by D A Rice
“Gabriel….” I whispered but he held up a hand, his eyes closing as he focused on his breathing.
“I’ll be fine, lass. Let us just say that the memories I have let the Fallen unleash, have now become their playground,” his voice was soft. I could tell that he meant it. In his moment of vulnerability, on the ground after our fall, the Fallen had wreaked havoc on his mind. My own eyes closed as we listened for a moment to the Fallen screech and hiss outside Gabriel’s wings.
“Why can they not get to us?” Isaac asked softly.
“The Angel blood in me makes them cautious,” Gabriel said wearily, “but it will not last for long. We need to fly.”
I pulled myself up, “do you have the strength for that?”
Gabriel met my gaze, “I don’t know what you did lass, but somehow you gave me the strength. You brought the fire of Adonai back into your sword. It is glowing on your back even now.”
I sat up more and unsheathed my sword. He was right! It was not only glowing but there was a white flame licking its way from the tip of the sword to the hilt. My eyes widened as I opened my palm and studied the fruit before meeting Gabriel’s gaze, “they called this Adonai’s life….”
“Aye, lass, the fruit of the Tree of Life has some of the life of Adonai in it. Why do you think it’s among your legends instead of your facts?” he glanced past me as the screeching began to increase, “but that wasn’t the fruit, lass. It was you.”
My brows furrowed, and Isaac’s hands brushed down my arms at my back, “I believe he means it was your unyielding faith. Your light, Z. You may have doubted Adonai once. You do not anymore.”
I smiled as I watched the flame dance, “our lack of faith dimmed the Holy Swords!”
Gabriel winced before me, “they are getting braver; it’s time to go.”
I sheathed my sword and stood, tucking the fruit of Adonai into my inner armor, securing it tightly. Isaac stepped up to Gabriel and placed a hand on his shoulder, “we are ready when you are, my friend.”
Gabriel met his gaze and nodded. Then he leapt up, pulling us both close by our waists and flapping his wings once, took off into the morning sun. “I will try to make it to Zion. I don’t think I can go much further than that,” he huffed out as the Fallen screamed their irritation behind us.
“They are following us!” Isaac noted, pulling a sword from his back, “drop me to one hand, Gabriel.”
“That sword will do nothing against them, lad. Right now, Zakiya is the only one who can even attempt to harm them,” Gabriel hissed with an effort. I glanced at Isaac, who nodded back at me.
“Then I will. Let me go Gabriel, on my mark,” I said with steel in my voice.
Gabriel hesitated, “Lass…..”
I shook my head, “I am a warrior of Adonai. I have endurance in my blood and his personal blessings.” I could feel the truth in my own words. I looked at him, no doubt left in my eyes, “drop me.”
Gabriel met my gaze, “good luck, lass,” and then he let me go.
19
I pulled my sword out as I free fell, meeting the eyes of the first of the Fallen, who swept his wings in and dove after me. In the daylight, I could see the tendrils of shadow with more depth. Inside its hood those red eyes were surrounded by more darkness, but as the creature shrieked, I could see a mouth full of fangs. It reached its arms toward me as we fell, its hands terminating in elongated claws. It was hard to believe that the Fallen had been Angels once. Adonai give me strength and protect my brothers-in-arms, I thought.
When I opened my eyes, I could see beings of light shooting down, surrounding Isaac and Gabriel as they flew forward. I smiled, Adonai had heard my prayer and answered in turn. I turned my focus back to the Fallen in front of me with renewed determination. Bringing my sword forward in a two-handed grip, I met the Fallen head on and we tumbled through the air. The creature clawed for my throat, but I brought my sword down at the same moment, catching it in its shoulder. It screeched in a high pitch, its undamaged hand reaching for the Holy Sword stuck there. It hissed in frustration when it could not reach it.
