| |
I ACTUALLY GET AN INVITE to the next big battle against the forces of darkness. I'm a bit surprised, because a lot of heavy hitters came out today. Uriel. Gabriel. Jophiel. Haniel came with a handful of her students, some of which I've worked with before. Among her Archangels-in-training, I recognize Taishi and Kaylene, both of which will be graduating soon.
The demon army has amassed at Chichen Itza, located on one of earth's ley lines—the planet's power grid, more or less. When demons get tired of feasting on human energy, they sometimes target a ley line instead, sapping the rich power that gathers there. It's our job to drive these shadowlings back to the low density realm where they usually dwell.
I feel like I have something to prove today. I really can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Uriel and Gabriel. I'm not the harmless Archangel they believe me to be.
Before the fighting starts, Jophiel sneaks up beside me and says, “At least you almost look the part today.”
I can feel one of my eyebrows inching up to my forehead. I've never really liked my eyebrows. They're so pale, they're practically colorless. “Pardon?”
“Your leather jacket,” Jophiel says. “It almost makes you look tough.”
That's precisely why I wore this jacket instead of one of my usual sweaters or button-down shirts. I wanted to look tougher, if not slightly intimidating. Perhaps I've made it too obvious.
“You don't look much tougher than I do,” I tell him, even though I know it's a lie. Jophiel has wicked eyes, capable of intimidating with a single glance. I don't have that talent. I have what Haniel once described as “angel eyes.” I look like I should be harmless, and I doubt the leather jacket is helping much.
“Are you serious?” Jophiel snickers at my comeback. “You don't look tough in the least, Sandalphon. You know that, right? You look like you might hug a demon to death, and that's it.”
The only reply I give him is a growl.
“I'm not saying that's a bad thing,” Jophiel says. “You have a kind face. There's nothing wrong with that.”
I'm finished with this conversation, if only because the battle has officially begun. Gabriel taps the earth with his sword, forcing the demons to rise from their hiding place in the ground. Suddenly, we're surrounded by at least thirty shadowy figures in various shapes and sizes.
My first target is a ten-foot, slender, faceless shadowling in the shape of a man. I swing my sword upward, unleashing a semi-transparent bubble from the blade's soaring edge. Some of the other Archangels have criticized my choice of weapon, but I think there's no safer, wiser choice. The bubble paralyzes my enemies, then I can move in for the kill.
My target's skinny bowlegs halt in midstep when the bubble touches him. He makes a piercing shriek, and his smoky body loses its shape for a moment. As soon as he's frozen, I dash forward, slicing across his stomach. He splits in half, and the rest of his body dissipates.
I glance behind me, checking Jophiel's progress. I want to prove to him that I am tough, but I doubt I could keep up with him. Behind Jophiel, I catch a glimpse of Haniel and her students, surrounded by a horde. My first instinct is to assist them, but they seem to be handling themselves well enough.
I take on my second demon. It's a spider-type, with long, spindly legs that wobble as it walks. As I lock on to my target, a stream of sizzling venom shoots from the spider's fangs. I pivot away, barely avoiding a burn.
I plan my counterattack carefully, focusing my attention on my sword. Within seconds, my arm turns ice cold, and I send that freezing energy into the blade. Dodging another stream of venom, I leap backward then forward, swinging my sword in the spider's direction. A shard of ice is launched from the blade, and it cuts a hole through the demon's body.
I hear a scream from one of my allies, and to my amazement, it's Jophiel who's suffered a wound. His entire right arm and part of his shoulder was charred by the fiery breath of a harpy. It's rare to find a harpy on the battlefield, but they're easy to spot when they do appear. They look like armless pixies with hawk-like wings. Though small, they're deadlier than they look. At the moment, I'm sure Jophiel would agree with me.
I don't want to miss an opportunity to aid a supposed superior, so I rush toward Jophiel and swing my sword at his attacker. The harpy shoots upward, snickering as she dodges my blade. She's such a cheeky little thing.
If there's one thing I'm good at, it's long range attacks—in fact, I daresay I'm one of the best. I swing my sword again, catching her off-guard with one of my paralyzing bubbles. While she's frozen in midair, I finish her off with a flying shard of ice.
While I'm busy saving Jophiel, he's busy saving me. I see him skewer a spider that was creeping toward my flank. I give him an appreciative nod, but I get no such gesture of gratitude from him.
The battle lasts only five minutes, but it feels like an eternity. In the end, every shadowling is reduced to dust, and only a few of us are injured. Among the injured is Uriel, which is rare. Uriel and Jophiel both look equally sulky over their wounds, and I can't say I blame them. I know what it's like. I hate to admit it, but I'm usually the one who's limping away at the day's end.
I check on Haniel and her students, two of which are injured. I wrap one of them, a young man, in a cooling shell of light. It won't speed up the healing process, but it should reduce his pain.
One of the uninjured students is Kaylene, Amber's daughter. Despite being an Archangel trainee, Kaylene is probably more popular than me. Because Amber has a lot of clout—even among Archangels—great things are expected of Kaylene. So far, she seems to be proving herself.
I puff up my chest and swagger over to Kaylene. I give her a smile, though I seriously doubt I look charming. Truth be told, I don't know how to smile and not look like a dork.
“You did well today,” I commend her.
She doesn't reply right away. She's probably trying to decide if I deserve a similar compliment. Finally, she says, “So did you.”
“You're easily one of Haniel's most promising students,” I tell her. “You and Taishi. That's what she tells me.”
“Good to know.” Kaylene sounds bored by my praise. It's as if she's heard this a hundred times before.
“Did you know that Jophiel used to be Taishi's trainer?” I ask. “They had a falling out, and Taishi was reassigned.”
“Yeah, I heard about that.”
Kaylene still sounds bored, so I'm going to assume she has no interest in discussing Archangel gossip and scandal. “So, uh... you wield two blades at once?” I ask, looking down at the short, curved, purple swords in Kaylene's hands.
“Sometimes.”
“Only when the mood hits you?” My reply sounds stupid, even to me. I've never been the best at starting conversations. “Uh... so... I was wondering, Kaylene, if you would like to go out sometime? For dinner, or... something.”
Her answer leaves zero room to hope. “Sorry. I can't. I really want to focus on my studies right now.”
“Ah. Always the diligent student! That's... good.” I take a sheepish step backward and give her a corny wink. Alas, my winks always look corny. “I'll, uh... I'll see you around, then.”
I hurry away from Kaylene, feeling like a fool. I'm probably the only Archangel who's been rejected, and it's happened to me more than once.
Gabriel says he needs to cleanse the earth around Chichen Itza, so we all hang around and watch him do it. I sit down and turn on my LightTab, which I had powered off during the battle. I didn't want to get distracted with a text while I was surrounded by demons. That would've been incredibly inconvenient.
As it happens, I did get a text during the battle. It's from a man named Jasper, one of Mikey's secondary spirit guides. It's shockingly brief.
It says, “Mikey passed away. I'm taking her Home.”