This is the second of two chapters posted today, so make sure you read the previous chapter before you read this one! I wouldn't want you to miss anything!
BACK TO THE ABYSS
Several Nephilim prowled through the cave leading into Lucifer's home, grinning malevolently at the angels Gabriel brought with him. They stepped aside before the Archangel, giving him mocking bows and addressing him as "sir" or "Archangel." Even though none of the garrison wore vessels, the Nephilim stared hungrily at them, never cringing from their bright grace. Several of the monsters twirled silver angel blades in their hands, licking the blades and whispering to each other about the angels they'd killed.
Hold your ground, Gabriel reminded Anael silently. As far as they could tell, the Nephilim couldn't eavesdrop on angelic communications.
They were expecting us, Anael whispered back.
Gabriel just nodded. The Nephilim were not at all surprised to see the angels, and were allowing them in close. This visit was not a surprise: more evidence that Azazel was not as loyal as he claimed.
An angel stepped through the gate to Lucifer's realm in front of Gabriel, not Lucifer himself. Gabriel almost stepped back, startled to find himself starting at Tarel, one of Sammael's Seraphim who had joined Gabriel's choir. The Nephilim had torn Tarel down on one of Tarel's missions on Earth, ripped him out of the sky to the sound of screaming… or so Tarel's surviving companions had told him. Tarel's grace had vanished from the Host, and Gabriel had mourned the loss of the Seraph.
Tarel was standing tall and strong in front of Gabriel now, uninjured, a nasty little smirk on his face. "Welcome, boss," he said. "Lucifer's been expecting you."
Anael. Gabriel caught the Dominion's attention, his grace grabbing hers. If I don't come back… tell Raphael that Tarel lives. Tell him to assume every lost angel has joined Lucifer.
Yes sir. Anael was quiet, her voice sober as she squeezed her grace around Gabriel's, a gentle encouragement. Gabriel squeezed back and untangled himself, giving a little nod to Tarel.
"Hello, Tarel. I'm glad to see you're not as dead as we feared. Lead the way?"
The Seraph's smirk only grew as he turned and stepped back into Lucifer's realm. Wings tight against his back, Gabriel followed.
The shock of losing the Host's connection wasn't nearly as strong this time. Lucifer's realm was slowly filling up with grace of its own. There were many angels here, their presences wrapping around Gabriel and muffling the pain from the loss of God.
Even without a vessel, Gabriel could feel the weight of the air in this realm. It was hot and humid, curls of vapor wrapping around his feet. Sulfur crusted every surface, and the bonework on the first level was completely covered in the living roots that anchored the two realms together. Gabriel tensed his wings, feeling the old manic energy he suffered from when highly stressed starting to build within him. He couldn't stay still here. He needed to keep moving.
Gabriel took several steps inside and turned, looking up at the wall. Michael's name had been obliterated from the stone, as he had expected, but his own name was there, every line oozing with pus. Gabriel shivered, imagining he could feel that sickness in his grace, slimy and thick.
"Lucifer's waiting," Tarel said, several feet ahead of Gabriel. "This way. He's in the Pit."
"I'd rather meet with him up here, if it's all the same," Gabriel answered, forcing his eyes away from his poisoned name. "Could you call for him?"
"No," Tarel answered. "He meets you downstairs, or we blast your name from the wall and trap you in here forever. Your choice."
Wings rustled behind Gabriel, and he turned to find two of Tarel's Angels pressed against the stone, their hands hovering over Gabriel's name. They could obliterate the sigils before Gabriel could reach the gate, even this close. Gabriel was standing in an unsprung trap. His best hope was to play along and humor Lucifer.
"If he insists," Gabriel finally answered, forcing himself to turn his back on the Angels.
Tarel grinned at Gabriel and gestured toward the walkway. "After you."
