Authors: Cheryl McIntyre
The students
r
ise to their feet slowly, unsure what to do, but wanting to obey this beautiful Angel b
efore them. They begin to part
down the middle as Ambriel walks briskly forward with the man K
eely thinks of as the principal
and the man she has always thought to be in charge.
“My name is Nathan. I head this Aca
demy. How may I assist you?” t
he man says. His eyes are full of wonder as he looks at the Angel before him.
“We come for the release of the Scion,” he says again. Only this time, his
pale
hand thrusts out
, his finger extended. Every h
ead follows the direction he points
. Keely does an about face to look behind her and gasps.
The only one behind her is Asmoday, standing in the doorway of his prison. His eyes break away from the Angel and meet Keely’s for a moment before returning.
“There must be a mistake,” Nathan begins. He shakes his head. Angels sent from Heaven would not make mistakes.
“Please release the boy,” the Angel says. He moves his finger slightly. “And the girl as well.”
“Me?” Keely asks in shock.
The Angel smiles at her revealing perfectly white teeth. He nods.
“We will release the Demon to you
, but the girl is needed. She’s our only Doyenne and
is said to fulfill the prophecy of damnation,” the principal says.
The
Angel with amber eyes
and
ebony skin
steps forward. His h
and brushes across a scroll hang
ing from his belt. “We have a prophecy as well. T
he girl,” his hand sweeps toward Keely, “holds the key.” His hand sweeps toward Asmoday.
“Is that a seal? May we see it?” Principal stumbles forward, his hand outstretched.
“You are not worthy of its co
ntents,” the Angel with the golden
hair declares. His hand goes to his sheath, ready to draw his sword.
“Pl
ease, we have so many questions,” Nathan says.
“We’
ll do as you ask, just spea
k with us, please.”
“We have no
time for council. The King of Demons has waged war upon us.”
“What do you need us
to do?” Ambriel asks. “We want to
help.”
He nods at h
er. “
For now,
stay put. Y
ou’re safe here. He’
s after the blood of the innocent. Do not allow him to take it from you.” He looks back to Asmoday. “Release him now.”
“
Yes, of course.
”
Ambriel and Nat
han move to the building. Nathan paces around the outside while Ambriel moves past Asmoday, going inside. They murmur something softly, repeating it over and over. As Ambriel appears back in the doorway, a gust of wind ruffles the grass. “That’s it.”
Asmoday looks at her questioningly. “I am free to go?”
“Yes.”
He bounds down the stairs and sweeps Keely into his arms. She hugs him tightly, unsure what they are about to face.
“You ride with me,” the light
haired Angel says to Asmoday.
“You are with me,” the amber eyed Angel tells Keely. She takes his outstretched hand and he helps her onto the horse that is black as a moonless night. She runs her hand down his mane.
The Angel propels himself up onto the horse behind Keely. “He’s a gorgeous animal, isn’t he?”
She nods. “Yes, he is.”
“His name is Eph
esus
and I go by the name
Elijah.” He slaps the reigns and makes a sound that Ephesus understands. He trots forward and Keely grips the saddle.
“I’m Keely. Well, you probably know that already.”
“Yes, we’ve met before.”
Keely tries to turn to look at him, but she sways and he straightens her. She looks over at Asmoday who looks perfectly at ease with his fingers knotted into the white mane of the horse he rides.
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but I don’t
remember ever meeting you.
I don’t think
that’s something
I could ever forget.”
“
You
r
body had die
d at the time,” he says as if this is self explanatory. Her body stiffens and he laughs
,
the sound like a melody of chimes. “I brought you to my Father after you were attacked.
Your
soul was strong, but your body weak. I called the paramedics to save you. My Father had to join you with your body twice before you were strong enough. I remember it well.”
“You saved me? After Apophis attacked me?”
“Yes.”
“I thought it was a security guard making his rounds.”
“Or a Guardian Angel posing as one.” Keely can hear the smile in his voice.
“I have a Guardian Angel?”
“
I’
ve been your guardian ever since you died at such a young age.
Currently you have two
,
due to circumstances
. On the red horse, that is
Micah. He will help guide you as well as
guard you.
”
“Your father, do you mean…?”
Elijah smiles.
“The Lord, my Father.”
“God?”
“Yes.”
“God put my soul back into my body? Twice? Why?”
Keely asks incredulously.
“He’s the on
ly one who can do it.”
“But why did he do it?”
“Because,
” Elijah says. “Y
ou fulfill our Prophecy of Peace.”
Thirty-Eight
:
“I read the prophecy in the Grimoire. I saw it. I bring damnation. Not peace. It’s awful
what I do. So many people…die,
”
Keely explains.
Elijah says,
“You’
ve only seen what will happen if you fail. You have not been shown the possibilities if you succeed.”
“But the prophecy is that I won’t succeed. Isn’t it?”
