Into The Light (The Fallen Shadows)

by Rebecca R. Cohen

  Ash was surprised by the news and slightly insulted. He walked dramatically toward the doorway out of the garden and leaned against the edge of it with his arms folded across his chest. He wore a scowl on his face similar to that of a child who had been denied a toy by his parents.

  “Are you ever going to trust me to do my job again?” Ash asked Chance demandingly.

  Chance, surprised by Ash’s question, turned his focus away from Katharine and with it went his smile.

  “Ash you always have been my most defiant Guide but in what realm do you think you can speak to me in such a manner?” Chance asked forcefully.

  Ash straightened himself off the doorway and unfolded his arms. He had made a mistake with the tone he had taken with Chance and was regretting it immensely. He looked down, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Chance walked slowly over to him and forced Ash’s gaze. The two men were standing within inches of one another with their faces directly in line with each other. They looked like two men about to start a street brawl.

  “My apologies Chance, I was out of line,” Ash said attempting to avoid the situation from escalating.

  “Do not think that just because you’ve been assigned a new Tracker that your past indiscretions have been overlooked,” Chance said, waving his finger in front of Ash’s face. “You will work with her, bring the rest of the Descended to Purgatory but don’t think for a moment I will allow you to help her go through the process. I cannot allow your weakness to cloud your judgment, not again.”

  This was now the second time Ash’s past indiscretions had been mentioned and while she let it go the first time because she was lying broken in a hospital bed, she could fight her curiosity no longer. She had to know what happened and why both Davon and Chance seemed to lack faith in Ash’s ability as a Guide.

  “I’m sorry but considering he is my assigned Guide and essentially is supposed to keep me alive I think I deserve to know what happened in his past that has left everyone so obviously wounded,” Katharine interjected.

  “Would you like to tell her or should I?” demanded Chance.

  His personality change was so rapid that Katharine could barely get a grasp of whether or not he was being sincere from the start. Chance’s temperament was that of a high school principal who had grown tired of dealing with immature children and he seemed truly disappointed in Ash, Katharine could see it in his eyes.

  “She is my Tracker, I will tell her,” Ash said pushing past Chance and moving towards Katharine.

  He led her to the bench and invited her to take a seat next to him. She accepted the invitation and listened as he told her about Angelina and the punishment he almost received for his betrayal. Once he had stopped talking Katharine sat for a few moments unable to speak or process what she had just been told. She didn’t think the Guides were capable of falling in love, although Ash had shown great care for her.

  Ash had been afraid that Katharine would have felt anger towards him but she only felt sadness and pity for him. She knew heartbreak and couldn’t imagine what he felt knowing Angelina was out there but without the knowledge of just how important Ash once was to her. Losing a loved one was hard enough but knowing they had completely forgotten who you were seemed to be a fate worse than death.

  “Why didn’t you tell me before?” Katharine asked placing her hands on top of Ash’s, which had been folded gently on his lap.

  “I didn’t want my past to affect your future. You are strong Katharine, stronger than any Tracker I have ever seen and I guess I selfishly wanted you to be my rebirth. I thought if I didn’t tell you somehow I could make the past disappear and start over. Now I know that the past always catches up with you and can never be undone,” Ash explained, taking his hands out from under Katharine’s. Her kindness towards him brought up old feelings that remained dormant after losing Angelina and he had to fight them off. Chance was right he was weak. “Chance will help you go through the process and then we’ll work together to find the rest of the Descended and end this war once and for all.”

  Ash rose to his feet, standing with his head lowered, before walking purposely out of the garden and into the dimly lit pathway leading through the rest of the Anchorage. Katharine stood up abruptly and ran to go after him but Chance grabbed her arm. Standing at her side with his hand gently wrapped around her forearm Chance shook his head. “Let him go.”

  “He is not weak. To love is not to be weak,” Katharine said.

  “Love is the strongest emotion one can feel but when it comes to the Guides, love has always been their greatest weakness and Ash is full of more love than any Guide I have ever seen,” Chance explained. He removed his hand from Katharine’s arm and extended it out with his palm-facing upright, inviting her to take his hand in hers. “Come my dear, there is something you need to know about your Guide.”

  Chance and Katharine made their way through the pathways and down a corridor that was lit by bright blue lights that hung from the ceiling on rows of iron chandeliers. The corridor was narrow and long and seemed to go on forever. Katharine saw nothing but constant blue light as she looked down the corridor.

  The walls, much like the ones in the hallway leading to the flower garden, were lined with framed pictures. Chance, walking a few steps ahead of Katharine, stopped in front of one of the smaller frames and placed his hands behind his back the way he had when Katharine first met him. Katharine turned to face the wall where the picture hung. As she looked into the rose colored frame her eyes widened as she saw Ash’s face looking back at her from inside the picture but he was not alone. The picture reminded her of the professional portrait she and her parents had taken at the mall.

  Ash sat in front of two angels, male and female. The female angel wore a sheer white gown lined with the golden yarn that grew on the trees in one of the surrounding gardens. On her head she wore a golden crown with rose carvings. The male angel wore a similar crown and a sheer white embroidered shirt and cream-colored sheer pants. Ash wore a similar outfit and a smaller golden rose carved crown atop his head.

