Drake hurried through the large office building until he reached the Directors office at the back of the building. He tried to stop his hands from shaking as he knocked on the door.
"Enter," the Director's voice came through the small speaker on the wall next to the door.
Drake scanned his ring across the reader and entered the large office. The Director was standing in front of the windows of the high rise looking out onto the city with his back to the door. The office was decorated with expensive sculptures on pedestals and priceless paintings on the walls, each with their own track lights to illuminate them. Some of the paintings and sculptures were everything you would expect a demon to possess. Children with their hands tied behind them and expressions of despair on their faces. A woman with no eyes groping for a light switch. Drake detested the paintings almost as much as the Director hated them. A certain ambience was expected of a demon in his station, however.
"I have some reports from agents that we stationed a dozen miles from the residence," Drake announced as he moved toward the desk near the windows. "I believe you have already viewed the surveillance of the Saturn feed."
"I have," the Director confirmed, his tone steely. "It raises more questions, however. How did they know we were modulating the moods of mortals with apathy programming? Is this Grodek's doing? How much has the little bastard told them?"
"It's possible that she has developed enough to have sensed the modulator and sought it out on her own," Drake noted carefully.
"The main reason we set it up deep inside of Saturn was to make it untraceable," the Director replied dourly. "Not even a Dominion could have sensed that."
"We were able to secure a debriefing with Carcelonia before I came here," Drake informed him, unable to completely mask the fear in his voice.
"And?" the Director prompted him impatiently.
"She said that Grodek claimed Calypso was a Seraph," Drake finished on a hoarse note, feeling the dread wash over him anew.
"What?" the Director whirled around, his eyes wild with sudden anxiety.
"Grodek was ridiculing her for trusting demons," Drake expounded, licking dry lips. "She said he claimed what she activated was a Seraph."
The Director clenched his jaw as he stared through Drake into a future where all hell broke loose. "That would explain the power surge felt worldwide. What was the report from the agents monitoring the residence?"
"They reported that the skies lit up with auroras above the residence and the entire cabin lit up like an incandescent bulb," Drake responded nervously. "They said they heard the sound of a divine instrument playing. It nearly destroyed them."
"A Seraph with a divine instrument," the Director murmured disbelievingly, his composure beginning to crack. "On Earth. This is going to draw attention from the realms of light. They won't leave a Seraph alone if they think they can destroy her before she fully ascends."
"The divine instruments were supposedly destroyed," Drake noted with cautious optimism. "If she possesses one, they may not dare to challenge her even at her current level."
"I want to know how Carcelonia ended up with a Seraph," the Director growled in exasperation. "I was personally involved in the arrangements with Carcelonia a hundred years ago. I'm positive the data showed her as a Dominion. Not to mention, the four Seraphim were supposedly destroyed. How is there even a Seraph on this world to activate?"
"I assigned some of the AI's to start parsing the archives from satellite for the last hundred years," Drake informed him. "The only anomaly they found in regard to the data transfer was a brief flash near the archive room a few days before the meeting was set up. We picked up one frame of a certain imp. We also found evidence that the soul trap had been tampered with by someone."
"Grodek," the Director ground out angrily. "What is that little bastard playing at."
"Carcelonia claims that he wasn't always an imp," Drake responded, feeling another wave of unease. "She seemed more willing to share her knowledge after realizing what he had done to her. She said he was demoted by a Seraph for violating one of their tenants. Apparently, he was either a Seraph or a Cherub before his demotion. She claimed he was trying to hide the divine instruments from the remaining four Seraphim after they destroyed the other four Seraphim. He was declared fallen, but something happened that caused him to become an imp, rather than a demon lord."
"Why would he prefer being an imp to a demon lord?" the Director asked in a puzzled voice.
"We asked her the same question," Drake responded, running his hand through his hair uncomfortably. "While we know imps don't report to a demon lord, they also don't undergo a personality rewrite when they are changed like the rest of us, apparently."
"Are you telling me that he was like this before?" the Director asked disbelievingly.
"Carcelonia claims he became bitter after his demotion," Drake answered levelly. He understood that bitterness all too well.
"I can imagine," the Director frowned in concentration. "I think we need to make contact now, before they start wiping us out on sight. We need to make it clear that not all demons are hostile. We should probably send somebody less touched by darkness though. I don't give whoever we send very good odds of survival if those angels smell the stench of a demon."
XXXXX
"The tree of life from the Garden of Eden?" their mother asked disbelievingly.
"No, you brainless butterfly, the tree of life from the garden of slug slime," Grodek retorted caustically. "How many trees of life have you heard of to ask such a stupid question?"
