by SJ West
“No, they can’t do that anymore,” my mom reassures me. “If a creature is made in Hell, it can’t come through the veil unless there’s a fissure for it to travel through.”
“But isn’t Lucas’s hellhound from Hell?” I ask in confusion.
“Yes and no. Your father told me that hellhounds were made from real wolves found on Earth. When they were taken to Hell, they were bred to be hellhounds like Luna. There are other creatures (like hellspawn and leviathans) that were made in Hell and aren’t able to cross the veil without going through a fissure.”
“Is that like a crack between the veils?” When my mom nods, I have to ask, “Have there ever been fissures before?”
“Once, but they’re all closed up now, so you don’t have to worry about those creatures coming here.”
“How come Liana’s aunt is in Hell?”
“That’s a long story,” my mom says as she straightens out an imaginary wrinkle in my covers, “and one I would rather wait to tell you when you’re old enough to hear it. Can we leave it at that?”
“I guess,” I reply disappointedly. “Thank you for my party today, Mommy. I had a lot of fun. Do you think we could invite Liam, Liana, and Lucas over one day soon? I like playing with them. Maybe Lucas can bring Luna with him too, since it would just be the four of us.”
When my mom smiles at me, I know it’s a real one this time.
“I’ll talk to your Aunt Anna in a few days and see if we can arrange that.”
“Are they related to us?” I ask. “Is that why I call her my aunt? I’ve never heard Liana or her brothers call you aunt.”
My mom looks surprised by my question.
“In her case, it’s just a term of endearment,” she replies, but I can hear the hesitancy in her voice. It’s almost like she’s keeping part of the reason to herself. “Now, go to sleep. Tomorrow’s my birthday, you know.”
“How come we don’t have a big party for you on your birthday?”
“I don’t need one. All I need is to be with you and your father.”
“And Grandma Evelyn and Uncle Enis,” I remind her.
“And them too,” she agrees. My mom leans over and gives me a small kiss on the lips. “I love you, Cal. Sweet dreams.”
My mom stands up and walks over to the door of my room. Before she leaves, she commands the lights to go to a twilight setting because she knows I don’t like to sleep in total darkness. As soon as the door closes, I jump out of bed and rush into my walk-in closet to find some clothes to put on. I know the perfect spot to test out my theory about my wings, and if I don’t hurry, I might lose my nerve to try it.
Our castle is built near a cliff by the ocean. There’s a beach area directly below it that I’ve been to with my parents and Gideon. If my idea doesn’t work, the worst thing that will happen is that I’ll glide down to the beach and have to use a long winding trail to get back home. The hard thing will be getting out of the castle without being noticed by anyone. That’s where being small comes in handy though. I’m able to duck in and out of small spaces when I hear someone walking toward me. After about fifteen minutes of dodging servants, I finally make it out of the castle and run toward the direction of the cliff. Once I reach it, I begin to second-guess my idea.
As I peer over the edge of the cliff, I see the white strip of sand that forms the beach and hear the crashing of the waves against the shore. I’ve never jumped from such a high place, but I know if I don’t at least try, I’ll always wonder if I can actually fly with my wings or not. I decide to get a running start first, so I walk back toward the castle a little bit. When I’m a few feet away from the edge, I don’t even stop to think. I just run as fast as I can toward the drop-off and jump. As soon as I begin to fall, I stretch out my wings, and it’s only then that I realize I’ve made a really bad decision.
As soon as I extend my wings, they’re bent backwards by the force of the wind, and instead of spreading out on either side of me, they remain useless on my back in an upright position. I can’t even force them down enough to use for gliding. I let out a scream for help, but I know no one will hear it. I close my eyes just before I hit the ground, and that’s all I remember until I breathe in something that tastes a lot like candy.
When I open my eyes, I see a man kneeling beside me on the sand of the beach looking worried.
“Am I dead?” I ask the stranger.
“Not anymore,” the man says to me as the lines of concern on his face fade and he begins to look relieved to see me alive.
I try to sit up but feel too weak to do it on my own. The man helps me by placing a helping hand on my back, right below my wings. Once I’m upright, I turn my head to look at him again.
He seems like a really nice person, and I know he’s kind by the look in his blue eyes.
“What happened?” I ask him, still feeling lightheaded from the fall.
“I was hoping you could tell me that,” he replies. “Did you fall off the cliff?”
“Not exactly,” I answer, feeling really stupid and not wanting to admit to him what happened.
“Did someone push you?” the man asks, sounding upset by the idea.
“No,” I tell him. Reluctantly, I say, “I jumped off to see if I could fly.”
“That wasn’t a good idea,” he tells me, sounding slightly amused by my effort.
“Nope. It sure wasn’t, but I had to try.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed to know if these wings could fly me places. I guess I got my answer.”
“Have you ever tried to fly before?”
“Yeah, but just off of tables and stairs. I thought if I jumped off something higher, then I would be able to fly. Looks like I was wrong.”
“Can I make a suggestion?”
“Sure.”