Gabriel did not like Tarel behind him, but the Seraph gave him little choice. He kept his head high and his wings close, refusing to show any fear. His grace buzzed around him, reacting happily to the great magmafall that still poured into the darkness. Gabriel curled his fingers into fists and descended the spiral walkway, forcing himself to not reach for the fire. There was fire here, though, and this magmafall was Gabriel's greatest chance of survival if Lucifer turned on him. Just as Lucifer was untouchable in the oceans, Gabriel was practically invincible in fire. As long as he could get back here, he could hold off anything Lucifer threw at him.
As Gabriel had feared, Tarel and his angels were not the only denizens of this underworld. They passed many Nephilim as they descended, and quite a few of Eve's monsters too. Greasy patches of air growled and snarled at Gabriel, snapping at his wings, and a handful of angels stopped what they were doing to watch Gabriel's descent. They were not all, Gabriel realized with a numb horror, formerly Sammael's. He recognized a couple of Raphael's fallen warriors, several of his own, and even one of Michael's lower Seraphim tracking him through the haze.
Screams wafted up from the lower levels, horrible human screams. Gabriel remembered Sorcha on Lucifer's rack and couldn't completely stifle the shiver that slid through him. Behind him, Tarel huffed a laugh, and several Nephilim snickered as they swirled around him and dispersed, their grey eyes glowing in the darkness.
"Don't be so noble. We only take the corrupt souls, the ones that would never find a place in Heaven. All the screams you hear are from the lonely wanderers who've been dead for centuries already. We're giving them a new purpose in this world."
"How generous of you," Gabriel drawled. "You must be so proud."
"They're scum, Gabriel. They don't deserve equal consideration to us, much less to be held in even higher regard."
"Because no angel would ever attack another." Gabriel looked over his shoulder at the Seraph, meeting Tarel's eyes. Anger swirled in Tarel's grace, and Gabriel made sure his own was emotionless in response. "We are clearly so much better than them."
"Lucifer will explain," Tarel snapped, shoving ahead of Gabriel to lead the way now. "Hurry up. He's been waiting."
Gabriel did not hurry. He continued at the same pace he had been walking at, forcing Tarel to keep stopping to wait for him. By the time they reached the pit, Tarel was visibly agitated, his wings beating at the overheated air.
Lucifer was in the pit, in Gabriel's pit, prowling among many iron racks. Human souls twisted and writhed on them, attended to by various angels and Nephilim. Thrown in a corner was a crumpled pile of the corrupted results. Sorcha was in there, Gabriel instinctively knew, or rather, the creature Lucifer had called Lilith. This was her final resting place.
"Gabriel!" Lucifer interrupted Gabriel's silent mourning with a cheerful cry, sweeping up in front of the younger Archangel and grabbing his arms. "You came!" He leaned in close, pressing freezing kisses to Gabriel's cheeks. "I'm glad you got my message!"
"Azazel still works for you," Gabriel said, tensing in Lucifer's hold. That face, that smile, that voice, it all screamed Sammael to the Archangel, but the way Lucifer moved, the predatory glint in his eyes, the purring undertone to his words… that was all new, all dangerous, all Lucifer.
"Azazel? Last I heard, he was Michael's bitch. I asked him to pass on a message for me, should this ever happen. Yes, I preyed on his own loyalty to me, but Azazel is faithful to his family first and foremost. His presence down here certainly would liven up the place." Lucifer threw his arm around Gabriel's shoulders and steered him through the maze of suffering laid out before him. "We left things poorly last time, little brother. You ran away from me."
"You were trying to kill Michael!" Gabriel reminded him. Lucifer waved his hand dismissively.
"Details, details. Michael survived, we're all good."
"Michael isn't-!" Gabriel forced his mouth shut, refusing to give Lucifer any details on Michael's current state. No matter how hungry he looked, Lucifer didn't need to know Michael was still physically weak, or that his spirit was cracking from losing his beloved partner. "Barely," he ground out. "Michael barely survived."
"And his side has the better healers," Lucifer tugged Gabriel closer against his side. "It all evens out in the end. Now. What do you think of the place? Do you like my improvements?"
"I liked it better when it was just us," Gabriel answered honestly.
"It can be just us again." Lucifer stopped to turn to Gabriel, seizing his shoulders in his hands. "Little brother, we built this place. Together. We can rule it together."