  Both angels in the picture had their wings fully extended but their wings were different than any Katharine had seen on angels in other pictures. Their wings had writing on them, writing that looked like the wording on the Ten Commandments. The male angel’s hand was placed on Ash’s shoulder.

  “What is this?” Katharine asked, without removing her gaze from the picture.

  “Ash is not like other Guides. He did not have to go through the tests that other Guides, like Davon, did. The angels in the picture with him are his parents, Michael and Shekinah, the archangels. Michael is God’s first-born son and his second in command. Katharine,” Chance turned to face Katharine, as he was about to unload information that could not be taken lightly.

  “Ash is the only true child born from the archangels. His blood is Michael’s blood. He is God’s only Grandchild. He is meant to lead when and if Michael no longer can. It is a destiny that he never accepted, which is why he chose to become a Guide. He has been fighting his destiny for as long as I can remember and I don’t blame him. It’s a terrible burden to bear but it is one he must come to terms with. This battle between the angels and the Descended can lead to Michael’s demise if things do not go as we hope they will, and if that day comes Ash has to be ready to lead.”

  Katharine stood silent; stunned by the information she had just been given. Until that very moment Ash had always just been this annoying warrior of Heaven who was trying to help her come to terms with her new identity and now she had learned that he was the Grandchild of God. Her mind raced with thoughts of everything she had learned in Church and how none of the teachers spoke of Ash or this battle.

  “If Ash is God’s Grandson, why did you punish him? He said you almost sent him to Purgatory with the rest of the Descended,” Katharine asked unable to fully process much else.

  “Betrayal is not something we take lightly and a Guide breaking the rules set forth by Michael must be punished, even if
he is Michael’s only son. Ash’s true identity has been kept secret from the Guides and because of this we could not show him any lenience or they would grow suspicious. This corridor has been spelled so that only those who know it exists can come through it and bring others to it, which is why I was able to bring you here.

  Had Davon not interjected when he did we were going to send Ash to earth to live as a mortal for a few years, until the next Tracker was ready. However, Davon’s idea to erase Angelina’s memory seemed a far more fitting and less complicated punishment and would allow us to keep Ash here,” Chance explained.

  “How can you expect Ash to want to fulfill his destiny and lead those who took love away from him?” Katharine asked growing angry. The elders were forcing Ash into a life he did not ask for, much like Katharine.

  “Mind your tone when you are speaking of things you know nothing about. This is bigger than anything you can imagine. Your world is but one of many that we are sworn to protect; we don’t have the ability or the time to allow things, such as love, to distract us,” Chance said raising his voice.

  Katharine remained angered by the politics of it all but she was dealing with an Elder Celestial Being and wasn’t going to push her luck on being the last Tracker. Anyone could be pushed to his or her breaking point and she wasn’t about to test Chance’s.

  “My apologies. I did not mean to try your patience,” Katharine said, bowing her head and stepping away from the picture.

  Chance began back down the corridor and out into the open hallway where Ash had told Katharine about Rafael and Serena. The lit from the torches had changed colors from a golden and orange hue from the fire to a bright blue flicker.

  The flickering began a pattern almost like a Morse code. Then the bellowing sound they heard before the doors to the Anchorage opened echoed around her. Katharine jumped backward, startled by the bellowing sound.

  “You’ll get used to that,” Chance chuckled.

  “What is that?” Katharine inquired.

  “Those are the bells that welcome a soul home. Every time someone from the mortal world dies and comes here Michael’s bells chime as a signal to the Committee, angels assigned to usher the soul into Heaven, that a newcomer has entered our realm. Once they walk through those doors,” Chance pointed to the front doors where Katharine and her friends had entered the palace, “they are taken to the purity room and are given a full work up to ensure they are worthy. It is truly an honor to walk through those doors as a mortal soul. In fact this is the second soul we’ve welcomed home today. I think you might want to see the first one.” Chance walked past her and toward a room near the front of the palace. He nodded for Katharine to follow him before he disappeared into the room.

  6

  PURITY

  The Purity room was exactly as it sounded; it was pure white. Nothing inside the room had color to it. In the middle of the room was a white exam table with a white pillow and sheer white blanket. Beside the table was a pure white chair that was draped in a sheer white cloth. The exam table had a tray of three unique tools attached to it. They were lined up side-by-side and included something that looked like someone had taken a stethoscope and glued it together with a remote control. The tool next to it was in the shape of the letter, “Y,” and had a bright light on the tip of each end of the “Y” shape. The final tool appeared to be nothing more than a small thermometer. What do they measure, the temperature of the soul?

  Katharine lingered in the doorway of the room looking over every square inch of it but she saw no soul and no Committee. Chance ushered her further into the room and instructed her to close the door as the review process was about to begin. She did as she was told.

  Once the door had been sealed the table began to ascend toward the ceiling and disappeared within it. For a few seconds it remained within the ceiling before slowly lowering back toward the ground. Katharine could see a body laying flat under the sheer covering.

