The Devil's son - 7. Heaven's Law

According to the latest data there are over 8 million people in New York City. Finding someone who doesn’t want to be found is virtually impossible. Finding someone you don’t know anything about is even harder.

Phjierl did not understand why he couldn’t find Jayden. In Hell all he had to do was think about Jayden and he knew exactly where the Demon Prince was. He never considered the possibility that coming to earth would diminish his bond with Jayden. He walked aimlessly through Central Park, noticing Jayden to be somewhere near the Park but unable to pinpoint the exact location. To say Phjierl was frustrated was the understatement of the year.

“What am I going to do?” Phjierl asked himself. “If I can’t find Jayden both he, the earth and me are in great danger”.

Phjierl walked towards the lake when he saw Arthur, Samuel and the Archangel Michael. At first he thought it was funny, the young Asian man standing between the guy who was on his back, yelling something to the guy who apparently caused the other one to be lying down. But than Phjierl recognized the Archangel Michael and he hid behind a tree.

“What is the commander of Heaven’s Armies doing here?” Phjierl asked himself. Being a lower level demon Phjierl wasn’t that intelligent so it never came to him it might have something to do with Jayden and Satan’s plans to invade the earth. One thing Phjierl did know, though.
“If the Archangel sees me, even in this body, I’m dead before I even begged for mercy”.

To any bystander the scene seemed as funny as it had to Phjierl at first. A small Asian/Latino guy yelling at a blond guy dressed completely in white who was about twice his size and the third, lying on his back in the grass, holding his head while trying to stop the Asian guy from angering the guy in white.

"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!"

“Who do you think you are, you insolent pup!” Michael answered Samuel’s threat. “I can have you next to your friend within a heartbeat and I will if you use His name in vain once more!”

As commander of Heaven’s Armies and His right hand the Archangel Michael wasn’t used to be spoken to like this. Most people would think it funny or refreshing but not Michael. He expected unconditional respect from everyone, maybe even from Him and no one could accuse the Archangel of having a sense of humor.

“Well, bring it on, than” Samuel challenged Michael. “You may be twice my size but I have a trick or two up my sleeve”.

Arthur was lying in the grass, holding his head. He had a searing headache and the skin on his forehead, where Michael had touched him, felt like it was burned. He saw Samuel standing up to Michael to defend his friend but Samuel was way out of his league here. No way he could defeat the Archangel Michael. Arthur tried to call out to his friend to tell him to leave, to get himself to safety but his voice wasn’t working. His mind didn’t allow him to say the words because it was being flooded with memories and knowledge. Some of this was immediately integrated in his mind but most just floated around or were being purged the moment the thoughts came up. Being the doctor he was Arthur concluded his mind was doing everything it could to maintain his sanity, purging or suppressing all the memories that were too much to comprehend for his human mind. But he knew he had to do something because he could see Michael’s fiery sword materialize and he knew he was planning on using it on Samuel.

At first Samuel didn’t realize something had changed but when he thought about this afternoon years later he realized the man in white was shining in a way no human could. But that afternoon the first thing that made Samuel realize something was wrong was when the man in white drew his flaming sword and swung it towards Samuels neck. Only an instant before the sword would sever his head from his body he heard a high pitched scream. Again, later he realized it had been Arthurs voice but he couldn’t make out what was being said. Whatever came out of Arthurs mouth was a series of high pitched clicks but apparently they made sense to the man in white because he lowered his sword. Arthur turned towards Samuel and tried to say something to him but all that could be heard, were the same high pitched clicks Arthur had made towards the man in white.

“Arthur, I don’t understand what you’re doing” Samuel said. “What’s happened? What are those sounds you make? Why can’t you speak normally?”

Michael was getting ready to execute Samuel for no other reason than defending me. That just wasn’t right. Samuel had no idea who Michael was or what kind of sacrilege he had committed by challenging Heaven’s commander. I couldn’t let Samuel die because of this. Although my head still hurt and my mind was in turmoil I managed to get up and stumble towards Michael. He had already drawn his sword and swung it at Samuel, planning on beheading him.

“No! Under Heaven’s Law I claim him. I forbid you to touch him!”

That did the trick. I just wish I knew what I had just said. It seemed the right thing to say and it stopped Michael from executing my friend, but why did I have the feeling Samuel would curse the day I saved him life from the Archangel Michael?

I turned to Samuel who was dumbstruck at the sight of Michaels sword.

