Angels Defying (Angels Rising Book 3)

by Harriet Carlton

  A few moments later, Imorean was jerked out of his thoughts by the sound of the door to the teachers’ lounge opening.

  “Well, well, well. Someone looks comfy,” said a voice. “Seeing as you’re back, I can gather that you either did massively well or you failed miserably.”

  Imorean listlessly turned. Gabriel was standing just inside the room, the door closing behind him.

  “Which do you think it was?” asked Imorean, turning his head back toward the fire. He should have felt happy to see Gabriel again, but all he felt was hollow.

  “From the way you’re acting, I’d say you failed,” said Gabriel, crossing the room and kneeling down by Imorean’s chair. “Did you find Michael? Did Vortigern get away?”

  “Vortigern got away,” replied Imorean. Michael’s return nearly paled in comparison to that. He watched from the corner of his eye as Gabriel took the ski cap off his head. His hair was slightly longer, but still vibrant blue.

  “He’s still alive?” asked Gabriel, the concerned line between his brows dissipating.

  Imorean nodded.

  “Oh, Imorean,” sighed Gabriel softly, resting a hand on Imorean’s shoulder. He looked concerned again a moment later. “Hey, how much weight have you lost? You’re skin and bone.”

  Imorean was opening his mouth to answer when a floorboard near the door creaked, catching his attention. Michael was standing just inside the door. Gabriel obviously hadn’t noticed him yet.

  “Imorean has suffered a rather pyrrhic victory,” said Michael.

  Imorean quirked a small, tired smile as a look of shock wiped the expression of concern from Gabriel’s face.

  “Michael,” whispered Gabriel, standing slowly and crossing the room toward Michael as though in a trance. Imorean watched as Gabriel stopped just short and regarded his brother. Even from his distance, Imorean could see the tears gathering in Gabriel’s eyes. The white-haired teenager’s smile shook as Gabriel raised a hand, as though to touch Michael’s face, then hesitated. It seemed like he couldn’t figure out whether or not his brother was really there.

  Imorean’s eyes opened wide and he snorted with laughter as the harsh sound of a slap rang throughout the room.

  “Gabriel!” yelped Michael, one hand clapped to the side of his face and his eyebrows knit together in a scowl.

  “Sorry,” said Gabriel. “I had to make sure it was really you.”

  “And slapping me seems to be a foolproof way of doing this?”

  “I wasn’t entirely sure how you’d react to me caressing your face,” said Gabriel.

  For a few minutes, the two brothers glared at each other, then Gabriel grinned and wrapped his arms around Michael’s shoulders.

  “Brother,” said Gabriel in a barely audible voice. Imorean could hear Gabriel continuing to whisper that single word. Holding onto it as though it was a lifeline. A moment of silence. A pulse in the air. Communication on a nonverbal plane. Gabriel released his brother and wiped his eyes. He and Michael turned together and crossed the room, mirror images of one another once again. Gabriel sat down on the floor at the foot of the chair Imorean was occupying.

  “You understand what’s been going on since you left us?” asked Gabriel, leaning back against Imorean’s chair.

  “I am up to speed on all that has happened and I understand everything,” said Michael, leaning on the mantel above the fireplace and pausing as he stared into the flames. Imorean furrowed his brow as the Archangel looked back at Gabriel, a smile pulling at one side of his mouth.

  “What?” asked Gabriel.

  “I said I understand everything,” replied Michael slowly. “Everything, except that hair of yours. You are my twin, not a circus freak.”

  Imorean jumped slightly in the chair as Michael snapped his fingers and pointed at Gabriel. The younger Archangel’s blue hair grew back to its former length and the blue melted away to be replaced once more by its normal shade of brown.

  “I could have done that on my own,” said Gabriel, running a hand over his hair.

  “I know,” replied Michael, turning his attention back to the flames. Imorean rested his head back down on the armrest of the chair. He knew he really should go back to his dorm, or house, or wherever he was told to live now, but he just didn’t have the energy. In the back of his mind, he could hear Gabriel talking quickly to Michael about something. Imorean wasn’t sure quite what it was. He hadn’t been paying the young Archangel much mind. He couldn’t entirely tell, but he didn’t think Michael was either. The Chief Archangel was holding his position, green eyes still riveted to the flames.

  Imorean narrowed his eyes. In the dim, orange light of the fire, he noticed Michael doing something odd, out of character. The Archangel was grinding his teeth together. Imorean raised his head and strained his eyes, confused. Imorean knew that if he had blinked, he would have missed the nearly imperceptible shiver that ran over Michael’s skin. An almost panicked look blossomed behind Michael’s eyes and he turned briskly away from the fireplace, sitting down in a chair opposite Imorean.

