Suddenly, Vero had the feeling that he was being watched, and his suspicions were confirmed when a giant wheel covered in eyes appeared. Vero recognized the angel as one of the Thrones. His gyroscopic wheels continuously spun as he spoke.
“Uriel, three thousand twenty-four, Raziel, two thousand nine hundred eleven, Raphael, three thousand fifty seven, and Gabriel . . .”
So that’s who that is, Vero thought as he looked upon the fourth angel — the archangel Gabriel. The angel turned, and Vero’s eyes grew big as he realized that Gabriel was a female archangel. She didn’t look to be much older than his mother. Gabriel had unusual copper-colored hair that grazed her shoulders. Her face was beautiful, as perfect and stunning as a Dominion’s.
Gabriel was the one who interpreted the prophet Daniel’s dream. She was the angel who delivered the news to the priest Zechariah that he and his wife would have a child despite their old age. And it was Gabriel who appeared to the young girl Mary in the town of Nazareth telling her she had found favor with the Lord.
“. . . Four thousand even,” the Throne angel finished before disappearing as suddenly as he had arrived.
The crowd erupted into cheers, and Gabriel bowed humbly with a broad grin on her face. Raziel, Uriel, and Raphael also cheered for her. As she stepped forward, the crowd quieted.
“Thank you, but now we must get on with the Trials,” Gabriel announced. “Will the contestants please make themselves known and step to the middle of the field.”
“Let’s go,” Ariel said to Vero.
As they made their way across the field, Vero saw X, Ada, and Kane emerging from the crowd at the other end. A light shimmered in the field’s center. Vero knew the light was Melchor. And next to him stood the Dominion, Dumah.
“Vero, wait up.” Vero turned to see Pax and Greer come up behind him.
Pax looked curiously down at Vero’s bare feet then at his hair. It was still sticking straight up. “How did you go this time? It looks like either you saw a ghost and heart attacked, or else you stuck your finger in a light socket,” Pax said.
Vero ran his hand through his hair, remembering his transition. “Definitely closer to the latter.”
“As angels, we are God’s messengers,” Gabriel began. “It is often our job to convey God’s wishes to humans, for God speaks in dreams.”
Greer nudged Ada, “Finally a woman archangel.”
Ada smiled and nodded.
“As Job wrote, ‘For God does speak — now one way, now another — though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, He may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword . . .’ For your second trial . . .” Her eyes rested upon the competing angels gathered around her. “You will communicate a message to a slumbering person.”
“How hard could that be?” Kane snickered to Vero in a low voice.
“It will not be as easy as you think,” Gabriel said as her sparking violet eyes landed squarely on Kane.
Kane gulped.
“And what if each of us delivers our message to the human? Who will win?” X asked.
“Whoever completes the task first will be the winner because all of you will be journeying into the same person’s dream.”
“How?” Ariel asked.
“Ecclesiastes 12:6–7. ‘Remember him — before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it,’ ” Gabriel said.
Kane looked to Vero, his tan face scrunched up in confusion. Vero shrugged.
“Babies are born with an umbilical cord connecting them to their mother’s life source. People also have a similar cord that connects their physical body to their soul. It is the silver cord spoken about in Ecclesiastes.” Gabriel looked at each of the contestants. “As long as they are alive on earth, the cord remains tethered, as humans must nurture both their physical and spiritual natures. But as a person ages or suffers from a prolonged illness, the cord gradually thins. As a result, when the person nears death, the cord is so thin that when the Angel of Death severs the cord, the transition to the spiritual world is not jarring at all.”
“But what if it’s a sudden death, like a car crash or something?” X asked.
“Because God is merciful, the cord is cut before the body can actually feel pain. Then there are a group of angels who instantly rush in to comfort the soul to make the transition smoother. Many times, at that point, loved ones who have already passed on will also come and comfort the soul.”
Vero knit his brow, trying to process the information. He had heard of the Angel of Death, and the image of an angel with black wings wearing a long dark robe and a skeleton face flashed in his mind. Gabriel turned to Vero, aware of his thoughts.
“The Angel of Death gets a bad reputation on earth,” she said. “But he is a loving, kind, merciful angel. Can you think of any kinder action than to cut the silver cord thus releasing a soul so it can return to God?” Gabriel spoke softly.
Vero stared intently at Gabriel as he considered her words. So much of what he had thought before discovering his true identity turned out not to be true. Accepted notions on earth could be so completely different from God’s truth. But Vero still had questions.
“Do we have silver cords?” Vero asked.
“Because angels are pure spirit, we do not.”
“But we have bodies . . .”
Gabriel nodded. “Yes, you fledglings do, but think of your current body as just a loaner. Because you do not have a cord, you are able to transition freely to the Ether.”
Understanding flooded Vero’s mind. Now it made sense how he could travel from the earth to the Ether.
“It is this silver cord that allows us to enter humans’ dreams. By catching a silver wave, we can access and communicate with their spiritual nature, giving advice, wisdom, hope, comfort, or visions.” Gabriel put a hand over her heart. “The purer a human is in heart and mind, the easier your job becomes. That person will be more receptive to you, and your message will be more easily understood.” The archangel smiled, her teeth perfect.
