Devil's Heir (4. Reflection's End)

INSIDE REFLECTION'S END- GOD'S PALACE...
Evan ambled with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a suitcase. He had gone shopping soon after his uncle had made the ravens shift all his belongings. The suitcase had a photo of Rihette from the college journal and a brand new laptop. Evan walked briskly down the lane, his laptop gravitating in the suitcase. He stopped at the bend, their bend. Emotions flooded him. He closed his eyes trying to force flashes of her birthday and their walk together out of his mind. Evan heard her say, "Don't stop, and move on..." Startled, he turned around searching for her, half expecting her to hug him just like the other day. She was nowhere just a warm feel on his shoulder left him wondering, was she somewhere there?

"Razek! You've got an angel. Receive her at the first cloud," said the guardians' God. Razek nodded and breathed in deeply. He could see the moon on this side of the heavens. She was the third angel he had received, since he had become a guardian. He had to allow them to decide where they wanted to go, what they wanted to do after death. He went through a scroll placed on the reception counter. It had all the information about Rihette. He read it carefully and winced when he saw the mode of death- 'murder by burning' it said. More was yet to come... he saw that she was the second archangel sent to Earth with her partner. Had she been unsuccessful?
She arrived cuddled like a baby. Her feathery white dress blew gently around her as it glowed softly.
"She isn't likely to stay over in heaven so soon. I know you have guessed that, already."
Razek smiled and held Rihette's sleeping body in his lap. Shifting from cloud to cloud, Razek reached a secluded corner, it was his favorite, far from the hustle bustle of the gods and angels. It stood on the brink of the heavens and the Earth. That way Razek could literally look down on the people of Earth and guide them if they were in real trouble. Sighing, he closed his huge wings around Rihette, because her body felt cold.

Rihette felt soft cotton over her skin. She must have been in hospital; the doctors must be treating her.... She yawned to life... after life, as the first sunbeams warmed Razek's feathers.

Evan pushed open the heavy doors of the palace only to let himself in. He passed his uncle's meeting hall quietly, trying to tiptoe across to his floor. Luckily, his uncle wasn't allowed on his floor. It was one of the conditions he had laid down to live with his uncle.
"Evan... hiding, eh?"
'DAMN!' muttered Evan as he plastered a sarcastic smile on his face and entered the hall. He laid the suitcase on the table and sat opposite his uncle. He looked so wicked, those black eyes which he had unluckily inherited from his grandmother. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Why did you call me in?"
"I guessed you would be mourning the death of your dear little friend, I feel sorry for you, Evan...."
"Oh! Don't bother! You know the joy of killing, I would like to know the pain of being killed."
"You sure are so like your mother. Ah! Poor thing she was a nice little lady...."
It did not matter much to Evan because he didn't remember anything about his past except one piece- his end.
Evan fumed with anger. He had to learn about all his powers as soon as possible. His uncle was the only one to teach him but he wasn't exactly on talking terms much less become his student.
It was almost afternoon lunch was being laid. Evan hadn't till now eaten with his uncle, food was always sent to his own dining room.
"How about we have lunch together?" asked his uncle, his voice resonating across the hall with doubt. Evan said thoughtfully, "What do you have for lunch? The same thing as me right?"
The devil nodded expectantly. Evan nodded after sometime and said, "Alright, let me give it a try."
"I have something for you, something which you have never tasted before," he grinned. Evan shrugged and continued reading a scroll that was left on the table by a raven.
"When you'll become the devil, your signature will be on those type of scrolls." His uncle seemed to be desperate after him. Was something wrong? Or was it really his liking him.
Evan washed his hands in the hot water and then settled in his chair. He was waiting for the devil to start when he saw his uncle order a raven to get something. The devil smiled smugly at him and Evan shook his head. He knew if he didn't listen to his uncle, he would again be on his bed with a broken head.

