It was hard to believe that they had only been staying at Vivian’s a week. It felt as if they had been here for ages, though not in a bad way. If anything, it felt a lot like being in a true home once more. His time with Azrael in the cabin had been close to it, but even Tobias knew that it could never be the same with all the baggage that came with staying there. There was too much of Tobias’ past in the small cabin for him to be able to truly move on to new experiences in his life.
Vivian’s place was new, and somewhere for him and Az to start making new memories of their own without the weight of the past bogging them down. It was easy to forget just what had led to them making their dash from the cabin in the first place. Tobias didn’t regret leaving, as the trip around the country had been fruitful and worth every second. The fact that they had ended up at Vivian’s for so long meant that they might be able to settle one day—that there might be somewhere that he could lay down his roots, with Az. At least, that’s what he hoped it meant.
The three of them had spent the better part of the day sitting on the spacious wrap-around porch in front of Vivian’s house, and Tobias was still feeling the lethargy born from utter calm. It was difficult to feel any concern or stress when he had a day’s worth of lazy sunlight and idle conversation to soothe his nerves. It was difficult to believe, half drifting off to sleep in the sun, that the two of them were technically on the run. There was a sense of peacefulness that had grabbed hold of both of them, and Vivian also, who had seemed more subdued that afternoon.
When evening came, her energy had returned in full force. Tobias and Azrael had watched her march through the house, from one end to the other, as she gathered what she felt she needed for some sort of party. Tobias hadn’t understood completely what she was going on about, but he gathered that it was some sort of historical thing. More than likely, it was a chance for his aunt to be surrounded by others like herself, while getting a chance to show off what she knew.
“I saved you the trouble of having to worry about your dinners,” she told them as she marched back into the living room. “You two have been lazier than the slugs in my garden today, so I imagine you would willingly starve if you had to do much. Just be sure to rouse yourselves long enough to pull the roast from the oven when the timer goes off.”
Tobias flopped his head in her direction from where he and Az sprawled on the couch, careful to make sure their feet didn’t touch the fabric. “You got it. Take out the roast when the timer goes off.”
She looked at him doubtfully as she adjusted the collar of her dress. When Tobias had expressed mild surprise that she hadn’t worn a suit or something similar, the snort he had received told him all he needed to know about his opinions on fashion, at least in her eyes. It wasn’t a frilly or ostentatious dress, every part of it that could stay close to her body while not being ‘meant for someone forty years my junior’ did so. Tobias would have commented that he was surprised that she went with such a soft color like lilac, but he realized that to go with something as severe as black would probably make her even more intimidating than she already was.
Muttering to herself, she disappeared, only to reappear seconds later with the timer in her hand, which she shoved into Azrael’s lap. “Here, dear. I trust you at least will pay attention to it. My nephew looks about ready to slip into a coma and not wake up until the End of Days.”
Azrael responded by smiling and patting Tobias’ thigh affectionately, earning him a flash of warmth from her before she snatched up her bag. “Shouldn’t be more than a few hours. Then again, if it’s like the last one, someone will get drunk and start an argument over whether the Renaissance was the true age of rebirth for the arts, or if it truly began during the Dark Ages.”
Tobias frowned. “Didn’t it, though?”
She shook her head as she headed out. “And that question is the exact reason you will come with a disclaimer should you ever meet these people, dear nephew.”
The door closed crisply behind her, and Tobias turned to Azrael. “That didn’t count as an answer to my question, did it?”
“You mortals have been making art for as long as you have been capable of forming thoughts. It is the one thing angels have never been able to rival, even in the beginning when you carved simplistic designs into stone. I have marveled at the creative genius of your race since its creation, so I do not think I am well equipped to answer that for you.”
Tobias huffed, sinking back onto the couch in his comfortable position once more. “Neither of you are any help, whatsoever.”
“Your suffering is noted, Martyr Tobias.”
Tobias cracked open an eye. “Are you making fun of me?”
Azrael gave him an innocent look. “Me? Why would I ever do that in the face of the suffering you endure at our hands?”
Tobias laughed, swatting Azrael’s shoulder. “I think we’re rubbing off on you a bit there, Az. You’re starting to become a smartass.”
“Perhaps it is just part of the human condition that I am becoming accustomed to?”
“No longer.” The words seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere, making the hairs on the back of Tobias’ neck stand up.
