Angelus

by Sabrina Benulis

  Voices erupted from the trees. Priests and novices in black robes dashed from the dark undergrowth while others knelt and cocked crossbows at Angela and Sophia.

  “Angela—” Sophia shouted.

  The crossbows engaged. Arrows trailing nets assaulted them from either side.

  The Kirin’s wings flapped powerfully. The nets fell, and then threatened to cinch as the beast tore at them maniacally with its horn. Angela hunched against the Kirin’s neck and peered through the nets, searching their attackers. Maybe there would be a friendly face who could help. She breathed hard, and every lungful of air froze her heart all over again. Sophia’s breaths felt searingly hot against Angela’s back as they clung to the Kirin while it kicked and brayed.

  Screams broke over the shouting and noise. “Stop it! Let them go! Angela, you have to run away—”

  That voice—it was so familiar. Angela turned to see a young woman with a brown ponytail, dressed in Westwood Academy’s uniform, being forcibly restrained. Another novice pushed her down to her knees as hands clamped over her mouth. Another woman was being restrained beside her, but she looked much older and her thick hair was a deep red. A heavy shawl had been draped around her shoulders.

  Another male voice erupted over the echoing shouts of the novices. “I told you to kill her! Who decided to let these damned crows stay alive? We need to complete this before that Jinn returns!”

  Jinn! But he couldn’t be talking about Troy. She was still in Hell, wasn’t she?

  A flash of red light blinded everyone for a moment. Angela regained her vision in time to see the young woman who’d shouted to Angela vanish within the mist it left behind and reshape herself. She was now a crow. She broke from her captor’s grip and soared for the trees.

  “Shoot her down!” the male voice shouted.

  Gunshots broke through the noise. More arrows whistled.

  “Shoot her down, damn it!”

  The crow was gone.

  The Kirin’s horn had broken a gigantic hole through the netting, and it brayed threateningly. Now the priests and novices turned and regarded Angela with horrified faces. They surely hadn’t been counting on this. They’d expected a young woman, not a fearsome rider astride an even more fearsome beast. She and Sophia would have to take their chances and make for the trees. If they tried to fly, they would run the risk of being shot down.

  Angela didn’t even warn Sophia this time. She kicked the Kirin’s flanks hard and it exploded through the last of the netting, heading for the thick darkness in a copse of broken oaks. This was Memorial Cemetery—it had to be. The oak Fae named Tileaf had lived and died here in Luz’s last spot of life and greenery, and the winged Kirin jumped over the remnants of her broken oak tree as they neared the undergrowth.

  Soon they moved so fast, the branches melted into a blur as she and Sophia entered the thicket. Bullets screamed past them and lodged into tree trunks. Another grazed Angela’s ankle before vanishing in the darkness. She bit her lip, trying to stifle a scream of pain.

  They headed in the direction the crow had flown.

  The priests will follow us. Memorial Cemetery is only so big, after all. They’ll find us eventually, and then, and then . . .

  Shouts suddenly echoed back to her. The same voice that shouted for the crow’s death began to order retreat.

  Angela thought of the Jinn that had been mentioned and gritted her teeth, praying for the best. They needed more than one person on their side right now.

  An hour must have passed, and now Angela’s adrenaline rush began to subside into waves of utter exhaustion. At last, even the winged Kirin slowed to a trot. It folded its great wings and began to slip silently between the trees like a shadow. Then it stilled and lowered to the moldy earth in a small clearing, giving Angela and Sophia the opportunity to dismount.

  Angela winced as she gingerly slid off the beast’s back. Her muscles screamed, and she couldn’t help flinching as her bare feet brushed the rocks and frozen soil. Her bloody ankle throbbed, and blue blood stained the snow and dirt like ink. She was deathly cold already. The air was too pure and icy, and she still wore little more than a nightgown.

  “You look absolutely frozen,” Sophia whispered with concern. She took Angela’s hand and carefully slid from the Kirin’s back. “Your fingers feel like icicles already!”

  “I’ll be all right,” Angela whispered. “Frozen is better than dead any time.”