“Samuel, are you alright?” I asked him but all Samuel did was look at me like I was speaking Hebrew.

“Arthur, I don’t understand what you’re doing. What’s happened? What are those sounds you make? Why can’t you speak normally?”

I don’t know whether it was a well thought plan by Ar’Thurian or just a random thought floating through his now burning mind but by invoking Heaven’s Law he did the one thing that made it impossible for me to carry on with the execution. Even I can’t violate Heaven’s Law. Ar’Thurian claimed this young mans soul as his own for as long as this man lives. He has bound this young man to him irreversibly. Ar’Thurian would be his master until the day the young Samuel died and if Samuel would not obey Ar’Thurian he would die instantly. Heaven’s Law also stated only He could now interfere by ending Samuels life but even He couldn’t dismiss the now forged bond.

Heaven’s Law was only invoked three times before in earths history. One time by me, to save Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; one time by His Son, to revive Lazarus and the last time during the Spanish invasion of what is now South-America by a high priestess to revive her dead son. That didn’t work out as planned though because, not being an angel or of divine descent, she shouldn’t have been allowed to invoke Heaven’s Law in the first place. Her son came back only partially, creating an undead monster not unlike the descendants of Judas Iscariot, the dreaded and hated vampires. In the end this young boy killed more people than the Spanish did before he was put down by my hand in His order.

But invoking Heaven’s Law wasn’t what surprised me most. It was the fact that he said it in Angelic. Clearly, I was successful in triggering his memory. Now we had to determine whether or not his mind was strong enough to cope with the truth. If not, he would go insane in a matter of minutes. The fact that he spoke in Angelic to his friend/slave didn’t fill me with hope.

“Ar’Thurian” I said in Angelic as well, “he can’t understand what your saying. He doesn’t understand Angelic”.

The blank look on Ar’Thurians face doesn’t fill me with hope at all.

Angelic? What did Michael mean with Angelic? I know Angelic is the language used by angels when talking amongst our own but I’m pretty sure I spoke English all the time. But of course Angelic comes just as natural to an angel as English used to be for me so mixing up the two could havee happened. Think of it as switching from your native language to a learned one all the time. After a while you make a wrong switch and you speak the wrong language to the wrong person. Boy, if I spoke Angelic to Samuel he must be freaking out by now. To a human Angelic sounds like a series of clicking sounds, different in pitch and length but certainly not as a language. Thank God I also remembered how to speak English. All I had to do was focus.

“Samuel, do you understand me now?”

When I heard Arthur speak English to me again I was so relieved. I already pictured him seeing patients talking in clicks. That would have been something. But when Arthur looked at me I noticed something had changed. The look in his eyes showed an old age he never had before and there was a sadness when he looked at me I didn’t like. It was almost like he did something he wasn’t too happy about and it involved me. Somehow I felt it had something to do with the man in white. As on cue the man in white started to speak.

“Ar’Thurian, we have things to discuss. Send the boy away so we begin our business”.

“Michael, first of all, my name in Arthur, not Ar’Thurian. Second, I need to talk to Samuel first and explain some things to him. That’s of greater importance to me than what you need to tell me” Arthur replied.

“Do not test me, Ar’Thurian” the man Arthur called Michael said. “Or I swear I’ll do …”

“You have done enough for one day, Michael” Arthur interrupted. “And you will not approach Samuel in any way, is that understood? Only He is allowed to challenge Heaven’s Law”.

“And you think he won’t?” Michael asked. “Invoking Heaven’s Law is in direct violation of Free Will”.

“I know and I will deal with that if and when the time comes” Arthur said. “That’s doesn’t change the fact that Samuel is off limits to you. Please don’t make me enforce my claim”.

“Very well, Ar’Thurian. You have your little talk with your serf” Michael said with venom in his voice. “I’ll be back to talk to you later”.

Arthur turned to me with the same sadness in his eyes.

“Samuel, we need to talk”.

Jayden walked into the ICU of Bellevue Hospital a little comprehensive. It had taken him several days and pretty much all of his charm to figure out the name of the Latino from the bookstore. He already found out the old man died of a heart attack. According to the police the old man literally was scared to death. Jayden felt bad about it but he never intended the old man any harm.

“But that’s not completely true, is it?” a little voice in the back of his mind said. “You did consider going back and finish them both off”.

“But I didn’t” Jayden argued with that annoying little voice. “I never went back”.

