The Taking (22 page)

He looks thoughtful then nods. “Yes, the higher they get in their training, the more likely they too can open it.
 

With my angelic pulse the door slides open and Cindy enters with a bowl and a bottle of water in her hands. Her eyes are wide. “It is bedlam up there. I don’t know how the monks are doing it. They are only human, and they never stop. People are still flocking in from the village.” She looks down at the bowl of food in her hands then at Zacharias. “I managed to gather a little for Ethan. They really need Ben and Aurora up there helping. If you can escort me for a bit before training, I can give it to him?” Her eyes drop to the blood on the floor. “It will give you a break before you start tutoring me too.”

His constant frown deepens as he stares at the food. We wait for his usual grumble, but it doesn’t come. “All right. You have all been training hard and yes, I could use a break also.” He waves his wrinkled hand at Ben and I. “Go help the monks for a bit.” Looking at me he says, "But stick close to Ben, I may need you again for healing in a while."

“Naturally,” I say as we exit the door tucking our wings away, so we don’t terrify the people from more of the unknown. We have been up the top a few times now, although it is nice to escape Zacharias’ room even if the job we do is not pleasant. Seeing the loss in people’s eyes and their look of devastation is difficult.
 

We exit the area created by the archangels, accessible only by monks and angels, and instantly find people lining the corridors and rooms everywhere, either on beds or lying on the stone benches. Some give us strange looks wondering how we have just appeared through the wall. These people are not in desperate need, other than protection, so we ignore the looks and continue to one of the many large rooms.

We reach the top levels, and I see Joseph and Peter and a couple of other monks running around attending to the people anyway they can. I do not know the other monks, but I can clearly see that Joseph and Peter’s faces are pale and lacking sleep. Joseph is bandaging a wound on a leg, and I approach him.
 

“You look tired. Both Ben and I are here, go and get some rest,” I say grabbing the bandage from him.
 

He looks up and rubs his eyes with the back of his hand while looking for Peter. I follow his gaze and see that Ben is already taking over from Peter. Peter’s beard and moustache look more unkempt than usual, and there are large black bags under his eyes, leaving little space above the top of his moustache.
 

“Okay,” Joseph mutters. “I can’t remember the last time I had a good night sleep.” He begins to leave then suddenly grabs my arm. “What about Ethan.” His eyes are wide. “I’m so sorry; I have forgotten his food.”

I smile. He finally has time to rest, and he is still worrying about people. I place my hand on the back of his that grabs my arm. “It’s okay. Cindy has taken care of that.” I shoo him away with my hand. “Now, go and rest.”

He does not argue anymore but wanders off slowly to his quarters.
 

After making sure he is out of sight, I turn to look at my new patient and remove the bandage that Joseph has so carefully bound. The young boy’s shrieks grate against my eardrum while I assess his injury. It looks to be a severely sprained ankle, on top of very worn feet that have walked so far without any shoes. They are bleeding from nearly every part of the sole. I stroke his mattered dark brown hair around the temples.
 

“Shhh. Relax. It is okay,” I say in Armenian as I insert some healing power to help him relax.
 

Two big pools of chocolate stare up at me then close, and he goes to sleep. Although he is only one person, it is nice to hear the silence coming from this body. Reaching down I grasp his ankle gently and send the healing power into his body. I feel the tendons realign and heal. Running a finger along each sole of his feet; the bloody sores disappear.
 

Moving on to the next injured; I heal their pain and eliminate one more person’s moans from injury. Not everyone is injured; some are just hungry and Ben goes to search for some food from the large kitchen. The remaining monks work hard, trying to find bedding or a corner for the refugees to sleep and call their own for a little while, until their flight is over.
 

A new group enter the monastery and are ushered in by the monks. I watch as a young mother swaddles a baby and holds the hand of a young girl. The young girl looks to be about three and her hair is half up in a ponytail and half pulled out in straggly clumps. Her chin sits crooked on her face and looks dislocated or broken. Scratches and bruises cover both the girl and the mother with their clothes torn. Tears are running down the girl’s dirt stained face, and the mother’s eyes are puffy above a face full of anguish while she tries desperately to soothe the screaming baby.
 

