by L. L. Wright
“That’s exactly why I have to jump in headfirst. I lost my powers and now I need to learn everything I can about my angelic side to protect myself because like it or not, this is my fight too. I lived with her for fifteen years. I know more about Melody Clark than anyone else here, and trying to bench me would be incredibly stupid,” Emmie said, turning around as the door clicked and swung open. Collin walked in, kicking it closed slowly behind him. He held a coffee carrier in one hand and a burrito in the other.
“What are we talking about?” he asked as he glanced back and forth between them.
“I thought we were going to get brunch,” Emmie asked, eyeing the burrito in his hand.
Collin shrugged. “You took too long. I was starving.”
Emmie raised her eyebrows and looked back at Leo. “Well, are you going to tell me?” she asked.
“Tell you what?” Collin said
Leo pressed his lips into a hard line and shook his head. “Sorry, but no.”
Emmie turned her attention to Collin. “My demon half is gone. My powers are gone. I want to learn what I need to know about being an angel, the abilities, the rules, the basics,” Emmie said, shifting her weight impatiently.
“Oh. Is that all?” Colling asked, taking a drink from his hot coffee cup. “Angel abilities aren’t taught or anything like that. They’re absorbed through a heavenly brand, or a sigil. Kind of like a tattoo.”
“Ok, so how do I get one?”
“You don’t,” Leo gruffed. Collin rolled his eyes in response.
“Sigils work on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis. Unlike Leo, I don’t do a lot of fieldwork, and I don’t have much use for supernatural strength or speed in my lab, let alone the healing and all the other fun stuff. When I forget to keep my powers active I have to have my sigil re-branded in the city of angels,” Collin explained. “But, angels get our first brand when we leave heaven, so I guess the elders will have to issue you one, or not, I don’t know. You’re obviously an exception to the normal rules, but the elders are who you need to see.”
“Perfect,” Emmie said, turning to give Leo a smug smile.
“Good luck figuring out how to get there,” Leo said, returning her fake smile.
“It’s cool, I’ll take her. I have some stuff to take care of in the city anyway,” Collin said, finishing his burrito and gulping his coffee.
“Unbelievable,” Leo huffed. He walked to the door and grabbed the zip-up hanging on the back of it. Then he turned around and said, “If we’re doing this let’s go, I don't want this to eat up the whole day.”
Emmie smiled as Leo held the door open for her and they walked down the hall toward the elevator. Leo was silent until they stepped out onto the sidewalk. She watched as Collin asked the man standing at the door to pull his car around, and Leo leaned in. “You need to be careful where we’re going,” he whispered. His warm breath sent a shiver through her body that she hoped he wouldn’t notice. “The city of angels wasn’t made with humans or demons in mind.”
Emmie let his words sink in, and even though she knew he meant well, she couldn’t avoid feeling irritated by his warning. It’s like being half angel isn’t good enough. Is he worried that’s how the others will treat me, or is he projecting his own thoughts, she wondered. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, the gorgeous blue eyes that drew me in, she thought, flashing back to the first time she saw his handsome face, before all of this supernatural drama. Before I knew that the woman who raised me had eternal ‘dibs’ on his heart. She scrunched her nose at the thought.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, doing her best to keep her tone flat.
“Just keep your guard up.”
The drive back to West Creek was quiet. Collin had quiet classical music playing on the radio, but it did little to calm Emmie’s thoughts. The last time she had been in her hometown her own mother had injected her with a demonic serum and kept her heavily sedated as far as she knew. She still hadn’t regained the memories from that time, but it seemed reasonable to assume that she hadn’t spent those missing weeks shopping and attending art classes. She took a deep breath as Collin pulled into the gravel parking lot of the West Creek Cemetery. He cut the engine and they all climbed out of the car. Leo pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and tucked his hands into his pocket as he silently led the way through the cemetery. Emmie could tell he was not looking forward to their trip to the city of angels. You’d think he could at least try to understand where I’m coming from. I just lost my entire life. My powers. My mother. My home. I’m tired of losing things. I just want to get something back, start something new.
