Most people pay very little attention to a group of four people walking down the street in a major city, but heads were starting to turn towards Aurelius's little gaggle of angels. He sighed as he resigned himself to the fact that kids were never easy to deal with, especially when it was their first time on Earth. The fact that all of them had beautiful teenage vessels might have had something to do with it, in drastic comparison with his own priestly robe. More likely it was the way the three of them were arguing with each other over what one of the startled onlookers who was hurrying away and looking back over his shoulder had said to them.

"It is not a nice day, Sylviel. That should be obvious."

"Maybe it was just his opinion. Humans are strange, Mandiela."

"Maybe he was colorblind and saw the gray clouds as white..."

"Be silent, Amendia. He had no Discord staining his soul."

Shaking his head ruefully, he said a quiet prayer that his partner would show up soon and turned to face the three teenagers, clearing his throat to get their attention. "Students, become silent and pay attention to what I am about to say."

The three girls walked over to a nearby bench and sat down quietly. 'If only that worked so well on human teenagers.’ he thought to himself. "Now, this is a good example of one of the idiosyncrasies of 'being human'. What you just witnessed was something commonly referred to as 'casual conversation'. It was not intended to be a statement of fact..."

Sylviel's eyes grew wider. "Then he was lying to us?"

Aurelius smiled a bit. "Not precisely. Humans often say certain things as a matter of habit, in an attempt to portray themselves as friendly. The statement may or may not be true, but they aren't thinking about that. It's not meant as a willful deception. Tell me something - are all of your heads feeling a slight buzzing sensation?"

The three of them looked at each other, and then nodded in unison.

"Thought so. That sensation is called a headache, and many young Seraphim experience it the first time that they come to the corporeal plane..."

  Mandiela piped up. "Why only Seraphim? Or is this place baneful to other choirs?"

  The priest chuckled a bit. "No, it affects everyone to a certain degree, but it hits Seraphim the hardest. Let me guess - the three of you have been using your resonances almost constantly, haven't you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "The main difference between Heaven and Earth is that there is a great deal of willful deception or unintended misstatements here. For a Seraph, that means that you may find a great many lies in the things that you see and hear."

  The three of them sat a little straighter, their eyes taking the mirrored sheen of a mortal deer caught in a human's headlights. Aurelius snapped his fingers several times quickly.

  "Snap out of it. You'll get used to it. The trick is really simple - instead of using your resonance constantly, only use it when you have reason to question what someone is going to say to you. It..."

  Amendia looked up at him. "But if we do that, we could -"

  "Miss the truth? Yes, you could. But the other thing to consider is that if your ears are ringing constantly from using your resonance too casually, you might not have it available to you for the times when you really need it. Believe me, if I used my resonance on every single person that I saw, I would go insane quickly with the need to punish the dishonorable here. So I have to pick and choose who I check."

  Amendia cocked her head to the side slightly. "Aurelius, is it easier here on Earth for Malakim than it is for us?"

  Aurelius rubbed his chin for a moment. "Yes and no. There is more evil to fight here than there is in Heaven, I can tell you that. It's hard for everyone at first, but you do grow accustomed to it over time. As a Malakite, I've learned that it can be a frustrating experience, but then again I've seen a bit of everything. Sometimes you come across people that can be just as dishonorable as the Infernals, but on the other hand I've met people on the street that were so honorable and charitable that it makes one proud to serve them."

  Sylviel blinked several times. "That was odd. Something you said just rang a false note, but I couldn't..."

  Aurelius put his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. As I said, this place is foreign to you. Your resonance may need some time to adjust. Come on, let's be on our way back to the Tether. Omar should be meeting us a few streets down."

  The three Seraphim stood up, looking confused. "But I thought he said..."

  Aurelius looked at them a little more seriously. "Omar is a few streets down."

  Sylviel started to say something, then all three of the Seraphim stepped back a little shaking their heads. After a second, she recovered her composure. "You are right. I remember now. I apologize for doubting you, sir..."

  The priest clapped her on the back good-naturedly. "Nothing to it, kid. Nothing to it."

In the library of Heaven, Yves sat back in an overstuffed chair reading a report that one of his seneschals had forwarded to him. He already knew what it had to say, of course, but it was polite to read it anyway. In truth, he was simply passing the time. Dominic had entered the library looking for him, and it would be a few more moments before the place allowed the Archangel of Judgment to find him. Besides, the chair was comfortable, and where he was going to be going in a few moments would be unsettling at best, even for him.

  Several minutes later, the cloaked Seraph stepped around a bookshelf and entered the alcove. He looked around for a moment, apparently satisfied that no one else was nearby to hear them before speaking. "Yves. I received a message that you wished to see me as soon as I became available." He cocked his head slightly. "The tone of urgency in your voice was apparent to my servitor, but you chose not to summon me personally. Which means..."

  Yves smiled as he rose from his chair. "Which means that I thought it was important enough to call you, but I didn't think that it was a major emergency. Besides, I know your busy schedule. Were you able to find a solution for the problem with Jamal?"

