After a few hours of agonizing nail-biting waiting, I managed to sleep, cramped in the small corner of that tiny room. Daylight was filtering under the door when I was nudged awake by muffled voices. The faint light illuminated the room in a gray color. My blurred head slowly cleared. Why did I smell sandalwood and how come my ass felt like it wanted to kill me and cut off my tail. Sandalwood? I snapped awake, the familiar smell in the storage room was sandalwood. I yanked my arm up, shaking out the painful needles of blood rushing to the site I had slept on, and looked at my watch, eight-fifteen in the morning. I remembered checking the time at three in the morning, so I must have dozed off around then.
Where were Eshe and Levins?
The muffled voices grew louder, and I pressed my knees to my chest. What would I do if someone opened that door? Every nerve and muscle in my body strained to become invisible. As the voices came nearer I could distinguish there were two voices, a deep male voice and… I froze. It was a child’s voice. All of Levins’s warning and scolding and bullying screamed through my mind, as I inched out from behind the cart. I wasn’t supposed to move. I was risking too much. I was being stupid. My instinct shrieked louder. There was a child on the other side of the door. I had to get closer.
I scuttled over to the door and pressed my ear against it. I could not understand what the older voice was saying, but my heart skipped a beat when the voice that responded was familiar, the voice of the half-angel, blond-haired, blue-eyed, Lego destroyer and pasta monster extraordinaire. Kels was right on the other side of that door. He sounded okay, and the tight band that had been squeezing my chest for the past five days loosened a little bit.
I had to do something. He was right there! Frantic, I looked at the doorknob with a wild thought; maybe I could catch his protector off guard. No, I couldn’t do that. If anything I had learned my lesson about brash acts. The voices started to grow farther away. I mentally beat my head against the wall and checked my pockets feverishly, my cell phone was worthless, the knife was a joke, money wouldn’t help anything. I pulled out my gun thoughtfully. Now is not the time to play hero. I didn’t know how many people were in there. I tucked the pistol back in its holster. In despair, I pulled out Kels’s drawing and stared down onto the stick figures of me and him holding hands. This was my one chance to do something, and I was helpless and useless. If only I could squeeze him under the slit in the door. We could wait in safety until the others got back, or climb into the garbage carts and leave a note for Levins, in case they weren’t coming back.
Leave a note. I turned over the bright orange construction paper in my hands. The voices were getting farther away, I could barely hear them. I had to do something. Before I had time to change my mind, I slid half of the drawing under the door and scurried back to my hiding place. Hopefully if anyone saw it they would think it was just trash, with the exception of one bright and curious kid. I sat back and waited with a pounding heart.
And waited. Nothing happened. I crouched in the corner for an hour, worrying about Levins and Eshe, worrying about the orange paper that seemed to glow more brightly every time I looked at it, worrying about the time. Eshe should at least be back by now, it would be pretty simple to see if Kels was with Rahab. I looked at my watch, it was almost nine a.m. The sound of light footsteps broke through my agitated haze. I snapped into focus. They stopped at the door. My heart was in my throat. Please please be Levins or Eshe. Slowly the now neon blinking orange paper slid out of view. It wasn’t my companions. I tensed, preparing to fight for my life. The doorknob turned. I pressed myself into the corner, willing my whole body to silence.
“Hulo?”
I had never heard a child’s voice sound so sweet.
“Kels?” I whispered. I couldn’t believe it.
“S’rah?” His voice rang through the room excitedly.
I inched forward, dreading to hear a response to his call. If anyone heard that I was dead. “Shh, Kels, it’s me. I’m hiding, so you have to speak very very quietly to find me.” I made my voice as soft as possible, hiding the urgency I felt.
“S’rah, where are you?” he whispered back, his voice eager. Thank God, he was on board with this game of hide-and-seek.
I swallowed my rising panic and answered, “Walk to the back of the room.”
I could hear him tiptoeing through the room. My muscles quivered with anxious anticipation. Kels was in the same room with me; that was all that mattered. I didn’t want to think about how to figure out what to do next. His face peeked around the last garbage cart.
When he saw me he frowned. “That wasn’t a very good hiding place.”
I laughed in relief at the sight of my little white angel halfer, and grabbed him in a hug.
“Ow, S’rah, that’s too tight.”
I released him and kneeled down. “Oh, Kels, Honey, I’m so sorry, so so sorry I let you get taken away.”
His calm reaction was not what I expected. He didn’t seem scared at all or deprived or tortured. Confused, I kept a smile fixed on my face and looked down on the supposedly kidnapped child who was smiling back at me, eyes bright and cheery.
“Is okay S’rah. Uncle Rahab splained everything,” he said.
Uncle Rahab?! I caught my spluttered retort and asked, “Who’s Uncle Rahab, Kels?”
“He’s my uncle. The nice man who sent my daddy’s friend to come get me.”
So that’s how Rahab had kept the kid quiet. Cautiously I asked, “Where is Uncle Rahab right now?”
“He had to go do something.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “And he just left you here alone?” I didn’t understand. Why would Rahab go through all the trouble of kidnapping this little boy and then leave him unwatched?
“This is my room,” he said proudly. When I looked perplexed, he pouted. “Not the closet, that,” he pointed at the door. “Uncle Rahab wanted me to have it while I was visiting.” He smiled, obviously happy with “Uncle Rahab”.
I gritted my teeth and kept my anger in check. Rahab was keeping Kels in the House of Moloch? “Kels, what did Uncle Rahab tell you?”
“He said this is where Daddy’s business trip was going, and that I was going to surprise him. He said he knows where my real father is, because they are brothers, and Daddy and him are going to find ‘im.”
My confidence shivered, how could I convince Kels to leave with me in a garbage cart if he believed in Uncle Rahab? “Kels, how long have you been in your room?” I asked. A sudden realization struck. “Did you sleep here?”
“Course,” he replied, looking at me like I was the biggest weirdo for asking that. “It’s my room.” I bitterly wondered how Levins would react when she found out our target had been sleeping almost right under our noses the whole time. He tugged my arm. “Come see.”
“Kels, I have to hide from Uncle Rahab, it’s very important or,” I paused unsure. “Or I lose the game!” I finished lamely.
“He’ll be gone for awhile. He said he needed to make sure Daddy and my real father knew how to get here.” He kept tugging.
“But no one else can see me either. It’s part of the rules,” I said.
“No one comes here, and he always locks the door.” Kels frowned when he said it. I saw a glimmer of hope; maybe I could convince him Uncle Rahab wasn’t all good. I let myself be dragged to the door.