"You don't have to be so insulting about it," their mother muttered in an injured tone.
"You are correct, it is by choice that I do so," Grodek leered at her.
"Does that mean the tree was chopped down?" their father demanded, askance.
"How much wood do you think is needed for a harp, genius?" Grodek sneered condescendingly. "A tree the size of a mountain isn't going to miss a harp sized chunk of wood."
"How can I change you back into an angel?" Calypso asked, staring at Grodek intently.
He paused, taken aback at her non sequitur. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her with an unreadable look. "You haven't got the faintest clue of what you are asking."
"Yes, I do," Calypso responded calmly. She stared back at Grodek levelly. "I will not accept this nonsense about fallen angels being unredeemable. I can feel how wrong the idea is in my core. It is not a question of if, but a question of how."
He stared back at her in silence, all traces of ridicule gone from his countenance. "It's not that it can't be done. It's that it shouldn't be done."
"That's not true either," Calypso shook her head firmly. "I can feel that it should be done. Something has gone wrong, and it needs to be made right. Taboo's will be broken and traditions abandoned if that's what is required. I will accept nothing less. I don't know where you have received your information, but it is wrong."
"You need to see the Lore Boar," Grodek muttered, looking away. "I'm done here."
There was a small pop as he vanished.
"Mom, you should probably cover up," Clarice told their mother, who had lost most of her shirt when they had been fast tracked by Calypso's latest performance with a divine instrument. Both of her parents now had wings and golden eyes.
"Oh!" their mother gasped in surprise, then laughed as she left the room. "See how powerful your music is, Calypso? You can undress people, and they won't even notice."
Calypso blushed as the others laughed.
"I wasn't complaining," their dad pointed out with a grin, his shirt also in tatters.
"There is a demon on the doorstep," Calypso informed them calmly. "I believe she wants to talk."
Aria cursed her inattentiveness. She had heard footsteps in the background leading up to the door but had assumed it was her uncle. She should have noticed the difference in their gate.
She and Clarice blurred over to the front door, jerking it open and preparing to fire at the slightest hint of aggression.
A woman with dark hair and striking features stood on the doorstep, her face filled with shock. Her reptilian eyes stared through them as if they weren't there as her face showed with sudden hope.
"How much did you hear?" Clarice asked the demon with a raised eyebrow.
"Can she really change demons back into angels?" the woman asked, her eyes a mixture of doubt and hope.
Aria felt a sudden wave of compassion as she realized this must be one of the former angels turned against her will. She realized the other reason they hadn't noticed her; the stench of demon was practically nonexistent on the woman. "What's your name?"
"Arturiel," the woman answered nervously. "I was sent to act as an envoy from the North American Territory."
Aria shared a look with Clarice before turning back to the demon. "An envoy, huh? What is it that you want to discuss?"
"I was told to answer any questions you have and to negotiate a truce between you and the North American Territory," Arturiel answered carefully, her eyes darting away from their golden gazes.
"Well, come on in then, I guess," Clarice sighed, gesturing for her to follow them.
She swallowed nervously and nodded. As Clarice turned and led her into the house, Arturiel gasped as she saw the double layered wings on her back. Clarice glanced back at her curiously as she led her to the library.
"What?" Clarice asked curiously.
Arturiel flinched away from Clarice's curious golden eyes like they were laser beams. Which they were, of course.
"I...um…it's just been a long time since I've seen a cherub," Arturiel answered in what would have been barely audible for a human. "I never thought I would see one on this world, let alone two."
"They didn't tell you what we were?" Clarice asked with an amused twinkle in her eyes.
"No, they just said you were new angels that I needed to show the utmost respect to," Arturiel replied, licking her lips nervously. "Are you really new angels?"
"I think today's our one week anniversary," Aria answered with an inquiring look at Clarice.
"Yep, today's our one week anniversary," Clarice confirmed cheerfully. "Happy anniversary, Aria."
"Right back at ya, Clarice," Aria grinned with a wink.
"How have you become so powerful in such a short time?" Arturiel asked faintly. "I didn't think Cherubim could awaken this fast."
"That's her fault," Clarice declared, pointing at Calypso with a nod as they entered the library.
Arturiel froze as she spotted Calypso standing next to the harp. Her eyes filled with sudden terror as they fell on the harp, and she turned to flee. Before she could move more than a step, Calypso was standing in front of her. Calypso pulled her into a hug, closing her eyes as she studied the demon in her arms with her spiritual eyes.
