“The seal of Bathsheba.”
“Bathsheba,” said Kellan, “Solomon’s mother, yeah, you mentioned that before, but what is it?”
Michael turned. “Balance, Sentinel of Order. There must always be balance. Symmetry. Even as the Seal of Solomon can compel a demon, so, too, can the Seal of Bathsheba compel an angel.”
Kellan sniffed. “If you ask me, I think this whole balance thing is way overrated. God should cheat more.”
Michael turned confused eyes on the Sentinel. “If the Father were to, as you say, cheat, he would not be the Father.”
Kellan shrugged, “I don’t buy that either. I already think He’s shaving the corners off the dice as things stand, what might happen if he were just a touch more overt?” Michael said nothing. “Fine, a debate for another day. What are we supposed to do here? Wake her up so she can fly over to us?”
Michael shook his head. “No, embrace your power and see her through those eyes, Sentinel of Order.”
Kellan did and cringed. Barbed tendrils of red energy continuously leaped from the pool to strike Ariel’s limp form. Countless wounds were torn across her face and body where missing armor pieces left her most vulnerable. Each wound leaked emerald energy that dripped down into the massive red pool to puff away as violet mist.
Kellan’s lips curved in fury. “I am going to go full Ramsey Bolton on that flaming asshole, Maurius. She’s in agony. We need to get her out of there and pronto.”
The Archangel nodded. “Yes, but not we. Only you can do so, Sentinel of Order. Had I been able to retrieve her safely, I would have done so, even if it had meant my destruction.”
“Me? Why only me?”
“You have held both Order and Chaos, you might survive contact with the primordial energies below. Only one other has channeled both Order and Chaos.”
“God?” Michael nodded and Kellan said, “Yeah, well, why didn’t you ask Him?”
The Archangel turned cold eyes to Kellan. “I did ask, Sentinel of Order. My Father said He could not interfere.”
Kellan opened is mouth in disbelief. “Couldn’t? Well, why the hell not?”
“I do not know.”
Kellan sighed, “Well, then consider my previous question repeated.”
Michael rounded on the Sentinel. “Kellan Thorne, an angel does NOT question the Creator’s reasons for acting or not acting. In point of fact, the last angel who DID question as you suggest is the very angel who built the realm in which we now find ourselves. I cannot take even one step down that path.”
“Not even for the woman you love?” asked Kellan.
“She is not a woman and I never claimed to love her.”
“Dude, seriously. Shut the frak up. You want me to go swimming in primordial chaos for someone you’re kinda fond of. No way. Admit you love her or I’m going home to the woman I love so she can punch me in the face for leaving her behind.”
Long moments stretched out between them in silence and finally Kellan said, “You’re an idiot, Michael and I’m outta here.” The Sentinel turned to go when a massive hand held him fast.
Michael stared intently at Kellan, then said in a whisper, “I do love her, Kellan Thorne. We have stridden creation since our eyes first beheld it. We have never failed each another, and I will not do so now.” His voice became stronger and again he said, “I love her. Now, there, you have forced me to soil my nature with a human emotion. So go save her.”
Kellan smiled. “Well, I’ll certainly do my best, but if I die doing this, there are two important things I want you to know. First, once again, you are an idiot, because love is not something you autistic butterflies can be soiled by. It is something that transcends what you have been and allows you to become much more.”
Michael nodded thoughtfully. “And the second?”
Kellan took a deep breath, “And the second is that you won’t get to enjoy that transcendence for very long because a batshit crazy Scotswoman Soulborn would absolutely tear you limb from limb for getting me killed.” Kellan smiled and saw confusion in Michael’s face. “I’m just glad I’ll be dead so she can’t kill me too.”
Kellan clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Ok, how do we do this?”
Michael turned back to face Ariel. “I will direct a focused burst of Ordered power into her bonds. She will be freed, but in doing so, the power keeping her aloft will fail and she will fall. You must be there to catch her and not allow even the smallest touch of the primordial chaotic power to reach her. Then you carry her out of the basin, we return to the portal, and escape.”
