The Devil Wore A Brown Suit

Part one Perdition

The fires burned black as Bowen and Labith struggled out of the black smoldering pit to find Daniel. He was gone. He escaped through a small opening between the underworld and the topside. Bowen and Labith have been the caretakers of Daniel and Izzy since they were relocated to the underworld by their father. They were in hiding from Gabriel.

The underworld was the only place Gabriel could not come. Bowen's greatest fear was that Gabriel would find Daniel and force him into the garden. Bowen knew he had to find him quickly.

Bowen and Labith could only be out of the underworld for a short period of time before the underworld would start calling to them. KoKo was left behind to locate Izzy. She was nowhere to be found.

Lucifer put him in charge of finding his only daughter. He could not lose her. Not now. He needed her with him in the underworld. KoKo franticly searched every inch of the underworld. He could hear her but there was no locating her. He feared she was in the void. A place where there is no escape.

No one understood how Daniel managed to escape. They had a good idea of why. His mother Venus was calling to him. His dead mother was reaching out for his help. She sent someone to collect her children and bring them to the garden.

A week before a priest had been marked and sent to hell. It caused quite a stir among inhabitants of the golden city and the underworld. He was widely known. He had done much humanitarian work. He was a good man.

Bowen was extremely confused as to why this man had landed in the underworld.

People are marked for the golden city, the underworld, or back to topside.

Not everyone is given the same punishment. Most people relive their worst fears or their greatest defeats over and over for eternity. They drop some into dark silence. They mark a select few for Bowen. Bowen was wrath. Bowen would make you pay for your earthly life.

In recent years, Bowen had trained Daniel as his apprentice. Daniel wanted to make his father proud, and this was his chance to do it.

Daniel and Izzy were celestial beings, not demons. They were the children of Lucifer and Venus, two souls very much in love that only wanted to have their twins and raise them in the golden city. Gabriel had other plans for the twins. The garden needed two watchers, and that was exactly what their life would be. A life of service to the garden. A life of no free will. It enraged Venus when Gabriel told her that her children would be taken and placed in the garden.

"My children will never be a part of your plans, Gabriel" She grabbed her children from him.

The mighty angel raised his wings at her and illuminated a powerful light.

His voice echoed "Your children are not yours. They belong to us. They will serve Venus or else."

Venus began to glow; she is the morning star, and she is bright. She blinded Gabriel and took flight with her newborns.

She screamed for her husband." Lucifer! The twins!" Venus dropped them right into his arms.

Venus and Gabriel began to battle. Lucifer fled with the twins. Bowen and Labith fled with him to earth. The plan was to hide the twins and go back for Venus.

"Labith stay with them. Bowen will go with me to get Venus. If we do not return go to the underworld and hide. The angels there will help you."

Lucifer took flight with Bowen at his side. "Bowen grabs Venus I will handle Gabriel" Bowen acknowledged his orders and took off. He was aiming for Venus.

Gabriel sealed heaven. No one in nor out.

Neither Lucifer nor Bowen could get in. "Give us the twins, Lucifer" Gabriel was so calm. He held Venus up high over the heavens." Give us the twins Lucifer. It would be a shame for her to fall to earth."

Lucifer had no way to get to her. Bowen tried every portal. Nothing. No way in. The only way out was to fall.

Gabriel held the morning star above him. He had her in his left hand and a black flaming sword in the other. With one mighty cut, he clipped her wings.

"No, Gabriel, what have you done?" Lucifer screamed.

Gabriel tossed Venus from heaven. She fell to earth.

"Bowen, take the twins to the underworld. Get them away from here. Tell the gatekeeper they are my children. Tell them I'm coming home. I have to find Venus. Go!"

Bowen flew to Labith as fast as his wings would take him. Labith was hiding with them among the trees. He grabbed Daniel, and she grabbed Izzy. They found a lake to travel to the underworld.

"Labith listen to me. The babies are not going to know how to make this journey. Cover her with your wings and go as fast as you can. If you get there before I tell the gatekeeper, Lucifer is coming and these are his children." She nodded.

She flew high above the lake, waiting for a portal to open. A flash of red came from the water. She aimed, wrapped Izzy in her left-wing, and dropped into the lake.

A journey into the underworld was not a simple drop and you are there. Knowing how to maneuver the levels of hell without getting stuck is tricky. The watchers have to be avoided.

The watchers were on each level. They serve the underworld. They have no compassion. They were once angels full of lust. Now they are the fallen. They are full of hate and vengeance.

