The Secrets of Heaven

Chapter 2

Chapter 2Raphael

Raphael lived to surprise Dante.

Potato salad for dinner? Well, it was partly true.

As soon as Dante left for work, Raphael got out of bed and crossed the bridge, heading for the river. Last night he had left a net at a strategic place on the stream and his idea did not disappoint. He cheerfully returned home with three fish in the bag.

After boiling the potatoes, searing the fish filets, and seasoning them with home-grown herbs, Raphael dropped on the dining chair, satisfied with his work. This masterpiece did not deserve to sit on the stove all day. He should bring it to Dante for lunch.

Last night, Raphael had a dream about Laylah Azelys.

She was the Queen of Heaven over three hundred years ago, and she used a still-working machine dating back to the Great War. It was one of the first memories he saw after he faced the enlightenment ritual by the Supreme Virtue.

Yet the historical archives had no documentation about such a machine, or that she, a ruler of Heaven, had used it. Raphael was the only one who knew this.

The Supreme Virtue said all memories of his ruling predecessors would come to him gradually with time, and they did. But they were so scattered and unorganized. It was like his brain refused to process those mountains of information for fear of overloading.

Though this might be a protective reaction. Overloading could be what brought his predecessors to insanity.

Raphael could still see the images from his vivid dream. The strange machine was before his eyes. It was metallic white. It had the shape of a pyramid with smooth, round corners, and it was as big as an average human.

Laylah activated this machine by sliding her finger into a hole in the surface. An internal mechanism cut her finger and drew blood. And she called it the Commander.

But Raphael still couldn’t recall this machine’s purpose.

The Commander was a concept he’d heard in his childhood, too. His parents had discussed it just before his father murdered his mother. His mother found the Commander on her last archaeological expedition and this cost her life. For many years, Raphael wondered what historical artifact was worth the life of a human being.

He rubbed his eyes in frustration. Every morning, he’d been spending hours forcing his brain to give him answers, and never finding any.

His hand absentmindedly played with the medallion around his neck. The little blue trinket he received from Dante many years ago. It was his only possession he took after leaving Elden Palace, another tiny relic from the ancient world, though hardly valuable. As Raphael twirled the medallion between his fingers, he noticed the two sides moving.

Raphael looked down curiously.

It was a flat circle with meaningless ancient writing. The material was the only remarkable part of it since no one knew how to produce it. It most probably required a natural resource that didn’t exist today or a technology that was erased from records in the great book-burning a millennia ago.

Raphael never inspected this object in detail, even though he’d had it for almost two decades. Now, instinct told him to slowly twist the two sides of the medallion, each in the opposite direction. The two sides unscrewed, came apart, and a tiny, folded piece of paper dropped in his lap.

He unfolded the paper to reveal a single sentence.

Find the Commander in the Holy Land, on Yara Island.

Raphael stood suddenly, toppling the chair. This was his mother’s handwriting. The day before she died, she had taken this trinket and gave it back to him later. Raphael still remembered how intensely she’d looked him in the eyes as she made him promise to never lose this medallion under any circumstance. She’d already expected to lose her life.

Raphael clasped a hand over his mouth and leaned on the table as tears blurred his vision. The answer he was looking for had been with him this entire time.

Even in death, his mother was guiding him.

Raphael dropped to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably. Old wounds reopened, and he was once again a child filled with guilt. He laughed through the tears. These few words, which came at just the right time, gave him a new purpose to work for this world.

He noticed movement from the corner of his eye. The window was facing the bridge, and Dante was currently crossing. And it wasn’t even noon yet. He rarely came back in the middle of the day. Soon after, a group of golden uniforms followed behind him.

Raphael rose and stood awkwardly in the middle of the cabin. Too many things were happening at once. He needed a second to take a breath. This high mountain had kept him and Dante hidden from the guardians for the last five years, but the peace had apparently come to an end.

Of course, they had expected to eventually be found. Nothing good lasts forever, especially for enemies of Heaven. That’s why they’d made preparations for an escape. Raphael put the note and the medallion in his pocket, then pulled a large, full backpack from under the bed.

Several harsh knocks hit the door from the outside. “Raphael Azelys, come out!”

