| |
FIVE MORE MISSIONS. I only need to complete five more missions before I'm a full-fledged Archangel. Now that I've come this far, the pressure is almost unbearable.
Every time there's a new Archangel on the way, a media frenzy follows. For the last month or so, every magazine wants to talk to me, and every photographer wants a picture of me. Frankly, it's exhausting. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but the Kaylene they're portraying is nothing like Kaylene in real life. In the magazines, I always look over-the-top glamorous, in big hats, sleek dresses, pant suits and sunglasses. They've made me look perfect, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The real me is lounging in bed in yoga pants and an over-sized sweatshirt, without a single drop of makeup on my face.
Sometimes, if I'm lucky, the magazines make me look like a badass warrior who can wield almost any weapon. I can't complain about that.
A lot is expected of me, and I blame my mom for that. Everyone knows Amber, the effervescent headmaster of Spirit School, respected by students and loved by all. Even Archangel Michael asks Amber for advice, which is crazy to me. I'm almost an Archangel myself, and even I haven't had a one-on-one conversation with the Archangel of Archangels.
My mom is hard to live up to, but at least my dad is pretty normal. At the moment, he's sitting on the couch, eating nachos and watching tv. I can't remember the last time he's taken a job. I complete missions every day, but Dad seems more interested in rewatching Game of Thrones for the umpteenth time. To each their own. I guess. I'm not trying to judge him, but I'm not a fan of television. It didn't exist when I was alive and kicking in the physical world, so it doesn't interest me now.
I get a text from Archangel Haniel, asking me to come to “The Hole.” I almost complain to Dad, but I don't think he would understand how horrible this is. The Hole is the worst, and this is the third time I've been thrown into it.
“Well, Dad...” I rise from the adjacent couch, heaving a sigh that goes on way too long. “I guess I'm heading off.”
He pauses his television show and asks, “Is something wrong? Where are you going?”
I guess I should have cut off my sigh before I made my melancholy obvious. Do I tell him, or do I hold my tongue? It's not like it'll matter either way. There's no escaping The Hole. Not even Dad can get me out of this.
“I have to go to The Hole,” I tell him.
“Hole? What's that?”
I'm pretty sure I told him about The Hole the first time I was thrown into it, but that was awhile ago. If he's forgotten, that's no surprise. Dad forgets a lot of stuff. “The Hole is a test for Archangels-in-Training,” I explain. “We're put in a pit, and Archangel Haniel unleashes about thirty to forty demons that were captured in previous battles. I have to take them all on by myself. You always get injured a few times... but that's okay, because they need to test a candidate's healing capabilities too. Let's just say... it's not fun.”
Dad shoves a loaded nacho into his mouth, replying as he chews. “I still don't know why you'd want to be an Archangel, Kay. It sounds dagnam unpleasant to me.”
This is why my dad is probably the biggest geek in the world. In the place of curse words, he uses “dagnam.” Always. Every time I hear it, all I can do is smile, but I'm laughing on the inside.
“A lot of it can be unpleasant,” I admit. “But at the end of the day, nothing compares to the satisfaction you feel when you plunge a sword through the body of a demon that's been sapping a child's energy.”
Dad's already unpaused the tv. I don't know if he heard me, but I'm going to go with no, because his eyes are glued to the screen again. Everyone wants to know more about the world's next Archangel—except for Dad. He can't wait to get rid of me.
I face a mirror and manifest a whole new look for myself before heading outside. I turn my cornrows into a short black bob with a side part and killer bangs. My makeup appears in a snap, but I keep it natural—I don't like to overdo it. I turn my lounge clothes into a steampunk-inspired, cherry red corset with buckles and ribbons. I manifest brown cowboy breeches, and top it off with a black leather coat. I've got to look the part, right?
I wouldn't be surprised if there was a photographer or fan lurking outside my house. I'm usually pretty cool with my fans, but my trip to The Hole has me feeling pretty rotten, and I can't deal with the extra attention right now. The only solution is to warp to my destination—my awful, awful destination.
Archangel Haniel greets me with a smile that does not fit the situation. Does she have any idea how much I hate this?
In her pretty British accent, Haniel cries, “Ooo, Kaylene! You look amazing!”
“Not half as good as you.” I deflect her compliment as I wring my hands. “So, uh... I'm going into The Hole, huh?”
“Yes. Are you nervous?”