Arturiel stood petrified in Calypso's arms, her face filled with dread. Aria felt Calypso tentatively wrap the demon in her aura of love, barely touching her with the curtain of light. Arturiel's shoulders hunched in sudden pain as the angel's loving energy brushed her meridians lightly.
Calypso retracted her aura, and the wince of pain disappeared from the demons face. Calypso kept her eyes closed and hummed a poignant melody. Aria could tell that she was searching for answers, using her music to open her to the intuition that guided her healing.
Arturiel's wide eyes rolled around in their sockets as she searched for a way to escape. Calypso's melody became soothing, almost hypnotic, and Arturiel's eyes slowed down their frantic search as the beautiful voice calmed her soul.
Aria and Clarice stared at the demon with their spiritual eyes, watching as Calypso sent probing tendrils of light into the woman's meridians. Aria squinted as she noticed for the first time that the nodes at the chakra points were tethered to a highway of energy that emptied into a vortex of spiritual matter that disappeared near the navel. Calypso's probing tendrils of light were moving down into that vortex, close but never actually touching the demon's meridians. Aria blinked as the probing tendril disappeared into the vortex.
Calypso stood frozen with her eyes closed for almost an hour as she studied whatever it was she had found inside the vortex. Arturiel remained still, her eyes uncertain but no longer panicking. Aria's mother had joined them, her shirt pinned together with safety pins.
Aria felt a metaphysical shift in reality as Calypso suddenly blazed into a sun, her skin so bright that Aria couldn't look at it with her physical or spiritual eyes. She sensed an overpowering surge of energy rush down the tendril Calypso had submerged into the vortex of Arturiel's core.
Arturiel opened her mouth to scream, her eyes wide with sudden horror, but just as the scream began, it died as her face shifted to wonder. The aura of love that Calypso had pulled back was suddenly wrapped tightly around Arturiel, charging the woman with love and light. There was no sign of pain this time. Instead, she gasped and began to glow, brighter and brighter by the second. The entire library was devoid of shadows as both Calypso and Arturiel glowed like two suns. Aria felt the presence of Grodek in the distance again, observing the transformation in disbelief.
The light vanished suddenly, leaving the two angels locked in an embrace. Arturiel was sobbing in shock and joy as she felt her restored connection to light and love. She clung to Calypso desperately, her face buried into her shoulder as she was overcome by emotion.
"That's our Calypso," Aria said fondly. "There isn't anything she can't heal."
Arturiel took a long time to stop weeping, though she was smiling the entire time. To be an immortal angel with the constant cord of positive energy charging your system with love and hope and then have it severed and replaced with something malignant that you were told was for all eternity was the kind of hell she wouldn't wish on anybody. To suddenly be redeemed from that endless horror…Aria couldn't imagine the relief the reborn angel must be feeling.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Arturiel repeated over and over as her shoulders shook, quicksilver tears running down her cheeks.
"Arturiel," Calypso whispered gently. "It's okay. You can't become a demon again now. You're safe."
Arturiel pulled her head back and stared at Calypso with wide reverent eyes. "Never?"
"There is nothing anyone could do to turn you into a demon ever again," Calypso confirmed with a gentle smile. "You will never have to suffer that fate again."
"How?" Arturiel asked, her eyes searching Calypso's face.
"There is a mechanism in the soul that allows for a reversal in the type of energy that flows through your meridians," Calypso explained, her eyes disapproving. "I have removed the part of your body that makes that connection to the soul possible. I believe it was implemented by whoever created angels in order to revoke their power. It was flawed, however, and didn't just revoke an angel's power. It turned angels into demons when it should have been turning them into mortals."
"That was by design," Grodek declared in disgust. "They wanted demons to torment mortals until they had learned to become decent enough to ascend. The worst angels were turned into demons as punishment, though it was mostly politics. The boneheads mismanaging the program ostensibly didn't grasp that making immortal demons would result in demons eventually figuring out how to defeat angels and turning them as well."
"Why didn't the higher ranking angels do something about it?" Clarice asked darkly. "Why would they leave angels who had done nothing wrong in the hands of demons?"
"Because it's political," Grodek spat bitterly. "Mortality is a prison for undesirables."
"Who decided to start punishing angels by turning them into mortals then?" their mother asked curiously.
"The first three Seraphim," Grodek grunted, eyeing them peculiarly. "The angels lived in the light realms to start with, and many of them were trouble. The Seraphim created the mortal realm as a place to imprison angels that couldn't play nice and for those who were sick of immortality. Everything else they left in the hands of the Cherubim and Dominions to figure out, which is why it turned out so badly. Politics."
