Book of Z
18:45 Jul 08 2016
Times Read: 480
Chapter One
They say that you can hear bugles calling you to Heaven, what they don’t tell you is that’s not true, Zacariah was laying face down in a pile of dirt, his ears ringing from a distant explosion, his ice white hair falling over his eyes as he coughed lightly, he felt a figure moving beside him whispering in his ear “Zacariah it’s Olena, we must move quickly my friend” Zacariah got to his feet slowly and dusted himself off as he spread his brilliant white wings and shot up into the air followed closely by Olena.
He hovered in the air for a few moments, his dark emerald green eyes surveying the scene, the War of the Angels was still in full swing, Zacariah didn’t think that it would ever stop. Olena looked at him with her dazzling deep purple eyes, her skin was the colour of ivory, you felt that if you touched her she might break, she said softly “The war is not going well for us it seems Z” Zacariah gave a soft snort of laughter replying with a slight acid in his tone “It seems we are never going to win Olly, this war has been going on for how long now with casualties on both sides” Olena glared at him furiously saying in an icy tone “You know better then to question the will of Our Father” Zacariah shook his head flying down towards a group of Fallen Angels drawing his sword and slicing one of the enemy angels wings off making her howl in pain and rage.
Zacariah was not the typical look for an angel, he dressed all in black, he wore a long black leather trench coat, a black tank top which when he threw off his trench coat showed his muscular arms along with many different tattoos, he was 6ft7 in height and wore knee high black combat boots.
Olena blazed through a group of angels speaking something in an ancient language as they burst into flames, Olena let out a soft smile….Zacariah knew she was enjoying this probably a bit too much….she had plenty of blood lust for an angel, which is probably why she and Jae had agreed to partner together….they said that they would only do it for a couple of decades but that had been centuries ago. When Zacariah had come of age, Jae had literally and figuratively taken Z under his wing and taught him everything that he knew.
Zacariah could see him now, spinning furiously between several different angels, his daggers in hand as he slashed and sliced, the Fallen Angels stood no chance against Jae’s devastating attacks, Jae saw Zacariah looking at him and gave him a wave before grabbing a fallen angel and driving his dagger into her throat dropping her to the floor as she drowned in her own blood.
Zacariah concentrated on his own battle as he spun around smacking an angel in the face breaking her nose and making her drop to the floor, he knelt beside her aiming to drive a knee into her mouth before she whispered something softly, he leaned in closer to hear her as she muttered softly “This….war is wrong….Arcadia died not by our hand….but by the hands on the angels that you trust” before Zacariah had a chance to ask her what she meant, Rafael came up behind her and drove a sword through her skull making it come out from her jaw as he said angrily to Zacariah “We aren’t here to speak to the damned enemy….we are here to kill them, now get too it” Zacariah growled softly before standing up and glaring at Rafael, he had a chiselled jaw, his eyes were a deep gold, he was shorter then Zacariah at only 5ft1 he wore a white tank top, his arms were muscular, he wore nothing on his feet, his scabbard was attached to his back between where his golden wings sat. Zacariah ended up wondering which of the angels that he had come to know…..could have betrayed his brother.
The sky rumbled overhead as the fallen angels began to retreat knowing this this day was again not their day and that many of their number had been slain, as Jae watched them all go he jogged over to Zacariah and Olena who were standing together, he gave Olena a light peck on the cheek and clapped Zacariah on the shoulder saying in his hearty tone “Well looks like we sent those bastards packing again….when will they learn they are no match for us….we have God on our side after all, they have nothing…..their wings are as useless as they are” he let out a deep throaty laugh as he wrapped an arm around Olena’s waist as they walked away from the battlefield towards a glowing portal which would transport them back home, the Fallen Angels couldn’t see the portal for it was hidden from their eyes.
As they appeared on the other side of the portal, Zacariah’s own mate was waiting for him, she was called Anastasia, she had auburn hair, eyes the colour of honey, her skin was a dark brown, she was 5ft5 in height, she was clothed in a long flowing golden dress, her hair done in plaits. She smiled at Zacariah saying in her soft lilting voice “There you are, I was worried about you Z…..are you alright?” Zacariah smiled at her use of his nick name before replying “Aye Ana I’m fine…I could do with a shower though and getting rid of all this dirt” Anastasia took his arm and walked with him back to their cottage that they shared on the edge of a forest. Zacariah might have had some questions about God but he also knew that he did provide well for His angels.