Ariel swished her tail. “And what if the person isn’t of a pure heart or mind?” she asked.
“Then you must work that much harder to convey your message. For that person is more vulnerable to Lucifer’s tricks and shields.”
Vero turned to Gabriel with a fearful look, knowing from firsthand experience just how true her words were. Gabriel held his gaze. “He and his minions can also access a human’s dreams the same way. Some call these nightmares.”
Vero swallowed hard.
“When a person dreams, their physical intellect becomes dormant. In accessing their dreams via the silver cord, you will see only their soul, not their physical body.” Gabriel’s face grew serious. “It is the soul you need to communicate with. During this particular trial, the person you are trying to reach is under spiritual attack. Their faith is in crisis, and you need to deliver them a fort-i-fire. They desperately need the light of hope, of faith.”
Vero looked down at this palm, wondering how he’d conjure up a fort-i-fire. Gabriel noticed.
“The Dominion, the Virtue, and the Power have already mastered the materialization of the fort-i-fire. For the fledglings, one of you will go and take an ember from the torch burning inside C.A.N.D.L.E. Keep it on you until needed.”
Gabriel extended her gaze to Dumah, Ariel, and Melchor. “You, too, will also be limited to only one fort-i-fire each.”
At least that evens it up a bit, Vero thought.
“But how do we enter a person’s dreams?” Ada asked.
“You will go to the portal of silver cords, locate your dreamer’s soul, and ride the cord into their dream. Now, pleas
e follow your teachers,” Gabriel instructed.
The fledglings walked over to Uriel and Raphael. They gathered around them. Raphael handed Vero a pair of white sneakers. “This is getting to be a habit.”
“Thanks,” Vero said, taking the sneakers. He looked curiously at Ada. She was dressed in black leggings, a button down shirt, and flats. Her hair was nicely combed, and she even wore some makeup.
“We live in the same time zones,” Vero said to Ada, “You should have been sleeping like me . . .”
“I sleep fully clothed,” Ada said. “Always prepared.”
Vero raised his eyebrows.
Uriel beckoned to the group. “Come on, but before I take you to the portal, let’s collect your ember.”
Uriel turned and headed into C.A.N.D.L.E. as the fledglings followed. When they reached the massive torch, they stood before it, mesmerized by its flames. Its strands of fire gave off a great amount of heat.
“Someone go on and grab an ember,” Uriel instructed.
The fledglings looked to one another. No one wanted to stick his or her hand into the blazing fire.
“I think Kane should since he’s our leader,” Greer said.
Kane’s head spun around to her. “Me? You’re the tough one.”
“Yeah, well, foster dad number 3 extinguished his cigarette on my arm when he couldn’t find an ashtray, so I’m an ember-phobic. Sorry,” Greer said.
“I say Vero does it,” Pax said, stepping forward.
“Me?” Vero panicked.
Pax spoke mentally to Vero, “Yeah, this is your chance to prove to them that you belong in these Trials.”
Vero held Pax’s gaze, then glanced at Uriel for guidance, but Uriel simply shrugged. Vero looked from his hand to the fire as he silently deliberated. Then a determined look came over him. “Okay.”
Vero slowly held out his right arm as he stepped closer to the dancing flames, spreading his fingers wide. Sweat poured down his face, and his cheeks turned bright red from the heat. Vero inched closer as the others watched with bated breath. His eyes were fixated on the swirling torch. His index finger touched the inferno. Vero screamed and jerked his hand away. He examined the tip of his finger. A red blister had already formed.
“No way, I’m out,” he said, blinking back tears. “Not doing that again.”
Pax shot Vero a look of disappointment.
“Ada, what does Isaiah 2 say?” Uriel asked.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God.”
Upon hearing the passage, Kane became emboldened. He stood tall and decisively walked toward the torch, keeping his eyes fixed on the swirling flames. He recited the passage in his mind as he shoved his fist into the fire. Greer flinched. Pax shut his eyes. Vero closely watched as the flames seemed to tame around Kane’s hand becoming as smooth as a sheet of ice. Seconds later, Kane pulled his arm out and examined it. No blister, no burns. He walked back to the others who gathered around him, marveling at Kane’s perfectly normal skin. Kane smiled at them and opened his hand. In his palm glowed a red ember — a fort-i-fire.
“Amazing,” Pax said, his eyes wide.
“I doubted.” Vero looked at Uriel. “Didn’t I?”
“Yes.” Uriel nodded. ”You could have grabbed the ember just as easily.”
“At least he tried,” X said. “The rest of us were too chicken to even give it a shot.”
“Kane, put it in your pocket and let’s go,” Uriel said.
This time, Kane hesitated. “It’s one thing to be in my hand, but my pocket? What if my pants catch on fire?”
“You’ll be fine,” Uriel said reassuringly. “You won’t even feel it.”
Kane hesitantly placed the ember in his pants pocket. Soon, a look of relief came over him, as he felt nothing.
“Good?” Uriel asked.
Kane nodded.
Uriel’s wings sprung from his back. “We’ve spent too much time here.”
