Guardian (29 page)

Damian walked into my house, with not quite the same all-commanding presence as Rafael, but still taking up more space than a regular person should. Unlike Rafael, he didn’t seem unsettled walking through the hallway to the kitchen, only normal and at home, taking a seat with Colton and Grace at the kitchen table while I got them an after school snack. When I jokingly asked Damian if he wanted to join us, he did accept a glass of milk, saying in a whisper to Colton that he was still hoping to grow a little and be taller than Rafael someday. I began to feel more relaxed in his presence, and when Colton and Grace raced off to the living room to watch television, I felt no qualms about sitting across the table from him.

He met my eyes after Colton and Grace disappeared from view, smiling a little. “They’re charming and clever,” he told me sincerely. “Thanks to you. Amazingly well-behaved and polite for their ages.”

I shrugged, embarrassed. “I like to think they might be that way even without my help. They have good hearts and I did nothing to make them charming or smart.”

Damian laughed, much like he had the week before in the warehouse. “Modest, too,” he said, shaking his head. “Does your list of virtues never end, Lyla Evans?”

“I think the other Fallen have been telling you too many exaggerated stories about me. I’m not as good as they make me out to be,” I mumbled, staring at the table.

“On the contrary, your denial only tells me everyone is right about you. It’s been many years since I’ve met someone who has gone through so much, and yet radiates such goodness and shines so strongly with God’s light.” Damian was looking at me searchingly, as though he could solve whatever mystery I seemed to present to him if he looked hard enough. “What is it,” he whispered, “that makes you so sure of God’s promises?”

I shrugged uncomfortably. “What makes you feel He should be doubted?”

“Touché.” Damian settled back in his chair, and I was relieved to have those dark eyes no longer studying me so closely.

It was my turn to lean forward. “I asked Rafael why Sadie and Abram were so important. He said it was because they were powers, but left before he could explain more. What does that mean?”

Damian cocked an eyebrow at me, leaning backward on two legs of his chair. “Shouldn’t you wait for Rafael to tell you when he gets back?”

I couldn’t meet his eyes, so I got up from the table and rinsed all the dishes in the sink. “I don’t think Rafael will tell me,” I explained, feeling as though in some small way, I was betraying him by getting information behind his back and from another source. “He’ll keep me in the dark by claiming it’s for my own safety.”

“Ah, yes, the noble Rafael, ever the guardian of the weak and the long-suffering hero,” Damian said, and if I didn’t know he was Rafael’s best friend, I would have said he almost sounded contemptuous. “I think he often forgets the old phrase ‘knowledge is power’. Very well. Sadie and Abram are dangerous because they are Fallen who have turned back to Lucifer, and they are powers.”

I put my hands on the back of my chair and glared at him, and Damian chuckled.

“Haven’t you ever heard of the hierarchy of angels?”

I frowned, trying to dig deep back over almost twelve years of religion classes. “Yes, but I can’t say I remember much of it. It wasn’t exactly something they made us memorize.”

Damian made a tutting noise. “What
are
they teaching in Catholic schools these days? Well, the hierarchy is very important to us, because it shows the division of power among the different choirs of angels.”

“You mean other angels are more powerful?” I asked slowly.

He gave me a speculative look. “Lucifer, the great Sir Morning Star, that is, was second only to God. He would have to be extremely powerful to manage such a post.”

I couldn’t think of a suitable reply, and Damian continued without my comments, a small smile on his lips as he planted his elbows on the table. “Hearken. In simplistic terms, and according to your great St. Thomas Aquinas, there are three hierarchies, with three choirs of angels in each. In ascending order, the third and lowest hierarchy consists of angels, archangels, and principalities. These are your most common sorts of angels and have the greatest numbers. From them come your guardian angels and basic warriors, and so on. Rafael and I are archangels, Matthias is a principality, and the rest of our flock are your plain old angels.

“The second hierarchy consists of powers-” he gave me a meaningful look before continuing on, “virtues or authorities, and dominations or dominions. The names vary, but they mean the same thing. In the first and most powerful hierarchy, and accordingly, the one closest to God, are thrones, cherubim, and the most powerful of all angels, seraphim.”

“So, because Sadie and Abram are in a hierarchy above your flock, they’re stronger than all of you,” I surmised, wishing I had been taking notes.

“In a manner of speaking. Obviously, if they were to take on all eight of us, we would have some kind of upper hand. But a power against one or two angels or archangels? The chances are very poor, deadly in fact. Within the hierarchy itself it’s the same; a dominion, for example, would trample over a power, but the dominion would struggle against a throne, the next choir and hierarchy above it.”

“I’m guessing that since angels from the third hierarchy are so common, ones from the choirs above it are less common?” I guessed.

Damian nodded. “Yes. The higher you get, the fewer angels you get, not just in heaven or hell, but roaming about the earth as a Fallen as well. There are especially few cherubim or seraphim. As the closest to God, they became the closest to Lucifer as well, and therefore have the strongest allegiance to each side. I know of only one seraphim that ever came into this world, and maybe three or four cherubim.”

“So, Sadie and Abram are dangerous because they’re more powerful than you,” I surmised, “and that’s why you want to find them so badly?”

“We want to find them because their being here, at the same time that the number of demons flocking to Columbus is growing every few weeks, is a coincidence too great to ignore. Something is going to happen here, or will start here and move onward. We want to find out what it is before it escalates.”

I couldn’t hold back another shiver of apprehension at the memory of the demons who had taken Naomi and the thought of them congregating around Columbus. “Do you think they’re going to, to
attack
the city?” I asked.

“No,” he said instantly. “At least, not anytime soon. These kinds of base demons are not the brightest. Small mischief is about all they can handle. But they’re like vultures. They come where there’s death, or trouble is about to brew. And with a strong leader to gather them up, they could possibly pose a threat.”

