Page 86 of To Crave Madly
“Hello, brother,” he coughed.
“You look like shit, brother.”
He flinched at my bad language. “You should have seen the other guy.”
He really was an angel through and through. He couldn’t stand blasphemy or foul language; he was as rigid with his mastery over temptation as he was over his temper. But where he differed from all other angels was that he still saw me as family and managed to have something that resembled a sense of humour. Suffice to say, he was the only angel I could stand, or at least was the only angel I didn’t want to unleash my wrath on all the time. All the others could shove it for all I cared, but Michael was family. He had been disappointed when I had Fallen but he hadn’t abandoned me when I needed help the most, and for that I will be forever grateful.
“Everybody out. We will reconvene the session later.” I turned to Darius and dropped my voice. “Make sure everyone leaves and then come back to me. I am going to take Michael to my private quarters. Speak to the Guard and tell them to keep a close eye on things. It’s not every day that an angel visits the Under Realm, and I don’t want any uproar.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” He bowed, clicked his heels and then set about his tasks.
“Come on, old boy. Let’s get you cleaned up and comfortable and then you can tell me why you’ve honoured me with a visit.”
He cracked a smile but winced when it stretched his split lip. “Any chance you have a healer nearby? A little help would be most appreciated.”
“You need more than a little help, Michael,” I said as I placed his arm round my shoulder. “You need a bloody miracle.”
A wheezy laugh passed his lips, but he sucked in a breath and clutched his ribs.
“There’s no hope for me, then. I can’t imagine miracles are easy to come by down here.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
We may have been laughing as we made our way to the end of the Great Hall and into my private quarters, but deep down I was worried. I was itching to know how he, a mighty warrior, had ended up in such a mess. It was no easy thing to cause such damage to an angel and I had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with all those missing magic wielders.
***
Michael was looking a lot better after a visit from my best healer. She had worked her magic and transformed my brother from a bloody mess to an almost perfect looking angel. His face now contained barely any traces of the injuries I had seen, and he was sitting a lot more comfortably. The swelling had gone from his eyes and the green orbs shone like emeralds. My eyes used to be just like those, two impossibly bright pools of green shining with a radiance that could have only been gifted by the hand of the Divine.
Strange, I had expected a twinge of sadness or a stab of pain at the memory of them but all I could think about was Lori and how her eyes matched my own. I used to hate my reflection because it was a constant reminder of how far I had fallen, and it took me a long time to be at peace with the actions that led me to lose my green eyes and white wings.
I wonder why I had started to reminisce of late. First in the Divine City over my first home and my white wings, and now over the loss of my original eyes. All the things I thought I’d miss but, now didn’t seem to bother me as much as they used to. Had I grown content with the life I had chosen for myself? Or was it because I now had someone to share it with?
“You look deep in thought, Lucifer. Care to share?”
Michael’s deep voice pulled me from my thoughts with a jolt. “No. I have yet to make sense of them. And we have far more important matters to discuss.”
“Indeed,” Michael replied, drawing out the word as if stalling for time. “I suppose you want to know why I am here looking like I’ve been through the ringer a few times?”
I walked to my cabinet and poured myself a whisky. I’d learnt from experience not to bother asking Michael if he wanted one. He never did. Far too high and mighty in the instep for something as lowly as alcohol.
“Yes, that would certainly be a good place to start,” I said as I sat opposite Michael and took a long swing of my drink.
“Well, the long and short of it is that I challenged a decision from the Divine One and he had Camael lock me up for it.”
I spat out the mouthful of whisky and spluttered a cough as Michael sat there and laughed at me, the wanker. Honestly, you’d think an angel would be more courteous than to drop that sort of information without forewarning a person first.
“You did what?”
“Like I said, brother, I challenged an order,” Michael replied with a smirk curling his mouth. “And He wasn’t best pleased. It seems that you are starting to rub off on me.”
“I doubt that very much. It’s more likely you’re starting to realise that life without free will is no life at all.”
Michael’s expression sobered immediately. This was a sore point between us. Michael still believed that ignorance was bliss whereas I was firmly of the opinion that free will made us unique.
“Yes, well, I do not believe we will ever agree on that, Lucifer. Besides, we have a serious problem.”
“I gathered as much when I visited the Citadel.”
