Candelabrum

Chapter 1: Guardian Angel

Heaven's sun rose on the hamlet of Cayse on a morning much like any other spring morning, but also different. Sunlight crept slowly over the ground, then more quickly up the walls of shops and homes, and finally through windows to shine on sleeping faces.

The sun found one bed empty and unmade, its usual occupant already awake, showered, and making breakfast, oatmeal with cinnamon and apple slices, to be exact. Caeleria R'mald, a stunning young woman with long, wavy, golden hair and piercing blue eyes, sat at her kitchen table to eat her breakfast. She produced a small book from one pocket of her fluffy brown bathrobe and began to read, holding the book with her left hand and eating with her right. The sound of a buzzer startled her after a few moments—the alarm she had set indicating when she should get ready—and she left the kitchen to get dressed.

For today, Caeleria had chosen a simple sky-coloured dress with just a touch of lace around the sleeve hems and scoop neck, a deep blue decorative corset embroidered with tiny silver and green vines, and soft leather walking boots. She donned these items and brushed her hair, pulling it into a loose ponytail over one shoulder. Her reflection stared back at her from the tall mirror, examining, judging. Something was missing, but what? She shrugged and went to fetch her book from the kitchen. Upon returning to the main room she added that book, a notebook, pen, and a small purse of money to an already prepared messenger bag waiting by the door. Grabbing keys and sunglasses, Caeleria swung the bag over her head and one shoulder, stepped outside, and closed and locked the door behind her.

She made her way through the streets, greeting the few people up and about at this hour. As she approached the medicine woman's house, she dug an envelope out of her bag. When she bent to slip the envelope under the door, a voice caught her attention.

“You there!” the voice shouted.

Caeleria straightened, raising her hands to show she had nothing but the envelope. As the woman approached, her expression grew calmer, until she finally began to smile.

“Callie, it's only you.” It was the medicine woman, Priscilla, coming home from some early morning errands. “Is that a letter for me?” she asked after glancing at the envelope.

“Ah, yes, ma'am,” Caeleria answered, holding the envelope out to Priscilla.

The medicine woman took the envelope and opened it, saying, “Now, don't call me 'ma'am.' I don't need none o' that, 'specially from one o' the Highborn like yourself... What's this nonsense about me takin' over the guild? You're the finest seamstress we've got.”

Caeleria looked down and mumbled, “Well, if anything should happen to me...”

Priscilla put the letter in a pocket and took Caeleria by the shoulders. “Now, you listen here, child,” she began firmly. “Nothin' is goin' to happen to you on God's watch. You go see Him and do what He asks and you'll be back to us in no time.” She gave the young woman a little shake. “Y'hear?”

Caeleria nodded. “Yes, ma—yes, Priscilla.”

“Atta girl.” Priscilla smiled, squeezed Caeleria's shoulders, then let go. “Now, get goin'.”

The younger woman smiled, then turned and set off toward the Gold Road without looking back. She didn't see the medicine woman's smile fade, or the shake of her head as she entered her house.

Caeleria's journey was rather uneventful, aside from her headaches. Since before she could remember, she'd had headaches. When she was little they came a few times a day, sometimes less often, but now, at twenty-three years, they were almost constant. She should have asked Priscilla for something to help, on the off chance that it would actually work. The only thing she could remember that soothed the pain were her mother's hands. Of course, the magic of a mother's touch wears off after a while, and that touch no longer worked.

About four miles into her journey, Caeleria saw a boy running her way. As he approached, her headache suddenly stabbed new pain into her head. Unable to see or keep her balance, she fell to her knees, golden tiles digging into her skin, head in hands, and tears leaking from her tightly closed eyes. The boy's footsteps slowed and stopped next to her.

“Excuse me, miss,” he spoke. “Are you alright?”

Caeleria shook her head and tried to open her eyes, but the light was too bright. She felt the boy's hand on her head and heard some sort of rustling.

“It will be ok, miss, I'll fix you up,” he was saying. “Don't you worry. I know I have it in here somewhere...” A pause. “Ah! Here it is!” He repositioned his hand so he could tilt her head up, and held something cool to her lips. “Drink this, it will help.”

