Sticks and Stones

by Alexie Aaron

  “Thank you. Are there any other questions for Scott?”

  Murphy whispered in Mia’s ear, and she raised her hand. “Murphy wants to know if there was anything else natural happening, such as temperature drops, dimming of lights, the air appearing to be thicker in some areas and thinner in others?”

  Burt and Scott looked at each other.

  “Lowman’s room was colder than the rest. We had to replace light bulbs and batteries constantly.”

  “I didn’t know this,” Burt admitted, flipping through his notebook.

  “What would the temperature drop have to do with poltergeist activity?” Mike asked Mia.

  Murphy whispered, “Raining bluebells.”

  Mia bit her lip and replied, “Alchemy. Ghosts and people trained in alchemy pull energy out of the air. Apporting of stones from, let’s say, the arboretum could be as simple as creating a channel or portal in a half-veil and sucking the items into the room.”

  “What does this have to do with poltergeists?” Mike challenged.

  “It may be a way of classifying them as an energy-based being, although, in this case, temporal,” Ted answered for her.

  “It could also be why people confuse an intelligent haunt with poltergeist activity. There is also something else to think about.” Mia paused and looked around the room before continuing, “Reports of demonic activity, many times, follow reports we attribute to poltergeist activity.”

  “Demons, really, Cooper?” Mike questioned.

  “She may be on to something,” Burt said. “Please continue.”

  “Teens, who are the frequent victims of poltergeists, may use a witch board to try to communicate with it,” Mia said. “If you’re not trained in the proper use of the device, you can open the door and invite a demon in. We saw it happen after the twin tornadoes.”

  “We did consider that,” Scott said. “But Burt said we would be wasting our time.”

  “You guys may have dodged a bullet there. I think, Burt, after we get a good baseline on poltergeists, we may be able to find that some demonic possessions and demonic hauntings only happened because there was poltergeist activity first. Amateur mediums using witch boards may have opened doors that should have stayed closed. From my experience, demons don’t go looking for trouble, but if invited to the party, they will play.”

  “I nominate Mia for the Bela Lugosi award,” Audrey said. “All in favor…”

  Gates, Scott and Enos, who had no idea what the PEEPs tradition was, were surprised when everyone else but Mia raised their hands.

  Cid popped up, left the room, and came back with a plastic representation of Bela Lugosi in his vampire costume and set it in front of Mia.

  She clapped her hands together, stood up, and said, “To quote, Mr. Lugosi, ‘I have never met a vampire personally, but I don’t know what might happen tomorrow.’ I accept this award on his behalf.”

  “What?” Enos managed.

  “Sorry,” Burt started. “It has been a tradition with PEEPs that if you say something during the meeting that raises goosebumps or curls toes, you are nominated for the award.”

  “Mia has gotten it the most,” Audrey said. “We used to use something else, but it was lost in the fire.”

  “What fire?” Scott asked.

  “I’ll tell you later,” Burt said. “Mia, you may be on to something. Let’s concentrate on these local poltergeist incursions, and then I’ll look into the correlation between demons and poltergeists.”

  “Fine with me. I may be able to produce some unusual witnesses,” she said, fingering the award.

  Mia felt a warming on her neck. She stood up. “Excuse me, I have something immediate to attend to,” she said. “Ted, can I see you for a moment?”

  “Let’s take a break,” Burt said. “Cid has snacks on the counter, coffee in the kitchen.”

  Ted followed Mia outside.

  “Michael is calling.”

  “I understand. Go.”

  “I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I’m coming back.”

  “Mia, I know you’ll always come home to me. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

  Mia kissed Ted. She looked around, put her hand on her neck, and disappeared.

  Ted walked back into the room and took Burt aside. “Heaven called.”

  “No problem, we’re almost finished. I want Gates to become familiar with a few of your devices.”

  “Gotcha. Lazar can handle the house until I finish.”