  “Freeze for long enough, and you will be dead. What just happened, though?” Sophia said. Her gray eyes narrowed with suspicion. She quickly knelt down and examined Angela’s injured ankle. “It’s clear that you were summoned through a mirror. I never thought any mirrors connected to the portals still existed on Earth. Most were destroyed.”

  Angela tried to think. “I’m sure that if the Vatican knew the mirror existed they would have destroyed it. But—”

  “What now?” Sophia said for her. She closed her eyes. “I’m sure we’re safe for a little while. But they’ll return to find you.”

  For the first time, Angela noticed the bruise on Sophia’s body and the cuts from the mirror shards. She grabbed Sophia by the hands and forced her to stand still as Angela looked for anything worse.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Angela said. She broke away from Sophia and clenched her fists. God, she just wanted to scream for hours. “I don’t know. You’re right, we’ll have to keep moving no matter what.”

  “Not just yet. You need rest. You’re staying right here while I find you some warmer clothes. Besides, you shouldn’t walk on that ankle right away, even if the bullet only grazed you.”

  “You can’t go into Luz, Sophia, they’ll capture you!”

  “Do you think I can’t disguise myself? I can pass for a child easily enough. Just stay here. I lived by Lucifel’s side for centuries, Angela. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, I can take care of myself.”

  Sophia turned to leave. Angela grasped her by the wrist, tugging her back.

  “No, please understand. Sophia, I can’t keep losing you.”

  Sophia played with the lifeless stone on her necklace. She sighed and then sat by Angela’s side next to the Kirin. Its leathery wings had almost disappeared against the darkness of its body. The beast had dimmed the bioluminescent lights usually rippling on its fur, but its great eyes still glowed. It regarded Angela and Sophia in turn, and then opened its wings like a canopy. Angela and Sophia looked at the wings, and then at each other.

  Angela was the first to scoot closer to the Kirin’s body, feeding off its warmth. Sophia did the same. Soon Angela was so comfortable, she could have had her back to a bonfire.

  There was silence for a long while.

  Until a twig snapped. The tree branches scraped one another overhead.

  Angela gripped Sophia’s arm, motioning with her other hand for silence. She rose slowly to her feet and searched the leafless canopy.

  A giant crow with shining golden eyes hopped from branch to branch. At last it sat directly above and then glided to Angela’s feet. Another crow followed it moments later. Both birds stepped back for a moment, seemingly unnerved by the sight of Angela and the intimidating Kirin. Then one of the crows took a cautious step forward, its attention focused on Angela’s face.

  Angela. Its words echoed through Angela’s mind like memories. You . . . look different.

  Angela thought of Troy’s crow familiar, Fury. The larger of the two crows certainly looked just like her. But who was the other one speaking to Angela? That familiar voice—it couldn’t be!

  “Nina?” Angela said softly.

  The crow’s head bobbed up and down excitedly.

  “Nina,” Angela gasped. She flung herself on her knees in front of both birds, insensible now to the freezing hard ground against her knees. “What happened back there? How are you a Vapor now? The last time I saw you—” Angela’s voice choked away. The last time she’d seen Nina, they’d been separated in Python’s hellish maz
e, and Nina’s leg had been badly burned by acidic water. Thank God she’d survived! But how had she become like Fury? Too many questions entered Angela’s mind, and she wasn’t sure how many answers she wanted. “This is Fury, right?” Angela said, and gestured to the other crow.

  Yes. Angela, it’s a long story. But I can’t lie. I never thought I’d see you again. Ever since we were separated in Hell, I wondered what had happened to you. Did you find out how to open the Book of Raziel? Do you know Lucifel escaped Hell?

  Angela stilled. Something within her felt wild and anguished. This was too much too soon. Since she’d awakened in Python’s mansion, everything had been a whirlwind of terror and now she felt dizzy from it all. She just needed a minute to get her bearings, to think. “Yes . . . I know about Lucifel.”

  She couldn’t look at Sophia right now.

  What about Sophia? Thank God you found her again! But why haven’t you opened her—

  “You wouldn’t understand,” Angela snapped.

