Heaven and Hole

Agrat, let's call her that, seemed a little wistful. "As for my story? Well you might find some elements familiar. There was this angel. Prettiest thing I had ever seen. Hell and the other place have come a long way since then. It's pretty progressive now. But back then? Back then, lots of things were verboten. I was head over heels, I'm embarrassed to say. Would have done anything for her. But she was scared. Scared of what she felt. Scared of consequences. The guilt got to her, I suppose. She went and told Clarence about us. A whole dramatic confessional thing. And..."

Here Agrat seemed overcome with emotion for a second. "And she blamed me. Said I had... I don't want to use the word she used. But forced her. They were different times, no one doubted the word of an angel back then."

She sighed deeply. "So I was heartbroken, betrayed by my lover, and now wanted for questioning by both sides. I fled and didn't look back. And I suppose I've been on the run ever since then."

Tom interjected. "That's all great, but Bobby? What did you do to him?"

Agrat turned to the couch. But it was Elena who replied. "Bobby is fine. He's in a safe place. Miss Shapiro found us. She explained more about what was happening, and I wanted to help Whitney."

She put a hand to her bruised face and the make-up smeared. I thought of what Raine has put Elena through. I thought about her knowingly submitting to that and couldn't help but go and hug her. Lily joined us, we both enfolded Elena in our arms.

But I still had questions. Leaving Elena in Lily's care, I rejoined Agrat. Tom levered himself painfully off the couch and sat with us.

One thing was at the front of my mind. "But Raine? Why were you with that scum?"

For the first time, Agrat looked uncomfortable. "Protection. They didn't just let me go. They kept looking. A few years back, I was almost apprehended. A friend got word to me just in time. But it was too close. I never liked Raine, but my enemy's enemy, or whatever the saying is."

Agrat took a deep breath. "But there is more to it than that. Part of my problem was power. Demons at my level, a few rungs up from you, Emma, we can be like beacons. That makes us easy to find. After my close call, I felt I needed to do something more."

I winced at the implied put-down, but asked her to continue.

"One way to mask power is to transfer it to an object, a talisman. But it can't be just any object, and there needs to be a keeper. That keeper is normally some supernatural being, but obviously that wasn't going to work for me. Then, through a contact, I heard about Raine. Here was a human, one who apparently had no connections to either Hell, or the other place, but had his own power. It didn't make a lot of sense to me, if I'm honest, humans seldom have such abilities, but I was in a hurry and didn't ask too many questions."

Agrat looked down at her hands. Shame is not a normal demon emotion, but that was what she appeared to be feeling. "I went into it with eyes open, but I screwed up. I was too confident that I could deal with the situation. I knew there would be a quid pro quo, that I'd end up having to scratch his back. But I had no idea about the true level of his abilities. I transferred some of my power to his staff. But he used this to bind me to him. Me, a pure born demon, on his metal leash."

Agrat felt her neck as she spoke, no doubt recalling her prior imprisonment. "He didn't break my free will, though he tried. But I was at his beck and call, he used both the power I had transferred to him, and my remaining energies to enable his experiments. I didn't know about Freya in advance. If I had, then I'd have found another way. The last thing I wanted to do was to attract Lucy's attention. But it was too late, and he was too strong."

Now Agrat closed her eyes and rocked slowly back and forth in her chair. It was obvious that she was consumed by distress and regret.

"And then April. Poor April. It was immediately obvious to me who she was and what she was doing. But I didn't want to interfere, to risk exposing myself. Then Tom... I'm sorry. Well I might have covered it up, but Raine overheard our conversation."

She looked at the ex-Marine. "I'm so sorry Tom, I know you had no idea, neither did I, though perhaps I should have; maybe I was too worried about myself. I'm much more to blame than you."

Tom smiled, but a tight, bitter smile.

"April was the final straw," Agrat continued. "I started to think about how I could get out of the situation, break Raine's hold on me, and also how I could punish him for what he had done."

Her face became harder. I could see more clearly the vengeance demon she had once been.

"But it wasn't so easy. Raine's powers were not normal, not normal at all. That had been my stupid miscalculation. To bind a pure born demon to him, to channel my abilities. That's not regular magic. That's serious shit. Humans can't do that stuff. Not unaided anyway. It's not the natural order of things for a mere human to dominate a pure born like that."

