Sariel moved to the house trying to calm down before he entered. He stopped and took one last look behind him. He got lost in his own thoughts for a moment. After a while he felt a slight touch on his outer thigh and looked down. Lailah looked at him with her blue eyes and he smiled.
“I know. We are going to be alright. I know that you have my back in every situation but that is not what I´m afraid of.” Said Sariel and patted her head gently. “I´m afraid that we might not find anything and that the key to revealing this mystery is the girl.”
Lailah chuffed and he understood. Now was not the time to speculate, they will know for sure once they get into the house and see for themselves. He looked again at the lake where Death sat with him before and admired the scenery. “We have really outdone ourselves here, haven't we?” Lailah sat down next to him and looked in the same direction. The trees blooming with life and fruits across the garden were really something to behold, the singing of birds and the sound of water splashing from the back of the house gave this view a magical tone of calmness and peace on earth. Like nothing could go wrong in that moment. In that one single moment, life was good. Maybe one day he will be able to rest , truly not worrying his mind all the time, preparing for next adventure and maybe he could even bring….A sound stopped his thoughts. Sound that came from the house. Sound that brought a smile to his face. Laughter. He turned back, moved to the door and opened. In front of him the girls sat around the table enjoying the goods that Azrael brought to them. “Azrael you sneaky devil. I knew that you wouldn't have come empty handed.” He thought to himself and moved in, while Lailah sneaked around and went straight up to, as he figured, take a nap as she usually did at this time of a day. The girls noticed Lailah rushing the stairs, Eliana got scared a bit again and turned quickly at the door.
“I can see that you are enjoying yourselves. Hope you left some for me?” Asked Sariel while closing the door.
“I will set the plate for you in a second.” Said Eva and got up from her seat.
“It's ok, I'll get some myself, no worries.” Said Sariel and looked at her as if he was studying her. “Eva, come here for a second please.” Eva moved from her seat and did as he asked. Sariel took her hands into his and looked straight into her eyes. Eva blushed but she knew that he knew. All of the girls were watching them with a silent smile because they knew. Only Eliana was on edge a bit again. “What is he doing? That's no way to look at a lady. Is she..blushing??” She thought.
“Again huh? How are you feeling?” Asked Sariel and placed his hand on her forehead.
“It is nothing, really. You know that I would be the first one to know if there is something wrong with me.” Said Eva and lowered her head down while looking at the floor. She gently tried to pull Sariel´s hand from her head but as she was pulling it down he placed it on her cheek and lifted her head back up so she would look into his eyes.
“I know that you do, but you can't blame me for worrying. You always put others before yourself so let me do this for you.” He said and smiled at her. Her face gave up on trying. It went completely crimson. The girls tried to hold their giggle as much as they could and Sariel noticed. He hugged her and held her in his arms for several seconds. Eliana observed and noticed that a smile appeared on her face. This reminded her of her father, when she bruised herself when she was younger he used to hold her like this until she stopped crying. This was really quite heartwarming for her.
Eva held back a tear. Even though this was a bit embarrassing to her, since all the girls knew how much she admired him. It was a moment of pure bliss. Plus Sariel´s hug was like a protective barrier around her. Soft but strong. “Oh my lord, why does he have to do this…” She felt the energy and love floating through her, closing the wounds inside, healing them. She trembled a bit and her knees gave up. Sariel held her tight so nobody would notice how she almost crumbled.
“What is that?” Asked Eliana with a shock expression.
“Does she…?” Sariel asked himself and looked at Eliana. “No, that´s not it.”
“I think that it's time for the two of us to speak about everything, isn’t it?” He asked and slowly let go of Eva, who was already back to her normal state. They exchanged smiles and nodding of heads with Sariel and she moved away. “There are many things I would like to ask you and even more that I would like to explain, since your mind is probably swarming with questions.”
“Come on girls, let’s give them privacy.” Said Judith.
“Wait please.” Said Sariel and the girls stopped. Catherine moved swiftly to Eliana and sat down next to her. “Eliana, will you be alright to be alone with me? Will you feel safe?”
Eliana looked at Catherine who was looking at her. Catherine nodded her head down and smiled. “Good move Sar!” She thought. Eliana didn’t know how to respond. “He saved me, but something about him ain’t right. I don’t know what to do…If I say that I want someone to stay it would be rude as I’m the guest here…I don’t know what to do…” Eliana’s thoughts basically screamed in her mind.
“Don’t think about how I would feel if you said that you want someone to stay, it would be perfectly fine. This is your decision alone and I will respect it.” Said Sariel and smiled. “Let’s do it this way. I will go out, sit down by the lake and when you are ready you can come. Take your time and if you want to come alone that is fine, if not, that is also fine. Sounds good?” Said Sariel.
Eliana nodded in approval as Sariel turned around and opened the door. With his back to the girls he said: “Sarah, wait for me with that book eh? Raziel is not someone who just leaves his works unprotected.” Sarah looked at him and with a giggle said: “Don´t worry, I will try to hold myself to not open it.”
Sariel smiled and left the house. He moved to the lake and sat down at the same spot that Death was just moments ago. He started thinking if he did the right thing. “What if she is too scared of me? After all, I would be. First that pig does “that” to her and then I just killed him in front of her. What if she thinks of me as a monster?” He looked up to the sky. The white clouds were scattered around forming almost a small battlefield. “I wish that she was here. She would know what to say and what to do. She always had that gentle touch with souls. Unlike me. Unlike the Ar…”
His thoughts got interrupted by a creaking sound of opening doors. He looked behind and saw Eliana slowly coming to him. He turned his head back to the lake and smiled. “Not afraid after all” He thought. Eliana came to him and sat a little further away from him. It was obvious that she was nervous and Sariel tried his best to not scare her even more. “Pull it together for crying out loud. She needs answers and you need to give them. But what if she…”
“I guess….I should thank you.” Said Eliana and Sariel turned facing her with a slight shock on his face. He really tried to not blush and held back that little tear that was crawling to his eyes. This was a huge relief to him, she spoke first. Good sign. Thinks that she should thank him, also a good sign. But he didn't want her to be courteous out of gratitude. He wanted her to feel safe.
“You shouldn’t. I should apologize for what I did in front of your eyes. I should have not let you see that…not after what you have been through.” He said and looked back at the lake. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” Said Eliana.