Aria was starting to get an inkling of just how powerful a Seraph was. It was hard to imagine Calypso being one of the rulers of the cosmos, but it seemed to be the destiny in front of her.
"Are you ready, Grodek?" Calypso asked gently.
"Nope," the imp shook his head grimly. "You're not going to survive if I switch over now. They'll swarm the place if they sense me back again. You need to go see the Lore Boar, wherever he's hiding these days. Nothing else matters until you meet with it."
"Do you know where Eden is?" Calypso asked him hopefully.
"It doesn't stay in one place," Grodek sighed in annoyance. "You'll just have to figure out how to find it."
He looked at Calypso with something close to respect before disappearing with a pop.
"I knew you could do it, Calypso," Clarice declared with an exuberant grin. She walked over and hugged the two angels. "Welcome back to angelhood, Arturiel."
Arturiel smiled radiantly as she leaned into the three angel hug. "Thank you, Clarice. Words could never describe how good it is to be back."
"So how is your relationship with the North American Territory going to be, now that you are an angel?" their mother asked Arturiel musingly. "I'm assuming there are other's like you who would like to become angels again."
"You wouldn't believe how many," Arturiel laughed ruefully. "The Director has been masquerading as an evil demon for centuries in an attempt to mitigate the horrors demons inflict on humans. He has weeded out most of the truly evil demons in positions of power. There are a few angels we maintain regular contact with as well. They have to stay hidden due to how many demons are constantly on the lookout for angels."
Aria studied Arturiel curiously. She could feel the vast difference in power between the two of them. The redeemed angel was only slightly more powerful than a human. She was an actual healer, though Aria could tell there were limits to what she could heal. It put it into perspective just how powerful Aria and her family were due to being raised by a Seraph. It made a lot more sense that the world had been taken over by demons knowing the average angel was on par with Arturiel's power.
She glanced at Clarice and her parents, who seemed to be noticing the same disparity as they studied the reborn angel.
"So, what now?" Clarice asked with a raised eyebrow. "Calypso, would it take you this long to heal every demon that is worth redeeming?"
"It will only take a few seconds," Calypso assured her. "Most of my time with Arturiel was trying to figure out how the mechanism that transformed her into a demon worked."
"Arturiel, I don't suppose you or anyone in your organization knows where to find Eden?" Clarice asked without much hope.
"There are some demons who are the equivalent of religious scholars," Arturiel replied hesitantly. "You might be able to get some answers from them."
"I suggest Aria, Lexi, and I go find Eden while Calypso transforms demons into angels," Clarice suggested, with a questioning look at Aria.
Aria looked at her parents, who were both winged, golden eyed killing machines now. "Mom and dad, you would need to watch over Calypso while we are away."
"You can count on us to keep her safe," their mother announced with a steely glint in her eyes. "Anyone coming here looking for trouble will find it."
"I'm a peaceful guy for the most part," their dad declared with a smile. His eyes hardened as he continued. "But if anyone threatens those I love, I will do whatever I have to in order to keep them safe."
"Okay then," Clarice nodded with a satisfied smile. "That takes care of everyone here. Arturiel, can you introduce us to these people you mentioned might have information about where to find Eden? Did you want to stop by your offices to report back first? Or have you abandoned the envoy title?"
"I was very tempted to abandon the title," Arturiel admitted guiltily. "But I can't leave them behind now that I know they can be redeemed."
"If they try to keep you against your will, we will come for you," Calypso told her firmly.
Arturiel blinked, then stared at Calypso in shock. "Can you hear my thoughts?"
"Yep," Calypso nodded, smiling slightly. "I used to only be able to hear human thoughts, but apparently I can hear some angels now too."
"Oh," Arturiel looked down at the ground, her cheeks turning pink.
"Now that I have interacted with you, I can feel where you are at and what your mental state is," Calypso told her reassuringly. "If there is even a hint that you are in trouble, we'll portal over and set Aria and Clarice loose."
Arturiel looked up, her eyes tearing up as she smiled gratefully at Calypso.
"Yes, they really are that powerful," Calypso told her firmly. "Aria and Clarice could destroy most of this world in a few hours. There isn't anybody here strong enough to get in our way."
Arturiel stared at Aria and Clarice in awe as her mind attempted to imagine the level of destruction they were capable of and failed.
Aria had been watching Calypso as she listened to Arturiel's thoughts. She noticed a thread of light connecting the two of them and information passing in one direction. She tentatively reached out with a thread of her own, connecting to the same node she could see Calypso connected to. As it made contact, her eyes widened as she heard Arturiel speak without moving her lips.
