Eddie Lancaster Box Set 2, page 77
part #4 of Eddie Lancaster Series
A lone angel landed in the middle of the aisle. He had curly, golden locks and a face that looked like Michaelangelo had carved it. He had a simple white outfit on and around his neck hung a long golden horn. He walked up the aisle and stopped before us, surveying the two of us with keen interest.
‘Gabriel,’ Malek said, with a perfunctory bow of the head. The mention of his name brought a fresh pang of sorrow for the friend I had lost.
‘Malek,’ Gabriel said politely. He turned my way and smiled. ‘You’re an interesting fellow, aren’t you? We enjoyed watching you tonight.’
‘Did you?’ I said, anger broiling inside me. ‘Good of you to finally come down now that the fighting is all over.’ I snapped.
Gabriel’s smile did not falter. ‘It is not our place to interfere. We govern the Universe, not the affairs of one realm.’
‘Lucifer is behind this,’ Malek said snidely, drawing Gabriel’s attention back to him.
‘Yes, we assumed he was,’ the archangel replied, his voice was soft, so gentle and high.
‘He wasn’t,’ I interrupted. Gabriel’s head turned slowly back to me, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
‘No?’
‘Do not listen to this puppet of Lucifer. He has been ordered to defend his new master to avoid eternal torture,’ Malek lied.
‘Malek set this whole thing up to make it look like Lucifer was behind it. He wants you to kill Lucifer so he can take the throne of the dead,’ I explained.
Gabriel smiled as if he found the whole thing to be terribly amusing. ‘Really?’ he said to Malek.
‘No, of course not,’ Malek replied.
‘Well, we shall have to give Lucifer a chance to tell his side of the story. And then judgements shall be made.’
Malek nodded his agreement. ‘Of course. You are ever a gracious judge.’
‘Oh no,’ Gabriel replied with a little giggle. ‘I am simply here to begin the proceedings. Michael shall be passing judgement.’
‘What?’ Malek said as he took an involuntary step backward. I recalled that Malek had seemed hopeful that Michael would judge Lucifer but now that he was in the spotlight he was less keen on the idea.
Another wave of lightning cracked across the sky and another angel flew down hard. This one was not like Gabriel at all. Michael towered above the other angels, his fair hair was pushed back across his head and his eyes had a hardness that you wouldn’t expect from one of the Holy order. He wore a shining golden chest plate with what I assumed was the throne of God emblazoned across its surface. He strode up the aisle purposefully and stopped next to Gabriel. He looked me over and then turned away as if I didn’t matter at all, which frankly was a little insulting considering I’d just stopped an angel from stomping over the earth. His eyes fell on Malek and his face twisted in abhorrence. I was less insulted in comparison to that reaction.
‘You’ll burn for this,’ he warned Malek. ‘Let’s send this vermin home.’
Michael pointed at nothing in particular and over by the trees appeared a single arched portal just like all the others except this one had a golden rim, not a fiery one. Gabriel walked calmly through the breach and a few moments later he reemerged. With Lucifer. Four of the strange white sentries stood right behind their master.
Every demon shied away from their master, all too aware that their treason was now going to go punished. The rewards Malek had offered them would never be granted.
The lord of the dead commanded as much trepidation as Michael had and I was intrigued to know which of them would win in a fight. And which one was more feared among their brethren.
‘Brother,’ Lucifer said to Michael. There was no love between them.
‘Satan,’ Michael replied. Lucifer’s eyes flew open in fury.
‘Do not call me that!’ His voice was thunder.
‘That is the name Yahweh assigned you when you were exiled,’ Michale told him as if Lucifer needed the reminder.
‘Say either of those names in my presence again and I will start the apocalypse right now,’ Lucifer threatened. Michael’s mouth twisted in a slight smile. Here were two archangels bickering like brothers. Even primordial beings had family dramas apparently.
‘Explain your part in this,’ said Michael.
Lucifer arched an eyebrow at him and remained silent. For several moments the two archangels stared into each other’s eyes as though they were having a staring contest and then finally Michael sighed in defeat.