She paused, clearly ashamed again. Her earlier, relaxed attitude seemed a distant memory. "Then you two showed up. If ever I have seen a supernatural pairing, it was you. You reminded me of my angelic friend, I still think of her. And it was obvious who had sent you. So, I took a risk. I reached out to Lucy. I thought she'd most likely incinerate me, but Freya was more important to her. Also, she was interested in Raine and what he could do, very interested. Wanted to know all about him. I have no idea why. Anyway, I cut a deal: they stop pursuing me, I offer information and help out."

I wasn't entirely convinced that Agrat was telling us the whole story. One thing in particular had also been on my mind. "So, us meeting Whitney? And right after we had been talking to her parents. What are the chances of that happening?"

Agrat smiled, her head slightly bowed. "Well played Emma, I told you Cozbi was wrong about your intelligence. So, yes, that was me. Even with a chunk of my powers ceded to Raine, I was not without certain... capabilities. I mentioned beacons, how big a beacon do you think Lucy is? It was happenstance that I was in the vague area, supervising Freya on her... sabbatical. But, when I felt Lucy's presence, I just had to risk it and eavesdrop."

This made some sense, though the coincidence still seemed incredible. But it raised another question. "So did you engineer Lily and I landing there?"

Agrat raised her head, her smile now wider. "Vengeance demons are exceptionally good at planting ideas. And the lower echelons, like you, can be so susceptible. Your passions are so obvious, so predictable. Easy enough to take advantage of. And so here we are."

"And so here we are."

Lucy's bass tones rang out and she was with us. Oúriēl in tow.

Lucy's priorities were clear. She crouched in front of her daughter and held her hands. Oúriēl stood beside his partner and placed a palm on Whitney's shoulder. It was a touching tableau. No words were spoken for some minutes.

Then Whitney broke the silence. "I'm so glad to meet you, finally. I think part of me always knew. I've seen your faces in my dreams so often. Meeting Emma and Lily made me realize I wasn't crazy."

She stood and the three of them embraced.

Oúriēl spoke. "My darling child. Your Mother and I acted as we thought best, but I see now that your true nature has surfaced, it was never fully submerged, I suppose. I hope that soon, we will be able to welcome you as our own. But I have some things to iron out first. People to talk to. Problems to deal with. We will find a safe place for you here in the meantime."

Whitney looked a little downcast, but said that she understood.

Then her face brightened. "Could I stay with Emma and Lily? They've already shown how well they would look after me. That is..."

She turned to first me and then Lily, sitting with Elena. "That is, if you don't mind."

Lily and I answered with one voice. "We'd be delighted."

Lily continued by herself. "The Agency has been getting busy. We could really do with someone to handle the phones and to meet and greet clients. A sort of receptionist. Would that work?"

Whitney clapped her hands together and looked at her parents. They exchanged a glance.

"That sounds perfect," Lucy answered. "And I can't think of anyone better to look after my little girl."

She then walked over to where Elena and Lily were sitting.

"Miss Ramirez, I wanted to give you my deepest thanks. You knew how Raine had treated you, you knew to expect more of his vile abuse, but you still put yourself on the line to help Freya."

Elena shook as she spoke. "And to get that bastard."

"I know the pain he inflicted, Elena. I can take that all away. I can make you feel whole again. But I sense maybe you want something else."

Elena seemed conflicted, then spoke haltingly. "I want to forget. But... there are more out there like Raine, right?"

"Sadly, there have always been, child, and always will be. Men who crave dominion over others, and over women in particular."

"And there were other women? Women before me? Girls that he... used up?"

"Undoubtedly, yes, my dear."

"And you do things about people like him? That's part of what you do, right?"

"Sometimes, yes. But it's not just demons, you have heard of avenging angels, I'm sure."

Elena looked at Lily and took her hand. She seemed to make a decision. "I don't want to forget, not entirely anyway. I want to help. To help with people like Raine. To maybe stop other women from going through what I did. Could you just take the edge off, make it easier for me to function?"

