The Journey (17 page)

“Romans gave laurels to great warriors accomplished in battle. Now, I told you this prophesy was written in like 95 or so. Domitian was the Emperor of Rome at that time. Nerva came on in 96. So for like the next eighty years or so Rome conquered the world, bringing about peace, harmony, and civility—at least to a degree. And even though there were some times of persecution, Christianity flourished during that time—first seal, first Horseman.”

“What happened after the eighty years?”

“Commodus. Total douchebag.”

“What do you mean?”

“This dude named Gibbons wrote,
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
.” I retrieved my copy whilst talking. “He said…
If man were called to fix the period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus
. And
that’s
when the White Horseman was sent forth—the prosperous time
before
Commodus.”

“What did this Commodus do?”

“He was a joke
and
a jerk. Rome had a few real losers to claim the title of Emperor. Commodus was one. As were Elagabalus, Caligula, Nero—to name a few. Commodus was placed on the throne at age eighteen by his dear old dad, Marcus Aurelius—first time that’d ever happened. Marcus Aurelius was considered the last of the five good Emperors, and Commodus’s reign will tell you why. Commodus liked himself a
lot
more than he liked his people. Let’s just say… he didn’t play well with others. I’ll bring you a book about him the next time I pass through.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Okay, first seal/White Horse—done. Now comes the Red Horseman… he was given this huge sword and sent forth.”

“Do you know when?”

I nodded. “Civil unrest and revolution in the Roman Empire. It lasted like ninety something years. It
started
with Commodus, and went all the way through to the year 284.
Many
Emperors claimed the throne at that time. More than thirty of them were assassinated. There was a six-year span where
nineteen
tried to reign, but were slain. You can just imagine what shape that whole kerfuffle left the Empire in.”

“Not good.”

“You ain’t lying. It was basically ruined—just a mere shell of its former grandeur. The White Horseman represented the time of Roman prosperity. The Red Horseman represented all those following years of internal strife within the Empire.
That’s
when the third seal snapped and death rode forth.”

“The Black Horseman.”

“Yeah.
That
rider carried a set of scales.”

“What was he to weigh?”

“Food, basically… best I can tell. During a nighty-two-year long period of civil unrest, you can just imagine the chaos—crops neglected and abandoned, herds and flocks destroyed. Famine was fast on her way. The prophesy mentions a
measure
of wheat and barley for a penny. A measure was about a quart, and a penny was a day’s wages.”

“So… a man worked an entire day for nothing more than a quart of grain?”

I nodded. “Supply and demand, right? Needless to say…”

“Famine brought on the Pale Rider.”

“Yeah. The fourth seal, the Pale Horse. The rider of that beast truly
was
Death… and hell followed with him.” I shrugged my shoulders. “After all the war, then famine—even an invasion of wild beasts… plague struck the Roman Empire.”

“…Plague,” he half whispered.

I nodded. “It is recorded that during the days of Gallienus, five thousand people a
day
died in the city of Rome. A
day
. The Empire was hit so hard,
whole
towns were completely depopulated.”

“And this all started from a single young man—given the throne by his well-meaning father—but made some terrible decisions. Now… the whole country stands decimated.”

“That’s how it
always
starts—a single wrong decision. Just one little slip in judgement, just one tiny moment of succumbing, of surrendering. That’s all it takes. One bad call, and hundreds of years later… utter annihilation.”

“Yes…” He took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “And yet… you do not have to ram the dagger in quite so deep, little one. I
know
what my decision triggered.”

“…Sorry.”

We fell silent for several long moments.

Azazel gently touched my back. “You, okay?”

“Yeah.” I sighed softly. “Anyway, those were the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse. They came, they left. Thank goodness. And like I said, they were one right after the next—bam, bam, bam—prosperity, war, famine, and death.”

“Four out of the seven seals.”

I nodded. “Well, I better get going for now. Palpatine’s gotta send me off to Scotland.”

“What of the other seals?”

“I’ll tell you about them next time.”