Raphael opened the lid of a wooden box attached to the wall, revealing the end of a metal pipe, horizontally aligned with the ground. It led outside and all the way to the bridge, while buried in soil, rocks, and vegetation. Inside this pipe was a generously poured line of gunpowder. He lit a match and started a pathway of sparks.

“You are to be taken to Alirie and executed at Judgment Mountain,” the woman said loud and clear. “If you resist, your execution will be immediate.”

Raphael rose and put on the backpack. He spared a few moments for a last glance at the interior of the cabin. He’d built this place, together with the man he loved, and had spent the happiest years of his life here. No matter where life led him now, he would never forget this place.

Raphael opened the door, and a dozen rifles aimed at him in a crescent shape. This was one of the elite guardian platoons that investigated the most dangerous criminals in the world, led by archangel Remiel. Raphael had exchanged a few words with her years ago, back when he was a prince, and she was a newbie in the guardian police force.

It was impressive that she’d climbed the ranks at such a young age. She couldn’t be more than thirty years old. And she specialized in such a hectic and demanding branch. Most guardians patrolled the city streets and took bribes from the locals. But she led the squad that found two enemies of Heaven. She must already be picturing a parade in her honor back in Alirie.

Dante stood in silence on the side, looking at his lover with a blank face. Raphael spared him a glance, before raising his arms in surrender. “Well, you found me. Aren’t you proud of yourself?”

“Your honeymoon is over, Your Highness,” Remiel said.

“Don’t call me that.” Raphael smirked. “I worked hard to lose the title.”

The howl of the wind vanished in an instant, as though the mountain held its breath. Then, a brutal explosion deafened the vicinity and shook the stone pillar on which they stood. The shockwave shoved the guardians to their knees. They glanced back and saw the bridge they’d used minutes earlier utterly destroyed. The only way off this colossal rock pillar was gone.

Meanwhile, Dante and Raphael dashed for the edge of the cliff.

“Open fire!” Remiel shouted.

The guardians scrambled to their feet, but by the time a hail of bullets came their way, Raphael and Dante were already over the edge in free fall. The height over the river valley was petrifying, and every fiber of Raphael’s being screamed in terror in the face of certain death.

Dante’s wings pierced through his clothes and spread majestically to the sides, just in time for Raphael to wrap his arms and legs around his demon lover and leave the rest in his capable hands. Their fall carried on for a few more terrifying seconds when his demon made a graceful downward arch. With a powerful flap and skillful navigation, Dante led them far away from the stone column.

Distant gunshots sounded from above, growing quieter and less threatening in mere seconds. Raphael’s heart slammed against his chest, shaking off the shock. Indeed, he was shaking all over as he tightly held onto his lover, his eternal savior.

Remiel and her squad of guardians were now stuck on an isolated rock tower. They would have an extremely difficult time going down. This should give Raphael and Dante a decent head start.

It took Dante a few minutes to reach the foot of the mountain. He landed in the forest, close to the outskirts of the nearest town with a railway station. His wings fell off his back, burst into blue flames, and turned to dust in seconds.

Meanwhile, Raphael pulled two new sets of clothes from the backpack , then they buried the clothes they had been wearing. Soon, Raphael and Dante entered the town, heading straight to the rail station. This town had stationed guardians, so they were extra careful, making sure they didn’t draw attention.

The first train about to depart in the next few minutes was a cross-continental fare that would take them to the biggest port of the Fertile Land. Fortunately, this was exactly where Raphael intended to go, which was a decision he’d made half an hour ago.

Raphael and Dante entered the saloon car with the fewest passengers and, as soon as they took their seats, the train left the station.

Emotions were still running high.

For a while, they sat in silence, looking into the empty air, still processing what had happened. In a single day—no, in a single afternoon—Raphael had found the whereabouts of the Commander, became homeless, and was now on the run with his lover.

He reassuringly squeezed Dante’s hand. Dante looked at him and just now allowed himself to breathe easy. They were safe and still free. No matter how many things the world denied them, they would be alright, as long as they had each other.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out with the orphanage,” Raphael said.

Losing their humble home was one thing, but because of him, Dante also left a fulfilling workplace. Caring for children has been his dream job. The children loved him and his colleagues were nice to him. Raphael caused his lover to desert a place of belonging and he would always hate himself for this.