It all finally clicked into place. “A strong leader like a power. Like Sadie or Abram.”

“Exactly.”

The room was quiet except for the distant voices from the television and the steady
thrummm
of the dishwasher running. I couldn’t think of anything else to say, and Damian seemed content to let me sit and think it all through.

“I’m worried about him,” I said finally. “Alone with only Orpah.”

“We all are,” Damian said gently as he stood up from the table. “But what you must keep in mind, Lyla, is that Rafael and the other Fallen have been around for hundreds, some even thousands of years. This isn’t the first time we’ve faced something like this, and it surely won’t be the last. We know what we’re doing.”

I stood as well and walked Damian to the door, smiling at him. “Thank you for all your explanations. It’s put my mind to ease,” I told him.

“It was the least I could do. Rafael thinks secrecy is the best way to live. You’ll find I disagree. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you even feel uneasy. Rafael would never forgive me if something happened to you. I’d hate to have to live with him holding a grudge against me for the next hundred years or so.”

As intended, it made me laugh and feel more optimistic, and I cheerfully told Damian goodbye before locking the front door after him. The whole time I did my homework that night, waiting for Rafael’s usual call, I found myself listing the hierarchy of angels and wondering just which other choirs might be nearby, on Sadie and Abram’s side, or that of Rafael and Damian.

As promised, Damian chauffeured us to and from school the rest of the week, breaking through any lingering reservations I may have had the same way as Rafael: with his unwavering attention to Colton and Grace and the little gifts he showered on them. One day it was the newest Barbie movie for Grace, the next morning it was a new Gameboy game that hadn’t even been properly released yet for Colton to take in and show off to his friends at recess.

On Thursday he drove us all the way to Hilliard to a Petland so we could hold the puppies, just because, he confided in me, the three of us seemed like the type of people that would have a great time doing something like that. He was right, of course. At home that night Colton, Grace, and I all agreed there was nothing sweeter than the smell of puppy breath and holding a warm, fluffy body on your lap.

So accustomed was I to seeing Damian’s flashy red car out in the drive after school that I almost panicked when we walked out on Friday afternoon and it wasn’t there. But then Colton and Grace gave identical cries of delight and ran forward, and I recognized Rachel and Naomi standing in front of the silver Saab sedan. I headed after them as well, feeling almost shy as I approached Rachel, though her gentle smile put me at ease.

“I’ve come to collect on our coffee date,” she said cheerfully, “if today is a good time for you. Damian was gracious enough to allow me to pick all of you up from school.”

“Today would be perfect,” I said.

“It’s not exactly in the neighborhood,” Rachel said as we loaded into the car and she cranked up the heat, “but I know a good coffee place where the little ones will be able to keep themselves occupied so we can talk.”

She took us through downtown and toward Grandview, a suburb near the Ohio State campus, and pulled into the parking lot of a Caribou Coffee. It was directly across from a church, St. Christopher’s, that I knew well because of youth group activities, most recently the missions trip down to Alabama.

Rachel got us our drinks while I picked a table in a small alcove near the door that had a chalk easel, stuffed animals, and picture books for Colton, Grace, and Naomi.

“Excellent spot,” Rachel said as she joined me by the window, after handing small hot chocolates to the younger kids. “Since coming to Columbus, I’ve discovered I like Grandview quite a bit. Lots of small town appeal.”

“It’s definitely one of the prettier places around,” I agreed. “German Village, have you been there? It’s even more quaint looking.”

“I’ll have to drag Matthias out that way,” Rachel laughed. “He’s not much for sightseeing.”

I laughed with her and a comfortable silence fell, and I watched Colton and Grace playing for a few minutes, absently sipping my coffee and glad for a peaceful moment.

“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Rachel said quietly, and I looked over at her. She was staring at Naomi, but turned to me with a sad smile. “Worrying about keeping them safe?”

I swallowed and nervously drummed my fingers on the table. “Yes,” I admitted. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever think they’re old enough to look after themselves.”

Rachel gave a small laugh. “Doubtless not. I think that incessant worrying is just part of being a mother. I can tell Colton and Grace think of you more like their mom than a sister.”

“It’s just been the three of us, for the most part, ever since Grace was born,” I explained. “I can still remember that day, so clearly. I was only eleven, but I was there with my mom and dad, holding Colton, since he was only about three. We were looking at Grace, and my dad said, ‘All right, Lyla, you’re the oldest. It’s your job to keep them safe, they’ll be counting on you.’ It’s probably the same thing every parent says to the older sibling, but holding both of them filled me with such strong feelings. It was like I knew someday they would be like my own kids.”

“They’re a credit to you. I don’t know if I could have been as strong as you and done as well of a job at your age.” Rachel laughed self depreciatingly. “At seventeen, I think I was more interested in sneaking out to hang with boys than watching my younger siblings and going to church.”

“Rafael told me a little about your, uh, past. When he and Matthias met you, that didn’t seem to be the case. He said that you directed an abortion recovery clinic or something?”

“Well, that was a good ten or more years later. But yes. I was in college studying psychology and business, and an abortion clinic was on campus trying to spread literature for being pro-choice and give ‘support’ to any girls there that might be pregnant with few options. Having been raised a good Catholic girl, you can probably understand my shock and horror at such a thing.

“I started doing some research and found the number of people who go to college pro-life and graduate pro-choice is astounding, because some clinics purposefully pick locations near a campus. It became my new mission in life, and I started volunteering at a pro-life clinic nearby, where they offer support and counseling to people who have had abortions, lost babies, are pregnant and need help, any kind of thing like that. Eventually, I worked my way up to director.” Rachel’s eyes had a faraway look in them. “In the meantime, I married my college sweetheart and Naomi came along.”