by David Estes
During the conversation, Clifford had leaned in, close enough to hear both sides. Taylor had listened curiously to Gabriel’s side of the conversation from the bed. She evidently figured it out from the context.
“They have your family,” Taylor stated.
“Yes,” Gabriel confirmed numbly.
“Damn angels. We were so worried about my family that we never considered that yours could be in danger, too.” Getting out of bed, Taylor tried to comfort him by wrapping her arms around his torso. In a reversal of roles, he shook her off.
“It’s not your fault. None of us considered it. Not even me,” Gabriel said.
“What do they want?” Taylor asked, once again trying to embrace him.
Allowing her to touch him this time, Gabriel replied, “Me. They want me.”
“You can’t give yourself to them. They’re psychopaths. They’ll kill you and your family.”
“I know, but I have to try.”
Previously willing to simply listen, Clifford interrupted: “We will help you. Our full resources will be at your disposal.”
Gabriel shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks, Clifford. If they see me coming with any company, they may start killing people. I’m not willing to take that risk. I have to do this on my own. I’ll keep you informed as to my whereabouts through contact with Christopher. If the communications stop, then you’ll know I’ve been taken or killed.”
“I’m coming with you,” Taylor said.
“Taylor, you know you can’t. If the angels get you, it’s over.”
“But I can help. If you use my aura, you can defeat them all. In the right hands, I can be a weapon for good, right? That’s what you once told me.”
“Yes, Taylor. But not now, not this way. It is too dangerous. I don’t want you with me.”
Taylor looked stung, like she’d been slapped in the face. “Fine. Do what you want,” Taylor said coldly.
Gabriel knew she was pissed at him. But that was better than putting her life in danger again. Afraid that any delay might cause him to change his mind, Gabriel said, “I will leave immediately. Please tell the rest of my friends what happened, and send Sam to be with Taylor right away.”
Taylor said, “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Gabriel ignored her and looked at Clifford.
“I will. Good luck,” Clifford said, putting a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “And be careful.”
Before leaving the room, Gabriel tried to hug Taylor, but she shrank from him, avoiding contact. Gabriel winced, but then said, “I will always love you, Taylor Kingston. And I will come back.” His promise was a final lie that he expected to breed hope. When she ignored him, he ran from the room, leaving her alone with Clifford.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The boy sat on the bed with his back to the wall, reading a comic book. His initial excitement over having been chosen was wearing off. Now he was just bored. When they had come for him, he was with his friends and he thought they had more questions for him. Ever since his traitor brother had been charged with treason and subsequently escaped, they had asked him a lot of questions. About whether his brother ever told him any secrets, what his mother had taught them as kids, what kind of dad their father was, that sort of stuff. He was tired of answering questions. He was tired of being the brother of the traitor. He was not his brother. Not anymore. He hated Gabriel for being a traitor, for being his idol, and for destroying his reputation.
Thus, he was surprised and delighted when Lucas came to speak to him. All the boys were talking about Lucas, the angel that had replaced his brother as the top, young angel talent. He was even more surprised to find out that he had been chosen. Lucas had said, “David, there is talent in your blood and even though your brother chose to use it for evil, we know you will do the right thing.” He agreed completely and readily accepted the apprenticeship. After all, he had earned it. Halfway through his second year, he was the top angel in four out of the five mandatory training courses he was enrolled in. For the coming year, he would learn from Lucas, shadow him. Grow his talents.
It was the opportunity of a lifetime, but he was learning that with every opportunity there are drawbacks. He wasn’t allowed to see his friends or family while he was an apprentice. And his freedom was limited now that he was confined to the Archangels’ Quarters. No one could enter or leave the area without proper security clearance. And he didn’t have the clearance. Lucas would need to accompany him almost anywhere outside of the Quarters. But it would be worth it to gain real life experience. He hoped to be an angel in the Special Mission Corps, like Lucas was and like Gabriel had been. So if he had to read a couple of hundred comic books out of sheer boredom, he would do it.
His eyes flicked up when he sensed a presence in his doorway. His eyes widened in shock and he blinked a few times to see if he was imagining things. There at his door was Dionysus himself. “Do you mind if I come in, David?”
Not realizing his lips were even moving, he replied, “Of course, sir. I mean, my lord.”
Dionysus stepped across the threshold and admired the room. “Ahh, beautiful in its simplicity,” he remarked. “This is a good room. It has a similar look to my room, only mine is a lot bigger,” he joked.
David smiled. “I should hope so, my lord.”
Dionysus mirrored the boy’s smile for a moment and then his face became serious. “I was very glad when I heard that Lucas had selected you as his apprentice.” His words were very careful, as he enunciated each and every syllable of se-lec-ted. Of course, he was lying, having forced Lucas to take on the boy. It was all part of the mission.
“You…you were?”
“Yes, very. Did Lucas tell you that he’s my apprentice?”
“No.”
