Chapter Thirty-Four

Dante

Time was irrelevant for angels. There was no need to count the days or worry about the future when you were immortal. Dante barely noticed the passing of hours and days before Seth had transcended. Now that his love was an angel, Dante felt the progression of time in ways he hadn’t experienced before. The moments they stole to be together passed quickly, while the endless hours Seth spent training with his caste felt like an eternity. Knowing that Seth needed to learn his responsibilities hadn’t made the separation easier. The saving grace was that Killian wasn’t in charge of teaching Seth what he needed to know.

Dante stood at the window awaiting Seth’s return. Watching for his approach, Dante smiled with anticipation. They had made plans to meet in Dante’s room once Seth finished with his day. Visions of Seth drifted through his thoughts. The newly transcended angel was beautiful. Seth’s wings matched his hair color perfectly with chestnut feathers softer than anything Dante had felt in his life. The ethereal glow he took on was a beacon which seemed to brighten when Seth was happy.

The swooshing of opening door drew Dante’s attention away from the window. Dante turned with a bright grin to face the person who stepped through the entrance.

“Seth, I’m glad...” His words were cut short as he watched Killian walking toward him, a smug smirk marred his features. “What are you doing here?” Dante barked, his smile fading into a scowl.

“You were expecting your new playmate perhaps? So sorry to disappoint you,” the blond angel said unconvincingly. “You’re being summoned by the council.”

“What did you do?” Dante’s eyes narrowed accusingly.

“I didn’t do anything,” the other angel said righteously.

Dante didn’t buy the innocent act that Killian was trying to portray. He knew the jealous, vindictive man was up to something. “Drop the performance Killian,” he spat.

“Believe what you want, Dante. I’m just the messenger.” Killian shrugged. “Regardless, you need to get to the meeting room. We both know it doesn’t bode well to keep them waiting.”

The aloof act Killian was trying to portray was convincing, but Dante knew him well enough to see through it. Getting him to talk would have been a lost cause. The man was as stubborn as he was arrogant and egotistical.

“Get out of my room. I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Whatever. It’s not my ass on the line by making them wait,” Killian scoffed.

Standing in the center of the room, Dante watched Killian stroll off. The happiness he’d been basking in deflated, replaced with anxiety. Worry rushed through him. Killian was right in one aspect, making the council wait wasn’t going to make things easier. Whatever they wanted to meet with him about wouldn’t change. Stalling would make things worse.

Dante wrote a note, then left it on the small table next to the bed, letting Seth know where he had gone and what was happening. He grabbed his black trench coat then headed out. Closing the door behind him, he shrugged on the jacket then headed outside.

Ironically, he again realized his perception of time was jaded—moments with Seth felt as though they moved quickly, the hours without him dragged. Walking toward the council building was much like the first. Dante dreaded attending the meeting, yet it felt as though he traveled there quicker than he actually had.

Dante’s anxiety rose with each passing moment. When he stepped through the meeting room door, that feeling peaked to an all-time high when he looked into the somber faces of the council members. Dante’s gaze landed on Killian who stood in the far corner of the room. Having the other angel there angered Dante. There was only one reason why Killian would have been there, and Dante could pretty much guess that reason. If Killian had ratted he and Seth out, Dante was going to be more than just pissed.

“Thank you for joining us,” the head of the council spoke. His deep stoic voice pulled Dante’s attention away from Killian.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Dante asked, hoping his voice didn’t betray the panic and fear that welled within him.

“It has been brought to our attention that you’ve fallen in love with another angel. Is this true?”

Dante shot Killian a glare. He hadn’t wanted to believe that the platinum blond angel would go to such lengths to seek his revenge. Movement at the table brought his attention back to the council. Only then did he notice the ancient rune, Ansuz, on the table. The one-pound, slate stone with a rune carved into it was a cherished artifact of the angels. With it, came the mystical powers of communication, inspiration, truth, and harmony. Ansuz reversed brought misunderstanding, vanity, and manipulation of others. This was a powerful item that could be used for great good or—if placed in the wrong hands—mass confusion and potential destruction. The power it possessed would impact everyone within a twenty-foot radius of its position. Not only would Dante be forced to speak the truth, but everyone else in the room would be as well.

“Killian!” Dante snarled. “Are you the one responsible for this?”

The blond angel went slack-jawed. He glared at Dante silently as the smug smile disappeared from his face.

“Answer me! Did you go to the council with this?” Dante demanded.

“Yes,’ Killian admitted quietly.

“Dante, Killian is not the one on trial. You are,” the head angel of the council spoke clearly, drawing Dante’s attention back to the elders. “He did the right thing in coming to us. Now answer the question posed to you.”

“Yes, it is,” Dante said clearly. Clasping his hands behind his back, he held his chin high and squared his shoulders. He wasn’t going to lie about being in love with Seth.

