"Wine And Snow"
Part 11
by Mel
Never made it as a blind man,
Couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
Tired of living like a blind man
I'm sick of sight with out a sense of feeling.
---Nickleback
It's hard to believe how quickly it all happened. One moment Belial was sleeping
quite peacefully, the next he woke with a start and more than a little bewildered
on the floor. Ami was standing with Michael, eyes shifting wildly around the
room. He had been about to ask what was going on when the first silver pearls
of sound announced it for him. Angels. From heaven. Well didn't that just
throw a spanner in the works?
White wings and blinding armour penetrated their ready made gloom, pretty much blinding them. Scrambling to his feet, Belial conjured armor and his weapon of choice, his bow, to his hand, but barely had time to use it as one of the Angels was already upon him. The bow made for very little defense against the sword that crashed down on him, but he blocked as much as he could.
His dark eyes found Michael in the confusion of the attack. His Angel seemed torn as their eyes locked. Belial did the only thing he could do.
"Get Ami out of here!"
Time splintered as Michael, faced with the worst decision anyone had to make, looked into his eyes. Nothing else mattered, not the Angel bearing down on him, not the sharp sting of the sword as it sliced across his cheek. And Michael nodded painfully, the next words falling from his lips.
"I love you."
And then time reasserted itself, and Michael grabbed Asmodeus as they disappeared, back to hell. Belial actually sent a thankful prayer heavenward, though it seemed mighty ridiculous, considering who was attacking him. He let the bow drop, sinking to his knees, the fight leaving his body completely. Ami and Michael were safe, that was all that mattered.
Gabriel, Asmodeus' assailant, growled in frustration at the disappearance of the Angel and Demon. He let his sword drop, looking over at Belial. If he noticed the defeated posture, he didn't let it show, looking at the demon before him with contempt.
"Bring him, he will have to answer to the others," Gabriel muttered, still furious, where had Michael run to? Couldn't he see they were trying to save him? Gabriel lent forward, looking into dead chocolate eyes. "You're going to wish we destroyed you now, hell spawn."
Going to? Belial already wished for it. For a moment, everything had been perfect, and he had slept in the arms of his Angel. But they were safe, away from Angel's that would punish them for the love they had. All was left now was to fade away...
~~~~~~
Belial had forgotten what it was like to fly. With his wings cut off for such a long time, the simple sensation of soaring above the clouds had been lost to him. But Belial found no beauty in it. No delight or wonder. No chance for a gentle hold within the arms of them. His first flight should have been with Michael and Asmodeus, not in the iron grip of two furious Angels.
They rose far above the world below, higher and higher, shifting through light clouds towards heaven. Why had they not extinguished him before hand? Why wait? Unless, of course, they had developed a new kind of torture to leave him with his thoughts for as long as possible. Belial wouldn't have put it past them; Angels had a habit of kicking a demon when he was already down.
It was incomprehensible for Belial to even think that he would be saved. The risks involved in such an action were numerous. If he allowed himself the thought. he would have hoped they would stay out of harms way. But the thought did not cross his mind. Just that he would be gone soon, and Little Bit and Ami were safe. Luci would look after them. He wouldn't let them do stupid things. They were safe, and they would never forget him. Belial would live forever in their hearts.
Belial wished he had had time to tell them how much he loved them.
The gates of heaven were as he remembered them. Pillars of marble and gold that were mostly for show were beautiful in their own right. Once upon a time, simply seeing the gates was enough to bring peace. Now he looked upon them with an empty heart, all their beauty was wasted on him.
Angels milled at the gates, watching their comrades return. Belial wondered vaguely if he would be strung up like a prize turkey or slaughtered here like cattle, before deciding he didn't really care anymore. He was too empty to even cry.
One Angel flew out to meet them, and Belial recognised the dark form of Uriel. Uriel was the only Angel Belial had met on his trips to earth. The banter they had kept in heaven was true on earth, and the Angel and Demon had got along quite well. The Angel who escorted human souls to heaven had always been ready to trade insults with the demon or listen to him when something weighed heavily on his mind. Though he never spoke of Michael, Belial was sure Uriel had picked up on it a lifetime ago.
"Have you found Michael yet?" Were the first words out of Uriel's mouth as he reached them. Belial cringed slightly at the sound of his lover's name. This was not going to go down well. Uriel's dark eyes blue landed on him, and Belial had to force himself not to look away. He would not feel bad for what had happened between them, only that Michael had given up everything for their love. And in a way, so had he.
Uriel said nothing as he studied him only, nodding to himself and then turning to Gabriel. "Bring him in, I must speak with Metatron."
"Where shall we put this foul creature till you are done?" Gabriel spat.
Uriel thought for a moment. "There is a place, come, I will show you."
~~~~~~
Belial would have laughed at the idea of heaven having a single cell, if he wasn't so empty. They shoved him in there as if he were a piece of meat, and Belial stayed where he fell. He ached for them already, his heart shattered just a little more with every passing thought. He was never going to see them again.
He had no doubt the Angels were already discussing what they would do with him. Gabriel was probably already explaining how they found them, only with words like 'sinful' and 'wicked' added to the description. 'Love' would never be added into the description, even though that was precisely what it was. Love in perhaps its purest form, because only love could bring an Angel and two Demons together.
