“Don’t move it,” said the Archangel. “If you do, the bones may not set properly. They’ll be fine by tomorrow morning, but between now and then, you need to let them settle.”
“Okay,” nodded Imorean, overwhelmed by tiredness.
“Here,” said Raphael, picking up a new syringe and injecting the fluid through the IV. “It’ll help you rest.”
Imorean sighed, looking away from the IV and closing his eyes. Perhaps it was the painkillers he was being fed that were messing with his head or the experience of having his wing mended, but he was exhausted.
“Go to sleep, Imorean,” said Raphael. “We will see how your wing is tomorrow morning.”
Imorean practically skipped out of the hospital wing. He had never been so glad to get out of somewhere in his entire life. It wasn’t that Raphael wasn’t a good doctor, it was just due to the simple fact that Imorean had become restless and worried that the Archangel may press again for information about how he was feeling. Before he had left, Raphael had told him he was perfectly ready and able to return to normal activities. It was as though the bones in his wing had never been broken.
The white-haired squad leader walked through the halls of Felsenmeer, searching for his friends. He had a general idea of where they would be. He approached the door to the lobby and smiled when he heard the sounds of video games being played on the other side.
“I beat you!” shouted someone. There was the sound of a controller being slammed down. Imorean had a feeling it was Toddy. He and Dustin were the most serious players in all of Felsenmeer.
“No, man,” said someone else. Imorean thought it sounded like Baxter. A surprise. Baxter was normally watching something on his laptop. Imorean smiled slightly. It was nice to hear them mingling with each other. “I had you fair and square.”
“Rematch,” cried Toddy. Something else slammed down on the table.
“How about we get back to what we should be doing,” said Imorean, pushing open the door to the lobby and grinning at everyone in the room.
Baxter and Dustin looked up in surprise and Roxy, Toddy, Mandy and Colton came racing out of the open doorway to the game room. Before Imorean knew what had happened, he was pounced on by six members of his squad.
Imorean laughed as he was almost bowled over by them. He stumbled backwards.
“Easy, easy. I’ve just been discharged from the hospital.”
Ryan floated down from the second floor and gave Imorean a stiff nod. Imorean sighed. He and Ryan really would never get along. He wondered for a moment if Ryan was feeling resentful about having the temporary command of the squad taken from him.
“He is correct,” said Michael walking in through the main, front doors. Imorean froze. Michael was the very last person he wanted to see. All the members of Imorean’s squad jumped back from him and looked at the Archangel who had just appeared on the scene. Imorean realized as Michael approached that his squad was waiting for orders. He folded his own wings and leveled his chin. All the fury he had felt the day before came racing back to the surface.
“Sit down,” said Michael, walking down the steps. “I have something that I must discuss with all of you.”
There was a bit of shuffling as Imorean’s squad sat down. Imorean himself chose to remain standing and leaned on the back of the couch as Michael approached.
“As you all know thanks to your own actions and those of your squad leader Imorean, Vortigern is on the run. It is time we mounted an offensive. Keep him taking steps back. You know the saying, ‘cut off the head of the snake….’”
“And the body dies,” completed Ryan.
Imorean resisted the urge to turn. Had Ryan been taking Leadership classes with Michael? He had only been away a few days. Was he really so easy to replace?
“Yes, very good, Ryan,” said Michael. “It is time we cut off the head of the snake. This will be a very dangerous mission. Squad leader, what do you think you should do?”
“I want to take down Vortigern,” said Imorean, his right wing twitching. “He needs to get his due.”
“Agreed,” said Colton, standing up. “I might not be the biggest or the strongest member of this team, but I know that I want to help Imorean. If that means going after Vortigern, then I’ll do it.”
“Very well,” nodded Michael. “Is there anyone in opposition to this decision?”
There were seven more unanimous head shakes and Michael smiled slightly, nodding.
“I see. Well then, I shall collaborate with the other Archangels and we will decide upon the optimal moment for us to strike. Prepare yourselves, for it will be soon. Take the rest of today off. Relax. Recuperate.”
Imorean heaved a sigh of relief as Michael disappeared into thin air. He had no desire to know where the Archangel had gone.
“Hey, Imorean,” said Roxy, leaning over from the couch.
“What’s up?”
“What do you want to do for your birthday? March thirteenth is in a few days.”
Imorean paused. All the eyes on the room were on him. His birthday? He hadn’t even considered it since the last time Roxy had brought it up. The words were out of his mouth before he really realized it.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“What?” asked Mandy. “You don’t want anything or you don’t want to do anything?”
“I don’t want to celebrate it,” said Imorean, the words harsher than he had wanted them to be. He saw Toddy and Colton exchange an awkward glance with each other.
Roxy approached and put a hand on his wing. “Why?”
“Roxy, I’ve just spent the last couple of days being interrogated by Raphael. I had Bethany rub my family’s death in my face. Vortigern would have gladly tortured me to death, then I find out just yesterday that Michael sold me out to him. I’m a little… a little shaken.”
Mandy came forward and put a hand on his shoulder. “Well, how about we celebrate a week later?”