“Why does he lock you in? Don’t you want to go outside?” It was time to start driving a wedge between the boy and “Uncle Rahab.” “Does it bother you?”
He didn’t answer as he opened the door. We walked out into a cavern so big it could be a stadium. Kels eagerly watched my face. I stopped in my tracks, impressed despite myself. Delighted with my reaction he skipped around me. “See my room? It’s aweseom!”
It was pretty awesome. The room was a type of circular congregation hall with stadium seating. The air was rich with the scent of burnt incense. Encircling the center of the room were bench seats lushly padded with warm yellow velvet. Hundreds of people could sit comfortably and all have a view of the center. The coppery red walls swept up to the high roof of the cavern and were dotted with small circular windows that sent light glowing throughout the entire space, enhanced by a dome glass window in the ceiling. The sun beamed down in a single ray of light directly onto the center of the circular arena, illuminating an altar made of copper colored metal. Marble statues of angels lined the walls above the seats, and frescos of the renaissance style were painted around the dome ceiling. Scenes depicting angels in the bible were everywhere, and they were real angels with dark skin and leathery wings. But the beauty of the imagery was offset by eerie depictions of fiery rituals painted throughout the scenes. The final and largest fresco held the face of Moloch being bowed to by thousands of angels. I could barely make out the altar painted next to Moloch, but when I realized what scene it portrayed I swallowed back nausea. A figure lay in on the copper alter, flames licking its body. I looked back down at the real alter in front of me, saw the mattress pad and rumpled blanket on top and trembled.
“Kels, where have you been sleeping?”
He pointed at the altar. “In the big bed in the center. It was made specially for me,” he said proudly.
I wanted to find “Uncle Rahab” and rip his head off.
I kneeled down. “Kels, has your mommy ever talked to you about lying?”
He nodded his head. “She said it is mean, and it only hurts people,” he pronounced gravely.
Bless Mrs. Smyth. I took a deep breath. “Well, I think your Uncle Rahab is lying.”
His blue eyes widened in disbelief. I tensed in hopeful anticipation watching his reaction. But then his face turned stubborn. “Uncle Rahab is a nice man. He takes good care of me. Why is he lying?”
“Because sometimes adults pretend to be things they are not,” I said.
“Why? So they won’t get in trouble?”
“Yes, and for other reasons.” The explanation of the complexity behind why adults lie could wait for another day. “That is why I am here, to take you away from him, because he is lying.”
“No.”
My nostrils flared and panic rose in my chest. I kept my face calm. I could handle this.
“I like Uncle Rahab, and Uncle Rahab is going to help me see both my daddies.” Kels folded his arms with a stubborn expression.
Whatever scheming Rahab had done over these past few days, he had woven a tight web around Kels. No wonder the guards were falling asleep at their posts outside, their prisoner was keeping himself. My mind raced trying figure out how to convince the kid his uncle was evil. If only he could see the real side of Rahab.
That’s it; he has to see the real Rahab. “Okay Kels, how about this. How about we play a game?” I asked.
He looked at me suspiciously. My change in tone had been a little sudden. The kid was too damn smart.
“Okay,” he said slowly, “What kind of game?”
“Your favorite! Hide-and-seek! You remember how I said I was hiding from Uncle Rahab?”
“Yesh.”
“Well, we are playing a humongous game of hide-and-seek, and Uncle Rahab wants you to hide too!” I tried not to think about the fact that I was lying right after I told him lying was bad. I could apologize later. “It has to be really really good hiding place too, to make it more fun for him. You want to make it more fun for your uncle right?”
He jumped up and down, “I loves hide-an-seek!”
Thank God for that.
“Okay, where should I hide S’rah?!” he asked eagerly.
I looked around the giant hall. Although it was huge, it was wide open so there were not actually a lot of places to hide. My body trembled at the thought of what would happen if Kels was discovered hiding from his Uncle Rahab. I wished he could hide with me in the garbage storage room. But then he wouldn’t be able to see or hear his uncle’s reaction. Finally my eye landed on a smallish statue in the far end of the cavern. The black marble statue stood on a pedestal about six feet tall. It was an angel squatting down, his head bowed and his wings fully extended behind him.
“I have the perfect place,” I said. He placed his small hand in mine and squeezed it happily, causing a rush of emotion inside me. I blinked back tears as I led him to the statue. “Now when your uncle comes and starts looking for you, he will call your name and try to get you to give up.” I looked down on his trusting face. It was all I could do to not pick him up, crush him to my chest, and try to run out of there. “You don’t want to give up do you?”
He giggled. “Course not. I’m the best hider ever!”
Kels obsession with hide-and-seek was something I was now incredibly thankful for. I helped him scramble up the stand. He squirmed under the angel’s wings. The squatting figure was enough to cover the small child, and the wings arched backward, shielding the hider from view on both sides. Confident he would remain hidden, I turned to go and paused.
“Kels?” I whispered.
“What?”
“I will be hiding in the place you found me. If anything happens and you feel upset, come to me and DO NOT tell Rahab where I am hiding, okay? I don’t want to lose the game.” If we lose this game, we lose everything.
“Okay S’rah.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Pinkie-swear?”
A little hand reached down beside the angel’s left foot. I clasped it in my own and curled my pinkie around his.
“S’rah?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re weird.”
“I know lil’ buddy. I know.”
Suddenly aware at how exposed I was, I scurried back to the storage closet and settled down. I checked my watch, ten-thirty a.m. Where were Eshe and Levins?
Uncle Rahab took his time coming back. I worried the amount of time was too long, even for a kid who loved hiding as much as Kels. My brilliant plan was shaky enough. If Kels got bored everything would come crashing down. He may tell Rahab why he was hiding, and then tell him where I was hiding.
At last there were muffled sounds coming from the other side of the door. In the far corner of the closet I tensed up. This was it, my ploy to win Kels back from his Uncle Rahab. If this didn’t work then we were lost. The noises grew louder, and more activity could be heard thumping around. I could swear I heard angry yelling, as I sat curled behind the garbage cart, heart pounding. I hoped it was a good sign. The noise continued for about half an hour before dying away. I stood up and tiptoed over to the door, pressing my ear up against it. It was quiet. Slowly I opened the door a crack and peeked out. The auditorium was empty.
“Kels?” I whispered.
A tiny sob answered me from behind the angel. I almost cried out in relief. Carefully I hurried around the edge of the stadium seats to the statue that hid Kels. He peeked out from under one of the wings, his face blotchy with tears.
