"How much do we need to worry about the agency now that the demons in charge of this area are angels?" Aria asked as she stood waiting inside of Tamra's living room. Their favorite tailor was finishing up their first set of clothes so that they would once again have something more than bras or pinned together shirts to wear.
"They don't actually lead any of the human agencies or militaries," Arturiel answered, watching Aria, Calypso, Clarice, and Lexi with fascinated eyes from where she sat on a chair. "They place demons in influential positions and pull the strings from the shadows, so to speak."
Arturiel had been struggling to not be overwhelmed with the presence of the Cherubim and a Seraph. Her thoughts were even more entertaining than her warring expressions of awe and fascination.
I still can't believe she actually kissed a Seraph! Arturiel thought wonderingly. I feel like I should be punished for how much I enjoyed watching, but they seem so relaxed and accepting that I can't bring myself to feel too guilty.
Aria and Clarice would have won awards for keeping straight faces if there were awards for such things. Every once in a while, Arturiel would suddenly remember that they could hear her thoughts. Each time it happened, her face would freeze and then turn bright red. Aria, Clarice, and Calypso would pretend not to notice and she would soon forget again.
"What about the President?" Clarice asked curiously. "We were getting ready to go abduct him to find answers right before you showed up."
"You were going to abduct the President?" Arturiel exclaimed in shock.
"We were just going to drop him through a gateway," Clarice explained with a shrug. "We figured he would have some answers to our questions. Is he a demon?"
"We just use masks to play the role with different demons," Arturiel responded faintly.
Why should I be surprised that they would abduct the President? Arturiel thought hysterically. They're Cherubim. They can literally do whatever they want.
Aria sighed with a defeated look at Clarice. Her sister was staring at her triumphantly, her lips curled up into a victorious smile. "Okay, Clarice, you were right."
"You're damn right I was," Clarice giggled, her golden eyes sparkling with amusement. "I've been saying the president was just a bunch of asshats in masks for years now. It's not even hard to notice. Half of the time they are different heights."
"I couldn't help noticing that you don't have wings," Aria commented as she studied Arturiel curiously. "Did you have wings before you were turned into a demon?"
"Only archangels and higher ranks have wings," Arturiel explained, looking down at the floor as she spoke.
"That's why demons are using helicopters and flying saucers," Aria exclaimed with sudden realization. "Because they didn't have wings as angels. We just thought it was part of being considered fallen or something."
"Exactly," Arturiel confirmed with a nod. "the demon lords have wings and the power to make portals. Most of them were once archangels, though two of them were Dominions."
"How powerful are they compared to a regular angel?" Lexi asked curiously. "Carcelonia made it sound like we would be wiped out as soon as one showed up."
"There is a significant gap between the power of an archangel and an angel," Arturiel informed her with an uncomfortable look.
They're not nearly as forgiving if you don't respect them either, Arturiel thought, briefly reliving memories of being reduced to a quivering wreck for not bowing low enough or answering without the proper amount of respect in her voice.
"If I ever see an archangel treat an angel like that, there will be one less archangel," Clarice declared darkly, her golden eyes hard.
Arturiel blushed as she avoided their eyes, remembering once again that Cherubim could read her thoughts. Aria could sense her guilt at feeling mildly resentful toward the archangel who had frequently rebuked her.
"You should feel a lot more than a little resentment," Aria told her firmly. "Nobody should ever be made to feel lesser than another person. If that particular archangel is still around, there is a day of reckoning in his future."
Arturiel closed her eyes as she felt quicksilver tears form in her eyes. Warmth suffused her soul as she felt the love and protectiveness of the new Cherubim.
How different would things have turned out if we had leaders like these three, Arturiel thought warmly. Is this why we were sent to the mortal realm? To learn humility and vulnerability?
"How would an archangel compare to a Cherubim?" Lexi asked quizzically, clearly concerned about the eventual arrival of a demon lord or unfriendly archangel.
Arturiel barked out a laugh as she shook her head. "There is no comparison. Cherubim are one of the tools of judgement, one of the only classes of angel who can kill an immortal. No demon lord or archangel or any other class of angel would come near a Cherubim if they knew who they faced."
"Is there more than one class of Cherubim?" Clarice asked, her eyes on Lexi. "Aria and I were directly transformed by Calypso, but my mom and Lexi were transformed by us. My dad was transformed by my mom, so he is three generations down from Calypso. We all have laser eyes, so I assume that makes us all Cherubim, doesn't it?"
"That's how I understand it," Arturiel nodded, forcing herself to meet Clarice's golden eyes without flinching away. "There are three levels of Cherubim. I was told that angels of the first triad always raised any human they converted into an angel one level beneath them. Mind you, most of that is rumor because we don't really have any interactions with the higher triads. They are as mythical to us as angels are to humans. If that were the case, then anyone your father raised would be a Dominion. Each class of the angel hierarchy has three levels. The differences in abilities and power between Cherubim levels has never been revealed to common angels or archangels. The only thing I know about the difference between them is that the lower level cannot kill the higher level with their power, but the same is not true for the reverse."
"I guess I can talk all of the smack I want without worrying that Lexi will fry my ass then," Clarice grinned at Lexi.
"As if that would ever happen," Lexi replied, her eyes soft and full of affection as she stared back at Clarice. "No amount of smack talk could ever make me want any harm to befall you."
"Aw, come here you," Clarice purred, walking over and embracing her fondly.
