Ira - A Seven Circles Novel No.1

Araboth – Heaven’s Seventh Plane

A very, very long time ago

Luci lounged against the open window frame, letting the soft breeze drift into his bedroom. He looked out onto the white spires of Araboth, watching the banners wave, the cloudless sky infinite, without a single blemish.

It should have been calming, the flawless perfection of Heaven’s highest plane. He was a whisper from the royal palace, so close to the almighty he was holy by association. And yet, he was feeling… unwell.

There was no other way to describe it. An unknown feeling had settled in his belly the last few weeks, and it seemed to grow, worsening as the days passed. No amount of leisure, midday naps, or mindless strolling of their white hallways had eased the dread slowly consuming him, mind and body.

He was leaning so far over the edge, his fingers curled around the railing, that his feet barely touched the marble floor. He kept his eyes trained skyward, squinting, as if finding the one flaw in their surroundings would somehow calm the questions going around, and around his mind. A knock at his bedroom door startled him, his nails digging into the railing, hair falling over his shoulder to cover his face, blocking that too-perfect sky out.

“Throwing yourself off a tower is a bit dramatic, even for you.” Came a low drawl from behind him.

“Who let you in?” Luci sighed, pushing himself back onto the safe side of the banister, his hair a golden mess around his shoulders as he turned to meet his visitor.

Beliel, possibly his favorite being in existence, had thrown himself onto one of his white lounges, dirty boots hanging off one of the sides, muddy boot prints marking the path he’d taken through his drawing room. Luci walked over, slapping at one of his knees in annoyance, his long white robe trailing in the dirt as he moved to the soft chaise lounge opposite the general.

“I let myself in.” Pearly white teeth flashed as he grinned, tossing something at Luci from where he was draped so casually. The stains would never wash out; he’d have to have it tossed out. He caught what was thrown, frowning down at it when his fist closed around what felt like a large round stone.

“What’s this?” He opened his fist, and in the center sat a beautiful light blue stone, with white marbling throughout its surface. “You brought me a rock?”

“It’s a gift.” Beliel drawled, rolling his eyes as he pointed to the stone, then up at Luci. “It reminded me of your eyes.”

Luci snorted, but closed his fist around the pretty stone. Sometimes he forgot that the general was but a child in their existence, still so new to their world, to the world of man, and the fluctuations in time as he moved between the realms. A year on the mortal realm was a blink of an eye on Araboth. And while Luci had just seen him days ago, for Beliel it had been much, much longer.

“You don’t need to bring me a rock; you need simply visit.”

“Hmm.” He made a non-committal sound in the back of his throat. “It’s not the same.”

No, it was not. Luci smiled, looking back over the white banister into the blue sky with its absence of clouds. He rubbed the rock in his hand, the pad of his fingers tracing over the ridges he could feel around the small stone. He had missed Beliel, had wondered how he was faring on his latest deployment to the mortal realm. He’d barely had any time to rest since his last trip, and they’d shipped him off with a new battalion on Michael’s orders. He clenched his jaw, wondering how many more times he could bring his concerns up with their creator before he was called out for favoritism. He was not allowed to intervene with Michael’s charges. But he couldn’t stand by much longer and watch the young angel be consumed by the world of man. It had happened to too many of their kind, and so quickly.

A tinkling chime caught Luci’s attention, his head jerked to the side, and he immediately broke out into a wide grin as he stood. Beliel looked up and over his shoulder, towards the large golden doors that were slightly ajar, leading into one of the many adjacent rooms off his bedroom. He ignored the gritty feeling under his bare feet when he walked through the dirt trail staining his white floors, rushing towards the doors as the chimes grew louder and louder.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” He called, momentarily forgetting the melancholy that had just weighed so heavily on his shoulders.

Beliel stepped into line behind him, following as he pushed the doors wide open with a flick of his wrist, low lights flaring to life around the room. He walked towards the large pool that took up the middle of it. The surface of the swirling water was cloudy, milky-white and translucent as a soft light pulsed underneath. Luci walked up to the edge, lowering himself onto the floor by the side as he watched, and waited with batted breath. These were always his favorite moments, and no matter how many times he was allowed the privilege of being present, it never ceased to amaze him.

Next to him, Beliel crouched, and when he reached out to touch the misty surface of the pool, Luci slapped his hand away. The general looked at him in bewilderment, his long dark hair falling over his shoulder, blue-green eyes flashing brightly, his lips curling in a silent snarl.

“Don’t touch the waters.”

“Why? They’re just sprites.” Beliel countered, rolling his eyes, but backing away, settling onto his haunches as he crossed his legs, elbow on knee, chin propped up on his hand.

“They’re not sprites, they’re souls.”

“Same thing.”

Luci rolled his eyes, the pulses of the pool coming faster and faster, the air in the chamber heavy with magic, the threads of power that trailed back and forth all around them thick with the powers being funneled into the waters. He heard the chimes, like a summer storm rolling through an orchard, setting the trees alight with noise. His smile hurt, his cheeks stretched to bursting as he watched the lights of the room dim, so low the only illumination came from the translucent waters.