The light on my sword spread, coming up the blade and then my arm. Soon my Holy Armor ignited, and I was a burning inferno. It did not hurt me, rather it infused me with strength and I smiled at yet another answered prayer. The Fallen’s head fell back as did its hood and I started at the horror of its face, but I did not loosen my grip on my sword. We were falling faster now as the Fallen struggled against Adonai’s power within and around me. I pushed on my sword, bringing the blade deeper into its wound. The light consumed the creature and soon I was falling by myself.
I felt someone grip me under my arms, halting me in midair. Angels flashed into existence all around me and I gaped at the pure light arms holding me. The Angel flapped once and then we were flying fast and hard. I could see Gabriel in the distance, flying with Isaac in his arms and an Angel guard fighting off Fallen around him. I whooped, raising my sword with a laugh.
I lowered the weapon again as Gabriel jolted in front of me, lowering in the sky by a few feet. The closer I looked, the more I could see the blood covering his wings. “Oh no,” I whispered before glancing back at my ride, “hey! He needs help! Can you get me to them?” The Angel flapped its great wings once and we were moving faster. I smiled, pulling my sword up, “how good are you at barrel rolls?” I inquired.
We blasted into the Fallen from behind, me striking with my sword in swipes and stabs. I flipped my sword around as we banked and rolled away, then back in. We struck in tandem, working with the Angels that had been defending Gabriel already. He huffed as he glanced at me, “lass…. Good to see you.”
I pulled my sword through the last of the Fallen and my Angel carrier flew me next to Gabriel, who was struggling to fly, “can you help him?!” I called to the Angels beside me. Their swords disappeared just as Gabriel faltered. Isaac slipped through his grasp first, and then Gabriel was falling, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. I screamed but the Angels around me dove, one grabbing Isaac before he got too far, two others hooking Gabriel’s wrists as his wings sagged around him. I sighed in relief as Isaac came up beside me.
“I have never seen him so tired. We have been through many battles, Harishima, but I think Gabriel was the one the Fallen attacked the most. His mind and body are spent. What do we do?” Isaac called to me, the worry clear in his voice.
My gaze landed on the dome we had been racing for off in the distance, “Zion!”
Isaac followed my gaze and shook his head, “are you sure that is wise, Zakiya? You know Analiesse….”
My eyes narrowed, “yes, and that is precisely why we must go. She may be the only one who can heal him now!” I glanced back at the Angel who was both my wings and my battle partner, “will you take us there?” The Angel’s light eyes met mine before nodding once and flapping its wings in a burst of strength. The other Angels followed his lead and soon we were speeding towards the dome and my mother.
The Angels landed near the dome entrance, just out of site of the sentries there. I held out my hand to the one who had carried me, and it tilted its head curiously, before brushing its fingers against my own. “Thank you,” I whispered. The Angel nodded and then they all shimmered into nonexistence. I watched where they had been for a moment before turning. Isaac already knelt next to Gabriel, who was blinking his eyes as he tried to focus on something, anything, around him. I knelt on his other side, my eyes meeting Isaac’s above him.
“He will need to pull his wings in if we are to accomplish anything,” he said softly and I nodded in agreement.
“Gabriel, I need you to make your wings go,” I touched his shoulder lightly, but he did not look at me. I glanced at Isaac for a moment and then shook the hunter harder. Isaac flinched back at my force, giving me a disapproving look. I shrugged as Gabriel’s eyes snapped more alert, finding mine. I smiled, “do not make me re-injure you to keep you awake, hunter, as you did me.”
Isaac’s eyebrows furrowe
d together, “that was not how I remembered it.”
Gabriel chuckled softly, before hissing in pain as he sat up, “you would, lass. I just don’t know if I can make them leave. I’m so very tired.”
“Help me, Abadi,” I commanded. Together we heaved Gabriel up and Isaac kept his arm at his back as I brought my face close to his, “we did not come all this way for you to die on us. Get your super soldier ass into gear. You have far more endurance than I. You have lived out here your whole life. So stop whining and get those wings back where they are supposed to be so that I can help you. Or so help me, I will tell my mother everything about you and let her stick you into a rat’s maze for the rest of your life.”
