Book of Z
16:22 Aug 26 2016
Times Read: 970
Chapter Two
Zacariah was face down on the ground as he felt someone kicking at him whispering to someone else “Is he dead?” Z heard a light chuckle as a feminine voice replied “Nah, angel’s don’t die that easily….do you Zacariah?” Z lifted his head up slowly as he looked at the girl dressed all in red, with a red scabbard hanging at her side as he felt a small smile creep across his face, he stood up slowly still feeling shaky in his legs saying with a hint of tiredness in his voice “Merry meet Lucy” Lucy flashed a thousand watt grin.
Lucy looked at her companion saying “This is Zacariah, he’s another one of Our Father’s children I assume he did something that got him thrown out” Lucy gave Z a look that said she wanted more information so he cleared his throat before beginning and told them his tale.
Lucy let out a soft laugh, for Lucy had been known as the Morning Star, it was a common misconception that Lucifer was male….the Bible would never have wanted you to know that the most famous of Fallen Angels was a woman. Her companion was called Eliza, she wasn’t an Angel but she was someone that had always been a believer, then she found Lucy in her garden.
Zacariah looked at Lucy saying “I have to get back up there, I need to go and kick Rafael’s scrawny little ass” Lucy locked eyes with Z, her flaming red eyes burning into Z’s soul, she was tall, about 6ft5, she had the build of an Amazon, with shoulder length black hair, she was dressed in a red jacket, black tank top and ripped black jeans with a pair of biker boots. She then said slowly “It wont be easy Zacariah, but I will do whatever I can to help you” Z nodded his head as Lucy and Eliza led him to a chalet where they were staying.
Meanwhile Anastasia was in her room, brushing her hair, Zacariah had only been gone for a matter of hours but it already seemed like an eternity to her, and she knew that some of the Angels were corrupted, she was also aware that Rafael would try and get her into his bed but she was not having any of it, she was knocked from her train of thought by a knock at her door, she let out a soft sigh saying quite angrily “I don’t want to be disturbed” but the voice on the other side of the door was kind saying “It’s only Madhavi, I just thought you might want some company” Anastasia felt her shoulder sag, she knew Madhavi meant well.
She stood up slowly and headed over to the door and opened it expecting just Madhavi, but she saw Rafael standing behind her, Madhavi let out a shriek as he tossed her roughly to the side and grabbed Anastasia’s wrists and pulled her against him chuckling “You will be mine now Ana” Anastasia spat in Rafael’s face and kicked him in the groin making him stagger backwards as she ran back into her room and locked the door, she let her wings unfurl as she burst out of the window knowing that she was no longer safe with all these treacherous angels.
Rafael cried out in rage as several lesser angels ran towards him, the one closest to him called Fruma said with concern “Are you alright my Lord?” Rafael stood up grabbing Fruma’s throat and squeezing it choking the life out of him as he turned to the other angels “Go and find Anastasia, quickly she must not be allowed to leave the protection of Our Father” as the three remaining Lesser Angels nodded their heads he dropped the dead body of Fruma to the floor.
As Lucy, Z and Eliza made their way into the chalet, a figure cloaked in a long black dress was sitting in a black leather chair by the fire drinking a glass of wine, her long slender fingers were wrapped around the stem, Lucy shook her head slowly “Making yourself at home are you Lilith?” Lilith peered around the chair, her dazzling emerald eyes locking on the three as she replied in a floaty voice “Ahhhh there you are Lucy, and whose your new friend?” Zacariah stood forward saying “I’m Zacariah, but most people just call me Z” Lilith drained her glass of the red wine she was drinking and stared back at the fire saying in a haughty voice “I care not for names…..names are so boring” Zacariah looked at Lucy as though asking for an explanation but she merely shrugged.
Lilith stood up slowly, and moved towards Zacariah, there was a slit in her dress showing a bit of her thigh, she moved close to Zacariah saying in a soft sultry tone “So my dear boy, you are another one of Father’s fallen angels are you, or did you get kicked out for being a bad boy” she drew out the last two words before laughing softly and continuing on “I got cast out from Eden, yes I am that Lilith…I’m sure Father has spoken my name in distaste once or twice in his long boring sermons, I have looked in on Adam and his precious little Eve from time to time, yes they are still alive….all that rubbish about the snake and the tree of knowledge is just laughable, poor simple simpering Eve would never have betrayed Him” she swung around and sat down in the chair.
