Champion (War Angel Academy Book 3)

by S. J. West

  “Let’s go somewhere,” I suggest.

  Az’s demeanor perks up. “Just the two of us? Now?”

  “Yes. Anywhere you want to go, except Earth.”

  “Why not Earth? What’s wrong with it?”

  “It may not be safe for me there. The rebellion angels use it as their base of operations, and I’ve been told not to go there.”

  Az looks interested in what I’ve said. He opens his mouth to say something but then thinks better of it and closes it again. Was he going to ask me about the rebellion angels? Maybe. I guess I’ll never know.

  He holds out his hand to me without saying a word. I don’t want to go with him, but I have to. If we’re going to have any chance of gaining his support, I have to do whatever it takes to talk him into it.

  Silas will be mad when he learns I skipped training to spend time with Caleb, but I’m also hoping to talk Az into letting me tell one person in my life his true identity. I need someone to talk to, and I need that person to be Silas.

  “Where are we going?” I give Az my hand to hold.

  “You’ll see,” he says mysteriously before phasing us away.

  11

  (Azrael’s Point of View)

  As I take hold of Lora’s hand, I panic. I never thought she would accept my date suggestion, but I had to give it a try. Now, she wants to spend time with me alone. That’s like a date, right? Not that I’ve ever gone on one before, but I do have Caleb’s memories of his dates with Penelope and Lora.

  Where do I take her? What should we do?

  She wants to show you why humanity is worth saving. Why don’t you show her why you don’t believe it is?

  But it’s been eons since I was out and about in the real world.

  True, but you have years of memories from the Wardens you were connected to. Surely, there’s somewhere on this planet you can take her.

  Oh. Now that you mention it, I know just the place.

  I phase Lora to the outskirts of the vilest town I know of on Laed-i. It’s filled with the worst humanity has to offer, and after seeing it, she’ll understand the futility of her plight.

  “What is this place?” Lora looks around at the less than sanitary surroundings unable to hide her disgust.

  “This is Manas Bay, named after the old king who used to rule Laed-i. Talk about a piece of work. I’m sure he ended up in Hell after Ethan killed him.”

  “I’ve heard the tales.” Lora watches a couple of drunkards, arm-in-arm, make their way precariously down the cobblestone street. “Why exactly did you choose this place to bring me to?”

  “I thought it might be fun for us to make a wager. If you can find one redeemable person in this hellhole, I’ll seriously consider rejecting Levi’s offer to rule the universe.”

  “And if I can’t?” The more she looks at this place the less confident she appears.

  “Then we’re at an impasse. You seem to have forgotten that I’ve been watching humanity for a very long time. Every Warden I’ve been connected to has shown me nothing that’s made me change my mind about humans. They’re as nasty and vile as they ever were.”

  “Only if you refuse to see them any other way.”

  She has a point there. I know what you’ve seen through the years, and not all of it was bad. You just seem to conveniently forget the good stuff.

  “Prove me wrong then,” I challenge her. “Show me one decent human being who lives here.”

  Lora looks around in dismay. I fear she’ll cut our little adventure short because she knows I’ve given her an unachievable task. Then, her eyes light up and she smiles triumphantly.

  She’s beautiful when she smiles.

  I see it so rarely when we talk to one another. I wonder if she bestows her gifts on Silas more often.

  “Come on.” She grabs my wrist and practically drags me down the street.

  “Although I love a woman who takes charge, could you loosen your grip just a bit? I’m starting to lose feeling in my fingers.”

  Lora lets go of my wrist. “Sorry. I just got excited because I know where to find a good person here. You may think you’ve outwitted me, but you seem to have forgotten something.”

  “Oh?” I ask as we continue to walk down the street at a brisk pace. “Please, do tell. What did I forget?”

  Lora grabs the sleeve of my shirt, abruptly comes to a stop, and points straight ahead.

  “You forgot that.”

  Lo and behold, Lora is pointing straight at a church.

  Ha! She’s got you now!

  “Oh, shut up, Caleb. It’s bad manners to gloat.”

  Lora’s gaze turns wistful with the reminder that Caleb is trapped inside me with no voice of his own except the one that is irritatingly inside my head.

  “Why won’t you let me talk to Caleb? Is it because you’re afraid you might not regain control if you do?”

  Told you she was smart. She can read you like a book.

  “Afraid is a rather strong way to put it.” I try to play it off like it’s no big deal, but in point of fact, it is at the heart of why I won’t let the boy have control. “It’s more like a concern. I actually don’t know what would happen or if I can even allow him to speak for himself. It’s not like I’ve ever shared a body with another soul before. There are a lot of . . . unknowns.”

  I direct my attention to the church. I have no desire to keep talking about letting Caleb out of his box. Besides, that’s not what we’re here for.

  “How can you be certain that church has a good person in it? For all you know, they could worship the devil here, not God.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to go inside to find out.” Lora pulls on my sleeve, and I willingly obey her command.

  You’re such a pushover where she’s concerned. I’m starting to wonder if what you feel for her is real and not just because of me.

