Pillars of Fire

“Over here,” Ada said in a low voice.

  Vero saw Ada crouched behind the photo booth. She was wearing a heavy, bulky coat, and her right arm pulled the coat over her chest.

  “I lost her,” Vero said to Ada.

  Ada smiled and opened her coat, revealing Ariel hidden underneath. “I grabbed some kid’s coat off the floor and hid her in here,” Ada told Vero.

  “Smart thinking. But that kid will be looking for his jacket soon enough. Put her in here.” Vero opened Tack’s backpack. As Ada lifted Ariel from under the coat, Vero turned his back to shield her from view. “You should be safe in here,” Vero said to the cat as he zipped her inside. He was careful to leave some room for air. “Just don’t meow.”

  “Thank you,” Ariel communicated to Vero.

  “I was wondering how you’d look on earth,” Vero mentally spoke to Ariel.

  “An Abyssinian, of course,” she answered.

  Tack walked over holding a sandwich in a Ziploc bag along with an apple, a bag of chips, and a water bottle.

  “Can I have my backpack please?” he asked as the apple fell from his hand and rolled under a video game. “Dang it.”

  “I’ll give it back to you later. Okay?” Vero said. “I’m hiding the cat in there.”

  “Serious?”

  “Yeah. Just ’till I find a safe place to release it.”

  Tack considered. “Okay. But it better not go to the bathroom in there.”

  Ariel loudly hissed. “Me? I’m the one stuck in here with his smelly socks . . . at least I hope they’re socks,” she spoke mind-to-mind with Vero.

  Without warning, Tack was pushed from behind. His water bottle flew out of his hand and also rolled under the video machine. “What the . . .?”

  Tack turned around and saw a gangly-looking teenage boy standing behind him. He wore white tube socks with pastel blue corduroy beach shorts and a striped red and yellow shirt. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he had a mullet haircut.

  “You need to look where you’re going!” Tack said. “What? First day with the new feet?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, it is,” the teenage boy said.

  “Weirdo,” Tack muttered as the boy walked away. Tack turned to Vero, eyeing the boy’s outfit, “Now that’s a look that will make you stand out in a class photo. Why didn’t I think of that?”

  Vero and Ada watched as the teenage boy tried to make his way through the arcade. He bumped into the butt of a girl’s cue stick as she lined up a shot on the pool table. She scratched. “Clumsy jerk!”

  “Does that guy just have a death wish?” Tack asked.

  “Looks like it,” Vero answered. “C’mon, let’s shoot some hoops.”

  As they walked to the basketball machines, Vero saw Kane out of the corner of his eye. He mouthed to him, “Anything?”

  Kane shook his head.

  “I’ll meet you guys there,” Vero said to Ada and Tack. He walked over to Kane.

  “We checked every door, everything we could think of,” Kane said. “They don’t lead to anything. Can’t find a portal anywhere. It’s really frustrating.”

  “A portal?” Vero asked.

  “Uriel’s exact words were ‘You must be the first to climb Jacob’s Ladder, and the first step is just through the portal,’ ” Kane said as he eyed Vero’s backpack. “Where’d you get that backpack?”

  “It’s my friend’s.”

  “Come on! You’re hanging out with that kid instead of looking,” Kane said with frustration in his voice.

  “What do you want me to say? Sorry, Tack, my fellow guardian angels and I have to find Jacob’s Ladder?”

  Vero’s eyes darted over to an extremely handsome teenage boy standing before a three-way mirror in front of the funhouse. He appeared to be mesmerized by his reflection. Vero elbowed Kane. “It’s Dumah.”

  “What’s he doing?” Kane asked.

  “Either he’s looking for a portal through the mirror, or he’s just staring at himself.”

  “The guy’s off,” Kane said.

  Greer, X, and Pax walked over.

  “I can’t take it anymore,” Greer said. “This is starting to feel like one big joke.”

  “It has to be here,” X said. “We’re just not thinking right.”

  “Uriel had to have given some other clue when they introduced the challenge,” Vero said.

  “Not really,” Pax shook his head. “We were told that step one on the ladder was to find the portal.”

  “Anything else?”

  “No,” Greer answered. “Then Raphael told the story of his Angel Trial where he had to wrestle Jacob.”