Azrael’s reaction was more potent, sitting up so suddenly that he almost fell off the edge of the couch. Before Tobias could ask what or who that was, the air in the large open doorway leading into the dining room, shimmered like the air above hot stone. It coalesced and melded into two humanoid forms, until they became solid and Tobias could see the obvious span of wings folded upon each man’s back.
“Gabriel! Raphael!” Azrael gasped as he scrambled to his feet, gaping at the two angels.
Gabriel’s hardened gaze turned upon Azrael. “Brother.”
Even in his dumbfounded state, Tobias could hear the coldness in the angel’s voice as he glared daggers at Azrael. The other one, who had to be Raphael, was gazing at Tobias instead. Both of them radiated a pure energy that struck every word that Tobias might have had right from his lips. They were beautiful, both of them, even as their inhuman grace and power overwhelmed him. It was too easy to see just why reports of angel sightings throughout history were tinged with a strong note of awe and almost fear. Tobias was laying eyes upon God’s first creations, the beings that helped to forge the very fabric of Creation, and were his most dedicated and powerful servitors.
“Good evening, Tobias,” Raphael said to him, his voice as rich as it was soft, drawing a serene awe from deep within the well of Tobias’ emotions.
“Er, ‘lo,” was all he managed as he gaped at them.
Azrael glanced at him, stepping to the side enough that he blocked Tobias partially from view. “Enough of this. You have made your point, there is no need to continue to keep him spellbound. Enough.”
“You presume to give us orders, Azrael? You have no place to give commands when you spit in the face of what you once proclaimed loyalty to.”
Azrael huffed. “And that gives you the right to use your gifts against him? He is as much a part of this as we are, this is an unfair tactic, Gabriel.”
The power that seemed to radiate from the two angels dimmed slightly, enough that Tobias blinked in confusion. One moment, it was like being threatened with having to stare into the very heart of Creation, and now he was left looking at two human men with feathered wings. Gabriel’s rainbow-hued wings were fluffed out, in a strangely birdlike gesture of anger or annoyance. Raphael’s downy white wings were flat against his back, his gaze having not left Tobias.
“The human cannot spare you your fate, Azrael, so it matters not.”
“His name is Tobias, Gabriel.”
Anger blazed in the angel’s face, his eyes almost burning. “It does not matter, Azrael! He is just as complicit in this act of rebellion as you are. The difference being that his sins are forgivable. Mortals have always been too arrogant at the worst of times; but you, you should have known better. Even aside from how you were made you knew the price you would pay for this.”
Azrael took a step backward, his gaze shooting between the two angels. “This is not justice. This is you covering up for your failures, no more than that.”
Now Raphael’s eyes moved from Tobias, fixing on Azrael as Gabriel snapped, “You dare speak of our failures when you knowingly flaunt the laws we are bound to obey? You flee from our sight, running from one end of the country to the other in an attempt to keep yourselves from us?”
Recognition lit up in Azrael’s eyes. “You were following the resonance trail, were you not?”
“Yours is too different, too wrong due to the manner of your change. We followed his, not yours.”
Tobias’ eyes widened, realizing that they had been tracking him all this time rather than Azrael. “Me?”
Gabriel never even looked at Tobias as he addressed him, “Yes, you. We only know Azrael with his essence intact, rather than the form that he’s in now. To interpret his would have been too difficult, though yours was difficult enough as it was, between the changes that Azrael has brought into your life and outside meddling.”
“Meddling?”
“Yes, someone has been toying with the resonance you left behind, at least they did in your original residence. I would not be overly happy about it, it is most likely one of the Fallen.”
“Why would one of the Fallen be so willing to interfere in your attempts to find us?” Azrael asked.
“Because they are rebels to their last moment it seems, learning nothing. I am sure when you are inevitably forced to join them, you can ask them yourself. Come, Azrael. You have much to answer for.”
Azrael’s shoulders stiffened and Tobias pushed himself up from the couch in a graceless hurry. “No!”
All three turned in surprise toward him, though it was Raphael who spoke first, “No?”
“You can’t just take him!”
Gabriel snorted derisively. “He has broken laws that were set down long before you were even a thought, Tobias. He knew the punishment for his crimes, and despite being given a chance to rectify his mistakes, he chose instead to flee with you and continue on that path. The will of the Almighty is not flouted so casually, no matter what you may believe.”
“Then that will is wrong!”
