by Deena Remiel
Through it all, Michael held her hand, the right one with the scarred palm. It was the only place, oddly enough, that had no signs of damage. Through it all, as well, Emma hadn’t stirred, and that concerned Michael greatly.
***
As the healing continued, Raphael left Cassiel to finish the surface wounds, and he switched positions to sit by Emma’s head. He breathed deeply, placing one hand on her heart and one hand on her head, and began the healing again.
An immediate change came over him. His hands shook, his body convulsed and he let out a howl so raw, the others covered their ears from the piercing pain of it. Raphael’s hands leapt off of Emma’s body as though they had touched fire, and his body was thrown clear across the chamber. Nathanael was closest to him and rushed to his aid.
“I’m all right, I’m all right,” he assured everyone, a bit breathless as he slowly got to his feet again. “Thanks.”
“What the hell happened?” Nathanael asked.
“Everything was fine until I went to heal her heart and mind. Nathanael, I can’t begin to describe what I saw and felt. What she went through—I can’t fix it, brother. I can’t fix it,” he faltered, shaking his head and looking completely defeated.
“What’s going on?” Michael called out. “Come on back here and finish her healing.”
“I-I can’t, Michael. I could fix everything else, but I can’t fix this. It’s horrible in there, man. And Cassiel certainly can’t. Together, all the Saviors are still no match to heal her heart and mind. It’s far too powerful and dark. I-I’m sorry, brother. I’m so sorry.” He turned away to sit down, and put his head in his hands.
“So that’s it? Her body is fine but her heart and mind are lost to us forever?” Michael began stroking her hair compulsively. “Why, that’s absurd. It won’t do, you hear? I won’t let it be over. There has to be something else you can do. There has to be!” He stood with fists raised in defiance. “I didn’t come this far only to be denied my future. My future lies with Emma and Hannah. Don’t you understand? We’re the Trinity. We’re supposed to be together. How can we be together if you can’t fix her?” He walked, blinded by grief, to the stairway and pounded his fists against it. His body slumped against the wall in abject misery.
***
Hannah quietly walked over to her mother and lay beside her. She snuggled up against her as if she were going to sleep. And she whispered, “Mama, what should we do? You always know. You’re the one who always saves me. Tell me what to do.” She grabbed her mother’s scarred hand in her own and held it close, stroking her own cheek with it for comfort. She felt a glimmer of an idea begin to surface. Her mother must be communicating with her somehow! She listened with her heart, and made a plan with her mind.
Hannah kissed her mother’s cheek, walked over to Michael, and placed a gentle hand on his left wing. Feeling her child’s hand, he fell to his knees and turned to her. This time there was no stopping the barrage of tears that fell. “I failed her, Hannah. I failed you. Just damn me to Hell. I’m halfway there already.”
She wiped away his tears and it was little Hannah who spoke. “Don’t cry, Michael. Mama’s going to be okay. Come with me, come.” She pulled him over to where Emma lay unmoving. “We can fix her heart and mind, Michael. Mama told me how. Remember when we saved you?” He nodded silently. “Mama and I had cut our hands on the ritual knife and were bleeding. We put our hands on your shoulder where you were bleeding. We fixed you. You have your wing back and you’re not dead.”
“But we don’t have the ritual knife anymore, honey. How do you think we can fix your Mama?”
“Watch and follow me. Mama told me what to do. We’ve got nothing left to lose and everything to win.”
“You are one courageous, little girl. You know that?”
Hannah smiled at Michael and sat by Emma’s right arm. Michael sat by her left. “Let’s hold hands and place them over Mama’s heart and forehead.”
Michael obeyed.
“I know you’re not a Savior, Michael. I’m not either, but Mama is, and I know she will find her way back to us if we do exactly what she told me to do. I just know it.”
“I’m ready, are you?” he asked.
“Ready,” she answered, finally seeing a spark of hope light up his eyes.