“So, there are a few things you should know,” Collin whispered, slowing his pace to walk by her side. “Don’t talk unless you really need to. Extra words will come back to bite you every time. If they do grant you a sigil, it’ll hurt like hell, so be prepared for that. And, this is the most important part. Try not to react to anything they tell you. Angels are usually pretty stoic. We don’t wear our feelings on our sleeves like humans, and we hide our urges a lot better than demons. If you want to blend in and fit in here you’ll need to take all of your emotions and hide them as deep down as you can manage,” he said, nudging her shoulder with his own. “Got it, Clark?”
Emmie forced a smile and raised her eyebrow, “I don’t even know if that’s my real name,” she said, realizing it for the first time. She chuckled, but she wasn’t sure why.
When they entered the mausoleum Collin explained the blood ritual, and Emmie remembered what Chamille had said about the boundary incinerating demons on contact. Leo went first, cutting his hand on Michael’s blade, then Emmie and finally Collin. When the boundary into the city opened they went through in the same order, and Emmie breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped out into the brightness in one piece. Collin led the way to the hall of truth and Emmie took in the pristine surroundings as she followed him closely. The boundary opened into the city center, and they were surrounded by a mix of small buildings and high rises just like in Hartford, but the stones of the buildings were perfectly white and clean like they were all freshly built. It feels very utopian, she thought to herself, and the idea gave her a chill. Everyone knows a perfect utopia is really just a dystopia in sheep’s clothes.
“This is it,” Collin announced.
“Are you sure about this?” Leo asked.
They stood on the steps of the hall of truth, and from the outside, it looked like an enormous white stone dome, with sunlight beaming in from every angle. The sheer size of it made Emmie’s heart jump.
“This is what I am now. I have to embrace this or I have nothing. I’m not a demon anymore, and my human life is in ruins. I have to belong somewhere. Can you just try to understand that?” Emmie said. She looked into his sapphire eyes and hoped he would set aside his protective nature and try to be supportive in spite of everything.
“Ok.”
38
Leo
Leo led the way into the familiar building, shivering as he stepped into the entryway. He knew that only the main hall could compel someone to speak the truth, but traces of the angelic magic could be felt throughout the building, and you could never be completely sure you weren’t being watched. Straight ahead was the door that would take them to the hall of truth. He pulled it open and stared into the narrow pitch-black space. It was impossible to tell how long the passageway was. From any angle, it looked like a solid black wall, but once you stepped inside, there was no going back. He looked over his shoulder at Collin and Emmie. “May the truth be on your side,” he said, reading the inscription above the door before entering the corridor. The walk through the dark felt endless, it always did, and Leo had to remind himself over and over that the hallway and the darkness were part of the magic of the hall of truth, or it’s just here to rattle people, who knows. Leo was the first one to step out of the darkness. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright inner chamber, and he breathed in the pure air deeply. He could feel the
full magic of the elder angels at work here, and when he looked up he saw that the elders were already gathered on the other side of the room, as always. Sometimes I wonder if they just live in here, he thought.
“It’s lovely to see you again,” Chamille said, looking past him. Leo turned and saw Emmie standing behind him. She blinked the same way he had to adjust to the bright sunlight after traveling in the dark. “You look much better than the last time we spoke.”
Emmie smiled and walked to stand beside Leo. She turned and met his confused glance. “We all have our little secrets,” she whispered before turning her attention back to the elders. Leo’s mind spun, and he could feel his brow creasing as he tried to understand what she meant. When could she have been here? Why didn’t she mention it and what secrets does she think I’m keeping? He felt a hand on his other shoulder and turned to see Collin who shared the same confused expression.
“I understand that you no longer have demon blood, and your safe passage through the boundary and the corridor confirms that.” Chamille smiled. “I assume you’ve come for your sigil?”