Imorean snapped his wings out. “Don’t you get it? My family is gone the only blood I have left in this world just betrayed me.”
“What do you expect us to do then?” snapped Roxy.
“Treat March thirteenth like a normal day. That’s what I’m going to do. It might have been eighteen years since I was born, but believe me there’s very little for me to celebrate.”
Dustin and Baxter shot to their feet as Ryan stood up, his great, dark wings half flared, his eyes narrow. “A simple ‘nothing’ would have been fine. You didn’t have to bite Roxy’s head off. She’s trying to do something nice for you. Why do you have to be so nasty to everyone around you?”
Imorean scoffed in disgust and turned away, heading for the front doors. He needed the cold. It reminded him that he was alive.
Chapter 26
Imorean smiled apprehensively at Roxy as she walked into the classroom in Outbuilding One. They had been civil to each other since their argument, but certainly hadn’t been as friendly as usual. Brown eyes turned back to the front of the class. Today was his first day back on a regular schedule since he had been released from the hospital. He had to wonder how much work he had to catch up on.
“You ready?” asked Roxy, sitting down at the desk next to him.
“I guess,” nodded Imorean. Relief washed over him as she spoke to him. So, she wasn’t still angry. Inwardly, he wasn’t ready to be around Michael again. Almost an entire week had passed and the overwhelming betrayal Imorean felt still hadn’t faded. He had been deliberately avoiding Michael and everything to do with his one-on-one training.
“You’ll be fine,” said Toddy, setting his bag down at the seat behind Imorean. “It’s only an hour with him.”
Colton looked up from his notes and turned to face them. “Toddy’s right. You don’t have to spend any extra time around him.”
“You’re the only person I know who would complain about having to spend time with the most powerful Archangel in existence,” snarled Ryan, making his way into the classroom.
Im
orean opened his mouth to reply, but Baxter beat him to it.
“Ryan, give it a rest. You do this every day.”
Dustin nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Ry, we’re getting sick of it. Neither of us have a problem with Imorean. What’s your beef with him?”
“Yeah, really, Ryan.” Imorean sat up straighter as he addressed Ryan. “I’d like to hear this.”
Ryan didn’t reply, but instead shook his head and took up his regular spot at the back of the classroom. Imorean looked at Roxy to make a comment, but stopped himself when he saw her rubbing her temples. She was stressed, but about what? Mandy broke Imorean’s train of thought, as she walked into the classroom just seconds before Uriel. Immediately, Imorean started shuffling through his notes, trying to act as though he had been busy preparing for class.
“Frayneson,” snapped Uriel.
Imorean looked up from his notes and cringed inwardly when he saw Uriel was already glaring at him. Class hadn’t even started. Had he done something beforehand to annoy the Archangel?
“Yes, sir?”
“Come with me.”
“Okay.”
“Pack your materials. You will not be coming back.”
“Where am I going?”
“To Michael’s office. Follow me. The rest of you, start reading the chapter detailing flight conditions within a volcanic eruption.”
There were a few murmurs of dissent, but Imorean felt that his friends’ eyes were riveted to him. The door closed quietly behind Uriel and Imorean followed him down the narrow Outbuilding hallway. Brown eyes flashed to Uriel and Imorean felt he could have cut the tension between them with a knife. He didn’t understand though, why Uriel seemed to hate him. There wasn’t a clear reason for it. He thought back to their first lecture with the Archangel and how Uriel had parroted the exact words Vortigern had used the first time Imorean had met him. He glanced at Uriel again. Was there something there that everyone was missing? Or was he just paranoid?
“Stop looking at me,” hissed Uriel.
“Sorry,” replied Imorean, shaking his head and looking pointedly away.
“I’m shocked he didn’t kill you.”
Imorean stumbled. “What?”
“You’re an annoyance to the whole force. Michael stands solidly between you and everyone else. Angel or demon. No one can get close to you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Imorean’s heart was leaping in his chest like a beached fish. There was something hauntingly familiar in Uriel’s words.
“I think you do, Frayneson.”
At the mention of his last name, Imorean’s world spun and he fell backwards against a wall. Vision flashed the color of steel, growing darker and darker. As quickly as he could, Imorean pulled his thoughts together and focused hard, trying to push away the rising tide of gray. It swamped him, pulling him down. Dimly, Imorean felt himself hit the floor and his eyes closed.
Imorean gasped loudly as his vision cleared, the world coming back to focus and reality. He was back on his feet. He looked around, confused. They were on the third floor of Felsenmeer, outside Michael’s office. But how?
“Snap out of it,” snarled Uriel, snapping his fingers.
Imorean glared at him, certain that his intuition was right. There was something off about Uriel. He just knew it.
“He wants to talk to you. You better do as he says.”
There was a smirk on Uriel’s face that told Imorean he had wanted to say more. He glared as the dark Archangel turned away and walked back down the hallway. Imorean glanced at Michael’s doorway and frowned, then moved to follow Uriel.
“Come in, Imorean.”
Imorean froze in his tracks and backtracked in frustration. The door to Michael’s office had opened on its own.
