A rustling of leaves, and a rush of wind. A heavy animal leapt down from a tree behind her. Fianna turned around. Sheba emerged from a clump of tall ferns, regaining her tan color.
The puma rubbed her head against Fianna’s hip. “Sheba happy. Good rabbit.”
“Let’s go help Acielon.” Fianna scratched the puma’s head. “Remember how to cross the invisible wall? Think of love and cuddles.”
The cat purred in response, and Fianna and her feline companion crossed the invisible barrier in the darkening twilight.
* * *
Unsure where to go, Fianna observed the temple square from behind the pedestal of a mighty statue with majestic wings. The temple esplanade and its marble colonnades glowed with blue radiance. So did Fianna’s pendant. She dropped it inside her vest, out of sight.
A steady flow of Azurans flew directly through the luminescent blue dome. A few entered the temple on foot. They wore a gray hooded cloak against the cool evening breeze and the night sprinkles. Fianna wished she had one... to conceal her foreign garb, her weapons, and her identity.
She turned to Sheba. “I’ll go find out what’s happening. Stay here and let me know if there is any approaching danger.”
The cat blinked then sat immobile. Her pelt turned the bluish gray color of the pedestal, making her indistinguishable from the stone in the falling darkness. “Sheba watch.”
“Good girl.” Fianna ambled toward the temple, hugging the shadows, concealed by bushes, columns, and pedestals.
The few devotees on foot walked the path and climbed the few steps to the main temple door. Some removed their cloaks before entering the temple, and hung them on the pegs lining the outside wall.
Fianna discreetly climbed the platform from the side. She snatched a cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders then lowered the hood over her short blond hair and covered her forehead as she entered the temple. She didn’t want her warrior garb, weapons, or suspicious green eyes to attract attention.
From under the edge of her hood, she observed the congregation. Was this a regular gathering, or a special occasion? Could this be about Acielon?
The temple heart glowed with the blue radiance of a large chunk of crystal occupying the center of the domed space. Soft harmonies emanated from the clear blue stone and filled the large dome. The Azurans filed in and lined up in circular rows around the glowing crystal.
Fianna’s blood surged when she recognized Kong and his henchmen in the crowd. The Dragons seemed completely healed. They huddled together in a group. Their turquoise eyes blended with those of the other Azurans. They seemed subdued and acted respectfully, like docile citizens.
How quickly the despicable loots had changed. Would they eventually turn into angels? Did they have angel powers? A few weeks ago it would have seemed impossible. But Acielon said weaker minds turned quickly. These depraved men and women had already switched loyalties.
Fianna hunched her shoulders and retreated deeper into her hooded cloak. She could not count on their help. They would sooner denounce her to the Archons and capture her than help her.
She shuddered. How did she know that about them? Could she read minds? No, but she knew their heart with absolute certainty. It seemed Fianna started to develop a keener ability to assess people. Or did the Sacred Crystal enhance her natural powers of deduction?
In a flutter of mighty white wings, an Archon in silver robes materialized and alighted before the glowing blue stone. The crowd hushed. Fianna recognized Abraxas, the Chief Archon who had threatened Acielon upon their departure. She pulled her hood lower on her brow.
“Dear brothers and sisters. We are faced with grave danger. One of our own, Acielon, the Azuran born, endangered our entire community and our way of life. He helped a foreigner leave, and left the planet with her.”
A loud murmur of disapproval blew over the congregation.
“Fortunately, we retrieved him before he could reveal our secrets, but we must make an example of him. There is no greater crime than to betray the brotherhood of Azura. We must inflict upon him the punishment he deserves.”
Heads nodded in approval. Faces stiffened in rigid expressions of righteous wrath. A few voices commented in soft tones. “He must be punished.”
Lord Abraxas raised his hands and the crowd quieted. “Tomorrow at dawn, we shall hold a public trial and decide his fate.”
Cold dread chilled Fianna’s marrow. She took a slow breath and calmed her panicked thoughts. The Archons would ask for Acielon’s death. The good news was, she did not need to look for Acielon. He would come to the temple square tomorrow at dawn, and maybe she could save him then... although an entire legion of Avenging Angels would certainly surround him.
