Chapter Nineteen

There was something about flying that always made Zia giddy. Maybe it was the tingly feeling she got when they flew up into the clouds. Or perhaps it was because the activity allowed her to fulfill one of her many childhood fantasies. "This is probably the view that sadistic Cherub gets to see every day," the ambassador thought with a smile as she stared out of the window. The tower was now just a fleeting memory on the horizon: nothing but a small pitstop on the way to Hell. The fleet of ships was rocketing forward at full speed, and it wouldn't be long before this little joyride came to an end.

"You know—if it weren't for all of the scars—you'd be pretty cute," Aeron told her as he watched Dr. Leeson's ship weave through a patch of dense clouds. Zia sighed and ignored the Angel's backhanded insult. At this point, she had gotten used to his… unique… personality.

"So, tell me, do you always treat women this way, or am I a special case?" she asked in a semi-serious tone as she stretched her arms over her head. Aeron sighed as he stared at the floor; this was starting to get boring. It wasn't any fun if she took his jabs seriously.

"Ms. Lombardi," he started as he leaned against one of the steel walls, "you are one strange mortal." There weren't many people in Heaven who had the patience for his company. Well… there was Malcolm and Jeremy, but one was infuriating and the other a hopeless drunk. This woman, on the other hand, was at least tolerable. Sadly, before Zia could respond to his compliment, the ship started to shake, interrupting their conversation.

"Hey, captain! Do you mind telling me what's going on?!" Aeron yelled as he tripped and fell about the cabin. However—even though the ship was rumbling like an erupting volcano—Zia, Kashif, and Elizabeth were perfectly fine.

"Is this your first time dealing with turbulence?" Elizabeth cooed as she jiggled the ship's control wheel. Zia and Kashif laughed as they watched Aeron trip over his own feet. The Cherub looked like an absolute fool. After a few more seconds of torture, Elizabeth let out a final chuckle and pulled her hands away from the joystick.

"Flying through Hell is no walk in the park; you're going to have to get used to the shaking before we get there. Unless you want to hop out and fly on your own," Zia suggested. Sadly, that wasn't an option. Even though he was a templar, he was still an Angel. Flying out in the open would only draw unnecessary attention. Honestly, he would love the distraction of some absent-minded Demon trying to shoot him down, but he was here on official business. One wrong move could cost him dearly.

"Jeez! Lighten up!" the girl announced as she flicked a few switches above her head. "You're usually so talkative! Don't get weak on us now that you've gotten a little stomachache." Yet again, Aeron sighed. If only she knew who she was talking to.

"Well… nothing is stopping me from just telling them that I'm the templar," Aeron thought as a grin spread across his lips. "But if I did that, it would ruin the surprise." Plus, there had to be a reason why Zia refrained from informing them about his rank. What could he say? He was curious.

"Please stop teasing him, Elizabeth," the ambassador ordered. "I don't want another one of the Bureau's lackeys filing a complaint against you." Aeron frowned as he rolled his fingers against one of the monitors. What in the world did that mean?

"Wait, what? Why in God's name would they do that?" he asked, his lips pursing into a razor-thin line.

"Damn, I guess there's no use hiding it now. Especially not from you," the ambassador conceded as she placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "My bodyguard's kind of a prankster—her favorite targets are judges. Just last Tuesday, she made one of your comrade's gavels go supernova. The damn thing melted in the poor bastard's hand while he was training at your headquarters. Of course, nobody was injured, but it did traumatize the poor guy. Now he can't even hold a gavel without wearing thick rubber gloves." The second he heard that Aeron burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh, that's great! The rookies need somebody like you keeping them on their toes!" he yelled before hastily grabbing a nearby railing to steady himself. Even he couldn't have come up with an idea so perfect. "So, how did you do it? All gavels are controlled and regulated by multiple servers back at The Courthouse. Finding a specific one would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack." Elizabeth laughed as she nonchalantly scratched the back of her head.

"You're giving me too much credit," she said with a shrug while leaning back into her chair. "I just picked a random rookie and gave him a good scare." Aeron sighed. That wasn't very reassuring. He thought he might've found someone with the skills to mess with Jeremy for a second there.

"Ah, darn, that'll teach me to get my hopes up," he thought as he watched one of the other ambassadors' blimps begin to shudder and shake. "That doesn't look good." Was the crew having engine trouble? That ship was at the pinnacle of their little convoy. If it went down, that would cause problems for everybody.

"What's wrong, Angel? You look distraught," Kashif mumbled as he rolled a small knife across his calloused fingers. After a few more seconds of moping, Aeron cracked his neck and hurried to the bridge's other end.

"I need to borrow this," he announced as he skillfully plucked the headset Elizabeth was wearing off the bodyguard's head.

"Hey! I need that!" The Cherub ignored the girl's pleas as he pressed the mic up to his lips. He had to check something.