  “I envy you your support system,” Burt said.

  “It’s how we Martins roll.”

  Mia materialized and was knocked to the ground by Sariel. A volley of spiked projectiles sailed over their heads. “Michael’s down. Raphael is cut off.”

  “What’s going on?” Mia asked as she crawled behind Sariel under a rock ledge where Michael lay torn and bleeding.

  “A rogue cell of mid-level demons has risen out of the old lava chutes and has attacked the human population. We fear they are headed to the cities.”

  “Where are we?”

  “China.”

  “Well, that’s pretty vague, but good enough for me.” Mia moved to Michael and began to triage his injuries. “How are there so many deep-tissue ruptures?”

  “Those barbs burrow and then explode.”

  “Are they made of metal or biological?” Mia asked, repairing an artery in Michael’s arm.

  “Biological,” Sariel said.

  Mia took in the terrain they were in and then the distant mountains. “Is Gabriel with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell him to blow his horn, or whatever he does, and bring down that snow from that northern peak. Tell him to get it moving down, and then take off. Sariel, I need someone to scout out where the deepest concentration of demons are.”

  “I will, but you’re going to have to tell me why.”

  “I’m going to go poltergeist on these dudes. I’m going to move that snow over to fall on top of them. The biological weapons should freeze. If the demons came up the volcanic shaft, they are used to heat. The cold will slow them down. I hope.”

  “Good enough for me,” Sariel said and disappeared.

  “Mia, what’s going on?” Michael asked.

  “You lie still. I’m going to make a few repairs, but I can’t get into the meat of this until I stop the sky from raining these barbs.”

  “You’re a healer. Keep your head down.”

  Sariel reappeared. “I’ve got the location. Gabriel will signal…”

  They heard a distant horn blast.

  Mia walked out, adjusted her wings, and opened her hand. A small blue energy ball appeared. She drew more and more energy from around her until there was a massive ball.

  Gabriel saw the avalanche flow down the mountainside and then disappear.

  Mia moved the ball to where Sariel directed her, and she screamed as she drew the last of the blue energy she had and released the material she held in the half-veil. Snow and rocks rained down on the demons, freezing their last volley of barbs. The projectiles fell to the ground and cracked open, their contents crystalizing. The demons moved sluggishly through the drifts of snow, upset by the turn of events.

  Gabriel smiled. “It’s hard to hate her,” he said before he directed his warriors downward to fight the beasts on the ground.

  Mia returned to Michael, using her grace to mend, heal, and nourish him. He was able to sit up. Mia poured her remaining superhuman energy into Michael’s wings. She pulled key feathers from her own wings to mend the large holes the exploding barbs caused. The feathers populated quickly, and he was able to regain fifty percent of the use of them. Mia was rolling her neck and breathing hard.

  “Stop, you’re killing yourself,” Michael said.

  Mia nodded and slumped down and leaned against the stone wall of their shelter. “Tell me what I missed,” Mia requested. “Start at the top, and move through every organ. I know yo
u need blood, but I don’t think mine is a good substitute.”

  “I’ll manage. You look awful.”

  “Just tired.”

  Sariel dropped down, took a look at Mia, and asked, “How do I give you some of the blue energy back?”

  “You have to kiss me, but no tongue,” Mia warned, lifting an eyebrow.

  Sariel drew her up and held her, and as his lips met hers, Mia drew enough energy away. She tapped his chest. “You can let me go now.”

  Sariel did and watched as Mia stepped back and lifted a weakened arm. Her hand opened, and there was a tiny ball of blue energy there. She reached up with the other hand, drawing energy from the star until it grew large enough. She then healed herself.

  From Michael’s perspective, he could see the green gills behind her ears. Her skin glowed before Mia closed her hand. Her wings were still tattered, but her body was whole. She knelt back down and continued to heal the archangel. “Sariel, I need archangel blood. Not yours, you’re contaminated.”

