An Unholy Redemption Chapter 5.2 continued

I must say it is healing quite nicely, though it’s always better to be on the safe side.”

“Where is she going to run off to?”

“Don’t you worry about her. She often threatens to run away. We mostly find her hiding in wardrobes or under beds. Now then what did she mean about the Bible and you?”

“I don’t know, perhaps she thinks I’m her guardian angel or something.”

“I don’t think she’s in a need of a guardian angel. All she needs is a firm hand. Besides only spiritually enlightened people like us nuns can see the true nature of God and the heavenly messengers.” Lucifer smiled to himself at the nun’s comment. “Anyway you have extra towels at the end of the bed and there are blankets in the wardrobe.

Good night Luther, don’t forget to say your prayers.” Lucifer looked at her with a unimpressed face, then turned his light off before she’d left the room.

Lucifer woke to the sound of running feet along the corridor. He could see the shadows of feet under his doorway. He leant over, switched on the light and pulled himself off his bed. Dressing, he left the black coat neatly on the bed. Outside Lucifer’s door was chaos, with nuns running in all directions. Some were stopping the children from leaving their rooms while others were opening every single door and cupboard calling out Angela’s name.

“Luther, you’ve not seen Angela anywhere, have you? Nobody has seen her since she left your room this afternoon. Nobody can find her, we’ve looked everywhere.” The look on Sister Sophie’s face was one of despair and pain.

“Have you tried the hidden garden?” said a little boy, pulling on Sister Sophie’s habit.

“What hidden garden, Robert?”

“The one she goes to when she’s sad and wants to run away from the bullies. It is behind the gardener’s shed where the well is.” Sister’s Sophie’s face became very pale, fearing the worst.

“Oh my, that area has been blocked off for years. We built a wall to stop the children entering there because of the dangerous well and Angela must have found a way through. We might need your help, Luther. Some of those bricks might need knocking down. Thank you Robert, can you please now go back to your room?” One of the other sisters took Robert’s hand and led him away. Lucifer crept back in his room to gather up his coat and then followed the sister down the corridor, wrapping the coat tightly around him. Outside the rain was sprayed around by a freezing cold wind. They arrived at the brick wall to see a small hole partially covered by a bush. It was big enough for a child to crawl through.

“Can you make that hole bigger, Luther?” Sister Sophie shouted over the howling of the wind.

“I expect so,” he looked around and saw a heavy spade but paused. What am I doing? I am not supposed to be helping people. I couldn’t care less if Angela was dying. “No, this is your problem,” he said. “She’s in God’s hands now and that’s not where I want to be.” Lucifer smiled as the nun looked at him with horror at his heartlessness. As he turned around to walk away, he heard God’s voice burning in his ear: You will stay in human form for as long as it takes. Lucifer held his ears to be rid of the annoying voice, then in angry reluctance he turned back and grasped the spade.

“Stand back!” With one downward swipe, Lucifer smashed the spade against the wall causing a whole section to collapse. At that moment, the rain immediately ceased.

“Angela, Angela!” Nuns rushed through the gap in the wall and ran forward in different directions, calling her name and looking in bushes and behind trees, their torch lights dancing as they frantically searched for the missing child. Sister Sophie run straight to the well and cried out as she spotted Jemima lying at its edge. The other nuns ran to join her, leaning over to look into its dark depths.

“Angela! Are you down there?” They all listened for an answer. For a moment all they could hear the sound of water dripping to the bottom of the well.

“Angela!” Sister Sophie shouted as loudly as her lungs would allow. A silence which seemed to last a lifetime was finally broken when a faint cry sounded.

“Thank you God, she is alive. Luther, please take this rope and climb down to save her. You’re the only one strong enough to make it down and back again.”

“Take this Luther, a torch to guide you in the darkness.” Lucifer looked around to see Sister

Phillipa handing him a torch.

“Very well, just stand back,” he said. He sat himself on the edge of the well and tied the rope firmly around his waist and instructed the nuns to tie the other end of the rope around a nearby tree. The walls of the well were damp and covered with a green slimy moss. As Lucifer gradually lowered himself down, he occasionally looked up to see the concerned faces of the nuns gathered above. As he got lower he could make out the frame of a small body desperately hanging on to a protruding stone. She wasn’t moving and all he could hear was a faint cry and cough as she lay in the water.

