“I hope the journey was not too much of a shock for all of you.”
There were a few murmurs of dissent, but not enough to cause the Archangel to comment.
“So,” he said, flaring both sets of his wings even wider. “Are we all ready?”
Imorean couldn’t help but notice the nervous glances that the students directed at one another. Of course they weren’t ready. He still wouldn’t be ready himself if Gabriel hadn’t thrown him off the edge of the Troll Wall.
“I am,” Imorean said, surprising even himself as he walked past his friends and made his way toward Michael. The Archangel raised a skeptical eyebrow and smirked.
“If you say so.”
Imorean halted a few paces away from Michael and returned the Archangel’s smirk. He felt a hint of satisfaction as Michael’s expression faltered. Then Michael smiled in approval.
“All yours,” said Michael, motioning with one wing to the very edge of the rock and to the open sky beyond.
Imorean nodded and smiled over his shoulder at his friends who were gazing at him in a mixture of worry and expectation. Imorean paused for a moment and opened his white wings, flexing them for a few seconds. He could feel Michael’s eyes boring into him. Why was everything to do with the Chief Archangel a challenge?
“Whenever you are ready,” said Michael, in a tone of long-suffering patience. The irritation was back.
Imorean shot him a small glare and walked forward, progressing into a run as he neared the edge. As usual, the terror of hurling himself off a perfectly stable and safe object and plunging into the abyss rose in his chest, but Imorean squashed it down. He was capable. He could do this. His toes touched the edge of the rock, then he leaped out and forward, sending himself away from the rock. His wings took his weight and he arced out for a moment, then pulled his wings to his sides, and dove.
Imorean kept his eyes open as he tore downward through the sky, taking in the surroundings. Sky above, fjord below. All around were mountains, many now capped with snow. Many hundreds of feet below him was a river, sparkling like liquid sapphire in the early morning. Quickly, he oriented himself into a half-diving position and began to slowly open his wings. Imorean groaned at the familiar jerk as his wings took his weight. As soon as they did though, they caught the air and Imorean found himself free to maneuver. With some effort, he pulled out of his dive and rolled over, banking away from the cliff edge. A few wingbeats later, he began to climb back up toward the flat summit where his classmates were waiting.
A rush of air from below him helped to push him the rest of the way up to the rock surface and even several meters beyond it. Imorean smiled to himself and spun in the air with a flourish, leaving his wings outstretched and allowing gravity to pull him back down to the ground. He landed lightly next to Michael and looked up at the Archangel for approval.
“Not bad,” hummed Michael, quirking something akin to a smile.
Imorean smiled in return, taking heart in the Archangel’s praise. There was something in Michael’s pale, green eyes, though, that caused Imorean to pause, an expression deep down in them that made Imorean suddenly feel very exposed. There was emotion in them that he just couldn’t quite place.
“Right,” said Michael, turning back to Imorean’s classmates. “You have all seen him do it. On three I want all of you to follow Frayneson and myself.”
There was a nervous, collective shuffle as all of Imorean’s classmates prepared themselves. Imorean did a double take at Michael. The Chief Archangel wanted him at his side? Michael caught his gaze and gave a tiny nod.
“One!” called Michael, turning away from the students and facing back out over the fjord. Imorean turned with him.
“Two!”
Imorean copied Michael’s motion of flaring his wings. A cold breeze ruffled his feathers and Imorean couldn’t restrain a smile. Orange sun had broken over gray mountains.
“Three!”
As Michael called the third and final number, Imorean leaped off the rock ledge again. This time though, Michael was beside him and all of his classmates were behind him.
Chapter 20
It was impossible for Imorean to ignore the fantastic feeling of camaraderie that swelled in his chest as his classmates dove off the cliff following him and Michael. The small squad of angels that had flown in with Michael earlier in the morning slipped down from a higher altitude, flanking Imorean’s classmates.
