Standing before the gates of heaven the angel stretched her wings and rolled her shoulders in anticipation. Her bare sword lay on a floating cloud within easy reach. Her Armour shone with holy brilliance.
Glancing behind her to the walls, she saw that they were lined with the soldiers of God, grim faces showing no fear though they knew what was to come. Strangely the Lady herself had yet to appear.
“The appointed time approaches,” a quiet voice said.
The angel turned to the only other being before the closed gates. A small bird of blue and gold plumage who sat on a bush, the only vegetation to grow on the cloud field.
“It does,” the angel said.
“Are you ready?” the bird asked.
“How can I not,” The angel said. “This is my purpose. I know what shall happen. It is foreordained”
“Good,” the bird chirped and the angel thought with a unexpected cheerfulness.
The Angel turned her attention to the paths of the dead that twined there way up from the Earth below and through the clouds. Nothing stirred on the dark ways, no restless shade seeking the afterlife moved. All was quiet.
A figure appeared moving with purpose along the wide way that split the clouds ascending from the Hell’s below Earth. The angel frowned, this was not as expected.
The form was dark and shrouded in shadow despite the bright light from heavens that bathed the cloud fields.
The angel became aware of a presence beside her, the God had had at least appeared, her form pure light.
The Minion of hell stopped just short of the angel, it’s shoulders hunched as if from shame. It shuffled it’s feet but did not speak.
“Yes,” God said, her pure voice filling the air.
“Do you mind if we do this tomorrow,” came the grasping voice of the Minion, “the Lord of Dark has slept in and hopes you won’t mind if we delay the apocalypse for a day.”
The Worlds Of Michael J Parry 