Fallen

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

I wasn't sure if I would be able to control my powers if someone attacked me. That was something I was extremely worried about, but could not exactly help. If an angel attacked me, and my powers activated, well- I wouldn't like it, but there'd be nothing I could do. All I could hope was that once the guards saw me, they would back off.

Presently, I was pacing an area near my father. I could tell he felt guilty about not being able to help me, but feeling sorry doesn't do anything. I winced as the thought projected by my ever-vigilant-to-infect-my angel-half demon side ripped through my mind. Ever since the trip through Hell, it had been harder and harder to stop the dark thoughts from coming. Somehow, it was stronger than ever in Heaven

What kind of angel involved in the Apocalypse worries about killing people?! It hissed. Surely you know that this is a trap to kill you, that your father is a gullible fool. I winced. It felt like tiny claws gripping my mind and my heart.

"Stop it." I muttered, and the claws seemed to release. "I'm not fully an angel, as much as I wish I could be. I just need to accept that, and- and maybe it'll get better after this is over.

It will never be over.

I shook my head and decided I had been stalling long enough. Though I was far from a well-developed plan, I knew that the best way to get into the heavenly vaults to see something without getting immediately burned by fire was to walk through the front door. I also knew that this was not something the angels would expect for someone to do if they were trying to break in, especially if they were part demon.

I began the walk, hiding my wings as much as possible to keep attention away from myself. I wanted nothing more than to spread my wings and bask in the warmth and love that I had not experienced since I was a small girl, but I knew it was a foolish idea. If I were to show myself, I risked the possibility of being seen, of being thrown again. And if I was once more cast down to Earth, there was no way I would make it back up alone.

After a while, I realized that I only vaguely remembered the vaults. I'd been told stories, of course, and I'd even been taken to see the building- but the actual experiences were mere wisps of memory. Flashes of golden light, big angels with several pairs of the largest, strongest wings I'd ever seen (I knew some were even larger, but being a minor angel of only 6 years old has its disadvantages), their smiles as I walked in with my father... Luckily, the memory of how we got there was still adequate.

Moments later, I reached the lovely building of the heavenly vaults. It looked exactly like I remembered, a low-lying building made of the same white stone and golden roof as the rest of the city. The only thing that made this building different were the enormous angels, clothed in white robes, their pairs of even whiter wings spreading behind them so I almost thought they would be floating in the air. One of them nodded kindly at me as I walked in, and I withheld a smile as I realized they hadn't noticed (or were ignoring) my wings.

I walked up to another angel inside, whom everyone simply called 'the Secretary'. He was very old now, though his face did not show it, and I smiled widely at the sight of him. "Hello, sir. My name is Aliel, and I was told by my father- and he heard this from Gabriel himself- that I need to see something in one of the vaults. Can I see it?"

His face seemed to twist from polite and cheerful to pure dread. "Oh. Oh. I'm sorry, darling, but I can't. See, normally, I wouldn't mind you coming in, no matter what your heritage is. I remember when you were a little girl, so bright and happy and unaware of the bitter rumors everywhere. Unfortunately, I was told by Gabriel that you would be coming. And I was told that you would have to prove yourself before I could let you in. I'm so sorry, dear." He pleaded with me, and I could see the sorrow in the kindly angel's eyes.