  “So, what to do with you now?” asked Michael. There was a shadow of a smile on his face again and Imorean narrowed his eyes. Michael looked as though he was scheming something.

  “What do to with him?” spluttered Gabriel. “Give the kid a break! He’s exhausted.”

  “What do you mean, Michael?” asked Imorean.

  “Well, you exposed a traitor among the Archangels. You restored me to full health. You temporarily incapacitated one of the most powerful demon commanders. These reasons are easily cause for promotion. I could put you in charge of a new squad or even a platoon–”

  “No!” said Imorean, more loudly than he had intended. Michael stopped and inclined his head, as though he was silently prompting Imorean to continue. “I can’t take a new squad, Michael, much less a whole platoon. I shouldn’t be promoted, I should be fired! Death is following me like the plague and I won’t be the cause of any more deaths. Vortigern is still out there and I know he won’t hesitate to destroy anyone or anything close to me.”

  “I see,” nodded Michael. “That’s a shame. That is an incredible waste of talent. You have the makings of a fantastic leader.”

  “I won’t do it, Michael,” replied Imorean.

  “Very well. What do you want to do? You can take some time off to recover or you can go straight back into the field. It is up to you. Though you must choose how you wish to work with us and the other angels.”

  “I’m begging you, Imorean,” said Gabriel. “Take some time off.”

  Imorean hesitated. He hadn’t even thought about what he wanted. His own desires had never crossed his mind. He had no answer.

  White wings shrugged awkwardly. “I don’t know.”

  “We could put him as a soloist,” said Gabriel.

  “Out of the question,” said Michael. “Imorean is an Archangel. He will not be a soloist. The demons know him, they know he tried to kill Vortigern. He’d be destroyed immediately.”

  “We could pair him with Colton, Ryan and Baxter. When she’s made her recovery, Roxy can join them as well. We already know that they work cohesively together,” suggested Gabriel, sounding exasperated.

  “Perhaps,” replied Michael.

  “You’re not doing away with Colton?” asked Imorean.

  “Why would we?” asked Gabriel.

  “He doesn’t have wings anymore, unless you hadn’t noticed,” replied Imorean, sounding more vicious than he had intended.

  “Imorean,” chided Michael.

  “Raphael is working on Colton right now,” said Gabriel. “He’s the most intelligent angel we have with regards to medicine. The absolute best. He thinks he may have a way to heal Colton, maybe even repair his wings. If anyone can help Colton, it’s him.”

  “If you say so,” sighed Imorean. Tiredness was crashing back down on him. “It doesn’t matter though. It was the whole squad that worked well together. I don’t think we could pull off the same effect with sev
eral members of it missing.”

  “I see,” sighed Michael.

  Imorean laid his head back down on the armrest, only to pick it up again a moment later. He had an idea. Inwardly, he berated himself for not thinking of it before.

  “What?” asked Gabriel, obviously startled by his quick movement.

  “What about rifts? Couldn’t we use their rifts to find them?”

  “Imorean,” said Michael. Something in Michael’s tone caused him to pause.

  “What?”

  “I do not mean to sound derogatory, but they were only hybrids.”

  Imorean felt as though he had been punched in the chest. All the fight felt knocked out of him. He crashed back down into the chair and looked at the floor. “How can you say that?”

  “I know what you are thinking, Imorean,” said Michael. “What I mean is, they were not powerful enough to leave a rift. Even if they did, we would stand even less chance of finding theirs than you did at finding mine. You and I have a strong connection. Success was possible because of that. You and I share blood. You dropped blood on my sword and you were afraid. That energy was enough to draw me out of my coma, and, more importantly, to you. Our connection is unique and unlike any other. And we do not know what… what Vortigern did with their bodies.”

  “It was just a thought,” sighed Imorean, rubbing his forehead. “They’re stuck down there, aren’t they? In hell. My family and everyone else.”

  “I was wondering when you were going to bring that up,” said Michael giving a small grin. “Not as trapped as Vortigern would have had us think.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Imorean and Gabriel together.

  “I do have a mission for you, Imorean,” said Michael.

  “What?” asked Imorean. A mission was what he needed, but Michael’s missions were never easy.

  “I said that bringing an angel back from a coma would not work again, but I think there is a way you could get your family out of hell and take down Vortigern for good while we are at it. I cannot be sure of it, but it seems plausible.”