“I promised I’ll come back,” Dante said.

Raphael wrapped his arm around him. “Yes. We’ll come back home, whatever it takes.”

Dante smiled, and Raphael kissed his lips. Everything was going to be alright. This wasn’t the first time they’d lost everything. They’d managed before and they’d manage again. What they had was indestructible and always will be. And it had been ages since they traveled.

“Where are we going anyway?” Dante asked.

“Yara Island,” Raphael said. “On the Holy Land.”

“What? Why there?”

Raphael pulled from his pocket the opened medallion and the folded piece of paper. “Your present turned out to be a treasure chest.”

Dante read the note, and the realization was on his face. He knew of Raphael’s frequent dreams about Laylah Azelys and the Commander. He knew of the death of the former queen of Heaven, and why it was important for her discovery to be revealed.

“Are we…” Dante smirked. “Are we going on an archaeological expedition in search of a historical artifact?”

Raphael smirked back. “Only if you want to.”

Dante burst out laughing. They had been talking about taking a trip for the last five years, but that day never came. Mostly because they had no direction. But now they did. And they were on the run from the guardians anyway. Time couldn’t be more perfect.

Raphael pulled a world map from his backpack. It showed all six continents of Heaven—the Throne’s Land separated from the Fertile Land with a steep mountain range, the same mountain range they’d just left. The Preserved Land and the Holy Land were south, separated by the vast ocean, but still so close to each other.

Far into the west was the largest archipelago in the world, with a constant storm raging upon the tens of thousands of islands, affectionately called the Impact Land. And the sixth continent, the Isolated Land, was missing. It was missing from most world maps since it was the most remote landmass in the world and only a select few had a purpose to reach it.

For them, there were special maps, but this was a mainstream one for the rest of the public.

“For now, we remain on this train to the last rail stop at Crestos Harbor,” Raphael said, pointing at the southern edge of the Fertile Land. “Once there, we can take a ship to the Preserved Land. After that is another cross-continental rail trip to Pilgrim Shore, followed by a month-long walk on foot to the Holy Land. And once there, we’ll figure out how to reach Yara Island.”

“You planned this just now in your head, didn’t you?” Dante asked. “Do you doubt me?”

“Not at all.” Dante pointed at the map. “But why can’t we take a ship to the Holy Land directly from Crestos Harbor?”

“Unfortunately, many years ago, the Supreme Virtue disallowed any passenger ships to reach the Holy Land. Tourists can visit only through an annual religious journey. The good news is, we might be just in time for it. We’ll get to travel through three continents. Are you up for it?”

“Sure I am! When else am I going to see the world?” Dante snuggled closer, wrapped his arms around Raphael’s waist, and rested his head on his shoulder. Raphael wrapped an arm around his lover’s shoulders and kissed the top of his head.

“What are we going to do with this artifact?” Dante asked.

“I don’t know. My mother was murdered because she wanted to reveal it to the public. We might—” The breath hitched in Raphael’s throat. “We might find out something awful.”

Dante looked up at him. “But it would be the truth?”

“Yes.” Raphael’s stare hardened, looking at the place on the map named Yara Island. “For the last thousand years, history has been hidden, or transformed to benefit the ones at the top. It’s time for the world to know the truth. This will make the world a better place.”

Dante cupped Raphael’s cheek. “I missed you saying that.”

Their lips collided in a heated kiss. The ambition to make the world a better place had brought Raphael and Dante together five years ago. Now, embarking on a new mission, reignited a familiar thrill their calm domestic life had buried.

* * * *

Raphael and Dante spent the next seven days on the train, sleeping in two seats next to each other. The trip was comfortable enough. They had a roof over their heads, which, in their experience, was a luxury. It was warm, and they had money to spend on food in the dining car.

The view out the window was spectacular. The Fertile Land was the largest continent in the world and, save from the one mountain range, it was mostly flat land, used for farming. Over two-thirds of the food production for the entire world came from these fields.

The farmers working the fields did not wear the gray honorary angel uniform anymore. Ever since Sienna became queen, she’d ordered the Temple of Virtue to disband the honorary angel program. This still caused lots of protests in Alirie, if the newspapers were to be believed. It was a drastic change, but such tension was to be expected with the throne of Heaven.