"I could, of course. But my intuition tells me that perhaps it is Oúriēl you should be talking to."

Elena turned to the seraph. "I really want to help. Is there something I could do?"

Lily spoke up. "It's just an idea. And everyone knows that ideas aren't my strong point. But could she become an angel, Oúriēl? Like me, but maybe what Lucy said, an avenging angel? Is that possible?"

Elena smiled broadly at Lily and then addressed Oúriēl. "I think I might like that... er... Sir?"

Oúriēl was pensive. "It is certainly possible. But it is a big step. Maybe not one to contemplate when you have just been through major trauma. I also understand there is a man, one you like a lot. Mortal and immortal relationships are never easy."

Elena seemed crestfallen, but acknowledged the verity of Oúriēl's words. "Yes, there is Bobby. But I want to do something."

Oúriēl smiled. "I have a suggestion. I can grant you some angelic powers, with you still remaining human. Maybe that will suffice. But, if in time, you and your friend want more, well we can talk about that. Does that work?"

Elena smiled. "What powers exactly?"

"Let's go have a talk and leave the others to it, shall we?"

The seraph and chef left the room and Lily came to join me. Lucy next spoke to Tom. It occurred to me that there might have been another reason for Oúriēl leaving the room.

"Tom. Thank you also for your help, and for your - admittedly misplaced - bravery. Can I do anything for you?"

Tom shuffled to his feet, still in obvious discomfort. "Well, Ma'am you could do pretty much anything for, or even with, me, but I don't want to be a demon, and I don't think an angel would really suit me. Maybe you could conjure up some painkillers."

Lucy chuckled and a mischievous look spread across her face. "Well, maybe I have some ideas. Let's talk later."

She stooped and kissed Tom full on the lips. He blushed. I thought he had every reason to. Flirting with Satan, for fuck's sake!

"Feel any better?" Lucy asked him seductively.

Tom nodded mutely. His eyes wide.

Then Lucy stood in front of Agrat's chair. The demon got up, then knelt, her head bowed.

"There is no need for supplication, Agrat. Not anymore." Lucy took Agrat by the hand and raised her up. Then she embraced her.

They held each other for a long time before Lucy stepped back, simply saying: "Welcome home sister."

Lastly, Lucy came to us. "I know we had an agreement, and you were paid in advance, but I wanted to thank you both again. Lily, I know that Oúriēl has a position for you, but also that you are unlikely to take it."

Lily took my hand. "I just want to be with Emma, thank you."

Lucy nodded. "And I assume the same goes for you, Emma?"

"It does, Mistress."

"Well, I will respect your wishes. But, you will be looking after Freya now. In a way, that's going back to your guardian roots. I strongly suspect that you will have Elena to help as well. But, anyone looking after my daughter, needs to be of the appropriate rank. I realize that titles don't mean a lot to you now, but let me gift you some new powers, Emma. Lily, Oúriēl will do the same."

We both bowed.

"You have both proved to be excellent servants, but there is much work still to be done. I have a lot of questions for Raine, or what's left of him, and I suspect that this matter cuts deeper than just one rogue mage. If I am right, then I may call on you again."

We spoke together. "We will take care of Freya, and of Elena, and we are ready to help if you need us."

Lucy smiled, she put a hand on my head and - as I had when she took over my body earlier - I felt power course into me.

Smiling, Lucy took Tom's hand. "Now how about those other plans, before I go and talk further to Mr Raine?"

Tom and Lucy left us, the former grinning from ear to ear. We waited for Oúriēl and Elena's return.

I had another question for Agrat. "Sisters? You two are related?"

"Not literally, no. But we used to be close. Maybe some of Lucy's anger with me was about my choice in partners."

As Agrat finished speaking, Oúriēl and Elena returned, and Elena had wings. Not as large and powerful as Lily's, training wings maybe. She also had a more serene look on her face. It seemed that Oúriēl had at least eased her pain.

Lily hugged Elena and stroked her feathers admiringly.

Agrat addressed Oúriēl. "We need to talk more, but I have that other business to attend to. The thing that the three of us discussed."

"Of course, Agrat. Let's reconnect tomorrow, will that be enough time?"

"I think so, Oúriēl."

