Angels Falling

by Harriet Carlton

  “Imorean!” shouted Roxy, turning in the air.

  “Hello, everyone,” said Imorean, snapping his wings and sailing back up to their level. He slipped in formation with Colton and offered a quick smile before turning back to Kadia. “Nearly got me, Kad.”

  “I’m so sorry!” she replied. “I didn’t realize it was you.”

  Baxter turned in the air. “You could have dropped a warning instead of dropping yourself and scaring the pants off us.”

  “I could have,” nodded Imorean. “But I wanted to know how good your reactions are this late at night.”

  “Our reactions are fine,” called Ryan. “Colton, Imorean, get up here and help me navigate, would you?”

  Imorean nodded at Colton as the formation shuffled. He flashed Ryan a quick smile. Ryan nodded stiffly back.

  “How much further?” Ryan asked.

  “One mile,” replied Colton.

  “Thereabouts,” nodded Imorean. “How are the wings working, Colt?”

  “Quite well.” Colton pushed his glasses further up his nose. “They got a little warm while we were over the sea, but I might have imagined it.”

  “Well, I’m glad it was nothing major. How was the journey?”

  Ryan snorted. “Long.”

  “It’s been a rough one,” replied Colton. “Were you trying to get speared by Kadia just now?”

  “Not exactly,” laughed Imorean.

  “You should have expected Kadia’s reaction,” snapped Ryan. “We’ve been on edge for days now. Our nerves are shot. We didn’t need you swooping in and being a mini-Michael.”

  Imorean clicked his tongue and looked over one shoulder at Roxy. He could just see her over his wings.

  Roxy cupped one hand to her mouth and called forward. “Don’t mind him! He’s been having a bad case of the ‘itis’ for the last few days!”

  “It’s called being responsible!” replied Ryan, raising his voice over the wind.

  Imorean glanced back at Roxy again, but Colton spoke over him.

  “Descend here, Ryan!”

  Imorean was tempted for a heartbeat to pull away and race to the other Archangels on the ground, but he shook his head. There was no need. Michael had sent him out to regroup with his friends and it was with them that he wanted to stay.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Dawn brought fog with it. Even now, in mid-morning, coolness lingered in the air. Nerves, tension and storm clouds clung to the fringes of the day. Imorean rested his back against a tree, listening to the sounds of his friends. Their breathing was low, relaxed and even. They were still sleeping. Sleep. When was the last time he had slept? Did he need to? Michael had said he didn’t need to anymore – or at least, he didn’t need to nearly as much. He glanced over at Michael. Murky outlines of twin swords disrupted the shape of Michael’s shoulders. He was standing at the edge of the small forest where they had landed. He had been there for hours, since first light, and since before the fog had descended. Imorean raised his gaze and looked past him. A mountain towered in the distance, its summit breaching the clouds. He swallowed. Olympus. It had to be. Just to think the word made him feel as though he had entered a different reality. He pushed off the ground and walked toward Michael.

  “So, what’s the plan? What do we have to do to get into Zeus’s world?” he asked, stopping next to Michael.

  Michael took a deep breath and didn’t reply. Imorean cleared his throat. Had Michael not heard him?

  “What’s our plan?” he asked again. A raindrop spattered his nose. Still nothing. White wings brushed green as Imorean leaned closer to Michael, mentally pressing them together. There was a flicker and Michael yielded. Worry. Imorean swallowed. There was some unnamable cold in this worry. Fear? Was Michael afraid? He jumped as Michael turned to him and gripped his shoulder, emerald eyes tense. He suddenly wished that Sariel and Uriel were with them – that they weren’t still at Houska with Raphael, Diniel and Toddy.

  “Imorean, I am going to ask something strange of you.”

  Imorean quirked a small smile. “You’ve asked odd things of me before.”

  “Switch swords with me.”

  “What?” Imorean balked. An angel’s sword was their greatest weapon – their greatest ally. “Why?”

  Four green wings twitched and Michael looked back at Olympus. Imorean followed his gaze. Silence fell between them. Michael’s hand tightened on his shoulder, borderline uncomfortable, and Imorean resisted the urge to push him away. Wind stirred the tops of the trees.

