Giselle took to staring out the window, and neither Samantha nor Eli bothered her. Armand, now sitting up, was focused on a book Samantha had shoved into his hands. Giselle hadn’t caught the name, but he seemed distracted. She could barely look at him. It felt terrible.
“You guys want a break?” Eli asked after a few hours.
“I could use a bathroom,” Armand said, raising a hand. “Maybe something to eat?”
“Sure,” Eli said, and glanced at Samantha. She looked over at him, made a small nod of the head. Something passed between them, an unspoken agreement Giselle recognized in general but missed the message. Her heart sank. She and Armand had once held an entire joking conversation above an elder’s head without once tipping her off they were talking about her hair. How she missed that camaraderie.
They pulled in to a fast food place and Eli waved Armand with him. Giselle watched them go, getting out slowly. Her knees hurt, back stiff, and her chest still felt hollow. Had the abandoning of her divine blessing rendered her weak? Or was it just an ache of the heart?
“You ok?” Samantha asked. “Defying your boss and stuff must be hard.”
Giselle glanced over at her, but found no derisiveness or pity in her face. It seemed she was just a caring person. Certainly none of the files had implied she was bad, or immoral, just dangerous by her nature. “It’s just…I never thought I would do such a thing.”
“Yeah, life goes like that sometimes,” Samantha sat on the front of the car. “Mind if I ask why it’s such a problem if you did marry him?”
Giselle rubbed her arms. In human form she was cold. Without Armand there beside her, it was all the colder, even in the direct sunlight. “It’s technically secret, but I guess it doesn’t matter now.”
Samantha rolled her eyes. “Boy if I had a dollar for every time I’d heard shit I wasn’t supposed to lately.”
Giselle couldn’t stop a curve of her lips, and nodded. “Angels are of the divine, but we have a terrible curse on our race. Should two full-blooded angels procreate and have children…those children are doomed to madness.” She looked up to the sky. “Now-a-days, we don’t know much about the lost children of Angels. Their names are stricken from record and memory. Legend goes they were the most powerful of the Angels, but also the most dangerous. They could go crazy at a touch, and when they did…Rape, murder, frenzied cannibalism. Their insanity was terrible beyond reckoning. Even Cyrene does not compare.”
“One has to be on her hit list,” Samantha drawled. “What happened to the angelic children?”
“The Angels and the Damned made a pact. If a full blooded child was found, it was immediately erased. The Angels killed it. The Damned pulled its soul apart.” Her jaw twitched. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how awful that memory is to the Angels.”
“Nope,” Samantha said. “They were truly so bad?”
“One word,” Giselle said. “Atlantis.”
Samantha choked. “Atlantis? You’re kidding. The general myth says they grew too prideful and were struck down. Is that wrong?”
“Not exactly.” Giselle looked to the side. “A child did judge them of being guilty of pride. Instead of giving them a sign, a chance, a warning or an incentive to change though…he attacked them. A bloodbath until the rest of the Angels could bring him down. They had to vaporize the city itself.”
“Holy shit on a stick.” Giselle glanced over at Samantha with a disapproving frown. Perhaps they were friends, but did she have to be vulgar? Samantha held up her hands. “Sorry, sorry. Well, I guess I see why they got touchy about Armand. What about half-blooded children? Eli’s mentioned them before.”
Giselle shrugged. “They don’t seem to carry the curse, but the stigma is still there. A half-blooded child is generally ignored. They’re rumored to have silver eyes, but other than that do not know of their angelic heritage, and often don’t even see their Angelic parent.”
“Even if the Angel is from the mother’s side?” Samantha asked, wide-eyed.
“Especially then.” Giselle shrugged. “Most of the time the child is left with a benevolent-but-barren family or something similar.” She tapped at the car. Could she trust the other woman? Her true guidance was gone with the light in her sword. She didn’t have much recourse, now. “I don’t know what to do now, Samantha.”
