Another aisle was cleared. There were murmurs and grumbles as a pair of angels, both of them women, brought Lydia toward the altar. Each of them held one of her arms. She walked on her own without being dragged or pushed. Lydia wore the same tattered dress as from the night before, but this time she did nothing to conceal her demonic features. Her tail whipped about irritably much like that of a cat ready to lash out in anger. As she walked, she frequently winced and grunted in pain.
"Lydia, servant of Ba'al," Vincent called out. "You have entered my dominion and plied your trade as is your kind's purpose. Yet you turned your activities toward a mortal who walked under the protection of Heaven's light. You brought him torment and intended his death. You also plotted the furtherance of darkness and evil in my dominion."
Lydia growled and spat black bile at the altar. As the blob sailed through the air, Vincent whipped out his sword and flashed it in an arc to block her spittle, causing it to burn away with a hiss before it landed.
"A lesser demon than you was recently destroyed when brought to holy ground against his will," Vincent continued coldly, "but that was brought about by mortal hands. You are here by the will of the Hosts."
He strode down the steps from the altar to stand in front of Lydia. Again she spat, this time directly at him. Again, he deflected it with his sword. "Despite the viciousness of your deeds, no mortal under the protection of Heaven was killed, nor any soul claimed by the Pit that was not already destined for damnation. To destroy you here would be an overreaction and not in keeping with Heaven's mercy."
"Get on with it," Lydia snarled.
"You are hereby banished to the Pit for the remainder of this century," Vincent said. As he spoke, he tilted his blade down to her feet. Flames licked out from the tip, wrapping around one ankle until they formed a ring. The flames around her ankle then spread out in a short, winding line, eventually rolling up into a sphere. Before long, Alex could make out a ball and chain of tight flames. "You will not come to the mortal plane until your sentence has been served."
"That's a punishment?" Alex asked Lorelei quietly. "Sending her home?"
"With her master dead and his lands in chaos it will surely not be pleasant," Lorelei murmured. "As I told you before, I went to great lengths to spend as little of my time in Hell as possible."
Vincent held his blade over Lydia's head. As he did so, her body began to glow with a white light. She looked to Rachel and then to Lorelei and Alex, staring hatefully at each before she faded and finally vanished.
"Though I fear," Lorelei added softly, "that one such as Lydia may be ruthless enough to turn all that time to her advantage."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Alex asked.
"This was clearly his decision as this city is under his jurisdiction," Lorelei explained, nodding a bit toward Vincent. "He is in no mood to listen to anything that any of us have to say."
As they spoke, they became aware of an awkward hush in the cathedral. Vincent seemed to have paused after the last light of Lydia's banishment faded. He looked around the chamber for a moment as if expecting someone to say something.
Alex thought he looked like someone who expected applause and was now hearing only crickets. "He's Rachel's ex, by the way," he said while Vincent turned and walked up the steps to take up his spot by the altar.
"Yes," Lorelei nodded. "I can tell. Poor girl." She squeezed his hand. "At least she has certainly traded up."
"Can we get on with the rest of this?" Vincent asked irritably. "We all have much to do. The balance between Heaven and Hell has not been so tenuous in an age. We no longer have the luxury of facing a known enemy. All of the chaos sown by Rachel and these others has resulted in untold turmoil among our foe to an end that we cannot predict."
"Y'know, dude," Alex dared to speak up, "if you've really got a problem with the mess we made, you could always go to Hell and do something about it yourself."
There were chuckles. Scattered choking laughter. Vincent's face became a touch redder. Rachel turned to look at Alex, fighting a smile but eventually giving up the struggle. "I love you," she admitted.
"Then you do not contest or deny the nature of your feelings for your mortal charge?" Lawrence asked her.
Rachel looked back at him and shook her head. "Hell no, sir. I'm in love with him."
"And of Lorelei?"
She opened her mouth to answer, then paused. She looked back to Lorelei. "I'm not going to say it to anyone else before I can say it to you. I love you, Lorelei."
Lorelei's expression softened for a moment at that. Her hand squeezed Alex's more. But then Rachel turned back to face the council above her and shrugged. "That's it," she said.
There was another round of glances and nods. "Alexander has quite enough of an awareness of and connection to the supernatural that the protection of the Hosts is no longer warranted," Lawrence said. "He has the succubus, Lorelei. He has his own wits and courage, which have repeatedly withstood the forces of the Pit itself. Our numbers are stretched too thin in modern times to spare protection to those who have such awareness and such resources. Alexander will no longer walk under the watchful eye of a formal and dedicated guardian angel."
Rachel's eyes fell shut and stayed that way for a long moment. She stood very still. When she opened them, she pointedly gazed at the altar, ignoring Vincent's inevitably smug expression as he looked on.
"Though each guardian angel inevitably comes to love her charge, that love must never become romantic," Lawrence went on. "Further, it must never be pursued as such. The nature of Heaven is kept as a mystery to mortal man and woman for a great many reasons. A guardian angel is a companion, but a silent and unseen one; a guardian angel's heart is full of love, but it is as the love of a protector and guide, not a husband or wife.
"The revelation of Rachel's existence to Alexander was beyond her control and thus she shall not be punished for it. To have direct and open contact with him after that revelation was understandable and even wise. Yet to take up such a relationship as the two now have crosses the necessary distance between protector and protected, as well as that between Heaven and Earth." He looked to Rachel gravely. "Rachel, as a result of your actions, you are removed from the ranks of the guardian angels."
She looked down at the floor at her feet. Alex wanted to shout out in protest, to call them all out for being just plain shitty, but Lorelei's grasp on his hand kept him quiet. Rachel's head hung low. The cathedral was again silent, until finally she sniffed. Alex saw a tear fall down her face.