  “Will mine do?” Azrael said, dropping down from the sky. “Sorry, Michael, it took me so long.”

  Mia facilitated the blood transfusion and then, having exhausted her grace, stepped back and leaned against the wall. “I’m cooked.”

  Mirror arrived and took over. Raphael followed, taking only the briefest moment to take in the change in Mia. “Azrael, take Mia home with you and keep her there.”

  Azrael moved so fast that Mia didn’t have time to breathe between locations. He set her on her feet and walked over to his desk.

  She looked around her and found an office of sorts. “When they said death takes you quickly, they had no idea how fast you are. This looks like a space station.”

  “Shush.”

  “Am I in a time-out?” Mia asked.

  The corners of Azrael’s mouth twitched. “I don’t know. It could have something to do with that your primal demon cells are basically keeping you alive right now. That and Blue Star energy. You have lost your grace, pulled out most of your prime feathers, and why aren’t you yelling at me?”

  “Cid said this was an amazing place. I wish I could be this organized. Do you guys eat up here?”

  “We eat.”

  “I’m starving. May I please have something to eat? My pants are falling off,” she said, holding them up with her left hand.

  Azrael started laughing. He called out, “Lensic!”

  A very unusual humanoid with large dark steampunk goggles walked in. He looked at Mia and identified, “Dead but not dead-dead.”

  “Starved but not starved-starved,” Mia corrected.

  “Come along. Does she need to be chained?”

  “Mia, will you stay here? Remember, we gave you Varden, Maeve, and Genevieve.”

  “I’ll behave,” she said and followed Lensic out the door.

  Azrael slumped in his chair. The blood transfusion and the quick trip took a lot of energy. He sat down, typed out an email, and sent it before putting his head down falling asleep.

  Cid’s watch vibrated. He looked down. There was only one email sender he allowed Jake to send to his watch. Azrael. “How did she get there?” he asked. He looked over at Ted who was making an adjustment on an earpiece for Gates. “Ted, Azrael said not to worry, Mia is with him.”

  “My wife does get around, doesn’t she,” Ted said, allowing the stress of worrying about her to ebb.

  “She was pretty quiet today,” Cid noticed.

  “I think Nicholai yelled at her. It’s tough when your idol is disappointed in you.”

  “You’re Mia’s idol. Nicholai is something else. Nothing for you to worry about,” Cid maintained.

  “I trust Mia. I wish the other entities in her life would understand that she does the best she can. She learns from her mistakes, and she never intentionally hurts anyone. Well, maybe Whit, but he deserved it.”

  “Mike’s getting the silent treatment too,” Cid observed.

  “Good.”

  “You don’t like him, do you?”

  “I have to work with him, but I don’t have to like him,” Ted said. “Mia would make a lot of excuses for his behavior because she enjoyed being a mean girl with him. But she doesn’t enjoy being used as a whipping horse. She gets enough of that from Heaven.”

  “Sloppy joes!” Mia exclaimed, standing in line in the lunchroom. “I love sloppy joes almost as much as baked beans.”

  Lensic could have had one of his subordinates take charge of Mia, but he was enjoying seeing her up close. They took their trays to a table with a great view of Earth and sat down. “I remember the first time you died. I almost had you in my grasp, and your father brought you back. You weren’t quite right, so Azrael sent a soul along.”

  “I have a question. I was told that I was born with the soul of Euthymia; that my mother heard her arrival and jotted down her name; and my dad saw part of it. And that’s how I got my name.”

  “I’m sorry if you were misled. We sent Euthymia partly because her name seemed to reside in your mother’s mind. We thought, maybe, if she had her Euthymia, then she would learn to love you. Azrael insisted we try.”

  “So, he’s responsible for my crush on Nicholai.”

  “You can thank him later. We had a few other close calls, but Murphy snatched you. And then you died for real.”

  “Yup.”

  “We put you in a white time-out.”

