Eternally Yours

Renounce

855 A.D

It had been a year since Hannah and Garin had found the baby in the river and taken him in as their child.

The year had been the best year they'd had since they were cast from home to live on Earth as mortals. The baby had brought so much joy to their lives that they never knew existed. He was their everything and they had grown to love and cherish him for he was their greatest treasure and had carried a message of happiness into their whole world which was why they named him Herald.

Hannah really loved being a mom. She loved holding Herald and rocking him in her arms to get him to sleep whenever he was agitated. She loved feeding him and she loved looking into his soulful eyes, she loved it when he grabbed her finger and would squeeze it so tight, she loved bathing him and singing to him at night. She loved being his mother maybe even more than she loved being an angel.

Garin also loved being a father. It was the most exciting thing he'd ever done and he loved doing it. He loved holding Herald whenever Hannah was tired, he loved feeling his soft skin against his and the little sounds he made, and he loved taking strolls along the meadow with the baby in his arms and Hannah by his side. Their life couldn't have been more perfect and the baby was what made it so much better.

The devil, on the other hand, was not happy about the joy and gladness that Herald brought to Garin. He had sent Garin to Earth to suffer but seeing him smile every day he looked at the baby made his blood boil until he couldn't take it anymore and decided to do something about it.

In the depths of hell, Lucifer sat on his throne and summoned one of his demons. A male named Kari, one of his most evil and effective demons.

Kari came flying in and landed on his knees in front of Lucifer. He was big and he had four arms and four eyes. His horns were long and his wings were even longer than his entire body. He was built like a weapon of mass destruction and that was exactly what he was.

"Father, you summoned me?" Kari asked.

"Yes, I did. I have a mission for you on Earth. It has to do with your banished brother, Garin." Lucifer said.

"And what does the Devil want me to do?" Kari asked.

"Something that will cause him a lot of pain. Something that will break his heart into a million tiny pieces. Something that will leave him forever damaged and broken. Can I count on you?" The Devil asked.

"Of course, you can, Father. I will not fail you," Kari said.

.

.

.

That same evening, Hannah and Garin were outside their home with Herald. They sat on a mat placed on the soft green grass and were gazing at the stars that hung in the sky and it was a beautiful moment shared by the small family of three.

They were also having their dinner outside as Hannah had prepared a delicious meal that consisted of some mashed potatoes and smoked salmon.

"Isn't this wonderful, honey? Isn't this moment just the best?" Hannah asked her husband.

"It is, my love. It is. And this little one is the reason for it. I must admit that when we first found him and you said it must have been God who sent him to us, I didn't believe you but after spending this year with Herald, the joy I've felt can only be described as heaven-sent." Garin admitted.

"I told you God was merciful," Hannah said happily.

"You were right," Garin agreed.

Suddenly, the sky lit up and the couple raised their heads to see why. There was a stream of fire in the sky that was heading straight for Earth and by the looks of it, it was going to land in their vicinity.

"What is that?" Hannah asked and held on tighter to the baby. "Is it a meteor?"

The strange object crashed just a few paces away from their cottage and Garin stepped in front of his family as the first line of defence.

"I don't think that was a meteor, Hannah. Take Herald inside and lock the doors," he instructed.

"What about you?" Hannah asked with worry.

"I'll be fine. Just go!" He shouted and she ran in with the child.

Garin ran to the side of the house and picked up his axe. He ran back to the mat and took the little container of salt that he was eating his dinner with and waited for what he knew was another one of his siblings.

From the smoke, a devastating creature crawled out and as he got closer, his physical features became less devastating. He took on human flesh and looked less threatening but that didn't change the fact that he was.

"Kari!" Garin said after seeing him.

"Good to see that you haven't forgotten me, brother," Kari said.

"What do you want?" Garin asked and held the axe even tighter.

"Is this how you say hello to your brother?" Kari asked but Garin didn't even blink or let down his guard at all.

Hannah kept little Herald in a little basket and covered him with a blanket. She ran to the living room and pulled out the floorboards and picked up the white sword that was underneath the floor.

"Thank you, Fawn. I knew I'd need this someday," Hannah said before taking the sword.

She ran back to the window to observe and plan out her next move.

"Tell me why you're here, Kari!" Garin demanded.

The demon decided to stop playing around and get it over with.

"Father believes that you're not suffering enough here on Earth so he's instructed me to take away something that makes you happy; Your child," Kari said.

"You'll have to go through me first," Garin said, enraged and determined to protect little Herald.

Garin threw the container of salt at Kari but the demon was quick and teleported out of the way before it hit him. He appeared beside Garin and smacked him with one hand. The hit sent Garin flying and he crashed into the barn house on the other side of the land.

Hannah ran out of the house with her sword and tried to stab the demon in the heart which would have killed him because it was an angel's blade but he saw her in time and used his telekinetic powers to lift her and throw her into a pile of firewood.

He went into the house and found little Herald sleeping in his basket. He picked the baby up and looked down at him before pulling a dagger out of its sheath, about to kill the child.

Garin was badly hurt but he picked himself up and desperately limped back to the house as quickly as he could to save his son. He got closer and saw Hannah's sword so he grabbed it.

Hannah also tried to get to the house but her leg was impaled by a piece of wood so she had to drag herself on the ground.

"Father, please, help my child. Don't let this demon hurt my baby. Please, God!" Hannah begged in tears and crawled some more.

Garin made it back into the cottage but he was too late. He saw the blood and he saw Herald's lifeless body on the ground and he felt his heart shatter in his chest.

In rage and pain, he ran towards Kari and swung the sword at him but the demon turned into dust before the blade touched him.

Garin dropped the sword and stood frozen on the spot. He couldn't believe what had just happened and he felt his anger mellow into pain and sadness.

Hannah crawled to the door and looked in to see her baby dead and for the first time in her existence, she felt real rage, real hate, real pain.

"No! This can't be! Why didn't you save him? Why didn't you come and save him? He was innocent, he was just a child." She yelled out in tears but her screams were not for Garin; they were for God.

"You're not a good God! You are evil and far worse than Lucifer! I renounce you. Do you hear me? I renounce you!" Hannah yelled.