Thornfalcon (The ARC Legacy Book 1)

by Matthew W. Harrill

  The roof of the reactor building exploded upward as the white light erupted forth, soaring into the sky. At its core Samantha saw a winged being arcing directly for them.

  “Mom, its Karael,” she tried to shout above the noise. He's beaten Io. Run!”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Samantha ran until she thought her lungs would burst, dragging her mother along behind her. It did no good against an airborne celestial being. In only moments, a whoosh above them showed just how futile their flight had been. Huge feathered wings cut through the air, the armored being banked and dropped to the ground a dozen paces ahead of them. The wings folded, shimmered, and disappeared entirely, leaving the still-glowing angel standing ahead, one hand resting on the pommel of his great, glowing sword. Beneath a white hood, eyes shimmered, radiating power.

  “If you're looking for me to be cowed, Karael, you've chosen the wrong person. My family doesn't bend knee to those that proliferate on evil. You're the fallen angel, not Ioviel.”

  “I'm pleased you feel that way,” the angel replied, tipping back his hood. The glow faded, the skin of the angel now ebony as it lost its shine.

  “Io?” Samantha ran to him, hurling herself into his embrace. The relief flooded through her as Io squeezed her tightly in his steel-like arms. Stepping back, she admired him, no longer a vagabond in used jeans and shirt. Instead his armor, silver and white in a feather pattern across his torso. “I see you found your mojo.” She was impressed at how magnificent he looked.

  White teeth broke out in a smile. “We did it.”

  “How?” Eva asked. “What?” She twisted to take in the reactor. “Are we safe?”

  Io's hand passed over his breastplate, revealing a glowing fist-sized silver gem in the middle.

  “Is that—”

  “The Phaethon Stone,” Io finished Eva's question. “The only such stone successfully created.”

  Mesmerised, Eva stepped close. “May I hold it?”

  “You may if you want to be instantly vaporised,” Io warned. “This stone is your nuclear inferno condensed into one small orb. It forms the core of my armor, fills me with what I am. Only a celestial being has the power to wield the Phaethon Stone. It is a perilous balance. Remove it from me and the radiation will burst forth once more.”

  “Is the reactor safe?” Samantha asked.

  Eva held up the Geiger counter. It emitted nothing more than a couple of scratchy blips. “Background radiation only. Nothing more than you'd find occurring naturally.”

  “You saved us, Samantha,” Io said. “Drawing back the escaping radiation and sealing it in allowed the corium to finish its work. And as an added bonus,” Io flexed his shoulders and the most enormous pair of wings shimmered into existence, folded neatly behind him, “My wings are back. More accurately, I become custodian of Metatron's wings.”

  “His feather?”

  Io nodded. “Correct. A hoped-for side effect of the Phaethon Stone. Wings are bestowed only at the cost of great power. He pulled the feathers from His own flesh for us all.”

  “So, this is a promotion of sorts?” Eva asked.

  “Indeed, for as long as it lasts. If I should make it through the doorway, I may find the heavenly host waiting on the other side, ready to strip my wings. They may still consider me fallen.”

  “Even like this?” Samantha took another moment to drink in the sight of him.

  “Why, do you believe there's still peril?” Eva didn't sound convinced. “Did you defeat the other angel? Is the way not open for you?”

  “There's still that thing inside Nina, Mom. Porter Rockwell isn't without strength of his own. Who knows what Aeon Fall have sitting over the horizon?”

  “There is no better time to discover what lies in waiting,” Io decided. “Samantha, wait here.” He flexed once more, the mighty wings flashing into view, grabbing Eva and launching into the sky before she had a chance to object.

  Samantha was now alone with only the noise of distant helicopters for company. Io had disappeared from sight in a streak of light. Then, just as impressively as before, he returned, landing on one knee, his head bowed.

  “Show off,” Samantha mocked.

  Io broke into a grin. “Much more acceptable than sitting on a plane.”

  “I'll bet you turned a few heads.”

