Solace (Asteria Trilogy Book 1)

by Alaina Katherine

  Gabriel did not answer me but instead he stood up, so I stood up as well. I had forgotten how big Gabriel was, he looked too big for my bedroom. I took a few steps toward him but he stopped me.

  “Actually, I need you to back away. I need a lot of space,” he ordered, so I took a few steps backward to the point where my back was against the wall.

  I watched as Gabriel bowed his head down, tucking his chin into his neck with his eyes closed and arms at his side. He concentrated and suddenly a noise that sounded like fabric ripping sliced through the air and wings emerged from his back. His wings were a smoky quartz color and they were enormous. He lifted his head as he stretched his wings out, and they reached from one wall of my bedroom to the other, before folding them against his back. The feathers looked so soft and smooth that I was tempted to run my fingers over them. I unknowingly took a step forward with my hand out in front of me.

  “Can I?” I whispered.

  “Go ahead.” Though my eyes never left his wings I could feel Gabriel’s gaze on me as I stepped closer. He stretched out his right wing slightly for me to touch, and when I did the feathers felt soft and silky, exactly as amazing as I had expected them to feel. As I stroked them softly Gabriel closed his eyes which caused me to instantly jerk my hand away from his wing.

  “Did I hurt you?” I asked my eyes wide with shock.

  “No, the opposite,” he answered opening his eyes and smiling.

  “Oh,” I blushed.

  “We should go now,” Gabriel said. “This is going to feel very strange to you, just try to relax, and don’t worry, I won’t drop you.”

  “Okay, although maybe something you don’t need to say out loud?” I stuttered, freaking out slightly as we climbed outside through my bedroom window. I could see morning was close; the sun was barely peaking out of the horizon. Once outside I stepped into Gabriel’s outstretched arms and he drew me to his chest, which I feel I should point out felt very warm and firm. He then wrapped his wings around me briefly, making me feel secure. I felt his wings spread out and he suddenly lifted me up and cradled me in his arms. I first felt a ripple surge through his wings before I heard them flap and we were instantly in the air.

  Oh shit, I thought as I noticed how high up we were and we just kept on going higher. I closed my eyes as I tucked my head against Gabriel’s chest and tried not to panic. I tried to find my “happy place.” I chose to imagine myself curled up in my bed watching a movie on a rainy day.

  “Sage,” Gabriel chuckled suddenly. “You can open your eyes now…and let go of my shirt.” I hadn’t noticed that I had been death-gripping Gabriel’s shirt.

  “Sorry,” I squeaked.

  “Not a big fan of heights, huh?” Gabriel smirked.

  “I would appreciate it if you would not laugh at my trauma,” I huffed as Gabriel gently put me down.

  “Gabriel!” A rough voice barked, I turned away from Gabriel to see an older looking man coming toward us. He too, had wings, though his were pure white. He also happened to look very, very pissed off. “What are you doing?”

  Gabriel bowed before answering, “Let me explain. I had no other options. This is the girl I told you about. The one who can see me, always.”

  “And you are you sure?” the man puzzled and Gabriel nodded his head. “It could be possible…” his voice trailed off as he gazed at me.

  “That was what I was thinking, Metatron. I thought it best to bring her to you,” Gabriel answered and they both stared at me. Personally, I was frustrated about the way they were talking about me like I wasn’t even there, not that they seemed to care what I thought.

  “Would either of you care to explain all this to me?” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “First let’s go inside.” Metatron answered. A golden gate suddenly appeared in the middle of the nothingness that surrounded us.

  “Of course,” I mumbled, staring at the gate as it opened to let the three of us through. Metatron walked through first and Gabriel motioned for me to walk next. When we all passed through, the gates closed and disappeared behind us. I suddenly found myself in the middle of what I’d envision an ancient Greek city to look like.

  “This is where all of the angels live,” Metatron explained with a sweep of his arms. “You will be the only mortal allowed up here. Now Gabriel, what have you told her so far?”

