The Angel Trials- The Complete Series

by Michelle Madow

  When I opened my eyes, I was back in my rowboat. And all I could see was white fog surrounding me.

  36

  Raven

  I sat up in the boat as the fog started to clear. I could barely make out a large, mountainous island ahead, still mostly hidden in the mist.

  Avalon.

  Now that the fog wasn’t as thick, I looked around to see who else had made it. Noah was in his boat a few feet away, looking similarly dazed.

  Any anxiety I had about Noah not also making it through the simulation disappeared immediately. Of course he made it through. Deep in my heart, I knew he would. It just felt better seeing him and knowing for sure.

  Thomas, Bella, and Jessica were there as well. But it was only the five of us.

  I turned around to see if Harry, Kara, and Keith’s rowboats were behind us.

  They weren’t. The three other humans hadn’t made it through.

  “Well.” Bella sat straight and shook her hands off, as if she’d just come out of a battle. “That was exhilarating. Which weapon did you all choose?”

  “The sword,” Noah and I said in unison.

  We both smiled at each other, and love shined in his eyes. I wished I could reach out to him. But our rowboats were all floating out of arm’s reach of one another.

  “I also chose the sword,” Thomas said.

  I wasn’t surprised—I’d heard about the way Thomas and Noah had fought Abaddon’s Locust in the field outside the bunker. Apparently he was well skilled with a sword.

  “The bow and arrows.” Jessica’s voice was small, like she was still taking everything in.

  I couldn’t blame her. Now that we were back in the rowboats, everything I’d experienced in the simulation didn’t quite feel real. I knew it had happened, and it was clearer than a dream. But it wasn’t quite as clear as something experienced in real life.

  “I chose the whip.” Bella smiled and flexed her hand, as if remembering using the weapon. “It did an excellent job of taking down the creatures in the forest.”

  “As did the sword,” Thomas said, turning to Jessica and me. “The creatures in the forest were tough to beat. Especially the tiger at the end. I’m glad the two of you made it, given your lack of experience with combat.”

  “I didn’t have to fight the creatures in the forest,” I said simply.

  “What?” Bella’s eyebrows knit in confusion. “Why not?”

  I quickly told them about freeing Grendel and being given the golden apples. Jessica and Noah chimed in as well—they’d both freed Grendel, too. The only difference between my version and Noah’s was that his animal companion was the wyvern instead of the unicorn.

  “So the three of you got a free pass.” Bella crossed her arms, not looking happy.

  “Not a free pass,” I said, recalling what King Arthur had told me. “By showing Grendel compassion, the creatures of the forest showed us compassion in return.”

  “And I still had to fight the wyvern.” Jessica sat straighter. “An arrow in the back of its neck did the trick.” She turned to me, her eyes wide in excitement. “I guess you figured out its weak spot, too. Right?”

  “I didn’t have to fight the wyvern, either.” I shrugged and explained what King Arthur had told me about how I’d handled the choice with grace and didn’t incite the wyvern to attack.

  Noah chimed in that he also didn’t have to fight the animal he didn’t choose.

  “Seriously?” Bella looked at him in annoyance. “You’re one of the best fighters in this group, and you didn’t have to fight to prove yourself? At all?”

  “I’ve got good instincts.” He smirked. “And the unicorn was prideful and stubborn. I’ve gotten a handle on dealing with people like that these past few weeks.” He looked to me and winked.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle, since I’d recognized the similarities between Annar and me, too.

  “It makes sense that you understand animals,” Thomas chimed in. “Since you’re partly one yourself.”

  Noah brought his hands to his heart, feigning that he’d been hurt. “Better than being part machine,” he said, grinning at Thomas good-naturedly.

  Thomas smirked back in the way guys do when they bond over trading insults.

  Bella rolled her eyes and turned to focus ahead. The moment she did, her expression switched from annoyance to wonder. “Well, would you look at that,” she said, amazed.

