Fallen Angel

Chapter 38.2

When Michael caught Gabriël's chiding scowl, he quickly averted his gaze. While they'd stopped themselves before anything happened that they would both regret, it had still gone far enough. Michael felt a tinge of shame even since he had instigated that first kiss. 
This was, after all, the same man who had tortured him for weeks. The same man who was grieving the loss of his wife. They couldn't just skip to the next page and start a new chapter. Yet, if there was even the smallest chance of having him back...

"What was that about?" Michael cleared his throat, dispelling the thought as he looked at Gabriël.

"Minor disagreement," answered Gabriël sharply. "Anne and Thomas are joining us."

"Are you certain?" asked Michael, turning to the Nephilim. "You have already done more than enough. We will not ask you to risk more."

"You're not asking; we're telling you," replied Anne. "And I'll hear no more of this now, so whatever else you want to say, you can stuff it."

Lucifer chuckled at Anne's boldness. Gabriël pinched his lips, but he thankfully kept silent. However much he hated Lucifer was here, Gabriël needed him. Just not in the same manner as Michael needed him.

"All right," he said. "I suggest we —"

"You mind telling us what to expect in the Circles when we get there?" Gabriël demanded suddenly, his blue eyes still fixed on Lucifer. "Now that you're here, you might as well be useful."

"Ask nicely," said Lucifer.

Gabriël's fist was halfway up to strike at Lucifer, but Michael speedily blocked his path and caught him, which earned him another condemning glare from the Archangel. Lucifer smirked, amused at how Michael struggled to keep Gabriël away from him.

"Oh, fine," he said then with unnecessary dramatic flair. "If I must tell you what should be common knowledge, I will. What you can expect, Gabriël, is everything you've ever feared and more. And I am not simply speaking of beasts, ghouls, and demons. Your worst nightmares come to life in the Circles, and they will rip you apart, over and over again."

"How do we get through?" Anne stood from her sickbed and moved to help Thomas.

"You can't. Only the souls of the damned can pass through all Circles, but no one has ever been brave enough to try it since they would also have to experience every torment. Gabriël was extremely fortunate to get his forces as far as he got them when he attacked, but he wouldn't have got much further. You simply can't get in and out of Hell without us knowing about it."

"Actually, there is a way," said Michael. "Both the Vale and the Circles have an entrance hidden from all but one."

"That is a myth," countered Lucifer. "And even if it isn't, the Angel of Death is a neutral being. I realise Samael isn't the perfect example, but Azrael was. She would never have told us, not even if the world itself was set ablaze."

"True, Azrael could not disclose the location of the gateways to anyone on either side. But if, say, a mortal was to discover them whilst their soul was travelling between realms..."

"Whilst... Oh, you didn't."

But it was exactly what Michael had done. Lucifer wasn't the only one who knew how to scheme.

"Around the turn of the first millennium after Christ, I found a mention of the gateways in one of the elder scrolls at the Archivum," Michael said. "I confronted Azrael about it, but as you say, she remained neutral. She neither confirmed nor denied they existed, but she did suggest a way for me to find what I was looking for. I needed a mortal soul whose fate was still undetermined and could travel through both realms. The choice fell to a temperamental man with strong views but a good heart; Durante Alighieri."