I don’t know what it is about Valor. Maybe it’s the warmth I felt when she first picked me up and took care of me after fighting Arsen off, but I feel like she’s a friend. She feels so genuine, and even though she’s fierce, she’s kind. It would make a lot more sense for someone like her to be in my place. How was someone like me chosen to save the world? I’m not admirable at all. I’m transparent, unseen, a shadow.
Valor places her hand flat against my forehead. “Be at ease, young one. Rest.”
For a moment, I enjoy the sensation of her skin on mine. It’s like she’s pouring good feelings directly into my body. If I can keep this feeling, maybe I will get some sleep tonight.
“Goodnight, I guess,” I murmur. “And thank you.”
Valor gives me a little push at my back. I catch myself on the door jam and take one last peek over my shoulder to see the angel finally take a sip from her glass only to grimace.
IT’S EARLY MORNING, and it seems like everyone in the base is already awake. Some have already started working, others are eating breakfast, and others are taking a moment to talk. I found my overseer, Imae, yesterday and ended up helping her group. I figure I’ll do the same thing today. It was a peaceful enough arrangement.
I’ve just finished breakfast, and I’m about to seek Imae out when I catch sight of some members of Gold Team. Specifically, I see Miguel and Sherri, the two on the team who probably hate me the most. They never liked me to begin with.
They’re talking with a group of hunters. They aren’t looking in my direction and so they haven’t spotted me. I lean back against the wall, behind a bucket and a mop, and I listen.
“That night the base was under attack, did you notice all those werebeasts?” a hunter asks.
“Who didn’t?” Miguel replies sharply.
“It wasn’t even a full moon,” Sherri comments in her always quiet voice.
“That’s why it was weird,” another hunter joins in.
I see Donovan lumbering up to the group from the opposite end of the hall. He’s carrying a toolbox in one of his meaty hands and his always smiling face seems a bit grumpy. I’m guessing he didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.
“If you all have time to talk, you have time to work,” Donovan informs as he thrusts the toolbox at Miguel.
Miguel rolls up his sleeves, revealing the tattoos that run down his arms, and takes the toolbox just to set it down on the floor beside him. “Tell them what you told me, Don,” he says. “Tell them about that branch in the Netherlands doing research on werebeasts.”
“Miguel, I swear to God. Everyone will get told soon enough. Right now we need to work,” Donovan mutters.
“I heard it, too,” Sherri says as she crosses her arms over her small chest. “Blade told me the information herself.”
“What the hell?” a hunter complains. “So only Gold Team gets the pertinent information now?”
“It’s not like that,” Donovan snaps. “I wasn’t told the information directly. I just caught Blade talking on the phone and overheard some interesting stuff.”
“But she said Blade told her directly.”
Sherri shrugs. “So she didn’t. I overheard her talking on the phone, too.”
“Just tell them already,” Miguel orders as he brings his lips up into an animalistic snarl.
Donovan scratches at his bald head and sighs. “Fine, but don’t take any of this as the full and honest truth. I can’t guarantee that. Apparently some branch in the Netherlands is studying werebeasts. They found out you can turn any type of werebeast at any time with aconite. At least that’s what I gathered.”
“Aconite? The plant?” a hunter asks.
“It’s supposed to be super poisonous right?” asks another.
“Apparently not for a werebeast. It just brings out the monster.”
“So those werebeasts we saw that night, they were able to shift because of aconite?”
“Probably,” Donovan says. “Like I said, I don’t know any details, and I don’t know what you have to do with aconite to turn them. We have to wait for Blade to tell us. I’m sure when our database is up and running at full capacity again that information will be available to everyone.”
That’s interesting. So that demon leading that monster attack on the base, the one Arsen killed, I wonder if she knew about this aconite trick. Then again, she was a natural demon. I don’t think it would be too far-fetched to assume she had a way of commanding werebeasts to shift with her own power.
I don’t have any desire to introduce myself to Gold Team. Especially not Miguel, so I turn to leave, but a hook on the mop catches my sleeve and ends up crashing to the floor. I untangle my sleeve and groan as the sound reverberates through the hall. I look over my shoulder and, sure enough, Gold Team and the hunters with them all have their eyes on me. Most of their expressions are blank. I can’t tell what they’re thinking. Donovan and Miguel’s faces are the ones who change first. Donovan smiles at me, though the gesture is forced. Miguel’s lips curl up into another snarl.
“If it isn’t Gold Team’s most valued member,” Miguel taunts. “And just where have you been all this time?”
“You know where he’s been,” Donovan says severely, fists clenched. “Tasia told us what happened.”
“Yeah, but the guy’s an angel. How hurt could he have been really?”
Sherri and the other hunters seem to be trying to play neutral in this case. The way they’re standing closer to Miguel than Donovan makes me think they feel the same way he does, but they’re probably too scared of the angels to speak their mind like he does.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” Miguel demands.
“What do you mean?” I ask without moving from my spot. I’m not going to get any closer if I can help it, but I don’t plan on backing down either if Miguel wants to start something.