Lexi's face was filled with contentment as she melted in Clarice's arms.
The bonds of love between these angels is unbelievable, Arturiel thought, feeling her eyes moisten again as she witnessed the beginning of a new order of angels that was based on love and kindness. It feels so right, like this is how it was always meant to be for angels. Where did we go wrong?
"What was life like for you before demons took over the world?" Aria asked Arturiel, her eyes full of interest. "Did the humans know you were an angel?"
"There were some places where people were aware of us," Arturiel nodded with a hint of a smile. "Common angels, like me, only appear to humans if they believe, so a lot of it was based on cultural traditions. You have some references in history to the time before demons took over, though most of it is highly inaccurate. Most of Greek and Roman mythology was based on the archangels and demon lords. They had an uneasy truce, but there were constant betrayals on both sides. The archangels were also breeding with mortals a lot in that period, resulting in hybrid angels. They were immortal but not invulnerable. They thought that creating hybrid humans would help bolster their numbers and power in the fight against demons. It turned into a disaster due to how much easier it was to turn a hybrid angel into a demon."
"How do they turn an angel into demon anyway?" Clarice asked, her head resting against Lexie's head.
"It's not pleasant," Arturiel replied bleakly, shivering at the memory. "They lock us in a room where they torture innocents. They give us the option to torture one ourselves, or watch them torture them one after the other until we give in. Harming a mortal with malicious intent is the trigger that transforms an angel into a demon. They compel you to continue harming innocents while forcing you to take agonite. For an angel, agonite isn't the same kind of high it is for a demon. It floods our minds with doubt and confusion. In this confused state of mind, it is possible for them to manipulate you psychologically, until they convince you that harming an innocent is an enjoyable form of entertainment. It takes years for some of us to break. The longer it goes on, the more despair sets in as an endless line of innocents is tortured before your eyes. When the change occurs, your moral compass shatters, and you no longer have a sense for what is right or wrong. The only thing that matters is power."
Calypso walked over and pulled Arturiel up from her chair and into a comforting embrace, her own eyes filled with tears. Aria stared as she noticed Calypso's tears were now gold, not quicksilver.
"I'm so sorry you went through so much horror," Calypso choked out, her voice thick with emotion. "I can't even imagine enduring such cruelty."
Arturiel's eyes were wide with ecstasy as her meridians were flooded with Calypso's overpowering love. A streak of gold trickled down Calypso's cheek and landed on Arturiel's head. There was a blinding flash of golden light and the two of them were enveloped in golden sphere of energy. Positive energy shot out of the sphere and into Arturiel, resulting in a seizure as her body shook in Calypso's arms. Her body began to glow brilliantly as she vibrated in place. Aria watched as the nodes in Arturiel's body were rewritten and expanded. There was a tearing noise as wings appeared on her back, ripping through her shirt. They were more birdlike than the wings Aria and her group had started with, looking very much like the winged angels in renaissance paintings.
"What…happened," Arturiel panted, her eyes wide and rapturous. "I feel so much more alive."
"You are an archangel of the first order now," Calypso told her gently. "You are the kind of archangel this world needs."
Aria stared at Calypso intently. She seemed to be receiving information from her soul memory. She was quickly moving into her role as a Seraph. Aria could feel her own power growing as Calypso grew. She wondered if they were tied together in their development.
"Me? An archangel?" Arturiel gasped in disbelief. "But angels can't change their station."
"And demons can't be redeemed back into angels, right?" Clarice commented dryly. "You might be millions of years old, but you have a lot to learn if you think anything is going to stop Calypso from healing this broken cosmos."
"I can't believe how different this feels," Arturiel breathed in wonder. "I thought being an angel felt wonderful after being a demon, but this…"
"You should try being a Cherubim," Clarice told her with a wry smile. "During the first few days of our ascension, it was all I could think about. I'm still in a state of disbelief at how good I feel all of the time now."
"Let me guess," Tamra's voice deadpanned as she joined them with an armful of shirts. "You need another set of shirts made."
"Maybe?" Clarice admitted in a wheedling tone. "We seem to be multiplying. You're going to have to add a dovecote onto your building for us to hang out in."
Tamra laughed good naturedly as she began handing out clothing. "Clarice, only you would compare angels to pigeons."
"We know an imp that compares us to a lot worse," Aria informed her with a rueful shake of her head.
They donned the new shirts, all of them but Clarice doing so with relief. She was sighing regretfully as she watched Aria and Calypso buttoning up their shirts.
"These look amazing, Tamra," Aria effused with a grateful smile. "It fits perfectly."
Calypso, Lexi, and Clarice voiced their agreement and appreciation as well. Aria's eyes were continually drawn back to Clarice and Calypso. Their shirt's fit them like a glove, accentuating their narrow waists and generous cleavage. She felt her cheeks redden as Clarice caught her checking the two of them out. She gave Aria a slow, sensual wink that pushed the blush into the roots of her hair.
"You're getting a little warm around the ears, Aria," Clarice commented playfully. "I didn't think angels could get sunburnt."
"You're a bad angel, Clarice," Aria accused as she tried willing her blush to stop.
"I don't blame you for checking us out," Clarice declared innocently. "We're smoking hot. Tamra really outdid herself with these."
"I suggest going topless if you find yourself heading for a blackhole or another planet with super storms," Tamra told them pointedly. "Otherwise, I don't think I'll be able to keep up. Where are you going next?"
