The Devil Within

A Reader Lives A Thousand Lives Before They Die

"As I was saying," Ezekiel said to Raphael, "the other humans within the House of the Blessed are worried about her."

"I understand," Raphael hummed, nodding. "I will be able to accompany her to the House of the Blessed soon. We have to prepare for a small excursion later, might as well put the others to ease."

"May I ask what the excursion is, Brother?" Ezekiel asked.

"Would you like to tell him?" Raphael asked, all of his eyes flicking to the little speck on his shoulder. 

That little speck was you sitting quietly on his shoulder, having not left that spot in almost a month. When Raphael said that you wouldn't leave his side, he was not kidding. You accompanied him through Heaven and every single one of his duties. Because you had the Sight, Raphael could take you through Heaven without concern for you losing your vision or dying as that would be the fate of most humans without your gift. Since there wasn't a bathroom or a kitchen in Heaven, Raphael sustained your body with a small dose of his Grace. It made you just a smidgen more immortal than you already were, taking away your need for food- therefore preventing waste from building up -so you could live within Heaven. You didn't even need to sleep all that much anymore, only taking a nap when it was getting closer for you to have your dose of Raphael's Grace. While it was a sort of punishment- privacy was no longer a thing for you while you lived on Raphael's shoulder -you also got to practice your Enochian. Of course, because the angels were almost always in their true forms, you only heard proper Enochian which was very different from your watered-down version of it. Needless to say, it took a little while for you to get used to it and you still got words mixed up. At least some of the angels were able to get a kick out of your botched pronunciation. 

"Um," you said, taking a breath. "I made a deal with Death so he would help me disobey an order and I have to fulfill my end of the bargain..." That's another thing, Raphael pretty much made you explain what you did to every angel the two of you came across. It was a little humiliating but you took the punishment with dignity and did what he asked, what you did was pretty stupid, after all. It didn't matter how much planning you went through, you should have waited for the greenlight so you had guaranteed backup. Running into Meg back in Hell was a matter of coincidence and luck, two things that you should never rely on. "So the two of us are going to have tea with Death and his companion together near the end of the day."

"I see," Ezekiel said, his one eye showing a glint of amusement. "I hope the two of you enjoy tea with Death."

"We will try," Raphael said, nodding. "Ezekiel, please do not notify the other angels or members of the House of the Blessed know of why she is with me. She will explain it when given the chance."

"Of course, Brother," Ezekiel said, chuckling. "They will not hear a word of this from me."

"Thank you," Raphael said, dismissing Ezekiel. The Seraph gave you a small smile before disappearing with a flap of his wings. "Your Enochian is improving."

"I'm pretty sure it's just that phrase you keep having me repeat," you sighed, plating your cheek on your open palm. "I feel like a toddler while doing this."

"I believe your kind came up with the term, act like a child, be treated like a child?" Raphael hummed, side-eying you as he moved to the center of his library. 

"Yeah..." you huffed, scratching your leg. "But how did I act like a child?"

"It seems you forgot that you snuck out to a location you were expressly told to avoid," Raphael said, his voice hard and formal before switching to playful. "I would say that is the behaviour of a rebellious adolescent, a child."