“Callie told me. How were they…”
“Soros burned them, Grace. I’ll never forget their screams, the smell, their expressions. Nothing is left of them except…ashes. They begged for mercy and Soros mocked them. The bastard mocked them!”
Grace cringes. Nothing can change what happened. Nothing can bring their friends back. “We’re free now. You can go home.”
“I know. Lycos is taking me. But I’m scared. My parents will never understand. They’ll never believe me. They might even have me committed.”
Sandy begins to cry and Lycos puts a protective arm around her shoulder. “I will make sure they believe you.”
“They’ll think I’m crazy…that we’re both crazy.”
“Lycos will make them understand. Trust me,” Calliope says. “We are at war, Sandy. There are no more rules. If we are to succeed, we need as many people as possible to believe in us. No more secrets. It starts with you and Grace, and then with your parents. Do you understand?”
“Yes. But it’s scary. And there are so many more things I don’t understand.”
“Lycos will help you to understand what’s happening.”
Sandy turns to face the handsome, golden-haired, violet-eyed angel. “You’re really going to fly me to Michigan? Won’t I freeze to death?”
Lycos smiles. “When we fly, we are encased inside a protective field. You won’t be cold and it will be impossible for you to fall.”
“Grace, where will you go?” Sandy asks.
“Callie is taking me to a safe place. I’m not sure…” She pauses and looks at Calliope. “Where are we going?”
Calliope smiles demurely. “Virginia. There is an angel base there.”
Sandy looks a little surprised. “Are you sure, Grace? You’re welcome to come home with me.”
“I want to learn as much as I can. I want to help the good angels. I want to help us win,” Grace says with a determination that makes Calliope and Lycos smile.
“We will,” Lycos replies. “The Fallen will take months to recover from this. Can you imagine the look on Janus’s face when he discovers his four top generals are missing?”
“I can,” Calliope says. “But I’d rather imagine the look on his face when Ariel destroys him.”
“The Fallen have no idea what awaits them,” Lycos says.
“But neither do the humans,” she counters, as she glances at Grace and Sandy.
“You have to let me help you, Callie. You just have to,” Grace says.
Lycos grasps Calliope’s hand. “The battle for Earth has begun. And it seems we have new allies.”
Calliope puffs out her chest with pride and locks eyes with Grace. “Indeed we do.”
The two angels soar into the sky, the sun at their backs, hope spreading out before them.
Calliope’s arms are firmly wrapped around Grace—one arm along her chest and the other along her hips. She doesn’t need to hold her. The Essence will keep her from falling. But she wants the girl to feel safe.
“Why aren’t my legs dangling, Callie?”
“Ah, you noticed. Smart girl. There is an energy field around us. You and I are suspended inside. If I let you go, you will stay exactly where you are. Do you want to try?”
“Yes!”
Calliope releases her grip around Grace and holds her arms out straight in front of her.
Grace looks up and giggles. She doesn’t fall. In fact, her back is still pressed against Callie’s front. “You look like Superman. This is totally cool.”
“I’m glad you are not frightened, Grace. Sandy looks a little scared.”
Sandy and Lycos fly beside them, close enough for Grace to see their faces. Lycos smiles at her, but Sandy’s eyes are tightly shut, her lips turned down. She looks terrified. “After the year I’ve had, I don’t think anything can ever frighten me again. You knew I was trying to kill myself?”
“Yes.”
“It was not for me. I wanted to die because I didn’t want to serve him anymore. I know he liked being with me. I needed to take that away from him. It was all I had.”
“You were remarkably brave, child. Would you like to talk about it?”
“I think so. It’s a long story. Sure you want to hear it?”
“We’re friends, Grace. Friends listen. Tell me all about it.”
And she does. And Calliope cries as she hasn’t in so many years because it all becomes so very clear. Lycos would say she was filled with righteous anger, but it’s not anger driving her. It’s love. And it’s the one weapon she knows the Fallen can never wield.
A note from the authors…
Thank you for reading our story. If you liked it, you can help us by posting a review on Amazon, Tweeting your opinion, or simply spreading the word about Ariel Rising to your friends and family. Thank you so very much!
-AJ and CS Sparber
About the Authors
When it comes to being a husband and wife (or wife and husband) writing team, there are advantages, or benefits. Chief among them is that you get to practice the love scenes. He writes, she steers, and…well, it’s fun. He is a software designer and she is a doctor of education. AJ and CS Sparber live in the lovely town of Hudson, Ohio, with their son, their daughter, and an Aussie shepherd named Hunter. Woof.
www.ajsparber.com
https://twitter.com/AJ_Sparber
https://www.facebook.com/Young-Adult-Books-by-AJ-CS-Sparber-166558160353513
Ariel Rising Page 29
