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Kieran’s body appears on the screen. He’s just left Shay in the den. Both look so ragged, with dark circles under their eyes. Kieran’s emotions are all over the place. His Light changes from red to green to yellow. I know he loves me. He ambles back into the den, but Shay is gone.
Angels! Where did Shay go?
I watch Kieran run to the weapons room. The door is wide open. He quickly glances at the racks and shelves, some guns and knives are missing.
Why didn’t Shay ask Kieran to go with?
Kieran’s wings appear.
He glances at the clock on the mantle. It’s after two in the morning. He takes out his cell phone and texts someone. The TV screen zooms in closer. He’s texting Sidelle and Vash.
Kieran: Shay’s gone. Anyone know where he went?
Kieran waits for a response.
Kieran: Going to see Michael now so will be offline for a while. Not sure when I’ll be back. Hopefully, it will be some good news or a solid lead.
A few seconds pass, and his phone vibrates with incoming messages.
Sidelle: Nada
Vash: Nope
Kieran leaves the den and heads outside toward Pascar, the angelic fountain statue. She’s the telecommunicator that was commissioned when the property was purchased to run as the safe house for all good Enlightens. Pascar has the direct line to the Council.
He scoops a handful of water and runs it over her feet. “Please inform the Council of Angels I need an audience with them,” he says.
This is the first time he’s spoken. The sound startles me.
Pascar’s stone wings move and her eyes lower.
“I need to know where they currently are gathering, and let Michael know I’m on my way to meet with him.”
She nods and goes back to her original form, her eyes turned upward along with her arms, reaching high into the sky.
Kieran’s wings extend, and he pushes himself off the ground to take flight. He soars through the clouds, letting the moonlight bathe around him while the stars twinkle. He heads toward the Northern Star and passes through something.
With my Angel Light, I can see him fly through a veil.
He’s greeted with a forty-story high rise building set in the middle of a small city. No other structure is higher than three stories. Most of the city is made of up houses, shops, and trading markets. It seems that today, even though it’s the middle of the night to humans, the city is bustling. Surrounding the buildings are parks with winding pathways, ponds that overlook into the Ordinaries’ world, and wonderful scenic displays.
He floats past all the pretty gardens.
The glass double doors of the Angel Tower disappear as he nears. The floors are built around a center atrium that goes all the way to the top. Kieran flies in the center to the top floor.
He sits in a leather modal-style chair. The waiting area is decorated in shades of black and white. A large black and white rug lay on the floor, covering two-toned white flooring. A small, white coffee table displays Angel News and a few other popular tabloid magazines humans enjoy. The room colors contrast his gold wings and tan pants.
“Kieran, come in, please,” a voice booms.
I watch as Kieran disappears and then materializes into an office. Someone stands before an ornate white desk. His back is to us while he leans his palm on a floor to ceiling window that surveys the entire city. He’s wearing a black suit. He turns to face us.
“I thought I would try out why humans call this a monkey suit.” The older angel tugs at the collar. “I’ve only had this thing on for a couple of hours.” His shoulders squirm. “I can see why they don’t like wearing them. They’re too constrictive to do anything. How do people dance in these things? That’s where they usually wear these to, correct?”
It’s funny to see an angel in a tuxedo. I snicker and keep watching.
“Yes, Michael,” Kieran says.
So that’s what the Archangel Michael really looks like? I would have thought him to be older, since he’s one of the original angels. But this being who stands in front of Kieran only looks to be in his early forties. He’s handsome in the suit. But aren’t most angels?
“I know you’re not here to listen to me talk about clothes, so don’t let me stop you from catching me up to speed.”
“As you are aware, Zoe was taken at prom.” Kieran sits on a stool, letting his wings hang freely. “She has since contacted Shay and said that she doesn’t know who for sure has her or where she is, but she is being fed.”
“I see.” Michael strolls to his desk and pulls out the chair, sitting. “But she was dancing with her neighbor, Aiden. Is that correct?”
“Yes. We believe that Aiden is disguising who he is.”
“And why do you say that?”
“Shay thinks it was Aiden who tortured him when he was taken by the Marqs at Disneyworld.”
What? Shay never told me that.
“He only saw the eyes of his captor, but they were aqua like his own,” Kieran continues. “So when he saw Zoe dancing with someone who also has aqua eyes, he thought it couldn’t be a coincidence.” Michael nods but doesn’t say anything. “There are some discrepancies with Aiden’s outer appearance, too. We all see different variations of him, from his height, to his hair, to his eye color. I’ve always seen him like me. Sidelle said that she sees him like a fairy. Vash thinks that Aiden can mask himself.”
What exactly is Aiden that he can do that?
“That young man, Vash, is going to be a great leader to the Spiritus Pack,” Michael says. “They are lucky to have him. Unfortunate that his father had to pass so soon though.” He leans back in the chair. “I’ve heard of some angels who are blessed with the gift of change, it’s called Mutatio, but I’ve never met any of them who could. We all can change the way we look to the Ordinaries, but to change it individually to angels and fairies would be a real special case.”
“No one has ever seen his Mark. I’ve never been that close to him to sense it or use my Light on him. Although Zoe swears he has a tattoo on his arm. She saw it in gym class.”
“Hmm. Let me think and confer with the Council to see if they know of any angel who has enhanced Mutatio abilities.” He writes a few notes onto a pad of paper. “Tell me more about what Zoe said.”
“She said that she’s being held in some magical room. She figured out how to conjure—”
Kieran’s always had faith in me. More than I’ve had in myself these past few days.
“She did? That’s great. It takes a lot of training to do that.”
“Yes, but that’s about all. Her training started a couple of weeks before she was kidnapped. Granted, she’s progressing fast; it’s not enough. We need to be warrior ready, and she’s not there yet.”
“She’ll be ready.”
Michael’s faith in me warms my heart.
“How? If we can’t find her to train?”
“Has she noticed anything about time in the room?”
“Shay said that time was moving differently. What seemed like a day for her was really ten days.”
“Sounds like a vocivus room.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s like a locked box, in this case a place, that some Angels can create to store items to keep safe or from prying eyes. It’s in a special place in the Void. Commonly, there are three Levels, but there is a fourth. Only the one who creates the vocivus room knows where it is and how to enter. There might be ways to track them because like all things, they leave a signature. It’s a matter of finding that signature and homing in on it. We should team up with Bellator Software Services and see if they can write code to find a specific Light from a specific angel.” Michael waves his hand over the sheet of paper, and more writing appears as a list of items to do. “We’ll need a sample, so one of you will have to get inside Aiden’s house and take some items. Be careful because if he is the one who has kidnapped Zoe, his home may be warded.”
“So, we’re assuming that Aiden is an angel until we find something to say otherwise?”
“Yes. What about Aiden’s sister?”
“What about her?”
Yeah, what about her? She’s a normal human. Or is she? What was their story? Oh, yeah, she took a job at the Mayo Clinic as a nurse. Is that a sham, too?
“We need to find out about her, and if she’s an angel or something else.”
“I’ll get the Reperio Team on it.”
“One last thing.” Kieran stands. “The Council has not agreed to my request to see them. I was planning to go them after this, but ...”
“I’ll replay everything you’ve told me, and if I get any solid information about Mutatio, vocivus rooms, or anything else that may interest you, I’ll let you know via Pascar.”
“Thank you.” He turns to leave.
Michael shakes his head as he adds to his list of tasks.