"This is a restricted signal," the malfunctioning blimp's captain said as his vessel continued to shake, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to call back later. I'm kind of in the middle of something." That was a significant understatement. It was immediately apparent that this blowhard captain was about to go down with his ship.

"This is Aeron Weber. I'm the current acting templar for The Bureau of Judgmental Affairs. I can't help but notice that your ship seems to be running on fumes. Is there anything you need from us? Would you like me to summon a fuel hauler?" The Cherub couldn't help but grin when he heard Elizabeth practically gag on her tongue.

"Wait? What?!" Those words were like music to his ears. Kashif's reaction wasn't as flashy; however, watching the man's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates was still quite entertaining. "Ms. Lombardi, you never told us that he was the Templar!" the poor girl yelled as she started to sweat bullets.

"This was why I didn't tell them," Zia thought, "I just knew they would overreact." With a sigh as she placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.

"Shit… I said so many awful things! Am I going to get demoted?!" It was mortal worries like that which never ceased to amaze him. Even if he wanted to demote her, what would he gain from it? Besides that, he had no reason to remove Elizabeth from her post.

"Relax, I'm not so petty that I'd punish you over some minor insults. Now hurry up and get back to piloting the ship. Unless you want me to demote you," Aeron ordered, his tone as sharp as a razor's edge. Thankfully the girl wasn't an idiot, and within moments, she was back to her post. "Now then, back to the matter at hand," he thought as he watched the rumbling ship lose altitude. "Tick tock, captain, you don't have much time left by the looks of it. Now tell me what's wrong."

"You're from the Bureau?" the man started as he cleared his throat. "That explains a lot." What the hell was that supposed to mean? He was trying to help this asshole! "I don't care if you're the Minister himself, little judge. I don't need anyone telling me how to do my job." At this point, all Aeron wanted to do was let the man sink. Sadly—unless he wanted to get an earful from the Minister—he didn't have that luxury.

"If you want me to damn you, then just ask," the begrudged Angel grumbled as he watched the shaking blimp slowly start to glow the color of blood. And it wasn't just that ship; every vessel in convoy was lighting up like a red giant.

"Mr. Templar, tell me, have you ever flown one of these things straight into Hell?" the captain asked in a tone one would take when talking to a small child. Aeron had done some bizarre stuff throughout his life, but piloting an inter-realm blimp? That was still on his bucket list. "Your silence speaks volumes, Angel. Now just shut up and watch. Trust me when I say that I earned this job. I know this route like the back of my hand." Aeron swore he could hear the pride dripping from the captain's lips. However, before he had the chance to make a witty remark, their ship started shaking.

"Elizabeth! What's happening?!" Zia yelled as she held herself steady on one of the nearby railings. Instead of answering her, Elizabeth just cackled and tightened her seatbelt.

"Come on, Ms. Lombardi, you should know better than most that the ride to Hell is bumpy! We're heading straight into God's trash fire after all." Aeron nearly slapped himself when Elizabeth's words reached his ears. How could he be so stupid? Of course, there would be some turbulence! Without a moment's hesitation—as quick as his legs could carry him—he ran up to one of the nearby windows and took in the strange new landscape. They were still in Purgatory. However, at a glance, you wouldn't be able to tell. The skies surrounding them had taken on a disturbingly reddish hue, and the lush forests below were nowhere to be seen.

"What in God's name is that?!" he heard one of the younger captains scream over the radio. Usually, Aeron would have reprimanded the man for being so unprofessional; however, he would make an exception in this case.

"The doorway to Hell is as inviting as ever," he thought as he stared down at the large black chasm that ravaged their surroundings. The souls of the damned poured into the canyon through the small cave entrance before piling up in front of the gigantic river that covered every inch of the chasm's floor. He could sense the overwhelming miasma of death and disease that was wafting off the water's surface. "Are you feeling nostalgic?" he asked Zia as he walked up to the ambassador. Ever since their arrival, she had gone completely silent. All she did was stare and watch as the damned souls poured into the river below them. At one point and time, she was probably one of them. Just another frail face swept up by the current.

"There are children down there," she mumbled as Aeron followed her gaze. Near the entrance of the cavern was a small group of kids. If they weren't moving, anyone could've easily mistaken their thin, malnourished bodies for a pile of skeletons. He wouldn't lie, the sight was pitiful, but that didn't mean he felt sorry for them. They used to be Egyptian soldiers, after all. Throughout their short lives, they sent countless souls to the grave. He didn't regret judging them the way he did; when it was time to move on, he saw them as just another swarm of flies. Just another sacrifice to be devoured by Hell's unforgiving flames.

"They deserved what they got. Remember, they were all sent here for a reason," he told her as he watched one of the little boys tumble into the cold river. "You should understand that fact better than anyone else on this little expedition, Ms. Lombardi." Every person in that chasm was beyond saving. Soon, they would all be ferried off to Hell, and once they were there, they would be forgotten. "Do you think about the garbage that you throw away? Do you ever wonder what a piece of trash thinks when it's sent to the shredder?"