  “Imorean, I have been scanning the astral plane all night. The air is wrong here. I cannot find Zeus’s presence. As we are close to Olympus, the other Archangels and I should be able to feel him. The air is … something is wrong. I want you to switch swords with me, because if … if we encounter something unexpected when we arrive at Olympus and if we have to fight in close quarters, I will not be the cause of any injury to you. We already know that the sword responds to you. This will be safer for both of us.”

  “We won’t be able to injure each other.”

  “Correct,” nodded Michael.

  Imorean looked back into the trees. “Why don’t you trade with Gabriel?”

  “Gabriel is a full-blooded Archangel. He can survive more damage than you can, with fewer complications. Gabriel is not my concern.”

  Imorean stopped. He heard the unsaid part of Michael’s sentence. You are my concern. He paused and scanned Michael’s eyes. Worry had filmed over green. They were darker than usual. Angry though he was with Michael, he still trusted him. He undid the straps holding his sword against his back. Michael finally let go of his shoulder and undid the clasps of one of his own. The sword with the hexagonal hilt and archaic tree remained in place. Straps came loose. Imorean caught his weapon as it began to drop away from his back and held it out to Michael. He watched as Michael pulled his own weapon down from his shoulders. Imorean reached for Michael’s sword, surrendering the one that had been with him since Felsenmeer. It looked small in Michael’s hand. The leather-wrapped handle of Michael’s sword met his palm.

  “Heavier than mine,” mused Imorean, weighing Michael’s sword and scabbard in his hand. It was the third time he had handled the weapon.

  “It packs something of a punch,” replied Michael.

  Imorean wrapped one hand around the handle of Michael’s sword and pulled it partway out of its sheath. Under the morning sun, he could see Michael’s name engraved in the metal. Hairline scars glittered on the surface of the weapon.

  “From where it was broken,” said Michael, looking back up toward Olympus. “Wake Ryan. I will help you rouse his squad. They have rested for long enough and they must be the first group to leave in order for the rest of us to circle around Olympus.”

  Imorean nodded as he swung Michael’s sword onto his back and buckled the straps. He fought the urge to tremble. Time to go. His squad was leaving first. Terror raised her head, cold and sharp. He wanted to go with them. To be with them. To protect them. The last time they had left him in conditions similar to these, two people had died. But there was nothing he could do to stop them leaving – nothing at all. Shivers crawled up his spine. Olympus was looming.

  Chapter 70

  Roxy fought down her reservation as she adjusted her wing position to avoid a cold air current. Ahead of her, Ryan kept pace with Colton, ensuring that they didn’t go too fast for him. Behind her, Baxter and Kadia coordinated weather patterns and their best option of approach for Olympus. Roxy glanced over her shoulder. The wood where they had spent the last few hours was long obscured by fog and misting rain. Imorean was still there with the other Archangels. She hadn’t needed Archangel senses to see how afraid Imorean had been as they had lifted off. She didn’t blame him. The last time his friends had been separated from him and gone racing away up a mountain on a mission, the results had been disastrous. She’d hugged him before they left and she could have sworn his arms had been tighter around her than ever before.

  “Kee
p up, Roxy!”

  She looked up. Ryan, Colton, Kadia and Baxter had pulled into a hover ahead of her. She was lagging behind.

  “Sorry! What’s our route?”

  Ryan held up a compass. “We’re approaching from the north face. Raguel and his team are coming up from the east, Michael and the others from the west. Stay together. Move fast. We’ll try to be in and out before Michael and Imorean even get up here.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Kadia.

  “We got Viracocha’s tears in Peru. We’re just getting some trinket from Zeus here. It won’t be hard,” snapped Ryan. “Maybe then, Imorean will quit doubting us.”

  “He isn’t doubting us,” replied Roxy, pulling up next to him. “He wants us safe.”

  “If you say so,” said Ryan.

  Roxy looked up. Olympus’s summit was obscured by clouds. Too quiet. It was just too silent. Ryan took the lead again and Roxy could have sworn that his pace increased as they approached the thicker clouds.

  Breath was torn from Roxy’s throat as the air around them shuddered. “Was that it? Was that the barrier?”

  “I think so,” grinned Ryan. “Not as well defended as Michael made out.”

  “It might have just been because Raguel and the others are already here,” called Colton. “The barrier was probably already weak.”