Kellan had been listening intently with his brow furrowing ever deeper. “Ok, seems a bit simpler in theory than in practice so exactly at what point will I be in mortal danger?”
“The entire time you have contact with the Chaotic energy, it will be trying to return you to your constituent parts.”
“My constituent parts?” asked Kellan, “Like blood and bones, constituent parts.”
“No, like hydrogen, helium, and carbon.”
Kellan whistled. “Those are pretty constituent.”
“Yes,” Michael agreed.
“I’d like to keep that from happening,” said Kellan. “How exactly do I keep that from happening?”
“You must channel the chaotic energy into a shield composed of creative power.”
“Wait, you said that chaotic energy couldn’t be channeled,” said Kellan, confused.
“It cannot be,” replied the Archangel.
Kellan sighed. “Ok, I see a hole in your plan. I need to channel that which cannot be channeled in order to make a shield to prevent me from being constituentized by the stuff that can’t be channeled.”
“God could channel the primordial Chaos”
“Dude,” said Kellan exasperated as he pointed both fingers to his face, “not God.”
“Of course not, but you have channeled creative energy.” Michael pointed to Kellan’s eyes and the faint violet ring that surround his pupil. “It has left its mark on you. You should be able to draw on both powers for the short time needed.”
“And if I can’t”
“Then you will be broken down to your constituent parts. The Sentinel of Order will be destroyed. Ariel will be destroyed. I will have irrevocably damaged my Father’s plans, and I will throw myself into the primordial lake, thus causing me—”
“— To be destroyed,” finished Kellan. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Well, I guess I better not fail then.”
“That would be best,” agreed Michael seriously.
Kellan stared over the edge for the barest of seconds, shrugged, and yelled “Leeeeroooyyyy, Jennnkinsss” as he dove headfirst over the side.
Kellan’s outstretched hands broke the crimson surface and he felt himself slide beneath it as if diving into a water-filled pool. For a frozen moment he thought it wasn’t going to be too bad, but as soon as his head broke the surface, pain blossomed like a firework exploding behind his eyes.
He heard a scream and, for a split second, thought it was his, but, no. The voice was crystalline and decidedly female. Nurisha, he thought, what must this be doing to her? Need to be quick.
Kellan drew deep from the emerald river of his power and in his mind’s eye he saw Nurisha standing atop the rippling waters. She spun and moved in all directions as red tendrils of power lanced from the sky toward the river. Each one she intercepted with a cry of determination. Her eyes met Kellan’s for the briefest of moments as his mind retreated from the river. He knew she could not keep up her defense for long. The Sentinel tried to rise and stand upon the Chaotic power even as he had done countless times with Ordered power. It refused to part at his command. Rather, it constricted as if almost sensing an invading force that had to be crushed.
The Sentinel strained and felt waves of Ordered power coalesce around him forming layers upon layers of shielding. He laid dozens of them atop one another and finally the pain began to abate. The Sentinel was left with only a dull and annoying buz
z akin to a bad case of tinnitus.
Kellan side stroked to the center of the primordial lake, directly beneath where Ariel hung suspended. Several layers of shielding had already been eaten away by the Chaotic power like acid eating through a lock. He reached within and found his reserves dangerously depleted. He was losing. The Chaotic energy degraded his defenses faster than his ability to regenerate the Ordered power needed to reinforce them.
Dimly he heard Michael call from above and tried to make out his words, but many were lost to the sounds of his struggle.
“Sentinel—Ordered—Fuse—Create.”
Kellan began to flail about in the liquid and suddenly felt like had as a teen swimming off the coast of Florida. He had gotten too far out and was too tired to make it back. Now, as Kellan slipped beneath the crimson waters, he remembered the young lifeguard who had saved him that day. She had placed a hand beneath his chin and dragged him on his back to safety.
Kellan sank further and further into the red darkness, knowing there was no lifeguard to save him this time. He glanced within to find his reserves gone. Nurisha lay on her side in a dry riverbank while bolts of red energy struck all around her.