"Funny you should ask," Clarice replied in an exaggerated British accent. "It just so happens that we're going to the sun."
"I wouldn't put it past you," Tamra snorted with a sardonic smile. "You three have been jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire since I first saw your pretty little faces on YouTube last week."
"She thinks I'm kidding, doesn't she?" Clarice asked Aria archly.
"We could tell her that we have it on good authority that the sun isn't actually hot," Aria suggested playfully.
"I don't think she'll believe us," Clarice noted with a sideways glance at Tamra. She had a sickly grin on her face as she realized they weren't joking.
"It really isn't hot," Arturiel assured Tamra confidently. "It's just a myth created to keep humans from trying to go there."
Tamra stared at the new archangel steadily. "Even if it isn't hot now, it will be when they get there, mark my words."
"Damn right it will be," Clarice crowed with a sly grin. "Cause we're so freaking hot!"
That seemed to be the last straw for Arturiel. She burst out laughing so hard that she had to hang on to Calypso for support. Lexi joined in the laughter, gazing at Clarice like a favorite superhero.
"Arturiel, I probably have a shirt that will work for you until I can make something to your measurements," Tamra informed the archangel. "Follow me and we'll get you fixed up."
Arturiel's shirt hadn't been torn to the point that the front detached, but it didn't look like it was going to last much longer.
"Thank you, Tamra," Arturiel said gratefully, her smile filled with warmth.
"I suppose we should get going," Clarice noted as she eyed the other three appreciatively. "Four hotties going to the sun to party it up."
"Arturiel, we're going to leave a portal open to the cabin for you," Aria told the new archangel, knowing she could hear them from the back room. "I'm guessing you plan to do some flying now that you have wings. Make sure to go with our parents in case you run into any trouble. I know you're an archangel now, but better safe than sorry."
"Thanks, Aria," Arturiel replied, her voice filled with gratitude and excitement.
They walked out into the yard and opened a portal back to the cabin for Arturiel to use.
"Portal?" Clarice asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked up at the sun.
"Portal," Calypso agreed, reaching out and opening a portal to the surface of the sun.
Brilliant light shown through the portal, but there was no inferno that scorched the earth around them, or their clothes. Aria went through first, her drive to protect Calypso pushing her through to scout the alien land.
She felt soft soil beneath her toes. No longer requiring shoes had been a nice perk of being invulnerable. The soil glowed under her feet, only sinking a little under her light weight. The glowing soil went on as far as even her eyes could see. She looked upward and marveled at the enormous ropes of magnetism arcing through the sun's atmosphere. She flew up high into the sky until she was a few hundred miles above the glowing soil. Magnetic filaments warped around her as she stared down at the surface. She could see a coronal hole not too far from where they had set their portal. She looked to the south and found a large sunspot bubbling with magnetic froth.
The other's joined her in the sky, their eyes wide with wonder. Aria felt like she was in a dream as she viewed the alien landscape in awe.
"The sun's a big place," Clarice remarked with a small smile. "It might take a while to find the lore boar."
"Grodek said Eden was constantly moving," Aria began thoughtfully. "What if that's because the sunspots and coronal holes are some kind of entrance to an inner world? Sunspots are constantly opening and decaying."
"Let's go explore some sunspots," Clarice suggested gleefully, raising her fist in the air…sky.
The four of them shot off toward the first sunspot at high speed. Aria marveled as they quickly drew closer. The magnetic ropes arcing high above the sunspots were a thing of beauty. The edges of the sunspot were like super-sized grand canyons that caved into the gaping hole that made up the sunspot. Aria plunged into the hole eagerly, filled with curiosity for what lay inside.
None of her preconceptions were anywhere near the reality of what lay within. Rolling green hills and enormous oceans spread out below them, tens of thousands of miles beneath the outer shell of the sun. Mountains dozens of miles high rose up above the oceans and grasslands.
"I guess it's the hollow earth theory, but for the sun," Clarice marveled as she gazed into the distance. "A whole world hiding inside of our sun."
"A freaking huge world," Lexi added in amazement. "Isn't the sun a million times bigger than earth?"
"The outer shell is," Aria confirmed with a nod. "However, we dropped down about eighty or ninety thousand miles, so it's not nearly as large as it would have been if the land down here was closer to the outer shell."
"Where should we start looking?" Lexi asked eagerly as she turned in circles to view the world beneath them.
"We're supposed to be looking for a garden," Calypso reminded them, her eyes filled with wonder. "Let's do a high-speed survey around the world so that we have an idea of what's here."
"Good idea," Clarice congratulated Calypso, flying over and giving here a quick hug. "Sorry, Calypso, I just realized I haven't gotten a hug from you in almost four hours."
"Never apologize for hugging me," Calypso told her with a loving smile. "I can never get enough hugs."
"I hear that," Clarice agreed, moving on to Aria with a grin and pulling her into a hug. She held her for several seconds, and Aria realized that her sister wasn't just feeling affectionate; something was wrong with her.
"What's the matter, Clarice," Aria whispered, holding her tightly and stroking her hair tenderly.
She felt Clarice tremble in her embrace and a sob escaped her as she attempted to speak.
"Shhh," Aria whispered soothingly. "We're here for you. I'll always be here for you, Clarice, no matter how crazy things get. I love you."
Aria held her sobbing sister for nearly ten minutes before the weeping storm subsided enough for her to try and talk.
