Ariel Rising

by A. J. Sparber

“Her name is Solana. She is a brilliant scientist and a dear friend of Davin’s and mine. Up until last night, it was assumed she was orphaned during the rebellion.”

  “So my husband was previously married?”

  Thalia nods. “Unfortunately, Damian’s Promise, Calana, was one of several Elders who rebelled against Paradise. She feared being stuck on Olympus—tending to the needs of mortals.”

  “What happened to her?” I ask.

  “She…” Thalia pauses and looks me square in the eye. “She attacked Solana. Your father killed her in order to save his daughter.”

  Mom gasps.

  “He had no choice, Andi.”

  “My God,” Mom says. “I can’t begin to imagine the anguish he must have felt. All those years…”

  “Quite,” Thalia remarks.

  “How did you find out about Solana?” I ask.

  “She is mentioned by name in a social missive between Damian and another Elder, written many years later. It was an informal communiqué, which are not normally catalogued. I was very fortunate to have discovered it. The other elder’s name is Euclid, who is your sister’s father of record. Her adoptive father.”

  “Wow,” I mutter. “You’re sure of this?”

  “The evidence is compelling.”

  “We have to find her, Thalia. Do you know where she is?” I ask.

  “She is on holiday for the next three weeks. I will arrange a meeting as soon as she returns to Portal City.”

  “I cannot wait to hear what she has to say about this,” Davin comments, with a stern gaze.

  “It should be interesting, “Thalia says. “But do keep in mind that Solana might not know the truth. She was, after all, an infant when her mother was killed.”

  “I suspect she knows who her father is,” Davin says.

  “You’re probably right,” Thalia replies. “But we need to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

  Deep in thought, Davin nods. I’m not sure if he actually heard what Thalia said.

  Mom looks at me, somberly. “You always wanted a sister. I guess you got your wish.”

  “I envisioned a slightly different scenario.”

  “So did I,” she says, reflectively.

  “Back to my dad,” I say. If he changed my mom and me, what were his motives?”

  “The obvious answer,” Thalia asserts, “is that he was motivated by his love for you.”

  “But he left us,” I retort.

  “He did. But we don’t know why. Perhaps it was necessary,” Thalia replies.

  “Perhaps it has something to do with the prophecy Galen described,” Davin says. “There has to be a logical explanation.”

  “And what do we do if the explanation defies logic?” I ask. “I mean, the whole notion of a prophecy, that I’m the most powerful angel ever born, is way out there…beyond logic. Thalia thinks I might be destined to save the human race from the Fallen. Right, Thalia?”

  “Yes, I do think that is a possible explanation for your existence. But we each must keep an open mind. The pieces will fall into place,” Thalia says.

  “For what it’s worth,” Mom interjects, “Albert Einstein once said, ‘Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.’ I think we need to be prepared for the unexpected. Nothing is off the table, as far as I’m concerned.”

  Thalia grins. “Albert was such a remarkable man. And such an amazing sense of humor!”

  “Albert?” I ask, rolling my eyes.

  Thalia shrugs her shoulders. “We were very good friends.”

  Mom just shakes her head.

  “Can we find my husband using the DNA sample I gave you, Thalia?” Mom asks.

  “Yes…” Thalia says.

  “Wait. You had a sample of Dad’s DNA?”

  “I kept a few locks of his hair, honey.”

  I wonder what other interesting things she’s been squirrelling away.

  Davin looks at Thalia. “Have you done a long-range DNA scan?”

  “Yes,” Thalia replies.

  Mom looks at Davin. “We can track him from his DNA?”

  “Yes, Dr. Worthington. It would still require a significant investment in time—but armed with a DNA scanner, the mission becomes quite viable. Unless, of course, he is not on Olympus. Our scanners do not reach Paradise.”

  “Thank you, Davin,” Mom says. “And please, call me Andi.”

  She really does like him.

