“Welcome back,” Greer said weakly to Ariel.
“Can you help her?” Vero pleaded.
Ariel’s smile quickly dropped when she saw that Greer was clutching her stomach, blood oozing between her fingers. She bounded over to Greer, gently removed Greer’s hands, and placed her paw over the seeping wound. Vero and Greer looked down in amazement as the wound resealed itself. It was perfect — not even a blemish.
“You could have left a little scar,” Greer joked. “I have an image to uphold after all.”
“Thank you,” Vero said to Ariel, hoisting Greer to her feet. Vero handed Greer her sword and then picked up his own.
“I guess the choir will just have to wait,” Greer chuckled. “Right, Vero?”
Vero didn’t answer. He was staring desperately at the fallen hair. Ariel and Greer walked over and stood on either side of him.
“Were there others in there?” Vero asked.
Ariel shook her head. “It was only darkness. I saw and heard no one else.”
Disappointment swept over Vero. A tear came to Greer’s eye. “Clover . . .” she whispered.
Suddenly, a loud cracking sound shook the chamber like an earthquake. The ceiling above the angels began to crumble. Sheets of black stones fell at an alarming rate. Greer grabbed Ariel with one hand and Vero with the other, pulling them under the safety of an archway. They watched as not only the ceiling’s stones collapsed but also the earth directly above it. Cool fresh air rushed down, caressing Vero’s face. A large opening clear to the outside had formed high above them.
But before Vero, Ariel, and Greer had time to fly back into the beautiful night sky, the hair cone began to shake once more. Hundreds then thousands of different colored, ethereal beings with heads and flowing bodies drifted out of it. Each soul would rise several feet then slowly fade away like smoke. It was as if floodgates had been opened. Vero, Greer, and Ariel stood back and watched anxiously, hoping to catch sight of Clover’s soul.
“Do you see her?” Greer asked.
“Not yet.”
“How could Lilith have had all these souls within her grasp?” Greer asked.
“These are only the souls of those still living on earth,” Ariel said. “Sadly those who have passed away while serving her interests have gone on to another place. But these souls are lucky. You have freed them from her influence. On earth, they will feel a true weight has been lifted, and they can begin anew.”
Vero continued to watch the flood of souls, desperately searching for Clover. But then his face turned pale as a thought occurred to him. “You said these souls are the ones still alive on earth . . .” Vero said, trying not to hyperventilate. “What if she’s not . . .”
“Don’t say it!” Greer cut him off. “It’s not true. I can feel she’s still alive, and she’s in there!”
Vero studied each soul as it emerged. He was growing more despondent by the minute. But then a soul rose up and seemed to turn to him. It was the same silver cloud being from the dream challenge . . . it was Clover!
“That’s her? Isn’t it?!” Vero asked.
“Yes,” Greer said as relief swept over her. “She’s free.”
“And so are we,” Ariel said.
And with that, Greer, Ariel, and Vero flew out of the chamber through the ceiling’s opening.
27
WREATHS OF GLORY
Vero, Ariel, and Greer walked through C.A.N.D.L.E. The main hall was filled with angels, and it felt as if every eye was on them. Angels everywhere were whispering and staring. Vero saw an angel tip his head to him as he passed.
“You guys getting the feeling that we’re being watched?” Greer asked. “And I mean not just by the Thrones.”
As they stepped through the doors to the packed auditorium, every angel bowed to them. Vero, Greer, and Ariel exchanged confused looks. Had everyone heard about their fight with Lilith? Ada and Pax ran over to them.
“Is it true?” Ada asked Vero excitedly.
“About Lilith?” Pax looked at them with amazement.
Ada pushed back her copper curls. “They say you left the competition to hunt her down in her castle!”
Vero looked at Ariel and Greer and nodded. “She had my sister, so we had to go. I’m sorry about ditching you guys.”
“Yeah, sorry, guys,” Greer said.
Pax’s eyes were big and round. “They’re saying you whipped her, and freed thousands of souls?”
“All true,” Greer said. “I guess we lost the ladder challenge?”
