Archangel's Fire

by L. G. Castillo

  The rumors were true. The image of Annalise running across the desert flashed across my mind. Poor Jaclyn. The guardians couldn’t send her out of the Sanctuary. She’d get killed.

  “She needs more time,” Tovah said.

  “There is no more time,” Cade snapped. “Diana’s shield is wearing off.”

  Tovah shook her head. Her beautiful face filled with worry. “Diana’s shield will hold. I’m sure of it. She did everything she could to protect us.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before the hunters find all of you. When they do, all we’ve worked for will be lost. Rahab’s army will kill every human in the Sanctuary and he will make sure you never see home again.” Cade looked at each of the guardians one by one, as if daring them to disagree. “And don’t think you’re strong enough to fight off his curse. You’ve been sheltered far too long. You will fall.”

  “I ask that you reconsider,” Tovah said. “Perhaps another year. Six months?”

  Cade turned away from her, shaking his head. “I was sent here for a reason. Don’t make this more difficult than it already is.”

  “You’re only decades late. They should’ve sent another,” she snapped.

  Shock filled the guardians’ faces, followed by a chorus of gasps. There was a beat of silence. Then Cade spun around, his nostrils flaring as he charged at Tovah.

  Big John placed himself between them, holding his hand out. “We are all grateful that you are here, Cadriel.”

  Cade’s jaw tensed as he glared at Tovah. He looked like he could rip off her wings then and there. I had no clue what she meant, but it was obvious Tovah knew Cade and didn’t trust him.

  Big John leaned down to whisper something to Cade. I moved closer, desperate to know what he was saying that made Cade’s face soften, when my foot hit against something hard.

  The three floor vases I hadn’t noticed hiding around the pillar tumbled down like dominos.

  9

  A dozen eyes turned in my direction. The guardians looked from me to Tovah, shocked I would dare disturb the sanctity of the angelic council, except for Coretha. She nodded, her chin-length black hair swaying with the movement. She smirked as if she'd expected something like that from me.

  It was Cade’s expression that surprised me. At first, his eyes narrowed when he spotted me standing in the middle of the mess, but they brightened as they slowly drifted over me, taking in my gown. When his gaze met mine, his lips parted slightly and I thought he was actually going to smile.

  Then I caught sight of Tovah.

  She turned to me, her face carefully blank. I hadn’t seen her look like that since the day she found out about Hannah and Sylas.

  “Senna.” Even though her voice was stern, something shifted. Tenderness touched her eyes in a way I hadn’t seen since Hannah died, and the person I’d once called Mother surfaced. She glided across the marble floor, her elegant gown billowing out as she moved.

  A weight pressed on my chest as if a force was attempting to get inside me. The fierce resolve to demand answers vanished, and I scrambled to pick up the shards. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb the council or break anything. I’ll clean this up and get out of your way.”

  “Stop.” She placed her slender hand over my own. I kept my head down, almost afraid of what I would find if I looked at her face.

  My heart pounded as the heaviness in my chest continued to build, spreading into my throat. It was happening again. I held my breath and stared at the intricate lace that lined the edge of Tovah’s gown.

  Not again. Not in front of Cade and the guardians. The sensation grew stronger. It beat against me, looking for a way to get into my mind.

  “No,” I moaned as a dark veil finally fell over my eyes, making the temple disappear.

  Then I saw my five-year-old self lying in bed, my face red with fever. Tovah sat on the edge with a bowl of broth.

  “Just one sip. Please, little one,” she said.

  This vision was different. It seemed like a memory. I could remember being sick, Lukas’s mother taking care of me, and then Big John carrying me back to Tovah’s cottage. I remember Big John hovering over my bed, but not Tovah.

  “Throat. Hurts,” my younger self croaked.

  Gentle eyes gazed down at me. In that moment, I felt safe, loved. She placed the bowl down and gathered me into her arms. Singing sweetly, she rocked me, delicate hands stoking my face and hair until I fell asleep.

