Archangel of the Fallen

by Devin Lee Carlson

  For too long, I flew around to find aAriel, to relay the news she probably already knew. No sign of her, she probably chose to see me after my boastfulness subsided. A final flyby turned up nothing, so I engaged in JLS back to the launchpad on top of the Crags. My heart sank as I dropped to my knees on Author’s Seat. Anguished tears blinded me from taking in all of the horrific sight.

  Flames besieged the entire perimeter of Edinburgh, spreading fast enough to engulf the city. Smoke and ash polluted the air. Sirens from the first-responders rang loud.

  “No! I won’t let you destroy her.” I shot home to swallow a dose of Colton tabs and sped over to the nearest fire station and threw on a flame-retardant suit to protect my nude body. One nanosecond had been wasted.

  A yellow blur at first, I raced through the blazing inferno until engaged in faster-than- anyone-could-detect speed. No witnesses of this heroic firefighter. The flaming-orange fingers of death froze in time, their sparks suspended in air. The tornadic force of my body orbited around the city, sucking the oxygen from the flames. As they started to recede, I detoured home and swallowed another mouthful.

  The brief pause gave me time to plan a new strategy. Why not use my wings to blow out the fire? As if by mere thought alone, all four wings jump-started into action. Each one pierced the thick flame-retardant suit by first discharging a laser-sharp ray to incise a hole. Released from the confines of the jacket, the flapping wings gave me an extra push.

  Beyond hot, the flames felt dry ice cold to the touch. Hyper speed sucked in the oxygen that fed the flames until all were extinguished. My black wings swallowed the flames the way a black hole absorbed light. The swift orbits revolved until every spark died. Exhausted from spent emotions more than exertion, I dashed up the trail and collapsed on top of the Crags to assess the damage below. The wings tucked into each respective shoulder so I could shed the heavy jacket.

  My gaze scanned the city perimeter. The sigh I released would have extinguished a million candles. Seeing Edinburgh intact filled me with relief. Only a few tattered structures outside the city limits had burned to ash, most of them condemned. The wreath of flames bordering the city, now extinguished, left a ring of black ash as if to stamp aThorsis’s disapproval. I’d love to tattoo his ass with the universal no symbol. A big red one.

  The relief temporary, I climbed to my feet in the cumbersome pants. Black soot tarnished the once yellow fabric and covered my face as evident from rubbing my eyes. The flames had not singed a single strand of hair. My eyes crossed to focused on the amber locks hanging in my face. The golden luminosity glimmered a radiant hue until a dull afterglow remained. No worries, the streak would replenish during the next visit to the Lighted Realm.

  Hatred for aThorsis coursed through my veins, the catalyst that would fuel me into the final battle. Armed with every stone and the antimatter that made up my wings, how could I lose.

  Wait a minute. Something had gone amiss. I spun in place in search of aMichael’s gift. Too busy putting out fires, the stone could be anywhere. Focused on anything blue, especially around my feet, my gaze lifted upward when a barely detectable whoosh blew by my face every second or two. The cerulean gem sped around me at eye level, orbiting my Earthly body as it had done to my Lighted version in the realm. How would I explain this to everyone? Why bother? They expected nothing less from my quirkiness.

  Before a quick dash delivered me home, I stole a glance at the city below. aThorsis would return and I’d be ready. But why wait for another retaliation. Next time he might not be as merciful and torch the entire city instead. The next trip into the realm would be the real deal. Me and every stone in my pouch—even White Ghost.

  “I won’t let you live to fight another day,” my mind hollered across the combined universes. “Prepare to die.”

  3 3 3

  A flash of light blinded my sister. Her eyes flew open, and she yelped, almost dropping a tray of Colton tablets. The light had extinguished only to be replaced by my naked body from the waist up. My unruly hair was windblown, my face smeared a sooty ash as black as the rubberized yellow pants I wore. Every time I licked my lips the flavor of burnt ash made my throat squeeze tighter. The matching jacket sagged in my grasp, dragging across her sanitized laboratory floor.

  “Brian,” she snapped. “You scared me half to death. Must you pop in like that?” When I shrugged, her anger rose a notch. “Where have you been? Fighting fires?”

  “Something like that. Where’s Sabree?”