Zacariah went over to Lilith and knelt by the chair “I am sorry that you were cast out from Eden Lilith, it seems Our Father doesn’t have plans for many of us….you and I, we are the unlucky ones” Lilith let out a soft chuckle and stroked the side of Zacariah’s face, her skin was ice cold to the touch, her slender fingers traced his jaw before she replied “Thank you for trying to make me feel better Zacariah….but I wont be satisfied until Adam and Eve are dead….or until God has been knocked off His perch a few steps” with that she transformed into a cloud of mist and burst out through the door.
Anastasia was flying faster then she had ever flown before, she could see the golden hue of the protective barrier that kept the Angels safe from the outside, she knew she had to get past the barrier to be free. She heard the rapid beating of wings behind her, she turned her head to see five lesser angels chasing her, she sighed softly for she had taken a vow of non-violence….sure she had kneed Rafael in the groin but he had deserved it the asshole.
She flew down to the ground, her feet feeling the wet grass beneath her feet, the lesser angels landed five hundred yards away from her as the leader stepped forward and said in a commanding voice “My lady Anastasia…Lord Rafael has commanded that we bring you back to Our Fathers sanctuary” Anastasia let out a soft laugh replying “I bet he bloody well did….I give you one chance only….leave now and I wont kill each of you where you stand and leave one of you alive to send Rafe back a message” the lesser angels shifted on their feet hoping that Anastasia wouldn’t notice.
The commander once again…in a slightly less then commanding tone said “Please Lady Anastasia….come back with us….or our lives will be forfeit anyway” Anastasia shook her head sadly, she drew out a small baton and activated a switch which turned it into a full length staff. She slammed it down onto the grass as though challenging one of the lesser angels to come at her.
To say it was over quickly would have been an understatement, Anastasia had once been one of the most fearsome of fighters of all the Angels until she had realised that she couldn’t stomach the bloodshed or the violence anymore, she jabbed one of the lesser angels in the throat before spinning around and removing his sword from it’s scabbard and driving it into his back and through his chest as he fell to the ground as the light evaporated, as she did she muttered to herself “One” she then threw the sword at another of the lesser angels charging towards her making the sword embed itself in her eye as she howled in pain trying to grab at the sword but the last thing she saw was Anastasia running towards her, Anastasia leapt over the angel and broke her neck before muttering “Two” the last three angels surrounded her and they were visibly sweating with pure terror.
Anastasia looked at each of the last few angels before saying in a deep powerful voice “I am Anastasia….I was known as the Wrath of God….I took a vow of non-violence and you each have made me break that vow today. I was once one of God’s most trusted Angels….along with Lucifer and Gabriel…But they both fell……I escaped this punishment because Our Father felt sorry for me….But today I show him that I no longer work as his Wrath….I am…..the Wrath of Zacariah and I will not rest until every angel that betrayed my love is dead” with every word she spoke, flames began to lick around her causing the grass to scorch as, the lesser angels tried to run but it was no good, they were engulfed in flames, Anastasia muttered softly “Three, four and five” she then turned and flew up into the air and broke through the barrier leaving her old life behind.
Early the next morning Zacariah woke up, he’d slept on the floor in what he presumed was a study, he stretched his body and felt behind his back feeling the now useless stumps where his wings had been, he let out a small sob of frustration at the injustice that had been handed to him, a knock came at his door as he said “Yeah hold on a minute” he wiped the tears from his eyes before saying “OK yeah come in” Eliza popped her head around the door saying in a friendly tone “Breakfast is ready whenever you are Z” Zacariah nodded his head gratefully at her as he stood up and slid on his t-shirt before heading towards the kitchen where he could smell something mouth-watering.
