by Anne Schlea
∞∞∞
Another hour of driving is behind them when the car pulls off the main highway and onto a dirt road. It’s a small road, hidden between trees and underbrush, that would have gone unnoticed if Mia didn’t slow the car when they approach. It’s marked with “No Trespassing” signs that look old and worn. Everything about the road screams “unused” and “abandoned.”
The car eases through the trees and bushes, carefully maneuvering around rutted out sections of road, until Mia brings the vehicle to a stop.
Anna looks out the front window. A military gate blocks their way only about ten feet in front of the car. Mia reaches into the glove compartment of the car and pulls out something that looks like a garage door opener with a keyed release. She enters a code and then speaks into it. “Identification code 772, request southern gate to be opened.”
“Your transmission has been accepted. Welcome home.”
The gates start to move. They slowly creep backward along the fence-line until there’s enough of an opening for Mia to pull the car through.
“Your security has improved.” Anna watches the gate close behind the car as they continue down the dirt road. She feels well enough to sit up now and can focus better. Riley’s arm still rests tightly around her.
“It’s had to.” Mia turns the car right at a split in the road. Another mile ahead there’s a tunnel dug into the side of the mountain.
Outside the window they’re being watched. Anna can’t actually see the sentries, but she feels the unmistakable presence of the Fallen who guard the entrance to their sacred city. Eyes bear down on her and she wonders if any are her former comrades. She thinks about Riley’s comment about so much death and wonders if anyone she remembers is still alive. They clear the last line of trees and foliage. The rutted-out road evens into a paved slab of concrete just before they pass into the side of the mountain.
The tunnel is completely dark for a very long time. Mia never would have been able to continue moving forward through the twists and turns of the tunnel without the headlights on the car. It finally opens up to a large parking deck with a dozen or more vehicles lined up. Anna is struck by how much it looks like a mall parking lot. There had been a few vehicles when she was here before, but this is obviously built to hold an entire fleet.
Anna lets herself out of the car and stretches her legs. She’s still shaky but she isn’t going to pass out any time soon. She can feel a low hum of energy coming from above her and takes a deep breath. It seems like the first time in a lifetime she can actually breathe.
Riley opens the trunk of the car and pulls out their bags. He hands Marissa her backpack and shoulders the two duffle bags himself.
“I can carry my own bag.” Anna reaches to take hers from him but his hand stops her.
“You can barely walk.” He points out the obvious. “I’ll get it.”
Anna can’t argue with that. She falls in step behind Mia who leads them to a steel door built into the wall of the parking deck. A state of the art identification lock is located next to it on the wall. She presses her hand to the locking mechanism and a light scans her. There’s a click and then the door opens to reveal a hallway that looks like it belongs in a dark science fiction movie.
Steel and concrete lead to another metal door. On the other side of that door is polished wooden floors and deep red tapestries. Ancient artwork hangs on the walls depicting the battle between the Fallen and demons. The grand entrance to the city was designed to impress upon visitors the wealth and stature of their ancient race. Anna’s head threatens to revolt against her again. Her stomach drops and she wavers in her step. “Home sweet home.”
Marissa stops beside her, pelting Anna with waves of nervous energy which only fill her with more anxiety. She looks around the entry way, obviously amazed at what she sees. Anna isn’t surprised. It can be intimidating the first time.
“Do you need a minute?” Riley hesitates beside Anna. He looks bigger to her, somehow, like this space makes him more than he was outside. In a way it does. He’s powerful here, a General in a race of beings built for war.
“No.” Anna shakes off the anxiety. She needs to be done with this so she can rest; she’s used up all her stores of energy on the trip to get here. “Let’s go.”