  Nina flinched. Fury cocked her head curiously and then started preening her feathers.

  Angela dug her fingers against the soil. “I’m sorry. Like you said, it’s a long story.”

  I see . . .

  Angela squeezed her eyes shut. No, she thought, this isn’t right. I have to tell her what’s going on. We owe each other so very much. “Nina, would you mind changing back to a human again? I—I don’t feel right talking to you as a bird. It’s just strange.”

  Fury stopped her preening and stared at Angela with a wounded expression.

  “No offense,” Angela said to her.

  But there must have been some, because Fury glided over to Sophia and began tugging playfully at Sophia’s curls, refusing to look at Angela again.

  “I don’t get it,” Angela whispered to Nina. “Fury was human once too. What did I say that was so bad?”

  There was a flash of red light and a mist and then Nina’s human form coalesced. She stood beside Angela and shrugged. “Fury’s been a crow for so long, she doesn’t really think of herself as human anymore, Angela.”

  That’s exactly how I feel, Angela thought. I’ve been the Archon now long enough to feel like someone else entirely.

  But was that the truth? Angela had lost her memories and that wasn’t entirely her fault. But she also hadn’t thought about Luz, or worried about the burn scars on her arms and legs, or painted a single picture while in Hell. She openly talked to people now. She trusted people when she felt they deserved it. She had hope for once and clung to it.

  “I’m different, as you can see,” Nina continued. “I’m the only Vapor who can shape-shift. At least that’s what Juno told me.”

  “Juno’s alive!” Angela said excitedly.

  “Yes, she and Troy risked their lives to save me while in Hell. That was how I died again and became a Vapor. Python tricked Stephanie into entering Hell, he possessed her, and she attacked me as he tempted me to become his slave. To save Troy and Juno from being killed by him, I attacked Stephanie to stop her . . . but I didn’t survive.”

  Angela grabbed Nina in a swift hug. She held her tightly, trying not to cry. “Nina, I’m so sorry. You’ve gone through too much suffering. Because of me! Oh, God . . .”

  And then it all spilled out of her at once in a torrent. Angela started from the moment Lucifel escaped Hell and continued from there, explaining how Lilith had erased her memories and that she was now the ruler of Hell in Lucifel’s place. She didn’t leave out anything, not even what it really meant to open the Book of Raziel. When she explained that Sophia needed to die for that to happen, Nina’s eyes widened and she looked curiously at Sophia, who sat by the Kirin’s side, staring into the trees in utter silence. Angela ended with their recent escape from Lilith and Python’s control, and the winged Kirin breaking through the mirror as she and Sophia returned to Luz. Nina’s face became grave.

  “What about this?” Nina said, pointing at Angela’s green left eye.

  Angela looked at the ground for a moment. She thought of her visions of being torn apart. “Lucifel wounded my eye badly before she left Hell. The Grail moved there to take its place.”

  “So that gem is an eye, after all,” Nina said, her words saturated with suspicion. “Whose?”

  Sophia turned and looked back at them now. She seemed about to say something but must have thought better of it. Instead she sighed and patted the Kirin’s muzzle.

  “I don’t know,” Angela said. And it was the truth, though for some reason the answer still sat uncomfortably with her. It still felt too much like a lie.

  “Things haven’t been much better back here in Luz,” Nina continued in a quiet voice. “As you can see, there’s an eerie stillness to the air. It’s too cold, but there’s no more snow, and we never see the sun despite the hours passing every day. And now there’s a city in the sky among the stars. Angels arrive here after traveling from their city to ours. They’ve killed most of the crows and birds in Luz for sport, Angela. Fury and I can’t travel openly anymore. Worse, they took all the human souls still in Luz with them back to Heaven. No one knows why, but Fury and Juno and I think the Vermilion Order are responsible, and that a few officials in Luz made some kind of black deal with the angels—or perhaps with Lucifel—in order to survive whatever comes next. I don’t really want to know what the Devil plans to do with all those human souls, but our focus has been returning them somehow. Father Schrader was being very helpful for a while, but that’s changed. He doesn’t say much anymore. I wonder sometimes if he’s been bribed into lying low. Or worse . . .”