  I also turned to look ahead. The moment I did, I was sure my face had the same look of awe on it as Bella’s.

  Because the fog had fully cleared now, giving us an incredible view of Avalon. And wow, was it beautiful. Shaped in a giant horseshoe, the island was mountainous and bursting with life. I’d never seen a place so green. And the water around the island was bluer than the Caribbean Sea.

  I took in a deep breath of fresh sea air, feeling remarkably at peace for the first time in weeks.

  I felt like I was coming home.

  37

  Raven

  As our rowboats floated toward Avalon, we continued discussing our experiences in the simulation. There was only one part about the simulation that we avoided talking about for now. The choice between saving a loved one or saving the baby.

  Some decisions were simply too personal to discuss so openly. And surely the choice hadn’t been easier for any of them than it had been for me.

  “Hey, Jess,” Thomas interrupted Bella while she was bragging about the different ways she’d slaughtered the creatures in the forest. “How are you doing in the sun?”

  Jessica touched her hands to her cheeks and gazed up at the bright sky. “I’m fine,” she said, turning to Thomas. “But the sun’s supposed to burn us. Right?”

  Her confusion made sense. She hadn’t been a vampire for long enough to have been exposed to direct sunlight, so she didn’t know what it felt like on her new skin.

  “It’s supposed to.” He looked up at the sun in awe. “But ever since we came through the fog, it hasn’t hurt at all.”

  “It must have something to do with Avalon,” Noah mused.

  “It must,” Thomas agreed.

  The next thing I knew, Thomas took off his white Haven top and was showing off his sculpted, muscular chest to all of us. He was just as ripped as Noah, but shades paler. I supposed that’s what happens when someone hasn’t gone out in the sun for decades. He leaned back to soak in the light, pure serenity on his face as he basked in the sun’s warm rays.

  I wished Sage were here to see this.

  She would be here. Soon. Once we told the Earth Angel about Azazel and she sent a Nephilim to kill him, the blood bond would be broken and Sage could join us on Avalon.

  “I wonder what happened to Harry and the twins,” Jessica said, worry crossing her eyes. “I hope they’re okay.”

  “They weren’t accepted onto Avalon,” I stated the obvious. “Jacen said a soldier from the Vale will meet them where their rowboats drop them off and bring them back to the palace. They’ll be well taken care of.”

  Jessica nodded, satisfied with this answer.

  “I doubt Avalon is a place for kids, anyway,” Bella said exactly what I’d thought earlier. “They’re better off returning to the Haven. Mary and the witches will take care of them until they’re old enough to be turned.”

  “They might not want to be turned,” Jessica said.

  “Why wouldn’t they want to be turned?” Bella looked at Jessica like she’d gone crazy. “They’re humans being offered to be turned into powerful, immortal supernaturals. They’d be stupid not to accept.”

  Jessica shrugged, clearly not in the mood to try explaining. I understood her reluctance. Because Bella had been born as a supernatural. She didn’t know anything different. I doubted she’d understand why someone might want a normal, happy human life.

  Our rowboats entered the cove, and we stopped chatting to gaze around the beautiful mountainous surroundings. The island was huge—much bigger than I’d expected. The people of Avalon had enough
room to spread out and make it a kingdom in itself.

  Now that we were closer, I could make out a stone castle on top of one of the mountains. It was a sprawling, medieval style castle, but shiny and new. Like something out of a fantasyland.

  That must be where Jacen and the Earth Angel lived.

  The rowboats lined up in a single file line and turned into an inlet. They kept turning into smaller and smaller inlets until we entered a canal that took us deeper into the island. There were groups of hydrangea flowers everywhere—bursts of purples, blues, and pinks amongst all the green. It truly was a tropical paradise.

  Finally, I spotted a group of people. They were working in an orchard of trees, picking a strange white fruit from the branches. As we passed, they paused from their work to smile and wave at us.

