Free Gabriel's Clock by Hilton Pashley

fair that Jonathan know it too. Would you like to hear it?” he asked.
    Jonathan nodded and leaned forward.
    â€œWell,” said Gabriel. “While we digest that splendid omelet, here is my tale. A long, long time ago—”
    â€œIn a galaxy far, far away,” mumbled Elgar.
    Grimm flicked the cat’s ear. “Hush!”
    â€œHeaven was at war with itself. Lucifer, the strongest, brightest, and proudest angel, decided that he knew best as far as creation was concerned. He wanted to rule Heaven his way, and being so proud, he believed himself right. War followed. Brother against brother, sister against sister. In the end Heaven, under the banner of archangel Uriel, managed to stop Lucifer, bind him with chains of glass, and exile him. He fell all the way down to Hell itself, leaving a shattered city behind him. Sadly Uriel then died of his wounds, so Heaven needed someone new to be in charge.”
    Gabriel took a sip of wine and paused. Jonathan could see that telling this story was difficult for him, and began to wish that he hadn’t brought the subject up. Staring into his wineglass, Gabriel continued.
    â€œAnd so four new angels were created to take care of Heaven.
    â€œMy elder brother, Raphael Executor, whose job it was to be just, to be fair, and to rule.
    â€œMy big sister, Sammael Morningstar, who lit the stars in the sky to bring light to the void.
    â€œMe, Gabriel Artificer, the engineer with knowledge of how creation worked and how to fix it when it broke.
    â€œAnd finally, my little brother, Michael Hellbane, the brave soldier, always first into battle and utterly fearless. The four of us brought order and peace for a time, but it didn’t last.”
    â€œLucifer?” asked Jonathan.
    Gabriel nodded. “Our predecessor wasn’t going to just give up. He was powerful, and he wanted revenge. He reigned over a big part of Hell, leaving the rest to be fought over by three archdemons—Belial, Baal, and Lilith.”
    At the mention of the name Belial, a sudden blend of anger and fear welled up inside Jonathan. His palms felt clammy, and his shoulders ached, just like they had when the cottage had been attacked. Jonathan jumped when Gabriel touched him on the arm.
    â€œAre you all right?” he asked.
    Jonathan nodded, not wanting to spoil Gabriel’s story. He took a sip of water and forced himself to appear calm. “Sorry,” he said. “I just felt a bit dizzy.”
    â€œYou’re probably tired after being in bed for so long before today. Would you like me to continue another time?”
    â€œNo, please don’t stop,” said Jonathan. “I really want to hear it.”
    â€œOkay, then. Using threats and promises, Lucifer joined forces with the archdemons and launched an all-out attack on Heaven. We knew it was coming and we had prepared, but the cost would be dear. We faced the hordes of Hell on the plain of Armageddon—a tiny force of angels against unimaginable odds. We all did . . . questionable things that day.” Gabriel sighed. “I had created machines to help us in our fight. The cherubim they were called, my three hollow angels, engines of living metal with wings of razor-edged glass. I remember watching them scythe into the ranks of demons.” He paused, sadness evident in his eyes as he continued softly, “I did not think there was that much blood in all of creation.”
    Gabriel bowed his head a moment, then continued.
    â€œThe slaughter was terrible. Angels and demons may be long lived, but we are far from immortal. We can all bleed, we can all die. In the end, even Lucifer was sickened by it. Possibly because some vestige of the angel he had been remained inside him, he decided to stop the fighting and to challenge my sister, Sammael, to a duel. The winner would decide the fate of Heaven and Hell. Michael wanted to fight Lucifer, but he’d been badly wounded, as had I and Raphael.