  “Just the basics, what we tell every prophet upon first meeting them,” Gabriel answered.

  “Nothing of Asteria?”

  “No sir.”

  “Let’s walk towards the temple then so that I may explain everything,” Metatron suggested.

  While we walked towards this temple that Metatron was speaking of I noticed angles walking around the streets. Some angels wore modern day clothing such as Gabriel did, while others wore clothes wrapped around them like togas such as Metatron did.

  “You are wondering about the difference of clothing?” Gabriel asked me.

  “How did you know?”

  “Angels always have a connection to their charges.”

  “So what, you can read my thoughts?” I asked.

  “No, more like get a sense of them,” Gabriel chuckled. “The angels you see dressed in modern clothing are protectors like me. They need to fit in down in the mortal world. Could you imagine the reaction we would get if we walked around dressed as Metatron is?”

  “You would probably be locked up in a mental institution,” I laughed.

  “Exactly. The others never have to leave our home to go down to earth, so they wear the traditional robes,” Gabriel said simply. I looked up to see that we were approaching a beautiful structure that looked like a gazebo. It was the same one from my dreams. It was made of stone and when the sunlight hit it the stone would reflect various colors making it seem as if the stone had many different gemstones embedded in it. “That is Asteria’s temple.”

  “It’s beautiful.” When we reached the temple I placed a hand on one of the columns, closing my eyes. I felt very serene in that moment. It felt as if some part of me had awoken and had been here before. I felt like this temple was my home.

  “It must be her,” Metatron grinned from one ear to the other and I snapped my eyes back open and quickly withdrew my hand from the temple.

  “Are you going to explain yourselves now?” I demanded my gaze shifting from Metatron to Gabriel. Gabriel motioned for me to sit on a bench that had been carved between two columns, he then sat next to me and Metatron sat on the bench across from us.

  “Sage, I have already told you about the prophets but I have not told you about Asteria. She is the Goddess of oracles and visions. She is the one who leads us. She lived once, long ago, in bodily form but she has not been alive in that sense for ages,” Gabriel explained.

  “Until now,” Metatron said staring me straight in the eye. He still had that smile plastered to his face.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I figured out what his answer was going to be before the question was finished forming, and I seriously did not want to hear it.

  “Sage,” Gabriel answered since Metatron was too busy grinning at me to say anything. “Our Goddess Asteria has chosen you. You are her incarnate. Asteria lives within you.”

  I chose not to say anything. I was waiting for Gabriel to say that this was all a joke. Or I was waiting for my alarm to go off, waking me up for school. But neither of these things happened. The three of us just sat there in silence with Metatron still smiling that damned smile.

  “It’s been prophesized that one day Asteria would come back to us through a human. We just never thought it would be so soon. It is the only reason you would be able to see us, Asteria created the angels from her own blood,” Gabriel went on to explain when it was clear that I wasn’t going to speak.

  “But that fact that Asteria is here means the war is much closer than we expected,” Metatron said, his smile fading finally.

  At that moment another angel flew down and walked into Asteria’s
temple. This angel was built just as Gabriel was, and dressed similarly as well. His long black hair was pulled together at the nape of his neck. His wings were beautiful, just like everything in this world was; they were the color of the stone tiger’s eye, brown with a golden hue.

  “Salve, Gabriel my brother,” he said as Gabriel nodded his head to greet him. The angel then turned and bowed toward Metatron. “Metatron. Well, I’m guessing this is her.” The angel then turned his attention towards me.

  I watched as he took in my long, straight, jet black hair and my small frame. Then finally his blue eyes came to rest on my green ones.

  “Well for all this talk I’ve been hearing you certainly don’t look like much,” He said pausing to turn towards Metatron. “But those eyes definitely have Asteria’s strength.”

  “I have a name, and it is not Asteria,” I retorted, causing this angel to chuckle. I was beginning to wonder if all angles found me so amusing.

