Fallen

Chapter Fifteen

I woke with a start, the memory of yesterday instantly coming back to be. My eyes grew wide and nothing around me registered before I shot upright in bed, all but shouting Uriel’s name. A chuckle came from beside me and I turned my head to see both Azrael and Uriel there. What the hell? I furrowed my brow in confusion. What the hell?

“Okay one, that was not funny, I was worried, second what happened? How long was I asleep?”

“You slept for almost two days.” Azrael said coming to sit beside me. “You have been so concerned for mine and Uriel’s welfare you have not properly taken care of yourself.” Azrael pushed my hair behind my ear and caressed my face as he leaned in and kissed me. Again fireworks seemed to explode within me.

I smiled as I pulled away, looking over to Uriel. “I need to check your wounds again. And hope I can get the other stitches out that I couldn’t do the other day.”

“Very well.” Uriel’s voice seemed strained, as did his eyes.

“Come on, I’ll need the space the larger room has to offer.” I reached out for his hand. He gave it to me, without me having to urge him. He just sat his in mine, without effort, without thought, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Once we got to the room I had him first sit on the bed so I could look over his chest. He was lucky the stitches were only partially healed into his skin. It would hurt but I could remove them. The others looked ready to be taken out. “Well the ones here are all ready to be taken out.” I told him, standing to get my supplies. “It will hurt, and I’m sorry.” I apologized ahead of time.

Once I grabbed my supplies, I grabbed a small stool and sat in front of him. I could feel his eyes on me, and it was both welcomed after the other day and it frightened me. Uriel wasn’t as scarred as Azrael, just a few here and there. But I couldn’t help but run the tip of my finger down one. I scowled at it like it had offended me. I shook my head, moving from his scar to where the first stitch was. It was one of the ones that was close to healed in his skin, and I hated the wince that stilled his body. It took a while, removing all of the ones from his chest. While he grunted and winced with the pain, I apologized. I hated putting him in pain. When I was finally done with the front of him, I released a sigh of relief. Though I knew I was nowhere near done. His back was next.

“Your back. Your back will be the worst.” I warned him. “I need you to lay on your stomach.” I winced for him at the thought. “I’m sorry.”

Uriel just nodded, breathing through his nose as he turned from the edge and lay across the bed with his forehead rested on his arms. I crawled up into the bed and sat beside him. The scars would be harsh here, red and swollen for a little while, before turning white over time. I sighed at the thought, of him being scarred, and in more ways than one.

I started with the easier of stitches, small barely there. Before moving to the larger more prominent ones. Uriel was already in pain from his chest, so adding this to it made it hard for him to stay quiet. It was just small groans at first, before turning into small yelp like sounds. I tried to apologize to him and reassure him as best I could and over and over again just like with Azrael. When I was done, only the ones healing his wings remained. I did the same with Uriel and rubbed his shoulder until most of the tension melted from his body, then I was up and waiting on him to sit up. But he never did. I gave a worried look over to Azrael who just smiled at me. Was he not worried about Uriel? I turned back to him and watched him for a minute, but when he never sat up I walked around to the other side of the bed where his head was lain and sunk to my knees.

“Uriel?” I murmured, wiping his snow-colored hair from his face. His features were still crumpled with pain. His lips pressed into a thin line, a deep v in his forehead. His hands were still clenched into tight fists, and his face paler. I ran my fingertip in between his eyes to smooth out the v that was there, before moving to trial the back of my hand down the side of his face. “Are you alright?” I whispered. Moving my hand back when I got to his jaw. He didn’t answer me, instead his ice blue eyes opened and stared at me. They were no longer hard or iced over, he looked at me with compassion and gratitude. “There he is.” I said smiling. “How are you?”

“I have been better.” He told me strained.

“I’m sorry. Your wings will be the worst of it. But they are not ready to be removed yet, so you can have a day or two break. I have some pain medication I want you to take, it will help ease it off a bit. Would you like help sitting up?” I asked, still staring into his blue eyes.

“Yes, please.” He said on a whisper, his head turning away from me in what looked like shame.

“No.” My tone got stern, and I turned him back to face me. “There is no shame in asking for help. It is not admitting weakness when you do so. You’re hurt, no one expects you to be up and to full strength overnight.”

“Michael expects it.” Uriel murmured to me.

“Well then Michael is an ass.” I hissed, anger threatening to consume me at the thought of the two of them hurt and still having to go and do what they were told. It was unacceptable. “Anyway.” I said trying to keep anymore anger out of my voice. “I am not Michael, and Michael is not here. And should he fall, and I hope he don’t, but maybe it could humble him a bit. Now come on.” I said, standing and gently grasping his shoulders and helping him to lean against the headboard of the bed.

I smiled down at him and moved to Azrael. “We need to keep going. I’m going to start driving. We will drive for a few more hours to get away from where Uriel fell. I don’t think anyone this far away will ask questions but I am not taking any chances.”