“This angel you are in a relationship with is Seth, the same one who was once a human and your charge. Is this also correct?”

“Yes. It is correct,” Dante answered once again. He had nothing to be ashamed of. His love for Seth was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“We’ve convened about this topic for days. Do you understand the consequences for forming a relationship with another angel?”

Dante hoped this moment would never happen. Perhaps he was deluding himself to think he and Seth could keep their relationship a secret for long. While he should have been more careful, this situation was out of his hands. Through no fault of his own, the council had the information. What made this worse was that Killian had betrayed him and Seth. Dante had considered the other angel a friend. He couldn’t imagine forgiving him for this.

“Yes. I understand what can come of this,” Dante said quietly.

Falling in love with Seth and pursuing a relationship with him had been a choice he had made. One that he didn’t regret. He would have done the same thing again regardless of the outcome. Dante felt that becoming a fallen angel simply because one had fallen in love with another was a stupid, insignificant rule. It was controlling—a way to keep angels under control. What the council didn’t seem to realize was that a person who was in love was more fierce than someone who wasn’t.

“No harm will come to Seth, correct?” He asked.

“Seth is an innocent in this matter. Just like you instructed Killian in the rules and regulations, you should have done the same with Seth. This was no fault of his. Being a human at one point, he’s bound to slip up. You, on the other hand, have been an angel since you were created.”

Dante breathed a silent sigh of relief. He had let Seth know there was a possibility this could happen. Being cast out because of their relationship was something they had discussed. He wasn’t going to mention that to the elders though. As long as Seth was safe, Dante would carry the burden of his punishment solely.

“What about my free will?” Dante asked.

He wasn’t confused about the situation. The possibility that he could be cast out of the angelic plane for falling in love with Seth had consistently been in the back of his mind. He knew there was another option to becoming a fallen angel. He could have been forced to break up with Seth; to no longer be involved with him while they both were granted the ability to stay on the angelic plane. That wouldn’t have been any better than being removed from his position and thrown to Earth. In fact, it was entirely possible that being so close to his lover without the ability to be with him would have been the more painful of the two choices.

“You’ve used your free will when you made the decision to pursue your relationship with Seth. Knowing full well that you could be cast out of the angelic plane in doing so, you continued to have an affair with the young angel. You are one of the finest angels in your caste, Dante. It saddens and disappoints us that you will no longer be with us.”

“Can I please talk to Seth? I need to let him know what has happened. He doesn’t trust easily,” Dante pleaded with the council.

He needed to see Seth again, even if it were only for a few moments to explain. The weight of his punishment bore heavily on his shoulders—a pressure only exceeded by worry that he wouldn’t get to explain to Seth what was happening.

“No, Dante. I’m afraid you can’t. It’s time for you to embrace your punishment. Killian will make sure Seth knows what happened.”

“No!” Dante snarled. “Do not let him near Seth! Have someone else tell him. Anyone but Killian,” he entreated in desperation. Balling his hands into fists, he glared at Killian. “You will not speak to him.”

With those last words passing from his lips, a bright light engulfed Dante. Pain wracked his body. Every fiber of his being felt as though it were on fire. Agony like that of a thousand jolts of energy shot through him. Next came darkness. He was shrouded in inky blackness. The feeling of falling from a great height knocked the air from his lungs. However, the agonizing physical trauma coursing through his body was nothing compared to the emotional and mental anguish the ebony-haired angel experienced. Dante mourned the loss of Seth—agonized over the loss of Seth. Grief burned his soul. The guilt of broken promises weighed heavily on Dante. He had vowed they would always be together and that had been torn away from them. While he logically understood that he wasn’t at fault, Dante blamed himself for what had happened.

Dante’s sight slowly started to clear. Lying on the cold, wet cement of a darkened alley on earth, he shuddered. Not from the weather, which still didn’t affect him because he was still an angel, regardless of being fallen or not, but from the loss of the one person he loved the most. The physical pain paled in comparison to the utter despair that overcame him by being ripped away from Seth. Overwhelming sadness pressed down upon Dante. His wings ached to be released; to be stretched outward. Being cast out of the ethereal plane hadn’t taken away Dante’s angelic powers nor had it taken away his wings. They remained with him, fully functioning, as a constant reminder of what he truly had lost.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, then standing, he stumbled out of the alleyway. Dante had nothing left. He couldn’t face the darkness of living an eternity without Seth. Being a fallen angel paled in comparison to no longer having the one person he loved with all his soul beside him.

Lost in his thoughts and disoriented, Dante didn’t notice Cal coming toward him until the two nearly collided. Feeling the cop’s hand on his upper arm, the fallen angel lifted his gaze to look at Cal silently.

“Hey, you don’t look so hot—like you just lost your best friend. What’s up?” Cal asked.

