Previously: Michael has taken possession of Cain's body in order to defeat Lucifer, but it seems to be going wrong... Lucifer brings on the Apocalypse and leads a demon attack on Earth to wipe out the Humans. But he stops before he reaches his goal, as he can't bear to see the Earth burning and the Angels dying in thousands.

oOo

Tainted blood

Mission accomplished.

Well, the Apocalypse did happen, but it's been cut short before it achieved its objective. Lucifer has been locked up and Hell is closed. Earth is now a dead planet, devastated and littered with ashes, with less than five hundred Humans who survived, according to the Angels' reports whispering through my head. I take in the horizon bathed in sunshine and countless sparkling souls floating above embers and corpses. It might be a bleak view, but there's a harrowing kind of beauty in it that reminds me of my extinct human species' poems.

There are no Reapers in sight. That's strange.

The Archangels are standing still like mountains now that Lucifer is gone. None of us would dare to disturb them. Lucifer's words are still vibrating in the air while my brothers remain silent. The Angels from the other divisions are leaving the area in groups, following their superiors' orders. Soon, the Garrison and Balthazar are the only ones left behind.

Michael drops a knee on the ground, his head hung low as he struggle to breath using his vessel's lungs. A sudden coughing fit makes him spit blood. It looks quite painful. The incantation to lock Lucifer away probably wore him down.

I'm ambivalent about this mission's success. Even when he lost control over Death, Lucifer was still overpowering us with number and strategy. He would have defeated our army anyway and exterminated Humanity if he hadn't surrendered. This isn't a victory. Lucifer spared us.

Most of all, what should we do now? There are no sectors anymore, almost no Humans left and Earth is dying… What is our mission now? What is our reason for being?

I turn to Anael, like my brothers in arms, waiting for orders. When our General realizes that every soldier in the Garrison is staring at him expectantly, he squares his shoulders but remains silent.

Only then do I notice that Camael is missing. I didn't hear his name being called in the long list of Angels killed in action, though. Where is he?

Down on the ground, Michael lets out a bone-shrieking scream as his vessel's body bursts into flames like a torch, fire melting his skin, burning to ashes arms, legs, skull and rib cage...

"Michael!" Gabriel yells, crouching down over his brother's tiny receptacle writhing in pain.

Pure white light bursts out of Cain's charred mouth and melting eye-sockets. Dazzled, I squeeze my eyes shut for a few seconds. When I open them again, Michael has extricated himself from his dying vessel and gone back to his true form, but he's shaking so hard Raphael has to hold him up with his arms and wings.

Where Cain's body used to be, there's only a pile of ash left.

Michael pushes himself from Raphael's arms, trying to regain his strength, and turns to face the Angels.

"Castiel."

I stiffen and take a step forward, ready to obey his orders.

"I heard that you have a talent to erase, alter or create human memories."

I do my best not to let a rush of pride puff out my wings.

"You heard right."

Michael stares at me for awhile before he straightens his back – Raphael and Gabriel are watching with worried eyes.

"This..."

Michael gestures at the pile of ash that used to be Cain.

"… is not a Human. It is a creature of the Mother of All."

A stunned silence meets his words.

"Oh. That explains it," Balthazar says like he just had an epiphany.

Raphael throws a few glances at Michael, Balthazar and the pile of ashes, frustration and confusion growing more obvious in his stormy Grace.

"What is this supposed to mean?"

Michael's gaze hardens.

"Cain has stopped being human since his parents died. The Mother of All made him her creature."

"And the vessels that have been sullied by the Mother of All are unable to contain our Grace," Balthazar says. "Knowing this, I have to say I'm surprised Cain didn't explode right away."

In the trial I went through with Camael, he had sworn he saw Cain burn to ashes before his eyes. Was that the moment Cain stopped being human?

"When I was inside him, I had to use a significant amount of energy to prevent his body from bursting into flames. The Mother of All spoke to me through Cain's soul. It would seem like she shares a profound bound with her latest creations."

"I see," Raphael says. "But the problem is solved now. Cain is dead, and we still have his son Henok at our disposal. We will just have to make sure the boy is not a monster too."

"Cain is not dead."

Michael's tone of voice is ice cold.

Gabriel smooths down his feathers and glances at the pile of ash on the ground.

"Huh, he looks quite dead to me. And a little overdone I'd say."

"By the way, if he's dead, where's his soul?" Siosp says as he takes a look around.

Indeed, there's no sign of his soul anywhere. It was there before Michael entered his body, though, I saw it. So where did it go?