  “She has her spirit too.”

  “Sage, this is Michael; he is a protector like I am,” Gabriel explained to me.

  “My newest charge is not as pretty as yours is Gabriel,” Michael said, smiling at me.

  “That is because your charge is a boy,” Gabriel pointed out laughingly. He then explained to me “Michael is not allowed to have female charges anymore, he is too charming.”

  “Charming doesn’t seem to be one of the words I would associate with him.” I cocked my head and smirked at Michael.

  “You’ve got yourself a handful Gabriel,” Michael answered. “I should be getting back to my charge. You should meet him Sage; maybe he can help you with all of this. I’ll be seeing all of you later. Nice seeing you again my Goddess,” he said kissing my hand before flying off.

  “I’m the handful? Has he ever met himself?” I inquired as soon as Michael was gone.

  “He’s really not that bad. He was just teasing you,” Gabriel remarked.

  “We have more important things to discuss than Michael’s character,” Metatron said. “We need to discus where you will live.”

  “What do you mean? I already have a home.”

  “Yes, but as our Goddess you must live up here for many reasons, most importantly to keep you safe,” Metatron replied.

  “I have a life down there. What am I supposed to do? Just quit school when I only have two weeks before graduation? What about my friends? Am I just never allowed to see them again?” I was on the verge of tears. There was no way that I was going to let this ruin my life. “I didn’t choose this, this isn’t fair!”

  “Asteria! You know your duties; you must be here for your people,” Metatron thundered.

  “I am not your precious Asteria! My name is Sage, and I had a life before all of this, I can’t just drop everything.”

  “Sage, relax please,” Gabriel said soothingly.

  “How am I just supposed to relax about this, Gabriel? How am I going to explain this to my parents? I don’t think they would let me just disappear from their lives, especially when I haven't even finished school yet.”

  “Then maybe you are not Asteria!” Metatron’s voice boomed. “She certainly would have more knowledge about what is right for her people. You would be able to understand why you must live here, and that your previous life does not matter when you have an entire world to protect!”

  “Metatron!” Gabriel raged. It was the first time I had heard him speak in such harsh tones, it showed just how powerful he actually was, and if I wasn’t the one he was defending I would be truly afraid of him. “You are being ridiculous. I will speak to Sage alone on this matter and we will come to an agreement. For now why don’t you retire to your home and calm yourself down. I will tell you when she and I have come to a solution.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly, feeling very small amidst all this power. Metatron just walked away without saying a word though I thought I heard him mumble something about a “stupid little girl”.

  “I’m sorry Sage. Metatron has no understanding of a life apart from here,” Gabriel apologized, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Come, we will go to my house.”

  “No, I want to go home,” I said stubbornly. This really was too much to absorb at one time. Not only am I the Goddess who has visions and has to worry about protecting people, but now I’m being taken away from my home and the life I had planned for myself.

  “Sage please, we need to talk about this.” Gabriel's voice was gentle but I was not about to give in.

  “I’m serious Gabriel, take me home.” I looked him in the eye, daring him to protest.

  “Fine,” He agreed finally, reaching his arms out to encase me in his embrace for the flight back to my house.

  When we landed in the front yard of my house I quickly stepped out of Gabriel’s arms and stormed into my house without saying a word to Gabriel or even glancing in his direction. I didn’t have to look behind me to know that he was following me since that now familiar sense of comfort that Gabriel instilled in me merely by his presence (being my protector and whatnot) still surrounded me.

  Thankfully my parents had already left for work, and had probably assumed I had left for school; otherwise my stomping around would have concerned them.

  I flung myself onto my bed and buried my face in my pillows, trying not to cry. I heard the chair in my corner creek slightly under Gabriel's weight as he sat down. I wished that he would leave me alone, even if it was just for ten minutes. I turned my head slightly and saw Gabriel out of the corner of my eye and sighed.