“You knew I was out there, I guess?” asked Imorean, stopping in the open doorway. Michael’s office was lit only by the soft sunlight coming in through the window. There was a dullness about it that Imorean couldn’t help noticing. It seemed to be holding Michael’s attention as well. His gaze was directed solidly to the world beyond the glass.
“Why would I not?” replied Michael. Imorean glared back at the Archangel. Papers lay untouched on his desk. Untouched for some time by the looks of things.
“What did you need from me?” asked Imorean, his eyes snapping back to Michael.
Green eyes looked away from the window for the first time. There was a reserved sort of sadness in them. “You have been avoiding me.”
Imorean shrugged and pressed further into the room. The door swung shut on its own behind him.
“Sit down.”
White wings shuffled as Imorean settled into one of the chairs on the other side of Michael’s desk. There was a heavy tension in the air that made Imorean squirm. He didn’t like it.
“I understand that you bear me a grudge.”
“What gave you that idea?”
“You have stopped coming to Leadership. You have taken up flying on your own. Why? Do you believe you have already learned everything there is to learn from me?”
Imorean looked away. “No.”
“Then what is the reason for your behavior?”
“Couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that you almost killed me.”
“I have already apologized.”
Wings opened, black streaks marring white feathers, as Imorean shot to his feet. He was suddenly livid. “It’s not good enough!”
Imorean shook with fury as Michael leaned back in his chair and tilted his head. The epitome of calm.
“What more can I do?”
“Nothing! You’ve already shown me how much I mean! I’m just a part of your bigger plan. Vortigern could have tortured me to death and you wouldn’t have cared. Provided you get your victory. That’s all that matters to you, isn’t it?”
“Raphael told me you would probably act like this.”
“That’s another thing! Stop psychoanalyzing me.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s pissing me off!”
A white wing jerked outwards and Michael’s neatly stacked papers scattered across the office, wafting softly down to the floor. Michael blinked, still shockingly peaceful.
“Are you finished?”
“No! You know how terrified I am of Vortigern. You spend half your waking hours inside my head. He murdered my family, Michael! How could you send me back to him? And my grandfather? Didn’t anyone bother to tell me that he was an angel as well? No one thought to mention that little detail, did they? And Vortigern made me watch them die! Do you have any idea how scared I was? Do you?—why did you?—just… How could you?”
Green wings sagged as Michael sighed heavily and stood up. “I was not thinking. I did not consider your feelings when I was planning.”
“You never do.”
Michael twirled a finger and the papers stacked themselves back on his desk. “As for your grandfather, I had no idea about his history until Vortigern showed you the memory. I believe though, that Raphael may be the best one to talk to about your grandfather. I went through our records, and they indicate that your grandfather was in the first aid group… Imorean, I did not mean to add to your grief. That was never my intent.”
Imorean opened his mouth to snap an answer, but Michael held up a hand.
“I am not going to apologize again. I have done so once and I meant it. It is up to you now whether you want to accept it or not. As for your training, I must know if you will be continuing with me.”
Imorean shook his head. “I have a choice?”
“You have options.”
“What are they?”
“You can continue with me or I can switch places with Gabriel and take over the running of Upper Morvine. You could try with Raphael, but he is a medic and may not be of much help given your skill set. You could even try training with Uriel…”
Imorean considered for a moment. He had the opportunity to train with Gabriel again. To actually be able to fo
cus on his training… but Gabriel was probably busy training the other students at Upper Morvine. For them to go from Gabriel to Michael would be a culture shock and for his own squad to go from Michael to Gabriel could endanger them. Gabriel was more lax in his policies and Imorean knew he would be more likely to let them out of training more often. Michael was the most experienced in combat, the strictest, the most unyielding. Just like the force they were preparing to fight. They needed him.
With a deep sigh, Imorean made up his mind.
“Stay.”
“Beg pardon?”
“You’re really going to make me repeat myself? Fine. Stay.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yeah. We stand a better chance of cornering Vortigern if you’re in charge.”
Brown eyes narrowed as Imorean thought Michael quirked a small smile. It was gone in an instant.
“Well then, you and I must make up for the lessons you have missed. Our informants say that Vortigern is moving again. He may be striking across Iceland toward Upper Morvine in Norway. It is imperative that we stop him.”
“Okay.” Imorean put his hands in his pockets. “What do I need to do?”
“I am pulling you and the squad from classes. You will all work your Leadership and Teambuilding classes for the rest of this week. Swordsmanship and battle tactics for you to work on as a squad. For you individually, the same, but we will also be working more on your energy movements and manipulations. We must also address your special power.”
“Special power?”
“All Archangels have one. We will discuss it later.”
“When do we start?”
“Now. Meet me downstairs.”
Imorean sighed as Michael vanished. Only a thin waver of green in the air and a single paper drifting slowly to the floor indicated he had ever been there. He swallowed hard. He was the one who had given Michael his say so to stay, now he needed to shoulder his own emotions and get back to work. He emerged from Michael’s office, closing the door behind him and looked up just as a dark wing vanished around the corner of the hallway. Imorean glared after it. He knew that dark brown color. Uriel. So there was something going on.
Angels Defying (Angels Rising Book 3) Page 22