Raphael often wondered how Sienna fared in Alirie. She had always wanted governmental power, but she had never expected to be given the throne. And Raphael wasn’t there to support her. He’d had no connection with her since he’d become an enemy of Heaven, and it was better this way. Associating with him would only harm her image.

Still, he missed his best friend.

* * * *

Late in the afternoon, the train stopped at a station where a group of guardian angels boarded. They walked from car to car, inspecting the passengers. The train took off again and started speeding up.

It was safe to assume the guardians were looking for Raphael and Dante. So Remiel’s squad had left their trap and sent word to the rest of the continent.

Raphael and Dante grabbed their backpack and casually left the car before the guardians got a glimpse at them. They passed the dining car, two more saloon cars, and in the last one, the options ran out. They had to leave the train, no other way around it.

Dante kneeled before the only other passenger in the car. “Excuse me?”

Before the man could say anything, Dante’s hand laid a chop at the side of his neck, instantly knocking him unconscious.

Meanwhile, Raphael pulled the metal lock off the back doors, and they suddenly shot open under the force of the wind and the high speed. The loud clickety-clack of the rails deafened their ears. Before them were the train tracks, the horizon with the blazing sun in his eyes, and the yellowish dirt of a desert, with no sign of human activity anywhere in sight.

The guardians would soon enter this last car. It was now or never.

Raphael and Dante stepped from the edge of the car onto the side of each metal door. Slowly, they let the doors support their entire weight. Raphael’s mind filled with all kinds of images of the door pulling out of the rusty hinges and him plummeting with it on the train tracks. He forced himself to move over its edge and find a stable spot to step on the outer side.

“Hold on!” Dante shouted.

Raphael took a deep breath and felt the door slowly move by itself to close. It was Dante’s doing. Both doors closed on their own. His lover glared at the rusty metal lock on the inside and it dropped on its own, securely locking the doors, leaving them both stranded on the outside.

At these high speeds, holding on to the doors was excruciatingly exhausting with each passing second. And Raphael made the mistake of looking down at the tracks. He stiffened. His hands instinctively tightened around the door handle, not letting go. Thank goodness Dante had taken the backpack out of his care since he couldn’t imagine holding onto that and the doors at the same time.

“You can do it,” Dante shouted next to him.

Raphael looked at his lover and he could tell Dante noticed his hesitation and sudden fear. It was a ridiculous fear. There were so many worse things that could happen to them. Raphael took a deep breath and forced himself to let go.

He dropped to the side of the train tracks and rolled on the gravel. Dust and debris went into his eyes and mouth. As he stopped rolling, Raphael lifted his head, and the first thing he noticed was the immense lack of sound and the train disappearing behind the horizon. After seven days of listening to the wheels, he felt deaf now.

Dante stood and dusted himself off before helping Raphael get up. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Raphael said while shaking off the dust and debris from his hair.

This place was a wasteland. No farmlands, no villages or cities, just an endless desert with bad soil where even weeds couldn’t grow. This was the non-fertile part of the Fertile Land. Ironic.

“Unfortunately, this was the trans-continental fare. The next train won’t pass through here for another two weeks,” Raphael said. “We’ll have to continue to Crestos Harbor on foot.”

“How long would that take?” Dante asked, heading down the tracks a few yards to grab the backpack he had tossed before jumping.

Raphael opened his map and made a rough estimation of the time they’d spent on the train and the distance they must have covered since departing from the last station. He dropped his finger on the map, a little over half the journey to Crestos Harbour. This was where they were. He had hoped to reach the port by train, but he hadn’t anticipated the appearance of guardians. This was going to delay their plans.

But they were both in shape from traversing the mountains in the last five years, and this was flat land. It wasn’t unthinkable to take the distance on foot.

“Maybe a week,” Raphael said, a discouraging note bleeding in his tone of voice. A week of walking in a desert had not been a part of his plans.

Dante wrapped an arm around Raphael’s waist, an encouraging smile on his face. “So, the adventure begins now.”

Raphael chuckled and kissed his cheek. Sometimes he forgot who he was talking to. Few things in this world could scare his handsome lover.