After a long moment, Rachel raised her head again. Her voice cracked a bit as she said, "I understand. Is there a new role for me?"
"We will come to that. Yet with this matter closed," Lawrence continued, "there is another issue that must be resolved. Vincent, hand over your sword."
"What?" Vincent blinked.
Lawrence turned to face him. "Hand over your sword, Vincent," he repeated. "I don't understand."
"You do," Hannah said flatly. "Under your dominion, your city has become a cesspool of supernatural and infernal evil. In over a century as its guardian, you have utterly failed to check the growth of all manner of darkness in Seattle and its environs. It is as an embarrassment to your superiors that such a situation could develop under your watch without any of the rest of us realizing the depth of this corruption. The actions of Rachel, Lorelei and Alexander and his mortal friends stand as a testament not only to their courage but to your own ineffectiveness."
"It is no longer appropriate that you hold dominion over this city," Lawrence said with slightly less emotion. "Hand over your sword."
The muscular angel glared at Lawrence and Hannah in disbelief. At length he did as he was instructed. The sword appeared again in Vincent's hand, bright with flame and the glowing orb of its pommel. He turned the blade parallel to the floor as he held it out to Lawrence.
The dark-skinned angel did not actually take the blade from Vincent's hand. Instead, he held one palm over the pommel, until it came free and floated up into Lawrence's hand. The blade shrunk some and then the flames diminished, burning neither as bright nor as large. Lawrence stepped back.
"Rachel," Lawrence said, "please come forward."
Frowning with confusion, Rachel walked up the steps to stand before Lawrence at the altar. The other angel seemed to be focused not on her, but rather on the glowing orb in his hand. The thought occurred to her that the orb would likely have to be brought to whoever was Vincent's replacement, and at this point she was fit for little more than courier duty anyway. She risked a glance at her lovers by the aisle, unsure of what any of this meant. She saw only support and warmth there. Whatever was going on, she still had them. It would be enough, she decided. It would be more than enough.
"Hold out your sword, Rachel," Hannah instructed.
Rachel froze in shock. Her eyes went wide in disbelief. "You've got to be fucking shitting me," Rachel blurted out before the altar in front of the assemblage of her angelic peers.
Lawrence allowed himself a small, faint smile. "No shit," he told her. "Hold out your sword."
She reached out with her hand. Long tongues of flame floated up from it, coalescing into a burning blade that she held parallel to the ground in front of the other angels. Lawrence held the bright orb over the blade's pommel for a long moment. When he pulled his hand away, the orb remained fixed to her sword.
"Though a mortal typically knows nothing of his or her guardian angel, the deeds of the charge reflect as greatly upon a guardian as do the angel's own actions," Lawrence began for all to hear. "The work of a guardian angel is much like that of a parent. It takes more strength to let the child stand, stumble, fall and recover on his own than it takes to hold that child's hand and guide him through every moment. Yet we often credit the child's independence to the parent's wisdom.
"Rachel served as a guardian angel for only a single week's time. We all know what has transpired in that time as a direct result. Yet perhaps most important of all of the accomplishments of Rachel and her charge is not the destruction of evil, nor even the freeing of mortal souls from Hell's grasp, but rather the presence here and now of Lorelei herself. One of Hell's own braves the painful light of Heaven simply to offer support and comfort to one she loves. The love of a demon," Lawrence smiled.
"Again, Rachel's decision to pursue a romantic relationship with a mortal violates much of the mandate with which we are entrusted," Lawrence said. "There can be no doubt of that. Yet even in Heaven it is difficult to argue with success."
"Rachel," Hannah said in a loud and clear voice, "you are hereby entrusted with dominion over Seattle and its environs. This shall be your first and foremost duty in all things. It falls to you to battle and banish the darkness of this land. As a guardian angel protects and guides individual mortal souls, so shall you protect and guide all those under the light of Heaven throughout your dominion."
The cathedral erupted in cheers and applause. No one even noticed as Vincent spun around and stormed out. Rachel beamed, tears streaming freely down her face as she looked at the glowing pommel of her sword and then to Alex, who rushed over to wrap his arms around her. She buried her face in his shoulder, laughing and crying all at once.
Lorelei followed more slowly, catching the eye of both Hannah and Lawrence as she walked stiffly and in small steps to get closer. The pair of angels descended from the altar to join her. Lawrence offered his hand. "It is good to meet you this way," he told her. "I admire you greatly."
"The admiration is mutual," Lorelei smiled coolly, taking the hand that was offered to her. Lawrence cocked an eyebrow. Lorelei explained, "I never would have credited such ruthlessness to the Hosts."
"Ruthlessness?" Lawrence asked innocently amid the tumult. "Whatever do you mean?"
"There is only so much that any angel can do without upsetting the balance and renewing open conflict between Heaven and Hell," Lorelei said. "Yet the actions of certain mortals and demons are often plausibly deniable, aren't they?"
"Rachel's burdens need not be shared by you or by Alex," Hannah said.
Lorelei's smile remained. "You say that with a straight face," she observed.
"We all have our talents," Hannah smiled back. She offered Lorelei her hand. "Their happiness has been a long time in coming, Lorelei. As has your own. I am glad you have one another."
Lorelei took Hannah's hand briefly. "Thank you," she said politely but sincerely. Then she stepped closer to Rachel and Alex, who were still wrapped in a close embrace. "Master, Rachel," Lorelei asked them, "at the risk of spoiling the moment, I think it's time that I take my leave of this place."
"Not without us, you don't," Rachel smiled, taking her hand. Alex likewise fell into step on Lorelei's other side. None of them hesitated in headed for the exit despite the crowd around them. "We need to take you home. And then take you. Over and over."
"We need to get a home, period," Alex thought aloud.
Lorelei squeezed his hand. "Yes master," she grinned.