Solace (Asteria Trilogy Book 1)

by Alaina Katherine

  Since I managed to take the rest of the session seriously and without any complaints, Gabriel surprised me with a trip to Terra so that I could spend some time around humans.

  Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to see my family or Danielle but I would get to see Brian, Michael’s charge, again. As a precaution, I would have a horde of angel’s following me around all day. Originally, Metatron wanted to be one of those angels but thankfully Gabriel talked him out of that idea. Instead, I would have Gabriel, Azrael, Michael, and Sera with me.

  I asked why Raphael wouldn’t be joining us and was told that his newest charge was having trouble keeping secrets. Apparently he kept trying to tell his friends about the angel’s and visions because he thought they would find it “cool”.

  We spent the day at a college fair. I was beyond excited to be around humans again. I think part of my excitement was due to Asteria’s love of her people. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching other’s be happy and many times throughout the day I caught myself doing nothing but staring around me with a smile plastered to my face.

  “Do you always have a mafia of angels following you around?” Brian asked me as we sat down to eat funnel cake.

  “Just when I’m on Terra and especially now that we know about the Anakim. In Aether I’m allowed to be alone though. Unless something happens to upset me, then Gabriel stays with me at night.”

  I realized how bad that sentence could sound about halfway through speaking it aloud. Brian let out an “ooh” and waggled his eyebrows a few times.

  “Not like that.” I narrowed my eyes at him and threw a balled up napkin at his chest.

  “Don’t think I don’t know how good he looks just because I’m a guy.”

  “Well going off of that logic, all the guy angels look as attractive as Gabriel does. I don’t see you bothering me over Michael.”

  “Because Michael does not spend his nights at your house.” He was waggling his eyebrows again.

  “Can we not talk about this? Gossiping about guys is usually reserved for my friend Danielle.” I rolled my eyes. I managed to sound lighthearted but I really missed her. If only she could see the angel’s, she would be in fits over their beauty. We had spent many afternoons at the mall sitting on a bench, milkshakes in our hands and giggling over boys that walked by.

  “So have you had any visions yet?” Brian asked, changing the subject.

  “Yeah, it was awful. Worst experience of my life. The pain before the vision was bad enough, then there was intensity of the vision it’s self. You didn’t warn me that you feel the pain of the person in the vision,” I scolded.

  “That’s because I don’t. I normally just see and hear what’s happening. And sure, sometimes it’s horrible and can affect my emotions but I certainly don’t experience their pain. I guess it makes sense that your visions would be different from mine though. That you have more of a connection to the subject of your vision makes sense, considering the Goddess in you.”

  “Well, it sucks,” I moped, tearing off a piece of the funnel cake and smothering it with powdered sugar.

  “Don’t forget you have my number, if you ever want to talk after you’re visions. I’m sure it’s rough and I bet the angels do what they can to help you but maybe it would be better to talk to someone who at least has a little idea of what you are going through.”

  “I appreciate it. I might just take you up on that offer next time. Although, so far that’s the only vision I’ve had. Oh, and I can’t call you from Aether since they don’t have cell towers so we would have to meet somewhere, which is fine with me of course.”

  “Maybe your next one won’t be so bad. For me, they got easier and easier the more I had.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Before we get off the subject of visions, can I ask you a question?”

  “Of course,” I said mid chew.

  “It’s about Raphael’s charge, the one who had the vision that was from the fallen.” He was referring to the vision about Michael had betraying Asteria. The vision that lead to us learning of the Anakim being back. “Did they ever figure out who gave him that vision?”

  “No, they tried though. Their best guess was that one of the Anakim got into his house during the night and planted the vision in his mind. Obviously he would not have been harmed since he would need to deliver the vision to the angels.”

  “But what about afterwards? Do you think the Anakim might go back for him since they successfully located a prophet?”

  “That thought did occur to me. Which is why I had him moved, they won’t be able to track him down easily.” At first the angels had not been concerned with the prophet’s safety. They did not see that the Anakim now had access to us like they never had before. If they wanted to, they could use him against us. I had to keep him safe.

  We spent the rest of the day playing the games and not going on rides due to my fear of heights. Unfortunately, I was bad at the games and not once did I win anything. Brian on the other hand was a master at them and offered to share some of his winnings with me. He even let me pick out a giant stuffed owl. Among the prizes he let me have was a little stuffed toy that none of us could figure out what it was supposed to resemble. It was about the size of a water bottle and an obnoxious combination of bright pinks and purples with tuffs of yellow hair sticking out in random patches. None of us could locate a face on it but it had a squeaky toy inside so I decided it could be a toy for Storm.

  I enjoyed getting to spend time with Brian. It was nice to be around a human and to not feel so important. I felt like a normal girl just hanging out with her friend when I was around him. I was grateful that Brian didn’t spend too much time fussing over the fact that I was a Goddess.