  As soon as we step inside the church, uncomfortableness sets in. I begin to feel queasy just like I did yesterday during Will and Liana’s wedding. Of course, my Father was physically inside the chapel at the time. That’s enough to make anyone feel like they’re suffocating.

  Lora walks me down the aisle to the front of the sanctuary. With every step we take, I feel like my Father’s watching, judging, and finding me lacking. If He didn’t want me to enjoy sending humans to the afterlife, maybe He shouldn’t have made their souls give off such delicious energy when they leave their bodies. To my way of thinking, it’s a design flaw that He should have corrected a long time ago.

  A man in black walks into the sanctuary from a side door. For a split second, he stops and stares at us. His beady little brown eyes light up with joy, and I curse my luck because it looks like Lora did exactly what I asked her to.

  “Good morning!” The portly, bald headed preacher hurriedly shuffles his way over to us as if he’s afraid we’ll leave before he has a chance to say his peace. “How can I help you today? A wedding perhaps?”

  “Absolutely not!” Lora’s quick rebuke of his suggestion makes me laugh.

  “But darling,” I place my arm around the back of her waist and pull her in closer to my side, “you promised we could at least talk about it with the good pastor here. Why do you always get cold feet as soon as we step foot inside a church?”

  “What are you doing?” Lora whispers. Her irritation with me is so cute I can’t help but continue the charade.

  “Play along,” I whisper back, smiling for the benefit of our good clergyman. “Let’s see what kind of advice this supposed holy man has for a young couple in love. Consider it a test of his virtue.”

  “It’s so good to meet you. My name is Pastor Riley.” He holds his hand for me to shake first.

  “I’m Caleb,” I say, giving his hand a firm shake, “and this beautiful angel by my side is the love of my life, Lora.”

  Lora flinches at my lie as she shakes the pastor’s hand.

  Pastor Riley’s eyes can’t seem to peel themselves away from Lora’s glorious gold wings.

/>   “I’ve heard about you,” he says to her in awe. “I never thought I would be able to meet you in person though. Your wings . . .” The poor man seems lost for words as his eyes actually begin to tear up. “They’re quite magnificent.”

  “She’s quite magnificent.” I hug Lora even tighter and even attempt to kiss her on the cheek, but she pulls away with a nervous laugh.

  “That’s not going to happen here,” she tells me.

  I sigh in disappointment. The pastor simply looks confused by our banter.

  “Lora doesn’t like it when I show my affection for her in front of others,” I explain. “I don’t suppose you have a few words of wisdom for us, do you? A little sage advice for a couple planning to get married in the near future.”

  “Oh, well now.” Paster Riley scratches his head as he ponders my request. “I suppose the most important piece of advice I can give you is to make sure you truly love one another. Marriage should never be entered into with any reservations. I know divorce is possible now but a marriage that will stand the test of time never starts with that possibility in the back of either party’s mind. My wife and I have been married for almost thirty years, and not once in all that time did I ever see my life without her in it. She is my rock when I need one and my lighthouse when I lose my way. If you can say that about each other, then you have nothing to fear.”

  “That was really nice,” Lora says. Her face softened a bit after hearing the pastor’s description of marriage. “Do you and your wife have any children?”

  Pastor Riley’s face beams with pride. “We have two grown children. One of them works in the castle as a guard and the other one is married with two children of her own.”

  Lora clears her throat. She looks like she wants to ask the pastor a question. When she glances my way, I can tell it’s something she doesn’t want to ask him in front of me.

  “You can ask the good pastor anything, darling. I won’t judge.” My words are sincere, but Lora doesn’t appear to accept them as such. Nevertheless, she decides to ask her query despite my presence.

  “If your wife had been unable to have children, would you have still considered her your rock? Or would you have grown to resent her?”

  I have to admit that wasn’t the question I thought she was going to ask.

  I think Lora is scared that Silas will grow to resent her if she can’t have kids with him.

  He is her soulmate. Why would he care if she can get pregnant or not?

  Most humans are biologically predisposed to want kids. She probably feels like he’ll miss out on an experience most people are able to enjoy.

  If there’s anything worse than a human, it’s a miniature one. They’re incredibly disgusting and helpless for years. Why would anyone want the burden?

  Pastor Riley smiles at Lora. “I would have loved her exactly the same. Our children are a blessing to be sure, but my wife is the single most important person in my life. She’s been by my side through some terrible times and never wavered in her love or confidence in me. I can’t imagine my life without her and I wouldn’t want to.” He looks between us. “When were the two of you thinking about getting married? If you like, we could start some premarital counseling that might help with those cold feet of yours.”

  “We—”

  “We would love to,” I interrupt Lora before she can decline his kind offer. “What type of subjects do you cover?”

  “Well, I like to make sure young couples like yourselves are on the same page, as it were, before they tie themselves to one another for all eternity. Is there any subject that you seem to be having difficulty meeting eye to eye with? Religious values, perhaps? Or financial worries? I even offer open communication about sex and what each of you expects from your partner.”

  Lora makes a choking sound. I’m not sure if she’s gagging or if she actually choked on her own spit.