Samantha shrugged, as if the answer were as simple as breathing. “Well, if half-bloods are okay, marry Armand and stick around. He still knows you. You could build something nice.”
“Nice, but not quite right,” Giselle shook her head. “Who would know how to bring the memories back?”
“I’m afraid my networking in the supernatural world sucks.” Samantha chuckled. “Give me a moment and I’ll ask my friends. If all else fails, Eli can talk to Francis.”
“Francis? Friends? You just said your networking sucked.”
“In the physical world it does,” Samantha said, tapping her chest. “We’ve both got an awful lot of resources right here.”
Giselle stared. Being an Angel was simple and fairly easy past ascension. The problem most every Angel suffered besides she and Armand, was loneliness. Could every Damned truly speak to the souls they collected? Eli had mentioned allies were more valuable than hostages. “Must be nice to have company in your head.”
“First you have to get past the insanity,” Samantha said with a grin. “Grass is always greener, and all. One moment.” She folded her arms, bowed her head, and seemed to nod off. Giselle looked around, waited, but Samantha didn’t seem intent on moving.
She glanced in the window of the restaurant, and saw Eli and Armand in one of the window booths. Eli waved to her. Giselle glanced at Samantha, and then back to Eli, who was still waving. She walked in to the building, immediately shaking in cold from the air conditioning. “She s-said she was asking her friends?”
“I figured,” Eli said and spread his arms open to the plethora of sandwiches and fries spread over the table. “Take whatever you want. I pegged you for a light eater, but Samantha will be hungry, and I eat like a damn horse.”
Giselle stared at him for a moment, and was unable to resist, “A…damn horse?”
Eli hummed, nodding in agreement at first, and then looked up at her with widened eyes. Giselle just stared back. Surely he had done that on purpose.
The Damned threw back his head and laughed. “Good one.” He grinned. “Really great! Here, have a burger!”
“This stuff is delicious.” Armand piped up, “Though I don’t get what was funny. Something about his horns and your wings?”
Giselle blinked. “You can still see them?” she asked.
“He can indeed.” Eli chuckled, patting Armand’s shoulder. “About gave me a heart attack when he asked about it walking in.”
“How?” she asked, frowning, and bit in to her sandwich. It was indeed better than expected.
“No idea.” Eli nodded to the door, where Samantha was walking in. She looked perplexed. “Maybe she can shed some light on it.”
“On what?” Samantha asked, idly picking up a handful of fries and munching through them quickly. Giselle raised an eyebrow. Eli hadn’t been kidding about her being hungry, had he?
“Apparently seeing horns and wings is weird?” Armand shrugged. “Doesn’t seem wrong or anything.”
“Interesting.” Samantha mumbled through a bit of hamburger. “We’ll just add it to the list of questions.”
“List of questions?” Eli leaned back.
Giselle sat forward. “Did they…did they have a suggestion?”
“Yeah.” Samantha shook her head. “Mom knew just where to go. Kind of creepy, but she’s right. It’s our best shot at this point, and I should probably talk to her anyway.”
Eli frowned. “You’re talking about going–”
“To New Orleans. Bourbon street, to be precise.”
Giselle turned to stare at Armand, expecting a reaction. They’d talked about that woman so recently. Armand was biting into his
sandwich again and didn’t even feel her look. She turned back to Samantha. “You mean…the prophet there?”
“That’s the one.” Samantha cocked her head. “How do you know about her?”
“Her prophecies are in your file. And I met her once.” Little miss is fit for the cause, sho’ nuff. The child here though…I en’t so sure. Not quite ready, me thinks. He don’t even know who he is yet.
“I recognize that look. Let me guess, said something somewhat troubling and utterly incomprehensible?”
Giselle stiffened. “How did you know?” she demanded.
“Easy!” Eli laughed. “It’s pretty much her thing.” He looked over at Samantha. “Are you sure about this? It’s going to be a pretty obvious move, and now we’ve got both sides after us.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s been waiting for us anyway,” Samantha replied, and finished her burger and sat back. “On the bright side, New Orleans isn’t far away.”