Evan bent backwards and allowed the raven to serve some colorless fluid in a tiny glass. As soon as the raven left, his uncle stood up and said, "Drink up the whole thing, don't leave a drop of it. You'll feel good." Evan looked at it. It smelt of spirit.
The devil raised a toast and said, "To the devil's heir... who has finally agreed to stay in his palace!"
Evan had to smile at that. His uncle was a crack, from the first time he saw him after death. He lifted the glass slowly and without the smell ruining the taste he gulped the small amount down. It felt like heat melting down his empty stomach. His eyes flew to alertness for a minute when he asked with a worried look on his face, "What was that, you wicked oaf?" His uncle grinned and said, "Tequila! Don't you like it Evan?"
Evan tried to keep his eyes open, he had never tasted alcohol before just heard that it tasted something like spirit and here he was gaily gulping down a whole peg of Tequila or whatever it was. His uncle started his meal occasionally glancing at Evan and his efforts to stay away from the drowsiness pressing in on him, as if a news channel was on.
"Damn you!" Evan raged before collapsing on the table. His uncle looked pitifully on, finished his meal and left the room. He ordered the ravens not to awaken him, no matter what.

Rihette felt feathers around her. She blinked slowly, getting accustomed to the sunbeams which danced at the edges of Razek's wings. She looked up to see him lost in thought. He saw her looking and smiled down at her.
"Where's mum?"
"She went to heaven. She met your father."
"Why did she leave me here all alone?" Rihette asked tears starting to threaten her eyes.
"She did not leave you alone. She asked me to look after you. anyway, once you come here, there is no need for you to tell anything to each other. It'll get communicated automatically."
"But still!"
"Rihette, you must understand that your father had waited in this place for a very long time here, he himself doesn't remember how many years. If your mother wouldn't have gone, it would have been unjust on your mother's part."
Rihette seemed to understand as she sat thinking in Razek's lap.
"When will I go there?"
Razek said softly, "You have unfinished business down there," he pointed to the ground, under the clouds, "Someone needs your help...."
Rihette gasped, "Evan! I had completely forgotten about him!"
Razek felt the desperation in her voice, "how can I get in touch with him now! He doesn't know that I'm alive..."
Razek cut her short firmly and said, "No, you are not. You are dead. Here you are an angel; I've something important to reveal...." He picked her up in his arms and flew through the dark mist. "Where are we going?" asked Rihette.
"We are going to send you to where you should be. That is if you will wish for it. Now don't you distract me, I'm not good at flying through the fog."
He heard Rihette squeal in insecurity as he smirked.
Fires bursting from water fountains lighted the corridor. The floor was made of God knows what (honestly, God alone knew what was all that made of)! It was almost as if walking over water. Water from a jar flew upwards and then back again to the ground only to sprout and fly once again. Razek said casually, "This is God's palace- the reflection's end, He calls it."
Rihette looked around in wonder. She asked softly as if scared that the walls had ears, "What does He look like?"
He said as they continued walking along the corridor, "He looks just what you want Him to look like", he saw her concentrating hard and said, "Nah! Don't even try it! Your image of Him will be not change even if you think of it now."
"What is it like for you?"
Razek smiled and said, "You should not tell what your God looks like... That's a lovely secret between you and God. That way whenever you want to meet Him, He'll be available."
Rihette was impressed and thought how good it would be to see God. Her image of God, would be worth seeing. Razek stopped in front of a very ordinary looking door, which was no different from the other doors they had seen- intricate carvings depicting Adam and Eve's garden walk. She asked him, "Are you sure this is the one?"
Razek answered mischievously, "Well, any door you open will lead to God, only I had to get you settled with the atmosphere so you wouldn't be nervous in there..."
Rihette said in mock anger, "Why you..."
"It's not like your legs will pain or even that they can pain!"
So saying, he pushed her towards the door. His wings started appearing and he said, "I'll be your guardian, if you want. You just have to say my name and I'll get in touch with you. After this, I may or may not be able to see you, depends on you. Don't panic Rihette. It was nice meeting you."
Rihette said as he started vanishing, "Hey! What's your name?"
But he was gone by then. Rihette stood there breathing deeply, hoping to meet God, just as she had imagined.

