by Sunniva Dee
Scared. Irate.
If they made it back safely, I’d teach both Gabriel and Cassiel a lesson they’d never forget.
In front of me, the sky offered up the blur of a male. He sharpened and materialized in an amber glow. My feet rushed me to Glittertind’s entrance, and with numb fingers, I rocked the handle as if I’d never opened a door before.
The quiet thump at my back announced the landing of a large, nimble form. A silent wisp of breath curled past my temple in the crisp air. So insubstantial. So threatening.
I choked on how alone I was. My body packed with adrenaline, I prepared to face pure evil in whichever twisted manifestation it chose.
I turned like a cornered animal. Bluish feathers clapped shut, making me jump. Then beautiful, glimmering eyes narrowed in a smirk.
“No way. This is how you greet me?”
My knees weakened.
“You…You scared the living daylights out of me!” My voice shook with relief. For the first time ever, I threw myself into his arms. Catching me immediately, he lifted me off the ground.
“Mmm, I like this,” he purred. He sniffed my hair and squeezed me tighter than he should. A horde of butterflies did somersaults in my stomach.
Goddamn him to hell and back.
Cassiel had arrived. Not a Grigori: Cassiel! In that moment, I didn’t care how inappropriate he was. Even my stupid response to his embrace seemed insignificant. I was ecstatic that he’d escaped!
“Oh, shut up, Cassiel. Be nice.”
Taking advantage of my weakness, he nibbled playfully at my throat. I tried to suppress a hot shudder, making him chuckle gleefully. He flung himself on the sofa, bringing me down with him.
“Gah, listen to me! Stop the freaking games, Cassiel.”
“Hmm, this is me being nice, babe.”
“Whatever. Just drop it, okay? What are you doing here anyway?”
“Well, let’s just say Lover Boy called in a favor I didn’t owe him.”
Cassiel’s eyes widened with mock innocence and whispered pleadingly, “Fly to the Glittertind cupola. I left her behind when we discovered you in here. Please, Gaia’s alone. Tell her I’ll be there as soon as I can.’ Geez, so dramatic! How do you put up with him?”
He really was a good actor.
In the precious minutes we had wasted, the situation in the other massif had developed. Cassiel’s focus strayed from my flesh even as he had me secured on his lap.
“Hey, look at the Purest Ones, Gaia. None of them have daggers anymore, and all Protectors are intact, present, and working with them.”
“What? Zadkiel and the others are their guardian angels?”
“Yes, they needed guardians with special powers, not the simpleton type you have.” He arched a brow at me, but I just nodded, too amazed to react to the jab.
“Thank God—no more wailing. Good grief, those guys do earsplitting like nobody’s business!” he moaned, pointing at the cherubs.
Merely sobbing inside the cage, they still held on to angels who hummed sweetly against their ears. The general racket in Ramiel’s lair had subsided too. A sense of defeat saturated the movements of Grigori and demons. Despite the duel with Michael, even Ramiel seemed calmer.
Abruptly aware of my snug posture in Cassiel’s lap, I squirmed to get up. His arms tightened around me.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Oh, I don’t know, off of you?”
“Shush, you’re freezing. Besides, Gabriel wanted me to take care of you, remember? Stay.”
I let out a sigh, wishing I had brought the duvets from Shimmer’s Edge up to the cupola.
“Where is he? Can you see him?”
“Aw, she wants to keep tabs on the boyfriend,” Cassiel sing-sang. He couldn’t quite pull of his customary barbed effect. I frowned.
“What’s wrong, Cassiel? Did you lose the pizzazz?”
“Oh, yeah, about that. You boyfriend’s a dick. Dude forced me to drink nectar, so now I’m freaking pleasant.”
A small group of Celestials scattered. Two fell, others moved to the sides. They revealed Gabriel in the midst of the mayhem.
“Oh, he’s still fighting,” I breathed, but my stare drew to the cut that frayed his shirt. A deep gash trickled crimson beneath, drenching the fabric. Over his heart?
No!
Cassiel’s thumb stroked over my cheek. For once, he didn’t proffer a snide comment.