"No." Gabriel didn't even hesitate as he stared Lucifer down, pulling out of Lucifer's grip. After what Lucifer had done to Sorcha here, Gabriel would never be able to feel comfortable in this realm. "I will not help you kill our brothers."
"Hardly any have actually died," Lucifer said, as if the size of the number could make a difference. "Most of the angels you lost are down here with me already. If you joined me, you'd be with them again."
"Even just one actually dying is one too many!" Gabriel folded his arms and took another step back.
"We're at war, Gabriel." Lucifer narrowed his eyes at his little brother. "Death happens."
"And whose fault is that?" Gabriel shook his head, lifting his wings high, wanting to flap them but not having the space. "What did you want, Lucifer? Tell me this isn't just another attempt to get me to turn my back on Heaven."
"It's not." Lucifer stepped in close, crowding Gabriel against an iron rack. He lifted his own wings loosely, reminding Gabriel that he was the bigger, more powerful Archangel here, even fallen as he was. "I have a proposition for you to take back to Heaven."
"Oh?" In order for Gabriel to take back a proposition, he had to be alive to deliver it. As long as he didn't upset Lucifer here, he should survive. "That much, I can do for you."
Lucifer's smile curled across his face, and he patted Gabriel's cheek. "Good Messenger. Shall we go for a walk? Someplace a bit quieter, perhaps. You seem a bit disturbed by all the screaming."
Gabriel could hardly protest as Lucifer looped his arm through Gabriel's and lead him away from the pit. He did close his eyes as he watched one particularly creative Nephilim dangling a soul over flames that Gabriel remembered igniting himself. A part of him was inextricably woven through this realm. A part of him was forever tainted by the crimes occurring here. Perhaps that was what fed the sickness corrupting Lucifer's wards. The realm itself was evil… but if Sammael had created this from nothing, then Sammael must have been the one to introduce the evil in the first place. Gabriel didn't want to think about that. He glanced over at Lucifer as they walked, remembering how it used to feel to have his brother at his side, at his back.
I miss you. Gabriel tentatively stroked a thread of his grace over Lucifer's, watching the older angel freeze up and slowly turn to him. Lucifer's bright eyes searched Gabriel's grace, and he reached up to cup Gabriel's face in one hand.
You don't have to leave. You don't have to obey Michael or Raphael or even God.
In his mind, Lucifer almost sounded like Sammael. Light and earnest, his words were hopeful and tempting. There was only one problem, and Gabriel made sure Lucifer could see the sincerity in his eyes as he answered: I'm not. I'm obeying myself.
Lucifer's eyes narrowed, his grace slashing angrily against Gabriel's own, and Gabriel quickly withdrew, wrapping it tightly around himself. Sammael had always been quick to anger, but he had never been so sharp, not with his brothers. "Suit yourself," the older angel snapped, snatching at Gabriel's arm again.
Gabriel didn't let Lucifer drag him, even if that meant he had to stretch his strides out to keep up with his brother's longer legs. Lucifer pulled Gabriel into the obsidian fields and spread his wings, launching into the air. The younger angel scrambled to keep up with him, before Lucifer's firm grip on his arm yanked him off his feet.
From the air, the full expanse of the obsidian fields stretched out beneath Gabriel and Lucifer. Groups of Nephilim clustered across the slick black stone, each with an angel or two in their midst. They were training, Gabriel realized, recognizing routine movements or the delicate dance of sparring partners. The angels were teaching the Nephilim how to fight angels.
"Aren't you afraid the Nephilim will turn on you?" Gabriel asked, looking over at Lucifer. "They aren't like humans. Don't you fear they'll want their own independence?"
"Do you know what a Nephilim is?" Lucifer asked, cocking his head to the side as he looked over at Gabriel. "Do you know how they're created?" When Gabriel shook his head, Lucifer laughed. "Nephilim are our children, Gabriel. Every angel down there has at least one son or daughter among the Nephilim, and, to be honest, many still in Heaven do as well."