Uriel wrapped his wings around the fledglings, and the seven of them vanished from the halls of C.A.N.D.L.E.
15
SOUL SEARCHING
Uriel unfurled his wings, and the fledglings saw nothing but bands of silver light everywhere they looked. The bands stretched so long that Vero could see no beginning or end to them. Gabriel had said they were going to the portal of the silver cords, yet this room was so vast that he could see no walls on any side. There had to be millions of cords — billions actually, whatever the world’s population was — so many that they appeared to form a silver ocean. Waves and waves of silver cords flowed before Vero’s eyes.
“Which one is ours?” Pax asked. “They all look the same.”
Hearing Pax’s voice, Vero remembered the others were standing with him. He had been so caught up in the sight, he’d forgotten he wasn’t alone.
Uriel placed two fingers underneath a cord directly in front of them. The cord, though it was made of light, had an elastic springiness to it. It bounced in Uriel’s fingers.
“Here is your person. Time to catch a wave.” Uriel smiled.
He took Greer’s hand and placed it into the silver cord. Her body began to illuminate a silver light, and then she warped into the cord. Vero did a double take, as all that was left of her was a silver blur traveling down the cord.
“Everyone grab onto the cord,” Uriel told them.
Vero clasped his hand around the cord along with the others. His body took on the same silver aura, and the next thing he knew, he felt as if he was cruising down what felt like a water slide. The ride abruptly ended when Vero was ejected from the slide and thrown onto hard land. He stood up, dazed. As he brushed himself off, he saw Greer standing next to him. He jumped back as X, Kane, Ada, and Pax tumbled off the slide and rolled close to him. Vero gave Ada a hand up as the others also stood. The silver slide was no longer in sight.
“So where are we?” Greer asked, looking around into a thick mist.
“Somebody’s subconscious dream,” Vero answered.
“I know that,” she huffed. “But how are we going to find their soul?”
“I guess we’re going to have to do a little soul searching,” X joked.
Kane brushed off his pants. “Knock it off,” he said. “Are you forgetting this is a race?”
Vero looked at Greer. She had her hand over her heart, fingers spread wide apart, eyes closed. Vero knew exactly what she was doing. She was listening to her Vox Dei, God’s guiding voice. After a moment, Greer opened her eyes.
“I’ve got something,” Greer said in a singsong voice.
“What?” Kane asked.
“I saw the soul of our dreamer,” Greer said.
“Who is it?” Pax asked.
“I can’t tell. I can only see their aura, but I’m feeling a pretty strong connection.”
“How do we find him?”
“They went that way,” Greer said, pointing to her left. “And we better hurry or we’re gonna lose them.”
The six fledglings spouted their wings and became airborne, following Greer as they flew out of the gray mist. Gradually, the haze lifted, revealing a sparkling river nestled in a lush valley.
“Look!” Ada shouted. “There’s the soul!”
About 30 yards in front of the angels, a glowing, small silver-tinged cloud was flying. It appeared to have a head but no defined body. It reminded Vero of ghosts he and Clover once made for Halloween where they took Ping-Pong balls, wrapped them in a tissue and tied string under the ball. It didn’t have wings but was gliding with ease, seemingly unaware of the angels behind it.
“So that’s what a soul looks like?” Pax asked.
“I guess,” replied Ada.
“Can you hit it from here?” X said to Kane.
Kane reached in his pocket and pulled out the ember. It instantly became a fort-i-f
ire in his hand. He tightly clutched it, and fixed his eyes on the soul, trying to determine if he could make his target. As if it could sense Kane’s thoughts, the soul sped up and disappeared behind a mountain peak.
“Hurry, guys!” X yelled.
The angels increased their speed and followed the soul through a snowy mountain range until it disappeared from sight. Vero and the others landed on a sharp peak to catch their breath. They looked out over the mountains searching for the soul.
“I don’t see it anywhere,” Ada said.
Vero bent down and picked up a handful of snow. He studied it as the flakes drifted back to the ground. “Weird,” he said. “This snow feels so real. But we’re just in someone’s dream.”
X nodded. “Everything is so real. You’d never know this is only someone’s imagination.”
“Greer, any idea where the soul flew off to?” Kane asked.
Greer pointed to an ocean below. “There it is!”
Vero glanced downward and saw the soul swimming with a pod of dolphins. There were hundreds of them. The soul and the dolphins gracefully bounced in and out of the water.
“Think you could hit it?” Vero asked.
Kane shook his head. “Way too far away.”
“Let’s go then!” Vero shouted, and he dropped into the air.
The others followed. They dove down to the swimming pod. Kane eyed the soul. He held the fort-i-fire in his hand, readying to throw it. His hand went back for the launch.
“You only get one shot!” Greer yelled. “You better be sure you can hit it!”
The soul swam in and out of the water with the dolphins. Kane’s eyes narrowed as he steadied his gaze upon the soul. His arm went farther back, but then a dolphin bounced the soul with the tip of his nose and flung it high up into the air as if it were a beach ball. Kane kept a firm grip on the fort-i-fire, watching as the soul continued to rise in the sky. He then lowered his hand.
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