A question of Judgment.
Lynne walked in the darkness for some time, more to think and clear her mind than anything else. Almost of their own volition, her footsteps found their way past a graveyard she recognized. She was within a few streets of the cafe where she was to meet Josh. The night was mostly clear, a few clouds occasionally obscuring the moon, and the streetlamps mostly intact. The occasional gaps of darkness seemed to swallow her as she walked past a cornerstone statue of a thin feminine angel, eyes bound, wings outstretched, sword in one hand, scales in the other.
An obvious place for a tether, perhaps, but then so too were churches, hospitals or libraries.
Lynne paused to look about. Not surprisingly, only one street lamp was working nearby, and it threw the entire silent graveyard into chiaroscuro. She caught her breath as a silent shadow swathed figure moved on the other side of the fence from behind the statue.
'i am pleased with you, orli'
came the quiet, almost sibilant voice from beyond the veil.
'in action if not in thought'
'you are one of my favoured servants'
"Master?" the word slipped from her lips involuntarily and she lowered her gaze to the ground. The uncertainty of the nameless concern which had filled her earlier was replaced by a different type of fear altogether. This one was as familiar as a lover, and had a name.
She waited silently, picking out the mossy outgrowths on the grave at her feet through the dim light. She said soberly, "I was concerned earlier. How might I best serve?"
There was silence, but for the distant car sounds in the city. Faintly a siren could be heard for a moment but then was gone. The swathed figure was obscured mostly by darkness, but the sibilant voice abruptly broke the night, cutting like a knife.
'i entrust you with what i entrust no other'
'you will now know part of my mind'
Part of her trembled at this pronouncement.
'you are free, Orli'
The words were simple, but the consequences tremendous.
'something has transpired'
'i am barred from heaven'
Again the tone was simple, as it said the unthinkable.
'i would of you that you act outside my service'
'all those who serve me now work for the plans of Michael'
'of all my followers you are most able to do this thing'
Then comes the words, and worse, the intonation that Orli never believed she would hear;
'i need you to find why judgment is so judged'
And the tone of the spoken words was Doubt.
Orli found herself looking up at him, and could only distantly try to regulate her features. This must be shock; this numbness, this sluggishness of the thoughts. If she had been feeling lost or uncertain in herself to some degree earlier, it seemed like a foreshadowing now. There were probably things she should say, along the lines of 'Gods will be done' and things she possibly ought to say, along the lines of 'I don't know how to be free', but it was the element of doubt in a voice that had always been her anchor that cut to the bone. She could not understand how this might be, they had done nothing wrong. She felt the need to rein her thoughts in, sluggish as they were, before they turned to heresy and hugged herself. Suddenly the night felt colder than it had.
Hesitantly, she attempted words. "I am not certain that I understand, but such as I can do, I will do."
Again, she find herself looking at him. This was her world and it seems that it was gone. Who would bar an archangel from heaven? She could think of only one and her heart sank. Orli thought perhaps that was not just a figure of speech, as she had been feeling very aware of it over the past hours -- She imagined that she must get used to that. Underneath her crossed arms she thought that she could feel it beating. Finally her mind attempted to grasp the notion of this investigation to which she was proposed -- though she should no doubt be weeping for her Master and for the world, she was embarrassed to feel a surge of interest.
"Might I ask.." she was talking as much to the statue she thought, as to Domenic himself, "I will do this thing to the best of my ability, but it will help me a great deal if there is any more information that you might give me, that I might form some idea of where best to begin?" Orli found herself about to call him Master again, but stopped the word at her lips, lest it seem inappropriate.
The cloaked one seemed more shadow than real. The siren became closer in the background. There was a pause, but finally an answer.
'others would not bend to my last command'
'but rather break'
'in thought if not in action'
'you are the right one to seek this'
'if any can find this truth it is you'
Another pause.
'michael speaks with the mandate of heaven'
'none may doubt the word of a seraph'
'never the less'
'i pause at the path he sets down'
Another pause.
'is this destiny or is this fate'
'is this a wound to be healed or is this a cross to be borne'
'is this the first sign of the end'
Another pause.
'my last words to you'
'a gift for your service'
'the angel of healing may know to bind this wound'
'he serves the one who serves destiny'
'seek raphael'
And then it was gone.