by Annie Dalton
There was major pandemonium as the amphitheatre returned to life. Obviously the humans didn’t suspect that an angel had spirited the surviving triplets through a gap in time. But they knew they’d witnessed some kind of supernatural event.
Nero became totally unhinged at this point and started screaming at the guards. “It’s sorcery! Taming lions! Vanishing triplets! I won’t allow it! Search the palace from top to bottom!” Guards came running.
Thanks, Michael, I thought. How do we get out of this?
“Go through every box room and latrine until you find those two sorceresses,” Nero was ranting. “And those other prisoners!” he added vaguely.
Other prisoners? I glanced down at myself in confusion. Could he possibly mean us?
Orlando gave me a wan smile. “Relax. We dematerialised a few moments ago.”
Reuben blew out his breath with relief. “Then let’s get out of this hellhole!”
But someone had stepped in front of us, deliberately blocking our exit. Even in our non-material forms Titus Lucretius could see us perfectly. “I’ll find them if I have to move Heaven and Earth!” he hissed. “Make no mistake, those sisters will die and their blood-line will die with them.”
“Time for a reality check, Titus,” Orlando said quietly. “Haven’t you noticed? You and your masters lost this one.”
Titus turned purple with rage. “I killed the gladiatrix, you fool! The sisters have been separated for ever. WE defeated YOU!!”
Orlando shook his head. “You’re still part-human, though not for much longer at the speed you’re mutating,” he added drily. “So you haven’t yet grasped that Time essentially has no meaning.”
“Oh, spare me the angelic hogwash!” groaned Titus.
Orlando smiled; a real full-on smile this time. I could still see the shock and sadness in his eyes, but our brave beautiful angel boy was back.
“You really should get your evil masters to educate you,” he said calmly. “From your limited human point of view the sisters’ reunion was so brief as to be meaningless. But from a cosmic perspective, this event will resonate through human history until the end of Time itself.”
Titus stared at him open-mouthed.
“I’ll explain,” said Reuben in a friendly voice. “What Orlando means is that Star might be dead, but she still changed the world. Love is cool like that!”
“Come on,” said Orlando. “Let’s go home.”
Three days after we returned from our Roman mission, I scored a professional first and ended up in the hospital.
I was suffering from a massive overdose of PODS toxins, but I didn’t know that, so after a hot shower and a change of clothes, I just went to my classes as usual. Well, that’s what you do when you’re a professional. In my opinion I was the same as normal, better actually.
OK, so it was harder to sleep at night since I came home, and when I finally managed to drop off, my dreams were v. disturbing. And OK, so for some reason it felt like there was a sheet of frosted glass between me and my mates. But that didn’t mean something was wrong with me.
The bad nights meant I persistently slept through my alarm. Three mornings in a row, Lola had to go jogging without me.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I complained when I caught up with her after morning school.
“I figured you needed the rest, carita,” she said.
I gave her my brightest smile. “I need to wake up my dozy angelic metabolism, that’s all. Let’s grab a salad then we can at least go and work out in the gym.”
“Mel, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I think your tank is running on empty.” Lola said anxiously. “No, actually I think you’re running on pure fumes. You should slow down. Give your energy system a chance to recover. You guys went through a lot.”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with me,” I told her huffily. “If you don’t want to come that’s fine. I’ll go by myself!” And that’s what I did.
I was doing all right, until I went on the treadmill. There’s something v. hypnotic about running on a never-ending conveyor belt. Maybe that’s why I started having Ancient Roman flashbacks. Strangely, most of them were flashbacks to experiences I hadn’t actually registered at the time. Like I could hear the exact tune the musicians played for the dancing girls as our litter bearers carried me and Aurelia past a sleazy bar.
And I kept seeing all these unknown Roman faces; the sunken eyes of an exhausted slave, as he used his last ounce of strength to help fellow slaves winch a giant slab of marble into place, the animated expressions of teenage girls at the baths, as they argued about which of their favourite charioteers was the best looking. Then I’d see my own hands fastening pearl hairpins into Aurelia’s hair, as I dressed her for that horrible banquet.
I never said goodbye, I realised. Aurelia was my human and I really respected her and I never even said goodbye.
Still the disturbing flashbacks still kept coming: bloody executions, Christians chanting, the rungs of a wooden ladder sticking out of a newly dug burial pit. They were coming faster and faster and they wouldn’t stop. My heavenly surroundings began to whirl around me, then suddenly, like the fadeout at the end of a movie, everything went totally black…
When I came round, I was lying in a white bed, surrounded by gauzy white curtains. An angel in pastel-coloured scrubs was calmly checking my pulse.
“You’ll be fine,” he told me. “You just need to rest, but we’d like to keep an eye on you for a couple of days. Would you like me to leave the curtains open?”
I tried to nod.
