God's Gone AWOL

[9] "I'm Sorry"

Sure enough, the one who held Atticus back was none other than their former choir leader Damaris. The angel who had disgracefully disappeared from Heaven after one of their own underlings became an infamously perfect example of a demon. Now they were standing before Atticus and Bentley, looking nothing like the revered and glorious entity from years passed. If anything, they looked more like a human, with regular clothing and casual demeanor. The only thing that had remained was the beautiful, unbothered, cordial aura surrounding their entire body.

The moment Bentley registered who this person was, her entire energy flipped on its head. All traces of the chaotic demon vanished, replaced by the ghost of the angel she had once been. She quickly offered Damaris a very proper salute, her eyes filled with nothing but endearing respect.

However, the moment she raised her hands, Damaris moved to stop her.

"Enough," they said, looking rather annoyed, "I haven't been your superior for a very long time now. There is no reason to salute to me,"

After a moment of hesitation, Bentley awkwardly dropped the salute and straightened herself out. In the close confines of the alley, three pairs of eyes clashed with each other, each shielding a different emotion behind a layer of intensity. Damaris was the first to speak. For the first time in Atticus' entire memory, their tone was stern... almost angry.

"Just what do you two think you're doing?" Damaris asked, their eyes glowing a faint shade of gold. "Are my thousands of years of teaching worth nothing to either of you?"

"Our deepest apologies, Damaris," Bentley said properly, "I was just playing around,"

Atticus huffed. Playing? Yeah, right. After so many years wasted together, Atticus could tell the difference between when Bentley was playing and when she was being serious by now. This time, she definitely wasn't playing.

"Never mind. Don't apologize." Damaris waved her off. "No matter how hard I tried in the past, you two always were at odds with each other,"

Our ill-fated relationship has been around longer than the older gods of humanity... Atticus thought to himself. But he didn't dare say anything out loud —especially not with Damaris present.

"Damaris, we were told that you had retired to the Earthly realm," Bentley asked, her voice sounding strangely normal despite the situation, "Why do you still wish to interfere with the squabbles of Heaven and Hell?"

"I haven't cared about any of that for centuries. However, I do care when I see two members of my own choir trying to kill each other," they explained.

"Oh, that's fair,"

With a slight nod, Damaris turned to look at Atticus. As soon as those golden eyes fell upon him, his entire body stiffened like a cat gripped from the back of its neck. His fingers curled into tight fists, but otherwise he could not move a single muscle. He wasn't sure what to make of Damaris' sudden appearance, and he certainly wasn't sure that anything good would come of it, but he still kept his cool. After all, his memories of Damaris, however distant now, were all held in a relatively positive light. They had always been an excellent mentor in his life, so he could at least tone up the respect while they spoke to him.

"Atticus, you truly are an upstanding member of Heaven," they told him, "I've always been able to rely on you to follow the rules and maintain order. However, today I would like to ask you to turn a blind eye —just this once. I'm not asking as a former choir leader, but as the only person who understands your feelings toward each other. Please don't resent me for this,"

Atticus sucked in a startled breath. In a situation like this, he could neither say yes nor no. If Damaris was still his choir leader, he would agree without question. But now, they no longer held any authority over him. In fact, they had completely defected from Heaven. Atticus' respect for Damaris was still strong in his heart, but he wasn't sure if it could outweigh the resentment he felt for Bentley and his duty to Heaven. There was no black and white answer to this kind of dilemma.