"I'm sorry, Aria," Clarice sobbed, still struggling to speak. "It all just hit me like a freight train while I was admiring the beauty here. They tortured children so that they could turn angels into demons. I saw it in her thoughts, the endless torment and anguish. Innocent angels like Arturiel. It happened across the whole world, and they've been stuck in that never ending nightmare for thousands of years. What kind of god would allow this to happen to his angels? What kind of god lets demons defile his angels and turn them into abominations?"
Calypso flew over and wrapped her arms around the two of them, pulsing with love and sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Clarice," Calypso whispered sadly, kissing her forehead. "I don't know what led to this horror, but I can promise you that I am going to fix it and never let it happen again. I wish I could take your pain away, dear one."
Lexi slowly drew close to them, her eyes full of sympathy. She caressed Clarice's cheek tenderly, wiping her tears away. "I don't think there is a god, Clarice. I think it's just all of us, making one giant mind that can't comprehend individual suffering on a small timeline. Something has arranged for us all to be here together now, to begin fixing the sickness within our collective mind. The entity everyone calls god is just our minds that have been sick. We are the cure. We are going to fix this mind fuck that has afflicted everyone and make everything right again. I promise."
Aria stared at Lexi, impressed at her abstract reasoning. She had the equivalent of an eighth-grade education, so it was easy to forget that there was an intelligent mind hiding behind that beautiful face. She had probably had a lot of time in captivity to ponder the injustices of the world and come to terms with the harsh realities of life.
Clarice took a deep breath as she soaked in the love and comfort from the other angels supporting her. "Thank you. I knew that was going to come out soon. It's been writhing beneath the surface of my awareness for a while now."
"You'll be dealing with mine soon enough," Aria warned her with a peck on the forehead. "But I know you'll be there for me. We've got each other for all eternity."
Clarice closed her eyes as a few more tears leaked out. "Aria, I'm so lucky to have you. Eternity seems less daunting, with you by my side."
"Not just Aria," Lexi told her firmly. "I'll be right here with you, every step of the way. As will Calypso. You'll never face anything alone."
Calypso's arms tightened in unspoken agreement.
"Okay, I think I'm ready," Clarice smiled tremulously, her eyes filled with resolve. "Let's go find a boar."
Aria squeezed her tightly one last time before letting her go. She knew Clarice's mischievous nature and humorous personality masked a deeply compassionate and vulnerable soul. The horrors they had witnessed this past week would have totally crushed them if they hadn't had each other to lean on. She made a mental note to give Clarice more attention and time to detox in the future. She clearly needed to talk through some of those traumatic memories.
"We're going to talk some more when we get back," Aria promised her sister with a reassuring smile.
Clarice nodded, smiling back at her with no humor, just pure love.
"I think I see something of interest," Calypso notified them with a gesture toward a spec in the distant sky.
"Let's go investigate," Clarice suggested, her eager smile back on her face. She shot forward like a falling star, streaking through the sky.
Aria flashed forward, flying shoulder to shoulder with her.
"It's a floating island," Clarice whispered in awe. "I guess it never heard of the law of gravity."
The island was rocky on the underside, with waterfalls dropping over the edge of the land, making a curtain of mist below it. The top was lush with green, lavender, red, pink, blue, just about every color in the rainbow flowering out of the different trees. In the center of the enormous sky island there was a tree that staggered the mind with its immensity. It was the size of a mountain range, towering hundreds of miles into the air. There were small huts and crude buildings scattered around the base of the tree near the center.
"If this isn't Eden, it must be Eden's older sibling," Clarice declared with a whistle of amazement. "That is one big ass tree."
"Big ass tree of life," Aria corrected with a grin.
Clarice grinned back at her.
"Shall we go see if the locals know where the lore boar hangs out?" Aria asked as she began the descent toward the crude city.
"Oink oink," Clarice replied with an exaggerated snort.
There was an opening in the center of the primitive city where a circle of stones that looked like a completed version of Stone Henge stood. There were people walking around the dirt roads of the city. They were dressed in colorful garb that seemed geared more toward fashion than function. It left a lot of skin visible on bodies that belonged on Olympic statues. Aria thought they would be angels, but as they drew closer, she realized they had human meridians. At least, partially human.
"I think these are hybrid angels," Aria observed as they landed in the Stone Henge replica. Several people had noticed them as they dropped out of the sky. Some of the people ran away quickly while others approached them cautiously.
"Hello!" Clarice called out to them cheerfully, waving her hands with a friendly smile. "I don't suppose you speak English?"
The puzzled expressions were answer enough.
Aria sent a tendril of energy to the thought node of the nearest woman, a tall blonde with a lithe figure and brilliant blue eyes.
I thought the angels were just myths! Aria's mind translated the woman's thoughts.
My name is Aria, Aria thought to the woman, eliciting a startled squawk as the woman took a step back warily.
We mean you no harm, Aria sent the thought with a wave of love and comfort. What's your name?
The woman's eyes widened as she felt the surge of love wash over her. Zerune is my name.
It's nice to meet you, Zerune, Aria smiled warmly. We are from Earth in search of something called the lore boar. Do you have any idea where we can find it?
You are speaking into my mind? The woman asked in shock.
Yes, we don't speak your language, so we will have to rely on thoughts, Aria explained.
The woman frowned as Aria's thoughts appeared in her head. She seemed to struggle with the concept of different languages.
"I guess if they've been here for who knows how long, it's no wonder they don't know what a foreign language is," Clarice commented wryly.