"OK, and I'll update you on anything Raine divulges. Lucy can be rather persuasive."

I was also interested in Raine. "What will happen to him? And does Lucy need any help with the process? I'd be more than happy to lend a hand."

"Thank you, Emma. But I think Lucy will be much more than Raine can handle already. He has information that she wants to extract. Then I know she also has several ideas involving perpetual torture. I'm not sure that she has made her mind up about which. Maybe she'll rotate them every ten thousand years or so."

"So, the information? What the fuck is going on?"

"I'm sorry, Emma. I can't tell you now. Soon, I promise, when we are more certain of our facts. Careless talk could be perilous at this stage."

"OK, I'm sure you know what you are doing, but I don't appreciate being treated like a child."

Lily left Elena and put a calming hand on my shoulder.

Agrat joined the conversation. "If I know Lucy, which I do, he will pay and pay and pay again for what he has done. I think few beings will ever have had such a bleak future as Nathan Raine. But now I must get going."

With that, Agrat visited each of us in turn. Taking our hands. Wordlessly looking into our eyes. Then she left to attend to whatever mysterious task Lucy and Oúriēl had assigned to her.

The archangel now approached Lily. "What can I do for you, my child?"

Lily didn't hesitate. "Your divine grace thing. Well I'm not enjoying the condoms so much, and I don't want to do that blue light thing every time I fuck. Could you calibrate it so that I don't run out of juice, but can still have my fun?"

Oúriēl laughed out loud. "Whatever you desire. But I'm also going to grant you greater powers. This is for your faithfulness. And also as my apology for what I did to you."

Lily bowed her head, Oúriēl extended his arm, and she was briefly bathed in light.

Taking my girlfriend's hand, I could feel a difference in her. She seemed to sense the same in me.

"We are really going to have a lot of fun now, Emma, aren't we?"

She gave the musical giggle that I could never resist and we kissed briefly. Whitney and Elena came to join us and it became a four way cuddle.

Oúriēl spoke again. "Freya, I can see you will be in good hands. Now if your Mother can extricate herself from human entanglements, we will be going, and taking Raine with us. But we will visit often."

Then he spoke to all of us. "As I am sure Lucy has hinted, a storm is most likely coming. We will need allies, so please expect us to call on you. And thank you once more."

With that, he left, in search of his demonic partner.

We stood together silently for a while. The offspring of Satan and a Seraph, a newly created human-angel hybrid, and Lily and I, now with powers we hadn't even begun to explore. But also just four women, ones who had shared both pleasure and suffering. Who had been through a lot together.

As ever, I abhor a vacuum.

"Well girls, I feel like this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Endnotes

• Emma and Lily first appeared, albeit in an uncredited, metaphorical cameo, in my quasi-autobiographical story, Desire. I found the concept of a she-demon / female angel couple, who were trying to cope with living on Earth, after having been thrown out of their supernatural realms, kinda entertaining. So much so that I wrote them a stand-alone story Off The Shoulder. I guess I got hooked, because here they are again. I hope to write some more Angels & Demons tales in the future.

• This is both the longest single story I have written (by 2,000 words) and the most complicated (probably by an order of magnitude). I was thankfully able to rely upon the help of a lot of wonderful people.

• Thanks again to onehitwanda, who helped me in particular with the beginning of the story and with some aspects of Lucy's character, and later reviewed the whole thing.

• Several other people scanned my first complete draft and made very helpful suggestions. This included (in alphabetical order):
  • Altissimus
  • Cagivagurl
  • Djrip -- who also drew the picture of Lily for the series cover art
  • joy_of_cooking -- whose feedback on both errors and plot points was particularly comprehensive
  • Mastered_again
  • Tio_Narrattore
• As for my regular collaborator, Djmac1031, well he was there all the way through. We also -- essentially for our own amusement -- intertwined the Universe that both this story, and Off The Shoulder, inhabit with that of his tale, The Devil And Angel Em, and its prequel, The Seduction of Darkness. There are many references between the four works, and some shared characters. It was really super fun to construct this interlocking web. And also stimulating to try to incorporate a really different dimension into our respective works. I hope we pulled it off, at least to some degree.