Drawing back the curtains, he went back out into the garden.
Sunlight and air came streaming in through the stone pillars and I could hear birds singing. I lay back weakly on my pillows and felt a soft breeze blow over my face. For the first time since I came back, I could smell the heavenly air, with its scent that is almost, but not quite, like lilacs. For absolutely no reason, tears began to seep from under my eyelids.
I cried on and off all the rest of that day, as my more distressing Roman memories floated to the surface. When I finally started crying about Star, the angel came in from the garden, smelling of rain and flowers, and silently held my hand.
That night I slept all night without moving. I didn’t even wrinkle the sheets.
I was woken by sunlight glinting in my eyelashes. When I opened my eyes, Lola was sitting by my bed, rosy-faced from her early morning run.
I threw my arms around her. “I missed you so much!”
My soul-mate quickly extricated herself. “Me too, sweetie. But I am also a leetle” bit sweaty as you can probably tell! You might want to leave the hug till later.”
“Lollie, trust me, after Ancient Rome, angelic sweat smells like roses!” I giggled.
On the last night of my PODS detox, Michael dropped by to see how I was getting on. By this time I was ready to talk about some things that still bothered me; the curse for instance.
“That curse said if the triplets came back together, Rome would fall,” I said earnestly. “Well, we got them back together, Michael, and I literally felt Rome’s foundations shaking. I don’t know how it seems to you guys, but I got the definite impression that Nero was, um, toast.”
“And you’re worried you might have done some harm.”
I chewed at my lip. “Well, yes,” I admitted.
Michael smiled. “Melanie, you helped to turn an evil curse into a blessing. Have you any idea what a rare and wonderful event that is?”
“A blessing?” I said dubiously. “Are you sure?”
“One hundred percent sure!” Michael flipped open his laptop and set it up where I could see the screen. “Take a look at these.,” he said with a smile.
He started to scroll through a huge picture gallery of human faces. To me it seemed like they came from every race, era, and civilisation. Male, female, black, white, golden and brown, the faces flowed on and on. Now and then Michael would single one out, like: “Of course if Marie hadn’
t shown such exceptional courage, radium would never have been invented.” Or: “Rosa’s absolute refusal to be a second-class citizen, helped to give birth to the American civil rights movement.”
I was baffled. “I don’t get it. What have all these people got in common?”
“I hoped you’d ask me that,” he beamed.
Michael tapped a key and made the portrait gallery disappear.
Now only two faces gazed out at me. I felt the slow dawning of recognition. They were older in these pictures, but the strength and beauty of Aurelia and Lucilla’s faces shone through, totally unaltered.
“All those humans were descended from just two sisters?” I said in amazement.
“Every last one,” he said firmly.
“And they all did these incredible things?” I breathed.
“They were all incredible people,” Michael corrected. “Which isn’t quite the same thing. The kind of humans who change the atmosphere of the planet for the better, just by being themselves.” He gave me a mischievous smile. “In fact if you were to trace your human family tree all the way back to Roman times, you might get a surprise, Melanie!”
“Yeah, right,” I grinned. “Which Ancient Roman triplet am I descended from?”
“Aurelia, obviously,” said Michael in the same light-hearted voice. “There’s a very strong connection between the two of you, which I think you noticed.”
This idea was way too fanciful for me. I was just happy to know that Aurelia and her sister had survived to live happy productive lives.
Next morning, Lola came to take me home. “I thought we’d drop into Guru on the way back,” she said. “My treat.”
I felt a flicker of panic. “I don’t know if I’m ready to see people yet, Lollie.”
“I’m sorry, Boo,” said my soul-mate in a firm voice. “But you won’t be fully recovered until you’ve had Guru’s infallible chocolate brownie cure.”
“Lollie, that is SO low!” I giggled. “You know I can’t resist!”
It felt v. strange walking through the lively streets of the Ambrosia quarter, after the blissful peace of the sanctuary. When we eventually reached Guru, I saw a familiar figure slouched at an outdoor table.
Brice whipped off his shades and gave me a cool stare. “Hi, Melanie, how was Ancient Rome?”
“Could you excuse us a minute,” I said politely. I dragged Lola into a huddle. “I really appreciate you inviting me out,” I hissed, “but I’m not playing cosmic gooseberry to you and lover boy. I’ll wander back to school, OK? And you guys have a brownie for me.”
“Sit,” said Lola sounding as if she was talking to a disobedient puppy dog.
“Yeah, Melanie, sit,” Brice ordered, adding, “You might have to wait a while. The new waitress is still learning the ropes.”
It was unexpectedly nice sitting in the sun in my old student hangout. I even found myself telling Brice some stuff, stuff that to my surprise, he seemed to understand.
