Pillars of Fire

by Laurice Elehwany Molinari

  The bell rang out over the yard, signaling that break was over. Kira turned to Clover. “What’s our next class?”

  “History,” Clover replied. “I’ll walk you there.”

  “It was nice meeting you,” Kira told Tack and Vero before sashaying away. “Hope to see you guys around.”

  Tack elbowed Vero with a wink. Vero didn’t share his enthusiasm. Something about seeing his sister walk away with Kira — ​as nice as she was — ​rekindled that queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

  Tack had convinced Vero to join the swim team. The swimming and diving pools were indoors, so they didn’t have to deal with weather, but Tack insisted the biggest selling point was that they got to see girls in bathing suits. Both boys had given up track and field. Vero said it was because he didn’t like it, but really he was just too good at the sport. As an angel, he was easily the fastest sprinter and the highest jumper, and he called way too much attention to himself. When Tack suggested they try swimming, Vero agreed because he was sure there was no chance he’d excel at it. His true nature was to soar high in the skies above, not plunge in the waters below. Everything about swimming felt wrong to him, especially the tight little swim briefs he was required to wear. Never feeling completely comfortable in the bathing suit, Vero always kept his pile of clothes nearby on a bench.

  Tack and Vero sat on the edge of the swimming pool with their legs dangling in the water as they waited for swim practice to begin.

  “You know, some guys shave their whole bodies so they’ll go faster in the water,” Tack told Vero while splashing his feet.

  “I’m not doing that,” Vero said with a look of disdain.

  “It could literally shave seconds off your time.”

  “Don’t care.”

  “Then maybe you should try diving,” Tack suggested as he cupped water in his hands and splashed it over his head.

  Vero looked over at the diving pool with its one meter and three meter boards. “Nah, it’s not for me,” Vero replied. He was afraid if he jumped off the diving board, especially the three-meter, he’d enjoy the feeling of free-falling too much. He might wind up sprouting his wings and then really drawing some unwanted attention.

  “Go ahead, try the high board,” Tack urged Vero.

  “No.”

  “Hi, guys,” Davina said.

  Wearing a navy blue one-piece swimsuit, Davina sat down next to the boys and also dangled her feet in the water.

  “The water’s warm,” she said, wiggling her toes.

  “Hey, Davina, tell Vero he’s a wuss because he won’t go off the high dive,” Tack said to her.

  “You don’t like diving?” she turned to Vero.

  “He’s afraid of heights,” Tack answered for him. “Isn’t that it?”

  “No,” Vero half-chuckled. If Tack only knew how he could fly in the Ether — ​high above waterfalls and trees and mountains — ​without a care in the world.

  “Then prove it. Jump off the high dive or just admit that you’re a chicken.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  “Don’t make him do that,” Davina protested.

  “I’ll do it to shut him up once and for all,” Vero said, pulling his feet from the water.

  Tack nudged Vero. “Look who joined the swim team.”

  As Vero and Tack stood up, they saw Kira walking toward them. She looked even taller in a bathing suit, and with her hair hidden under a bathing cap, her face was even more captivating.

  “Hey, Kira, watch this!” Tack called. “Vero is about to wuss out on the high dive!”

  “Wanna watch Tack eat crow?” Vero shot back.

  “Hmm. Either you chicken out, or Tack eats crow?” Kira laughed. “I’m in!”

  As Vero made his way over to the diving pool, Danny walked out of the boys’ locker room in his swimsuit with a towel around his neck. Kira noticed him immediately.

  “Wow! Who’s that?” Kira asked.

  “He’s taken,” Tack said, nodding at Davina. “He’s Davina’s guy.”

  “He’s hot,” Kira said approvingly.

  “Well, we don’t actually date,” Davina said. “My parents won’t let me date until I’m sixteen.”

  “Oh, so you sneak behind their backs to get together with him, right?” Kira asked.

  “No,” Davina answered, offended.

  “Well, you’d better if you want to keep a guy like that,” Kira laughed.

  Davina eyed Kira. “Sorry, but since when is this your business?”

  Kira patted Davina on the back. “Just giving a girlfriend good advice.” she smiled.

