House of Death

Chapter 3

The sky was dark and ominous. Rain fell down in moderate amounts with the occasional rumble of thunder. The combination of rain and cold caused a fog to slowly arise from the forest and move towards the graveyard, giving it a ghostly aura.

In the cold dark silence a single figure knelt by an isolated grave - his palms put together in a praying gesture. His eyes were closed, his lips unmoving whilst his silver hair shone like silver with the setting sun. He made no effort to rise as another tall figure approached him.

"Why am I surprised to find you here? Are you still so attached to the dead mortal?" This new arrival made no effort to hide his angelic features. He had fiery red hair, electric blue eyes and skin that glittered silver. He wore white and silver elegant robes and had an ethereal glow around him.

"You were mortal too once, were you not? The disdain you appear to have for them is quite hypocritical of you, Metatron. Now what do I owe the pleasure?" He replied without moving or opening his eyes.

"We find it concerning that you have chosen to abandon your duties, Azrael. It's one thing to step down as the harbinger of Death. It's another to pass that mantle to a mere mortal."

"I don't answer to you or the rest of the Heavenly host."

"You are an angel..."

"But I was first and foremost the harbinger of Death. As such any decisions I make... Whatever I do in that regard is really none of your business." Azrael said with a nonchalant tone. "I take no sides. Heaven... Hell... it means nothing to me. I exist to maintain balance in the universe."

"I see. But that was before you gave away your power to the mortal. As of now you are but a mere angel and your allegiance is first and foremost to the Heavenly host. You will carry out the orders that have been given to you. You will retrieve the mortal and deliver him to us.

You don't want to be the harbinger of Death anymore? That's fine with us. We will choose a more suitable host.
Refuse to carry out this instruction and you shall be charged with treason. I'm sure you're well aware of what we do to traitors. You and Samael will catch up on that should you choose to defy us. The last thing we need is for the pentagram to acquire this mortal and corrupt him to their own desires." Metatron said with a grim expression.

"Samael didn't fall because he chose to side with Lucifer. He fell because he chose a side." Azrael replied. He appeared uncaring and unaffected by Metatron's words and this drove the other angel mad.

"And once again I remind you, Azrael, that you are no longer an angel of Death. You are an angel and the allegiance of every angel is first and foremost to Heaven. Chose wisely. You have no friends in Hell. I'm sure they'll have a field day if we were to cast you into the pit." Metatron 's eyes blazed with the threat before he spread his wings and took off.

Azrael remained standing in front of the grave, his face calm and emotionless. After a few more minutes to himself he turned and walked away.

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Raul had been throwing up for the last three minutes. His stomach still felt queasy after what happened and he wasn't even sure how he would explain any of it.

Having spent his entire life believing in nothing he found himself overwhelmed by everything that was being thrown at him. It almost felt like the universe was mocking him. Every single thing he had considered a fairytale up to now seemed to be coming to life and he didn't know how to react anymore.

He had gone to sleep last night thinking that by the time he woke up it would have been all a dream. In the end that had been nothing but his own wishful thinking and they had been attacked by a fallen angel.