Caeleria drank the spiced liquid, desperate for any sort of relief, and tried opening her eyes again. Her vision was watery and blurred, but the pain was subsiding slowly.

“Thank you,” she mumbled in disbelief.

“Just doing my job, miss,” the boy replied. He might have smiled.

His job? Curing the incurable? Probably just a coincidence. “Who are you?” she asked.

This time he definitely smiled, followed by a deep bow. “Tobias Hawkins, miss, at your service. My Lady bade me watch over you, so I guess I’m sort of your guardian angel.” He looked down at something in his hand. A watch, maybe. “Well, you should be good as new in a few minutes. I've got to be off.” He stood, patted her gently on one shoulder, and ran off down the road to the south.

Caeleria just sat there, dumbfounded. The boy had done the impossible, claimed to be something unheard of, and left just as quickly as he had arrived. Maybe he was just her imagination. Either way, she did feel better in a few minutes, just like he said, and her headache had returned to an ignorable tingle in the back of her head. Her knees hurt, though. With a sigh, she unfurled her perfect white wings and flew the last two miles to the Central Palace.

The Central Palace, so named because it was located in the center of Heaven, was where God lived and presided over the happenings in the universe. God would occasionally call meetings, to which he invited specific angels, but usually only when something was amiss. This particular meeting was the first Caeleria had been invited to, as she had come of age only three years previous, and the urgency communicated in the invitation suggest that something was very wrong this time. It worried her.

About ten yards from the entrance to the palace grounds, she landed and folded her wings, hiding them behind a glamour every angel possessed. Other angels flew about or walked with their wings uncovered, but Caeleria always hid hers. They were too perfect, so pure and supple that she was afraid other angels would be jealous of her. It was an irrational fear, she knew, since angels did not feel jealousy, but it was her fear nonetheless and she would keep it to herself. Hiding one's wings was not uncommon, especially among the lesser nobles and lower classes. Truly told, she was nervous about this meeting, since she had only met God once before at her coming-of-age ceremony. It was held in this palace in the grand ballroom, as every angel's was, but she had never been anywhere else inside. She preferred to live simply, in her small house in Cayse.

The gates to the grounds stood open, huge and white, each held by one of the Seraphim. They both wore decorated white half-masks, but she thought one of them was her brother, Gaebril. She nodded to that one, and he responded with a quick nod of his own. She continued along the tree-lined path, looking around wide-eyed at all the flowers and fruits and shrubs. It had been late autumn last time she had been here and the greenery was much different, more trees than bushes, and everything was the fresh green of spring as opposed to the earthy oranges and browns of autumn.

“You look like a kid in a candy store,” an amused voice said behind her.

She whirled to find Michael, her fiancee, smiling at her. He came forward and leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips.

“What brings you here, my love?” he asked, straightening back to his full height of six feet, three inches.

Caeleria took a deep breath before answering. “I was summoned to attend a meeting. It seemed really important and... I’m worried, Michael. What if something terrible has happened?”

He folded her into his arms and hushed her. “It's alright. It won't be anything we can't handle. I will be at the meeting as well; all of the Highborn were invited.”

“All of them,” Caeleria whispered into his chest.

“Let's go, Callie,” Michael said, releasing her. “Best not keep the Lord waiting.”

She nodded, taking his hand. They walked silently through the rest of the garden, its beauty lost on their uninterested eyes. As they approached the first stairway, Caeleria spoke.

“Michael?”

He hummed in acknowledgment.

“Have you ever heard of an angel having a guardian angel?” she asked.

Michael seemed to think for a while before answering. “No...no, I don't believe I have. Although, I suppose it's possible. Why do you ask?”

“Just something I thought of.” She shrugged as if it was mere curiosity, nothing to worry about.

Michael nodded but said nothing. He led her up the stairs, down a few hallways, up another two flights of stairs, and down another short hallway before stopping in front of a large wooden door carved with stylized baby cherubs. Odd, Caeleria thought, to find something so Earthly in Heaven. Then again, God did love his humans. She shook her head, dispelling that strange thought, and looked up at her companion. He place a hand on the large golden door handle and turned. The door swung open on its own after he let go, but stopped before hitting the wall behind it. Caeleria's mouth fell open with an audible gasp as she took in the scene before her.