“S’rah, I’m scared.” He sniffled as I helped him down. “Uncle Rahab is a very mean man.”
“Shh,” I said, wrapping him in my arms. “I won’t let Uncle Rahab be mean to you.” Heavy as he was, I carried him back into the storage closet, and we nestled down together in the back. I tried to keep my heart rate down and rocked him as his sniffles gradually subsided. Eventually he fell into an uneasy sleep, leaving me to contemplate the peril we were in. I wondered what would happen now. Even if Kels and I did manage to slip out of the temple, I had no idea which direction to go in the massive desert. Better to die out there, then in here. I checked my watch, it was almost noon. We would wait for Eshe or Levins. We needed one of them to push the garbage cart out and to guide us in the desert. Otherwise we risked waiting until the regularly scheduled garbage pickup came, and who knew when that would be. I gathered the sleeping child closer in my arms. It didn’t matter. We would survive on garbage and sheer determination. Whatever happened, we were not going back out to where that horrible altar waited.
I dozed a little, keeping my arms around Kels. I was snapped alert by noises again coming from the other side of the door. I checked my watch again, one o’clock in the afternoon.
“Kels,” I murmured.
He was awake instantly. “What? Are we rescued?” His hopeful tone made me want to weep. Footsteps sounded close to the door leading to the auditorium.
“Maybe. No matter what, stay here until I tell you it’s okay to move, okay?”
He nodded, wide-eyed.
I untangled myself from him and moved into a crouched position, slipping the wing gripper from my pocket. The noise turned into footsteps. The footsteps grew nearer. My heart raced in my chest. Of course someone would remember about the storage closet and think to look for the missing kid there. The footsteps stopped. My heart thudded. I swallowed the dryness in my throat. The door creaked open. I could see pair of large bare feet in the space under the carts. I switched the wing gripper to my right hand, wiping the sweat from my palm. The feet came nearer. I tensed, adrenaline pumping through my muscles. The person paced the room and stopped on the other side of the cart. The feet turned away. Without thinking I rose up and quietly launched myself onto the back of the large angel. Swift and sure, with a motion that would make Levins proud, I hooked my arms under his armpits and grabbed both wings in my hands.
“Don’t move, and don’t make a sound.” I hissed, holding the wing gripper pressed around his large wing bone.
He froze. A stream of incomprehensible words came out of his mouth.
“Quiet!” I commanded softly, squeezing the wing gripper just a bit, trying not to feel queasy about it. He must have understood, the action, if not the command, because with a wince, he fell silent.
I looked around frantically for something to restrain him with and remembered what Levins had brought in the backpack. “Kels,” I whispered.
He peeked out from behind the cart. The angel exhaled and said something that sounded like a curse. I tightened my grip and he shut up.
“Kels get the rope out of the backpack okay?”
Eyes wide and fearful, he scurried to do what I said. I could tell the danger he was in was finally starting to sink in. All I could do was hope it didn’t make the kid too scared to function.
My fears were alloyed when the little half-angel had no problems tying up the angel’s hands and feet. When it was safe to let go of the wings I finished the job, tightening the rope and gagging the angel. At last the strange angel was trussed up and gagged at my feet. He glared up at us balefully.
“S’rah, what did he want? Was he a bad man?” Kels asked.
“Yes, he was a very bad man. He wanted to take you back to Uncle Rahab,” I replied.
Kels drew close to me and reached for my hand. He was trembling.
“You did great, he won’t take you to back to that bad man now,” I said.
He nodded silently. We stood there staring down on our capture. I was unsure what to do now.
There were three soft taps at the back garbage exit. My knees went weak with relief. At last we were rescued. Everything was going to be all right.
“C’mon Kels, time to go,” I said, my heart light. We gathered up what was left of the bags. I saluted the angel on the floor and gripped Kels’s hand. We ducked down and pushed through the garbage cart opening to the other side.
“Hello, Saarah Conneelly.” A low voice greeted me.
My blood turned cold.
Six angels stood in the hallway gathered around the other side of the crawl space. The middle one was the one who had spoken. Tall and steely, with harsh eyes and a proud nose, I knew him at once, Uncle Rahab. Kels pressed against my leg, trembling. My heart sank lower as my gaze turned to the old female angel next to him. Eshe was there, her lips set in a thin line, staring wrathfully ahead. Her hands were bound and a thicker than normal angel stood behind her. My heart pounded, she had been caught. But it wasn’t until I saw the angel standing on the other side of Rahab that my whole person threatened to give out.
“Aaron,” I whispered, dizzy.
Aaron didn’t move as two of the angels stepped forward at a gesture from Rahab. They reached for Kels. Eshe made a move to step forward and was pulled back.
“NO!” I exclaimed loudly, yanking my pistol from its holster. A second later four gun barrels stared back at me. Aaron was on the other end of one of them.
“It is use-a-less, Saarah,” Rahab said. His accent was thicker than Aaron’s. It slithered like a snake’s tongue over the words. He watched me, his eyes boring into mine, and his mouth stretched into a smile.
“We are thee chosen ones. We are thee pure ones. It is use-a-less to fight us.” The calm peace in his expression scared me more than I had ever been scared before.
“SITO knows where you are now, you will be brought to justice,” I said, hoping nobody would notice the way my hand trembled holding the gun.
“Ah you think your friend who is so little will help. She caused much trouble. But do not worry. She has been taken care of. Now give me the child.” He aimed a gun at Kels. “Or I kill him.”
His childlike smile under the cold eyes gave me chills. With a sob I lowered my weapon.
“S’rah!” Kels wailed as he was ripped from me.
My heart wrenched in response. I looked at Eshe, hoping to catch her eyes, we had to do something!
Rahab caught my appealing gaze.
“Ah yes, thank thee for bringing the final piece of our circle,” he said. “We knew she would not come, so my brother saw how to make her come. You did your job well.”
I felt the energy drain out of my body. It had all been a set-up. Aaron hadn’t needed me. He had used me because the Anakites needed Eshe for some sick ritual.
“What about Levins, is she okay, is she dead?” I asked looking helplessly at Aaron, begging him silently to show me he hadn’t done this, he hadn’t set us up. His expression was blank. I had been so so wrong.
I was dragged away by the two of the angels and thrown into a room. The door slammed behind me and the lock turned. Desperately I tugged at the door, futilely scraping my nails on the lock. I looked around. It was a small bare room with a low canvas cot and small table; it appeared to be a priest’s bedroom. I wondered why they didn’t put me in a prison cell.
