by S. J. West
Involuntarily, I gasp and quickly cover my mouth to prevent it from happening again. Cautiously, I wait to see if they heard me and discover that I’m eavesdropping on their conversation
“It’s either us or them, Jered,” Malcolm says in a resigned voice. “I refuse to sit around and do nothing. I won’t allow that monster to enslave my children or do who knows what else to them. Are you really going to stand there and tell me that you won’t do whatever it takes to protect your kids? Your unborn child? God only knows what Levi would do to Lilith if he ever got his hands on her. Are you willing to let what might be our best chance at winning this war slip through our fingers just so Levi can use Azrael for his own plans?”
The ensuing silence becomes so thick it feels like you could cut it with a knife. I wait breathlessly to hear Jered’s answer. Finally, he breaks the built-up tension with his words.
“I will do whatever it takes to stop Levi, but I want your promise that we’ll only use Azrael as a last resort.”
“You have my word on that.” Malcolm sighs and I can imagine him running his fingers through his long hair in relief.
“I assume Lucifer told you where he imprisoned Azrael?” Jered asks.
“Huh, yeah. You won’t believe where it is or how close I was to it and didn’t even know it.”
“Oh?” Jered sounds intrigued. “Where is it?”
“Do you remember that cave Lora and Kai . . . I mean Caleb . . . were trapped in during that sandstorm?”
“Yes,” Jered says hesitantly.
“Apparently, that’s where the entrance to his cell is. There’s only one problem—”
Before I can hear the rest of what Malcolm is about to say, I feel a heavy hand land on my right shoulder. I feel the strange sensation of being phased somewhere. I don’t have a clue where I’m going, but I definitely know who is taking me there.
2
The first thing I see after phasing is a smooth sandstone wall lit a warm orange by what little sunlight can filter into the space. As soon as I regain my wits and footing, I yank my shoulder free of my abductor’s grasp and whip around to confront him.
“Have you lost your mind, Caleb?” My shout echoes against the walls of the small but familiar cave we’re standing in.
“I’m sorry,” he says, holding up his hands in front of him, surrendering to my wrath. “I know I acted impulsively but please, hear me out.”
“Why are we here?” I demand to know as my wings flare out of their own accord, punctuating my anger.
“Malcolm said Azrael is here,” he says. “I want to find him and take him back to the others myself.”
“Why would you want to do a fool thing like that?” I’m instantly suspicious of his motives for wanting to release the angel of death from the prison Lucifer placed him in.
“To prove that I can be trusted,” he says, pointing at my face. “Even you’re suspicious of me, and you’re the closest person I have to a friend here, Lora. If you don’t trust me, no one does. Maybe if I’m the one who brings Azrael in, I’ll be able to show them I’m not on Levi’s side.”
The earnest expression on his face is real, and a part of me feels bad for doubting his motives. Then again, my more cynical side reminds me that he lied to me and everyone else for weeks. I suddenly feel less guilt for my reservations.
“We can find a better way for you to do that,” I say, hoping his need to prove himself hasn’t completely wiped out his common sense. “Neither of us knows what Azrael is capable of. For all we know, he could kill us with one touch.”
“I won’t let him get near you,” he vows with a fierceness that reminds me of the boy I shared that afternoon with in the storage closet. Was that the real Caleb I was with that day? Did he truly let down all of his barriers and show me who he really is while we were together? I don’t know, and that uncertainty only feeds my uneasiness. “I would die before I let him hurt you, Lora.” Caleb’s pledge seems real, but good intentions aren’t enough to keep you safe.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but you can’t promise something like that,” I point out. “Anything could happen when we come face to face with Azrael. And I hate to admit it, but . . .” I look away because I can’t say the next words without feeling ashamed to face a truth about myself, “he scares me.”
“You say that like you’ve met him.” Caleb takes a step forward, drawing my attention back to him. Worry creases his forehead and seeps into his gaze. “When did you meet Azrael?”
“I didn’t exactly meet him face to face.” I suddenly feel uncomfortable talking about the angel of death so casually. “Do you know about the Warden they have locked up in the dungeon of the castle?”
Caleb nods. “Yes. I’m aware of him.”
“Well, I went into his worst memory after we got back from the Void.”
Caleb looks rightly surprised to hear this bit of news. Only our inner circle knows the details of what I saw in Warden 99’s memory, and if Caleb truly wants to go on this foolhardy mission to find Azrael himself, he needs to understand the dangers involved.
“During the memory, I learned that Azrael can show you the moment of your death.”
“Seriously?” Caleb says in shock. “How?”
I shake my head. “I’m not sure. All I know is that he looked directly into Warden 99’s eyes, and that’s when it happened. I assume he projects some sort of image inside someone’s mind to show them their death day, but that isn’t even the scariest thing I saw while I was in the memory.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask what frightened you more,” he says, “but I have to know. What was scarier than learning he could do that?”
I take in a gulp of air before answering. “He, uh, well, he talked to me like he could see me.”
“But, it was just the Warden’s memory. How could Azrael see you?”
