by Angela White
“You’ve been mean before.” The little boy glanced up. “Are you mean to the bad men?”
Kenn felt another chunk of the ice around his heart break off and start melting. “Yes. Who would you have me take your revenge on?”
The little boy startled them all with his immediate answer.
“The men who made us stay here. They’re the ones coming for your special people, too.”
Kenn gave the boy’s hand a careful squeeze. “My word on it. Get your mom and let’s go. This place feels all wrong.”
It wasn’t until they made it downstairs that Kenn found out why. The line of soldiers in the street wasn’t expected, and the team froze behind Kenn and Tonya, not sure what to do.
“Release your hostages and put your hands on your head,” the center soldier instructed, gun moving to target Kenn’s wide chest.
Kenn slowly took his place in front of the others, motioning for them to stay back. “What’s the problem, Captain?”
The man was surprised to have his rank recognized by a civilian, and it took him a minute to find the correct answer. Kenn took the opportunity to figure out how he would kill them all.
“You, hands up! Come down here!”
Kenn took a step out the door and felt Tonya place something against his hip that made him hide a smirk. If she kept coming through like this, he would ask to serve with her more often.
“We were sent to pick them up. I’ve got the authorization right here,” Kenn stated happily.
He grabbed the M16 and opened fire.
Chapter Seventeen
1
“Shhh.”
The two boys slipped closer to the private training area, carefully avoiding the security as they stayed to the trees and shadows.
The murmur of male voices grew louder and the two teenagers dropped together, peering at the adults through the thick weeds.
“Angela! You’re up.”
Angela held still while the blind fold was tied on, hands hanging loosely at her sides.
“On your mark, shooter.”
Angela drew and began firing, moving right, then left. She dropped to one knee for the last, closest target, and heard a loud cheer that said she’d done well.
“Four of four. Next.”
Angela grinned at the surprised looks from the rookies that were waiting nervously for their turn.
Adrian fell in as she started the running part of the workout course.
“Should you be doing this yet?”
Adrian grunted, sweating heavily. “No.”
Angela didn’t nag him, but when she would have stopped, he insisted she keep going.
Angela did, respecting him for the determination to beat the pain. She understood that.
“Ease up a bit,” she directed a few minutes later. She could hear his tortured breaths.
Adrian ignored her, and she was glad when she slowed her pace and he did the same. There were was too much attention on them for her to help right now. They had to think he was recovering on his own.
“Don’t want you to anyway,” he rasped out. The smell of the bleach they were using to disinfect the water with wasn’t helping as it wafted across camp.
“When, Adrian? I’m getting tired.”
Adrian slowed to a walk, unable to take the jarring any longer.
Angela didn’t like the silence. “They need you. The battle’s only a month away now.”
He stiffened. “I know that.”
“Then why are you hesitating?”
He sighed, low tone wistful. “It only works if we share power.”
“No. I don’t want this.”
His incredulous expression pinned her in place.
“I mean it,” she defended, trying not to squirm. “I may be good at it, but I hate these choices. Please don’t make me keep this burden any longer than you have to. I’m not perfect. I’ll get someone killed.”
“Not if I’m by your side.”
“Brady’s by my side!”
Adrian turned toward the water-cleaning area. “I’ll take over when I can do the job. Not a minute sooner.”
“What was that about?”
The boys were still observing and Charlie’s voice was full of displeasure. “Sex and power.”
Conner knew of his dad’s obsession, but hadn’t been sure if Charlie did. “She could do worse,” he offered hesitantly.
“She has my dad!”
Charlie stood up, not caring about those who came their way in surprise. Furious, he left Conner alone to face the scolding. Adrian had no right to do this while his dad was gone. When Brady found out…
Charlie grimaced. His dad knew. He’d left her here in Adrian’s care.
“Didn’t he know what would happen?”
“Of course he did.”
Charlie turned to find his mom leaning against the water truck, smoking and crying.
“Are you okay?”
Angela let the tears run unchecked. She needed the release and this was as safe as it got. “Life’s hard, boy. You get up and keep fighting.”
She wiped at the tears. “After you soak your shirt a few times, anyway.”
Charlie took a spot next to her and their shadows moved away to give them privacy.
“Why can’t he leave you alone?’
“Why can’t you leave Tracy alone?”
Charlie refused to answer, but he got the point.
“Dad’s going to be so mad.”
Angela snorted damply. “He already is, boy. He was pissed as soon as we got here. Now, I think it’s because he caught a flash or had a dream. He knew we’d be split up and this would happen.”
“What will you do about it?”
“Survive, and make sure you do the same.”
“You mean to give him what he wants,” Charlie accused, but he couldn’t find the rage he’d had only moments ago. Her sadness was smothering the flames.
Angela wanted to swear she wouldn’t break, to promise she wouldn’t betray Marc, but knew words meant little. She was actively fighting him now. In another month, who knew? The longer she and Brady were apart, the better the odds became for Adrian to have his way.