“That is not how ours reads.”
“But it is how it reads in the Grimoire. Isn’t that risky?”
Elijah laughs. “I have faith in you.”
“I’m glad you do, Elijah, because I watched myself fail. I felt the importance of what I was doing, and I knew I shouldn’t lo
ok back, for whatever reason, b
ut I did. And the whole world fell apart.”
“In ours, you succeed. And
the whole world remains intact
. Trust me. In our prophecy, it has only ever been you.
You have only ever conquered the darkness. You are a heroin.”
Keely ponders this new information. Her chest fills with pride and her eyes slide over to Asmoday as he beams at her. She smiles, feeling embarrassed.
“
Why do you have
name
s
?” Asmoday asks the Angel he
rides with. “The Demon King
alway
s told me that he has no human
name.”
“It’s true, we don’t. Our Father gave us
these
names to call oursel
ves while we walk among you.”
“What is yours?”
“Ramuell
.”
“
Why don’t you have wings?” Keely ask
s. Her cheeks go warm as Ramuell
looks over at her and smiles. Did she just ask a really dumb question? Are Angels with wings something humans
exaggerated
or
possibly
made up
?
“We cannot use them in our human form.”
“So you’re human right now?”
she asks.
He nods his head. “As much as you are.”
“Why did everybody think it was the end of days?” Keely tries to look at Elijah again.
“They’
ve read the R
evelation to the prophet John,” Elijah explains.
In the prophecy, four Angels come to Earth to put the seal of our Father
on the chosen.”
“Are you one of those Angels?”
He laughs. “No. But Israfil
is.” He po
ints to the Angel with the curly
hair upon the cream colored horse. “He sounds the trumpet as he did tonight.”
“Do you know? When the end of days is coming?”
Elijah laughs again.
“I like her,” he says to Ramuell
. “No. We do not. Only our Father knows.”
“And if we accomplish our mission, perhaps the day will never come,” Micah says. He grins at Keely
, his almond eyes squinting
as she looks at him in surprise.
Keely shivers and Asmoda
y fidgets in the saddle. Ramuell
looks o
ver at Elijah. “It appears it’
s already complete.”
“I suspect that too,” Elijah says inclining his head.
“What is complete?”
Keely throws the question out for
any of them to answer.
“Have you sealed your bond?” Israfil smiles deviously at Keely
, dimple
s appearing in his round cheeks
when she looks at him
with a puzzled expression
. “With a kiss?”
“Oh my…” Keely
lets
the word g
o, not wanting to offend anyone, but too shocked to say anything else.
Asmoday looks at her as he confirms. “Yes. More than once.”
Micah nods. “Could be why he moved tonight.”
“I agree,” Ramuell
says.
Asmoday asks, “Where are we going exactly?”
“For the others,” Elijah tells him.
“What others?”
Kelly wonders.
“There are more in the prophecy than you two,” Israfil informs him.
“I am in the prophecy?” Asmoday stares at him in disbelief.
“You are the key,” Israfil says.
Keely sighs.
“I don’t unders
tand.”
“There are four who
aid you to the Cimmer
ian Stairway,” Elijah explains.
“
The Prophet, the Perceiver, the Warrior, and the Demon. They fight wi
th you, alongside us. Once you’re there, however, it’
s all left
to t
he two of you.”
Keely licks her lips and asks, “What’s left to us?”
“He must stay
in darkness
. You must ascend the staircase
into light,” Ramuell
says.
“Why would I leave him?” Keely feels a panic attack edging its way forth.
“Why
is not in our prophecy,” Ramuell
says quietly.
“I can’t do it. I’ve seen it. I don’t make it. I tu
rn back
and now I know why. I won’t leave Asmoday in darkness.” She looks at him and is reminded of Bryon. Recalls the fear that overtook him in the tunnels. She shakes her head. “I can’t do it.”
“You do,” Elijah says.
“Why? Why didn’t you just leave us there? We were safe. Nobody could get to either of us. I wouldn’t have to do this and take the chance of failing.”
“We got to you,” Israfil says.
“But the Demon King could not
,” Asmoday counters.
“
They have a spell around th
e grounds. No Demons can enter
and I could not
leave the prison.
”
Asmoday rubs his forehead.
“If you had just left us-
”
“If we had left you, you could n
ot fulfill our prophecy,” Ramuell
says firmly.
“I don’t
see why it’s so important as long as we don’t fulfill the Demon King’s either,” Keely adds.
“Because you bring peace between Heaven and Hell. That is too important. Especially now that we are at war,” Elijah says softly.
“How does walking up a stairca
se
refusing to look at someone bring peace? It doesn’t make sense!”
“It will,”
Elijah
offers
.
“What if I don’t want to do it? What if I say no?” Keely cries defiantly.
“You will do the right thing,” Micah tells her.
“
Even if it’s hard. You always have, Keely. It’
s who you are.”