  The bedroom faded. Those same hands took the broken vase pieces and placed them aside. Taking my hands into hers, she lifted me up. “Senna, there’s something I need to tell you.”

  I looked around in confusion. The temple was back, and Cade’s admiring glance was gone. He was back in the arrogant archangel role he seemed to enjoy playing. Big John had the same concerned expression Tovah did. But that strange sensation was still there, pulling at me. It was like an intense yearning coming from outside of me. It was just like the memory, like it wasn’t my own.

  “Tovahiel, we have no time for this.” Cade’s angry voice echoed in the room.

  “Not now, Cadriel,” Tovah said, not bothering to turn around to address him.

  “Please, Cadriel. Give them a moment.” Big John placed a hand on his shoulder.

  There was so much going on. I didn’t know what to think. Tovah and Cade clearly hated each other. Of all the guardians, Big John was the only one who Cade seemed to respect. And what was with the force coming from Tovah? Was she using her angelic powers to keep me calm or something?

  I gazed into her worried face. She knew exactly why I was here. I shoved against the lingering image of Tovah singing to me and let her have it. “You lied to me.”

  Her eyes darted from Cade to me. Her face shifted and she lifted her chin, speaking in that all-too-familiar scolding tone. “Cadriel told me what happened. You know you were not supposed to go beyond the poplar trees.”

  Now that was the Tovah I was used to. “Yes, I broke the rule and I’m glad I did. Are you going to let them take me to the top of Flathead Mountain like you did Hannah?”

  I cut my gaze over at the guardians, wondering which one was going to try it. Coretha more than likely would, but she’d have to get by Big John first.

  Tovah blinked, looking as if I’d just slapped her. The room exploded as Big John and the guardians vocalized their disapproval.

  “Senna!” Big John gasped.

  “Ungrateful child.”

  “Simpleminded fool.”

  “I’ve warned you about this, Tovahiel,” Coretha seethed. “She should be severely disciplined.”

  Schooling her face, Tovah held up her hand to silence them. “We are here to protect your kind, you know that. Hannah…she lost her way. What she did was dangerous.”

  “Loving another is dangerous?”

  “Yes!”

  I jolted back. Tovah had never yelled at me before, not even when I’d used one of her favorite gowns as a sail for the raft Lukas and I built. Of course, I’d been eight at the time. She hadn’t even batted an eye when she found out.

  Tovah immediately softened her voice, seeming shocked at herself. “You don’t understand, Senna. We have a duty to uphold, and we can’t let anything or anyone get in the way of that. Our rules are meant to protect, not to harm. But now, it seems even our protection is not enough.”

  “The spell is wearing out.” A look of surprise crossed her face. “Cade told me.”

  Cade shook his head as he crossed the room. “As entertaining as this little drama is, could we speed it up? The witch and I need to prepare.”

  “You wait right there. I want answers. Are there witches living here? What’s the deal with the hunters? And who is Rahab?” I was on a roll and wanted to ask more, but was shocked when Cade froze. He didn’t even argue with me. Even the guardians were quietly watching the scene unfold. I should’ve taken it as a bad omen.

  “You’re right. It’s time you know everything,” Tovah said softly.

  I c
ouldn’t believe it. Tovah was practically admitting she’d lied to me.

  “Big John taught you about the history of this land before the angel-witch war.”

  I nodded. “He said that there used to be dozens of cities filled with thousands of people in the area, and that most people didn’t believe angels or witches existed. After the war, there were a few survivors who lived in Las Vegas and that most of the area is cursed. That was all he taught us. Today was the first I’ve heard about the hunters or the shield made by some witch—Diana. Does she live in the Sanctuary?”

  The guardians looked to Tovah. Tovah’s lips parted, but no words came out. Something was very wrong. Her cool façade seemed to be crumbling right before my eyes.

  “Allow me,” Big John said as he rushed to her side. Tovah nodded, stepping back.

  I gulped as Big John’s kind dark eyes gazed down at me warily. This was bad. Maybe it was better if I didn’t know.