“What I don’t get is what made them change,” I said. “Like, we hear about major cosmic events shaking up Planet Earth’s climate, thundering great meteorites, ice ages and whatever. But they never tell you what it takes to shake up human hearts. I mean, how did humans get from the Field of Sorrows to, well - human rights and Greenpeace and Save the Children and whatever.”
“Evolution?” Brice suggested wickedly.
I put my hands over my ears. “Stop right now! That word drives me nuts. No, it had to be a miracle. It’s the only possible explanation.”
Brice gave me a funny little grin and began whistling. After a while I recognised the tune. It was Sisters are Doing it for Themselves.
I stared at him in bewilderment. What was it Reuben told Titus? That Star might be dead, but she’d still helped to save the world.
“Are you serious?” I breathed. “Those sisters did that? They changed the hearts of the whole world?”
“Those sisters and their children and their children’s children,” said Brice carelessly. “You could call it a miracle. Or you could just call it evolution. Our order’s taking a long time,” he called out to Mo as he zipped past with a tray of smoothies.
“Yes, I’m afraid our new girl is still finding her feet,” Mo explained apologetically. There was a loud crash from inside the cafe and he hastily excused himself.
“Uh-oh, Cutie Pie alert,” said Lola under her breath.
And suddenly Orlando was standing beside me. “I heard you’d been ill,” he said awkwardly. “Are you OK now?”
“She loved those flowers you sent her!” Brice flashed him a fiendish grin.
“Shut up!” I hissed.
Orlando sensibly ignored him. “You and Reuben really did great work.”
Lola gave him one of her looks. “What did you expect? Boo’s the best,” she said.
The new waitress appeared at last, reversing out through the door with a loaded tray.
“Wait!” called Mo. “You forgot the forks!”
Poor girl, she’s really struggling, I thought.
Then I saw her face and the entire cafe went shimmery. It’s not surprising that I was shocked. The last time I’d seen her she’d had a knife through her heart, though obviously it would have been really tasteless to mention it. Plus, in her new heavenly surroundings, Star’s life as a gladiatrix seemed oddly irrelevant, like old clothes she’d totally outgrown.
She looked incredibly stylish actually, with her cool haircut, and her black and white waitress outfit. The only reminder of her old life was the charm around her neck: a silver charm in the shape of a star.
“I’ll see you when you get off work then,” Orlando told her softly.
Star glanced at him from under her lashes. “Maybe,” she said in a considering kind of voice, “if I’m not busy.”
my surprise, it hardly hurt at all; though I couldn’t explain this, even to myself. I still thought Orlando was the most beautiful boy in the universe, but after our Roman mission, I seemed to see him in a slightly less adoring light. Plus I liked Star. I liked her a lot. I wanted to get to know her better.
Wow, I’ve really changed, I thought.
Ahem said my inner angel. You mean you’ve evolved!
Omigosh! I thought. It’s true!
Like, all this time, I’d been waiting for somebody (OK, Orlando!) to make me complete. But I didn’t need Orlando, or any boy, to complete me. I had my fabulous mates, my totally luminous angel career, and best of all - I had ME!
Mel Beeby, feisty girl warrior, time-travelling stylist and celestial hip hop chick, was finally ready to move on!
About the Author
Annie Dalton has been shortlisted for the Carnegie medal and won the Nottingham Children’s Book Award and the Portsmouth Children’s Book Award.The twelve Angel Academy books (previously known as Agent Angel), became an international best selling series. Annie lives overlooking a Norfolk meadow with a ruined castle, in a row of cottages that were rescued from bulldozers and lovingly rebuilt by a band of hippies.
www.anniedaltonwriter.co.uk
Also by Annie Dalton
Urban Fantasy Books
Night Maze
The Alpha Box
Naming the Dark
The Rules of Magic
Angel Academy Series
Winging it
Losing the Plot
Flying High
Calling the Shots
Fogging Over
Fighting Fit
Making Waves
Budding Star
Keeping it Real
Going for Gold
Feeling the Vibes
Living the Dream
The Afterdark Trilogy
The Afterdark Princess
The Dream Snatcher
The Midnight Museum
Swan Sister
Friday Forever
Zack Black & the Magic Dads
Ways to Trap a Yeti
Cherry Green, Story Queen
Invisible Threads co-written
with Maria Dalton
World 9 stories
Ferris Fleet the Wheelchair Wizard
How to Save a Dragon
Moonbeans stories
Magical Moon Cat: Moonbeans & the Dream Cafe
Magical Moon Cat: Moonbeans & the Shining Star
Magical Moon Cat: Moonbeans & the Talent Show
Magical Moon Cat: Moonbeans & the Circus of Wishes
Credits
Cover Illustration by Maria Dalton & Louisa Mallet
Lily Highton
Alistair Johnston
Juan Casco
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
About the Author
Also by Annie Dalton
Credits