When Uriel left, the four of us rode the truck. Merikh sat on the passenger’s seat, and I let Collin drive us. I sat beside Azriel, who was really quiet, as we drove back to Mr. Roth’s house in Reno Beach. It was awfully silent but I can tell Azriel was scared. I was looking out the window, so I decided to talk to him through my mind.
Azriel? Is everything okay?
Silence. I looked over at him and he was just staring outside. I knew Merikh and Collin heard my thoughts ‘cause I caught a glimpse of Collin in the rear-view mirror, and Merikh looked at Collin before glancing at me. 
I’m fine. 
He finally replied. Even though I am not convinced at all that he’s doing fine. There is something about this fallen angel that Azriel seems to not want to talk about but maybe, just maybe, we could convince him to.
We arrived at the new safe house after more than two hours of driving. Rory was sitting in the living room when we got inside. She puts down a book and wears an all-pink ensemble – a pink t-shirt and a pink with purple stripes lounge pants. She said she and her aunt added a few more enchantments and protection spells to protect not only the house but the surrounding areas as well. She also noticed something off about Azriel but before she could ask, he excused himself to go to one of the rooms in the house to be alone. They also made us some dinner, “okay, so, you two had protected the area and even managed to magically clean the house and get us electricity?” I asked, still in shock.
Rory nodded, “while we were waiting for you at the old house, we managed to perfect a few spells. And we also perfected a spell that can take you to places by just opening a door.”
“Any door?” Merikh asked.
“Mhmm. All you have to do is write the sigil on the door, think of the place where you want to go and when you open the door, it’ll take you there! It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.”
She smiled at us before drinking her tea. I noticed her belly is getting bigger, which I totally forgot that she’s carrying my baby brother or sister. She probably noticed that I was staring at her belly, she puts her mug down on the table and took my hand to her belly. “Can you feel that?” she asked, smiling sweetly.
I nodded as I felt the baby move in her belly, “yeah.”
“Do you know its gender yet?” Collin asked after swallowing his coffee.
“Yeah, I do. I met with an old doctor friend. Don’t worry, she’s a human. We got to her during one of the trials of the traveling spells we were trying,” she paused and looked at me, “do you want to know the gender?”
“Sure, if you’re going to tell me,” I said shyly.
“It’s a girl,” she smiled. “I was planning on naming her Alexandra, after your dad.”
“Alexandra? That’s cute. I love it.”
After a while, Rory stood up from her chair, “by the way, uhm, Collin. We fixed your dad’s old room and removed everything of his. We made sure that nothing, and I mean nothing, in there will remind you of him.” 
She smiled at us and excused herself to retire to her room.
“So,” I started, “what’s the story behind Bernael?”
Merikh drank his whiskey straight and puts his glass down, “well, she and Azriel were, you know, a thing once upon a time. And, uhm, she betrayed him.”
“But why did he look scared when Uriel mentioned her?”
“I wasn’t scared,” Azriel said as he sat down on the chair beside Collin. “I was feeling anxious. I kind of didn’t feel good. She did so much worse than Beleth.”
“What did those two do anyway?” Collin asked.
Merikh took a deep sigh, “Beleth, uhm, followed Lucifer’s footsteps by telling God that he loves humanity so much that he just gave them something worthwhile. He, uhm, conspired with demons to wreak havoc on earth. He was the reason why the seven deadly sins are what they are. He even got townsfolks to commit mass suicide, telling them it’s for God and that their land will prosper. He fell from Heaven and went to Hell. Then Lucifer, after finding out what Beleth has done, made him King of Hell.”
“Bernael on the other hand,” Azriel started, “she secretly took over Beleth’s doings. When Beleth got towns to commit mass suicide, she was able to get someone to do genocide. Everything that Beleth did, she did them ten times worse. We didn’t know, I didn’t know, that she’s doing all these things. I only found out when we were called for a meeting.”