  “Senna, I taught you and the others only a part of what happened before the Sanctuary came to be. Please know I meant no harm to you by withholding the truth.”

  It was hard to be mad at Big John. He had such a big heart. I knew he did whatever Tovah asked of him without question. But unlike the other angels, he loved people and saw us as equals. “I know.”

  “A couple of years before the angel-witch war, there was a demon lord who ruled over the land. He used a witch’s curse to keep control over everyone—angels, witches, and humans. The Covet curse is powerful. Everyone was so distracted by their desire to have what was not theirs that they didn’t notice or care how powerful the demon lord had become.”

  Big John’s eyes darted to Cade quickly before he continued. “Rahab was sent down with an army of angels to get rid of the demon lord.”

  “Wait a minute. Rahab is one of you?” That didn’t make any sense. Lukas was going to kill Caleb because he thought he was one of Rahab’s followers.

  “He was,” Cade murmured.

  Big John threw Cade a glance, clearing his throat nervously before he continued. “In order to remove the curse, an archangel and witch were required to break it. Rahab was a very charismatic leader. He persuaded Diana, a very powerful witch, to help him. It was Diana who convinced the other witches and humans living in the city to join forces. Rahab even managed to convince many of the fallen angels who were with the demon lord to join us—although Tovah and Diana were adamantly against it.”

  “Why?”

  “They couldn’t be trusted. And we were right,” she said. “They are Rahab’s hunters now.”

  I shuddered, remembering Nimrod’s piercing black eyes. “They hunt witches. Why?”

  The room grew still. I gazed around the room. Big John, Tovah, and the others were all looking at Cade. The cords on Cade’s neck tensed as he clenched his square jaw.

  When Big John finally spoke, his voice was so soft I could barely make out what he was saying. “After the demon lord was overthrown, Rahab took his place and betrayed Diana. The fallen angels attacked the witches and any angels and humans who tried to protect them. We…” He choked up as tears glistened in his eyes. “A few of us managed to flee with some of the humans.”

  “You were in Rahab’s army?”

  “We all were,” Big John said, the other guardians nodding in agreement. “We tried to get out as many as we could. But it was a hard journey across the desert, especially for those with small children. We lost so many. We feared if we went any further, we’d lose more, but we couldn’t go back either. That’s when Tovah found Diana sitting under a poplar tree.”

  “So Diana is here. Rahab didn’t kill her then,” I said.

  “She was powerful and good. Much too good to be harmed by Rahab.” Tovah’s voice trembled with convection. Big John gave her a questioning look. She gave him a simple nod, and he stepped aside as she continued. “She’s no longer with us, although her gift to us is. Her spell was more than the shield protecting the Sanctuary. She made the entire Sanctuary, the mountains, the fields, the lakes, and wildlife. Everything. It was truly an oasis in the desert.”

  “She was near death when we found her. It had used everything she had to build this place,” Big John added. “She was waiting for us. She wanted to make sure her child was safe.”

  “Her child?” It was Jaclyn. It had to be. I’d always wondered why she was the only one who was tall and slender when everyone else in her family was short and stocky.

  “Yes. Yes. Diana’s child. She’s the only one who can defeat Rahab now,” Cade said, waving his hand to hurry us up. He pushed his way through the guardians, ignoring their stares and heading straight to Tovah. “The girl has had enough of a history lesson today. Send her on her way and take me to Diana’s offspring. There is much work to be done.”

  If Rahab was anything like Nimrod, there was no way Jaclyn was going to survive. She wouldn’t last a day out in the desert. “I know you think you’re all high and mighty, but it obviously didn’t work the first time. What makes you think it’ll work this time?”

  “Because I’m the one who will be going with the witch.”

  There was a collective gasp in the room. Even Tovah was shocked. I wanted to ask why everyone was so surprised but by the way Cade was scowling, I didn’t dare.

  “I thought you were sent to train one of us. Perhaps Jahoel,” Tovah said.

