Fallen Angels

Chapter 7-The Trial

~~~Start~~~

Bright light filled the room, changing colour in time with the people dancing to the blaring music that sounded like it hadn't ever been changed since the clubs' establishment. The scent of alcohol stubbornly clung to everything it could find.

In the past few minutes, a crowd had gathered in one of the back corners, hundreds of drunk party-goers circled eagerly around two equally drunk men spitting insults at each other. The taller of the two men had white hair, and though it couldn't be seen in the light, his eyes were the same angelic shade. Surprising no one, the altercation had developed into a fistfight, which led to both parties involved been escorted out of the building and officials telling them to 'Take it outside'. As quickly as it had formed, the crowd receded back, and the white-haired man was alone outside.

Just as he began to stagger away from the scene, his attention was drawn to a voice behind him.

"Brother."

Sobering up immediately, the man turned to give a reply but was cut off before he'd even had the chance to start.

"We have gone to a lot of trouble to find you."

"Wasn't this the first place you thought to look, you should know me by now Michael."

"I had hoped you had grown up and stopped this strange obsession you seem to have with these humans." The archangel replied.

"You are needed in Heaven, come with me" he continued, preferring to spend as little time on the surface as possible.

"Why?" The man asked.

"It is not your place to ask questions. You are being summoned for a trial."

"A trial? We haven't had one of those since-"

"Since him, yes I am aware. Now, come on, we're wasting time."

"No."

"Pardon?" Michael asked, quite visibly confused.

"I said no, I'm not going. I know how this ends. If you're holding a formal trial then you're already committed to conviction, because if you were going to forgive and forget then you would've done so by now. You're only holding one out of formality, you won't listen to anything I have to say so, I'm sorry but I'm not going to waste my time and give Hariel false hope that I might be able to change your mind."

"I didn't say who-"

"You didn't need to, Hariel's reputation precedes him. His luck was going to run out eventually."

They both stood in silence for a few painful seconds.

"Fine, if you intend to be difficult. We will find a way to hold this trial without you. But know you could have avoided what happened to him, his fate will be on your conscience."

"Fine by me." As suddenly as he had arrived, Michael disappeared into the night. But his brother was not left alone in the darkness for long. A pair of blood red eyes illuminated the shadows of the alleyway.

"Gabriel, brother..."

...

***

It was now June, Felix had just about been able to find the strength to get out of bed to sit his exams, getting more than a pass in any of them now was a long-forgotten fantasy. Felix checked his phone, he had no idea why, after the initial sympathy messages no one had bothered to talk to him, even Jesse had kept out of his way for nearly a month now.

His body had almost healed now, physically there was nothing wrong with him, but Felix hadn't felt like himself at all since he fell. Everyone told him it was the shock of it all, but he knew that wasn't right, if it was shock, he knew he'd at least feel something, at the moment the only thing he felt was empty.

"Hiya son." Mr Dawson said, slowly opening the door to Felix's bedroom. Instantly, the scent of a home-cooked meal filled the room. Mr Dawson set the tray down gently on Felix's desk and sat on the end of the bed his son was currently curled up in.

"You really should go outside; you look like you haven't seen the sun in years. Or maybe just open the curtains if you don't feel like it."

"I'm alright in the dark"

"Are you sure? Well, you must be lonely. Do you want me to call Jesse's parents? You haven't seen him in so long and-"

"He doesn't want to see me; he's got his own life now. Where's mum?"

"Downstairs, she's no better." Felix nodded. His mother had not uttered a word since the day of the accident, and she would stare at him with an uncomfortable vacant expression.

"Hey, dad. I've got a bit of a headache; can I just get some sleep for a bit."

"Of course. Goodnight Felix, love you."

"I love you too. Thanks for the food"

***

Hariel could clearly remember his last court appearance, and he was sure that this one would be just as unpleasant. First of all, all angels he could ever recall working both with and for had appeared to witness his life be ruined. Secondly, standing before one archangel was intimidating enough but two? That was the stuff of nightmares. He also couldn't help but notice Gabriel's absence, there was no one there to save him this time. Finally, Hariel had been locked away in that cell for so long that now the blinding lights and deafening noise of the courtroom quickly overwhelmed him, and it was nearly impossible to defend himself when he could barely stand up.

He listened as his brother read out exactly what he had done, saved his human when he should have died, and stood there while he also listed all the other crimes he had committed across his career. His odds weren't looking good.

At this point, Hariel had found it more comforting to think of the potential punishments he would be facing. Conviction was almost assured now, and it would certainly be nice to prepare for his new life in Heaven's cells, locked in there for eternity, visited only ever by Evangelina. What must Evangelina think of him now? After all those centuries defending his rule breaking all came down to this. One selfish act that was going to negate all the good he had ever done.

'She was always so kind' Hariel thought to himself. In that moment he was so ashamed, Evangelina had tried so hard to help him, and he had disappointed her.

Hariel barely acknowledged Michael when his sentence was delivered, or the gasp from the audience that followed. He heard the words 'cast down' and his heart sank. He was going to lose his wings. He must have been the first angel since before the beginning to have broken the rules so severely. He couldn't bear to glance back at poor Evangelina sobbing and pleading somewhere behind him

In a final act of acceptance, Hariel closed his eyes and waited. He wasn't quite sure what to expect. Would in be painless? Or would it be absolute agony? The angel felt a wave of fatigue sweep him off his feet and he fell backward. But instead of hitting his head on the hard floor, he kept falling.

~~~End~~~