Espial (5 page)

     “Mom! Luke!”
I shouted, running to them.

     They both
took me into a big hug, my mother sobbing into my hair. “I thought that was it.
I thought I lost you,” she cried.

     “I’m
alright. I’m alright.”

     They
released me and we all took a step back to look at each other. My mother had
tears streaking her cheeks, yet her eyes were wide in happiness. She clutched
her hands together and held them by her chin. Luke smiled at me, yet he looked
tired and weak. His eyes had bags and his lips were dry. His hair looked
completely matted down and he had cuts across his left cheek and neck.

     “Luke what
happened?!” I reached toward him, trying to touch his face.

     “I look
worse than I feel, Sol.” He gently removed my hand from his face. “We need to
talk. All of us. Now.”

     “Yes now is
the time,” said Rider who had appeared out of nowhere. “Please, let’s all sit
in the living space.”

     I walked
with my mother and Luke to one couch, while Sacra and Glinda came over with
food. They sat on the L-shaped portion of the couch and began munching on some
of the pastries, looking at Rider to start. Rider stood in front of one of the
large windows, facing outside while addressing us.

     “You all
know why we are here. Today’s events have demonstrated that it is now time to
take our efforts to the next level.”

     I tilted my
head, wanting him to explain further.

            “Warren
Sato’s name is an anagram for his previous title: War Senator. When he was
first asked to become an angel, he declined. His desire was to take over the
world, ruling it and claiming everything for himself. He technically would have
been an arch angel. But he felt that the best way to achieve his desires would
be to enslave all of mankind. We angels have been able to delay his plans for thousands
of years.”

            “Wait.
Are you saying that you are each over a thousand years old?” asked Luke.

            “Yes.
But Sato is significantly older than all of us. Those of us left are around two
thousand years old. Solomon Arch would have been about three thousand years
old. But we believe that Sato is well over four thousand years of age. And he
created significant harm to our efforts during the Great World War. Humans
thought they were fighting random assailants from across the world. In reality,
they were fighting against his demon armies. Sato purposefully detonated the
nuclear reactor in the sky in order to destroy all angels. While a good number
of us survived, too many were killed. We were lucky enough to rebuild our
defenses here in the ARC and communicate with other survivors throughout the
world. However, Sato is becoming strong again.”

            I
shifted on the couch, the ache in between my shoulders now throbbing immensely.
Rider turned and faced me.

            “Sol,
you are becoming an angel. Within a few days your wings will be fully
developed. As such, you will be hunted; pursued until you are either killed or
left begging for mercy. Once they make the connection that you are an arch
angel, all evil forces will try to do everything in their power to destroy you.
This is all rooted back to the man you know as Warren Sato.”

     I sat
quietly for a moment, carefully formulating a question.

     “Why am I
an angel and why did everyone assume I’d be what you call an Espial?”

     “You are possibly
an arch angel because of the great Solomon Arch,” said a voice from behind me.

     We all
turned. I gazed upon the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. At just under
six feet tall, this female angel had a light green aura emitting from her
being. Her wings were turquoise and sparkled with silver specks flickering throughout
her feathers. With piercing green eyes, she studied my face. Her emerald green
hair was pulled into a tight bun and she wore a leather white catsuit, hugging
her lithe body closely. With matching white leather boots, she looked like she
was a hand-drawn image.

     “What do
you mean?” I asked, taking her in.

     My mother
rose and stood next to her. “I can explain, Divinica,” said my mother to the
green angel. Divinica strutted toward the kitchen island and sat on one of the
stools facing us.

     “Your great-grandfather
was one of the greatest arch angels of all time, Sol.” My mother spoke calmly.
She slowly walked over and stood next to where I sat.

     “No other
angel has had the history of successful battles as Solomon did. He died at the
hands of Warren Sato during the final battle of the Great World War. Solomon
had been protecting the nuclear reactor when it detonated. While he was a noble
warrior, he was the only known arch angel to have fathered a child, your own grandfather,
with a fellow angel. She apparently died during childbirth, but Sato did not
know that the child survived. Your grandfather, James, was sent to live with
adoptive Espials who knew the truth about him.” My mother sat gently next to
me, placing her right arm around my shoulders. I shifted closer to her.

     “James
later had a child, your father, with a human. She too died during childbirth. Your
grandfather renounced his angel status when she died, overcome with grief. He
died shortly after, leaving your father with the Espials who had raised him.”

     “That’s so
sad,” I commented, truly feeling the impact of my ancestry.

     “When I met
your father, we knew it was love at first sight. Eventually he confessed that
he was the descendant of an arch angel, which took me by surprise. We had been
taught nothing about otherworldly beings in school; all we knew were that
mythical beings were the subject of fictitious stories. But to know that the
man I loved was an actual angel just made me fall in love with him even more.”
She looked down at her lap and I could see her eyes begin to glisten.

     “When I
realized that I was an Espial during my Oculation procedure, I knew in an
instant that it was all meant to be. The following evening, after the
technicians had already made me take a vow of silence about what happened,
Rider showed up at my home.”

     I looked
over at Rider who was looking out of the window, nodding silently.

     “I knew I
had to keep guard over her,” he said. “And when she told me she was pregnant,
there was no way I would let her out of my protection.”

     “I
understand,” I replied. “But why am I not an Espial? Why am I an angel?”

     “We can
only assume that your great-grandfather Solomon’s genetic makeup was strong
enough to override any human genes within your mother’s ancestry.”