“Five hours or so.” Eli hummed.
“Can’t we make a teleport like before?” Giselle asked.
Eli shrugged. “We could, but if they put a little work into it, it’s relatively easy to track. Come on, you found us in ten hours or less. Usually we jump and then drive six hours in one direction or another.”
“I see.” She rubbed her arms. “They sure do keep these places cold.”
“Southern summer,” Eli clapped. “Bet you half their sales come from the air conditioning.”
“Not a bet I’d take.” Samantha said, leaning over to Giselle conspiratorially. “You are allowed to tell him to shove it you know. He’s just glad for company.”
“No, it’s fine,” Giselle said with a smile. And it was. She’d never been with people so relaxed and happy despite their tribulations. Angels carried their burdens with joy, but it was the quiet gladness of a job well done, and not the outpouring of love for life as it was, with its oddities and peculiarities. “Might as well get started, right?”
“Might as well indeed.” Eli slapped Armand on the shoulder. “Let’s let the ladies finish their meal in peace and we’ll clean up the car.”
“Sure thing.” Armand rose. He paused and reached out with a napkin, dabbing at Giselle’s lips with a low chuckle. “Ketchup.”
She stared at him, caught like a deer in the headlights. He was so like her Armand, so achingly close. “Thank you,” she croaked, voice barely making it past her throat.
“Sure. Oh, and have this.” He shrugged out of his jacket and offered her a smile. “Must be troublesome to keep the human form when it’s so cold.”
Her breath caught, for a moment wondering if Armand could have come back and not told her. How else would he have known how the cold wormed through her? She grabbed his hand, breathless in hope. “Armand?”
“Manas,” he said with a patient smile. “Keep warm, ok?”
She nearly collapsed on the spot, and fought for her composure. “O…okay.”
He waved and walked after Eli, leaving Giselle on the edge of tears, clinging to the jacket even as she shivered in cold.
“That’s weird,” Samantha murmured as Armand finally exited the store. “What did he mean about the cold?”
Giselle hung her head. “It has to do with our ascension.”
Samantha sat up. “You really knew each other as children?” she asked. “Before you ascended?”
“We’re a rare pair,” Giselle said softly. “Paired ascensions of the opposite sex don’t happen often any more due to the fear of a child.” She sighed. “They told us we were an…exception.”
“How did you ascend, then?”
She thought for a moment, trying to decide what to tell her. Technically, talking about it out of the ranks was forbidden. “I guess you already know the truth which applies,” Giselle shrugged. “We were born in 1905 in the Ottoman Empire, and grew up together.” She smiled softly, recalling those years. “It was a sweet time. Our families were good friends. We loved each other as siblings and closer. In the winter of our eleventh year, though, we were out, and there were gunshots. Soldiers had come to our province, and destroyed everything. We could see our houses burning, and see the people being rounded up. They were shot as they tried to escape. We turned around and we ran. We kept running until we had no idea where we were, until I could not walk and Armand was dragging me. And that is when the Damned came to us.”
“Ascension through the trial of hell.” Giselle nodded. “He offered us warmth, homes, money, escape to America or England. He offered us revenge. He tortured us, one at a time, together, but with our faith in each other, in a greater power, he could not break us. He killed us purely by accident. We were just too weak. The angel Gabriel caught us in death and blessed our wings. He said such devotion should not go unrewarded.”
“What happened to the Damned?” Samantha asked. “Did you kill him?”
“Yes, but not immediately. Traditionally we would have,” Giselle shook her head. “It was a long time before I could gather my full strength, and Armand would not leave my side.”
“Funny. The impression I’d gotten from your superiors was you were the stronger of the two.”
Giselle shook her head. “Armand took to ascension easily. It was twenty-odd years before I could raise my sword against the Damned who tortured us. Armand was more than prepared in two.”
Samantha pursed her lips. “Was there anything special about you as humans?” she asked. “Because I can tell you now, Armand has a fully human soul and no artifacts. Was he descended of Angels or Damned?”