Labith held tight to Izzy using one wing to carefully shift through the levels and the other to shield Izzy.

Labith was a mighty one. She was never a full Angel. She had apprenticed under Uriel for many centuries. She was a great weapon maker. Her hand-formed many celestial weapons. She was still a fairly new Angel, but her speed and marksmanship were unmatched. She fought in many battles under Uriel and Gabriel. Uriel cared deeply for her. He trained her as if she was his child.

Labith continued quickly through the levels of hell. She kept pushing herself. She needed to reach the gatekeeper with Izzy.

Bowen waited for the portal to open. He was so focused on the opening he didn't notice Lucifer and Gabriel coming quickly behind him. Lightning began to strike right over the lake.

Lucifer and Gabriel were fighting as they flew toward the lake. Gabriel would strike over and over with his flaming black sword. He wanted to remove Lucifer's wings and bind him to earth. The thunder and lightning made it hard for Bowen to focus on the portal. The lake was shaking. Trees were falling into the lake.

"Bowen," Lucifer screamed. "Get him to the underworld."

The portal was not open yet. There was nothing Bowen could do.

"The portal is not open Lucifer" Bowen aimed for the lake. He was ready.

Gabriel aimed for Lucifer's wings. "You will fall Lucifer," he bellowed at him. He lowered his sword into Lucifer's wings.

It became bright. A bright red star shone on the left side of the lake. It was Venus. She blinded Gabriel. The portal opened. Bowen flew into the lake. Lucifer flew toward the lake following the bright light.

"Go my love and care for them. I'll be fine." When Venus spoke, it sounded like an echo. It was not her heavenly voice.

Lucifer hesitated. He loved Venus, but the twins needed to be hidden. He slowly descended into the portal leaving her behind. She could not follow without her wings.

Lucifer descended quickly. Bowen and Daniel just ahead of him. The levels were bright. The watchers were now curious about all the excitement going on topside. They began to leave their post to see what the commotion was.

Labith landed in the underworld. Koko the gatekeeper was standing guard. He was not happy about someone landing in the underworld unannounced.

"Why are you here Labith?" he grumbled at her. She released her wing and revealed Izzy.

"I have Lucifer's child with me, Izzy. She is the daughter of Venus and Lucifer. There has been a great battle. The children need sanctuary." Labith began to cry. She was afraid. She was not afraid of the gatekeeper. She was afraid of what would happen next.

"Where is Daniel? Venus? Lucifer?" "What has happened?" The gatekeeper's attitude changed. He knew something terrible was happening.

Bowen landed with Daniel wrapped in his wing. Lucifer was immediately behind him.

"The prophecy has begun." The gatekeeper spoke quietly. Koko opened the gate. "Amaros will settle you in. Do not worry they are safe here. We will send someone up to retrieve Venus. Once you go inside, you cannot leave again."

They all acknowledged their fate once they entered the underworld. It was the only way to save the children. The twins had to live.

Koko gathered a few quietly to go topside to look for Venus. Leaving the underworld through the portal was always a risk.

Hell came with those who lived there. IT was inside you forever. It never leaves. It was a binding spell set to keep the dark ones in. Only one way in and no way out. If a resident of Hell left, they had 24 hours to return before they would go mad.

A human would not make it to the top without going crazy. There was no escape. A demon could leave for a short period. However, they were always spellbound to hell and could be recalled at any time or expelled straight back.

KoKo, Azazel, Baragel, and Luce entered the portal. The portal is always open from the hell side. There was no need to close it. No one could get far. They went up the tunnel quickly and came out on the other side of the lake.

As they came up, they released their wings. They had much smaller wings now. They were not as glorious as they once were when they resided in heaven. That was a long time ago before there was a need for hell. When there became a need for hell, there had to be a gatekeeper. Koko was the best angel for the job.

When they reached the surface, they split up. The sky was dark. The clouds were red. There was a storm brewing. They have to act fast.

"When you find her get to the lake and sound your horn as you enter the portal. Do not alert Gabriel we found her" Koko instructed. They each set out looking for her.

Topside was a huge tropical land. It was beautiful. There were fruit trees, beautiful lakes, and amazing shorelines. Topside was a wonderland for humanity. They designed it to give them everything they could want.

The garden was full of fruits and vegetables. The garden is where they found Venus.

After the battle, she found her way to the gates of the garden. It was no longer protected by angels. They left it abandoned.

She had to find a place to hide. She knew they marked her for death. She wanted to survive for her children. The garden would provide her sanctuary until she could find a way into the underworld to rejoin Lucifer and the children.

