New Grey 4

 

            I tried desperately to make sense of what The King had said.

            “Who are you?”

            The question rang in my ears over and over. How could my own Father no longer recognize me? I used the edge of my war torn cloak to wipe at the tears and dirt that stained my face, praying for Him to see me.

            “Father,” I said softly. “It’s me. It’s your son. Your lastborn.”

            “You look familiar to me. News had come my lastborn was dead. You look nothing like him.” The King said as he leaned forward in his throne. His eyes narrowed as He looked hard into my eyes, searching for the answers held in my soul. When finally a spark of recognition reached His eyes, it was all I could do to not weep from joy. 

            “Lastborn, it seems you speak the truth, but your form is not as it should be. Tell me of your time on the fields.”

            I explained how my courier mission had taken me to the front lines. I told Him how the angel stood above me ready to strike but stilled his sword. I left out no detail when describing how the angel’s mortal wound mixed blood into mine. All the while, He stared with calculating eyes as I relayed every piece of how I found myself to be here.

            “You speak truth, Lastborn. But you are no longer one of us. The angel’s blood that courses through your veins will only grow stronger as it binds with yours.”

            The King sat back and rubbed his fingers against weary eyes. “It is no light decision that I make. You must know this. But we can no longer support you here.”

            I felt like I had been kicked down an endless well. Banished. From my home. The thought was near unbearable. “Father,” I pleaded, hoping beyond hope he would change his mind.

            “Have you not seen yourself since battle, Lastborn?”

            Suddenly, the question pulled me from my free fall. I hadn’t. I don’t know why looking at myself would make any difference. Surely this had to be a trick question of some sort. “No, I haven’t, Father. But why…”

            The King cut me off and waved toward polished marble floor surrounding His throne.

            I slowly tilted my eyes downward.

 

 

 

New Grey 3

     After three days of travel, the landscape started to look familiar. The trees became more twisted. The ground became more barren. The familiar scent of sulfur danced in my nose. I never realized how home sick I had been until that moment.
     I had been fighting in the fifth civil war for over twelve years. For most of that time, I was in charge of messaging and correspondence. I knew I would never be called as a general, and I excelled at my position. The last mission I was commissioned to do put me on the front lines. That's when I found myself with fatal wounds and trapped under a fallen sister. The Unknown Angel gave his blood and I found myself changed. After a bizarre encounter with strange creatures in the woods, I knew I needed to find answers. Home was calling me back.
     I breathed deeply of the acrid air and tears nearly spilled from my eyes. Had it been so long since I'd seen this place? The sprawling castle of The King looked sweeter than I'd ever seen it look before. I kicked my heels in to drive my horse faster. The last five minutes of the ride were at a dead sprint. I jumped from my horse and crashed through the castle gates. I barely heard my feet hit the cold stone flooring. My all consuming thought was to enter the throne room and throw myself at The King's feet and weep with joy at being home.
     And suddenly my perfect vision was before me. There He was. The King. Shining and beautiful and everything that made sense in my world. I finally loosed the tears from my eyes and they streamed down my dirty face. I raced across the room and grabbed at His ankles.
     "FATHER!" I cried with breathless joy.
     I was met with silence.
     "Who are you?" He asked.
     Then the world I thought had just been righted completely tilted.

New Grey 2

 

 

 

            My horse was skittish for a while. Not sure if it was the lingering scent of death or apprehension about moving forward. With each step farther from the battlefield, I could feel strength and power growing inside me. The Unknown Angel giving the Faceless Demon his blood. And now I was something new.

            My horse took me away from the battlefield and toward the timberline. Once I was surrounded by trees, I could hear whisperings. Each time I turned my head to see the source, my eyes saw nothing and the noise would stop. I nudged my horse to move a bit faster.

            I was very nearly through the trees when I finally saw black smoke tendrils dancing in the tree tops. Strange smoke creatures with reddened eyes looked back at me. Weird dog-shaped creatures that had clawed feet. They talked to each other in whistles and clicks, a language I was unfamiliar with. They moved almost ghostlike between trees just to reform ahead of me and watch me pass. I keep my eyes upward, watching them as I rode past. They didn’t seem malicious even though the sight of them was unnerving.

            Once I was through the thicket, I turned my horse around and looked back at the wood. There were hundreds of them crawling all over the tree tops, their red eyes luminous. “You don’t frighten me,” I stated in a clear voice.

            The murmurings stopped and they all stared at me. Then they hissed. I almost drew the sword I had at my side, when I realized they were laughing. They were laughing at me. All of them in unison, shaking the trees from their amusement. Why was I funny? And who were these things?

            I turned my horse away from the tree line and rocked forward in the saddle, encouraging my horse forward. There was only one place I knew to start looking for answers. And that was home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Grey

     It was black and charred. A twisted mess beyond recognition. It was hard to tell if it was a brother or sister. And the field continued like that for miles. Bodies broken and smoldering. The battlefield an overwhelming scene of death. I rode my horse along a twisted path to avoid touching the corpses. I did not want to disturb. I did not want anyone to know I was here. Everyone thought I was dead.
     After ten minutes of careful treading, I could finally turn around and take in the entire scene. There were hundreds of thousands of bodies from both sides littering the open field. The angels lay dead with the demons. The battle had taken more than its due from each opponent. I wanted to cry at the number lost by all. And where did it leave me? What was I now? Why was I spared?
     It almost seemed like a dream now. I was on my back, trapped under one of my dead sisters. The angel stood over me. I was sure he meant to drive his fiery weapon through me and claim his victory. He paused, and spoke “Surely, your wounds have already claimed your life. I can not claim what is already taken.” As he held his weapon aside, one of my brothers across the field made true with his bow and arrow. This nameless angel looked at his chest. He looked at me. “Learn,” was all he said. He pulled the arrow from his chest with a grimace. The blood from his wound was a fountain. It poured over me. It fell into my mouth and my eyes. I nearly choked. The angel fell forward and hid me from view. For the next three hours, I could only listen as casualties mounted all around me. The screams of my dying siblings intermingled with the prayers of the dying angels rang in my ears. At some point, I lost consciousness.
     When I awoke and heard nothing but silence, I pushed the dead angel from me. I was surprised by the ease of it. I sat up and moved my dead demon sister. Again, the actions were easier than they should have been. I stood up and found all my wounds had been healed. The angel’s blood coursed through my veins now as surely as my own. Some bizarre hybrid of light and dark. “Good” and “Evil”.
     Now the future lie unbearably open as I kicked my heels into my horse’s sides. I wasn’t sure where to go, so I let my horse decide the path.