The chamber was huge and square shaped, at least fifty yards across. She had no idea a room this large existed in the palace. The walls were made of pristine white marble with inset lamp holders. The ceiling was a clear glass dome presenting a quite lovely view of the sky. The carpet was deep crimson with golden threads interspersed throughout. All of the fixtures—lamp-stands, door and drawer handles, three hanging chandeliers, book ends, paperweights—were gold. Redwood bookshelves lined one wall, accompanied by matching chairs, while a large desk, also redwood, stood at the opposite end of the room. In the center of the room, and occupying most of it, stood a circular stone table so massive its like would not be found anywhere else in Heaven or on Earth. It had to be almost thirty yards across. It was surrounded by one-hundred seventy-five red lacquered chairs, several of them already occupied, plus one slightly larger chair for the Lord Himself. The proper name for this place was the High Council Chamber of Heaven, but it was also called the Red Room because no other room in the palace contained so much red as this one did.

Michael nudged Caeleria's side. “Stop gaping and take a seat. You're a noble, not a child.”

Caeleria closed her mouth and did as she was told. She chose a chair about a quarter of the way around the table from God's chair. This got her a skeptical glance from Michael as they sat down. She noticed a small number carved into the edge of the table in front of her: 42.

“Hey,” she whispered to Michael. “What does this number mean?”

He looked over at what she was pointing at. “That? It's just a seat number.” He indicated one in front of himself: 43. “See?”

Caeleria took her notebook and pen out of her bag and placed them on the table in front of her. More people started filing in over the next few minutes, but Gaebril was not among them. A woman with bright red hair and a white gown took seat number forty-one, her skirts brushing Caeleria's arm as she sat. She seemed not to notice, intent on watching something across the room, and Caeleria remained silent. She did, however, try to determine what the woman was looking at. Hands on her shoulders and breath on her face startled her, and she whipped her head around, careful not to hit the person in the face. It was Gaebril.

“You're early, little sis,” he whispered, pouting in jest. “And you didn't save me a seat.”

“Sorry,” she whispered back.

He grinned and replied, “That's ok.”

He kissed her cheek, then stood and took the seat to Michael's right. He placed a shiny, carved, white half-mask on the table before him, followed by a notebook and pen of his own. Noticing her gaze, he winked at her. She smiled and opened her notebook to a blank page.

A hush suddenly fell over the room. At the head of the table, behind the large chair, stood a tall glowing figure. He was half again as tall as an average man, muscular, and wearing a white suit and gold neck tie. His face was the epitome of perfection, neither young nor old, but also both at the same time. His eyes and hair changed colour constantly, or were all colours and none, but His hair remained neatly combed and cropped, and His eyes remained almond shaped. His skin was a lightly bronzed brown and seemed to shimmer. He sat in the large chair, folded His hands on the table in front of Him, and looked at each angel occupying the table. His gaze was both angry and sad. Every angel looked in awe at their Lord sitting before them. When He spoke, His voice was deep and gentle.

“My children,” He began. “I have called you here today to report a grievous loss.” The angels looked on expectantly. God looked around the room again. “The Book of the Lamb has gone missing.” Some angels gasped in shock; other cried out. “We believe it was stolen by an infiltrator of some king, but I am certain it was not a minion of Hell. I am certain there are no creatures of Hell in our domain.” He took a breath before continuing. “I have already conferred with Lucefer, and the leaders of Purgatory and Limbo, and we have decided to hold a council at the Bridge of Worlds. Each world will send a guide and an emissary. The guide from Heaven will be Eclipse Kahleigha.”

The red-haired woman bolted to her feet. “Me, Lord? But why?”

God smiled at her. “You know the worlds better than anyone. Your travels have been quite impressive, and the humans in your care have rarely suffered any serious calamity. You are an ideal choice for this mission, Eclipse.”

She made a sound like she might have chuckled but had stopped herself. “And who will take care of my charges while I am away?”

God gestured to a dark woman to his left, who smiled and waved to Eclipse. That seemed to relax her. She bowed with a “thank you, Lord” and sat back in her chair.

