Dance of the Angels

Chapter 11

“Samiel?” said Michael, surprised at his brother even showing up.
“What? That's Mr Jones,” said Naomi.  What was her mentor doing here? “Mr Sam… Jones.”
“Sam I am,” he said with an awkward laugh. Naomi stared at him.
“So that’s how you knew?” Letting out another laugh, he nodded.

“Now you show up?” yelled Gabriel. He groaned as he stood up but it didn’t calm his anger. “I’ve been trying to find you for months!”
“Brother, stop it,” said Michael as he grabbed Azrael’s hand and pulled himself to his feet.

“But wait, there’s more,” Lucifer drawled. “How touching, honestly. I just love these family moments.” Michael sighed and turned to face Lucifer.
“Luci, please, just stop,” said Michael.
“I can’t now, dearest brother. Not now,” said Lucifer. He glanced at Naomi before turning to the four archangels. Slowly, he raised his hand and a shimmering blue barrier appeared.

“What have you done?” asked Naomi. The blue shimmering grew darker until it was opaque. Lucifer turned away from the barrier and to Naomi.
“I don’t want to hurt you, do you understand?” he said calmly. “I will not hurt you.” He stepped towards her and she stepped back again. Lucifer gave her a questioning look and she looked away.
“I don’t trust you,” she said bluntly.
“At least I know your intelligent,” he said with an amused smile.

Naomi stood still as he walked over to her, finally deciding to face him even if she was afraid.
“Show me your wings.” Naomi furrowed her brow and shook her head.
“Only if you show yours first.”
“Not only are you intelligent but you have a vertebrae as well,” he mused. “This is quite unusual for young angels but… deal.”

As black wings stretched from Lucifer’s back, he watched her intently, waiting for a reaction. She stared at the feathers. Some were burnt, blood stained and a lot were missing with scar tissue marking where they would never grow back. She looked away for a moment and took a deep breath.
“How could a benevolent God do this?” Lucifer asked. Naomi didn’t respond. “Your turn then.” Naomi closed her eyes and let her wings unfold - pure white and soft.
“They’re beautiful,” he said.

“Why did you turn on him? On our father?” Naomi asked.
“I was supposed to be perfect and even I turned on him.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” she said as she stepped towards him. He no longer frightened her as much. Lucifer’s lips twitched into a smile for a brief moment.
“He lied, he was cruel. Michael suffered alone until I was created. He suffered for too long, Naomi. There’s a few more but I doubt Michael has even told you so I won’t explain.”

“I see your point,” Naomi mumbled, reluctant to admit it. Lucifer smiled. “I don’t understand what you’re doing but I think I understand why.” Naomi raised her eyebrows and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear as she noticed Lucifer’s face morph from a smile to a look of pure confusion.
“Naomi…”
“What? What is it?” she asked.
“Your wings,” he said quietly. “What is going through your head? If only I knew.” Slowly, he reached out and gently lifted her chin, surprised she didn’t move away from him.

Screams of millions of people rang in her ears as they were subjected to unimaginable torture. The screams faded slightly. I’m sorry, my dearest brother. I’m sorry, Michael. I’m sorry, Father but I have to disagree with you and Michael. There was a flash of white then multiple screams merged into one. Lucifer. As his wings burned and turned to black, Lucifer felt himself falling, only hearing his own screams a brutal reminder of the pain ripping through him.

The room blurred and swayed around her but a hand grabbed her blazer and steadied her.
“Do you need to sit down?” Nodding, Naomi stumbled over to the benches and sat down, her wings brushing against the backrest, and held her head in her hands. “What did you see?”
“Torture, at first,” she said quietly. “Then it morphed into something scarier.”
“What could have been scarier?”
“When you fell from Heaven,” she said, closing her eyes. “The pain… how could he do that?”
“I don’t know,” Lucifer said honestly as he shook his head and shrugged. She noticed his wings had been hidden.

Naomi stood and faced Lucifer, hating what she had to do.
“I have to help them,” she said, reaching out to grab him. Lucifer made a flicking motion with his hand but Naomi was still standing.
“What the…?” muttered Lucifer as he looked down at his hands. Naomi looked at him and frowned.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me,” she said. She felt betrayed.

“Listen, I can explain.”
“Go on then,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Explain it then.”
“I thought you were with me,” he said. “Do you not believe what I believe?”
“I do believe what you believe but I don’t agree with your ways. You hurt people,” she said. “And you’ve just ruined any chance. You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Okay,” shouted Lucifer. “I made a mistake! A stupid one! Just come with me and I promise-”

Naomi flung him across the church into the barrier he had created. She smiled to herself and looked at her hand as she held him there.
“Naomi,” he started. “Please, just listen-”