"Rachel’s
cloak fluttered as she sped through the dark tunnel. He was there.
She could feel him.
Shivering,
her fingers fumbled with the heavy material as she drew it closer to
her body. Puffs of white drifted from her mouth as she panted, trying
to catch her breath. With each step she took, it was as if her
angelic powers were being drained away. She stopped and slumped
against the damp wall of the cave, unable to take another step. Could
she do this? Even if she managed to reach him, would she have any
power left to save him?
Gabrielle
had warned her it would be like this, but Rachel had dismissed her,
especially when she first stepped into Hell. It looked just like
home! Lush grass and fragrant flowers lined the landscape as far as
she could see. Snowcapped mountains stood as a backdrop against the
clear blue skies—even the stream was located in the same exact spot
as in Heaven. If it wasn’t for the unnerving feeling in the pit of
her stomach and the hairs that stood on the back of her neck, she
would have sworn she was home.
Considering
Lucifer held his captives at the Lake of Fire, she had assumed Hell
was a vast empty land of sweltering heat. It wasn’t until she found
the cave hidden behind a waterfall that she finally understood what
Gabrielle meant about not letting her guard down. The cave was
frigid. The icy air seemed to seep into her pores and deep into her
bones, causing her teeth to chatter uncontrollably.
She
wished Gabrielle had given her more information about what to expect.
She would’ve dressed warmer. Gabrielle had only gone once, and she
had waited on the outer boundaries of the cave. According to her, one
time had been enough. It had taken her days to recover from the
experience.
Only
Raphael knew what Hell was really like. He had made Gabrielle wait
for him while he bravely went through the deepest depths of the cave
to reach the lake. He was the only person she knew of who had gone
down and returned—alive.
If
only she could have asked Raphael about what to expect and how to
prepare. She sighed. If she had, there was no way she could’ve
slipped away unnoticed. She would’ve been reported to Michael and
more than likely, would’ve been put on watch until it was too late.
A
sob escaped her at the thought of his death. She slapped a hand over
her mouth, horrified as the sound echoed in the darkness, bouncing
off the walls. Her body shook as she wrestled with the thought of
losing him. She had to pull herself together. If she were caught, it
would be the end for both of them.
She
took a resolving breath and pushed herself off the wall. I can do
this. I won’t lose him.
Her
feet scraped across the floor of the cave as she trudged forward in
the darkness. As she rounded a corner, she came up to a pair of
tunnels.
Which
way should I go? Her eyes watered, and she bit down on her lip,
frustrated. She was tired. So tired. If she chose the wrong one, she
didn’t know if she would be able to make it down the second. Time
was running out. She had to make a choice, now!
She
was about to go down the tunnel to her left when she heard a moan
from the right.
It’s
him!
She
raced toward the sound with renewed energy, and within minutes, she
came into a large cavern. Heat slammed against her body, making her
cringe in pain from the abrupt change in temperature. She stopped
suddenly, her arms flailing out as she tried to regain her balance
and not fall into the molten lava that appeared right before her eyes
threatening to singe the tips of her toes.
The
lake!
Immense
heat blurred her vision, and she rubbed her eyes. All she could see
was a sea of red heat. Where is he?
Searching
through the haze, she finally saw a faint figure, motionless. She
blinked again and gasped when her eyes finally focused.
No!
It can’t be him.
Across
the lake, chained to the wall, naked, was the one person in her life
who she couldn’t be without. The one person for whom she would defy
the orders of the most high of archangels just so she could save him.
Uriel.
Tears
spilled down her heated cheeks as she took in his once magnificent
body, scorched by the lava that splashed onto his skin. His beautiful
downy-white wings were now a grotesque black. With each movement he
made, feathers turned to ash and fluttered lifelessly to the ground.
“Uriel,”
she croaked.
Uriel
lifted his head, and pained eyes looked back at her, a startling blue
against the black of his charred face. “No,” he groaned. “Leave.
Leave now. He’ll be here—”
The
cave rumbled, and lava sprouted into the air. A splattering of the
searing liquid fell onto his chest. He arched his back and screeched.
“I’m
coming, Uriel!” She tore off her cloak and flicked her wings open.
“It’s
too late for me,” he rasped. “Don’t do this.”
“No,
it’s not. I don’t care what the others say. You’ve redeemed
yourself. You deserve another chance.”
He
looked deep into her eyes. “Forgive me. I’m unworthy of you.”
“There
is nothing to forgive. I love you.”
Desperate
to find a way to get to him, Rachel looked around the cavern. She
swallowed hard as she flit her wings and with all the strength she
could muster, propelled herself into the air. She was only able to
get herself a couple of feet off the ground. It was as if an
invisible barrier was holding her down. Frantically, she looked
around for another way to get to him and saw a narrow stone path with
lava washing across it. There was no other way to him.
With
all her might, she pushed herself upward, trying to get distance from
the fiery liquid. The cave shook again, and a wave of lava slammed
against the walls, sending droplets of lava flying into the air and
onto her wings.
She
wailed in pain and began to fall.
“No,
Rachel. Go back,” Uriel moaned.
Before
Rachel could tell him there was no way she was leaving him, she felt
a rush of air on her back. An arm wrapped tightly around her waist
and yanked her away from the lake, away from Uriel.
“Take
her…Gabrielle,” Uriel gasped. “Keep her…safe.”
“You
have my word,” Gabrielle said as she tightened her hold on Rachel.
“No!”
Rachel screamed, struggling against Gabrielle’s steel-like arms.
“Let me go. Let. Me. Go!”
Rachel
stretched out her arms as if just by doing so, she could hold on to
him. “Uriel! Uriel!”
Just
as Gabrielle flew out of the cavern, a loud thunderclap rocked the
cave, and the sound of his screams ripped through her, mixing with
her own.
Then,
silence.
He’s
gone.
She
fell limply into Gabrielle’s arms as they flew back through the
frigid tunnel. The cold spread to her face, her hands, and then crept
into her heart and the deepest part of her soul until there was
nothing left except a dark numbness. It didn’t matter. Nothing
mattered anymore.
When
they flew out of the waterfall and into the sunlight, she stared
lifelessly at the clouds drifting overhead. And though the sun shone
down on her face, she couldn’t feel its warmth. She doubted if she
would ever feel it again. The cold emptiness in her heart would be
there forever because Uriel was dead."