  “He is here,” Thalia states. “I’ve already done a planet-wide scan. He is somewhere in the Northern Outlands. That’s where we will begin the search.”

  “So you know where he is?” I ask.

  Davin answers me. “A planet-wide search does not yield precise coordinates. We can detect his trace, but it is more like picking up a scent as it blows with the wind. We need to get closer in order to find him.”

  I nod. “That makes sense.”

  “Who will go on this mission?” Mom asks.

  “The logical team would be Davin and Ari,” Thalia says.

  Mom looks annoyed. “I should go. He’s my husband.”

  Thalia’s expression is sympathetic and understanding. “While I’m sure that the mission will be perfectly safe, there is always a risk that something might go wrong. Ari has undergone rigorous training and would be better able to defend herself if the need arose. She and Davin make a formidable team. There is also the Governing Council, and certain protocols that even I must follow. I’m afraid I could not justify sending you on a mission until you have been trained.”

  “I see,” Mom says. But she looks disappointed.

  “Ari will be safe,” Davin says, looking and sounding totally confident.

  “It really will be a safe mission, Andi,” Thalia adds.

  “So when do we go?” I ask. I’m excited. A mission to find Dad. A mission with Davin. And we’ll get to fly all over Olympus.

  “In several weeks,” Thalia says.

  I’m a little deflated. “Why so long?” I ask.

  “You need to take exams and graduate. If you don’t, the human authorities will want to know why.”

  “I’m really not happy about going back to school. It seems so anticlimactic.”

  Thalia smiles. “I’ve taken care of that. I had the president of the Institute contact your principal in Edgewood. He has agreed to allow Ella and you to take your finals at the Institute. You will still need to attend graduation, though.”

  “Thanks.” I guess that won’t be too bad.

  “We also need to put you through a little more training. And there is the matter of your celebration,” Thalia adds.

  “Celebration?”

  “Everyone wants to meet you. It’ll be like an old-fashioned formal ball on Earth. You’ll love it,” Davin says.

  “A party for me?” I ask, in a small voice. “Who will be there? How many—”

  “Don’t worry, dear,” Thalia says. “There will be no more than two thousand people attending.” She is grinning from ear to ear. “And it will be beamed to every entertainment device on Olympus!”

  “Holy shit,” I mutter.

  Mom glares at me. She has a thing about cussing.

  I glare back as several more highly colorful words try really hard to escape my lips.

  Davin and Thalia are seriously laughing, which must be contagious, because Mom stops scowling and joins the party.

  “I’m glad everyone finds this so amusing. Maybe you’d like to hear some more cuss words, because I know some really good ones. Two thousand people? Really?”

  “Ari, it will be grand,” Thalia says, wiping tears from her eyes. “And a great honor. We will have fun designing a gown for you and picking out flowers. And I will even give you dance lessons.” She is beaming.

  “It does sound like fun,” Mom says.

  “It sounds pretentious. Like I’m God’s gift to the world. Ya know?”

  “But you are God’s gift to us,” Thalia says, with a sly grin.

  Mom chuckles a
nd gives me a gotcha look.

  I shoot her a we’ll-discuss-this-later look.

  Thalia puts on a serious expression. “Davin and I can’t keep you from the Council forever. They need to meet you.”

  “Why have you kept me away from them? Will they be hostile?”

  “No. They will, however, be extremely curious. We wanted to make sure that you were fully trained before you met them. They will be captivated by you. There is nothing to fear.”

  “Alright. If you say so.”

  “There is nothing to worry about. Now, would you like to know about your father’s DNA?”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  “He seems to be an amalgam of Serafeím, Warrior, and something else—perhaps Prostáti; perhaps something entirely new.”

  “Am I like my dad?”

  “The best way I can describe it, at least for now, is that you are an improved version of your dad. A significant improvement. You do share one very unique ability, though.”

  “And what is that?”

  “You both changed a mortal into an angel.”

  “You think he changed my mom?”