The woman continued staring as she heard them speaking English, finally seeming to comprehend what a foreign language was.
You are from a place called Earth? Zerune asked in confusion. Is it up in the sky?
Aria nearly facepalmed as she realized they were spawning a new round of religions with their appearance and claims to be from somewhere beyond the heavens. She restrained her desire to sigh and patiently sent mental images of their journey from Earth to the sun, along with images of their cities and the humans that populated her world. She relived the memory of their journey via portal to the surface of the sun and the inner world beneath the light shell.
Zerune stared at her in shock and awe as the memories flooded into her mind. When the thought of some kind of sentient boar creature passed through to Zerune, the hybrid human's eyes lit up with recognition.
He lives inside of the tree, Zerune informed her, a dubious frown on her face. He is a very…unusual creature.
How so? Clarice's questioned her curiously.
He's very…flatulent and kind of disgusting, Zerune answered with a distasteful expression. He doesn't make very much sense most of the time.
We were told he responds well to delicious foods and entertainment, Clarice thought, smiling slightly as she thought of Zerune's description of the boar. Is there any truth to that myth?
Oh, he definitely likes fine foods and entertainment, Zerune chuckled ruefully. He's very vocal about substandard food and entertainment.
More people had gathered around Zerune, gawking at the angels in amazement. When Zerune laughed, the other Edenites stared at her in confusion.
Would you mind explaining to the others who we are and what we are doing here? Aria asked, casting a friendly smile at the growing crowd.
I'll try, Zerune responded dubiously. It will be difficult to explain in a way they can understand.
I'll take care of it, Calypso announced, her eyes scanning the crowd. A moment later, dozens of tendrils of energy shot out of Calypso and connected to the hybrids. She quickly offloaded a memory dump similar to what Aria had done with Zerune.
The citizens stared at them in awe as the memories and thoughts completed. Having more of your neighbors comprehend what we are and where we are from should make it easier for you to explain to the rest of your kind, Calypso thought helpfully, smiling warmly at the gathered crowd.
Calypso pushed her aura out, filling the hybrids with love. They gasped, their eyes wide with ecstasy as they felt the force of her emotional presence, their eyes filling with tears.
"Let's go see what the lore boar thinks of divine music for entertainment," Clarice suggested with a wink at Calypso. "He'll never get a better chance to hear transcendent music."
Calypso winked back at Clarice with a smile of her own, resulting in a startled giggle from Clarice. Calypso's personality was definitely being influenced by Aria's vivacious sister. She was blossoming in the light of friendship, flourishing as the century of lonely solitude was left behind her.
They floated up into the air and moved toward the enormous tree of life. There was a path at the edge of the city that led up to a crack in the face of the tree. Aria marveled at the sheer size of the brilliantly white tree. The face was smooth and hard, with tiny white veins creating a complicated pattern that covered the entire tree. The veins emitted a soft glow, enhancing the white tree's brilliance.
They landed at the opening in the tree and entered the illuminated hallway. It led them deep inside of the tree, terminating at a stadium sized room. There were small trees growing around the room with glowing white fruit hanging heavily on the tree limbs. In the center of the room there was a large stump with a boar the size of a house sitting with its back legs crossed in front of it, more reminiscent of a human sitting than a boar. Large tusks jutted up from its lower jaw. It looked over at them as they entered, intelligent blue eyes curious. There were other creatures arrayed around it, all of them focused on the giant boar. It looked like a classroom in session.
"I guess we found it," Clarice murmured in fascination. "It's huge."
Aria felt a sense of shock as she stared at the beast. There was something so familiar about it. She felt a powerful connection to the giant boar that she couldn't make sense of.
"Greetings, children of the skies," the boar boomed in a voice that shook the trees. "It has been some time since I have seen one of your kind."
"Hello," Calypso smiled at the boar, her eyes curious. "You speak our language?"
"I speak all languages," the boar replied in his booming voice. As he finished speaking there was a blast of flatulent air that thundered throughout the cave.
Aria looked at Clarice warningly, but it was futile. Her sister's shoulders were shaking as she covered her mouth with a hand and tried to hold back her mirth. At Aria's glare she lost what little restraint she had and began laughing hysterically. Calypso was watching her with a patient smile while Lexi covered her own mouth to hide a grin. Just when it seemed like Clarice would recover, another thunderous blast of flatulence blew out of the lore boar's backside and sent Clarice into another fit of uncontrollable giggles.
"Sorry about her," Aria apologized to the giant bore with a resigned sigh. "She's still an adolescent at heart."
"I'm accustomed to this reaction," the lore boar boomed. "Many of the residents of Eden react similarly."
"Do you know why we have come to see you?" Calypso asked him curiously.
"Do you know why you have come to see me?" he replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Mainly because we were told to seek you out by Grodek," Calypso responded, her face becoming thoughtful. "However, I have questions that I'm told you may be able to help me with."
"What have you brought in exchange for these answers?" the boar asked sternly.
Calypso's hand disappeared into a hole in the air, reappearing a moment later with her harp. "A song, if it pleases you."
The lore boar stared at the harp, his eyes narrowing. "With that harp?"
"If that is okay with you?" Calypso asked hesitantly. "I can use a different one, if you prefer."
The lore boar closed his eyes and let out a gusty sigh of relief that blew the leaves off of some of the trees. "All things must come to an end," he breathed in a quieter voice. "Play for me, Seraph."