  “Maybe you can help us with something neither of us seems to be able to agree on,” I say. “My darling seems to believe that humanity is worth saving and I do not. What are your thoughts on the matter?”

  “Saving?” Pastor Riley looks between us clearly puzzled by my question. “I’m not quite sure I understand why this is an issue.”

  “Oh, it’s purely hypothetical,” I assure him. “Let’s say there was a threat coming and it intended to wipe out all life on Laed-i. Lora believes we should do everything possible to protect the humans here and I don’t see the point. It’s not like you’re not all going to die eventually anyway. Why not do it all at the same time?”

  Pastor Riley clears his throat as he thinks about what I’ve said.

  “I would have to agree with your fiancé,” he says to me. “Even one human life is worth saving from annihilation. Let me put it to you this way: What if she was the one who would die? What would you do to save her?”

  “Anything I had to.” The answer comes out of me so naturally, I know it must be true.

  “Now imagine every person on this planet feeling that way about at least one other person in their life. Don’t you think they all deserve the right to protect the ones they love? You’re no different than them. In God’s eyes, we’re all His children.”

  “So, you’re saying that if I want to protect one life, Lora’s in this case, that I should want to protect all life because everyone has someone who cares about them?”

  “Yes. That’s it exactly.”

  “Rubbish.”

  Pastor Riley gives me a disapproving glare. “Why would you say that?”

  “Because not all lives are equal. Some people are more important than others. Don’t you believe the king’s life is more important than say the two drunkards we just saw walking along the street outside? How can they be equal to a king?”

  “Every life is precious. It doesn’t matter if you’re a king or a drunkard. Who are you to judge who is more important? Who are you to choose who lives and who dies?”

  “I’m the angel of death! That’s who I am. I’ve made those types of decisions all my life.”

  “Huh.” Pastor Riley appears doubtful about my boast.

  Before I can demonstrate who I really am, Lora grabs my hand with hers, intertwining our fingers intimately as she also hugs my arm. Her physical attention calms my temper, and I take in a deep breath.

  “Thank you for your time,” she says to the pastor. “We really need to be leaving now.”

  Lora turns us around and leads me back down the aisle.

  “I was about to teach him a lesson in not back talking his elders,” I say once we’re outside the church.

  “Yes,” she says in a resigned voice. “I kind of got that feeling from the death stare you were giving him. You can’t just shout that you’re the angel of death to people, Az. They’ll think you’ve completely lost all your marbles.”

  “It’s the truth. I thought you were all about telling people the truth.”

  “I am because it’s hardwired in me, but you do it to scare people. There’s a difference. What did you think he was going to do? Bow down to you and ask for mercy?”

  “He should.” I turn my head away from her and look out toward the bay.

  The crisp ocean breeze and soothing waves lapping against the shoal soothes my frayed nerves. I close my eyes for a second to bask in the warmth of the sun. While I was trapped in my cave, all I wanted to do was feel sunlight on my skin. I promised that if I was ever able to see it again, I would never take it for granted.

  “What did you think about what he said?”

  Lora draws me back to the present with her question.

  “He made sense, but so did I. Why not just end all life at once.? No one would have to mourn the death of a loved one because they would all be dead. Seems like a good solution to sorrow if you ask me.”

  “And what about me?”

  I return my full attention to her. Her beautiful blue eyes practically beg for an answer to her question, but I’m not quite sure what she’s asking.

  “What abou
t you?” I ask for clarification.

  “Do you intend to let me be a victim of Levi’s invasion or will you fight by my side? In there you said you would do anything you had to in order to protect me, was that the truth?”

  “Of course, it was.”

  “Then you’re contradicting yourself.” She pulls away from me completely. “How can you protect me when you’re still contemplating fighting with Levi? You do understand that he will kill me the first opportunity he gets, right?”

  “Not if I make a deal with him to spare your life.”

  Lora snickers. “Even if he agrees to that, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be the only one who tries to kill me. How are you going to stop me from getting swallowed up by a Leviathan or torn apart by a pack of hellhounds? You can’t control everything Az, no matter how powerful you are.” She peers up at the steeple on the church before returning her attention to me. “I did what you asked. I found one decent human living in this town. Will you fight with us or against us?”

  “The deal was that if you found someone then I would seriously consider fighting with you, and I will. Beyond that, I can’t make any further promises.”

  “Then take me back to the academy. My friends will start to wonder where I am. I’ve been gone too long as it is.”

  “And if I refuse to take you back?” I don’t want our time to end so soon. Even mad, Lora is the most interesting person on this planet.

  “I can’t do anything if you refuse, except fly myself back, if I have to.” Her stubborn chin rises defiantly. She’s so cute when she’s mad.

  I wouldn’t say that to her if I was you. She’s liable to knock you out if you do.

  “I’ll phase you back there if you can tell me one thing,” I wager.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Why can’t you go out with me tonight?”

  Lora huffs in irritation. “Silas and I are going out on our first official date later. Even if we weren’t, I still would have turned you down. I’m not interested in you like that, Az. At most, we can be friends, but that doesn’t seem to be what you want.”