by David Estes
“No, I mean, like, with with an angel. You know, dating one.”
“Wait a minute, Sampson. You’re the one who told everyone that we were ‘official’. Didn’t you mean it?”
“Well, I was sort of joking, and looking to see your reaction. I believe you said, ‘I’ll think about it.’”
“I was just kidding. Of course I’ll go steady with you, Sampson,” Kiren joked. Sampson flushed. “Am I embarrassing you, Mr. Tough Angel?”
Recovering quickly, Sampson replied, “No, I’m just not used to dating someone who’s tougher than me.”
“Aww, you say the sweetest things.” Kiren laughed.
“Sorry, I’m not really used to this kind of thing. My next compliment was going to be that you are looking particularly dark today.”
“You are doing just fine. And thank you, I am feeling quite dark today. But I’m not sure I believe you. I’m sure you’ve always had hot angels lining up to get a date with you.”
“Trust me, I haven’t had a girlfriend in a long time.”
“Well, that makes two of us. I haven’t had a girlfriend in a long time either,” Kiren joked.
Sampson was really enjoying Kiren’s quick wit. He had always wanted to find someone that he would be able to laugh with, but all of the female angels in the army were completely full of themselves. And he didn’t really have a chance to meet many human girls. But with Kiren everything felt so….well, so easy, really.
“Okay, so you’ve told me about your childhood, how about your time in the Lair?” he asked.
“Enough questions,” Kiren replied, leaning her head back and kissing him. Her lips were upside down when they met his.
“A Spiderman kiss,” Sampson said, still feeling her breath on his mouth. “I like it.” Gaining confidence, he pulled her around to face him and kissed her again, longer and more passionately than the first time. Her hands found his chest and pulled at his shirt.
Sampson was about to succumb to her hands when he heard, “Sampson, Kiren—you in there?” It was Chris.
Wanting to pretend like they weren’t hidden in the darkness of the cave, Sampson knew it wouldn’t work—the glow of his body in the dark gave him away like a hooker in a Roman cathedral.
“Yeah, we’re here. What do you need?” Kiren was kissing his neck now, ignoring the conversation taking place around her.
“We have a situation here. Let’s just say you were right. We’re holding a special meeting in my room in thirty minutes. Can you guys come?”
“Yep, we’ll be there,” Sampson managed to murmur before Kiren’s lips found his again.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Taylor’s mind was becoming troublesome. She couldn’t seem to think clearly. What with her lover gone on a suicide mission, and her body acting crazy like it had a mind of its own, she didn’t know what emotion was appropriate for the situation.
After waking up to the sight of her strange, glowing body, she knew there would be no way she would be able to sleep. Eventually, she left her room in search of Chris. She wanted to tell him what had happened. Maybe he would know what to do.
No one answered when she knocked on his door, so she went for a walk. Subconsciously, she ended up on a transporter headed for the gargoyle dungeons. When she arrived, she couldn’t get through the security door, so she sat down to wait for someone to come along. Shortly after six in the morning, the gargoyle master approached her.
“Access to this area is for authorized personnel only,” he said, before recognizing her. “Hey, wait a minute. Aren’t you that human girl?”
She stuck out her hand. “Taylor Kingston.”
“Name’s Barnaby, but most everyone calls me Gargo,” he said, taking her hand. Gargo may have been a good looking guy at some point in his life, and maybe he still was, but it was impossible to tell now. His thick, black hair was long, easily reaching past his shoulders, and covering his eyes and ears. A bushy beard and untrimmed mustache potentially hid entire colonies of bats, rats, and insects. His dirty tank-top highlighted a rock-hard physique though—he looked much stronger than Gabriel or Chris—which was probably the result of all his work with the gargoyles. With a twinkle in his eye and a warm smile, Taylor liked him immediately.
“Would you mind if I say hello to a friend of mine, Gargo?”
“I’ve heard about your connection with the newest member of my flock. It’s quite remarkable actually. I’ve never seen one of them take to someone so much. You can feed him for me if you like.” The grizzly bear of a man opened the steel door and held it for Taylor.
“Great, thanks.” Like before, Rocky’s head was poking out of the cage and he was making squealing sounds, almost like a pig playing in mud, well before she had even crossed half the distance to him.
“Hey, buddy,” Taylor exclaimed. “Miss me?” More squeals of excitement. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
As she reached down to stroke the crown of his head, Taylor said, “Wow, I would swear he grew a foot from yesterday!”
“Yeah, they grow up fast.” He grabbed a tape measure from a nearby supply stand and used it to test her statement. “Good guess. He’s up ten inches on the dot from yesterday. That is actually well above the average growth rates for newborns. He may turn out to be a big one. You know where the food is?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure how much to feed him.”
“Easy. I prepare everything the night before, just look for the tray in the fridge marked ‘Rocky’. At this age, it’s almost impossible to over-feed them.” Taylor followed his instructions and brought the plate out for her scaly friend, using heavy duty oven mitts like Chris had shown her before. Given Rocky’s appreciation for cooked food, she couldn’t be too careful. Today he was in the mood for medium rare, using only a quick burst of fire to sear the meat. Apparently he had honed his method overnight. He was as smart as he was friendly.