“I will let you choose the emissary, Eclipse,” God told her . “I believe you will choose well.”

Eclipse looked around the table, judging each angel. After a long silence, Gaebril cleared his throat, and was promptly shushed by Michael. Eclipse's head snapped immediately in their direction, and her eyes locked onto Caeleria's. The woman's bright emerald gaze seemed to pierce into the young angel's soul and deeper. She looked away abruptly and addressed the Lord.

“I choose this woman,” she said matter-of-factly, placing her hand firmly on Caeleria's shoulder.

God smiled and stood. “Ah, yes. Caeleria R'mald. An excellent choice. Although, as a younger member of this council, she does require permission from her three caretakers, who are present. Maiy, Gaebril, Michael, would you all stand?” They stood. He faced a woman in a light green dress. “Maiy R'mald, daughter of Keiran Omran, do you so permit your daughter, Caeleria, to participate in the Council of Worlds?”

Maiy smiled at her daughter and replied, “This I do so permit.”

God turned to Gaebril and asked, “Gaebril R'mald, Guardian of Heaven, son of Maiy R'mald, do you so permit your sister, Caeleria, to participate in the Council of Worlds?”

Gaebril stood up behind Caeleria and placed his hand on her available shoulder. “This I do so permit.”

God turned to Michael and asked, “Michael Peleias, Guardian of Heaven, son of Heaven, do you so permit your betrothed, Caeleria, to participate in the Council of Worlds?”

Michael took Caeleria's hand and looked down at her. She could tell he didn't like it, but she mouthed “please” and he nodded once before looking up and speaking. “This I do so permit.”

“So shall it be,” God declared with an air of finality. “The council is dismissed. Caeleria, Eclipse, and Muriel, please stay.”

Michael and Gaebril hugged and kissed Caeleria before leaving. Maiy made her way around the table to speak to her daughter.

“Callie, my sweet girl,” she said lovingly. “I love you. You know that. This is such an honour! I know you will represent Heaven and our family well.”

“Thank you, mom,” Caeleria said, embracing her mother. “I will make you proud.”

Maiy released her, smiling, and left the room with the others. Caeleria sighed. She felt afraid, like she might mess this up. This was one thing, above all else, that she absolutely could not fail at. She also felt excited, honoured, and important. As one of the lower nobles, she had to work harder than most to gain a position of power, and while this was not a position per se, it was a very important mission. If the Book of the Lamb was not recovered, the souls of the dead would roam with nowhere to go. Without documentation of whose soul was to go where when they died, none could be admitted to any of the worlds, and so they remained in the Void, the space between worlds.

“Now ladies,” God addressed them. “Let us drop the formalities and speak of the matter at hand. Come to my desk.”

He led them to the large desk and sat behind it. Muriel, the dark woman to his left during the council, sat in a chair to one side of the desk, and the other women sat in two chairs in front of the desk and facing it. God pulled a box from one of the desk drawers and placed it on the desk in front of him. From the box, he produced several sheets of paper, three rectangular devices, two black leather wallets, a lapis lazuli pendant and an emerald pendant, both spiraled with silver wire, four maps, and a white leather-bound journal. He handed the papers to Muriel, who began reading them immediately.

God gestured to the dark woman. “Muriel will be your liaison, since you will not be able to report directly to me.”

Muriel bowed her head to the Lord and spoke. “You are to check in weekly to report your progress, and you must report if there are any complications or important discoveries. Understood?”

Caeleria and Eclipse nodded.

“Excellent,” God said. He placed one of the rectangular devices in front of each of them. “These are human devices called mobile phones. This is how you will communicate. These are quite commonly possessed by humans in advanced civilizations. Now, these usually require electricity to function, but I have constructed these in such a way that they do not need to be charged.”

Next, he handed Eclipse the emerald pendant and Caeleria the lapis one. They both clasped them around their necks as he spoke. “These are tracking beacons. They allow us to locate you at any time and monitor your vital statistics, so if anything happens to you we will know and we can send in an extraction team.”

“A team?” Caeleria asked. “Is this really that...dangerous?”