“Very well.” He tugged on one of my curls. “And don’t forget what I told you about
Paltiel
. Stay as far away from him as you possibly can.”

“I will… promise.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Paltiel just…
isn’t
my
people
.”

When he furrowed his brow, I almost chuckled.

“Explain your words, little one.”

“Azazel, I may act all happy-go-lucky when I’m down here with
you
, but I’m not an unlearned, naïve idiot. I get that there are people out there—
lots
of people—who absolutely will not like me no matter what I say or do. That’s just the way things go. I’m cool with that, because I also know there are lots of people who will love me fiercely—no matter what I say or do.” I smiled then. “
Those
are my people. Paltiel simply isn’t one of them.” I sighed. “Back when I finally came to the realization that I only had a finite number of days to walk this beautiful planet, I consciously decided I wanted to spend those days with people I can be with forever. Not just the short time I will roam about
here
. Time is far too precious a thing for me to waste it trying to convince people who
aren’t
my
people
to walk the journey with me. Every morning when I wake up and am forced to cash one of my rapidly fleeting days in for something…
I
decide what that something will be. I refuse to cheapen how precious that day is by spending it with someone who doesn’t appreciate its value. It’s fine, though. I view my life, my time here, my
days
as a sacred gift. I will not sully such a rare treasure by trying to force my path upon those who will never appreciate it.”

He gently squeezed my hand. “I think I love you.”

“Yeah, well, you ain’t the only one.” I winked at him. “Alright, Gramps. I gotta hit the road.”

“You’ll come back to me?”

I snorted. “You ask that like I have a choice.”

“Jem?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll come back.”

“And bring more pictures next time.”

“Whatever you say, Gramps. Pictures—got it.”

Chapter

6

Drella was waiting for me at Keiss Castle.

“Hello, Gorgeous.” I couldn’t help the big, goofy smile that parted my lips. “What are
you
doing here?”

“I heard the Angel talking about you.”

“Angel? Azazel?”

“Paltiel. He was complaining about you and I overheard him.”

“Ugh! I can’t
stand
that guy.”

“Stand him or not, apparently you have to work with him. Your life will be a lot easier if you play nice.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Have you been with Azazel all this time?”

“All what time?”

“I passed through the Nether just as Paltiel sent you to refill your key. I’ve been waiting on you here for hours.”

“Sorry. I was telling Azazel about some of the things I had recorded so far.”

“Why?”

“Because he asked. He was curious.”

Drella snorted. “His curiosity is irrelevant. His judgement is set, Jem.
Knowing
the day is at hand will change nothing.”

“He wasn’t trying to
change
anything. He was just curious. That’s all. He’s been in the dark for ages. I think he just likes the company sometimes.”

“As do I.” He pulled me against his chest and squeezed me tight. “You could have been spending all this time with
me
, not that forever-damned, worthless old Seraph.”

I chuckled. “Sorry, Drell. Had I known you were here, I would have just stabbed him and come running into your arms.”

He smiled and kissed the top of my head. “You here for another book?”

“Yep. A secret, hidden one.”

He chuckled. “Oooh… Sounds exciting.”

“I know, right?”

“When your eyes sparkle like that, it makes my stomach hurt—all the butterflies banging around inside of it.”

“I feel that same way… every single time I look at you.”

*****

I gently wiped the ages-old debris and dust from the ancient book, while Drella carefully slid the old stone back into place.

I glanced around at the crumbling ruins. “It still holds a haunting beauty to it, huh?”

“Yes, it does. It’s pretty nippy this time of year, but there’s not many places as beautiful and peaceful as this one is.” He wrapped his arms around me from behind. “You wanna hang out in the Highlands for a while?”

“Yes… absolutely.” I slid my new found treasure into my backpack. “And I need to leave the book I got in Hronsek somewhere else. Looks like what’s left of this old place could fall into the sea at any moment.”