“Amazing,” Gargo said. “Never seen one of them do that either. He’s a special one alright.”
Taylor spent the next hour feeding, petting, talking to, and teaching tricks to Gargo. When she was done with him, he had learned to stand on one leg, roll over, and play dead. Essentially, he could easily mimic anything that she demonstrated for him. It was great fun and by the time Gargo had finished his morning work, Taylor had completely forgotten about Gabriel and her glowing body. “Thanks, Gargo. That was exactly what I needed this morning.”
“Anytime, Taylor. Take care.”
She let herself out and waited patiently for the next transporter. When the shiny, metal doors opened, she was surprised to see Chris’s unsmiling face. He was the only passenger and did not look happy.
“Quick! Get in, Tay. I’ve been looking for you.” Taylor cringed as she guessed that her carefree morning was about to end. Back to reality, she thought.
Chapter Fifty-Three
He knew there was no time to spare—restrictions on teleporting could be ignored. Chris grabbed Taylor’s hand as soon as she boarded the transporter, and teleported them both back to his room, where Sam, Sampson, and Kiren were already waiting. Taylor silently took a seat next to Sam.
“Unauthorized teleporting, shame on you,” Kiren joked.
“Trust me, it is warranted under the circumstances,” Chris replied.
“What circumstances?” Sampson asked. “You said that I was right about something?”
“Yes, you were.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Gabriel?” Sam interjected.
“He’s gone,” Taylor whispered. “That’s what this is all about.”
“Taylor, do you want to tell them since you were the first to find out, or should I?” Chris asked.
She spoke slowly, in clipped sentences, like she was reading blurbs on a newswire. “Clifford came to our room. There was a phone call for Gabriel. It was Dionysus. He has Gabriel’s family. He went to rescue them. He doesn’t want our help. That’s it.”
“I have more news,” Chris said.
Taylor’s somber face suddenly c
ame alive with interest. “Where is he?”
“He wouldn’t tell me where he is. Just that he would be meeting Dionysus on the Warrior’s Plateau at sunset. He is going to trade himself for his family.” Chris purposely omitted that David would not be included in the trade. He didn’t want to speculate on the reasons. They would have to deal with that issue separately, when the time was right.
“Oh God,” Sam said.
“What’s the Warrior’s Plateau?” Taylor asked rigidly, without a trace of emotion in her voice.
Chris explained: “Years ago, the War included scheduled battles of each side’s strongest hand-to-hand combat warriors. The fights took place on the Warrior’s Plateau, which is a flat, rock outcropping located a couple of miles east of the main battlefield. As far as I know, the area has not been used for anything for decades.”
“Why meet there?” Sam asked.
“I dunno. A neutral place. Tradition. Random choice. Who knows?” Chris replied.
“What are we going to do to help Gabriel?” Sampson asked.
Chris desperately wanted to voice his opinions, but wanted to let the rest of them come to the same conclusion on their own. “He specifically said that no one should come. He’s worried that if we make an appearance, they will kill his family immediately.”
“And lose their only leverage? Not a chance,” Sampson said. “If we show up, they will try to escape with his family, so that they don’t lose their advantage.”
Kiren added, “We can’t just sit by and let him be taken. They’ll kill him. And they probably won’t release his family anyway.”
“I’m coming,” Taylor declared.
All eyes went to Taylor. Sam held her hand. Looking at her intently, Chris said, “I’m not sure that is such a good idea. It might distract Gabriel because he will be worried about your safety, and even if he or Sampson can connect with your aura, I don’t think it will be that effective for close-range combat. I would worry that one of us might be killed by it.”
“This is not debatable,” Taylor replied firmly. “He’s my boyfriend and I am tired of him being thrown into deadly situations and me being told that I can’t help him. It worked last time, didn’t it?”
Chris couldn’t argue with that. Taylor’s bravery had saved them all the last time. “Okay,” he said simply.
“Okay?” Taylor confirmed. He nodded.
“She might actually distract Dionysus more than Gabriel,” Sampson said. “I think we can use that to our advantage.”
“True. I had a whole plan worked up, but everything changes with Taylor’s presence. Anyone have any ideas?” Chris asked.
“It’s all about the element of surprise,” Sampson said. “They’ll be expecting just Gabriel, for all the same reasons that he instructed us not to come. And even if they expect him to have backup, they most certainly will not expect Taylor to be there. Here’s what I propose…”
Over the next half-hour, Sampson walked them through his idea, and they diagrammed and practiced it until everyone involved understood it backwards and forwards. It was beautiful in its simplicity. Essentially, they hoped it would go down like this: Chris would teleport in with Taylor, causing a major distraction to both Gabriel and Dionysus. When either Gabriel or one of the enemy angels got close to Taylor, Chris would teleport them somewhere else on the Plateau. Amidst the confusion, Kiren would teleport Sampson into the fray, as near as possible to Gabriel’s family, attempting to free them and escape. Chris would then try to escape with Taylor and Gabriel in tow.
