She was placed very gently down again, on something soft and much warmer than the cavern floor, although she could still feel the stones beneath her. Her heart slowed even further, and she knew that she was not long for this world. She wondered where her soul would go to. She had always believed in Heaven and Hell, but now she didn't know what to think. Where do Angels go when they die, if they spend their lives in heaven?
Unexpectedly, she felt something fall onto her face, something wet. It couldn't be raining - she hadn’t been lifted long enough to have left the cavern, she was lifted for barely a second. And if it had been Leonara, who had shifted with her, she would have known it, she was sure. The hands that had touched her - she was sure that’s what they were now, hands lifting her gently - were unfamiliar, they had never touched her skin before, of that she was certain. And as the small spot of wetness spread slightly on her face, she got sudden flashes in her mind, broken and confused images that her mind tried to make sense of. Feelings that were not her own.
Hatred, disgust - then shock at the sight of the wall of flames, the inferno that she could not stop. Frantic now, how could she stop it? She must get to the person on the other side! Flashes of the shield lowering, the panic as the flames pushed through. And then grief. Unimaginable sorrow, as she realized she was too late. The girl she had been watching was gone now, dead because of her. Guilt. Why had she done this? Why taunt? They were the same, and now she was alone. And then she realized who it was who had lifted her, who had come back for her - who was crying for her. It was the boy. She used the last of her ebbing strength to force her eyes to open and meet his, as he leaned over her.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Thousands of miles from the cavern, Leonara paced the floor of the hotel room, furious at herself, and furious at him for being able to get the upper hand over her. She had no idea how he'd managed to do it, Mia was so well shielded that she couldn’t detect her from two feet away, so how he had managed to find her on a distant mountain top, she had no idea. Where he had taken her was equally as mysterious. And why no-one what coming when she called for them, she didn't know. As soon as she got back to the room and Mia was not there, she had Shifted back to the mountain. The mountain had gone, in the space of three or four seconds, from being in the midst of a full-blown blizzard, to picture postcard perfect. She knew almost instantly, upon arriving at the mountain and finding everything like this, that someone had taken Mia. He must have called the storm, knowing it would separate them.
She had tried desperately to pick up a trail, but he was too clever to leave one, no matter how hard Leonara tried to create the Truth that she could find them, the boy’s over-rode hers and crushed it. He would not be found unless he wanted to be found - and neither would Mia. Immediately, she had began trying to summon the others, but no-one had come or even replied. She had returned to the hotel room, checking that no-one had tried to enter, and they hadn’t. After calling a few more names, ones she would only ever call when she was in dire need, and getting no reply, she had gone looking for them.
They were nowhere to be found, which set alarm bells ringing in Leonara’s head. Even home was deserted. Where else could they be? Why was no-one answering her pleas? Did they not want to find Mia? They needed her. But then again, if they weren’t listening, then they wouldn’t even know she was missing.
What Leonara failed to realize was that the same Truths which kept Mia and the boy hidden from her also applied to her. She would not be found, would not be able to communicate, nor would she be able to find any of her comrades unless he chose to let her.
It was unsettling, not being able to find anyone. Defeated, Leonara sat on the bed with her face in her hands. She had failed to keep the girl safe and most importantly - strange that something should be more important than her safety - she had failed to keep her away from that boy. They had prophecies, the Others, and if they were fulfilled it would almost certainly spell the end for the Angels and their battle. A battle that in truth, though she had not told Mia, they had been slowly losing ground on for eons.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Lucien waited impatiently for Leonara to check in. It was most unlike her not to, and he was beginning to suspect that something had gone wrong. He should have checked the shielding on that room himself - now it was too risky for him to go there. If the room had indeed been compromised, he could be walking into anything. And if, as he feared, Leonara was lost it would almost certainly mean that Mia was dead.
It was peculiar, even to him, the way that he could think of this calmly and rationally, without the emotions that clouded human judgments. A human would be beside themselves with worry and grief at the thought that their only child was dead, or captured - possibly tortured. Lucien did not have these emotions within him, and it perplexed him. When he had found out all those years ago what Katherine had done, had snatched their child and left her to the wolves, he knew that it should have enraged him, left him distraught. But all it had done was annoy him, the inconvenience of it all. All the effort they had gone to, to have that child, just for her to hand the child over to the very ones the child was born to fight against.
Perhaps his daughter had followed in her mother’s example, and deserted their cause, joined the others willingly. That thought provoked a reaction within him - anger. Whilst Angels did not technically feel human emotions, certain ones were something of an exception, ones that proved useful - and anger was useful. It gave him a sense of direction, a sense of purpose and a sense of conviction. He had first experienced anger fifteen years ago - anger provoked by Katherine. She had made a fool of him, betrayed his trust, betrayed his child. He would never forgive her.
