Archangel Rafe (A Novel of The Seven Book 1) (29 page)

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Rafe translocated to Angelina’s side. She was unconscious. Again. Her breathing had quickened too, her chest rising and falling in short pants as if she couldn’t pull in enough oxygen.

Her face was pale. His heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. “She sacrificed herself for the good of all the Realms, human, Nephilim and Angel. This is not justice.”

Angelina calmed slightly, her breath evened out, when he put his trembling hand on her hair.

“Why did you do it?” Nora asked.

Why had he made love to Angelina knowing that if he were caught, the Realm would demand punishment? “I had to try to save her. Wrapping her in as much of my healing power as possible had only touched the edge of the death trying to steal her energy. It was the only thing left to do. Love is energy.”

“Even knowing the gesture was likely futile?” Victor frowned.

“I would give her my life if I could.”

Nora contemplated Angelina. “You love her very much.”

“Yes.”

“This troubles me. Justice is not balanced.”

“Without balance the order in the Universe will be upset,” Victor said slowly.

“My thoughts exactly.” Nora smiled, her face radiant.

“You don’t need to be so happy about it.” Rafe reached for Angelina’s hand, uncaring of the consequences. She was dying and he refused to let her die alone.

“Two sacrifices.” Nora took one of Angelina’s hands. “Her life for the Nephilim she saved. Your freedom for her life. Balance.”

Rafe stroked her hair away from her face. Could the Universe be so cruel as to take her from him? He didn’t care what they were babbling about. He only wanted to comfort her.

Victor nodded, taking Angelina’s other hand. “This is justice.”

Rafe stared at her hard. Was her skin warming with color? He stroked her hair away from her face again, her breath huffed a little harder. “Angelina?”

Her eyelids fluttered open. “Rafe?”

“Don’t.” He held her still, unable to believe, as her color returned and her hazel eyes brightened. “Don’t move.”

“Am I in your room again?” Angelina smiled, her eyelids drifting closed again. “You brought me here. We’re going to get in trouble.”

Victor snickered. Nora merely smiled.

Rafe looked at Victor and Nora. “How?”

“Now there is balance.” Nora smiled wistfully. “Your love for each other defies the boundaries of all Realms. You were both willing to sacrifice for a cause greater than your own good.”

“The Cosmos is already in jeopardy.” Victor said, “We cannot afford to lose those who will defend the sanctity of all life.”

She was saved. Relief and love poured through him.

“But you do realize you have broken the Law of the Realm. There must be consequences,” Nora said.

“Consequences?” Angelina’s eyes popped open.

“We can address that later,” Rafe said sharply. He didn’t want anything to upset her rapidly improving condition.

“Uh, hello.” Angelina waved her hand in front of Nora’s face. “I’m right here. What do you mean by consequences?”

Neither Nora nor Rafe answered. Their gazes locked in some sort of Angel stare down. “It is not my decision to make, however I can petition for leniency,” Nora finally answered. Then she looked at Angelina. “He broke rules to save your life.”

Angelina’s thoughts began to clear. Looking at Victor and Nora, she could see their acceptance and their sorrow.

“Why?” Angelina looked at Rafe. Why would he do that?

“You were dying.”

Angelina turned her head back to Nora. “He is not guilty of anything more than trying to save me.”

“I’m sorry.” Nora shook her head. Her blond hair brushed the shimmering skin of her bare shoulder. “It is not my decision.”

“Whose decision is it?” Angelina demanded, pushing up into a sitting position. “This is bull.” She squared her shoulders, angling in front of Rafe as if she could block his punishment with her body.

Nora laid her hand over Rafe’s forearm. “I am truly sorry.”

“I knew what I was doing was inadvisable.” Rafe shrugged. “However, Angelina should not be punished for a situation she had no control over.”

Before she could defend him and her, he shot her a dark look.
Shut. Up.

Angelina had no intention of listening. She spoke to Nora. She had one last screw she could turn potentially to blackmail the woman. “I have information about the Nephilim and your enemy.”

Rafe and Nora both stopped dead. As one they turned around to stare at her.

No one was going to walk over her anymore. She would protect what was hers.

