Divinity

Chapter 28

It didn't feel like Heaven anymore. The vast expanse of white stretched out before me like it always had, and it felt good to be allowed back here, to a place I didn't have to hide. And yet, there was something missing. Caelum had been a place of friendship, my three greatest friends had been here, along with my father, who I had met for the first time. On top of that, it was the place where my mother was healed. Now, I only had Jasmine.

Of course there was Claire too, she had always treated me with kindness. At least, she had - I was pretty certain it must have been her that gave the order for my death... which certainly complicated our friendship, if true. 

The sword was back in the possession of the angel council now - giving it to them had secured my pardon... however, my promise to Travis still weighed heavily on my mind. It had to be destroyed. It didn't matter how much I yearned for another solution, it wasn't up to me. Or at least, it shouldn't be. The souls in trapped in the sword were the ones who wanted this outcome, who was I to stand in their way?

"We should use it on Lucifer." One of the angels, Shelby, spoke up. Short in height, cute in appearance with curly blonde hair and a button nose - she was much more dangerous than she looked. Like Jasmine, she was a Searcher, a fighter. One of the best, I had been told. "For all that he has done... how many innocent lives has he taken? Now, we have someone who can wield it. Someone it can't harm."

She gestured to me. Squirming under her gaze, I quickly spoke up. "No." If the sword was used to kill him, he would simply be trapped with the others - which would be no good. "I'm not a killer. And besides... Lucifer is difficult, it's true. But his existence provides all angels with a choice.  A choice of freedom."

"It enables them to choose wrong." Claire added, shaking her head. "If Lucifer was removed, our numbers might never fall again."

"Everyone deserves a choice." I said, with authority. "No, what we must do is destroy the sword."

"What?" Jasmine was surprised, "Destroy it?"

"Anyone could wield that sword and make the same choice that Lucifer did - to kill innocents. To stop it happening, we need to remove such a weapon from the equation."

"The sword isn't only used for such a reason!" Claire exclaimed. "Members of the Fallen have done bad things in the past, things punishable by death."

"The sword isn't the only way to kill an angel." Jasmine shook her head, deep in thought. "It's the easiest, it's true. But it's also the only way an angel can be killed accidentally and without good reason. It's happened before, taking an angel before God to be the decider."

"Maybe it's better that way, that that power should be taken from us all." Claire muttered. "But concerning God with such matters?"

"If an angel has done something bad enough to warrant death... then it must be important enough for God." I suggested. "Besides, such cases mustn't happen that often?"

"Very well... but how would we destroy it?" Claire yielded. 

"The divine light." I proposed. I had felt the power of it myself, an angels light - stronger than anything else I had experienced in this world. "All of you can focus your light on the sword."

"We can try it." Jasmine agreed. "If it fails, we will find another way."

A lump sat in the throat at the idea of finally destroying the sword. It had already been asked of me, but it hadn't seemed like a real possibility until this moment. All the angels trapped inside the sword, good and bad alike would die if it was destroyed.

And yet... a part of me clung onto hope. What if destroying the sword would simply release the inhabitants back into the world? Jasmine and Travis would reunite!

"Let's go and gather everyone." Claire commanded. "We'll all meet back here in lets' say, an hour?"

Slowly, the gathering of angels filtered out of the room, gone their separate ways in order to round everyone up for the task. Eventually, I was left alone in the courtroom, the rows of seats empty. 

Glancing around myself to confirm I was alone, I hastily walked over to a heavy set of doors to the left of the portal, prying them open, and slipping inside. 

Thankfully, the room within was empty - for all except the pedestal which held the sword of God. When the council had taken it from us, I had watched them bring it to this room. I had never been in here before, though it was much the same as the rest of Caelum. Tall white, stone walls stretched high, ending as a dome above my head. 

I wasn't afraid to hold the sword now, not here. I knew I was safe - there was nobody waiting to attack me here. If the other inhabitants of the sword emerged, I only had to let go of it. With that in mind, I reached out towards the hilt and pulled it from its place.

Immediately, Travis was stood before me. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for an update, I knew. 

"There's a plan to destroy it." I explained. "All of the angels are going to use their light on it at the same time. They want to attempt it in an hour."

"This is good." He assured me, nodding his head. "It is a good thing."

"I could still stop them... if... if even one of the angels changed their mind!" I tried to convince him. "There's still time."

"We want it attempted." Travis confirmed. "They're ready to die. The life, trapped in the sword... it is so tiring. None of them wish to continue it, or have anyone else fall to the same fate."

"Fine." I sighed. "But... I was thinking. What if destroying the sword... well, maybe it will release you all-"

"No." He shook his head. "You mustn't tell the angels that we are trapped in the sword. Promise me."

"Fine... but why?" I asked. "What if there is a chance..?"

"Then they must not take it." He stated, though he looked sad. "If you tell the angels, they may try and focus on freeing, and not destroying. Please remember Emilia, some of the souls do not deserve to be freed. The world does not need them to be unleashed."

"I wish there were another way." I whispered. I wished that I was smarter, that I could see a solution to this that didn't mean Travis dying. I wished I could ask the others for help, but I had promised I wouldn't tell them.

"Could you do something for me, Emilia?" Travis asked, his expression thoughtful. He stood before me like he always did when I saw him, still as a statue. It was perhaps the first time I had noticed that he didn't seem so alive anymore.

"Anything." I promised.

"If all goes to plan, soon I really will be gone. And that's okay!" He hastily added, before I could try to persuade him - it was like he could read my mind. "I'd like to ask that you pass along something from me... my thoughts on the situation."

"Of course I will." I vowed, "You want them to know then, about the trapped souls?"

"Not until after the sword is gone. That's very important." He spoke intently. I would not betray his trust - this was important to him, I knew. "I want you to tell them, Jasmine and Noah... Tell them that I love them dearly. I want them to know that it isn't anyones fault what happened besides my own. And they should know that I agreed to the sword being destroyed. That it was my idea, not yours."

"I'll tell them." There was a lump stuck in my throat, but I did my best to keep it down. I had to stay strong for Travis. He needed to know that his dying words would not be forgotten. 

"And... let them know what it was like inside the sword. You've been in there, you know how it is. I just... I need them to understand why I am making this choice. 

"I need them to know that I chose this fate for a reason, and though I deeply regret that I shall never see them again, they must know that ultimately, I am doing this for them. So that they should never befall this same fate, so that they will never suffer a loss like this again."

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Also, I decided to change the name of the first book from 'Wings' to 'Ethereal'!