  The clumsy boy tripped into a kid carrying a plastic cup full of tokens. They spilled all over the floor.

  “Hey!” the kid yelled.

  “Sorry,” the clumsy boy answered.

  “I bet that’s Melchor,” Vero said.

  “Why?” X asked.

  “’Cause he doesn’t know how to walk. He must have never been in human form before.”

  Greer knit her brow as she took in Melchor’s outfit. “He also doesn’t realize that the 80s are long over.”

  Pax chuckled. “I guess the archangels have a sense of humor.”

  Recalling his theft of the jawbone, Kane shot daggers at Melchor and walked over to him.

  “Kane, where you going?” X asked. His voice had a hint of warning.

  Kane glared at X. “Maybe he can help us.”

  As Kane raced over to Melchor, the others followed. “If Virtues can see the future,” Kane said to Melchor, “tell us how you see us getting out of here.”

  Pax’s face lit up. “Yeah, can you do that?” he asked.

  Vero’s eyebrow shot up as he looked at Melchor as he considered something.

  “No,” Melchor answered. “I can only see what they allow me to see.”

  “You sure you’re not lying to us?” Kane stared at him.

  “You think I like being like this?” Melchor said. “If I could get out of here, don’t you think I would?”

  Kane considered for a moment.

  “Vero,” Tack called.

  Kane turned and saw Tack and Ada walking over to them. “Oh great.” Kane threw his hands up. “Here comes the friend again.”

  “Are we going to shoot hoops or not?” Tack asked as he leaned against an arm wrestling machine. It had a strong man’s shoulder sticking out of the top connected to a hand bent at the elbow ready to arm wrestle. Lights blinked on a meter that measured people’s strength.

  Greer gasped as she gazed at the machine. But just then Tack’s cell phone beeped. He pulled it from his pocket and read a text.

  “My mom said your mom’s been looking for Clover. She wants to know if you know where she is?” Tack shook his head. “Your family is all over the place today. If you had your own cell phone, you could keep track of each other.”

  “Clover’s not at home?” Vero asked, the panic rising in his voice.

  Tack shrugged. “I told you, no one opened the door for me when I knocked.”

  “I know,” Vero said, palming his face, “but I thought maybe they didn’t hear you or they were in the backyard.”

  “I’m sure it’s not a big deal. She’s probably out with Kira.” Tack typed a text message on his phone. But when he hit “send” the message stalled. “Suddenly, I’m not getting great reception. I’m gonna go stand out front.” Tack walked away. Vero was trying to control his racing heartbeat when Greer elbowed him.

  “Guys, I may know where the portal is,” she said. “Raphael was giving us a huge hint when he told us the story of wrestling Jacob.” Her eyes landed on the arm wrestling machine.

  Vero followed her gaze, though he was distracted with thoughts of Clover.

  “Give me a token,” Greer said to Ada.

  Ada handed Greer a token. She slipped it into the machine, then bent her elbow and placed her hand in the machine’s hand. “See you guys on the ladder,” Greer said, as she pushed down with all her strength
. The meter blinked like crazy. She struggled against the machine’s hand, but then slammed it down, winning the match. And then, nothing happened.

  “Darn it!” Greer said with huge disappointment.

  “Good one, Greer,” Kane said. “What the heck did you think was going to happen?”

  “I thought for sure if I beat the arm-wrestler dude, I’d blast out of here and onto the ladder.”

  She stepped back and bumped into Melchor who stumbled and fell through the black curtain into a photo booth. A guy with tattoos on every inch of his arms and his girlfriend on his lap threw him out of the booth and onto the hard floor.

  “You ruined the photo, you little jerk!” the guy shouted. He picked Melchor up by his striped shirt to hit him when his pierced girlfriend ducked out of the booth and stepped in between them.

  “Don’t do it, Ronny! He’s not worth breaking probation for!” she yelled.

  Ronny stared at Melchor then dropped him back onto the floor. The finished photo shot out of the side of the booth. Without looking at it, Ronny grabbed the photo and threw it onto Melchor’s chest. “Here, something to remember me by,” Ronny said as he wrapped his arm around his girlfriend’s waist and walked away.

  X stretched out his hand to Melchor and pulled him to his feet. With his free hand, X snatched the photo.