  Dominic shook his head. "Michael outcast him before the trial could take place, which is unfortunate because from the evidence presented so far, I think I could have let it go with his Corporeal forces being removed from him for a few centuries." He chuckled ruefully. "By trying to save him from Judgment, he inadvertently punished him much more forcefully than I would have. Still, I have a Cherub attuned to him, and although Novalis and I do not always agree, I have already made arrangements for her to pick him up and bring Jamal into her service. It is for the best, in all truth."

  Yves shook his head. "Some days it's difficult to win for losing, isn't it? Still, I have someone that I want you to meet. Follow me to the Corporeal plane, if you would." The two Superiors quickly translated themselves onto Earth, coming to rest in the Locus of a Tether of Destiny. As they arrived, Dominic turned to Yves with a troubled expression on his face.

  "Yves, what is that noise that I keep hearing?"

  The Archangel of Destiny looked back at him with a slightly pained look. "That, my friend, is the sound of the internal alerts that go off when my Tethers detect an infernal intrusion inside of them. You'll understand better in a moment." Yves nodded to a Cherub who had come into the room, and then started walking down a hallway, continuing to speak. "You remember a few years back how we got to talking about how the Symphony displayed a sense of humor at times, correct?"

  Dominic nodded. "Yes, and how Kobal's loss was so tragic since God had personally created him as an expression of that sense of humor. I remember, but I fail to see the relevance as yet..."

  "Well, one of the things that Kobal has always found funny is that you could create an angel that could not fall, but you couldn't make a demon that couldn't redeem. It's been one of his personal projects since as long as I can remember. Of course, God's mercy being infinite, there are very few that he wouldn't accept with open arms."

  Dominic nodded again as they turned a corner. "Yes, of course. The only ones that he would not accept back are those that would not come to him, but as we know there is always a chance that one can ask for forgiveness..." He began to grow disturbed as he saw a look of anger appear of the usually serene face of the Oldest Soul. "Yves, what is the problem?"

  Yves stopped in front of a one-way mirror, and pointed inside at a priest who was busy writing in a notebook in a study room. "This is Aurelius. He's one of my most recent additions to this Tether's staff. Right now, he's busy writing up a sermon for tonight's mass at the church down the street. We'll speak to him in a moment, but I thought you should see him at rest first."

  The Archangel of Judgment looked in the room at the priest for a moment before looking back at Yves with a surprised expression. "This is the source of that disturbance?" A voice from behind him answered. "Yes, Most Just. My Tether has not been quite the same since Aurelius showed up here a few months back." He turned around to see a Seraph in Celestial form floating up to look into the window.

  Yves spoke again. "This is Aron, the Seneschal of this Tether, and the first person that met Aurelius. Apparently he called the Tether four months ago claiming to be from our Tether in Denver and wanting to be put to work, which Aron arranged. Everything was fine until there was a party here celebrating his success in bringing a demon in for redemption. That was when he first came to my attention. Aron told me about the new Malakite from Denver who had facilitated the redemption, but that struck me as odd."

  Dominic looked back through the window. "Really? Why is that?"

  "I don't have a Tether in Denver."

  Dominic whipped his head around to face Yves. "What?!" He turned back to face the priest again, his eyes glowing slightly brighter within the hood of his cloak. After a few seconds, his voice changed slightly. "That is no Malakite. That is a Balseraph in that room."

  Yves moved closer to the window. “Yes, I know. A renegade Balseraph of Fate, to be precise. One with the resonance of a Malakite. And one whose mind has been so shattered that he has absolutely no understanding of the fact that he isn't an angel. He wandered in here during the party, and when the actual redemption took place he took his celestial form just like everybody else. Surprised everybody, myself included. He looks in the mirror and sees black wings and his mind fills in what he expects to see."

  Dominic looked through the glass for a moment longer. "So, what do you intend to do with him? He is quite obviously dissonant, and he must be a severe disruption to this Tether's operations. I'm surprised you didn't destroy him..." He stopped as he felt his Word leaping into his throat, burning at his mind. He started shaking his head at the thoughts bombarding his mind.

  "That's the trick. He truly believes that he's one of mine. All of the dissonance you see on him is from him going against the Word of Fate. He has redeemed one of Belial's already, and I've got high hopes for two others that he's been working on. You see, he holds attunements from both Kronos and Asmodeus, which allow him to mimic several of our attunements, such as your Malakite attunement. Incidentally, he thinks you gave it to him, so be forewarned if you ever speak to him about it."

  Dominic's eyes softened slightly. "I think I will do that presently. Excuse me."

Aurelius sat in his regular study room, pondering what he had learned from the three young Seraphim that he had tutored today. Kids always gave him trouble - although their naivety was refreshing and amusing at times, the fact that they came straight from Heaven always bothered him slightly. He hadn't been there in quite some time, and a vacation would be nice. Still, Destiny's work was best done here on Earth, and he could tell he was making a real difference. He could see it on the faces of his co-workers when he walked down the hall and spoke to the Seneschal on a weekly basis. 'For a Holier than thou, not a bad person.' he thought to himself. Besides, the fact that both Kronos and Asmodeus had personally targeted him for destruction meant that he was really getting things done, and he wore that as a badge of honor. A somewhat tarnished one admittedly, but...

