Angelus (15 page)

Immediately, she thought of Israfel.

“The angels will watch over you,” Tress whispered to her. Her child's eyes seemed to absorb all the darkness of the surrounding trees. “Like they watch over me.”

I suppose she's talking about “good” angels. I have yet to meet one,
Nina said dryly.

Angela took the feather, stroking it with a finger. “Where did you get this?” she said to Tress.

“It doesn't matter,” Tress said, smiling. “You need it more than me, anyway. You can give it back someday—when it won't help anymore.”

“Now hurry, Archon,” Gloriana said shortly. And then she grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and steered her back into the trees and in the direction of the clearing until they were no more than shadows.

Fatigue had plucked at Angela little by little since they'd arrived in Luz. Now it began to wash over her. Her thoughts wandered and melted together into a murky pool. Her steps became mechanical as she and Nina returned to Sophia. After a while, the world around her vanished and she seemed to walk in a great darkness littered with stars. Fear stifled her. Any moment now, she would feel herself being torn apart again.

Who am I? I'm Angela Marie Mathers, right? My parents were Erianna and Marcus, and I had a brother named Brendan. They died in a fire accidentally caused by me. That fire left me with scars. My entire past left me with scars.

Her vision swam. It was as if she could see her parents and brother walking ahead of her like ghosts instead of Nina.

No . . . I'm the Archon. The angel Raziel died long ago, and then he chose my soul to be the Archon's and he resided within my body, next to my own spirit, to protect me and guide me. Only I can open his Book and choose good or evil for the universe. Only I can stop Lucifel from silencing the universe . . .

Angela paused. The icy air she breathed sliced like a knife through her lungs. She hugged herself, gripping her shivering
arms. A deep silence surrounded her. It was so much like the silence from her terrible visions.

That's who I am . . . so why do I feel like neither of those facts are the truth?

She looked up into the misty blackness. Her left eye burned and suddenly her vision seemed to pierce through the ether. Distance disappeared and she found herself flying in her mind toward something immense. A great face materialized. It was the Father's, and it was neither male nor female in human terms, and terribly beautiful. His great eyes had glassed over lifelessly and he lay in a darkness somehow deeper than the one she stood within. Blue blood seeped in a pool from his broken body.

A silvery winged figure knelt beside him.

The angel turned to look at Angela, as if recognizing that he was being watched. It was Israfel. The Father's blue blood stained his mouth. His own eyes cried red tears.

Feathers surrounded him in a thick pile, and as he shifted his wings, even more spiraled to the floor. His face had paled and thinned to something ghostly.

He opened his mouth to cry out to her.

Angela . . .

Was that his voice? It sounded so different somehow, and with every passing second it grew louder.

Angela! WATCH OUT!

What?
Angela looked up again. The distance grew between her and Israfel and the Father, and they streaked backward into the ether as fast as a lightning bolt.

Something hard slammed into her, tossing her sideways to the earth.

Angela shrieked and clutched at her head. Pain ricocheted through her skull. Bursts of light exploded in front of her eyes
and faded. She pushed up on her arms, her palms scraping into the frozen soil. Warm blood trickled to her wrists. A hand grabbed her by the back of her shawl and flipped her around.

Angela focused hard on the face above her. It was male and astonishingly perfect, with large brown eyes and brown hair. Great chestnut-colored wings beat the air around them. It took a moment for her to register that an angel had knocked her to the ground and was ready to choke her if he felt like it.

“Stop it—” she gasped beneath his crushing fingers. “Stop—”

“Every citizen of Luz knows this is a restricted area,” the angel said softly. He dropped her to the ground again, and his voice grew even colder. “Even to those called blood heads.” He moved so quickly, Angela had barely blinked before a shining crossbow lifted in front of her and a sharp arrow jabbed at her forehead.

Nina screeched with alarm from the trees. The angel narrowed his eyes and searched the darkness.

“A Vapor,” he whispered. “I should have known you'd be a witch, blood head.” He kicked at Angela's ribs.

