“Hiding from you,” Alexander replied seriously, wishing she would get the hint one day. Surely she couldn’t be as blind as she was ignorant of his signals?
“Well you didn’t do a good job of it, I still found you,” Gabriella laughed, punching him on the arm. “Boring meeting today, huh?”
Jerome butted in. “Have you seen council member Michael?”
She squinted her eyes as she thought about it. Finally, she shook her head. “He hasn’t been attending the meetings for ages, come to think of it. Why? Do you need him for something?”
“No, just curious.”
“Well, we should be going. See you later, Gabriella.” Alexander grabbed Jerome’s arm and tried to lead him away. But he wasn’t going to let his friend off the hook so quickly. He loved seeing the way the girl made him squirm.
“Wait a minute, we haven’t finished speaking with Gabriella.” Jerome grinned, turning to the angel. “What have you been up to?”
She beamed with the attention. “I’ve been studying really hard. I’m almost ready to move up to the next level. Then I get a human to protect, I can’t wait. Is it everything they tell us it is?”
Jerome wanted to laugh. He had definitely never been told that protecting a human would be as frustrating or as heartbreaking. His teachers had sugar coated it as a noble and righteous thing to do, never even dreaming he would fall in love with one. But, then again, nobody would be as foolish as him.
“It’s an experience,” he replied diplomatically. “I’m sure you’ll do fine with your human. Isn’t that right, Alexander?”
Alexander stood as still as a statue, trying to pretend he was elsewhere. Not only was he angry with Jerome for not leaving when he gave the clear signal that he wanted to, but also annoyed with Gabriella for never getting the hint that he wasn’t interested. When would she finally get the hint?
“Alexander?” Jerome repeated, not moving on until he got an answer.
“Yeah, whatever,” he mumbled.
Gabriella still smiled. “I hope so. It means a lot having your faith in me. I better get going, I’ll see you at school, Alexander.”
He nodded, refusing to speak. Jerome spoke for the both of them. “See you later, Gabriella.”
They watched her leave, her long hair bouncing in time with her wings with each step. In all honesty, Alexander had to admit she was gorgeous. Her hair smelt like cherries and her skin was like porcelain. Even her wings were beautiful with their pearl opalescence. He had dreamed of taking her in his arms on more than one occasion.
But she was Gabriella. He had known her since they were little children. He had seen her throw a tantrum when a boy pulled her pigtails, trip over her own feet walking around the school grounds, and get into trouble for talking in class. He couldn’t look at her now without seeing that nerdy little girl he had known for so long.
“You coming?” Jerome nudged him, pulling Alexander from his daydream. He shook his head, she was still Gabriella.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
They returned to the hostel but Jerome could not settle. His mind was occupied with thoughts of Leila and what she was doing back on Earth. He didn’t want to be thinking of the human boy with her, whether they were still dancing or worse. He needed to keep his thoughts away from those that were making his heart feel like it was going to implode.
There was only one thing he could think of doing that would take his mind off Leila and also be productive. He returned to the council building and spoke with Ambrosia who was more than happy to let him back into the records room.
Just as night started to fall, Jerome settled into the plastic seat in the small and dusty room and opened the Grand Council of Guardian Angel’s rule books. This time, he wasn’t going to skim through them. He wanted to find the answers to his questions and he was going to do it the hard way. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do.
As expected, it was slow going through the books. Jerome spent every day following at the council with nothing but the books to keep him company. He was determined to read every single one of the five rule books so he would be so full of knowledge that nothing would be able to stop him.
His first priority was finding a way to prove the council were wrong in the way they had wiped Leila’s memory like they did. It wasn’t a fair punishment for saving the angels. She didn’t do anything wrong, he was the one that had exposed the existence of angels to a human. If anyone should have been punished, it should have only been him.
Which, in a way, he knew they kind of did. Leila continued on with her life without the knowledge of the good she had done. Sure, she knew something was missing but she would never know what it was. Jerome, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was missing. And he missed her every second of every day.
Still, they were causing Leila pain. If they restored her memory, she would know how special she was, how she had saved humanity as well as the angels, how loved she was. Jerome knew Leila would be happier remembering, no matter what anyone said.
While Jerome was reading the text, he couldn’t help but pay attention to the finer details of how the council members were elected. No doubt Ambrosia would ask about the rules to overthrow the current members, he figured he should at least have a vague idea.
However, the more Jerome read about the rules and the council beliefs in their duty, he couldn’t help but wonder if Ambrosia really was the right angel to do it. He was the only option at the moment, but what if that changed? What about if there was another candidate that could take down the council? What about if that angel was Jerome?
He shook his head to get rid of the thought. He couldn’t take over the council, he was just a lowly guardian angel. He couldn’t even save his human from being punished, how could he save all the angels from the incompetent council? It was silly to think so, just an idea to entertain and then throw away as implausible.