The garden was still just as majestic as the day they created it. Venus had been there when the garden was formed. She watched as they put each tree in its place. She knew every rock in the garden. This was not her first or second trip to the garden. She had been here many times.

Koko spotted the garden. He flew in to look for Venus. Venus was easy to spot She was as bright as the sun and the moon. She illuminated everything around her. She was still beautiful even without her wings. She ran to Koko.

"Are they alive?" she cried. Koko grabbed Venus up.

"There is no time Venus we have to get back to the underworld. Your children are waiting."

Venus held on to Koko tightly. He tried to fly Venus out of the garden, but they trapped her in there. The garden had bound her. She could not leave.

"Koko let's go. What is happening?" Venus knew what was going on. She knew the portals and realms of topside were all spelled to either keep you in or out. They spelled the garden to keep humans in. Venus was no longer an angel. She could not leave.

"I cannot leave Koko. I cannot leave!" She screamed.

KoKo was the only one who could carry her through the portal and Gabriel was the only one who could bring her out of the garden.

"Listen to me, Venus. We will figure out a way to get you out. It might take time. I need to return to the children. We will be back. I promise." Koko kissed her on the forehead.

He headed to the portal. He sounded a trumpet to alert the others and down the portal, he went. He did not understand how he would explain this to Lucifer. He knew he would try to go to her. If he tried to leave, it could destroy him. The children needed him. He could not tell him the truth. He had to lie.

When the four landed in the underworld, Lucifer was waiting at the gate. Koko was crying.

"She is no longer with us, Lucifer. Venus is gone."

"Venus is gone" The words that echoed. The entire underworld believed it. Koko had no choice telling his lie. At least that's what he told himself.

Daniel and Izzy grew in the underworld. They were vibrant children. The underworld was just like any other place.

Families that lived and worked in the underworld were just like families living on the topside or in the golden city. You were born; you grew just not ancient, you lived, you loved, you got into trouble; you were heartbroken; you grew to be the people you were supposed to be.

Everyone had a job. Lucifer became the keeper of the underworld, a ruler the king, the manager so to speak. He was the CEO of the underworld. He handled all the business. He was the judge and the jury. If you had a dispute, you went to him. You want to move you go to him. You wanted to leave, TOUGH!

He was a heart-broken soul raising children and running the underworld. He was constantly being blamed for every wrongdoing on the topside. He was unsure who was causing so much trouble topside but he was busy raising children without their mother and trying to keep his small community happy.

Bowen was his right hand. Bowen had a job he did very well. He was the soul that made sure you paid for all your wrongdoing on the topside. Not every soul landed with Bowen. Some went to other places to other people.

Some just went into the darkness. If you were bad if you murdered or raped you ended up with him. Bowen had a gift for making you wish you could change everything you ever did in life. He was good.

Bowen took Daniel under his wing. Daniel was a good soul. He was tormented at times. He would act out running through other people's torments. He liked to stir things up a bit, a common thing for a teen.

Daniel was over 2000 years old. It was time to grow up a bit. Time is different in the underworld. 2000 years old is like being 20. Bowen had tons of patients with Daniel. He called him by his real name often. Damnation. He would usually give Bowen a side-eye. But then he would smile and return to his work.

He started Daniel off as a jailer and soon moved him into the realm with him.

"Men have great evil in their hearts Damnation and they have to answer for it. It keeps the balance." Bowen would tell Daniel this almost every single day.

Daniel understood. He knew heartache well. He kept a picture of his mother with him always in a small locket around his neck. It was a beautiful relic shaped like a raven. The necklace was gold the raven was black. It held her hair and a picture of her when she was very young.

He blamed no one for what happened he just dealt with it. He took to the underworld and thrived mischievously but he thrived. He worried about his sister and father constantly. He hid those emotions behind a tough exterior.

Daniel was good. He stayed under Bowen constantly. Bowen was like his father. Bowen loved him. Labith and Bowen had taken it upon themselves to help raise both children.

They flew them in and they stayed with them forever.

Izzy was her baby, her Perdition. Izzy was more of a loner. She loved every one. She learned everything she could from people who landed in the underworld from the topside. She loved them all. She would visit the void. Some people put themselves in the underworld.

They are so lost they cannot cope with their lives or what they did in life and even though they could be granted asylum in the golden city, they choose the void. It's odd how little we think of ourselves. It was always heartbreaking to her.

