Alexa needed answers. And she knew exactly who could help.
CHAPTER 13
ALEXA STEPPED OUT OF THE elevator and passed the long lines of recently deceased who were waiting to be assigned their new jobs in the maze of offices and corridors that was Orientation. As part of her punishment for her romantic liaisons with Erik, she’d been helping the oracles here for the last month.
The oracles were said to be ancient beings, older than even the archangels, and their knowledge was comprehensive. She needed them now, and she enjoyed working with them. She categorized papers, numbered files, and rearranged filing cabinets. She even cleaned out the pools used by rookies and their petty officers. Once, she even held the hand of a terrified thirty-something woman whom Alexa suspected was afraid of the water, just as she had been, and helped her take the plunge into one of the pools.
The oracles had made her feel welcome, which came as a blessed relief after the conspiracy accusations that Metatron and some of the other angels had made. The oracles made her feel like she was part of a team, and that her help, no matter how small, made a difference. They were delighted to answer every question she asked, and her work with them had felt more like an internship than a punishment. At first, Alexa had been upset when Ariel had dismissed her, but it meant that she could get on with her research here without Milo hovering behind her like an annoying shadow.
Alexa was practically running when she barreled through a door with a sign that read: Oracle Division # 998-4589. Orientation.
She smiled as she jumped over books and filing cabinets and made her way across the large chamber. She heard the familiar sound of pebbles rolling on the smooth marble floor before any of the oracles rolled into view, and she had to jump out of the way as an oracle maneuvered his giant glass sphere across the room.
“Hello! Alecia!” he shouted. His long white beard and silver gown flowed behind him like a cape. “Glad to have you back. Oh, I have a story to tell you about oracle 998-4589. Hurry back, and I’ll tell you all about it!”
Alexa laughed and made for a smaller office to her right. Two more oracles appeared behind her, and after she leapt out of the way, she picked up part of their conversion.
“…yes, very unfortunate to have it happen again after all these years.”
“Yes, very unfortunate, although we had seen it. We had prophesied that the Cleansing would come again”
“Yes. Yes, we did.”
“It is a very sad time now in Horizon.”
“Yes. Very sad time.”
“The path is dark, and it will be perilous and different for each of the angels.”
“Yes. Very dark.”
“The dark forces have come, and the Cleansing is headed straight for us.”
“Yes. Straight for us.”
The rest of their conversation was lost as they disappeared through another office, but Alexa had heard enough.
The Cleansing. Was this what Metatron had been talking about?
Alexa knocked once, turned the nob, and pushed inside.
Cabinets were stacked on top of each other, and a five-foot round pool was mounted in the back corner of the office. A tiny man with a white beard sat on a large crystal ball behind a semi-circular wooden desk.
“Hi, oracle 998—I mean, Jim,” she said awkwardly.
He liked to be called Jim instead of his formal oracle name. He had told her that it was the name he preferred when he was working surveillance on Earth. As a post commander, Jim operated a bookstore that was a safe house for angels on field assignments near his area. He traveled frequently to Earth as part of his duties, and he would leave her to fend for herself when he was gone.
But when Jim returned, he filled Alexa with stories about his battles with demons and about his favorite guardians, especially one called Kara. He seemed to have a stronger connection to Earth than the other oracles, and Alexa immediately felt drawn to him.
His eyes sparkled at the sight of Alexa. “Alexa? Have I forgotten a meeting? Oh dear. I didn’t remember we had scheduled a meeting.”
He rummaged frantically through the papers on his desk.
If Alexa hadn’t been in such a panic, she would have laughed. She ran over and grabbed one of his hands.
“No. I’m sorry, Jim. We didn’t have an appointment.” She let go of him and leaned back. She let out a long sigh and asked, “What’s the Cleansing?”
A small frown line appeared between his brows. “The Cleansing?”
“Yeah,” said Alexa looking over her shoulder through the doorway. “I just heard the other oracles talking about it.”
She turned to look at him. “And now, coming to think about it, I suspect it has something to do with rumors that Metatron didn’t want me to know. I know you know what it is. Are you going to tell me, or is it some big secret in the Legion?”
Wisps of white hair swayed on the top of his head as Jim shook it gently.
“It’s not a secret. It’s just not something the Legion likes to talk about, especially not to rookies. They were dark times for the Legion, very dark times.”
A troubled look crossed his face, and it was clear he didn’t want to speak of it.
Alexa leaned on his desk; her curiosity was not to be denied. “So, what is it?”
She was certain that the rumors Metatron had referenced had something to do with it.
“It was an angel uprising, a rebellion that happened over a hundred years ago,” said the oracle grimly. “A fallen archangel called Asmodeus believed mortals were the Legion’s true enemy. He believed angels, not mortals, should rule the Earth. The Cleansing is exactly what it sounds like. Asmodeus wanted to cleanse the Earth of humans. He was a very charismatic and powerful archangel, and thousands of angels followed him. They believed the human race should be annihilated.”
“He sounds a lot like Ryan,” said Alexa with a shiver. “I probably would have hated him, too. What happened?”