Ada shook her head. “No, we actually made it to the top of Jacob’s Ladder first.”
“You . . .” Pax looked at Ariel. “You were gone, and Dumah never left the arcade. Uriel had to rescue him and bring him back or else he’d still be staring at his reflection.”
Ada laughed. “Turns out the Dominions’ one flaw is their vanity. They need to learn to resist their beauty. Dumah had never seen a mirror before, and he became totally fascinated with his reflection.”
“What about Melchor?” Vero asked.
“He finished after us,” Pax said. “I guess being invisible doesn’t make you run stairs extra fast.”
Uriel walked over to them. He caught Vero’s eye, and for a moment, the two of them just looked at each other. “Welcome back,” Uriel said at last, looking around at the others.
Vero wondered if the archangel was upset with them. “I’m sorry, Uriel. I know I shouldn’t have taken off like that, but —”
Uriel smiled warmly. “God’s work always comes before a competition.”
Vero sighed a breath of relief. He wasn’t going to get into trouble.
Uriel turned to Greer and Ariel, “You all fought bravely and performed wonderfully.”
Ariel nodded and looked at the ground shyly.
“No biggie.” Greer smiled.
“How did you kill Lilith?” Pax asked.
Greer chuckled and nodded. “Vero gave her a long overdue haircut and —”
Uriel held up a hand and cut her off. “She isn’t dead.”
Greer spun to face Uriel, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “But we watched her burn. The only thing left of her was a scorch mark on the carpet . . .”
“She is very much alive,” Uriel said. “Only greatly weakened . . . for now.”
Greer’s heart sank.
Recalling the similarly burnt floor in Dr. Walker’s office, Vero asked, “The nurse that attacked me on earth, before Kira ever showed up? Was that Lilith too?”
“It was,” Uriel said.
“She kept asking me about the . . .”
The herald angels’ trumpets blew, cutting Vero off. Vero was familiar with Uriel’s habit of causing an interruption whenever Vero was about to say something he shouldn’t. When he heard the trumpets, he looked at Uriel. Uriel shook his head almost imperceptibly, confirming Vero suspicion — they would have to wait to talk about the book later, and in private.
“Time for the final ceremony,” Uriel said with a smile, and he turned to walk toward the stage.
Ariel, Vero, Greer, Pax, and Ada followed. As they got closer, Vero saw that Kane and X were already standing on the stage. Dumah and the faint light that was Melchor were also there. They joined everyone on stage. X shook Vero’s hand. Kane nodded to Vero, “Glad your sister’s all right.”
“Thanks,” Vero said.
Once again, Vero had the feeling that his every move was being observed. He looked up and saw the Thrones breaking through the sky, appearing from thin air. The eyes on the wheels spun round and round. Gabriel, Uriel, Raziel, Raphael, Charoum the Dominion, Camael the Power, and Vangelis the Virtue took their positions on the stage. Vero’s eyes lit up when he saw Michael walk out. Michael looked to the Thrones, and Vero could tell they were conversing mentally with one another. The archangel nodded, and the Thrones disappeared from sight. Michael turned to the audience.
“Before we crown the overall winner of the Angel Trials, we will announce the winner of the thi
rd trial — the ascent of Jacob’s Ladder.”
Kane grinned ear to ear. Michael walked over and stood before Kane, placing a palm branch in his hand. “To Kane and his fellow guardians,” Michael announced. The crowd erupted in cheers. Kane held the palm branch high for all to see as he stood proudly at attention, soaking in the adoration. When the applause and cheers died down, Michael faced the spectators. “And now for the winner of the Angel Trials . . .”
“Here we go,” Kane said in a low voice as he elbowed Vero. “We got this . . . I mean I won the third challenge, plus we found the jawbone and should have won the first challenge too.”
Vero didn’t say anything. He didn’t share Kane’s confidence.
“As you know, we hold the Angel Trials to test our young angels in the areas of ability, endurance, and belief,” Uriel said. “Our angels did their best, and, for the most part, honored God with their talents and strengths. We are proud of all of them. The Thrones have made their decision, and due to unforeseen events, their verdict is unusual. For the first time ever in the history of the Trials, the Thrones have decided to award the honors to three individual angels from two different groups.”