I paced the perimeter of the room, searching for any possible way of escape, but it was simple room with a window too small and too high to climb out. The ventilation shaft was the same. This room was prison cell enough. Defeated I sat down heavily on the bed, that creaked and sank under my weight. We had lost the game. I hoped it hadn’t been too hard or painful for Levins. A small lump grew in my throat as I thought about her fate. Was she already dead? Would they torture her first? I willed myself not to cry. Levins would not like it if I blubbered like a baby over her instead of focusing on my situation at hand.
I sat there, mentally anguishing over what I could have done differently, as the light in the small window turned gray and then dark. There was no noise or movement on the other side of the door, and there was no food or water. I was aware I had not eaten since the night before. By the time the lock turned, I was dizzy from more than just emotions. Shaking myself into some form of defiance, I stumbled in the dark and fell into the wall. Cursing under my breath at my clumsiness, I felt around for the door and crouched down, ready to leap on the first person who entered. But they were smart. The door was thrown open and the first thing through was a gun pointed at my head. Next to the burly angel holding the gun was Rahab cruelly calm, staring down on me, and smiling. He was dressed in gold pants and his naked torso gleamed with oil and his wings were dusted with a gold powder. He was beautiful and so much like Aaron.
I wanted to throw up.
“You will be there for the purification. To show the face of evil that we will destroy,” he said.
“You are the face of evil,” I spat back. He clucked his tongue and said something to the big angels on either side of him. They stepped forward and tied my hands behind my back. I didn’t resist and just stared at Rahab. It didn’t faze him. Once I was restrained he wheeled around and strode away, leaving me slumped between the two guards, my hands tied behind my back. With a jerk they dragged me after him and brought me back down to the congregation hall. I stumbled between them, my heart sinking lower, my stomach in knots. Fiercely I wished to wake up in my bed in California, back at my old easy job back in the CPU, Kels safe at home and Aaron non-existent.
The congregation hall was empty with the exception of Rahab and Eshe and Aaron, and seven other angels standing around the altar. The dark room was lit with candles, and incense smoke billowed through the air filling it with the smell of sandalwood. The candlelight reflected off of the beauty of the angels within. Like Rahab the men wore nothing but gold pants with rich red trim and heavy gold jewelry that flashed off of their glowing torsos in the torchlight. The women had the same pants and small gold chains hanging on their bared breasts. Their wings were beautiful, unbound and oiled to a dark sheen although Rahab was the only one with gold dust on his, a mark of his status.
Even with the hatred and fear boiling up inside me toward them, I was impressed by the rich exquisiteness of the figures ahead of me. A guard pushed me forward and to a halt in the center of the stadium, a few yards away from the altar. The angels surrounding the altar paid no attention to me, deep in a ritual chant, walking slowly in a counterclockwise direction around the copper stand. I shuddered to see Aaron up there, so at ease, as if he had done this many times before. He probably had done this many times before. Eshe stumbled along, prodded by the angel behind her. Her face was ashen and her eyes met mine briefly. The sorrow that filled them made my own eyes water with tears.
“I’m sorry,” I mouthed at her. She was pushed forward again and broke eye contact. I strained to see what they were chanting around, but my guards blocked most of my view of what was on top of the altar. I didn’t want to see it anyway. The sight of the long knife tucked in Rahab’s red sash was enough to sicken me. At least I hadn’t heard Kels’s voice. I wasn’t sure what I would have done then.
Despair filled me. I rubbed my wrists against the rope tying my hands together. Levins was probably dead, Aaron had betrayed me, Eshe was a prisoner, and Kels and I were going to die tonight. In a panic I struggled with the ropes again, wincing with the burn. I tried not to think about my parents, or Starks, or Galina, or the Smyths waiting for their son. I strained my hand against the rope and felt a little give, but not enough. I looked longingly at the door to the storage room closet, where unknowingly I had been so safely hidden previously.
The double doors to the congregation hall opened. Angels, more than I had ever thought I would see in my life, filled the opening. They flowed into the chamber like a dark river. These angels all wore long white shorts and nothing else. Better to fly without clothes getting in the way, I thought bitterly.
Each carried a candle and the room was eerily quiet even with all of the people present. As more moved through the doorway, my heart sunk lower. Not that there had been much of a chance of escape before, but now there was easily a hundred, if not more. It didn’t matter now that my wrist was slowly squeezing out of its bond, scraping raw against the rope.
“Dafa'a tahat!” Rahab spoke sharply to my guards. My hand froze in its position. Had he seen what I was doing?
One guard roughly pushed me down to a kneeling position. He didn’t seem to notice my loosened bonds, and I felt a little spark of relief.
Kneeling, I continued to work the bonds as more and more angels filled the hall. The sweet smell of sandalwood mixed with the sultry sulfuric musk of the angels. A deep hum was coming from the crowd, and I found, despite myself, I was being lulled into a sense of peace. It was all so unreal, the temple, the angels, the exotic scents, the heavy smoky atmosphere. I was taking part in a sacred ceremony, one that few people ever witnessed, and it was so captivating I could almost pretend didn’t end in death.
I had almost forgotten why I was there when the sound of the heavy entrance doors being shut snapped me back alert.
“Ta-aal Ikhwaan wa Akhawaat, ijlis,” said Rahab over the hum of the crowd. The people fell silent, and in unison, spread their wings slightly and sat down on the yellow velvet seats I had admired earlier. Rahab continued speaking, his chest swelling with pride, his wings unfurling to their entire length, as he spoke long and loudly. He looked like a god up there, his skin shining, his wings gleaming in all of their glory. I felt dizzy. This must be how the ancients felt when they looked upon the angels. The tone in his voice resonated through the room, and even I could feel the power in his words. He gestured at me and there was a murmur of distaste through the crowd. He gestured at the altar and the murmur surged with elation. I strained to look, but kneeling I was unable to see over the top of the pedestal.
Rahab spread his hands and lowered his head and began chanting. The angels in gold up at the altar followed suit, except Eshe. I watched as her guard forced her head down, but her lips remained unmoving. Soon the entire congregation had lowered their heads and was chanting softly. A heavy hand from the guard, on my shoulder informed me he hadn’t forgotten about me. So I watched the proceedings in front of me, carefully avoiding looking at Aaron, still shaking from his betrayal.
The chanting faded away and the people lifted their heads, eagerly watching their leader. His head remained lowered, probably for dramatic effect. Slowly he lifted his head and lowered his wings. He looked at me as he slid his large knife out of his belt. All was quiet. The weight of my guard’s hand became even heavier. My stomach twisted looking at the godlike creature coming before me with a raised knife that glinted in the candlelight. This was the moment of truth. I was going to die now. My eyes burned with tears held at bay. I had failed. Kels and Levins and probably Eshe were doomed.
