From: The Fate of the Fallen by AE Winstead
FOUR
Eden, After the Fall
The battle was long over before the deep aching pressure in Uriah’s chest wrenched him back into consciousness. This wasn’t the same searing pain of the Heavenly Fire that had burned through him on the battlefield. No…this was much worse. A never-ending emptiness had been carved into his soul—a deep, hollow ache that spread all the way to his bones.
What happened, Uriah wondered as he brought his hand up to his face. His instincts were screaming at him to Get up! Defend yourself! But all he wanted was to wrap his arms around himself, curl into a ball, and disappear.
Instead, he drew a ragged breath and forced open his eyes.
Uriah found himself lying on the ground in a vast dark expanse of blood-soaked dust in Eden. Nothing but orange dirt and bedraggled souls stretched out as far as his celestial sight could see. Weary and wounded angels were beginning to stir around him, each looking as lost and disoriented as he felt.
His right hand still gripped his sword and was covered in dark red blood. His blood?
Or someone else’s?
A small gasp escaped his lips as he looked down at himself for the first time. His chest heaved and his side ached with every pulse of his racing heart. Uriah’s robes were torn and stained red. He put his finger through the tear in the cloth and touched the wound on his side. A shudder brought the horror of the past few hours crashing back to him. Lucifer’s meeting, Michael’s attack, Arael!
He looked to the spot where she’d been, just a few feet from where he now sat. Her blood soaked the ground…so much blood. But she was nowhere to be found.
How could I have been so stupid? It had been Uriah’s idea, after all, for the two of them to probe into Lucifer’s group in the first place. He should have done it alone. He should never have involved her.
He jerked his head around in all directions, calling out to her with his mind as he’d done so many times before. But for the first time, received no response. He realized in horror that the emptiness he felt wasn’t just the absence of Elohim’s presence inside him, but the absence of her. He searched inside himself for something, anything…even a whisper of her, but found nothing. Her constant presence that he’d relied on since their creation was just…gone.
He rose unsteady from the ground and scanned the group again. Even through the dust of battle still hanging in the air, something strange nagged him. Through the orange haze, he saw angels from every order and rank; from Seraphim to Guardian, young recruits to experienced warriors, but he didn’t see Arael.
The rare specks of color in the crowd indicated what was so amiss about the whole scene. Almost every angel in Eden had lost their distinctive colors that so vibrantly set them apart from each other; the red aura of the Seraphim, the pale-yellow glow of the Guardians, the deep lilac hue of the Archangels. Now, a few bursts of green, the distinct color of the Dominions, were scattered among them, but most of the angels were surrounded by a dreary gray haze.
Uriah’s lips parted as he stared in horror. Angels wore their colors like a badge of honor. What would it mean for them to have their colors stripped from them, yet another thing taken by the Heavenly Fire? Was he still a Dominion? Was Arael still an Archangel? Uriah closed his eyes and hissed out a breath before opening them again. He would have to figure all that out later. In that moment, he had a more pressing concern.
Uriah moved with caution among the other angels as they sat devastated on the dusty ground outside the celestial bronze gate that led into the Garden. Inside lay a paradise; lush green vegetation, bubbling streams of crystal-clear water, caves of emeralds and ruby, Elohim’s most perfect creation. But outside the gate stretched a desolate landscape. Nothing but dry orange dirt spanned as far as the eye could see, the perfect place for Lucifer’s clandestine meetings, or so he had thought.
Uriah looked into each despondent face he came to, searching for someone who might be able to help him, but each one reflected the same picture of emptiness and loss. He felt the despair wafting off them like morning fog. Some were beginning to stir, but most sat motionless, each lost in their own personal hell.
Warring emotions washed over Uriah in waves. As an Empath, he’d always viewed his power to feel others’ emotions as a gift, but he’d never experienced such an overwhelming onslaught of negativity before. Nothing but sadness, hopelessness, and fear bombarded him from every direction, with a little anger and blood lust sprinkled in for good measure.