His eyes grow dark. I can see his hatred for me burning in them. I’m sure it’s hate now. He’s always given me a hard time, but now the heat of his anger is rippling off of him in waves of pure malice.
“I want you to tell us the truth. Are you a man or an angel?”
“I’m an angel,” I say in a flat tone.
“And you didn’t think it would’ve been a good idea to tell us before those monsters came and killed so many of us? Of course not, you’re an angel. What do you care about us?”
“I have never done anything to hurt you, any of you. I’ve only ever helped you,” I say. “If I had known monsters were coming to attack us that night, I would have told you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Then you went out and risked your life for us—or for Tasia anyway. Can you even die? Was it really a risk?”
I don’t like Miguel’s attitude. I never have. However, I’ve never let it get to me like it is right now. I’m frustrated, and I don’t know how to make them understand why I did what I did. They’re too full of fear. They’re too angry at God and angels.
I take a step forward, and then another, and another, until I’m closing the distance between me and the other hunters. My target is Miguel. I wonder how he’ll react to me coming close to him. The others move out of my way like they’re scared of me, but to Miguel’s credit, he holds his ground.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I say darkly. “You think I have no love for humans. You think I’ve forsaken you all and that I’ve been using you, but that is not the case at all. I used to be just like you. If anyone sympathizes with humans and what you’re going through with demons, or monsters as you always call them, it’s me.”
“You smug bastard!” Miguel screeches.
With the way his right shoulder is tensing, I’m sure he’s about to throw a punch at my face. I’m fully ready to catch it, but he doesn’t even get a chance to throw his fist as a voice calls from down the hall. “That’s enough.”
I glance behind me to see Imae. From this distance, just based on her height alone, she’s far from intimidating. Miguel must feel the same way, because he thr
ows his punch anyway. Imae closes the meters worth of distance between us before his punch can land. She catches his fist effortlessly. She holds her hand out flat between my face and Miguel’s fist. Miguel’s whole arm is shaking with exertion as he tries to shove past her hand with his fist. But her hand doesn’t budge at all. It’s like Miguel’s trying to force a steel wall out of his way with his human strength alone.
“I said that’s enough,” she says in the calmest of voices. “Fighting among us won’t do anything for anyone.”
“What the hell?!” Miguel screams. “How are you doing that?” He finally lowers his hand and shakes out his arm.
Imae steps in front of me and places her hands on her hips. “I’m an angel,” she says.
“And that’s the problem, isn’t it?” Miguel says gesturing around him. “We don’t need you. Why don’t you leave already?”
Donovan shakes his head forlornly while Sherri and the other hunters with them avert their gaze, unwilling to contend with Imae at all.
“We’re here to help you,” my overseer says.
“What’s with all the shouting?”
All heads turn at the mellifluous voice floating down the other end of the hall. The angel striding toward us with powerful steps, clad in silver armor that tinkles with each step, is Confidant Valor. Her wavy strawberry blond hair flies behind her as if caught in some nonexistent wind. Her every movement is powerful, and I feel like I should be on my knees to greet her.
“Some contention,” Imae informs.
“Contention over what?” the confidant asks as she comes forward, through the hunter crowd as they move out of her way.
She stops when she’s at my side. I’ve never met the confidant before. I’ve seen her, but never this close. She’s one of the tallest female angels I’ve ever seen, and she looks like the most beautiful of warriors. Her face is set, but not in a hard or uninviting way. She is the definition of regal.
Miguel opens his mouth. I think he might have the audacity to badmouth the confidant, but he closes his mouth again. He rolls his shoulders in aggravation and takes a few steps back.
“You won’t voice your complaints?” The confidant asks smoothly.
“We were just leaving,” Donovan speaks for the group.
“If there’s a problem, I would like to hear about it,” the confidant explains.
“We don’t need or want you and your kind,” Miguel says bitterly as he walks down the hall.
The other hunters’ eyes shimmer as they glance at Confidant Valor. They nod their heads slightly, and then they follow Miguel. Even Donovan goes after Miguel. He didn’t say it, but I think he feels much the same way.
“Care to explain?” The confidant inquires as she turns to me.
“The hunters aren’t taking to us very well,” I say.
“Really? We haven’t had any problems until you came back. We haven’t had any problems at all until just now,” she remarks. She doesn’t give any emotion away in her face or in her stance. She’s neutral all around, but her eyes are probing me for something.
“Well, then maybe they’re hurt about how I deceived them,” I murmur.
Imae pats my arm and says, “They’ll forgive you in time. There’s a lot for them to learn and their base was almost destroyed by a large demon attack. Give them time.”
“Imae, if you’d head back to work, I’d like a moment to speak to Rynne alone,” the confidant says.
“As you wish,” my overseer replies. She tugs at my arm, and I bend down to meet her lips.
I know the gesture is meant to be in comfort and friendship, but right now it feels like a chore. I feel like something’s breaking in me, and I’m angry. I’ve subdued these kinds of feelings for so long, I almost forgot how powerful they can be. Imae must sense the tension because she gives me a quick hug as well before leaving.
Now the confidant and I are the only two standing in this hall.