And Rafe was hers. Whether she could claim him or not was another story but she refused to let him suffer.

“You are trying to bargain?” Nora’s outrage was not a good sign.

“No. But this is more important than some consequence. I’m going to give you everything I can and hope it helps. They knew about Uri,” Angelina said baldly. “They knew he was in prison and said their plan was working.”

“So what is their plan?”

Angelina explained what she had learned while being held captive in the barn. This was important. More important than some antiquated and ancient rule about humans and Archangels having sex.

“So the human realm is in danger,” Nora summarized slowly.

“The Nephilim are not the enemy. They only want peace to live without persecution.”

“Then why did they hold you captive?”

“There was one that I couldn’t see. He tricked the Nephilim into using my healing energy.” The presence in the loft. “He felt evil. And he was the one who wanted to unleash a plague on the humans.”

“He was able to ward the barn against my intrusion.” Rafe rubbed his hand over Angelina’s mark. “He used the Nephilim’s need for acceptance against them.”

“Then how did you get in to save her?”

“The ward disappeared when the presence disappeared. But do not worry,” Rafe said, “I sent Uri after the energy trail.”

“What?” Nora cried. “And you are just now sharing this with us?” A frigid wind swirled through the room, as Nora’s blue eyes turned glacial.

“He is the only one who can bind Remiel if captured,” Rafe said calmly.

“We must take everything to the council.”

FORTY-FOUR

The Realm Council was invoked for the second time in two days. Before that there had been only one other time in the last thousand years. And the head of each division of the Angelic Realm was represented during a Realm Council hearing. Since Rafe was one of their own, all of the Archangels, were also present except Uri and...Zach?

“Who are all these people?” Angelina whispered.

“There are three spheres in the Angelic Realm,” Rafe explained calmly. His heart thudded slow and sure in his chest as he rejoiced in her vibrant expression and the flush of life in her face. She was alive. He stared at her so long, she poked him.

“Are you going to continue?”

His mouth curved. “The First Sphere consists of Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones, you’ve met Nora, their head.”

Angelina pursed her lips. That was what she thought of Nora. Rafe focused on the way her mouth puckered into a little moue.

He ignored the physical distraction and gestured to the representatives from the Second Sphere. “The Dominions hold the position of mediator and head of the council. Their task is to regulate the lower angels. To their left is Victor from the Virtues. Obviously, you’ve met.”

Victor and Nora had saved her. He would forever be in their debt.

“What does he do?” Her curiosity was clear.

“The Virtues keep the Cosmos in order.”

Angelina nodded. “You are ascending to the Virtues, right?” Her throat constricted.

“Ah.” Probably not. “I was supposed to.” Rafe didn’t know what the future held at this moment. But he didn’t care. Angelina was safe.

“Next to Victor is head of the Powers who are the keepers of history and official scribes of this meeting.”

“Who’s in the Third Sphere?”

“The Third Sphere consists of the Principalities, whose duty it is to carry out the justice of the Dominions. The Archangels have Michael as leader and protector.”

She assessed the assembled group of heads of the spheres, her gaze narrowing.

“And the Angels round out the Third Sphere.”

Angelina gave a thoughtful stare at each head seated at the large round table. She stood her ground, shoulders back, expression defiant and mutiny clear in every line of her body.

“Where is the representative of the Angels from earth?”

“Uh, Angels are the only members of the sphere who do not live in the Angelic Realm.” Rafe was amused by the annoyance on her face. Basically every single sphere of the Angelic Realm had stomped on her, stolen her freedom, and pissed her off. But they’d also saved her. “They don’t have a representative.”

“That’s not right.”

“Probably not.” He conceded. “But unlikely to change for now.”

“Who do I address?” Angelina held up her hand.

With shock, the heads of the various divisions shut up.

“I want to represent the Angels and the humans.”

Nora tilted her head to the side as if consulting someone. “I’ll allow this.”

With a ripple of energy, the entire council sat.

“Raphael, please tell us what happened.”

He related the story. When he reached the part about Nathan and his abduction of Angelina, a huge gasp went through the crowd.

“Nathan is in prison. But he is refusing to speak,” Nora spoke calmly. “Raphael, please continue.”

