The Bliss by Jennifer Murgia Read Free Book Online Page B

faced with a choice of his own. Part of me dares to imagine which way he will lean.
         “The consequences are far too great, Brother.”
         “They’re too great to ignore,” he nearly spits at me. “I’ll tell you what I choose. I choose to watch. I choose to understand why a Gate is a Gate, why they must be guarded so closely night and day. I choose to unravel the mystery that says a Gate must not be protected like a common charge. But why? Are they not just as human? What secrets do they hold?”
         With sudden clarity I begin to understand why Rafael and the other Archangels have been so insistent on monitoring my beloved brother. I’ve heard enough rumors, seen how often the Bliss has been enforced, why they call the meetings more regularly than usual. I am sure Lucifer knows what I have heard, as he must be well aware that I think it’s absurd that they speak of stripping him of his wings. Such a price is paid when a Guardian wishes to no longer guard his Gate, or has been negligent, but this, what has triggered Lucifer’s interest . . . this borderline obsession, has never happened before.
         I can feel the others gathering at the Judgment pool, their presence strong at my back. It is almost time for a decision to be made, and it is with deep regret that I fear that my brother will be the one who will not choose wisely. He must choose wisely.
         Lucifer leans in close enough that I taste the thrill of this new challenge linger on the air between us.
         “I’ve already chosen, my brother.” He looks into my eyes, digging until he sees what I fear. There is no way of hiding it from him. He sees that I too am intrigued by human nature. That I also spend long hours gazing down upon the earth, monitoring the actions of man. He sees, no matter how I try to hide it, how I marvel over the puzzle of why a Gate is chosen and try to solve why his eyes stray to charges who are not his own, why he works so hard to figure them out. But, is this worth standing up to the Seven?
         Lucifer breaks the bond and turns away, his shoulders decidedly stiff as he begins to make his way toward the Gathering, the C onveniō, where Rafael and the others wait for us.
         He slows suddenly, peering back at me over his shoulder so that I only see one half of his face. “It seems you’ve also chosen, brother of mine. Are you sure it too has been made wisely?”
         That unstoppable motion of freefalling takes me as his words melt into the heavenly mist around us, turning what gently falls onto my skin into hard pellets of ice. I suddenly feel wingless, my body heavy, as if hurtling toward something unnamable and consuming, and at its very core is my brother. I watch him leave, and all I can feel around me is a horrible absence, as if I’ve fallen into the very void that separates us from the earth below. 
     
    ***
     
    With heavy legs I push forward, and follow Lucifer from a distance. There is no night, just as there is no definite day in Heaven, yet a profound darkness appears to have fallen. So much so, that a roaring fire burns at the center of the stone temple where the others are gathered for the Conveniō. It is not my place to be seated among them, but I stay back between the trees, able to see and hear as much as anyone else.
         The Seven, the council of the highest order, are seated on high stone thrones embedded with precious jewels that depict the status of their ranking. Rafael, of course, is seated at the center, flanked by Micheal on his right, and Gabriel to his left. The rest of the council of Archangels stretches out on either side; Uriel and Selaphiel, then Jegudiel and Barachiel. They appear solemn, concerned, decided. A deep fear boils in the pit of my stomach for my brother as I watch him slowly approach the council and take a knee before them.
         A long hush falls over the Gathering, and just when I can no longer stand the wait, Rafael