“Eventually Asmodeus and his fallen angels were cast out of Horizon. Asmodeus was livid that the Legion had chosen mortals over him, and he disappeared for a little while. We heard rumors that he and his band of angels killed mortals and used their souls as their source of power. They strayed from the ways of the Legion and chose power, greed, and death over good. And then Asmodeus turned on the Legion. There was a great war in Horizon. Eventually Asmodeus and his followers were beaten, but the Legion took huge losses. Thousands of angels died. It took years to rebuild the Legion with angels who hadn’t been infected by Asmodeus’ poison. But the damage was done. Even now there are still angels who had been afraid to join him, but who still believe in his cause.”
Alexa raised her brows. “There are angels here in Horizon who hate mortals and wish them dead?”
She couldn’t help but think how Erik hated angels because they seemed to regard him as a slave. Maybe these rebel angels had felt the same way. They did not wish to be slaves to humans, who were clearly a lesser species.
“It pains me to say it, but yes,” answered the oracle. “There are still many angels who hate mortals, who despise them.”
Alexa frowned. “Why aren’t they locked up in Tartarus? Do you know who they are?”
“It’s not that simple,” said the oracle seriously.
“Those who supported Asmodeus and spoke out are serving an eternal sentence in Tartarus now. But some angels never spoke out. They remained silent and hid their true feelings. And after the war, all the surviving angels swore a new oath to the Legion. Without proof of their treachery or their alliance to Asmodeus, there was nothing to be done.”
“Where is Asmodeus now?” asked Alexa, wondering if somehow Ryan was one of his followers.
“Gone forever, vanquished by his own daughter.”
He saw the bewildered expression on Alexa’s face and added, “That’s a story for another time.”
“Wait a minute,” said Alexa, leaning forward. “If Asmodeus was terminated, why is everyone in an uproar about these Cleansin
g rumors? It’s been over for a very long time, hasn’t it? Why are they talking about it? Has Asmodeus risen from the dead?”
“No, of course, not,” said Jim. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Asmodeus is gone. He can never return.”
“Then what? What is it?”
The oracle glowered at her in a way that almost made her laugh.
“Because rumors of the Cleansing have risen again. Someone—not Asmodeus—is preaching the same revolution that he did all those years ago—”
“Ryan,” said Alexa, and she straightened. “It has to be him. He told me almost word for word what you just did…I mean what Asmodeus did. The guy’s vile and this cleansing thing fits him. It’s him. I’m sure of it.”
“Maybe,” said Jim. He looked tired and more than a little stressed out. “There’s an ongoing internal investigation, but nothing with real significance has turned up yet.”
He sighed, and his blue eyes pierced Alexa. “Why do I get the feeling you didn’t come all the way here just to ask me about the Cleansing?”
“Actually, I’m here because I need your help with something else.”
Jim raised his eyebrow. “Are you in trouble again, Alexa?”
“Kind of,” she answered. She was shocked at the sudden rush of emotions that surged through her, and she strained to compose herself. “It’s a long story.”
“Then you better take a seat.”
Jim gestured to the small wooden chair next to his desk. Alexa pulled the chair towards her and swung it to face Jim as she sat down.
She shook her head. “Where do I start?”
“At the beginning.”
And so she did. Alexa recounted the events with Erik and Hades. She told him how she had bargained away her soul to save Erik’s life, and she told him how she felt a dark emptiness that filled the space where her soul used to be.
But she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the strange demon specter. She didn’t want to horrify her only friend in Horizon apart from Lance.
“I don’t know what to do,” she said finally. “I’m not going to lie. I’m scared of this change, Jim. I’m terrified that I’m changing into something dark.”
She looked up and met his eyes. “Do you know how I can get the missing part of my soul back? I figured that as an oracle, you might know secret things that maybe even the archangels don’t know.”
She took a deep breath and said, “You’re my best chance.”
Jim smiled weakly. “Although the oracle mothers are much better equipped than I am with this sort of insight, I can sense the Change in you. All the oracles sensed it when you came to us a month ago.”
Alexa had never heard of the oracle mothers. She wondered if they were here in Horizon, and if she’d mistakenly taken them for males.
“Can you still help me?”
She held her thighs to keep them from trembling.
“When Hades took that part of your soul,” he began, “it left you open, like an unlocked door, to any kind of dark influence or evil. Your remaining soul may be more easily twisted. Your emotions may be corrupted so that you no longer feel sympathy or empathy. There have even been cases where angels gained supernatural powers that they used against other angels and against the Legion.”
Alexa’s memory flashed to the specter that had floated next to her with a strange expression on its face. It had almost been as though it were waiting—waiting for instructions.
“It’s why Metatron is in such a mess over this whole thing. He knows and understands how vulnerable you are,” said Jim.
“Metatron’s a jerk.”
Jim pursed his lips. “Well, he is many things, and I’ve never seen eye to eye with the archangel, but he has the Legion’s best interest. Always has.”
“But why did Raphael clear me for duty if I’m vulnerable to evil? Shouldn’t she have barred me from serving the Legion or something?”
Jim laced his fingers.