In Galdhopiggen, Ramiel began to expand. His eyes glowed fiery red, demanding the archangel’s attention in a way he hadn’t since Kakabel’s disappearance. A hunchbacked demon crept up behind Michael. He clutched one of the ceremonial daggers. With his hideous face contorted into a grimace of pleasure, he leaped.
The tip of the weapon struck the midpoint between the archangel’s wings. Slow scarlet melted into feathers, and I froze solid in fright.
Michael reacted in a flash. Spellbound, I watched his back overextend into an arch. His head curved with the motion in a spectacular dance.
The move gave Gabriel time to blur into action. He flew at the hunchback and caught his knotty fist before the knife burrowed into Michael’s spine.
Disappointment blazed in Ramiel’s eyes. In sudden frenzy, he swung around and pierced the demon with his glare.
It was the distraction Michael needed. The vague impression of a metal object twanged through the air. Sheer particles of luminosity chased its tail. I only recognized the archangel’s sword once it rested deep in Ramiel’s chest.
The leader of the Grigori shook. Ruthless vibrations spun his frame faster, wilder until the distorted smudge of him was all I saw. Roaring with rage and agony, Ramiel slammed against the rock beneath him.
The ripples of his defeat unfurled as his minions recoiled in withdrawal. They backed up to walls and cowered to the floor.
Stunned, I realized that nobody was preventing Ramiel’s hordes from slinking away. Grigori transformed into an oily smoke and dissipated, while demons liquefied into dark stains, letting the ground devour them.
“Cassiel! Why doesn’t anybody stop them?”
“Because of the Balance. Enough must have died. Hey, check out the cage!”
Cassiel’s unusual exuberance made me turn to study him before I obeyed.
Whoa, who’s this sweet boy?
In the moment Ramiel morphed into smog, eight clicks of heavy locks resonated off the granite.
First, the door of the cherub cage sprang open. Next, the ankle irons released the Purest Ones.
On trembling wings, the cherubs scrambled from their prison and into waiting arms. Golden ringlets bopped around tiny faces when the angels scooped them up. They smooched plump baby cheeks and rocked their little bodies, and the sweetest giggles I’d ever heard flooded the air.
Some Celestials immediately took flight with the forms of the bitty ones cradled close. The bigger cherubs settled in on the shoulders of the adults before they left the dark palace too.
As the sound of warbling babies faded, Cassiel laughed softly under me. “Yeah, I thought you’d like that.”
He’s so nice. I’d force-feed him nectar any day.
Strange how I hadn’t felt anything special after drinking it. Not even a slight buzz!
I scanned the image of the hall, hoping it was a good sign that Gabriel had vanished from sight again. One of his brothers was dabbing balm over Michael’s wound. Others gradually left the mountain. Most took off carrying wounded angels, but some stayed behind to…sweep the floor with their hands?
“Cassiel, what are they doing? Do they feel the urge to clean the premises now?”
“Ha! Do you see the gold dust on the ground?”
“The tiny mounds here and there?”
“Yes. It’s what remains of the ones without hope, those who died.”
A pang of grief and guilt struck me. They were collecting the remnants of their dead because of us?
Soon, only the Purest Ones and their protectors remained in the throne ha
ll. Their gazes were still locked. The silence deafened now that the last of the Celestials had moved on.
“What is going to happen to them?”
“Their guardians will infuse love until the purity of their souls has been restored. They’ll wake up at home with their Celestial invisible by their side as always.”
“Will they remember this?”
“Nope, they’re definitely going to be compelled. Michael won’t let them recall any of this. It’d be impossible for them to live with.”
“Hey, but what about me? Don’t I know too much? He better not try to make me forget!”
Cassiel’s face glazed over in a sudden loss of interest. “Uh-huh, beats me.”
The Celestial Ones teemed in to Glittertind, spearheaded by Michael. For every new group landing, I sat up taller, looking for Gabriel. Not that I had seen him leave Ramiel’s massif, but he should be returning any minute.