  Before I left I promised him I would try to get Metatron to allow Brian into Aether, even if it was only for ten minutes. He insisted that I didn’t have to go through that trouble but I dismissed him. I wanted to thank him for treating me like a normal girl.

  When we returned to Aether that evening I half expected something horrible to have happened while we were gone. Thankfully though, this was not the case, everything was just as peaceful as it has been every day (with the exception of the day we learned the Anakim were back). Speaking of the Anakim, not a single one had been spotted on Terra, nor had there been any visions from prophets (myself included) about them. So for now, it felt like we were all on standby. There was an underlying anxiousness that I’m pretty sure we all felt. We were just waiting for something to happen so we could decide what needed to be done next.

  Gabriel dropped me off at my house before returning to his for the night. For the past few weeks Gabriel had been able to sleep in his own bed which made me feel like much less of a burden. Though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss his company.

  When I awoke the next morning there was an unsettling quietness in Aether. From my bedroom I could usually hear the distant voices of angels as they walked around Aether, but this morning there were no such voices. I began to panic. Something must have happened. I was unsure of what to do. I began pacing my living room, periodically gazing out my window in hopes of seeing someone walk by, no one ever did. Where is everyone? I thought. I heard the faint sound of wings. I panicked for a moment before I was filled with that familiar warm feeling spreading from my stomach throughout my body, calming my nerves.

  “Gabriel!” I opened to door just as he landed in my front yard. “Something is wrong.”

  “What happened? Did you have a vision?” His eyes frantically searched my body for any signs of harm.

  I shook my head. “There is no one here! Why are there no angels in Aether this morning?”

  Gabriel laughed. He actually laughed. “Relax meum delicium, they are all on Terra today. There were a lot of new charges today and Metatron decided to temporarily release his constraints of the number of angels allowed on Earth.”

  “No, something isn’t right. There have never been this many angel’s away from Aeth
er at one time. There have never been this many new charges at once.”

  “Sure, it’s peculiar but it happens sometimes. There is nothing to be worried about. Tomorrow it will be back to normal.”

  But he was wrong. I woke up again to silence; and the next four days followed the same pattern. There were nights when certain angels wouldn’t even come home because they had so many new charges to take care of.

  On the sixth night I was exhausted. I had spent my days worrying over my angels. I played out all the worst possible scenarios in my head about bad things that could happen to the angels with so many of them on Terra. I knew there had to be a reason for all of these new charges but, I could not figure it out. It had to be some ploy the fallen had conjured up in order to put my angels in a vulnerable position so they could attack.

  Logically I knew that the fallen had no way to inherently create more charges. That was a power only reserved for Asteria. So I needed to change my thought process. I needed to start thinking like Asteria. Why would she want or maybe need more charges?

  Tomorrow, I will figure it out tomorrow. I told myself before drifting off to sleep.

  I awoke to the frantic sound of Gabriel repeating my name. His voice filled with concern. Why? I thought. His hands were locked onto my shoulders, shaking me. I was also aware of something on my legs, I couldn’t move them. I was drenched, covered in sweat. My throat felt dry and scratchy. When I opened my eyes I saw that Gabriel was sitting on my legs.

  The vision, I remembered. I had a vision while sleeping.

  Gabriel, now realizing that I was awake, got off of my legs to sit on the bed.

  “You were screaming in your sleep. No, screaming doesn’t even begin to describe the terror in your voice. I found you thrashing around, kicking, and when I tried to calm you, you began hitting and kicking me in your sleep. Tell me what you saw.” His voice was thick and horse. No doubt, this was the most concern he has ever had to experience at my expense. At the moment he was more shaken up than I was.

  I explained to him what I saw in my nightmare that had transformed itself into a vision. There were Anakim, lots of them. I saw the creature from my first nightmare, towering over me again. I saw them in various places. Not even one of the places was identifiable, it was just clear that the environment was different. As I explained what I saw to Gabriel I grew more and more concerned. My voice shook and my hands began to tremble at the recollection of the images.

  While recalling the final image, I could feel a faint trace of the pain I felt during the vision. It was the same pain that I felt in the first vision I ever had. In the vision there was a woman again, though a different one but there was also a fallen angel. I knew he was fallen based on how tattered his wings were, as well as the blackness to his eyes. The woman was screaming in pain, just as the other woman had, but this time I saw what was causing it.

  She lay on the floor with bundles of blankets underneath and around her. These blankets were clearly once a different color but, now a burgundy as they had been soaked threw with the woman’s own blood. Recalling the smell of it made me dizzy as I described the scene to Gabriel; I clutched onto my sheets to hang on to reality.

  The woman had been giving birth, but she was losing a lot of blood. This was no normal pregnancy that I had witness. The creature that came from her was Anakim. It was horrific to watch as the creature ripped its way out of the woman’s womb but the vision would not have allowed me look away. As I told Gabriel that the new creature gave out a cry, I had realized where I had heard that cry before.