“I’m so sorry little one,” I whispered.
I closed my eyes.
“Ana Atakalam delwaaty.” Eshe’s clear voice broke through the trancelike atmosphere. The knife did not fall, and I felt a tiny quiver of hope. I forced my eyes open. Eshe had stepped forward and Rahab stood frozen with his knife at his side. The response from the crowd told me this was not expected. Her guard moved forward angrily, and grabbed her arms, but Eshe continued to speak rapidly. There was a rumble of disturbance from the listeners.
Fighting both my rage and the bonds around my wrists, I barely registered Rahab look of surprise and displeasure. Aaron’s face was still devoid of emotion. As she continued to speak to the crowd, the rumble grew louder. Whatever she was saying, it was enough to confuse her guard. His hand had dropped and she straightened proudly, her voice louder. I held my breath, and my hand slipped the rest of the way out of the ropes.
Eshe paused and threw her arm up to point at Rahab.
“Say yaa'.” Her whisper fell like a bomb in the crowd, echoing to the heights of the temple. There was a roar through the crowd. Rahab grabbed Eshe and forcefully jerked her forward, shoving her into the grip of his guards, next to me. I looked at her in wonder, as she struggled in their grasp. Rahab faced the crowd and began shouting in rage.
“What did you say?” I hissed at her when she stopped struggling.
My guard spoke sharply to me, but there was uncertainty in his face. I ignored him. “Eshe, what happened?”
“I told the truth,” Eshe whispered, breathing heavily.
“The truth?”
“Our family is not pure,” she panted. “My tetta, ah the one you call grandmother, was part sapien. Our blood is mixed. We are of the others as well as angels.”
Stunned I looked back at the leader of the Anakites, the purists, who was not a full angel. Rahab was still screaming and now he was pointing an accusing finger at me and Eshe.
Eshe leapt up, surprising her restrainers.
“LA MOLOCH, WASEKH, SAY YAA’ HOMO SAPIENS!” she screamed back at him.
The cavern fell silent. The truth had been spoken. Even not knowing what she said, I sensed the truth in her voice. The guards fell back, letting go of Eshe, more uncertain now. She stepped forward, breathing heavily and locked eyes with Rahab.
“Wasekha!” He growled. There was a flash of silver, and Eshe shrieked. Rahab had impaled the ritual knife from his belt into her belly. She tumbled to the ground. With a roar Aaron beat his wings together and launched himself onto his brother. The look of surprise on Rahab’s face was quickly replaced by grim eagerness. I swallowed a scream as he yanked the knife from Eshe’s body and rose into the air to meet his attacker.
There was a mighty clash as the two angels met in the air, grappling, wings pounding up. Everyone’s attention focused upward, stunned by what was taking place. I seized the opportunity and hurried to Eshe’s prostrate form.
She lay face down, unmoving, with one of her beautiful wings ripped and blood seeping from a slash in her belly. My heart dropped with fear. I kneeled down and felt her pulse. It was there, faint. I heaved a sigh of relief and lowered my lips to her ear to be heard over the angry bellows coming from above.
“Eshe, can you hear me?”
A feeble moan answered me. The dark spot on her stomach was growing. I had to stop the blood. Frantically I looked around, but there was nothing. I looked down at my clothes and grasped the cloak Eshe had given me. It wasn’t like I needed to disguise myself anymore. There was some resistance, but grimly I pulled until the fabric tore. Hastily I pressed it against the dark spot. There was movement from her in response to my administrations. A scream distracted me and I glanced up. The brothers were locked in combat. I wondered which had screamed. Between the heavy beats of their wings it looked as if they were embracing, except the straining muscles and the sweat pouring down their faces. In the flurry it took me a while to spot the source. Rahab had managed to snake his hand around to Aaron’s wing and was digging into where flesh met membrane. I remembered Levins’s lessons. My heart in my mouth I watched as Aaron’s wing beats faltered. The duo dipped and wove through the air. If Rahab didn’t stop he was going to tear the wing, which I guessed from his expression, was the intention.
Something grasped my free arm. I looked down and was startled by Eshe’s feeble attempt to rise. She gasped, lay back down, pulling my arm with her, and mumbled something I couldn’t hear. I leaned in close, carefully wrapping my arm around her to keep the piece of cloak pressed to her wound.
“Aaron, is,” she paused, struggling to speak. “He is with us. Get the.” She breathed heavily. “The child.” She pressed something into my hand. It was a small pocketknife. I swung my gaze back to the altar and then above it where a mythical battle raged. The world sharpened around me. There was still hope. Emotions flooded my senses as I watched Aaron locked in a battle for his life and his son. I had not been wrong.
Aaron had managed to remove Rahab’ deadly hand, and now they were both again caught in a struggle to reach take control of the knife. The initial shock of Eshe’s revelation was wearing off, and the crowd was beginning to get restless. I knew it would not be long before attention would shift back to Kels. I tore my attention away from above and, to avoid attracting notice, got on my hands and knees. I crawled to the altar, a painstaking process with the screams and shouts from above mixed with the rumbles of the crowd. I expected any minute someone to shout and point my direction. No one did.
Rising to my knees next to the altar, I peeked over the edge. The boy was naked and tied spread eagle with wild blue markings painted across his pale flesh. I looked at his face and shuddered. His eyes were blank, a strange light blue filled with nothing, staring up at the stars dimly glowing through the glass dome ceiling. His blond hair limply curled around him and fanned out on the hard surface below.
He was drugged into a stupor.
I swallowed my anger. Hopefully whatever drug they had given him would at least blunt any resulting trauma from this experience. I slid over to the first knot around his ankle, it was a hopeless mess, impossible to untie. I opened the pocketknife with a click that seemed to boom over the sounds of the fighting above. No one reacted. I began to saw away at the ropes.
It was an agonizing process. My pulse roared in my ears and my palms were slick with sweat. The shrieks and blows of the fatal fight hammered my ears from above, but doggedly, I kept sawing. The rope started to come undone and his ankle was free. I moved onto the next, as sounds echoing from above begged me to look up. I kept at the ropes, loosening the next, and the next, and the next. Finally the last rope broke free. I cradled the child’s head in my arms. Everything else faded away.
He blinked and drew a labored breath, his head heavy.
“S’rah?”
“Yes, Honey, it’s me.” I said, smoothing back his hair.
“I feel funny. I dunno like it.” His head lolled down.