God tilted his head in a sort of shrug. “It could very well be. We need to be prepared for anything. You will be going into Hell, after all. Never has an angel been sent to Hell expecting to return, so we must be able to keep track of you while you are there.”

“Yes,” Muriel put in. “If you do not call in weekly, we will assume something bad has happened to you. When you are in Hell, however, we would like you to report more often, if possible.”

“Understood,” Caeleria said with a nod.

God gave them each a wallet and explained, “These wallets each contain human identification cards and a credit card with no limit of funds. In addition, the wallets will produce any cash you require while you are on Earth.” He placed the maps in front of them. “These are maps of each of the four worlds: Limbo, Purgatory, Earth, and Hell. I am certain you do not require a map of Heaven.” Eclipse chuckled quietly, and God smiled at her. “Finally,” he said, placing the white journal in front of Caeleria. “This journal will automatically record everything that happens to you, so we may save it for the records. You must keep it with you at all times, or else it will stop recording. If you cannot carry it for some reason, I highly recommend that you write in it yourself.”

“Yes, Lord, of course,” Caeleria promised. She placed the items in her bag.

Muriel looked up from her pages. “You leave this evening. That gives you just under six hours to prepare for departure. You both know where the portal to the Bridge is. You will meet me there at six o'clock sharp.”

Eclipse gathered her items and the maps and stood. “I assume you will brief us further once we are at the portal?” she asked.

“Yes,” Muriel replied. “By that time we should know who the other emissaries are and I will be able to pass that information on to you.”

The red haired woman nodded. “Thank you,” she said. She glanced at Caeleria as if to say “let's go.”

Caeleria stood and followed Eclipse out of the room. They walked in silence for some time, making their way down stairs and through hallways. This was a different route than Michael had taken on their way in, and led to a different exit with a glass door opening onto a stone patio. Off to one side was a small pond, green lily pads floating atop sparkling blue water. A few of the lilies were blooming, others still in buds. Orange fish swam below the water, sticking their mouths up to get food every now and then. Eclipse stood at the edge of the patio looking toward the pond and took a deep breath.

“You know,” she began, almost as if she were talking to herself. “I hate being inside the palace. It always seems so...rigid.” She turned to face Caeleria. “Do you know why I chose you?” she asked, looking directly into the younger woman's eyes. Caeleria shook her head. “I chose you because you're young. You are not yet submerged in the politics of the worlds.” She spread her hands as if holding two things in balance. “Some feel they must uphold the equilibrium between the worlds, otherwise...” She closed one hand into a fist. “Catastrophe.” She waved her other hand. “And then there are those like you, pure of heart, and I know you will do what is right—which is to get the Book back no matter what the cost.”

Caeleria didn't quite understand. “Why would anyone do differently?” she asked. “The Book is the single most important item to all five worlds!”

“Indeed,” Eclipse stated. “But there are those—not in Heaven, of course—who believe otherwise. Many years ago, long before you were born, there was a rebellion in Purgatory. Some of the souls there disagreed with their assigned penances. They thought God was cruel and unjust, and they said the Book of the Lamb was the thing tying them to their fate. Of course, it was, and they hated that. They plotted to destroy it. Angels were dispatched to quell the rebellion and the guilty souls were sent to Hell.”

“I see,” Caeleria said. “That seems reasonable. But why don't we learn about that as children?”

Eclipse chuckled. “There are some things kept secret even in Heaven's history. I only know because I was their guide into Purgatory.” When she saw the astonished look on Caeleria's face, she laughed out loud, an almost musical sound. “Yes, child, I am much older than I look. I was one of the first angels. The only one still living who is older is Michael, I believe.”

“Wow,” Caeleria gasped. “Then you really are the best guide in Heaven.”

Eclipse shrugged. “I have traveled quite extensively. I don't know if that makes me the best but...” She pulled the maps out of her bag and handed them to Caeleria. “You will need these more than I.”

The young angel took them and muttered “thank you” as she placed them in her bag.

“Well,” Eclipse said with authourity, clapping her hands together. “We'd best get ready. Don't be late.”