Calypso stared at him in concern. "Will this harm you?"
The boar smiled gently, his eyes tired. "It will complete me."
Calypso hesitated, studying him with worried eyes. She was clearly seeing something more than Aria as she studied the boar.
Aria switched to her spiritual eyes, then gasped at the dizzying array of nodes and energy lines connected to the enormous bore. He looked like microchip, connected to uncountable energy distribution points. A large number of the points were directly connected to Aria.
"Please, Seraph, play for me," the boar implored, its tired eyes filled with longing.
Calypso nodded slowly, her eyes filled with compassion. She began plucking a melody with skilled fingers as the lore boar watched with weary eyes.
The room reverberated like a bell with each string plucked. Power flooded the room as the glowing walls of the tree blazed with light. Calypso began singing, her voice intertwining with the melodies from the harp. As soon as her voice joined the harp the room became a cyclone of power, spinning around them like a giant maelstrom of light. Aria knew if they had been anything but Cherubim that the power would have scoured their immortal bodies to dust. The beauty and power of the song was unlike anything she had ever heard Calypso play. She dropped to her knees and closed her eyes as the transcendent music reforged her spirit anew. She could feel her nodes expanding and connecting to distant repositories of knowledge and power. The song flailed reality until the room became nothing but overwhelming emotional essence.
Calypso was blazing brighter than the sun as she once again rewrote reality. Aria felt like her soul had been completely saturated by the sublime power raging in the maelstrom around her. As the final notes died away, she opened her eyes. Calypso stood in front of her harp, golden tears spilling down her cheeks. Where the lore boar once sat, a golden tin whistle lay resting on the stump. She felt an immediate connection to the instrument, as if it were a part of her that had been lost.
Clarice rushed over to Calypso, pulling her into a comforting embrace. Aria had been so distracted by the new divine instrument that she hadn't noticed how distraught Calypso was. The Seraph was shaking like a leaf with golden tears running down her cheeks. Sorrow emanated away from her in waves as she buried her face in Clarice's shoulder.
Aria walked over to Calypso and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"
"I destroyed him," Calypso sobbed, her voice filled with remorse.
"No. You didn't," Aria assured her gently. "He's still here."
Aria flew up to the stump and retrieved the tin whistle. The call to be held grew stronger as she came closer to it. When her hand grasped it, she felt an electric jolt shoot through her soul as a missing piece was finally reunited. Smiling with joy, she descended back to where Calypso was watching her hopefully, her tears slowing to a trickle.
"It transformed," Aria told her with a brilliant smile. "It was always a part of my soul. I don't know how my soul was divided, but my soul is finally whole again."
Aria lifted the tin whistle to her lips and began playing the melody of her soul. Bittersweet power washed throughout the room as her divine instrument manipulated and warped the fabric of reality. Golden light washed through her and the other angels as she played, binding them together ever tighter as their souls were joined to each other. She could feel their emotions almost as if they were her own, their hopes and fears.
They stared at her in wonder as they felt the link binding them together. Lexi's eyes were wide as she finally felt the intense love they felt for her and each other. She would never have to doubt that she was loved again. A deep wound in Lexi's soul filled up with light and sealed shut as she was conclusively convinced of her worth to the rest of them.
"So, you've been a Gemini this whole time?" Clarice asked with a mischievous smile. "I'm going to start calling you my little piggy."
"Not unless you want to go to market," Aria warned her threateningly.
Clarice threw her head back and laughed, filling the air with joy.
"How much did we evolve?" Aria inquired, studying her angel family curiously.
Physically, Aria couldn't see much of a difference in the others. The only visible change was a slight glow that seemed to emanate from beneath their skin. It wasn't anything like the incandescent glow that occurred when their nodes switched to aggression, just a constant ambient glow.
The less visible changes were far more dramatic. Aria could feel a direct link to all of the realms now, including the higher light realms. "I think we can travel to all of the other realms now," she told them contemplatively. "I also feel a connection to something similar to the intuitive knowledge base that Calypso described. I think I could probably speak all of the languages now."
"It's so weird seeing you like this," Clarice breathed, her eyes intent. "It's like you've been hiding a part of yourself from me all these years and now I can see it, now that you are complete. I can sense the power within you has increased dramatically. I wonder if there is a part of me floating around somewhere too."
"I think I could point to any of you even if I was blindfolded now," Lexi commented, her lips pursed. "I feel like you are part of me now too."
"Like a wart," Clarice grinned impudently at her.
Lexi laughed, eyeing Clarice fondly. "I can even feel your emotions."
"I wonder if it is like this for fully evolved Seraphim and their Cherubim too," Calypso said thoughtfully. "I don't think that it is. Maybe that's why things went so wrong before."
"Found you," a malevolent voice growled in satisfaction. "And you even led me to Eden."
Aria wrinkled her nose as a wave of overpowering demon stench filled her nostrils. She stared at the winged demon lord who had appeared across the room from them. Large ram horns adorned a scaly head. He was seven feet tall, with backward knees and legs that ended in hooves. Bright red eyes with reptilian pupils stared at them triumphantly as the demon lord smiled cruelly.
"You found us alright," Clarice agreed, wrinkling her nose and waving her hand in front of it. "Dude, you stink worse than a dead fish in a hot tub."
"I like an angel with spirit," the demon lord's cruel smile widened. "It's much more fun to break."
"Did you really just say that you like a girl with spirit?" Clarice demanded in disgust. "Did they teach that phrase at villain school? Talk about cliché."