“Don’t worry, you’ll feel better soon. I’ve got you.” I struggled to contain my tears. How could these people do this? With strength I didn’t know I had, I lifted him in my arms and started walking back to Eshe’s. I didn’t care who saw me. I would take them all on or die trying, either way this boy was leaving that altar.
There was another scream from above. I looked up just in time to see Rahab’s ritual knife in Aaron’s hand and buried to the hilt in Rahab’s back. I caught the wild agony in Aaron’s eyes before the pair plummeted to the ground. The crowd dissolved into a jumble of confusion. The announcement of Rahab’s true heritage was finally settling in and smaller fights were beginning to break out. Those that did notice my progress repelled away from me, muttering. I realized Kels was no longer considered holy and pure for sacrifice and almost cried in relief. One angel spat at us. I bared my teeth and hissed back, muttering a curse at him. He looked surprised and a little anxious, moving away quickly. If they were stupid enough to belief burning a child at stake would purify the blood, maybe they were stupid enough to believe a curse from a halfer would taint them. I reached Eshe without further interruption.
She was sitting up her face pinched in pain, her skin an ashy color. “We must leave now.”
I didn’t argue. Using me as a brace, she lifted herself up. It wasn’t easy for either of us, as I was holding Kels in my arms and trying to maintain her balance, but we did it. I looked around. The main entrance was too far away. Besides, even if we made it out, there was no way we could get out of the temple like this, neither of my charges could walk, and I couldn’t carry both of them. I risked one more look backward, but could not see anything in the crowd of angels pressing around the fallen ones. I looked over at the door to the storage closet. The garbage carts.
“Let’s go,” I said, leaning forward so Eshe could put one arm around me. We hobbled our way to the door, weaving through the escalating chaos.
A few minutes later I was racing through the hallways pushing a garbage cart that held a drugged child half-angel and a wounded old angel. I must have been a terrifying sight with my horns sticking out of my unruly hair, my eyes wild, running as fast as I could. A true daemon; my father would be proud. The halls were mostly empty, probably because everyone was in the congregation hall. The few angels we ran into leapt out the way at the sight of a real devil bearing down on them with a garbage cart.
I had no idea where I was going, all I knew was I had to go down. In her state, Eshe could not fly Kels to safety. It was up to me to get us out, and since pigs would fly sooner than I did, down we went. It got darker and stuffier the farther we went. The air was rank and dead by the time I reached the end of a long hallway. The smell of garbage had never been so sweet.
I paused. We were in almost complete darkness. The faint outline of a rectangular door was ahead of me. It had to be on the ground floor, no angel was strong enough to fly this damn cart into the garbage pit. Without hesitation, head down, I pushed the cart, myself behind it, through the opening. Elation filled me and my flagging muscles surged with strength as a rank stench filled my nostrils. We were in the garbage pit we had come in through. I tried to follow the vague path we had used when we came in, and after a few wrong turns and desperate scouting trips, we broke out into the open desert. Anxiously I scanned the starry skies, but no figures could be seen flying patrol. I threw off the top of the cart.
“Eshe,” I hissed.
She didn’t respond.
“Eshe!” I raised my voice.
She raised her head weakly.
“Which way?”
I helped her rise up enough to see, trying to ignore her groans of pain. She pointed. Hoping she was strong enough to actually know the way, I gathered my strength and began heaving in the direction she indicated. Pushing a cart through sand was not an easy job. Sweat poured out of every pore as I grimly pushed cart following Eshe’s panted directions. I didn’t worry about the patrol; if we were caught we were caught. All I could do is hope that the confusion in the temple was enough to put the whole community in chaos.
It got darker farther away from the temple. The stars sparkled above me, urging me on. My muscles screamed and my tongue gasped for water, but I continued on and on and on, pushing a large cart through the desert. The sand grew softer, and the pushing grew harder, but I kept on, my movements weak, but sure. On and on and on I pushed and shoved and groaned and sweated and pushed and shoved and groaned and sweated. On and on and on, I pushed and pushed and pushed.
I cried out in relief as the silhouette of Bob’s big lumpy head came into view. The camels were where we had left them a day ago. It was hard to believe that only twenty-four hours had gone by. My arms like lead, I left the heavy cart and stumbled to the camp, tears of release streaming down my face. I pressed my face against Bob’s smelly hide and let my snot mingle in his sweat. Kels was alive. Aaron had been telling the truth. We made it out of the temple. Well some of us made it. My body shuddered convulsively with tears, as Bob placidly chewed cud above me. My chest heaved heavily once more, and I drew myself up. No more time for self-indulgence. I groped around in the dark until I found the small electric lantern. I hesitated a moment before flicking on the glaring bulb.
With my help Eshe crawled out of the cart and hobbled over to the small rocky enclave. I was horrified the large dark spot had grown across the wadded up cloth on her stomach, but I didn’t say anything. She wilted down to the ground. I returned to the cart for Kels. Tenderly I carried him over and laid him down beside her. His eyes fluttered, but he didn’t wake up. Stretching my stiff muscles I rummaged in the camels’ packs, pulling out the sleeping bags and Eshe’s medicine bag. The night temperature was dropping to an early morning cold, and neither of my patients could afford to lose body heat. Hastily I threw the sleeping bag over Kels and kneeled down beside Eshe. I was struck by how old she looked; her wrinkles face drawn and eyes withered with pain. Carefully I wrapped the other sleeping bag around her and searched her medicine bag for something to clean the wound.
The knife cut in her belly was deep and jagged, and it steadily leaked blood. It didn’t look like it had hit any organs though, which was why she was probably still alive. I cleaned it as quickly as possible and pressed the gauze down onto it. She smiled up at me, her face wane in the light of the lantern. Her body was shivering in the cold.
“Eshe, do you think it would be safe to light a fire?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Better not risk,” she replied, her voice hoarse. Her teeth chattered as if in response. I looked around glumly.
“Let me hold,” she paused to draw a wheezing breath, “him.”
I gathered up the unresisting Kels and tucked him next to her. With a sigh he nestled against her. She winced but shook her head when I made a move to shift him. At least he would provide some body heat. She looked down on the blond curls and slowly lifted her other hand to stroke his head.
“He is beautiful,” she whispered.
I smiled through the tears that were building behind my eyes. “You saved him.”
She looked up at me. “We all did,” she responded.
I swallowed and looked away. I hadn’t let myself think about Levins, and how we had abandoned her or what may have happened to her, or about Aaron who had just killed his own brother and was who knows where and in what kind of trouble. I knew I had done the right thing, but it was still hard to accept.