Rafe continued the retelling of events until Angelina interrupted. “I made the leader of the Nephilim promise to open a dialogue with you.”

Nora raised an eyebrow. But Angelina was uncowed. “I told them you were reasonable. They just want to live in peace.”

“We will take that under advisement.” Nora turned back to Rafe. And he finally finished by explaining that Uri had left to follow the energy trail of the one in the loft and the room became still and silent.

“At this point, we must assume that Remiel is on the loose.”

“And that his intentions are not good,” Angelina interjected.

Zach shimmered into the room. “My apologies, council.” He bowed with a cocky irreverence.

“What is the news of Uriel?”

Rafe wondered if anyone else in the room heard Nora’s desperation.

“He is gone,” Zach said slowly, his brows curved downward. “I could find no trace of Uri.”

“None?” Michael stood, towering over the others still seated.

“I’m sorry.” Zach didn’t look very sorry. “It’s as if he vanished.”

“Our enemy has some method of blocking energy.” Rafe squeezed Angelina’s hand. “That is why it took so long to find Angelina.”

“So you think the enemy has Uriel?” Nora’s face whitened further.

“We must continue to search for him,” Michael commanded shortly.

“Remiel has something larger planned,” Angelina said carefully.

Michael said solemnly, “Everyone must be hyper-alert until Remiel is found and bound again.”

The Council nodded and murmured.

“There is one more matter that requires our attention,” Nora stated baldly. “Raphael the Healer has broken the Law of the Realm.”

The entire council fell silent. As one they turned to stare at him. Michael frowned, his arms crossed over his chest. The rest of the council also looked confused. Except for Victor.

The only noise was the gentle rustle of their robes as they leaned closer.

Rafe shifted so that he blocked Angelina from the view of the council.

“He has had sexual relations with the Angel.”

She flushed as one by one they turned to stare, their gazes filled with horror. Rafe could feel the heat coming from her body. The room broke into a cacophony of sound as they spoke among themselves, gesturing and staring at the two of them.

He wanted the Council to be focused on him, not her. Angelina did not deserve their wrath.

Even Victor, who had agreed to grant Angelina her life back, shook his bald head. The natural light from the skylights bounced off his shiny skull, gleaming in the ambient light.

Rafe stayed silent. There was no defense against what he had done. However he refused to feel badly because Angelina had given him back his ability to empathize, a condition he had lost along the way. And to have lived within her sphere, even if his life was cut short, was far better than to have continued the way he had been existing.

“How do you go from being completely disconnected to...that?” Victor waved at hand at Angelina.

Behind him he could feel the anger rolling off Angelina. Victor was starting to piss her off.

“We need to discuss the judgment,” Nora said.

Rafe nodded silently, content with whatever sanction bestowed on him. He still hadn’t said one word to defend himself. He was saving his arguments for the one thing that mattered. Protecting Angelina.

“Sex with me is the worst action Rafe could take in the Angelic Realm?” Angelina faced the Council.

“There must be consequences,” Rafe said quietly. He laid his palm over her forearm, the gesture meant to be a gentle reminder to hold her temper. But with the tension he felt in her muscles, he might have to stop her physically.

The Council broke out into small conversations as the members argued about those consequences. As the discussion raged around them, Rafe turned to his back to the Council and curled over her, cocooning them in an intimate bubble.

“Please be silent and I will try to spare you from their anger,” Rafe said.

“You want me to just sit back and let you get in trouble?”

“That would be my preference, yes.”

“What if I can’t do that?” Her hazel eyes glowed with passion.

“I am begging you to let me protect you.” He brushed a hand over a stray hair and smiled tenderly. “You are such a warrior.”

“I can’t, Rafe,” she said. “They are making us sound dirty. That is not what happened.”

He nodded. She was right. But the Council did not labor under the directive to accept shades of gray. He only hoped they would grant him a chance.

“It is enough that we know the truth.” He wanted to kiss her, to give himself over to the most intimate act, and bathe in her purity of spirit. But Rafe would spare her the outrage of the Council. He stared into the multi-hued sunbursts of her eyes, and imbued all of his purpose and meaning and love into his gaze.