An Unholy Redemption Chapter 6

The moonlight shone like silver glass through the dense darkness of the woods, lighting up Lucifer’s shadowy frame as he sat lazily under a tall oak tree. He watched as leaves moved in the breeze making its way through the stillness of the night. What had happened? I saved someone, which is what God wanted me to do, and yet the pain I felt became worse. I thought I was supposed to be the evil sadistic one, not God. How much worse can this punishment be? A rustling in the bushes disturbed his thoughts. A deer had come to see the source of the smell drifting on the evening breeze. Lucifer’s eyes began to feel heavy. He removed his damp coat and made a pillow to rest his weary head. He lay down looking up to the moonlit starry night, let out a big yawn and closed his eyes. He had been asleep a couple of hours when he woke to the peculiar feeling that someone was watching him. He opened one eye to see the bright blue glow surrounding the face of angel Michael, his eyes ablaze like blues sapphires, his long golden hair partially covering his long pointed ears as he stood sword held in hand. “What do you want? Have you come to gloat at my situation?” Lucifer asked angrily as he turned his back on his arch enemy. “On the contrary Lucifer, I have come to reward you. The Most High was pleased with your actions this evening. Angela would have certainly have died if you had not intervened. What pleased the Most High even more was the fact you saved one of the chosen ones. She has a very important destiny awaiting her when she is older.”

“I didn’t save her because I wanted to. I just wanted to be rid of this damn flesh prison.”

“All in good time Lucifer. Unfortunately you still have some work to do here first.”

“So what’s this reward? Are you going to be my servant for the night or do I get to fight you again?” Lucifer was now on his feet looking up at the enormous frame of his foe. “No, for tonight alone you are allowed your wings once again, to fly anywhere within the confinement of the earth’s atmosphere, to be the angel you are. But remember, you are not allowed to harm anything or anyone. If you do so the Most High will remove your wings for good and you will never again be able to return to angelic form.” Lucifer’s eyes began to flash a flaming red as he imagined himself with wings once again. “All you have to do is close your eyes and speak with your mind and beg for the Most High’s forgiveness.”

“I will not bow down to the Most High. If I do ask for forgiveness, do I have to mean it?”

“No, Lucifer the choice is yours, you only have to ask.”

“But what of this body? What will happen to it?”

“It will be quite safe here until you return to it in the morning. The Most High will ensure you won’t lose it.”

“I was hoping you would say it would burn away once I left it.”

“The time has come. Are you ready Lucifer? The moon is moving fast and your evening is

slipping away.”

“I am ready.” He closed his eyes and took hold of Michael’s hand. Forgive me, Most High. Within seconds a tingling sensation ran through his spine, rushing to his head. It was like electricity buzzing throughout his being. His heart began to beat so fast it felt it was going to burst. All of a sudden he felt an immense feeling of freedom as his angelic soul left the mortal frame. His angelic form began to grow amongst a red mist until he was standing twenty feet tall. He saw his eyes reflected in Michael’s blade − they were now red and ablaze in all their glory. “Michael, we stand on opposite sides once again, only this time I don’t have my sword. Otherwise I would have been tempted to kill you for real this time.” Michael smiled, wished Lucifer a good night, and vanished. “Now let’s test these wings.” Lucifer extended his back muscles and his red wings expanded like a giant fan. Then he knelt with one knee on the floor. Forgive me, Most High indeed, he thought with a sneer. His eyes flashed like a flame and in a single motion he was in flight towards the moon. The ground beneath his feet got smaller and smaller until the land below was almost invisible to the eye. Looking up again, he remembered what Michael had said about the confinements of earth and decided to test his words. With one big flap of his vast wings, he soared higher and higher. This was when he noticed that his wings were getting heavier and he was finding it hard to breathe, even to the point of exhaustion. Realising Michael’s words were true, he stopped and hovered where he was, his wings slowly fanning the air around him to keep him in flight. Okay if I can’t go up I can still go round. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind. The red glow got brighter as he breathed his life force in and out. When he was ready, he turned himself horizontal, let out a war cry and began to flap his wings. As he gathered speed, his energy grew and the red glow shone brighter, leaving his being and entering the clouds which surrounded him. Flying through the sky at a vast speed, Lucifer laughed as he turned in somersaults through the clouds. Time to break the sound barrier, he thought, closing his eyes again as a fireball started to surround him. Gaining in size until he was ready, he opened his eyes and the fireball entered him, making red lightning flash all around him, shooting him off like a rocket. The land below was a distorted blur because of the speed at which he was now travelling. Looking ahead, he started thinking about hate, greed and all the things he represented, which made him go faster still. It was though all things were possible by tuning into his own energy and life force. Yet, as he passed over continent after continent, one moment he was in darkness and the next light. He felt there was still something missing from his energy that would make him equal to the Most High. Why would the Most High keep that knowledge a secret? “Look at me God, look at me!” he shouted, flying on his back, shouting to the heavens and laughing hysterically. The sun was slowly emerging on the horizon above the woods where he had first taken flight. Again, his wings became heavy until he finally came to a halt. It was like he was trapped in an invisible cage in which he could not move. A sickening feeling came over him again, the same as the one he’d had when he had first entered the human body. As the sunlight became brighter, he turned to face it and bowed to its magnificence. His wings slowly started to fold away, wrapping themselves around him. With a sigh, he slowly fell to earth, accepting that he would soon be living a human existence once again.