Evan thought his head would burst into a million pieces if he didn't help himself. He opened his eyes groggily, the dining room was empty. There was nothing on the table. He vaguely remembered drinking that wine or whatever his uncle had given him. Not again! His abdomen was giving him a hard time. He held his aching stomach and dragged himself to his room. He opened the door of his bedroom. It had soft lighting. Darkness rested in the corners and with the shadows. It sat ready to receive him. The darkness could pass messages to him. Right now it asked him to relax and that she could order one of the ravens to get his dinner. He nodded sleepily and went to the bathroom, puking his heart out. Evan came back to his bed to catch some more sleep when he saw a raven standing with a bowed head at his door with his dinner. Evan got it from the raven and ordered him to leave. Settling down on the carpeted floor, Evan ate up all that was there on the tray- from the chicken sausages to the ice cream.

Rihette stood at the door, her hands clammy and sweaty, how could she feel all that when she wasn't alive? Forget that, she thought as she pushed open the door effortlessly. Inside was a universe, where God- a man in his 50's sat in royal clothes and beautiful features on the edge of the crescent moon.
"Ah! Rihette, so you finally came to see me. Razek sure took his time...."
"Razek, the angel who left me here?"
"Yes! Isn't he sweet? He takes care of half my chores. Good lad, that Razek!"
'Oh! So his name was Razek...' thought Rihette.
"There is some unfinished business down there, he said. I think he is right."
She waited for a response before saying, "Should I go down there, again?"
He said softly, "When your will becomes wish, your freedom becomes power. So, tell me Rihette, what is your will?"
She thought for some time and said, "I don't really know the magnitude of what I left unfinished..."
He brushed aside her concern in seconds saying, "Don't you worry about that! I have to tell you such a lot of things you know. Come sit here with me..." He patted to his side, and asked her to join her on the moon. She walked through the clouds and grabbed His hand. Within minutes she was sitting with God over the moon watching the sun rise in some part of the world.
"Listen carefully now- I'm not always right, but I'm never wrong either. So heed my words. Many years ago, the devil ascended from hell to the Earth. He started the vulnerability of the humans and so he settled down there. But things are going bad already, so we," God stopped for a bit to see if she was listening, she was and so he continued, "...we sent our two best combatants archangels down to the earth. There, even before the two angels could grow up, the devil almost killed your partner, the first archangel. Mistaking his powers to be of devilish origin, the devil named him heir."
Rihette thought of Evan promptly, she knew more than well that he was the unwilling heir of the devil.
"But our dear archangel does not know that he is an angel. Unless his partner doesn't go and help him out, how will he know who he is?"
Rihette said uncertainly, "Could you please explain it in Evan's terms?"
"Of course! Listen- Evan is in fact the last of the surviving combatant archangels. The archangels are the guardians of the heavens. He was never born as a human but because the devil settled on the Earth, Evan had to be sent to Earth in the devil's pursuit."
Rihette nodded her head to say that she understood what he said.
He took a deep breath and continued as the sun grew stronger, "But then the devil murdered his brother and nearly killed him. Sensing that he had some magic powers, he mistook him to be a devil descendant and named him the devil's heir."
Rihette asked, "How could someone consent for that? Unless of course that person is wicked." She was feeling so comfortable with God, so secure sitting next to him.
"We do not decide who is bad and who is not, it is a self judgment, your conscience can do that for you."
"Alright! Alright! It was a mistake. So, then what happened?"
"In return, Evan's brother was restored to their parents who sadly had no recollection or evidence of the fact that they had one more son. Everybody who knew him forgot him. The devil took Evan home and then to help him accept his identity as a part of the devil's clan, erased all his past experiences other than his near death episode. Unknowingly this devil made him forget his true identity as an archangel. It was the devil's way of saying that he really cared for Evan's feelings. After that, Evan started life afresh in a new place. There he learned about his powers and joined a college to prevent suspicion about who he was and where he was from..."
Rihette nodded thoughtfully and said, "You mean his previous life, with his parents has no effect on him?
God said gently, "You don't know the Evan I sent on earth. His mind and conscience were always clear. He knew just what he was doing. From the beginning he knew he was an archangel but he did not tell anyone. That's why he cannot remember who he is. Unless someone from here goes and helps him know that."
Rihette asked him pestering, "How was I related to him?"
God gave a grin and said, "You loved him and he loved you back. That is why I sent you both to work together. After all, home is where the heart is!"
Rihette understood how she had fallen for him in a matter of 2-3 days. Why she was so attracted to him and the reason for breaking down when she came to know they couldn't be together anymore. She looked at God and said, "I want to go back, it's my will...."