Their loss added to his own was almost too much for him to bear. It grew heavier and heavier on him until he could barely stand under the weight of it. He knew he needed to get away from there before it immobilized him, but he couldn’t leave without Arael—if he could find her.
“Lieutenant?” A voice cut into his thoughts. A young angel with curly, black hair and a bright green aura came rushing up to him. Uriah recognized the fledgling as one of his Dominion recruits.
“Ronan,” Uriah squinted.
A look of disbelief and shock crossed the young angel’s face, apparently registering the absence of color surrounding his former leader. Uriah felt Ronan’s disappointment like a knife in his chest. Of course, Ronan wouldn’t have known about Uriah and Arael’s undercover activities within the rebel group. No one had. Except Michael.
Uriah felt compelled to say something like, “This isn’t what it looks like,” or “This is all a big mistake,” but he didn’t have the time or energy to try to explain. And what would he say if he did?
“We heard what happened,” Ronan said, gesturing behind him at the other Dominions scouting the crowd. “Raphael sent us to contain the exiled. We were looking for you,” he stammered, “We didn’t know…”
Uriah felt Ronan’s unasked questions ready to burst from his lips, but he had just as many of his own.
“I’m sorry, Ronan.” Uriah held up a hand to him. “I wish I could explain this to you right now, but I can’t. I don’t know how much they told you, but I believe Lucifer will be the one you want to talk to—”
Ronan waved him off impatiently. “Well, the thing is, sir…Lucifer isn’t here.” Ronan consulted a small black tablet in his hand. “And neither are Marduk, Beliel, or Arael.” He looked back at the exiled angels seemingly oblivious to the presence of the Righteous Dominions patrolling among them. “Any idea where they could have gone? They are the only ones missing among the Fallen.”
The Fallen. That was the first time Uriah had heard the term. Fallen from what? He didn’t feel like he’d fallen from anything. More like he’d been tossed away like old garbage.
“What do you mean?” Uriah tried to make sense of Ronan’s words, taking note that the young angel was still calling him sir despite Uriah’s obvious change of status. “Arael is missing?”
Ronan shrugged, “Well, she’s not here, sir. We came as fast as we could, but those three have already passed through to the physical realm, it seems.”
The young angel continued talking, but Uriah wasn’t listening. Arael was missing…and so were Lucifer and his top two advisers. Could they possibly know what she’d done? Word traveled fast in the celestial world, and Lucifer had made clear what would happen to anyone who talked of their activities outside of Eden. If she’d been discovered, would they follow through with their threats? Surely not. Lucifer was Elohim’s second in command. Marduk and Beliel were leaders of the top two orders of angels.
Not anymore, they’re not, Uriah thought as panic shot through him. Until the battle, Uriah had never fathomed one angel intentionally bringing harm to another, but now, all bets were off. Rules had been thrown by the wayside, and nothing was certain anymore. Arael was gone. Uriah knew she wouldn’t have left him if she’d had a choice. Something had caused her to run. Or she’d been taken.
He knew it was useless, but he tried calling out to her again. And once again, his calls came back as an empty echo in his mind. He lowered his head. Without their connection, how would he ever find her? He growled in frustration.
Ronan finally grew quiet, freezing mid-sentence to stare at Uriah.
“I have to go,” Uriah said.
“But sir,” Ronan shifted his weight. “I’m not supposed to let you leave.”
Uriah put a hand on Ronan’s shoulder and lowered his voice. “I understand that, but—” he paused, forcing the next words out. “I think Arael’s in trouble.”
Ronan’s eyes widened.
“I know lot has changed here today,” Uriah continued. “But I still care about you and think you’re one of the best Dominion recruits we have.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“So you need to turn around and walk away.” Uriah spun the angel by his shoulders. “I’m going with or without your permission, and I don’t want this to look bad for you.”
“But, sir…”
Uriah stopped him with a hard squeeze. “I’m sure Gabriel will come with instructions. I’ll be back before that happens. And I’ll bring the others with me.”