“One word…dammit” Thought Sariel.
“I think that you have a lot of questions that you want to ask. If I can give you an answer I swear that I will.” Said Sariel.
Eliana looked in the same direction that he was looking. “What should I ask first?”
“What are you?” Asked Eliana and as she did she got into a shock that she actually said that out loud. She got scared. “Oh Lord, what if he gets offended?!!” “I’m sorry, I meant…”
“It’s alright.” Said Sariel. “I’m not a human, that much you have guessed so far. I’m…I was, an Angel.” Eliana gasped. “I know what you think but no, I’m not a fallen one. I did not fall from grace. I have…left. I’m not bound to heaven and certainly don’t serve hell.” Sariel chuckled a bit. “I know it’s confusing but it is true. I have left heaven and came down to Earth to live here and do things that I think are right to do.” Sariel looked back at the house so she would know what he meant. Eliana followed his direction and realized what he was trying to say.
“You saved all of them like me?” She asked.
Sariel smiled, still lookin at the house. “Yes. All of them. Eventually they will tell you their stories. They are my biggest treasure, my family. I would give my life for each and every one.”
Eliana turned her face facing him and for the first time she caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were…blue. Almost the color of the lake, it was just a glimpse but she was certain of it. This was even more confusing but it gave her the next question. “Why can't I look into your eyes?”
Sariel turned his head back at her and in slight confusion studied her face. “You mean like you don’t want to or that you are forced to turn your sight away?” He asked.
“The second.”
Sariel sighted. “So her soul is that strong huh?” He thought and got ready to reply.
“The reason is most probably your self-preservation instinct. You see, everything that you feel, everything that you see is being judged in your soul. Worthy, unworthy, dangerous, safe. At that night you probably saw something in my eyes that made your soul feel like it's a danger to your life. To your soul. Right now your soul is healing and since you would probably ask how, I will explain it to you. Soul is like a pure light. However it´s not like having a torch in your chest, it’s more like a star. And as you have probably guessed by now the only way to hurt or corrupt light is to penetrate it with darkness. Darkness is created when evil is happening and that is what happened to you. So, for your soul to heal you must be in a state where it feels safe so it can push out the darkness and be only light again. That is why you did not dream for those days when you slept, we did not let you.”
He was right! She did not dream at all! Only now she realized that for all those days that she slept she did not dream once! Eliana thought about asking further, but was not sure if it was the right thing to do. She turned her head towards the lake and looked down on the bank. The rocks and grass there were forming spectacular scenery…
“If you feel like you can’t ask me something then it’s the right question and it’s something that you should ask.” Said Sariel and she snapped out. He was right, she has to know.
“Your eyes. I saw them, but black. Why?”
Sariel’s eyes widened. So it is actually true. His own soul is pushing his powers through the lock. Is it due to his anger? The situation he was in? In the combination with his guilt? “You are right. You saw my eyes turn black. The reason for it is actually connected to what I said before. When I was in heaven and served as an angel I was a part of a, let’s say a special group of angels. We were in complete devotion to God himself and served directly under him. We were sent to places that no other angel would even dare to go. From Leviathan seas, to Hell itself. I personally was given the power to…” He stopped for a second. “To see souls. If you remember, I said that the soul is a pure light. But this light can only be seen in darkness, therefore for me to be able to see souls I have to turn my eyes completely dark. When I left heaven this power was locked in me, but it seems that in a moment of my rage that I felt when I saw what was happening to you some of it got out. I actually thought about it myself since I thought that for a glimpse of a moment I could see the half dark soul of that priest floating above after I struck him down and now I know that my suspicion was right.”
“So…let me get this straight. You left heaven. Why? Why would you leave the one and only place that all the believers want to go to? What happened?” Asked Eliana.
Sariel got serious again. He looked in front of himself at the lake and took a deep breath. Eliana noticed that his muscles tensioned in a moment like he was trying to hold anger or pain.
“I have left because I was asked to do something that I in my blind faith did without question and now I´m left with consequences and my own cross that I need to bear. I took away souls that I shouldn't have, souls that were pure and without sin just because God told me to.” He said and swallowed a heavy stone in his throat. Eliana could notice that he was on the verge of shedding a tear. What was this? ”So that is why I’m here, that is why I gave up on heaven and came down here to do what I can for humanity. It has been quite long since that happened and I have been here for quite some time.” Sariel got really tense. He hoped that he said it in a tone and in the right words that Eliana won´t ask more questions about “that” incident. He never told the truth to anyone, only Death and Azrael knew, and probably all the archangels. Catherine once asked him when he had the same conversation with her and she understood that he didn't want to talk about it. She had a hard time trusting him completely for some time because of that.
“So, you killed for God?” Asked Eliana, crawled into a secured position. She tucked her knees into her chest and hugged them with her arms. This feeling was not right or wrong. She was not naive when they taught her about God and the faith. “God is not as merciful as they will want you to believe honey. Read the holy book right okay?” She remembered her father saying. He was a man of faith and honor, but he knew.
“ I did. My job was to be his wrath and mercy when it came down to souls. I was punishing those that in the eyes of the heavens were deserving of punishment and I have delivered those who were worthy to eternal bliss.”
This was a bit too much on Eliana and her mind. She started to give into a turmoil, one thought after the other was jumping in her mind.
“I don't think that I’m able to ask any more questions.” She said and rubbed her face. “Maybe something more easy. Are there any rules I should follow while living here? Anything that I should know? Is there anything that you would like to ask me?”
Sariel was more impressed with these questions then she realized and he let her know with his smile. “She is good.” He thought and turned his smile towards the heavens.
“Before I explain to you how we do things here, is it ok if I asked you some questions?”
“Of course!” Said Eliana and turned her whole body to him.
“When you asked me and Eva that question before, what did you see?”
Eliana furrowed her brows and thought about what she saw. “A light, stream of light, but…it was just a second.” She stuttered for a moment there. “Stream of pure light coming from you to her.”
