by David Estes
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lucas and Cassandra were on board with the plan. It hadn’t been hard to convince them. Take human pain and suffering and add it to Lucas and Cassandra getting to inflict that pain and suffering, and you had a mission that they were interested in. The only sticking point was the chain of command.
“Why will David lead the mission?” Lucas asked.
David glowered at Lucas. Dionysus said, “It was his idea and upon creation of the New Archangels, you each have an equal level of authority. I plan to spread the missions out amongst all of you. This one will be David’s.”
Cassandra said, “The kid’s barely even been on a mission, much less led one.”
“You should talk,” David spat out. “You were the weak link in the last mission. You’re lucky to even be invited on this one.”
Cassandra opened her mouth to respond, and Dionysus had a vision of a death match between her and David—which was a very enticing prospect, but not now. Not when he needed as many supporters as possible. So before she could speak, he said, “Enough! The decision is final. Learn to work together. Cassandra screwed up, but it won’t happen again. Let’s focus on planning the mission.”
With that, it was settled. And why shouldn’t it be? Dionysus was still the Head of the New Archangel Council, more powerful than czars, than kings, than the damn President of the United States of America.
David said, “I say we target New York City first.”
Lucas scoffed. “You can’t be serious. There’s no way we’ll be able to do that without being caught on camera, without being seen by someone who escapes us.”
“There will be no survivors,” David said between gritted teeth. “We target less populated areas late at night, and we kill swiftly and completely.”
“And then we shove it under Clifford’s nose so he can get a whiff of how effective his demon army is at protecting the humans,” Dionysus said. “New York it is, mission leader.”
Lucas opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then closed it.
Cassandra said, “When do we leave?”
“Immediately,” David said.
Dionysus nodded, grinning. “Good. Very good.”
PART III
“You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
All right, all right
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
For people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
All right, all right”
The Beatles- “Revolution”
From the B-side of the single “Hey Jude” (1968)
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gabriel was already gone. That fast. Just when they had recovered Samantha, Clifford called a meeting and announced that Gabriel would leave immediately on his mission. Sampson went with him. That was more than an hour ago.
With Taylor’s mission on hold for the moment, she didn’t know what to do with herself. Sam and Chris had gone back to UT. Sam had homework to catch up on and an exam in a few days. Taylor could have ported with them, but begged off saying that she would hitch a ride with one of her guards. She needed time to be alone. To think. And she figured Sam and Chris would want to be alone, too.
So she wandered around the Lair for a while, trying to get lost. Each time she came to a crossroads, she turned the opposite direction from where her instincts told her to go. It worked, and an hour later she was hopelessly confused as to which way led back to the café, the recreational area, the Elders’ Chamber, her room, or any of the other areas she was familiar with.
After making another right and passing by a few unmarked doors, Taylor came to a dead end. A transporter waited to whisk her off somewhere. She boarded the futuristic-looking pod, wondering where she would end up.
It turned out to be a long ride—more than thirty minutes—which probably meant she had managed to get way off track, and was being brought back to civilization. It gave her time to think.
Looking back, the last seven months of her life seemed impossible. It was like her old life had been snuffed out, and in its place a new life created. Moving to the other side of the world—to Russia or China—would be no more different. Besides Sam being her best friend, the only thing that hadn’t changed was her. Of course, physically she had changed—sprouting wings and spouting orbs of light probably fell into the change category—but her personality was the same. She was the same old Taylor, with no control over the chaos of her mind, direct, a bit on the weird side.
One thing that was very different was having a boyfriend. It wasn’t something she was proud of, but she really had no choice in the matter. Despite all Gabriel’s imperfections—his temper, his tendency to do stupid things—and because of all of his perfections—his wit, his leadership, his gorgeous face and body—her heart had chosen him, for better or for worse. At first she had been resistant to that choice. She was too young for a soul mate, too young for true love, too young to be a slave to a relationship. So she had rebelled, pushing Gabriel away at times, but like metal to a magnet, she couldn’t stay away from him. She couldn’t resist him. Finally embracing the relationship, Taylor found that she was able to be herself, independent and uncontrolled, while still being Gabriel’s girlfriend. And he respected her for it—liked that about her. For her it was a revelation, and explained a lot about her mother’s relationship with her father. A partnership. A promise. To be their own selves while being a fitted pair at the same time. She only hoped that her relationship with Gabriel could one day be as good as her parents’ had been.
While her thoughts dwelled on a photograph of her parents she had in her room at home, she felt the transporter slowing. Despite the length of the trip, it had passed by remarkably fast. What would the doors reveal when they opened? Not the UT campus, not her dad mowing their front lawn, not anything normal, that was for sure. Instead, it would be like something out of an adventure movie: dark shapes moving through torch-lit tunnels, carrying fiery swords and bows; subtly glowing angels moving casually amongst the demons; there would be no humans, surely, not even Sam, who was pretending to study but was really making out with a demon.