Anna crosses the threshold and takes the first steps into the entrance with confidence. This is one of the lowest floors of Orasul. The city is built like a hive – an analogy to their way of life Anna has never been fond of. They need each other to survive, a curse left over from the day when their ancestors made the choice to Fall in order to fight. It’s a pity no one told them back then it would be impossible to return to the heavenly realm after the fall unless all the demons were isolated. They gave their own lives to fight the demons set loose by Pandora’s Box, but they doomed their children to live a half-life on the earth.
Angelic beings simply are not meant to live among humans for long. They need the energy of the angelic realm as much as humans need the energy of the sun. Here, the only way they can get that energy is from each other.
Six large cities are spread around the planet house their entire race. From here they work together to bring down demons. Each city has its own Committee and the six Committees work in tandem when required. No one is sure what will happen if they ever win the war. Demons multiply so quickly it seems unlikely they ever will.
Anna watches as Marissa looks around in awe. They pass through the hall of the tapestries and come to a large, old-fashioned elevator that will carry them up through the heart of Orasul. They climb onto the open-air structure with their bags and Riley punches in the code for the Floor of Judgment, where the Committee meets and lives.
“Orasul is a city, but it is also our home.” Mia explains to Marissa as the floors move slowly past them. “Each floor holds hundreds of dwellings. All Fallen live in one of these cities. You will eat here, study here, and learn to fight here. We cannot survive without each other. We cannot survive without the power of our true home in the heavenly realm.”
“How big is this place?” Marissa looks down toward the ground floor they began on. It’s so far away now she can’t see it any more.
“Over a thousand Fallen families can live here.” Mia’s voice hardens. “But there are many, many less now. Some chose to become Forsaken rather than fight in battles against their own kind. Others have died in the war, others have chosen to fight against us.”
“Why?” She looks up at Mia. “Why would you turn against something like this?”
“That’s a story for another time.” Riley cuts in as the elevator slows to a stop. The doors open and he motions for everyone to get out. “Right now we must meet with the Committee.”
Anna’s adrenaline spikes and she feels her heart speed up. She’s grateful for the help Riley gave her in the car. She isn’t sure she’d be able to make her legs move right now if he hadn’t shared some of his own energy with her. Dread washes over her as they move across the floor that had once been cut from the mountain. Thick, expensive red rugs are now thrown over the dirt, but it’s hard to cover up the fact they are buried inside of a mountain.
It is the safest place for the Fallen. The city is nearly impenetrable and they can live inside indefinitely.
As long as you don’t mind the lack of sunlight, this is the perfect place to hide.
“We’re here to see the Committee.” Riley’s voice brings Anna back to the present moment. She realizes they’re standing directly in front of the Committee chambers doors. She’s been here once or twice before when she still had been a soldier. The last time was when they’d brought her to tell her Jonathan was dead and that his killer would not face justice because there was no proof of truth or lie.
“Go in, they’re expecting you.”
A woman sits behind a small desk beside the chambers doors. Anna knows the secretary looks weak and demure but she’s probably the deadliest soldier in all of Orasul. Only the best are permitted to guard the Comm
ittee. Though she looks like an administrative assistant that pushes papers all day, Anna knows better. The papers on her desk hold the sentences for every Fallen currently doing “penance” at the direction of the Committee.
It takes someone with a strong stomach to oversee that kind of torture.
Anna passes through the thick, oak double doors and is shocked to see the Committee chambers are almost empty. The twelve, throne-like mahogany seats positioned evenly around the room, are empty save three. Tapestries depicting the fall of the first Fallen hang behind each chair. They’re said to represent the various positions of the Committee, but it isn’t something Anna studied enough to understand. A huge marble slab is laid carefully into the floor with the emblem of the Fallen etched into its surface, torches line the wall.
Three members of the Committee sit in their chairs waiting. Anna pushes Marissa behind her and walks with her shoulders squared to the center of the room. When she reaches the apex of the marble slab she drops her head in respect to each of the three Committee members. “My name is Anna Cazut. I have come to seek an audience with the Committee.”