The demon lord flashed across the space between them in a split second, his hand shooting out for Clarice's neck. His eyes widened as she snatched his hand out of the air and threw him across the room with enough force to leave a demon shaped imprint on the wall.
"Do we want to offer to turn it back?" Clarice asked Calypso reluctantly. "Or can I just kill it now."
The demon lord was back on his feet, staring at Clarice with narrowed eyes. It made a gesture, and the air was suddenly filled with a thick white mist. Aria recognized the smell of agonite in the air from Arturiel's memories and stopped breathing. The demon lord watched them smugly as he slowly walked toward them. Calypso plucked a single string on her harp and the agonite flashed out of existence. The demon lord fell to his knees with his hands to his head, screaming in pain as the divine instrument seemed to cause him spiritual harm. Aria blurred over to him and held him by the throat. He struggled to break free of her grip but might as well have been a baby for all of the good it did him.
"What the hell are you?" he demanded, his eyes full of sudden fear.
"We are the future," Aria told him coldly. "I'm going to make you an offer, and you have one chance to accept it. Do you want to become an angel again?"
His face filled with hate and his lip curled in disgust. "Fuck you and your god. I can't wait to return and feast off your despair as we slowly suck the virtue out of your sanctimonious soul."
He flickered but failed to vanish. Aria smiled grimly down at it as it repeatedly tried to teleport out of her grasp. "Goodbye, demon lord." She fired her beam into one of his core nodes near his neck. He had time to widen his eyes in terror before he was vaporized.
"One less demon lord to deal with," Aria declared in satisfaction, turning back to the others.
"He was one of the original fallen Dominions," Calypso said with a frown.
"How could you tell?" Lexi asked curiously.
"After seeing Arturiel's meridian bandwidth I had an idea of what to expect from a demon lord who had previously been an archangel, but his were much larger," Calypso explained with a sigh. "I was hoping we could save him."
"I'm sorry, I should have asked if it was okay to vaporize him," Aria apologized, feeling foolish. "I guess you could have changed him whether he wanted to be changed or not."
"I'm not second guessing your choice," Calypso told her reassuringly. "I'm pretty sure he would have been an evil angel as well. There's a reason they were cast out and turned into demons. Arturiel said there were two dominions who were turned into demon lords. That means there is one more somewhere."
"How do you think he found us?" Lexi asked with a puzzled crease to her brows.
"We did just play two divine instruments," Calypso pointed out thoughtfully. "We all evolved a lot too. Our nodes were making a lot of connections to the other realms. I would imagine that made some noise."
"It made a lot of noise," Grodek growled, appearing on top of the tree stump. His scaly skin was blue, rather than the red she remembered. "You'll have some celestial visitors before long."
"Will they attack us?" Aria asked warily.
"Unlike that jackass you just atomized, the higher triads could sense the power of divine instruments," Grodek barked an ugly laugh. "Those worthless politicians will be too terrified to attack you outright. They'll try guile or a metaphorical dagger in the night. They want those instruments, and they'll sell their own Seraph out to get their hands on them. Not that the instruments would do anyone else any good, considering only a Seraph can play them."
"How did you know part of my soul was here?" Aria asked, feeling a sense of gratitude to the ugly little imp for pushing them to find this place.
"Maybe someday you'll remember," Grodek shrugged indifferently. "Maybe not."
"Are you ready yet?" Calypso asked him gently.
"Nope," he shook his head with a sour expression. "You're still outmatched by a huge margin. You need the other two instruments if you plan to win this battle. You'll have to find them quickly too. I'm sure the other Seraphim have finally taken notice of you. They'll be preparing nasty surprises to stop you from changing the status quo. You definitely don't want them to find the instruments before you do."
"Couldn't you help more if she changed you back?" Lexi asked with a puzzled frown.
"No, you don't need one more angel for the forces arrayed against you yet," the imp replied gruffly. "You need someone misdirecting them and keeping an eye on the fudge monkeys that want you dead. There's a reason they haven't already moved on you with overwhelming numbers."
"Does it seem wrong to anyone else that the ones we have to worry about the most are the ones that are supposed to stand for truth and justice?" Clarice asked dryly.
"The only thing they stand for is maintaining their own power," Grodek sneered in disgust. "You're dealing with beings who have never felt pain or loss. They are emotionless monsters who are militaristically obsessed with order and control, and they're terrified of death. You'll find no sympathy, empathy, or grace in the light realms. The only difference between demons and angels is that demons enjoy tormenting their victims."
"Not for long," Calypso replied quietly, her eyes filled with resolve. "If I have to make Seraphim experience mortality to understand virtue, I will."
Grodek stared at her appraisingly. The way she spoke didn't sound like a threat; it sounded as inexorable as gravity. There was an undercurrent of authority in her words that even the imp found compelling.
"I don't suppose you have any ideas of where to look for the other two instruments?" Clarice asked Grodek hopefully.
He glanced at her, his eyes flat and unfriendly. "Earth. They aren't in one piece though, and nobody knows where all the pieces are. There's a foolish monk in a cave near the top of Everest that has a part of one. There is a piece of the second one in Madjack's possession. He's a regular jackass that roams the Rocky Mountains playing pranks on unsuspecting humans. Just follow the stories of people claiming to see bigfoot or getting abducted by aliens. After that, you'll just have to find the rest of them yourself. If you're lucky, the pieces will have a resonance you can use to find the other pieces."
