Faith of the Fallen

6.MortalWary

MAX’s POV

"Are you insinuating that you might be becoming mortal?" Behind his eyes his mind seemed to be reeling with thoughts and questions and a frown started to form in his brows.

"Yes, I feel weak and so very lost."

Ramiel stayed quiet, I knew he had something on his mind but he was only staring at me, his eyes slowly scanning over every single one of my features. His eyes found my own again and his expression became much more sombre.

"Merihem, I came here for your help, but in this state you are of no use to me."

"What?! Why are you here?" I asked furiously. Surely Ramiel doesn't think he can insult me and then call me useless.

"After the war between Heaven and Hell, things have changed... a lot has happened after you left." Ramiel said not giving a full explanation.

"But why come here? Why come to me?" I asked standing up, Ramiel always told the truth, but keeping information is where he shines, because he believes in a 'need to know' value.

"Well, I thought coming here would solve my problem that I am struggling with, but the state you are in...possibly losing your grace. Now I know why it was so hard to locate you in this awful realm, you are burning out!" Ramiel raised his voice at me, but I could see the sadness he held for me in his eyes.

"What is your problem?" I asked as I started pacing the length of the coffee table in front of the couch. "And why did you think I would be able to help? I haven't been in hell for centuries."

"Well after the war between Heaven and Hell, cracks have formed between Earth and Hell, which meant that demons are escaping and even some human souls have accidentally made their way into Hell. It isn't easy to go between the realms, but some make it through." Ramiel sat with his hands seemingly calm on his knees, but I could see how he was clenching.

"So you need my help to fix the rift, or c***k or whatever?" I asked, still pacing, trying to piece everything together.

"Yes, well and..." Ramiel trailed off, his eyes met mine and I froze. "And Lucifer is missing from Purgatory."

Silence hung in the air like stale fog, I was frozen in place as his words registered in my mind. Lucifer is missing. Lucifer is no longer in Purgatory. After being alone in Purgatory for millennia, I could only imagine how his crazed mind must be adjusting. There is a possibility that he lost his mind completely.

If he escaped, could he possibly be looking for revenge on those who wronged him, over threw him and then locked him away in Purgatory?

I walked over to the kitchen and opened the cupboard above the refrigerator and pulled out an old bottle whiskey, opening it swiftly I took a long swig as my mind was trying to remember the last time I saw Lucifer... He had just been over thrown and I was wounded by the angels that were now dragging his unconscious body to Purgatory.

My heart started racing in my chest, I took another swig from the bottle. I looked over to Ramiel when I realised he came to the kitchen as well.

"I needed you to help me find him."

"How am I supposed to help you find him?" I asked, clenching the bottle hard.

Ramiel sighed, "I was hoping you could locate his grace, seen as you spent the most time with him. I also thought he might try to find you first, but seen as your grace is fading you won't be able to help either way."

I just fell silent. My mind was racing and my emotions were all over the place.

Anger.

Hate.

Regret.

Anger towards Ramiel for making me feel like in i***t and telling me I am useless when one of the beings that mean the most to me in the entire world is missing and possible losing their s**t in a realm they are not adapted to.

Hate towards Alexander, he left me at a time when I need him the most, I even tried sending prayers to him and he doesn't respond or acknowledge me in any way, shape or form. He could fall into the sun for all I care at this point.

And regret towards myself, the past few months I have let myself wallow in my own pain and kept wishing for Alexander to come back, I gorged myself on takeaways and human alcohol. I put the bottle in my hand down as the thought crossed my mind. I felt so much regret at this point that my heart was starting to ache.

If I had maybe pulled myself from the grief sooner I might've been able to keep my grace stable enough to notice the presence of Lucifer...and now that I think about it, I didn't feel Ramiel's grace either, he barged in earlier and I had no sense of him being here...

My head shot up and I stared at Ramiel, I stared at him for a second then I knew what was going on. My hand met his face immediately as rage filled me, connecting to his jaw in a smooth blow, Ramiel stumbled backwards. He ran his hand over his now pained jaw as a smile formed on his face.

Regaining his balance, Ramiel stood tall and a faint mist formed around him, barely a second passed and suddenly I was no longer met with the dark eyes and white hair of Ramiel, instead in their place was swirled green and red eyes, slightly hidden behind a mop of messy shoulder length black hair. Ramiel's oval face, replaced with a strong angular jawline that is covered with a slight stubble, and the evil smile that graced the lips of the stunning figure of a man spelled gave off amusement.

"This is the longest I've ever been able to fool you, Merihem" The deep voice of an angel resonated with a slight chuckle.

"Lucifer."