Sariel pupils dilated. This was actually thrilling. “Now this is interesting. What you saw was two souls connecting with each other. When Eva does her thing with the “presence of Death”, as the girls like to call it, it will cost her some energy from her soul. She has an amazing gift and she is actually responsible for you to be this calm and not in shock anymore. She has these powers of healing that I have never seen in a human but her soul is not yet strong enough to handle them so she has to rest every time she uses them. I’m slowly helping her to strengthen her soul, sometimes giving her my energy like you saw today. So that is what you saw. As for the rest, there are some basic rules that you might not like. What you need to know is that we are like a family here. We take care of each other, we eat together, we take care of this land together and we will defend it together. The most major rule here and unfortunately the most cruel that we all have to follow is, "No praying” while here.” Eliana’s face went into complete shock and she was ready to start asking again but Sariel stopped her with a swift answer.
“I know. But what I need you to understand about this place is that it is the only place on Earth that nobody from the heavens can find. If you pray to whoever then you create a spiritual bond with that angel, archangel or saint. You will connect your soul to him. Of course, we cannot stop God from knowing that this place is here but so far he did not bother us. That being said, please do not pray while you are here. If you have a need to pray Catherine will escort you to the nearest city to a church where you can, but please, not here. I don’t want Michael or other archangels to know that this place exists. Is that ok with you?”
Eliana nodded after a few seconds and asked. “Catherine is the escort? Is she..?”
Sariel nodded his head and responded with a pride in his voice. “Oh yes. She could stomp every man into the ground like a bug. That’s when we come to “roles” that we all play in this place. We all do our part to make this our home and our garden. But I think that Catherine could explain it better to you, doesn’t she?” Said Sariel and moved his head to the left with his ear pointing to the doors. Eliana followed his lead, the doors to the house were slightly open, like someone was listening. “You are not the sneaky type Cat.” Sariel laughed but still looked forward. He whispered to Eliana with a grin. “She was worried about you, but she will never admit it. She is a big softie but don’t tell her that I’ve spilled this secret.”
Catherine slowly opened the door, a bit embarrassed and a bit disappointed.
“I´ll have you know that I´m actually going to get some water.” She said with pride in her voice and started walking to the left where the stream was.
“Uh-huh.” Said Sariel with an intrigued tone and a grin on his face and turned his body back to the house. “You gonna carry the water in your hands huh?”
Catherine froze on the spot. Eliana checked her and Sariel was right, if she was going to get some fresh water, where is the bucket? So she was spying on them after all. Catherine and Sariel were exchanging looks and it almost looked like they were playing a game “Who is gonna blink first?” Eliana bursted in a laughter, she could not and for that moment didn't want to hold it. The chemistry and the moment was too much. “You guys look like two cats getting ready to brawl.” She said and wiped the tear from her eye. After such a long time the laughter and happiness that she felt in that moment were like a miracle. She thought for a moment to thank God in a prayer but quickly remembered what Sariel had said and decided to thank him instead. His head twitched a bit and she noticed a small smile on his left cheek.
“Come here you. Sit down with us and take the rest of those rascals with you, if they think that I don't see them by the windows then they must be thinking I´m blind.” He laughed and waved to the window of the house. Eliana checked it and the laughter got even stronger to a point where she fell on her back. The view was spectacular. Eyes in every corner of the two opened windows and you could only see the tip of fingers holding the shutters so they wouldn't close the window. Only Gabrielle had her nose popping out. Once they heard Sarel mention this they all swiftly hid behind the shutters and they could hear the muted babbling.
“He saw us!”, “Gabi, why did you present your nose like it is a gift to the heavens!”, “Now he is going to make fun of us for weeks!”
The duo by the lake heard all of it and now even Sariel could not get a hold of himself, especially when he saw Eliana in her fit of laughter and started laughing himself. Catherine lowered her shoulders in defeat, waved her hand as a signal for the girls in the house to move out and they did one by one. They sat down all quiet next to the duo and bowed their heads in shame.
“Now you see what I mean?” Said Sariel and wiped the tear that formed in his right eyes, he gasped for air and held his chest as it was in a slight pain from the laughter. “What would I do without these girls? In the moment that we needed to ease her tension and to show her that she is a friendly household they do exactly that. They are really my treasure.” He thought in his head, looked around at the girls with a smile and started to blush a bit. Eliana noticed the slight crimson in his face and in the moment of her pure joy she pointed it out. Sariel looked at her raised finger and the laughter with slight shock but decided to play his part. He pressed his palms to his cheeks and tried to hide them while shaking his head at Eliana as if trying to tell her to NOT. Catherine noticed and bumped to Gabrielle next to her with her elbow. Gabrielle raised her head, read the signal, and looked at Sariel.
“Oooh! Sar? Are you blushing?!” She shouted with a high pitched voice and all of the girls immediately raised their heads and started pointing at him.
“Who me? Nope. It's the sun and the…the…shut up!”
The group bursted in laughter and Eliana once again fell on her back. The warm grass from the sun tickled her neck and she thought for a second that maybe it is as it's supposed to be.
