8

Hades was not as I expected it to be. For one, it was not as dark as I had been told. Neither was it as cold as I had expected. Hades was so like Earth that I could barely see the difference. Naturally, I suppose, since Earth and Hades are both part of the real realm, while Heaven belongs to the ethereal.

Of course, there were some distinctions. Lucifer himself seemed more actual here than he had in Heaven, when his name was Samael. That is to say, a definite change had occurred in his physical state since he had arrived here, something undefinable except to say that he seemed to exist more in the here and now.

The one now called The Accuser greeted me warmly. He embraced me closely and kissed my cheek. I was taken aback for I, a mere Angel, had never been treated as an equal to anybody except other Angels. We were the servants of heaven, subordinate to all, even to humans. He still had the appearance of a Seraph and they had never treated me with more than the required courtesy afforded one being to another.

“Everyone is equal here, brother,” he answered my unspoken question. “I bow to no one and no one bows to me.”

Again I was shocked. The hierarchy in Heaven was strictly ordered. How could it be otherwise?

“I have not come here for pleasantries, but I thank you for your kindness,” I said to him.

“Of course,” he said, “I know why you are here. But I’m afraid I cannot help you find the dragon.”

“That is not why I came. I want to know about the Caves.”

He looked surprised, then laughed quietly before saying, “Ah, you already know something the Cherubim do not. That is why they, the Thrones, chose you. You are smarter than you look, you know. I guess not all Angels were created equal, after all. Although I must confess, I expected them to send someone taller. You do not look strong enough to slay a dragon.”

“So you told the dragons about the Caves then?” I inquired.

“You already know that I did.”

“But I want to hear you confess it.”

“I will confess that there are no coincidences,” he answered. I looked at him carefully. He smiled at me and asked me, “what did you really come here to ask?”

“What is the true reason for your punishment? Were you really punished for not bowing to man?”

“Ah,” he laughed softly, “it is as they say. I refused to bow before the human. That creature is not superior to my dragons. Of course, their choice not to bow was their own. They knew as I did, that rebellion would mean punishment. I did not — could not — command them to disobey. Do you understand that? It was their choice...” his voice wistfully faded away. A tear came to his eye.

“You made a choice to disobey,” I said. “Disobedience has consequences.”

“Yes, of course,” he said. “That is the true reason I am in Hades. I made a choice to be here.” And with that, he turned his back and flew away from me.

Disobedience. The cause of his downfall. The only sin worthy of punishment.

We had been taught that only man had been given the power to choose between right and wrong. But that was incorrect. The dragons had been given the power of choice. Samael obviously also had the power. Perhaps I also had been given the power to choose. Did making a choice implicitly mean disobedience?

I flew to Heaven to complete my investigation. I needed to know one simple thing: if indeed every living thing had the power to make choices, then why were the dragons and Samael punished for using that ability? I went to Michael and asked him exactly that.

But all he could say was, “Oh Anael, you are lost...” before tearfully embracing me and leaving me alone.

Again I was guided by a Seraph before the Host of Heaven. Again a Throne spoke to me, commanding me to carry out my mission.Find the dragon. Destroy the dragon.

But this time I answered.No. And instantly, I found myself falling from Heaven, my wings burning in the atmosphere.