I forgot how good it feels to be an angel. I can't wait to tell the rest of them that they can be angels again. Aria heard the thoughts as if they were spoken aloud.
Clarice had been watching her shrewdly. She imitated the action, and her eyes widened as well. "I suppose this will make things easier."
Calypso was watching the two of them interestedly as they finally discovered how to create the psychic link that she had used.
Can you hear me, Arturiel? Aria thought at the newest angel.
Arturiel looked at her strangely. "Yeah, I can hear you."
Did she say something that I missed? Arturiel thought frantically, worried that she was being rude.
You're not being rude, Aria assured her with a smile. I just wanted to make sure that you could hear me telepathically as well.
Arturiel gasped as she finally realized that Aria's mouth wasn't moving. Clarice laughed with delight and Aria felt a thread reach out to her and Calypso.
So now we're back to mind reading again, Clarice declared eagerly. Get ready for some embarrassing thoughts!
Aria facepalmed and groaned. "Clarice, you keep your dirty thoughts to yourself."
Oh, I will, she promised, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"If Seraphim are the top of the order of angels, where did a seed come from to create another one?" their mother asked suddenly, her eyes puzzled.
Aria shared a look with Clarice, frowning at the implications. She turned to Arturiel with in sudden interest. "Arturiel, how old are you?"
"I'm immortal," Arturiel replied, her eyes inquisitive. "I've been around for millions of years. Why?"
"Who sits above Seraphim in the order of angels?" Aria asked intently. "Are you an ascended human, or were you an angel to start with?"
"God sits above the Seraphim," Arturiel answered slowly, as if it should be obvious. "No, I've never been human. Like I said, I've been around for millions of years."
"Have you met God?" Aria asked doubtfully.
"Me?" Arturiel blanched, her eyes wide. "Heavens no. I'm at the bottom of the totem pole. Only Seraphim can speak with God."
Her parent's eyes were alight with interest as they moved closer to join in on the discussion.
"Is God a person?" their mother asked eagerly. "Or is God some kind of cosmic law?"
"God isn't a person, like angels or humans," Arturiel replied, uncomfortable under their intense scrutiny. "It's the source for life. It's where all of our energy comes from, this love that is flowing through our meridians."
"What do you know about the different Seraphim?" their mother asked, her eyes intent.
"Not a lot," Arturiel admitted. "There are only a few that interact with the Cherubim directly. I've heard there are three who remain apart from the other Seraphim and almost never interact with angels. They spend all of their time learning from God, if the stories are correct. Most of the stories claim Seraph Rendimus created the light realms and angels, but I overheard Azriel speaking a long time ago about how the three Seraphim that remain apart from the others were the first beings to exist, aside from God. Azriel is a Cherub, so you would think he would know, but most of the stories claim Rendimus created the other Seraphim to help him create the light realms."
"What else do you know about these other three Seraphim?" their mother asked, a peculiar expression on her face. Aria stared at her mother curiously, wondering what idea had triggered these questions.
"Almost nothing," Arturiel admitted with a sigh. "When I overheard Azriel speaking, it was long before the mortal realm existed. He said the three of them were working on a place where angels could go to learn how to experience new sensations. I'm guessing he was talking about the mortal realm, now that I think about it. Azriel said the divine instruments were made by the three Seraphim who remained apart."
"What were their names?" their mother asked, her eyes fascinated.
"We were never told," Arturiel shrugged helplessly. "You have to understand, the Seraphim were viewed with the same esteem that human religions revere God. Seraph Rendimus, Seraph Grodekiel, and Seraph Lucifer were the only Seraphim who interacted with angels, and saying their names was taboo."
"Wait," their father held up a hand, his eyes wide. "Seraph Lucifer? I thought he was a Cherub."
"That's what the local religions teach," Arturiel responded with a wry shake of her head. "But they know less about the Seraphim than angels do."
"Were all of the Seraphim dudes?" their father asked curiously.
"Dudes?" Clarice repeated with an amused expression. "As opposed to dudettes?"
"Exactly," their father nodded with a grin reminiscent of Clarice.
"Um, no," Arturiel answered awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable referring to Seraphim as dudes and dudettes. "Only six of the nine were male in appearance, according to the stories. Seeing a Seraph was extremely rare. Compared to you mortals, I'm old on a geological time scale, but I'm just a baby in comparison to the Seraphim. They have supposedly been around for billions of years. Some say they didn't even have a beginning, they were just always there. Considering just how many angels there are, it's not very strange that most of us have never seen a Seraph. It's rare enough to even see a Cherub. The Seraphim almost never leave the highest light realm, and only Cherubim and Seraphim can go there."