After a while they all sat and looked at the lake. Catherine gave Eliana the basics of how they function while Sariel was smiling and nodding. She explained to her some of those roles that the girls have around the house and she also strongly emphasized that Sariel is supposed to finally fix the “damn” shutter on the second floor on which he froze on the spot and slowly turned his head, gulped and nodded to her. Eliana was listening, observing, laughing with the others as they explained how things are done around the house, what they do like and don't. She found out that Catherine is mostly interested in sword fighting and that she practices everyday, to which Eliana was shocked that a lady would be doing such a thing but quickly decided to leave that thought out of her mind. She also mentioned that she is here the longest and that she actually helped Sariel with building this place. She looked more closely at Catherine and noticed few scars on her arms that were probably from the training or even from some fighting. Catherine had a rather muscular body for a lady, she was almost as tall as Sariel and her shoulders were wide and strong by the looks of it. Eliana noticed the popping veins on her arms and the focused, disciplined look in her eyes. After that Arielle described herself. She mentioned that there are two small caves under the house in which she mostly resides and does her work of brewing either normal drinks or those kinds that are supposed to help you, from herbs and some other stuff. Arielle quickly explained that this is completely natural products and no witchcraft is being done here. Sariel slipped in a note from his side that even if it was it depends on the type of witchcraft which confused Eliana but he reassured her that he will explain later. Arielle pointed out some ointments and potions that she used in taking care of her together with Eva and that she should come and see after this and that Idit will show her the herbs garden and the hotbed in the other cave where they are growing mushrooms and herbs that need a lot of moisture and darkness. Idit nodded, was more quiet than others, mentioned that she likes to grow stuff since she was a child, that she likes to speak to the plants and take care of them. Eliana noticed that Gabrielle got a bit restless, twitching a bit and when Idit finished her explanation she bid her to speak. The amount of enthusiasm that came from that blue haired woman was almost too much. She spoke so fast, mentioning that she is the one who usually goes to the city and is not seen. Described how she is working with Sariel and following the “bad guys'' as she named them, but they don't see her at all. She used all the motion in her hands showing how she is sneaky, hiding behind corners and in the crowds. Sariel held the laughter but confirmed that she is very often monitoring the and gathering information and that she is actually the best in it. Her face was a bit different from the others, something that Eliana did not see anywhere. Gabrielle mentioned that it´s not her real name and that she is from the far east and spoke a bit about her land that she was born in. After several minutes of speaking she realized that she got carried away, quickly apologized and narrowed her figure in almost a salute way. The girls continued with Judith saying how she takes care of the storage and supplies, Sarah described her love for books and knowledge, emphasizing that in this age knowledge becomes more and more a form of power and that one day there will be no need for a physical combat. Finally came Eva, her black hair was like a total opposite of her white dress, saying that she tries to learn to strengthen her healing powers, that she is studying with Sariel and improving everyday, to which Sariel praised her and mentioned how far she has come, making her blush once again. Sariel said that right now they are learning the Lunar calendar and how to use the power of the Luna. Eliana was shocked but a bit sad at the same time. Surrounded by all of them she started wondering what she has to offer. She did not do much around the house, she knew how to read so maybe she could join Sarah but what if she won't be any good at it. She could help grow things, or just take care of the house.
“First things first you need to sleep a lot and heal a bit more after that you can decide what you would like to do. And don't look at me so surprised. I have seen this face with every single one of these girls, except for Catherine.” Said Sariel and laughed. Catherine ripped some grass from the ground and threw it at him, which he managed to dodge and laugh at her. Eliana did not protest and just enjoyed the moment for a while. “There is one other thing that I would like to mention.” Said Sariel and looked at Eliana. “I would like to teach you some basics when it comes to defending against evil, physical and spiritual. Even though I will protect you with my life I don't want you to lose your freedom just because you live here. Is that ok?”
Eliana nodded and once again noticed that she could briefly look into his eyes. She has tried to force it but Sariel gave the signal not to. Guess it will have to take its own time. Then she realized that there actually is something that she has to know! The question basically crawled out of her mouth with almost a scream.
“What is that white tiger?!” She almost screamed. The group exchanged looks and some of them placed their hands on their foreheads. She was right, they completely forgot to explain Lailah. Especially Sariel and Catherine who felt completely dull. Of course!
“Lailah is a bit complicated.” Said Catherine and looked back at the house. She knew that Sariel would get emotional speaking about her so she decided to step in which Sariel really appreciated. “Lailah is, and please do not freak out when I say that, well she is a spirit. She is the soul of an Angel that is trapped in the body of an animal. She is the main guardian of this house and I know that it's hard to understand this without any other explanation, but she would never, ever, hurt you or any other person that is here. She cannot talk but understands, she will tend to you, guard you when you sleep. She is the mother we all need.” Catherine smiled and looked at Eliana with a smile. “I will tell you her story later, don´t worry. Right now we should not fill your mind with this grim stuff.”
Eliana was confused but decided not to push it. She thought for a bit about the whole situation. Her family is gone, her house is empty of humans but filled with ghosts and demons probably, she can´t turn to her church for help, her relatives are so far away that in her position she could not reach them and something about this house and this group had grasped her interest. Plus if the tiger, Lailah, wanted to hurt her, she could have done that when she was sleeping. “You have mentioned that there are twelve of us, are there any other people I should meet?” She asked since she noticed that the numbers did not add up. Even with Lailah there were only 10 people here.
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“Oh yes. You are yet to meet Yasmin and Ráchel. Our twins. They are visiting their grandparents near Én-Gedi. They should be back in a few days.” Said Sariel. “They are a bit different from others but lovely nonetheless. You will see. Now, Eliana, is there something we should know? Something that you like in general?”
Eliana was surprised by that question. Should she ask for something? But for what? She thought for a second, for the first time in a while she had to decide for herself and did not have to expect someone to tell her what to do or to be expected of her.
“I think that I will need a bit more time to process all of this, hope that you don't mind.” She said and looked to the ground beneath her.
“Not at all, take all the time that you need. If we can help you in any way and if you would like to ask something, remember, there is always a right moment.” Said Sariel. This was good, he thought. She seems strong and seems to be dealing very well with the situation. He knew how fragile the soul can be after such a brutal experience. He has seen his fair share of broken ones. “You cannot save them all.” He remembered the words that Gabriel said to him when he left the heavens. Or rather shouted at him. But there is no way he won't try. This is his penance.
“Just please don't get mad at us for being loud sometimes or being childish even. Especially when it comes to Gabi and Cat here, these two sometimes don't know where the borders are.” Said Arielle with a smile on her face.
“Since when you are the jokester in our group huh?” Said Catherine with an annoyed tone in her voice.
The girls started laughing and slowly got up. “Alright ladies. We have a day ahead of us, I think that I´m going to practice a bit with Cat now. What do you say?” Said Sariel and got up as well. Catherine smiled and agreed.
Catherine rushed to the house with such energy that shocked others. “What in the…” said Eliana in shock while looking back at her.
“She is like that.” Said Sarah. “When it comes to practicing with Sariel, it's the most fun she can have. Do you want to see it?”
“Wouldn't it be inappropriate?” Eliana was still confused about the behavior like that and everyone felt that. Sariel just smiled and left that to the ladies. He went behind the house to the right where there was a small shed with wooden doors, which he opened and went in.
“Only if you let it be. Here we do not care, let the outside world be as it is, but here? You should do what you want. The outside world gave us hell so we make our heaven here.” Said Eva and placed her hand on Eliana´s shoulder. “I´m going to watch them practice. It's like a dance between two water streams. I find it rather calming.”