Nervous doesn't begin to describe it. I've always hated the phrase “butterflies in the stomach.” Screw that. This is more like a damn dinosaur in my stomach—or a dagnam dinosaur, as Dad might say. Thinking about his silly word eases some of my tension.
“I'm feeling good about it,” I blatantly lie to Haniel. When it comes to my emotions, I lie a lot. In the eyes of others, I always look like cool, confident Kaylene, but the truth is, I'm screaming on the inside. Every time a demon scuttles toward me, my stomach dinosaur tears me up. Demon slaying will never not be terrifying.
Haniel says, “Today, you will be taking on five harpies, six shadowmen, three wraiths, and thirty spiderlings.”
All of that sounds relatively normal until she gets to the thirty spiderlings part. Thirty?! My lips are smiling, but my head is spinning.
“This will be your final challenge in The Hole,” Haniel says. “What weapons will you be using today? You may choose up to three.”
“Two small swords and... a naginata.” It doesn't take me long to decide. I'm most proficient with my swords, and I got my naginata from Taishi Nakamura, who's been my partner through countless training sessions. It's an awesome weapon. It looks a bit like a spear, but with a long, curved blade. I haven't mastered it—yet—but I feel confident enough to use it.
“Leap into The Hole when you're ready,” Haniel says. “And remember... don't leave until the last demon is down, or you'll be disqualified, and you'll have to start all over again.”
I expand my wings and drift down into The Hole. It's a deep pit, dark and cold, with foreboding stone walls and mossy, cracked floors. I hate this place. I would rather be anywhere but the dagnam Hole.
First, the harpies are unleashed. From the waist up, they look like pint-sized, slender, armless ladies, but their feet are talons, and they have hawk-like wings. Best of all, they breathe fire from their beaks. This seems like a job for the naginata, so I keep my swords in their sheaths and my eyes on the beasts. I leap upward, slicing one of the harpies before any fire spills from her beak. The others are more tricky, because they come at me at once, all of them screeching. Four ribbons of fire swirl toward me, and by some miracle, I evade them all. I somersault forward and spring upward, propelled by my wings. Two harpies are simultaneously cut in half by my naginata.
One harpy tries to catch me in her talon, but I pierce through her before she can touch me. When the last harpy tries to retreat, I rocket toward her, skewering her with my weapon.
“Well done, Kaylene!” I can hear Haniel's praise, but she's so far above me, I can't see her. “Get ready for more!”
The shadowmen are next. They look like tall, emaciated humans, with bodies wrapped in smoke. They don't have any eyes, ears or lips, and they're unsteady on their feet. I've never had a huge problem with these guys, even though they look creepy. I easily drive my naginata through the first shadowman that lunges at me. I can sense one approaching from behind, so I stab backward, claiming another kill. One by one, they all fall.
I can't believe it. I'm not even scratched. The first time I went into The Hole, I was probably wounded three times already.
The three wraiths are next. These guys look like reapers, with long robes and tattered sleeves. Their faces are hidden under a dark hood, and when they scream, ripples pour from their mouths. If the ripple touches you, you're momentarily paralyzed—and believe me, I do not want to get paralyzed. If that happens, you can end up in some major pain.
One wraith's clawed hand almost scratches my right wing, but I pivot away before any damage is done. I retaliate with a kick and a pounce, driving my blade into the wraith's hidden face. That's the best way to kill a wraith, because they instantly melt. I handle the other two wraiths the exact same way.
The worst part is still to come, and I know it. Thirty spiderlings? Thanks to a healthy fear of spiders, I hate these smoky arachnids more than anything. Haniel probably chose them on purpose, just to torture me.
I toss my naginata, draw my two swords, and prepare for the inevitable. Thirty massive spiders with smoky bodies surge toward me at once, hissing and clicking and making all kinds of nightmarish noises. At this point, I ask myself the same question Dad asked before I left. Why do I want to be an Archangel?
I whirl like a top, slicing through every spider that tries to jump on me. I probably look ridiculous, but I can't worry about that right now. One spider tries to claw my foot, but I dodge his attack with a split-second to spare. My sword plunges downward, and he explodes with a pop.
Spider arms and spindly legs are flying everywhere. I'm soaked in blood—or something like it—but I'm so focused, I don't even care. Before I know it, there's nothing left to attack me. I'm holding my swords like some kind of barbarian, waiting for my next opponent, but there isn't one. I've taken down everything.
“That was amazing, Kaylene!” Haniel calls to me. “After that performance, I think I can safely say... you're even better than I am.”