Zacariah stripped off his clothes and kissed Anastasia before heading into the bathroom and checking his body for any scars, he ran the shower and got in letting the hot water wash away the dirty and grime that caked his body from fighting. He heard the door creak open and turned around seeing Anastasia in the doorway, she was naked, Zacariah let his eyes wander over her body before opening the shower door for her saying in a husky tone “Are you a dirty girl too Ana?” she nodded her head slowly before getting into the shower with him.
Meanwhile in Jae’s office Olena was standing the other side of the table with Rafael both had troubled looks on their faces, Olena’s serene mask had slipped as she said with venom in her tone “What the Hell are we going to do about Zacariah? He’s going to figure out that some of us had something to do with Arcadia’s death” Jae let out a soft snort raising his hands to calm her replying “Hush my love, Zacariah isn’t that smart…he will never figure out that we three in this room were instrumental in the destruction of Arcadia and his malicious attempts to destroy us and join the Fallen” Rafael looked from Olena to Jae before replying “That’s all well and good Jae….but….if any more of the Fallen try and speak to Zacariah then all our plans and machinations will be for nought….we must take it to Our Father himself and get Zacariah kicked from Heaven and sent down to Earth for punishment” Jae raised an eyebrow saying in a calm tone “You…only want to be rid of Zach so that you can be with Anastasia….you’ve been bitter that she chose him for the past decade….get the fuck over it already” Rafael scowled as Olena let out a soft giggle.
Jae stood up slowly saying “Right now….we need to go down to the mess hall and be with our brothers and sisters…we need to mourn those we lost today and also celebrate our victory against the Fallen” they all left Jae’s office as Zacariah and Anastasia were coming out of their cottage speaking softly to one another as lovers do, Zacariah kissed Anastasia’s forehead softly saying softly “We could just stay here and I could eat you” he let out a devilish grin as Anastasia slapped his chest “Oh Z I didn’t know you had it in you to be that naughty but no we should head to the mess to be with the others” Zacariah nodded as they headed towards the mess hall.
As they approached the doors to the mess hall they heard the loud cheering of the Angels inside, they opened the doors and slipped inside, taking up a table that had Madhavi, Lael and Kaarina at it. Standing on the main table at the front which was lavishly decorated was Jae…he had a goblet of wine in his hand as he was shouting to his comrades “My friends…..we are here today to CELEBRATE as well as mourn the loss of our comrades” Lael let out a soft groan as he muttered to those at the table “He’s such an ass, he thinks just because he lives in this castle and has the ear of Our Father he’s the one that rules over us all” Lael turned to Zacariah “Your brother was the best of us and he always will be” Zacariah studied Lael, he was missing an eye from the first war between angels and demons, his other eye was a silver colour, he had dark black hair and a slowly greying beard, his arms were gnarled with scars.
Jae seemed to have heard this as he roared “It seems that Lael has something to say…..why don’t you come up to the front then….don’t be shy” Lael slowly got to his feet and limped towards the front, Zacariah knew instinctively that Jae was going to humiliate him, so he rose slowly but Anastasia put a hand on his shoulder whispering in his ear “My love, there is no point in you getting involved….you know what Jae is like” but that was the problem….Zacariah didn’t think he knew Jae at all.
As Lael got to where Jae was, he looked up at him saying in a proud tone “Yes Jae?” Jae hopped down from the table and got right up into Lael’s face as he said aggressively “Now my dear Lael….what were you saying to your table?” everyone in the mess hall took in a breath at once as Lael replied “I was merely saying that you think that the sun shines out of your arse Jae….you think living here makes you something special…but you aren’t…..your half the man that Arcadia was” Jae let out a furious roar and punched Lael in the chest sending him flying into a wall, Lael got up slowly chuckling as he said “What’s the matter Jae? Did I touch a nerve?” Jae’s own façade slipped for a second as his eyes flashed blood red launching himself at Lael knocking him to the floor and punching him in the face.