I shrug my shoulders helplessly. “I’m not sure. The only explanation I can come up with is that he was somehow connected to the Warden’s mind. Maybe it happened after he showed him his death. Maybe a part of him always stays with the people who see how they will die.”
“That’s creepy.” Caleb shivers at the thought.
“Yes, it is, and it’s why I don’t think we should try to find Azrael on our own. I don’t know what else he’s capable of and neither do you.”
Caleb considers my warning but from the firm set of his jaw, I can tell he isn’t ready to give up just yet. Instead of acknowledging that what I’ve said is true, he turns his head and gazes at the primitive drawing on the wall, the same one I first caught him looking at right before the sandstorm hit. The incident brings to mind a question about that moment.
“Why were you really in here that day?” I ask him, viewing all of his previous actions through the filter of the truth. “You told me you were just in here to see if it had a mural, but that isn’t the only reason you were here, is it?”
Caleb turns his gaze away from the drawing to look at me. “I met my mother in here that afternoon,” he reveals. “She wasn’t happy with how slowly things were progressing between us and she wanted me to hurry things along.”
I can’t say I’m surprised by the truth, but I am a bit disappointed.
“Does Abaddon know that this is where Azrael is being kept?” I ask.
Caleb shakes his head. “I doubt it. If she had, she wouldn’t have left this place until she found him. The only thing she knew was that our class was coming here for a field trip. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”
“Wonder what?”
“Don’t you think it’s odd that we just happened to be in this part of the desert on that trip? I mean, Professor Gideon could have chosen anywhere, but he chose this particular spot. Seems like more than just a coincidence, if you ask me. Maybe it was fate or God who brought us here. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . you and I found this cave because we’re the ones meant to free Azrael.”
I hate to admit it, but his argument is sound. The angels are always saying that God work
s in mysterious ways, but they also say our fate is decided by us because of free will. I wonder if that same logic applies to me. I was made by Helena while she was the literal embodiment of Hell. Has my fate already been decided? Or am I and my sisters unknown variables in the universe?
I look around the chamber we’re standing in for any sign of an opening. From Warden 99’s memory, I know Azrael is being kept in a cave, so there has to be an entrance to the tunnel that leads around here somewhere.
“Even if I agreed with you,” I say hesitantly since I don’t want to get his hopes up, “how exactly are we supposed to find the entrance? I don’t see one, do you?”
Unfortunately, Caleb’s eyes light with a spark of hope after hearing my questions.
“If I wanted to hide something,” he says, “I would make a secret entrance. There has to be something here that will open it.”
“All I see is a lot of stone and sand,” I say, looking around us at a literal room made of stone with a sand floor. “You know, this would be a lot easier if we just waited for Malcolm and the others. I’m sure Lucifer told him how to get down to the cave. If you had just waited a minute longer, we could have learned how to get there from Malcolm. He was about to tell Jered something important right before you phased us here. How did you do that by the way? I thought your phasing skills sucked.”
Caleb laughs. “I think it was simple dumb luck. Just pray I can get us both back or you’re going to have a really long flight if you want to go home.”
That’s true enough. The desert we’re in is basically on the other side of the planet. But the phasing ability of angels brings up an interesting question.
“Azrael is an angel,” I remind Caleb as he runs a hand over the mural on the wall, presumably searching for some clue that will help us open the entrance to Azrael’s prison. “I assume the cage Lucifer put him in somehow prevents him from phasing but once we let him out . . .” I let that notion hang in the air for a few seconds before continuing. “How do you plan to prevent him from phasing wherever he wants to after we free him?”
Caleb’s hand stops moving against the stone. He turns around to face me looking lost for an answer to my question.
“I guess I hadn’t thought about that,” he admits. “Maybe I can phase him back to the academy before he can phase anywhere else. Worst-case scenario is that I try to follow his phase trails until he gets tired of me stalking him.”
Caleb turns back around and continues to run his hand over the stone.
“There has to be a way to open the entrance,” he mumbles to himself. “Where would they hide it?”
“If I wanted to keep people from finding something, I would put it in the last place anyone would look, not in something that immediately draws a person’s attention.”
Caleb abandons the mural a second time to turn and face me. “Okay, then. Where would you hide it?”
I look around the cave considering all my options.
“I wouldn’t hide it where someone could accidentally find it,” I say, scanning the area. “I suppose they could have buried it somewhere in the sand, but that would take a lot of effort, and if I was in a rush to access the cave, I wouldn’t want to waste that much time. Hmm . . .” I scan the walls again, but all I see is smooth stone.
Then the answer dawns on me.
I look up to the top of the curved ten-foot ceiling. To anyone who wasn’t looking for a secret entrance to a cave, the small cracks in the ceiling would appear perfectly natural and not draw your attention. But to someone looking for anything out of place, the answer presents itself clearly. A perfect triangle has been formed by the cracks in the center of the ceiling. I fly up to put my theory to the test and press my index finger against it.
The sound of grinding stone fills the space as a circular section of the floor suddenly slides out of the way, revealing a set of stone stairs that spiral downward. Caleb smiles with excitement and runs down the stairs.
“Caleb, wait!” My request goes unheeded as he quickly disappears into the chamber.
