Fic: Rogue (Gabriel/M, Gabriel/F, PG-13) 18/36
For full notes and other chapters, please see the Masterpost.
Notes: This is the third part of the Missing an Angel series. It is recommended that you read the first two before reading this one.
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Chapter word count: 1,672
Chapter Summary: Before Azazel could free Lucifer, he first had to free Lilith… but who locked her away?
CHAPTER 18:
Grace Under Fire
Lilith did run. She threw her spear aside and leapt for the window, racing through Hell as fast as her legs could carry her. Gabriel gave chase on foot, not resorting to the advantage of her wings, not yet. She wanted to draw out Lilith’s suffering, to make her feel the terror of knowing that she was being hunted by something far more powerful. To make her know she was being toyed with, that at any moment Gabriel could spring and crush her, and the only reason she wasn’t already dead was because she was far more entertaining alive.
Gabriel wanted Lilith to suffer. Perhaps it wasn’t a very angelic feeling, but Gabriel didn’t give a damn. She was far from angelic right now, hiding from Heaven in the body of a god, carrying a Nephilim inside her. There were worse things she could do than hunt a single demon through Hell.
Lilith ran for the closest gate out of Hell, but Gabriel swept around her before she could escape, wings and sword slicing through the foundations of the gateposts. The gates were impressive, but they were not built by Lucifer and not enforced by grace. It was the work of seconds for Gabriel to bring the entire exit crashing down into an impassable pile of rubble.
The demon screamed and twisted around, heading for the second gate. Again, Gabriel chased, and again, Gabriel tore the gate down before she could escape.
Five gates of Hell fell to the angel’s fury, and all of Hell was up in arms against her. It was easy enough to keep the unholy creatures away from the chase-the very fires of Hell were Gabriel’s creations. The demons had nurtured them all these years, but Gabriel was their mother, and they answered her call. Even the monsters who lived among them were not immune to the flames. Everywhere Gabriel chased Lilith, the raging inferno of the Pit cleansed the way.
Lilith grabbed the sixth and final gates of Hell, the last one standing, now the only easy exit to the realm. She started to pull the gates open, but Gabriel slammed into her from behind, driving the massive iron doors shut and pinning the demon against them by her neck with one hand. “You try, and you try, and you fail every time.”
“I ran!” Lilith squirmed in Gabriel’s grip, managing to twist around to face her captor. “I ran!” she screeched at the angel. “You can’t kill me; I did as you said!”
No matter how furious at this demon she was, Gabriel hadn’t been about to lose control and kill Lilith. Lilith was still a seal to the cage, after all. She had to live.
Gabriel hadn’t been above the idea of torture.
“You did run,” Gabriel purred, pressing the flat of her blade against Lilith’s cheek. The demon’s already-damaged flesh blistered under the touch of the holy metal, and Lilith cried out, trying to pull away. “You ran like a scared little child. You ran from a god.” From an angel.
Behind Gabriel, her fires raged, incinerating a wave of demons who had tried to run to their mistress’ aid. Gabriel ignored their cries, focusing on Lilith alone. “Tell me, Lilith, Queen of the Damned, could you kill me?”
Lilith jerked futilely against Gabriel’s hold. “I could try!” she spat at the angel’s face.
Gabriel laughed, cold and sharp. “But would you succeed?” When Lilith didn’t answer, Gabriel growled and yanked the demon up higher, lifting her feet off the ground, shoving her back against the unforgiving metal of the gates. “Would you!?”
“…no…”
The angel smiled. “Say that again.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No, I can’t kill you!” Lilith’s eyes were screwed shut, her face a grimace of disgust.
Gabriel dropped her, curling her wings around so Lilith couldn’t escape. “I’ll spare your life,” she announced, as if it were a sudden decision and not the plan from the start. She leaned in close to Lilith, hissing into the demon’s ear. “Because I can. Don’t doubt for one minute, don’t ever forget, that I am not sparing your life because I can’t kill you. I spare you because I can.”
Lilith flinched at the words, more visibly affected by the knowledge of her loss than by the physical pain of Gabriel’s sword. The angel took one step back and tipped her head to the side, studying the defeated demon. She couldn’t kill Lilith, but she’d be damned if she let the demon go just like this. Lilith could easily hide her defeat, melt back into her kingdom of the dead as if nothing had happened. There were no witnesses, no one to see her crumpled against the closed gates of Hell.