“I think your wings are probably like any other muscle in your body. You need to exercise them and make them stronger so they can bear your weight more easily and give you more control over them.”
“Do you think that will work?” I ask eagerly.
“I think it’s a better idea than jumping off of cliffs to your death, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” I say, feeling ashamed of my stupidity. “I guess you’re right. Who are you anyway, and why are you here?”
The man doesn’t answer me right away. He looks like he doesn’t want to tell me his name, but finally he does.
“My name is Cade, and I’m here because I’m your Guardian Angel.”
“What’s a Guardian Angel? Are you like my daddy? He’s a War Angel, you know.”
Cade smiles, but it doesn’t look like a happy one. Instead, it makes him look sad about something I just said.
“My job is to watch over you and bring you back to life when you do things like this that end it,” he tells me.
“I died?” I ask in shock.
“You were only dead for a few seconds,” he tells me.
“Does everyone have a Guardian Angel?”
“No.”
“How come?”
“Some people are important enough to the universe that they need to survive in order to accomplish an important task for God.”
“And I’m one of those people?”
Cade smiles. “Yes. You are, Cal.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“You’ll help someone make a decision one day that will decide the destiny of a countless number of people.”
“Wow,” I say in awe. “Who am I supposed to help?”
“You’ll figure that out when you’re older. My job is just to make sure you live long enough to fulfill your destiny.”
I sit there and stare at Cade for a minute and then decide to ask him another question.
“Do I know you? I think I’ve seen you before.”
“We met once when you were a baby,” he says as he stands to his feet. He holds out a hand for me to take to help me up from the sand. “Now, I think it would be a good idea if I took you back home.”
/> When I place my hand into his, he phases us directly to my bedroom.
“I wish I could phase like that,” I tell him as I get to my feet.
“None of the children of War Angels are allowed to have that gift,” Cade says.
“Yeah. I know,” I reply, unable to keep my disappointment out of my voice. “Keelan can’t do it either, but we both wish we could. At least he didn’t get these stupid wings.”
Cade looks at me like I said something that sounds strange to him.
“Why do you call your wings stupid?”
“I guess it’s because I can’t do anything with them.”
“If you do what I suggested, I think you’ll find them to be quite useful,” he tells me.
“Okay. I’ll try.”
“You should get ready for bed and stay in it this time,” he advises me. “I don’t think your mom or dad want my visits to become a regular occurrence.”
“Can I tell them about you, or are you a secret?”
“They already know about me, and I think you should tell them what you did this evening. It’s never a good idea to keep secrets from your parents. They could have helped you find a safer way to test your wings. Promise me that you won’t go jumping off any more cliffs.”
“I promise,” I say. “Thanks for saving me. Do you think you can stay with me for a little while longer, or do you have to go back to Heaven right away?”
“I can stay for a few more minutes if you want me to,” he replies, looking happy that I asked him to stay. “But I’ll have to go back soon.”
“Okay, just give me a sec!”
I run back into my closet and quickly change back into my pajamas. When I return to my bedroom, Cade is sitting on the side of my bed waiting for me. After I climb in, he tucks my covers in for me just like my mom did earlier.
“How come you can’t visit me more often?” I ask him. “You seem really nice. I think we could be friends.”
Cade smiles, but I see a sadness behind his eyes after hearing what I said.
“I wish I could, Cal, but I’m afraid it’s against the rules for me to do that. I’m only allowed to come here to do my job.”
I sigh in disappointment because I really like Cade and don’t want him to go.
His eyes drift to my nightstand, and he sees the glass box with the cookie in it.
“How did you get that?” he asks, which seems like a strange question. Most people would have asked why I have a cookie in a glass box, but it seems like Cade’s seen it before.
“Do you know Liana?” I ask him. When he nods his head, I go on to say, “Her Aunt Helena sent it to me as a present. Did you know today is my birthday?”
Cade drags his eyes away from the cookie, and they seem to glisten a little bit more than they did before.
“Yes,” he answers, “I do know today is your birthday. Happy birthday, by the way.”
“Thanks,” I say. “Do you think God would get mad if you stayed with me until I fell asleep?”
Cade smiles at me and says, “I don’t think He would.”
I reach out and grab one of his hands before I close my eyes. He doesn’t tighten his fingers around mine right away, but when he does, I begin to wonder if he’ll ever let it go since he’s holding it so tight. He isn’t hurting me, but I can tell us holding hands means a lot to him for some reason. I’m not sure why, but the thought makes me feel happy. As I fall asleep, I know I’ll never forget Cade or how he saved my life on my fifth birthday.
Chapter 6
(Helena’s Point of View)
Humans are so easily manipulated it borders on the ridiculous. It’s no wonder I have so many of their souls within my domain, providing me with the power I need to not only survive, but also to thrive beyond even Lucifer’s expectations when he first created me. If I play my cards right, I’ll end up having more power than I know what to do with and finally be able to rule the universe the way I see fit. Not being able to escape my domain is an annoying hindrance, but I still have ways to influence what happens beyond its borders. Lackeys are easy to come by and keep loyal if you know how to prey on their weaknesses without them becoming wise to what you’re doing. People often like to believe they’re smarter than they actually are, which is fine. Arrogance is the easiest emotion of all to use against someone who is so full of their own self-importance that it’s inconceivable for them to realize they’re simply being used.