She immediately turned and strode down a path leading to the east. There was a residential area in that direction for those of the highest class. Of course, as old as she was, Eclipse had probably been around when that area was built. Caeleria took a deep breath, composed herself, and set off toward the south. She had to walk around one side of the palace to get to the road, but that meant she got to walk through the garden again. As she approached the gates, Gaebril fell in beside her.

“Hey there little sis,” he greeted her with a smile. “You know, you'll never make it to the portal by six if you don't fly, especially if you have to go all the way home first.”

“Gaebril,” she frowned. “You know how I feel about my wings.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, yeah, but you know I’m right.” He smiled. “Come on, use those beautiful wings and I'll race you there. I'll even help you pack!”

She sighed, smiled, and shook her head. “Ok, fine.”

She unfolded her wings and took off before her brother realized she had agreed, but he caught up fast. He had always been the better flier between them, but he was also older and used his wings much more often than she did. His wings were mostly white but tapered to a light grey at the tips, and they were thicker at the shoulders, which meant he could fly faster and for longer than his sister.

“Hey!” he shouted. “No fair! You're supposed to agree before you take off, not in the process of!”

Caeleria laughed. “You never played fair when I was a kid!”

“Was?” Gaebril replied. “You're still a kid, as far as I’m concerned!” He laughed and sped ahead.

The journey took less than half the time it would have on foot. Gaebril arrived first, of course, but only a few minutes ahead of Caeleria. She could have kept up better, but the truth was, she loved flying. She preferred to fly alone, though, because she was so self-conscious about her wings. Gaebril had always said he loved them; he said they were an extension of her already flawless beauty. Once, he even said that if he could marry her, he would. That was before she was old enough to truly understand what that meant, but she never forgot it. Gaebril had always made her feel special, and she loved him for it.

As she landed, he waved. She stretched her wings before folding them back up and unlocking the door to her house. She motioned her brother to enter before her, then stepped in and closed the door behind her, hanging her bag on the peg on the back of it.

“I like what you've done with the place,” Gaebril said, admiring the sea blue walls and pine floor. “It's so...you, now.”

“Thanks,” Caeleria replied with a smile.

She had done most of the decorating herself, with some help from their mother. This was the first time Gaebril had seen her house since she painted. She had also made herself a new quilt for her bed, a golden sunburst on a background of different shades of royal purple.

“I like this,” Gaebril commented, gently rubbing the quilt.

Caeleria went to stand by him. “I just finished it last month,” she said. “It's my favourite so far.” She laid a hand on the soft fabric. “Could you...take care of it for me while I’m gone?”

Gaebril snickered. “If I do that, I might not want to give it back when you return.” He saw his sister's sad smile, and added, “Of course I will, little sis. Anything for you.”

He put his arms around her gently, in an attempt to comfort her, and noticed she was crying. He said nothing, knowing the best thing for her would be to just let it all out. He had learned over the years that she didn't like to talk about what made her sad, until after she'd had a good cry, and then talking about it only made her cry some more. It was a method he didn't understand, but accepted anyway, so he just let her cry into his chest for as long as she needed to. After a short time, she was still, only breathing deeply. One might have thought she was asleep, had she been laying down.

“I'm scared, brother,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I don't want to leave Heaven...I don't want to leave you, or mom, or Michael.”

She sniffled and rubbed her face on his shirt. That was the signal to let her go. Gaebril let her back away, but kept his hands on her shoulders, looking at her face. Her eyes were red, but there were no tears.

“You listen to me, Caeleria,” he began firmly. “You are a strong angel, and a strong woman, and I’m sure you'll have this crime solved in no time. Of all the angels I know, you are the only one always reading those human mystery books. If anyone can do this, it's you.” He assumed a fake British accent. “Come now, Holmes, let's get to work!”

She laughed at that, nodded determinedly, and replied in a weak British accent of her own. “Yes, Watson, let's.”

Gaebril patted her on the shoulder and led the way to her closet. “Ok, here's what you're going to do,” he said. “Get your two finest suitcases, and give me the smaller one.”

Caeleria immediately began rummaging in the back of her closet. Gaebril heard a few noises that didn't sound quite right, but he ignored them, assuming they were just some of his sisters craft projects. She emerged holding one large beige tweed suitcase on rollers and a smaller matching box that looked as though it was not supposed to be used for luggage. She held the latter out to her brother.