“Raphael is a skilled healer. She has a magical touch and can even perform miracles with the sick. She could detect a sickness in you, a poison, or even a demon mark, but souls are altogether a different matter. Even she wouldn’t have been able to sense your vulnerabilities because souls are not beings like you and me. Souls are energy. Even though we can sense that a part of your soul is missing, we cannot sense the nature or the function of the piece of your soul that is gone. The void you feel, the coldness, that’s exactly what it is—emptiness. It’s your soul’s way of telling you that something’s missing. Raphael cannot cure what’s not there.”
When he saw the confused expression on Alexa’s face, the oracle said, “Think of your soul like an apple. If you slice it down the middle, you get two parts. When Hades tried to take your soul from you, he managed to split it in half. He took one piece, and you were left with the other.”
Alexa pressed a hand to her chest. “So, I have a hole in my soul.”
She didn’t know why, but she thought of Erik. Maybe Hades had physically taken one half of her soul, but Erik had managed to shatter the other.
“In a matter of speaking, yes, that’s correct.” The oracle’s face was grim. “And unfortunately, we cannot cure the hole in your soul.”
A wave of cold went over Alexa. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but somehow she had hoped for better news. She opened her mouth, the specter incident on the tip of her tongue, but something held her back.
Instead she asked, “So, what’s going to happen to me? Am I going to change into a ghoul or something? Something worse? How long do I have until I can’t control myself anymore?”
Jim reached out and squeezed her hand gently.
“Alexa, you’re not going to become a ghoul or any other such nonsense, so stop torturing yourself with that.”
“But I could become evil.”
“Yes. You are more susceptible to dark influences, but that doesn’t mean you can’t control them. Those who turn to the dark side chose that path. It’s a choice. You must want it. You must want to let evil in. But you, Alexa, are good. You’re strong willed, brave, filled with compassion, and above all you are selfless. Giving up your soul to save another was a selfless act.”
Alexa tried to smile at his comforting words, but she couldn’t. She didn’t feel like she was a good person. A specter wouldn’t have appeared if she were the angel the oracle thought she was, if she were good.
“But what if I can’t control it? What if…what if it’s already happening, and it’s already too late?”
Jim narrowed his eyes and let go of her hand, watching her. “What do you mean, Alexa? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“I’m saying maybe I’m not as good and strong as you think,” she said, her voice quivering. “A lot has happened, and I feel…”
She broke off, terrified that if she spoke the words out loud it would make them true. That she was already on her way to evil.
“Is there a way to help shield me from these dark influences?”
Because they’re already inside me, she wanted to say.
Jim watched her for a moment. “There is a way to slow the process.”
Alexa nearly fell out of her chair. “There is? What?”
“Well,” began the oracle, “it’s possible that your soul left an imprint.”
“An imprint? Like a footprint?”
“Well, souls are curious creatures. We still don’t know everything about them. But what I do know is that sometimes they can leave an imprint of themselves—like a memory. And yes, like a footprint. All souls have a sort of aura to them, a ghostly image of their owner’s energy. Look for your soul’s aura. It will help shield you from evil influences and slow any change.”
“And then what?” said Alexa, knowing it wasn’t exactly the answer she was looking for, the answer to the question she’d been dreading to ask. But then the words just fell out of her mouth in a rush.
“How long will it give me? A week? A month? Is there no other way to h
eal my soul? To make it whole again?”
There. She had said it. She sat in silence, waiting, dreading what she knew would be the answer.
Jim looked grim. He glanced around at the papers and files that littered his desk, not meeting her eyes.
“A soul can be returned to its original state,” said the oracle. “But to do that, you must find the one who has the other part of your soul. You must take it back.”
Alexa flinched.
“I doubt Hades will give it back, even if I ask nicely.”
No. She felt her hands tighten at her sides. She knew with absolute certainty Hades would never return what he had taken. Her soul had resisted him, and he had felt betrayed that he hadn’t been able to steal all of it.
“No,” said the oracle as though he were reading her thoughts. “No, he won’t.”
He looked her straight in the eyes.
“Alexa. If you want to put your soul back together,” he paused to prepare her for what he was about to say next, “you must kill Hades.”
CHAPTER 14
KILL HADES, thought Alexa as she made her way through the brush in Mystic Forest. Might as well try to sprout wings and fly. At least that seemed more plausible to her than killing a pagan god.
How does one kill a god? Can it even be done?
The more she thought about it, the more ludicrous and absurd it sounded.
It had taken Alexa twenty minutes to walk up Mayfair Drive. After she had passed the parking lot that had held the FEAR FAIR a few months back and had entered the forest, she was still preoccupied as she imagined how she might vanquish Hades. Every scenario ended with her dying.
After their enlightening conversation, the oracle Jim had helped her sneak out to one of the pools at Orientation before Milo could come around looking for her. At first, she thought Milo might have agreed to come with her. But the fact was, she still didn’t really know him. He was still Metatron’s guy. She couldn’t afford to take the chance that he might say no, or worse, report her. It had to be now. She knew if she didn’t go looking for her soul’s imprint at that very moment, she might not get another chance before it disappeared.
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