Angels and Magic

by E. J. Bennett

  Just as you are now the voice came again and she wished she could rip it out of her head.

  The Karmani was no place for the daughter of Mother Nature. She was a high born goddess, how dare they send her to a place so vile? She was a noble, and as far as she was concerned, she deserved to be treated better.

  Do the crime, do the time.

  She scoffed. She had heard of the Karmani a lot. Everyone had.

  Karmani translated to 'place of war' and was more like a boot camp for celestials. They sent you there to be 'shaped up'. Everyone was equal there and there was no high, middle or low born, only inhabitants of Karmani. She'd heard of the rigorous training that they usually underwent and she had always felt happy that she would never have to go. She was not a warrior.

  If only she'd known.

  All her life, despite the difficulty as regards her deep seated anger issues, she still was entitled to various privileges as the daughter of Gaia. It was the only life she knew. How did they expect her to survive among gods, angels and other celestials who were more than used to that kind of lifestyle already?

  She had been an outcast in her own home, and now they were sending her somewhere else, to be another type of outcast. She shook her head feeling tired. She hadn't counted on the council ruling in such a manner, she sighed, wondering just what manner of horror lay waiting for her.

  She looked outside the carriage, and noted that they were headed downwards. They had arrived.

  She gulped slightly as she caught sight of what looked to be a perpetually overcast environment. They seemed to have entered a totally different realm, a place where colors were something heard of and not seen. The terrain looked hard and rocky and the grey tinge permeated the entire atmosphere.

  She sat back inside and closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the horrors to come. She had no doubt they would.

  She felt the carriage touch down and the door opened. The angel who'd ridden it stood at the door. Stretched out his hand and she took it, her chains clanking as she moved. As she got down, she gasped.

  They had landed in front of a large building. She noted the clouds above with a level of confusion. But of course it made sense that the Karmani would be located somewhere between the abode in the skies and where mankind reside on earth.

  The building seemed to scrape the clouds above and she shivered as she got a strange vibe coming off the place. It was much harder and more aggressive than anything she had felt. She instinctively knew that this was a place full of angry people like her.

  The angel led her toward the door and it opened of its own accord. They stepped in and he turned around, he hadn't looked in her eyes even once.

  He snapped his fingers and the chains dropped to the ground. She sighed in relief, massaging her wrists and looking round the hall they stood in.

  The angel had begun leaving before she realised, having gathered up the chains.

  "Hey...you're just going to leave me here?" she called after him, but he didn't respond and just kept walking, his sword swinging by his side.

  Once again, the doors swung open and he left the building, leaving her inside, confused.

  She shook her head, and began to inspect her surroundings. The hallway was bare, devoid of decoration of any sort, except of course, one decided to count the numerous weapons that adorned the walls. She marvelled at the assortment of weapons, wondering just what she'd gotten herself into. She didn't recognise more than half of the weapons on display and she had a sneaky feeling she would need to know most of them, personally.

  "You must be Ariel" a stern voice sounded from behind her and she jumped taken by surprise by the sudden entrance.

  She turned to see a stern looking Angel looking at her. His long hair reached his shoulders and he had piercing blue eyes. He stood with his hands clasped at his back, army like, at ease, with both legs placed slightly apart from each other. His wings stood stiffly at his back as he stared at her. She wondered why he didn't collapse them since he wasn't exactly flying. She didn't think she could ask him that, however. He didn't look like the type who laughed a lot. She already knew not to get on his bad side.

  "Yes. I am Ariel, daughter of Gaia, Mother Nature"

  The angel barely reacted. She tried to read the look on his face but she was unable to.

  "Your birth given status does not hold sway here I am afraid. Here you are simply 'Ariel'. Is that understood?"

  She nodded, feeling less at ease than she had when she'd arrived at the base. Her welcome party so far had not exactly proven to be very welcoming.

  "Good. Follow me" he said and turned briskly, heading down the hallways.

  She followed him up a series of stairs and down various hallways until they arrived at a room. He pointed towards it and said,

  "This will be your room. I meant what I said goddess. Here, you are equal with everyone. Do not expect special privileges, do not expect to be treated differently. Do not attempt to talk down at anyone. You are a nobody here, just like the rest of the nobodies, is that okay?" he asked and she nodded, digesting everything he'd just told her. She was a 'nobody'? She didn't know just how that made her feel.

  He turned to leave and then she found her voice

  "Sorry, what do I call you?"

  He turned towards her regarding her with an expression she couldn't quite decipher. Anger? Scorn? Both? She couldn't be sure. He looked at her like that for a couple of seconds and then he turned and walked away leaving her standing in front of the room.

  Well that was rather rude she thought to herself as she opened the door.

  The tension inside the room was palpable. The room was large and she counted six beds, they were all set reasonable distances apart, on the floor. The occupants of the other five beds stared at her as she walked in. She felt overcome with a wave of self-consciousness that she had never felt before under their questioning gazes.

