"These are Angel's symbols. I'm surprised you memorized these in less than 24 hours. It took some of us some time to completely master them." He revealed. "I'm familiar with numbers one to six. The last four are more complicated and can only be interpreted by a higher angel. Luckily we have one here." Simeon informed her. "You can wait here while I go wake him up."
"Kaz is a higher angel?" Miranda asked, recalling when Simeon said he put Kaz to sleep. If Kaz was higher than he was, how was he able to put him to sleep?
"Not Kaz. Lord Luviel." Simeon responded and Miranda sprang to her feet, panic glimmering in her eyes.
"The one that bit me?" She asked, her heart already beating twice as fast. "I don't want to see him. I don't even want to be close to him. Can you hide me somewhere before you get him to check?" Miranda asked and Simeon sighed. If only she knew, she wouldn't be saying stuff like that.
"You don't need to be scared of him. Just like me and Kaz, he will never hurt you." Simeon revealed, but instead of his revelation to bring her relief, it killed all expression from her face as she stared at him like he was gradually going insane. Wasn't he there earlier? Didn't he witness everything that happened?
"He only bit you to be sure you're human. That's all. If he wanted to hurt you, you wouldn't have been able to escape him the first time. You would be dead by now."
"Is he the devil? Lucifer?"
"What?! No. His name is Lord Luviel. Although people call him a devil, he is not the devil. He only fell from heaven recently." Simeon explained, not sure how else to put her mind at ease.
"But he said I should return to where I came from. He also said he asked me not to come back. I didn't understand any of those, but I don't want to die here. Please just show me somewhere to hide." Miranda pleaded and Simeon decided to grant her wish. Insisting on telling her to let go of her fear of Luviel would not lead them anywhere. so the best thing was to let her be for the time being. That issue will be sorted out later.
"Alright, fine. Come with me." Simeon led her back to the spot where they had already set a stone chair for her. "Stay here. I'll be back." When she nodded and sat down, he walked away from there, back into the stone building.
Stepping in, he met Kaz awake, but still on the floor. It seemed his temporary paralysis was yet to fade completely. Simeon couldn't believe its already been an hour.
"You are going to pay for this, Simeon." Kaz threatened, and Simeon nodded.
"I know. Just let me finish what I doing before you make me pay. I'm almost there." Simeon responded, walking away from Kaz's position toward Luviel's burial chamber.
He looked inside to find Luviel's eyes still shut as if he was sleeping peacefully but Simeon knew better. He contemplated for a moment whether to say what he came for or not. Finally, he decided it was best to say it if they wanted to leave that godforsaken place.
"My Lord, I just discovered something about Her Majesty's return." He started, but Luviel did not shake, and neither did he open his eyes.
"She did not enter the forest through any opening in the barrier. She came in through a portal and I have reasons to believe an angel gave her access." Simeon continued, and at this point, Luviel finally opened his eyes.
"Why do you think so?" Luviel asked and Simeon went ahead to explain.
"She read a book which gave her instructions to free an unjustly imprisoned king. She followed the instructions and the book pulled her here." Simeon explained, causing Luviel's brows to pull together.
"Hazari," Luviel uttered and Simeon nodded in agreement.
"I also strongly think it's Hazari. That's not all, My Lord. She came from the year 2020. I'm not sure what year it is today, but I don't think we are there yet. So she might have come from the future. Also, I think she holds the key to our freedom from this prison just as she holds the key to your redemption, My Lord."
"How is that?" Luviel queried.
"She has angel symbols in her custody. They are part of a puzzle she is supposed to solve to release the prisoners according to the book. They are ten in number. I know six of them. The other four are too complicated and I believe you alone can decipher them. If you can come with me to the place she drew them, you can figure out what they are so we can leave this forest." Simeon revealed, but Luviel only let out a sigh.
"What is the use? I am no longer interested in redemption. In here, my dark heart cannot hurt anyone. I am better off in this prison than out of it." Luviel said.
"Don't say that, My Lord. You cannot just give up. You are not a quitter. What would happen to me and Kaz if you decide to remain in here?" Simeon probed.
"I will put you two to deep sleep. You will be fine." Luviel's answer came out even without him having to think twice about it.
"What about Queen Ralda? She is human and there isn't any edible food in this part of the forest. She will starve to death even before your heart gets corrupt enough to kill her.
If you no longer want redemption, My Lord, what about revenge for Her Majesty? The people who conspired against and killed her are walking free thinking they have won. You surely can't let them have the final say. I'm sure you haven't forgotten how she died for being the good person she was.
The people who conspired against your queen, our queen, should be made to pay and who better to serve the punishment than you?" Simeon decided to pull a string from Luviel's dark side to give him the needed motivation, and he knew it worked when he saw Luviel's countenance change and his eyes darkened with a heavy storm.