Plus, who would follow him? He was a nobody, an orphan living in a hostel. He was nothing special and he would give no-one a reason for believing in him. There had only ever been one person who believed in him and she was still suffering the consequences of doing so. It was silly to think it could be him.
Finally, after five straight days, the last rule book was finished. Jerome’s head swam with all the new knowledge, the rules, the sub-paragraphs, the conditions, and the cursive handwriting. He could hardly think straight from lack of sleep. He needed to get out of the small room, otherwise he thought he may just go mad.
He didn’t bother to speak with Ambrosia before he left, he was too tired to have the conversation. Besides, he wasn’t sure how much information he wanted to betray just yet. The rules for overthrowing the council were spelled out in the rule books, they made it quite clear what had to happen. The moment Jerome told Ambrosia what he had to do, he knew he would get the ball rolling and start the process. Jerome wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted that to happen yet. For now, he would keep the information to himself.
As he walked down the illuminated path, Jerome felt a tugging. Something was happening down on Earth, Leila needed him. His fatigue was forgotten as he flashed down to her as quickly as possible.
Fearing and imagining the worst, the second it took him to get there was a second too long. Jerome found Leila standing in the middle of the street, just down from the house she shared with Toby and Maree Sinclair.
She didn’t appear to be in danger, she was just standing there staring at the remains of a house. The structure was still there, as was some of the roof, but the windows were all gone as were several of the walls. The house had suffered a fire, possibly a small explosion judging by the damage.
Jerome suddenly realized it wasn’t just any house, it was Leila’s family home. The one where her parents and two sisters had perished. The one where she was lucky to get out alive herself. She still had the scars to prove it.
He now knew why her emotions had been strong enough to pull at him. She wasn’t in danger, but she was extremely upset. Faci
ng the ghosts of her past, he didn’t want her to be alone in it. He wanted more than anything to wrap his arms around her and tell her it would be alright. He wanted more than anything to provide her with the comfort she needed.
Leila just stared at the house, her mind involuntarily reliving that night. They had all been asleep, just like any other night, when someone had thrown a volatile cocktail through the living room window. It caused an explosion in the hallway which then set everything alight. Only a month before, her father had insisted on covering the windows with security screens. The violence was getting bad and he wanted to protect his family, everyone else was trying the screens so he did the same. Unfortunately, they were impossible to remove quickly and without the right tools.
With the windows unable to be opened and the exits blocked by the fire, the family had little chance of escaping. Leila had been lucky. Waking early, she had awoken her sister too and tried to get out. She told her sister to run through the fire. Once on the other side, she should run outside. But her sister was scared, she didn’t want to do it. She wanted Leila to go first and show her it would be safe.
So she did. Leila gathered all her courage and crouched over as she made a run for it. When in the living room, she dropped to the floor. She rolled around until the flames on her pajamas were extinguished. She then waited for her sister, numb to the burns on her legs.
The roof in the hallway caved in before anyone else could get out. The last thing Leila heard were the screams of her family and the crackling of the fire. Those same screams still haunted her nightmares. She doubted whether she would ever be able to get rid of the guilt she felt at surviving. She should have forced her sister to go first. She should have put the fire out. She should have run outside and torn down the screens. Everything was impossible, but she couldn’t stop the guilt.
Leila wasn’t sure what made her stand in front of her old house that particular day. She had avoided it ever since that night. She wasn’t even entirely sure how she got there. All she knew was that perhaps by confronting the past, she could get rid of the ghosts. Maybe then she could find the happiness that always seemed out of her grasp.
The house couldn’t hurt her anymore, Leila knew that. It was just a structure that someone would demolish one day. Perhaps they would build another house there and a new family would move in. Perhaps they would have better luck with the place.
Leila hadn’t been back to the house since the night it happened. She didn’t even return to salvage anything that may have remained. The police had cordoned off the area but they didn’t bother with an investigation. There was too much violence and crime going on in the city to worry about catching who did it. If they locked up everyone who was guilty, there would have been more people in jail than out.
So the last person to step foot inside had been the coroner. They removed the bodies and she had seen to their burial a few days later. There hadn’t been anyone around to help bury them, those not on a violent rampage were in hiding. Leila buried them herself in the cemetery, erecting a simple cross to mark their place. Five months ago she had returned to place a proper headstone at their graves. This time she wasn’t alone, Toby and Maree both went with her, along with an invisible angel at her side.
Leila needed to go inside the house, she knew she did. At the time she may not have needed any reminders about her family but now she did. There was something in her mind she couldn’t remember and perhaps it was her family. She needed a photograph, a trinket, something that would connect them to her once again.
The police tape had long been blown away, Leila walked right in. Each step was tentative, taking her directly into her nightmare. The house had suffered severe damage, not all of it caused from that night. Graffiti and filth were everywhere from squatters. Someone had attempted to live there. Judging by the amount of rubbish, they had occupied the space for quite a while. But they were long gone now, the rat population had taken over.