“She remembers her manners.” A female Committee member’s voice cuts across the chamber. There is a sneer to it that crawls down Anna’s back. She locks her teeth together and wills herself to be obedient. Marissa’s life rests on this now, too. “A Forsaken does not have a voice in these chambers so how can we grant you an audience?”
“I was brought here at your command.” Anna keeps her head bowed low. “I only wish to do the bidding of the Fallen.”
“The bidding of the Fallen requires you to remain in Orasul. You left of your own free will.” A man to Anna’s right speaks. “You had choice. You chose to leave the Fallen for your own earthly path. We have no place for you here.”
“I made a vow. I was bound by honor and life to uphold it.” Anna lifts her chin enough to look at the man to her right. It isn’t completely the truth but she figures she’ll go with it. Dead sisters tell no tales and what Riley suggested is true. She wasn’t able to stay in Orasul when it was possible Jonathan’s killer remained. That was her promise to Lily. That and to give her daughter a normal life.
“To whom?” He tilts his head to the side like he is considering her. He is draped in a grey robe, and his hands disappeared into the folds in front of him. Only his face shows from the cowl. His eyes sparkle a strange color of orange. She knows this Committee member. He can see truth or lies in her words.
“Lily.” Anna meets his gaze firmly with her own, she can’t back down now. “I agreed to keep her child safe. If Jonathan’s killer was in Orasul I could not stay here. I had no way of knowing he wouldn’t try to kill the child, too. Therefore I could not keep my word if I stayed.”
It is a convenient truth but a truth none the less.
“She tells the truth.” The man with the orange eyes looks to the center of the circle where the most powerful man on the Committee sits.
His name is Putere and Anna remembers him. He was on the Committee when she was a child. Some said he is the most politically powerful Fallen to walk the earth in centuries. She isn’t sure. She’d never seen him outside the Committee chambers. Unlike other Committee members who socialized with the city, he keeps to himself.
“Let me see the child.” He looks past Anna to where Marissa stands partially hidden by Mia and Riley.
Riley reaches a hand behind Marissa and gently pushes her forward. She’s doing her best to look like she isn’t afraid. She keeps her chin up and her shoulders back as she comes to stand beside Anna on the marble slab. Anna feels a surge of motherly pride at her daughter’s courage.
“She looks like her mother.” Putere’s eyes soften a little as he looks at her. He leans forward in his seat and allows the cowl to fall back. It makes him look softer, kinder. “Tell me, child, have you begun to experience the gifts yet?”
“A few weeks ago, sir.” Marissa adjusts the gloves on her hands nervously. She isn’t used to the fit yet. “I didn’t tell my mom until this morning. She didn’t know.”
“I’m sure she didn’t. She would have known enough to bring you here sooner.” His eyes flicker to Anna. She is careful not to give away any facial reaction. “Tell me about your gift.”
“I can show you.” She pulls her gloves off and balances them on her hands. In a matter of moments they are floating a full foot in the air.
The Committee chambers go completely silent, even the shallow sound of breathing seems to stop. Anna is stunned. In only a few hours Marissa has advanced in ways that should have taken years. At this rate she’ll be unstoppable in a matter of months.
“Impressive.” He leans back in his chair, belying the shock Anna knows he must been feeling. “You will be very powerful one day, young one.”
“Thank you, sir.” Marissa bows her head respectfully and returns her gloves to her hands.
Putere’s eyes return to Anna. The kindness bleeds out of them as he locks eyes with her. She sees, and has begun to feel, another emotion coming from him. Disappointment? “Now we need to discuss your penance.”
“Her debt has been paid.” Riley’s voice echoes through the chamber. He comes forward to stand beside Anna. There is a challenge in his body language, like he expects Putere to revoke an already established agreement.
The two men lock gazes for a full minute. Then Putere smiles a cold smile. “So it has been.”
Riley dips his head and steps back, off the marble slab and back to the doorway of the chamber.