She would go to them. Most ignored her at first, but they would eventually open up to her. They all did. Her talents were amazing. Izzy could make anyone laugh even the gatekeeper KOKO. She was so angelic.

She was often asked if she was an angel. "We all are" she would often reply. "We are all angels some fallen, some stolen and some just lost, but we are all angels here."

The underworld was not hell. Bowen was hell. Among these souls in the underworld, there were angels. Izzy was so right. Everyone was there for different reasons.

Not everyone was a lost soul. Sometimes we punish ourselves more than anyone else ever could. Sometimes we punish ourselves right into an eternal void. Izzy wanted to comfort those people. Help them see who they are.

The ones in the void could be sent back to try again on the topside. Most never forgave enough to leave. Izzy tried so hard with them. It was her mission in life. To help those who felt abandoned. She wanted them to have a second chance on the topside.

She was a ray of light just like her mother. She carried a locket of her mother but it differed from Daniel's. Her locket was her mother's bracelet. As a child, she would wear it in her hair. As she grew, she fashioned it into a locket. It was solid silver with a small raven indention on the back. She never took it off. She kept her mother close to her heart.

Daniel and Izzy were two children that escaped from a life of service. They have been hidden for so long. Izzy loved her life here in the underworld. She wanted nothing more.

Daniel had missing puzzle pieces his entire life. He wanted to find the answers. He just did not know where to look. Until the priest showed up to corrupt Daniel and destroy the nice life they had built in the underworld. He had all the answers. He knew everything or was he lying?

The day everything went wrong was the day a young priest landed in the underworld. They marked him for Bowen. He must've been bad to land on Bowen's table. No one knew what. He was well known, well-loved, and well respected. Why would a priest be marked for Bowen? What could he possibly have done?

Bowen decided this would be an easy one. There was some mistake that would be fixed. This would not be his usual punishment. He decided this would be a good day to send in Daniel. Daniel could practice his techniques on the priest.

"Listen to me, Daniel. Do not go too far. Do you understand? Just ask him a few questions. Got it. He will probably tell you why he is here. Got it. Listen, he is in great favor. I do not understand why he is here. I have to check the golden city condemned file. There has to be a mistake. Just ask him why he is here. Daniel, you got this right?"

Bowen was nervous about leaving Daniel alone. He was like a son to him and he only wanted him to succeed. Daniel was eager to help Bowen.

"I got it. I am not Koko. I will not hurt him. I will ask him why he is here. I will be compassionate but do my job." Daniel reassured everything would be fine.

A priest who came to the underworld with a secret, what kind of secret could land a great man in the underworld on the table of Bowen? Daniel wanted to find out. He thought it would make Lucifer and Bowen proud.

The priest was escorted into the chamber. The chamber was a small room. When he walked into it the temperature began to fluctuate. Depending on the mood of the individuals in the room, the temperature was in constant flux.

The room was dark. It felt like a void, a dark void of death that a soul never left. The feeling was the same for almost every soul that crossed the threshold into the chamber. There was always something familiar to the soul in the room.

When Daniel entered the room to speak with the priest there was a clock showing the time. It was a silver clock with a Raven. The time showed 235.

The raven was familiar to Daniel.

As he walked into the room he looked at the clock. It spoke to him. The room was empty for him.

The void was deeper than usual. He could feel it. A bright light burned in the room. The priest appeared. The light burned again and the clock started ticking. The priest disappeared again. The temperature began to fluctuate.

Daniel began to think about his mother. As his thoughts went to his mother the priest appeared again. He could smell Venus. His memories of her flooded his mind. Celestials have all their memories from the beginning to the end. From the moment they are formed until the day they burn out. Daniel remembered her smell. She smelled like a magnolia tree.

"Daniel I have been looking forward to this day." He spoke without opening his eyes. He knew Daniel but how?

Daniel was angry. "Who are you?" Daniel spoke softly but his anger was heard. His voice deepened as he repeated himself."Who are you?"

"Damnation. Why did Bowen give you that name? Your mother wanted you to be called...."

Daniel cut the priest off. "No one calls me Damnation. My name is Daniel. I am the son of Lucifer and the mighty..."

The priest finished his sentence. "Venus."

"I am going to ask you one more time. Who are you?" Daniel spoke loudly. His eyes were red like the fires that burned in the repentance void.

Labith heard Daniel. She dropped the book she was reading and ran. The clock in the hall showed the time 235. Time had stopped. Something was wrong. There were no sounds as she ran to Daniel. The quiet was deafening. She ran as fast as she could.