“I will stay with Uriel.” He assured me, kissing my cheek before moving to his brother’s side.

“She is kind, maybe too kind.” Uriel told Azrael. I guess they didn’t think a human could hear very well.

“She is, her heart will not allow her to condemn those who have no guilt.” I could feel Azrael’s eyes on during his pause. “If Michael does fall, he may not be as grateful for her help, but I still know she could not leave him.” His voice had grown distant now, harder with thought.

“Should that happen, we can shield her from him.” The resolve in Uriel’s tone was staggering. I never expected him to come around so completely. I kind of felt bad for listening in on their conversation, but there was nothing else to listen to, and I didn’t want to listen to music. So what was I supposed to do? Shut off my ears? I don’t think that’s possible.

“Michael is the strongest of us Uriel, even together I do not think we could shield her, not without injury.” Azrael’s voice was angry now. I hadn’t heard him angry in a while. I could feel his eyes on me again. “I do not know what she would do if Michael attacked us openly.”

“By what I have seen she is very skilled with a bow and the humans modern weapons. Do you know what else she can do? If she is skilled with any other weapon?”

I could feel Azrael’s anger in the air, almost strangling me. “You wish for her to fight Michael?” His words were more of a growl.

“No.” Uriel matched Azrael in tone. “But knowing her strengths should something happen to us could be comforting.”

“Nothing about Michael engaging with her in battle would be comforting. We have had millennia of training, while she has had a mere seven years.” Azrael had calmed, the air in the RV becoming less stifling.

“When we came looking for you Michael seemed genuinely curious about her. He did not seem to have any ill will towards her. You know the law about pure souls though Azrael. Michael can not harm a pure soul.”

“He would have fallen Uriel.” Azrael reminded him. “The laws would no longer apply to him, just as they no longer do for us.”

It was quiet for a while, both of them seeming to think over the whole situation with Michael. Part of me hoped Michael would fall, it would humble him. Let him know he is not indestructible, and can be over powered. I would be willing to bet Michael had never lost a battle, that no one hardly got even a scratch on him. But I could be wrong. Michael didn’t seem bad though when he came looking for Azrael. He seemed kind, a radiant aura surrounded him. I don’t know, but I could feel him in a way. Feel his sorrow about Azrael. Feel his pleasure at finding a pure soul. I could feel his grief and anger. But mostly I could feel his genuine kindness. I wondered if that was normal, if feeling the emotions of archangels was common. Not that I had anyone to ask. Well, except the two archangels riding in the back.

“Do you think she would allow Michael to take us?” Uriel asked, his tone both curious and concerned.

“No, I truly do not think she would let either of us go with him without a fight. And it is that, that frightens me.” Azrael seemed to chuckle. “An archangel frightened. On a normal day that would have been something I would find ridiculous and humorous. Now there is no humor in the thought, only fear and dread.”

“I think you may be underestimating her.” Uriel told him. “There is more to her than meets the eye.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean when we all came looking for you, Belle annoyed him, angered him. You know how easy it is to do, even for us. Imagine his anger that a human, did it? Anyway, she calmed him somehow, appeased him. He even smiled at her, genuinely. When was the last time you saw our brother smile a smile that was not put on for our people?”

“A very long time.” Azrael muttered lowly, I almost didn’t hear him. “And you said Belle made him smile?”

“Yes.” Uriel sounded just as confused as Azrael.

“Maybe Michael falling wouldn’t be so bad then.” Azrael told Uriel. “If Belle can calm him, can truly get to him, maybe he would calm back to who he used to be.” Uriel suggested. “However, that decision would be up to Belle. Just as healing you and I was.”

“She would not turn him away.” Azrael said, not a hint of doubt in his voice.

He was right. I wouldn’t turn Michael away. If he needed help, I would help him just as I did them. Just because Michael was calloused didn’t mean he deserved to suffer in such a way. I was calloused too, just in a much different way. Maybe that’s why I could feel Michael the way I did. We were alike in some ways. Him more so than me, he has been around for a very long time. It was only logical that he be calloused and hard. He was the first, wasn’t he? Him and Lucifer? I may be wrong, but I thought it was just Michael and Lucifer for a while. Then when God saw his creation, he made more. Then he made humans and they ruined everything. Lucifer had an uprising; many fell with him becoming what we know as demons.

Things stayed quiet for a while which confused me. When we were at a stop I turned and saw the two of them sleeping, side by side propped against the headboard. I smiled. I guess we could stop, we were several hours away from where Uriel fell. So, I pulled off the nearest exit and drove maybe another hour before I found the perfect spot I wanted to set up. I let the two of them sleep, they needed it. They were still healing, mostly their wings but healing nonetheless.

I left them there, it was already getting dark and I was tired of being in the RV, I wanted to be outside. It was warm out and I enjoyed sitting back and watching the sunset. I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen, and at this rate there would be no archangels left in heaven to defend it. Should all of them fall, and all be healing down here, heaven would fall to the uprising and I knew that would make it harder to regain control.