Divine Hope

by Jo O'Neil

  Chapter Eighteen

  The Flight

  Giorgio’s Coffee House was closed when I arrived at my square, and so too were the four gates leading from the relatively busy streets into my oasis.

  The sun had left the scene leaving A.M.’s charge the moon to reign supremely. The alluring globe was high in the sky, shining magnificently with only a fraction of its circumference missing as it began its steady cycle of waning towards its rebirth as a new moon.

  The stars seemingly hundreds of light years’ nearer to earth than the lunar, were competing somewhat unsuccessfully with the vast city lights and consequently were not able to shine to their full brilliance, even though the clear night sky was perfect for them.

  There wasn’t a breeze to be felt at this altitude, and although I was entirely warm as an honorary angel of God’s, I was very much aware from the frosted breath of the late city workers who passed my havens gates how cold the temperature was. This made the weather especially uncooperative as spring officially started in the morning. With no regard to authoritarianism, it was as if winter had refused to pass the climate control to the proceeding season and lay silent for the next nine months’ until it was its time to rule again with its icy cold hand.

  As I waited for my celestial guide, I sat on the same snow covered bench A.M. and I had shared only that morning; despite the fact my mounting loneliness had magnified time making our meeting appear eons ago. I bowed my head so my eyes were not distracted by the passing trade, leaving my mind compos mentis to ponder my circumstance.

  I felt highly inadequate for the job at hand. The magnitude of the situation seemed to be engulfing me; two weeks ago I was worrying about my chest size and how I was going to find and marry a suitable bachelor. Tonight I was breaking and entering into the British Secret Service, conversing with good and bad elves as well as cranky leprechauns, and wondering how I was going to save: 1) my nemesis Hope Harper 2) the absent without leave Ryan Joshua Scott who was wanted for treason, albeit unjustifiably so 3) mankind.

  I did trust God, and I did appreciate He must know what He was doing. Still, I had a hard time accepting I was truly the right honorary angel for the job, if in fact I should be an honorary angel in the first place. All of this was compounded by the fact I was desperately missing my angel protector, who sensing my doubtful sadness spoke to me at a soul level.

  ‘I am always with you, Serena, whether you can see me or not.’

  A.M. didn’t need to appear as his incredible might coupled with his tender love renewed my assurance and determination to continue and succeed with this case; even though I didn’t have a clue where Ryan Joshua Scott was hiding in New York or how I was going to vindicate him thus freeing Hope.

  Feeling far more capable of dealing with whatever trials and tribulations lay ahead of me, of which I was sure there were going to be many, I held my head up high just in time to witness two white turtledoves fly into my retreat. They settled in a tree positioned in a sheltered corner to receive the utmost defense against winter’s icy grip, and snuggled tightly together for the night. In contrast to the doves light, a dark creature flew past only moments later.

  Silhouetted against the white surroundings, I was certain the lone new comer was a bat. Then I thought better of it as bats were hibernating in the harsh climate awaiting the warmth of spring to precede the cold before they escaped their winter torpor.

  As the night got darker and the stars attempted to shine brighter, I was counting snowflakes to while away the time when I heard a noise from above which made me automatically look heavenwards. What I witnessed was an object racing directly at me at considerable speed.

  Although its size became more imposing the nearer it got to me, I wasn’t the least bit scared, instinctually sensing the peace and love it glowed. And then, landing with the grace associated with a much smaller size, a pure snow white horse greeted me with large golden wings, a long golden mane and tail, golden hooves which were curtained by golden hair, and an equally golden horn thrusting out from its forehead.

  ‘Serena, it is an honour to meet you,’ a regal voice sounded from the magnificent beast. ‘I am the Queen of the Unicorns.’

  The Sovereign crossed her two front legs and elegantly bowed to me.

  ‘By the same token, I’m as honoured to meet you, your Majesty.’ I inclined my head as a sign of respect after I had spoken.

  ‘You may call me, Freya.’

  I nodded my compliance as Freya informed me, ‘God has entrusted me with your safe passage to New York, Serena. Before we fly across the Atlantic Ocean, we must locate Hope Harper.’

  ‘You’re flying to New York with me, Freya?’ I asked in wonder.

  ‘Yes, we will fly as one so we can keep watch over Hope Harper,’ Freya answered, and then added due to the terror struck look on my face, ‘Do not fear, Serena, for you will be perfectly safe.’

  ‘Won’t we be conspicuous flying alongside an aircraft?’ The concern in my voice was hard to conceal.

  ‘You are forgetting, Serena, we will not be visible to all but Hope Harper, and we can chose to remain from even her sight if we so wish.’