"So there were three female Seraphim," their mother mused, her eyes lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" their father asked her with a raised eyebrow. "I know that look. You've thought of something."
Their mother blinked, her eyes coming back into focus. "What? Oh, nothing much. Just wondering about life before mortality. I've always been curious about how much access we have to things like soul memory." She glanced at Calypso and her daughters speculatively, frowning pensively.
"So how do Seraphim talk to God?" their father asked curiously, returning the conversation back to Arturiel. "Is it a sentient entity?"
"There is a reason only the Seraphim can communicate with God," Arturiel explained patiently. "God is such a complex and multidimensional entity that only beings closer to that power and complexity can hope to communicate in a meaningful way."
"So, Calypso will be able to speak with this God person?" Aria asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Arturiel slowly turned to stare at Calypso, her eyes growing wide in sudden comprehension. "You're a Seraph?" she whispered in a mixture of awe and horror.
"Yes," Calypso nodded gently.
Arturiel dropped to her knees with her head to the ground, her hands shaking. "Please forgive my arrogance, Seraph."
They all stared at Arturiel in shock, Calypso in dismay. Calypso dropped down to her knees and took Arturiel's hands in her own. "Arturiel, I don't know what you've been taught about Seraphim, but I do not now, nor will I ever require any manner of obeisance. Please, stand up and treat me like you were treating me before. I'm just a person, like you, but far more ignorant."
Arturiel slowly raised her head, her eyes still wide with fear and awe. Calypso stood up, pulling Arturiel with her as she rose. The reborn angel looked like she might faint. Calypso sighed and pulled her into an embrace, flooding her meridians with love and acceptance. Arturiel gasped as the powerful emotions charged her soul, flooding the anxiety and fear out. She had to repeat the process several more times, as each time she released Arturiel the angel reverted back to anxious fear. By the third time, she finally stopped shrinking away in fear.
"I'm just over a hundred years old," Calypso told the nervous angel softly. "You are millions of years old with untold knowledge and experience in that beautiful head of yours. If anything, I should be bowing to you."
Arturiel's eyes widened in horror at the suggestion, causing Clarice to snigger.
"Do you see what I'm getting at, though?" Calypso asked patiently. "Regardless of my station or power, I'm but a babe compared to you."
"She really is a babe," Clarice agreed lustily. "I've been saying that from day one."
Arturiel gasped at Clarice's comment, her face suddenly as white as a sheet.
Clarice shook her head and squared her shoulders. "There's only one way we're going to get this thought through her head," Clarice declared, her eyes sparkling. She stepped up to Calypso and pulled her into a tight embrace, then glued her lips to Calypso's.
Aria didn't think Arturiel's eyes could get any wider, but they did. She made choking sounds as her brain began misfiring. The kiss went on for quite some time. Aria felt warmth suffuse her core as she watched with interest, hoping to learn something.
When Clarice finally pulled away with a smile and a wink at Calypso, Arturiel seemed to have finally come out the other end of her crisis. She stared at Clarice and Calypso in awe and a touch of curiosity.
"I've never heard of Seraphim engaging in sensual acts with other's before," she said in a troubled voice.
"They're missing out if they aren't," Calypso told her with a small smile.
Arturiel burst out with a nervous laugh, her eyes still a little wild.
"Listen, Arturiel," Calypso spoke gently. "Most of what I do is what feels right. I feel some kind of intuition guiding me, and maybe that's what this communication with God is, or maybe it is some kind of soul memory. If so, it's telling me that things have gone very wrong, and I plan to fix that. An angel, no matter their station, should never feel anxious or fearful in the presence of a Seraph. I'm here to heal, protect, and love the rest of you. There is no room for fear in that role."
Arturiel nodded slowly, her eyes filling with quicksilver tears as she stared at Calypso with something close to adoration. "I can't believe I'm talking to a Seraph," she gave a disbelieving laugh as she shook her head. "And that one is treating me like an equal."
"We are equals," Calypso insisted firmly. "We have different duties, but we both feel love, affection, and a desire to help others. I know myself well enough to state that there will never be a time when I see myself as anything but your equal."
Aria blinked as she heard her sister's voice in her head. "I'm pretty sure this God entity is doing some house cleaning. How else could a Seraphim end up here on earth? I think it has decided to shake up the management team."
Aria nodded her agreement. "That seems to be where things are headed. Unless Calypso is one of the original Seraphim and has incarnated for some reason."
