God's Gone AWOL

[2] Rage

Heaven.

In the case of Heaven, the stereotypes and depictions were actually correct. There was not a single place in the entire realm that could be described as anything but beautiful. With pearly-white marble halls, windows overlooking an endless sea of golden clouds, and intricate designs etched into every single surface, wall and pillar, it was even more so a picture of perfection than any mortal recreation had ever been.

And like the place in which they lived, the residents of Heaven were similarly beautiful in their appearances. Each angel was like the carvings and statues built into the architecture. Ethereal, flawless, elegant, and chiseled directly out out of something greater than themselves.

Camael made her way down one of the many halls leading between the various buildings and structures Heaven was comprised of. Even though she wore a blank expression of indifference, her footsteps were very light and very quick. As though she was nervous. And if she was, it would be very understandable. Especially because the people approaching her from the other end of the hallway were just the sort of angels one should be nervous around.

Both angels wore the faces of men. One of them was slim and muscular, with curled, greying hair and a goatee that had been styled rather elegantly. The other was shorter, but equally as clean and well designed. They walked side by side, with an air of both power and superiority that was so potent it could not be ignored. Although neither were Archangels, they were both rather formidable in their nature that nervousness when in their presence just simply could not be helped.

As soon as the three met, they all saluted each other respectfully.

"Sister Camael," Said the one with goatee.

"Nathaniel." She returned his salute, then turned to the other. "Josiah."

"Thank you for meeting with us," The one called Josiah spoke. "You understand that the subject of our discussion is of the utmost importance?"

Camael nodded.

"I do. The return of Bentley Hellbourne is not a matter to be taken lightly. I will see that this is handled quickly and efficiently,"

"I should hope so," Josiah said, "You and your choir made quite a mess in that church earlier. Perhaps focusing on cleaning up after yourself is the best thing to start with,"

"It has already been settled. We wiped the witness' memory and sent an angel down to monitor the situation further. Though I do apologize for the inconveniences caused,"

"And what of the treasured weapon?" Nathaniel's tone was much less passive aggressive than Josiah's, and much more to the point.

"It is in the possession of Atticus pash de Ophaniel," Camael told them.

Although this information wasn't necessarily bad news, it was still surprising. All three felt as though they had at least a small victory in that the soul fragment had ended up in the hands of one of their fellow angels. However Atticus pash de Ophaniel was probably the last one they would expect to deal with this sort of thing. And the likelihood of him understanding anything that was happening was rather low. So needless to say all three angels were a little unsure of the way things had turned out.

"Atticus?" Josiah frowned, "That teenager of an angel? How did he end up with such a thing?"

"Did you not read the report I sent you?" Camael asked.

"I merely skimmed through it. What's more important is if you know where Atticus is now,"

At this, Nathaniel offered yet another lazy reply.

"If she knew where he was, he would already be here,"

"He has warded himself so we cannot track him at the moment," She explained, "I believe the shock of seeing his old rival return from the dead has caused him a great deal of turmoil. He has probably used the wards to hide himself in case she's returned to seek revenge. I'll be sending some of my subordinates down to check his residence shortly,"

"Well I suppose all is well as long as the weapon is in the hands of an angel and not some demonic thief," Josiah said with a sigh, "With any luck, your attempts to reach Atticus will be a success and he will return what's ours,"

"Speaking of demons..." Nathaniel's golden eyes turned back to the face of Camael. "You very blatantly violated the peace agreement earlier. Not that I'm disappointed, but I am curious. What are we to make of it?"

...

"Terminated! Violated! Disrespected to the utmost decree! And ultimately thrown in the trash!"

Every word was accompanied by an aggressive slap to the council table.

Hell.

Each member of Hell's High Council wore a different expression. Some were staring at Eleazar as they continued their rant, either in disagreement or approval. Some had their faces in their hands. Some were just confused. Only Xander's face was blank, fixated on the table as he allowed the entire conversation to flow in one pointed ear and out the other.

"I said right from the start, such an agreement was utterly useless. Heaven is made up of a bunch of savages that can't even respect the highest representatives of demon-kind. We should have aimed the first blow a long time ago!"

"Eleazar, please lower your voice," Smythe said, pinching the space between her eyebrows. "My headache is bad enough as it is,"

"No, no," Piped up Wingo, "Please go on. I'm enjoying the show. Your stage presence is unmatchable,"

"You think this is a show?? Just wait til' I get my hands on--"

"Everyone please!" Yardley joined the conversation. "Let's not get too worked up about this whole thing. We should slow down and think of a solution instead of shouting about how mad we are,"

However, as she said this, Yardley was absent-mindedly rubbing the spot on her face where Camael had struck her earlier.

"I have a solution!" Said Eleazar, "We beat the s**t out of every last angel we can get our hands on,"

"As appealing as that sounds, Yardley is right. We need to actually focus on a plan of action,"

"Yes. In light of... recent events. We need to seriously think on this whole situation. Now more than ever," Smythe said to the group.

Having been reminded of those 'recent events', everyone in the room went quiet. This gave the opportunity for Smythe to calmly address the one sitting beside her.

"Xander, have you heard at all from your sister?"

Upon hearing his own name, Xander was suddenly yoinked back into the conversation. In a moment of slight confusion, his dark eyes moved from person to person as he tried to recall what his fellow demons had been shouting about moments before.

"Oh, uh. No, not a word. She disappeared last night, and that was it,"

"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Eleazar immediately returned to their typical shouty state. "Bentley's back all the sudden? Can someone explain last night to me as though I were a five year old child?"

"Are you saying you aren't already?" Said Wingo quietly.

"b***h--"

"Yes, my sister's back from the dead." Xander interrupted, not because he wanted to explain anything, but because if any more fighting broke out, his already muddled brain might just combust. "I confirmed her identity, but we were planning on keeping it all a secret. Obviously, that didn't work out,"

"Why?"

The one who posed the question was Smythe. And to be honest, Xander wasn't really sure how to answer. At first, it was because he wasn't sure if that person had really been his sister or some messed up case of impersonation, but she had quickly extinguished any flames of doubt that he had shortly after they encountered each other. It was too late to rely on the 'We-were-too-busy-to-tell-everyone' excuse, since he had already admitted to wanting to keep her identity a secret. Had it been all just to avoid this exact kind of drama? To conceal her from unwanted attention? Not entirely.

The real reason was one that Xander didn't honestly want to admit. Because although his sister's appearance and mannerisms were all the same as before, something about her had changed. Before, Bentley had at least had some sort of tether binding her or pulling her in some direction. She had motivation when she acted, and always returned to a specific state, no matter how far she strayed.

But this was not the case after death. She was unleashed and blindly following the words of some unknown power. The truth had twisted a deep knot in the bottom of her brother's heart, binding him between concern for her and fear at what she might bring.

"Because..." Xander tried to answer. "Even though she's back, I'm not sure she's following the same agenda that she used to,"

...