Zacariah had seen enough as he flew towards Jae throwing him off and picking Lael up, his face was bloody, his nose almost certainly broken as Zacariah said angrily “What in Our Father’s name do you think your doing Jae?” Jae glared furiously at Zacariah replying “I was defending my honour” Zacariah let out a short laugh “Against an unarmed one-eyed man, yeah I bet that makes you feel really big about yourself huh?” Zacariah spun around and left the mess hall taking Lael to the hospital wing.
He heard footsteps pounding behind him and before he could do anything about it Jae had thrown him out of the nearest window sending shards of glass flying around him as he landed on the grass. Zacariah shook his head and checked to make sure Lael was still breathing as he felt Jae’s elbow come down on his ear making it ring, Jae then kicked Zacariah in the stomach before grabbing his hair growling “You’re a little shit Zacariah….Lael was right…..your brother was a better man then me….that’s why he had to go” he said this last bit in a whisper as Zacariah’s eyes went wide before he unleashed his wings and flew both of them up into the air before dropping Jae to the ground.
Jae let his own wings spread out as he flew up and hovered just in front of Zacariah, a grim look on his face as he said “Zacariah….you don’t want to go down this path…..it’s what led to your brother’s demise….we don’t need to lose you as well” Zacariah let out a laugh as he replied “You’re totally deluded Jae….you won’t get away with this” whilst Jae had Zacariah distracted Rafael had come up behind him and held a knife to his throat with his other hand on the stubs where his wing’s grew out of. Zacariah felt the cold steel against his throat and saw Rafael in his periphery as he said solemnly “So Rafe…your part of this too are you? Do you expect me to beg you to spare my life?” Rafael shook his head “Your brother did…..he begged for his life like the worthless angel he was…..he cried as I stabbed him in the throat….he bled an awful lot” Zacariah roared as he spun around and punched Rafael hard in the face breaking his nose making blood spray out as he fell to the ground making a crater as he landed.
Zacariah felt pretty confident for a few seconds before he was thrown down to the ground by Jae, he was winded as Jae landed on top of him and head butted him several times making Zacariah see stars, Jae then pressed his bronze dagger to Zacariah’s throat saying softly “Stay down Z….I don’t want to hurt you” Zacariah knew that he shouldn’t struggle but decided to anyway, Rafael by this point had made his way to his feet and was stalking towards Zacariah but Jae held a hand up to stop him “No Rafe…Zacariah won’t cause us any more problems….Will you Zacariah?” Zacariah growled softly and then shook his head as he was hauled to his feet, he was then escorted to the dungeons by Rafael and Jae.
As he was thrown into a cell Rafael said with a hint of glee in his voice “Now Ana will be all mine” Zacariah tried to grab Rafael through the bars but he danced out of reach and laughed loudly as Zacariah roared “You won’t touch her you bastard…I will get out of here and I will kick your ass” Rafael looked at him with pity in his eyes “Your not going anywhere boy….your going to rot in this cell….then Our Father is going to cast you out like the little shit that you are” Rafael turned and walked away as several guards stood by the door leading into the cells whilst one sat across from Zacariah’s cell watching him.
Zacariah paced the length of his cell continuously for what felt like hours until he heard the door unlock and saw Anastasia race over to him whispering breathlessly “Z….are you alright?” Zacariah shook his head replying in a whisper “No….not really but I’m better now that you’re here…..they want to get Our Father to cast me out and send me down to Earth….I don’t know what their plan is…listen to me Ana….Rafael is jealous of us being mates…..he says that now I am out of the way he’s going to try and make a move on you” Anastasia let out a short laugh replying “That lecherous little worm won’t touch my body…..that I promise you my love” Anastasia reached a hand through the bars to stroke the side of Zacariah’s face as he kissed her palm, he looked into her eyes saying “Whatever happens Ana….I love you for ever and for always” Anastasia nodded as a guard approached her leading her out of the dungeon as the guards changed and Zacariah settled down to sleep.