Michael’s mood was contagious. He kept refilling his goblet and toasted every warrior hitting the ground. The injured were brought inside to soak in baths of healing ambrosia. The unscathed sat or stood about the cupola, beatific faces flushed with the heat of battle.
When Yofiel arrived, the angels raised their glasses in silent acknowledgment. Kakabel followed her, still restrained by the five who had seized him at the balcony. His iridescent emerald eyes flickered in wild turmoil, and with his face twisted in frustration, he never stopped struggling to break free.
They landed briefly so Michael could embrace the Angel of the Stars. Over the archangel’s shoulder, my stare froze in Kakabel’s feral one. For a fraction of a second, the storm in his eyes quieted, long enough to detect a hidden suggestion of something else. The width no bigger than a pinprick, the depths of their grassy ocean bared a still center.
His pale lips separated, readying him to speak. Before the words came, his body jolted into movement, jerking violently to get away from Michael. I gasped when they flew off with him. The ivory shimmer of his flailing body faded quickly from my vision.
“Where are they taking him?”
I made sure not to look at Yofiel when she replied, “To the holding colony for rehabilitation.”
Of course, Cassiel wasn’t concerned with human problems like too much beauty. He patted an open space next to him and helped Yofiel down beside him. Quite the sweetheart, he chitchatted and even surprised me by being polite. Yes, nectar definitely held major benefits for this angel.
The area overflowed with Celestials, and I skimmed them all, over and over. A dull twinge in my chest warned me not to think about those mounds of gilded dust.
I watched as Michael headed over to Cassiel. When the only Fallen One in Glittertind got up to greet the archangel, he did so with neither disdain nor reverence. His gaze met Michael’s proudly. Honest and unafraid, it showed his preparedness for anything from fight to flight.
“Cassiel…” Michael started, a thousand waterfalls rumbling from his voice.
“Michael,” Cassiel acknowledged, waiting.
“You believe that we haven’t tracked you over these millennia, that you’ve stayed below our radar.”
Cassiel’s brows shot up as Michael used his own words to describe his Free Fallen existence. Michael continued without waiting for a reply.
“I have studied you, and you’re not irreversible. Because I want you back, I am offering you a spot next to Kakabel in treatment. Afterward, you can come home.
“All of Heaven thanks you for your role in this conflict. Much could have been different if you had not remained faithful to us.”
Cassiel’s shrouded gaze filled with a blend of emotions I’d never seen from him before. He seemed vulnerable, almost mortal.
Surprise, disbelief, hope, and sadness twinkled in those cat eyes. Finally, they settled on indecision. For once speechless, his mouth opened and closed. Then, he bowed to Michael in a sudden display of respect.
“I understand,” Michael sighed. “It is my offer. You only need to ask, and it will happen. Again, I thank you, brother.”
With a single nod, he glided away. Cassiel shot me an incredulous look, shaking his head as if trying to clear it. My own mouth hung open in surprise.
Oh God, I can’t wait to tell Gabriel!
His absence wore on me, overshadowing the happiness of the others. All around, the celebration of the victory continued, exuberance and beatitude rolling off of every being.
Nobody mentioned Gabriel, and it scared me. Unable to hide my fear any longer, I cast a side-glance at Yofiel.
The words were hard to force out. Did I even want the truth?
“Tell me that he’s safe.”
She turned to me. A section of her hair parted her face into more manageable fragments.
“Please, Yofiel, is he not coming back?”
She studied me, and I closed my eyes, taking a break from her. “I’ve seen the mounds,” I said, my voice breaking.
I opened my eyes again. If Gabriel was gone, what better way to die than to take in all that was Yofiel?
A small smile rolled over her features as she tilted her head toward the balustrade. “You don’t believe in my brother?”
I followed her gaze.
Defying a gravity that always weighed me down, Gabriel watched me from the other side of the handrail. The scarlet wound starting at the top of his cheekbone reminded me of war paint. With wings spread but unmoving, he hesitated.
I stared back, suspended in time. I soaked up the imperceptible curl of his mouth, the midsummer blue glittering in his eyes. Relief.