They linked hands as Hannah had described, took two deep breaths and closed their eyes. Hannah’s scar began to throb and glow just like Emma’s. Michael’s wing glowed as well, and fluttered erratically. They were instantly aware of Emma’s desperation to return to her family and forget the horrors of her torture.
At first, there was only a glimmer of light emanating from them. That glimmer grew stronger and brighter until it became the brilliant aura that had encompassed the three in Emma’s backyard. And then, Michael heard something that was music to his ears.
“Hannah.” Emma spoke in little more than a whisper.
“Mama!” Hannah cried out. “You came back! I knew you would come back!” But Emma didn’t respond. Hannah nudged her. “Mama? Michael, she’s not saying anything.”
“Let’s try it again. I don’t think she’s really back yet. Maybe we need to do this holding hands thing a little longer this time.”
“Come on, then!” She grabbed Michael’s hands quickly and they poked and prodded Emma’s heart and mind back to them for good this time.
Emma opened her eyes a crack, and Hannah smiled.
“Hannah, my angel,” Emma cooed weakly. “You heard me. I thought I was dreaming; that it was too good to be true. But you really heard me.”
“We’re magic, Mama. Remember?”
“Yes, sweetheart. We’re magic.” Hannah felt the comforting squeeze of her mother’s hand. “Michael, where’s Michael?”
“I’m right here, honey. Welcome back. We’ve missed you something fierce.” Michael took up her hand and layered kisses firmly on her palm.
“I’ve missed you, too.” A watershed of tears flowed down her temples. “You two were the only things keeping me going. Thank God you’re both okay.”
Emma pulled Michael and Hannah to her and embraced them both. She kissed Hannah atop her head, and then kissed Michael gently but soundly on his lips, right in front of her. And Hannah didn’t mind it at all.
***
“All right! Break it up! Break it up! Let us have a chance to welcome Emma back to the land of the living!” Cassiel snorted, shoving his way through the crowd. “Can you turn off the lightshow, though? I’m bound to be the first blind angel in history.”
Michael laughed, shaking his head, and as they released each other from their grasp, the brilliant aura faded. “You’re a real pain in the ass, Cassiel,” he admonished, giving him a shove. “But you’re young still, so I’ll forgive you. For now.”
Michael watched as one by one the other Brethren kneeled down, kissed Emma’s cheek, and gave her their biggest, brightest smiles along with well wishes. She smiled back.
He hoisted Emma in his arms, making ready to leave.
“Raphael, there’s another body in the pit. It’s in bad shape. We should give him a proper burial.” Raphael immediately flew down first to see if there was any identification on him. That way they could notify his next of kin.
“I know who that is,” Emma remarked. “It’s the body of the man Agremon possessed when he came to me and took Hannah.”
Raphael came back up with a wallet in his hands. “Says here his name is Jared Sikes. Lived in Sedona. There’s a picture, too. Looks like it’s of him and a girlfriend or sister, maybe. I’ll take it with me and see what we can do about finding family.” Raphael stuck it in his back pocket. The Brethren made quick work of filling the pit, saying a few prayers, and marking the improvised grave.
***
Nathanael led them out of the chamber and back through the twisting tunnels of the mine. “Is Namirha gone, Michael? Is it over?” Emma whispered in his ear.
“No, we haven’t seen him or sensed him in a while. He’s bound
to make an appearance, I’m sure. But don’t worry; we won’t let him get to you or Hannah. We’re ready for him.”
She relaxed in his arms and watched as the Brethren ahead of her exited the mine. The three of them were just reaching the opening when Namirha suddenly appeared, providing an effective roadblock between them and the rest of the Brethren. Emma noticed the others hadn’t turned around. Why aren’t they turning around? Michael slowly lowered her to her feet, so that the three of them stood side by side.
“Emma, great to see you looking so well,” Namirha sneered. “Michael, you, too. Hannah, my prodigal daughter. Are you ready to return to my loving arms?”