"I have been watching very closely the Humans in my sector that turn into wolves at moonlight," Ephra chimes in. "Their souls look bright and ordinary in normal times, but they became invisible when they turned."

Balthazar nods. "Yes, the Mother of All likes experimenting with blood as well as souls, and the results can be quite surprising sometimes."

"The Mother of All worked hard to create this abomination that she calls a Phœnix. She said Cain is immortal now. No matter how many times and how many ways we kill him, he will always rise from his ashes." Michael lowers his eyes, his voice dropping barely above a whisper. "I guess that was Eve's final wish, that the Mother of All granted in her own twisted way. To protect her son from us."

"So what?" Gabriel narrows his eyes. "His soul turns invisible whenever he dies?"

Anael steps forward.

"What are the orders, Michael?"

The Archangel's hard gaze focuses on our General.

"Since Cain can no longer die, we need to make sure he is harmless and obedient so we can keep him at our disposal until we find a way to kill him, to possess his body without it burning to ashes, or think of any other use for him. But first, Anael, I order the Garrison to find and bring Camael to me. I suspect him of hiding this information from us, and the fact that he's missing now only confirms my doubts. I will interrogate him and decide his punishment. Rehabilitation might not be enough."

When Anael freezes, Michael narrows his eyes and walks up in front of him.

"Did you know about this, Anael? You seem troubled..."

Anael spreads his wings open indignantly.

"I had no idea Cain had become a creature of the Mother of All. That is the truth. I did suspect that Camael was hiding something, but I didn't know that it was so serious. I discovered recently that Camael has feelings for Cain, which is abnormal and forbidden. No Angel should feel devotion for any other being than God!"

I restrain myself from objecting that God Himself gave us the order to love Humans more than Himself. But when I realize that the Archangels seem to agree with Anael's accusation, I keep quiet. They have seen God, they talked with Him, they know better than I do. Michael lifts two hands to cup Anael's face up.

"So why didn't you report his deviant behavior?"

Anael hesitates and takes a nervous glance at Gabriel before staring back at Michael boldly.

"I did, actually. I reported immediately to Gabriel who strictly forbade me to tell anyone, especially you two. Orders are orders, but what am I supposed to do when they're contradictory? The three of you ought to get your act together!"

Michael lets go of Anael and takes a step back, his Grace expressionless. All eyes shift to Gabriel who stands there in silence, hands curled into fists and a defiant look in his amber eyes.

"Gabriel..." Raphael narrows his eyes into annoyed slits. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Not here," Michael cuts them short. "Not now. We will talk about it later just the three of us, and you better have a very good explanation for this, Gabriel. Now go find Camael and bring him to me. Raphael, you're in charge. Dismissed."

We all spread our wings, but Michael's gaze sharpens on my face.

"Except you, Castiel."

I blink in confusion and fold my wings back. We stand side by side as we watch the Garrison, Balthazar, Gabriel and Raphael fly away in a flurry of rustling feathers.

"Castiel."

A hand squeezes my shoulder, and I look up at the Archangel who's twice my size.

"You mission is to watch over the pile of ashes until Cain comes back to life. Then, you will erase from his mind every memory he has of Camael, and everything bad he remembers about us. Make him amnesic or invent a whole new life for him if you must, as long as we get his absolute trust."

I nod, fully aware this is a heavy task I've been entrusted with. Human minds are complex, and I have no idea how different a Phoenix's might be.

Michael lets go of my shoulder.

"I have been told you have quite a gift for this, Castiel. I am sure you will handle Cain's mind just fine."

"I will."

I am a soldier. I obey orders. I have been created for this sole purpose. And I have no right wondering what Camael's reaction will be once he figures out that Cain forgot everything about him. This is not my place.

"Here is your chance to prove your loyalty and cancel your punishment. You will have to work on your own, I need to go negotiate with Death. Call the Garrison if anything happens to stop you from completing your task."

I nod again and step closer to the pile of ashes, staring down to watch out for Cain's resurrection.

"Do not fail me, Castiel."

With a swish of air and a rustling of feathers, Michael is gone, leaving me all by myself in this burned landscape.

After an endless night of fighting, of death and destruction, this sudden silence is unsettling. The familiar murmur of my brothers that I've been hearing since the day I was created makes it bearable, though. I listen to the Angels reporting unconfirmed rumors of treason. It would appear that some Angels from other divisions took advantage of the confusion to join Lucifer's ranks. Many of them were part of the division in charge of Earth's natural balance, or the division in charge of plants, or even of plankton. And I had no idea there is a division dedicated to rocks and lichen. I hear it's one of the very first divisions ever created.

