The Devil's son - 6. Angels in New York

Ok, so what do you do when someone tells you he’s the Archangel Michael? Like everyone else Arthur burst with laughter. Apparently he was not the only one losing his connection with reality.

“What is so funny” the man saying to be the Archangel Michael asked.

“You expect me to believe you’re the head-angel? The angel who led the armies of Heaven against the rebel Lucifer” Arthur asked, suddenly realizing he shouldn’t know that. His upbringing wasn’t religious at all. A detail the man called Michael clearly knew.

“Feels like the truth, right?” the man in white said.

“But you can’t be the Archangel Michael because that would mean last night did happen, I did kill a man and God exists!” Arthur cried out. He sunk on his knees, sniffing as tears filled his eyes. “Oh, God, I killed a man”.

“Get up, warrior angel” Michael said. “In the past you killed your share of low life scum, albeit demons. This one was no different.”

Arthur wasn’t listening. Suddenly he preferred losing his mind because than killing someone probably wouldn’t have such an impact. Killing someone was so much worse than going insane.

“Get up, Ar’Thurian! Don’t you have any pride?” Michael started to get angry. Maybe he had made a mistake sending Ar’Thurian to Earth for so long without memories of his true self. But He had insisted despite Michael’s objections.

“Lord, none of the angels has ever been sent away on a mission under these circumstances. What am I saying? No angel has ever left the Kingdom of Heaven for so long in any circumstance!”

“That’s is not correct, my son. You know better” He said.

“I’d prefer if we wouldn’t talk about the traitor, Lord. He doesn’t deserve being mentioned anymore when he raised his hand towards the Throne” Michael said, slightly ruffled. “Ar’Thurian is strong indeed but living on Earth, among mortals, without his powers of even knowledge of who he is or was! We would have to give him the lifespan of a human and we don’t even know if or when this threat will come to be! We would be condemning him to a lifetime of pain and misery and I feel that is just wrong!”

“That is enough, Michael!” He said. “You know I’m particularly fond of you, Michael. If I would have a favorite among the angels it would be you. But don’t assume for a minute you’re my equal! That was your friends fault”.

Of course Michael knew he would not be able to change His mind. He had seen that all those thousands of years earlier when his fellow-angel rebelled against Him, demanding the power of creation to be shared with the angels. Michael could still see him, lying on the floor, with Michael’s burning sword on this throat. One thrust and the stain on Heaven’s honor would be gone. But He had stopped Michael, showing mercy to the one who didn’t deserve any. Even after all those millennia he wasn’t sure when he had felt more anger: when his friend turned out to be the traitor Michael was hunting or when He denied Michael his revenge. And now this ….

His strongest and most dedicated warrior angel lying on the floor of a run down apartment, sobbing like the human child he appeared to be. It made Michael sick to his stomach and once more doubt entered his mind. For a nanosecond he thought He might not be infallible after all.

He tried and tried to reason with the human youngster that called himself Jim but enough was enough. Ok, so it wasn't a bad thing to be out of the filthy clothes he had waken up in and the sensation of having a bath was something definitely new and enjoyable. There wasn't a lot of water in Hell and the small amount they had was for His Unholy Darkness and his son Jayden. But when this Jim had threatened to lock him up in his room when he tried for the third time to leave the house the line was drawn. He didn't risk the wrath of Satan to be kept here in a room by someone this young. He had to find Jayden and warn him. He had been lucky enough to escape the pits of Hell like this. He had been looking at Earth when the boy whose body he was occupying died and he had known this was his chance to escape to Earth. A low level demon like himself could only leave Hell in three ways: by being summoned by a mortal; by being sent on a mission by His Darkness and, Phjierl learned recently, by occupying a mortal body that had recently deceased. Of course this was not allowed by His Darkness and in the end Phjierl would pay dearly for his actions. But that didn't matter. He had to find Jayden and warn him.

Phjierl was really fond of the young Demon Prince although love would be too strong a name for it. For love a soul is required and Phjierl didn't have any. Still, he remembered when the young Prince and he had met. Phjierl had been summoned by a mortal boy who had found a book with incantations and performed one. It was also his last since he was by no means strong enough to keep a demon under control. As soon as the boy had released Phjierl from the white circle Phjierl had slaugthered the boy, breaking the summoning spell thus transporting his back to the underworld. He had brought the young boy's soul with him since he had lost his claim to it when he cast the summoning spell. Unfortunately, Phjierl hadn't been able to save the Grimoire the boy had used as well, causing Satan to be really angry with him.

"What good is that boy's soul to me, you moron!" Satan had screamed. "There are only a couple of copies of the Grimoirev left on Earth and that number is decreasing rapidly. All those stupid children who think they can perform the spells as a game and are being killed by you lower level demons had their copies with them. So when their bodies are found so are the copies, causing the books to be destroyed!"