  “I wish you could make yourself invisible to me so that I could at least have the illusion of being alone,” I muttered before turning my head back to my pillow.

  “You could be alone Sage, if you would just agree to live with the angels. There you could have your own house, all to yourself. But if you stay down here Metatron will assign at least two more angels to help protect you and you will never have the opportunity to be alone,” Gabriel explained.

  “But I didn’t ask for this! I don’t want the responsibility of being a Goddess! It’s not fair that I have no say whatsoever in my own future! And I really don’t need babysitters!” I raged. I was very aware of the fact that I sounded like a spoiled teenager not getting her way.

  “I know Sage, but someone has to do it and you were chosen for a reason. You cannot deny fate.” Gabriel remained calm even though I was practically screaming my lungs out at him.

  “But Gabriel, what am I supposed to do about my family? My friends? My dog even! I have responsibilities down here. Like I said, I graduate in two weeks. I worked my ass off for four years to graduate with honors. I am not going to let it be for nothing.” In my rant I had turned myself over so that I was now sitting up on my bed with my legs drawn to my chest.

  “Your dog will not be a problem; he may live in Aether with you.”

  “She,” I corrected. “My dog is a girl.” I had a gorgeous merle colored Great Dane who was loyal only to me. She was currently curled up in her bed at the foot of mine and her ears didn’t even flinch at the sound of another voice in my room.

  “She may live in Aether with you then.”

  “What about school? I need to graduate.”

  “There is too much risk in leaving you down here. While none of the fallen are allowed in Aether, they can conjure up demons that can be on earth and they would gladly take you and use you to get into Aether. And that is not a risk I am willing to take. It is for the protection of everyone, including yourself, that you cannot live down here.”

  “Can I at least finish school? It’s just two more weeks.” I was practically begging now.

  “I suppose you could, but once you graduate you would have to move to Aether.”

  “That’s not good enough; my parents won’t let me move out for no reason.”

  “Tell them you are going away to college.”

  “Gabriel, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to college or anything but you don’t just go to college the day after yo
u graduate. It normally happens about two months later.”

  “Just say you got accepted for summer session,” Gabriel said smugly, showing off that he knew about my world.

  “I guess but that still wouldn’t get me away until few weeks after graduation.”

  “I think we can work with that. Let’s say you will move in a month. That gives you two weeks for your graduation and two weeks after.”

  “I guess,” I sighed. I wasn’t really sure I was ready for all of this just yet, but it didn’t seem like I had much of a choice, Metatron would probably just kidnap me if I refused. “Will I ever get to see my parents and friends again?”

  “We can have you visit them as if you were actually in college,” He proposed.

  “So I guess this is our agreement. Do you think we can wait until tomorrow to tell Metatron though? I really just want to be home for now.”

  “Of course.”

  I laid back down on my bed, pulling my covers tightly around me. I was exhausted since I had not been able to get much sleep during the night. I closed my eyes as I attempted to imagine myself as the Goddess I supposedly am. I tried not to think of the fact that I was now responsible for all of mankind and tried only to focus on the more lighthearted aspects of being a Goddess, although I wasn’t quite sure what those really were. As I was doing this I slowly drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Three

  I awoke with the sun piercing through my window and simultaneously blinding me. Sitting up in my bed I realized that the sun was too bright for it to have been the early hours of the morning when I usually wake up for school. I strained my ears as I listened for the normal sound my parents made in their daily routine of getting ready for work but heard nothing. I looked glanced over at the chair in the corner of my room where Gabriel sat soundly asleep before turning my attention on my clock. It was just past ten in the morning which meant that I had slept through all of yesterday, and the entire night, and my first two classes of the day.

  I got out of bed slowly; my muscles screaming at me from being in bed for so long. Storm ran up to greet me. Jumping up on her hind legs she placed her gigantic front paws on my shoulder as she licked at my chin. I smiled and scratched behind her ears before telling her to get down. There was a movement to my right and I looked to see Gabriel in the process of standing up.