Uriel (The Hallowed Chronicles Book 1) (9 page)

Chapter Sixteen

We had loved before; an endless chain of love that had branched from the very beginning. Though I was young, his eyes caught mine and even without the memory playing like a scene before me in my dreams, I knew he had whispered one word to me.
Mine.
It was as if my growing feelings for Jophiel had unlocked memory after memory of each time we had awakened. Was this fate or was this just petty human emotions toying with us? Even as the question lingered in the forgotten corners of my mind, I couldn't find the answer, and I didn't care. I wanted to live in the now and fight by his side; I wanted to protect and be protected and it seemed like even Nikita had wanted me to find strength in the love we shared.

It had been a few months since he revealed his love to me and we had shared a moment to escape the harsh reality that pushed the world onto our shoulders. All the walls I had put up to protect my feelings from being hurt came down, and I found myself staring into a white light that parted to reveal Jophiel in his ethereal form; a celestial being that radiated chastity. Through my wonderment, something else had tugged at my heart; a heavy feeling I couldn't shake. If we take our celestial forms; we lose our human selves... the selves we grew to know. If we were to take this form, would we lose everything we thought we knew of each other?

Through the months we spent away from school; unable to attend so we could train, we fought lesser demons and trained until our breathing became labored and our limbs threatened to fall off. In between training and fighting, we lost ourselves in each other through first and in between kisses, hugs, long talks and flying in the dead of the night. The hill had become our spot; a trusted area that whispered escape and we did what we could to steal each other from the threats of the world falling apart.

Jenna had called and texted several times in those months, giving up eventually as I was told to distance myself from the only friend I had made. There were hundreds of times within the months that I had the urge to call her for her messages were getting frantic; a silent call for help, but I didn't want to expose her to this world I was chained to in fear of losing her to the very demons I was protecting her and the rest of the world from.

We watched the news from the kitchen television every day to see the changes the world was going through to see if any miracles were done to stop anything in hopes to find the others. As we trained and grew stronger, time was thinning and there were no signs of the other five. There were times where I would try to feel them, but in the end, could only feel four, one of them being Jophiel. I was scared, thinking the worst have gotten to them and my hope began to dwindle. But even as the world grew darker, I realized that those we lose are never truly lost; they watch from Home, where we belong, and help however they can by the side of Our Father. He has something planned... I just know it.

On a Tuesday evening, Gazardiel, Jophiel and I sat around the kitchen table with the news playing on in the background where the story of bombs exploding all over the world in different areas played. Things in the world were getting worse and the five of us that seemed to remain were still the only ones that could truly stop it. With a bible in hand, we read and studied the text, figuring out what would happen next to signal the end of days; a hope that we would find the pattern and stop it before it could happen. As my eyes trailed through the text, a story on the news drew my attention of something that was happening close to us.

Breaking news in the city of New York; a teenage female is found standing on the roof of a building near the edge. Police officers have identified the female thanks to several witnesses that claimed to have seen her go into the building moments before a pedestrian looked up and saw her standing at the edge. The female is identified as Jenna Chandler, age sixteen, who attends the school only a few blocks away.

My heart stopped in my chest, and I bolted out of my seat and out of the house. No one stopped me; I knew they understood, and I took off with my shirt in my hands and extended my wings outward, taking to the skies behind the clouds that would shroud me from human eyes. My way there was full of questions and regrets that all revolved around Jenna. Could this be about her father? What had happened in the months Jophiel and I disappeared? Why didn't I just call her back? I landed quietly, being cautious not to frighten her. I pulled my shirt over my head and stepped forward. "Jenna!" I yelled over the wind that whipped at my face. She turned around and I noticed her depression from the black under her red eyes and constant tears that didn't seem to let up. "Why are you here?" she cried. And I stepped forward, making her step back closer to the edge and I stopped.

"I'm here because I want to help you."

"No. If you wanted to help, you would have answered my calls!”

"I couldn't, Jenna. You need to understand. I'm here now. Please talk to me."

She rubbed at her face, choking on a sob as she did so. I could tell she wanted to talk and that she planned on it, but I also knew that talking wasn't the only thing she was going to do. "Let me come closer," I said loudly over the wind that had picked up. Taking slow steps, I made my way to her, joining her at the edge of the building. I didn't dare to look down; knowing the severity of the fall if she were to jump. Holding out my hand, I waited for her to take it, but she didn't. "You both abandoned me," she said sobbing. "You and Jophiel just stopped showing up for school and neither of you answered your phones. Why?" My heart tugged with regret. I couldn't tell her the full truth, but I couldn't lie to her either. "Nikita was murdered, Jenna. I'm still recovering from all of it; she was like a mother to me," I said, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. There was sympathy in her eyes, but that's not what I wanted. "No, don't sympathize for me, Jenna. It's not about me. Jophiel has been making sure I was okay, but right now, I want to know what's going on with
you
. Why are you doing this?" I asked her helplessly.

