40 Years ago
Miranda stood at the edge of the parapet. Blind and deaf to the screams around her, she reached out and with one slender forefinger touched the smooth surface of the divide. The sensation of water running down her head, over her shoulders, down her spine and pooling at her feet was so soothing after breathing in the soot and ash of war.
The Gateway was paradise – if Heaven was half as peaceful as this then perhaps she would have stayed.
“Miranda!” A knife in her heart…
“Miranda! Don’t go through!” …Ripping upward through her chest…
“Miranda! Please!” …stops before it reaches her throat.
With a shock, Miranda found herself once again on the parapet between Heaven and the Gateway. Around her, she could hear the cries of Angels and Demons alike. Amon stood before her. She didn’t realize that he could look that frightening.
She was crying.
Miranda couldn’t remember the last time she had actually cried – the last time tears had actually come down her face. Femina Dura is what the Angels called her. “Hard Woman.” Tears, Miranda found, fell like boulders.
“Come away” Amon said. He was crying too.
“It’s got to be closed. Forever. Sealed.” She choked the words out of her throat, feeling the ash and the smoke curl in her esophagus.
“There is another way!” He was yelling. She could hear his once noble voice cracking as hers did. This place was made for Angels and Demons, not for humankind. Purgatory.
***
“Femina Dura. I did not expect you to return to us…in one piece. However, we are happy that you have survived the battle. Not many were as fortunate as you.” Cassiel said with his hands serenely folded on the table.
Miranda was hosting the Archangel at her home. Originally a large French chateau, she had converted it to a boarding house and tavern. Her clients were a mixed bunch of local humans and the bizarre beings from the Other Realms – a vast universe paralleling the human world and containing, among the various lands, Heaven and Hell.
The room was light and airy due mainly to Miranda’s good taste in decorating. Creeping plants were strategically placed around the room to create leafy alcoves for a few tea tables and delicate chairs. All in all, the Tearoom in the chateau would have been suitable to play host to any royal family in the world. Now she sat face to face with the last person she would ever want to see at her home – an Archangel.
“I have made notes of several members of the Order who have survived the insurrection, however I would like to hear your version of the events seeing as how you and the late Amon were responsible for the closing of the Gateway.” Cassiel crossed his legs and elegantly plopped two sugar cubes into the cup of tea that Miranda had just poured for him. His eyes were the lightest blue – something Miranda had only seen in newborns. Indeed, this Archangel had the air of freshness about him that Miranda couldn’t fathom. The battle had only been a week ago and she was still trying to wash the ash out of her hair and the smell of smoke from her clothes. Could it be that he had escaped the battle and not participated?
“If you have the testimony of the Order, why would you bother with mine? Amon and I obviously succeeded in our task. What more is there to be said?” She didn’t trust herself to speak much more. Anytime she thought of the battle her throat closed and she lost what little control she had over her emotions.
“As I said,” Cassiel impatiently tapped the table. “You and Amon were responsible for closing the Gateway. The battle began because a weakness was detected by the Grigori Sariel. He rallied his companions and attempted to break through the barriers at Purgatory. He managed to create his own Gateway and the resulting battle for its control was immensely damaging. I want to know why the Gateway became unstable as you attempted to close it rather than closing completely.”
“Someone passed through it.” Miranda answered, slowly.
“Who could possibly?!” Cassiel demanded, losing the composure he had so obviously kept in tight control. “Who could have possibly gone through the gate but yourself or Amon? The only Gate on this side is guarded by the monastery. My sources inform me that nothing out of the ordinary happened on the human side until the Gateway you were attempting to close became unstable. They also tell me that no new Gateway appeared to the Mortal realm when Sariel made his Monstrosity. That means the only gate open on the Human side was well guarded. The only way someone could pass through was from the New Gateway.”
“Neither of us would ever compromise…” Miranda began, vehemently.
“I did not say you did. But someone passed through the Gate and caused it to become unstable and I want to know who or what it was.”