“Well he is. And I guess that makes you my grand-apprentice. I only stopped by to tell you that and to welcome you. Feel free to come to me anytime you would like to talk.”
“Wow, thanks, my lord. I will.” Dionysus could tell that David felt honored, special, to have been visited by the Head of the Archangel Council.
Without another word, Dionysus turned on his heel and walked rigidly from the room, leaving David to his own thoughts.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Clifford had left immediately after Gabriel. It was the middle of the night and Taylor felt exhausted. She lay down to try to sleep, cursing Gabriel’s name under her breath over and over again. Eventually she drifted off. When she awoke, she felt around the bed—Gabriel’s bed. His bed was empty, except for her. It was still early; something had awakened her. What was it? As she fluffed her pillow, she mulled over this thought. Something. Maybe it was a dream, but she couldn’t remember now. The room seemed lighter than usual. Located deep within the heart of the mountain, she enjoyed being able to sleep in complete darkness, but now she found herself able to see. The pillow, the bed, she could even make out the brass handle on the door. What was different?
Looking around the room for the source of the light, she suddenly realized that she was warm, very warm, hot even. She thrust off the covers and nearly screamed at what she saw: her entire body was glowing. It was a subtle glow, but was bright enough to cast a dim lightness on the entire room. She looked…well, she looked like Gabriel.
She had glowed three times previously and all under similar circumstances: when an angel was connecting with her unusually strong aura. As Gabriel had explained it:
“We, as angels, refer to it as your aura. Each human has an aura and, as far as we know, it has always been that way. Your aura is a light that comes from within you. In humans, that light is generally very dim, as opposed to angels, who have extremely bright auras. Because there is such a contrast, we refer to humans as having an ‘aura’ and angels as having an ‘inner light’. Your aura is much stronger than all other humans.
Because angels have the ability to harness the power of light, we are also able to harness the aura of humans. With most humans, however, that aura is so small that
the incremental power gained from them is of no real use to us. Even if we were to try to harness the power of a hundred humans, or a thousand, for some reason the power gained is not cumulative. In other words, we can only use the power of the strongest aura amongst the group.”
The strongest aura, she thought. Her aura was the strongest, but still, her body had never glowed unless an angel was connecting with her aura. Twice it had been Gabriel and as her body glowed, a wonderful sensation had flooded through her body. Like sunshine on her skin, like a cool breeze through her hair, even like sex in a way, the experience was life-changing. The other time it had been two complete strangers, angel warriors that had used her and abused her. And almost killed her.
Now, as the glow had apparently returned on its own, the sunny-day-cool-breeze-sex feeling returned slowly, creeping from her toes, to her legs, through her stomach, and finally into her head. She smiled in delight. Ahhh.
As quickly and unexpectedly as it had come, it was gone. No warm feeling, no glowing. The room was pitch black. Weird, she thought. Very weird.
Chapter Forty-Nine
“Well, we have to do something!” Chris yelled. He was getting angrier by the second, and was starting to surprise even himself at how reckless he was being with the head of the Eldership of the demons.
Even the usually calm and collected Clifford’s blood pressure was up, his face darkening from deep red to dark purple. “And what do you propose we do, Christopher!?” he roared.
Chris took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry, but he’s our friend. We can’t just hang him out to dry. What he’s doing is suicide.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
When Chris found out about the Knights’ abduction and Gabriel’s decision to try to save them on his own, he called a private meeting with Clifford to voice his concerns. So far, he was getting nowhere.
“I’m going after him,” Chris announced stubbornly.
“You will not!” Clifford growled.
“We’ll see,” Chris said. He rose from his chair and stomped angrily from the room.
Clifford shook his head in frustration. Losing Gabriel would be a major loss, indeed, but losing Chris at the same time would be devastating. They were both born leaders and were exactly who the demons needed to end the War. But he couldn’t stop him from leaving, if that’s what he wanted to do. He was no dictator.
Chapter Fifty
Gabriel felt the warmth of the sunshine on his face, as a light breeze ruffled his hair. It was one of those perfect days—not too hot, not too cold, just right. But he could not enjoy it. In fact, he hated it. The weather should be miserable—cloudy and rainy—to reflect how he was feeling. He felt like he had been punched in the gut. His emotions were torn in more directions than he could fathom.
On one hand he had Taylor, the love of his life, to think about. If he got himself killed she would be devastated. Leaving her was too hard, too painful. On the other hand, his family was depending on him. They would undoubtedly be murdered in cold blood if he didn’t do whatever was asked of him. Any attempt to rescue them would result in their deaths. And then there was the third hand, his responsibility to fulfill his destiny, which he couldn’t even start to grasp yet. He didn’t know whether he was the chosen one that Clifford talked about, but he did feel responsible to tell the angels the truth—the truth about The Plan, the truth about Dionysus, the truth about what their sons and daughters were fighting for. If he tried to save his parents and got himself killed in the process, he would be letting a lot of people down.