The doors opened and she saw no one. A rocky alcove. There were two torches. It was not familiar—she had never been to this place before. In the rock wall there was a large, wrought-iron door, domed at the top, medieval by design, with intersecting metal bands forming a cross on its face. There was no handle, no push bar, no knocker. From her experience, Taylor knew that doors like this usually required the flaming touch of a demon to open, for security purposes. Which probably meant there was something cool behind the door, something worth seeing. For once, she wished one of her demon guards were nearby. She glanced behind her, half-expecting to see one lurking in the shadows, watching—always watching—but she saw only the empty transporter.
Three choices: board the transporter and enjoy a half-hour ride back to being lost, sit down and wait for a demon to come by, or pound on the door and hope that someone inside hears her. She sat down to wait.
Less than five minutes later she felt a rumble in her rump, a buzz in her butt. A short vibration beneath her, like the ground was trembling. It stopped. Then started. Then stopped. Then: four or five more shakes of her buttocks. It was like she was sitting on one of those airport auto-massage chairs that was malfunctioning, or maybe functioning
perfectly.
She stood up and touched her hand to the door. Buzz. Pause. Buzz. Whatever was causing the ground to tremble was powerful, very powerful. And it was behind the door. Her curiosity made option three look better and better. So she pounded on the door, a dull, thudding sound that likely didn’t project farther than the doorframe.
After a few minutes with no response, she hammered her fists against the iron three more times. Thud, thud, thud. “Housekeeping!” she shrilled in a high-pitched voice, more for her own amusement than to get the attention of anyone who might be behind the thick door.
To her surprise, there was a groan and the eight-foot door began creaking open. In a million years, she never would have guessed whose face would pop out from behind the door. “Kiren?” she said.
“Taylor?” Kiren said, mirroring her surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Kiren’s spiky hair was neon pink, and looked strange next to her dark skin. She wore a tight black tank-top that accentuated her toned physique. Her skin glistened with sweat.
“I, uh, just kind of wandered in. I’m not even sure where here is.”
Kiren smiled. “You’re in for a treat then. Follow me.”
Taylor followed Kiren through a short tunnel. The end of the path opened into a massive cavern, brightly-lit by dozens of baskets of fire spread throughout the area. The moment Taylor passed from beneath the tunnel ceiling, she saw a large, black shape thundering towards her. The ground beneath her shook-rumbled-vibrated like there was an earthquake, or T-Rex was charging her.
“Look out!” Kiren yelled, diving to the side.
While the warning registered, Taylor didn’t heed it, couldn’t heed it. Her body betrayed her mind once again, ignoring her commands to Run, dammit, run! Instead, she just stood there, with the big thing bearing down on her, about to smash her to bits and send her to angel heaven or hell, or wherever it was that angels went when they died—according to legend, they went to the stars. Frozen in place, Taylor squeezed her eyes shut and prepared to go to the stars.
Stripes of wetness roamed over her face, tickling her. Not slobbery, like a big dog, but wispy, the licks felt like she was being kissed by a fairy. She opened her eyes. Upon seeing the face in front of her, she opened her eyes even wider. The scaly oversized head had its mouth open, displaying three sets of razor-sharp teeth. They would have been menacing, if not for the fact that they seemed to be grinning at her. A snakelike tongue continuously flicked from its mouth to taste her face.
Taylor realized that she had regained control of her body, but still she didn’t run. Although the gargoyle standing before her had undergone extraordinary changes since she last saw him, his eyes gave him away. Their blackness was so deep that they were literally the absence of light, but unlike the other demon gargoyles she had seen, his eyes sparkled. How they sparkled while still seeming so infinitely black was a mystery that Taylor knew she would never be able to solve.
“Rocky!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been meaning to come see you, buddy.”
The big fellow roared with glee, sounding more like a lion than a dog. He had really grown up fast. The earth groaned under him as he took a step forward, crashing his foot to the dirty cavern floor with a Boom! The ground shook. Taylor took a step back and said, “Whoa there, buddy, you’re a little bigger than you used to be!”
Rocky cocked his head to the side as if he was trying to understand what she meant. Perhaps in his mind he was still the rambunctious young gargoyle eating out of Taylor’s hand. For him, maybe nothing had changed. Taylor said, “Can I go for a ride on you, Rock Star?”
Rocky bucked his head up and down as if answering in the affirmative and simultaneously demonstrating his appreciation for the nickname his friend had just bestowed upon him.
“Okay, here I go!” With an effortless leap, Taylor mounted him, spinning in midair to ensure she was facing forward when she landed. She sat in a natural indentation between his head and wings, which looked tiny relative to the rest of his bulky frame. Rocky let out a happy roar and spun around to face the empty hall. He pawed a foot like a bull and then took off, thundering across the cavern.
Taylor was left breathless for a moment, as the speed of his scamper took her by surprise. She had expected him to lumber along, perhaps reaching a top speed equivalent to that of an elephant, but instead, she felt like they were moving as fast as a galloping horse.
And then they flew.
