Before leaving, Azrael decided to walk me back to my house. We quickly threw our clothes back on over our now dry bathing suits and packed up our towels. My stomach let out a loud grumble to express its unhappiness with the fact that I hadn’t fed it since morning.
“I know what you’re doing when you get home.” Azrael laughed.
As we were walking I began to feel a slight throbbing in my head. My brain was pulsing; I began to feel flushed and light headed. My vision began to blur and after a few seconds I could no longer see what was in front of me. I reached out for something to grab onto, hoping for Azrael to catch me if I fell. If my shaking knees were any inclination, my legs were sure to give out at any moment. The entire world was gone from around me, all I could feel was my blood vigorously pumping through my body and all I could hear was my heavy, gasping breaths. Terrified, I cried out for Gabriel, wishing more than ever that he was here to help me through whatever this was.
Sure enough, my legs would no longer hold me but as I began to fall strong arms wrapped around me and guided me gently to the ground.
“I’m here,” came a voice that I had come to know better than my own. Though I could feel his arms around me and feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, I could not see him. And then world completely slipped away from me.
Screaming. That was the first thing I was aware of. Clearly it belonged to a woman. My vision was suddenly and sharply restored. I know now that I would have preferred the blackness. Though I didn’t see much, I saw enough. But more importantly I felt it. There was a woman with golden hair, I could only see the back of her head but she was clearly lying down. As I watched her wailing I felt sharp pains in my lower abdomen. It was a strange sensation since my body was not there I could not do anything about the pain. My throat also felt raw, as if I had been the one spending hours screaming and not this woman I saw. I watched and felt as the woman let out one last, dreadful scream. She threw her head back in agony, before she took her last breath and her head slumped to the side. In the distance, I heard a cry but, I was pulled back to reality.
My surroundings came back to me in a rush, bombarding all my senses. Thankfully I was already sitting down and being cradled against Gabriel. Tremors shook my body and my cheeks were with sticky from my tears. The pain that I had felt from the woman was gone, but it had been replaced with sorrow and terror.
Chapter Eight
My hands were still shaking slightly as I brought my cup of tea to my lips. Azrael had decided her charges could wait and together she and Gabriel brought me back to my house. Gabriel had made me tea as Azrael sat me on the couch, tucking my hair behind my ears and attempting to smooth out some of its knots. I was grateful for this gesture as it did help calm my nerves a bit.
“Any idea who the woman was?” Azrael asked.
I shook my head. “I didn’t see her face.”
“What about the room she was in? Maybe you recognize it?” Gabriel tried.
“No, I don’t even remember there being a room, I just remember the woman on the bed. That’s all. There are no other details.” I felt utterly hopeless. I knew there was no way we could find out who this woman was in order to save her from her death. My vision had left me zero clues.
“I’m sorry Sage. That this is the way you’re first vision turned out,” Gabriel comforted.
“Are all my vision’s going to feel like that? It was awful. The vision itself was ghastly of course, but the feelings I had before the vision were so unexpectedly sickening. If the vision had taken any longer to show itself I probably would have been unconscious.”
“I wish I had a definite answer to that, Sage. I’m sure you will get used to it just as Brian said he did.”
Azrael and Gabriel both spent the evening playing board games with me in an attempt to brighten my mood. But there wasn’t anything that could erase the memory of that vision.
Azrael eventually went to her own home but Gabriel of course planned on staying the night again.
As I tucked myself in to bed that night I looked at Gabriel, sitting in that chair and felt like I was a burden. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I am having so much trouble handling all of this that you have to constantly babysit me.”
Gabriel’s reaction surprised me though. He laughed. “Sage, when are you going to understand that this is my job? This is the way it is supposed to be, this is what I was created for and I wouldn’t wish it to be any different.” He had gotten out of his chair and walked over to me. “Now sleep peacefully, meum delicium.” He bent over to place a kiss at the top of my head as if I were a child (which I honestly, at this point, felt like I was).
The rest of my week was uneventful. I visited Uriel a couple of times and he was always elated when I came by. I also spent some time with Azrael, after her witnessing my vision she became pretty protective of me. She would do random checks on me to make sure I was doing okay. But what Azrael was really good for, was fun. She took my mind off of the hopelessness I felt after my vision. I’m sure that was her intent but I feel like she was a natural at making people happy and would have found time for me regardless of my vision.
I had asked both Azrael and Gabriel to keep the content and intensity of my vision a secret. I didn’t need others looking at me funny, or harassing me to find meaning in the vision. Gabriel, Azrael and I had gone over it plenty of times and not once did we ever make any progress in understanding it. I did allow them to let others know that I had my first vision, but they were just told that it wasn’t really a relevant one.
Originally Gabriel had wanted to start my training as soon as possible but after the vision incident he pushed it off until my second week in Aether. I was actually a little bummed out by this delay and as I walked to the open field to meet Gabriel for our first training class I was excited to learn how to fight.