“Would he be good to you?” Charlie blurted.
He hadn’t meant to ask, but Conner’s words had struck a nerve. Charlie hadn’t had Marc long enough to be so blinded that he couldn’t recognize the sparks between her and Adrian. As a son, he wanted her to be happy. She’d sacrifice too much for him over the years for Charlie to ignore her needs.
“You’ve grown up.”
He flushed under her motherly tone, but didn’t deny it. The time he spent on lessons and training was helping, as was the studying of his own mind and heart, but it was the need to be perfect for Tracy that was shoving him into these new levels of maturity.
“You didn’t answer me.”
Angela forced herself to say it aloud. “He would love me as much as your dad does.”
“Would you be... happy with him?”
“Never,” Angela stated. “The guilt would never give me any peace. I’ve made my choice.”
She looked over. “What about you? Have you made yours?”
Charlie’s teenage face lit up with a man’s hunger that made Angela sure she wouldn’t like his answer.
“October is only a couple months away now. By then, we’ll both be ready to make the choice.”
Angela let herself breathe. She’d been expecting worse.
“I’m not saying we won’t cross lines before then,” Charlie added. “But we’ll go public later.”
Angela groaned. “I should have sent you with your father. He’d know how to handle this shit.”
Charlie laughed, leaning on her shoulder, and Angela let his happiness flow over her stretched nerves. He was a wonderful boy… son, she amended. Any women would be lucky to have him.
“Why are you avoiding dog?”
Angela closed that door. “He’s pissed I sent your dad out to fight. I’m pissed he didn
’t tell me who healed him. At some point, we’ll work it out.”
Charlie didn’t push further on that part of his curiosity.
“Why isn’t he doing rounds or anything?”
“He said he’s been given a job by Brady, to leave him alone. So I am.”
They both heard the footsteps, and Angela faded into the shadows to resume her rounds.
2
“I didn’t mean to piss you off.”
Charlie grinned at Conner’s hopeful face. “We’re all good. Sit down.”
Charlie started carving with his knife, chores done for the night, and Conner stared at him curiously. “You seem so even all the time, so…”
“Content?” Charlie supplied, narrowing the point on the wooden clasp.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Charlie paused to blow the shaving clear to view the progress he’d made. “I am, for the most part. Why aren’t you?”
Conner’s shoulders slumped. “I’m not sure. It’s great here.”
“I think you need to quit hiding. Let them know you’re like your dad.”
Conner stared at having his secret exposed.
“We know already. Accept it. When you’re doing work for this place, your mind will give you a break,” Charlie instructed.
“You think so?”
“I know it.”
Charlie folded his blade and shoved it into his pocket. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What was it like to have Adrian for a dad?”
Conner was quiet for so long that Charlie almost withdrew the question. When the teenager finally spoke, Charlie wasn’t surprised by the answer, only more confused.
“I only got to be with him once. My mom and I were supposed to be on vacation. We stayed with him until the soldiers found us. He had to run and we couldn’t go.”
“But you wanted to,” Charlie assumed. The flashes he was picking up were of a loving family.
“Oh, yes. We never wanted to be away from him.” Conner’s head dropped. “I’ve hated him for so long. I don’t know how to be his son.”
Charlie understood. He’d hated Brady for years before finding out that what he’d been told, and the truth, were worlds apart.
“He’s waiting for me to open up, to let him in, but I don’t think I can trust him.”
Charlie also understood that. “He’s your dad. If anyone can trust him, it’s you.”
“But he left me there while he took care of all these people, and look what he’s doing to your mom. He’s not one of the good guys.”
Charlie snorted uneasily. “Sure he is. He’s weak, is all. When you find someone you care for the way he does my…”
Charlie snapped his mouth shut and left the table. He didn’t like being slapped with the truth, and it didn’t matter that Conner hadn’t meant to remind him of the bond that existed.
“You wait until my dad gets back!” Charlie swore. “He won’t stand for this.”
3
“What are we? And where do we come from?”
Charlie’s question was the opening that Adrian had been waiting for. Angela wanted their origins known and what better way to spread it than through the kids?
Adrian went to the chair he’d been stubbornly refusing to sit in. His hip groaned in relief as he finally took the seat. “Get comfortable. It’s a long story.”
The teenagers and Eagles chosen to be here did as he instructed, and Adrian found himself sliding through doors he’d only visited a few times in his life.
“We come from the Angels. And the Demons. We are half of each.” Adrian’s voice grew awed, urgent. “They couldn’t help it. The humans were bright and mysterious, and of course, beautiful, but more than that, they were free! These humans were allowed to curse the God that had created them, to refuse to believe in him! The Angels were banished for such disharmony and it drew them to Earth repeatedly. Some came with anger, and brought violence to the humans, something they didn’t need more of. These were the demons who had no better half. They waged war across whole continents in rage at the differences. They killed God’s creations and so damned themselves. They are now Angels of evil.
