“Do something!” cried Ryan, shaking his head, hands still pinned over his ears.
Then, Imorean realized. This punishment was playing their fears. Fears that had now been forced to surface. Dustin’s obvious horror at being contained and locked away. Baxter was terrified of the dark. Ryan had a desperate need to be in control. It suddenly all made sense. He knew what was coming next. In the flashing lights, Imorean locked eyes with Ryan. The ginger-haired boy’s eyes were wide in horror, his mouth open in a scream driven to silence by the fire alarm. Imorean knew without turning what monster had come to haunt him. An exhale of rancid breath moved his hair and Imorean broke. Terror gripped his heart and squeezed tight. He ran blindly through the darkness and flashes of white light. The monstrous Hellhound of his nightmares was behind him once more. He didn’t need to see it to know it was at his back, desperate to sink its saber sharp teeth into his spine.
Nearby, he heard his three companions screaming. Then there were thunderous footsteps everywhere. Claws scraped away the varnish of the gym’s wooden floor. Imorean heard the squeak of sneakers as the other boys ran back his way. Snarling and growling dominated the air, barely heard over the constant jangling of the fire alarm.
Imorean knew what they were locked inside the gym with. Their own fears. On his heels was a Hellhound. A Hellhound. Michael had left them locked inside the gym with a Hellhound. But why? Imorean couldn’t figure out why Michael had saved him from one of these creatures only to throw him back to another. And what if the monster got loose onto the campus? A massive paw swiped Imorean’s legs out from underneath him and he cried out, smashing to the floor and skidding along the polished wood for a few feet. Obviously, Hellhounds saw better in the dark than humans did. Nearby, his friends were screaming as well, though whether in terror or in pain, Imorean couldn’t tell. Where were they? Was there more than one Hellhound here with them? He scrambled to his feet, his legs numb with fear. He needed to find his friends, to get them out as well as himself. The monstrous paw tore through his shirt in a swipe and drove the air out of his lungs. He crashed to the floor and curled into a ball. A river of hot blood dripped down his side and pooled beneath him on the wooden floor. A massive paw settled on his ribs, a dribble of warm saliva dropped onto his face. Through the strobe lighting of the fire alarm, he could see the blurry, ill-defined monster of a dog rearing back, opening its mouth wide. The killing blow would arrive this time and Michael was not here to stop it.
Imorean slammed a clenched fist against the floor and writhed, desperation driving him. “Stop!”
As the word left his mouth, there was a blast of air around him. Imorean squeezed his eyes tight shut. The paw on his chest jerked away. The hound let loose a horrible scream, as though it had been physically hurt. The glass window behind the flight simulator shattered and burst inward. Imorean felt shards of it land on his cheek like fine powder. He lay still, shock numbing his wound. Then silence. The fire alarm was mute. There was no more sound from the hounds. The lights flickered a few times and returned. Imorean blinked hard and raised his head.
Michael was standing on the hanging track on the second floor of the gym. It was the perfect position to look down on the central floor. There was a neutral expression on his face, but an odd sort of greenish glow around him. Imorean looked around at the others. Ryan had one foot in the flight simulator door, as though he had been trying to seal himself inside. Dustin was sitting up dazedly. Had he too fallen over? Baxter though, was huddled down near one of the pillars bordering the main gym floor, curled into the fetal position and trembling. What surprised Imorean most though, was the fact that they were alone on the gym floor. Imorean looked at his shirt. It was whole and undamaged. He was not bleeding. His heart slowed ever so slightly. With the light, the fear had lifted. There was no Hellhound here. All the fear had been in his own head. He stood up, his legs trembling beneath him.
“My brother has a very cruel sense of humor when it chooses to show itself,” said Gabriel, appearing from the stairwell. Raphael was only a few paces behind him.
“It wasn’t real. Not any of it. Just a simulation,” said Raphael. Imorean locked eyes with the doctor angel and the latter stopped next to him and gave him an apologetic smile. Imorean jumped as Raphael’s hand rested on top of his head for a moment. A sudden sense of warmth and comfort filled him up, from the tips of his toes to the very ends of his hair. For the first time since he had stepped into the gym, Imorean felt calm. His eyes widened as Raphael pulled his hand away. In the center of the man’s hand was a ball of darkness, about the size of a tennis ball. Raphael pressed his hands together and shimmering blue light washed over his hands, crushing the darkness out of existence.
