Previously: Castiel is assigned to watch over Adam and Eve after Cain murdered Abel and was banished. When he finds out Azazel is possessing Adam, he tries to attack, but Azazel uses a sigil to send him away. Castiel wakes up far away, cut off from his siblings' voices and unable to fly or call for help. After hours waiting, at last his Grace starts flowing again and he can alert the Garrison.

oOo

The trial

Being cast aside while my brothers are probably fighting is the worst kind of frustration I have ever experienced.

Even worse is knowing that I am suspected of treason.

I had only just given the alarm when Raphael intercepted me before I had the chance to reach the battlefield. I am innocent. I have no idea what Azazel did to me, but I was physically unable to fulfill my surveillance mission and alert Anael. I didn't intentionally neglect my duty. No matter how I protested my innocence, Raphael didn't listen.

I look up, gazing into the pure white light surrounding me. The silence is overwhelming. Any rustling of feathers would sound like a hurricane in here.

I find myself, once again, cut out from celestial voices and unable to move. I had never quite realized how much the constant humming of my brothers' voices inside my head is comforting. This absolute silence is making me very uncomfortable. My wings are folded behind my back and I have not moved at all for days, not wanting the ring of holy fire to touch me. All it would take is a single one of my feathers touching the flames for me to die. This is what the Archangel said before he left me here alone.

I had never seen this zone of the Paradise. I guess its purpose is to isolate rogue Angels before they are given proper punishment. Or am I to stay alone in here for all eternity?

The ground is made of marble tiles and there are golden columns rising up into the light as far as I can see.

The sound of feathers rustling makes me look down again. Raphael is back, and he isn't alone.

"Camael?" I whisper in confusion.

My brother from the Garrison looks utterly dejected, head down. He stands still while the Archangel draws a circle around him with holy oil and then sets it aflame before he leaves us without a single word.

Camael tightens his wings behind his back and stares gloomily at the holy fire burning.

"Cain is dead," he says at last, answering my silent question.

This confirms my worries that Azazel would attack Adam and Eve's last son.

"He burst into flames screaming before my eyes. For no apparent reason. I couldn't do anything. In a matter of seconds, he was but a pile of ashes on the ground."

He grabs his head between his four hands with some weird kind of whimper, as if he were in pain. There is no wound anywhere on his body, though. His Grace is undamaged, even if it looks turbulent like a stormy sky.

"They think you killed him."

Now I understand why my brother is so upset. Protecting Cain was his main mission. Just like me, he is suspected of one of the worst sin there is. Disobedience.

"Yes."

"Did you?"

He drops his hands and glares at me with furious golden eyes.

"Of course not! I would never do such a thing!"

"I believe you, Camael."

I've only met the Angel of Joy occasionally since the Garrison was given its mission – dozens of millions years ago – but I know he is as devoted to our Father as I am, and there is an honest look in his eyes. I've always seen Camael look peaceful and joyful. Joy is in his nature, and seeing him like this is unusual.

It doesn't seem like my support is making him any less upset. He stays silent and stares down at the ground restlessly. I wish I could tell him our brothers will establish the truth and all suspicions will be discarded, but I would be lying. Because I have no idea what will happen to us. Perhaps we will be sent to rehabilitation, or executed. Or left in here for all eternity.

"I am accused of betraying the Garrison and conspiring with Azazel to lure our brothers into a trap, according to Raphael," I say gloomily, driven by the burning need to justify myself.

Camael stares at me with his three golden eyes wide open.

"You, a traitor? This is nonsense."

He didn't hesitate at all. Not even for one second. His trust in me warms me up from the inside.

"What happened exactly?" he asks. "Why are you accused of such infamy?"

Before I get to reply, Raphael appears in front of us and extinguishes the holy fire with a snap of his fingers. Then he grabs us by the shoulder and spreads his wings open.

A few seconds later I find myself right in the middle of a huge semicircular amphitheater, Camael by my side. We are standing before a heavy desk made of dark wood where the three Archangels are seated. Michael in the middle, Raphael at his left, and Gabriel at his right. I throw a glance behind us and see hundreds of my brothers sitting in the stands, including the entire Garrison.

"We are gathered here today to judge our brothers Castiel and Camael for their involvement in Lucifer's escape and the summoning of the Mother of All."

I snap my face up to stare at Michael in shock. What? Lucifer has escaped? And who is this Mother of All?

"As well as in Adam's, Eve's and Cain's death. And many more Humans," Raphael adds, glaring down at me.

So Adam and Eve are dead. I suspected as much. I hear my brothers exchanging whispers as I square my shoulders in dignified silence.

They can't blame this on me. I did not disobey, so I have nothing to fear. I never betrayed the mission God gave me, and I've always followed orders to the letter. I am a loyal soldier. A good son.

Michael stands up slowly, radiating with light and power.

"Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos, let's hear your testimony."

The three Sisters of Fate step forward. I've heard about them my entire life, and especially since Paradise was created, but I had never met them in person before.