Judith, Idit and Arielle said that they are going to do something else. Arielle mentioned that she has a new potion she wants to try and can´t wait. The other girls decided to join Eva and moved together to watch the practice. Eliana decided to give it a try. Once after a few seconds Catherine came out of the house in felt trousers and loose-fitting tunic, similar to what Sariel had and a quite a bit sword inside a scabbard in her hand. She winked at the girls and went in the direction where Sariel had gone before. The girls followed her and when they moved past the house and the shed they came to something that Eliana recognized as a training ground. Something similar she saw when she was visiting Jerusalem with her father occasionally. It was a circle with a wooden fence, the grass was torn out of the ground and you could see fighting marks on the fence from the swords. There was a fallen tree trunk that the girls sat on and could see the training area very well. Catherine moved inside of the fence, unsheathed her sword and stretched her arms and neck. Sariel came out of the shed with a large sword in his right hand, came to the circle, unsheathed his sword as well and held it with both of his hands. He moved the sword directly in front of him with the tip pointing to the skies. Catherine did the same and placed herself in the same position. For a few seconds they just stood there, looking at each other. Eliana could feel the tense and the excitement in both of them. Suddenly Catherine moved to the side and striked at Sariels left side, he dodged and blocked the strike with his sword while moving the blade upwards and striking from above. Catherine immediately blocked it and Eliana heard the clanking of the sword and tried to keep up with the moves of the duo. But after a few seconds it was really a dance of two water streams. They were striking and dodging, jumping and rolling to the ground.
“Wow, it does look like a real fight. They do look like they want to hurt themselves.” She said and looked at Eva.
“They don't. But they have to try. They both know that this is the only way to get better. Catherine is a bit more brutal when it comes to practice. I think that she “ventilates” in a way. I heard Sariel say once that she should let the anger out in the circle with him. Speaking of the devil, look.” Eva pointed at the circle and Eliana turned her head back. Catherine went on a rampage and a hurricane of strikes that Sariel barely dodged. The clanking of the swords got louder and more frequent.
“I think that she might have him this time!” Said Sarah and held her hands tight to her chest.
“No, she doesn't.” Said Gabrielle in a cold voice.
The girls almost forgot to breathe there for a second. Catherine unleashed a flurry of strikes at Sariel and he was blocking them with his sword. In one second he smiled for a second, pushed back with his sword upwards setting Catherine off balance making her arms fly up, releasing his left hand and with a swift move he knocked Catherine to the ground by holding her shirt and placing his foot behind her. He pressed the blade of his sword to her neck. “You took too long to change the direction of the strike.” He said and pulled the sword back. Catherine tried to catch her breath.
“Hell. Did I overdo it again?” She laughed and raised her hand. Sariel grabbed her and pulled her up. They both laughed and hugged for a moment. Gabrielle appeared from out of nowhere and brought them water. Eliana watched in awe and Eva just smiled.
“Eva, just wanted to say, thank you. Sariel said that you “healed” me and that I feel good thanks to you. So, thank you.” Said Eliana. Eva turned her head at her and smiled.
“He gives me too much credit. He is the main reason why you are ok and why your soul feels ok. I have a lot to learn yet, I have helped but the main reason is still him. He was the one who did not leave your side the first day at all. He tended to your every need and used all his knowledge to stabilize you. I only helped.” She said and smiled at him. Eliana looked at him as well. He was showing Cartherine moves with his sword and they were discussing moves and strategies. Sariel spoke a lot about something he called “rage management” which Eliana did not understand but Catherine seemed to. After a while it got a bit darker and all of them decided that it was time to move indoors for some dinner. Luckily for them the rest of the girls prepared a meal for everyone and after dinner Eliana decided that it would be for the best to get some rest. She was still a bit tired. She asked if she could sleep in the same bed as before to which Catherine positively responded and together with her went up the stairs to make sure that Eliana would sleep soundly. Just when Eliana got comfortable and finished a small chat with Catherine about things she saw that day and what will come, Eva came in and sat down on the sofa.
“I will be staying here tonight if that is ok with you. This night you could experience dreams and therefore I would like to be close by in case they were bad ones.” She said and warmly smiled at Eliana. That made her feel afraid but Eva saw it and reassured her. “You have nothing to fear, I just want to be sure that is all. Dreams are just a playground for your mind. Sleep tight.” She smiled and tucked in as well. Catherine got up, wished them both a good night and went out of the room. Just as she exited she noticed a figure standing in the hallways just outside a door. “You could have come in and said Good night to her.”
“I know, but I don’t want her to see me now before she goes to sleep. It could trigger a bad dream. All the others were here as well but you probably knew. They wanted to make sure that she would fall asleep, now they are all in bed.”
“I guess you are right. I’m wondering why you are not looking like you are going to get some rest. Are you going somewhere Sar?” Catherine asked and motioned her hand to the direction of the stairs. Sariel understood and followed her downstairs. He was dressed in his armor, just the hood was not on his head. On his waist was a sword and around his neck a moon pendant that shone across the hallway and stairs with dim light. Catherine noticed that on his belt he had satchels with salt and crushed silver dust, small flacons with holy water and the sword that he had today was definitely a silver one.
“I do. I have to see the house she was living in and maybe the church again. There is something that does not make sense and I can’t rest without getting answers.” He said as he was entering the main room with the kitchen. He went to the cupboard, grabbed two cups and filled them with wine. Catherine sat down at the table and observed him. He was nervous and she did not see Lailah for some time. What is going on?
“You wanna tell me why you are so on edge?” She asked while he sat down next to her and handed her one of those cups. “What did Death find?”
Sariel smiled. He did not say anything to her about Death searching the place but yet she put two and two together. He felt proud in a way. “She has found something that should not be here. I haven’t seen anything like this in more than two thousand years.” He said and slowly presented her the burned parchment. Catherine looked at it but did not understand anything. To her it was a mess of symbols.
“I don’t get it. What are these?”
“This is a language that used to be spoken everywhere on earth. But then the Tower of Babel incident came and ruined it all for you people. Death found it in the church but I think that this is something that Eliana brought there. Something that she saw in her house. I need to go and see it for myself.” He took a sip of the wine that he got. As the liquid warmed his throat and calmed his mind he looked at Catherine. “Look after them tonight and if anything happens let me know. I have a bad feeling. I don’t know how long I will be out so as soon as Sarah wakes up will you give it to her? I would like her to look at it from a different perspective. Plus the book that Azrael got her won’t be enough to keep her mind occupied and this will be an interesting test for her. Don’t tell her what it is please.” He smiled and winked at Catherine. She understood. Giving Sarah tests and riddles was something that he used to help her train her mind and intelligence. Catherine never understood a single hint or anything, this was Sarah’s playground that she excelled in.