“A meeting? Like some kind of trial?”
“Yeah,” Azriel nodded, “it was a surprise trial. I guess I could say that.”
“Michael was the ‘judge’ or something,” Merikh continued for his brother, “we had one angel on stand, his name was Gadreel. He, uhm, shared a few stories of the things he had witnessed. When he was asked who committed those ‘crimes’ against humans, he pointed Bernael. She tried to escape but Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel were able to block her way. It was Gabriel who took her grace, and Michael banished her from Heaven.”
“Wait, doesn’t God banish angels from Heaven?”
“He does, yeah, but Michael is his right hand. The one who executes it,” Azriel confirmed. Both of them continued to tell Collin and me some stories about Bernael. We were learning so much of their history and the fact that she was supposed to be with Azriel. It kind of breaks my heart knowing that the sweet angel I knew was hiding a broken heart himself. It’s not fair. It’s not fair for someone with a good heart to experience the worst heartaches.
The next day came and Aunt Russo was in the kitchen making breakfast. When they found out about Collin’s transformation from a vampire to an angel, they started asking everyone they know as requested by Collin, including spirits, if they had any clue how it happened. Unfortunately, none of them could give an answer. Then, I was able to tell them about Eric being Beleth’s vessel. They both felt sorry for me because I was the one who killed him to save us and the other angels present during the fight. 
“But how are you feeling?” Rory asked Collin, placing a cup of coffee in front of him.
“I feel good. Better than before actually,” he replied as he put some sugar in his coffee. “I don’t get to feel the need to hunt or feel any type of hunger. It’s a win-win for me.”
He smiled. And it’s the first time I’ve seen Collin genuinely smile as he talks about himself and how he feels. He’s usually angry or just didn’t really want to talk about himself in general. Out of the blue, a Skinwalker suddenly entered the house. The five of us suddenly backed off – Merikh, Azriel and I immediately stood up from our seats, while Rory and Aunt Russo stood behind us. Collin was the only one who wasn’t alarmed.
“It’s okay. He’s with us,” Collin said as he stood up and the Skinwalker turned into a man – a naked man at that. Azriel grabbed some clothes and handed it over to him. He thanked Azriel and turned back to Collin once he’s fully dressed.
“Sorry, sir,” he started, “I wasn’t able to get some clothes back home.”
“It’s fine, Elliot. So, uh, what’s up?”
“Well, I got news about Bernael.”
Azriel and Merikh walked closer to Collin. “What do you have on her?” Azriel immediately asked.
“She was last seen in Luna Pier,” he replied.
“What’s with monsters and beaches?” Merikh’s eyebrows are furrowed and looking confused.
“Well, the lake has a vast source of food. Bernael prefers –“
“Seafood,” Azriel continued for him, “specifically, salmon.”
Merikh looked at his brother then back to Elliot, “is she alone?”
“No, she’s not. She actually has four Hellhounds guarding the area, plus some demons. Whatever she’s doing here, not even the angels knew why.”
Collin thanked Elliot before he leaves. The men his father left are all guarding outside the house taking shifts. It was surprising that even the monsters are clearly afraid of her. Azriel was once again pacing back and forth as the three of us sat on the couch, our gaze following him. “What’s your plan, bubba?” Merikh asked and Azriel stopped, his gaze turned to his brother.
“I don’t know,” he whispered and shook his head. He continued to pace, Collin rests his head on the backrest of the couch and placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. 
“Wait, ‘bubba’?” I asked.
“Uhm, yeah,” Azriel replied and stopped pacing again, “when we were kids, well cherubs, we kind of created our own nicknames. We only use it when I get too caught up with something like right now, this whole shit is starting to get to me.”
Azriel sat down on the armchair across Merikh, sighing loudly. It’s like he wanted to shout but he couldn’t. He’s trying his best not to let his past get to him but it seems to me that he loved Bernael so much that losing her made him the strong angel I know now.