Dante could hear the concern in Cal’s voice as well as see it in his eyes. He attempted to speak; no words came out. He was too overwhelmed to begin explaining what had happened.

“Did you two lovebirds have a spat?” Cal joked.

“The fuck?” Dante snarled. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Cal’s teasing at the moment, especially when that joke was about Seth and him. “That’s one messed up question, cop.”

He was rattled. Dante couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so angry. In fact, he would have placed bets on the fact that he had never been this lost in negative emotions in his entire existence if he wasn’t so upset.

“Calm down, angel. It was a joke. I’m sorry,” Cal lifted his hands in defense.

Dante glared at the cop. Logically he knew that his anger toward Cal was unfounded. The other man didn’t know what had just happened, nor was any of it his fault. Lashing out at him was wrong, and Dante knew this. Trying to breathe, he reigned in his irritation. Sadness and grief came to the surface once more. Hanging his head in despair, Dante gathered his thoughts before returning his attention to Cal.

“No. I should be the one to apologize. That was unfair of me to lash out at you,” Dante said with remorse. “To answer your question, no, Seth and I didn’t have an argument.”

“Then what happened? You do look like something terrible has happened.”

“It has. In a brief explanation, I’ve been kicked out of the angelic plane. Deemed a fallen angel and thrown to earth by breaking the rule of not getting involved with another and being in a relationship. They threw me out because of my love for Seth.”

For a few moments, Cal was silent. He looked like he was having a hard time processing what he’d heard.

“What? That’s unbelievable! I thought that the angels and God were all loving creatures,” Cal confessed.

“Humans and their skewed beliefs in the celestial powers,” Dante snorted. “God isn’t what mortals think he is.” He left it at that.

Dante didn’t want to get into a lengthy explanation. On a good day, it was exhausting. Tonight, he didn’t have the energy or the emotional stability, to begin trying.

“Don’t get snippy with me. I may see ghosts, but I don’t fucking know about the afterlife,” Cal quipped. “I’m trying to wrap my head around this. Let me get this straight. You fall in love with Seth. He gets murdered and becomes a ghost. He transcends and becomes an angel then you get cast out and tossed to earth because you love him?”

Dante looked at Cal confused for a moment when the cop spoke of Seth transcending. Then it hit him. Cal had been through the entire process of bringing the Doctor to justice with them. He was there at Seth’s funeral when he transcended. It made sense that he had seen it happen.

“Yes, that pretty much covers it,” Dante said. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

“And you talk about humans having fucked up beliefs,” Cal pointed out. “The two of you switched places. He’s an angel in heaven; you’re stuck on earth. Did they make you mortal as well?”

“No. The angelic council left me with my powers and my wings. Rather fucked up, isn’t it? I’m an angel who has the constant reminder that I’m no longer accepted on the angelic plane. One separated from the man I love for eternity, because of an archaic rule. I guess they have their ways of imposing the rules and making their angels follow them.”

“I’m confused. If you knew this was a rule and could happen, I can’t see you and Seth not being careful. How did the council find out?”

“We were betrayed by someone I considered a friend. He admitted that he had as well,” Dante clenched his fists. “I’m never forgiving Killian for what he’s done to Seth and me,” he vowed.

“I wouldn’t either. Damn, what a sucky thing to do. Is there anything I can do? You need a place to stay or anything?” Cal asked sincerely.

Dante shook his head. “I don’t think so. Thanks for the offer, but I don’t even know what I’m going to do yet. There’s someone I know here who was cast out a few decades ago. I should contact them.”

“How are you going to get hold of them?” Cal asked.

“I’m still an angel, even though I’ve fallen. There’s a way.” Dante would have to go about it in the same way he would have searched for the Doctor’s soul. The energy he would expend would take longer to regain now that he couldn’t get back to the angelic plane to recharge, but this was something he needed to do.

“I don’t like having you out here like this, but I respect your wishes, Dante,” Cal said. He clasped Dante’s shoulder. “If you need anything, you call me. At least let me give you some cash to get you through.” Cal pulled out a notepad and a pen from the pocket of his jacket. Writing his cell phone number on a piece of paper, he tore it off and handed it to Dante.

“I will if I need anything, but I can’t take your money. Thank you for the offer. You’re a good guy for a gruff cop,” Dante smiled slightly, attempting to joke a bit then taking the paper with Cal’s number on it.

“Don’t let that out. I have a reputation to uphold,” Cal chuckled. “You have my number.”

Silently watching Cal walk off into the night, Dante felt utterly alone in a plethora of people. Dante’s thoughts focused on Seth. The lost, lonely feeling grew in him exponentially while standing by the bench where the two had met so many times before. It felt like he was tied to this spot; his soul tethered to the bench. Though he should have been trying to search for the other fallen angel, Dante sat. He couldn’t bring himself to leave the one spot where he felt most connected to the man he loved.