Against all odds, they flew, as Rocky’s fairy wings managed to lift him and Taylor from the ground. They didn’t rise quickly, but like a hot air balloon, they gradually moved towards the ceiling. With another roar, Rocky began to twirl through the air, spinning Taylor in a circle again and again.
Taylor laughed gleefully, girlishly, like she hadn’t laughed in a long time. Uninhibited. Rocky was showing off for her and she loved it.
Taylor dove from his back and her wings opened naturally, allowing her to settle into a gentle soar. She did a lap around Rocky, who was smiling and trying to keep up with her. She did loops, twists, and somersaults, flying freely—not as part of some training exercise—for the first time since she’d obtained her wings.
Eventually, Rocky grew tired of flying—his wings weren’t cut out for long excursions in the air—and he descended slowly to the ground. Taylor followed suit, landing in a crouch in front of him. She ran to him and gave his tree-trunk-like leg a hug. Rocky purred with delight.
Kiren approached cautiously. “That was incredible,” she said.
“Yeah, it’s amazing how they can fly so well with such little wings,” Taylor agreed.
Shaking her head, Kiren said, “No, not that. He didn’t freak out when he saw you. That’s what’s amazing.”
Puzzled, Taylor said, “Why should he freak out?”
“Because you’re an angel now. His instincts should be telling him to attack you, to hate you, but instead, he seems to love you.”
“Don’t tell Gabriel, he might be jealous,” Taylor joked. “It’s probably just because he knew me as a human before and still just sees me as his friend.” Turning to Rocky, Taylor said, “Isn’t that right, buddy?” Rocky roared in agreement.
Kiren said, “Whatever you say. Hey, do you wanna watch him train with me?”
“Sure.”
Taylor gave Rocky another hug before following Kiren across the grounds and then up a dozen stone steps onto a raised seating area. Rocky followed them, shaking the earth as he walked. Luckily, he didn’t try to pursue them up the staircase, which was barely wide enough for Taylor to squeeze through. Instead, he watched them ascend and sit down, before he plopped down on his hind legs in an attempt to copy them.
Taylor laughed. “You’re welcome to sit with us until it’s time to train, Rocky.” Rocky purred.
Kiren said, “Sorry I didn’t invite you to come with me, I didn’t plan on coming here.”
“Me either, I just ended up here by accident. So why did you come?”
“To be honest, I don’t really know. Just to take my mind off things I guess. I’m worried about Sampson, he’s always getting into trouble.”
“Tell me about it, Gabriel’s a walking disaster sometimes. The two of them together scares me, too,” Taylor half-joked.
Kiren laughed. “If you’re trying to help, you’re not,” she said lightly.
“Sorry, I guess it’s my way of dealing with things. I like to make jokes.”
“For me, it helps to watch the gargoyles training. I don’t know why.”
“I know why,” Taylor said, “because they’re awesome!”
“Most demons—and angels too, I think—see them as grotesque, an abomination, only to be used in war.”
“I’m not most people,” Taylor said. “If there’s anything my mom taught me, it was to not always follow the popular opinion.”
“That’s good,” Kiren said.
“So things are pretty serious with Sampson, huh?” Taylor asked.
Kiren blushed, her dark
cheeks becoming even darker. “Yeah, it is. I’ve never felt like this about someone.”
“I know how that is. Gabriel is my first real boyfriend. It scares me sometimes how strong my feelings for him are. Like I can’t control them. Like I’m dependent on him or something. But I’ve realized I’m not really. I’m still me, as independent as ever. It’s nice having someone to love though.”
Kiren said, “Thanks, Taylor.”
“For what?”
“For being there to talk to. Being a female in the army, I feel like I’m surrounded by guys most of the time. There are more girls than there used to be, but we’re still seriously outnumbered. It’s just nice to hear that someone else has the same feelings as me.”
Taylor laughed. “Sam’s in the same boat, although she got in it quite differently. Before Chris, her boyfriend count was about a thousand, with the average length at maybe a week. But now it’s like she’s married. Weird how things change.”
“Yeah,” Kiren said. She had a faraway look in her eyes, like she was trying to make sense of how her life had led her to date an angel.
Taylor said, “It’s starting.”
A giant of a man had walked into the arena. Rocky was already up, running over to him. The man carried a long, black stick. His face was covered by a foliage of dark hair in the form of a bushy beard, long mustache, thick eyebrows, and long bangs. His black hair fell to his shoulders and, when combined with his size, gave him the appearance of a professional wrestler.
“Hey, Gargo!” Taylor yelled.
The big man waved. When she had first struck up her uncanny relationship with Rocky, she had befriended the demon gargoyle master at the same time. Although his mother had named him Barnaby, his ability to communicate with gargoyles had earned him the nickname Gargo.
For the next hour, Gargo put Rocky’s skills to the test, using his rod to communicate. He waved, spun, and thrust the rod in various ways, each of which was a new command. Taylor was glad to see that the pole was not used to prod or strike the gargoyles, merely to communicate with them, like sign language.