She couldn’t use explosives in a crowded square. It would endanger innocent Azurans. Acielon would not want that, even to save his life. So how could she rescue him?
No matter how she looked at it, the outcome looked grim at best.
Chapter Eighteen
Despite the mantle she’d borrowed from the temple the night before, Fianna shivered in the cool dampness of dawn. She rose and stepped out from behind the pedestal of a gray angel statue, one of many lining the covered path around the temple square. The night showers had soaked the surrounding vegetation. A miserable humidity penetrated the stone under the covered walkway.
Beyond the invisible wall protecting the town, mist rose from the surrounding jungle. A damp smell of humus emanated from the forest floor. High in the trees, tropical birds celebrated the new dawn in a cacophony of colorful trills and high-pitched cries.
Mist lingered above the bluish pebbles of the temple square. The orange rays of the rising sun melted the clouds and glanced off the top of the white columns fronting the temple facade. The monumental doors remained closed, guarded by two gigantic statues with imposing wings and commanding faces.
To the left of the elevated terrace, sat a stone seat, like a throne. Fianna hadn’t noticed it the night before.
Sheba yawned and stretched. “Sheba dream... eat good rabbit.”
“I’m glad you slept well.” Fianna’s stiff muscles protested the night on the hard stone.
She wished for some hot, strong caffeinated drink. No such comfort this morning. She pulled an energy bar out of a vest pocket, tore the silver wrapping and chewed slowly, enjoying the sweet, nutty taste.
Did Acielon sleep? Was he thinking of her? He had no other friend to help him. She had to free him. Last night in the temple, Lord Abraxas had asked for his death. Fianna couldn’t accept such sentencing. If her rescue failed, Acielon would die.
Already, Azurans gathered on the temple square. Some walked, others flew overhead, alighted, then retracted their wings that disappeared inside the slits of their cloaks.
Fianna pulled down the hood to hide her face as she sat casually, leaning back against the tall pedestal to observe the gathering crowd. Men and women in white homespun silk, some with gray wool mantles like hers, stood in a semi-circle at the foot of the wide steps leading to the temple terrace. More Azurans gathered behind them... all sturdy, healthy individuals.
No children among them. For the first time, Fianna realized she’d never seen any children on Azura... or elderly citizens for that matter. Only adults in their prime. Of course, the crystal kept them young. Lord Abraxas had called Acielon the Azuran born last night.
Acielon was the only one born on Azura. He mentioned his mother dying while giving birth to him. Did Azurans believe giving birth was deadly to them? A side effect of immortality?
Sheba licked her fur at Fianna’s side, unnoticeable to the casual eye under her chameleon camouflage. But no one on the square paid attention to Fianna or to her cat. All stared anxiously toward the closed monumental doors of the temple.
“Sheba feel Acielon.”
“You do?” Fianna fought the urge to stand up and look around. She must keep her cover of mildly interested citizen. “Where is he? How far?”
“Not far.”
The sudden blare of shofars startled Fianna. She remembered the Avenging Angels who had attacked the ship upon their departure. Like a soft white cloud of fluttering wings, a flight of Avenging Angels hovered above the temple dome then alighted on the terrace fronting the monumental doors.
In a flash of blue radiance, the Sacred Crystal and its pedestal materialized in the center of the esplanade.
The devotees gasped and bowed their heads.
In the middle of the circle formed by the Avenging Angels, Fianna recognized Acielon, carried like a lowly human. He looked puzzled and strangely calm as they deposited him on the stone seat, facing the crowd.
Her heart went out to him. Acielon looked fine, whole, and unbound, but his head slouched on the stone seat, as if he had no strength. His dark hair veiled his high forehead and fell over his eyes.
Nine grim-faced Archons in silver gray robes alighted on the esplanade. Taller than the Avenging Angels, they lined up in front of the crystal. The assembly fell silent. In reverence, or fear? When Acielon raised his head slightly, his eyes had lost their luminous turquoise glow.
Fianna shuddered at the implications. Acielon had lost his angelic abilities.