  “I was about to explain that before our interruption.” Cade cut his gaze to me for a moment. “I will be going with the witch to the watchtower in the center of the city. I’ve been told the ancient book that’ll break the curse is kept there.”

  My nostrils flared. I wasn’t sure what it was about him that ticked me off, but he managed to do it whenever he opened his mouth. “Well, then why don’t you get it yourself and bring it back here?”

  “Because it requires a chant to be said by an archangel and a witch within the tower. Any other questions?” Before I could ask another, he said, “None? Good. Now, Tovahiel, show me to Diana’s offspring.”

  Tovah pursed her lips as she gazed at Cade. “Very well then.” She placed her arm around my shoulders and moved me to him. “Cadriel, this is Diana’s daughter.”

  10

  “No. Not her,” Cade’s voice echoed in the chamber. “That’s not possible.”

  If I hadn’t been shocked about finding out I was witch, I would’ve smacked him right then and there—archangel or not. Instead, I looked over at the guardians. That was why it felt like they were always watching me—because they were! They were waiting for me to do something witchy.

  There was nothing magical about me. I was good with a crossbow. Once in a while, I could bake a loaf of bread without burning it. But other than that, there was nothing special I could do. Unless blacking out and having strange visions could knock out a hunter, I had nothing.

  “She is Diana’s daughter,” Tovah said. “I raised her as my own.”

  There was a brief flicker of tenderness in her eyes when she said that. Strange how I wanted to reach out to her in that moment, even though I wanted to hold on to my anger. Tovah had allowed Hannah to be killed. She lied to me about the Sanctuary and who I was. When I’d asked her about my mother, all she said was that she died right after I was born.

  I looked at the guardians. Their perfect angelic bodies gleamed in the firelight. All this time I thought it was my fault my mother had died when it was one of their kind who betrayed her.

  Coretha glided across the temple. Her face was stern as she approached Tovah. She threw me a glance and furrowed her brow, marring her porcelain face. “We warned you about this, Tovahiel. Now the time has come and the witch is unprepared.”

  The guardians muttered in agreement.

  Keeping her eyes locked with mine, Tovah lifted her hand, silencing them. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. I wanted to make sure you were ready.”

  As much as I wanted to stay angry with Tovah, I couldn’t. I understood why she lied. In her mind, she was protecting me from the guardians
and maybe even the others in the Sanctuary. Some people blamed the witches for the war. They didn’t know.

  “Did you say you took her into your home?” Cade asked in disbelief.

  “Of course. We fulfill our duty,” Tovah jutted her chin as she looked at the guardians, daring them to say otherwise.

  “She’s not one of us. She’s a witch,” Cade said. “And a small one at that. How do you know we can trust her?”

  That was it. I’d had enough of his arrogant ass. “You’re kidding, right? Your kind killed my mother. Your kind was responsible for the so-called angel-witch war. It sounds like it’s your kind that can’t be trusted.”

  Cade scowled. His eyes blazed underneath dark lashes. “I’ll have you know it was witches who aided Rahab in betraying Diana.”

  “Oh, really. You were there?”

  I had no clue if he’d even fought in the war. I had a feeling he hadn’t.

  Cade jolted as if I slapped him. Yes! Just as I thought. Moron wasn’t even there.

  “He speaks the truth,” Big John said quietly. “I was there when a few of the witches attempted to capture Diana and the others.”

  “I didn’t know. Apparently, there’s a lot I don’t know.”

  “On that we can agree,” Cade said, composing himself. “But I can’t imagine a powerful witch like Diana would have a daughter with no skill. What spells do you know?”

  “Wait a minute. Who said I was going anywhere with you,” I said.

  “Answer the question,” Cade grumbled.

  “I don’t answer to you.”

  Tovah let out a heavy sigh. “She has some natural gifts, but they haven’t reached their full maturity yet.”

  Cade threw his hands in the air. “That’s just great. So you don’t know any spells?”

  “No,” I growled.

  “Then what can you do besides poke your bony fingers into eyeballs?”