‘Please,’ he added begrudgingly.
‘There we go, manners cost nothing,’ said Lucifer and then he confirmed that he had nothing to do with the plan and the whole thing was a deceit created by Malek.
‘Lies!’ Malek shouted petulantly, like any child who knows they’ve been caught out.
Lucifer grabbed his wrist and yanked the Ambrotos Dagger from his grip with barely any effort at all. ‘I shall take that,’ he told his former lieutenant. He turned to me and gave me a wry smile. ‘Everything you needed,’ he reminded me of his earlier words and held up the dagger to emphasise his point.
‘Malek, in the name of’—‘ Michael started but Lucifer held up his hand to stop him. Michael looked at his brother in outrage.
‘Malek is a subject of my domain. I shall punish him,’ Lucifer said calmly.
‘How? I cannot return to Heaven without a satisfactory conclusion.’
‘The pit of sulphur is long overdue a use,’ Lucifer said rather mysteriously.
‘That seems… acceptable.’
Lucifer nodded his head and the sentries stepped forward.
‘No,’ Malek hissed. He went to back away but a simple look from Lucifer froze him in place. ‘I have done nothing but try to prove that you were right all along! These humans are not worthy of our time!’
‘It is not for you to decide what is worthy of my time. You are a servant. Nothing more,’ Lucifer told his former friend with a coldness nobody would ever match. The sentries grabbed Malek by the arms and dragged him through the portal to the pit of sulphur. Malek went, screaming obscenities at Lucifer until he was through the portal and out of earshot.
Lucifer and Gabriel shared a look of embarrassment at Malek’s display and then it was back to business.
‘And these demons need punishment too.’ Michael raised his eyebrows expectantly.
‘Their existence is no longer required,’ Lucifer said dismissively. Michael nodded at the line of angels and they flew into action decimating every demon where it stood. Fiery swords just like the one Malek had wielded were in each of their hands. The hideous creatures tried to fight back but none were successful against the warriors of Heaven and in a matter of minutes they were no more. Chopped up demon pieces littered the ground. I wondered who would have to clean that up.
‘This matter is concluded,’ said Michael. He turned to Lucifer. ‘I’ll see you at the apocalypse,’ he said and then he shot up into the sky, his white feathered wings flapping strongly.
Gabriel turned to me, his face solemn with regret. ‘I am afraid you must answer for another crime,’ he told me.
‘What crime?’ I asked. I hadn’t done anything to offend Heaven that I was aware of.
‘The murder of the Heavenly clerk.’
‘Ah,’ I said. So I had done something to offend them and the evidence was in Lucifer’s hand. ‘Well, I didn’t actually murder him. A Jinn did. And we gave him every opportunity to not get killed.’ I stammered away as I explained everything to Gabriel who listened patiently, as did everybody else who was present, including Lucifer.
‘Well,’ Gabriel said once I’d finished. ‘Clarke had broken the rules by getting involved, which would have led to his dismissal anyway. The fact that he was ageing was a testament to that. I see no crime to answer here. However, I do now have to find a replacement. And since you are partially responsible for his death it seems fitting that you should replace him.’
‘Oh no, I’ve earned my eternal bliss. I am not spending eternity looking after some supernatural library,’ I argued. I had not gone through all this so I could sit on the sidelines and record the lives of others until the end of time.
‘That sounds like a dream,’ Katelyn said from the crowd. Every eye turned to her and her face flushed red with embarrassment. She was leaning on her grandmother, still recovering from exhausting herself.
‘It looks like we have found our candidate,’ said Gabriel pleasantly. ‘This business is concluded.’
‘Good,’ said Lucifer. He turned to me, his cold eyes void of any emotion. ‘Come. Let us finish our business.’
A single glance at my friends who had fought with me tonight was all the goodbye I was allowed to give them. Then I followed Lucifer through the portal, leaving the Living Realm for the last time and realising at last just how much I was going to miss it.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Lydia followed me through the portal to the throne room at Lucifer’s command. She stayed close to me as if there was something I could do to protect her from whatever Lucifer had planned. She still didn’t seem overly concerned.