“Yes.”
Chamille nodded once and walked across the room quickly. “Let’s take care of that, shall we,” she asked, ushering Emmie toward a single door at the side of the room. Emmie followed without hesitation, but Leo and Collin exchanged concerned looks.
“We came here to discuss Faction business as well,” Collin said loudly as Chamille opened the door.
“You’re in good hands,” Chamille said. As Emmie walked through the open door, she followed, and the door closed quickly. Leo fought the urge to run after them. He tried to push the uneasy feeling in his stomach away, but he couldn’t ignore the suspicion that something bigger was going on behind the scenes.
“What Faction business have you come to discuss,” another elder asked. He stepped forward and Leo remembered him from when the hunt had just begun, Neil. When the threat of demons was new, and The Faction was still getting their bearings. Back then it was basically a war for the earth. The hunt didn’t really begin until the demonic numbers diminished. The demons eventually stopped fighting and started hiding and trying to blend in among the humans. They adapted to survive and with every new generation became that much harder to track and identify.
Collin cleared his throat before he dove into the details they had learned about Hailey. He spared no details, ending with, “We believe Emmie will be invaluable to the mission of bringing her in and finding out who is behind the demonic malachite formula.”
“The standing order is to kill all demon blooded creatures on sight. One exception was made for the girl, given the unusual circumstances. But if what you say is true and Hailey is not only alive, but in league with them there won’t be any need to bring her in. The kill order stands,” Neil said.
Leo exhaled loudly and he felt like he had taken a blow to the stomach. He knew the elders weren’t known for forgiveness or understanding. Most of them hadn’t left the city in thousands of years and were unable or unwilling to admit that some areas aren’t black and white, and some decisions have to be made based on more than codes and laws. But Hailey was one of their own, that should count for something. She had been an elder, and despite following Leo to live at Faction towers, she spent every day in the city.
Leo swallowed hard as a memory of her voice crossed his mind, ”It’s an awful commute,” Hailey had joked. “But being with you is worth it,” she insisted.
“Hailey was an elder,” Collin said calmly. “Don’t you think this warrants another exception? She was abducted and injected with demon venom. She’s not in control of her own actions.”
“No. I don’t,” Neil said, shaking his head.
Collin pushed his sleeves up his forearms and stared at the floor for a moment before he said, “We need information about Emmie.”
“What kind of information?”
“What do you know?” Leo asked. He was beginning to get the feeling that Neil was trying to avoid giving too much information.
“We know everything about Miss Clark, of course. We wouldn’t issue her a sigil if we had any doubts.”
“I’ll need a copy of her file,” Collin chimed in after the hall grew quiet.
“Request denied,” Neil smiled. “If there isn’t any other Faction business to discuss we can conclude this meeting.”
“What are we supposed to do now?” Leo asked. They walked out of the building and stood on the bright white sidewalk. No sidewalk should be this clean, he thought, drawing a comparison to the ones in Connecticut.
“This city creeps me out almost as much as the elders do. We should just head back to the mausoleum. We can wait for Emmie there,” Collin offered. Leo groaned but followed him back inside to the statue that stood in the entryway. They performed the ritual again, crossing back into the mausoleum.
39
Emmeline
“Are you afraid?” Chamille asked. She stood a few feet away searching through metal boxes.
“Yes,” Emmie said. She sat in a chair just like the one in Collin’s lab and watched as Chamille finally pulled something out of one of the boxes. She closed her eyes and ran her hand over something Emmie couldn’t see, then she tucked an envelope under her arm and moved to stand beside the chair.
“This is not a truth compelling room, but I’ll be honest anyway,” she said with a warm smile. “This is going to hurt. A lot, but it’s fast, and it’s worth it.”