  “Yes. And I believe he changed her before you were conceived. And that implies—”

  “It implies that Ari was born an angel,” Mom says.

  “It also means you stopped aging before I was conceived,” I say, “which implies…”

  Mom gasps. “I stopped aging nearly twenty years ago.”

  “Exactly,” I say with a big smile. “So we need to get you a more youthful wardrobe.”

  Mom looks a bit shocked. “I need a little time to digest this. My wardrobe is the least of my concerns right now. Though I did have my eye on a cute little black dress…”

  Thalia and I both chuckle, while Davin looks totally confused.

  “So, my dad and I share an ability to turn mortals into angels. I assume this is without precedent?”

  “It is,” Thalia says.”

  “Geez. What about Solana?” I ask. “How is she classified?”

  “She is classified as Serafeím. But now I am not so sure.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “Your sister is in charge of our central DNA laboratory.”

  “She could be hiding what she is?”

  Thalia purses her lips and nods. “Perhaps when we are able to question your father, we will be able to determine exactly what you are. What you all are. For now, all I know for sure is that you are a first edition.”

  “A collector’s item, eh? You wanna have me stuffed and mounted? I’d look great hanging on your wall.”

  Thalia frowns. “That is disturbing. I care for you very much, Ari. It is true that we don’t know what you are. But we do know who you are—a wonderful person who is loved and admired by everyone sitting around this table.”

  “I’m sorry. I overreacted. I know you’re all trying to help me. It’s just that it gets a little overwhelming sometimes.”

  “Apology accepted,” Thalia replies. “Now, do you remember our discussions about amplification clusters?”

  “Yes. They are like armies of little cellular robots. They store the Essence. They help us to heal, and they are responsible for our strength and powers.”

  Thalia nods. “What’s going on inside you is extraordinary. For example, projecting energy is very difficult and usually takes many decades of study. What you did on Friday is unprecedented, given the circumstances.”

  “I almost barbecued Davin.” I wince at the memory, which is still fresh in my mind. “So how was I able to do it without decades of training?”

  “I’m not sure. But it’s got something to do with the special clusters your mom discovered. Essentially, they are organic capacitors—able to store large amounts of energy—much more than an amplification cluster can. You are like a perpetually-armed particle beam weapon.”

  That sounds really dangerous and unstable. “Can I blow up?”

  Thalia smiles. “You cannot blow yourself up. Davin will teach you to control it.”

  “When do we start?”

  “Monday. And there is something else.”

  Oh great. “What?”

  “Since we do not understand the extent of your abilities, additional training will be difficult…unless we can find someone who understands what you are capable of.”

  “I guess an ad on Craigslist won’t do it, huh?”

  Thalia smiles. “Your father, Ari. We need to find him.”

  Ella and Tal arrive back at Thalia’s in time for dinner, looking much happier than they did before they left. Thalia briefs them, and then we discuss our plans for the immediate future.

  Mom, Ella, and I are official Olympian citizens now. As Sages, Mom and Ella will be personally tutored by Thalia and her staff—and will live in Thalia’s house while they train.

  I’ll continue to live at Davin’s.

  Mom will be resigning her position at Edgewood Memorial. They’ll be sorry to see her leave—but will surely understand that a research fellowship at Bryce Institute is an offer she simply cannot refuse.

  In the fall, Ella and I will attend classes at the Warrior College, as we slowly disappear from the human grid. We’ll never achieve the career goals we’ve dreamt about, but it doesn’t really matter. We’ll be able to achieve so much more.

  The Olympian Governing Council will assign someone to manage our properties in Edgewood. Ella’s house will be sold as soon as she turns eighteen. Mom doesn’t want to dispose of our house until she speaks to Dad. They fell in love in that house, and she has every right to be sentimental about it.

  As angels, we’ll have access to as much money as we need. We’ll be fixed for life. A very long and happy one. I hope.