  The table was still too high for her to make out a face but she saw bright curly blonde hair hanging off the edges of the table. The yellow coloring of the hair stood out in the clear white room. Chance stepped away from Katharine and headed toward the table that was almost low enough for Katharine to see the face of the body atop it.

  “Remember Katharine, it is an honor to spend one’s eternity here,” Chance said as the face belonging to the body atop the table finally came into view.

  “This is a joke right?” Katharine shouted as she gazed upon the face of her best friend lying on the table. She looked so peaceful as if she were asleep in some vivid dream.

  “This is a great honor your friend is receiving Katharine. She will spend her afterlife among the angels, within the stars. Every mortal soul wishes to be given this gift Molli has been given,” Chance began to stroke Molli’s forehead gently.

  Katharine’s legs gave out under the weight of her stiff body. Her heart was racing, beating so fast she was sure it would beat right out of her chest.

  “This isn’t happening. Please tell me this isn’t happening. How did this happen? I don’t understand? She can’t be dead, my father saw her less than two hours ago,” Katharine insisted.

  “Did he though? I need you to really think about it. Did you father acknowledge Molli or make any mention of having seen her?” Chance pushed a button beneath the table forcing it to turn upright placing Molli in a standing position with her body still strapped to the table.

  Katharine dove into her memories of what took place when she went home to gather her things. She couldn’t remember Royal making any mention of seeing Molli. She remembered his one acknowledgement of her was that her parents hadn’t seen her in over a day, since before she left for school the day they were attacked at Murphy’s Café.

  She began to shake violently and unbeknownst to her she was screaming uncontrollably as if someone were stabbing her repeatedly. Her screams echoed throughout the palace. Chance seemed unaffected by the shrill sound of Katharine’s cries.

  “Why would you show me this?” Katharine sobbed, sliding along the wall until she was in a seated position.

  “Do not misunderstand my intentions, I did not do this to see you in pain. Your friend is going to be safe here. She will no longer be in harms way and susceptible to the Descended. You no longer have to fear for her but you must understand that this is the price for revealing yourself to a mortal. Anytime we allow a mortal to enter our world we are signing their death certificate,”

  Chance, now standing in front of Katharine, knelt down in front of her resting his arm on his raised leg. She refused to look at him and closed her eyes letting out a new flow of tears. Chance removed himself from the room allowing Katharine a moment to process what he had just shown her.

  Katharine’s screams returned to her throat and out through her lips, wet from the tears that were flowing briskly down her cheeks. She felt sick and betrayed. If Molli had died in that attack at Murphy’s that meant Ash and Davon knew and did not tell her. She was furious with them for keeping something so huge from her but more than that she was angry at herself for feeling even the slightest amount of sympathy for Ash and his plight.

  She hated that she let him break her walls enough to let him in, to allow herself to feel something for him. She felt rage she’d never felt before. Working with Ash was the last thing she could imagine doing. She let out an extended scream nearly blowing out her vocal cords in the process. The sound of her scream sent Ash hurtling toward the Purity room.

  “What’s going on? Katharine, are you okay?” Ash asked running in the room and to Katharine’s side. He placed his hands on her shoulders gently. She brushed them off forcefully.

  “What’s happened?” Katharine nodded in Molli’s direction. Ash stood up and turned to face the table. Molli remained in a sleep-like state as Ash walked over toward her. He took her hand in his and cupped his empty one over hers. He lowered his head in shame. “I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you but she wouldn’t let me.”

&nbs
p; “Don’t!” Katharine shouted. “Don’t you dare put this on her. You knew she didn’t survive the attack and you didn’t tell me. That is on you. How could you keep something like this from me? How am I ever supposed to trust you?”

  Molli began to wake up from the sound of the voices inside the room with her. Ash, who was still holding her hand, looked at her as her eyes slowly opened. Within his eye was the beginning of tears of regret. She tried to sit up but was still strapped to the table. Ash shook his head and began to undo the buckles that held the straps in place.

  “Katharine,” Molli said, slowly sitting up once she had been freed from the table. She rubbed her arms where the straps had been locked in place. They didn’t hurt but her reflexes told her to do so.

  Katharine raised her head to see her best friend sitting on the edge of the table with her legs dangling over the side. She looked the same but different. Her blonde hair was shinier, her eyes sparkled more than they ever had and her skin glistened. She looked more alive than she had her entire life. She looked at peace.

  “I’m so sorry Mol,” Katharine whispered struggling to find the words beneath the sobs.

  Molli jumped off the table and ran to her friend. They wrapped in a tight embrace and cried out. Their tears fell for what they had been through, for what they had both lost but Molli’s tears also fell because she felt relief. She no longer had fear or worry; she was where she belonged.

  “Don’t you do that, this is not your fault. I am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner I just didn’t want to add to your stress.” Molli unlocked herself from the embrace and sat eye level with Katharine. She looked over at Ash who was standing at the table with his back turned toward them. His head remained bowed. The guilt overwhelmed him. “Don’t blame Ash he wanted to tell you but I wouldn’t let him. He lied to you because I asked him too,” Molli leaned over and whispered in Katharine’s ear softly enough to keep Ash from hearing, “Kat, he cares a great deal for you.”