Gabriel watched me for a moment and then raised an eyebrow as well as one side of his lips before saying, “aye, lass. I will try.” He closed his eyes, his whole body shuddering as he focused. It took a moment, but his wings finally began to ease their way back into his body. He grimaced with the pain of it, his wings broken and battered. I wondered, briefly, what those wounds would look like on his body.
All I knew was that I could not let my mother see a man with wings. It would be bad enough that she would see Isaac, not only alive, but corruption-free. She still thought he was dead. All of Zion did. I wasn’t sure how wise it was to bring either of them inside, but my mother was Gabriel’s only hope now. I was convinced he could not just rest off these injuries.
Finally, Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief as the rest of his wings disappeared into his shoulder blades. He sagged in Isaac’s arms, who held him strong. “What is the plan, Harishima?”
I glanced behind me at the dome and bit my lip, “I do not know, Isaac. Everyone thinks you are dead.”
Isaac scoffed, “honestly, Z? That is the least of my worries.”
“Not mine! My mother will want to experiment on you both. This was a bad idea,” my head fell into my hands as I leaned on my haunches.
“Do not start doubting yourself now, lass,” came Gabriel’s soft voice, his eyes closed. “I don’t have the luxury of choice either way. I either die out here, or risk getting the knife in there. I defer to you. I trust you, lass.”
Isaac’s hand found my cheek as I raised my head, “as do I.”
I turned my head, glancing at the doors of Zion. My hand caressed where the fruit of Adonai was safely tucked away. If anyone could mass produce a cure from the fruit I possessed, it would be my mother. Perhaps I could use it as a bargaining chip if things got hairy. I glanced back at the boys and took a deep breath, “ok, here is what we are going to do…”
The sentries spotted me before I made it all the way to the rusted door and made their own presence known with an arrow at my foot. I halted, my hands up. “It is I, Zakiya Harishima, daughter of Doctor Analiesse Harishima, and leader of the Warriors of Adonai. I come unarmed with the intent of re-entrance.”
The door creaked open as a sentry stepped out, bow nocked and ready. It was mid-morning and the sun was already hot. I was glad for the trees that crept up the dome walls, adding a splash of green to the rusted red and silver, as well as shade. “We have commands to bring you to your mother immediately if you should show up, Harishima. Show us your arms. What happened to your sword?”
I could have told them that my sword was currently being snuck into the door the sentry had left open behind him. I knew how guarding the door worked. There was always at least three posted there; one at the door, two above it with their bows pointed out the small windows. We didn’t get visitors just knocking on the door, but him leaving it open was a rookie mistake. It may be daylight, but that did not make it safe. Everyone’s eyes were on me as the boys slipped into Zion unnoticed. I would have to have a word with my mother about the safety protocols of the front gate. I knew we were running low on warriors, but this was pathetic.
I raised my hands higher, “I have no bites. My sword was lost out there,” I nodded behind me.
The sentry stepped forward, looking me over before relaxing his bow, “why did you leave, Harishima? Everyone panicked when you did not return right away.”
I stepped up to him, my eyes narrowing, “I do not have to explain myself to you, sentry. Take me to my mother.” I did not bother finding out his name. I had enough on my mind as I marched past him and into Zion. I knew he was following me when the doors slammed shut with a creak. I had told Isaac to take Gabriel straight to the eastern section and wait for me there. The entrance to Zion was not far from it and that side was a dead zone after what had happened there. It was the only safe place I knew of that I could bring my mother to. I did not know the day warriors,; I never had cause to interact with them. The Warriors of Adonai were only activated at night, when the Corrupted swarmed.
I turned on my heel to face the unfortunate sentry before me, “you will take a message to my mother.” We were in a darkened hallway, shadowed well but not enough for Corrupted to lurk. I now knew true darkness, even during the day. My eyes, having seen that, could pick out every jagged edge that stuck out as I tilted my head at the warrior in front of me.
The sentry stepped back, “I am needed here!” His helmet covered his green eyes and he was quite a bit younger than me. Eighteen at the most, if I had to guess. I was the authority here.