She was screaming "Daniel do not hurt him. Do not hurt Isaac. Stop before it's too late." She knew.

As she ran past the gatekeeper, she screamed. "Isaac is here. We have to stop him before it's too late."

Koko ran behind her. Labith took flight trying to get to the chamber before Daniel killed Isaac or worse before Daniel found out the truth. This cannot be happening she thought to herself. This cannot happen. Not today.

Labith felt a deep pain inside her wings and she fell to the ground. She jumped back up to her feet but could not get her wings to work. She kept running. She checked the clock it was 235. Time had stopped and she was unable to fly.

She stopped summoned everything inside her, let out a mighty roar, and speed past the clock. The time is 236. Labith arrives at the chamber.

The iron door was locked. Labith could see inside. She was screaming for Isaac and Daniel."Please stop. Stop. Do not say anything" Labith began to cry.

She is screaming for someone to help. No one would come. Time was still frozen for everyone except her and the two in the chamber. Koko was helpless.

It only took four words to change the lives of everyone in and out of the chamber. "Your mother is alive."

Daniel grabbed Isaac. "You are a liar. You will pay for that lie. Is that your great sin? You are a liar. I will rip your tongue out of your mouth."

Isaac spoke softly "Daniel I am not a liar. Listen to me. I do not have much time. There are things I need to tell you."

Daniel grabbed Isaac by his face. He had a sharp pearl-handled knife in his left hand. "Speak priest before I change my mind."

"Come closer Damnation" Isaac leaned into Daniel to whisper the truth in his ear.

Daniel dropped the blade and looked out of the chamber. The clock on the wall showed the time. It was 333. Time had caught up and the truth was released. Daniel sat down in the corner. He was angry.

He sobbed uncontrollably. "My life is a lie." Daniel knew everything and he was not sure what to do with his knowledge.

Every thought that ran into his head was anger mixed with sadness. The priest Isaac remained in the chamber. He was there for a reason and this was it. He was sent there, to tell the truth, a truth that would damage every truth known to man, woman, child, and celestial beings. The truth was out.

Labith came into the chamber and with one mighty blow, she sent the priest into the void. "You idiot! You have doomed us all!"

She ran to Daniel. She sat down right beside him on the floor. She placed his head on her breast.

"Listen to me, Daniel. Isaac was a crazy man with many crazy ideas. Let me better explain to you the truth. We were planning to tell you everything it just hasn't been the right time. Lucifer does not even know everything." She held him tightly.

"Did you know she is alive?" He sobbed.

"I only found out recently. We knew her light was still burning but we were unsure if she was alive." She reassured him.

"What all did he say to you, Daniel?" She inquired.

Daniel lied. He was not about to tell her the truth. He was not sure if he could trust anyone anymore.

"He said she was alive. He said that Venus was alive and has been alone all these years trying to find me and Izzy."

The priest had told him so much more. Time had stopped for them he had time to tell Daniel everything.

"Daniel how long was the time stopped?" she inquired. She needed to know how much damage had been caused by Isaac.

"I do not know. How do you know him?" Daniel looked up to Labith "at least tell me how you know him."

Labith was not sure if she was ready to go into all the tiny details of the last thousand years.

"Daniel I was not a good angel. I was not a bad angel. I was born very unique. I had many gifts. I shared my gifts with humans and I was punished for it."

She hesitated to tell him but she knew he needed to know at least this much.

"Daniel my greatest sin was being powerful. And I did something I should not have done. I had a child with a human and created a race of celestial beings that were half-human. Isaac was part of my family ancestry." Labith began to cry.

"Daniel we need to go and figure out what we are going to tell Bowen and Lucifer. This is not going to sit well. I just punished someone without permission."

"Daniel you need to think hard and tell me anything he might have told you that would be important." She pleaded with him.

"You mean like my mother being alive?" he said as he stormed out of the chamber. The clock began to tick hard.

Bowen came running into the chamber. Daniel is gone. Labith is on the floor crying

. "What happened? Did he lose it?" Bowen inquired.

"No Bowen. The priest was Isaac. He told Daniel that Venus is alive. If Isaac is here then who is guarding Eden?" Labith walked past Bowen into the hall. The clock was ticking normally again.

Bowen was angry. He began to destroy the chamber. A light flashed and another soul entered the chamber. He was back on track and doing his job.

"My mother is alive," Daniel said aloud as he looked at the only picture he had of her. She was beautiful. He wanted to see her. Labith had sent the priest Isaac to the void. He wanted to know more. He needed to know more. His thoughts were on her and her alone.