“Excellent,” Gaebril said. “Now, you use that one to pick out your clothes and books and bedroom things you will need for your trip, and I will pack your kitchen and bathroom type things in this one.”

“Ok,” Caeleria replied, facing her closet.

As Gaebril made his way to another room, Caeleria opened up her suitcase on top of her bed. The container was more than twice as big on the inside than it was on the outside. She could have fit every article of clothing she owned in that one suitcase, but she knew that wouldn't be necessary. She chose two white dresses, one long and plain, and one knee-length with bright green petticoats and ribbons. Two green dresses went in as well, three purple, one dark blue, one light brown detailed in red, one solid red, and two grey. She chose several corsets of different colours and hung them in the suitcase next to the dresses. She moved the dresses in her closet aside to reveal two pantsuits, one grey tweed and one dark blue with silver pinstripes. She added those to her suitcase as well, along with some complementary blouse to go with them. Turning away from her closet, she moved to her dresser. She opened several drawers and chose two pairs of leans, one light and one dark, a pair of magenta lounger pants, several t-shirts and tank tops, and some underwear, and added those to the suitcase. Finally, she chose several pairs of shoes, some heels and some flats, of various colours to complement her chosen clothes, and added them to the suitcase. She selected a few books from her bookshelf, another notebook, and a few pens and pencils, and added them to the suitcase as well. She then turned to face her closet to see if there was anything else she wanted to take with her.

Her brother came up beside her, placed the closed box beside her suitcase, and looked into the closet as well. “I see a couple of things you're missing,” he stated.

“Oh?” Caeleria asked. “Which?”

Gaebril reached into the closet and removed a double-layered yellow dress and a low-necked asymmetrical black dress. He turned to face his sister and waggled his eyebrows at her.

Caeleria laughed, taking the yellow dress. “Like I’m going to wear a black dress,” she said sarcastically, gesturing to the closet with one hand. “Put that back.”

“And what about when you go into Hell?” her brother asked, still holding the dress.

“I'll wear the brown one, or red, or grey,” she replied.

He sighed. “Well, if you're not going to wear it, why do you have it?” he asked.

Caeleria made an annoyed face at him. “It was a gift, if you must know,” she told him. “It was an anonymous package I received for my coming-of-age. There was also a silver corset and some black heels, both of which I wear quite frequently.”

“So why not this?” Gaebril asked. “The person who sent this to you didn't mean for it to hang in your closet forever.”

She clucked her tongue at him before taking the dress and hanging it beside the yellow on already in her suitcase. “Fine. But I'll only wear it in Hell, which won't be for very long!” she stated, placing her hands on her hips.

“Sure, little sis,” Gaebril smiled, closing the closet doors behind him. “Let's get these all consolidated.”

Caeleria turned a little dial on the top of the box, and it shrank to about half its regular size. She placed it inside the large suitcase, closed it up, then turned a dial on top of the suitcase, which caused it to shrink to the size of a large book. She then placed the luggage on her bedside table and turned to her bed.

“So, what now?” she asked as she began to fold the quilt. “Do we just wait?”

Gaebril checked his watch. “Nope, we should get there early. It's almost 3 o'clock, and it will take us at least 2 hours to get there.”

She nodded, patting the folded quilt. “That's right, the portal is in the far north...and we need to stop by your place first.”

Gaebril gathered the quilt in his arms while Caeleria got her luggage, and they went to the front room together. After placing the luggage in her bag, Caeleria went around her house, tying all of her curtains closed, and making sure all of her appliances were turned off, alarms unset, and doors closed.

“Ready?” Gaebril asked her.

She smiled weakly and replied, “Not really, but...let's go.”

He smiled at her, a strange look in his eyes. He put the quilt down and placed his hands on either side of her face, gripping slightly. After a long silence, and without any warning, he leaned down and kissed her lips with some intensity. It took Caeleria so much by surprise that she found herself reciprocating, against all decency. When she noticed what she was doing, she tried to back away, but Gaebril would not let her go. With the kiss broken, he stood still bent, with his forehead against hers. She sputtered, attempting to ask what in Heaven he was thinking, but no words came out, and he shushed her.