  “Your friends are safe. I let them read me with one of their meters. Those who didn't faint remained to hear me tell them of our plans. Your mother is taking charge now but they are following us to the place of sacrifice.”

  “Thornfalcon?”

  Io looked skyward. “It is not far, as the angel flies.” He clenched his fist and the hole in the distant reactor building repaired itself. “My brother will not escape that prison easily. I removed his ability to be summoned by his glyph. Gone are the days of Karael hunting us.”

  “Us?”

  “Yes, Samantha. Now he knows what you are, he would kill you over me, given the chance.”

  “Io, my sister said we are both different. What am I?”

  “At first I thought of you as a Nephilim, the offspring of an angel and a mortal. As such they are very powerful, an unforeseen consequence of my Fathers creations.”

  “But Madden hadn't become Satan when Mom had Nina. Nor when I was conceived. Mom made sure we very clearly knew those dates. It was important to her that no matter what else happened, we knew the truth about our parentage.”

  “Yet he had a demon in him when your mother conceived your sister, and also you. An abomination in the eyes of Heaven.”

  “You mean a Hellbounce?”

  Io's face lost any trace of humor. “I would not name it as such, but yes. It appears you inherited more than your father's carefree nature. You are greater than Nephilim, both of you. Yet your nature is beyond my understanding. For where we're going next, you could make the difference.” Io pulled her close.

  Samantha squealed in surprise as he squeezed her tight. “Really, Io? Here?”

  Io smiled. “Let me show you what it's like to really fly.”

  He held her close and Samantha felt the muscles of his thighs bunch. “Shouldn't you have your wings?” Her last word became a scream of terror turned pure exhilaration, drawn out as Io's pinions burst forth. They rocketed skyward.

  Held in the cradle of Io's arms, Samantha finally understood. True flight was freedom. Io's wings didn't flap like a bird. With them he soared like a hang-glider. The power plant disappeared from view almost immediately, along with the gathering of people she had seen. They could nearly touch the highest clouds when he turned south.

  Samantha tried to shout to Io, but the wind took her breath away.

  Do you know where you're going?

  I can feel the location of the doorway. The place of sacrifice is not far. Thirty miles or so.

  Strangely, Samantha felt complete security in his embrace, as if hanging several hundred metres up in the atmosphere were commonplace.

  What happens when we get there?

  It is just the site of sacrifice that matters. I can raze everything to the ground with a thought.

  “No,” Samantha shouted aloud.

  Io pulled up, hanging in the air. “What do you mean no?”

  “Aeon Fall have my aunt, and Tricia. If you flatten everything you'll kill them. They aren't stupid. Rockwell, this thing that has my sister. They have a contingency at hand if you survived Hinkley. Karael wasn't their only gambit.”

  “Returning to Heaven is my mission now,” Io declared. “I have to inform my brethren the truth behind the apathy.”

  “That's not the Io I've come to know speaking.” Samantha reached up, running the palm of her hand down the side of his face, stroking his beard. “I hear the angel but I know the man is still in there. These people need our help. They need you. Be their champion, Io.”

  Io's face softened. “They need you more, Samantha. You're the one who should be saving the world, but for that to happen you need to save yourself. To forgive yourself.
Perhaps you are right. We are all in this together, after all. But, how can I claim divinity after what we have been through if I willingly allow mortals to die for my goals?”

  “Just don't destroy it all, not until we're sure they're safe. Let's exercise a little caution.”

  Io smiled. “I will of course be guided by you, as always, my saviour.”

  They soared once more, passing roads packed with cars still fleeing the perceived disaster. A major town gave way to several small villages, all of which were emptied judging by the total lack of cars. In only moments Io hovered above one tiny settlement. “The gateway lies beneath.”

  “That's it?” Samantha peered at the landscape below, a maze of tiny twisting lanes amidst fields of crops. “It's just four or five houses at the base of a hill.