But there could be.
Gabriel reached for the gates, shoving her grace into her hands to melt the iron. She grabbed fistfuls of liquid metal and pulled it forward, wrapping the gates themselves around Lilith. The demon screamed, thrashing against the metal, but it cooled quickly once Gabriel let go. The iron hardened around Lilith, shackling her to the gates. Lilith panted, clearly in pain, but Gabriel wasn’t done yet. She spread all of her wings, invisible to demonic eyes, and slammed them forward, covering the entire gate in her flaming grace all at once. The entire front of the gate melted and slid together. Lilith’s screech rose above the roaring of the fire behind Gabriel, but then it died out as the demon fell unconscious. The metal gates solidified as Gabriel removed her wings, forming one unbroken sheet of iron, with Lilith trapped in the middle, her lower body completely swallowed by the iron.
The gates could not be opened from this side.
Perhaps, if someone found the Earthly side of the gate (and Gabriel knew the true coordinates were kept secret even from other demons, using magic to teleport travelers away from the actual entrance), and if that someone knew the right words to say, and if they had enough strength, they might actually be able to pull the gates open from the other side, from Earth. If all of that happened, then yes, maybe, maybe Lilith could be broken free and demons could flood the earth once more.
Gabriel took another step back, surveying her handiwork. Lilith was slumped against the locked gate, a testament to the rage of the gods. All six gates of Hell were impassible. The only way out was up, up through the net of root-chains, the living hooks that tried to grab and rip at spirit and souls. Gabriel could fly through the maze, but the demons trapped there already testified to how impassible it was otherwise.
“Good,” Gabriel whispered to herself, turning away from Lilith. She looked off to the left, to the direction she knew the Pit was in. Fergus would be there. Maybe even already strapped to a rack, his soul laid bare for Alastair, for Azazel…
Azazel. Where was he? He had been with Lilith at the start, but now?
Gabriel stretched out her grace, expanding it through Hell. Demons groaned and quailed as it brushed over them, but Gabriel ignored them. It felt good to release her tight hold. She hadn’t been able to stretch, to really stretch, since she left Heaven. She didn’t dare do this on Earth, where an angel could watch, but it was harder to see through all of the realms and into Hell.
Azazel, now, Azazel was… in the Pit. She brushed her grace over him, feeling him shudder beneath her touch, his yellow eyes searching for the assailant. He was armed and standing near Alastair, both flanking a new soul on a rack: Fergus. They were guarding Fergus. Gabriel closed her eyes, caressing her grace over Fergus’ soul. Bound like this, unfiltered by a body, he was weak, vulnerable. He flinched from her touch, whimpering, his chin sagging against his chest. Gabriel withdrew her grace immediately, remembering. Sorcha had screamed when Gabriel touched her, before Lucifer had fully corrupted her. Just the act of falling to Hell alone was enough to make an angel’s purity unbearable. Even if Gabriel wanted to take out Azazel and Alastair, Fergus would never be able to return with her. He was gone. Lost.
Gabriel turned away, unfurling her wings and taking flight. She left her fallen brothers behind and released her hold on the fires of Hell. She needed to get back to Earth, needed fresh air and light and something. Warmth. Not this oppressive heat, but warmth. Thorn. She wanted Thorn.
The hole Gabriel had made in the cellar of Gabrielle’s home was still open, and Gabriel checked her speed as she flew through it. She landed gently on the dirt floor and gathered her grace around her. One more wave of her hand sealed the unofficial Hell gate, and then she could go upstairs, her step heavy.
Thorn was waiting for her in the parlor, his tail wagging. He sat up as soon as he saw her, giving a woof of greeting. Gabriel smiled weakly, sinking to her knees and holding out her arms. The little dog ran to her, leaping up to put his paws on her shoulders and covering her face in doggy kisses.
“Good boy, Thorn,” Gabriel murmured, rubbing her hands through his fur. “Good boy. Come with me? Come with me. Let’s get out of here. Let’s find someplace with some sun.” She gathered the dog against her chest and stood, turning toward the front door.
An old man stood in the open doorway. His back was curved from a hunch, but he was now standing as straight as his body would allow. His eyes were a milky blue, clouded over from cataracts, but he was staring directly at Gabriel. His face was lined from laughter and frowns, but his expression was perfectly emotionless. He was completely still, but there was a sense of great potential surrounding his ancient body, like that of a giant cat preparing to pounce.