“What do you think?” asked a voice, interrupting Imorean’s thoughts. The boy looked over and was surprised to see Michael looking at him expectantly. It took Imorean a fraction of a second to realize that it was in fact the Archangel who had started a conversation.
“It’s incredible,” replied Imorean, surprised at how easily he could make himself heard over the sound of the wind.
Michael turned his gaze forward. “It never loses its splendor.”
Imorean did the same, absorbing the beautiful sight of the late autumn sun rising over the tops of the distant mountains. It cast a golden glow over the summits and turned the water of the fjord beneath to glistening orange. Imorean closed his eyes, preserving the sight in his memory, hoping to etch it there forever.
In the few seconds he held his eyes closed, he thought back. Although what Michael had done to them was wrong, and Imorean knew that neither he nor any of his classmates were ready to fight in the war that Michael said was already raging, there were still good things about their situation. This was one of them. Imorean had never imagined, not in his wildest dreams, that his fear of heights would ever be quelled or that one day he might be soaring thousands of feet above the earth, powered only by his own body.
The feeling of bliss and exhilaration caught him and Imorean began to laugh. An odd, secondary sense of more reserved humor filled him. Imorean rolled over, slipping out of the formation slightly, wheeled, then banked, simply enjoying his wings properly for the first time. Not even when he had flown with Gabriel had he felt this free. Imorean twisted, flipped and corkscrewed back upward, making his way back to Michael’s side. Imorean frowned slightly though, when he saw that his place next to Michael had been taken by none other than Bethany. Imorean had no desire to be anywhere near Bethany, so he adjusted one of his wings, intending to make his way to the back of the formation, when a loud whistle caught his attention. Michael was looking directly at him, motioning for him to come back. Imorean smiled in surprise and beat his wings quickly, returning to Michael and settling on the Chief Archangel’s other side.
“Frayneson,” called Michael.
Imorean directed his attention to his commander, showing that he was listening.
“On me,” said Michael firmly. “Voran, you may follow for as long as you feel able. I want to see what Frayneson is capable of.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Imorean, surprising even himself with the respect he was showing Michael. There was a flicker of satisfaction in the Archangel’s eyes.
“Raphael!” called Michael, looking over one shoulder. “Take the lead.”
Michael folded his wings more tightly against his body and surged forward as his younger brother dropped down into the spot where he had been.
Michael’s sudden onset of speed surprised Imorean and he had to snap his wings down harder to try to catch the Archangel. From the corners of his eyes, Imorean spotted Bethany glaring at him in jealousy. Imorean couldn’t help but smirk. He was faster than she was. The gyrfalcon trumped the hawk, it seemed.
“On me!” shouted Michael again, pointing to the open spaces on either side of him.
Imorean looked up. Michael was several yards ahead of them. His shared glare with Bethany had cost him ground. Imorean shook his head. He shouldn’t be concerned with her. He needed to show Michael what he had learned from Gabriel. That’s what this was about.
Imorean panted slightly as he brought his wings closer to his body and put on a burst of speed that brought him up even with Michael.
“Impressive,” said the Archangel. “
Gabriel said you could get up to a decent speed during a dive. Is that so?”
“Yes,” nodded Imorean, reminding himself to take deep breaths and urging himself to ignore the dull ache in his shoulder and wing muscles.
“Let us see then, what kind of speed you can get to when not diving,” said Michael, smirking. “I will keep going faster until you are unable to stay up with me anymore.”
“All right,” nodded Imorean.
“We’ll be able to keep up,” said Bethany, who had drawn up on Michael’s other side.
“Fair warning, though,” said Michael, finally offering Imorean a strangely broken smile. “I am the fastest angel in the entirety of the Host.”
“So, no competition then,” replied Imorean, finding himself returning Michael’s dark grin.
“We shall see.”