Kane nodded with confidence to Vero.
“For her bravery in battle and generosity in helping fellow competitors, Ariel for the Powers, has won top honors!”
The crowd exploded in applause, and the Powers rattled their tails loudly. Ariel looked shocked but pleased.
“And for the first time ever,” Michael continued, “top honors go to two Guardians! For their exceptional skill in battle and their courage to give up everything in order to follow God’s will, to Greer and . . . Vero!”
Vero exchanged surprised looks with Greer as the spectators clapped and cheered. Kane looked shocked. Then his expression hardened as he watched Vero and Greer wave shyly at the audience.
Michael put his hands up to calm the crowd. “Angels, we salute you. Together, these three angels sacrificed personal glory to follow their inner voices. And in so doing, freed numerous souls trapped under Lilith’s malicious influence.”
Michael motioned to Gabriel. She walked over holding three round laurel wreaths. Michael placed the first wreath on Ariel’s head.
“God bless you.”
Ariel looked down, humbled.
Michael placed a wreath on Greer’s head. “May God bless you.”
Greer blushed.
Michael placed the final laurel wreath on Vero’s head. “Well done, Vero. May God bless you always.”
As Vero looked into Michael’s piercing violet eyes, he fought back tears. Michael placed his hand on Vero’s shoulder and smiled.
Dumah turned to Greer. He nodded to her. “Congratulations,” he said.
Greer’s eyes went wide. “He speaks! Dumah speaks!”
Dumah smiled.
X, Pax, and Ada walked over to Vero. Ada hugged him. Pax high fived him, and X knuckle bumped him. Vero looked for Kane but only caught a glimpse of him storming off the stage.
X leaned into Vero. “He looks pretty upset. I know you two haven’t been getting along lately, but Kane’s not a bad guy. When Uriel put Eitan on our team, Kane fought him, told Uriel it wasn’t right.”
“Really?” Vero said, moved.
“Yeah.”
Vero scanned the crowd and spotted Kane. He chased after him, but Kane had already disappeared into the audience. Struggling to avoid the congratulatory hugs and embraces of angels on all sides, Vero spread his wings and shot up a few yards for a better vantage point. He glimpsed Kane walking back into C.A.N.D.L.E. Vero flew after him, but he bumped into several angels who had flown up to give Vero their accolades. Shaking them off, Vero finally caught up to Kane as he entered the main hall.
“Kane!” Vero alighted just outside the giant door and raced after him.
Kane turned around in front of the torch. “What do you want, Vero? Come to gloat?”
“No,” Vero said, shaking his head. “I wanted to explain . . . I went for my sister. You would have done the same for yours. I wasn’t trying to outdo anyone.”
“But you do every single time,” Kane said. “That’s why I didn’t want you on my team in the first place.”
Vero looked down. He hadn’t expected Kane to say that.
“I wanted to shine.” Kane glanced at the giant torch. “I wanted to stand out . . .” He sighed. “Right after my baby sister was born, my parents went through a divorce. My dad came to pick up my brother and me for a weekend visit, but my dad only took my brother. He gave some excuse about how he thought I looked like I was coming down with a cold so I should stay home. But I felt fine. When the weekend was up, he didn’t return with my brother. He told my mom he was keeping him to live with him.”
“Did he ever bring him back?” Vero asked.
“Yeah, after a few days. My mom had to agree not to call the police on him, and no one ever spoke about it again.”
“You’re lucky you had a cold or else you would have been kidnapped too.”
When Kane looked at Vero his eyes were full of pain. “I told you. I wasn’t sick, and my dad knew it. And ever since, I had to live with knowing that he didn’t want me. Why take my brother and not me? And since then, no matter what I’ve done, I can never get his attention . . . and I guess it’s the same with the archangels.”
Kane turned and walked away.