“Damn it,” Lucifer cursed as the wet torch slipped out of his hand, the light getting fainter as it fell deeper and deeper under water. He and Angela were now submerged in complete darkness. Lucifer’s black coat was now twice its weight from the rainfall as he hovered just above the water.

“Lucifer is that you?” Angela’s faint voice cried out in the darkness. “I knew you would come, God said you would save me. I’m really cold and I’ve cut my head. I don’t think I can hold on much longer, please help me.”

Hearing Angela’s faint pleas he hung on his rope for a while contemplating his situation. I have no desire to save this girl in an act of love, but on the other hand this is God’s punishment and I am suffering myself. It disgusts me to be in human flesh, however until I help this mortal I am stuck with my situation against my will. In the end, Lucifer’s desire to regain his power and angelic form won the battle in his mind.

“Okay, I will help you, but I don’t know how good I would be. I’ve never done this sort of thing before.”

“Just take me in your arms,” Angela whispered from the darkness. “Down here in the darkness, there is just you and me, with only one choice you have to make - whether to save me or not.” Angela had just finished speaking when Lucifer heard her body fall and splash into the water below. Not knowing what to do, he looked up and beyond the nuns’ faces to see the clear starry night.

“Okay, Most High, it’s time for the beginning of my return”

He untied the knot on the rope around his waist and dropped into the water below. He frantically swam below the surface, hands feeling through the darkness. The water seemed to go on forever until his feet found the bottom. Panic rushed through his mind when he realised he was nearly out of breath. He was just about to make his way to the surface when he noticed a white light around his ankles. It made its way up his legs, spiralling like white lightning jumping off in different directions. Just as quickly as the light appeared it disappeared, but now Lucifer had become calm without a fear of drowning. A tiny hand took hold of his hand and he heard Angela’s voice in his head: “Take hold of me in your arms and become who you are meant to be”. Lucifer parted his black coat and drew Angela close to his chest, then wrapped the coat and his arms around her. He closed his eyes and heard her voice again: “It’s time”. Lucifer’s mind switched back to the time in the desert just before the battle. The power of this past memory now connected with his present situation, making him feel his energy to the fullest; he now had become at one. His eyes flashed open in a ruby trance-like state, illuminating the water at the bottom of the well and around the two of them in a sea of red, its energy flickering like a ghost. Angela’s face was alight with this red energy as she breathed in its life force making Lucifer feel more powerful too.

Yes God, I am still powerful, my name is Lucifer, the one to destroy all mankind. You thought you can take that away from me. Look at me! he thought with pride and defiance.

His energy began to fade and he found it hard to concentrate. Just then he felt a gentle stroke of fingers on his face, which caused all the red energy to implode into the darkness. He opened his eyes and saw Angela’s hand gently holding his face. Her face was now glowing like a blue sapphire and she was smiling. He then saw something in her eyes which sent a sensation sparking through his body finding its way to his heart. This pain caused Lucifer to let go of Angela and hold his chest. Angela looked at him through the murky water and held out her hand. Bemused, Lucifer took hold of her hand and they both swam to the surface. As their heads emerged from underwater, they both took a breath of life-giving air.

“Oh thank God, are you both okay?” Sister Sophie called down.

“Yes, sister,” Angela shouted up, “we’re fine. We’re coming up.”

Lucifer looked into Angela’s eyes through the cold, dark, murky water, occasionally blowing a bubble through his nose. “Why are you looking so puzzled Lucifer? Is that pain in your heart so bad?” She smiled again. “Don’t you think it’s odd that some people call it love and others call it pain?” She held out her hand again. Cautiously he took hold of her and put her over his shoulder. Taking hold of the rope, he started his ascent. Angela held Lucifer tight with her arms in an embrace of love. Lucifer was amazed that the more tightly she held, the more pain there was. For the first time in his existence a tear rolled from his eye.

“Thank God above, she’s alive. Thank you Luther, God will repay such kindness.”

Sister Sophie had taken Angela from him after reaching the surface and was wrapping her in

a warm dry blanket. “You must be freezing, Luther. Let’s get you inside in the warm and out of those wet clothes.” Lucifer began to shake as Sister Phillipa put her arm around him, making the pain in his heart worse.

“No! Get away from me, leave me alone. I don’t know what’s going on here. You nuns are making me sick.” He pushed the nuns aside and began to run until he reached the edge of a nearby forest. For a moment he paused to look back. Angela was watching him, and he read her lips. “I love you Lucifer,” she had said. It hurt too much. He ran off into the woods.