  As she finished, the ever so majestic Queen of the Unicorns signaled for me to climb on to her back as she bowed once more to make the seemingly easy, yet rather difficult task much more effortless. She then instructed me to hold tight on to her mane as she propelled into the night sky.

  I was relieved flying with Freya afforded me the same protection God bestowed on me when I floated in my orb; the icy rush of wind against my face and the tussle with the flight of my cloak as a blustery current of air rushed past were to be expected at the height we had risen to, but thankfully none of these hindrances were present.

  We landed a short time later outside Hope’s apartment where a large black car with windows obscured by manufactured tinted glass was waiting. Within a few minutes Hope opened the door to her mansion block, and wrapped in a long fur trimmed coat she walked down the white marble outer steps on to the pavement with a small suitcase in her gloved hand.

  The limousine driver who had been cocooned from the elements at the front of the car, attentively reacted to Hope’s presence by relieving her from her luggage and then courteously opening the rear, passenger side door for her. Hope placed one foot inside the car; and then with her opposite hand resting on the top of the door, she stopped and scanned the street as if she was looking for someone before settling herself in the vehicles comfortable interior.

  I looked up at her apartment’s large windows which were in complete darkness apart from the glow of the street light directly opposite. Did that mean Rupert was out? Had they rowed over her last minute trip? Was it Rupert Hope was looking for before she stepped into the car, or was she searching the relatively quiet street for me? After all, I had said I would help her and yet she had received no sign from me since I left her in my office with only my half full whisky decanter as company.

  If Freya was privy to any of my thoughts, as A.M. had been, she didn’t make any comment. Instead, she asked me to remount so we could pursue Hope’s official car.

  Flying, just as a police helicopter would in pursuit of the villains, Freya and I tailed the limousine in total silence, apart from my occasional intake of breath as I marvelled at the beautiful city which lay ahead of me. Other than my gasps of awe, the ride was so smooth and quiet it was as if the air had parted for us and held its breath so we were spared the sound of its rush.

  We touched down at Northolt airport and watched Hope board the charter flight quite steadily, despite drinking several glasses of my fine and expensive whisky. Hope repeated the nervous sweep she had made of her street before entering the private jet. To my delight, I’m only a little ashamed to say Rupert was nowhere to be seen, and nor was I as Freya and I had activated our invisibility privilege believing it would be safer for all concerned.

  As Hope’s plane was cleared for takeoff, once again Freya and I took to t
he skies. With Freya gliding effortlessly, I was settling into our eight hour flight and enjoying the complete freedom I felt high up in the sky with only the slight hum of the airplane’s engine audible; although I had found I could switch the noise off completely at will just as easily as one can flick a light switch. Then suddenly, nearing the half way mark a feeling of foreboding swept over me.

  There were no visual clues why I should feel ominous. It was more a sixth sense. One which Freya shared; as at the same time I had felt the menacing air, I perceived Freya felt our surroundings change too as she stiffened her body making ready for the imminent assault upon us.

  Within seconds the light on the horizon of the otherwise dark night sky was completely wiped out as a large colony of oversized bats swarmed us. With their intrinsic echo ultrasound apparently malfunctioning, they screeched and bit in our direction as their wings thrashed in their ferocious attack.

  I plunged my head into Freya’s mane and covered as much of us both as I could with the cloak of armour God had presented me with. This safeguarded most of our body parts from the vicious onslaught, but still left Freya, in particular, open to assault around her head and hooves, and it didn’t stop the bats from clawing at my hair which they tugged with surprising brutal strength until I managed, albeit with difficulty, to pull my hood up.

  Freya flew at the beasts with her golden horn locked into battle, courageously tossing them to the side. Despite being panic stricken, I desperately willed my brain to conjure an ingenious plan to escape, counterattack, or defend ourselves against the ambush. Even though warfare strategies failed me, amidst the chaos somewhere deep inside me an intelligence I hadn’t experienced before kindly but firmly told me to invoke A.M.

  At the mere thought of appealing to A.M. for help, God’s supreme combatant instructed me to activate my halo. I immediately obeyed A.M.’s succinct command and physically felt my body’s relief as my aura instantly provided Freya and me with a magenta bubble of protection.

  The bats furiously attacked my auric field which vibrationally shook me with every offensive they made. Realising I may not be able to maintain the required concentration to hold back our predators for long, I called upon the Omega with all my might, begging for assistance as I held A.M.’s words strong in my heart that God always answers prayers.

  Immediately I sent my prayer, a herd of pure white horses with enormous wings and dangerous looking horns surrounded Freya and me. Our saviours, a thousand strong at the very least, flew at our assailants, butting them with their golden horns, beating them with their powerful wings, and whipping them with their long substantial tails. Any bat foolish enough to advance from the rear was kicked by strong hind legs, yet, although our gallant soldiers which equaled our foe in numbers cleared a path for us, the enemy did not abate. In fact, our defense infuriated evils warriors who intensified their raid.