All three stared at him as if he had sprouted another head, but the anger was quick to return to Gabriel’s face. “Human arrogance. You think that you are so special that you and he should be allowed to deny that which was written into the very fabric of creation? He is your creator, father to us all, and His will is the law that we must follow to the very end. Your selfishness does not erase the sins that have been committed recently and you will bow your head and accept the fate accorded to both of you!”
That overwhelming power was coming back, but this time it slammed into him. His mind reeled as he struggled against it, remembering how Azrael had scolded them for this very thing. This was a willful act on Gabriel’s part, and he was trying to use whatever ability he possessed to overwhelm him. The rage that poured from the angel demanded that he place himself meekly on the couch, bow his head, and do exactly what he wished.
Yet, when he looked at Raphael, desperately trying to gain control of himself, he felt the strength of Gabriel’s will ebb away. Raphael looked unruffled, albeit intensely curious about everything unfolding before him. His eyes had barely strayed from Tobias the entire time and he was intently watching him even now, examining his every move. No longer was he radiating his own sense of power and will, content to watch everything as it unfolded instead.
Hope flickered in Tobias at that, seeing that only one of the duo was so passionately bound to this course. It also meant that he could address one of them safely. So long as he wasn’t looking at Gabriel directly, the force of his will seemed less important. It still battered at his own mental walls, but so long as he averted his gaze, he could deny it entry.
“No!” Tobias intoned again, struggling to keep his voice steady and his thoughts focused. “You can’t just give him to me and then take him away.”
Gabriel’s voice sounded thick with frustration at Tobias’ continued defiance. “You were never meant to have him in the first place, not like this!”
“You sent him here to help me, to guide me down a better path. What would you call what he’s done so far? I haven’t been this happy in ages, I haven’t smiled in the past two years as much as I have in the past few months. You sent him here to better my life and he’s done that every step of the way. From the moment he came here, he scooped me out of the hell that I had made around myself and didn’t even know it! Now you come here to take him away, telling me that I’ll be forgiven while he gets thrown into actual Hell? No, this is wrong!”
“How is that less wrong than breaking the very laws that we are meant to obey?” Raphael asked softly, his voice somehow soothing the power that pressed against Tobias’ mind.
“How is love wrong?” Tobias asked the angel urgently. The quieter angel seemed reasonable, or at least willing to listen. Tobias wanted to pin down at least a little hope that one of them would hear his words. A subtle part of him knew that if he could persuade one, or even slip in a sliver of doubt, he and Azrael might be able to get out of this together.
“This is not the love that God intended for mortals, you are meant for other things, not to be bound to a rebel angel who cannot fulfill his appointed task,” Gabriel replied.
“And what love is that?” Tobias asked hotly, finding an anger in himself that grew as he finally found the determination to stare directly at Gabriel. “What? The one that put me with a family that treated me like shit? The same family that treated me like you’re treating Azrael for something that I can’t help, for something that took me years to accept wasn’t wrong in the first place? Or maybe the love that I learned living as a cheap whore, kept from the streets by the whim of a twisted pimp who kept me because I looked good on a rich man’s sheets? The one that gave me happiness for the first time in my life in the form of a man who would get ripped from my life without warning?”
Gabriel shifted, his wings drooping slightly and the power trying to shove Tobias’ will down receded. “We are not meant to know the path, only to follow it when it is given to us.”
“To hell with that, and to hell with you!” Tobias snapped, shoving himself between Azrael and Gabriel. “I finally have something in my life that is beautiful and wonderful. If you think for one damn second that I’m going to let you rip it away from me because you say it’s wrong, you’re sadly mistaken. Az is the best thing to happen to me, and he’s doing everything he was commissioned to do in the first place. You can tell God that He can’t have him, and to change His rules, change something.”
“We will do no such thing. Azrael, you will return with us to Heaven and face the judgement of the Host. You can even explain to Metatron why you have decided to become the newest rebel in eons.”
“Tobias,” Azrael began weakly, sounding lost and heartbroken.
Tobias whirled around and grabbed hold of Azrael’s shoulders. “Do you want to go?”
Azrael shook his head. “Of course not. I fled with you because I wished to be with you, and that has not changed. I no more wish to go with them than you want me to go, but…”
“Then don’t go! It’s that simple.”
“No, it is not that simple,” Gabriel corrected, “Now enough of this foolishness. Do as you are bid, Tobias, and step aside.”
“You can go to hell,” Tobias hissed over his shoulder before returning his gaze to Azrael, “Don’t do this, Az. They can’t make you.”