"My father took it too far. I can't take it anymore, Uriel. My mother isn't here to protect me... to take me away and no one believes my father would do something so damaging. And he started hurting me."

"Hurting you? He's hitting you?"

"More than just that. I can't move out and I can't escape. I know you told me to read the bible. I did. I haven't even finished, but I've thought long and hard about this, Uriel. Miracles that happened in the bible won't happen to me. There is nothing for me to repent, no light that will guide me from him. There is no one to save me."

"But there is. You don't have to look to the heavens to find someone who is willing to take you away from the pain. There are people here that can guide you. God always has a plan. For everyone."

"How can you be so sure? No one has even seen this 'God.' How does anyone know he even exists?”

"No one knows about Him because He doesn't interfere with our lives. When you pray for things, He won't give you exactly what you pray for; He will give you the opportunities to make it happen yourself. If He just gave you everything, there would be nothing for us to learn the ways of life; we would always have the easy way out."

She laughed hoarsely and looked down before looking back up with a blank expression across her face. I could see the fear in her eyes. She didn't know what was held for her when she would take her leap; didn't know where she would end up or what would happen in death. Deeper in her eyes, she felt calm and didn't seem to care, knowing she would at least escape the never ending pain she lived every day. "It's funny," she said. "I was never popular in school, but now it's like everyone is watching me, waiting to see if I will go for it or chicken out," she continued. Shaking my head, I wanted to tell her it wasn't the same. "You can't want this," I said swallowing my heart.

"How would you know? You don't know what it's like to be in my shoes and have to face the one person who is supposed to make me feel safe, knowing all he wants to do is hurt me and use me for his pleasure."

"You're right; I don't. But I don't need to know what it's like to tell you that there is a brighter future to look to. I can help you find your escape; I will be that person to guide you from the pain."

"It's too late for that, Uriel. I trusted you and you just disappeared. What else could possibly be more important than helping the people who opened up to you so quickly?"

"I-I can't tell you.”

"So you're hiding secrets from me? After I told you the darkest one I had to live with this whole time?"

"That's not it! It's not like I don't want to tell you... I just can't."

There was silence between the two of us; a heartbreaking, shattering silence that made me want to curl up and make everything go away. I longed for Jophiel's comfort as much as I longed to help the one person who went up to me and made me feel like a normal human being. I wanted to help her more than I wanted to help myself, but it seemed that all my attempts to ease her pain weren’t working. "I'm sorry, Uriel. I'm sorry you have to see this end," she said, crying heavily. "But I can't give my father the pleasure of using me for himself." My hand reached out to her as she closed her eyes and jumped sideways off the building, causing the audience at the ground to scream in terror. Nikita's warning whispered to me, but I wouldn't listen to her... Not this time.
Whatever you do, don't expose who you really are.
Taking a running start, I leapt after her and pushed myself into gravity, falling faster and extending out my reach to Jenna who showed her fear for me jumping out after her. A word formed at her lips, the wind pushing too hard for her to yell.
Why?
I didn't know the answer and it didn't matter.

My hand grazed against her arm and my fingers wrapped around it. In that moment, I didn't care for the watching eyes that held fear for the both of us, didn't care for the cameras taking note of everything happening, and most of all, I didn't care what they would see, for they wouldn't see my face; they would only see what it was saving the broken girl trying to end a beautiful life she was meant to live. Taking a hold of her other arm, I stared into her eyes and stretched my wings that tore through my shirt, letting them break the air and guide us to safety above everyone's head and away from everyone's widened eyes. As I disappeared behind the tall buildings of New York City, I knew I couldn't stop flying until we were finally out of sight. I kept an eye on my grip, even as Jenna stared incredulously at me. "Uriel!" she screamed. "There's no way... t-this is what you were hiding?" I didn't answer her. Now wasn't the time; I had to get home. I let my wings guide us through the wind to a secluded area; the hill. Something inside me burst with accomplishment and forgetting Jenna in my hands, my eyes the sky where the sun was peeking through the clouds and down onto me. I did what I had to, even if it meant exposing the existence of angels, and though I believed that I would be punished for it, I couldn't help but feel as if Father was watching me, smiling as He looked down.
Savior.