  Their bites were welcome irritations compared to the fireballs that now escaped their jaws, and which they directed at our noble help with pin point accuracy. However, before hells fire that transformed into replicas of its blaze breathing fiends could harm our gladiators, sparkly, silver flecked, snowy white particles shot out from the unicorns’ nostrils and extinguished the fire; like a torrent of water gushing out from a fire-fighters hose.

  Our battle raged to the total ignorance of the nearby plane’s travelers who were miraculously, given the furious mêlée, enjoying a turbulence free ride.

  With no sign of triumph, albeit we were holding firm, I prayed once more to God for help.

  This time He sent an army of golden eagles. Their agility and speed along with their powerful talons and vicious beaks, which shot lightning bolts at the fire breathing giant bats, made them commanding allies. They were particularly successful at wrestling the bewitched mammals who deviously struck the unicorns from underneath, biting and clawing their barrels with frenzied intensity. As the eagles grabbed the bats with their knife like claws, they tumbled the assailants downwards in a ball of squawks and feathers before spiralling into an arrowhead dive where, with skilled accuracy, they discarded the vermin into the rough, black sea. With the winged unicorns and golden eagles fighting side by side, we should have secured a victory for the light, but still the bats persisted.

  As I helplessly watched the hologram fire-bats weave throughout the light army increasing the dark side numbers a thousand-fold, in sheer desperation I begged the Almighty to send His wrath to defeat the unrelenting force of evil.

  For a moment the scene before me slowed down, just as a flicker of royal, purple, and blue jump started my heart with hope we may yet defeat the wickedness flying around us as God’s protector arrived in full battle regalia.

  The Alpha’s winged troops maneuvered the colony of bats away from the aircraft whose passenger blackout blinds serendipitously closed at the same time, ensuring the battle of good versus evil remained secret from the jetsetters and leaving A.M. to threateningly view the dark side unimpeded through his visor.

  Brandishing his shield which carried the Divines coat of armour incorporating the sun, the moon, and what I imagined to be the North Star shining brightly amidst an ever moving solar system and numerous smaller stars that actively encircled the three sky dwellers, A.M. extracted his long, God forged sword from its scabbard and wielded it towards our adversaries as he stated in his authoritative voice, ‘In the name of God, I command all evil to leave this place.’

  Simultaneously, A.M.’s golden, purple, and blue aura effortlessly flooded the sky forcing the enormous bats and their blazing shadows towards the inky Atlantic Ocean. Within a wing-beat calm had been regained.

  Relief swept my body like an unrelenting tsunami as I collapsed into Freya’s mane and whispered, ‘Thank you for keeping me safe.’

  Sensing my battle fatigue, the Queen implored me, ‘Serena, ask God to bathe you in His Divine Light. We have a long journey ahead of us, you more so than me. It will not do for you to be decommissioned from God’s active service without first accomplishing your task. There will be many obstacles for you to face. Do not let battle fatigue be your downfall and the annihilation of humankind.’

  At the thought of failing God and bringing humanity to extinction, I heeded Freya’s words.

  ‘My gracious Father, I’m weary, but I trust You to wrap me in Your blessed care, and I’m filled with gratitude for the gift of Your loving Divine Light which I know You will bless me with. Thank you, Father for always being there to listen to me. Amen.’

  As my words floated off to heaven, a visible beam of warm, comforting light shone down from the black, star crusted sky and encased me in the highest emotional of all: love.

  ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you,’ I repeated as I hugged Freya who affectionately nuzzled me back.

  Once I was fully rejuvenated, A.M. bid Freya and me a safe farewell before summoning God’s winged forces back to heaven.

  ‘Thank you, A.M. from the bottom of my heart for coming to our rescue,’ I gratefully cried.

  ‘I will always be here for you, Serena,’ A.M. lovingly replied.

  Unbelievably, given the ferocity of our battle, I was physically unscathed from evils touch. Freya on the other hand had several lacerations to her front legs where my cloak of armour had failed to reach. She insisted they were not troublesome and would heal once she walked through the purifying waterfalls in heaven which possessed magical healing qualities. Not wishing for Freya to wait that long, without the need to consult my cards I called upon Archangel Raphael and Archangel Ariel.

  The emerald green orb I had witnessed in the room of feathers materialised immediately along with a pink orb. Combining strength, both of the Archangel orbs swam around Freya’s fetlock, dispersing healing rays as they did so. Within moments Freya was completely nursed back to full health by the grace and love of the two Archangels who stayed around long enough to receive our gratitude.