As the last layer of his shield met the full force of all the chaotic energy around him, Kellan’s eidetic memory began to piece together words he had not even known he heard.
Michaels voice came though his mind’s ear. “Sentinel. You cannot defeat this. You must not fight Chaotic power with Ordered. You must fuse them as you did in the workroom. You must create a new reality in this place that has never known a creative act. Sentinel. Kellan!”
His eyes flew open as the last layer of shielding began to fail. Kellan channeled the waining fragments of power and opened it up to all that surrounded him. His own power rejected the command. It sought to flee seeming to prefer oblivion to change. Kellan redoubled his will and bent forward, flexing both muscles and mind. He violently arched backwards forcing his arms open in a wide, expansive gesture and a brilliant violet bubble snapped around him.
Within the bubble, Kellan’s reality shattered. Time ceased being linear and fragments of past, present, and future all flashed through his mind. Each moment frozen there with perfect precision.
Surrounded by water and a constant drum beat. Not a drumbeat, thought Kellan. A heartbeat. I’m in the womb.
FLASH
Juliet nursing a newborn baby. A man holding her hand; the father. Kellan turned to see him
FLASH
Kellan learning to ride his first bike, losing control, and slamming headlong into a fence.
FLASH
Clouds of power red and green. Screams of anger and anguish. Beings with wings of white feathers and black leather engaged in combat.
FLASH
Thomas and Rachel Herrick walking into a room hand-in-hand. They were so old. The room erupted in cheers and well wishes.
FLASH
Silence. Two men, one with long brown hair and the other with roughly curling blonde, stood on a rocky outcropping staring at an open portal. The first turned to the second and said, The Guff is Full
FLASH
Kellan opened his eyes and willed himself upward. The primordial Chaos parted before him and his bubble of creative energy broke the surface. Upon seeing this Michael’s eyes burst to life and he unfurled his wings. They beat several times lifting him into the air where he spun about three times as ribbons of power curled around him. He release a bolt of green energy that streaked across the chasm to strike Ariel’s glowing cocoon. It shattered and Ariel fell limply toward the red death beneath her. Limp wings gave her the appearance of a graceful spiral as she fell.
Kellan dropped his protective shield and willed the violet creative energy to splinter back into its component parts. Chaotic power lanced downward as if eager to return to the source of its power. The remaining Ordered power, Kellan drank in greedily. He fixed his objective firmly in his mind and steeled his intent such that no ambiguity existed in any fiber of his being.
The power vanished and a massive column of air burst from beneath Kellan, propelling him upward. The Sentinel grunted as Ariel’s mass met his outstretched hands, but their upward momentum barely shifted. The Sentinel and his the unconscious angelic charge arced high into the air, past the edge of the cliff and began to fall. Kellan was exhausted, his mind foggy and he was only dimly aware of the massive wings that beat beneath him, slowing them both as they fell to the rocky ground.
Kellan felt a jolt of power and his eyes flew open. Michael knelt beside him, his open hand resting on Kellan’s chest. Ordered power coursed from the Archangel and into Kellan. He knocked the hand away, startled.
“What are you doing, Michael?”
“We must leave this place, Kellan Thorne. It tears itself apart. We have mere moments. You have exhausted all the Ordered power within you. I merely lent you enough of my own to rouse you.”
Kellan accepted the Archangel’s offered hand and rose to uncertain feet. He wobbled slightly and said, “Tearing itself apart? Why?”
“No time, Sentinel. Keep pace with me or die. We must run to the portal. I have given you enough power to survive. Now come.” With that, Michael hoisted the still unconscious Ariel into a fireman’s carry and began to sprint back the way they came.
Kellan only paused the barest of moments when the ground shuddered and a tremendous crack sounded. A fissure formed from the cliffs edge. It seemed to chase the young Sentinel as he immediately channeled his borrowed power to clear his mind of fog and strengthen his legs.