“You said you want to speak to me in private, Confidant” I say. “Should we find a room or is this private enough for you?”
“Frankly, I’m surprised at the tone of your voice,” the confidant notes. “Imae told me you are always on your best behavior. She never told me that you had an angry streak.”
I open my mouth. To do what? I don’t know, maybe defend myself, but I realize there’s no point in doing that right now. I am angry. I’m angry at everything going on. I’ve been trying so hard to be patient, to not think about the things out of my control and to do what I’m told, so why am I slipping now?
“I apologize,” I say as I remember how to still my wild emotions once again, as I remember how to be an angel.
“You misunderstand,” she replies. “It is better to let your feelings be known, to acknowledge them and to even voice them, than it is to let them fester”
“Angels don’t do that,” I retort. “They don’t have to. Hate, anger, those kind of base emotions don’t exist for you. You know only justice and God’s fury.”
“Perhaps, but even though you are an angel now, you’re not a full angel. You’re still very human, prone to these base emotions. You should remember that. You have to accept they are inside of you, and only then will you be able to redirect and conduct yourself as an angel should.”
I’m not sure what to say, so I nod my head.
“We can’t spare many angels to stay here,” the confidant informs. “I’m sure Cassius has talked to you about this a little bit already, but I’ll be staying here for a while, and I’ll have a team with me. This team currently consists of nine other angels besides myself. Soon enough, I am hoping to send most of the nine off to other branches of the EEA to assist us in working on a larger scale. However that ends up working out, I will keep Imae and Bellamy here, and I want you to stay here as well, as a part of my team.”
“Even if the people here hate me?” I ask.
“Not everyone does. I can assure you of that. You’re the best angel I can have on my team. As I said, you were once human. You still are in many ways. You can relate to these hunters in a way that a natural angel never could. And these hunters, the ones that work side by side with Tasia, are the hunters we must get through to first.”
“If that’s what you think is best.” I want to look away in my shame, but the confidant’s azure eyes don’t allow it.
She is a beauty. I’ve often heard whispers about her whenever I’ve taken the time to walk around Zenith. It seems every angel there is enamored by her, and I can see why. I can also see why she was chosen as the confidant. She complements the oracle. The two of them standing side by side must be a sight to behold.
“As a part of my team, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other,” she informs and smiles an endearing smile that makes me want to return the gesture. “I’d like to ask you a little bit about the hunters here. Since we got rid of the demon threat that night and started helping the hunters rebuild the base three days ago, they’ve been very quiet around us. They don’t ask for help, but they don’t tell us not to help either. However, I’ve noticed a certain kind of reluctance from them. Can you explain why this is?”
“No offense,” I say, “but many of the hunters here are bitter toward angels and God. They wonder why you’re here now. They wonder if you’re genuine. Most of all, they must be wondering if you’re actually here to help or if you’re just here to take over. They saw how powerful you are. They don’t know how to contend with that kind of power. They were barely learning about natural demons and now they have a group of natural angels in their base. Why would they think they have the right to speak out against you or to you at all? You could kill them with the flick of your wrist.”
The confidant folds her arms and considers this. “I understand, but I didn’t think we had given them any reason to doubt our intentions. Our presence alone should be reassuring.”
“It takes more than an inviting presence. It’s about the timing and your actions,” I say. “They’ve been at this for years and now angels choose
to show themselves?”
“It seems you share their thinking. Yet, you know the answer.”
I nod. “It doesn’t make it any less hurtful.”
“I see. How do you suggest we get them to open up to us?”
“I’ve heard you’ve taken charge since you got here, giving out orders the humans feel they can’t contend because you don’t ask for their opinion. If you let them take the lead, and ask how you can be of assistance instead, that would be a start. We also need to make sure they know they don’t have to stay here. Clearly state they are allowed to leave and they don’t have to get mixed up in any of this if they don’t want to. That will weed out the hunters who won’t be of any help to us anyway, and it will probably paint us in a better light.”
The confidant grins. “You are a valued member indeed, Rynne. I’m glad to meet you.”
She holds out her hand like she wants to shake mine. I wasn’t expecting this gesture from an angel. I look up at her questioningly.
“Is this not an appropriate human way to greet another human?” she asks.
“It’s perfectly appropriate,” I reply, taking her hand and shaking it.
“That was for the human side of you,” she says. Then she reaches out to my face, placing her hands on my cheeks as she gives me a light kiss. “And that is for the angel side of you.”
“I’m honored to be working with you, Confidant,” I say.
“And I you. You should know that Tasia will be spending a lot of time with the oracle very soon. I doubt you’ll get the chance to see her very often for a while, and I apologize for that. I know you think highly of her.”
“It’s fine,” I say quietly. “She needs some time away from me anyway.”
“You’re like an open book,” the confidant remarks. “You’re afraid you’ve lost her because you lied to her and because you’re different. However, if she truly loves you, she will forgive you and look past your differences.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still a made angel and she’s a human. I’ll never age, but she will.”
The Pull of Destiny (Undying Love, Book 2) Page 6