“We’ll go down by the harbor. There’s a museum there—Wick Heritage Centre. That’s the perfect place to leave it,
and
I’ll know where it is when next it’s needed.”

“Sounds good to me. Can we get a room in that town as well?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“My hair still reeks of hell. I threw-up while I was in the Nether this time, and then when Palestine flung me into Azazel’s
tomb
… I plowed face-first into the dirt. I need a proper bath.”

“There are several places nearby where we could spend the night. Breadalbane House Hotel is right there.”

“Breadalbane
House
Hotel?”

He nodded. “It’s a family-run place. Used to be the private home of a local… furniture maker, I think. It’s a nice place. Has an in-house pub as well.”

“Breadalbane it is then. Ready?”

“Right after this…”

Drella bent down and kissed me then. He took my breath away. Right there in those crumbling ruins, he pressed me against the decaying wall… and consumed me—my heart, my mind, my soul. I love him in a way mere words can never justify.

“Oh… Pooh… You own me.”

I couldn’t speak. I could only smile, and I couldn’t
quit
smiling.

He gently kissed my forehead then and took me by the hand. “I can hardly wait for night to fall. I wanna hold you until dawn.”

“You are my heaven, Drell,” I barely managed to whisper.

“Not yet.” He smiled down at me and winked. “But I
will
be.”

*****

“Hellooo! Anybody home? I heard an extremely handsome, distinguished, gentlemanly sort of Angel lived down here.”

“Then you heard correctly, my dear. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”

I chuckled as I made the now familiar jaunt over to where Azazel was pinned.

“Glad I caught you at home today, sir. I come bearing gifts.”

“I hope the gift is significant enough to cover for the nigh intolerable sass you seem to be full of today.”

“Hmm…” I plopped down beside him. “I’m not sure I could
afford
a gift big enough to cover
my
sass. I ain’t made out of money, Gramps.”

“No. You’re made out of an overly abundant ego and a finely sharpened tongue.”

“Wrong. I’m a girl. Girls are made from sweet, cuddly, sparkly kinds of things.”

“Sparkly?”

“Yeah, like glitter… stardust… diamonds. Stuff like that.”

“Pffts.” He pinched my side. “I missed you, little one.”

“I kind of missed you, too,
old
one.” I lit two tealights and pulled a book from my backpack. “Happy birthday, Gramps.”

“I was not birthed, and while I have no idea what day this actually is, I am all but certain—”

“Oh, hush up and say thank you.”

“Thank you for what?”

I handed him the large tome. “For this awesome book about all those nasty
Roman
rulers I was telling you about.”

“It’s a bit large, don’t you think? How am I supposed to handle it with only one hand?”

“Whine much?” I took the book and began flipping through the pages. “I’ll read it to you when I drop by.
If
you want me to. I thought about the whole
one
arm
thing
, but I promised you I’d bring it.”

“And so you did.”

“Yep.”

“Thank you, Jem Stone. I will treasure it until my last breath.”

“Best birthday present ever?”

“
Only
birthday present ever.”

We shared a mutually comforting smile.

“Did you miss me much?”

“With every breath I drew in. Tell me, little one. Where all have you been?”

“
Tons
of places.”

“Did you take pictures?”

“Of course. Told you I would, didn’t I?”

“You are a woman of your word.”

I giggled as I leaned over against him and hit the photo icon on my phone.

*****

“Those places were extremely different from the ones you have shown me in the past.”

“That’s because those cities are in the United States—New York and Baltimore. They’re both on the East Coast and not
too
awful far apart. I didn’t have to use the Nether to get from one to the other.”

“Good for you. I worry about your dealings with Paltiel. He has a loose tongue… and never knows when to hold it.”

“Is he the one who ratted you out?”

“Explain.”

“When you chose to fall—or whatever it was you did—was Paltiel the guy who told on you?”

“He did, yes… but Father already knew.”

“Yeah. God’s pretty omniscient like that, you know.”

“Yes, I do know.”

“What made you think you could get away with it?”

