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It was a cool, but clear day. A few thick clouds lingered in the sky, scudding along on a gentle breeze. Imorean took a deep breath of the Arctic, summer air. A perfect day for flying. Kadia would be joining him in a few minutes. He double-checked the straps of his sword’s scabbard, making sure the weapon was buckled safely on his back. Brown eyes roved over the hills surrounding Felsenmeer. A short way south, over those hilltops, was the town of Pangnirtung. The residents there knew of Felsenmeer’s existence, but they all thought it was an Arctic weather research station. Imorean smiled. Pangnirtung and Felsenmeer were nestled at the base of some of the most stunning mountains of Baffin Island. One of the most amazing places he had ever been. He was sure Kadia would love to look around. He looked out over the flat, grassy ground in front of Felsenmeer’s main entrance. The tough, windswept grass was now green, changing with the seasons. In spite of summer, even the lower mountains in the distance held fast to their snowy peaks.
Imorean turned as he heard Felsenmeer’s main door slide open.
“Hey!” called Kadia.
“Hey,” he replied. “You ready?”
“I hope so. I don’t know how well I’ll be able to keep up with these small wings.”
“You’ll do fine. We’re just doing a tour today, so we won’t be going any great speed. We’ll probably be in the air for a long time, though. There are some places and landmarks you need to see to be able to navigate the area.”
Kadia nodded. Imorean could see the eagerness in the motion. He swept his eyes over her. She was bundled against the cold, more so than he was. He nearly frowned. Archangels were better equipped against extreme temperatures than normal angels. Thanks to Michael, he was the same way. Kadia was unarmed. Imorean paused for a moment. They had one sword between them. He shook his head. Nothing and no one would attack them here. Michael was just making him paranoid.
“Let’s get going,” Kadia said with a grin, flaring and furling her small wings.
Imorean nodded and ran forward a few steps. The grass was springy beneath his boots. He pushed down hard with both feet and launched upward into the air. His wings snapped down in unison, sending him toward the sky. Weightlessness seized him and he closed his eyes as he ascended, wings beating together. A breeze rippled his hair. The ground dropped away beneath him. He paused and hovered as Kadia caught him. Without a word, white, falcon wings beat down again and he led the way over the low hills toward Pangnirtung.
White flashed gold in the afternoon sunlight as Imorean rolled in the air. He grinned. This was a risky move, but with any luck, they would be too far above the town for any of the residents to take notice of them. Kadia slipped up next to him, her tiny wings flapping at twice the speed of his own. Imorean inclined his head.
“Have you only flown in the simulator?”
“This is one of my first times away from it,” she said, sounding breathless.
Imorean slowed to match her pace. “Leave your wings fully extended. Feel the air around you.”
“I’ll fall!” called Kadia. Imorean sensed rather than heard her nervousness.
“No, you won’t. Angels don’t fall. Slip into the air ahead of me.”
Kadia hesitated then took a deep breath.
“Breathe in as you draw your wings up and out as you send them down. There you go! Now leave them still.”
“I don’t want to!” shouted Kadia.
Imorean frowned and snapped his wings down again. “I have an idea.”
Kadia looked at him, worry in her eyes. Imorean glanced down. The ground beneath them was flattening. They were close to Pangnirtung and they desperately needed more altitude to avoid prying eyes.
“Put your left wing on top of my right one. When you feel me move, you move, too. It’ll help you find rhythm and keep you from rushing yourself so much.”
Kadia glided closer to him and Imorean nodded. He turned his nose to the sky, taking them straight up, level with the bottoms of puffy, white clouds. He waited a few moments, then beat his wings slowly. Kadia breathed an audible sigh of relief. Imorean levelled them out and pointed ahead.
“See that town?”
“Yeah!”
“That’s the closest place to Felsenmeer. You flew into it a few days ago. Swing away now, toward the fjord.”
Kadia banked sharply to the left, soaring over him as she did so. Imorean took a slower turn. His larger wings were less maneuverable.
“How do you feel about diving?” called Imorean.
Kadia looked over, confused. “I have a scuba certification, if that’s what you mean?”
Imorean laughed. “I mean in the air.”
He nudged her wing gently as her confused expression turned to horror.
“I’ve never dived in the air. It always worried me.”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he replied. “Come on!”
“I’m not so sure about this, Imorean!”
Imorean pulled them into a hover and held out a hand. “You’ll be fine.”