Chapter Seventeen

The wind picked up as I landed on my feet with Jenna still amazed in front of me. I had made sure to land us in a secluded area, the hill that Jophiel and I had shared our precious moments and we walked to my house. We were silent as ever as our feet scuffed against the sidewalk and I noticed how quiet the world was around us. It came off as too quiet; an eerie silence that hung above our heads and it only increased as we grew closer to the house. Jenna froze and I turned to her with a questioning look, noticing she was trying to see the wings that had folded against my back to hide from human eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked quietly, avoiding eye contact. Sighing, I stepped in front of her and looked directly at her. The truth was already out and there was no point in lying. "The world I live in is dangerous. Exposing you to it can lead to many disasters. Demons could go after you to get to me," I replied coolly.

"So... demons exist then? Lucifer too?"

"Unfortunately. Let's just get to my house."

"Is that... how Nikita died?"

I halted to a stop at the memory and pushed back the tears that wanted to flow from me. I looked to the sky, hoping to see some sign from her, but there was none. Running my hand through my hair, I just nodded, not wanting to get into the details. As we approached the house, the energy shifted to darkness and my heart dropped. This couldn't be happening; not again... not with Jenna here. "Crap," I muttered under my breath, taking Jenna by the hand. "Listen to me, something is wrong. When we get in my house, do not move and do not stray from my sight," I told her. I didn't let her say anything and dragged her into the front door where Jophiel stood shirtless, his wings pressing up against the walls of the house. I was about to ask him what was wrong when an inhumane noise came from in front of him and Jenna screamed. Jophiel turned his head, shifting his body to reveal the black mass of a hunched demon with striking green eyes and crooked teeth. Its flesh was rotting and bubbling from underneath, excreting the foul scent of death.

Seeing his distraction, the demon lashed out with its claws, slashing Jophiel across the chest. My heart dropped and I immediately summoned my blades, stepping in front of Jenna. Gazardiel appeared at my side and nodded to me, a silent way of saying he would look after her. I jumped to Jophiel's side, slashing at the demon to draw it back. "Jophiel, are you okay?" I asked worriedly, not letting the demon out of my sight. His breath hissed out of his mouth as his wounds healed and he turned to me, getting back into a readied position.

"Yea, I'm fine. This thing is one hell of a demon, don't you think?" he asked. I couldn't believe he was joking around at this moment just as much as I couldn't believe this house had seen so much darkness. The demon began chanting in an old language I couldn't understand, but deep inside, I knew what it was doing was not going to work in our favor.

The house began to shake and with eyes locked on our opponent, we noticed it was shaking too, its body splitting in two. My gut wrenched violently and we found ourselves evenly matched, knowing now we would have to do one on one battles in such a small house. Instead, I summoned my energy and pushed one into the kitchen, letting it slam into the wall. Jophiel understood the gesture and repeated it, pushing the demon hard enough to go through two walls and out into the backyard. Summoning my energy again, I pushed it through the wall and leaped through the hole I made, joining Jophiel's side once more. We stared each other down, not daring to be the one who made the first move and I took the time to study them, attempting to find a weakness. "Uriel!" Gazardiel's voice lifted over the darkness and I refused to look back. "I know we don't know much of this... power you have that is summoned through anger, but they will keep multiplying until you are greatly outnumbered. Try summoning that power; use it to your advantage and control it," he continued, trying to help us out while looking out for Jenna.

Jophiel and I stood in front of them and I concentrated hard on bringing out that power; that state of lost control. As scared as I was to let it overcome me, I knew it had to be done. Both demons began to bubble, stopping my concentration as I watched in horror while they split again, creating more of them with a satisfied grin. My heart was racing and fear was striking a chord in my chest, paralyzing me. "Stop watching them and concentrate! If you don't, we will all die," Gazardiel yelled. Straightening up, I pulled my shoulders back and stretched my wings, cracking my neck to relieve the stress building there. Crossing my blades in front of me, I stared through one of the demons and pleaded myself to summon the power I still couldn't control, even as they continued to multiply into a circle to surround us. I could feel the fear growing in Jophiel, a sense of knowing we wouldn't be able to defeat them without this power. Tears fell from my eyes as I pushed myself, trying to steady my breathing. The world went black.