“You are not going alone, are you?!” She asked with and tried to hide the worrying emotion in her voice.
“No. Lailah is coming with me so I will be fine no matter what. Still, I’m nervous, not gonna lie. If there is something in that church or that house that speaks this tongue then it must be something ancient. Maybe it even knows me from the old times. It could also be a rogue angel, the possibilities are limitless.” He finished his wine, cleared his throat and got up from his chair. “I have to go. Hopefully I will be back before morning.”
“Can’t you go out there during the day? Does it have to be now in the middle of the night?” Catherine finished her cup as well and grabbed the one that Sariel left behind.
“If I go in the morning she could ask questions. Plus from what Gabi told me that house looks completely normal during the day. It has to be at night. We will be fine, don’t worry.” He smiled and opened the door to go out. He moved his head to the side. “If anything, call me. Good night”
Catherine sighted and for a moment stared at the closed doors. Finally she turned around to pick up the papyri from the table but noticed that it was gone. She panicked for a second but then noticed a figure in the dim light of a candle. “Sarah, come on. Don’t do this to me. Plus he said that I should give this to you by morning once you get your sleep!”
Sarah sat at the other side of the table with the papyri in her hands, her eyes were sparkling with excitement. Catherine knew that no matter what, she wouldn't be sleeping tonight. She grabbed another cup, poured a wine in and placed it in front of Sarah. “So tell me, do you already know how to proceed with this?” Sarah turned her head at her, drank a bit of the wine and smiled devilishly.
Sariel got out of the house and looked at the lake that was shining in the moonlight. He looked up at the moon, grabbed the pendant to his hand and closed his eyes for a few seconds. “So, are you two ready to go?” He said and looked to the right. Next to the house was Lailah staring at him and next to her a female figure dressed in complete black colors. She had a hood over her head that casted shadow over the upper part of her face and revealed just a small strip of her blue hair and a mask covering his mouth and nose. She wore light armor that had a tight fit around her body and was reinforced with metal of her shoulders and arm guards, on her waist were leather straps that held several knives. She nodded in his direction and Sariel put on his hood. “Let’s go.”
They embarked, past the lake and the sand walls. For a second they just stood there and looked at the sand and bushes that were between them and the place where they were heading.
“If we hurry we should be there just before midnight.” Said Gabrielle and took down her mask. She crouched for a moment and passed her eyes across the land. Few wild animals but other than that, no noise. “Nothing in our way. Do you sense something unnatural?”
“Nothing. I think that we can expect only within the house. I did not sense anything in the church before and Death did not mention anything either. Are you sure that you want to come? I´m almost certain that this is a trap.”
Gabrielle stood back up. “Yes.” She said and put the mask back on. Sariel looked at her and smiled under his hood. She was completely focused, almost not blinking and he could almost feel the excitement that was pulsing from her.
“Very well. I will let you take the lead on this.” He thought and looked at Lailah that was right next to her. She was calm as always, sitting, enjoying the breeze in her face. “Where should we go first? House or the Church?” He asked Gabrielle.
“Maybe we could go separately. You take the house and I take the church?” She said and got moving forward. Sariel did not like this idea but the decision was hers.
“Very well. But you take Lailah with you. I trust your skill but Lailah can sense what you cannot so she can alert you. You know what to do when you get cornered right?” He put a lot of emphasis on the last part. Gabi was the most disciplined but still he could not get the fear out of his mind.
“I do. Don´t worry, we will first scout the premises and let Lailah sense the church. Plus I think that there will already be another clergy inside. This is still part of Jerusalem we are talking about, they would not let any other religion take over this part.”
Sariel and Lailah moved forward. They quickly caught up to her and now they were walking in line straight towards the lights of Jerusalem. Gabrielle was right, he thought. The clergy in Jerusalem would not let the church be abandoned, that is a good thing. Gabrielle can be really persuasive and could get news from the new Parson. “If it's like that, get as much information as you can from him. Our main mission today is to find out what or who wrote that word in Edenian and why it is so focused on Eliana and why out of all people is she the target or the mediator in this mystery. If I don't come to the church before you are done come to me. ”
Gabrielle nodded her head in understanding. They traveled for about an hour. Once they reached the Beit ha-Kerem they split and moved separately.
Sariel reached Eliana´s house a few minutes after saying his goodbyes to Gabrielle. The structure was dark, ominous and empty. Sariel sensed everything that was inside. The two story stone structure stood over Sariel like a giant looking down on his prey. Sariel´s instincts were on high alert, he knew that what he felt from the inside was something that he hasn't felt since ancient times, when he was a young Angel serving under Uriel. In front of him were wooden doors and they looked slightly open. “Robbers? Clergy? How in the hell did Eliana survive mentally with this in her house. Incredible.” He thought to himself and slowly opened the door. He went inside of the house and the light from his pendant casted a dim light upon the whole room. It was a room that served as a kitchen area with a large table and a kitchen in the corner, fireplace and seats near it to welcome the guests. The walls were covered with paintings of flowers and biblical scenes but it was all covered in dark writings of the same nature as the Papyri that Death brought to him. “Edenian invocations..” Sariel thought to himself and pushed further to the house. He observed the room and noticed that as he moved further some shadows moved unnaturally to cover. “On the walls. Probably ceiling and floor as well. I was not attacked immediately so there is a plan. Very well, it's a higher demon.” Sariel has decided that he will see where the trap is going to take him so he moved to take a closer look at the invocations on the walls. With his back opened to the room he took a look at the walls. “Standard summoning invocations, ancient but not that alarming, but these are Akkadian placed on the relief of a Tower of Babel so nothing alarming. Where is the..”