“Don't kill me,” Angela whispered.

The angel laughed, and his perfect smile was one shade away from a demon's. “Why not?”

Angela noticed yellow eyes burning in the darkness behind him. Courage stole over her and she stared at the angel, her left eye burning.

His face blanched with fear and his mouth opened, but it was too late.

Juno exploded from the trees, her wings beating as she pounced on the angel and brought him to the ground. He fought back, and Angela rolled out of their way as feathers exploded around her, and Juno's furious snarls echoed into
the night. She was on top of the angel's chest, her sharp nails pressed to his throat, when he overturned her, pinning her beneath him. Energy snapped and fizzled around his hands.

Angela willed the blood to trickle away from her wrists and pool in her cut palms. The Glaive formed and she swung it hard, stopping inches from the angel's bare neck.

“Let her go,” Angela said, still gasping for breath. She fought a sudden wave of dizziness. The weapon was draining her life force even more strongly than usual.

The angel did nothing.

Until Angela pressed enough to put a cut in his skin.

He held up his hands and stepped away from Juno. Juno sprang to her feet and scampered over to Angela. If this were Troy the angel had tangled with, he'd either have died or suffered immensely by now. Clearly, Juno was a different kind of Jinn. She glared at the angel and sat by Angela's side, sighing and licking at a cut on her arm. Her wings relaxed and she finished by licking the blood from her teeth. Her nails split through the rocks beneath her hands as she leaned forward again, sniffing the angel.

“Thank you,” Juno said to Angela when she'd finished her inspection.

“Anything for a friend,” Angela said softly. She held the weapon steady, though her legs already threatened to buckle. “But as for you,” she said to the angel. “What's your problem? Why did you attack me?”

You won't get anything worthwhile out of him, Angela,
Nina said. She glided down from the trees.
We've tried, trust me.

Well,
Angela thought back.
It's worth a shot.

“You do realize I can hurt you if I want to?” Angela said to the angel.

The angel kept silent.

Angela looked him over. Finally, her gaze settled on the adamant cuffs on his wings. They glistened like platinum beneath the stars overhead, but a strange shape had been etched into their metal. It looked a lot like a fly. Angela thought of how Lucifel's shadow had taken the shape of a giant fly during their battle in Luz.

Then it's true—Lucifel has control of Heaven!

“Why bother with me?” the angel said gently. “You have much bigger problems right now, after all.”

“What do you mean?” Angela said sharply, keeping her blade at his neck.

“You're the Archon, I suppose,” the angel continued. “At least that's what I'm gathering from the weapon against my neck. Lucifel sends her regards. She's grateful for your return. And for the gift you brought back with you.”

Fear rattled Angela's insides. Her heart froze, and her soul turned to ice. The air suddenly seemed suffocatingly warm in comparison. Even though she was allowing the angel to continue, his words sounded from a faraway place.

“I agreed it was a mistake for Lucifel to let the Book escape her hands so easily,” the angel said. “But the balance of power will be restored soon. Whether I live or die, I accomplished my mission well enough. Let me live, and I'll be glad to inform the new Prince of Heaven you're on your way. Let me die, and she'll put two and two together herself.”

Red-hot anger colored Angela's entire world. She should have listened to her instincts and never left Sophia alone.

“Where is the Book of Raziel?” Angela seethed. She gripped the Glaive so hard her palms blistered with pain. “Tell me, or I'll—”

“You'll what?” the angel said, scoffing. “You'll kill me?”

Angela hesitated. She didn't want things to go that far, but when it came to Sophia, she couldn't stand even the thought of her in danger anymore. Honestly, Angela didn't know what she would do if something happened to Sophia. Her blade at the angel's neck trembled with her hands.

“Lucifel doesn't need you, Archon,” the angel continued. “She thought she needed you, and it's true that Raziel devised everything so that your blood alone can open the Book. But we'll have that shortly as well. How long can you run, I wonder? It hasn't taken much to convince most of the people in Luz that you're evil, that your blood is worth any price. And they'll take it from you by any means necessary by now. Stay here, and you'll be captured by the priests. Enter the city, and you'll be murdered.”