“Anna Cazut, your freedom has been paid in full and your penance is complete. You may rejoin your brethren as a full member of the Fallen.” His gaze moves to Marissa. “Young Marissa, you will be expected to begin training with others of your own age. You will work hard to catch up with your class. I will personally follow your grades and your training so do not let me down.”
“Thank you for your graciousness, sir.” Anna bows to Putere. It’s a great honor to have a Committee member take a personal interest in your training.
“Do not disappoint me again, Anna Cazut.” He waves his hand in the air in dismissal. “You may go.”
Anna takes Marissa by the arm and backs out of the Committee’s chambers with her head bowed. On the other side of the Committee’s chamber doors she stops. Her legs are shaking so hard she isn’t sure how she is still standing. She takes a deep breath and is happy to feel Riley’s hand come up against her back.
“You did well.” He leans close to her ear and rubs her back. “Just breathe now.”
Anna gulps air as she continues to move away from the “secretary’s” desk. She knows she’s going to have some kind of nervous breakdown and she doesn’t want the Committee’s guard to see it. She focuses on her steps and wills them to carry her across the dark red carpet to the doorway. If she can just get herself off the Floor of Judgment she can regroup and find some more strength inside herself. If she can make it all the way to her new home, she can collapse and rest.
They make it all the way to the elevator when Anna finally doubles over, too sick to walk any farther. Her vision blurs again and she can hear Riley’s voice close beside her. His voice is calm and determined. “Mia, please take Marissa to her new home and stay with her. I’ll see to Anna.”
“You promised you wouldn’t separate us!” Marissa’s voice sounds distant and desperate as Anna feels herself being swept up into Riley’s arms. She wonders what happened to her duffle bag. There are precious items inside she can’t lose.
“I’m not.” Riley’s voice is calm and kind. “Your mom needs rest and she needs to rehabilitate with others of our kind who are at full strength. You cannot give her the health she needs. Let me take her somewhere she can regain her strength and you can see her again tomorrow.”
“Do you promise?” Marissa’s hand brushes against Anna’s arm. Even in near darkness she knows the feeling of her own child.
“I give my word.” He voice works magic on Marissa’s anxiety. Her hand dro
ps away. “Mia will spend the night with you in case something happens. She can get in touch with me at a moment’s notice, and I will stay with your mom.”
Anna hears Marissa hesitate. She wants to open her eyes and tell her it’s okay, but her body won’t obey. No amount of concentration can move her hands or make her eyes open.
“Okay.” Marissa finally gives in. “I’ll go with Mia.”
“Thank you. I will see you in the morning.” The elevator stops and Riley takes off down the long hallway. Anna can’t see where they’re going but it’s enough to know Marissa is being taken care of. She lets herself slide the rest of the way into unconsciousness.
∞∞∞
Riley is halfway to the medical wing when he pauses in his steps. The duffle bag on his back weighs more than the woman in his arms. He can see her veins pulsing beneath her skin, carrying blood to the vital parts of her body. She doesn’t weigh enough to properly fill out the clothes that sag on her limbs and shoulders.
He shouldn’t have pushed her so hard. The fiasco with the Legion had been to prove he still needs her, an unnecessary exercise to get the bow back in her hands and remind her of all she once was. Instead, the mission probably drained her of valuable stores of energy. He could have killed her.
Standing in the hallway, dim lights around them, he watches her breathing and feels anger at himself for not doing what his initial instinct told him to do – toss her over his shoulder and drag her home if necessary.
She would have fought him, no doubt, his Anna had always been strong willed.
Decision settles down on Riley and he turns directions, away from the med wing. He tries not to think too deeply about his movements until he reaches the door of his own home and is forced to figure out how to balance an unconscious adult woman in one arm while he digs his keys out of his pocket with the other. Somehow, he manages to get the door open and carries Anna into his private space.
He lays Anna gently on his sofa and then returns to close the door. Her duffle bag is left, forgotten, next to the door.