“Rebel or not, he is still an angel of the Lord, and we bear His will within us. Azrael has no more choice in this matter than you do in continuing to breathe. I do not know why humans were given the ability to defy even the will of Heaven, but Azrael, as an angel, cannot. There is no choice in this matter for you, Tobias. Learn to accept it and grow from it.”
The look of pained resignation broke Tobias’ heart as he realized that Gabriel was speaking the truth. Azrael looked so lost, unable to say or do anything but slowly nod his head. Already Tobias could see the happy, quiet light in his eyes dimming before him. Azrael was already preparing to march back to Heaven, where he would be thrown to the wolves and cast out. His very nature compelled him to obey an order so directly given, and all he could do was bow his head and take on the wave of grief welling up within him.
“Wait,” Tobias barked just as suddenly as the idea leapt into his mind. “Az isn’t an angel.”
Azrael hesitated in his motion to move Tobias’ hands from his shoulders. “Tobias?”
“Az, they made you human so that you can be here, to do the job they gave you. They took your essence or whatever you want to call it, that made you an angel. You’ve got some of the memories and your personality, but you’re a goddamn human. You have total free will, Az, you can tell them no.”
“What is this?” Gabriel asked, his anger waxing once more, “Azrael, with us, now.”
Azrael gazed at Tobias, his eyes searching for the answer that Tobias knew had to be right; it just had to be. There was a moment, one that threatened to freeze in Tobias’ chest, where he thought that Azrael would weaken and falter. Then, he watched the dimming light of Azrael’s eyes come back to life, blazing in a sudden burst of will, turning his gaze from Tobias, up to his brothers.
“A human, has the right of it, my brothers. You have crafted me as a human for this job, and a human I remain. Without my essence, I am no less mortal than Tobias. You hold no power over me, and I choose to remain here.”
There was a flurry of feathers, and Tobias whirled around to see Gabriel’s colorful wings splayed out to their maximum reach. “You dare?”
Azrael took a deep breath. “If you would call me a rebel, then a rebel I will be. I tell you no.”
Tobias glanced between the two angels, seeing the enraged understanding on Gabriel’s face and the thoughtful resignation on Raphael’s. This was actually working. Even with the will of the furious angel bearing down on them, neither of them bowed before it. Gabriel could no more force Azrael to obey than he could Tobias.
Azrael glanced between his siblings, a sigh slipping from him. “You have not told any of our brethren about what has been happening, have you? Otherwise you would have my essence in hand, prepared to shove it into me to drag me back rather than to risk this melodrama.”
“We had hoped you would see reason, rather than continue to give into your arrogant belief that you are right!”
“It is my heart that I follow Gabriel, not my pride.”
Gabriel opened his mouth once more but it was Raphael who spoke first. “Then it is done. Gabriel, our options have run out. Azrael is set on his course, and we know what we must do now. It is time we returned home.”
The heavenly messenger fixed Tobias and Azrael with a glare that could have burned through stone. “You know not what you do, Azrael. You may lack the sufficient amount of your essence to be bound to a heavenly order, but you are still written into the very foundation of Creation as an angel, no matter how it appears otherwise. You flout the very laws of Creation, laid down by the Creator Himself. The world is already feeling the effects of what you have chosen to do. I hope it does not come crashing down around us before we are able to fix your mistakes.”
They were gone then, so suddenly that there was even a faint ‘pop’ as the air rushed to fill the space where they had been. Azrael sagged as soon as they were gone, barely managing to make it to the couch before sinking down. Tobias stood there dumbfounded, amazed that his idea had worked, and wondering what the angel’s parting words meant.
“They’re going back to get your essence, aren’t they?”
When he turned, Azrael was staring at him with the same heartbroken expression from before. “Yes. The only way that they will be able to retrieve my essence in full will be to report completely on what has occurred here. I cannot say if they concealed what has happened here out of concern or respect for me, or an attempt to hide their own failings in keeping me properly leashed.”
Tobias didn’t like the comparison of Azrael to a well-trained dog, but let that go as he crouched before him. “Az. We have to go. If they get back here with your essence, it’s all over, isn’t it? Then you have to obey their heavenly will or whatever the hell it was that he said, don’t you?”
Azrael nodded slowly, gazing at Tobias’ hand as it slipped in his, whispering, “Yes. But if they have read your resonance in total, it will not matter where we go, they will find us sooner rather than later.”
“Then we keep going and going. I’ve lost enough in my life, I’m not losing you too, not without a fight. The world be damned.”