He was awoken by guard shaking him roughly, they were encased in armour, these were lesser angels so were not expected to fight on the front line against the Fallen….but they were still powerful, the guard….a tall woman called Beatrice looked at Zacariah saying in a soft tone “It’s time my Lord…..the Judgement of Our Father awaits you” Zacariah nodded as he was surrounded by the lesser angels and led up to the Hall of Judgement.
As the heavy oak doors were opened Zacariah saw angels lining up on both the right and left sides of the room, some standing, some sitting….he looked around and saw Anastasia stood beside Madhavi she gave him a discreet smile which he nodded his head too as they made their war up a long opulent red carpet towards a marble throne.
One of the lesser angels kicked at Zacariah’s knees making him fall to the floor as he hissed softly muttering “You could have just asked” which earned him a smack in the head as he chuckled to himself softly. He heard footsteps going up the ivory steps as he looked up to see Jae standing beside the throne as though he was waiting for someone to appear.
A few seconds of anxious chattering went by as a loud boom erupted and sitting in the throne was God, but not God as you would expect him to look, he had rings around his eyes, his white beard was flecked with different colours, his white hair done up in a ponytail, he wore a long white gown and had on a pair of golden sandals….”Not a bad look for Our Father” Zacariah thought to himself.
Jae and the rest of the Angel’s knelt before God as his deep booming voice echoed out “Rise my children….you have all done well in our battle against the Fallen you are all to be commended, now Jae….what have you disturbed my time with Gaia for?” Jae came around to kneel before God saying “Father….we have another traitor in our midst…..it comes from the same seed that Arcadia did” God nodded his head slowly whilst trying to stifle a yawn and looked down at Zacariah saying “So my son….you are no longer walking the path that I set out for you….you have rebelled” Zacariah shook his head and tried to speak but no words came out.
God stood up from his throne, he towered over his angels being 10ft in height, his gown billowed out behind him as he walked through his angels saying in his deep rumbling voice “I have made you all my children…..you all follow the path of the Righteous….we have fended off the Fallen for Aeons, I have clothed you, I have fed you…..this child” he pointed at Zacariah “thinks he knows better then I. This child thinks he knows more then My Will” he turned to face Zacariah who had his head down in submission. All the angels shifted uneasily as God carried on “I am the Alpha and the Omega, I am your Creator, I made the Earth in six days….and chilled out on the seventh and admired my creation, I made the first humans…..Adam and his Eve….I admit there were a few mistakes along the way…..I made Lilith she still roams the Earth somewhere I am sure” Zacariah wondered if there was a point to this rambling monologue.
God turned his gaze towards Zacariah and grabbed him by the throat as he growled softly “I made you Zacariah….just as I made your brother Arcadia….and with a click of my fingers I can unmake you” Jae interjected saying with something almost like respect in his voice “If it’s all the same to you my Lord….if you merely kill him then he will just become a Martyr for our people and more people might rebel against Your Almighty Will…if I may make a suggestion” God nodded for him to continue “Well my Lord…..why don’t you remove his wing’s and cast him down to Earth….there he will be alone and be of no threat to you” God considered this for several moment before nodding his head.
God looked down at Zacariah saying “Let it never be said that I am not a merciful God….I am leaving you with your life…..as well as your immortality, but not your wings” with that God grabbed Zacariah’s wings and pulled them from his body making Zacariah howl in pain as blood spurted out from the stumps of where his wings had been, Anastasia tried to run over to him to comfort him but Madhavi kept her back as Zacariah slipped into unconciousness…and with that…..God cast him out from Heaven.
Jae looked at God and said “Thank you Father…..it is important that we separate the wheat from the chaff” God turned his golden eyes towards Jae replying “We must indeed my son…..now if that’s all…..I have something important to attend too” Jae bowed low and reverently as did the rest of the angels as God disappeared.
Anastasia let out a loud sob as she wept into Madhavi’s shoulder as Rafael went over to her saying “I am sorry for your loss Ana….but at least now you can move on” Anastasia with her last hint of strength whipped around striking Rafael in the face as she was led out of the Hall of Judgement by Madhavi.
COMMENTS
-