     “Aren’t
other angels easy to spot? How do they avoid the Oculation procedure?”

     “We believe
that the only other angel to have undergone an Oculation procedure was your
father, yet he faked his exams. No other angel has ever been found in
Terredome. Espials, on the other hand, have been found six times since the
Great World War, including your mother. Your mother is the only Espial to have
survived. The others were exterminated during Oculation.”

     “Why?”

     “Because
how on earth would Sato allow human beings with the ability to see angels and
demons simply walk around, divulging his greatest secret of all time?” replied
Divinica.

     “Easy,
Div,” said Rider, holding up his hand. “She’s still learning.”

     Divinica
crossed her arms and shook her head.

     “Every
summer solstice, angels at the age of 15 begin their transformation. Once
human-like in appearance, their wings begin the unsheathing process and their
auras emerge with elegant vibrancy. Sato created Oculation on each summer
solstice in an attempt to catch any young angels and espials and kill them.
This is why there continues to be so few of us.”

     “And you
did nothing to stop him killing those other five Espials?” I couldn’t
understand why other Espials didn’t survive.

     “We were
not in a position to do so, Sol. There are things we’ve been preparing over the
last few years, but we’ve been waiting for just the right moment. And that
moment came today.”

     “Alright,”
I conceded. “I think I’m beginning to make sense of things. But how does this
all involve Luke?” I asked, turning to face him.

     “I’m an
Espial,” he replied. “One of my ancestors was one, and I guess it skipped a few
generations.”

     “When did
you find out?”

     “When I
stepped through the stone archways, I landed in a laboratory where Rider was
waiting for me. He removed my lenses while explaining everything. We went to
find Angelica Chere who was an Espial as well. It turns out we were distant
cousins.”

     “Where is
she? And why are you referring to her in the past tense?”

     Luke looked
away, wringing his hands together. He then turned back to me.

     “She didn’t
make it.”

     “What?!” I
exclaimed.

     “After we
found her, we headed down the hall to get you. A security guard intercepted us
and we got into a fight. He had a strange gun I’d never seen before and aimed
it toward me. Angelica lunged forward to knock me out of the way. He fired and
it killed her.”

     “Oh no!” I
cried.

     “We checked
on her, but it was of no use,” said Rider, stepping next to Luke’s seat. “She
was gone.”

     Luke arose
and headed toward Glinda and Sacra.

     “Rider then
gave me a map with directions to the Airbus where your mom was waiting. My dad
was there as well. I guess he left the military base pretty quickly,” he said
solemnly, scratching his head. “Sacra gave him a complete memory wipe after I
said goodbye to him. He no longer knows I ever existed. He was then sent to a
city far from Terredome to start a new life.”

     “Oh no.
Luke I’m so sorry!” I said in shock. I went over to him and placed my hand on
his shoulder. “And all this took place while I was in the lab?” I asked.

     “Yes,”
replied Rider. “We wanted to be sure you were each accounted for. Speaking of
which, Div, any word regarding Levi Boz?”

     “Yes he is
at the military training center. His memory was wiped and he is only aware that
Sol is being considered a fugitive at large. Sato has a bounty on her head.”

     “Fugitive
at large? What?” I asked, turning to Rider.

     “Sato will
not want anyone to find out that you are an Espial on the loose. We don’t
believe he knows that you’re an angel, let alone a possible arch. But he does
know enough from the security feed to have you hunted. There’s a larger battle
taking place, Sol. Terredome isn’t the only city that has revitalized itself
post-Great World War. There are many others, in which Espials and angels fight
together against the demons still associated with Sato. Terredome is his test
city; it will allow him to determine how efficiently he can enslave an entire
society. He has only allowed me to work there because I swore I would never
reveal my true identity to anyone. He has no idea of my connection to your great-grandfather
Solomon and thinks I am just an unassuming angel who survived the GWW.”

     “So everything
I’ve known, everything I’ve experienced is a result of him wanting to run his
own playground? And there are more thriving cities outside of Terredome?” I was
beginning to feel angry as I returned to the couch.

     “Well…yes,”
said Rider. “With a fugitive Espial on the run, his entire plan is at stake. The
last thing he would want is for you to tell the citizens of Terredome the
truth. He’ll want you killed upon sight.”

     “All of this
has to stop,” I declared. “It’s too much. How could one person or demon control
our lives so intricately?”

     “It will
stop. We are on the brink of another World War. We’ve all seen his factory
vents emitting fumes day and night. It’s clear he’s working on something
malicious. But because so few of us are around now, I’m afraid we may not
survive his devious plans. So you’re right. It will stop; one way or another.”
With that, Rider walked out of the living room. Everyone sat motionless, his
words hanging heavily in the air. I decided to speak first.

     “I want to
help. But I have no idea where to begin.”

     “That’s
what we’re here for!” said Glinda, lighting up instantly. “Sacra and I will
guide you through your unsheathing. Div will train you and Luke in combat and
weaponry. And Rider will be educating you on the workings of the ARC and all of
the systems that keep it functional,” she said with pride. “However, all of
that will begin tomorrow. For now you need some rest.” She grabbed Sacra and
they both scurried into the kitchen.

     “This has
been quite a lot for one person to take in, Sol,” said my mother, concern
furrowing her brows.

     “It’s
pretty overwhelming, but I can’t sit back and watch Terredome become
destroyed,” I replied. “I can’t hold all of this knowledge and supposed power,
yet do nothing with it.”