“Only because you heard the sirens so you knew the cops were there already” the little voice answered. “Face it, you raped a guy and left him severely injured in the video booth and when someone tried to stop you, you attacked that man as well. And now the old man is dead and the guy you raped might not survive either”.

Jayden didn’t answer because he knew the little voice was right. He didn’t go back but not because it was the wrong thing to do but because he was afraid the police would arrest him. And even now, here at the ICU, he wasn’t visiting to make amends but to determine whether or not the Latino posed a threat to him.

The cubicle at the ICU where the nurse said the Latin guy would be, was empty except for the patient. Normally at the ICU a nurse would be present and sometimes even a doctor. Jayden would have expected a policeman here because the Latin guy was the victim of a crime. So Jayden had spent an incredible amount of time to piece together as much about the guy as he could. He found out the guy was called Hector Fernandez, age 39, father of two sons, age 17 and 14 with his ex-wife. They divorced three years ago when his ex-wife had caught him in bed with a male prostitute who was only 16 years old. His ex-wife didn’t call in the police but made it very clear he would never see his children again and, if he wanted to stay out of prison, he wouldn’t challenge her about that. But that was only the beginning of his problems. Being from a strong Catholic family divorce was not something his family agreed with and, since Hector never answered any of his families questions, they decided to ask his ex-wife. She may not have called the police on Hector but she had no problems telling his brother why she wanted a divorce. After his brother shared the story with the rest of the family they declared him dead and he was cast out of the family and neighborhood. Since most of Hectors colleagues were also his neighbors he became a pariah at work as well and not long after that he was fired.

From that point on Hectors life was spiraling out of control. He couldn’t afford the house he rented since his ex-wife kicked him out and he also couldn’t pay child support anymore either, causing him to be summoned by the court. One year after his wife had caught him in bed with a man he was living on the streets, more dead than alive. He probably would have died if some gang hadn’t recruited him as a drug dealer and, because of that, the last year he managed to get back on his feet a little, renting a small apartment and paying for his sons again. It was never the life he had wanted for himself but at least things were looking up for him. Until he met Jayden, that is.

After Jayden found all of this out, he had googled Hector Fernandez and found an picture of Hector when he was a teen and one later, when he was 31 years old. Hector had been a very handsome man which made Jayden feel even worse, not for the rape but for the hard life this man had lived. When Jayden looked at the face lying in the bed he could see the handsome face Hector had had in his teens but also the damage done by living in the streets and being in organized crime.

Jayden heard voices in the hallway. His first reaction was to run but he decided against that. Visiting someone was less suspicious than someone running from the ICU.

“ …. Don’t think he will make it. He had the same kind of inflammation we saw in other gay men in the last couple of months but in his case it was more severe because of the lacerations in his colon” the first voice said. “We’re keeping him sedated but I don’t think he will ever regain consciousness”.

“And did he give any description of who did this to him?” the second voice asked. “I’d really like to nail this fucker. What did he use anyway to rape him? A harpoon with barbs? A broken bottle?”.

“Apparently, no weapon of any kind” the first voice answered. “It appears the guy’s colon was ruptured from being entered by something very large so we think it was a very large dildo or something”.

“So, you’re telling me it wasn’t rape” the second voice asked, incredulous.

“We’re not sure. It’s your job to find that out. We did find traces of lubricant containing lidocaine, though” the first voice said. “You don’t use lube with lidocaine if you’re planning on raping someone as punishment or if you’re not interested in the other party. Our thoughts are that this was consensual sex gone wrong”.

“But still, the guy left without calling an ambulance or anything” the second voice replied, unwilling to let go of the idea someone was to blame.

“True, but that fact doesn’t make it rape, only leaving someone in a helpless position” the first voice said. “I’m sorry I can’t help you, detective, but if you will excuse me I need to get back to my patient”. And with that the voices said their farewells and went their separate ways.

Jayden sat in the cubicle, thinking about what he heard.

“So the police wants to take me down for rape” Jayden thought. “Well, the doctor was right, it was consensual at first but he begged me to stop several times. No idea if that makes it rape or not”.

While Jayden was still in thought a young woman entered the room, dressed in scrubs.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” the young doctor asked.

“I’m sorry. My name is Jayden Lutin and I’m Hectors boyfriend” Jayden said, surprised how easily the lie about his connection to Hector came to his mind.

“Hmm, we didn’t know he had a partner” the young doctor said. “I’m Simone DeBoer, his doctor. You do know we found him in an adult bookstore?”