“What was that?” asked Imorean, looking up at Raphael.
Raphael straightened his glasses. “Fear.”
Gabriel shook his head. “Like I said. Cruel. Hardly to be considered humor at all.”
“Do you understand now what we are trying to protect you from? This simulation tonight is just a taste of what Vortigern would do to you if you fell into his hands,” said Michael, leaping down lightly from the second floor, wings half flared to slow his descent. “Even four of you would not last five minutes against him.”
“The odds were against us,” snapped Ryan, pulling a still shaking Baxter back to his feet.
“The odds will always be against you, Ryan Howard,” said Michael. “You may as well get used to it.”
“I take it this wasn’t our real punishment?” asked Imorean, tucking his hands into his pockets. He was glad to find that they were no longer shaking. For Michael to play on their fears was a low blow.
“It was part of it. Clean the gym, you brats. After you have done so, we will detain you no longer. Raphael will take care of you after you have cleaned this place, but I hope that each of you will carry away from this evening the remnants of a scary encounter. There was nothing real tonight. Gabriel will stay here to ensure the task is performed, then you will return to your dorms. Do not attempt to leave Gracepointe again or I can assure you, the consequences will be more severe.”
Imorean nodded along with the other boys. Michael looked at each of them in turn. He shuddered when the Archangel’s eyes landed on him.
“Well played, Frayneson. Very well played indeed.”
“About what, sir?” asked Imorean.
Michael looked pointedly to the massive glass window near the flight simulator, then shrugged and gave no further answer. Instead, he turned to Raphael.
“Walk with me a moment.”
As the two Archangels began to turn away, Imorean heard one last strain of conversation.
“After what befell Uriel, I need you to retrieve Remiel to temporarily take his place. We cannot function as only three.”
“Imorean.”
The sound of his name jerked the teenager back into the present and Gabriel shoved a mop and a bucket into his hands.
“Get to work.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Imorean collapsed into his bed. Toddy was already sleeping soundly and had been for several hours. Imorean knew he needed to shower. He smelled like dirty mop water, on account of Ryan dumping a full bucket of it over his head. It was good to see that Raphael’s healing powers had been effective on everyone, but he, Imorean, had spent an hour longer in the gym than the others cleaning up Ryan’s mess and he still had flight training with Gabriel in the morning. Imorean closed his eyes. He felt immensely grateful to Raphael. The doctor had shown kindness, even tenderness, while dispensing of their fear and as he spoke to them after they had cleaned the gym. There had been a sense of reassurance in his words and now Imorean felt that the ordeal was as far removed as a fever dream. He inhaled deeply and gagged as he caught another whiff of filthy mop water and cleaning fluids. He would get up again in just a moment to shower. Just for a moment though, he wanted to close his eyes. As soon as his brown eyes shut, his thoughts turned to the one thing that had been truly haunting him. The disapp
earance of Uriel. The fourth of the Upper Archangels was gone.
Chapter 16
Imorean had been taking solo lessons from Gabriel for a little over a week. He was glad all of the issues from the week before seemed to have blown over and, at last, the campus was off lockdown. Imorean was quite happily flying now, albeit still close to the ground. He had begun to fly turns properly, but his confidence always quailed when he reached about fifteen feet. He just didn’t seem to have it in him to go any higher.
“You're starting to master the basics,” said Gabriel one crisp, autumn morning.
“Am I really?” asked Imorean, landing lightly next to his private tutor. He wanted more than anything to ask about Uriel, but had held his tongue. It was information he wasn’t supposed to know and Imorean didn’t want any more trouble than he had already gotten into.
“You are indeed. Do you think I would lie about that?”
“Well, no,” grinned Imorean, buoyed up by Gabriel's praise.
A sharp, chilling wind tousled Imorean's hair and wafted the tops of the trees back and forth. Imorean inclined his head as Gabriel glanced in the direction the wind blew from. He looked troubled.