"Now that's an interesting thought," Clarice responded, her eyes narrowing in thought. "What if she did come down here to fix things, but she has to start with the same rules as all mortals, having the memory of her former life blocked or something?"
"Maybe," Aria frowned doubtfully. "If that were the case, shouldn't she remember her old life, since she is an angel now?"
Clarice shrugged at her uncertainly, then turned to the rest of the group.
"And on that note," she declared with a bright smile. "Let's go find Eden and redeem some demons."
Calypso stepped forward to open a gateway, but Clarice held up a hand with a wink. "I've got this."
Aria watched her make a link with Arturiel. She did the same, curious about what she was looking for.
"Can you think of the place you want to go?" Clarice asked Arturiel.
Arturiel nodded, her face curious.
Aria saw the office in her mind as Arturiel thought of it. A moment later, Clarice opened a gateway into the center of the office. There was a man sitting at a desk, flipping his fingers through the air as holographic images and files scrolled through the air.
"Dang, you guys have all of the fancy tech, don't you?" Clarice noted enviously.
The man jumped to his feet, his eyes wide with surprise. Aria wrinkled her nose at the stench. It wasn't as bad as any of the others, but compared to Arturiel, it was definitely noticeable. When his eyes fell on the two Cherubim, he froze. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he felt the power emanating from them.
"I didn't expect you to start cleaning house for a few more days," he spoke conversationally, but Aria could see the fear in his eyes. She was pretty sure there weren't very many things that could kill immortal beings, so facing one of them was probably unnerving. "So did you kill Arturiel already?"
"No, Peter, they did something much better," Arturiel declared, her voice filled with excitement.
He finally noticed Arturiel, then staggered as he saw what she had become. "How?" was all that he could say.
"Calypso redeemed her," Clarice told him with a friendly smile. "While you stink a lot more than Arturiel did, she says you're a good person. Are you ready to become an angel again?"
He gaped at them, his eyes wide with disbelief. "That's impossible! Demons can't be turned back to angels."
"Tell that to Arturiel," Clarice suggested with a nod back to Arturiel. "Are you ready?"
His reptilian eyes grew suspicious as he studied Arturiel. "What did I tell you about demons when we first met?" he asked Arturiel, clearly not believing that it was really her.
"You told me that a demon was just like a human with an addiction to power, and that we could still be good people if we didn't let our addiction rule us," Arturiel responded with a smile. "I've thought of that talk many times over the centuries."
The suspicion slowly faded from his face, replaced with a sudden hope. "Can she truly redeem demons?"
"Yes, Peter, and I can't tell you how good it feels to be an angel again," Arturiel replied, her voice thick with emotion. "I had always taken for granted this benevolent energy coursing through me when I was an angel. It was like coming back to life when she redeemed me."
"What do I need to do?" he asked simply.
"Go through that gateway," Clarice gestured behind her. "Calypso will do the rest."
He slowly walked around the desk and moved to the gateway, staring at Arturiel in awe as he went. Calypso was waiting for him on the other side, with both of their parents flanking her protectively.
"Hello, Krajen," Calypso greeted the demon, causing him to miss a step as she spoke his real name. "This will only take a second."
He stopped in front of her, hope radiating off of him in waves. Calypso's eyes grew brighter for a moment, then she burst into blinding light for a moment. When the light dimmed, the demon was no longer a demon. He gasped as his meridians were flooded with positive energy. His elongated pupils shrunk to circles and the irises turned a deep blue. Calypso pulled him into an embrace and burst into light again, supercharging him with loving energy. His shoulders began shaking as he wept with relief and joy.
"What has been done cannot be undone," Calypso told him gently. "You will never be turned to a demon again."
While the process to change a demon back into an angel was fast, the emotional aftermath was a lengthier process. When he returned through the gateway ten minutes later, his face was filled with joy and hope. There was a constant grin on his face as he walked toward his desk.
"I need to start gathering the rest of us," he announced excitedly. "She said she can redeem us in groups."
"I need to take Aria and Clarice to the theologians," Arturiel informed Krajen as she pulled him into a hug. "They are looking for Eden."
"I'll get Dorian and Remus up here right away," Krajen said quickly. "They'll be your best bet for information on Eden."
They waited for over an hour as dozens of demons gathered in the open office space outside of Krajen's office. He hadn't told them why he was gathering them, and the group of demons were abuzz with chatter as they discussed the possible reasons for their summons. Aria found it odd to see so many entities she had thought of as pure evil just days ago. They seemed so normal, like every day office workers as they waited for their boss to address them.
