“Oh, come now, it is a perfectly fine name. I can’t exactly tell the others you were once an Egyptian deity.” Michael stopped to study him. “We will have to alter your appearance a bit as well.” He waved his hand, giving Set human hands to replace his claws and smooth, human skin instead of jackal fur.
Set reached up to touch shorn hair, realizing his headdress was gone. He now wore a toga similar to Michael’s, his feet wrapped in sandals, and his own set of wings nestled neatly between his shoulder blades. He flapped them curiously, deciding he enjoyed the sensation. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad, he thought.
His eyes finally adjusted to the light, offering him the ability to see the vast aerial realm stretched out before him. Its landscape appeared to be constructed entirely of immaculate clouds against a vernal blue sky, besmirched only by the marble building directly ahead, also a hideous blinding white, but gilt-edged with towering columns.
“This way.” Michael guided him forward.
Set looked down at his feet, surprised he could walk down the nebulous pathway without falling through. He followed Michael to the front entrance, up the stairs, and through the domed archway. He was met with lofty ceilings like any other palace, but this one was littered with angels flitting around like common birds, the eye unable to discern what was actual ceiling and what was sky. He caught several of their glances, but they promptly turned back to their business once they saw he was accompanied by Michael.
The apparently high-ranking angel led Set farther down the hall, stopping at an open doorway. This room housed an actual ceiling of gold-streaked marble and was oddly circular, three angels sitting patiently behind a long desk. Set observed a fourth seat unoccupied, assuming it was the one belonging to Michael. Each creature rose as they walked in.
“Good morning, brothers,” Michael greeted them. “I have retrieved the Egyptian pharaoh.”
Set raised an eyebrow, prepared to correct him, but was interrupted by fluttering wings as they flew down from their high table to greet him with amiable handshakes and smiles.
“These are my brothers, Uriel, Gabriel, and Raphael.” Michael introduced him. “Uriel, Raphael, and I are the oldest angels in the Kingdom of Heaven, presiding over the congregation since the beginning. Gabriel has just joined us—a younger brother, if you will.”
The angel he called Gabriel was shorter than his brothers and much slighter, with such a lovely, youthful face it appeared genderless. Wide blue eyes sat above a small nose and pink lips, bouncy blonde hair curling around his shoulders. “It is good to meet you,” he said warmly, as he took Set’s hand. “What is your name?”
Michael promptly responded for him. “This is Lucifer.”
Set shot him a scathing look, but Gabriel nodded, searching his face with gentle eyes. “Yes, I can see that. His skin is so pale, he appears iridescent. Bright, like a star.”
“We are glad you have decided to join us,” the one named Uriel cut in. His dusty brown hair was longer than the rest, his eyes a sable green. “We needed someone of your strength and talent to lead the Watchers.”
Set raised an eyebrow. “What exactly am I doing?”
Michael led him by the shoulders. “Come, let us sit.”
The chamber filled with the sound of fluttering feathers as the angels settled around the high table, folding their wings behind them. Michael retrieved a chair, which he placed on the opposite side of where they all were seated.
Set reluctantly sat, irritated by the position of the chairs. “I thought I would be speaking with your god.”
Raphael, the only angel who hadn’t spoken yet, chuckled as he leaned forward, crossing his hands on the table. “God speaks to no one but us. He is not corporeal, he is transcendent, and does not speak in words that humans or creatures can understand. Therefore, we act as translators on his behalf.”
“How convenient.”
“As I said before,” Michael broke in, “we are the Archangels who watch over the congregation. There are over two thousand angels currently residing behind Heaven’s gates. One hundred of them were recruited by us to observe a human settlement in a place called Canaan. They were dispatched several years ago, but it has come to our attention that there has been a... disturbance among them. We have decided to send a hundred more, but we need someone strong enough to lead them. It cannot be any of us, since our work here is imperative. Therefore, we have decided to ask you.”
“Why not ask my brother? He is the one who created and led the humans for centuries. He is their beloved leader.”
The angels shifted uncomfortably, murmuring amongst themselves.
“God created humans, friend,” Raphael finally corrected him, brushing back a lock of his auburn hair. “And your brother is no longer available.”
“What do you mean, no longer available?”
Michael shot Raphael a warning look as he spoke to Set. “As part of our agreement, his whereabouts will be revealed to you after you succeed in your mission. But we can tell you that your ancient family died along with you, many years ago.”
Set was stunned. “But surely he must still exist.”
“Again, he is no longer available,” Michael repeated. “That is all the information we can give you. Besides, we do not need someone who has ties to humanity. We need someone strong enough to lead the chosen angels, to properly observe the humans without growing attached to them, and to make the corrections some might not feel comfortable making.”
Set paused, quietly studying the angels before him. Their unlined skin and crystalline eyes, forced into kind expressions against an immaculate backdrop, offered him a glimpse into their true nature. They had spent their existence in service of goodness and light, but they’d come to realize more was needed when dealing with the human world. They needed someone wicked. “I understand.”
Michael smiled, revealing a set of teeth so large and pearly, they didn’t seem real. “Excellent. So can we assume that is an agreement?”
Set sighed. “Yes.”
“The Watchers that have already descended are living amongst the humans under the impression that Samyaza is their leader,” Raphael informed him. “Continue allowing them to believe this. You are the one who will be secretly in charge and will correspond with Michael, divulging to him all the discoveries you make. The humans must not know we are from Heaven, so we must use human names. Yours will be Azazel.”
“You just named me Lucifer.”
“That is your angel name,” Michael explained impatiently. “You cannot speak an angel’s name to humans. Amongst them, you are to be known as Azazel.”
Set frowned, growing tired of the creatures and their strange ways. “Let us get on with it.”
The angels rose, offering him smiles much too wide and much too brilliant. Masks, Set thought.
“We are so happy to have you with us.” ANCIENT PHOENICIA, 2000 BC
The nefarious dark god Set, the impromptu angel Lucifer, and the one-day infamous vampyre known as Lucius, looked up from the tablet he had been studying. There, standing before him, was a child. Her hair was long and curled, with the shiny black luster that only children seem to accomplish and soft brown eyes wide with innocence. “Are you one of them?” she asked him in a small voice.
“You should not be here,” Lucius scowled.
“My brother and I were curious,” she explained. “But he was too scared to come in.”
“Well, he is good to be scared. Where is your mother?” He rose to his feet, looking to see if a woman had accompanied him.