  “Gabriel, that woman from my first vision was also giving birth to an Anakim,” I said in horror. “Do all women die in the process?”

  “I believe so.”

  “But the creature I saw come out of her, it was not fully grown. It could not possibly cause any other destruction at that point.”

  “They grow fast. They are only in the womb for two weeks and become the truly terrifying creatures that they are after about a month. Their aging process is almost the opposite of angels’ that way.”

  “How do you think the fallen were able to create the Anakim again? I thought they couldn’t walk on Terra,” I asked.

  “They can’t. I would assume that they conjured up demons to kidnap the woman and bring them into hell. It would explain why none of the charges recognize where the woman are.”

  “Wait, demons exist too?”

  “Of course, I didn’t mention that before?”

  “You definitely did not.”

  “Well, yeah. Part of our job is to minimize their involvement with the humans.”

  “So you fight demons,” I said flatly and Gabriel nodded his head. “The world gets scarier every day.”

  “Don’t worry, they aren’t over populating Terra or anything. We have them under control.”

  “Are there like…different types?”

  “Yeah, there are a few types. They each have different abilities. It takes energy for the fallen to conjure them and considering how Asteria bound them, they wouldn’t risk wasting all of their energy on summoning them.”

  “Where do they summon them from, if they don’t come from hell?”

  “Another dimension basically.”

  “Oh good lord, how many other things do I not know about this world?” I shook my head. I wondered if I would ever learn every secret kept from humans. Even if I lived for one hundred more years I felt like things would keep surprising me.

  “There is no need for you to worry about it. It’s the middle of the night, we can discuss this more tomorrow if you wish but you should get some rest.”

  Gabriel stood up from the bed.

  “Will you stay with me tonight,” my voice was small.

  “Of course,” he answered as he went to go sit in his chair.

  “No, I mean here.” I patted the empty space in my bed next to me. Gabriel froze and hesitated before making his decision. I practically saw his brain contemplating the idea as he stood there. He was too much of a gentleman to imagine sharing a bed with a girl but he was also too much of a gentleman to deny me. Eventually, he laid himself down next to me, though his brows were furrowed. I knew this conflicted with his morals and he lay facing the ceiling and was very careful to keep a few inches between our bodies.

  I really would have preferred him to put an arm around me or at least hold my hand but I didn’t want to press my luck. All I wanted was to be comforted, and while his presence alone gave me solace, his touch gave me more. I sighed as I rolled on my side, facing Gabriel I looked at his face and he turned his head slightly towards me.

  “Sleep now, meum delicium,” he whispered, smoothing his hand over my hair just once before returning it to lie across his abdomen.

  “You know I don’t ever know what you’re saying to me,” I mumbled, already half asleep. I swore I heard his soft laughter as I drifted off.

  The following days were hectic in Aether, especially for Uriel. With so many charges now, there was an increase in visions as well. All this meant more work for Uriel who had to meet with each charge to record and decipher the visions, which apparently wasn’t revealing any information we didn’t already know.

  I, at least, had successfully figured out why there was an increase of charges. Unfortunately it wasn’t really a good thing. Asteria needed more charges due to the increase in activity in the underworld. There were so many lives lost with the birth of the Anakim and once the Anakim were matured there would be even more danger. The prophets were needed to increase protection for the humans; we needed them to have visions so we could get to the victims before it was too late.

  Unfortunately, there was no way we could prevent the women from dying during the birth. So for now, Aether was in a sad state. We all knew we were losing a high amount of people but that there wasn’t anything we could do. We were helpless.

  Even though Uriel was extremely busy with the charges, he took time to have a session with me. I felt guilty taking up his time. I insisted tha
t I didn’t really need this session but neither Uriel nor Gabriel would allow me to miss it.

  “Alright, this is going to take a lot of focus,” Uriel explained. “Start by closing your eyes.”

  I did as I was told.

  “No wait, sit down first, that will definitely help you relax.” I stifled a laugh as I followed his instructions. “Now, take a deep breath in, filling your lungs up completely until it is impossible to fit more air.”

  That didn’t really sound all that relaxing but I did it anyways. It burned the back of my throat a little actually.

  “Hold it for three counts, then slowly let it all out, leaving no air in your lungs.” Even though my eyes were closed I could feel the scrutiny in his gaze, making sure I was following his instructions exactly. “We are going to continue that a couple more times.”

  “This seems like a really elaborate process,” I complained.

  “That’s only because you have never done this before. Once you are used to this process you will be able to do it in a heartbeat.”

  After a few more minutes of breathing, Uriel instructed me to clear my mind. When I asked him how exactly I was supposed to do that he just answered “think of nothing” as if this were the easiest thing in the world. And it definitely was not. Especially with what was currently happening in my life, it was near impossible.

  “You are not trying hard enough.”

  “I really am. I just have so much to think about. Isn’t there like, some tea or something that would work for this?”