‘You,’ Lucifer said, pointing at Lydia. He was not sitting on his throne. He stood down on the ground with the two of us. I got the impression that we’d earned his respect by beating his traitorous lieutenant. A task that a few hours ago had seemed impossible. ‘You betrayed me by obeying your father, which warrants a punishment. Then you betrayed your father and aided Eddie which in turn meant you aided me. Again this warrants a punishment.’
‘Fucked either way,’ she said. Even standing before Lucifer her attitude did not change. He stared into her eyes and I saw it. A tiny quiver of her lip. She was afraid but she did a bloody good job of hiding it. This girl had cahonas.
‘Indeed. Since this evening has turned out rather well I am inclined to forgive your crimes. As you say, you were fucked either way. Whichever choice you made resulted in you betraying somebody. Interestingly you betrayed us both.’
‘As far as I’m concerned I don’t owe you or Malek any loyalty. Neither of earned it, you just demanded it.’
‘ Careful,’ Lucifer warned. ‘Since you helped in Malek’s defeat I will reward you. I release you from any obligations to angels of this realm. You need be loyal only to those you see fit.’
‘You mean…?’ Her jaw dropped and I was sure I could see a tear in her eye.
‘You’re free,’ Lucifer confirmed.
Lydia left to return to the Living Realm which left only me in the throne room with Lucifer. And I had no idea where I stood with him now.
‘You have impressed me, Eddie. And I am not easily impressed,’ he said. He turned and walked towards the throne. The dagger was still in his hand, my blood coating the blade. ‘Thanks to you this is now out of the hands of those who would use it to subvert the will of my realm. This will be responsible for no more evasions of death. And no more opening of portals. Despite Malek’s duplicity you managed to achieve the task I gave you and more.’ He climbed the steps and lowered himself onto his throne from which he stared down on me. ‘As far as humans go… you’re quite exceptional. So, you have fulfilled your end of the agreement and now I shall uphold mine. I shall not pass judgement on you, Eddie Lancaster. I will grant you eternal rest of whichever design you desire. Tell me, Eddie, what does Heaven look like to you?’ Lucifer asked me. And I told him. I told him what I craved. And he granted it.
I found Ashley back on the beach. She was skimming rocks when I approached, holding back my excitement for what I had to tell her. And for some reason, I was nervous too. One corner of her mouth curled upwards when she saw me.
‘You’re back,’ she said and wrapped her arms around me. She was holding back her happiness at seeing me again, I could feel it bubbling away beneath the surface ‘I knew you’d get the job done.’
‘I never disappoint,’ I said quietly.
‘What? There’s something you’re not telling me.’ Her eyes widened with horror. ‘You did do what he asked didn’t you?’
‘Yes,’ I laughed. ‘Yes, of course.’
‘Then what is it?’ she leaned back to get a better look at my face but left her arms draped around my shoulders.
‘I asked Lucifer for something a bit different. While I was over there, alive again, I saw… I saw what happens when love blossoms. Fully.’
She narrowed her eyes at me. ‘Right.’ Her voice was full of suspicion.
‘We didn’t have enough time together, Ash. Our love didn’t grow as strong as it should have done.’
Her arms fell away and she took a wobbly step back. ‘Are you saying you don’t love me?’ The words caught in her throat.
‘No! Not at all. Of course, I love you.’ I shook my head adamantly. ‘I’m saying we haven’t experienced love the way we should. We need more time alive to let things grow. To flourish. We died too soon. We can’t grow the right love down here on this deserted old beach. We need life. We need adventure.’ I pictured Howard and Amara kissing on the battlefield.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said softly. Sadly. ‘I love you, Eddie.’
‘And I love you. But our love isn’t as strong as it could be. Lucifer said he will send us both back. We can live again.’
She shook her head sadly, eyes down on the sand. I saw a single tear fall from her cheek and go tumbling down to disappear in the grains of sand. ‘I don’t want to go back. I’m at peace, Eddie.’ She looked back at me. ‘The love I feel for you is the strongest feeling I’ve ever had. My heart felt like it was going to burst when I saw you walking across this sand today.’
