Earth Angel (Angels and Seers: Book One)

by Stephanie Woods

Chapter 15

  I am amazed at how small the village looks. I was expecting a small town, since Vermont is full of them, but this place is almost like a settlement on the frontier. I can actually see from one end of town to the other at the top of the main street. There is nothing but woods behind the scattering of buildings.

  But it’s not in the middle of nowhere. It only took fifteen minutes for John to drive us from the diner to the town line. And what little bit of town is there is apparently modern. I see telephone lines, a cell phone tower in the distance, a grocery store and gas station combo, a public library, and cars lining the paved streets. One café nearby even advertises wi-fi in its window in bright neon letters, and there’s a long brick building with a playground beside it I’m pretty sure is an elementary school. What I can see of the town looks utterly charming, like the type of place you’d put on a postcard if it was covered in snow or the leaves were decked out in their fall colors. It’s cozy, and most of all, it’s safe, or at least, it will be. And with the back being woods, it will be easy to defend it. I like it immediately.

  John and Linda take us back to Linda’s place, a 1950’s era tract house that looks like it came straight out of “Leave It to Beaver.” There is already a crowd of about a dozen people waiting for us in the cramped, green-walled living room when we arrive, most of them sitting cross-legged on thick, brown shag carpeting. Word of our presence and situation has apparently already been circulated among the family. These are the other seers, the ones who will be helping us.

  In the back of the room, I see two people who are definitely not genetically related to the Londons. Maybe in-laws? One is African-American in appearance, and the other looks Japanese. Oh, but they aren’t really. I see it now. There is a faint glow to them both that I recognize immediately, even before I notice the sparkling blue of their eyes and the tell-tale glimpse of feathers peeking out from behind their backs. They’re angels. Their extra-long tunics and bare feet identify them as Nature Angels, undoubtedly from the nearby woods. These guys are probably on quite familiar terms with the London family.

  They must be here to help, too. How much do they know about Jonathan? Have they encountered him? Does Sam know them? A million questions run through my mind.

  There’s no time to ask anything, though, because John and Linda are ready to get down to business. Our bags are taken upstairs by one of the younger family members and we all file into the living room, looking for any place to sit we can manage. Sam and I score the couch only because everyone makes way for us to have it. Already, they’re treating us like we’re in charge. It’s so weird, but I know I need to get used to it. John and Linda made it clear we were going to be the leaders here.

  After brief introductions to their extended family of cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings, parents, and grandparents, all of whom give Sam and me an astonishing amount of respect and reverence, telling us what an honor it is to meet us both, John brings the room to silence with a finger to the lips. He does not introduce the Nature Angels.

  I glance at Sam. He is looking at the two winged observers intently.

  “Do you know them?” I whisper, leaning in close to his ear.

  “I’ve seen them before when I’ve been on the planet’s surface, but we’ve never met formally,” Sam whispers back. “Obviously, they’re Nature Angels. Their kingdom and mine interact regularly, but I don’t know them all personally, like I do with my own people. I’ll try to get an opportunity for us to talk to them later.”

  John is speaking.

  “We have come together to address a common threat to us all,” he announces. “As you’ve all probably heard by now, a rogue angel named Jonathan has his eye set to take over the Earth, its human and animal inhabitants, and the angels who protect it. He has already done this to the other planets in this solar system, the ones with non-intelligent species, using them as practice. Once he takes Earth, he will then move on to take over other inhabited planets in this galaxy and the beings in those places, including the angels. He will keep going in this way, taking over galaxy after galaxy, until he has become the dictator of the universe, shaping it and us to his will. Should this happen, it would be only slightly less catastrophic than an apocalypse. We must stop him here, before he progresses any further in his evil quest.”

  An assent of nods and mumbled “yeses” follow his declaration.