Growing up I had always wanted to take karate classes or any self defense class really, but my mother said fighting was for childish boys not for sophisticated girls like me. I guess that was where my “snarky-ness” as Gabriel calls it, comes from. Since I could not physically let my aggression out I had to do it in my attitude. Once I got closer to the field, I could see Gabriel doing a series of stretches. I walked right up to him and opened my mouth to tell him good morning but he spoke before I did.
“Do exactly as I do,” Gabriel said without even glancing up at me.
“Well hello to you too,” I grumbled as I stretched my right leg out just as Gabriel was doing.
“Good morning Sage.” There was amusement in his voice and I swear I saw a smirk out of the corner of my eye.
Gabriel led me through a series of stretches that lasted for about fifteen minutes.
“Alright, now it is time to get to work.” Gabriel turned to face me.
“So what moves do I get to learn today?” I was practically bouncing on my feet with excitement.
Gabriel just laughed. “You will not be learning any ‘moves’ today.” He even did the finger quotes when he said moves. “We need to get you into shape first. Today we will work on escape tactics.”
I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Try not to look so upset.” Gabriel smiled. My posture had completely changed; instead of bouncing around, I now stood with my arms across my chest and my right hip jutted out to the side. I immediately stood up straight and placed my arms limply at my sides.
“What exactly do escape tactics entail?” I questioned.
“Running.”
“Running?” I repeated. “That’s it?”
“For the next four hours all you will do is run. Now get started!” he ordered, still with a smile on his face.
I stood there, resorting back to my attitude pose. I was not going to run for four straight hours!
“I’m not sure what you’re waiting for.” Gabriel’s eyebrows furrowed together.
With a sigh I threw my arms away from my chest again and began running. Once I reached the end of the field I turned the corning, running the outski
rts of the field as if it were a jogging track. I did three laps around the field and stopped, taking a minute to catch my breath.
“Sage, I didn’t say stop,” Gabriel yelled from across the field. I rolled my eyes and began running again. I had not been running for more than a minute when Gabriel yelled “stop!” as I ran right passed him.
“Seriously? You just told me to not stop,” I complained, my eyes going wide with disbelief.
“Yes, but that was before I realized how horrible your form is.”
“First you torture me and then you insult me? Unbelievable.” Out of spite, I almost began running again.
“Sage, I’m not trying to be mean but I need to make sure you are properly prepared for any circumstance, and for today that circumstance requires you to escape. By the end of today’s session you will have improved your speed and endurance tremendously. A normal human could catch up with you in the shape you are in now. Imagine a demon or fallen angel. You’d be dead within seconds.”
We stood in silence just glaring at each other for a minute. But I knew he was right, he was the one who had been in this world for decades. I had only belonged to it for a few weeks.
“You need to learn the proper way to move your legs while you run,” Gabriel said as he bent down and put his right hand on the back of my calf and his left on the front of my ankle. I stared down at him incredulously, unsure of what exactly he was trying to accomplish. He began to yank at my leg. “Sage it would be really helpful if you could relax so I can show you how to move your leg.”
I laughed out loud. “I’m sorry, I just could not imagine what you were doing down there.” I continued to giggle as I allowed Gabriel to move my leg.
“Your knee needs to come up as high as possible and use the balls of your feet to push off the ground. Also, try to extend your leg as much as you can; you’ll get farther with less effort.” He continued moving my leg a few more times as I watched. “Try running again.”
I did, and the entire time I remained conscious of the way I moved my body.
“Good! Now stop concentrating so hard!” he yelled across the field, after I had made a full lap.
I continued to run around the field a few more times, trying to just let my mind drift. This could almost be enjoyable, I thought to myself. The next time I passed Gabriel he began running right beside me.
“You’re doing great. It looks like you have the technique down so now it’s time to focus on speed,” he said without even sounding out of breath. “Think you can go a little faster?”
I nodded and picked up the pace a little. Meanwhile Gabriel ran in front of me, turned himself around, and continued running backwards in front of me.
“Now you are just showing off.” I fought to get those words out as I gasped for air.
“Shoulder’s back, it will help with your breathing. Also, take deeper farther apart breaths as opposed to shorter ones that are too close together. If you really focus on regulating your breathing it will build your endurance.” He fell back into step with me and said “Try to keep up with my pace.”
Yea, like I can keep up with a freaking angel, I thought to myself. But I did keep up with him. He would increase his speed very slightly and then hold it there for a full run around the field. Every time we hit a certain spot on the field he would increase his step a little more.
“Alright, this will be the last lap, show me what you can do.”
I speed up as much as I could. Every time my foot connected with the ground it sent a surge through my body, a surge that made me put more pressure on the next step each time causing me to go faster and faster until I felt almost weightless. I felt like I was gliding smoothly over the ground, no more clunky steps, though I knew I must have been hitting the ground with so much force I probably could have knocked Gabriel to the ground if my foot had been connecting with his chest instead of the dirt. As I neared the end of the lap I slowed myself down and came to a graceful stop in front of Gabriel. Although what followed was not as graceful.
“Shit,” I muttered as I bent over in pain, placing my hands on my knees and taking in deep breaths. My lungs were on fire and though it hurt to breath, breathing was the only thing that would make them stop burning.
