LITMIR.BIZ

      Sorry, Michael. Protect over half the angels of Heaven? No can do.” Gabriel’s hand closed around a low-hanging branch. “We can’t all be perfect.”

      “I’m not perfect, and you’re not listening to me.” Michael drew himself to his full height, wings half unfurling, but it only provoked Gabriel further.

      “Of course, you’re perfect.” His hand tightened on the smooth bark and the wood creaked, straining, before it split halfway through. “Like everything here. Everything except me.” He jerked on the branch and it broke off jaggedly, fruit shaking loose and raining down around Michael.

      “Stop that.”

      “Or what?” Gabriel reached for another branch and twisted it, the wood protesting and then shearing away as oranges shuddered loose. “It doesn’t matter—nothing changes. The tree will be fine. Nothing ever changes, Michael.”

      “You’ve got responsibilities. You think you can just walk away from them?”

      “Yes.”

      Michael stooped, gathering fruits so they would not go to waste. “You were given the Ludus Paradisus community building project.”

      “Only because you were busy with the performance stage for the entire games in the Hanging Gardens.” Gabriel focused on the branch as it began to heal itself.

      “Which was obviously the right call, since you’re ripping up fruit trees instead of overseeing your team.”

      Gabriel drove his boot through the pile of fruit Michael had stacked. He watched with satisfaction as an orange flew clear over the tree line. “Maybe you can use your great reputation to make that a new sport in the games—fruit kicking. You can even stack them for me, brother.”

      “You know, I’ve done my part,” Michael said, standing. “I can’t control what you do. But keep this to yourself, at least, and simply try to be prepared for whatever’s coming. I saw unimaginable things in my vision, and you are supposed to play a major role, whether you like it or not.”

      “What is it you saw that is such a big deal?”

      “I saw angels burning.” Michael turned his back to Gabriel and unfolded his massive wings. The light was almost dazzling as it shone off his pure-white feathers and polished armor. “I must go and pray with God for more guidance.”

      Gabriel opened his mouth to say something before Michael left, but nothing would come. He felt the rush of wind on his face from flapping wings, and soon he was alone again. The ground around him was littered with his favorite fruit, but he had lost his appetite.

      Gabriel grabbed a grapefruit and a lemon and placed them gently on Michael’s pile. He turned toward the gated entrance of the inner city and walked out. He jogged toward a cliff edge and immediately cast his wings open, diving head first from the Great Mountain toward the construction site of the new community building. He soared over the Field of Tranquility with its color-changing wheat, a pale yellow now, and landed next to the impressive structure of the new building.

      “Wow, incredible work,” he said to the team of angels he had been leading.

      From around the corner, a soft, familiar voice answered Gabriel. “Thank you. They have been working hard.”

      Gabriel stumbled. “Arrayah?”

      She stepped into view, her brow furrowed. “Yes. I’m sorry, I never got your name.”

      Raphael turned the corner from the other side of the building, and Gabriel caught his eyes. “Ah, Gabriel. We are fine now. You can head back to your fun.”

      “Oh, you are Gabriel?” Arrayah said.

      “Yes.” He turned in Raphael’s direction. “I am sorry I left my duties. I am here to help finish this now.”

      Raphael hurried over to stand between the two of them. “I apologize, Arrayah, he seems to have made his way back. Honestly, Gabriel, we have become much more efficient since you left.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “Arrayah stepped in to show us a few things, and we are now half a day ahead of schedule.”

      Gabriel looked over at Arrayah in astonishment. Her soft skin and silky smooth hands were not those of a worker.

      A nearby angel turned around and held up a sheet of marble. “She taught us a new hammering method. It’s actually easier, yet more powerful.”

      Gabriel scowled at the young angel, who quickly turned back to his work. “That’s wonderful.”

      “I didn’t mean to impose, Gabriel. I just saw they could use some help when I came back, and Raphael agreed.”

      “It was no imposition at all. You actually saved the day, Arrayah.” Raphael threw his arm around Gabriel’s shoulders. “Gabriel isn’t interested in construction, anyway—he’s more of a combat angel. Great in the games.”

      Raphael’s mouth drew close to Gabriel’s ear. “Gabriel, we asked Arrayah to take your place in the unveiling tomorrow since you weren’t here. I hope you don’t mind. Uriel and I think having a virtue such as Arrayah involved in the grunt work will inspire the angels and add excitement around the project. What do you think?”

      He thought of Michael’s vision. He was getting demoted in construction, but he was supposed to save over half the angels? “I think that’s fine. I’m sure many angels will be inspired.” Gabriel pulled up to hide his embarrassment. “You will do great, Arrayah.” Her intoxicating scent made it even harder to breathe. “I actually must be going now.”

      “Wait, Gabriel,” she said, but he pretended not to hear her and flew away.

      Gabriel headed directly to the orange groves. When he arrived, he sank down with his back against his favorite tree. He knew the perfect angle that positioned the bark directly between his wings, but today when he rubbed up against it for a familiar scratch, he found he could not relax. His face hardened as his frustration grew.

      Why did nothing turn out right? What was he here for? Everyone else seemed to know their purpose. He peeled and bit into a succulent orange although he hardly tasted the sweetness he usually tasted. He went over again in his head everything Michael had told him and chuckled bitterly to himself.

      How could an archangel play a more important role than the members of the seraphim or cherubim or any of the hierarchs for that matter? He started to imagine what it would be like to be as important as a cherub. With this thought, his shoulders relaxed. He imagined how it would feel to be the highest cherub of all, like the one he admired so much, the Son of the Morning. Everyone looked up to God’s highest angel. He felt juicy pulp trickling down his forearm. He began to wipe it off, but he was interrupted by an ear-piercing voice.

      “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord!”

      Gabriel

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