  “This woman, Lucy McDonald, is from a branch of the European seer family, which, as you know, is our own seer family of origin,” John continues. “With her is Prince Sam, the heir to the Earth Angel kingdom. You remember the family stories about the time our ancestors took him in. Sam is the only angel so far who has stood up to Jonathan and lived to tell about it, and Jonathan is out for his blood. If he lets Sam go uncaptured, he will lose the faith of his army. He knows Lucy helped him get away, so he will be looking for her, too. The archangels have declared that Sam and Lucy are the only ones who can lead the Earth to defeat him, and Lucy has been identified as the most powerful seer in more than a generation, though she knows little of her magical heritage or her other seer powers. We must teach her, and at the same time, help her and Sam put together an army of seers and angels who will band together to defeat Jonathan and his own army. This is a sacred task with which we have been entrusted. We must not fail in it. Currently, those of us in this room, and some members of Sam’s kingdom who are in hiding in a training camp behind the moon, are the only ones standing between freedom and slavery for the entire universe. As such, we must use our full seer powers for the first time in centuries to perform our jobs to the fullest. We must cloak Sam and Lucy from the perception of any other angels, and we must start recruiting the army we will train to save us all.”

  A bunch of “so be its” sound out around the room. It’s kind of like a religious meeting, only without the “amens.”

  “They’re going to do a spell,” I whisper to Sam, suddenly feeling like I’m in a Harry Potter movie.

  “Yes,” Sam whispers back. “But remember, it’s really just a different use of physics. Most humans knew it eons ago, but the art was suppressed by the various religions that sprung up. Only a few people know how to practice it to its true potential now. It’s different on other planets. They use it freely across the universe in many places.”

  “So we’re the backward, narrow-minded ones,” I surmise.

  “Yes, but no less loved and cherished than anyone else,” Sam assures me. “And there are other civilizations like yours that have suppressed the knowledge of magic and its use. The universe is a very diverse place. There is room for everyone.”

  “I know.”

  John asks that the furniture be moved to the periphery of the room, and we all pitch in so it’s done in a flash. He then requests everyone sit in a circle on the floor.

  The two Nature Angels take their place in the circle, sitting directly opposite of Sam and me. They don’t look unfriendly, but they aren’t smiling, either. I wonder how much they know. Are they spies for Jonathan? How can John and Linda be sure they can be trusted?

  I want to ask, but everyone, including Sam, seems eager to get this ritual started. If Sam isn’t concerned, I won’t be. But I do want to talk to those angels as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

  Linda is putting a lot of different objects in the center of the circle. She seems to be the one in charge of the magic here. I feel a nagging sense of regret that my own family never knew about any of this. My grandfather and father may not have been able to participate in such rituals, as they weren’t of the seer bloodline, but my mother, brothers, grandmother, and I could have taken a much more active role in the family gift if we’d known. We might not have made much of a difference in the world, but maybe we could have done some good.

  Linda lays out a handful of small fir branches on the floor in the middle of the circle. She arranges them into an odd pattern that is part triangular, part circular. Then, she lights three white candles, each evenly spaced through th
e pattern like an arrow. Four sticks of incense are placed on each side of the branches and set to smoking, releasing a heady, almost hypnotic scent throughout the room. She leans forward and pulls a variety of leaves, flowers, grasses, soil, stones, and bird feathers out of a leather pouch I never saw her carrying, and scatters them around the branches in a seeming random way. There could be a purpose to each placement, but if there is, I can’t figure it out yet. I hope they will teach me.

  Finally, the people on either side of her hand her two clear crystal bowls of water, and she sets these on either side of her odd branch pattern. I suddenly see that everything that is on the floor in front of us is supposed to represent the elements of earth, fire, wind, and water…the powers of nature. No wonder the Nature Angels are there. It’s beautiful, in a simple, elegant way.

  Linda murmurs an incantation in a language I do not recognize, closing her eyes and leaning over the makeshift altar on the floor before us, inhaling the scent of the incense.

  I look at Sam, and he immediately understands my unspoken question.

  “Enochian,” he whispers. “The ancient language of the angels.”

  I raise my eyebrows, surprised. “People know that?” I mouth silently to him.

  “A few,” he whispers back. “It was taught to early humans of the select seer families, and some branches still retain the knowledge. It is powerful when used in the right way. The words themselves can manipulate the physical universe.”

  Holy cow!

  After her incantation, Linda withdraws a stone knife from her pocket. It is not starstone, I note with some relief. According to Sam, the starstone blade I took from Jonathan and the one we lifted from Luther are two of only a handful of such blades known to be in this galaxy.