  Davina shook her head, stood up, and walked over to Danny.

  Tack elbowed Kira and nodded to the diving board. “Let’s see if he does it!”

  Vero had climbed halfway up the ladder to the three-meter springboard. To the boy who once jumped from the roof of his house, this ten-foot high dive was nothing. He reached the top and walked out onto the board as the kids watched poolside.

  “Hey, Vero,” Tack yelled. “You can just flap your chicken wings down the ladder, and no one will say a word! I promise!”

  Kira chuckled along with Tack. Davina looked over and narrowed her eyes. Standing on the edge of the board, Vero jumped up and down on the balls of his feet. He was going to prove to Tack he wasn’t afraid, and he didn’t mind impressing Davina and Kira either. Vero bounced one final time and sprang high into the air. It felt so exhilarating to be airborne that he forgot he had an audience. He did a somersault, followed by a forward twist and then a reverse somersault. The kids below watched in a stunned awe. But Vero’s eyes suddenly went wide with fear as he looked into the pool — ​it was empty, not a single drop of water!

  7

  ANGEL TRIALS

  Vero breathed in deeply. Water rushed into his lungs. He jerked his head back, coughing and sputtering, as he realized he was floating face down in a small pond. Vero swam to the shore and pulled himself onto the bank. As he took in the crystal clear water and the plush green grass, he knew he was back in the Ether. Off in the distance, above the birdsong and quiet trickle of a nearby stream, Vero could hear the faint sounds of a large crowd.

  “Finally,” he said as he stood. “The Angel Trials.” Horror struck Vero when he looked down and noticed he was still wearing his skimpy suit. “Oh, great. Greer’s gonna have a field day with this.” Just then, an angel materialized beside the pond. It was Raphael, and he was holding Vero’s clothes.

  “Welcome back, Vero. I’m guessing you’ll be wanting these?” Raphael asked as he held out the clothes to him. Vero never felt more relieved. He snatched the clothes and began to put them on over his wet suit.

  “Thanks, Raphael. You’re a life saver.”

  Raphael smiled. “Ordinarily you dress as you come in Ether. But as you will be one of our representatives for the trials, I made an exception to the rule this time. Which by the way, you need to get to . . . they’re gathering at C.A.N.D.L.E. I’ll see you.” Before Raphael vanished, his voice shouted out, “Remember, you’ll need to go back the way you came!”

  Vero closed his eyes and concentrated, and soon his wings burst from his shoulders, launching him into the air. Sprouting his wings was becoming more seamless. As he followed the sounds of the crowd, Vero shortly saw scores of angels below him convening outside of C.A.N.D.L.E. And not just angels in training, but angels of all ages. As he lowered for a landing, Vero spotted a group of angels who had stunningly beautiful faces. They were so striking that their beauty totally distracted Vero, causing him to body slam into a corner pillar of the temple. He dropped onto the marble steps with a thud. Unfortunately, his sloppy landing had not gone unnoticed. As the group of beautiful angels turned to look at him, Vero noticed that their features were perfectly proportioned. Their skin was flawless and milky, their bodies slender yet muscular. And on their heads, golden hair. Vero suddenly felt ugly.

  “Dominions, you klutz,” someone whispered in his ear.

  Vero turne
d around and saw Greer standing beside him. She was biting her nails again.

  “They’re so good-looking,” Vero told her.

  “If we all looked like that, plastic surgeons would definitely be out of business,” Greer chuckled nervously. “I mean look at ’em. They’re so delicate-looking, so pretty, so sweet . . . we need to crush their golden little heads to smithereens.”

  Vero turned around to look at Greer. “Really?”

  “Hey, they’re our competition.” Greer shrugged.

  The Dominions carried scepters fastened to orbs of light. Vero watched as the balls of light ebbed and flowed in intensity. He wondered if the scepters had some magical powers. He walked over to a young Dominion.

  “Excuse me, what do those do?” He pointed to the scepter.

  The stunning Dominion stared back at Vero with a lack of expression. His look was neither mean nor kind — ​just impassive. Vero knit his brow, confused by the lack of response. Then the Dominion turned and walked away with the others.