“Everything okay?” asked Imorean, his curiosity getting the better of him. Perhaps Gabriel would let something slip.
“Of course.”
Imorean frowned slightly. There was an expression in Gabriel's hazel eyes that he couldn't place and he knew the Archangel wasn't being honest with him. Then again, Gabriel, for all his kindness, had lied about a lot and Imorean knew he had to be worried about Uriel.
“Now,” said Gabriel, turning back to Imorean and clapping his hands together. “I know that you're afraid of heights, but do you think you have the confidence to go a bit higher than you have been lately?”
Imorean looked down and his frown deepened. He shook his head.
“I'm sorry, Gabriel. I can't do it. It has to be after what happened in the simulator. That was one of my worst nightmares come true.”
“I understand.” The Archangel grimaced. “You're leaving me with my backup plan then.”
“Your backup plan?”
“Imorean,” said Gabriel with a sigh. “The day that you have to prove to Michael that you can fly is drawing closer and closer. You not being able to get yourself above ten feet is not going to appease him.”
Imorean swallowed. “So what are we going to do?”
“Meet me by the entrance building at five o'clock tomorrow morning. I have an idea.”
“What's your idea?”
“You'll see.”
“That doesn't exactly reassure me.”
“Everything will be fine, you'll see,” said Gabriel, winking then spreading his wings and launching himself into the air.
Imorean frowned as Gabriel flew back toward the main campus. The younger Archangel had a tendency to be rather unpredictable and Imorean couldn't help but wonder what he had planned.
When he was satisfied that Gabriel had gone far enough, Imorean flared his own white wings. He was slowly starting to marvel at them. They were actually beautiful. The feathers were stark, flawless white and each one was perfectly formed. The white-haired teenager couldn't help but wonder though what his mother would say and do when she saw them. Michael might have taken away their Thanksgiving break, but he couldn't take away their Christmas or summer vacation. The parents would know immediately that there was something wrong. Imorean sighed. He knew he would just have to wait and see what the fallout would be.
Quickly, Imorean glanced around to make sure there were no teachers or faculty around, then he flapped his wings, taking himself a small distance off the ground. He was comfortable at this height. Slowly, wobbling slightly, he made his way across the track field to the small concession building at the far end. When he landed on its roof, he was glad to find he was not even out breath. That was certainly progress.
Imorean tucked his wings back into their resting position and sat down on the metal roof, content to look out over the surrounding area. For a change, his view was not obscured by a fence or a wall. It gave him a small sense of freedom, which he was extremely happy about. As much as he wanted to leave, he knew now that wasn’t a possibility. While he was certainly capable of getting over the low, chain link fence, Michael would pick him up before he got too far and Imorean really, really didn’t want to find himself in trouble with the Archangel again. A cold chill ran over his skin at the thought of his night terror in the gym.
The teenager sighed heavily and rested his chin in one of his hands. He wondered how his family was doing. He hadn’t dared video chat his mother again. There was just too much risk of her seeing what had been done to him. All he had gathered about his family’s wellbeing was from his mother's recent emails. Amelia didn't know about the possibility of there being Hellhounds surrounding her house. She also didn't know about the platoon of angels that was stationed nearby to ensure that nothing did happen to them. Imorean shook his head. His involvement with angels seemed as though it had started long, long before his arrival at Gracepointe. A sudden feeling of homesickness threatened to overwhelm him and Imorean wished he could simply snap his fingers and be back home. He shook his head and blinked heavily. It couldn't happen, so there was no point in him wishing for it. Quickly, Imorean looked down and checked his watch, the glass face catching the early morning sun for just a second. His first class of the day would be starting soon. If he didn't hurry up now, he would risk being late for it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Imorean felt that he was barely awake as he walked slowly to the entrance hall. It was almost pitch black. The sun wouldn’t rise for several more hours. He had almost gone to the track field that morning before remembering that Gabriel wanted to meet him at the other end of the campus. He felt sure that Gabriel would find that to be hilarious. Imorean still couldn't believe how different Gabriel and Michael were. It was a marvel. The teenager shook his head and ascended the steps at the part of the entrance hall that faced the campus.
“You took more tired than usual, Imorean. You're dragging this morning,” said Gabriel, attracting Imorean's attention.