At that moment the young Prince, only 8 years old, entered his father's throne room, causing Phjierl's execution to be postponed.

"Father, what is wrong?" Jayden had asked. "Why are you so angry with this demon?"

"He was summoned but when he killed the human who summoned him he didn't bring back the book the child used" Satan explained his son.

"But father, the kill immediately broke the spell, not giving him time to grab the book".

“Still, I need to make an example out of him.” Satan told his son.

“Why don’t you give him to me as my personal servant, father? I can’t imagine any demon being happy with that”.

So the low level demon became Jayden’s personal servant and, in time, friends (although I'm not sure demons really have friends). Since that day Jayden and the low level demon spent a lot of time together. It was Jayden who had named him Phjierl since low level demons don't have names. And when the young Prince was sent to earth months before Phjierl definitely missed him. He didn't get the chance to say goodbye to his friend and, from what he had heard in the deep pits of Hell, Jayden might not even remember the lower level demon. But that didn't matter. He had to warn the young Prince His Darkness was assembling his armies to attack the Earth. With Jayden's help Satan wanted to leave Hell.

So that's why he was only a little bit sorry to step over the lifeless body of the one named Jim. He was lying on the floor with his head turned 180 degrees. His lifeless eyes looked up at Phjierl who turned off the light and left the house, in search of Jayden once more.

"But first I have to see if there is still some of this nourishment this body needs. I’m hungry!" Phjierl thought. "It certainly has an interesting name, bread".

"Get up, Ar'Thurian" Michael said. "We have a lot to talk about and not much time."

The Archangel Michael pulled Arthur to his feet and pushed him towards the bathroom.

"Get your face cleaned up and get dressed. We're going out for a while".

Going out was pretty much the last thing Arthur wanted. Why on earth did he have to walk through the park? If he had stayed with Jayden last night he would probably have had great sex and his sanity intact as well. Now he was taking orders from a guy who said he was the Archangel Michael who called him a warrior angel.

"Jayden!" Arthur thought. "I need to call him. I need to make sure he knows I'm alright."

He dashed out of the bathroom towards the phone, only to be tripped by Michael.

"I knew you would pull off something like that. Do you really think calling the cops on me would change anything?"

"Calling the cops?" Arthur asked. "I want to call the guy I went on a date with last night. If you hadn't heard, I sliced up a guy near the exact place where I entered the park when I left him last night. He might think it was me being killed".

"So what? Let him think that. It's not you'll have time for a second date anyway" Michael said.

"Oh no, that's not going to happen. I'm willing to keep an open mind here and believe all you said till now is true, but my work already makes it virtually impossible for me to have a normal life and you will not add to that. Now move and let me call him or I'll throw you out!"

Michael was pleasantly surprised. This was more the Ar'Thurian he remembered than the sorry pile of human flesh he had lifted off the floor. He was troubled about one thing, though. Telling Ar'Thurian who he was or what his mission was didn't do that; it was the memory of his date and the feelings of a mortal who shocked him out of it. A mortal man, nonetheless! This could mean trouble.

"Hey, you reached Jayden. If it's before noon I'm probably still asleep and if it's after 6 I'm probably at some party by now. Leave a message!"

"Hey, Jayden, this is Arthur. I just wanted you to know that I'm ok. I'm not the human shish kebab they found in the park this morning. So, if you're still interested I would love to go on another date sometime soon. But this time I'm planning it. Let me know, ok? Bye." Arthur hung up.

"Ok, I'm ready" Arthur said. "Hit me".

"Tempting, but no. Let’s take a walk" Michael responded.

When they left the building Michael put his arm around Arthur's shoulder, just in case the warrior angel needed to be led in a more forceful way. When the walked towards the park Michael smelled something foul. It smelled like an old evil mixed with pure goodness.

"Sodom and Gomorra we destroyed but this festering pest we allow to exist" Michael thought, once again thinking He had no idea what this poor planet was going through.

Once again Jayden was pacing back and forth in his apartment. It seemed to be his new way to spend his spare time.

"God, what have I done?!" Jayden cried. "I fucking raped a guy! What kind of monster am I?"

But that wasn't even the reason Jayden was so upset with himself. He knew both the store owner and the Latin guy could identify him so he had planned on going back to silence them both, permanently. He had already been walking back towards the adult bookstore when he heard the sirens and realized he would be making it very easy for the cops to arrest him if he was anywhere near the bookstore so he turned around once again and started walking towards his apartment.

So, right now, Jayden was sick with himself for both raping the guy and pretty much planning to kill both him and the store owner but also because he didn't know if either of them would be able to tell the police who he was. He had been in that bookstore before but there were no security camera's and he was pretty sure the store owner didn't know his name. The Latin guy he had never seen before. But his largest concern was Arthur finding out. Jayden was sure Arthur would never want to see him again if he found out.