  “Thanks a lot, Mr. Personality!” Greer shouted after him before turning to Vero. “Who knew there was such a thing as stuck-up angels.”

  “Vero, Greer!”

  They saw Ada and Pax headed toward them.

  “Hey, guys,” Vero said. “Have you seen Kane or X?”

  “Not yet,” Pax answered. “But we’re supposed to meet up in the amphitheater.”

  As the fledglings made their way through the magnificent entrance into C.A.N.D.L.E., and then into the courtyard beyond, Vero noticed that the school wasn’t decorated at all for the Trials. At the very least, he had expected to see a banner announcing the event. But everything looked as it had always looked. Feeling a little let down by the lack of fanfare, Vero suddenly had the sensation that he was being watched. The feeling grew stronger and stronger, almost as if someone were following him. His eyes darted around the crowded courtyard, looking for the source of his paranoia.

  “Anyone else feel like they’re being watched?” Ada asked the group, echoing Vero’s sentiment.

  Before anyone could reply, a massive round emerald object flew slowly over their heads, radiating light in all directions. It seemed to be made of two perpendicular wheels of light. A smaller wheel spun rapidly in a horizontal direction inside of a larger wheel, which rotated more slowly, vertical to the ground. Both wheels were covered with thousands of lights. The entity had enormous wings on either side, but with both wheels spinning, it was hard to tell how the wings stayed in place. To Vero, the whole thing looked like a gigantic flying version of the gyroscope he got one year for Christmas. Back on earth, the thing could easily be mistaken for a UFO.

  The most unnerving thing about the object for Vero was that when he looked closely at the spinning wheels, he noticed the glowing lights were actually eyes! Thousands upon thousands of eyes covered every inch of the perimeters of the wheels — ​eyes that saw in every direction as the wheels spun around and around. Nothing escaped their observation. No wonder Vero had felt like he was being watched!

  Vero stood with his mouth open, mesmerized. Oddly, as alien as this being was to Vero, he did not feel frightened by it. Rather, the spinning circles of eyes seemed to emanate a peaceful feeling.

  “A Throne,” Ada whispered as she put her hand on Vero’s shoulder, also transfixed by the sight.

  “Oh, yeah, Uriel talked about them,” Vero recalled. “They’re going to judge the Trials.”

  “Correct,” a male voice said.

  Vero turned around and saw Uriel standing behind him with Kane and X.

  “The Thrones are the angels who administer God’s justice and authority,” Uriel nodded. “As you probably noticed, they see everything.”

  “I’m glad we don’t have to compete against them,” Kane said, staring at the huge Throne.

  “It’s pretty scary,” Pax said.

  “No,” Uriel said. “The Thrones are anything but scary.” He looked around at the fledglings with a serious expression. “They are the definition of humility. They lack any pride, ambition, or fear of demotion, making them perfectly objective in their dispensing of justice.” Uriel gazed up at the spinning wheels. “They are completely fair.”

  Vero recalled Uriel’s look of disappointment when Kane selected him for the team. At least someone will be fair to me in these Trials, he thought. The narrowing of his eyes told Vero that Uriel had read his mind. Vero blushed but didn’t look away. Uriel then turned his gaze to the others.

  “The Thrones will rarely show themselves to you, but know their eyes will always be watching during the competition.” The fledglings watched as the Throne continued its flight, disappearing over the top of the cathedral wall. Uriel continued, “Before the opening ceremony begins, I’d like to say a few words.”

  They gave him their complete attention.

  “Do any of you know why the ancient Greeks celebrated the Olympics? What the purpose was?”

  “Eitan said the first Olympiads were held to pay tribute to the gods,” X said. “The Olympians wanted to honor the gods with their God-given abilities.”

  “That’s correct, X,” Uriel said. “And as a religious ceremony, the Olympics always began with a prayer. But long before that, there was sacrifice.”

  “They would slaughter oxen to the gods,” Pax said.

