The Rise Of The Morningstar (Eng. Version)

Chapter 36 - Ithuriel's Riddle

Chapter 36 – Ithuriel's Riddle

Green grass surrounded me. Above me, a bright blue sky stretched out in all directions. Not a single cloud could be seen. The light shone down on me from all sides so that my body left no shadow on the meadow that seemed to stretch out into infinity around me. A few tens of meters away from me grew a single, huge tree, its trunk broader than any I had seen before. Under the thick canopy of leaves and leaning against that trunk, sat Ithuriel. His massive white wings had fallen against the bare wood. He appeared peaceful, unlike the figure I had last encountered beneath the Waylands' estate.

The angel lifted his head as if noticing me. His long, slender features were superhumanly beautiful in nature. Almost symmetrical; and yet something human sparkled in his eyes. A soft smile spread across Ithuriel's full lips and he raised a pearly hand in one fluid motion in greeting.

"I've already been expecting you," he announced in his deep, melodious voice, which I already knew from past dreams, and I timidly stepped closer to him. I didn't answer. Instead, I continued to stare at him, trying to take in every detail of his aesthetic appearance. The thought that someone had hurt this creature on purpose now hurt even more.

Ithuriel caught my gaze. How could he not? "If you have questions, ask them." He said it casually, as if we were longtime friends exchanging trivia. In fact, I couldn't deny the sense of belonging in my chest I felt whenever I was near him.

"How did my father manage to summon an angel?" I asked in a similarly nonchalant tone, but didn't dare take any more steps towards the angel. The question had nagged at me since its discovery beneath the estate.

"There are a few ancient summoning rituals that are very difficult to perform," Ithuriel explained, and I listened to the sound of his harmonious voice. Only now did I realize that I had ever only heard him speak in my head. "Valentine has always been a very ambitious man. It took him years, but he didn't give up, until he was finally able to perform the ritual alongside a powerful warlock, whom he then killed."

The explanation made sense and yet I was amazed that such an important ritual as summoning angels had simply been forgotten over the centuries. On the other hand, it didn't surprise me in the least that my father knew about it. "Is this a dream?"

Ithuriel shook his head. "I am not permitted to remove your body from your world, but the same cannot be said of your soul. I can summon it to me for a short period of time."

"So this is heaven?" A mixture of astonishment and disbelief swept through my tone as I looked around at the meadow, which immensity didn't really suit me.

A small smile graced Ithuriel's flawless face. Every move he made seemed more elegant than the one before. "Not really," he then admitted. "It's an illusion I'm creating for you. Your human consciousness is not able to comprehend heaven in all its senses. It would drive you crazy."

"So heaven is real, then." I laughed, a laugh that sounded both nervous and relieved.

This time the angel gave me a rather mysterious smile. "We don't call it that and it's definitely not the place that humans envision in their minds."

I hesitated for a few seconds before sitting cross-legged on the grass in front of Ithuriel. He towered almost a full meter over me, looking down at me with a calm kindness in his golden eyes. As I watched him in silence, I suddenly realized where Jace's eye color might have come from. The Inquisitor's eyes were ice blue, contrasting starkly with his gold.

"I summoned you because a lot has happened since we last spoke," Ithuriel explained, as if years of imprisonment in an underground cave had been nothing but a bad day. But maybe it wasn't more than that for him. How could I know what time felt like for an immortal? "I've kept an eye on you, and as I hoped, you've strengthened your position in the Nephilim community. Even Jonathan Herondale seems to be losing his initial suspicions."