“You do realize that you left that door wide open?” I nodded behind him, and he cringed, “that is an infraction on codex three, paragraph sixteen.” I crossed my arms, my eyebrow raising, “try again.”
A clang on the back of the sentry’s head had me stepping to the side as he fell forward. Isaac caught him before he could hit the ground. I glanced up at the lookouts. They were slung against the wall, equally unconscious. I raised an eyebrow at Isaac and he shrugged, “they were not very good at their jobs.”
“I don’t know, one of them almost hit my foot,” I noted as I took my sword from him and strapped it to my back. “Gabriel?” I asked. Isaac nodded to his side and I found him sitting against the wall, his skin glistening with sweat. “We need to get him to my mother.” I straightened, “did I not tell you to meet me in the eastern section, Abadi?”
“You did. I did not listen. I know how hopeless you are when you are on your own, Harishima,” Isaac said calmly. I smiled, and we pulled Gabriel up between us. His breathing was getting erratic. I had never seen him like this before. I had seen him in plenty of fights to know how he handled himself. This was something altogether new and I didn’t like it.
His weight was heavy as he sagged between us. Isaac and I glanced at each other and pulled him into a small hall off the one we were in. It was an access tunnel of sorts. There were plenty of them within Zion, especially by the entrance we had come through. Enough, in fact, to make it a labyrinth for anyone else, but not for me. I had studied the plans of this place long enough and well enough to know my way around blindfolded.
“It is a good thing that I did my research on possible bolt holes,” I mumbled as I pulled ahead, leaving Isaac with the brunt of Gabriel’s weight. He did not let that slow him down as he pulled him forward on light feet. I made my way through the inner halls and stopped to the side of an entrance. “It is probably a good thing you disobeyed me, Abadi. I do not think Gabriel has as much time as I thought.”
Isaac peeked his head around me, then grinned, “I thought this was where you were leading us.” I had taken us directly to the Organization headquarters. It was risky, but not as much as letting Gabriel’s wounds fester. I was beginning to think that him pulling his wings in had made the wounds internal.
I turned to Isaac, “I do not know what to do now,” I admitted. I had snuck them in here, afraid to let too many know that not only was I back, but that Isaac had risen from the grave. I hadn’t had enough time to come up with a solid plan. How were we supposed to sneak them both in? I turned back to the building and then squinted, leaning forward. An idea hit, “stay here.” I said and then I was sprinting to the entrance.
Zachariah Cofher saw me before I made it all the way to the Organization
. He dropped what was in his hands with a clang, his face incredulous as he met me with two great leaps, “Harishima! Where the hell have you been?”
I smiled before dropping it again, “Cofher, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Zakiya! Do you not care that we all thought you were dead?” Cofher’s hands brushed through his dark hair as he turned, pacing away a few steps before returning.
I grabbed his shoulders, “Cofher, I promise I will tell you all, but right now I need your help. I am not the only surprise you are about to get, so please. Will you help me?”
“What do you mean?” His voice cut off as his gaze shifted over my shoulder. I turned to him looking towards the entrance I had just come out of. His eyes narrowed and I knew he had seen the other two behind me. “did you sneak someone back in with you?”
I nodded, “I did. Now, I need you to trust me and go get my mother.” I forced his chin down so his gaze met mine as I emphasized, “only my mother, Zachariah Cofher.”
He cringed as he glanced over my shoulder once more, then back down to me, “you have brought us trouble, Harishima. I can feel it on the wind.”
I smiled, “I always do. Now go.” Cofher sighed and turned, sprinting into the building. I did not notice, in my panic, the stillness around me. It did not occur to me that the pathways leading up to the Organization doors were far too empty. I do not think, now, that it would have made much of a difference if I had.
20
When Cofher returned with my mother she wrapped me into her arms protectively and let out a small sob that no one else could see. I smiled as I pat her back and then pulled away. “Mother, I need your help. I also need you to hold your questions.”