He pushed these unproductive and useless thoughts away, and did another sweep to try and pick up any indications of either his daughter or her protector’s presence, and could not find even the slightest glimmer of either of them. Perhaps they were both extinguished. That would be most unfortunate indeed. He made a decision, and whirled to face his aide, who was, as ever, standing just a few feet away, awaiting orders.
“Bring me five of our soldiers” he ordered.
“Yes, sir. Are there any in mind? Or any particular skills you will require of them? So that I can better choose five that will please you, from your legions.” The aide bowed low as he grovelled.
“Expendability.” Lucien's reply was cold, and his face hard.
The aide looked up briefly, then nodded curtly before turning and striding from the room to carry out the Master’s orders. He returned a short time later, bringing with him five competent, but by no means exceptional, soldiers he had found in the barracks.
“Gentlemen - and lady,” Lucien greeted them warmly, “Please do come in. I have a very important task for you.” His tone grew serious, as did his expression. “George, please leave us. Close the door behind you. Wait outside, do not move, do not allow anyone to enter.” He barked the order without even looking at the other Angel – he knew it would be done.
“Yes, my Lord.” George bowed to the Master, then turned and bowed to the five soldiers. It was a game he and the Master had played many times before. It would give the soldiers in the room a sense of importance, of urgency of the matter, of superiority that they were the only ones to know of this confidential mission. Which was, in all likelihood, a suicide mission. He doubted very much they would all return. If there was a chance of making it back, the Master would have gone himself. He backed out of the room, still bowed, and closed the door behind him, making sure to noisily turn the large key in the lock, before standing to attention outside the room. Anyone passing would know there was something important happening in the room. All of it a ruse, to give the poor saps inside a false sense of confidence.
He stood and waited, his curiosity getting the better of him, he allowed his hearing to drift to what was happening in the room.
“Well, I’m glad you were all able to come on such short notice. I thank you for your dedication.” The Master
nodded respectfully and appreciatively at the soldiers standing before him. “I need five strong, able soldiers to perform a very special task for me. You cannot tell anyone where it is that you are going, or what your task is. If anyone enquires, simply tell them to take it up with me - your section leaders included. I will endeavour to send messages to them all once you decide whether you wish to undertake this task - for of course, the decision is entirely yours.”
Five heads nodded back at him gravely, but of course there was no question of them saying no, not to the Master.
“You are about to become privy to some extremely sensitive information, none of which is to be discussed outside this room - is that understood?” Five heads nodded at him once more. “As you are aware, almost sixteen human years ago, a prophecy was fulfilled when I became a father. The first of our kind to father a child, and none has done it since. As you are also aware, that same night we suffered one of the greatest betrayals in history, second only to the Betrayal of the Brother, when Katherine took that child and handed her over to them to be killed, before she left our cause and joined theirs. It was a great loss.” he paused for dramatic effect, and five solemn faces stared back at him, nodding gravely. There wasn't an Angel amongst them who didn't know the story – it was, after all, how Lucien had become their Master.
“Recently, intelligence was brought to me suggesting that they had not, in fact, killed my daughter,” There was a tangible change in mood in the room, none of them had expected this. They had all been certain the child was dead, “and that she was in fact, alive and well and being raised by humans. It seems that they let her slip through their fingers, and then could not find her afterwards.
I have sent an aide to guide her, since she knew nothing of her true heritage and purpose until very recently. She is just now coming into her powers, and is in great danger. At this time, I can get no response from her aide, and naturally am greatly concerned for the safety of my child. The child is not responding either, I fear the worst.” He paused and five faces continued to stare gravely back at him. “I need you to physically go and search for her, on every plane. I cannot sense her from here, she is weak, her light is dim, she has not developed her powers yet. The closer you are, the more likely you are to find her. Find her and bring her to me - and you shall be richly rewarded.”
The five nodded again, of course they would accept such a noble and honourable task. Renewed hope flowed through them all, the girl was alive, all was no longer lost.
“So will you all accept?” Lucien spoke in commanding tones that told them it wasn't really a request.
“Yes, sir!” chorused the determined and confident reply.
“You are all fine soldiers.” He flattered them, further buoying their confidence. “George will assign you with your planes, he does not know of this task, so I do not wish you to discuss it with him. Merely ask him ‘so?’ and he will reply with a plane, randomly chosen.”
Again they nodded.