“The others who went among humans loved them for their ignorance and their kindness. They gave them children who were special, who held the power of heaven on earth. Full of gifts of love, these new children also carried the demons of their human parents, the parents cursed by God himself for the garden betrayal. The Angels couldn’t produce children who were immune to the curse.”
Adrian noted the people in the flap and motioned them in. Jennifer’s presence was unexpected, but welcome. She was slowly recovering under Kyle’s care.
“Why wasn’t it strong enough to make us good?” Becky asked. Her own gifts weren’t like the boy’s powers, but she did have a weapon of sorts that she could feel growing inside of her.
“Because they weren’t God. They could interfere with a current creation, but pregnancy was as close as they could get to actual creation themselves.”
“Weren’t any of them girls?”
“No,” Adrian told them. “All Angels, so far as I’ve ever heard, were male.”
“But the bible has them.”
Adrian shrugged. “It’s always been my belief that there were no females in heaven until humans and the earth were created.”
“That’s sexist,” Becky grumbled, feeling left out.
“It was a plan,” Adrian corrected gently. “I think he meant for his Angels to have companions, but they jumped the gun and took the gift before it was given. Their punishment was that their children would also suffer man’s curse.”
“And if they’d waited?”
Adrian grunted unhappily. “Salvation, forgiveness for the garden. I think he was about to send them down to cleanse us, to breed it out.”
“Well, we sure screwed that up,” Conner stated angrily. He hadn’t heard all of this story, either.
“Yes. After two exhausting creation efforts, the Lord probably said you’re all on your own for a while. I need a beer.”
The people in the tent snickered, but Adrian didn’t think that was far off.
“So why let us continue, if it was a mistake?”
“Because it wasn’t,” Adrian stated. “If we hadn’t screwed up, the Angels would still be allowed to come here. They’d be helping us settle differences, guiding us into enlightenment. He chose not to wipe us out because despite the mistakes, those children were needed, are still needed. He was going to send his Angels down here to help save our world. That goal didn’t change, it only grew much harder.”
“So we’re supposed to save the world?”
“Yes, that’s our destiny,” Adrian confirmed. “It’s why each of us have survived.”
“And what about the bad ones? Like Matt?”
“He wasn’t the only one,” Becky forced herself to speak up, to name her terror. “Rick was.”
“So was Cesar and the twins,” Jennifer mumbled. “They were strong leaders who could have helped their people.”
“But they didn’t have any gifts,” Conner protested. “Right? And neither did Rick.”
Adrian took over. “Not all of us have physical gifts. People like those were powerful because of their ability to get others to follow them. If they’d been born into the light, they might have had actual gifts. Fate handicapped them because they were evil, I believe.”
“How do you tell them apart? The good and the bad.”
Jennifer’s question was one all of them wanted an answer to.
“For years I was sure that I couldn’t.” Adrian waved at Becky. “It’s in the eyes, sometimes. I narrowed down that blue are good, green ride that edge, and brown are bad.”
The tent erupted in protests and Adrian held up a hand. “I said sometimes. It’s not accurate. You have to search for the other things that go with it. If someone has brown eyes, they are predisposed to side with their demon. It doesn’t mean they will, only that i
t’s likely.”
“What other things?”
“When the physical attribute colors match, the power is usually stronger and has manifestations. If they don’t, the gifts are more mental and scattered, weaker.”
Aware that he had their enrapt attention, Adrian kept filling in the blanks. “Each generation has had a massive problem that our kind was supposed to solve. We were kept apart so that it couldn’t happen.”
“How?”
“Why?”
It was the adult who were asking the questions now, while the teenagers examined themselves by the lines Adrian had set down.
“They’ve always known. Mary Magdalene’s child was incredibly gifted. How could they not?”
“It’s all true? The article on the internet the day it all happened?”
Adrian nodded at Peggy’s question. He hadn’t actually read it himself, but many of the refugees had. “Yes. They kept them locked up and forced them to breed, to share the power.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s no power, no currency, in peace.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Look at it from their side. If the world knew without a doubt that God existed, the bibles were right, and everything was based on evil, what would happen?”
“Changes,” Doug muttered.
“Yes, and on a scale that we’ve never experienced. No more films, music, information, entertainment, education, and many other things, unless they were morally and religiously correct. Free speech wouldn’t have stood anywhere. Neither would stealing, controlling, and murder in the name of power. Not only would the governments have lost control of the entire world, they’d have been killed.”
“And it’s been happening all this time?” Peggy clarified in horrified anger.
“Once it had gone on so long, they couldn’t ever stop it or they’d be exposed and ruined. Millions of families, powerful houses that have withstood the centuries, would have collapsed and carried countless others down with them. The choice that was made right after Mary Magdalene was taken into protective custody determined thousands of years of our future, our awful history. We were robbed.”
“You said they kept them locked up. Wasn’t it only the little girl?”
“No. Power rubs off. All the mothers of these children had been changed by their births and exposure to us. We would have spread like a plague, bringing peace and cures, and all sorts of gifts to mankind.”