Seven

12. Moving Heaven

It was a place that was nowhere and everywhere; at a time that was nothing and everything. A place where time and distance had no existence. And in the midst stood a winged figure, waiting. As he waited, he thought back to the events that had happened over the past few days, deaths which he knew were on account of supernatural intervention, unlike what the humans believed.

He stood on the edge of nothingness, his back to the direction his visitor would materialise. There was no expectation or fear of being betrayed, his rigid stance merely hinted at slight curiosity; there had been only a few times that his presence had been explicitly requested for. And though the angel had seen, heard and done many strange things in its long life, the request surprised him. It had been aeons since they had spoken, alone, without the attendant oneupmanship game that they had been playing from eternity. Earth had not been easy for either to win and the stakes kept rising but that was what made the battles interesting.

"Long time, right?"

At the words echoing his thoughts, the angel turned around to look at his visitor, his impassive face betraying no emotion as it answered, "Well said, though I have to note that you continue to dress in the fashion of earth. Still quite frivolous, I must say. "

His visitor smiled, he always preferred to dress as per the prevalent fashion standards of Earth, which varied across the ages and in line with the religions that dominated that era. It made it easier for him to blend with the humans though he would admit that it was partly because it riled the angels. His smile broadened as he answered, "I only dress as they do, but you manifest in a form that most humans presume you to appear in. Do I detect vanity?"

There was an imperceptible flutter of the dazzling white wings and the visitor knew his comment had struck home. But loathe to press the issue further, he kept quiet; if the angel preferred to look like a church mural, complete with the flowing blue robes and white gleaming wings, it was not his concern. His task was difficult and he wanted to get over with it as quickly as possible before they battled over fashion choices.

He took a deep breath and spoke, "Spare the boy."

At those words, the angel could not conceal his surprise, his visitor rarely asked for favours and never one for saving a mere human. Arching one pale eyebrow he asked, "Certainly unexpected. What happened, your heart suddenly turns warm and solicitous for puny undeserving humans? Your words, not mine."

"Better that than possessing a cold soul like yours. And you do not have to do it for free, I would not like to owe you any favours."

The was a blur and the angel closed his palm over the thing that his visitor had tossed at him. It was nebulous and slowly solidified to a hard crystal. And that was the third surprise. He did not have to see it to know what it was; a vial of the clearest and finest crystal containing the purest essence of one of the seven virtues. An essence extracted only when severed from the soul by a living soul who completely believed in the righteousness of the act.

"He sacrificed his life, surrendering hope, but we could not harvest it. Which is nothing unexpected, considering how difficult hope is to hold on to. It was a selfless act and as per the laws, deserves some reciprocation. Save the boy."

The angel watched him turn around and walk away, sure that his request would be granted. That rankled and he called out, "Lucifer Morningstar, while your gift is appreciated, in the interests of fairness, I have to admit that you have wasted an expensive favour. The boy would have lived, even without your intervention."

Lucifer halted in mid-stride, he had gambled on that possibility and this would now work to his advantage in their future battles. Without turning around, he replied, "In that case, Archangel Michael, most righteous of all angels, you owe me, big time."