He finally opened the door and stood in front of the crowd. They grew quiet, then stared in astonishment as they took in his angelic form and presence. Before they could say anything, he began speaking.
"Some of you may be aware that there is a Seraph that is awakening on this world," he began, his face still wearing a grin he couldn't seem to help. "Calypso is that Seraph. She has figured out how to redeem demons so that we can once again become angels. If there are any among you who wish to remain as demons, please leave now."
You could have heard a pin drop in the room as silence greeted him. After half a minute of silence, he turned back to the gateway behind him and nodded at Calypso. She walked forward, the power of her presence flowing out like a wave as she entered the building. The demons watched her in a mixture of fear and hope as she stopped in front of them. With a gentle smile, she burst into light as reached out with dozens of tendrils of energy and removed the offending portion of their being that allowed them to be transformed into demons.
There was a wave of gasps and cries of amazement as the dark energy filling them reversed and they began to fill up with light. Calypso blazed incandescently as she pushed her aura out into the crowd, charging them with light at an accelerated rate.
Aria smiled at Clarice as they witnessed the turning of the tide in the rule of demons on Earth. The new angels were hugging each other and laughing while crying as they basked in the positive energy they had been denied for so long.
As things calmed down, Krajen introduced Remus and Dorian to them. The two redeemed angels were difficult to talk with as they continued to rejoice in their unexpected redemption. After nearly twenty minutes of letting them revel in their restored forms, Clarice pushed the conversation forward.
"Remus. Dorian," Clarice said crisply. "We need to find Eden. Do either of you have any idea where we can start looking?"
The two angels grew serious as they faced her warily. "We have some information about it," they hedged cautiously.
Aria immediately made a telepathic connection to the two angels. They were terrible actors, and they clearly knew more than a little bit about it. Clarice also linked with them, as well as to Aria.
"We were told we need to find the lore boar to get answers to questions we have," Clarice told them intently. "We were led to believe that it was in Eden, which is supposedly somewhere in this star system."
We swore to never reveal the location of Eden to anyone else, Remus's thoughts sounded like they were spoken aloud. But a new Seraph? There has to be some kind of exception.
"You don't have to tell us where it is at if you would be breaking an oath," Aria told them gently. "We will find another way to find it."
They stared at her in shocked silence for several seconds.
"Can you hear our thoughts?" Remus asked in amazement.
"Yes, we can," Clarice confirmed with a nod. "Aria's right. If you are under oath, we can find another way to locate it."
The two of them looked at each other uncomfortably. Remus finally spoke hesitantly.
"Well, our oath was to never speak of the location to another person," he said slowly. "If we just happened to think of it, I don't think that would break our oath."
Aria smiled ruefully at their logic. "Only if you are comfortable with it," she insisted, eyeing them gravely.
They didn't answer, but their thoughts did. Aria blinked as she saw where it was in their thoughts.
On the freaking sun? she thought at Clarice in astonishment.
Their thoughts indicate the sun isn't hot, Clarice replied, just as surprised. Apparently, another piece of science we have been misled on.
But the freaking sun? Aria exclaimed, unable to reconcile the impossibility.
"I'm guessing by the looks on your faces that you have what you need from us," Remus noted with a chuckle. "You two were humans before you became angels, weren't you?"
"Yeah…" Aria replied faintly.
"All angels know the sun isn't hot, but of course humans are taught that it is a thermonuclear bomb," Dorian chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.
"But I can feel the heat from the sun all the way on Earth," Aria protested, her face baffled.
"You're just seeing photons interacting with the atmosphere and creating heat from friction," Dorian explained with a shrug. "It's the same temperature on the surface as it is here."
Aria goggled at them, her mind unable to unlearn that the sun was an inferno of atomic decay.
"Come on, professor," Clarice pulled her away with a wry grin. "Thanks a lot, Dorian and Remus."
"But it's the sun!" Aria spluttered insistently.
"Yep," Clarice nodded agreeably. "We should probably go get some clothes from Tamra now that it's daytime. You realize we've been in our bras this whole time, right?"
Aria looked down at her chest and blushed furiously as she looked around in sudden embarrassment. "Come on, let's get to Tamra's."
Calypso's shoulders were shaking with laughter as she followed the two of them through the gateway. Aria shook her head in exasperation. Clarice was rubbing off on their Seraph. Two days ago, Calypso would have been blushing as much as Aria was.
"You're so cute when you blush," Clarice told her with a naughty grin.
"Shut up, Clarice," Aria muttered as she closed the gateway behind them.