Through Heaven and Hell

Cedric Christensen knew something was wrong the moment he saw the note.

No one in Heaven would leave notes.

He also knew someone had been in his chambers the moment he approached the hallway. The note rested on a table just inside the chambers. Black wax held it shut.

He reached into his back pocket for a blade and broke the seal.

Three words.

WE HAVE HER

Chills raced down his spine.

“Fuck, Eva.”

He already knew who the handwriting belonged to.

His brother Godric.

How Godric found out about Eva was a mystery. Then again, the two of them were planning to flee to Purgatory, where they could actually be together.

They had always been careful. Centuries had gone by since they first started sneaking around. Eva knew all the secret places where neither Heaven nor Hell could watch. Secret places hidden away not only from the devil, but God himself.

Hidden places that had been created long before angels and demons were even a thought in God’s mind. Before Humanaity. Places the Creator made as a reminder of love, grief, prayers, and silence belong to the soul experiencing them and no one else. Everyone was entitled to privacy.

They never stayed long or left traces of their commitment to each other, because both of their homes would consider their love treason.

Cedric’s pulse quickened.

If Godric knew…

He couldn’t even think about what he was already doing to her.

Snatching his sword up, he went to the balcony of his room. That would be the only way no one would see him leave.

Without a second thought, he spread his wings and launched himself into the sky.

For the first time,

An angel abandoned paradise willingly.

Taking Eva to Godric’s palace was too easy, but Cedric checked there anyway. No sign of her there.

Where else would he have taken her?

Cedric’s thoughts began racing, and he frantically took flight once again, searching every place he could think of.

No luck.

Then the words came through, almost like someone was telling him where to go.

The Garden

Of course Godric would fucking bring her there. The tree of Good and Evil was sacred, but unseen. It was unseen that people on Earth had failed to find it, and that was exactly where it was.

Earth.

Eva and Cedric had stumbled upon it by accident, each on their own. It was where they met. That was when they were younger. They would then run into each other in various hidden places, before Eva finally decided to make the first move and ask him to meet her at The Garden. The two of them had never run into anyone else during this time, so he was sure the two of them were the only ones to find it.

If Godric made Eva eat the fruit….

That was the only way to kill a Demon or an Angel. And that pain was the worst pain one could ever die by.

He had to get to her quickly.

The Garden looked untouched by time and something out of a painting. Humans couldn’t possibly imagine the beauty the Garden held. Every flower, plant, animal, creature that ever existed lived in the Garden in harmony. If the wrong people knew about it, the Garden could lose its purity.

Cedric knew he had to get to the tree.

It didn’t take much time for Cedric to reach the entrance to The Garden’s sanctuary. Something was off, he couldn’t quite figure it out from a far, but once he flew closer he saw it.

Smoke in the distance where The Tree was.

Shit.

His heart sank.

Eva was in trouble.

“EVA!” He called, bumping into trees along the way.

His wings were damaged.

He fell.

He had to walk the rest of the way.

If he hadn’t seen the smoke, he would have never found it. Cedric had only ever been there in the past by flight. Walking there from the entrance would take days. Luckily, he fell less than a mile away from the stone walls that housed the Tree.

Reaching the clearing, he could see the animals running around in complete chaos. The flames were engulfing the tree, but it didn’t seem to be burning; all the foliage around it was on fire.

At the base of the tree, he could see movement.

Eva.

Stumbling through the flames with a look of complete exhaustion, she looked up, meeting his eyes.

“Cedric, She whispered, with a smile on her face.

Then she collapsed.

Cedric knew he had to get to her, but before reaching her he heard slow clapping through the sound of the flames.

Behind Eva, Godric emerged from the flames.

A look of Pride was on his face.

“Brother, brother… Welcome to the party.”

Cedric remained quiet, watching Eva’s body, breathing shallowly.

Godric then stepped in front of Eva’s limp body. “Here for your demon? I wondered if you’d come.”

“FUCK YOU!” Cedric screamed, punching Godric in the face.

Scooping Eva up in his arms, Cedric carried Eva through the flames.

Just then, Cedric feels something. His wings. They start to repair.

Then, just as he heard the voice that had guided him to her, it spoke again.

“ENOUGH OF THIS.”

The flames vanished.

Cedric realised he wasn’t the only one who heard the voice,

Godric had fallen to his knees, blood trickling from his nose.

Then the voice spoke one final time.

“The greatest commandment has always been love.”