Angel.
Next...
Notes: This is the third part of the Missing an Angel series. It is recommended that you read the first two before reading this one.
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Chapter word count: 1,672
Chapter Summary: Before Azazel could free Lucifer, he first had to free Lilith… but who locked her away?
CHAPTER 18:
Grace Under Fire
Lilith did run. She threw her spear aside and leapt for the window, racing through Hell as fast as her legs could carry her. Gabriel gave chase on foot, not resorting to the advantage of her wings, not yet. She wanted to draw out Lilith’s suffering, to make her feel the terror of knowing that she was being hunted by something far more powerful. To make her know she was being toyed with, that at any moment Gabriel could spring and crush her, and the only reason she wasn’t already dead was because she was far more entertaining alive.
Gabriel wanted Lilith to suffer. Perhaps it wasn’t a very angelic feeling, but Gabriel didn’t give a damn. She was far from angelic right now, hiding from Heaven in the body of a god, carrying a Nephilim inside her. There were worse things she could do than hunt a single demon through Hell.
Lilith ran for the closest gate out of Hell, but Gabriel swept around her before she could escape, wings and sword slicing through the foundations of the gateposts. The gates were impressive, but they were not built by Lucifer and not enforced by grace. It was the work of seconds for Gabriel to bring the entire exit crashing down into an impassable pile of rubble.
The demon screamed and twisted around, heading for the second gate. Again, Gabriel chased, and again, Gabriel tore the gate down before she could escape.
Five gates of Hell fell to the angel’s fury, and all of Hell was up in arms against her. It was easy enough to keep the unholy creatures away from the chase-the very fires of Hell were Gabriel’s creations. The demons had nurtured them all these years, but Gabriel was their mother, and they answered her call. Even the monsters who lived among them were not immune to the flames. Everywhere Gabriel chased Lilith, the raging inferno of the Pit cleansed the way.
Lilith grabbed the sixth and final gates of Hell, the last one standing, now the only easy exit to the realm. She started to pull the gates open, but Gabriel slammed into her from behind, driving the massive iron doors shut and pinning the demon against them by her neck with one hand. “You try, and you try, and you fail every time.”
“I ran!” Lilith squirmed in Gabriel’s grip, managing to twist around to face her captor. “I ran!” she screeched at the angel. “You can’t kill me; I did as you said!”
No matter how furious at this demon she was, Gabriel hadn’t been about to lose control and kill Lilith. Lilith was still a seal to the cage, after all. She had to live.
Gabriel hadn’t been above the idea of torture.
“You did run,” Gabriel purred, pressing the flat of her blade against Lilith’s cheek. The demon’s already-damaged flesh blistered under the touch of the holy metal, and Lilith cried out, trying to pull away. “You ran like a scared little child. You ran from a god.” From an angel.
Behind Gabriel, her fires raged, incinerating a wave of demons who had tried to run to their mistress’ aid. Gabriel ignored their cries, focusing on Lilith alone. “Tell me, Lilith, Queen of the Damned, could you kill me?”
Lilith jerked futilely against Gabriel’s hold. “I could try!” she spat at the angel’s face.
Gabriel laughed, cold and sharp. “But would you succeed?” When Lilith didn’t answer, Gabriel growled and yanked the demon up higher, lifting her feet off the ground, shoving her back against the unforgiving metal of the gates. “Would you!?”
“…no…”
The angel smiled. “Say that again.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No, I can’t kill you!” Lilith’s eyes were screwed shut, her face a grimace of disgust.
Gabriel dropped her, curling her wings around so Lilith couldn’t escape. “I’ll spare your life,” she announced, as if it were a sudden decision and not the plan from the start. She leaned in close to Lilith, hissing into the demon’s ear. “Because I can. Don’t doubt for one minute, don’t ever forget, that I am not sparing your life because I can’t kill you. I spare you because I can.”
Lilith flinched at the words, more visibly affected by the knowledge of her loss than by the physical pain of Gabriel’s sword. The angel took one step back and tipped her head to the side, studying the defeated demon. She couldn’t kill Lilith, but she’d be damned if she let the demon go just like this. Lilith could easily hide her defeat, melt back into her kingdom of the dead as if nothing had happened. There were no witnesses, no one to see her crumpled against the closed gates of Hell.
But there could be.