Just as he finished his thought his senses noticed a move of a shadow on his right side. He only moved his eyes to the right and decided to keep his head forward. The tension between him and whatever entity that was inside this house could have been even felt in the air. Who will make the first move? Sariel moved further to the house and up the stairs to the second floor. He knew that the shadows were slowly following him but kept their distance. He came across a hallway with 3 doors and he decided to try the first one on the left. He came in and found something that he guessed was Eliana´s room. There was a single bed, a small library with educational manuscripts and a very nicely made writing table. “Interesting. Latin grammar and Rhetorics, Lives of saints and poetry. Expensive even for a family like this. Why would they put such an effort to have their daughter educated like this?” He thought while going through the room, nothing out of the ordinary here, it looked untouched and everything was in order. Sariel moved out of the room and to the doors on the right, still pretending he doesn't see the shadows hiding amongst the natural darkness. He entered the master bedroom of this house, a room with a large door to the balcony and a double sized bed covered with a canopy. The whole room was in complete disarray. Pillows and clothes scattered everywhere like if someone was looking for something and fast. He investigated the bed and realized that this is probably the place where Eliana spent most of her nights after the death of her parents. “Poor girl.” He thought and heard the squeaking of the door opening. He turned around and realized immediately. This is the room he was looking for in the first place and the room where he will find out just who now occupies this house. On the other side of the room directly opposite of the bed was a large writing table made out of a solid piece of wood but broken in half. Behind it was a relief of The Fall of Adam and Eve painted all over the wall and on top of it was the Edenian invocation. Symbols that burned with black color and pulsed out a dark magic which Sariel felt how it directly affected him. He felt his chest tighten and his senses sharpen. He knew that he had to see it but he also knew that once he moved towards it he would put himself directly in the trap. The door could be easily blocked by whatever entity that came in and hid somewhere in the dark. “Here we go. Now you will show yourself you bastard.” He thought and moved to move the table. After he moved it to the side he took a step back and reviewed the invocation again. There was nothing unusual with it, exactly as they would use it in the ancient times. “But why here? What significance has this relief with the word Mother? What are they trying to achieve? To corrupt the soul of Eve or what? Eve fell in this relief from grace but that is all. She is in heaven as far as I know so they can´t reach her. What am I missing?” Just as he said it he noticed something on the relief and it immediately made sense. On the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a serpent as usual, but it had the head of a woman with hair the color of the sun. Sariel froze on the spot for a second. “Could it be?”
“Lilith.” He whispered and the name resonated with the room and immediately felt a presence behind him. Forming shadow. He turned around and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. In front of him stood a shadowy figure, the skin like a dark flame dancing and mingling from one string of blackness to another. Inside of his head two red dots that were forming a vortex and opened white mouth with black, sharp and solid teeth. It smiled at Sariel and pointed its shadowy arm to him.
“Thou shouldst not have come here.” It said and turned his head to the left side. The voice was deep and sounded like it came from every corner of the room. “Thou knowest too much now. Where hast thou hidden thee female? She is ours.”
Sariel fixed his posture to look more relaxed and measured the creature that stood in front of him. If he was to strike now it would have no meaning. This is a dark soul living in a shadow, but something was familiar about this creature. He decided to stick to conversation for now.
“What female?” He asked and probed the red eyes of the creature.
“Thou knowest what female we mean. Thou smellest of her. Thou tookest her from us. Why dost thou mingle in fates that are not thine own?” Said the Creature and Sariel noticed two more pairs of red eyes forming above the first ones. This made Sariel nervous. He also felt a presence of 4 more creatures forming behind him to flank him. “Could it really be IT?”
“Can you name the female so I can remember better?” He asked and looked behind him to the left and right, two same shadowy creatures stood there while other two were forming directly behind him. These had no red eyes but the resemblance was the same and they had the same white mouth.
The creature stood there while the other pair of eyes formed. It lowered the arm that was pointing at Sariel and moved his head forward. “Thou art of heaven but dost not smell like Angel. What art thou? What is thy name?”
“Tell me your name and I will tell you mine.” Sariel thought quickly of another question trying to stall the fight that he knew was about to come. He wanted to find out as much about this abomination in front of him as he could. In the same moment he got spooked a bit when the creature behind his right shoulder started speaking.
“We desire to know! Tell us thy name!” The creature growled.
“Where is thy female?!” Growled the creature behind his left shoulder. Sariel paid no attention to them and focused on the one in front of him. He noticed another 3 pairs of red eyes that were already forming. He studied the creature for a second and then it came to him like a revelation. Now it made sense.
“You are not supposed to be here, Legion!” Said Sariel and tried to put as much authority into his voice as possible. The creature's eyes visibly widened and it took a step back. From the other creatures came whispers. “Thou know us! Thou has wisdom! Thou must die!”
“Silence!” The creature in front of him shouted at the other before turning it´s attention back at Sariel. “How dost thou know us? What is thy name?!” It growled and it´s eyes brightened like a flame.
Sariel slowly moved into a defensive stance. They had him surrounded so he had to dodge attacks from the back. “You know me. We have met before. Legion, the hungry Roman soldiers devouring those who wander in the night. You have changed quite a bit I see. Tell me Legion, why are you here? What do you want with the girl?”
Legion took another step back and all of his eyes opened in a shock as it finally looked at Sariel´s sword. “We know thee!” Legion´s white mouth widened into a large smile. Sariel knew that this is a problem and a big one. The hunger that came from Legion could be felt across the room and all the figures that were behind him moved to lock the position. Sariel knew that he had to end this quickly. Lailah will sense the Legion and will come running to help but this is beyond even her and Gabrielle. This is another level. “One last try..” He thought to himself and pierced Legion with his stare.
“What do you want with the girl? What is she to you?” He asked and unsheathed his sword with his thumb.
“Not to us. To Mother!” All of the creatures spread their shadowy arms and turned them into dark blades. In a second they charged at Sariel´s direction. He pulled out his sword and in two steps rushed forward. He slashed to the space where the Legion´s neck was but he managed to block with his arms. Sariel slashed immediately again to the right side but Legion read his move like a book and blocked it with one arm again while trying to pierce Sariel´s left side. He managed to avoid that by the skin of his teeth. He took two steps back and now he was facing all of the Legions. He grabbed the pendant on his neck with one neck and wanted to cast but at that moment he noticed something and quickly jumped to the side. In front of him stood not five Legions but only three. Just as he jumped one came from the ceiling and from the floor. He felt sharp pain in his right leg as the one who came from the floor managed to bruise him. The feeling of warm blood making its way down his leg made Sariel angry. He looked in front of him and noticed that the main body moved to the back and the others stood in front of him like a protective wall which only confirmed his suspicion.