With a growl of frustration, I drop to the ground and follow his reckless lead. Before I get very far, I notice a square hole chiseled into the outer wall of the spiral staircase. There I find a strange looking triangular lantern made of glass and iron and a small box of matches. As soon as I pick them up, the stone covering the entrance begins to swing back into place. I quickly pull a match out of the wooden box and light the wick of the lantern before the filtered sunlight from the cave completely disappears, plunging us into total darkness.
“Lora!” I hear Caleb yell farther down the staircase. “I can’t see anything!”
“Just stay where you are! I’ll come to you!” I really want to call him out for being so rash and running down here without a plan, but I hold my tongue. Now isn’t the time for chastisement. I know Caleb isn’t thinking straight, and I also know he needs a friend not a critic.
As I quickly make my way down the staircase, I notice that someone has gone to the trouble of painting a few of the stairs black. At first, it was only every fifth step, but as I get closer to Caleb’s location, the gap between black stairs tightens. By the time I reach him, every other stair is now black.”
“Where did you get a lantern?” he asks as I approach him.
“It was at the top of the staircase,” I say, raising the light so I can see his face. “If you hadn’t been in such a hurry to get down here, you would have seen it.”
“You’re right,” he says with a nod. “I shouldn’t have just run down here like that. I should have at least waited for you.”
“Yes, you should have,” I agree.
“But now that we’re here,” he says, “I think we should keep going, don’t you?”
I hand the lantern to him. “Lead the way.”
At a much slower pace, Caleb continues to descend the staircase with me guarding his back.
“Have you noticed that some of these stairs have been painted black?” I ask him.
Caleb looks down at his feet as we continue our descent. “No. I hadn’t noticed. Do you think it means something?”
“I don’t know. It could just be for decoration, or maybe the shortened interval between black stairs means we’re getting close to the bottom.”
“Could be,” he agrees. “Or maybe—”
A loud click can be heard in the quiet. Caleb stops walking when something clicks loudly. He holds his left arm out to prevent me from taking another step. Warily, he turns his gaze to the stair he’s standing on. I look down and see that the step he’s on isn’t naked sandstone or painted black. It’s blood red.
“As soon as I stepped on it, it made that loud clicking sound,” he says before looking back at me. “It lowered a couple of inches, too. Do you think it’s a trap of some sort?”
“That would be my guess,” I say as my heartbeats double from fear.
“What should I do?”
“Maybe you should phase us somewhere else,” I suggest. “For all we know, the trap could set off a bomb of some sort.”
“I don’t think it would be something that destructive,” he says. “The Wardens wouldn’t destroy their only way down to Azrael.”
“Are you sure about that?” I ask skeptically. “Are you willing to bet our lives on it? Let’s phase out of here and you can phase us back once the trap has been set off.”
“I can’t,” he whispers, lowering his head to stare at the step.
“What do you mean you can’t? Or do you mean you won’t?”
Caleb sighs and glances my way as if he’s embarrassed. “The phasing thing isn’t exactly something I’ve consciously been controlling. It just sort of happens when I need it to. When I was in the chapel earlier, all I wanted to do was go somewhere quiet. The next thing I knew I was sitting on the bench at the top of the Spire.”
“And when you phased us here?” I ask.
Caleb shrugs. “All I did was think about going back to the cave with you. As soon as I touched you,
we ended up where I wanted to go.”
“Then maybe all you need to do is think about where you want to go and it’ll happen,” I say, grabbing hold of his arm. “Think about where you want to be as long as it’s anywhere but here.”
Caleb’s brows pinch together as he concentrates on getting us away from danger, but nothing happens. When he shakes his head, I know escaping the situation we find ourselves in isn’t going to be so easy.
“All I want to do is stay here and find Azrael,” he says like a sinner in a confessional. “I think my subconscious knows that too.”
“Then what are we going to do?”
“You need to go back up the stairs,” he says, pushing his hand against my belly to emphasize his words. “If this is a bomb, I don’t want you anywhere near it.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I state.
“For once in your life, don’t be so stubborn, Lora,” he says angrily, but I know he only sounds that way because he’s worried about my safety. “Just go!”
“What if it isn’t a bomb?” I ask. “What if it’s something else that I can help with?”
“Neither of us knows what will happen,” he points out. “Please, Lora, just go back up ten or twenty steps first. I can’t lose you too. I’ve lost too much already.”
It’s the look of desperation more than his words that finally convinces me to heed Caleb’s advice.
“All right,” I say, “but I’m only going up ten steps. I can still keep my eyes on you from there in case something happens that I can help with.”
“Fine. I’ll take that.”
I grab Caleb’s arm and squeeze tightly. “Don’t you dare die on me. If you do, I’ll never forgive you.”
Caleb smiles. “Does that mean you still care about me at least a little bit?”
“I never stopped caring,” I admit. “Just don’t die.”
Caleb nods in a silent vow that he’ll do his best to stay alive.
I turn and walk up ten of the steps. In a way, I feel as though this is all my fault. I should have been paying more attention to the stairs. I had a bad feeling the changing colors meant something important. Now, Caleb might lose his life because of my carelessness.