"So I better make sure he never finds out" and with that thought Jayden started to pack a suitcase. "Just in case I have to make a quick getaway".

"Make way! Coming through! Two males, both unconscious! One apparently raped anally by a very large object, bleeding heavily. The other coding in the ambulance. Performed CPR but no rhythm or output yet!"

"Take them to Trauma 1 and 2!" Samuel said. "Never a dull moment in New York City"

It took Samuel maybe 5 minutes to decide the older man was a lost cause. The ECG showed large abnormalities and if Samuel didn’t know better he’d say the poor man was scared to death.

"The stress of what happened to the other guy in that store and maybe him trying to stop the perpetrator from leaving was too much for his heart. Anyway, we have been working on him for over 40 minutes now, 35 in the ambulance and 5 minutes here" Samuel said to the attending physician in the ER that day. He cursed his decision to stay for a cup of coffee in the cafeteria after his conversation with dr. Wall. As soon as the ER attending had seen him he had been drafted in an extra shift. And, of course, today the ER was flooding with pretty gruesome cases.

"Very well, dr. Berger. Call it" the attending said.

"Time of death: 14.35 hours" Samuel said, switching of the monitors. "And this concludes today for me".

"What are you talking about?" the attending asked. "You're shift isn't over yet".

"I didn't have a shift today, as I already explained to you" Samuel fumed. "I was only here to talk to dr. Wall".

"Yes, yes. And after that talk you had some coffee in the cafeteria waiting for Arthur Ericson. I know all of that. And now I tell you to go to trauma 2 and treat the other guy the paramedics brought in". The attending turned around and wanted to walk away when he heard the one word he never heard from an intern.

"No".

"No?" the attending said, turning around once more. "You do as you're told, is that clear?"

"On days I'm on the schedule, maybe. Today, definitely not" Samuel said. "Arthur never showed up for our appointment with dr. Wall and I'm going to see what's wrong with him. You're welcome to try and stop me but I guarantee you'll get hurt in the process". With that Samuel removed the disposable jacket he was wearing over his scrubs and left the ER. From trauma 2 he heard cries of pure agony.

"I can't imagine Arthur likes that" Samuel thought.

At first Arthur thought he was being led towards Central Park but he was wrong. Of course the Archangel would lead him to a church. Arthur started chuckling to himself.

"Unbelievable I'm even calling him an Archangel in my own thoughts" he thought. Michael looked at him with a strange look.

"Never mind. Just a funny thought that popped into my head" Arthur explained.

In front of him Arthur saw a huge church. He had been here once with Samuel who had taken the role of tour guide. Being a true Christian Samuel had taken Arthur on a tour of the most beautiful churches in New York, starting with the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Being an atheist Arthur didn't feel the same awe Samuel felt but he did appreciate the art and the architecture. He never thought he would be here a second time, though.

Michael led Arthur inside the Cathedral. Arthur saw Michael's face soften as soon as they were inside.

"Out there I feel all the wrongs in the world, everyone's pain and all the sins being committed. In here I feel more at peace, more myself. I'm closer to home in a church than anywhere else on the planet" Michael explained.

"Let's go to the back of the Cathedral" Michael instructed Arthur. "There is a window of stained glass I want to show you".

They moved towards the altar but Arthur stopped before they actually reached the holy center of the church. Michael didn't seem to notice Arthur didn't walk with him anymore until he was standing next to the altar. He saw Arthur standing in front of the steps leading to the altar. Michael frowned and gestured Arthur to follow him. Arthur shook his head, causing Michael to walk back.

"I told you I need to show you something so come with me" Michael said.

"I'm no Christian. In fact, I don't believe in God at all" Arthur said, causing Michael to frown even more. "I'm not supposed to go there".

"You're a freaking angel, Ar'Thurian" Michael hissed. "If there's anyone in this church deserving to walk towards the altar it will be you and me today. Now walk!" Michael turned around and walked towards the altar again, this time followed by a wavering Arthur. Arthur was looking around if no one was going to stop them but apparently no one seemed to care two strange man were walking towards the holiest place in the Cathedral. The funny thing is, Arthur was so busy looking around, afraid of being seen he never saw Samuel on his knees, praying. Samuel, who felt more at peace in the Episcopal cathedral than in Roman Catholic churches in New York, heard Michael talking to Arthur, though, which had drawn his attention. Seeing his friend in the Cathedral, walking towards the altar seemed strange to Samuel but he had heard Michael saying the name Ar'Thurian once more, reminding him if the things he had heard Arthur mumble some time ago. Going up to the altar would definitely get him into trouble so he couldn't go up to his friend. But they had a lot to talk about. And who was the blond man in white?

