Post Chapter Seven - Gabriel

Every inch of his body ached. Stumbling down the street, Gabriel felt his wounds pull, his grace filling in the cracks of his skin with a murky silver. It was no longer bright. The very essence of what made him who he was, was fading. Soon it would be nothing.

“But you will be reborn.”

He nodded to himself, clutching at his abdomen. The voice was correct. It had assured him from the beginning that this would not be it. There was life beyond his grace. Something far more pure than what he had before. It was Gabriel’s second chance. 

“When will it happen?” he asked. His head was murky, stuffed full of cotton. There were times he knew he was slipping. Where the conversations he had were nothing more than a muddled dream that he could only partially recall. The voice had probably answered him before. He was simply thankful that they were so patient with him. He needed to show the same patience himself.

“In time.”

“I am afraid I do not have time,” he coughed. He took a few more steps forward, stumbling into the dark. His lungs felt wet and there was some sort of pull in his side that felt as if his body was tearing in two. But, he had to get to them. He could feel their presence far away. The Outlands. They had said the Outlands, right? “Please, the one I love. The Night Market. I am afraid for them. I must be at my strongest.”

“In time,” the voice said again.

“Please,” Gabriel breathed. “I am trying to be patient. I just would like a direction or a time frame. With each day that goes by, I feel as if the future is getting darker. I cannot save the Night Market if I cannot think clearly.”

A hand touched his face. Gentle fingers brushing across his brow. Tracing across the bridge of his nose. The line of his jaw.

“Do you trust the Knowing?” The voice was neither male nor female. Soft or harsh. It was just there, filling every inch of Gabriel with a warmth he had not felt since before he fell from grace. How he longed for that. Each morning that he woke in the cold, putting his uniform on and marching to his job with no hope of bettering the world, he longed for home. “Answer me, Gabriel, son of stars. Do you trust the Knowing?”

“Of course I do,” he whispered. It was the sound of a broken man.

“Then trust that, in time, all will be made clear.”

Gabriel nearly fell to the ground as the hands pulled away. He never saw anything despite feeling their touch. Even when he put his hands out in front of him, he felt no shapes or jut of bone. The voice was in his head, and the touch felt as if it were from another lifetime.

“Now, there is going to be an opportunity and I need you to take it. Go to your Night. Soon, you will be able to hold them. But you must do what you are told out there. Give them some of your grace.”

Gabriel nodded. “Will it help?” he asked.

“To finally rid you of grace? Or are you asking if it will help them?”

“First and foremost, I want to help them.”

“First and foremost, you should be helping the Knowing,” the voice chided. “Don’t make that mistake again.”

“I’m sorry.” He bowed his head appropriately, berating himself for losing his temper in such a way. Trust in the Knowing above all else. Understand that he would be privy to knowledge when it was time. And never, never, place another above the Knowing. “I spoke out of turn.”

“You have forgotten,” the voice said. “You have been gone far too long. Now, if you will listen, I can tell you what your next task is to be.”

“Of course.”

“Go to the Outlands. Go to your Night. There is a lantern there that will need to be relit. It is part of the process of fixing what has been wronged here. Your grace could help, Gabriel. Try to convince your love that this is the best way. There are others, but it will not be as strong. We must bring light back to this world. The Knowing wishes to protect those who are lost here. We want to help.”

Gabriel nodded. “What do I tell the Night Market when they ask questions of you?” The Night Market. Never their name. Always their title. It was better that way.

“You tell them to trust you,” the voice said. “But most of all, trust the Knowing.”

“They will wish to speak with you, soon.”

“In due time. We can make that happen in due time. For right now, I just need you to be by their side. I know you are in pain, and I know that you have others that wish to keep you back. But I am the one who knows what you are capable of, Gabriel. I can take away your pain.”

And just like that, he was left with nothing more than a minor ache. The degrading of his body stopped, and he stood up a little straighter, able to finally breathe.

“Now, go.” The voice was fading away. Disappearing until he was deemed worth y to hear them once more. Gabriel would make use of this time. Help bring light back into this world. Help bring the Knowing to the forefront. 

And save the one he loved.