Emmie nodded her head and Chamille reached for the hem of her shirt. Emmie felt the elder’s cold fingertips brush against her skin as she pulled the bottom of her shirt up, exposing her ribs. Chamille held up a silver disc adorned with an intricate pattern. She turned it one way and then another, and once satisfied she pressed it into Emmie’s ribs burning her skin like a hot branding iron. Emmie closed her eyes and screamed. The disc felt like it was searing its way into her body. A moment later Chamille removed the silver branding device and walked across the room, dropping it back into the metal box she had retrieved it from. She turned to Emmie and said, “Don’t let it fade away or you’ll have to come back to do this again.”
Emmie wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and took a deep breath. The pain faded quickly, and when she looked down expecting to see burnt red flesh, she only saw the black sigil against her pale skin. She noticed that the mark was not unlike a lotus flower, but it’s lines twisted and crossed over one another in a way that seemed to go on forever. Her face must have given away her surprise because Chamile smiled and said, “It’s an angelic mark so it heals on its own. You’ll have the ability to heal your wounds now too.”
“All of this angel stuff is going to take some time to get used to,” Emmie sighed. She pulled her shirt down and turned, dangling her legs over the side of the chair.
“You’ll be ok. Even though it might feel like it, you’re not alone,” Chamille said. She pulled out the folder she had tucked under her arm. “I’m not really supposed to do this, but this is a copy of everything we’ve learned about you,” she said, handing Emmie the envelope. “Maybe I’ve spent too much time earthside for my own good as an elder, but you’ve been through so much, and I think you deserve to know everything you can about your past.”
Emmie took the envelope and immediately felt a chill run through her body. She felt her heart race in her chest as she looked at the thin manilla package in her hands. Since she saw Hailey’s face on the computer in the lab and realized that she was one and the same with the Melody Clark who had raised her and lied to her for her entire life, Emmie had feared she would never know the truth about herself. Was Hailey really her mother, or was there even more to uncover? Now she held the answers in her trembling hands and she wasn’t sure if she had the courage to peel it open and find out.
“I’m going to make one more exception for you, Emmie,” Chamille said, and Emmie looked up from the envelope with curious eyes. “Elders have the ability to travel freely between our world and yours. We aren’t supposed
to extend our portals to others, but for you, today, I’ll bend the rules a little bit. I think it’s best if you have some time to look through that alone. Once you have, you’ll want to let your friends know you’re home.” Chamille smiled, took a deep breath and then turned toward an empty wall and drew the outline of a door with her palms. When she finished the doorway turned white and she nodded toward it. Emmie looked at her with heavy eyes, unsure she could find the right words to express the gratitude she felt toward her unexpected friend.
“Thank you,” she said quietly as she stepped through the white portal. She came out on the other side in Leo’s room, and the magical doorway vanished. She sat down on the sofa, hugging the manilla envelope to her chest. Just open it, Emmie. Could anything written in here really make things worse? She tore open the sealed package and pulled out the thick folder inside. She could see her hands shaking and felt her heart racing in her chest. Her hands felt hot and she pressed her eyes shut, taking one more deep breath before she opened the folder. It was neat and organized with a single metal clip at the top, securing the papers, and making it easy to flip through them. The first page was a picture of herself, it looked recent, but she couldn't place it. She flipped the picture up and noticed that there was something written on the back. She opened the clip and pulled her picture out, reading the information out loud.
"Emmeline Clark
Age: 15
DOB: 08/16/2005
Location: West Creek, Connecticut
Lineage: Human
Parents: Malcolm and Melody Clark
Blood samples reveal a mixture of supernatural DNA fully integrated with her own, human genetic makeup. Traces of malachite found. Source unknown.
**Demonic testing is suspected, but not confirmed at this time** "
She set the photo aside and looked down at the folder again. Another photograph sat on top of the stack. An unfamiliar face. A woman with dark auburn hair. Her whole face lit up with a smile and her dark green eyes caught Emmie's attention. She looks just like me. She felt her chest tighten as she took the photo out and turned it over.