  Angela swallowed, trying to digest all the awful information. “So we don’t have many friends on our side?”

  Nina sighed heavily. “There’s Juno—and according to Juno, there are also the Jinn who recognize her as Queen of the Underworld, as few as those Jinn might be. Other than that . . .”

  “What about Israfel? Has anyone seen him at all? He went to Heaven too, and I was told he was possibly imprisoned.”

  Nina shook her head grimly.

  Angela slumped back to the frozen ground. She needed to think, but her mind had blanked over. Faced with a situation like this in the past, Angela would have turned to ice much like the soil. She would have said that this was a problem too great to involve her. Luckily, the wiser Angela was in charge forever now.

  This has to end. Maybe if we find where all those poor human souls have been taken, we’ll also find a way to reach Lucifel.

  And then what would Angela do?

  I want and need to change everything. But until Sophia is opened . . .

  “I understand,” Nina said softly. Tears glistened at the corners of her eyes.

  “What?” Angela said.

  Nina sat down beside her. “I understand why you’re hesitating, Angela. If what you told me about opening Sophia—I mean, the Book of Raziel—is true, then I know how you feel. It’s not fair. I get it. And I’m sorry for you. But there must be a way out of all of this.”

  “The only way is by entering Luz,” Angela said, shaking her head in frustration. “We can’t hide in this cemetery forever. I’m sure in a day or two at the most, we’ll be found. But at least in the heart of the city, we can hide and lay low as long as necessary while we figure things out. Or until we’re caught. The hardest part will be figuring out a way to travel without being seen.”

  Nina seemed to think this over. “So . . . what you’re saying is that we need to enter the city through a passage no one else uses or hopefully knows about?”

  Angela looked at her keenly. “Nina, the priests and novices know this city inside and out. There can’t be a path they haven’t discovered by now.”

  “But there are areas of Luz they avoid or don’t dare to use for everyday travel. The canals beneath the city, for instance.”

  Angela gave Nina a long questioning look. A strange shiver ran through her.

  “There is someone who can help us. She’ll know where to go next,” Nina whispered.
>
  And though Angela wanted to stay optimistic, perhaps the cold had reached too far within her for Nina’s words to do anything but chill.

  Fifteen

  Angela hadn’t enjoyed the idea of leaving Sophia and the winged Kirin alone, no matter how briefly she and Nina would be gone. The darkness of the trees was different from the darkness of Hell. There was more life in it, and Angela didn’t trust a gloom that grew anymore.

  She crept through the naked trunks, following Nina’s lead and slapping aside branches and twigs as they traveled. Away from the protection of the Kirin’s blazing-warm body, Angela now felt the cold like a knife piercing through every pore of her skin.

  Sophia was right. It was madness for Angela to walk around slowly freezing to death. But there was no time to take dangerous detours for clothing, so Angela forced her numb feet forward, step by step until she was sure they were turning purple.

  It was a relief to approach the light of a bonfire blazing in the middle of Memorial Cemetery.

  The priests and novices who’d chased Angela had returned to burn branches and logs and keep vigil until morning, perhaps in the hope that she’d return. Even Angela knew no one would risk entering the trees while they feared a Jinn hunted outside the ring of the bonfire’s protective light.

  Angela crouched onto the soil, resting her hand on an icy rock.

  Nina had taken the shape of a crow again and glided down from the branches to settle on her shoulder. Wait here, Nina’s voice echoed in Angela’s mind.

  Feathers fluttered as she lifted from Angela and vanished into the darkness of the woods.

  A few minutes later, she returned with a long scarf and a pair of shoes hanging by their laces from her beak. Angela whispered her thanks and took both, smothering her neck and mouth behind the scarf and quickly slipping on the shoes. She was only slightly warmer, but even that made a great difference. At least now she could walk without hurting her feet so badly. She searched the small camp again, trying to understand why Nina had brought her back here.

  This way, Nina said to her, and she strutted into the trees.