without fear

Now or Never

The walk back home was tense.

"Look, Cass. I just want to apologize about what I had said about Jessica. I was just confused about everything. It all just happened so fast."

Cassiel looked Yaeli straight in the eyes. he held her gaze for a moment.

"Do not apologize unless you absolutely mean it," Cassiel didn't look away, waiting for Yaeli's answer.

There was a long pause.

"I'm truly sorry to cut in. But it seemed like this moment would never stop."

Cass rolled his eyes before turning around to look at the woman behind him.

"Charmaine, how nice of you to join us."

"Let me guess, Gabe send you too?" Yaeli asked.

"No. I came of my own accord. I need to speak with Yaeli privately."

"Be my guest." Cassiel walked forward. He was far enough that their conversation wouldn't be heard but not far away enough that if Yaeli screamed he wouldn't be able to hear it.

"Yeah?"

"Yaeli, as angel of harmony, I came to warn you of someone in that little group of yours trying to cause you harm. You must be careful who you trust," she said.

"Why would anyone do that? They're all angels?"

"Not all of them are."

--------------

"Abbadon?"

"Yes, he might be the way we find Lucifer. He's Lucifer's right hand man. he knows everything about Lucifer."

"We have to associate ourselves with the fallen?"

"No. You don't have to. It's best if I go alone or with only one of you. It's unnecessary to take all of you. We'd be risking too much."

"Yaeli, I think this could be an excellent learning opportunity for me. I was wondering if you'd consider letting me go with you and whoever's joining you?" Jess asked.

"No!" Both her and Cassiel had spoken at the same time.

"Jess, may we talk alone?" Cassiel excused himself and Jessica from the room.

The yelling could be heard from the dining room, despite the distance.

"Charmaine, what did you mean, earlier when you said that I shouldn't trust everyone?"

"Exactly what I said. Not everyone here is who they say they are."

Cass and Jess walked back in both looking extremely angry.

"I'm sorry. If you will excuse me, I think it's getting late and I am very tired. I will see all of you tomorrow," Jess said as she stood up. "Please leave the dirty dishes in the sink. I'll wash them first thing tomorrow morning."

"I'll take care of Jess you just rest. I'm sure it's been a very hard day for you," Yaeli said.

"Yes, thank you Yaeli."

--------------

A loud scream could be heard all through the house at three in morning. Yaeli instinctively reached for the knife she kept under her pillow as she ran out to see who was screaming.

Jess stood in the doorway of the bathroom, Charmaine inside. There was a pool of blood surrounding Charmaine as she lay still on the ground.

"Charmaine!" Jophiel gasped at the sight. Raziel led her and Jessica away from the bathroom. Only Yaeli and Cassiel were left in the bathroom as everyone left with fearful looks in their eyes. Whoever had done this, was still in the house. They must have known Charmaine was onto them. The only way to get her off their backs was to kill her.

"Who do you think did this? Lucifer?" Cassiel asked.

"No. It has to be someone in this house."

"What do you mean?"

"Charmaine was warning all the time she was here, that someone in here isn't who they say they are. That I shouldn't trust everyone."

"I- I don't understand. We do not kill our own kind. We protect, not only the humans, but each other. We are siblings."

"I don't know. One of them has to be pretending they're an angel, or-" Yaeli trailed off.

"Or what?" He rolled his eyes. "Is this about Jessica again? It wasn't her!"

"How do you know? You earned yourself a night on the couch after that fight you had, you weren't with her, no one was. She could have killed her when everyone was sleeping, cleaned herself up, then screamed to cover up the fact that she was the one that killed her."

"She wouldn't do that," Cassiel defended her.

"Oh, yeah. And you know her so well. You haven't even known her for twenty-four hours, Cass! You don't know what she could be."

"She's the Righteous Man goddamnit! Everyone knows what she could be."

"What if that's what Charmaine meant, what if she's just pretending to be the Righteous Man?"

"What if you're just pretending to be good? I don't know you either, Yaeli."

"You told me when we first met, that you knew everything about me."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I know everything you're capable of doing."

--------------

If Yaeli had just listened to Charmaine, she wouldn't be digging her grave. If she had just understood what she was trying to tell her, she would still be alive.

"It's not your fault, Yaeli," Raziel said.

"She warned me about this. But I didn't understand. I didn't think this'd happen."

"We must not expect for everyone to make it out alive. This is an impossible mission."

"Does that make me Tom Cruise?"

Jess had just begun walking away when Yaeli saw her.

"Hey! Jess, wait up!" Jess had walked into the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up? This must be the weirdest week for you. I mean you were dead and now you're not, then you meet the love of your life who happens to be an angel, I mean imagine what the wedding's gonna be like, and now Charmaine."

She had gotten out raw chicken and began cutting it.

"I'm doing fine. And Charmaine's death doesn't bother me. I barely knew her. And she was a little annoying. God forgive me, but she got what she deserved." She hadn't cleaned the chicken, it still had blood all over it, and she drove the knife into the cutting board a bit too hard. She had gotten blood all over her face. It wasn't hard for Yaeli to imagine Jessica driving that same knife into Charmaine's chest repeatedly, blood staining her face, just like it was now.

Yaeli left without a word.