Gabriel reached for the gates, shoving her grace into her hands to melt the iron. She grabbed fistfuls of liquid metal and pulled it forward, wrapping the gates themselves around Lilith. The demon screamed, thrashing against the metal, but it cooled quickly once Gabriel let go. The iron hardened around Lilith, shackling her to the gates. Lilith panted, clearly in pain, but Gabriel wasn’t done yet. She spread all of her wings, invisible to demonic eyes, and slammed them forward, covering the entire gate in her flaming grace all at once. The entire front of the gate melted and slid together. Lilith’s screech rose above the roaring of the fire behind Gabriel, but then it died out as the demon fell unconscious. The metal gates solidified as Gabriel removed her wings, forming one unbroken sheet of iron, with Lilith trapped in the middle, her lower body completely swallowed by the iron.
The gates could not be opened from this side.
Perhaps, if someone found the Earthly side of the gate (and Gabriel knew the true coordinates were kept secret even from other demons, using magic to teleport travelers away from the actual entrance), and if that someone knew the right words to say, and if they had enough strength, they might actually be able to pull the gates open from the other side, from Earth. If all of that happened, then yes, maybe, maybe Lilith could be broken free and demons could flood the earth once more.
Gabriel took another step back, surveying her handiwork. Lilith was slumped against the locked gate, a testament to the rage of the gods. All six gates of Hell were impassible. The only way out was up, up through the net of root-chains, the living hooks that tried to grab and rip at spirit and souls. Gabriel could fly through the maze, but the demons trapped there already testified to how impassible it was otherwise.
“Good,” Gabriel whispered to herself, turning away from Lilith. She looked off to the left, to the direction she knew the Pit was in. Fergus would be there. Maybe even already strapped to a rack, his soul laid bare for Alastair, for Azazel…
Azazel. Where was he? He had been with Lilith at the start, but now?
Gabriel stretched out her grace, expanding it through Hell. Demons groaned and quailed as it brushed over them, but Gabriel ignored them. It felt good to release her tight hold. She hadn’t been able to stretch, to really stretch, since she left Heaven. She didn’t dare do this on Earth, where an angel could watch, but it was harder to see through all of the realms and into Hell.
Azazel, now, Azazel was… in the Pit. She brushed her grace over him, feeling him shudder beneath her touch, his yellow eyes searching for the assailant. He was armed and standing near Alastair, both flanking a new soul on a rack: Fergus. They were guarding Fergus. Gabriel closed her eyes, caressing her grace over Fergus’ soul. Bound like this, unfiltered by a body, he was weak, vulnerable. He flinched from her touch, whimpering, his chin sagging against his chest. Gabriel withdrew her grace immediately, remembering. Sorcha had screamed when Gabriel touched her, before Lucifer had fully corrupted her. Just the act of falling to Hell alone was enough to make an angel’s purity unbearable. Even if Gabriel wanted to take out Azazel and Alastair, Fergus would never be able to return with her. He was gone. Lost.
Gabriel turned away, unfurling her wings and taking flight. She left her fallen brothers behind and released her hold on the fires of Hell. She needed to get back to Earth, needed fresh air and light and something. Warmth. Not this oppressive heat, but warmth. Thorn. She wanted Thorn.
The hole Gabriel had made in the cellar of Gabrielle’s home was still open, and Gabriel checked her speed as she flew through it. She landed gently on the dirt floor and gathered her grace around her. One more wave of her hand sealed the unofficial Hell gate, and then she could go upstairs, her step heavy.
Thorn was waiting for her in the parlor, his tail wagging. He sat up as soon as he saw her, giving a woof of greeting. Gabriel smiled weakly, sinking to her knees and holding out her arms. The little dog ran to her, leaping up to put his paws on her shoulders and covering her face in doggy kisses.
“Good boy, Thorn,” Gabriel murmured, rubbing her hands through his fur. “Good boy. Come with me? Come with me. Let’s get out of here. Let’s find someplace with some sun.” She gathered the dog against her chest and stood, turning toward the front door.
An old man stood in the open doorway. His back was curved from a hunch, but he was now standing as straight as his body would allow. His eyes were a milky blue, clouded over from cataracts, but he was staring directly at Gabriel. His face was lined from laughter and frowns, but his expression was perfectly emotionless. He was completely still, but there was a sense of great potential surrounding his ancient body, like that of a giant cat preparing to pounce.
Angel.
Next...