As he entered the room Lucy was already sitting at the table with a plateful of food and a cup of coffee, she looked at Zacariah saying in a jovial tone “Morning Z, how did you sleep for your first night down here?” Zacariah tried to think of a suitable response to the question but merely settled on “Yeah I slept fine” He could feel Lucy studying him as Eliza set a plate of food in front of him, Eliza said in her soft voice “What would you like to drink?” Zacariah responded “Uhhh I’ll have some orange juice please” Eliza nodded pouring out some juice from the carton and handing it to him as he began to eat the food, he thanked her through a mouthful of food.
As he finished his food Lucy said “I think we should find you some new clothes Z….and you should have a shower because….you stink….there should be some men’s clothing in one of the rooms, this house is inhabited by humans for a ‘holiday home’ or some such rubbish” Zacariah chuckled softly, he enjoyed Lucy’s company…more then he thought he would. He drained his orange juice letting out a loud belch before excusing himself, he stood up and headed to the bathroom
He turned on the shower letting steam build up in the room as he stripped out of his clothes getting into the shower, he leant his head against the cold tiles letting the water cascade over his skin before grabbing some shower gel and washing himself, he then washed his hair with the shampoo he got out of the shower dripping wet wrapping the towel around himself and exiting the room to find some clothes that would be suitable for him to wear.
He came out into the lounge dressed in a pair of ripped black jeans, a tight fitting tank top, he had also found a long black leather trench coat, he found a pair of knee length black steel toed boots which were about his size and he had on, Lucy walked around him giving him an approving nod saying “You look a damned sight better then you did my old friend” she gave a soft chuckle and then carried on “We should get out of here before the mortals that own this place realise we’ve been here….it’s a short trip to the nearest town….we should find one of our fallen brethren there…an angel by the name of Eilidh” Zacariah cocked an eyebrow at that name knowing that he’d heard it before as Lucy nodded “Aye she was once mated with your brother, before you were created…she ran when she heard that he had been executed by Our Father….smart girl if you ask me” Lucy made a dismissive snort and clicked her tongue as she lead Z and Eliza out of the chalet.
It was a short trek down the winding path to the little town, Z looked at the name of the town to see it was called Desperation with a population of 5,000 Z let out a small chuckle at the town name as Lucy almost read his mind saying in a grand tone “Welcome to Desperation….home of desperate people trying to escape this shithole of a town” Eliza let out a soft giggle as Lucy turned towards both of them and bowed “Thank you, thank you I hopefully wont be here all fucking week” she then winked as she carried on walking down the side of the road.
As they entered the town limits Z took everything in, he’d never really been down to the mortal realm, the first thing that hit him was the noise….the noise of people talking, the noise of the traffic he was assaulted by a cacophony as Lucy noticed his distress and walked towards him placing an arm around his shoulders whispering “It’s fine….you learn to drown it out Z….just concentrate on my voice and concentrate on finding Eilidh” Z took a few small breathes as he concentrated on Lucy’s voice and then stood up slowly.
They crossed the road weaving their way through all the mortals who didn’t seem to notice them, which made sense seeing as he was technically still an angel even if he was a fallen one and had lost his wings, Lucy nudged him to draw his attention to a woman crouched down on the floor by a wall, her hair was matted…it could once have been a fiery red, but now it was caked in dirt, she was dangerously thin, clothes seemed to hang off her frame, her head snapped upwards as she studied the three people coming towards her and seemed to be trying to scramble backwards as Lucy knelt in front of her.
Eilidh whimpered softly as Lucy said softly “Shush El we’re not here to hurt you, this is Arcadia’s brother….Zacariah, he’s just like us…..he was thrown down from Heaven by Our Father as well as some others who betrayed him” Eilidh looked past Lucy towards Z who bowed his head in respect as Eilidh whispered in a voice that hadn’t been used for a long time “You….you look just like him, he was the bravest man I have ever known” Zacariah moved slowly towards her crouching on the ground replying in just as soft a tone “Aye, he was the best big brother…I’m sorry that you lost him too Eilidh” Eilidh’s sapphire blue eyes locked onto Z as she hugged him tightly.