I could hear the worried screams of those around me as I let my body fall to the ground. I couldn't let this happen; there was no way I'd be the reason for us all to die. I began to feel as if the wind was carrying me, cradling me in its whispered embrace and I listened.
Breathe, my child. You can control this, we all know you can.
Nikita. Something gripped at my heart and tore at it, a sign that I really wasn't breathing. Had I fainted from trying so hard?
Anger doesn't need to be the trigger to your power. Look inside yourself; you will find the key.
Everything was going in slow motion but as I escaped into myself, a light began to shine, echoing the word 'self-control.' My hand reached out to grab it as the screaming grew louder.
Abstinence is the key to unlocking the power that has controlled you. It is self-control that will guide you to greatness.
Nikita's voice faded as my fingers wrapped around the light. I opened my eyes.

The demons had multiplied several times while I was falling and on the ground, they had moved toward us and Jophiel had been standing over me, facing them. I stood and pushed him to the side, saying nothing, but holding the ball of light that had materialized in my hand. Crushing it into my fist, I found myself finally unlocking the power and drowned in it, allowing the world to change. Fusing my swords into one, I smashed it into the ground, causing it to shake and explode beneath us. Blades of energy had shot out from the ground and flew toward each demon, piercing them through their chests. Their wails pierced through the silence that hung over the area, fading out as their bodies sizzled and evaporated into oblivion. I fell to my knees and Jophiel picked me up, cradling me in his arms while I tried to control the sudden shaking of my body. "How the hell did you do that?" he asked bewildered. Shaking my head to relieve myself of the dizziness, I looked to the sky and closed my eyes.

"Nikita helped me," I said, drawing Gazardiel's attention.

He looked up as well and smiled. "She truly works her magic even when no longer physically present," he said proudly. I couldn't help but smile even as Jophiel put me down and I swayed a bit.

Jenna walked up hesitantly and stared at Jophiel and me. My eyes locked on hers and I realized she was still trying to put the pieces together; she still didn't figure out our relationship. Sighing, I took his hand in mine and looked back to her with an almost apologetic expression. Finally, she understood and blushed, but I somehow knew she wouldn't be mad. "I'm glad you two are okay," she said looking at the ground. I took her hand and stared at her. "You must stay with us," I said, ignoring Gazardiel's irritated noise. "You know too much to think that you will be safe from our world." Jophiel moved closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "Uriel is right and He hasn't punished us yet for your presence here or your knowledge of us," he said looking at me.

"It wouldn't be all of us He would punish. There has to be times where angels have revealed themselves to humans."

"There has."

Gazardiel came up to us and nodded, looking to the skies. "There were few accounts, but none like this. However, I am sure He does not mind, for He has much more to worry about. Jenna, you may stay here and you may also call me Gazardiel. For now, I am their new Guardian," he said sternly, taking a bit too much credit for his presence. I laughed outright at him, shaking my head as he shot me a look. About to head inside, I noticed something; a sound growing in power that echoed in the sky. Looking up, I found nothing, but the noise was clearly increasing. "Do you hear that?" I asked. Everyone stopped in mid-stride. We stood looking up at the sky as the noise faded, only to come back stronger and more powerful; almost too loud to not be heard. "Is that...?" Gazardiel started asking only for his breath to be caught in his throat. The sound boomed in the skies, opening the clouds above us. It was a soothing, yet alarming sound; something inside me had been rattled by it, knowing not to be distracted by its beauty. "What?" I asked desperately.

"That sound. It's Gabriel's horn."

"Gabriel?”

"Yes. Another Archangel. Thank the Heavens I know at least another is alive."

"But where is it coming from? What does it mean?"

My head was spinning. Another one of us is sounding a horn, but as deep as I looked into myself, I couldn't find the reason to this horn. All I cared to know is if they were near and trying to find us. "It could be coming from across the world, Uriel. But her horn is not a glorious sound; it is a warning. The End Times are truly beginning and we must prepare ourselves," Gazardiel said coldly. So Gabriel was female and it did not mean she found us; it was just confirming our beliefs, causing my heart to sink. Sighing, I rubbed at my temples but continued to look up, hope rising within my chest, only to be replaced by fear as the clouds were sealed back up and replaced with a heavy darkness. All of us were silent as the horn faded and overpowered by an unnatural roar coming from the large shadow that flew in the sky, shrouded by the dark clouds. "What is that...?" I asked with a shaking voice. Something told me this wasn't a good sign. "Fear dragon," Gazardiel said, swallowing a lump in his throat. My heart began to stutter as it circle above us.

The clouds broke free as the shadows that formed the dragon manifested and raced toward us with open jaws, teeth razor-sharp and lusting for contact. We shielded ourselves as it dove at us with full force, roaring violently. Its shadow form dissipated before it could swallow us whole, leaving us all shaking in fear with its residual battle cry imprinted in the silence.