Rumors of War

by Cynus 

War of Heaven

Chapter 9

We remained silent about the issue at hand as we made our way to the docking platform. Talking about our plan openly in the halls of the Adam was the last thing that we wanted to do. The purpose of the entire endeavor was to prevent conflict from arising, not causing it by inciting a riot due to plans of alliance with Hell.

Nevertheless, a question formed in my mind that I couldn’t let go, and I was grateful when we were finally inside of the smaller ship that would take us to Lucifel so that I could ask Raphael, “What exactly did you tell her?”

“That I was seeking solidarity,” he replied easily. “That there was no reason to let your sins get in the way of bringing the fleet together,” he added with a smirk which quickly became a look of disgust as he then continued to say, “That I was ready to pledge my loyalty.”

“Excellent,” Lumial said with wicked delight, “Then everything is going as planned.”

“Of course,” Raphael replied arrogantly, as if the thought that anything could go wrong with the plan was a personal attack on him. It was strange to see how different he was from when we had proposed the plan in the first place.

The ship took off and headed out of the docking bay. Like every other take off I had had, it took a moment to adjust to the movement, but it quickly stabilized and I was able to shift my focus back to our current predicament. Something wasn’t right. Everything was going a little too smoothly.

It seemed I wasn’t the only person who felt strangely about the way that everything was playing out. “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this,” Keith admitted to me telepathically, “His surface thoughts seem so confident in the plan, but that part of him I can’t seem to reach seems to be hiding something else entirely.”

“What do you want me to do?” I questioned with what I can only call a mental shrug, “Call the whole thing off?”

“We just need to watch our steps very carefully, Damien,” he answered after only a moment’s hesitation. His emotions told me that he was concerned, but it was clear that he didn’t know how to fix any of it when he added, “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m just saying that it doesn’t look good.”

I left our conversation there for a moment, not knowing how to help the situation. Instead, I focused on moving forward, which for the moment was the only path we had available. I switched back into command mode and addressed Raphael. “When we arrive, you’ll go out to meet her first, and then we will follow,” I ordered, doing the best I could to leave no room for argument. I wanted to play off of his loyalty as much as I possibly could. “You’ll give us a signal, a keyword that will tell us that she’s open, and we’ll come out and strike.”

“What will the key word be?” He asked simply.

“Avoid using Belial’s name until it’s time, and then address him,” Lumial suggested and then explained, “That will throw him off of his guard as well, which will give us a better opening.”

“Perfect. And now all we have to do is arrive,” Raphael said with a smile that was suddenly unnerving, “Which we should be coming up on Hell right about… now.”

Sure enough our ship was slowing down and the view screen showed us that we were indeed approaching the familiar vessel. It had been impressive when we had seen it before, sitting on Earth, but something about seeing it floating in space made it all the more mesmerizing. No other ships were near it, which made it stand out against the distant backdrop of starlight.

Our pilot signaled our approach to Hell, and the docking bay doors opened, allowing us access. With just a small bit of acceleration, we were inside. It was time to end this once and for all, and I could feel the eagerness of my companions as we mentally prepared ourselves for what we had to do.

The ship landed with a loud thud on the floor of the docking bay, and the thrusters completely disengaged. The ship fell silent except for the anxious breathing of those that remained inside. Raphael appeared most nervous of all, and I once again skimmed his thoughts, though this time there was no mistaking his thoughts as anything but anxious. I went ahead with the assumption that all was well, and put my doubts in his intentions out of my mind.

He ordered the computer to open the door, while the rest of us made sure that we were out of sight. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the ship. The other soldiers that were with us cloaked and then I assumed that they followed him.

The next thing we heard was Lucifel’s voice. “Son, it is surprising to see you, but good at the same time,” she said pleasantly, greeting Raphael as he joined her below. We couldn’t see what was going on from our vantage point, but I couldn’t help but cringe as she added, “I had not expected you to be so open to repairing the damage done by your father.”

“Mother, I’m just happy that you agreed to meet with me,” He replied with obvious relief, “I want this strife to end amongst our people, and I think that will work best by our working together.”

“Well, we’ll have to see about that. How can I be certain I can trust you?” She asked lightly, but then admitted, “You came unarmed and without escort and that’s a good place to start, but how will I be able to test your loyalty beyond that? We have much to discuss, son.”

“Guys, we have a problem…” Alan said suddenly from my side, but I shushed him with a finger pressed to my lips, not wanting him to be overheard. He was still cloaked, as we had agreed he would be, and was in a better position to see what was happening.

