Angel Fever (32 page)

M
URRAY
P
ARK SAT ON A HILL
north of Pawntucket. I screeched to a halt in the empty parking lot; the picnic benches looked damp and abandoned.

The whole drive there, I’d had my consciousness linked with Mom’s, terrified that any second I’d sense Raziel with her. So far, he hadn’t arrived. What I couldn’t let myself think about at all was Alex’s final kiss, his lips almost harsh against mine.

A hiking trail snaked away into the trees. I raced down it, old snow crunching under my feet as my breath came in short, icy puffs. When I’d lived in Pawntucket, I hadn’t come here much; I’d sort of saved it for special occasions, when I wanted to feel close to Mom. But the willow tree was just as I remembered, beside a small frozen pond. Its draping branches were empty of leaves now, wreathed in frost like crystal curtains.

The hill dropped away to one side. Below, Pawntucket was laid out like a toy town. As I reached the tree, I froze. In the distance I could see angels coming, spreading across the sky in a solid sheet of white. My breath caught. So many of them!

Alex,
I thought wildly. And Seb, Nina and Jonah, everybody else. There was no way they could defend against that, none.

No,
I thought, staring down at the town. This couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t.

There was no time to try and protect everyone’s auras again; I did it anyway. I quickly shut my eyes and this time didn’t let myself think at all. I just stretched my energy out as wide as I could, as if it were a huge blanket.

Wide – wider. The sensation was bizarre, as if at any second my energy would fray into pieces. But it didn’t – it just kept expanding, getting thinner. Slowly, my heart beating hard, I draped it down over Pawntucket.

The dizzying sense of two hundred different auras hit me; I could feel them all craning towards me in return. My teeth clenched as I tried to grab hold, shrink them down – it was like trying to juggle too many balls at once. I was trembling; I’d never be able to hold this, even if I’d managed to get them all.

The sound of distant explosions started. No more time. Breathing hard, I opened my eyes – and stared as angels jerked backwards in the air like shot wildfowl; others exploded like fireworks, with thousands more coming up behind.

Please, please, let me have done some good,
I thought frantically – and ran for the tree.

As I ducked through its branches, the smell of damp earth enveloped me. Forcing myself to ignore the gunfire, I took a deep breath to steady myself. With one hand, I reached out and touched the tree’s bark – felt its slight roughness. Then I lifted up through my chakras and studied the air in front of me.

At first I couldn’t see anything and was horror-struck. Maybe I’d gotten this wrong.
Stop. Calm. Look again.
And this time, ghostly in the predawn light, I saw the gate just as Alex had described: a small patch of air like rippling water.

Limp with relief, I quickly explored it psychically. Not quite complete yet – the ether felt thin, insubstantial, as if I could flick my finger through. Suddenly my heart leaped so hard it was painful: I could feel my mother’s spirit right on the other side.

Mom, I’m here!
I thought wildly. I craned my energy towards hers; it was as if we were each touching a pane of glass from opposite sides. Warmth started to build: a gentle swirling that was melting away the fabric between worlds.

Suddenly I saw myself twelve years ago, standing in the sunshine, only feet from this very spot – my mother, smiling and taking my photo:
It’s a special tree. Someday I’ll tell you the story of why you’re named after it.

“Mom, I know,” I whispered as other images started to come.

Raziel had met with her here – I’d been conceived here. The barrier between worlds was so thin in this place because her spirit had spent years just a hair’s breadth away, yearning for the angel she’d been in love with. My throat clenched as I saw her looking young, beautiful – her green eyes full of awe.

Raziel had known exactly what he was doing to her and he hadn’t cared.

Then I caught my breath – my connection with my mother’s physical self had strengthened too. All at once I could see everything: Mom was sitting in an armchair in what looked like a lake house, her blonde hair soft around her face.

“Mom!” I cried aloud.

“She’s in here,” said Aunt Jo’s voice.

My heart froze.
No!
With a sense of loving regret, my mother’s spirit in the other world drew quickly away. A second later I could feel her again – still in the angels’ world, but now just beside her physical self.

I trebled my efforts, directing my will at the thin spot between worlds. A tiny hole appeared – I seized hold, began prising it open. A rush of energy came, tugging at me; I gasped at its ferocity.

In the lake house, my mother had come out of her daze and was frowning at the door in confusion. “Mom, don’t just sit there –
run!
” I pleaded.

But she didn’t hear me. She’d never heard me, no matter how hard I’d tried.

Raziel entered slowly, footsteps echoing. He wore a rain-flecked jacket; his black hair was mussed from the wind. He smiled.

“Hello, Miranda,” he said.

“Stay away from her,” I whispered raggedly. The hole between worlds was larger now; I could see another willow tree. On the ethereal level, its leaves were shifting prisms that caught the light.

Raziel crossed to my mother, his tread deliberate against the floorboards. His eyes stayed fixed on hers with a small, considering smile. “Why, Miranda, this is just like old times, isn’t it?”

And he shifted to his angel form and plunged his hands into her aura.

“
No!
” I shouted. The hole wavered – somehow I managed to hang on and keep going. Raziel was instantly aware of me; his thoughts came crawling into my mind:

Hello, daughter. I’m glad you’re here – it makes things so much easier.