  It felt like a Disney ride instead of real life. But I waved back, since it was the polite thing to do. The others in the boats did the same.

  “They’re a mix of shifters, witches, and vampires,” Noah said from his rowboat just ahead of mine. “No Nephilim or humans.”

  Of course, he could smell them from here.

  “The Nephilim and humans must be busy training,” I said.

  “Probably,” he said, although the worry didn’t disappear from his eyes.

  Gazing back around at the people working in the orchards, I smiled wider when I spotted a familiar face—Leia, the alpha of the rougarou pack. She was surrounded by other shifters I’d met in their bar in New Orleans. Noah had told them about Avalon when we were there. I was glad they’d decided to come to the island.

  Eventually, our boats entered the mouth of a cave. It was long and winding, like a tunnel. Torches hung on the inside walls, their fire lighting the way. Again, I felt like I was on a Disney ride. Probably because the boats were magically driving themselves.

  We continued through the cave for long enough that it felt like we were being taken to the center of a mountain itself. Where could the boats be bringing us?

  We went around turn after turn, until I finally saw Jacen up ahead.

  He was waiting on a wooden dock. Two women were there too, one on each of his sides. They wore big, fancy gowns that looked like they belonged in Medieval England, their blonde hair in curly up-dos like they were going to prom.

  Maybe one of them was the Earth Angel. But Noah had mentioned to me at one point that the Earth Angel had dark hair. So neither of them could be her.

  All three of them gave us warm smiles as we approached.

  “Congratulations for proving your worth to King Arthur in his simulation,” Jacen said once our boats stopped at the dock. “And welcome to Avalon.”

  38

  Kara

  I came out of a foggy sleep, still lying down in the rowboat. I’d just had a crazy dream.

  All I could remember was a unicorn, and having to fight a dragon. The dragon had come at me with its teeth. I’d dropped my weapon to the ground, terror pulsing through my veins as the monster’s mouth closed around my neck.

  My heart raced now just thinking about it.

  But as I floated along the water, the memory of the nightmare faded. Soon I couldn’t remember it at all.

  I needed to get up. My eyes were crusty, like I’d been crying in my sleep. But with more effort than usual, I managed to crack them open.

  The thick fog still surrounded me.

  Where am I? I thought.

  Thanks to my gift, the exact location—down to the coordinates—popped into my mind.

  I was a few miles away from the palace at the Vale.

  Realization hit me like a sledgehammer. I hadn’t been accepted onto Avalon. The island didn’t want me.

  I sat up in the rowboat, unable to see anything beyond a foot or two in front of me. “Keith?” I called for my twin through the fog.

  “Kara,” I heard his scared voice off to my left. “Are we almost at Avalon?”

  Even though he was a boy, I’d always been the stronger, more confident twin. The one who protected him. So despite the fact that we weren’t heading to Avalon, I was glad he was here with me now and that we hadn’t been separated.

  He’d been so excited about the idea of going to Avalon. We both had. The witches at the Haven had told us we couldn’t go back home. But there was an angel at Avalon.

  Surely an angel would reunite us with our parents. That was why we’d chosen to go to Avalon instead of staying at the Haven.

  The others who had been in the bunker with us warned us not to leave. They said we were safe at the Haven. They said the angel at Avalon wanted to turn us into soldiers to fight the demons.

  My brother and I didn’t believe them. Our parents had told us so many stories about angels, and we’d learned about angels in Sunday school. Angels existed to protect us. To keep us safe.

  If our parents had been with us, they would have told us to go to the angel. Because an angel would help us.

  I’d been so sure of it. Keith and I both had been.

  But we were being dumped back off at the Vale. The angel at Avalon didn’t want us.

  And now I had to break this terrible news to my brother.

  “Kara?” Another voice echoed from my right—Harry. At least there was an adult here with us. “Can you sense where we are?”

  “We’re not at Avalon,” I said. “We’re heading back to the Vale.”