  “The portal doesn't require a building,” Io replied. “Just a sacrifice, and beneath us lies the evidence for that. In Thornfalcon.” He began a rapid vertical descent.

  Samantha swallowed to keep her stomach under control, her ears popping as they dropped. “Well at least we don't need to worry about anybody seeing you land,” she said, looking about them. If anybody from the main road bore witness to their landing, they would likely dismiss it as a bird from this distance.

  “There's Benjamin Ferrey's church,” Samantha pointed as they neared the ground.

  “The church is our destination,” Io replied.

  “Typical. It's always religious.”

  “You can let go now,” Io said with a smile.

  Samantha hadn't noticed they were back on terra firma, on a lane bordered by great oaks; she was still focussed on Io's face.

  “Quaint,” she said, beginning to walk up the lane toward the church. The trees crowded overhead blocked out the daylight, creating a chill in the air. She stopped. “Do you hear that, Io?”

  “Do I hear what?”

  “Exactly. This is the middle of the countryside. Where are all the birds?”

  “Like the jungle in Papua New Guinea,” Io observed.

  “True, but this time there is no plane to frighten everything away. Nature's fled this place. Does it have a sixth sense or what?”

  Io looked distant for a moment. “Your mother knows we have landed. She will join us soon.”

  “With half the world's army and all of the media behind us, I expect. Do we wait?”

  Io stopped at a gap in the wall. The church sat on the other side amidst a field of gravestones. “I am at full strength. I don't see any reason to wait. This area is deserted, or else I would know.”

  “You've still got a lot to learn about walking into traps,” Samantha warned, “but it might be safer for the rest if we go in now. They're here, you can count on it. I think we need the backup.”

  “There's too much at risk,” Io insisted. “We need to open the portal before Porter Rockwell gets here. Let me share with you a saying among my kind. The wisest warriors walk away from confrontation. They fight only because there is no other way. This time, there is no avoiding the confrontation. Here at the threshold of Heaven we must make a stand.”

  He turned and crossed to the doorway.

  Samantha looked around. Her skin crawled in the eerie silence; it was as if many eyes watched her from the shadows. “Io, wait!”

  The church was small, as befitted a place of worship for an isolated community. One arch separated the dais from the pews, the room lit by minimal light through heavily-coloured stained glass windows. “Not much, is it?” Samantha observed, wondering this church could possibly pose a threat with nobody inside.

  “His Kingdom is inside us, and all around us. Not just in these halls of wood and stone,” Io replied.

  Samantha took a moment to consider this, perching on the nearest pew. “True,” she admitted. “That's a good line.”

  “One of Metatron's best,” Io said, walking down the aisle to the dais. “He put it down in writing and delivered the Word to those he saw fit.”

  “I wonder what ever happened to them.”

  “Your ARC has them. Metatron delivered the Word in the form of scrolls at a place called Nag Hamaddi.”

  “The lost scrolls? The ones that retell the Book of Revelation?”

  “The very same. You should read them, Sammy. You might learn a lot more about yourself, such as why we are here. Leviathan featured heavily in that particular tale. I can sense his bones beneath us. This is most definitely not a normal church.” Io pointed. “Look at the backs of the pews.”

  Samantha stood and joined Io, following his finger. “A carving of a glyph?”

  “Indeed. Many of my brethren are here. Locien, Laylah, Joshua, William, Turiel. Their glyphs are all carved into this pew. Strange it was those particular five.”

  “Are there more?” Samantha crossed to the pews on the other side of the room. “Front row only. Another five.”

  Io joined her, running his hand over the glyphs. “Jessica, Samuel, Andrael, Zerachiel.” Io stopped reading.

  “Who's the last one?”

  Io stepped back from the pews. “Metatron.”

  “Even stranger?” She watched his face. Conflicting emotions played across it. His brow furrowed in anger, jaw clenched with frustration, head shaking in disbelief. “Io, I understand why you might be torn up about Metatron, but why were these significant?”