“Is Levins alive?” I asked.
Eshe responded quietly. “I do not know.” She put both arms around Kels. “What is important is to remember Levins made him a priority, and he is safe now.”
I stood up. “I’m going to hide the cart.”
I trudged away to give her some privacy and to mull on what to do next. I knew we had to leave, but what if Levins was still alive? She would probably be dead soon if I didn’t do something. If only Eshe wasn’t injured, she could take Kels back to safety, and I could go back for Levins. What about Aaron? After he stabbed Rahab, did either of them survive? Maybe he needed my help too.
I pushed the cart as close the rocks as I could. My stomach grumbled angrily at me. I pulled out some of the dried food and began to gnaw on it. The water supply was too low for me to quench my thirst, I had left the rest in the forgotten backpack in the temple. The sick needed it more, so I settled on a few sips. A lack of water, another life-threatening problem to worry about. Worriedly I looked back on the two sleeping figures. Eshe’s breathing was shallow and quick. I would let them sleep for a little bit, while I tried to figure out what we would do next. I settled down near Bob and tried to think like a real SITO agent. Skeptical, I checked my phone, no service. What would Levins do? I was at a loss. My mind turned in circles until my eyes grew heavy, the past twenty-four hours catching up with me.
The gray exposure of dawn was just beginning when I was startled awake by a loud whoosh. I scrambled up and fumbled for my gun before I remembered I didn’t have one.
“That’s quite a welcome,” said a familiar dry female voice. I lowered my hand and looked around the empty space.
“Hey, Numbnuts, up here.”
I looked up. Levins stood atop the small sheltering rock, grinning. Aaron stood behind her, breathing heavily, the muscles of his torso pumping hard. He put his hands around her waist and together they slithered down the face of the rock, sending a shower of small pebbles and sand down before them. I jumped up and down joyfully.
“You’re alive! Thank God!”
They faced me grinning and held out a canvas bag. Inside were filled water bottles and food. We are going to be okay.
“Rahab?”
“Dead,” Levins responded for Aaron who looked down self-consciously touching the large ugly bruise on his right side. I took a deep breath and tried not to show my relief.
“Eshe, Kels?” Aaron asked, looking back up.
I gestured to the camp where Eshe and Kels lay curled against each other underneath a sleeping bag. Aaron approached them. My heart was squeezed when I saw his expression. The raw animalistic power of his presence faded. He suddenly looked much younger.
“Tetta?” he said softly.
Her eyes fluttered open. She smiled and responded with a stream of words.
Levins coughed and I turned away. Our awkwardness apparent we looked at each other. Upon closer examination, I could see her lip was swollen and her left eye had been blackened. Blood and bruises littered across her body and her right arm hung limp at her side. She faced me expressionless.
“They did a number on you,” I said, equally impassive.
“Yep.”
“What happened?”
“Saw the other prisoners, and lost my cool.”
“Exactly what you told me not to do.”
“Yep.”
“How did you escape?”
“Aaron raised hell. Yelled a bunch. They let me go. Kels?”
“Secured.”
“Good work Connelly.” She put out her good hand. I shook it.
“What about the other prisoners?” I asked.
“Oh, don’t you worry, SITO will be storming that place as soon as we get them word,” she responded grimly.
Aaron returned to us from the muffled conversation with his grandmother. His face was haggard, and it looked like he was in the same bad shape as Levins, if not worse.
“We need to get her to a hospital, quick,” he said.
“What about?” I gestured in the direction of the temple.
“We can’t go back there.” His tone indicated that was all he was going to say.
I contained my burning curiosity to know more about what had happened in the temple after we left and asked, “How close is the next possible hospital?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “There is not one, until we get back to the main road. I wanted to move at dark only, but we do not have time to wait. I can ride with Eshe. Sarah can ride with Kels. Do you think you will be okay on your own?” He turned to Levins.
Levins stiffened at his assumption that he would be giving orders, and I braced for the inevitable outburst.
“I’ll be fine,” she responded between clenched teeth. I looked at her with surprise. She shot me a glance that dared me to open my mouth. I didn’t.
Loading up the camels was easy; loading our two passengers was not. Eshe was so weak she could barely move, so Levins and I had to lift her up to Aaron sitting on the kneeling camel. Kels didn’t want to be woken up. I finally got him to his feet. Still not fully sober he whimpered a lot.
“I dunno feel good, S’rah,” he said, tears streaking through the dust on his face.
“I know. It’ll be over soon.” I brought him over to Bob, hoping to distract him.
“Kels, this is Bob. Say hello to your ride.”
The tears stopped and Kels stared up in awe at Bob. I pulled on the reins, and Bob came down to kneel in front of Kels.
“Ish this real life?” he asked his head tipping back to stare up the camel’s nostrils. It would have been funny, if it didn’t make me want to go back and blow up the Anakite temple and what was left of Rahab. I kneeled down next him.
“This is real life Kels. We’re going to ride the camel okay? Doesn’t that sound fun?”
He sniffled, head lolling, clearly still woozy.
“Whatsh happenen right now? S’rah, whatsh happenen in my head?” he asked.
“Shh, it’s okay Buddy. I’ve got you, and I’ll be with you from now on okay?” I said, wrapping one arm around him. I caught Aaron watching us from his camel, his arms around the almost unconscious Eshe. With his head wrapped in a scarf, his torso gleaming, the new morning sun highlighting every injury from the fight, he looked like an ancient king returning from battlefield. My throat went dry. I turned my attention back to the kid. There was no time for fantasies. Not only was Kels tripping out, he was in the most bizarre situation possible. How was I going to convince him everything was normal and okay, when we were stuck out in the middle of the Egyptian desert with three camels, his real father who happened to be an angel, and his seriously injured great-grandmother?
I decided play the casual route. “Do you think you can climb up there so we can go for a ride?”
With my help Kels managed to flop up the side of the camel. Bob sat placidly through it all, even when a tiny foot kicked him in the stomach. I swung my leg up behind him. At last we were ready to go. Aaron took the lead, I followed, and Levins brought up the rear.
“S’rah, I feel funny.”
“I know Honey.” I tightened my arms around him. The gentle swaying movement of the camel was not helping his recovery from whatever drugs the Anakites had given him. His head lolled against my chest. The poor little guy was having a worse time of it coming out from under the drugs, than when he was fully under.
“S’rah, is this real life?” Kels sat up and leaned forward, pressing against my arms.
Bob grumbled as Kels continued to sway in the saddle. I wished the kid would stop asking questions, it broke my heart to hear him like this.