  No worse for our attack, thanks to God and His loving helpers, Freya
and I quickly rejoined Hope’s flight path and enjoyed an evil-free remaining journey.

  As we neared our destination, the sky filled with a blaze of welcoming sunlight and the ocean’s activity was reminiscent of Archangel Raguels study, with harbor seals and dolphins performing acrobats in the sun sparkling, choppy, greeny-gray water. A swarm of white turtledoves joined us over New York’s harbour and peacefully accompanied Freya and I to the middle of Central Park where we touched down, fittingly after our arduous trip, by the renowned bronze statue: The Angel of the Waters.

  With few tourists around in the early morning, Freya and I dissected our altercation with evil without the concern our presence would be inadvertently rumbled. As the Angel blessed the water with the aid of the peace lily she held in her hand, and with the help of the four cherubs: Temperance, Purity, Health, and Peace that stood beneath her, I told Freya about the winged company I attracted in my retreat.

  ‘That was no coincidence, Serena. The doves arrived swiftly to spread peace in your retreat, so when the Devil’s servant came to spy you would be saved the feeling of doom and despair,’ Freya informed me.

  ‘I thought there was something devilish going on. I mean since when has it been usual to see bats in winter? They should all be tucked up in a dark, damp cave awaiting the warmer weather.’

  ‘Without question the bats were enchanted. Ordinarily, bats will not be that gigantic, and they certainly would not have swarmed us in that harrowing manner,’ Freya shook her head.

  ‘And let us not forget their fire holograms,’ I added.

  ‘Indeed, how could we forget the fireballs whirling around us? Thank God for Archangel Michael, without whom we may well have been the ones tumbling into the murky waters of the Atlantic Ocean.’

  ‘Yes, thank you, God, for sending Archangel Michael to help us. I also wish to express my sincerest gratitude to the flying unicorns and golden eagles, without whom the story could have ended quite tragically.’

  Freya and I reflected on my somber words before I added, ‘Freya, I didn’t know unicorns had wings? The ones I saw in heaven didn’t appear to, unless they were magically hidden.’ I continued, ‘And, since when do unicorns breathe a substance that controls fire?’

  Freya stifled a guffaw and then said, ‘You are of course right, Serena. My beloved kind do not ordinarily have wings. I, the Queen of the Unicorns am alone in that honour. God mercifully sent my subjects to my side to thwart our attackers.

  ‘You see the unicorns would have sensed their Queen was in danger, and they are bound by duty that was ruled at the very birth of the first unicorn to lay down their lives for their Monarch. To do anything to the contrary is unimaginable for the noble unicorn. Naturally to rescue me the unicorns needed to be airborne, so God in His brilliance consented to give my herd special dispensation and grant them the ability to fly using Pegasus wings. The mighty Pegasus graciously approved God’s plan, so we also need to send them blessings and thanks.’

  ‘Most definitely; thank you, Pegasus, for lending your wings. Speaking of which, I owe you a great debt too, Freya. You risked a tremendous amount to escort me.’

  ‘It is all God’s work, Serena. Unicorns have served God since the beginning of time and we will continue to be His most loyal servants, regardless of the consequences.’

  ‘Well, I’m most grateful. Just one thing though; I don’t understand why I couldn’t fly with Hope in the plane?’

  ‘God had his reasons, and it is not for us to question the Almighty. Now, I know He wants me to lighten your load by telling you the following.’

  I shifted myself into a more comfortable position so I could fully concentrate on Freya’s words.

  ‘Some battles have to be fought and won before the war can be settled.’

  I reflected on her sentence. Still none the wiser I asked, ‘What do I do now, Freya?’

  ‘I am to return to heaven while you, Serena, search with Hope Harper for Ryan Joshua Scott.’

  ‘That is easier said than done,’ I said before exhaling heavily as I sunk further into the chair I was resting on. ‘I haven’t any idea where to find Hope, and as for Ryan Joshua Scott, where in hell . . . sorry bad choice of words, do Hope and I find a man who is expert at making himself invisible?’

  ‘All will be revealed at the right time if you trust, Serena.’

  ‘Yes, I’ve heard this advice more than once, thank you, Freya.’

  I did try and keep all traces of sarcasm out of my voice, but I’m not sure I quite managed that feat. I reasoned I was an honorary angel and not a saint after all, so I didn’t dwell on my short comings.

  ‘With regard to Hope, I will say you would be wise to head for the most extravagant hotel.’

  I looked a little puzzled.

  ‘The British Secret Service is hardly going to fly Hope charter and then book her into a hovel,’ the Unicorns Queen enlightened me.

  ‘Point taken,’ I smiled.