As I sit on a gold throne in an elaborately decorated room I designed in my domain to meet with certain guests, I listen to Abaddon ramble on about how well our plan is going. I find my mind drifting off out of sheer boredom. Listening to him go on and on about his pitiful accomplishments on Earth makes me wonder how even he can live with himself. After I framed him for bombing Virga in order to prove my sister’s innocence, Abaddon ditched the body of Lorcan Halloran and ended up in some teenage boy’s body of a down-worlder in Cirrus. He kept himself hidden from Anna’s War Angels for a few years before finally coming to see me for some much-needed guidance. I suppose once a follower always a follower in his case.
“Are you even listening to a word I’m saying?” Abaddon asks, sounding irritated by my lack of interest in his report. “It was your idea to have me lead this rebellion against Anna. The least you can do is listen to how well I’ve been doing gathering down-worlder support for it.”
“If you’re expecting me to pat you on the back every time you do something noteworthy, Abaddon, I’m afraid this little endeavor of ours will be rather unsatisfying for you.”
“Well, if you hadn’t betrayed me to save your sister, we wouldn’t be trying to sabotage her again now!”
“I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to,” I say threateningly, holding myself back from snapping his neck in two.
“And I think you’re forgetting that I don’t have to come down here or do your bidding on Earth,” he says snidely.
“True,” I say with a nonchalant shrug, “but then again, you’ve never been very imaginative. Odds are you would still be twiddling your thumbs, trying to come up with a way to derail Anna’s Goody-two-shoes plan to mend relations with the disenfranchised people in her territory. If you want my help, you had better learn how to curb that tongue of yours, or I’ll remove it from your mouth and strangle you with it myself!”
“Whatever,” Abaddon says, attempting to look like my threat isn’t affecting him when we both know that it is. “What do you want me to do next? I’ve built an army for us to use. What do you want me to do with them?”
“Have you kept your operation a secret like I asked you to?”
“Yes. Anna and her War Angels know there’s a rebellion stirring within Cirrus, but they don’t know how large we are. I’ve been able to keep us hidden from them.”
“Then I suggest you use the force you’ve been able to organize to sabotage my sister’s efforts in her down-world.”
“Where do you suggest we start?”
I want to growl in frustration at Abaddon’s lack of ingenuity, but I don’t. I still have need of him, for now, and belittling him too much will do nothing to help my cause at this point.
“Is she still sending cloud city technology to the people in her down-world?” I ask.
“Yes. She’s installing public transporters in the smaller industrialized cities to make it easier to move supplies around to different areas.”
“Then my first suggestion is to blow those transporters up,” I say. “Rebellions only work if you prove you can affect what you’re rebelling against.”
“That might lead Anna and her War Angels back to us,” he tells me, sounding scared of such a prospect.
“Not if you use suicide bombers,” I tell him, wondering why I have to explain such a simple tactic to him. “Corner the weak-minded among your group of followers and tell them their sacrifice will save the world. If these people die while performing their acts of terrorism, Anna will have a hard time figuring out where your group is. Don’t take credit for
what’s done. Keep your head down and keep your people quiet. As long as none of them boast about what you’re doing, you should be able to keep hidden for quite a while. I would also suggest getting into contact with Hale and his group. I’m sure they’ll be more than willing to help your cause, as long as you don’t tell him that you and I are working together.”
“I suppose he wasn’t as forgiving as me concerning your betrayal of us.”
“I haven’t seen him since then, so I don’t know,” I admit. “But I would rather keep my distance from Hale and the other rebellion angels.”
“The last time I saw him he said he was trying to find your baby.”
I purposely don’t react to Abaddon’s words.
“And what baby would that be?” I ask him.
“The one you had with that War Angel, Cade,” he replies, watching me closely. “We all know he knocked you up before you killed him. Where is the little bugger? Is he the reason you’re trapped down here again? Is he out playing with the leviathans or something?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but he died during his birth,” I lie effortlessly. “And yes, it’s because of him that I’m trapped down here again. His soul was formed from one of the seals I carried, and when he was born, I lost control over its power.”
“That’s rough,” Abaddon says, looking surprised that I actually answered his questions. “I guess it’s for the best though. You’re not exactly the mothering type. You probably would have ended up killing the kid the first time he aggravated you.”
“Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?” I ask. The sooner Abaddon leaves, the better. Otherwise, I just might execute him where he stands to wipe that smug look off his face.
“No. I just came down here to give you an update on my progress.”
“Then I suggest you get back to work.”
“Tomorrow Anna plans to tour one of the new transporter facilities that just went online,” Abaddon informs me. “If we blow it up while she’s there, it’s sure to cause disruptions around the world.”
“Are you insane? That might kill her,” I say incredulously. “That isn’t the goal here, Abaddon.”