Page 31 of Under His Wings
In theory there were rules about how to conduct yourself as an angel or demon while on a job but there wasn’t much besides ‘don’t kill each other’ while one wasn’t acting in the capacity of their job. It was a giant grey area. And encroaching on someone’s territory outside of being delegated there could be taken as an act of hostility. I was still smarting from when I went to see the pyramids of Giza and was chased out by an angel who didn’t like ‘corrupted demons’ to even look at the place she was lording over. And that was a pretty mild reaction, I had heard about much worse. It was a problem, especially for those like me who actually liked spending time on Earth.
“You need an intermediary,” Zachariel summed up his thoughts.
“And you think you are good enough to be one?” Abaddon asked.
“No. But I can learn to be one. And who better than someone with black-and-white wings? As long as I get people, resources, and permission to do it; I know I can create something that will benefit both sides while not being beholden to either.”
Gabriel and Abaddon looked at each other for a long moment.
“Michael is going to throw a fit...”
“Well, he and Luci will have to deal. It’s their own damn fault for shirking their duties,” Abaddon snorted, a playful light in his eye.
“Very well. You have our approval. There’s a lot to discuss... but, ah, we can do it later. Or else I fear your partner will set me on fire,” Gabriel said.
Good to know my glare was potent enough for him to notice.
“We can meet here tomorrow? If you two are fine with lending us the place once more?” I asked the club owners.
“Sure, sure! The price is 300 gold per hour,” Nathaniel said cheerfully.
“That’s preposterous!” spluttered Gabriel.
“Feel free to find a different neutral place, my Lord. Oh, right, there isn’t one,” Nathaniel looked at his fingernails disinterestedly. What a troll. I liked him already.
“Fine. Fine!” the Archangel threw up his hands. “But what are we going to do with Tirael?”
The angel in question tried to become one with the ugly floral wallpaper of the room.
“Give him to me,” I said with what I knew had to be a bloodthirsty smile.
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Zachariel said and I did a double take at him. “Give him to us. I will make sure he learns his lesson.” Seeing Gabriel wring his hands he added. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill him. Or torture him... much. Tirael, I’m giving you a chance to work to atone for your sins. Will you take it?”
The angel hung his head low but when he raised it again his expression was full of determination.
“Yes. I will do what I can, please, just give me a chance.”
The angel’s smile looked more innocent than mine but I knew it was no less bloodthirsty.
“Wonderful! Gentlemen, meet my first employee.”
Chapter 19
Once Gabriel teleported us to Zachariel’s flat (for once, I was happy with him flaunting his enormous reserves of power) I fell upon him like, well, like a very worried mother hen upon a hurt chick. I cleaned the remainder of the right wing, then dried and bandaged it while the angel gritted his teeth. Then I tucked him into bed and despite his protests the fatigue won as soon as he laid his head on the pillows.
When he woke up the next day I had breakfast prepared for him. It wasn’t much, just some scrambled eggs, toast, and freshly squeezed juice I made using his fancy juicer, but it put a smile on the angel’s face.
“No weird combinations of ingredients this time?” Zach teased.
“You have a dispensation for today,” I nodded sagely. “Though I recognize my lack of culinary talent so I ordered in for dinner. How do you feel?”
“Still a bit... muddled,” Zachariel grimaced. “It all came back to me at once but it’s taking time to properly connect and understand everything.”
“Was... was your life as a human as bad as Tirael said?” I asked gently.
“Ha! No. He made that up. We will have our hands full with setting him straight but I do enjoy a challenge. Oh... Hellion... I know now that I like challenges!” Zach’s giddy smile made my heart flutter. It was such a small thing to know a basic fact about yourself. I was glad my angel got this back. “Honestly, as far as I can tell my life was pretty good. I was... I was a chef. No real surprise there, huh? Now I will be even more annoying with my snobby tastes, you can bet! Though I appreciate simpler food as well. I was in a pretty good situation but I spent a lot of time in impoverished communities and it always hurt me to see how many people couldn’t get something as basic as food.”
I nodded in understanding. Honestly, occurrences such as this, seeing things that weren’t a problem in Hell or Heaven like starvation, were why some angels or demons refused to step on Earth. Somehow, denying a child a meal felt far crueler than the most depraved tortures in the deepest pits of Hell.