Gabriel chuckled and handed me a water bottle. “Here, you’ll get used to it.”
“That was impressive my Goddess,” said a voice that did not belong to Gabriel. I looked up to see Michael now standing next to Gabriel.
“Oh good lord.” I rolled my eyes and allowed myself to collapse onto the ground. I sat with my legs spread out in front of me and my hands on the ground behind me, holding up my upper body, as I looked up at the two angels. “Why are you here? I don’t need an audience.”
“I knew you would be finishing up your first training and just wanted to see how you were progressing. You know, if you don’t think Gabriel’s doing a good job I could always take over.”
“Not doing a good job,” Gabriel scoffed. “Clearly you did not see her last lap, that speed and grace was beyond anything you are capable of.”
“Now now children, no need to fight. I’m sure you are both very skilled and qualified trainers. In fact you two are probably the best in the world!” I teased.
“Damn right I am,” was Michael’s response while Gabriel just looked at me expressionless. Clearly Gabriel caught on to my sarcasm; he was used to it by now, while Michael was not.
“Can I please shower now?” I whined at Gabriel. While I did feel gross and wanted to shower, I also wanted him to wipe that expression, or rather lack thereof, off of his face. My pleading eyes worked and a small smile broke through.
“Of course.” He reached out a hand to help me up. “You do smell a bit, if I may say so.”
Now it was my turn to be expressionless. I knew he was joking of course.
“Gabriel! How dare you speak to the Goddess in such a way,” Michael miffed. He seemed to take personal offence on my behalf.
“Relax Michael, Gabriel was just joking. And besides, I am still technically human.” I replied while placing a hand on Michael’s forearm.
“I know that Sage, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound like Metatron who never even calls you by your own name.” This was one of the few times I had seen Michael so sincere. It was hard to remember that underneath that arrogance was a person who was just as capable of sensitivity just as any other was. “Sage, Gabriel,” his eyes flicked briefly over to Gabriel but otherwise held my gaze as he spoke, “Would you mind if I stole you away for lunch?”
I looked over towards Gabriel, who gave a simple nod of his head. Of course I did not need his permission, I could make decisions for myself, but somehow I felt like he deserved a say in my actions. Maybe it was just that I trusted him to make any and all decisions for me better than I trusted myself.
“I would love to have lunch with you, after I shower of course.”
“Then I will walk you back to your home.” Michael beamed down at me.
“I’ll see you later?” I turned to face Gabriel.
“Of course.” His voice was soft and his expression, when he looked down at me, was just as soft as he gathered me up in his arms for a hug. Somehow, although I could not see his face, I knew he was giving Michael a look that said “take care of her” before releasing his hold on me.
Michael stuck out his arm for me to hold while he escorted me back to my house. I risked looking behind me to see Gabriel one last time. He had the same expression he always wore whenever he had to leave my side. It was a conflicted expression, he was my protector and it always worried him to not be around me in case some threat was going to make its self present.
“Gabriel worries when you are not in his line of vision, I almost feel bad for keeping you away from him.” Michael had actually taken me back to the house he shared with Gabriel and made me lunch. Who would have thought Michael could cook?
“I know, I feel bad too, but he knows I’m safe up here,” I said taking a bit of the chicken pi
ccata on my plate.
“I can only imagine what goes through his head everyday about you. He has a huge pressure on him to protect you, our Goddess.”
I nodded, unsure as to why Michael chose to talk about Gabriel right now when he had successfully gotten me away from him.
“Could we maybe not talk about the Goddess thing? It’s kind of all I hear about from everyone.” I asked.
“My apologies Sage, I did not mean to upset you.” There was a soft knock on the door. “Excuse me,” Michael said as he put his fork down to do and answer the door.
“Michael,” I saw Sera smile as he opened the door. Her smile faded as she saw me. “Oh you have company, I’ll come back another time.” At her words she turned around and walked away.
“That was strange,” I noted as Michael rejoined me at the table.
“She has a little crush on me.”
“How do you feel about her?” I asked boldly, keeping my eyes on his face though he continued to look down at his plate.
“There was a time I returned her feelings.”
“What’s changed?”
“I have an affection for another now.” At these words he met my gaze. I blushed and looked down at my plate, understanding what he was hinting at.
“Is she much younger than you?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject.
“Who, Sera?” I nodded my head. “She’s a couple decades younger than me. Angels age differently than humans. We live much longer. So I suppose in your years she is about two or three years younger than I.”
“How old are you in my years?”
“I suppose somewhere in my early twenties,” he answered. “The same for Gabriel, Raphael and Azrael. Sera is the only one from our group that I would say is in the 16 to 18 range.”
“Do you think Uriel will live forever?” I blurted.
“No, we are not immortal. I know he has been around since the beginning, but eventually it will be time for someone to take over. Our lifespan is actually one of Lucifer’s vexations. He believes we should be immortal. Almost as Asteria is except he would not require the cycles she goes through.”
Solace (Asteria Trilogy Book 1) Page 9