As the monks sit them in a corner, I approach them. Squatting down, I place a hand on the baby’s head and stroke it gently probing for any injuries or sickness. Thankfully the baby is healthy and unharmed; its only problem is distress. Continuing to stroke the head, I look at the mother. Her chocolate eyes are gazing at me with curiosity through her puffy eyes. Compared to the natives, my skin is fair, and my bodysuit is far from their regular dress. With each stroke to the head of the baby it calms, allowing room to talk without yelling.
 

“Where are you hurt?” I ask in Armenian.
 

I can see she is hurt on her lower half as there is fresh blood running down her dress. Despite this, her eyes instantly fall on her daughter and her face softens.
 

“My daughter needs help,” she says letting go of her hand and embracing her around the shoulders. Fresh tears run down the girls face with each movement. “But I don’t know what you will be able to do for her. Her jaw is broken.” She slowly lifts up the girls other arm and a scream escapes the girl’s lips. It is not bandaged and there is a definite bow where it should be straight. “And her arm too.”
 

I reach out to take the girls arm, and she flinches. “It’s okay,” I say. “I will take the pain away.”

The mother gives me a strange look but does not argue. “Let the lady look at it.”
 

The girl studies her mum’s face with her dark brown eyes before allowing me to reach for her arm. As soon as it is in my hands I heal the broken bones. Her eyes light up but then fade again from the pain moving off her features. I reach for her face placing a hand on each side of her jaw. As I inject healing light into her, I ask the mother, “What is going on out there that has so many flocking here.”

The look of anguish returns to her face. “It is complete horror out there. So many people I once knew have changed.” Her face screws up as more tears escape. She wipes them with her sleeve, and I notice that it is completely soaked.
 

The girls jaw heals and I place a hand on her shoulder and ask, “What do you mean?”

More tears fall. “People that were once my friends . . . have turned . . . and they are committing horrible . . . horrible crimes.” She chokes on her words. “They were my friends,” she says again. “And they were trying to kill me and my family. They murdered my husband.” Her voice rises into a squeak. “They just kept trying to do terrible things. And I don’t understand.” Large sobs escape her body and her entire frame shakes.
 

I feel her pain and I long to help the people in distress, but I have to remind myself that I am training to fight this at a higher level. Gazing at her dress decorated with blood, I have to heal her. Taking the hem of her dress in my fingers and say,” Let me heal you. It is not much, but it will help.”

She agrees while wiping away more tears on her already saturated sleeve. I lift the hem to show her leg and follow the trail. I gasp as I see bruises and deep cuts going all the way up her thigh and even on her hips. They are not there by accident, and I only guess the horrors she has faced to receive these.

“Who are you?” she asks as I heal a couple of her deep wounds.
 

“To know that, you will have to keep an open mind. You will also have to have your memory wiped the day you leave the monastery.”

She shrugged. “Right now I would like my recollection cleared until just before this started.”

“I understand.” I continue further up her leg. “Come to think of it, everyone here will need their memory wiped as many have seen me heal. I am an angel in training.”

I watch her face squeeze together. “Training for what? Don’t we need you out there now?”
 

A male walks past, and I lower her skirt for a moment giving her privacy. “I agree. The people definitely need help. And I would love nothing more than to be able to help them immediately, but I am training to help further up the line so that this catastrophe plus others will be solved a lot quicker.”
 

I have finished healing her legs and lower half of her body. She is still messy with blood, but at least now the small family are no longer hurt physically. I look up to see Ben not far away handing out loaves of bread. Despite the situation, he seems relaxed and almost happy as though he is in his element helping people again. He reaches the small family, and I stand, reaching into the large sack to pull out some loaves. He reaches in at the same time running his hand along my concealed arm. The sensation runs all the way up my skin, and I look up meeting the intensity of his gaze and sending butterflies into my stomach. We lock eyes, and passionate emotions run deep for a fleeting moment.
 