  “I don’t want to go back there.” Keith’s voice trembled as he spoke. “I want to go home.”

  “Me too.” I wrapped my arms around myself, powerless to help him.

  “So do I,” Harry said. “But they’re only sending one supernatural to bring us back to the palace. Right?”

  “That’s what Jacen said,” I replied. “They’re sending a supernatural guard to get us so he can show us the way.”

  Not that I needed anyone to show me the way. With my gift, I could easily get us back to the palace at the Vale.

  But they hadn’t known which of us would end up on Avalon and which of us would end up here. So obviously they had to send someone.

  The fog started to clear up ahead. I could barely make out the ending of the river, and what looked like a single person waiting for us. There were lots of trees behind him—we were landing in the middle of a forest. I was now able to see my brother and Harry in their boats, too.

  “I’m going to need the two of you to stay back,” Harry said. “Can you do that?”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Just trust me.” His eyes glinted with determination as he reached for something in his pocket. “I want to go home as much as you do.”

  I nodded. My brother did the same.

  Harry was the adult here, and this was the freest we’d been since being kidnapped by the demons. I trusted him to have a plan.

  I also knew we couldn’t say anything more. The supernaturals had strong senses of hearing. Whatever Harry was planning, we couldn’t risk the supernatural waiting for us overhearing.

  The boats moved forward out of the fog, until we could finally see clearly. The supernatural standing at the bank of the river was a short, blond guy. He gave us a small wave and a warm smile. He looked nice.

  I tensed and glanced at Harry. But he stared straight ahead at the blond supernatural, looking as determined as ever.

  The blond supernatural continued smiling at us as our boats reached the shore. “Welcome back to the Vale,” he said, pulling at the fronts of the boats to drag them out of the water. “I’m Will, and I’ve been sent here to show you the way back to the palace. I know you’re probably disappointed not to have landed on Avalon. But remember—there’s a grand plan going on here. You might not be meant for Avalon, but there’s still a home for you at the Vale, or at the Haven—”

  He didn’t have time to finish his sentence.

  Because Harry pulled a knife out of his pocket and threw it into his heart before he had a chance.

  Will’s eyes went blank, and he toppled to the ground. Dead.

  I looked back
and forth from Harry to Will’s body in shock. “What…” I started, unsure what I even wanted to say. “Why did you do that?”

  “You both want to get out of here, right?” Harry walked over to Will’s body, pulled the knife out of his chest, and put it back into his pocket. I recognized the unique, swirling designs on the handle.

  The knife was from the Haven. We’d all used them at the meals we’d had there.

  Harry must have pocketed it when no one was looking. His gift was perfect aim. So I guessed stealing a knife made sense.

  “Yeah,” I said, still staring at Will’s body in shock. “But you just killed him.”

  “I did what I had to do.” Harry was being so harsh and cold. It scared me. But at the same time, I understood why he’d done it. He’d given us a window to escape. “Eventually, the others at the palace will notice something’s wrong and will send someone out to look for him,” he continued. “We need to be long gone before that happens. Can you use your sense of direction to get us to the closest town?”

  I tapped into the map in my head. “There’s a town about ten miles south of here,” I said. “It’s small, though. Really small.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Harry said. “All I need is a phone. Then I can make a few calls and get us home.” He paused and sized us up. “You kids won’t have a problem walking ten miles, right?”

  “We did conditioning at the bunker just like you did,” Keith said. “We can handle it.”

  “Good.” Harry nodded. “I’ll cover our tracks. Probably won’t matter much, since these supernaturals have insane senses of smell, but it’ll help. Once we get to town we’ll take a few cab rides to random locations. That should throw them off enough so they can’t track us anymore. Now,” he said, focusing on me again. “Every second we spend here is one more second they have to capture us and take us back to that place. I could take down one of them, but I can’t take down a group of them. Are you ready to lead the way?”