“Good morning,” mumbled Imorean, blinking heavily. “It’s earlier than usual.”
“You look like you could use this.”
Imorean raised his eyebrows as Gabriel thrust something warm into his hand. Blearily, his mind only half working, Imorean looked down at the object in his hand. A portable coffee mug.
“Drink it. Believe me, you'll want the caffeine. We've got a four-hour drive ahead of us, plus your training.”
“Four hours?” asked Imorean, taking a sip of the bitter coffee. He wondered briefly if Gabriel put any sweetener in it.
“You heard me right,” said Gabriel, turning and starting to lead the way through the entrance hall.
Imorean fell into step next to him and glanced around as they walked through the hall. He understood the significance of all the tapestries and paintings on the wall now. They were all of angels, demons and the battles between them. He wondered how he hadn't caught the references before now. He was suddenly possessed with the odd urge to laugh. There were so many tongue-in-cheek jokes he had never noticed when he had arrived. He took a sip of coffee instead, blaming his humor on the delirium of early morning.
“So where are we going?”
“The name won't have any significance to you,” replied Gabriel, opening the front door of the hall for Imorean. “But the place we're going to is called Rauma.”
“Why?” asked Imorean, fighting the urge to spread his wings and bolt as soon as he exited the front door. This was the first time he had been off the campus since he had arrived in August. The taste of freedom was sharp in his mouth and Imorean could barely restrain himself from leaping into the air. He quashed the feeling down. Gabriel would be on him before he could get ten feet.
“There's something there that I think will help you fly properly and will help you get over your fear of heights.”
“Oh, come on, Imorean,” said Gabriel, elbowing him playfully in the side. “Have a little faith in me. I know what I'm doing.”
“Really?”
“Most of the time.”
Imorean shook his head and descended the front steps. Freedom was underfoot. Again, he had to keep himself from launching away from Gabriel. He looked down at the circular driveway instead and his eyes landed on a sleek, black car.
“I thought we'd be taking a school vehicle,” said Imorean, looking over as Gabriel removed a set of keys from his pocket.
“Those old vans? They can barely move. This little car will practically fly down the roads we'll be taking. It's my personal vehicle though, so please don't spill that.”
“I won't,” replied Imorean. He didn’t know whether to feel more surprised at the fact that Gabriel would use his own car or that Gabriel owned a car at all.
When Imorean was settled in the vehicle and Gabriel had started the engine, Imorean asked,
“Okay, so … I thought angels could teleport.”
“Oh, we can. This takes much less energy though, it’s easier if we're close to the area we're teleporting to. Of course, since I'm an Archangel, I barely feel the drain of energy, but it's harder for us to teleport two people. The larger the group, the harder it is to move. Distance plays a factor too, but I’m sure you’ll learn more about teleporting later. Since we'll be flying today I'd rather conserve all the energy I have. It’ll be kinder on both of us.”
“Right. I guess that makes sense. So, why do you need a car?”
“Frankly, Imorean, I have a car because I like them. They interest me. It drives Michael crazy. He can’t understand the fascination,” replied Gabriel, pressing one foot on the accelerator. “Can’t an ancient creature have a few modern interests?”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Imorean found himself fixed to the window as they drove. The terrain here reminded him so much of the foothills of the North Carolina Mountains, but the Appalachians had more trees on them. If he squinted hard enough though, Imorean could believe for a few seconds that he was home. For one of the first times since his transformation, he was genuinely happy. The white-haired teenager sighed in contentment as they drove past a lake. Across the water, he could see a large mountain range that seemed to rise out of nowhere. They must be heading toward the highlands. The drive itself was peaceful and surprisingly quiet. Imorean was actually shocked to find that Gabriel was a reasonable driver. Then again, he supposed that Gabriel must have started driving when cars were first invented. Imorean shook his head. Cars. An immortal being fascinated by cars. He wondered vaguely if Michael had developed any modern interests. Somehow, he doubted it. Quickly, Imorean turned his thoughts away from Michael. He was away from the campus for the day. Now wasn’t the time to think about the Chief Archangel.
Angels Soaring (Angels Rising Book 2) Page 14