“Are you two in a relationship?”

I blink, grab a couple of loaves of bread and look around. I forgot about the mother being so close.
 

“What?” I ask although I am sure that my face has turned to a crimson colour.
 

“Are you two in a relationship?” she asks again.

I look down nervously at the loaves of bread in my hand and give them to her. “No,” I lie.

Her eyes study my face, and I think I see the corner of her mouth turn up slightly. “You should be. You would make a fine couple.”

Nervous, I glance at Ben and see he has turned around to give out more loaves, and I am positive I can see his cheekbones pushed up from a smile. “Angels are not allowed to be in relationships,” I say as I turn to look at her.

“Such a shame. He is handsome.”

My cheeks feel hot. I am sure that my face is going bright red again. I don’t know how she is so perceptive. A swish sounds behind me, and I see her eyes widen. Turning to see what she is staring at I find Archangel Michael, his white wings spread to their full glory. He stands with legs shoulder width showing off their refined form under his golden Roman warrior uniform. I guess going incognito was not on his agenda.

“Archangel Michael,” I say standing tall in front of him hoping the crimson has left my face. “What a surprise.” Ben faces him also as several humans watch in awe. Our leader looks around, lifting a hand to remove some golden brown strands across his face. He continues scanning the room and windows.
 

“Is something wrong?” Ben asks when he does not address us.
 

Once he has finished scanning his sapphire eyes land on us. They look weary yet he stands with glorious strength. “I have followed the trace of Separus to this area. Have you seen any sign of the demon?”

Tension surges through my upper back as both Ben and I shake our heads.
 

He exhales. “He is proving to be evasive. I am disappointed to say I have not caught up with him yet.” Piercing eyes land on me. “Gabriel tells me Separus has kept his minions busy and they have taken the conscience of someone special to you.”
 

I try to keep a business face as I nod my head, but the screwed up feeling around my mouth tells me this did not succeed.
 

“I also hear that you were overcome by demons and kidnapped,” he looks at Ben, “all three of you.”

“Yes,” Ben agrees.
 

He continues to stare at Ben, at first I thought it was an awkward silence when I realise that they are talking to each other internally. While waiting for them to finish, I look down at the mother I had attended to earlier. Wide, deep brown eyes were still staring at the three of us. I smile then let my eyes wander looking for any sign of trouble. Not spotting anything out of the ordinary, I turn back to Ben and Archangel Michael just in time to see the archangel grab Ben affectionately on the shoulder for a moment.
 

“I need all of you to keep an eye out for Separus,” he says. “My traces are not usually wrong, but he has been moving many places quickly or disappearing into the underworld. Demons cannot enter the monastery, which is why the monks have directed the people here, but they can hover outside the sanctuary off the protected grounds.” He has one final look around at the people. Nearly every set of eyes are looking at him. “I see you have everything under control here. I am going to see Zacharias for a while to see if everything is alright with him then I will continue my search. I hope you have learnt much from him. You will need it.” Our brief meeting with him is over as he disappears.

“He must be in a rush,” Ben says.
 

I gently nudge him with my elbow. “What were you two talking about?”

His mouth twitched lightly, and is that embarrassment I see on his face? “Oh. Did you notice that?”

I raise my eyebrow. “It is a little hard not to when everything goes silent, and you two are staring into each other’s eyes. Either that or you were having a moment of admiring each other’s looks.” I smirk.
 

“Jeez.” He pulls his head back in shock. “Don’t go there. That is not a place I want to go. You know what my type is.” He moves closer towering over me.
 

“Not here,” I say. I glance around to see the mother is still watching us while patting her sleeping baby’s back gently. A large smile spreads across her face. When she sees me looking at her, she raises both her eyebrows.