  “Thanks,” Melchor said then stumbled away.

  X looked at the photo with suspicion. “That’s it! I know where the portal is!” X shouted. “Look at the photo!”

  The others crowded around X. In the photo, Ronny and his girlfriend had surprised looks on their faces.

  “So?” Pax said.

  “Do you see Melchor in the photo?” X asked. “He’s not there. The camera should have captured his image. I say there’s something going on with that photo booth.”

  “Yeah, but then why didn’t Melchor get taken to the Ether?” Ada asked.

  “Maybe because his whole body wasn’t inside it when the camera went off,” X reasoned.

  “Whatever. I’m game!” Kane said, sweeping aside the black curtain. “Everybody in. Quick.”

  Pax and X stepped into the booth.

  “Ada give me your tokens,” Vero said.

  Ada handed them to Vero, who took the curtain from Kane. “Go ahead,” Vero said. Kane stepped in the booth, and Vero turned to Ada and Greer. “Pile in before Tack gets back.”

  “I’m not sitting on anyone’s lap,” Greer said, looking into the tiny booth.

  “Fine, then you guys go. I’ll be right behind you,” Vero said.

  “Get in, Greer!” Kane snapped.

  Ada and Greer crammed into the booth, and Vero drew the curtain closed.

  “When you get there, start climbing. I’ll catch up. Just keep climbing,” Vero said as he fumbled for a token. He put his hand over his heart, said a silent prayer, and dropped the token into the machine. There was a blinding flash, and then silence inside the booth. Vero drew back the black curtain, and saw it was empty.

  With the other angels safely gone, Vero pulled Ariel from the backpack and let the bag fall to the ground. He looked around nervously. “Better go quickly.”

  “I owe you one,” Ariel mentally said as she jumped into the booth.

  “No, it was I who owed you one,” Vero answered. He drew the curtain behind her.

  “Hey!” a man’s voice shouted. “Get that cat out of there! Grab it!”

  Vero saw the employee racing toward them, his big belly bouncing with each step. He fumbled with the token, dropping it. He fell to his hands and knees and reached under the machine for the fallen token. He snatched it just as the man approached, and scrambled to insert it into the machine.

  “Quick! Get in!” Ariel spoke mentally to Vero.

  “I’m not going with you right now,” Vero said.

  “Why not?”

  Vero didn’t answer her. “Come on, come on!” he muttered as the token finally dropped into the machine.

  Just as the man ripped open the black curtain, the flash went off, blinding him. When he was able to see again, the small cat was gone.

  23

  POOL OF TRUTH

  A bewildered look came over the man. “What the . . .” he said. The man turned to Vero. “Where did it go?”

  “Where did what go?” Vero dodged the question.

  “The cat! I saw you let it into the booth!”

  Vero shook his head. “Sorry.” He leaned into the booth as if to check it. “No cat in here.”

  Vero turned and pushed his way through a crowd of kids. He wasn’t ready to go through the portal. Not just yet. Vero spotted Dumah, still staring into the mirror, fascinated by his image.

  “Dumah, did you see Melchor?” Vero asked.

  Dumah did not respond. He was too mesmerized by his reflection. Vero flashed his hand in front of Dumah’s face. No response.

  “Hey!” Vero yelled.

  Still no response from Dumah. Vero shook his head and turned to scan the arcade. He spotted Melchor walking with his hands in front of him as if he were blind. Vero raced over to him and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around. “I know where the bottom rung is,” Vero said. “I’ll show you — ”

  “Why?” Melchor looked suspicious. “There’s no reason you’d want to help me.”

  “I will, but I need something from you first,” Vero said. “Can you show me a vision of where my sister is? I think she’s in trouble.”

  “I can’t do it here on earth. I need to be in the Ether.”

  Vero studied his face, trying to determine whether Melchor was telling the truth or not.

  “I’m completely useless on earth if you hadn’t noticed,” Melchor added.

  Vero had to admit this seemed to be true.

  “But I can’t guarantee I’ll see anything even in the Ether,” Melchor said. “I can listen to my Vox Dei, but it doesn’t always mean I’ll be granted a vision. But I promise I’ll try if you show me how to get there.”

  Vero nodded. “Follow me.”