  “Why? What do you need him for? He’s no good at putting out fires.” Ariane smiled to herself. “Wait. Where are you going?”

  “Upstairs to change, shower, and enjoy a shot of whisky to celebrate.”

  “Already? You beat aThorsis already? “You won?” She hopped up and down in anticipation.

  “Something like that.”

  “Stop saying that. What happened?”

  I dropped the heavy jacket into the waste basket. My gaze shot to her and then became unfocused. “Here’s the condensed version: I entered the Lighted Realm, aThorsis launched a surprise attack, I retreated to elsewhere, aAriel gave me a sword from aMichael, and then aThorsis and I battled until he retreated.”

  Her eyes widened and then narrowed as she leaned closer to me. She pointed at my head then behind me. “What’s that? Something’s flying around you.” Her hand swatted the blue stone and when it zapped her back, she yelped. “Did you see that?” Ariane cried out. “It attacked me.”

  “Sorry, Sis. It’s the sword aMichael gave me. Not sure if it will willingly go in my pouch.” Wait, who needed a pouch when the carry-all stone could store everything. “No time to try. The fire aThorsis set around the entire perimeter of Edinburgh had to be extinguished.”

  “Fire?”

  “Don’t worry, Sis. It’s out.” I held out a hand in an attempt to catch the stone, but it kept dodging my grasp. “Feisty little bugger.” I waved in defeat and hoisted the pants sagging dangerously low.

  Ariane glanced the other way. “I’ll call Sabree. You shower and dress. Then meet us in the great room.”

  “Tell Sabree to break open Duncan’s coveted bottle of Scotch. May as well break into it now, because after the real battle, whether I win or lose, I might not be able to return home for a toast.”

  Ariane scowled at the sour news. “We’ll worry about that later.” She left to go find her husband.

  Showered, shaved, and smelling sweeter, I walked into the great room. My smile spread from cheek to cheek. Which lucky bastard got to beat aThorsis’s ass in a preliminary battle, extinguish the fire threatening to burn down Edinburgh, and then toast the win-win with a rare bottle of Scotch and all in one day—why yours truly. Toasted twice no less. The bottle Sabree had just opened was the same single malt Scotch whisky Sabree 2.0 and I broke into so we could toast the end of the world. I got to drink from the same bottle of Glen Fiddich twice. How was that for luck?

  “Want to hear something funny?” I raised my glass. “This is the—”

  “Funny?” Ariane asked. She had already swigged half her glass. “Tell us about the battle?”

  Sabree nudged her shoulder. “We should toast first. Tell us, Brian. What’s so funny?”

  Ariane’s huff almost made me chuckle. Good to be home in the company of family. Sabree had recently joined the ranks, poor lad, my brother-in-law. I stole a sip to toast him in private.

  “Now see what you did, Ariane. He’s toasting without us.” Sabree rose in haste yet maintained his gracefulness. “I toast to your success. May the real battle end aThorsis and seat you as Lighted One aBrianel, the Timekeeper.”

  I almost choked on the valiant toast. The way he pronounced my name made it sound Celestial, more so than aBrian that I had come up with. Ariane should take lessons from her husband. Learn a wee bit of humility. “Thank you, brother.”

  “Oh, brother,” Ariane grumbled before she stole another sip. Then another. “More like bromance.” She pointed at the stone still orbiti
ng around me. “Do you see that?” she asked Sabree. “It refuses to go inside his pouch.”

  Sabree choked on a swallow, almost spitting out the expensive scotch. Tears brimmed his lavender eyes as he dropped onto the couch, his darting gaze following the stone. “I recognize the markings,” Sabree stuttered. “It belongs to a-a-aMichael.”

  “Aye, aAriel gave it to me on his behalf.” From the way Sabree stared at it, his eyes doing an excellent job tracking the gem, rang as a good omen. Even more so by his stunned approval. “The sword gave me an edge over aThorsis.” I had to laugh at the pun. “Edge, sword edge. Get it Ariane?”

  She was too busy gaping at her husband, his eyes still affixed on the stone. She turned her worried gaze to me. “Is he okay?”

