Rumors of War
by Cynus
War of Heaven
Chapter 7
Despite protests from Keith and Lumial, I eventually managed to convince them that I would be okay heading back to the room on my own if they would take charge over the doctor, whose name we finally learned was Vallum. They left the medical bay with Vallum in tow, heading toward the quarters where Verina would be able to watch over him, and I was left with my thoughts as I walked through the corridors on my way back to my own quarters.
If I had thought reconciling myself with the memories from Michael I had had before this new implantation was difficult, it now seemed like child’s play compared to what was running through my head now. Michael had changed a great deal over the years since Lumial had left Eden. The memories had previously experienced matched the callous nature of the man who killed my lover, but the new memories didn’t. The new memories were of a very tired veteran, who just wanted things to end.
All of a sudden I was able to relate to him, and that did not set well with me. Before, as I had passed people in the halls, I had remembered fighting alongside them, and shared glories in battle or political victories. Now, I had the memories of them growing older with me; memories of the births of their children, still living on the ships instead of having a world to call their own. These people had become my people.
Their reactions were different as well, now that I was wandering the halls alone instead of with the group. They saw that I wasn’t on important business, and they would stop and talk to me. I knew then that Michael had been more than a commander to these people, he had been a friend, if one that was a bit distant. He had taken his role of leadership seriously, but he had loved his people, and his people had loved him.
And now I loved them too. I couldn’t help it. The memories were too powerful to ignore, and my distrust and anger toward the angelic race as a whole was dissipating, even though I tried to hold onto it. Slowly but surely, with each angel that stopped me and welcomed me back, I was losing my hatred for the people that I had blamed my troubles on.
However, there was one thing that made it easier. We shared a great deal of anger toward one particular angel, and she was the focus of both the memory and my own reasons for being there. Lucifel. I couldn’t let the name cross my thoughts without feeling betrayed and wrathful. Both my own feelings and those of Michael were directed in a common purpose, that of stopping the devil. I had known the base details of what she had done before, but I had never stopped to consider how that had impacted Michael.
He had loved her, deeply. Love was something I could understand, and so was betrayal. Though I hadn’t felt the betrayal to the degree that Michael had, I had certainly experienced it when I felt that Marc had switched to siding with Shatan. The part that surprised me wasn’t that we could relate on how we felt about people though, but it was that the person I had seen as a monster could have such depth of emotion. He understood love even more than I did, and not only was I earning respect for him, but I was starting to feel a bit of love toward him as well, almost as if he were a close relative.
Close relative. The thought made me smile. Michael really couldn’t be much closer to me than he was now, with me practically having him in my brain. I knew almost every intimate detail about his life, from how he felt about Lucifel and the rest of his family, to his thoughts on the angels around him, and even his thoughts about humanity.
Exploring his memories was something like looking through an extremely detailed photo album, with emotion somehow attached to each picture. I skimmed through his thoughts on humanity until a picture caught my eye, and I returned to the memory quickly. It was the thought of another woman, one he loved just as deeply as he had loved Lucifel, but with one major difference. She was human.
Mary. Her name was Mary, and he had met her some two thousand years before. She was pure of heart and lovely, and he couldn’t help but fall in love. He had wrestled with himself about falling in love with a human, a race he had taught himself to despise as much as the demons he fought against, but this particular woman had started to change his view. He had appeared to her, attempting to use her as a pawn in his political games, but he had been unable to corrupt her heart. A short time later, she was carrying his child; the first child ever born of a union between an angel and a human.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Lumial or the other brothers were aware that Michael had fathered the one who had become the basis for the stories of Jesus. Of course they were aware that Michael had used their half-brother in his plots of gaining control over the world, but whether or not they were aware of the relation was the real question. I couldn’t imagine that Raphael would have been comfortable with that detail, though I knew that both Lumial and Belial would have been fine with that knowledge.
Of course, their brother was no longer around. Lucifel had made sure of that, and it was something that caused Michael to resent her even more. He had loved his son, even though he had abandoned his mother out of the need to protect her from his enemies. Somehow Lucifel at least had known about his relationship, and she had taken out the only piece that she was certain of.
It was strange to learn that the stories the Christians told actually had a shred of truth to them, and more interesting was that I was getting a firsthand account. It was definitely a different story than everything I had ever heard the Bible pushers talk about, but at least I knew that mine was truer than anything they had ever said to me.
My memory searching came to a quick end when there was a knock at my door. I called for it to be opened, and Keith and Lumial stepped through. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Alan decloaked and made his presence known as well. I asked how it went, and Keith grunted noncommittally as Lumial assured me that all was well, and Verina was more than happy to take on the responsibility of watching over her brother, but it was Alan’s response that shocked me the most.
“He was kind of cute,” my younger friend said with an embarrassed grin.
“Really, Alan?” I replied, trying to sound incredulous, though I was secretly happy for him. It was about time he found someone other than me that he found interesting, even if it was an angel. “You’re perving on an angel now, and one that is over four times your age!”
He looked a bit hurt, and not the least bit pleased with my wording. “What? Marc is twice your age and I never got after you for it,” he replied defensively, and then with indignation he went on, “It’s about what stage they are at in relation to the rest of their race. He’s still an adolescent! We should be getting after Keith for cradle robbing!”
The druid threw up his hands helplessly, though he smiled slightly as he winked in my direction. I could almost feel him in my mind and reading my thoughts and he agreed with having a bit of fun at his expense. “Hey, don’t pull me into this, just ‘cause I’m his future brother in law,” seeing that Alan was still a bit pissed off he decided to cut him some slack and said, “As far as I’m concerned Alan, you can do whatever you want with angel boy. Don’t let Damien bring you down, and don’t tear me down just to defend yourself. Stand on your own two feet and seize what you want.”
I chuckled quietly as I realized that Keith had to turn everything he said into a lesson for those around him, but I was also eternally grateful to him for it. Life wouldn’t be the same without him around. He proved his usual serious self a moment later when he drew us back to the issue at hand.
“We can talk about Alan’s love life later. Although I personally trust that the young doctor won’t betray us, it’s only a matter of time until someone actually does catch us in a falsehood,” the druid said with a glare toward Alan who was about to press the issue. “We need to move up our plan. It’s time we scheduled a meeting with Raphael to discuss how to approach Lucifel.”
“I’ll send him a quick memo I suppose, and we can meet after we’ve gotten some rest,” I replied quickly. Keith was right, but there were other needs that we had to consider as well. “I think it would be better if we hit this thing after we are all significantly refreshed. It will give me some time to process some of the new memories floating around in my head as well.”
“That’s a solid plan, even if it will cost us time,” Lumial agreed, and then offered, “Since I don’t plan on joining you when you venture to Hell, I’ll keep an eye on you while you sleep, just to make sure no one comes barging in to blow our cover.”
“Excellent. I think I’ll only need a few hours, but Keith is bound to be tired,” I said, giving Keith a once over to see what condition he was in, “I’ve been in medical pods all day, but he’s been up for awhile, haven’t you?”
He shrugged in response to my concern and replied, “Yeah, but it really isn’t so bad. I’m used to long nights, but I could certainly use a few hours as well.”
“It’s settled then. Let me send Raphael a message about meeting up when we awake, and then we’ll be off to bed,” I said with a touch of finality, but I couldn’t help but grin as I added, “And Alan can dream of his newfound fantasy boy.”