With that, Michael shot forward, his wings almost pinioned to his sides. Imorean grinned and copied the Archangel’s movements. A few large, powerful beats later, Imorean was level with the Chief Archangel. Imorean met Michael’s surprised gaze out of his peripheral vision and pushed himself further, getting a few feet ahead of Michael. The art of sprinting lay in not stopping. Only fractions of a second later, Michael was back at Imorean’s shoulder. Imorean beat his wings in small, fast motions, using them to gain speed and pulling himself through the air. He was moving faster than he ever had before. The world was again starting to blur white around the edges of Imorean’s vision and a feeling of excitement and utter exhilaration filled him up, from the tips of his fingers to the ends of his primary flight feathers. His blood sang, spurred on by excitement and the thrill of the flight.
“Dive!” shouted Michael, somehow making himself heard.
Imorean groaned as he twisted his body, the speed at which they were traveling making it difficult to change direction. Everything around him was now in a blur, the only thing clear was what was directly in front of him. Michael swept a few feet in front of him and Imorean was shocked to see a green blur following behind the Archangel. Imorean pinioned his wings directly against his sides, making himself as streamlined as he could. Air zipped by him, not catching or being disrupted by anything.
“Distance, Imorean!” shouted Michael.
Imorean narrowed his eyes and noticed they were already starting to draw closer to the river at the bottom of the fjord. Michael was starting to slowly open his wings and slow his fall. Imorean quickly judged his distance. He had over two hundred yards left to dive. He would be able to slow himself long before then. Imorean flashed a confident grin at Michael and continued to fall. All of a sudden, the water was only one hundred yards away. Imorean checked himself. He didn’t think he could pull out of his dive, he was going too fast. He began to flare his wings and slow his fall, but he knew as he approached the water that he wouldn’t be able to pull out of the dive completely. A thread of fear threatened to seize his heart. Then something that felt like a memory registered in the back of his mind. He was only ten feet above the glassy surface of the water when he snapped his wings all the way open. There wasn’t time for pain to register in Imorean’s mind before he rolled over onto his back and coasted upside down for a few yards, buoyed up by the air that had built up in front of him. There was neither time nor distance to think. He had to act. He rolled again, facing the water only a foot below his face. He could have reached out and touched it. Cautiously, Imorean tilted his right wing down, the primaries just inches away from the water. A rogue wave disturbing the glassy surface could have pulled him down out of the air, but his luck held and the fjord surface was as calm as a mirror. Imorean pulled into a tight turn, nearly perpendicular to the water below, beat his wings awkwardly a few times and finally caught enough air to ascend back into the sky.
Imorean hovered twenty feet above the fjord, panting. He trembled as he realized just how close he had come to hitting the surface of the water. The tips of his primary flight feathers were damp. Michael coasted down to his level, green eyes narrow and guarded once more.
“Who taught you that?” snapped the Archangel.
“No one,” replied Imorean, shaking his head. He was too tired to be angry about Michael’s restored aggression.
“That is a battle maneuver I have only ever seen used regularly by one Archangel. I certainly hope that my brother has not chosen to teach you that.”
“No one taught it to me. I only used it because it felt like the only thing that could stop me hitting the water.”
“Hmm. I see. Come on. We should catch up with the rest. It seems also that we have lost Voran.”
“Yeah,” nodded Imorean, lining up next to Michael. He couldn’t help but feel ever so slightly triumphant. Bethany, it seemed, wasn’t actually best at everything.
“You kept up well. I confess myself impressed,” said the Chief Archangel, his voice no less guarded. “You gave me, as you humans say, a run for my money.”
Imorean felt shocked. “Really?”
“Indeed.” Michael furrowed his brow and seemed to think for a moment before he spoke again. “You are certain that no one taught you how to do that?”
“Positive,” replied Imorean. He didn’t understand why it was such a big deal.
“Understood,” said Michael.
Imorean felt taken aback as Michael smiled at him again. This time though, the smile was different. It was suspicious and calculating, not a kind smile at all. There was something lurking behind Michael’s eyes though. Was it speculation or was it … pride?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Imorean parted ways with Michael as they rejoined the rest of the formation. After a moment of looking, Imorean spotted Toddy, Roxy, Mandy and Colton toward the back of the group. Colton was flagging badly.