He looks different from when I saw him last, Emma noted. His face had grown gaunt and ashen. And even though he wore a robe, she could tell the rest of his body was skin and bones. His failure to retrieve Hannah’s powers had left him depleted, with no chance to bounce back.
“Get out of our way, Namirha,” Michael commanded. “You waged your war and failed. And if I were a betting man, I’d say you just used up the last of any power you may have had shielding your presence from us. So go back to Hell and have your hounds lick your wounds. It’s over.”
“My influence is rooted deeply all over this world. Evil is everywhere. I may have lost this war, but I’ll be back. It’s not over. It’s never over.”
Before Namirha could say or do anything, Michael calmly directed, “Hands, now.” Emma grabbed his and Hannah’s in hers and their aura immediately erupted. With Namirha temporarily blinded, Emma pulled the two behind her, and moved them past Namirha and out of the mine. Then, they all raised their hands and pushed their energy towards Namirha until their arms were completely outstretched. The Trinity’s enormous surge of energy slammed Namirha against an inner cave wall, his entire body becoming entombed like a fossil. The blast was so strong that it caused another cave-in, sealing the entrance to the mine with tons of rock and debris.
“You’re right, now it’s over.” Michael dusted off his leather pants as best he could and shook his wings to free the little granules that had fallen in between the feathers.
Emma heard a stifled giggle escape from Hannah. “What’s so funny?”
“You!” Hannah giggled, pointing to Michael. “You look like a goose doing that!” She laughed even louder.
“A goose!” Michael balked, looking shocked. “I look like a goose to you? Geez, I’m an angel, I just saved our lives, and all you can say is I look like a goose. I don’t even rate looking like a swan? Come here, you! I’m gonna have to teach you a lesson on the difference between a goose and an angel!”
Emma watched, amused as Michael swept Hannah off her feet and squeezed her. She squealed with delight. “You see, a goose couldn’t do this with you, now could it?” Michael tossed Hannah high into the air, and as she fell back to earth, he soared up to catch her. “How about that?” He then planted her gently back on her own two feet firmly on the ground.
“Wow,” was all she could muster.
“Brothers!” Michael called out to the Brethren who had finally turned around to see what was holding up the Trinity. “Namirha has been defeated.”
The Brethren cheered as they unsheathed their swords, raised them in the air, and touched the points. The inscriptions on the blades glowed and hummed for a moment, and then returned to their regular state. With the swords safely sheathed once more, it was time to return home.
“Can you take Hannah back to her house, Cassiel?”
“No problem. Hey, I’m starving! Anyone else? I wonder if the pizza place is still standing.” Cassiel blathered on while flying away with her.
“So,” Michael said, turning to face Emma.
“So.”
“So, I guess you’ll be needing a lift home?”
“Looks that way. It seems like my friends have run off with my daughter, and abandoned me. But are you going my way?”
“Whatever way you’re going is my way, forever and always.”
“Yeah, about that,” she began as he picked her up in his arms. “You see, um, well, I don’t know if you noticed while you and Hannah were healing me, but um, oh, how do I put this?” Emma was stumbling over her words again.
“You”—he kissed her cheek—“and Hannah”—he kissed her other cheek—“have become immortal.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“Yes!” Emma chirped. “I can feel it in the both of us. But I’m not sure how it happened, although I do have my suspicions regarding that ritual knife.”
“We’ll figure it out, as soon as I get you home and make love to you for a couple of weeks or months or years, straight.”
As they flew home, Emma knew her shivers had nothing to do with the cool night air and everything to do with the glorious anticipation of Michael’s decree.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Hannah! Happy birthday to you!” The cheerful song was thunderous in the house as the Brethren bellowed it out, and Emma loved it. Although it was sung over a pizza rather than a cake, she could see Hannah didn’t care. It was still her birthday for another six minutes.
“Make a wish, honey,” Emma coaxed, rumpling Hannah’s hair.
Hannah closed her eyes and opened them. She announced stubbornly, “You know, I think I deserve more than one wish after all that’s happened, so I’m going to make wishes and I want you all to hear them.”