  “I think so—”

  Sabree swigged the rest of his glass, set it down, and held her hands in his. He planted a kiss on each one. “Better than all right! The great aMichael gifted Brian one of his coveted swords. aBrianel cannot lose.” He turned to me with lavender eyes brimmed with tears of elation.

  At least I hoped so. “Do either of you want to hear the details?”

  “Yes” they chimed in together. Sabree raised the bottle. “Refills anyone?”

  Three empty glasses clinked against each other. The sound echoed as my senses homed in on my son eavesdropping on the other side of the door. His mind flared with rage that had been simmering until now.

  32

  White Ghost: Take Two

  “I want to visit White Ghost,” Azrian said out of the blue.

  Wearing a biohazard coverall suit and respirator, Ariane scratched the side of her hood. Did she hear right? “The ghost in one of Brian’s stones?” She recalled the white gem Azrian had stolen from his father to tell her and Sabree about Zoeree. Never had she seen her brother so angry. “Go ask your father.”

  “No, no, I’m talking about the White Ghost from the past, uh, the one that exists now. Pop has the future White Ghost. If we find the one stuck on the island, White Ghost: take two, then we can exchange it with Pop’s stone and help Zoeree.”

  “How far away is this island? How would we get there? I’m pregnant so I can’t turn into a dragon and carry you.” The thought of doing so intrigued her. Although an imaginary creature, morphing into a two-story-house-sized dragon would be magical to say the least. “Can’t you see I’m busy.”

  Finished testing the samples, only one of them hopeful, Ariane put the instruments into the autoclave to be sterilized and pulled off the respirator but kept the neon yellow coverall on. Nowhere near OSHA standards, her make-shift lab would have to do. She turned, wondering why Azrian was silent. His ruddy cheeks revealed frustration.

  “Pop erased the details of White Ghost’s keep from my mind. On purpose I bet. All because I took his WG stone to rescue Zoe. You’re right, Aunt Ariane. Thanks to Pop, I need someone else but should make amends with him first.”

  “Sabree?” She brushed shoulders with him in jest. “Good luck with that. You hurt his feelings.” A little white lie couldn’t hurt. Rub it in. Make him sweat.

  “So, you think it’s a long shot?”

  “Maybe when it comes to you, but Sabree would definitely help me if I asked.”

  “Help with what?” Sabree misted into the lab. In his hand, he held a single red rose. “For you, Ariane Rose.”

  Ariane gave him a quick peck. “Mini-Me wants to go after White Ghost. Says he needs your help.” She slipped the rose into a tall beaker.

  Sabree stared at Azrian for a moment and then burst out laughing. “Oui, I overheard you two from the top of the stairs before I pretended to just mist in. Something about a long shot.” His eyes raked over her body. “I usually avoid the lab when you’re wearing that space suit. Means all sorts of nasty bugs floating around.”

  Azrian rolled his eyes so only Ariane could see the gesture. “Look, Uncle Sabree, I wish to make amends. Apologize for giving you such a hard time. I was worried about Pop.” He held out a hand.

  Ariane squeezed Sabree’s arm. “Isn’t that sweet? Your nephew called you uncle.” She yelped when he squeezed back, his grip tighter. She yanked hers away and slapped his arm. “Play nice.”

  “What do you want, Mini-Me?” Sabree spat. “To shake on it instead of another spar in the ring?”

  “It’s a start,” Azrian said, lowering his hand at first and then reaching for Sabree’s proffered grasp. “We need your help.”

  “With what?”

  “To fetch White Ghost.” Azrian’s eyes darkened. “Didn’t you listen in?”

  “I was hoping you had momentarily lost your mind. You’re serious then?”

  “Deadly. If we find the ghost imprisoned on the island, we can put it in a stone and switch it with Pop’s. Then we can get Zoe out.”

  “Easy peasy, right, Sabreezy?” Ariane asked. “Mini-Me claims it’s on some faraway island. Too bad Brian scrambled his mind to safeguard any recollection of the place. Chances are he scrambled mine as well. Even if we knew where it was, I can’t morph while pregnant. There’s no way to get there unless we rent a private jet.”

  A mixture of colors swirled in Sabree’s eyes as his gaze darted between his nephew and Ariane. “Let me quote Wonder Boy. You two are daft. Definitely related…definitely out of your minds.” Sabree walked over to Ariane’s white board and picked up a marker. “Let me list the reasons why.”