‘But it could still be stronger,’ I tried to tell her but she shook her head again.
‘Maybe for you. Not me.’
‘I do love you,’ I assured her. It wasn’t a lie.
’Then stay. We can have eternity together. It doesn’t matter where we are as long as we’re together.’
It was my time to shake my head. ‘I’m not ready for this. I can’t rest. There is so much more to do and I’m not going to be able to do it here. If it doesn’t matter where we are then come back with me!’
‘No,’ she said simply. ‘The love that you just described is exactly how I feel about you, Eddie. But if you don’t feel the same way now then you never will. No matter where we go.’ More tears were running down her face now. I wanted to brush them away but touching her now seemed wrong. I felt like I wasn’t allowed to. I understood why I felt nervous when I’d arrived now. Deep down I knew how this was going to end up. ‘You need to find that love with…’ She looked away and took a shaking breath. My own eyes became watery at the sight of her like that. ‘..someone else.’
‘I love you.’
‘Not how I need you to.’ She took my face in her hands and then planted a deep and agonising kiss on my lips. It stretched on for the longest time and by the time she broke it my own face was flooded with salty tears.
‘This isn’t… this wasn’t what was supposed to happen,’ I said.
She shook her head again. ‘No. It wasn’t. But it happened anyway. I love you, Eddie Lancaster. But this is the end for us.’
I watched her walk away across the sand. She got further and further away until she just vanished. And that was that. Ashley and I were done.
Forever.
I stood on the beach experiencing all the emotions she’d left me with. Sadness. Longing. Confusion. Guilt. But mainly, and I would never admit this to her, but mainly I just felt relief. Because the truth I’d learned from people like Howard and Amara, was that I had not felt the grip of true love. And with Ashley I never would. Only now did I realise the full truth of my revelation, as I thought that now I realised that I would never see Ashley Sheridan ever again.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Lucifer allowed me two visits before I left. The first was my parents. We sat in the conservatory together. Dad read a book on the Grand Prix whilst Mum worked on her cross-stitch. I told them everything that had happened and they listened. They assured me that despite the bad things I had done along the way, I was ultimately a good person and they were proud of me. They encouraged me to go back to the Living Realm and find love just like they had when they’d found each other. They couldn’t wait for me to return and tell them all about it. That was something I was really looking forward to. As I walked away they returned to their hobbies and faded away.
My second visit was to Gabe. I found him sitting outside a French cafe enjoying some incredibly pretentious looking appetiser. Marty was sitting opposite him and they were locked in what looked like an enthralling conversation. They never once took their eyes from one another. I didn’t go and say hello. It would only mean having to say goodbye again. Gabe was happy. That was what mattered. I turned away and left them to their eternal bliss.
Lucifer saw me to the gate and told me he looked forward to my return. He also told me that I would be judged for anything I did from my resurrection onwards. He added that this would be my last resurrection so I should be more careful going forward. Then he sent me back permanently.
I realised as I stood on some random street in Maidstone that I was homeless. I doubted Lydia would want me crashing at her place now that she didn’t have to babysit me. Homeless and unemployed. What a great way to start.
I opened my hand and conjured a ball of magic. It was green with purple flecks floating around inside. I guess the taint of being dead couldn’t be expunged completely. But with magic, I could get anything I wanted. As long as I didn’t draw any attention to myself. Or hurt any innocent people. I had to be careful now. Lucifer would judge me when I died so I couldn’t go around doing bad things as I had in my first life.
Out of curiosity, I took myself to Salamanders. I wondered if Katelyn had taken up residence in the magical back room now that she had taken Clarke’s former role as the Heavenly clerk. The shop keeper didn’t bat an eyelid as I walked in. I’d thought he might give me shit because I’d helped kill Clarke but he seemed pretty impassive. I pulled back the tapestry and there was the familiar door. I put my hand on it and pushed it open lightly.