Nothing was recognizable about the house. The bedrooms and the entire left side of the house had been completely destroyed. The kitchen had been ransacked and ruined, the living room was just a shell. There were no traces of the happy family that once lived within the walls. No traces of Leila, her parents, or her two sisters, Emily and Kate. Nothing.
Leila almost felt relieved. The house wasn’t going to jump out and scare her, it was just another destroyed building. There was nothing to fear from it anymore. It couldn’t hurt her, she no longer had to go out of her way to avoid it. The ghosts of her family weren’t there any longer.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Leila took several deep breaths as she took it all in. She would move on from the house, she would find some other link to her family. The Sinclairs had photographs, they might let her keep some or display them in her bedroom. She would have to find another way.
Suddenly, a noise came from behind her. Leila spun around, trying to locate the source quickly. But there was nothing there. She was faced with an empty room.
Jerome watched her eyes grow wide in terror before she ran from the house. He didn’t mean to step on the discarded soda can and make a noise. He had been so careful while he stood with her but he had tripped. Stepping on the can was the only way to stop his fall.
He hated scaring her like he did, he just wanted to comfort her. That was all, just comfort. If she could see him, it wouldn’t have been an issue. He would have been able to take her pain away, show her the past couldn’t hurt her anymore. She would have known they would get through it together.
Jerome flashed back to the village, knowing if he followed her he would just do more damage. There was no way for him to be around her without causing her more pain and fear. Everything he did just seemed to be the wrong thing. And he thought he could really overthrow the council? Even the thought seemed like a joke now.
He landed on the street in the village, the bottom of his wings dragging on the ground as he walked. His grey feathers tickled the ground as his head hung in shame. He wasn’t good for anything, not protecting his human or the other angels. He may as well just give up.
Without realizing it, Jerome found himself standing outside of his own family home. It too was a wreckage, not from fire but from a demon attack. They had broken into his house and ransacked it. Jerome wasn’t home at the time but his parents and sister were. They didn’t stand a chance against the ferocious beasts. His parents had died trying to protect Breeanna.
Jerome missed them all the time, he longed to speak with his mother and father. He wouldn’t even mind arguing with Breeanna again. She was always the cutest when she was angry, an emotion he seemed to provoke in her.
His mind flashed back to the memo he had found in the council records. If the council had warned them about the demons and tightened security, perhaps his family would still be alive now. With extra security measures, the demons wouldn’t have been able to enter the village. They wouldn’t have had a chance of getting close to his family – especially Breeanna.
The blame for his family’s death rested squarely on the council’s shoulders. Even Leila’s family would probably still be there if they had acted. If so many guardian angels hadn’t perished, they would have still been protecting humans. Evil wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate Earth.
But somehow Jerome had been spared. Just like Leila. If she had died along with her family, she wouldn’t have been able to fulfill the prophecy and save the angels. Jerome wondered if he had a purpose for surviving. He should have been at home that day, it had been a last minute decision to do homework with a friend and Alexander instead. He had only been gone for a few hours when it happened. He had beaten himself up about it ever since. But now he wondered if there was a purpose to his absence.
Jerome suddenly knew what he had to do. He had survived for a reason, just like Leila. He was going to fight back. He was going to avenge his family’s death and ensure they didn’t die for nothing. He was going to get them justice. And he knew exactly what he had to do.
> CHAPTER 5
A visit from the council was never a good thing. This had been proven to Jerome and Alexander time and time again. If you got that dreaded knock on your door, you were in trouble. History had proven their theory.
So when Jerome found himself face to face with council member Benecio, he could only imagine what trouble he had landed himself in.
“Come in, please,” Jerome stood back from the door, trying to be as courteous as possible. He didn’t want his visitor to know how much he loathed him and his position. It wasn’t anything personal, he just loathed all of the incompetent members. “What brings you to our hostel today?”
“Is anyone else here?” Benecio looked around, his eyes coveting everything in the living room.
“Only Alexander and I at the moment. However, any of the other angels can return at any time. Would you like to sit down?”
“I’d rather stand.” Benecio stared at him until it was uncomfortable. “I don’t plan on making this a social call. I have things to discuss and then I will be leaving.”
At least he was planning on leaving, Jerome considered that a good sign. He tried to remember what he knew about Benecio. He was in the middle choir, neither an archangel nor a lower council member. He was good enough to be promoted to that level, but as far as Jerome could remember, he hadn’t done anything spectacular with his career. He was just another face at the meetings.
“What would you like to discuss?” Jerome asked when he didn’t continue. He seemed to be twitchy, perhaps it was nerves, he couldn’t be sure.
“We have suffered through great struggles recently,” Benecio started, speaking slower than necessary. “This has left many people upset or even angry at the council’s actions.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Jerome replied innocently. He hated himself for lying, it went against every grain in his body.
Benecio smiled but it came across as more of a sneer, his lips not built for a winning grin. “Right, well, there have been many whispers about taking action against the council. I’m sure you have at least heard these rumors?”
Angel's Uprising Page 5