The team also discussed contingency plans for every possible scenario, including Taylor’s or Gabriel’s capture, or the death of one of the team members. The conversation was professional in nature, but all the talk of death and abductions would undoubtedly be hard for an outsider to take.
“And I just sit here alone by myself, hoping that my boyfriend, best friend, and other friends come home in one piece?” said Sam. She sounded frustrated.
Chris had forgotten about Sam, who would play no role in the mission; she had been listening quietly the whole time. He hugged her gently now. “I’m sorry, babe. You probably have the hardest job of all: waiting.”
“Are you sure I can’t come along for the ride. Just to watch, of course.” She said it with a smirk, knowing full well that Chris would never go for it.
“Maybe next time, babe.”
“It’s okay, I’ll be fine. I’ll just play pool by myself, or pig out on comfort foods at the café, or maybe make friends with a gargoyle like Taylor did.”
Sam’s joking had lightened the mood and everyone was smiling now. “We will all make it back,” Taylor promised.
“I know you will. I’m just being a pain.”
“At least you’re a funny pain,” Taylor said.
“Thanks. How long do you all have before you need to leave?”
Chris said, “It’s still a few hours before dusk. We should do something fun.”
At the prospect of enjoying some time with her friends before their potentially deadly mission, Sam’s face brightened considerably. “Let’s go,” she said.
“One final thing,” Chris added, “no one can breathe a word of this to anyone. Clifford is very against it and might try to stop us from going.”
They all agreed to keep the mission a secret. Chris wondered if he was making a big mistake.
PART IV
“You say you wander your own land
But when I think about it
I don't see how you can
You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why
So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same
You're gone from here
And soon you will disappear
Fading into beautiful light
Cause everybody's changing
And I don't feel right”
Keane- “Everybody’s Changing”
From the album Hope and Fears (2003)
Chapter Fifty-Four
“You have so much to learn, David, but we see great potential in you.” Lucas grinned at the boy as they walked; he appeared fatherly, with his arm around David’s shoulders.
“I will try my best, sir.” David was clearly excited about his first opportunity to go on a mission with his master, but also seemed a bit nervous.
“This will be your first test, David. Are you up to it?”
“I think so, master.”
“Good.”
They walked into the Master’s Room, where the Council was already assembled. Unlike the last time Lucas had been in this room, when all he could feel was power and honor within these four walls, there was an obvious strangeness in the air. It was tangible, like you could almost see it, or smell it, or taste it. Strangely, it felt like the two missing Archangels created a larger presence dead than they did alive. Their impact was palpable. No one dared to sit in the empty seats vacated by their passing.
The Council had already been briefed on David’s role in the mission and they approved of the mind games for which he would be used. They not only wanted to kill Gabriel physically, but also destroy him mentally and emotionally. He needed to pay for his treason.
David was the only one who didn’t recognize the difference in the room. He tried to look proud with his head held high, but he could feel his legs shaking, his heart pumping—his hands were clammy. He took a seat next to Lucas.
Initially, David just stared down at his hands, but eventually gathered up enough courage to peek up at the faces around the table. Some were just staring at him, but most were smiling. The most animated smile of all belonged to Dionysus. When David’s eyes locked on his, Dionysus nodded at him encouragingly. After that, David f
elt much more comfortable.
“First, I would like to thank our guests of honor, Lucas, and his newly acquired apprentice, David Knight.” It felt weird for David to hear his name spoken in such a formal setting, and couldn’t help but to smile with pride. “Both of them will also be participating in the mission later today, so I thought it wise to include them in this strategy session. Are there any questions before we begin?”
Johanna stood up. “Given the treachery within this boy’s family, I think we would all gain some comfort from hearing him speak.”
“I have already deemed him to be honorable and trustworthy,” Dionysus replied.
“Even so, I think the majority of us would like to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, if you’ll excuse the expression.”
“Any objections to this?” No hands went up. “Fine. David, will you tell the Council what your feelings are towards the demons?”
When the question was asked, David was gazing at the ornately carved ceiling. Intricate designs of brutal battles showing angels beheading, maiming, and killing demons filled the whole of the ceiling. He didn’t realize they were talking about him until the question had already been asked. When he saw everyone staring at him, he stammered, “Wha…What?”
“My young boy. I know this is a lot for you to take in. But if you would be so kind as to give the Council your opinion of demons, we can move on.”
He was happy to get such an easy question. “Demons? I hate ‘em.”
Dionysus smiled, clearly pleased by the response. “And what about traitors to the angels, like the spies that were brought to justice?”
“They are filth, scum. They deserve to be executed.”
Still smiling, Dionysus took it a step further: “How about your brother, Gabriel?”
“I hate him the most,” David answered simply. There was no lie to detect.
“Satisfied?” Dionysus asked.
