six large winds spreading out across the sky. Zadkiel. Zadkeil was much larger than her, much more grand. Zadkeil stood in the presence of the source, where Curiel stood in the presence of humans. Her status was lower, much lower.

So why had Zadkiel come to her?

"Good day, sister."

"Good day, brother," Curiel answers. "What do you bring?"

"A message," Zadkiel replies. No words were spoken from their mouths, the words came from their minds. "Anael has taken to the human world."

"I know."

"A rip has exposed heaven to the Earth, the one containing the blood of Ithuriel. Another rip has occurred, due to the balance. A rip from this Earth, to Edom," Zadkiel goes on to say. Curiel sits up, staring with wide eyes. A rip to Edom? How big of a rip?

"What can go through this rip," Curiel asks. Anael was the angel, ruling over the second hierarchy of heaven... the rip in hell must be equal to that. The balance must always be maintained. Curiel can imagine hoards of demons spilling from hell, onto the fresh green fields and beautiful forests of the Earth.

"Asmodeus himself," Zadkiel answer. Curiel feels a chill. A prince of hell, on the Earth plane? They had to let Anael know. Get him back here. Curiel stands.

"What will we do," she asks.

"You will inform Anael. Slip through the portal, but before that... you will see Raziel. For a sword."

"A sword," Curiel says out loud. A sword. She had no sword yet, no knives or bow. She didn't have that privilege, why would a builder of heaven need weapons? Curiel spreads her wings, some soft pale yellow feathers falling. Wondering why she was called on for this important task, Curiel looks up again.

"Why am I given this task?"

"Our Lord has wished it," Zadkiel responds. So that's why. It was creator's plan for her to perform this simple task. Feeling an emotion that is best described as giddy, Curiel nods and smiles up at Zadkiel.

"I will do my best to perform."

"I know." In a flash and a gentle breeze, Zadkiel is gone. Curiel looks around, not minding that her break has been interrupted. She was to be given a weapon, she was going to the human world, and she would be talking to two different archangels soon. Feeling confident, Curiel takes to the sky, heading to the portals of the second heaven eagerly. Asmodeus can go to Earth. Asmodeus can go to Earth. Curiously, Curiel wasn't as terrified of that as should be. The rip to hell, how could it be closed? Another building angel would need to be called to shut it, one more powerful than her. She would tell her plans to Raziel when she arrives.