Kadia hesitated.
“I promise,” said Imorean. He watched as she looked down. Over a thousand feet below, the fjord’s water glittered under the sun. The tide was in and the water high.
“Only if you’re sure,” said Kadia, taking his hand.
Imorean grinned and nosedived. His wings beat a few times, gathering speed. The world blurred white as they hurtled toward the water like twin comets. In the background, he registered noise. He couldn’t tell if Kadia was screaming or laughing.
Brown eyes closed. Imorean remembered facts from what seemed like a lifetime ago. The gyrfalcon could reach speeds of over one hundred and ninety miles per hour in a dive. His eyes snapped open. They were only a few hundred feet above the water now. He flared his wings open. Kadia was screaming next to him – definitely screaming. Still they descended. He wasn’t sure if Kadia had noticed that they were no longer diving, but slowly flattening out to fly parallel to the water.
“Let go!” he shouted, grinning.
Kadia’s brown eyes met his own, and grudgingly, she released his hand. Imorean opened his wings to glide on his own speed. Kadia copied him. Pointed like an arrow, streamlined, he coasted above the surface of the water. Frigid splashes of saltwater landed on his wings and spattered his face. Kadia was next to him, an awed smile now on her face.
“What did you think?” asked Imorean.
“Where did you learn to fly like that?” she gasped.
“Gabriel taught me.”
“That must have been amazing,” sighed Kadia. “I still can’t believe you’ve always been involved with the Archangels. It’s incredible. We were all really jealous when we heard Michael had taken a handful of students for special training.”
Imorean paused and let his eyes rove across the fjord. Even in the height of summer, a few icebergs insisted on floating through the water. Jealousy. It wasn’t something he had expected the other students to feel.
“Do you know why he did that?”
Kadia shook her head. Imorean swallowed. He hadn’t had to tell anyone the story of his time with the angels before.
“Because Vortigern wants me dead. He’s wanted to kill me ever since he found out I existed.” Those words sounded so ancient, so foreign on his tongue. “The location of Gracepointe was compromised by Bethany Voran. Do you remember her?”
“Vaguely,” replied Kadia. She inclined her head. “Know-it-all? Blonde?”
“That’s her. She’s Vortigern’s ... daughter I think.”
“But couldn’t they have moved you to Upper Morvine, too?”
“Michael didn’t want to. He wanted me in a remote location. I just wish he’d brought my family, too.” There they were. Words he had always thought, but never meant to say.
Kadia looked at him. “Why?”
“Putting out a death threat against me wasn’t enough for Vortigern.” Imorean swallowed again. “He killed my family. My mother, my half siblings and my grandparents.”
“That’s why you’re here?”
“For my own safety and to create a specialist team to rival Vortigern.”
“I had no idea,” whispered Kadia. “We ... all of us at Gracepointe just assumed you were Michael’s favorite. Do – do you think we’ll be able to do it?”
“What?”
“Stop Vortigern? Kill him?”
Imorean stared at her hard. “I have to believe that, Kadia. I have to. I don’t have another choice.”
Feeling uncomfortable, he put on a burst of speed, letting the smell of salt and Arctic water dull his senses. His reprieve didn’t last long.
“Imorean! Look!”
He slammed to a halt and snapped up into a hover. A black shape surfaced on the water. He swiped his sword from its scabbard, glad he had brought it.
“Wait,” said Kadia, putting a hand on his forearm. Her voice was quiet. “Watch.”
Imorean narrowed his eyes at her, but did as she said. Seconds later, a single, long, pointed tusk pierced the top of the water. It was joined by several others. He tried to count them. Six? Seven? More? Mottled, gray bodies and clouds of vapor followed the tusks.
“Narwhals,” grinned Kadia.
Feeling her eagerness, Imorean returned her smile. “Follow me.”
The water blurred gray as he led the way across the fjord. Kadia stuck close to his side. He ascended slightly, but not too far, and together, he and Kadia continued down the fjord, accompanied by a pod of dark, gray whales. They didn’t seem to mind the presence of two overly large flying creatures. He couldn’t help but laugh as Kadia was caught in the face by a mixture of water and air from one of the whale’s blowholes. Karma lost no time as one of the narwhales slapped its tail on the water, soaking Imorean in sea spray. Today, though, even the freezing droplets couldn’t dampen his spirits.