  It all seems like a dream. But it’s real. And Davin is real. And Mom, and Ella, and I are together. And Dad is alive. And when it comes right down to it, things are not looking too bad at all.

  Chapter 20

  “It’s good to be home,” I say as Davin and I enter his house.

  My words surprise me. Is this really my home? Yeah, it is. It really is. Just to prove I’m home, I kick off my shoes.

  Davin casts me a sideways glance. “You will domesticate me yet.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my head in his chest. “Never. I love your wild side.”

  “You haven’t really seen my wild side yet. I can be quite feral.”

  He has mischief in his eyes, and he’s flexing his fingers. I’m in trouble. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m not entirely sure,” he says, with a sinister chuckle.

  The anticipation of being tickled is worse than being tickled. I know this to be true. And Davin does, too. He’s going to tickle me, and so I pray that my dinner remains in my stomach until it is properly and completely digested.

  The problem is simple. I am utterly defenseless against these attacks. It has nothing to do with strength, agility, or balance. You cannot fight when you are giggling. You can’t.

  “You’re so easy,” he says as he gently lowers me to the floor and captures my foot. “I am merely looking at your toes, and you are already convulsing.”

  “Not fair!” I shout.

  “Your Achilles heel,” he says, as he slowly draws his finger along the bottom of my foot, from my toes to my heel.

  “If you don’t stop, I might have an accident. And you can clean it up.”

  “We need to conquer your weakness. If our enemies should discover that you are so ticklish, you will be in great danger.”

  “You know I’m not ticklish when I’m fighting. Stop it or I’ll…”

  “You would hurt me, Ari?” he asks, as he begins to kiss the parts of my foot he just tortured.”

  A moan escapes my lips. “That feels…”

  Heavenly.

  I spin out of his grip and roll on top of him. “I’m going to kiss you until your toes curl.” I stare at him, my lips millimeters from his.

  “But then I won’t be able to wal
k.”

  “And then you cannot escape. You don’t want to escape, do you Davin?”

  “There is no escape for me. There can never be…”

  He surrenders to my kiss and, for a few blissful moments, we are symbiotic organisms, joined at the lips.

  “That was intense,” I say, breathlessly, as I roll off to the side. “One of these days, I’m not going to be able to stop.”

  He smiles at me. “I know.”

  We both know. But he respects my decision to wait. Being in love is new to me. I need time to adjust, to become comfortable with my feelings.

  “Would you like a glass of wine?”

  “Sure. Something sweet?”

  “Certainly,” Davin replies.

  Davin selects a tawny port and we sit on the sofa, sipping and talking.

  “You’re really not happy about your celebration?” he asks.

  “Oh, it was just a shock. I’ll get used to the idea. And I can’t disappoint Mom, Ella, and Thalia.”

  “No. That would be bad.”

  “I think it would be very bad.”

  “And you wouldn’t want to disappoint me, would you?” he asks.

  “How would I do that? I didn’t think you were the partying type.”

  “The celebration is not just a party. It is a political function. You will get to meet each of the Governing Councilors. It’s important that they get to know you.”

  “I hate politics, Davin.”

  “It’s not all about politics. You will meet some very nice angels.”

  “Yes. But I’ll be a curiosity. I’ll feel like I’m being studied.”

  “You’re wrong. You will be a magnet. Everyone will want to meet you, and everyone will love you, in a manner of speaking, of course.”

  “Of course. I hope you’re right.”

  He smiles reassuringly. “By the way, as an Olympian citizen, you now have your own personal account. And you will be given a transport, as well as your own residence.

  My own residence? The thought makes me shudder.

  “But I’m comfortable here. I don’t have to move out, do I?”

  Davin smiles warmly. “No. I want you to stay with me, Ari. It would make me very happy if your residence remained vacant.”

  “So you’re officially asking me to live with you?”

  “I want you to stay with me because I need to know you are safe.” He rubs his temples briskly. I’m afraid he might rub his hair off. “I have also grown very fond of our living arrangement.”