The gash underneath the ruined shirt—I needed to wipe it clean, to kiss it better.
I love you so much!
One step closer to the banister.
Luminous skin shimmered and pulled me in.
Two steps.
Strands of raw gold played against a face I had to touch without delay.
“What are you doing, Gaia?”
I didn’t care that Cassiel sounded worried behind me. The scent I needed was reaching my nostrils. The railing froze the palms of my hands when I hoisted myself up.
Amber, verbena, wildflowers, and hay.
Now, he was smiling, and I went because I craved him. As I jumped into the frigid air, he whispered, “I love you more.”
Chapter 35 — Dream
Gaia
Oxygen flooded my lungs in a strangled gasp. My eyes sprang open and dashed over my surroundings.
Damp with sweat, I caught the way the blankets twisted around my body just as the morning rays filtered in. Familiar curtains swayed in a light breeze. If the pillows hadn’t piled in a disorganized heap by the bed, those curtains might have eased my mind. I looked at my clothes, which were neatly folded on a chair.
A vague recollection of weightlessness threatened to make me sick. I sat up, waiting for the sensation to pass. Instead, I got vertigo.
I sifted through last night’s dreams, only able to recover insignificant details. Colors. Orange and black; white and blue. The way things shimmered.
It wasn’t just the dreams I couldn’t remember. I knew who and where I was, but I had no idea what I’d done the day before. Even the memories from Shades Run drifted by in an amorphous haze.
Survival instinct kicked in, making me search the room for anything that could fill the holes in my mind. Tracing the windowsill with a finger, I noticed the pavilion in the yard. The door was wide open, and it seemed to hold back, taunting me.
I frowned, searching my memory for hidden facts. I moved on to the curtains and patted them stupidly before I attacked the drawers. After rummaging through a couple, I lost my temper. Socks, underwear, papers, and pens flew against the walls.
Within minutes, I’d hurled the entrails of my dresser to the floor. It didn’t alleviate my tension or the smog obscuring my brain.
“Is everything okay up there?”
Hell no, I’m freaking out!
“Yes, Mother. I’ll be down soon.”
Somethin
g was missing on my right hand. I lifted it and sensed the indentation left behind by a ring before I saw the marks. A color, the aqua of a mid-summer sea, materialized before my inner eye. My thoughts chased the image until it sharpened into beautiful, feverish irises.
When his name charged at me, it hit me like a stab in the heart.
Gabriel.
Shaken, I went back to the bed and lay down. I needed to comb through the shards of last night’s dream. I closed my eyes and willed it to life. There had been so much pain…so much bliss.
In my mind, Gabriel’s shape filled with colors and structure. My body still remembered the sensation of complete love.
I wanted to sleep so I could be with him again, relive this adventure my brain had invented. Night, after night, after night, after night.
In the kitchen, my family stirred. If I didn’t go down soon, they would wonder. I turned my bare hand over and checked again for the ring of my imagination. Then, I slipped into a pair of jeans and a sweater and left the room before the sadness took over.
“Hello, Gaia! Are you all right?”
My mother studied me with years of experience.
“Yes…fine.”
“Coffee, sweetie?” she offered.
I only nodded, finding the creamer in the fridge as Luna joined us. Dressed and looking paradoxically summery, she wore a short, purple dress covered in butterflies.
“Yay, you’re here!” she chirped, “You’re not going back to Shades Run again yet, are you?”
“Mm, what date is it?”
“The twenty-eighth. On the Fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…” Mom sang and wiggled over to the table to pour milk.
The Fourth day of Christmas. Where did the time go?
“You slept like a rock, didn’t you?” she continued conversationally.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Luna snuck over and grasped my hands conspiratorially.
“Let’s go ice skating again—and take Vicky! Did we have a blast last time or what?”
“Uh-huh…”
I blinked. In my mind, Gabriel was there at the ice rink.
“Where’s your ring?” Luna asked, dangling my wrist in front of me.
“What ring?”
The tone of my voice sounded wrong, and Mom spun around, narrowing her eyes at me.