  She moved towards the bed she considered to be hers. She noted that there was a bag atop the bed and deduced that they were probably supplies she would need during her stay.

  She reached the bed and sat down, sighing heavily. She wondered just what her mother was up to now. Would she regret sending her daughter to such a despicable place? She didn't think so, but still, it bore thinking. She sighed again,

  "Please, quit that princess, I'm trying to read" one of her roommates said without looking up from her book.

  She looked up quizzically. Was sighing outlawed now as well?

  "I'm not a princess." she said simply as she opened the bag on her bed.

  "Sure you are. You're Ariel aren't you? Daughter of Mother Nature? Your mommy's a high goddess princess" the girl said, propping herself up on her elbow.

  "I am Ariel. But like I said, I am not a princess" Ariel replied, fighting hard to suppress the anger which rose swiftly. Just what was this girl's problem?

  She returned to her bag, admiring the uniform that was inside. It was drab and plain, very suited to a place like this, she thought.

  "So wait, I don't understand. You killed an entire village because they didn't praise you?" another roommate asked her. She looked at him and he had a puzzled look on his face. His eyes glowed a bright yellow. She didn't respond, she didn't know how she could.

  "What did you think? That you'd get away with massacring an entire village of humans without getting any retribution? Because what? Your mommy makes trees grow?" he asked again and the others laughed.

  "That's not it...I was upset.." Ariel started but she was cut off

  "You were upset. Guys, she was upset. Mommy's little girl, sent off on her own to provide rain, ended up 'providing' a hurricane to wipe out an entire village...just because 'she was upset' that's a totally valid reason...I mean, she shouldn't even be here"

  They laughed again and Ariel bit down her response deciding that anything she said would just cause more trouble for her. It was best for her to just keep quiet and take their insults.

  The laughter subsided and s
omeone else spoke,

  "You're a princess and you'll always be just that. You don't belong here. You don't have what it takes. You'll be crushed out there, broken, and you'll run back home crying after you're done, having learned nothing."

  Ariel looked to the person. It was the first girl who spoke. She looked from her to the other members of the room. They all had various grades of scornful looks on their faces.

  Wow, she hadn't counted on being an outsider so early. It seemed that everyone here was unwilling to accept her. Like she even wanted to be there in the first place. She shook her head, feeling suddenly tired from the attack.

  They had all gone back to doing what they'd been doing but every now and then, small parts of their conversation sipped out and reached her. They would look at her and laugh. She ignored them and when it was time to eat, they all went out and she followed them realising. The food was nothing like she had ever seen before and after pushing some of it down her throat, she pushed the plate aside. She looked across the mess Hall and caught sight of some people giggling and looking at her, shaking their heads. She drank some water and went back to the room.

  That night, as she slept, she dreamt of hurricanes and angry storms.

  ***

  A week after, and Ariel was at her limit. She sat under what looked to be like the dilapidated remains of a small shed. Her fellow inhabitants of Karmani were engaged in various activities as they waited for the trainer for their next lesson to arrive. She had an idea who it could be, but she tried to lower her expectations so as not to be disappointed.

  Karmani had met and surpassed everything she'd expected from it. The days seemed unending and it seemed like the nights lasted for barely three hours. The entire realm of Karmani seemed designed to push it's inhabitants to their limits, even the ground itself spawned nasty foes every now and then. The realm's way of testing its inhabitants. One had to be ready at all times or else it could mean one's death.

  As she'd come to realise early and as had become completely cemented as a fact, the people did not like the fact that she was a noble. It was not as much a factor of what she'd done as it was, who she was, but they just hated her background. She came to know that majority of them were the children of lower gods and low ranking angels. They seemed to hate everything she stood for and she had no idea just what she had done to offend them so much.

  Of late, they had decided to just ignore her completely. Not that she minded that, in fact she would have been completely fine with it if their concept of ignoring her involved occasional jabs at her that she deemed completely unwarranted. It surprised her how she'd been able to stay for so long without as much as getting into a fight with her counterparts. Not that the thought hadn't occurred to her. It occurred to her very often, but somehow she'd managed to stay calm and out of trouble--well, as much as was possible in Karmani.

  Something else bothered her as she contemplated beneath the ruined shed. Her anger. The ever constant intense emotion which surged and boiled within her, seemed to have taken on a new edge.

  She couldn't explain it, but it was much harder keeping in control now. She suspected that being in the place of war had something to do with it, but she couldn't be very sure. She'd taken to keeping to herself so as not to do something she would regret. Not that she had much of a choice in the matter. It was pretty much the only option left open to her.

  The trainers were no much better and at first, they'd treated her like she was half the student the others were...less than half even. As time passed, she'd begun meeting up with the others, excelling at her training but they'd just continued treating her the same way anyway...just because.

  She heard a sound and craned her neck trying to see if the trainer had arrived. Despite her attempts she found herself hoping that her suspicions were correct. The trainers came to them in a random manner. One of them however, had been very nice and courteous to her, despite how the others treated her. He'd been the main reason she'd begun taking her lessons seriously and excelling at her training.