With no small effort the two sprinted toward the portal as the ground continued to heave and crack behind them. By the time they reached it, Kellan was several paces ahead of Michael who was clearly showing the strain of his burden. Kellan turned and Michael easily read his expression.
“Go through, Sentinel of Order,” he yelled. “I will follow.”
Kellan looked past the Archangel to the destruction behind him. The world was unraveling. It was not like earthquakes where chasms form and rocks might fall. No, this was an act of uncreation. The ground just behind the running Archangel did, indeed, crack and buckle, but only for a moment. After that it simply puffed away into iridescent violet motes that an unseen wind scattered.
Kellan swallowed hard and tried to keep his voice calm. “No, Michael. You first. My power is anchoring the portal and it might shatter if I go through first.” Kellan’s eyes slipped off Michel’s to again look over his shoulder. “But if you’ve got a bit of a sprint left in ya, now would be a good time to use it.”
Michael took his meaning and in mid-stride, heaved off the ground while simultaneously shifting Ariel to a front carry and unfurling his wings. He had provided just enough force to glide up and through the portal. As he passed, Kellan grabbed hold of Michael’s foot, twisted and was pulled through by the Angel’s forward momentum.
The three of them crashed onto the floor of Kellan’s living room and the portal winked out of existence.
Kellan and Michael sat gasping on the wood floor with their backs against the couch. The Archangel cradled Ariel in his lap, absently stroking her hair. The young Sentinel closed his eyes. He opened them on his inner world and found the river of his power had expanded in breadth and depth. Nurisha stood atop the emerald river as it continued to rise. She said nothing, but shook her head in obvious disapproval. Kellan gave her a shrug and a sheepish grin, then closed his eyes on that world and opened them again to the one around him.
Shannon knelt between them. She had two fingers pressed to Ariel’s neck and looked up at Michael. “I didn’t even know if angels had a pulse, but she does so I’ll take that to be a good sign.”
Michael sighed. “We do indeed have a pulse because our Father blessed us each with a heart to drive it.”
As if on cue, Ariel’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled as Michael looked down at her. A moment later the angel noticed Shannon then turned her head to regard Kellan who simply waggled his fingers at her in a
rather juvenile greeting.
“Michael,” she began in a severe voice, “why are we here. Why are we with that, Sentinel?” The words were laced with venom and Kellan leaned his head back against the cool leather, but Shannon had already moved in.
“That Sentinel you say? That Sentinel! Let me tell you a thing or two, you daft winged harlot. That Sentinel went—”
“Peace, Soulborn,” said Michael in a voice more reminiscent of Raphael than he. “Ariel has no memory of what transpired and speech is a thing of humans. This is faster.” With that he gently placed the fingers of both hands to either side of Ariel’s head. Both their eyes flashed a brilliant green and she seemed to arch upward slightly as if Michael were filling her with something. A moment later, he lowered his hands and leaned back against the couch. Ariel turned to him and her eyes were wide and full of tears.
“You petitioned the Father for me?” she said softly. He nodded. “But he would not intercede.” It wasn’t a question, but Michael nodded again. “You walked right up to perdition’s line. You almost fell, Michael.”
He looked at her. “Almost is almost, Ariel. I am Michael. I am unfallen.”
She nodded at this and placed a kiss on his cheek. “I know who you are and that you would even tread the line for me is a greater testament that I deserve to have.” She turned to Kellan who, for his part, rested quietly with his eyes closed. “And you, Sentinel of Order, it seems I am in your debt. You risked your life for one that held you in such contempt. Please do not mistake my question for I am, and will be, eternally grateful. But,” she paused, “why would you do this?”
Kellan cracked one eye open and it focused on her. He sighed, “Because, Ariel, I’m a sucker for a good old fashioned redemptive love story. I couldn’t stand by and let you die when Michael came to me for help. Call me stupid.”
“I’ll call you stupid from dawn to dusk,” interrupted Shannon. “You are a stupidly daft man and I have just one question for the both of you.” She glared first at Kellan and then at Michael. “Which one of you made that dark portal so I couldn’t get through?”
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