“Thou art weak! Thou wilt die here by our doing!”The Legion shouted and all of the bodies rushed forward. Sariel dodged the first two strikes and moved past them, his focus was on the main body. Maybe if he can cut it down the others will disappear with it. Two more attacks from the front. Parried the first with his sword and slashed the second in one move. Pushed past the pain in his right leg and leaped forward. “And then we shall pay a visit to the female! We will finish what the priest hath started!” The Legion screamed while the fight progressed. These words pierced Sariel like a blade to his chest. The rage that he felt in that moment gave him the strength and speed that he needed. In one blink of an eye he moved 3 meters like it was nothing and slashed his sword at the main body. Before it could react the sword slashed through the dark matter on his neck. The head fell off the neck and the red eyes blacked off. Sariel stopped for a moment, listening. First he heard a thump of a body falling to the ground and then a weird noise, like flesh forming, cracking and gurgling behind him.
“Didst thou think that it would be this easy? Thou thoughtest wrong!” A growl came from behind. He turned his head and saw that the eyes moved to the most far body, just one pair less. Sariel held the pendant on his neck. “Light my way!” He thought in his head and the pendant lit the room with white moonlight. The Legion´s screamed as the light penetrated their dark bodies and vanished their shadows.
“No running now Legion.” Sariel taunted him. The bodies prone forward and let out a menacing scream. They moved in all directions straight at Sariel while the main body stayed behind. Sariel rushed forward taking advantage of the light and quickly slashed at the first body that approached him. He managed to land a hit at the belly side while dodging the shadow blade that aimed to piece his right shoulder. The body vanished after being slashed and he prepared for the attack of the second. Before he could realize what was going on the third body rushed behind Sariel and jumped on his back and pierced his armor and made it´s way to his skin. Sariel grabbed behind with his left hand and pulled the body to the ground. The creature screamed as it landed on the floor and Sariel placed his sword to his throat. The second body reached him and slashed him across the face while throwing him back. Sariel stopped only as he crashed to the broken table and felt the paint and breaking of a bone in his back. The force with which he was thrown was too much. He coughed a bit of blood and smiled at his opponents. The adrenaline kicked in and he could feel the rush. He stood up and saw those two bodies already running at him in a synergy. They switched places and he tried to keep up with the speed. He grabbed his sword firmly and blocked the attack of the one creature and moved quickly to the left to defend against the other. They exchanged several blows and Sariel started to read their moves more clearly. It was chaotic but the same pattern. “Legion is not used to this form yet. I'm lucky.” Sariel managed to counter one of the attacks and slash the left body which immediately vanished in the light. The right body pressed it´s attacks with a horrible scream and unleashed a fury upon his opponent. Sariel was dodging as much as he could but the blood that poured from the wound on his head got into his eyes and he lost sight for a moment. Legion took advantage of that and changed his attack, piercing from the top and striking Sariel´s chest, penetrating his armor and scratching the skin on his breasts. The body changed the shape of his arm from dark blade to claws and pushed them into Sariel´s chest. Sariel coughed blood again all over the upper part of his opponent's body. He raised his head and smiled as he grabbed his arm with his own hand and pushed it closer to him, therefore pushing the claws deeper into his chest. The pain was unimaginable but now the Legion's last body before the main one could not move away. He placed his sword on the throat of the creature before him and pressed it in. With a scream the creature vanished and Sariel tried to catch his breath. He could breathe so his lungs were ok, he thought. He pressed the sword at the floor and put some of his weight at it so he could stand on his legs. He turned his head to the left and pierced the last body of Legion with his own eyes. The body now had only one pair of eyes and they looked terrified when Sariel looked at it. He noticed that for a moment he saw the dark floating soul of the creature in front of him but it was not complete which only confirmed his fears. These are not the only bodies that Legion can summon. If he doesn´t end this fight right here it will end up horribly for him. Plus he felt the presence of Lailah getting closer and closer every second. The door squeaked. Both Sariel and Legion turned their heads at the door and saw the face of an old male with a lit candle coming in. He squinted his eyes to adjust to the light and once he saw the scene in front of him he dropped the candle and it doused. The man fell onto his bottom and his face was pale with fear. Legion rushed at him both arms pointed to kill.
“Don't!” Screamed Sariel and moved to intercept. The pain in his foot and chest was piercing his movement and he realized that he is too slow. “Can´t let him die here. Can´t let Legion harvest another body!” He thought in his head and rage rushed through his veins.
The man was in shock. Shadow with red eyes moving at him with such a menace that he never felt. He wanted to move, crawl back. “Why did I not listen to my guts?! Coming here, after hearing those screams! What was I thinking?!” He thought and in a last effort put his hands in front of him while closing his eyes. Then he heard the sound of flesh ripping, blood dripping on the floor. He opened his eyes and saw a hooded man standing above him shielding him with his body. Two dark, shadowy blades penetrated his body. Sariel coughed blood on his torso and lifted his head. The man got into a complete shock because Sariel´s eyes were completely black and his aura got dark. Menacing even.
“Run!” Sariel growled at the man and felt the pain and anger rising in him. The man suddenly got up and ran down the stairs while screaming for help. Sariel got up and felt the blades ripping through his flesh more and more down and heard the cracks of his armor. “Fuck. She was right. I was careless!” He thought.
“Now we shall harvest thee and add him to the collection!” Said Legion and changed the form of his arms to claws that ripped back to Sariel´s body. Sariel cried in pain and felt more and more anger pushing to his head. “Abomination! Cursed bastard!” These words screamed with anger in his mind and suddenly he did not feel any pain. Just anger. He hit back with his right elbow straight into Legion´s face and felt his arms giving in. The hit was so hard that Legion had to take a step back. Sariel felt his arms pulling out of his flesh, made a step forward and quickly made an attack around from the top. He slashed through the Legion´s body from the top and divided his body in half. The Legion vanished with a scream and Sariel fell onto his knees. He felt how his energy was leaving his body and tried to not give in. From behind him he heard someone running up the stairs. He turned around and saw the image of Death in front of him. “Mori. So you finally came for me huh? It's my time after all..” He thought in his head as the image disappeared and he saw Lailah and Gabrielle running towards him.