The pain was continuous now. Belial felt nothing, but his love for them and the loss tear at his soul. Soon the Angels would not need to do anything, he would fade away on his own. He would never see Ami's wicked grin or feel Michael's gentle touch. They would never be able to take Michael to the movies and molest him in the back row, and Michael would never be able to show them what it was like to soar again.
Belial could not tell how much time had passed, though it felt like days, when the cell door opened again. He didn't move, he couldn't bring himself to even try. If they were going to extinguish him, they could do it already; he'd had enough of living with his thoughts.
Uriel knelt down besides Belial, long hair falling in front of his face as he looked down into Belial's face. "I can see what happened to you. You look as if someone has stolen all that is precious to you."
"You have," Belial's voice sounded odd to his own ears, gravely from no use and heavy with the pain he felt.
Uriel actually had the grace to look devastated by the demon's admission. "Do you truly love Michael, Belial?"
"I do," Belial whispered with such reverence that one would think Michael was god to him.
"I wish I could do more for you, the Seraphim have all but decided," Uriel reached out, pushing Belial's hair from his face, brushing lightly at the wound on his cheek.
"Please end this as soon as possible."
"I shall try, Belial, I shall try."
~~~~~~
When they came back there were three of them. It was almost as if they expected him to put up a fight. Belial didn't move as they reached down to pick him up, lifting his prone body by his upper arms. They dragged him from the cell, his feet scraping the ground. He was still in his armor, dark colour reflecting against the white of heaven.
Were they finally going to kill him now? Good. He kept replaying their last moments together before the Angels had ruined it all. Making love, exploring Michael's beautiful body for the first time and then falling asleep beneath his wings. For a while, Belial had actually felt complete. Ami had always been enough, because they had always thought Michael was far beyond their reach.
But he wasn't now. And for a while, Belial had gotten to hold him. To love him. There wasn't anything more perfect in this world than that. Not even God could take that away from him.
The courtroom was as grand as the rest of Heaven. It was amazing that the place even existed here where all things were supposed to be perfect. The falling of so many Angels must have opened a few eyes, Belial decided. The room was full of Angels, many of who were once Belial's friends. Once upon a time, he had gotten along with these beings. Now he could all but cut through the hostility in the room that was directed at him. So Gabriel had been talking about him.
Their voices were not hushed and most certainly not pleasant, they made no move to hide how disgusted they were with the demon before them. What had happened to their holy forgiveness, Belial thought furiously as he was dumped on the floor before the remaining Archangels. But he did nothing, curling instead, his cheek pressing into hard, cold stone floor.
He was never going to see Ami or Michael again. Nothing else mattered here anymore.
"Stand up."
Normally the voice of Metatron was something that was not ignored. One of the highest of the Archangels, the voice of God, a Seraphim who was both wise and just. He inspired the younger Angels around him, though Guardian Angels were prone to turn to Uriel as he spent so much time with mortals. But Metatron's voice was never ignored, not by Angels or Demons, Luci was the only one prone to telling him where to go.
But Belial ignored him. His thoughts were full of only one thing. He was never going to see his Ami or Little Bit ever again. His heart pulsed with burning anguish with every second that passed.
Metatron's bright blue eyes glared down at the once angel before the Seraphim. He motioned for the Angels to lift him up again, bringing him up like a rag doll to look to the Angels before him. All looked furious, though Belial was pleased to note that Michael's position was empty. Only Uriel's face was carefully schooled to be blank, though if you knew what you were looking for you could see the sadness deep in his eyes.
"You have willfully defiled one of his Lords chosen, hell-spawn. Do you have anything to say before your sentence is carried out?"
Belial looked at him, eyelids heavy. He just didn't care anymore. "Do you know I was one of you? Do you even remember? We were friends once." He looked to the other Seraphim, Gabriel was still furious, though the strawberry blonde head of Raphael was not looking at him. "I love Michael, I would do nothing to defile him. Nothing that he would not go into willingly. You know him, he would have rather died than given up that part of his soul to someone he didn't want to give it to."
"I was only ever an Angel for him," Belial's words became a whisper spoken in the silent chamber, because I loved him. Do your worst, as nothing else can be worse than what you have already done. You have ripped me from all that means anything in my existence." The tears fell now, freely, blurring hisvision of the Angels before him. They cascaded down his cheeks, falling to the floor, the pain of it all making him shake in his captors' arms. "I am never going to see Ami or Michael again," he sobbed brokenly, unaware of the devastation he now caused among the Angels as he fell to his knees. "Stop torturing me, finish this. Please."
At the begged whisper, Metatron stood. "Belial, demon prince of the underworld, for touching that which is most holy, you shall cease to exist in this world or the next. The sins, which you have committed, are irrevocable. May you go with the grace of God."
"Thank you."
Gabriel moved to step forward, but was stopped by Uriel. Confusion set into green eyes as Uriel took the sword from Gabriel's hand, the silent Angel stepping forward to the demon. The room was silent as he lifted the sword up above Belial's bowed head. "Forgive me."
"Thank you my friend, look after him for me."
Uriel shed one tear, rolling down his face, dying on his lips as the sword came down...
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to: Mel
go to Part 12