In the center, ribbons of light coalesced, forming a sphere just under the surface. The power in the room swelled in thick waves, adding more power to the pool, receding, letting stronger waves through. Again and again, all the while they watched, with breath held, as a new being was born onto the celestial planes. The power in the small chamber burst, and he heard the first exhale from tiny lungs as the soul broke the surface of the water, arms treading water as the lights once again lit the room.

Luci leaned up on his knees, hands reaching into the pool to cup under the struggling body of the new soul, birthed from the primordial powers that had created all life. He felt tiny hands wrap around his index fingers as little feet folded under a delicate body, skin the color of golden stardust shimmering from within as the biggest pair of golden eyes he’d ever seen looked up at him. The newly birthed soul had a curly halo of hair, tumbling down its back, where two thin golden wings were connected to the water’s surface by shimmering threads of power.

He stood slowly, holding the soul delicately as the threads fell away from its back, one by one, and the surface of the pool misted over once again, dormant until the next life was to be born. Luci felt Beliel stand behind him, and look over his shoulder at the precious treasure cupped in his hands.

“She’s cute.”

The male commented, reaching out with a dirt-streaked finger to touch the delicate wings that could barely be seen over the souls shimmering shoulders. Luci lifted his shoulder, and turned away, the soul cupped in his hands, bringing it protectively against his chest as he glowered at Beliel.

“You know they are neither male nor female until they are born onto the realm of man. And you know better than to touch them. They must remain pure, unsullied by this realm or any other until they are ready to join the others.”

Beliel rolled his eyes, shrugged, lifting dirty hands up in defeat and backed away, allowing Luci to walk towards the open doorway. He didn’t miss the glances he kept giving the soul cupped in his hands, and felt the unsettling feeling back in his belly.

“Her eyes are beautiful, I’ve never seen one with golden eyes.”

“It’s not a girl!” Luci snapped, but when he looked down at the little glowing being, watching him with its enormous, pupilless eyes of liquid gold, he paused. It did look very girlish, something he had never noticed before this birth. Odd.

He walked out into his bedroom, heading towards the second chamber with large obsidian doors directly opposite the one they had just come out of. Beliel kept pace next to him, waggling his fingers at the little soul with the pretty eyes. It kept trying to look over the shelter of his hands at the dark-haired general.

How very odd.

The doors opened as they approached, and inside was another large pool, this one’s surface glowing every color on the spectrum from the many souls swimming inside its endless depths. Here, the souls of every mortal that would ever be born rested, until fate deemed it their time to join the life stream and head to their destined lives on the mortal realm. Luci was the keeper of souls, charged with watching over them, to aid their travel from the Well of Creation to the Life Stream.

Luci stepped up to the ledge of the pool, blinking eyes looking up at him, smiling faces darting this way, and that, as they sensed his presence. He reached down, Beliel stood at the doorway, knowing better than to enter. The threads of power winding back and forth through the air sang loudly as they felt his dark energy, their protests undeniable. The soul in his hands looked over his shoulder once again, and Luci couldn’t help but turn to frown at Beliel, those two-toned eyes of his trained on the golden figure.

“Will she sleep long?”

Not a girl, Luci wanted to shout, but when he looked down at the soul in his hands, its bright warmth heating the skin of his hands, he wondered.

“Only the fates know, dearest.”

He ignored the sadness he could see filling Beliel’s expression, the male nodded and turned away, leaving Luci and the pretty golden soul alone. Very odd indeed. He turned, looking down at the mortal soul that he held in his hands, once again feeling something deep in his belly, a pull. The golden rings he wore on his left hand warmed against his skin, and for a moment he thought the three Spirosai would make themselves known. But their gems simply burned bright, one second, then another, and then fell silent.

The soul in his hands looked up at him, her golden eyes far too knowing for having been birthed mere moments before. What was this feeling in his belly? What was this fluttering spreading across his chest, making it ache? He cocked his head to the side, long blonde hair falling over his shoulder, as he starred at the soul silently, thinking. He brought his cupped hands up to his face, bringing it eye-level, as if looking at it closer would give him the answers he sought.

“Will we meet again?” He whispered, knowing it couldn’t answer what it didn’t know.

It smiled, reached a golden hand out to touch the skin of his face, just under his right eye. Tinkling laughter echoed in his mind as he saw, and understood the feeling in his belly.

“Ah.” His voice was soft, a whisper in the enormity of what she had just shown him, because the soul in his hands was indeed a she. “I see.”

A single tear slipped down his cheek as he leaned down, breaking the surface of the water with his cupped hands, the little golden soul starting to slide into its depths. Within the pool, she would wait with her brothers and sisters until it was their time to be born earthside. She looked up at him, her halo of curls and golden eyes sparkling as she smiled, big and wide.

“Until we meet again darling girl.”

He whispered, emotions threatening to choke him.

And then she was gone, and Luci was left with the knowledge of what was to come.