Lucy moved away from the two as Zacariah said softly “I was betrayed by Rafael and Jae…..I have to get back to Heaven to have my vengeance…..and save the woman that I love….Anastasia” Eilidh let out a soft chuckle as she replied “Your brother Arcadia thought there had always been something suspicious about Jae, I told him to speak up about it…..he spoke to Payam about it but he was part of the conspiracy…..they murdered Arcadia in cold blood and then blamed it on the war with the Fallen Angels” Zacariah bristled at the knowledge that Payam had been part of this too, he had been taught by him and trusted him as a confidante.
He took Eilidh by surprise as he shot up punching the wall leaving a hole in it as Eilidh covered her face from the falling debris saying in a scared tone “What’s wrong?” Zacariah took a few deep breathes before saying “Sorry Eilidh, its just that I trusted Payam with a hell of a lot and to know that he was instrumental in the death of my brother just pisses me off” Eilidh stood up slowly, as she said “I will help you in any way I can to get back to Heaven….for Arcadia” Zacariah looked down at Eilidh and kissed her forehead softly as he whispered softly into her ear “My brother would be proud of you…You survived to fight another day” he then walked away from her as Eilidh hurried in another direction.
Lucy and Eliza were standing against a wall with Lucy eating a doughnut, as she licked the sugar from her lips saying “Ahhhh there you are Z? How’d it go with Eilidh?” Zacariah leant against the wall replying “Yeah it went fine….she’s gonna help us I think” Lucy nodded before saying “She was badly traumatised by the loss of Arcadia….it messed with her mental well-being, we should still be careful of her just in case she turns against us” Zacariah cocked an eyebrow saying “Do you really think she would?” Lucy shrugged her shoulders.
Anastasia flew through the air, as the ground changed from the lush green of God’s kingdom to a desolate harsh brown rocky terrain, she knew that she would be hunted now whether it was by lesser angels or by the Archangels, she was lost in her reverie as she heard someone shouting at her, and felt a burning in her left wing as she looked at it to see that it was on fire as she dived down extinguishing the flame in the dust as she stalked towards the angel that had fired the arrow.
The angel backed away from her holding up his hands as he said “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, chill out there lady I’m just protecting my people from your sort” Anastasia growled then stopped saying sharply “You….fired….an….arrow….at…..me” the young man shrugged his shoulders saying carefully “Yeah….I did because Archangels are known to come and kill us just because we are trying to live our lives” Anastasia sighed and ran a hand through her hair replying “Yeah, that’s why I have left…..I’m going to be hunted…they have taken the love of my life away from me so I will have my vengeance upon anyone who comes after me….I cant live there anymore” the young angel studied her before saying “Well….I’m Taine it’s a pleasure to meet you” he held out his hand as Anastasia grasped his arm replying “I am Anastasia” Taine nodded as he then said “Well I’ll take you to meet the rest of us” he then led Anastasia to his camp.
Several of the children in the camp swarmed around Taine as he chatted animatedly to them all, Anastasia followed closely behind, a wizened old woman stepped out from a tent and saw Taine, before her gaze slipped towards Anastasia as she barked out angrily “Children come here….come away from Taine” the children all ran towards the old woman as she said “Taine what the hell is an Archangel doing here in out camp?” Taine put his hands up pleadingly replying “It’s fine Yakira….she means up no harm….this is Anastasia, she had fled” Yakira stood as still as a statue as she muttered to herself “The Wrath of God….here….in our camp” her gaze then moved upwards as she stalked towards Taine and slapped him across the face making him stagger backwards and fall to the floor as Yakira howled “What have you brought upon us you foolish boy….this girl was once known as The Wrath of God” Anastasia moved forward but Yakira pulled out a staff and pointed it towards her saying aggressively “Move and your dead girly” Anastasia growled softly as she said calmly “I am not here to hurt you….Yes I was once called The Wrath of God….but then I took a vow of non-violence…but then he took my life mate away from me so now I have sworn to become the Wrath of Zacariah, I mean you and your kin no harm….I have betrayed the archangels and left that life behind” Yakira looked from Taine to Anastasia then put her staff on the ground and turned to walk away before saying over her shoulder “Fine….you can stay here for the night but then you must carry on….I don’t want any trouble here….we haven’t been involved in the war yet and I don’t want my grandson to be part of this damned foolish war” Taine’s cheeks lit up a furious red as Anastasia realised that he was Yakira’s grandson.
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