Clotho is almost as tall as an Archangel, Lachesis is a bit shorter than me, and Atropos is frail and barely half my size. I can't help but stare. Now I understand why we call them Sisters and not brothers or Angels. They are similar in appearance to us, but their Grace is dark, their body covered in sigils and some kind of scriptures, their shapes are sharper and chiseled, and there are no feathers on their membranous wings. Also, they have seven eyes instead of three like we do.

My brothers and I have been created to be God's weapons, shaped to be warriors, while the Sisters of Fate are slender and have this look of wisdom and ingenuity. We might look similar, but I don't think they really are Angels.

They look up at the Archangels with silver eyes and speak with one voice, like a single entity.

"Adam and Eve were supposed to die after living for over nine hundred years and having another son named Seth. Cain was to have many descendants that would have a great purpose in the future. Azazel destroyed our work and now we have to write it all over again taking these changes into account. Not to mention that Castiel trampled hundreds of Humans for no valid reason! You can't even begin to imagine how much work it will take to fix everything!"

Camael's confused gaze goes from the Sisters to the Archangels.

"Why don't we just bring Adam, Eve and Cain back to life then? Can't we make an exception? After all, they are God's chosen ones..."

A glimmer of hope lightens up his golden eyes.

"Be quiet, traitor!" Raphael hisses. "You more than anyone know why we can't do that. Adam's soul has been consumed to bring Lucifer back, Eve's soul has merged with the Mother of All, and the Reapers never found Cain's anywhere."

"Easy, Raph..." Gabriel says in a low whisper. "Nothing proves they are Azazel's accomplices yet..."

Gabriel spreads a wing to wrap it around Raphael's shoulders, which seems to slightly calm him down. The Sisters of Fate don't even spare us a glance as they return to their seats. Camael lowers his head, curling his hands into fists.

"Cain's soul didn't rise to Heaven...?"

His voice was barely above a whisper and I almost don't hear his words even though I am standing right next to him.

"Let's start again from the beginning," Michael says. "Azazel took possession of Adam's body in the presence of Castiel who only gave the alarm hours later, which led the Garrison's soldiers into a trap that annihilated their powers. They had to watch helplessly as Lucifer was freed. As for Cain, he was supposedly under Camael's protection at the time of his death. All indications lead to believe that both of you plotted with Azazel to free Lucifer."

"Well, we didn't," I declare in a firm voice, my gaze unwavering.

Michael stares at me for a long moment, until Uriel's fierce voice breaks the silence: "Castiel is the most loyal and obedient Angel in the Garrison! He barely flinched when his favorite human species went extinct before his eyes, so why do you think he would go on and plot to free Lucifer?"

"Precisely. He might share Lucifer's hatred for the remaining human species."

I turn my head to glance at Uriel who looks like he's thinking hard to find something to reply. Anael rises to his feet and walks forward until he's standing between Camael and I, his green eyes calm and filled with confidence.

"I vouch for Castiel completely. I know him to be incapable of lying and deceiving. I am willing to share his punishment if it turns out that I am wrong."

He unfurls his white wings to wrap them around us protectively, nearly making me stumble over.

"Castiel is faithful to our Father and would never stand against His will. As for Camael... he is devoted to his mission and most likely appreciates Humans more than all of us combined."

I never thought my brothers would support me so ardently.

A rustling of feathers announces the sudden arrival of an Angel just in front of us.

"Samandriel. What are you doing here? We are in the middle of a trial," Raphael asks reproachfully.

Samandriel folds his wings and bows with humility.

"I wanted to prevent an innocent for being accused wrongly. I was completing my mission with the low-grade Cherubs when I saw... Cain alive and well, at the exact same place Camael said he saw him burst into flames."

Gabriel snaps his wings open and disappears right away, most likely to verify Samandriel's claims.

All Angels start speaking over each other, rising their voices louder by the second. I throw a glance at Camael who looks frozen to the spot, his eyes wide open. His Grace is swirling inside his body with... joy? Or is it hope?

Samandriel nods at us and joins the gathering in the terraces. Given the turn of events, it looks like Camael is going to be exonerated. The soft weight of Anael's wing on my shoulders is soothing. We share a look and I see in his eyes something fond and protective that reminds me of the way Eve smiles in Abel's Paradise.

Gabriel comes back after a few minutes of chattering noise, raising a hand to impose silence.

"What Samandriel said is true. Cain is indeed alive and his soul is undamaged. Which makes the charge brought against Camael null and void."

"But I did see him with my own eyes burst into flames! How–"

"It might have been an illusion cast by Azazel to sow doubt and discord among us," Michael settles.

"Camael, you have been proven innocent. You may join your brother in the terraces and go back to your mission once Castiel has been tried."

"Good luck, Castiel," Camael tells me before he joins the rest of the Garrison.

I can hear the low humming of my brothers exchanging whispers behind me. Anael's presence at my side fills me with confidence. I trust Heaven's justice and God, but knowing that the Garrison believes me is a huge relief.

Now I need the Archangels to believe in my innocence too.

oOo

In the next chapter (next sunday, january 12th)

"Any other Human would have exploded if he had tried to slip a single digit inside. Literally. Nothing filthy implied here."