The angel's eyes shone strangely.

“He's lying,” Juno growled in the background, but her voice sounded hopeful, not certain.

He'd better be lying,
Angela thought frantically.
Or everything is lost. But Lucifel can't open the Book without me. She needs the Glaive.

The same Glaive now made with Angela's mysterious, new, blue blood. Angela's racing thoughts stalled.

She felt her eyes widen. A short gasp escaped her. As long as Lucifel had Angela's
blood,
she could open the Book herself without anyone to stop her. That was the key. In the past, Lucifel had wielded the Glaive, but Angela's soul wasn't connected to it yet. Now it was. Now Angela had changed inside somehow and that had also changed Lucifel's strategy.

Nina! Stop worrying about me, and go help Sophia!
Angela thought frantically.

But, Angela—

Go!

Nina flew through the trees, branches snapping around her as she left.

“You're too late,” the angel said. “I made sure of that.”

One of the angel's eyes flashed a brilliant red and he dropped to the ground unconscious. So—he'd been possessed. But by whom? Lucifel's shadow had been destroyed by Angela.

That left her daughter, Mikel.

Without another thought Angela dashed through the trees, in the direction Nina had flown. She could only assume Juno followed behind her. The cold and the pain and her overwhelming tiredness meant nothing to her now. And then, she stumbled into the copse where she, and Sophia, and the Kirin had rested only a short while ago. No one was there. Fury was gone. So were Nina and the Kirin. And so was Sophia.

Angela considered shouting, but if she did, the priests and novices still in the cemetery would certainly hear her.

Juno landed by her side. Immediately, the Jinn prowled and searched the dirt and rocks. She lifted her head, gazing in the direction of the western side of the cemetery. “They're definitely gone,” Juno said, “and I'm certain they've escaped into the city.”

“No,” Angela whispered to herself. “What about the Kirin? It can't have gotten far without—”

“It escaped somehow,” Juno whispered. “The Earth Realm will affect it like it affects Auntie and me. Although, I often heard the winged Kirin have other abilities.”

Angela gripped the pendant resting against her chest, squeezing her eyes shut. Then she realized she still held the Glaive in her other hand, and she willed it to collapse.
Instantly, a rush of energy flowed through her. She staggered, absently wiping the blood from her hands onto her nightgown.

“I have to follow Sophia and Nina,” she said to Juno, and she set off toward the thicket.

Juno's pointed ears flicked back. Her left ear was still floppy, and it drooped after a second or so. “You can't,” Juno said with confusion. She began stalking in Angela's direction and then paused, as if hoping Angela would stop before anything further happened.

Angela continued on, ready to march into the bushes.

Whump.
Juno landed right in front of her. Her yellow eyes burned into Angela. “I said you can't.”

“Who are you to order me around?” Angela said, trying not to shout.

“Think about what you're going to do,” Juno retorted.

“I've done enough thinking. I'm not going to let Sophia and Nina just vanish into Luz where anything can happen to them.”

“They can blend in with the other humans to some degree. You can't. You'll be noticed soon enough. And then what?”

Angela shook her head angrily. “I'm going, and that's final.”

“I won't let you,” Juno said, and she stood up as tall as possible, which wasn't quite the height of her aunt, but tall enough to be frightening. Her wings snapped open and her eyes glowed brighter. “It's my responsibility to stop you from doing anything stupid. And entering Luz when everyone is brainwashed into murdering you is stupid. I'm now the Queen of the Jinn, and Auntie would want me to do what's best for our people. Letting the Archon die is not what's best for the Jinn. So, please stop.”

Juno flexed her sharp nails for added emphasis.

Angela breathed hard. She balled her hands into fists. It was destroying her inside not to charge into Luz after Sophia and Nina. But Juno did have a point. Perhaps Juno wasn't using the violence and nasty language Troy would use to get the message across, but Angela wasn't so sure she wanted to test Juno's words either. A dangerous aura surrounded her right now.