  “How embarrassing. How many of you heard me blackmail God?”

  “Everyone here. You really impressed Azrael. That’s why he gave you to Michael.”

  “As a joke?”

  “As his salvation. You’ve saved his life a few times, almost killed him, and changed the way he looked at humans.”

  “Accumulating a lot of demerits along the way,” Mia said and proceeded to eat the four sandwiches she had on her plate. “Who made these?”

  “The best middle school chef out of the Midwest.”

  “I’m so jealous. Can I get a job here?” Mia asked.

  “We do more than eat sloppy joes, Mia.”

  Mia rolled her eyes. “Duh!”

  Lensic tapped the side of his goggles. “Raphael is calling for you to return.”

  “Shit.”

  “Mia!”

  “Sorry. Well, if he kills me, I’d like to stay dead.”

  “But what about your children?”

  “Ted can handle things.”

  “You would think so but…”

  “Dead this time,” Mia said. “Not alive with three breasts and toilet seats for earrings.”

  Lensic laughed. “Come along,” he said, putting a firm hand on her arm. “The escort angels will take you to him. Mia, it has been a pleasure to meet you. Say hello to Cid for us.”

  “Will do.”

  They were approached by not one but two angels who seemed biblical in stature. Mia thought about the scene with Princess Leia being led around by the stormtroopers and wasn’t surprised when they tied her hands together with golden rope before they left.

  Chapter Eight

  Mia found herself in a room very much like the crystal chamber of old. She pulled her hands out of the golden cord and used it as a belt to keep her pants up. She opened her wings and frowned. The feathers had not grown back yet. Enos would have a field day when he saw her at practice. That’s if Nicholai let him see her at all when and if she returned. Mia opened the note he sent and read it again:

  Mia, I’ve decided to suspend you from Warrior Flock until further notice. N.

  “What did I do so wrong? I fixed the kid’s ribs.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Raphael asked, walking into the chamber.

  “Myself. You’re not the only one to give me a time-out, and I don’t think I deserved it.”

  “You’re not in a time-out. I was afraid the demons would learn your secret.”

  “What secret?”

  “You’re a primal demon.”

&n
bsp; “Only a little, maybe some, but not a lot,” Mia finished.

  “In order to heal Michael and rain snow and rocks on the demons, you pumped out your grace and your superhuman essence. You did recover some energy from the Blue Star, but you were there existing on seventy percent demon.”

  “And yet, I’m still the Mia you’ve all grown to love,” she said. “Especially Gabriel, my greatest fan.”

  Raphael’s eyes twinkled. “Stop it. You’re going to start me laughing, and I’m here to speak with you about serious things.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Gabriel wants to bend your ear about your battle strategy.”

  “April Fools. Wait, it’s not April. Why are you pulling my leg?”

  “I’m not. Mia, you turned the tide, saved Michael, again, and managed to heal yourself.”

  “So why the handcuffs?”

  “Birdman spies. We’re trying to negotiate with Soren, and he’s very upset with you. Do you mind telling me why?”

  “I sterilized myself.”

  “On purpose?”

  “Oh yes. Ted and I have enough natural children. Soren wants to breed a super strain of birdman through me and, most likely, Victor. I didn’t see him waiting too long. I’m protecting my husband from any accident.”

  “Soren wouldn’t kill your husband,” Raphael insisted.

  “No, but someone courting his favor might - and I’m not talking about a birdman, maybe Quazar. I think he’s being actively hunted by the birdmen. I’m taking Ted out of play by making myself sterile. It came to me while I was swimming in the Second Day Sea. I’m in balance. If I slow down, I can use all my knowledge and casual observations to see the truth.”

  “I can see why you’re at odds with Soren. Nicholai was ordered to suspend you for being foolhardy in entering the preschool solo. You got there quicker than the guardian angels.”

  “But not until after my son Varden saved the children in his class because he listened to a lesson Sariel gave him.”