Soft Black Wings
There’s a stench of fear in the air. A soft breeze blowing across the withered grass. The boy, Emile, watches. Waiting and silent. A shadow precedes the figures striding across the grass. Angels. Cornelius is in front; he’s in charge of all the Angels. The other man is Artinian; he’s just another Angel. The silence deepens and thickens into something darker and more oppressing. Emile’s breathing quickens. He’s scared. The men are still approaching, silently. There is a flash of silver, a knife. Their faces are in shadow now. Emile turns to face away from them. Down below, the town sleeps, though it will wake soon; already the sky in the east is beginning to lighten. The blade pierces him through the back. The body slumps to the ground with a muffled thud.
Johnathan wakes suddenly, his body cloaked in a thin sheet of sweat.
“Just a dream?” he wonders aloud. “Or something else?”
Johnathan is a rank one; the highest rank of Angel there is. The ranks range from rank one to rank fifteen. Most ranks have powers but the rank ones are the most powerful by far and most of them have more than one gift. Johnathan, for example, is a prophet and can see things that are happening without being there. The only problem is that he can’t control it or tell them apart. Despite this it’s still a really powerful gift. Cornelius is nowhere near as strong as he is. One of the rules of Angels is that the most powerful Angel must be the one in charge. This means that Cornelius will have to hand over power to Johnathan in just a few weeks. But Cornelius does not want to hand over, which leaves him with just two options. Either Johnathan will have to meet with an unfortunate accident or he will have to be convicted of a crime that would get him banished from Heaven and sent down to Middle Earth or Hell. Johnathan doesn’t want to be the leader but he has no choice in the matter. Long ago his ancestor, Jace, stopped the wars and united the three Kingdoms of Heaven. He then set up the council of elders and gave them a leader. The council votes on who they think is the most powerful and therefore who will be the next leader. Their decision is final.
According to the history books that Jonathan had read in school, Heaven, Middle Earth and Hell used to be all one place, but something happened to split them up. The Angels stayed in Heaven, the Normals stayed in Middle Earth and the Shadows stayed in Hell. The rumour was that the Shadows were Normals who had lost their bodies. It was said that they were always on the lookout for a new one.
Jonathan, still absorbed by his latest dream, got out of bed and wandered out of his room and into the kitchen to get himself some breakfast. Before long a knocking started up. Johnathan, still dressed only in a pair of old black jeans, left his seat and went to get the door. It sprang open while he was still halfway across the room revealing one of his best friends, Artinian. Johnathan paused for a moment before realising what was wrong, Emile wasn’t with him, those two were usually inseparable.
“Arti?” He said, still slightly puzzled.
“It’s Emile.” He said “He’s… he’s…” Pain flashed across his face as he spoke.
Johnathan’s knees began to feel weak; he grabbed the table for support. “No.” He whispered. The awful truth suddenly dawning on him that the thing he’d seen earlier was actually happening, not something that was going to happen. “It’s not true… He isn’t… He can’t be…”
Arti nodded his head slowly, looking dazed. “It is.” He said softly.
“I thought… I thought I saw…” Johnathan shook his head slowly. “No, never mind. I didn’t see anything.”
Johnathan turned around .He had been about to say that he thought he had seen Arti there when Emile had been murdered, but he couldn’t have. After all it was Arti who came and told him. He had definitely seen Cornelius though; he would never forget the look on his face just before he had killed Emile.
He turned to face Arti again. “Does Cornelius know?
“Yes.”
‘I bet he does’ Johnathan thought to himself.
There’s a stench of fear in the air. A soft breeze blowing across the withered grass. The boy, Emile, watches. Waiting and silent. A shadow precedes the figures striding across the grass. Angels. Cornelius is in front; he’s in charge of all the Angels. The other man is Artinian; he’s just another Angel. The silence deepens and thickens into something darker and more oppressing. Emile’s breathing quickens. He’s scared. The men are still approaching, silently. There is a flash of silver, a knife. Their faces are in shadow now. Emile turns to face away from them. Down below, the town sleeps, though it will wake soon; already the sky in the east is beginning to lighten. The blade pierces him through the back. The body slumps to the ground with a muffled thud.
Johnathan wakes suddenly, his body cloaked in a thin sheet of sweat.
“Just a dream?” he wonders aloud. “Or something else?”
Johnathan is a rank one; the highest rank of Angel there is. The ranks range from rank one to rank fifteen. Most ranks have powers but the rank ones are the most powerful by far and most of them have more than one gift. Johnathan, for example, is a prophet and can see things that are happening without being there. The only problem is that he can’t control it or tell them apart. Despite this it’s still a really powerful gift. Cornelius is nowhere near as strong as he is. One of the rules of Angels is that the most powerful Angel must be the one in charge. This means that Cornelius will have to hand over power to Johnathan in just a few weeks. But Cornelius does not want to hand over, which leaves him with just two options. Either Johnathan will have to meet with an unfortunate accident or he will have to be convicted of a crime that would get him banished from Heaven and sent down to Middle Earth or Hell. Johnathan doesn’t want to be the leader but he has no choice in the matter. Long ago his ancestor, Jace, stopped the wars and united the three Kingdoms of Heaven. He then set up the council of elders and gave them a leader. The council votes on who they think is the most powerful and therefore who will be the next leader. Their decision is final.
According to the history books that Jonathan had read in school, Heaven, Middle Earth and Hell used to be all one place, but something happened to split them up. The Angels stayed in Heaven, the Normals stayed in Middle Earth and the Shadows stayed in Hell. The rumour was that the Shadows were Normals who had lost their bodies. It was said that they were always on the lookout for a new one.
Jonathan, still absorbed by his latest dream, got out of bed and wandered out of his room and into the kitchen to get himself some breakfast. Before long a knocking started up. Johnathan, still dressed only in a pair of old black jeans, left his seat and went to get the door. It sprang open while he was still halfway across the room revealing one of his best friends, Artinian. Johnathan paused for a moment before realising what was wrong, Emile wasn’t with him, those two were usually inseparable.
“Arti?” He said, still slightly puzzled.
“It’s Emile.” He said “He’s… he’s…” Pain flashed across his face as he spoke.
Johnathan’s knees began to feel weak; he grabbed the table for support. “No.” He whispered. The awful truth suddenly dawning on him that the thing he’d seen earlier was actually happening, not something that was going to happen. “It’s not true… He isn’t… He can’t be…”
Arti nodded his head slowly, looking dazed. “It is.” He said softly.
“I thought… I thought I saw…” Johnathan shook his head slowly. “No, never mind. I didn’t see anything.”
Johnathan turned around .He had been about to say that he thought he had seen Arti there when Emile had been murdered, but he couldn’t have. After all it was Arti who came and told him. He had definitely seen Cornelius though; he would never forget the look on his face just before he had killed Emile.
He turned to face Arti again. “Does Cornelius know?
“Yes.”
‘I bet he does’ Johnathan thought to himself.