“You are dismissed. Please change your attire to human clothing, I do not wish you to frighten my child, nor attract any unnecessary attention to yourself. Go now, do not hesitate.” He waved them away dismissively, then returned to gazing out of the window, and trying to search out Leonara’s light amongst all those burning brightly through all the planes. Trying to find one single Angel light was like trying to spot the same firefly once it had moved ten times in amongst a cloud of others. They were all out there, like a sea of candles in the darkness, but constantly shifting and moving, and so hard to keep track of. If that light were dimmed for whatever reason, it would be almost impossible to find them, unless they wanted very much to be found. And of course, there was always the chance that she did not want to be found. He leaned his head against the glass and sighed, his breath misting up the pane.
“George, come in here please.” He called wearily to his aide, who he knew would be listening for his summons.
George obeyed with his usual swiftness, and was by his side in moments.
“Yes, my Lord?”
“You assigned their planes?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Good.”
“If I might be so bold, sir, what exactly is it they are doing?” Playing dumb was always best. The Master probably would not be best pleased to find him eavesdropping, and in all likelihood, the story that he had told the soldiers was not true anyway.
“They are finding out which plane my daughter is on” he replied simply.
George was puzzled, why send expendable ones to do a genuinely important task? The Master seemed to know his thoughts, although that was not possible, and replied simply.
“Whichever does not come back is the one who was assigned the plane where my daughter is hidden.”
Ah, so it was a suicide mission. George knew that he should feel pity for those who had been sent out to battle with no idea what they were facing. But pity was one of those human emotions that was useless and weakening. He stood beside his master and together they looked out of the window, at the kingdom beyond, and awaited the return of the soldiers - or more precisely, waited to see who did not return.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Evan stared down at the eyes staring back up at him, holding his breath, his heart pounding in disbelief. She was alive….she was alive! He knelt down beside her, unsure of what to do. He could see her eyes dulling already, and they started to close. Her light was going out. Oh what a fool he had been! All that time he spent feeling sorry for himself, crying on the floor like a pitiful wreck, and all the time she had been there, just feet away from him, alive. He could have been helping her, and the guilt washed over him once again.
“I’m so sorry Mia, I’m so sorry,” he whispered over and over “please, please - you have to heal yourself, Mia, do you know how to heal yourself?” Her eyes slid further closed now, and Evan grew desperate. “MIA!” he yelled, “you have to HEAL!” He wanted to shake her, but was afraid that all that would do would push her over the edge, be the last straw which snuffed out her light for good. She could not take any more pain and trauma.
She couldn't speak, to tell him if she knew how or not, he knew that, but the frustration was too much. He had felt a surge of hope when she had opened her eyes, and now she was dying all over again. Desperately, he reached out to her mind, hoping to find the answers there, to see how much power was left in her.
What he found there saddened him deeply - where he knew there should be brilliant light flowing, there was only darkness. Her mind had one tiny core of dying light, and he honed in on it, so that at least she could speak to him.
“Mia?” He called, into her mind, and was surprised to see the light grow slightly brighter as it registered his voice. “Mia, can you hear me? Hang on Mia, hang on in there! I’m going to try and find somewhere you can heal from, okay?” He searched her body, vaguely aware somewhere in his mind that this was more of an invasion of privacy than any human could ever conduct. He was literally searching her bones for any hint of life, but everything he found filled him with despair. Charred blackness and pain, no light to be found anywhere. She was really going to die, and he became aware of the tears falling again, splashing onto her face.
As the tears landed on Mia’s skin, Evan noticed the light responding to each one, growing the slightest bit brighter for each tear that hit her. His light - there must be some of his light, draining from him in his tears. No wonder Arduino had told him emotions made him weak. Where a human might feel drained with sorrow, Evan’s light was literally being drained from him. But he could still feel the light burning strongly inside him, and that was when he realized how he could help her. He had to get some of his light into her body, to help her own grow, to allow her to heal.
“I’m going to help you, Mia, hold on.” He whispered into her mind again, and thought he felt her try to respond, although it could have been wishful thinking.
He withdrew from her body, and searched around the floor for a jagged rock, finding one a
s quickly as he could. Taking a deep breath, he raised the rock then slashed it down across the palm of his hand, and had to consciously fight the urge to heal it. His body seemed to do that as a reflex now, healing no longer required a conscious effort from him. Biting his lip, wondering whether this was the right thing to do, he gently parted Mia’s scarred lips, and allowed his blood to flow into her mouth. The blood was where the light lived, how it flowed, and where it was strongest. If he could get enough into her, the light would start to flow through her body, and she might just stand a chance. He waited, and he hoped.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Mia recognized the face, it was the boy. What she couldn't figure out was why he was still there, and why he seemed sad that she was dying. It was what he had wanted. He didn't look hurt at all, she wondered how that was possible. She had been a fool to let rage get the better of her, to try to hurt him with her power. What was that her mother used to say, about karma bringing things back on you threefold? Well, she was certain that she hadn't wished a third of this agony on him. Karma must be broken.
Awakening (Children of Angels) Page 15