“Well, okay then, Miss Warrior, let’s hear them.”
“First, I wish that I could have a swimming pool in the backyard. Second, I wish that Seraphiel could come back to us. Third, I wish that everything in those towns would be back to the way it was. That’s what I want. Oh, and that Mama and Michael get married!” She blew out her seven candles, one for each year, and one for good luck. “There! Now, can I have a piece of pizza, please?”
“Absolutely, Birthday Girl.” Emma chuckled and began serving up the pieces to everyone. “Seems we have some negotiating to do with some of those wishes, little one.” When slices of pizza were duly passed around, and the Brethren were deeply involved in their meals, she took Michael aside.
“Michael, is there anything to be done about Seraphiel? Can he be brought back to us?”
“I’m not sure. Agremon knew the only way to kill one of us, and it’s forever as far as I know.”
“And what about all the mortals that died and the towns that lay in ruins? Can they be saved?”
“You know, you saw what we were able to do to Namirha when the three of us worked together. It’s worth a shot to see what else we can do,” Michael ventured. “Maybe we can turn things to rights. I mean, you’re a Savior, I’m a Protector, and Hannah’s a Warrior. We are The Trinity, are we not?”
“Why yes we are. Let’s finish our birthday pizza then, and after, we can see about fixing things.”
“That sound like a great idea,” Michael agreed.
They walked back to join the others who were eagerly dipping into the newly opened boxes of assorted pizzas. It truly was a time to feast, Emma thought, whether it was to be fit for a king or a six-year-old. As their hunger was finally appeased, they began to focus conversation on what was to happen next.
“We’re going to try and put those towns back together,” Michael said, “and return the mortals back to the land of the living.” Hannah jumped and skipped around the family room, barely able to contain her joy.
“Well, I don’t know about anybody else,” Cassiel declared, “but I’ve got a caseload waiting for me back at the office. E.L.’s probably going to call a meeting to debrief us on the war, and that could take another week all by itself. If I don’t get to work, I’ll be drowning in even more paperwork.”
After a round of handshakes, hugs, and kisses goodbye, one by one the Brethren left. Knowing that they’d see them soon enough didn’t make their leaving any easier for Emma. Where once they were only two, they now had a family of ten, and it felt wonderful. She watched and waved from the th
reshold until all the Brethren were gone.
“Emma, before Raphael left, he told me what we need to do if we’re to be successful with our plan. We have to increase our powers more than what simple meditation can do for us. Let’s go to Hannah’s room.”
“Okay, but why? We can meditate just as easily in the family room, and more comfortably, I might add.”
“Remember what Raphael said about this house, this land being on one of those magnetic lines of a vortex?” She nodded. “Well, the line runs right under Hannah’s bedroom.”
“Oh my. Well that explains a lot, doesn’t it?”
Michael had them sit in a circle on the floor and hold hands. As they closed their eyes, the Trinity’s aura began to glow brilliantly for a few moments and then dimmed. Hannah’s and Emma’s scars tingled like a low electric volt was passing through their palms. Michael experienced the same feeling in his left shoulder blade. As the discomfort grew stronger, their strength and energy increased tenfold. Simultaneously, their eyes opened and radiated a brilliant white light for a matter of seconds before returning to their normal state.
“Whoa,” Hannah muttered.
“Whoa is right,” Emma agreed.
“I think we’re ready. Let’s get to work, shall we?” Michael offered a hand up to Emma. His wings unfurled and as they made their way outside, he grabbed both Hannah and Emma.
“Hold on, everyone! Here we go!” He lifted off the ground and came back down sharply. He received cross glares from both Emma and Hannah. He tried again, and came back to earth.
“Only fooling!” He laughed, and took flight with the ease of a swallow.
When they reached the top of the mesa and settled back to the ground, they stood at the edge to witness the devastation the war had wrought, and a silent reverence fell upon them. Only an atomic bomb could have done more damage. It occurred to Michael that Hannah’s pictures of the devastation rang eerily true.