Eutopia - Apocalypse

Chapter 14

Eutopia stared at Jinn, her empty stomach churning.

‘What do you know of my brother?’ she demanded quietly, her voice wavering with sudden emotion.

‘Probably a lot more than you do.’ Jinn stood up and moved to where the gauzy curtain hung at the window. He twitched the delicate fabric, running his fingers up and down one length with an almost absent mind. ‘Samael.’

‘What?’

‘The name of your brother’s father was Samael.’

‘How could you possibly know that?’ Eutopia asked doubtfully. ‘Our mother never spoke of our father.’ Jinn shook his head, slowly.

‘Whoever your father was, Eutopia, he wasn’t the same as William’s father. Samael seduced your mother before she ever met your father. He killed them both in a fit of jealousy when you were barely able to fend for yourself and had William turn you out onto the street afterwards, knowing full well you would be killed on the spot. That was the night Phoibe found you.’

Eutopia found it hard to breathe all of a sudden, the heavy bookcase and closed-curtained window seemed to rush towards her, blocking her in as she whirled on the spot and found herself on the edge of the bronze-quilted bed with her head in her hands. Her heart ached sharply at the mention of her foster-mother.

‘How do you know this?’

‘I was a Commander then too, it was my business to know everything. Samael was my lieutenant and it was no secret that he preferred the company of human women to our own kind and one of those was your mother. Such unions are strictly forbidden since the resulting outcome is usually Nephilim. Michael came to hear of the unholy union between angel and human, which was enough to condemn Samael to death. But he was held in high regard by Uriel, who had Samael lined up to become his Commander. He admired Samael’s strength, his passion to our cause to rid the world of humans and claim our rightful place as heirs instead of slaves. But it seemed Samael had his own cause.

Your mother was very beautiful. Her eyes were as blue and impenetrable as yours, her dark hair just as wild.’ Jinn gave the wide-eyed girl a slight, appreciative smile. ‘And her spirit was just as unbreakable. Now that I think about it, it’s obvious where you get it from and I don’t know why I didn’t notice it before. So, instead of killing Samael as he should have done, Uriel convinced Michael to cast him out of Heira for all eternity. There was great pomp and ceremony when they cut off his wings and turned him out.’

Eutopia clutched one hand to her stomach and the other trembling palm pressed to her mouth, muffling her words.

‘They cut off his wings?’ she asked, incredulous.

‘Yes,’ Jinn stated, matter-of-factly. ‘That’s the only way to turn an angel human. It very rarely happens, Samael being the most recent in over two thousand years. For some of our kind, it’s a fate worse than death. Most couldn’t imagine becoming one of those we despise, it would be an insult. Death, to them, is preferable.’

‘But some of your kind do…?’

‘Some, very few, choose to connect with humans in the way that Samael lay with your mother.’ Eutopia felt the colour rise up into her cheeks.