Aria stared at the imp curiously. He had completed an entire conversation without mocking them. Something had changed drastically in his opinion of them since their first meeting. Was it Calypso and her natural innocence that had softened his little demon heart? Then again, he was blue now; maybe he had a friendly twin and it wasn't even him.
He vanished a moment later, no farewell or final quip.
"Is it my imagination, or has he gotten a lot nicer?" Lexi asked with a small smile.
"I think Calypso won him over," Aria responded with a fond smile at Calypso. "It's hard not to love Calypso."
Calypso smiled back at her with eyes full of love. Aria still couldn't believe they had only been with her for a little over a week. It seemed like a lifetime ago that they had met with her at the hospital.
"Let's check on the family," Clarice suggested, opening a gateway back to the front lawn of their cabin. "I want to make sure no demon lords have tried to invade while we were gone."
"Good idea," Aria agreed, quickly moving toward the gateway. Before she could get through the portal, the edges of the gateway warped and twisted, seeming to bounce around in place.
"Hey, no free rides," a petulant voice declared, seeming to come from the gateway itself. "Do you expect me to just cart your butts around without anything in return?"
Aria shared a startled look with the other angels before looking back at the buoyant gateway.
"Did the gateway just talk to us?" Lexi asked disbelievingly.
"I'm a portal, not a gateway, you troglodyte," the portal snapped peevishly.
"So…you're a sentient portal?" Aria asked faintly.
"Well, are you talking to me?" the portal demanded airily. "Do you just like asking self-evident questions?"
"I guess I do," Aria admitted slowly. "This is getting so surreal."
"Hey, portal, we have places to be," Clarice declared imperiously. "What do you want?"
"I'll settle for some experiences," the portal replied slyly. "If you are willing to part with some of your experiences for a little while, you can go through."
"Aria, make another portal," Clarice said with a distrustful glare at the talking portal.
Aria squinted at the array of meridians that she needed to form a portal to Earth. "This thing has tied up all of the meridians we need to make a portal."
"Let's fly back then," Clarice suggested firmly. "I don't trust this thing even a little."
"Fine, fine, you drive a hard bargain," the portal spoke quickly, a note of desperation in its voice. "You can go through if you allow me to see some of your memories. I won't take them."
"Why do you want our memories?" Aria asked dubiously.
"Do you have any idea how boring it is to be a portal?" the petulant tone was back. "I just want something to fill the boredom."
"I say we fly," Clarice pushed, eyeing the portal doubtfully. "We're essentially trusting that thing to warp reality enough that we can step across insane distances in an instant. I'm pretty sure adding personalities to things like doors and portals always turns out bad, if Douglas Adams taught me anything."
"Okay, I'll just look at one memory," the portal sighed in defeat.
"Are you four going to come through or just stay over there all day?" their mother's voice came from the other side of the portal. Aria watched as their mother exited the cabin and walked up to the other side of the portal on the lawn to wait for them.
"Our portal came to life and is bargaining for passage," Clarice told their mother in exasperation. "I say we just fly back."
"You fly back," Aria told her with a grin. "I'm going via portal. I'd rather not lose all of my clothes again flying through the sun's corona. We're Cherubim. What could happen to us?"
"Now that you put it that way?" Clarice asked archly. "Just about anything."
Aria grinned at her and walked through the portal. She turned around on the other side. "See? No problem."
Clarice glared at the portal for several seconds as she debated with herself. Calypso patted her shoulder and walked through. She turned around and faced Clarice with an expectant look.
"Fine," Clarice grumbled, gesturing at Lexi to go ahead of her. Lexi had been waiting to see what Clarice decided. She was clearly going to follow wherever Clarice led.
Clarice followed Lexi through, clenching her jaw as she passed through the arch. She turned around after exiting to stare at the portal distrustfully.
"Looks like you four have changed a lot," their mother observed as she studied them curiously. "You feel…immense. And you're glowing."
"You're looking pretty fat too, Mom," Clarice retorted with a playful glare.
Their mother gave Clarice a level look and shook her head. "I see you haven't changed that much. Did you find the lore boar?"
Clarice suddenly dissolved into a fit of giggles. Their mother squinted at her suspiciously as Clarice stood bent over with her hands on her knees, overcome by mirth.
"I take it there's a story there," their mother noted with a wry look at Clarice.
Clarice stood up and gestured grandly at Aria. "I present to you, the lore boar!"
As she finished, she dissolved into another fit of giggles. "This little piggy went to market."
"She's lost it, I see," their mother sighed with a rueful shake of her head.
Calypso took pity on their mother and quickly explained the encounter. Their mother stared at Aria curiously, clearly sensing the increased presence her daughter exuded now.
"The price has been paid, the contract completed," the portal declared formally, then dissolved.
"I want some pancakes," Aria declared, looking imploringly at their mother. "Mom, can you make me some pancakes? I can help."
Their mother stared at her, nonplussed. "Aria, you don't have a stomach. What would you do with the pancakes?"
"Can I paint my room black?" Clarice asked their mother hopefully. "I want to try the gothic look for a while."
"What has gotten into you two?" their mother asked in bewilderment.
"I want to get a nose piercing," Lexi declared eagerly. "Do you think it hurts?"
Calypso frowned at the three Cherubim in puzzlement. "Aria, how old are you?"
"How could you forget my age?" Aria asked in an injured tone. "I'm almost nine."