The Unseen

Chapter 17

My head was pounding like never before.

I wasn't sure if it was because my memories were trying to break free of their cage or because so many impossible things had happened in such a short time. My head was still spinning, unable to process even part of what was happening.

"Seraphina, you have disappointed us all," the self-righteous angel to my left said. "You know very well this is not the way of the angels. You should have never gotten yourself involved with these foul beings."

The loathing in his voice was more than evident, and the way he looked at Andromalius made it clear he was included in the group of lowly creatures one was not supposed to be friends with. It rubbed me the wrong way, so I stood close to Andromalius, as close as possible, my hand taking his in defiance that no one seemed to pay attention to.

"I did what I thought was right," Seraphina said. "I was wrong."

"Admitting your mistakes is not enough. You need to come with us and receive severe punishment," a strict-looking woman with long red hair said.

"You guys do know that she saved my life, stopped whatever bloodshed was about to happen here?" I asked, annoyed that there was no middle ground for them, no trial but straight to punishment.

Yes, she did horrible things, but she repented. And while I did believe she needed to be held accountable, I also felt her good deeds should be acknowledged. After all, she did save my life. Jealousy might have controlled her actions, but in the end, she couldn't go past a line her conscious dictated.

The angels ignored me, but before they whisked her away, I wanted to ensure I understood her correctly, so I hurried my next question to her.

"Why did you do it?" I asked.

"My brother and I were born from the same parents and at the same time. Yet, he got to roam the earth by being sent to Hell. He could do whatever he wanted because no rules applied to him. He didn't have to consider the morality of it all," Seraphina said as they started tying up her hands with a thick golden rope that seemed to be made of magic itself. "I, on the other hand, had to endure the strict rules of Heaven. It was almost impossible to go to Earth. I couldn't see what free will was all about. Naturally, I was jealous."

"We are heading out," the red-haired angel said, addressing only me and even that hesitantly. "Your wings and angelic powers should return by the end of the day when Ahriman is dealt with. About your memories...It's still unclear."

"Heaven had no relations whatsoever with the rogue fraction and will not accept any consequences for their actions nor provide you with any compensation," the grumpy angel said. "You will be offered a position in our department at your earliest convenience. That is all."

Then they vanished without a trace, without even a proper goodbye. Whoever said angels were pleasant beings clearly hadn't met this bunch of grumpy ones.

"What does that even mean?" I asked.

"When I was checking the information about you, I learned Heaven never wanted you dead. It went against their code or something," Andromalius said as if he was speaking with someone over a cup of tea and not in the middle of a blood-covered room filled with creepy goblin corpses. "Apparently, they want to subjugate you, make you part of the system so that it wouldn't be in your interest to go against it."

"Why does that sound like it might have been easier on me for them to kill me?" I said, overwhelmed by everything the future would hold.

"We'll think about that when we have to," Andromalius said, wrapping his hands around my shoulders as he tucked his wings away. "For now, let's just get out of this place."