He had been sitting on the top of a mountain for hours trying to get his head around these three hands, and which one was the most important. Taylor was certainly important to him personally, but in the scheme of things their love alone wouldn’t save the millions of humans that were unknowingly counting on him. His family was clearly important to him as well, but again, saving their lives might be selfish, in a way. He cared not for his own life, if it was lost in an honorable cause. No matter which way he spun things, upside down, inside out, backwards, or frontwards, the conclusion remained unchanged: His number one priority needed to be defeating Dionysus. Even if that meant making sacrifices that he was completely and utterly unprepared to make.
At least that’s what his head told him. But his heart was on a completely different page and continued to urge him to try to save his family, and if by some miracle he survived, go back to be with Taylor again. If by some miracle. A miracle, that’s what it would take. Or destiny, maybe. If destiny, fate, the will of the gods, or just plain dumb luck intervened, perhaps he would see Taylor again.
So here he was, stuck between head and heart, as so many others had been before him, on the literal and figurative precipice of his life. Waiting, waiting. Waiting for what? For a damn phone to ring. For a call from a voice that he wished he would never hear again. From a person who he wished were dead.
The phone rang and his heart skipped a beat.
“Yes?” he answered.
The familiar voice said, “Sundown. Warrior’s Plateau. Come alone. Your life for theirs.”
“Sounds like the Wild, Wild West, but I’ll be there.”
“One more thing, the deal only includes those who want to be exchanged.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“David has decided to remain…with us.” The voice was cold, yet jubilant.
“Screw you, he’s coming, too, or there’s no deal.”
“Then they will all die together.”
Now was not the time to make demands. He knew that. He would have to find a way to get David out later. “Fine,” he agreed. The line went dead.
Gabriel dialed the number he had memorized. Chris picked up on the first ring. “Hello?”
“It’s Gabriel.”
“I heard what happened. Where are you?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m calling because I promised Clifford I would keep you informed of my progress. I just received a call from the snake himself. I am meeting him on the Warrior’s Plateau at sunset to exchange my life for my parents and Peter.”
“What about David?”
“He’s not coming,” Gabriel replied flatly.
“I’m going to help you,” Chris said.
“No. You’re not. This is merely a courtesy call. No one can come with me or they will kill them all.”
“This is suicide, Gabriel.”
“I know, but it’s the way it has to be.”
“Who will lead the other angels?”
“Sampson will. He has purer blood than me anyway. I gotta go, tell Taylor I love her and don’t try to help me.”
“I’ll tell her. You’ve been a good friend, man. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Gabriel said, and then ended the call, afraid his emotions would betray him. He had about five hours to prepare himself mentally for the challenge to come.
Chapter Fifty-One
After the excitement of the mission, Sampson and Kiren had found a quiet spot to relax. Despite his concerns about whether Mr. Kingston was the primary target of the angels’ attack, Sampson needed a break from conspiracies, strategizing, and war in general. Kiren was easy to talk to, down to earth, for a demon. He didn’t feel like he needed to play games with her or show off. He could just be himself. He liked that.
Nestled in a small, deserted cave that he had discovered while exploring the Lair, Sampson put his arm around Kiren and rested his head on one of the pillows they had brought. She tucked her body against his, leaning her head on the crook between his shoulder, arm, and chest. She sighed in contentment.
“Tell me about when you were little,” Sampson said.
“Okay. My mom is human and my dad is demon. I am the middle child—my sister is six years older than me and my brother three years younger. My sister, Lira, never wanted to play with me because I was too little. I didn’t fit in well at school, so most of the time I ended up playing with my younger brother and his friends.
I got along better with boys, so I didn’t mind.”
“A tomboy, huh? Now that’s a shock,” Sampson joked.
“Yeah, I could always run just as fast, climb as high, and fight as strong as any of the boys. My sister was different. She played with dolls, used makeup, and liked shopping; she still does.
“As is standard with my kind, when we were five-years-old we learned what we were. By then, I had already accidentally started two minor fires. Unlike Lira who hated being a demon, I loved it. I quickly learned to use my powers and dreamed of one day being in the demon army. My mom worried about me and tried to change my mind as to career path. While she loved demons—she married my father even after learning that he was different—she was afraid of losing us at the hand of some ‘bloodthirsty angel’, as she called them.”
“What about your dad?” Sampson asked.
“He had been in the army for twelve years before he met my mom. I desperately wanted his support for my choices and he gave it to me, encouraging me to live the life that would make me the happiest. I am definitely happiest here. Finally, I found a place where I fit in.”
“You sure do,” Sampson agreed. “I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s with the hair?”
Kiren laughed and raised a hand to touch her short spikes. Under the soft glow from his body he could barely make out the current color: neon red. Kiren said, “I dunno, I guess I just wanted something to make me look brighter. I could just wear colorful clothes but I preferred changing my hair. It’s my thing, I guess.”
Sampson nodded. Then abruptly he asked, “Could you ever see yourself with an angel?”
“I’m with an angel right now, silly.”