“Everything all right?” asked Imorean, angling himself so that he was flying level with his friends.
“Yeah,” nodded Roxy. She was red in the face. “We’re just working on going at our own pace.”
“You okay there, Colton?” asked Imorean, lifting one hand from his side and resting it on Colton’s shoulder.
“I’m fine,” panted Colton, flapping his little wings a bit harder.
“How was flying with Michael?” asked Toddy, swooping under Imorean and stopping on his other side.
“Amazing. I didn’t think that was something I would ever be doing,” replied Imorean, grinning. He opened his mouth to mention the strange conversation he had had with Michael above the surface of the water, but stopped when he took note of the close proximity of other angels.
“I have something to tell you all, but it’ll have to be later,” he said.
“All right,” nodded Toddy.
“How fast did you go?” asked Roxy, taking her eyes off Colton for a moment.
“Faster than I’ve ever gone in my entire life,” replied Imorean, beaming. “It was the most incredible feeling I’ve ever experienced. Michael said I gave him a run for his money.”
“Really?” asked Toddy, his eyes widening. “You must have really done something right if you impressed His Royal Dickness.”
“Toddy,” hissed Imorean, catching a disapproving glance from one Michael’s nearby angels. He lowered his voice. “I know we all think it, but remember who we’ve got around us right now.”
“True,” sighed Toddy, shrugging as best he could as he beat his silent wings.
“That’s tripping me out,” said Imorean, shaking his head.
“What?” asked Toddy.
“Your wings. They don’t make any noise at all.”
“It creeps Michael out too,” chuckled Toddy. “You should see the faces he makes while I fly in the simulator. Dustin’s the same way. He’s got barn owl wings.”
“Gabriel says my wings are distracting,” said Roxy, grinning. “Too many colors.”
“I can see why,” replied Imorean. He inclined his head and watched the beautiful blur of color as Roxy flapped her rainbow wings.
“I’ve got seagull wings,” sighed Mandy. “I’m just boring and
average…”
“Don’t say that,” said Imorean, offering her a kind smile. “You’re the only seagull among us. I’d say the most boring ones are the eagles, like Baxter and Ryan.”
“All I know about my wings is that they’re small,” grumbled Colton breathlessly.
Imorean dove under Colton and took up a position on the boy’s other side.
“It’ll get better,” said Imorean, hoping his words would be encouraging. “I’m only this good because I’m used to flying outside. No one else is.”
“I hope you’re right,” huffed Colton.
Imorean rose up a few feet above the bulk of the flight formation, curious as to where they were going. He was surprised to see Michael guiding the nose of the group back toward the cliffs that bordered both sides of the fjord. Were they finished? Imorean checked his watch. They had been flying for a little over an hour. He was shocked. It felt as though they had just taken off. Was it really time to land already?
“I think we’re about to land, Colton,” said Imorean, giving his friend a smile of encouragement. While he felt disappointed that their flight was finished so soon, he knew that the impending landing must be a welcome relief for Colton.
“I hope you’re right. I think I’m about to die.”
Imorean shook his head. “You’re not dying. I wouldn’t let that happen.”
The white-winged teenager looked up ahead, glad to see Michael had chosen a landing spot and some of the students were starting to make their own landings.
“Almost done now, Colton.”
“Thanks, Imorean,” nodded Colton, sounding encouraged by the promise of the end of their flight.
Imorean pulled himself to a stop just before the start of the cliff, wanting to make sure his friends landed safely. Toddy went first, stumbling as he landed, but managing to stay on his feet. Mandy landed seconds after Toddy. Roxy followed her and landed heavily, her knees crumpling beneath her weight. Imorean crooked one wing, wanting to go to his best friend’s side, but instead righted himself and chose to wait instead for Colton to land.
Angels Soaring (Angels Rising Book 2) Page 18