“I understand perfectly, but why her, out of all the Heralds and Sentinels you could have taken, why this particular one? You’ve been after her from the beginning. Is it that she almost convinced you to be good, so you want to keep her quiet?” Eugenia asked with a self-satisfied smile and walked closer to Tess’s unconscious form.
Amanda walked closer to Eugenia as if ready to snap her in two. Eros, too, moved closer to Agatha, but she moved them both out of her way and came to face Eugenia.
“I don’t owe you any explanations but I will give you this much. I hate Tess, and I love to see her suffer, or at the very least see her here inert, wasting her time—which happens to be one of the things she hates the most.”
“The question still stands—why?” Eugenia said in a deep low voice.
Agatha knew that engaging Eugenia was dangerous, so she simply smiled, turned around and left. Eugenia was right of course. Tess had the ability to reach Agatha, an ability that she hoped would go both ways. Tess knows me so well…she knew just what to say to me at that vulnerable time, Agatha thought with bitterness. Well…maybe I know just what to say to her. I am much more experienced at this type of thing. And if I could turn her, we could act in one accord—we could be unstoppable. I remember now, we used to be one, she got part of our gift and I got the other. She can read minds and I can persuade them, persuasion can be a powerful tool…We were meant to exist together, and that is just what we’ll do, Agatha thought with resolve as she glided away from Eugenia.
The others followed her out of the room and Eugenia stood alone facing the alcoves. She studied Tess’s face, and she seemed to be at peace and wondered what games Tess’s mind was playing on her.
Eugenia was certain that her assessment was correct. Tess had somehow convinced Agatha to turn on her master. She must have also had her convinced to be good, or at least try to be good, because for a while there, both Agatha and Eros were going to Earth prep classes and they were not going there as spies. She didn’t care what they were saying now, they were trying to be good back then. She couldn’t blame them. She had been tempted for a while to try it their way, but it didn’t last long. After one do-gooder Earth prep class Eugenia had had enough. She had not been chosen as a spy, she volunteered herself as one, and was going to prove to the Second One her usefulness.
Eugenia touched Tess’s hair and studied her for a while. Regardless of what Tess meant to Agatha, she and the other Sentinels were too conspicuous to snatch. Soon there would be a lot of Angels searching for them, and whoever was responsible for this operation was going to be in big trouble with the Eternals. Eugenia didn’t want to be here when that went down, but she couldn’t just walk away. The rest of the Fallen Angels would put all the blame on her if she did.
Then it occurred to her. In fact, Agatha had done something earlier that gave her the idea now. It was perfect! Eugenia would not only manage to get herself off the hook, but also have Agatha dethroned and humiliated in the process.
*****
“I don’t know how!” I said to Robyn, and then looked back down at Katie, who got up and walked toward me indignantly.
“Why are you trying to take her away, she should stay here and so should you!” she yelled, and her face was contorted beyond recognition.
I sensed her anger, it was definitely there, but it was odd at the same time. It wasn’t her anger. It was someone else’s.
I didn’t want to stay here any longer. I looked at Robyn and begged her to get up and come with me. But she just laid there, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Tess, it’s my fault, I brought you here,” she cried silently.
“Well, I am not leaving without you, so get up!” I ordered. My patience was wearing thin. Katie hadn’t stopped her string of angry yells and accusations. It almost reminded me of when we were trying to get Celeste and Max out of Ishtar.
The things she was saying, the anger behind them, how fast and…I looked back at Katie’s face and it no longer looked like her own. It was, in fact, Agatha’s face.
I stared at her in disbelief. I narrowed my eyes. “What is going on?” I asked, and then I saw nothing. Everything and everyone was gone, Agatha included.
I was left in total darkness, not a shred of light, not a sound. This perhaps was worse than having to listen to Katie or Agatha yell at me. I was alone, utterly and totally alone. The noiselessness and the darkness filled me completely.
I felt empty, and a memory of long ago crept inside of me. I was not a spirit anymore. I had no form at all. I could see nothing and feel nothing. Only Agatha would sometimes come by, just to make sure I was still alone and miserable.
*****
“Dorian, are you sure these are the caves? There are millions of caves all over Heaven, they all look very similar.” Alex sat on a boulder and put his hands over his eyes.
“Well…no. I am not completely sure, but they look very close to it.”
Alex tapped on his calling stone impatiently. “Jase, have you and Katie found anything out of the ordinary?”
“Sorry, Alex, we are still looking. Don’t worry, mate, we are being very thorough.” Jase’s voice sounded far away and it seemed to echo.
Alex called Brandy and Wes next. He got the same answer—nothing. He wanted to scream. If only he had responded to Tess telepathically when she was trying to call him, but he had put his Sentinel Mission first. At the time he had been annoyed at her for trying to talk to him while he was on duty, but now he saw how silly he’d been. No one would have ever known that they were talking. He could have kept the conversation short, to just a simple, “Hi, Tess, this is what I’m doing right now, talk to you later. And oh yeah, don’t go looking for missing Sentinels on your own, wait for me!”