  “I know—” Azrian tried to interrupt until Sabree held out a hand to silence him.

  “Number one.” Sabree wrote a large number one on the board. “It’s an all-knowing, all-seeing celestial being. The Malakhim, with the help of a Lighted One, captured this being. They imprisoned it on Earth to hide its intelligence.” Sabree scratched out an even larger two. “Number two, the island is somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean. Well-hidden and deadly to trespassers.”

  Ariane’s hand cupped her chin. What if this all-knowing being could have been a Teacher once, like the ones who taught her? The red dot on the back of her neck prickled as if to answer her question.

  The marker screeched against the whiteboard as it drew the number three. Her husband’s snarky attitude began to grate on her patience never mind Azrian’s nerves. She could tell by the way her nephew clenched his jaw. She directed her concern to Sabree. “Brian passed down his memories to Azrian. But he can also remove them at will, which explains why we cannot recall anything about White Ghost.”

  “Then let me fill you in. I cannot mist within a mile of the island.” He paced around the bench, his elbow knocking off a glass beaker. He caught it before it hit the floor. “Why ask me and not Wonder Boy?”

  An exasperated sigh said it all, especially the over-the-top duh Azrian hadn’t spoken aloud. “Cuz, Pop refused to give me the moonstone and blocked my mind. We can steal this one, then swap them out. Don’t worry, it’ll be cool.” He rolled his eyes again and squeaked a nervous chuckle when Sabree’s gaze darkened. “At least give us the name of the island if you don’t want to help. Aunt Ariane and I will go by ourselves.”

  A shrill slap, hand upon cabinet, startled Ariane and her nephew.

  “Ariane stays home.” Sabree looked her way, daring an objection. He ignored the obstinate way she crossed her arms. “The ghost is imprisoned on a Screnian private island. One elder from each clan withholds the secret location. Cayiel and Serine.”

  “Not good.” Ariane shook her head, already knowing the answer before she asked, “Will Serine help? Cayiel?”

  Sabree sneered. “Of course not. Neither must know. Besides, I have my own way of finding out.”

  “My husband, the thief.”

  “No, your nephew the hacker.”

  All three huddled around Ariane’s laptop, watching Azrian’s fingers dance across the keyboard. With Sabree’s password, and her nephew’s keycodes, she watched as he hacked into the Caderen mainframe only to be kicked out. All three were losing patience.

  While Mini-Me performed his magic, Ariane grew tired of Sabree’
s nagging reasons as to why she should stay behind. Had he learned how to be obstinate because they were married? Or because she was with child? He continued to list excuse after excuse without the use of the whiteboard. Thank goodness. As far as she was concerned, he was wasting their time, both hers and his.

  “I’m in,” Azrian announced against their banters. “Any of these files grab you?”

  “Open the one labeled White Ghost,” Sabree said, his tone drenched in sarcasm.

  Azrian glanced up from the keyboard and licked his lips. “Duh, right?” He clicked on the folder. A warning flashed confidential in red. Azrian read the text. “White Ghost’s keep is located in the southern Indian Ocean near the Isles Kerguelen, the Desolation Islands. The main island is surrounded by three hundred smaller islands. On one of these islands, the creature was buried deep within the center of its inactive volcano, undetectable to all Earthly inhabitants. Grossly forbidden: trespassers, whether human or mammalian, will perish once they set foot on the island. Fallen gifts will not work within a mile radius. The weather is Malakhim controlled and does not follow Earthly patterns.

  “See,” Sabree said to Ariane. “Warning: do not venture near the island, especially if pregnant.”

  Ariane laughed, smacking his arm again. “What’s the difference? You can’t mist there either. Azrian won’t be able to communicate with the inhabitants.” She paused to think. “Does anyone live there?”

  “No,” Azrian said still reading. “Uninhabited. No reason why we can’t try. You and Pop did. Well the other Sabree. And he was nowhere near as feisty as you. Together as a team, we should be just as good as Pop.”

  “We are not the three musketeers. You have no idea of the challenges…”

  Ariane tuned Sabree out as he continued to warn about the dangers involved in seeking White Ghost. His pleas went unheard. A waving hand caught her attention and she hushed Sabree.