Arthur followed Michael while he was walking to the other side of the altar where a large stained glass pictured an angel with a flaming sword in his hands.

"Look, Ar'Thurian, that's me in the middle of that windows" Michael said while pointing at the blond angel holding the burning sword. "But do you also see the angel at my right hand?"

Arthur looked and now he saw a smaller angel with long light brown curls and a bow and arrow, ready to fire.

"Who is that?" Arthur asked.

"Can't you guess?" Michael responded.

Arthur had already suspected it was Ar'Thurian in the window but he still refused to accept that he indeed was Ar'Thurian. Still, the resemblance, even on a stained glass window, was striking. Especially the face looked like his reflection in a mirror.

"Ar'Thurian, we need to talk. Like I said, I sent you to Earth as a guardian for humankind. your task is to avert the disaster that is heading for this planet. In the year 2000 everyone in the clergy was afraid the devil would walk the Earth in the attempt to have a woman and conceive a child with her. However, they didn't know the year 2000 was in fact the year 2009 because of a mistake in the calendar. The conception had already taken place 9 years earlier and the woman the devil seduced delivered a baby" Michael started to explain. "All the powers in Heaven could not stop this from happening because angels are forbidden to tell humans what to do. Free will, and all. So the child was delivered and, after that, disappeared from our radar. Al we know is this child is a very strong demon, surpassed by Satan alone. According to prophecy the Son of Satan can assist his father in breaking free from Hell and conquer Earth."

"But what does that have to do with me?" Arthur asked.

"He decided to send a warrior angel to Earth in order to be our first line of defense against this demon and the unholy armies of Hell. He choose you. You were sent to Earth without direct access to your angelic powers or your memory so you would live among humans and be their guardian."

"How can I be their guardian without knowing who I am or what I can do? That makes no sense" Arthur replied.

"I know you feel that way but think back. What is the thing you've been doing the most in your life? Helping people, keeping them out of trouble or getting them out of it. If that's not a guardian, what is?"

"Ok, let's for a moment say I believe you, what in Gods name can I do against a all powerful demon?"

"Well, in Gods name you can do a lot, to be honest. And right now we're pretty sure the battle is at hand. Your powers resurfaced and they were not supposed to do that until you encountered the demon" Michael continued. "But somehow you're memories aren't coming back and they should."

"Maybe I purged the redundant memories when I was in medical school? You know, to create new storage space for things I actually needed to know?"

"Very funny. Come on, we'll go for a walk. What I need to do to trigger you memory can't be done here".

Michael grabbed Arthur by his arm again and started leading Arthur out of the cathedral. Again, Arthur didn't see Samuel but this time it was because Samuel had decided to follow his friend and the strange blond man. By the looks of it Arthur didn't like the way he was being treated one bit.

It was a funny sight, seeing Michael leading Arthur away from the cathedral, while Samuel was following them. You'd think an Archangel would be able to sense he was being followed but no such luck. Samuel was following them all the way to Central Park. It was a nice day to by out so it was busy in Central Park. Both Arthur and Samuel didn't get it. From Samuel's point of view Arthur was taken against his will so why was this blond guy taking his friend to pretty much the busiest place in New York today? Arthur was even more in the dark because Michael had said he needed to do something to trigger his memory and it couldn't be done in de cathedral. Arthur couldn't think of anything Michael couldn't do in the cathedral but could be done in a crowded Central Park. There were people everywhere, reading, jogging, just lying in the sun, with boats on the lakes and walking or playing with children. Michael stopped when they neared the Lake in Central Park.

"Ok, you need to have your memory restored and there's only one way I know how. Hold still cause this is really going to hurt". And with that Michael put the palm of his hand against Arthur's forehead and shot a huge amount of energy through it, causing Arthur to be thrown at least 10 feet away, landing flat on his back.

"Ouch!"

Samuel followed Arthur and the blond guy till they were near the bow bridge across the Lake when the blond guy all of a sudden released Arthur.

"Run, Arthur!" Samuel thought. "There are so many people around he can never get you again. He can't shoot you without getting into so much trouble. You have to run."

But things got even stranger to Samuel when the blond guy put his hand on Arthur's head like a priest does when you receive his blessings.

"Ok, maybe Arthur decided to be a Christian after all?" Samuel thought, but that thought was shirt lived when he saw a flash of blue light and Arthur lying on his back about 10 feet from where he had been standing. Before Samuel knew what was happening he was on his feet and ran towards his friend, positioning himself between his friend and the blond guy in the process. The blond guy was surprised, to say the least, especially when Samuel spoke to him.

"Look, mister. I don't know what you're problem is but if you ever hurt my friend again, I swear to God I will kill you!"