"We aren't responsible for entertaining the worries of every poor soul who walks through our doors," Zia added as she bit her lip. "Ultimately, their fate is left to the one who created them." Sadly, hopes like that were practically worthless when it came to the Nine Circles. The only God in that pit of despair was the Devil, and he wasn't famously known for being merciful. There wasn't anything she could do for those kids. As of now, they were on their own. She kept her eyes glued to their sickly frames during their entire descent. Her gaze never left them, not even for a moment. She didn't even blink.

"I'm starting to realize why you were appointed to be the lowest level's ambassador," Aeron spoke as he tightened his holster's strap. "You're as stubborn as a mule, yet you also understand the rules of this world. That outlook was probably your greatest aid when trudging through all of that fire and brimstone." As an Angel, he had no idea what that must have felt like, nor did he care. His job wasn't to show mercy to lost lambs.

"Mind your own business, Templar. I don't need you dredging up bad memories; I have enough on my plate," Zia hissed as she pushed him aside and stormed out of the bridge. Most of their convoy had already landed, and now it was time for the real work to begin.

The place where they touched the ground was a lonely little oasis hanging off the side of one of the chasm's cliff faces. The gigantic rectangular platform had enough room to house all their vessels and was also stuffed to the brim with hundreds of heavily armed vehicles and demonic soldiers. Aeron watched as Dr. Leeson exited one of the vessels—along with a platoon of bodyguards—and sighed. This summit was going to be tense.

Once all the ambassadors were gathered up, Dr. Leeson laughed and raised his hand in the air. "Ladies and gentlemen! If you would be so kind as to follow me!" he yelled as he started walking towards the leftmost end of the platform. A large staircase carved out of the cliff face spiraled down to the river's surface.

"Would it kill them to put in a railing?!" Elizabeth thought as she hurried after Aeron and Ms. Lombardi. The two were up near the front of the procession and were walking right next to Dr. Leeson. Aeron was teetering just over the edge of the staircase. If he wasn't careful, he could trip and fall into the ravine. "That Templar needs to be more cautious. One wrong move, and they'd all tumble into the water." If she had her way, they never would have come here. There was something about this place that just scratched her the wrong way. And it wasn't just because this was the gateway to Hell. No… there was something rotten about this river. "This is where souls are forgotten," she whispered to herself as she nervously rubbed her shoulders. Out of everything that she had seen throughout her life, there was one thing she feared the most, and that was being swallowed up by the sands of time. Death was a horrifying concept but being erased from history was different. Given enough time, even God would forget the souls he left here, and then they would be abandoned—doomed to toil away in obscurity until the end of days.

"Look alive, Elizabeth!" Kashif yelled as he gently pushed his partner forward. It was time for them to get to work. Elizabeth nodded and quickly turned her gaze upwards. Something was rushing towards them from the river's entrance. If she had to put it in simple terms, the strange object looked like a gigantic boat. Truthfully, it was more like a floating island. The bones that made up the vessel's hull creaked and cracked as the ship floated towards them. Within moments it would be at the dock, ready to take on a new group of passengers.

"Don't tell me that we're going to ride that thing," Elizabeth said as she watched several hordes of damned souls pile onto the barge. Sadly, luck was not on her side, and in just two minutes, she was escorted onto Charon's ferry. She felt a chill run down her spine the second her foot touched the rotten deck. It was as if the ship was sucking the life out of her.

"Are you okay, Elizabeth?" Zia asked as the last of the ambassadors' bodyguards piled on. Elizabeth grinned and shook her head—it was nothing. If Ms. Lombardi's guard didn't act tough, then who will?

"Oh, don't worry, Ms. Lombardi, I'm fine," she said while she gently rubbed her aching stomach. Hopefully, this mission will be over soon.

Fifty-four years ago...

For the past three months, I have explored what the locals call the Silk Road. It's nothing more than a glorified trade route. However, for the East, it serves as a significant economic lifeline. The silk they refine in China is brought over via this road to various major western countries—sold to the rich and noble families. The garments they weave from it are used as symbols of power. The wealthier you are, the more silk you should own or something like that. I have to say that I find their greed adorable. Why spend your money on necessary goods when you can buy another set of clothes? I've seen this jump in logic emerge in various civilizations hundreds of times throughout my long life. There's just something about mortals that makes them want things with little to no practical value. It's as if their desire for the useless is encoded into their very being, so I don't count their avarice against them.

Many of my coworkers would never do this, but I've overlooked several sins during my assignments. Greed is usually one of them. If you're poor, I don't consider it sinful that you lust for food or shelter. And if a king is drowning in gold, I don't punish him for being rich. It's what these people spend their money on that concerns me. As far as mortals are concerned, greed is sparingly selective.