Angel - Chapter One

Gabriel sat before him, feathers of the whitest gold framing the white-clothed figure as he sat upon the pearl dais. Taut forearms bunched as he clasped his hands in front of him and leaned forward, eyeing the angel before him in an unyielding stare as waves of golden hair fell forward in a tumble of silk.

“Are you aware of the crimes you have been charged, Raphael?” His voice spoke of harmonic splendor even as it took on the edge of hardened steel.

“He was unworthy of my protection.” Raphael stood before his superior in poised rigidity, pulling the silver-tipped ivory wings tight to his body as he defended his actions. He had been bonded to the human as a Guardian and had failed to protect him though the mortal's sentient contract had not expired.

He had chosen to let the human die.

He had been subtle, he had not made it easy for any of the other angels to detect his actions. And yet, somebody had seen. Somebody had informed Gabriel.

“It is not your place to judge the value of a mortal's life.” Gabriel was unyielding in upholding Heavenly Law, but he was as close to a friend to Raphael as any angel had been in the 5,000 years of his existence. He was giving him an opportunity to defend himself, a gift he withheld from most.

“The sins this mortal committed were no better than the demons that ended his life. It is my duty as a Guardian to protect mortals from evil and that is what I did.” He spoke calmly though his anger was a palpable thing, his arms bunching beneath the silver robe in the fight to control his indignance.

Demons lived beside mortals on Earth, wreaking havoc upon the ignorant humans that dwelled there. Every unimagineable evil, every cruelty, every catastrophic event could be traced to the acts of Lucifer's minions. It was the duty of angels to protect their chosen mortals from befalling an untimely death due to the Devil's poisonous presence.

“You were to protect one mortal. Nothing more, nothing less. You took it upon yourself to allow him to die and in doing so, betrayed Heavenly Law.”

Raphael's jaw clenched. He was losing the battle for his innocence and he could see Gabriel's resignation settling as he shifted on the dais, relaxing his posture and putting his arms on the rests beside him.

“Have you anything more to say in your defense?” Gabriel asked as he leveled his gaze on the angel before him. His face was unearthly beautiful even as ethereal blue bore into the face of the darker figure before him. He could not allow sympathy or friendship to color his decision. Raphael had knowingly broken Heavenly Law.

Raphael lifted his chin as he looked back at Gabriel on the heightened pedestal, bracing himself for the verdict. “I do not.”

“Then I sentence you to six months on Earth as a mortal. Perhaps then you will learn the true value of a human's life.”

Shock colored Raphael's features as his mouth fell open in visible objection to the rule. “Gabriel, this cannot be. How will I-”

Gabriel interrupted the rejection to his decision, his calm demeanor never faltering. “Silence,” he said as he raised his palm to emphasize the command. He paused, watching as Raphael struggled to maintain his composure. He dropped his hand back to the arm rest before speaking again.

“In a matter of your own protection, I will allow you to keep the vision of Lucifer's demons. However, no angel will grace your sight. You must suffer as every mortal does; no messenger will come to your aid without warrant.”

Raphael fought an inner struggle to object to the punishment, but pride kept him still. He nodded once to the angel before him, fists clenching in vexation.

“Do you accept the terms of your punishment?” The request was a mere formality, they both knew that Raphael's consent had no effect on the outcome.

“I accept.”

As his mouth closed on the final word, Raphael's wings vanished. At the disappearance of his devine appendage, he nearly fell forward, the absense of constant weight a marked deficiency. The absence of his wings a near agonizing realization as he fought to refrain from reaching behind to assure himself that they were no longer there.

As he felt his lids fall heavily upon his eyes, the vision of the Heavenly Court blurred in a haze of light. He reached out as his body fell forward even as darkness consumed him, Gabriel's last words falling on deaf ears in piercing clarity.

“Farewell, my friend.”

Reviews

[Cascara (aka Sprint Goe..]

i enjoy the descriptive words at the start of this chapter
good work

[khalid]

good work..hope it will be published one day

[Humor Me]

good written !

[Humor Me]

harmonic splendor,Heavenly Law,faltering & silence damn you are one hell of a writer !!!!! :)

[jennifer little]

good job

[André-J-Franklin]

This had me hook! Definitely something that would make it on a bestsellers list. Yeah this story my have been told many times but there isn't many were the angel actually let the human die. That right here can add a huge twist to this story. I enjoyed reading and i'm look forward to reading the rest