A murmur of disapproval scurried over the onlookers.
How could he be whole if he couldn’t heal himself? From the blood she had seen in his cell at the Eagles’ Nest, and what the Eagle thug told her, he should exhibit many wounds.
Fianna turned to her invisible feline companion. “Can you talk to him? Tell him we are here?”
“Acielon hurt.” The big cat sighed. “Acielon say leave... go back... it is a trap. Great danger here.”
“Trap or not, I’m not leaving without him.” But something didn’t add up. Fianna switched on her eye software and zoomed on Acielon’s face. It remained a blur. Was the planet affecting her eye implant? It hadn’t before. To her knowledge, Azura had no cloaking technology. Correction, no known technology. But the Archons sometimes manifested themselves without being physically there, and angels could make themselves invisible.
Looking for trickery, Fianna blinked to pierce through the strange fog obscuring Acielon’s features. A barely visible sphere surrounded him like a bubble... a shield. To protect him, or to prevent contact with the congregation? Yet Sheba had contacted his mind. Was it because of the different nature of Sheba’s abilities?
Then the image focused and Fianna glimpsed Acielon’s true physical state. Triblets!
Red, open, angry wounds, caked blood, black bruises, and the sick strands of hanging flesh discolored by putrefaction. Even his feet looked like raw stumps. Dirt and blood stained his ripped pants... and his torso, arms, and legs were chained to the stone seat!
Her heart faltered at the deplorable sight. Fianna fought a gag reflex. She must get Acielon away from his jailers, or he would soon die, if not by execution, of his terrible injuries.
But Acielon wasn’t alone in his bubble. A great angel, raven black with flaming eyes and dark wings, stood behind the seat of the accused and formed a dome with his wings like a black canopy above Acielon’s head. The blue radiance of the Sacred Crystal didn’t seem to penetrate the bubble... the shield prevented Acielon’s contact with the healing force of the crystal.
Fianna blinked and the black angel vanished. She blinked again and he reappeared. So he must be invisible to the crowd. Why did the dark one mask Acielon’s true state from the assembly? Would the spectacle of his physical state affect their verdict? Fianna must find a way to expose the Archons’ treachery for all to see.
She tightened her grip on the handle of her percussion gun, but she doubted such a primitive weapon could kill the Prince of Darkness.
“Bastards,” she muttered in low tones. How could she fight that? Could a bullet or a blade incapacitate that dark angel long enough to reveal his presence, and briefly destroy the rosy illusion hiding Acielon’s true condition?
Maybe, maybe not. She couldn’t take a chance. She needed a better plan.
Lord Abraxas raised his staff toward the sky. “O Formless One, may you guide us in our judgment as we decide the fate of your favorite son, who betrayed his own kind by leaving this planet, stole the original Sacred Crystal, and broke all the most important rules of our society.”
Fianna turned to the cat and whispered. “Can you sneak up to Acielon without being seen?”
“Sheba can.”
Fianna discreetly pulled her pendant from under her clothes. Acielon mentioned the crystal would always protect her. Would it also protect him? If the crystal could heal her brother in the hospital, it might help Acielon heal as well. “Tell him you are bringing him the pendant.”
Sheba stilled, as if listening, then she sighed. “Acielon say not help. Mean angel hurt you.”
“Let him try.” Fianna presented the pendant to Sheba. “Get this to Acielon, then run away before anyone can detect you.”
The cat grabbed the pendant with her mouth. “Sheba give... Sheba run.”
“Good girl. Be careful.” Fianna hoped the ruse would work and help Acielon. Judging by his dire condition, however, that wouldn’t be enough... not without his powers.
While the Chief Archon read from a scroll the unbreakable rules of Azura, Sheba stalked at the edge of the crowd, hugging the outside of the colonnades, loping toward the temple terrace. The feline’s pelt switched between gray stone and white marble, making her quasi-invisible. Still, an educated eye could detect her.
As if aware of the cat, the black angel slowly turned his head toward Sheba, his gaze following her, tracking her along the covered path. Triblets!