“Yes, we have somewhat of an open relationship” Jayden said. “We both have sex with other men as well and Hector also enjoyed the occasional woman”.

“So it wasn’t you who had anal sex with him, causing his colon to be turned into meatloaf?”

“Geez, doctor, are you always this considerate with the feelings of your patients and their loved ones?” Jayden asked amazed. “But to answer your question, I was not. We both were regular customers at the adult bookstore he was found, though”.

“I’m sorry.” The young doctor said, but to Jayden it felt like it was an automated apology. “So, have the two of you been together long?”.

“Hmm, not really” Jayden said. “And I doubt anyone even knew of my existence. Hector was very deep in the closet and not planning on coming out anytime soon. He had some very bad experience with his family when he was outed and he certainly didn’t want to repeat that. But, doctor, what I really want to know: will Hector recover from this?”.

“I think you need to prepare for the worst.” The young doctor said. “Not only did we remove his colon as a results of his anal injuries but we also found evidence he contracted the mysterious illness that is raging in the gay community. We are also afraid the injuries to his colon made it easier for the pathogen to spread through the body. We are keeping him sedated but I don’t think he would wake up anyway. Again, I’m sorry”.

Jayden recognized the way to apologize as something he heard from Arthur when Arthur was talking to a patient the other day. It was a distant apology, professionally detached but not without meaning like he thought earlier. This young woman just didn’t allow herself to feel too much for her patients.

“Doctor, if one of his family members shows up, please do not mention me having been here.” Jayden asked. “His family cut him out of their lives when he was forced to come out to them. If they decide to come and see him before he dies, at least let him die in peace and surrounded by his family”.

“And what about you?” the doctor asked.

“What about me?” Jayden said. “I’ll be fine”.

And with that Jayden left the ICU and Bellevue Hospital. Outside he threw away a syringe filled with cleaning detergent that he had brought in case Hector needed to be silenced.

Three days later a small message was in the paper stating Hector Fernandez, age 39, died of sustained injuries after being raped.

“So, that’s my story” Arthur said while downing the last bit of his coffee. “Wanna call dr. Mendoza and have me checked in?” Dr. Mendoza was the head of the psychiatric ward of Bellevue Hospital.

Samuel sat there, playing with his beaker. Arthur told him about the dreams, the incident in the park, the explanation from Michael who claimed to be the Archangel Michael and what just happened in the park when Samuel came running to his defense.

“So, if I understand this correctly I put myself in danger to save you while you never needed saving?” Samuel asked.

Arthur was taken aback by this question. He just told everything without holding anything back. Well, without holding anything back until Samuel was almost beheaded. Arthur hadn’t explained what Heaven’s Law was and Samuel didn’t ask yet. But the large elephant was definitely in the room and both young doctors knew it had to be discussed before they left the Starbucks they were at. Most people would have taken off screaming, or at least yelling someone is crazy. But not Samuel.

“Basically, yes. I wasn’t happy with Michael grabbing me like that but I was in no danger. Not only didn’t Michael plan on hurting me but even if he did I would have been able to defend myself. But is that all you have to say about it?”

“No, there is more but this is the most important for me right now. I don’t think you’re crazy, by the way. I don’t even think it only exists in your head. Remember, I saw the sword. And, truth be told, I already knew the name Ar’Thurian” Samuel said.

Arthur looked at him with the same blank look he had shown Michael before.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that” Samuel snapped. “When you started having the nightmares you mumbled the name Ar’Thurian a couple of times. It already ringed a bell back then, being Catholic and all. So I started to search in old books and I found a reference to Ar’Thurian, the subcommander of Heaven’s Armies; the right hand to His right hand. When I saw the flaming sword in Michaels hand this afternoon and I heard him call you Ar’Thurian it all made sense to me”.

“So you don’t think I’m crazy?” Arthur asked once more.

“No, but I need to know for sure. No way I helped you by coming to your aid?”

“No, I was never in any danger” Arthur answered. He was still bewildered because his friend believed him and accepted everything he told him.

“So, now I am under something called Heaven’s Law because I tried to help you without you needing it?”

“Ah, here we go” Arthur thought.

“Yes, you are” Arthur said, but offered no explanation of what Heaven’s Law was.

“And what does that mean?” Samuel asked.

“Samuel, you have to understand I didn’t know exactly what I did and I didn’t have time to think it through” Arthur said.

“That bad, huh?” Samuel said.