  He led Melchor to the photo booth and pulled the curtain aside. “Get in.” Vero dropped another token into the machine and jumped behind the curtain with Melchor. He grabbed onto Melchor’s shirt so they wouldn’t be separated.

  The light flashed bright, and Vero suddenly felt as if he were in a wind tunnel. All his senses dulled as an unknown force pulled him at an incredibly fast speed. When the wind stilled, and his eyes could make sense of things again, he found himself standing on a huge sparkling crystal stair. Each step was nearly two feet tall, and as he looked up the staircase, he saw no end in sight. It wound round and round. Ariel and his fellow fledglings were nowhere to be seen . . . and neither was Melchor.

  Vero stood on the step and looked down. There were steps below him, and it wasn’t an actual ladder as he had imagined, but his Vox Dei told him he was in the right place. White, billowy clouds surrounded him on all sides. He wondered if the others had also landed in the same spot. But more importantly, where was Melchor? He sincerely hoped that Melchor hadn’t somehow deceived him. “I need to catch up to him,” Vero said to himself, his wings sprouting from his back. Vero flapped his wings, but he could not get airborne. He tried again, but his feet remained firmly planted on the stairs. He had no choice but to climb up the staircase.

  As Vero started up the crystal stairs, he remembered a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” And Vero had no idea where the glass stairs would lead him because the staircase wound around and around, blocking his view of the flights above. There was no railing. He glanced at his watch as he climbed and climbed. Almost an hour had passed. He was becoming bored. Vero looked down at his feet. Faces came into view under the clear glasslike stairs. He was so startled that he stumbled toward the edge of the step and nearly fell off the staircase. Ugly, one-eyed monstrous faces hissed at him. Maltures! The same hideous creatures that had tried to push him off a nine-story building before he ha
d even known he was a guardian angel! A single eye went clear through their heads, and their mouths were filled with yellow fanged teeth. What looked like deep burns ran across their faces. They thrashed underneath the staircase, salivating, as they tried to break through the steps’ risers to grab Vero. Vero stepped up his pace, determined to reach the top. All his thoughts were of Clover. He had to find Melchor and see his sister’s future.

  More and more maltures appeared beneath the staircase with each step Vero took, but they seemed to be contained. Nonetheless, Vero was anxious as he watched their black jagged wings flap, holding them in the air. “Maltures with wings?” Vero said with trepidation in his voice. Then as he lifted his foot, he felt something sharp cut through his right ankle. He looked down and saw a claw pulling on his leg. The step’s riser was open, and a malture was trying to drag him under. Vero screamed and fell on the staircase, banging his hip on the glass. With his other foot, he kicked the malture in the eye, momentarily stunning him. The malture released his grip, but before Vero could scramble away, another malture grabbed and dragged him farther under the stairs.

  “Help!” Vero yelled. “Get off!”

  Vero kicked this second demonic creature with all his strength, but the malture was strong. Its claws dug deep into Vero’s leg. It had pulled Vero’s legs completely under the stairs. Vero thought of his sword and tried to concentrate, willing it to appear. He tried to do what Michael had taught him. But he was too panicked to concentrate. He gripped the edge of a glass step when suddenly a pair of arms grabbed him around his chest. He turned his head and saw X pulling him out of the open stair. But even X’s incredible upper body strength was not enough to save him from the malture. Greer, Kane, Pax, and Ada ran down the winding staircase and grabbed Vero’s arms, and Vero felt as if he was being stretched in every direction. It was a game of tug-of-war, and he was the rope!

  “Harder!” Kane yelled to the others.

  But the malture would not release its grip on Vero’s leg.

  The glint of steel caught Vero’s eye. He looked at Kane who stood over him, brandishing his sword. A pang of jealousy shot through Vero when he realized Kane had conjured up his sword, but Vero had not been able to. In a powerful tug, X yanked Vero back another foot. Kane wielded his sword over his head and struck the malture’s arm with a punishing blow, severing it. The malture shrieked and a look of surprise came over its evil face. Its claw, still wrapped around Vero’s ankle, began to wither. The fledglings watched as the claw disintegrated into a pile of ash along with the rest of its body. Through the glass staircase, Vero watched as the ashes blew into the clouds and disappeared.