Eyes fixed on the pile of ashes, I let the voices of my kind lull me into a wistful meditative state. I've spent millions of years on duty just like this, watching living beings evolve down on the ground. Millions of years listening to my brothers' voices and sometimes adding my own too.

A few whispers clear as a flowing river say that the workforce will be reevaluated to compensate for the losses. Angels will get redeployed to another division, or will be assigned to several divisions simultaneously. I hear Anael's distant voice asking if the Garrison's losses will be compensated as well.

The pile of ashes simmers. I get down on one knee, my finger hovering above the ground as I wait for Cain's soul to appear so I can dive into his mind.

There is this faint, almost distant sense of unease I am feeling. But nothing that compares to the searing stab of sadness that sliced through me when my favorite human species went extinct before my eyes.

I don't know if Camael actually betrayed both the Garrison and Heaven like Michael claimed. But should the Archangel be right about this, what I am about to do is necessary. Righteous. Even merciful. The Mother of All most likely used Cain, her creature, to get to one of us. Cain is sullied now. He is no longer God's chosen one, only an abomination. The Angel of Joy will be sent to rehabilitation and will come back to us purified, just like Anael and Zachariah were. His redemption will be easier if Cain has no memory of his Guardian Angel and stops praying to him.

The ashes thicken and move like lava, progressively molding themselves into a human shape curled in a fetal position. The gray color lighten, and deep inside the pale ashes there is a beating heart, red like a burning ember, unfurling a web of veins and pumping boiling blood into the body. Bones, flesh and skin are growing again to wrap around the internal organs, as well as brown hair on the skull, face and body.

Back to life, the son of Adam and Eve lets out a groan and coughs ashes from his throat and lungs. His naked body shivers and he struggles to sit up, pushing his weight on his elbow.

I still can't see his soul. My finger is hovering over his head, almost touching him, and I am ready to proceed.

When his eyes open, they are red like fire.

"… Camael?"

He blinks at my finger, looking lost.

I stay silent. His soul should appear any moment now.

Cain's head snaps up, eyes widening when they focus on my face – the red shade is fading back into their original color.

"… Where's Camael?!"

Fear and rage on display on his face, Cain scrambles to his feet and holds out a threatening hand as if he were in position to stop me from doing the Lord's work. His bare feet are leaving tiny footprints into the layer of ashes covering the ground.

Oh. There is his soul, it's starting to appear, shining brighter by the second. Finally I will be able to fulfill my mission. I move my finger forward to reach my target, when an intense burning sensation stops me. I look at my hand in astonishment and shake it to extinguish the raging flames engulfing it. So this is what a Phœnix is capable of.

But I am an Angel, and no creature of the Mother of All could ever be a threat to a warrior of God. He can't get away from me, and he knows it, I can see it in his eyes.

Cain takes a few staggering steps back, panting heavily. Blazing fire is whirling around his wrist as a warning.

"Stay away from me!" he yells, and there is a hint of panic in his voice.

I snap my wings open to create a diversion, and it works. Cain startles and snatches his eyes from my hands to glance at my wings, so I take this opportunity to reach down, trying to touch his soul. Two of my hands catch fire, but the third manages to bring him down and carefully pin him to the ground with the tip of a finger, my Grace probing deep into his soul.

It feels like I hear Cain screaming in agony through a thousand oceans as I am thrown into the erratic flow of his memories, scalding hot and bright like a torrent of lava.

I've never had any difficulty in exploring a human mind, but Cain's is different. It takes me all my will power and energy to find some kind of control over the flow. I focus to reach against the current and find memories from more than a year back, approximately around the time Cain murdered Abel, when the Angel of Joy was assigned to be his Guardian.

Wheat bathing in the sunlight. Soaking wet hair plastered on his forehead.

The bloodied rock drops out of his shaking hand. Warm tears are streaming down his face. He is kneeling next to Abel's lifeless body.

No.

Oh no.

What has he done?

He remembers being consumed by hatred and jealousy. But why?

He loves Abel, he would never have hurt him.

« Abel... Forgive me... »

oOo

In the next chapter

"I don't understand. Why would they put Castiel in solitary confinement? Castiel is a good soldier. Loyal and obedient."

"Maybe he made a mistake?"

"Nonsense. Castiel never makes mistakes."