Now Tess, along with five more spirits, was missing. Some had been gone for over twenty of Earth’s years. A weird kind of panic crept over him, and engulfed him completely. Alex stopped and tried to calm himself, but he couldn’t, the panic was not his, it was hers!
Instinctively, Alex reached for Dorian with one of his arms as if looking for support. He needed to focus on this feeling and let it guide him toward Tess, but his own worry and jumbled thoughts kept getting in the way.
“Alex!” she screamed.
“I hear you, Tess, where are you?” he answered.
“It’s so dark, I’m so scared! I don’t want to be alone again!”
“Tess, where are you?”
Alex was now too alarmed to understand what was going on. He looked at Dorian with a wild kind of look.
“What is it Alex? Did you feel something? Did you connect with her?” Dorian peered into Alex’s wild expression.
Alex nodded.
“What did you feel?” Dorian asked tactfully.
“She called my name,” Alex said numbly.
Dorian frowned and looked away, he paced a little, and Alex leaned back against one of the rocks.
“She’s got to be around here somewhere!” Dorian said, showing the first signs of real worry.
“Dorian, what happens if we don’t find her in time?” Alex asked. “Maybe…maybe this is supposed to happen, maybe we don’t get to be born at the same time…you and Luz…”
Dorian kept shaking his head and walking around in circles. “It doesn’t make sense Alex, I’ve seen us.”
Alex looked up. “What have you seen?”
“Tess and I grow up together, I know that for sure. I’ve seen a few glimpses of my life and she is almost always there with me…and not much older either.”
“Then we need to find her!” Alex got up, regaining a bit of hope.
“What did you hear exactly?” Dorian asked.
“She said she didn’t want to be alone again.”
Dorian scowled as he kept his gaze on Alex, then it dawned on him. “She’s being tortured,” he whispered.
Alex turned his head sharply to face him.
“We found something!” Jase’s tunnel like voice resounded in
mid-air, through the caller.
*****
Marcel was Eugenia’s last hope within the Fallen Angels. He was the last of the Sovereigns’ regime along with her and like Eugenia, he didn’t like Agatha. He would love to see Agatha dethroned, but he wasn’t as vocal about it as Eugenia was. He thought it best to lie low and wait for a good time to take the reins of command back. But in the meantime, he humbly served—sort of.
When he found Eugenia hurrying down the alcove tunnels holding two hands full of those devices they used on their captives, he knew that Eugenia had found a way for them to take Agatha down.
“Oh, good!” Eugenia said with relief on her face. “I’m glad it’s you. Listen, take these and put them on any Fallen Angel that you come across.”
Marcel frowned. “I don’t follow. Why use it on us?”
Eugenia’s eyes darted around the tunnels making sure they were alone. “There are a several Sentinels and Heralds heading this way as we speak. Whoever they find here to be responsible for this, will be in serious trouble.”
Marcel nodded, trying to understand what that meant to them. “So what are we doing here? We need to get out!”
“No, you idiot! If we get out now, that will only give Agatha an opportunity to frame us for the whole thing. Don’t you get it! She has to take the fall for this.”
“Well…how…” Marcel stammered as he looked down at the neurotransmitter games in his hands. Then it dawned on him. “Oh…I see…”
“But we have to get everyone, Amanda, Eros, every one! And they can’t see us either…if possible.”
Marcel nodded once and he was off down the corridor and to the left. Eugenia smiled and headed down the main corridor where she was sure to run into some Fallen Angels. Slipping the neurotransmitter game on the head of a spirit who felt nothing was easy. Marcel and Eugenia worked fast, and before long they had almost everyone connected and safely dreaming.
Only Eros and Amanda were still with Agatha, and getting them to leave her side would be tricky.
“How should we do this?” Marcel asked, his head reeling. “Without her suspecting anything, that is.”
Eugenia thought, then a smile crossed her face. She had known Tess would become useful at some point.
“You go and whisper in Agatha’s ear that the new spirit that Amanda brought is talking. Tell her that she is saying her name.”
Marcel shook his head. “But that’s impossible! She couldn’t possibly...”
“Trust me, she’ll take the bait.”
“But what if she doesn’t believe me?”
“Tell her that you were just gliding by and that you heard a weird noise. Tell her that the spirit is still attached to the device, but she is saying, ‘Agatha.’ Then I’ll sneak in and attach Eros and Amanda to the device.”
Marcel had his doubts about this part of the plan, but it was their last recourse, so he would have to go along with it.
He started to go, but Eugenia grabbed his arm. “When you see me coming to you that will be your cue that Eros and Amanda are hooked. You will need to excuse yourself and then we will go and hook ourselves up.”
Marcel nodded “All right.” He turned to leave but turned again. “Hold on. What good will this do us, when we go up against the High Council?”
“None at all, but that is not why we are doing this. We are doing this so the rest of the Fallen Angels know that Agatha set them up, Eros included.”
Marcel smiled broadly. “You are brilliant! I almost love you for it.”
Eugenia grimaced, but as she glided down the hall, the thought didn’t bother her as much as she let on.