“Lean back okay? And don’t worry, I’m here and I’m real right?” I squeezed him in a hug the best I could with the reins tugging on my hands. Bob’s ears twitched.
“Okay, now I ave three ‘ands.” Kels stared at his hands.
My lip twitched in amusement. He was going to be okay. I looked at the figure ahead of us, hoping the same could be said about Eshe.
The party began moving forward into the sea of sand.
Kels was quiet for awhile. Then he began to squirm. “It’s hooottt.” He wriggled in the saddle, tugging at his shirt. He was right, the sun was gaining in the sky, turning it a profound blue. The temperature was rising, heat shimmering on the horizon. I let him squirm, my hands keeping a tight grip on the reins, my thighs pressing against his to prevent a fall. There was nothing I could do but push on.
He fell silent. We continued moving through the sand and heat and sun.
“Why is this happening to me?” he asked.
“Shh, I’m here. You’re going to be okay,” I murmured.
“Is this gonna be forever?”
I didn’t know how to answer. We had reached the emptiest part of the desert and it did feel like forever. Nothing was visible around us but the eternal sand. The camel ahead of us continued forward, leading the way. Kels lapsed in and out of questions and complaining, and I gently responded or didn’t depending. The sun beat down on us, our cuts stung from the salt lingering in the air, and our bruised bodies stiffened in the saddle. But we kept going. And going. And going.
That night our camp was a quiet affair. Exhausted we set up a small fire and ate the last of the provisions. Aaron tended to Eshe, his face lined with worry. Kels was fully sober now, but his wide silent eyes were worse than the loopy questions of the morning. He watched Aaron from his sleeping bag as Aaron changed Eshe’s bandages.
“S’rah, that man has wings like Uncle Rahab,” Kels piped up the accusation, breaking the heavy silence.
The muscles on Aaron’s shoulders visibly tensed, his wings stiff against his back.
I blinked in surprise. I had forgotten Kels didn’t know anything about his own species. Levins opened her eyes and propped her head up on her good arm, curious.
“He looks like Uncle Rahab too.” Kels looked at me. “Why does he look like Uncle Rahab?”
I looked at Aaron, who turned to face us, squatting down by the fire across from Kels. His expression was carefully emotionless as he poked at the flames, but the pain in his eyes reflected his feelings that his son was connecting him with his nasty brother.
“Kels what do you remember happening yesterday?”
“Rahab was a bad man. You said he was a bad man, and you were right he was a bad man and a liar.” Kels’s face crinkled in confusion. “I don’t remember what else after he took me away from you, but I was scared. But you rescued me like you promised.”
So he didn’t remember Aaron’s role as a double agent. That was good; it meant Kels wouldn’t associate Aaron with the bad men. In my peripheral vision I could see Aaron clearly relax.
“Well Kels, everyone here was helping me rescue you. We all rescued you.”
Kels looked around the circle, at me, then to Levins who coughed, uncomfortable, and then to Eshe.
“Was the lady hurt rescuing me?” he whispered. “Is she like that because of me?”
“No, no, Rahab hurt her, it was not your fault at all,” I responded hastily, shifting the blame to where it belonged.
Kels nodded slowly and then turned to Aaron. He was quiet for a long time, studying the angel. Aaron looked back at him mildly, a tremble in his hand the only sign of emotion.
I wondered if Kels would remember him, according to Aaron the boy had already been two-and-a-half when Aaron gave him up.
“I feels like,” Kels paused, unsure. “Like I know you.”
“Kels,” I said, my voice gentle. “You do know him.”
The silence waited. The firelight flickered and leapt, bouncing off of Kels’s gold curls and Aaron’s russet face. The light diffused into the air to be swallowed by the black darkness that encircled us. The camels shifted behind us, and Eshe’s heavy breathing was heard in the quiet stillness.
“Papa?” Kels whispered at last.
Aaron closed his eyes and slumped down.
“Is he my papa?” Kels appealed to me.
Before I could answer Aaron moved over to him and gathered him up in his arms.
“Yes, I am your papa,” he said.
Catching the tear rolling down Aaron’s cheek, I turned away embarrassed. Levins had already disappeared under her sleeping bag. I snuggled down in mine, my stomach twisting with confused feelings. Father and son were reunited. It was bittersweet. They wouldn’t need me anymore. Emotionally drained and physically exhausted I fell asleep quickly.
The next day was the same, except Kels had a million questions about Aaron that I couldn’t answer. Eshe wasn’t looking any better and the brief happiness Aaron had reuniting with his son was replaced by worry. He pushed us to move as fast as we could, but it was slow going with two people on two of the camels.
We had sunk into the monotony of the scenery; the plodding of the camels, the endless sand, the merciless sun, the sand crusting our eyelashes. Even Kels had been quiet for the past hour.
A roar from the skies shook us alert. I clutched Kels with one arm and the reins with my free hand, as Bob thrashed his long neck in panic. Up ahead, Aaron seemed as frantic as his camel threatened to dislodge the limp Eshe. The only one who was calm was Levins, who had already scrambled down to the ground and stood waving up to the sky. Sand whipping around us, she grinned at me, as two helicopters landed behind her. I recognized the SITO logo and whooped in joy.
Everything blurred as unfamiliar SITO agents took charge of our exhausted party. Confused I stupidly tried to convince someone that we needed to return Bob, and that the Anakite temple was in “that direction.” Aaron stood mute, wings stiffly half open as he watched the medics look over Eshe. Levins snapped at the angel in charge that she was the leader of the outfit, and Kels clung to my hand staring at all of the agents who were all at least part angel. The Egyptian agents found me equally curious. Seems there weren’t any daemon agents in SITO’s Cairo department.
I was being convinced that the camels would be taken care of as Kels was lured onto the helicopter by Levins. I started after him, but was pushed toward where Eshe was being loaded onto a stretcher. She was softly calling my name.
“Sarah,” Eshe said weakly. “Sarah, take care of my grandson.”
I gripped her hand and nodded, blinking back tears. “I will help you take care of him, because you’ll be around to do it yourself,” I said.
She smiled, her eyes content. “I did what I needed to do,” she whispered. Her head fell back and she closed her eyes, her breathing shallow. I stood unmoving, uncertain what she meant as the medics pushed me aside. I caught Aaron’s agonized expression as he followed his grandmother onto the helicopter. She was going to make it, I had to tell myself.
It wasn’t until Aaron and Eshe had left in one helicopter, and I had been hurried onto the other to join Levins and Kels that I realized Eshe had said, grandson.