“Go ahead,” Aengus told him, nodding towards the steps. “I will be waiting here when you return.”
David was hesitant, but he climbed them, surprised the gates creaked open as if they anticipated his arrival. Upon entrance, he was even more surprised to discover the inside of the building was circular, defying reality, his footsteps amplified by the domed roof. The entire space was bare, save for a long table situated at the farthest end. Three men sat behind it, watching him with calm, expressionless faces.
One rose, ivory wings rustling behind him as he moved. Although David was accustomed to the youthful visage of immortals on Earth, these creatures were different. Each feature appeared exaggerated to an unsettling perfection; teeth too white, skin too smooth, eyes too big.
“Welcome, David,” the standing creature said cordially. “Please, do sit.”
David noticed a chair had appeared behind him, but he did not take it. “Who are you?”
“My name is Michael,” the standing creature with muddy eyes and hair replied. “These are my brothers, Raphael and Uriel. We are the Holy Watchers, the Guardians of Heaven’s gates. Where once a Council stood to take care of all that transpires in the spiritual world, we now stand in its place.”
David frowned. “I knew the members of the original Council. What has become of them?”
“Please sit,” Michael repeated.
David complied, but kept him locked in a stare, waiting for an answer.
The creature sighed, moving to the front of the table. He was dressed like a man from ancient times, a white tunic wrapped around his overly muscular frame, a pair of sandals strapped to his feet. “The Council was destroyed by a goddess named Discordia,” he explained. “We have graciously stepped in and now act in their place.”
“Discordia?” The name sounded familiar, but David could not place it.
“She is an old Greek goddess, the goddess of chaos and strife. Ignored by worshippers and historians alike, she has been able to wage war covertly against the rest of the pagan gods, murdering most of you and destroying your realms. We did not wish to interfere, but she is causing too much trouble for us to ignore her any longer.”
David studied the being, trying to penetrate his impassive brown eyes. “You mean to convince me there is an unknown goddess who simply decided to wreak havoc upon us?”
“Your brother knew her quite intimately,” the creature named Raphael broke in.
David sighed. “Of course he does.”
“We brought you here because we have a proposition for you,” Michael continued. “The creature who calls himself Lucius has consistently given us problems since the beginning of days. We once offered him a chance to join us, around the time you and your … ahem, lover ascended to your own realm. But he betrayed us, as I’ve heard he has also done to you. As many times as anyone has tried, no one seems able to successfully kill him. Our only hope has been to keep him banished to Tartarus, but once again, he has found a way out. You are the only one who manages to consistently put him in his place. If you can take care of Lucius for us, we will take care of Discordia for you. And you are welcome to have the realm we gave your first wife so that you may rest with her and your child for eternity.”
David couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You want me to murder a creature who hasn’t done any wrong?”
Michael looked surprised. “You and I both know what he is capable of.”
“Well yes, my brother is nefarious at best, but in his current life, he hasn’t done anything to warrant his execution.”
“He has killed countless humans over the last hundred years,” Michael reminded him with a raised eyebrow. “Just because it is not on the scale of what he has done before does not make it any less wicked.”
“I have killed humans,” David pointed out.
Michael crossed his arms. “I am certainly not saying your actions are commendable. You are a natural sinner, just like the humans. But once your conscience was returned to you, you stopped. The handful of humans you fed upon over the last millennia were those who yearned for death—you were merciful in your actions. If you repent and agree to serve the Holy One by taking care of Lucifer, you will be forgiven and welcomed into Heaven.”
David squinted. “What did you call him?”
“You must be tired of life as a demonic immortal,” the last creature, Uriel, interjected. “Forced to live in the darkness and feed on the blood of the living to survive. What sort of life is that? You were once a great king who stood proudly in the sun.”
David glowered at him. “You seem to forget, I am not alone. I have an entire family on Earth I would be leaving behind.”
Michael revealed a glimpse of his grotesquely large teeth with a forced smile. “We have already promised Libraean a natural death. We allowed our brother Gabriel to reunite with him, and have arranged a place for them here when they both pass. Your friends Cahira and Dan are content to live out their lives eternally on Earth together—once they also reunite, of course.”
“There are other gods…”
“Surely you don’t mean Morrigan.”
David was quiet.
“I think you and I can both agree that the dark goddess belongs in the Netherrealms with her husband.” Michael snorted.
David felt a prickle of anger. “Do not presume to tell me what I feel,” he warned him.
Michael sighed.
“Show him, Michael,” Raphael hissed.
“I do not need to be shown anything,” David told him coldly. “I already know she has made her decision. That does not mean I hate her, or even him for that matter. You, creatures who supposedly serve a God of Light, are trying to convince me to murder my own brother and the woman I love, then abandon my Earth-bound son and any other poor lost god who has managed to reincarnate unscathed.”
Raphael jumped to his feet, struggling to maintain the calm facade of his brothers. “You seem to think you have a choice. Your realms are gone. If you do not help us, eventually Discordia will succeed in killing you all. Then you will cease to exist. At least if you agree to work with us, you will have a place to rest.”
David rose. “I will take my chances. Thank you for your time.”
He marched out and, as soon as the blinding sunlight hit, he saw not his son waiting on the shore, but Isis. Waves of ancient memories threatened to surface, pulling at the emotions in his chest. He forced them away, still not entirely convinced anything he saw was real. Like Gaia, she had taken her earliest form, a true Egyptian goddess dripping with gold, her blinding green eyes framed by straight black hair that swept her waist. “I had a feeling you would not comply.”
“Last we spoke, you were Hekate.” David crossed his arms. “You wanted to send Lucius and Morrigan to the Underworld then, just as the Watchers do.”
She came closer, her appearance shifting until her eyes had cooled to a soft jade, her skin fading, and her hair shriveling up into strawberry blonde curls. His rigidness softened at the sight of her.
“That was not me,” Gaia said softly. “That was Discordia. Isis and Gaia are the same soul. You were Isis’s companion at the dawn of time and you found me eons later as Gaia. Our love was pure and true. I agreed to work with the Watchers to bring you here, but the decision is yours to make. It doesn’t change the fact that I know in my heart you belong here with me and our son.” She took his hands, staring up at him with pleading eyes.