  “What?” asked Imorean, leaning forward in his chair.

  “There is a door to hell that we may be able to break open. If we do so, you might have a way in.”

  “How?” asked Imorean.

  “It requires some items from around the world and the five main Archangels. Myself, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel and the brother that was killed five thousand years ago.”

  “So that means it’s undoable?” asked Imorean. Why would Michael dangle an opportunity like this in front of him, only to rip it away at the last second?

  “No. Not at all,” replied Michael, grinning broadly. More broadly than Imorean had ever seen him smile.

  “Well, don’t just leave us hanging, Mikey,” said Gabriel. “You know something, now tell us.”

  “Do not call me Mikey,” said Michael, scowling at Gabriel. Imorean’s heart leaped slightly as Michael looked back at him. There was a strange, shrouded look behind the Archangel’s eyes.

  “Imorean, I told you I had some news for you before the battle. That it was good news. That I knew what Vortigern knew,” said Michael.

  Gabriel shuffled his wings. “Spit it out!”

  “The fifth main Archangel is you. I believe that our long-fallen brother may also have been able somehow to visit you before I did and bestowed the remaining fragments of his own divine nature upon you.”

  “What?” asked Imorean breathlessly. “That’s impossible.”

  “You may not believe it, but angels considered dead have been able to do amazing things in the past. Despite the fact that they are dead, they can still hold considerable power, as you have seen first-hand by me in my comatose state. I believe the nature of your divine being is a combination of mine and my brother’s. When you are stronger, I will give you evidence to back up my claim. The two of you certainly bear a stark resemblance to one another. The nature of your name is also a sharp connection to my brother’s.”

  “Why?” asked Imorean, his head reeling. “What was his name?”

  Michael chuckled slightly.

  “His name was Inmerael. I believe that in a way, you are our brother returned.”

  “It seems you’re more angel than we all thought, Imorean. On that note, I’d put you at three-quarters Archangel,” said Gabriel, grinning up at him. Imorean couldn’t respond. He was seized by a strange, trembling sensation. Inmerael. It sounded like a name he had heard in long forgotten dreams. He was jerked out of the feeling when Michael spoke once more.

  “So, the idea that we will be able to break into hell by using these items and the five main Archangels is more than doable. What do you think, Imorean? Are you ready for another mission?”

  “By God, yes,” said Imorean, sitting up straighter. “But there’s a catch, isn’t there? You wouldn’t do all of this just so I can get my family home, would you?”

  “The plan has a dual function,” replied Michael. “Yes, there is something that I want. I caught sight of it while I was… between worlds. It is a key. Actually, it is the key to hell itself. Only recently has it passed out of heaven’s hands. We need it back. These items are a form of manual override to the key, but there is no use in us trying to gather them if the key remains outside of our control.”

  “Always with an ulterior motive,” sighed Imorean. “Okay. Where is it?”

  “Currently, in Vortigern’s possession,” said Michael. “We beat Vortigern, we beat the key. We beat the key, we can get your family.”

  “Naturally,” muttered Imorean. “This door to hell, where did you say it was?”

  “I did not mention its location,” replied Michael. “You are going to be upset when I tell you.”

  “Well get on with it,” said Imorean. He noticed Gabriel give him a sidelong glance.

  “The door is in Antarctica at Mount Erebus.”

  “You’re kidding,” groaned Imorean, flopping back into the chair.

  “I do not kid, Imorean. You know this,” replied Michael.

  “Yeah,” sighed Imorean, looking back to the fire.

  “Do you accept? Help me retrieve these items so we can break open hell. You will retrieve your family and your fallen squad members for yourself, then later the key for me. This could be our chance to destroy Vortigern.”

  Imorean grinned and looked up at Michael, a much closer brother than he had imagined.

  “I accept. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I accept. When do we start?”

  “As soon as you are ready.”

  Imorean nodded and looked back into the flames. His element. For a moment, he closed his eyes. He had always been part of the Archangels. The family he never knew he had. White wings shuffled as Imorean drew a deep breath. Soon, he would muster his strength and take another shot at Vortigern and next time, he would not lose. The demon had gotten the better of him for the last time. Michael was backing him. Roxy was still alive. Baxter, Ryan and Colton were all still with him. He would repair the world that Vortigern had broken. With that in mind, Imorean sighed, allowing his body to relax. Sleep was settling on him and for the first time in weeks, he didn’t fight it.

  End of Book Three