“Well, it’s not great” Arthur said. “Heaven’s Law is one of the highest laws the Kingdom of Heaven knows. Even Michael, pretty much the highest of us all, has to abide to this law. Only He can challenge Heaven’s Law and did so once. You are the fourth person to be under Heaven’s Law. It protects you against angels, both flying and Fallen, and the Armies of Heaven but at the same time it binds you to me. Michael didn’t use the term “serf” without meaning. It’s an old term for “slave” and that is pretty much what you are now. You have to follow my every command until the day you die. You can still decide not to do as I say but the forged bond will kill you should that happen. I’m so sorry” Arthur said.

“Ok, so how do we undo it?” Samuel asked, but he already knew the answer.

“It cannot be undone. Even He cannot undo this bond” Arthur answered.

Samuel closed his eyes, considering the meaning of all of this. If Arthur hadn’t done this he would be dead right now. If he didn’t follow Arthurs every command he would be dead as well. And he and Arthur worked together very closely.

“So, does that mean if you ask me to go and get coffee and I don’t want to I will drop dead?”

“I don’t know. As far as I know I’m the first angel ever to live amongst mortals this long without his powers or memories. And in only three earlier situations Heaven’s Law had been invoked so there’s little experience. I think it will only work like this if I really give a command I mean as a command but I am not sure. I have to ask Michael when I see him”.

“Please do.” Samuel answered. “It’s not that I don’t want to get you coffee but to drop dead just as I’m in the middle of something is not really appealing to me”.

“I don’t think I would take this as well as you do” Arthur said.

“Well, like I said, being dead isn’t appealing to me and if you hadn’t interfered that would have been it for me. And, as long as there’s life there’s hope. Maybe we can find a way to reverse Heaven’s Law”.

“Samuel, ….” Arthur started. But soon he saw this hope was all that was keeping Samuel together at the moment. “Just don’t count on it”.

“I won’t. So, I take it you could use a sidekick?” Samuel asked.

“A sidekick?” Arthur asked, not understanding what Samuel meant.

“Never read a comic book?” Samuel asked. “A sidekick is someone who helps the hero, is being trained by him and proves a valuable asset”.

“Yeah, I know what a sidekick is.” Arthur said. “And most of the time they prove to be a real pain in the ass”.

“Well, I think I can be valuable for you, if only because I know who you are so you can talk to me if you need to.” Samuel said.

“We’ll see what happens.” Arthur said. “More coffee?”

Detective George Russo was getting more and more frustrated. Not only did he come nowhere in the homicides he was investigating but now he also had a rape that wasn't a rape on his hands.

"Not a rape, my ass" he thought. No human being would go through that and still feel ok with getting fucked. Not that he understood why someone would want anything up their asses but that was their business, not his. He, he couldn't stand a thermometer being inserted anally. But this guy, this Hector Fernandez guy, he was ripped apart from the inside out. Even if it had been consensual sex there must have been a moment where Hector decided it was enough and had asked the guy who was doing him to stop.

"Hell, he probably begged the guy to stop, judging the photo's they took in the ER" detective Russo thought. He was a detective in the Major Crime Unit for almost 7 years now and homicide and sexual assaults were what he was dealing with on a daily basis. But these photo's had caused him to lose his lunch.

"As soon as he asked the guy to stop it was no longer consensual and it became rape. And even if I can't prove rape I'm sure going to take this guy down for leaving this guy lying there helplessly" detective Russo growled, just before he bumped into a young Afro-American man who was looking just as frustrated as he felt. He heard the boy mumble something like: "Where the Hell is Jayden?".

George Russo decided to call it quits for today. He wanted to go to his pregnant wife whose was almost ready to give birth to his children.

If someone understood frustration at the moment, it was Phjierl. He had been walking around the island of Manhattan most of the day but still hadn't found Jayden. Some time ago he felt Jayden was here somewhere, near the hospital where he just bumped into the tall, dark-haired guy. But right now he couldn't find Jayden anymore. For a moment it was like it was in Hell; Phjierl had been able to sense Jayden accurately. But within minutes he lost Jaydens location again, only knowing where Jayden had been. That had been here, at Bellevue Hospital.

If Phjierl had been human he probably would have given up because finding someone in New York City is almost too much. However, Phjierl wasn't human and, being a demon, he was very loyal to both his mission and Jayden. He would probably be searching as long as his human body could withstand it. And at least he now had a smaller area to search: Manhattan, or more specifically, The Village.