"What do you mean?" Gabriel stared down at the Nephilim they were flying over. "How can they be our children?" Angels could not reproduce. Even in vessels, their bodies were sterile. The only way Gabriel knew of to create a fledgling angel was to have Father make a new one.
"Do you remember what we did?" Lucifer's fingers slipped over Gabriel's wrist, rubbing gently. "All those years we spent together down here?"
"Five days," Gabriel growled, fighting the urge to yank his arm away. He didn't want to upset Lucifer and have him rescind his offer of letting Gabriel escape with his life.
"Years," Lucifer said, shaking his head. "There's a temporal disconnect between the realms. We spent years, but on Earth, only a few days passed."
A temporal disconnect. That explained a lot. Lucifer had been furious at Gabriel for taking so long to return, but two months should not have upset him so much. However, if five days on Earth was years in this place, two months on Earth meant Lucifer had waited decades for Gabriel's return. Maybe over a century, depending on how badly time bent.
It also meant Lucifer could spend longer training his armies. While Raphael took two months to train his warriors, Lucifer could train his for decades in the same amount of time. Lucifer's army might be younger than Heaven's, but it was quickly making up the difference in this realm.
"You're starting to realize," Lucifer murmured. "Heaven cannot win."
"Heaven will not lose." Gabriel hovered over the fields, still staring at the Nephilim. "Lucifer… how are the Nephilim created?"
"Do you remember what we did?" Lucifer repeated. "Replace you with a fertile human woman, and she will conceive a Nephilim. They have all the strength and speed of an angel, but all the appearance of a human. They are my perfect soldiers, stealthy and long-lived."
"Angels cannot mate with humans. It doesn't work," Gabriel insisted.
"Have you tried? Have you made an effort?" Lucifer looked over his army, as proud as any father. "None of the Nephilim are mine—I do have standards, and humans don't meet them. But Tarel assures me that it is entirely possible to create a child with a human so long as you want it enough. Just as an angel can eat or breathe while envesseled, so too can they begin new life."
Gabriel couldn't say he'd ever tried. While he'd loved his vessels and their families dearly, he always felt protective of them, like a watchful big brother. He'd only ever lain with Michael and Sammael, and never once did he attempt to make a child with either of them (though now he wondered what such a child would have been like, an angel born of angels and not of God). "The Nephilim… are angelic?"
"And human. A necessary evil." Lucifer curled his arm around Gabriel's waist, their wings beating in sync, angled so they did not tangle together. "They are more efficient against angels than even other angels. We're currently trying to arm them all."
"So you can fight Heaven."
"So we can defend ourselves against Heaven." Lucifer looked over at Gabriel. "I don't want Heaven obliterated, Gabriel. I think it provides a necessary balance. Heaven is the land of order. Here, we have the land of chaos. Angels and souls should be allowed to choose which path they would prefer."
"You torture souls here," Gabriel pointed out.
"We are shaping them into our servants," Lucifer corrected. "Humans are lesser than angels, and they need to be put into their place."
"What human would want to choose this path?"
"What angel would want to choose the path of submission and servitude?" Lucifer countered. "Plenty do, even if it makes no sense."
"Is that the proposition, then?" Gabriel asked after a moment of silence, surveying the Nephilim below. "You want to share souls with Heaven?"
"We want Heaven to recognize us as an independent but equal choice," Lucifer said. "We want to coexist with our brothers, not kill them. We want to recruit angels and humans into our ranks just as they do. We want to be allowed to survive as we are, free of God's rules. We will honor a truce with Heaven, if Heaven will stop hunting us. Until then, we will take out as many of Heaven's angels as we can manage. You alone, as the Messenger, will be allowed safe passage here."
"What about humans?" Gabriel asked quietly. "What about these, these Nephilim? Will you continue to make more? Will you hunt the humans, to drag them down here to eternal torment?"
"If necessary." Lucifer calmly met Gabriel's gaze. "Humans are the pawns in this game, while Michael and I are the players."
"He won't say yes," Gabriel warned his brother. "He won't disappoint Father."
"Tell him to try. For me."