Thousands of years ago, Mesopotamia

Selah

I wake to the pattering of rain. Incessant and troubling. A chill runs down my spine at the empty place in the bed where my husband should be. Sariel has held me close every night since we ran off to be wed, but tonight, he’s absent. The child in my womb squirms and stretches its limbs. Only a few months to go until we meet him. I’m sure he’s a boy. I’ve had dreams of his beautiful face. Silver eyes like his father’s, dark hair like mine, and the sweetest smile.

Carefully getting to my feet, I pull a shawl around my shoulders and wander our small home. There’s a candle burning on the table, but Sariel is nowhere to be found. Where could he be? Has something happened due to the near month-long rainstorm?

Stepping outside into the torrential downpour, I scan the surrounding fields for any sign of him. The rainwater runs into my eyes, soaking my hair and clothing in seconds. I’m about to go inside, but my heart lurches as I see two men standing under the cover of a large tree in our grove. I shouldn’t be able to make them out, not with the clouds covering the moon, but light surrounds them both. With cautious steps, I head toward them, my toes sinking in the muddy earth beneath them.

“…I fell, I am done with my old life. Leave us be.”

“Sariel, you must abandon them. Hundreds fell because of your choice. Some have begotten children, unnatural and dangerous Nephilim. They’ve grown at terrifying speeds, killing their mothers as they come into the world.”

My husband crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head. “This child isn’t unnatural, Gabriel. He’s my son. You’ve seen for yourself, the baby grows at a normal pace. I can’t leave.”

“Brother…it is a lost cause. In fourteen days time, there will be a flood beyond any which have ever occurred. All will be washed away. Do you hear me? Nothing will be left standing and no one spared save one man and his family. You are not that man.”

“He won’t take me back. Not now. My weakness caused this.”

My gut clenches. Sariel wants to go back. He thinks he made a mistake, choosing me.

“You could beg His forgiveness. Make retribution.”

Sariel shakes his golden head before running his hands through his hair. “No. I do not regret my time with Selah. I will never ask forgiveness for loving her, and I’ll never beg Him to take me back. Know this, I’ll die with her, loving her, and no matter what my punishment, I will never forgive Him for taking her from me.”

Heart aching with love for this man, I start back toward the house, not wanting him to know I’ve heard. Rumbling thunder rolls across the sky, curiously getting louder rather than dying down. It’s only when Sariel screams my name that I see the bolt of lightning arch overhead. My hair stands on end as the branch above my head is struck. Sparks fall around me in slow motion, and the tree splinters. My body won’t move, and I know I’ve met my end before the ruined wood connects with my head. I have only a moment to be thankful there’s no pain before everything goes silent and dark.

* * *

Sariel

A sense of utter terror and despair grips me as I rush toward my wife. But Selah is gone before I can reach her. The peaceful expression on her beloved face gives me no comfort. Heart shattering, I use every ounce of strength I have to pull the remnants of the tree off her.

“No, my love, don’t leave me. I…” I can’t continue. The sob stuck in my throat has me unable to choke out anything. Cradling her in my arms, I stare up at the sky, the rain falling mercilessly. I can’t bring myself to look at her, to see the swell of her belly, to feel the crushing weight of losing everything. White-hot rage takes hold, burning up my heart. “Take me now, Father. Punish me, ruin me. There’s nothing else you could do now that you’ve taken her from me.”

Gabriel stands beside me, I know he’s there without even looking. I can feel him. “Brother…”

I shoot a withering glare at him. “Do not speak to me if you are going to tell me you are sorry. Unless you can bring them back, give me the life I wanted, I want nothing from you.”

“Let her go.”

Those three words spear me clean through. How can I? My soul is connected to hers and now…now that I felt the death of her, I’ve been torn in two.

“Where is she? Has he let her ascend? Please tell me she won’t be punished for my misdeeds.”

A sad look crosses his face. “She laid with you knowing what you are. She knew you’d fallen and yet kept you for her own.”

I pull her closer, taking in the softness of her body, unwilling to accept what I know is true. “You can’t mean she is going to burn. She is innocent. Her only crime was loving me.”

“I am sorry, brother.”

Gently cradling her, I rise and carry her to the home we made together. My body feels strange, numb and agonized all at once. I can’t breathe as I lay her on the bed.

Glancing over my shoulder, I ask, “How can I save her?”

Gabriel stands behind me, arms crossed, brow furrowed. “What?”

“You heard me. I’m damned, but she shouldn’t be. How can I give her soul a chance at redemption?”

Closing his eyes, he goes very still. Minutes pass in silence as my heart continues to beat, sending waves of heartbreak through my veins. When his eyes snap open, the expression in them is anguished.

“You can never return to Heaven. You’ll live out eternity cursed to share the bodies of the damned, fighting for control.”

“And Selah?”

“Her soul will escape hellfire, but she will stay in purgatory.”

“Why? She doesn’t deserve that.”

“She’ll be given another chance at life. A chance to redeem her place in Heaven when our Father chooses.”

Anxiety claws at my throat. I did this to her. But if she can have another chance, if she’ll be reborn, I can find her.

I nod, taking her cold hand in mine. “So be it.”

“Brother, I offer you this one kindness. Do you accept?”

Knowing what he’s offering, I tense and kneel by the bed. My heart beats erratically as instinct takes over and I fight the urge to run from coming death. Resting my lips on Selah’s hand, I say, “Thank you, Gabriel.”

Blinding light fills the room and the press of his warm hand on my back makes me flinch. But soon, the warmth is replaced by a jolt and my vision fades as my heart stops.

I’ll find her again.

No matter how long it takes.