“Let’s talk about what all it is
you
now know, little one. Tell me. Have you figured out the remaining seals yet?”

“We’ll get to that in a minute. I wanna talk more about
you
. I’m amazed at how much better you look now than when last I left you. Your skin is so much softer, and there’s even a glow to your cheeks. What are you doing to cause all this change? It was the chocolate, wasn’t it? Huh? Come on. Admit it. It was the chocolate.”

He half chuckled. “The chocolate
was
delicious, yes, but I fear it does not hold the power to restore.”

“So, what’d you do?”

“I didn’t do anything, little one.
You
did.”

“Me? What’d
I
do? Believe me when I say, chocolate would come a whole lot closer to restoring you than
I
ever could.”

“You gave me hope.”

I looked down into his enchanting blue eyes, but held my silence.

“I have lain here for more years than can be recalled—friendless, condemned, minus all light… minus all hope. You changed that, Jem. You filled my rotting tomb with light—light from your candles, and light from your soul as well. You treated me like a gentle friend. Your smile, your laugh, your adventures… you gave me hope again, made me
want
to live.” He squeezed my hand. “I gave up
centuries
ago. When you restored my heart, my flesh soon followed.”

“Azazel…” I tried to swallow down the giant lump in my throat. “…I am sooo sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for? I was singing your praises.”

“Yeah, but… even though I might have changed the light and hope and friend part… I could
never
change the condemned part.”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

“But you were resigned, and
me
… I’m only temporary. Before me, you were calm in your fate. Now… now you’ll have to go through all that again. All that grief and acceptance and regret. When I’m gone, your life will be as it was before. Sorry… I fear I’ve only
added
to your pain.”

“No matter what…” He squeezed my hand tighter. “…it was worth it.”

“I don’t know how long I will be a Witness. And as far as human years go, I don’t have too awful many left—compared to an Angel. I’m past the halfway mark, you know.”

“Are you ill?”

“No.”

“Then what are—”

“I’m not ill, Azazel, but I’m in my
forties
now. I’ve only got like thirty or forty years left… all depending on how many chances I take, and how many cheeseburgers I eat.” I mumbled that last part.

“You will live less than a hundred years?”

“Shoot yeah. There’s no
way
I’ll see a hundred. Not many people do.”

“When I walked the Earth… humans lived
much
longer.”

“Yep, but after the flood—you were already bound by then—God said about seventy years was all we’d get. Perhaps a
few
extra years, if you lived right and didn’t do stupid stuff.”

“But… why?”

“Because humans just
loved
being wicked. Five or six hundred was just way too many years to hang around and cause trouble. I hate to think
I
had to live that long.” I shivered. “Nope, about seventy if you’re lucky, more if you’re
super
lucky.”

“Is that my fault as well?”

“Were you the sole creature who made all humans think constantly upon evil and what wicked thing they could do next?”

“No… I don’t believe so. At least, not the
sole
one.”

“Neither do I. You’re no saint, it’s true, but you aren’t the only Angel who fell.”

“No… I wasn’t.”

“Anyway, I’m glad I can make you happy when I visit… but I’m sorry that it won’t be a forever thing. Eventually, things will go back to being as they were.”

“I understand. Still… I would rather have walked a full day in the sun, than never to have known its warmth at all.”

I bumped his side and smiled down at him. “…Thanks.”

“My pleasure. Entirely.”

“Alrighty then… you want to know what I’ve gleaned about the seals.”

“Yes, and anything else you want to talk about. As long as you are willing to stay, I will graciously listen.”

“Okie dokie. Now… let’s see. I’ve already told you about the first four seals, right?”

“The Horsemen, yes.”

“Well the prophesy says that when the fifth seal was opened, the underneath of the altar held all the souls of the ones who had been sacrificed because of their faith—Christianity. It says that the souls wailed and cried out for justice and revenge. They were given white robes and told to just wait a little while until the rest of their brethren joined them,
then
their pleas would be fulfilled and vengeance would reign down upon their persecutors.”