* * * * *
Chapter 39
“Jase, Katie! Where are you?” Alex asked, once they got to Jase and Katie’s last known coordinates.
“Call them again!” Dorian suggested.
“No need.” Jase emerged from one of the caves, closely followed by Katie. They both looked grim.
Alex stared at them, not sure if he wanted to hear more bad news.
“We’ve got good news and bad.” Katie broke the silence.
“We found these caves, they are full of tunnels, and down one of the tunnels we found some alcoves that are currently being occupied by spirits,” Jase said as he gave Katie a sideways glance.
“Is Tess one of those spirits?” Alex asked.
“No, she isn’t, but if she is anywhere in Heaven, she has to be here.”
“You said that there were a lot of spirits there…where are they?” Dorian prodded.
“Well…they are not moving,” Katie said lamely.
Both Dorian and Alex cocked their heads to the side questioningly.
“They seem to be attached to some sort of device that is causing them to be…asleep,” Jase explained.
“Like—like one of those games they had at the square?” Alex suggested.
Both Jase and Katie shrugged. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Jase said.
“We have. Dorian, do you remember that game that Henry showed us? The…the…”
“Neurotransmitter…something or other,” Dorian remembered.
“Yeah, it’s like a game that works with your own mind to create alternate realities, but it’s a game. It’s not real,” Alex continued. “So did you remove one of those things from the spirits?”
Katie shook her head. “We didn’t know what those things were. We decided not to pull any of them out until we were certain it wouldn’t harm them in any way.”
“OK.” Alex started to relax. “This has to be the place where all the missing spirits are ending up, but what is it?”
“A Fallen Angel’s hideout, would be my guess.” Wes and Brandy had just landed next to Dorian and Jase. “Brandy and I have been trying to locate the spot for a while now. We knew it would have to be remote,” Wes explained.
“OK, so let’s go and get them out. Dorian, you come with me to look for Tess,” Alex said taking charge.
“There’s a problem though,” Wes interjected. “If this is the Fallen Angel’s hideout, the place will be crawling with them. What’s to stop them from hooking us up to those devices?”
“He’s got a point,” Jase said.
“What other option do we have?” Dorian asked. “We are here, and we have been sent to find these spirits. Some of them are due at the Veil…now.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Alex said with a decisive tone. “We’ll have to take that chance. Just stay in pairs, make sure you can see your partner at all times.”
They agreed and entered the main tunnel. As soon as it came to a fork, Alex motioned for them to stay in contact through the calling stones. They all nodded and separated. Alex and Dorian kept to the main vein and soon found some spirits.
They took the devices off, and the spirits opened their eyes suddenly. They looked disoriented and wanted to know what was going on. Dorian and Alex explained the best they could, and they didn’t seem to be able to grasp the concept very well, but took them at their word.
Dorian and Alex instructed them to take any spirit they saw off of these things, and to keep the devices themselves. After spending more time explaining the whole situation and their plan of action, they left the spirits to their task, while they went to find Tess.
They glided down several corridors, some had spirits in them, and some were too small to house a spirit.
Alex halted suddenly and Dorian bounced off of him. “What’s wrong?” Dorian whispered.
“It’s Tess, I can feel her. I can find her!” Alex darted through the tunnels like a lightning bolt with Dorian at his heels.
When Alex came to an abrupt stop again, Dorian bounced off of Alex one more time. He was just about to complain when Alex lifted one hand, signaling for Dorian to be quiet.
Dorian peeked over Alex’s shoulder and saw what had made him stop.
Agatha was standing right in front of Tess’s figure. She seemed to be talking to her, but Tess was hooked up to the device and looked unconscious.
<
br /> For good measure, Alex ducked behind one of the many rock formations that hung from the cave’s ceiling, tucking Dorian behind him.
“Is she…?” Dorian whispered.
“Torturing her?” Alex said in a low growl. “Yes, I can feel her distress and her fear.”
*****
I tried to move, get up or fly away, but I couldn’t—my legs moved but I didn’t. I was overwhelmed by darkness, but the darkness was not that of space. There were no stars, no constellations of any kind. It wasn’t even a pretty black, like the black of the universe. It was desolate and empty, a dark nothing.
Then I heard her, that sneering taunting voice I hated so much. I tried not to listen, but I couldn’t stop the sound from reaching my mind. Agatha was all around me. I tried thinking of Alex, but I couldn’t hold the thought, she was overpowering me.
She said so many things…things I knew to be true about myself, things I didn’t want to admit, things that I wanted to forget and never think about.
“That’s why they separated us you know…because together we were too strong, we were too powerful,” she hissed and the voice came from the nothingness. I wanted out, but I was stuck and try as I might to get away, I could not. I had to stay and endure her voice. But soon her voice sounded less and less like her own and more and more like mine.
“We could have been greater than the Second One,” she laughed. “Might have even been greater than the First One, and that is why we were separated. We could have evolved so rapidly, if only they would have let us…”
“No! That is not true! I never wanted to be stuck with you. I wanted my own freedom. I never wanted to hurt others the way you want to hurt them,” I shrieked, trying to make a distinction between us.
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