“Those records are sealed.” Giselle frowned. “I have no idea. Would that explain why he can see?”
“It would go a long way toward it. As far as I know, reincarnation should strip him of all previous stations, just as it does for mortals. The blood has to be diluted by quite a lot before it stops showing signs, so it would make sense for his mortal form to be a descendant.”
“I don’t know…but when we were young he was…well he certainly never saw any Damned but Karthier. And I saw him too.” Giselle half-turned to look through the window. Armand and Eli leaned against the car. “Will I get him back, Samantha?”
Samantha was quiet for a long moment, and finally sighed. “I don’t know. It would take something big. Re-ascension, becoming a greater Damned, certain Inbetweeners have awoken because of past-lives and near-death experiences. But we can’t control any of that.”
Giselle tried to nod, but she was fighting tears, and covered her mouth, trying to stay composed. She had to keep faith in Armand. She had to recall their life together, the love they’d shared…
Samantha reached over to pat her shoulder. “Stranger things have happened. Don’t give up.” She paused. “Besides, now that the question of a full-blooded angel child is out of the way, couldn’t you pursue something? It might help.” She held up her hands as Giselle swung around and gave her a half-horrified look. “Just saying.”
Giselle stood, cold and now numb with fury. Pursue something with this Manas who just happened to look like Armand? It wasn’t the same. If anything it was betrayal! She tried to keep her voice even, but her words were heated. “I’ll think about it.” She stalked out.
* * * *
They drove in silence. Armand watched out the window with a satisfied smile, and Giselle contented herself with watching him. When he turned and caught her, he only smiled wider. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?”
“What?” she asked. Eli’s head bobbed along to the radio. Samantha napped.
“The countryside here. Look at the vines covering everything. So much green.”
She glanced out, trailing dark greenery of the pine trees and brighter color of the vines. “It’s better than many places we’ve been.”
“Is it?” He tilted his head. Giselle clenched her hand slowly, feeling each muscle contract, each nail in her palm so she did not have to think of her mistake. Of course, he didn’t remember. He took her hand and squeezed gently. “I suppose I never noticed.”
>
“You don’t remember.”
“No.” Armand’s thumb gently slid over her fingers. “I know you’re right. In my bones.”
She glanced at their hands and then forced her gaze away, back out the window. “You don’t even know my name.”
“I don’t think a name is that important. It can change with very little effort.”
“It’s still important.” She kept her face turned out at the passing trees. How could he say her name wasn’t important!? How dare he?
“Even if I remember your soul?” he asked softly. “I know they are to be trusted,” he nodded to Samantha and Eli, “but you…you are special.”
Giselle swallowed. “Not now,” she whispered, finally glancing up at Eli, who was still nodding as if he had no notion of their conversation. She might have counted him a great friend for the forbearance. “I can’t do this now.”
“All right.” Armand kept her hand. She did not shake it off. “I’ll wait for you.”
* * * *
“Eli, lets pull off before we get to the city highways. No telling what traffic’ll be like, might as well get food and gas before then.”
“And directions, as I’ve heard it, it’s easy to get lost down by the stadium.”
“This is why you drive, and not me,” Samantha turned to Giselle and Armand. “I don’t think we’re crossing the river so it might be okay, but neither of us has been here.”
“Neither have we,” Giselle said. “As I hear it Bourbon Street is…distasteful.”
“Mother says it’s the best mix of ancient gluttony and modern sensibilities,” Samantha beamed. “I can’t wait.”
Eli snorted as he pulled off into a gas station complex on their side of the divided highway. “Your mother has the strangest sense of humor. We’ll go to the oracle first. She might be able to find us a better room. Do you know where her shop is?”
“Something like half-way down the street,” She glanced back again, gaze trailing over where Giselle and Armand were still holding hands. Giselle swallowed. Would she say anything? Thankfully she didn’t, glancing back at their faces. “How about we take half an hour to do whatever and then meet back at the car?”
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