Prologue

Gabriel watched as the humans ran about the earth.

He watched them live out their short lives and die. He smiled when he saw them love each other unconditionally, and he was saddened when they destroyed each other.

But he did not just watch the humans. He watched the creatures that they denied as well. The vampires, the werewolves, the ghosts.

But the humans he especially liked.

And of course he always had his favourites among them. There were people who stood out to him. Virtuous beings that seemed to light up the world with their very hearts.

Upon death, he would meet some of these beings. He would tell them they were truly worthy of being in the presence of God.

But sometimes he would not see them. They would go below. Even in the beginning, he could not understand how God could condemn such loving creatures to Hell.

He asked once: "Lord, why must they suffer?"

God had dismissed Gabriel quickly. "It is the way it must be."

It wasn't a real answer, but Gabriel accepted it. He did not mention it again for many years.

One day when he was watching earth, he spotted a woman he had never seen before. He frowned, not understanding how he could have missed her. She was intoxicatingly beautiful. With shiny black hair that hung to her waist and deep brown eyes that let her immensely kind soul shine out into the world, she was almost an Angel herself. Gabriel could almost imagine immense feathered wings perched on her delicate back.

He slowly began to forget about all the other humans until none of them mattered except for this one.

But he worried. The woman did not believe in his Lord. She praised one she called the Goddess. She was a Wiccan.

He tried to speak to her through dreams, but she dismissed them. He continued desperately trying to convince her. His voice became a distraction in her head. But he couldn't stop until she turned to his Lord.

Then one day he watched in horror as she was so distracted by his voice that she walked in front of a car. She died on impact and Gabriel saw her beautiful soul disappear.

He went to see God right away. He tried to convince him: "But Lord, her soul is beautiful! She did more good than many I've seen."

"She was a Goddess worshipper." He said simply.

"But Lord-"

God interrupted him. "You try my patience Gabriel."

"But she deserves to be in Thy light. If Thou would but let her-"

God became furious at Gabriel's continued insolence. "The rules have been set and the girl ignored them! She will spend eternity in the Pit and you will discontinue this argument!" God turned his back on Gabriel and walked away.

Gabriel watched him go. "You are wrong," he whispered.

God stopped walking and turned. He looked at Gabriel coldly.

Gabriel met his Lord's eyes. He would not take it back.

God nodded slowly and with a flash of blinding light, Gabriel's world changed forever.

"Forsaken"