  “Yes, they did do that. But that’s not the kind of sacrifice I’m talking about,” Uriel said. He paused to collect his thoughts. “I mean the self-sacrifice of the athletes. By denying themselves things, by giving up the comforts they cherished, and by rigorous training, the athletes prepared themselves not just for the games, but for the gods themselves.” Uriel saw the confused faces of the fledglings. “The word ‘sacrifice’ comes from the verb ‘to make sacred.’ By choosing to make sacrifices, you make room for the sacred to enter your life. When you pass up material comforts in favor of a hard workout, or doing something uncomfortable, you do so with the hope and faith that God will fill the void with something better.”

  Uriel’s words stirred Vero. He remembered one Saturday when his mom had asked him to come with her to help out in a soup kitchen. At first, he had been upset because he had planned to go to the movies with Tack — ​not spend the afternoon serving food to the homeless. But by the end of the day, he had been glad he’d chosen to do it, because he had felt he had made at least a small difference in some people’s lives. An elderly woman had given him a grateful smile as he served her a plate of food. And although her teeth had been an absolute mess, Vero remembered it was one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever received. Uriel was right. He had given up a movie that day, but the woman’s smile had filled him with a joy that had lasted till this day.

  “We could sacrifice all we want, but it’s not going to change anything,” Greer said, shaking her head. “Those other angels are far superior to us.”

  “Do you remember the story of David and Goliath?” Uriel smiled. “Of how a lowly shepherd boy took down a nine and a half foot giant with a single stone.”

  Greer slowly nodded.

  “So nothing is impossible,” Uriel told them. “To show your strength, you have to do something tough.”

  A blast of trumpets filled the courtyard. Their vibrant, resounding song announced the start of the Trials, and the bright melody invigorated Vero. He pulled his shoulders back and stood straight. The others, too, raised their heads high, warriors ready for battle.

  Uriel smiled. “Let’s go.”

  The natural amphitheater was brimming with angels. Not only was every seat taken — ​hovering angels filled the skies overhead.

  “I’ve never seen so many angels,” Ada said, squinting upward at the mass of angelic beings. “I can barely see any sky.”

  “And they don’t all look like us,” X replied.

  It’s true, Pax thought as he watched the group of the attractive Dominions walk past. Another band of angels followed, and Pax’s eyes went wide. He tapped Vero on the shoulder.

  Vero could
n’t believe what he was seeing. These new angels had the bodies of lions with the faces of humans. They reminded Vero of the Egyptian sphinx he had studied in school. The Egyptians considered the lion to be the most powerful animal on earth, so the Pharaoh had his head carved on top of the animal to symbolize his strength.

  When they passed by Vero, he instinctively took a step back. Beyond their muscular bodies and giant paws, their stern expressions told Vero these creatures were definitely not to be messed with. And when one of them flicked his tail, Vero jumped back even farther. The angel had the tail of a scorpion. At its tip were hundreds of venomous stingers. Vero had seen this type of tail before — ​it belonged to Abaddon!

  The blare of the mighty trumpets abruptly stopped. It was only then that Vero thought to look for the source of the music.

  Hovering above the dome-shaped stage, he saw four angels, two on each side, facing one another. They wore flowing white robes. In their hands were long golden trumpets. Vero smiled. He knew the image well. When he was nine years old, his family went to New York City to see the holiday decorations. These angels greatly resembled the herald angels that lined Rockefeller Center each Christmas.

  Vero remembered how Clover had loved the department store window displays best, each depicting a different holiday scene — ​from families of yesteryear enjoying a night by the Christmas tree to elves loading the sled for Santa’s big ride. His mother had loved buying the roasted chestnuts from the pushcart street vendors. His dad had most enjoyed ice-skating in Central Park. But Vero had been infatuated with the angels in Rockefeller Center. He had felt such tranquility sitting under their watch. Of course, it was years later before he finally understood why.

  Despite the feverish excitement in the air, the crowd quieted when an angel took the center stage. He was a Dominion — ​very tall, elegant, and of course, flawless and beautiful. Greer elbowed Pax next to her. “I can’t tell if they’re guys or girls,” she said in a low voice.

  “Me either,” Pax shrugged.

  “I am Charoum, an angel of silence and channeler of miracles,” the angel announced. “We Dominions rarely break our silence . . .”