“Careful, girl. The mean angel can see you,” she whispered, knowing Sheba could hear.
“Sheba go slow now. Sheba almost there.”
Triple triblets! Maybe a distraction would allow Sheba to complete her mission. Fianna pulled a hand grenade out of her pocket, pulled the pin and threw it like a pitcher in a hologame, to the back of the square, far behind the crowd.
The loud explosion rocked the square. Fire surged. Azurans cried in surprise.
Lord Abraxas stopped in the middle of his droning tirade. Archons and Azurans turned to the empty space were the grenade had exploded and smoke rose into the air. The dark angel, peered at the back of the square with narrowed orange eyes.
“Go, Sheba, go.”
The cat hurried up the steps and reached the top of the esplanade and the stone seat where Acielon sat in chains. But the bubble surrounding the prisoner and the dark angel blasted out, sending the feline flying high and falling down the stairs. Sheba still landed on her feet, but her camouflage faltered for an instant.
“Sacrilege!” Lord Abraxas bellowed, brandishing his staff at the offending feline.
The crowd returned its attention to the esplanade and gasped. Cries of indignation surged. A few onlookers deployed and flapped their wings in unrest.
The Avenging Angels took flight, hovering over the square, staring at the crowd with hardened faces, looking for the culprit.
Fianna retreated deeper into her hood, immobile, barely breathing.
“Who dares disrupt the sacred proceedings? How did a lowly animal penetrate the wall?” Lord Abraxas smoothed his silver robe. “What caused that loud bang in the back? This is no time for unruly celebrations. This trial is probably the most important and most tragic event in Azura’s history. Having to terminate a beloved child of Azura is no cause for rejoicing.”
The crowd quieted again. Fianna breathed easier.
“Run, Sheba, run and hide.” Fianna didn’t want anyone to get hurt, in case they decided to take on the lethal cat.
Sheba ran out of sight. Still, the attempt to help Acielon failed. Fianna needed a miracle. The kind of miracle only angels could perform... but the angels were her enemy, and time would soon run out.
“Sheba not give... Sheba run.” The feline’s voice in her head sounded apologetic.
“You did good. I’m sorry, I did not expect a physical shield.”
>
“Sheba not hurt... Sheba come back?”
“All right, but go slow, and make sure no one sees you, okay?”
“Sheba careful.”
Within seconds, Fianna heard and felt the big cat’s breath behind her. She resisted the urge to turn around and pet the puma. The dark angel watched the congregation intently, studying each individual with his disturbing stare, searching for the source of the disruptions. Could he feel her presence?
The Azurans seemed to have already forgotten the strange happenings, refocusing their attention on the Archons, and their Chief reading the grievances.
Acielon had mentioned a trap. Was he the bait, and the black angel expected to find Fianna? Whatever the case, she would never abandon Acielon to his dreadful fate. If she didn’t save him, he would die horribly. She was certain of it.
Sheba dropped the crystal pendant in her lap. Fianna caressed the stone. It glowed, resonating with the Sacred Crystal illuminating the esplanade.
Fianna wondered whether she could control the crystal like Acielon did. She had nothing to lose in trying... as long as she didn’t get caught. She’d bet it was a serious infraction to use the crystal against the will of the Archons.
Scooting around to hide behind the statue’s pedestal, she held the pendant loosely in her hands and focused on its power. It glowed. She could feel the Sacred Crystal on the esplanade resonating with her pendant.
She closed her eyes and envisioned the bubble around Acielon bursting like a poked balloon, so everyone could see the black angel, and the deplorable condition of his prisoner.
“As you can see,” Lord Abraxas announced with solemnity, “You must now decide and choose the death penalty. The behavior of the accused and his heretical views could bring about the end of your peaceful existence, even the end of Azura itself.”
Fianna focused on her visualization, whispering, “Make the bubble burst so the people of Azura can see the truth. They deserve to know the truth.”
The Azurans were good people. They just didn’t know the Archons manipulated them to do their bidding. For whatever ends, good or evil, the Archons abused these people, lied to them, and enforced rules they did not observe themselves.
Angel Mine Page 20