I was about to quietly question what the problem was when we heard the signal, and it brought us right back to the matter at hand. “Belial, perhaps you can take me into custody to show my good intentions?”

“Now!” Keith shouted in my mind, and I forgot Alan’s warning as we leapt to action. We raced down the boarding ramp with adrenaline pumping through our veins, ready to unleash our telekinetic fury on those that awaited us.

Instead we were met with a puzzling sight. The cloaked soldiers that had followed Raphael were standing in a half circle facing us, guns drawn and aimed at our chests. Raphael stood next to Lucifel, smiling smugly as his eyes followed me with contempt. Belial’s face was an emotionless mask, and Shatan’s was almost a perfect match, though his demon eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement.

It was Lucifel, though, whose expression was the most difficult to read. She was angry, amused, and smug, all at the same time, but her eyes also held a burning hatred for me. Somehow, she had known all along that we were coming, though there was still a hint of surprise at seeing me. She hadn’t expected Michael, even though Raphael had obviously sold us out.

A few seconds later, Keith and I were surrounded by the soldiers and had our hands restrained behind our backs. We were marched forward to stand in front of the devil and her cohorts, where she regarded us with nothing but contempt.

“Oh, so good of you to join us, Michael,” she said mockingly, her voice masking the surprise that she obviously felt, “And Gabriel as well? My lucky day to have both of you here.” Dropping the false sweetness she went on to vow, “We’ll make sure that you are properly killed this time… and Lumial, too. Why don’t you come out here, son? Join the party. We’ve been expecting you.”

To his credit, Lumial walked down the boarding ramp with his head held high, and made eye contact with his mother. He wasn’t letting his fear show at all, even though he was practically staring his death in the eye. A pair of soldiers immediately moved behind the angel and restrained him roughly, though he bore it unflinchingly. His eyes flashed momentarily to Belial’s, and then back to his mother’s, an exchange that was not lost on her.

“Why, Raphael?” I asked, doing my best to stay in the role of Michael. I wasn’t sure if our identities had been blown yet, and I wanted to make sure that they were still usable if the time arose, and so I pushed the issue further and also asked, “You could have ended this?”

“Mother contacted me almost as soon as you died,” Raphael explained with a shrug and a smug grin, “We had already hashed out our differences. She expected the demons to come rescue their princes… I don’t know who you are, you played your parts well, but you are not my father, and you are not my brother.” With a glare that said that we would not be much better off even if I actually had been Michael he added, “Somehow you fooled the DNA, but the only liars here are you.”

“You’ve made a terrible choice,” Lumial said with a shake of his head, his eyes speaking of the profound sadness that he felt for Raphael. He had honestly believed that his brother was redeemable, and had had it shoved back in his face. I couldn’t blame him for feeling the way that he did.

“Even now, you still think you can fool me?” Raphael replied indignantly.

“Do you think we can handle this many?” I asked Keith mentally, regarding the soldiers in the room. There were at least thirty of the soldiers, including the four from Raphael’s honor guard, not to mention Shatan, Belial, and Lucifel, all of which were immune to our abilities.

“Not a chance, and especially with the way she is protected from my telekinesis,” Keith replied, echoing my own doubts, “I don’t think we’ll get a clear shot either. I say we try to prolong this for awhile, and wait for another opening.”

“Enough of this,” Lucifel announced with a tone of finality and a dismissive wave of her hand as she regarded me with rage burning in her eyes, “I think it’s time that you learned how to establish order in Heaven and on Earth. Take them to holding, Shatan. I’ll call for them when it is time to make this public.”

We were forced once more to march, this time in the opposite direction of Lucifel. Shatan led the way, while the soldiers holding us followed closely behind. I remembered the corridors well from our recent weeks spent on board, and knew that we were being taken to an area close by the training hall, but when we reached the fork in our route that would have led us there we took the other side instead. It was a direction I had never gone, and I soon found out why. The security in this section was much tighter, with guards posted regularly beside doors that looked thicker than the standard ones. We finally stopped at the very end of the corridor to find another of these doors, but this time the guards let us past and we entered the room.

We were immediately thrown to the wall on the right side of the room, and some large mechanical devices were clamped down over our hands, completely immobilizing them. The manacles then magnetized to the wall, holding us tight against the cold metal surface.

For a moment, I struggled against the bonds to no avail, but then I took note of the rest of my surroundings, and suddenly hope was born in me again. Against the wall opposite Keith and I were two other prisoners, their winged bodies looking healthy, even if they certainly looked bored. We had found the demon princes.

Maybe being imprisoned wasn’t so bad after all.