  Without a word, both of the Nature Angels hold out their hands and allow Linda to slice their palms with the knife. They lean forward and squeeze precisely twelve droplets of their blood into the bowls of water, one angel per bowl. Then, they hold up their palms so everyone present can see them heal as if no cuts were ever made. Man, if only humans could heal like that, it would revolutionize the world! And that’s probably the reason we can’t. The universe, in its vast wisdom, realized that this was too much power for our species to handle responsibly. I wonder how many inhabited planets out there have races who can heal like the angels, or if any can be trusted with that ability.

  Linda then nods her head toward Sam. He seems to know exactly what to do, and leans across me to hold out his hand to her. Linda slices his palm the same way she did with the other two angels. Sam squeezes out six drops of blood into one water bowl and six into the other. He sits back, holds up his hand so everyone can watch it heal, then rests it on his lap.

  Then, apparently, it’s my turn. No one says anything, but Linda nods in my direction. I hold out my hand, figuring that’s what she wants, and sure enough, she slices right across the front of my palm. She doesn’t cut deeply, but it stings like hell. Following the lead of Sam and the other angels, I make my hand into a fist and squeeze six drops of blood into each bowl of water. I sit back on my heels, not sure what to do next, since I can’t insta-heal like the angels. Sam takes my hand and puts it between both of his. I feel a slight warmth go through my hand, and when he releases it, the cut is gone.

  That is something that will come in handy! Angels at full power are incredible beings.

  Linda then slices her own hand, puts her own blood drops into the water bowls, and reaches over for the Japanese-looking angel to heal it.

  She mumbles another Enochian incantation over the bowls. It is a complicated language with no obvious grammar or any words that can be recognized from repetition. It is also full of sounds I’ve never heard made by a human tongue, and some sound supernatural in nature; I’m sure it takes special powers for a human to be able to speak that way. I wonder if I can.

  “Please hold hands,” Linda directs in English as she finishes her Enochian recitation.

  Everyone in the circle does as she says. Sam’s hand feels warm and strong in mine, and I notice a few rough calluses on it for the first time. This is an angel who has been used to hard, manual work in his life, not just a pampered prince. I kind of like that bit of knowledge. Of course, now isn’t the time to be pondering such things, so I turn my focus back to Linda.

  “Oh Mother Earth, Father Universe, and God of All,” Linda intones, looking upward toward the ceiling, her head tilted slightly back. “We come together today to ask your protection for this angel, Sam, and this human seer, Lucy. We ask that you cloak them from their enemies, so that no one who wishes them evil may sense their presence henceforth. Create a protective barrier around them that their enemies’ senses may not penetrate, we implore you. With these offerings, we give respect. With their blood mingled with that of their kin, we give our consent for our request to be done. With our hands held in this circle, we call on your power to make it so, using our own power to draw yours to us. The seers and the angels in this circle have given of themselves to enact this protection. Thus let it be done. When we see your sign, we will know that our request has been granted.”

  Linda bows her head, eyes closed. There is silence for a moment as everyone looks around at each other, wondering if this will work and if a sign will present itself. We don’t have long to wait. Just as Linda finishes speaking and bows her head as low as it will go, the water in the two bowls forms into two miniature pink spouts, rising up above the level of the bowls and higher and higher into the air until all the water and blood is gone from the bowls. It rises and stays suspended in the air above us, almost to the ceiling. It is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. It may be physics, as Sam said, but it still looks like magic to me.

  Then, without warning, the two spouts of water arch back toward Sam and me, joining together to form one spinning circle above our heads in a horizontal position, kind of like a large, watery, slightly bloody halo for two. The water halo spins above us for a moment, then comes splashing down over us, drenching Sam and me from head to foot in its pink wetness. A golden glow emanates all around the two of us for just a moment, hovering slightly above our skin all over our bodies. Then, the water and blood disappear entirely, transported to who knows where, leaving us as dry as when we entered the house.

  Wow.

  “It is done,” Linda concludes, looking at Sam and me with satisfaction.

  The participants in the circle smile and nod their agreement, even the two heretofore expressionless angels sitting across from us.

  I look at Sam expectantly. He gives me a solemn nod, but with a hint of pleasure in his eyes. We are protected. It will take the most extraordinary of measures for Jonathan, or any other angel, to find us now. We are safe for the time being. The spell is not impenetrable, but it is strong, and it will buy us the time we need to prepare for what we must do. Now, we can finally get to work protecting the planet.