“But you do stand out,” Vero said, striding after him. “You were selected the leader of the group by Aurora. I wasn’t. And I’ll admit it, I was jealous when the unicorn gave you the blessing and not me. And you pulled the fort-i-fire from the flames.”
“But that ‘special blessing’ was just one big fat lie. What good did it do?” Kane’s voice was shaking. “I did what they asked of me. I gave this competition my all, and what do they decide to do? They change the rules!”
“It’s only a contest. It has nothing to do with who we are. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“It meant something to me!” Kane yelled.
Kane turned and walked toward the main doors. Vero’s heart felt heavy. He saw Kane was in a bad place, and he wished there was something he could do to help. And then an idea occurred to him. Without any fear or hesitation, Vero reached into the swirling torch and pulled out a fort-i-fire. He drew his arm back and threw it at Kane. “Kane!”
Kane turned around. With an amazing reflex, Kane grew his sword and batted the fort-i-fire all the way past Vero and way up to the ceiling of the vast dome, where it exploded into fireworks.
“Don’t waste one on me,” Kane said as he walked out the doors.
28
VERO’S TASK
The auditorium had emptied out. Only Vero, Greer, X, Pax, and Ada sat on the stage. Ariel lay beside them.
“He’ll get over it,” Greer said.
“I’m not so sure,” Vero said. “You should have seen the look on his face.”
“In some ways, I get where Kane’s coming from,” X said. “They never really explained the rules to us. It was really unfair when Melchor stole the jawbone after Ada was the one who solved the riddle . . . and Kane did reach the top of the ladder first. When you —” X looked at Vero. “When you and Greer disappeared after the reflection pool, we had no idea where you went. It’s not like we could have helped you or come after you even if we had wanted. Melchor didn’t say anything to us about Lilith or Clover until after we reached the top. So, yeah, I totally get Kane’s frustration. We did our best to play by the rules, and apparently the rules didn’t matter. Not that I’m upset . . . but I understand where Kane is coming from.”
Uriel appeared at the side of the stage and walked over to the group. “It’s time for everyone to go back,” he told them.
The angels got to their feet. Vero turned to Ariel. “You saved our necks so many times during these Trials. Thank you.”
“Ditto,” Greer nodded to her.
Ariel smiled. “I hope to see you again.” She closed her eyes and disappeared.
Ada hugged X and then the others. She hesitated for a moment.
“What?” Pax asked her.
“Going back feels different this time . . . it’s like our universes collided. It used to be our angel world was here, and our human life was there. But now, I’m not so sure,” Ada said.
“Yeah,” Greer said.
Ada looked serious. “She went after Vero’s family. And I have a sinking feeling that Lilith was nothing by comparison to what’s coming.” She turned to Vero. “Be safe.”
Vero nodded, then Ada closed her eyes and vanished. X looked at Vero and then he too disappeared.
Pax turned to Uriel. “I don’t want to go back. Being in that institution is torture.”
“But it’s only half the torture your parents feel at having put you there,” Uriel told Pax as he placed his thumbs over Pax’s eyes and closed his eyelids. Seconds later, Pax vanished.
Greer eyed Vero, deliberating whether or not to hug him. Finally, she grabbed him and wrapped her arms around him. Embarrassed by her own gush of emotions, she quickly pushed Vero away. “Get off, weirdo.”
Vero chuckled. “Thanks for helping me with Clover. You really didn’t have to do it, but you helped anyway. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Who says she didn’t have anything in it?” Uriel asked.
“What do you mean?” Greer asked.
“She had her ward to protect.”
Understanding dawned in Greer’s eyes. “I’m Clover’s guardian angel?”
Uriel nodded.
“I knew it!” Greer said, pumping her fist in the air. “I knew I felt some kind of connection to her. That’s why I was able to track her in the dream.”
Vero smiled. “I couldn’t have hoped for a better guardian for my sister. I guess this sort of makes us family.”
“Don’t push it,” Greer said. She smiled at Vero then closed her eyes and vanished. Vero looked at Uriel. He wasn’t ready to leave the Ether just yet. He needed some answers.
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