“If you weren't my sister I would marry you,” he whispered. “I love you, Caeleria.”

After a pause, he straightened and turned away from her, clearing his throat. Picking up the quilt, he opened the door and stepped outside. Still shocked, Caeleria gathered her things and followed him, almost forgetting to lock the door after herself.

“Well,” she said, not looking at him. “We should go.”

He glanced at her. “You go on. I have...things to do.”

Caeleria nodded, even though he wouldn't see it, and took off toward the portal.

Eclipse had been waiting for quite some time, it seemed. When she looked at her watch, however, it revealed that only ten minutes had passed. She was early, as usual, and expected the others to be early as well. Of course, when she was brought up, there were only a few other angels in Heaven, so punctuality was very important. She had gotten into the habit of being at least fifteen minutes early to any appointment she had, just in case. It bothered her that the younger angels did not have to worry about that as much. There were so many angels now that there could be at least three for every job that needed doing, and extra besides. Some jobs in Heaven were not performed even by angels at all, but ascended humans who could never be angels, but had become as near as possible. In fact, Eclipse had a human servant of her own who had been a lady's maid in life. Her name was Matilda and she took care of things when Eclipse was unable to. Eclipse treated her almost like an equal. She had her own cottage on Eclipse's property, most of which was taken up by her sewing projects and materials. She was the best seamstress Eclipse knew, and her skills had only improved in the few hundred years she had been in Heaven. She made clothes for Eclipse quite often, and usually unsolicited, which was not unwelcome. Matilda had excellent taste in fabrics, colours, and styles, and Eclipse had never turned away anything she made.

Fingering the soft green silk of her dress, Eclipse thought of her house and of Matilda. Would she be alright alone for so long? Eclipse did not know how long this investigation would take, nor where the journey would take her, or what would happen to her. She was just a guide, true, but she still had to traverse the worlds, and it had been quite a long time since she had left Heaven. For the first time since the Schism, the war during which Hell was created, she was afraid for herself.

She heard a thud of footsteps behind her and turned to see who had arrived. It was Caeleria, who had just landed from the sky and was beginning to fold her wings back behind her glamour.

“Wait,” Eclipse said, almost involuntarily.

The young angel froze and looked at her. “Wait, what?” she asked.

Eclipse took a few steps toward her and reached her hand out to one of Caeleria's wings, but stopped short. “May I?” she asked. Caeleria nodded and moved her wing outward a little. Eclipse brushed her fingers along the feathers, then traced the shoulder curve. She sort of pinched the edge as if she were testing to see if it was delicate or not.

“So beautiful,” she whispered, feeling the muscles beneath the feathers. “I had wings like this once, but...”

“What happened?” Caeleria asked.

Eclipse hummed, not realizing she had said that last bit aloud.

“What happened to your wings?” Caeleria asked again.

Eclipse released the wing and turned away, head down. “They, um...they are too weak now, and I can no longer use them.”

“I see,” the younger woman replied sympathetically. No doubt she could tell Eclipse was uncomfortable with the subject. After a moment, she added, “Here's Muriel, right on time.”

Eclipse forced a smile and turned back to face the other two women. “It is time, then?” she asked.

“Indeed,” Muriel responded. “But first, I want to let you both know a few things.” The other women motioned her to go on. “This council is only a formality. You, Caeleria, will be partnered with the representative from Hell, and you will conduct the investigation together.”

“What?” Caeleria blurted, plainly displeased with the notion of having a demon for a partner. Eclipse shushed her quickly, though, muttering that there was nothing she could do about it, so to keep her mouth shut.

Muriel shrugged and continued. “I wouldn't be wild about that idea either. Anyway, only one of your guides will be permitted. I hope the demon doesn't push for his guide to be the one. Once the choices are announced, everyone will speak about the situation and input their own viewpoints or ideas on how the investigation should continue. I suggest you listen to every idea, even if you think it's dumb or useless. You never know what information might come in handy, especially in a situation like this. And be wary of the others—all of the others.” After a pause she put her hands together and asked, “Are we ready?”

Without waiting for an answer, she stepped into the swirling golden mists of the portal and vanished.