  He was the one she hoped was arriving to take them on the next training session.

  "Trainer on site!" a loud voice yelled and she got on her feet instantly, moving instinctively towards the training ground.

  As she moved, her heart beat loudly in her chest as she scanned, searching for the familiar flowing hair and friendly green eyes. As she caught sight of him, she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a slight weakness in her legs. Jason, the trainer, noticed her and winked, smiling briefly, before moving to stand in front of them while they got in position. She couldn't help the smile that now spread across her lips.

  Jason was an angel and one of the highest ranking trainers in Karmani. He stood at an impressive height and was the only trainer in all of Karmani who didn't seem like he was there to administer beatings to the children of gods, goddesses and other angels alike. The other trainers occasionally rubbed their expertise in the faces of the students, but he, he was much different.

  At first, she'd been wary of him, wondering what his intentions were. Before he'd taken the first lesson, the other trainers who'd come before him had immediately written her off, but for some reason, he'd taken a special interest in her. With his constant encouragements, she'd gotten better and now, despite the attitude of the other students and trainers, she actually looked forward to the training sessions. She'd gotten the taste for it and it wasn't going away anytime soon.

  "Get in position guys. We're starting with the breathing sequence today." his rich baritone rang out and she moved into position, blushing as she felt the tremors that ran through her at the sound of his voice. Suddenly, due to her distraction, she ran into another trainee.

  "Come on, watch where you're going princess" the angel said, shoving her slightly and she mumbled an apology feeling self conscious as she was aware that Jason had been attracted by the short altercation.

  "Damn high born's got a soft spot for the teacher and suddenly can't concentrate anymore. Pfft" the angel said as he walked to his own position.

  She stood straight establishing the stance that was required. She hoped not too many people had heard the boy's final comment but she knew that there was no denying it. She had feelings for Jason.

  They had struck her as odd in the beginning because she was more used to being cold and detached. She'd been very wary of the feelings, but they'd taken root and seemed there to stay, so she'd rolled with it. She was unsure of how he felt towards her but she liked to think that it was possible that he liked her as well. She shook her head, trying to focus on task.

  She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as the sequence began.

  Jason walked towards them, examining their stances and making corrections where he deemed necessary. When he reached her he winked again and then placed his hand at the small of her back and tapped her leg asking get to widen her stance. She obliged and he nodded before moving to another student.

  As he left, the young god closest to Ariel coughed sarcastically, but she ignored him. She knew what he was trying to say. She also knew that he wasn't wrong.

  The rules at Karmani forbade the trainers from having relationships with the trainees outside of training. Dating and sleeping together were outlawed and she knew the penalty if they were caught was a return to trial for her, and something equally nasty for the trainer.

  Sometimes, she liked to think that, perhaps, that was why he stayed away and did not attempt to start something with her. She liked to think that he cared about her so much that he would rather have her around even if they didn't do anything, rather than do something and have her go to trial again to be sent to perdition. The thought always made her feel good inside.

  A bell rang suddenly and an Angel materialised in front of them. They all stood at attention, including Jason.

  He was the same angel who'd taken her to her room the first day. She'd soon learned that he was to be referred to as 'The commander" as he was the highest tanking angel in the Karmani.

&n
bsp; "At ease" he commanded before turning to Jason and whispering something to him. The latter nodded and turned towards the trainees. Ariel wondered what was happening, it was not common for the commander to come to the training grounds.

  Jason began pointing at several trainees, including Ariel, and they were directed towards the main building. Ariel walked behind the straight file, wondering just what exactly was going on. No one dared speak, or whisper however, they couldn't afford that kind of disrespect in front of the Commander.

  The trainees left behind were attended to by another trainer.

  They got into the building and were led towards another room. Ariel recognized it as one that was usually locked and her curiosity increased. Once inside the room, the doors were locked and the commander addressed them.

  "Good day. I'm certain you all must be wondering why you're here. Something serious has happened and your services are required."

  The trainees shifted in their seats.

  "One of us, the Angel Noelle, has been on a mission to gather details of Lucifer's dealings on earth, specifically, in New York City. Today, she was found dead. And she'd been branded with the mark of the devil. Now such an affront cannot be left unattended and that's where you come in. Jason here has selected you out of all the other trainees as the best warriors. Under his leadership, you will all go to New York City and locate the culprit of this despicable act and bring them to justice. Do you understand?" his voice boomed and they all nodded.

  Ariel looked to Jason and he looked sad. She wondered if he'd known the dead angel and was surprised by how much she longed to be able to console him. She'd been selected and she was excited at the prospects of going on a mission. The thought of danger thrilled her. She returned her mind back to the situation at hand as the commander's voice broke through her thoughts,

  "Good. You will go immediately, there's not a second to lose. I wish you all the best"

  ***

  They arrived in New York City and quickly got a change of clothes. They intended to stay as inconspicuous as possible so as not to draw attention to themselves.