  “There were ten angels responsible for guarding my Father's most treasured Word. The orders he laid down for humanity to abide by each had an angel to enforce the meaning.”

  “The Ten Commandments, you mean? Those given to Moses on Mount Sinai to pass on as man's laws to abide by.”

  “They weren't for Mankind but for Moses: ten angels to guard him against himself, ten rules for him to abide by. Moses wasn't a slave child who became a prince of Egypt by chance. He was the first Nephilim—the very embodiment of sins angels were not meant to create. He worked miracles never meant for mortal man. This is a Holy place.”

  “Who was his father?”

  “Leviathan. That he fell is not the entire truth. My Brother escaped from Heaven's jail, the Fearvent. He destroyed many of my brethren before he descended. Karael led us to believe he pursued our fallen brother with several of the Ten, those that were left.”

  “So why is their safety got you so spooked?”

  “The Ten are the keys to what you call The Godmissile. As one falls, the Seals weaken. I knew of their number and heard rumours of who protected the seals, but I did not know their names—until I saw this. Now that I know, I have to get home.”

  “To find them?”

  “To protect Zerachiel. With Metatron gone he's the only angel of the Commandments still alive. All these names—they perished in Leviathan's descent. I find your mother's explanation of Leviathan's existence more plausible as I now stand here. Karael should be taken home and brought to account for his version of the truth.”

  “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” Samantha quoted one of the commandments. “Which one of them bore that particular line?”

  “Metatron,” Io replied. “I can feel it from his essence. Truth was everything to him.”

  “Seems from what Mom told me, he was pretty good at omitting facts when it suited him.”

  Having evidently decided on a course of action, Io moved to a doorway to the right of the altar. “An omission is not a lie.”

  “That's a technicality and you know it, Io. Don't play semantics with me. Stick to the truth and honor Metatron's memory. Now what's got your attention?”

  “This is the way down to the portal, but it appears to be barred. I don't want to leave anything out of place lest the ritual be either disturbed or utterly ruined. Everything is here for a reason.”

  Samantha peered at the sign. “It says no smoking.”

  Io frowned, asking, “What does that mean?”

  Samantha smiled. “Io, in church, that's the eleventh commandment.” She lifted the bolt and slid it across, the heavy metal clanged as it hit the stop. “Come
on down. Let's find your demon.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The stairs were steep and narrow, winding back upon themselves more than once. Io took them at pace, Samantha struggling to stay close in the darkness.

  “How are you doing that?” she asked. “I can't see a thing. If there were no railing, I'd be slipping all over the place.”

  “I can see my way down. You can't? You have the ability should you choose to use it.”

  “Maybe I'm not quite used to my new-found superpowers just yet.” Samantha pulled a small flashlight from a pocket on the combat suit, switching it on. The light was so bright she had to shield her eyes.

  “Just because the solution isn't easy and obvious, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try.” Io's tone was that of an instructor, one who gently scolded her for taking the easy way out.

  “I'm sorry, Io. Time is of the essence. Plus I wouldn't know where to begin.”

  “At the beginning. Consider how you felt the first time you raised an image of your father. What did you do?”

  “I painted the pattern on the floor and spilled my blood onto it.”

  “But there was more to your efforts. You reached deep down, both inside yourself and through the earth.”

  Samantha stopped. “How do you know that?”

  “In the instant you prayed to me, I came to know you, past, present, and potential future. If you don't take the easy way out, I can see what you might become. Think about how you felt that day. Consider how you felt earlier, reaching for those minuscule particles. I simply showed you the way. The power has always been yours.”

  Samantha looked inside, searching for the spark. It was there, but just out of reach. She chased after the feeling but nothing came. “It's too hard,” she gasped.

  “Nothing worth doing is ever easy, Sammy,” he replied. “Stick with your light for now.”

  She shone the light around the catacombs. Smooth carved stone buttresses arched up to the ceiling. “This is much bigger than the church above, as if the church were merely a doorway to something greater.” She considered her point. “It's always a church, isn't it?”