  He stopped his train of thought as he felt a presence behind him. He turned to look over his shoulder to see who had come in, only to see the folds of a very familiar cloak. He instantly dropped out of the chair to bow on one knee, his head down. "Good afternoon, Most Just. You honor me by your presence."

  Dominic put a wingtip on his shoulder. "Hush. Please, rise." Aurelius did so, still not looking directly at the Archangel of Judgment. "Aurelius... how long has it been since you and I last spoke? Yves tells me that you have been doing great things in his service."

Aurelius raised his head to look into Dominic's cowl. "Thirty years, sir. Give or take a few months, I'd say. As for Yves' compliments, they are welcomed but completely undeserved. I do the duty of any Malakite in the Lord's service - if praise is due anyone, it should go to him for having allowed me the good fortune to find souls in need of healing."

  "You are modest, and that is commendable, but remember to take credit when credit is due. So, tell me - what does Yves have you doing around here?"

  The priest paused for a moment. "A lot of things, really. Most of the time, I keep an eye out for infernals that might be potential redemption candidates. My role as a priest brings me into contact with them on occasion. It's a wonderful assignment, as when I'm not working with infernals, I have the privilege of helping bring humans directly closer to God. With my resonance, I'm able to find what sorts of sins people have committed and can minister more directly to their needs. But Aron finds other things for me to do as well from time to time. For example, a little earlier today, I was taking a group of new Seraphim through the city, showing them some of the intricacies of human behavior."

  A chair faded into existence, which Dominic lowered himself into heavily. "Really? How did that go? Not many Malakim enjoy such duties, playing nursemaid to new angels on their first time to Earth."

  Aurelius shook his head as he smiled. "In spite of their tendency to ask some of the silliest questions in known creation, I actually enjoy it. I find their perspective refreshing - they haven't had the chance to become bitter or jaded to the current stalemate we find ourselves in. Everything is new to them, and it's fun to watch that little spark of wonder and curiosity in them."

  Dominic nodded, trying to force the image of a Malakite with six glowing red eyes and fangs out of his mind. "You enjoy your work, do you not?"

  The 'Malakite' nodded. "Oh, most definitely, Most Just. I'll admit, there are times where it can be trying. And it's difficult sometimes - when you have someone who is just Fated to burn in Hell, it's hard to not let some of them go where they deserve. But I've found that most people can honestly be saved. It..." He paused for a second before continuing, "It takes a lot out of me sometimes, but when you can pull someone away from the brink and you know that they're going to make it, it's worth it. Some days, I feel like I'm getting gut punched for doing it, but that doesn't matter. I don't care how much it hurts - if even a single soul makes it to Heaven that wouldn't have..."

  'He's horribly dissonant. He's burning himself up to save these people - at some level he has to know this is killing him...' thought Dominic. "Do you ever think about turning over a new leaf, putting all of the past behind you?" He sat up slightly as he saw the Balseraph's eyes flare with an almost holy devotion as he responded.

  "HELL, NO! Never! I may not be the best of angels, but I know my place, sir. I may lie like a rug. I may not have acted at times when I should have. I sure as hell am not objective, and I'm more than willing to hurt humans when they need it. But it doesn't matter - I am a Malakite. I am an embodiment of God's justice and God's love, and no matter what happens to me I cannot Fall. I could no more turn my back on Destiny and dishonor my Archangel and my God any more than you could turn your back on what is True and what is Just, sir! Tell me what you want me to do to prove it, and I'll -"

  Dominic stood up quickly and reached out for Aurelius. "Enough. Calm down. I did not tell you that you should stop. I... I simply needed to ask you. You have proven yourself to Yves and I..." He paused for a moment. "I think, young Aurelius, that you are one of the most honorable of your kind that I have seen in your Archangel's service. You do both Yves and Heaven credit by your work." He started moving towards the door, and then turned to look back at the priest. "I need to leave now. I wish you well, and if you should ever need anything, please feel free to ask."

  The priest looked down at his feet for a moment, and then looked up. "Actually, sir..."

  "Yes, Aurelius? What is it?"

  The Balseraph looked at the Archangel of Judgment for a moment before speaking, "Sir, if it's not too much trouble, could you ask Yves to give me a vacation? I know that Destiny's work is best served here on Earth, but..." He paused for a moment longer. "I'd really like to go back to Heaven for a little while. I know that he needs me here, but I really just want to go home, even if it was for an hour or two."

  After a moment, Dominic nodded. "I will speak to him about it." He glided through the door, pausing on the other side before turning to Yves. "He does not understand. And since he has no idea that he has committed any sins, he cannot repent them. This is..." Dominic's voice hardened. "This is an abomination. This cannot be allowed to continue. There has to be a way to free him from this, Yves, and I want you to find it. Do whatever it takes with the knowledge that I will back you up on it. I will have two of my Cherubim attune to him to help you keep track of him until a solution can be found."

  Yves nodded. "What do you want to do, Dominic?"

  Dominic faded from view, leaving his disembodied voice in Yves' head. "What I want to do and what I can do are two different things, old friend. For now, we keep him alive long enough for us to figure out how to give him the halo he seems intent on earning for himself."