  Roxy wiped moisture away from her face as they entered the cloud bank. Rain. Visibility dropped. She was relieved when Ryan’s command came.

  “Form up! Tight diamond!”

  Roxy shifted sideways. Colton dropped to the center of their formation, his artificial wingtips touching her own. On the far side of the diamond, Kadia moved in as well, her wings touching Colton’s other side. Baxter rose above them, taking position directly above Colton. Ryan stayed ahead, slowing his pace. Silence. The only noise was the mechanical whir of Colton’s wings and the rushing of air under feathers. Rain streamed down. Soaked. Roxy took a breath. The air here was cold. Temperature dropping quickly. Below, small structures rose out of the rocky ground on Olympus’s surface. Invisible to any outside the boundaries set up by Zeus and the Greek gods, humans would never have seen these buildings. Shrines, tombs, temples. Roxy’s breathing quickened. Something hung over the air. She couldn’t place what, but there was a kind of sickness to it. Something ruined and destructive.

  “Ryan!” shouted Colton. “We have to stop!”

  “Why?” snapped Ryan, rounding in the air. “We’re almost there!”

  “My wings.”

  Roxy looked over. Smoke filtered out of the backpack containing all Colton’s wing mechanisms. Ryan swore.

  Kadia spun in the air. “Incoming!”

  Above them, Baxter cried out, hurtling sideways. Roxy rolled and dodged him. But Baxter wasn’t alone. Someone was tangled with him. Roxy pulled up, stopping in midair. Below, Baxter crashed into the mountainside, only just visible through the cloud cover, a lone demon facing off with him. Roxy moved to dive. An attack crashed into her from the side. Brute force. Her wings splayed out and she spun, trying to regain control. Bodies swarmed the air. Colton plummeted, wings failing. She could hear him screaming. Kadia tore after him, little more than a blur. Roxy righted herself. The air was still, like nothing had ever happened. Lightning attack. A roar rose up from over the crest of the summit. Roxy wasn’t sure, but she thought she could hear Raguel. She spun. Kadia, Baxter, Colton, Ryan. They were all gone. She couldn’t see any of them. She was alone.

  “Roxy!”

  She spun again, relieved. “Ryan! Where is everyone? What happened?”

  “Colton’s down. I’m going to try to get to him. Baxter is on his way back up the mountain. You and him keep going to the summit.”

  Movement. Roxy felt it rather than saw it. A pulse ripped through the air. Explosions cracked the world. Stone ground on stone. Shattering. The world was falling apart. More movement. Closer now. A figure. Roxy grabbed Ryan by the wings and let gravity grab them. A sword tip narrowly missed Ryan’s head. Roxy caught sight of a head of blonde hair. She spread her wings as he dropped her grip on Ryan.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she whispered. The blood in her veins boiled as Bethany Voran turned in the air ahead of her.

  “Send Baxter after me!” shouted Roxy.

  “Roxy! Stop! We need to stay together!”

  Roxy dodged as Ryan tried to catch her by a wing. Bethany was in her sights. A roar from the far side of the mountain rose again. But that hardly mattered. Bethany flew just below her, skimming above the mountainside. Roxy dove. She crashed hard into Bethany’s back, slamming them both to the ground. Bethany, who had ruined so much of her life – who had ensured that Imorean’s life was shattered. It felt good to hear the breath leave her throat as they both fell against hard stone. Roxy pushed up to her feet. She could hear fighting on the far side of the mountain with more clarity now. Ambushed. They had been ambushed. And, unless Raguel did something, they had no way to let Imorean and the Archangels know what they were flying into. Roxy drew her sword as Bethany gasped and climbed back to her feet.

  “Did you really think we wouldn’t figure it out?” she asked. “Imorean was so desperate to engage Daddy at Houska. Practically told him where everyone was.”

  “The Archangels are on their way,” growled Roxy. She searched Bethany’s defenses, scanning for a weak spot.

  “Oh, we hope so. It would be so rewarding to finally do away with them.”

  “You’ll never get the drop on them.” Roxy looked more desperately. There had to be some chink in Bethany’s defense. Something she could use to weaken her.

  “You’re outnumbered, dummy. Outnumbered. Outgunned. You’ve lost your element of surprise. We don’t need the drop on them. We already have it.”

  There was a thud somewhere behind Bethany. Roxy raised her gaze. Through the mist and cloud, one figure walked toward them. Tall and slim. The gait was unmistakable. Fear locked its icy hands around Roxy’s spine. Vortigern. Nausea rose in her throat. He was inspecting his fingernails. In his other hand, he held a severed head. He looked up and smiled.

  “Oh, hello, Roxy. Didn’t notice you. How’s the stomach?”

  Roxy couldn’t move. Her eyes were fixed on the head in Vortigern’s hand. Larger than a normal head should have been. Sunken power. She took a shuddering breath. The air smelled like blood. She looked back up as Vortigern searched her face with his eyes.

  “Oh, this?” Vortigern held up the head. “Zeus wasn’t being very agreeable. So I forced him to see things from my perspective. I may have taken it a step too far. He doesn’t see very much at all now. Either way, no Zeus, no lightning strike. No artifact. Neat and clean. I win. Unless you kill me here, and, let’s face it, that’s unlikely.”

  Roxy took a shuddering breath. Their careful plans crumbled. Everything she, Imorean and the others had worked toward for the last few months. Gone. Nearby, she heard a scream. It sounded like Baxter. In front of her, Vortigern gave Bethany a stiff nod. Roxy yelped as Bethany raced forward, sword swinging and catching meager light. A flash of black disrupted the fog. Only dark dust and a severed head marked the place where Vortigern had stood. Roxy snapped her sword up for a block. Too late. The razor tip of a sword caught her just at her hairline. Blood ran hot, free down the side of her face. Bethany danced away out of reach. Roxy swallowed. Fight her way out. She had to.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Rain streamed down, driving. Imorean wiped his face. He could barely see Gabriel and Michael ahead of him through it. The air was cold. Wind howled at them. Overhead, one of Michael’s storms circulated. Clouds angry, violent, ready to break at a moment’s notice. Trees had dropped away long ago. Their ascent had already taken them far above the timber line. Rocky crags and ravines lay treacherous below. Imorean shook his head, trying to keep the water droplets out of his eyes. Air rippled around them.

  “Hold!” shouted Michael, snapping to a halt in the air.

  Imorean racked his wings sideway
s, narrowly avoiding slamming into Michael.

  “Easy, Mike!” shouted Gabriel. “Give us some warning.”

  “Did you feel that?” asked Michael. “The way the air reacted?”

  Imorean glanced at Gabriel and nodded. “Yeah. What happened?”

  “That was the barrier Zeus set up for Olympus. It has been shattered.”

  Gabriel swallowed. “We’ve been beaten here, haven’t we?”

  Imorean looked up through the rain. It was difficult to figure out if they were in rain, fog or cloud now. He knew, though, where he was looking – toward the summit of Olympus’s highest peak. The question didn’t need an answer. Imorean shivered. A presence that was as dark as the clouds around them, hinted with a subtle gray, had descended. Through the clouds, someone screamed. He froze. He knew that voice. He had grown up with that voice. Roxy. Another voice joined hers. Male. Baxter. They were in trouble. No. His wings snapped back and he raced upward. Get to the summit. That was all that mattered. Michael and Gabriel dropped away behind him. Through the murk of cloud, Imorean could see shadows and outlines of buildings – buildings that weren’t supposed to be there. They didn’t matter. They weren’t alive. All that mattered was getting to Roxy – getting to the others. They were in trouble. Imorean swerved, narrowly avoiding a sharp rock outcrop. Another scream. He shoved sideways, white flashing in front of his eyes. Astral speed was what he needed now. Nothing less would do.

  Wingbeat. Ascension. He was above the summit now. And there. He could see souls on the mountaintop. Vibrant and orange. One struck him more rainbow than the others. Roxy. Another presence closed on her. Something dark. Something not an angel. Wings tucked and folded, he dove. Roxy slipped and fell. In the back of Imorean’s mind, he could hear screams and yells from further down the mountain. Tricked and ambushed. He drew Michael’s sword and spun, tearing between Roxy and her aggressor. Gone. The second presence was gone.

  Chest heaving, Imorean allowed the white film over his eyes to clear. His knees shook, but he couldn’t fall now. Life wouldn’t allow it. He looked around. Roxy lay on her back a few paces away. The second presence had vanished, melted into nothing. There wasn’t time to worry about it now.