Mom’s energy was growing weaker by the second. I struggled to hide my panic.
Leave her alone!
I thought back fiercely. In front of me, the hole between worlds was almost large enough now.

He ignored me.
Perhaps it has escaped your notice, but your town is under attack,
he said.
And, look – I seem to have your mother too.

A breeze shifted the willow’s long strands. Between its frosty branches, I could see Pawntucket; the angels were like a blizzard swirling over it. Gunfire was still sounding.

I’m afraid I can’t stop the attack, now that it’s started,
Raziel said, and actually had the nerve to sound regretful.
Such a pity, but I hope it makes an effective point – that I am not to be trifled with.

My mother’s aura was shrinking, crumpling as Raziel fed. Bile rose in my throat; I could tell he was relishing the taste of her again after all these years.

Stop it! You’ll kill her!

Yes, that would be a shame, wouldn’t it? Especially after the deaths of so many of your friends. But, you know, I think there’s a way we could stop such a terrible thing from happening.

He kept feeding. My mother’s smile was gentle, her body limp and sagging. Oh god, she couldn’t take much more of this. Why did I have to be seeing it – why? With a sob, I managed not to shout out,
Anything! Just stop hurting her!
– and stepped into the breach between worlds.

I reached for the angelic energy field; it surged untamed around me. With the gate open, it was like standing in a howling wind tunnel – yet it was nothing like what Alex had described. The energy of the human world felt natural to me, and so did this.

I couldn’t take hold of it, though. It was too much – too
big.
With a gasp, I craned for my mother’s essence in the angels’ world and grabbed hold; felt her grounding me. And in my own world, there was only one person, wasn’t there? Even now. I reached for Alex and hung on tightly.

It strikes me that we don’t need to be on opposite sides,
Raziel mused.
You have something I want, you see. And I have something
you
want – your mother’s life. The perfect symbiotic relationship.

The churning energy calmed a little. I could sense patterns to it now: there were worlds within worlds here, power beyond belief. It felt as if I had to learn a new language in seconds. Even anchored, if I didn’t do this right, it would kill me.

What do you want from me?
I asked to buy time as I frantically scanned the energy, looking for the key. Somewhere deep down, my soul was being kicked with jackboots. Mom…Mom…

Ah, good girl – you’re seeing sense,
Raziel murmured
. I do admire you, you know, Willow. There is much of me in you.

Just talk,
I snapped.

You have the power to manipulate people’s energy,
he said, all friendliness gone.
I want that power. It’s rather inconvenient for us angels that humans are so damaged by our touch. We don’t
want
that to happen, you know.

Get to the point.
Bracing myself, I took hold of the angelic energy; it was like grabbing a hurricane. I stifled a cry and clutched harder to the people I loved most – felt them holding me fast in both worlds.

I want you to manipulate the humans’ energy so that angels can feed without harming them. They’ll still adore us, but with no lasting damage. In return, I will spare your mother’s life – and your own.

I could feel his confidence that I’d do anything to save my mother. I stood caught between worlds as I took in her face with its dreamy smile – and thought of all the times I’d crouched beside her chair, talking gently to her, trying to bring her back to me. But some part of her still existed in the angels’ world. If Raziel spared her, I could contact her whenever I wanted.

I’d have a mother.

You’re tempted, aren’t you?
Raziel said softly. He’d stopped feeding, though his angelic hands remained in Mom’s life force.
It would be the best way, you know. You don’t want to commit genocide, Willow – I know you. This way, both angels and humans are happy. For we
do
make humans happy. No matter what you might think of us, our touch brings happiness.

A cold wind stirred the willow tree in both worlds. I stood shaking, my face damp with tears as the energy of two worlds surged around me.

Could he actually be right? What would happen if I took the angels away from everyone? Destroyed the only real hope humanity had ever known, even if it had been slowly killing them?

And I must admit, I’ve wanted to know you for some time,
Raziel went on, and I knew he was sincere for a change.
We could rule together, Willow. You’d have a mother and a father.

A flicker of protest came from my mother’s spirit – too weak to form words, but enough to snap my attention back to what mattered. Down below, the sound of gunfire still raged; the angels were churning over the town like hungry seagulls. The battle at the base came back: Sam, falling in a haze of angels; the deaths of almost two hundred people in minutes. Oh god, and I was actually standing here thinking of
bargaining
with Raziel!

I plunged completely into the angelic energy field. The real world dimmed at the edges – I was the centre of a seething ocean. It felt as if I no longer had a body; I was pure energy. I merged with the ocean, became one with it…and started to direct it.

From far away, Raziel’s voice sharpened in suspicion.
What are you doing?

Your happiness is poison,
I said. Like a toreador swirling a giant cape, I manoeuvred the angelic energy towards my own world. The gap between worlds widened with a roar.

The power would have been intoxicating, but holding onto those I loved kept me grounded. Even if I was the only person in existence who could do this, I was still just me – and it was all I wanted to be.

With the energy field of a whole dimension at my command, I started to link it with the earth’s. A howling shudder began that I sensed rather than heard.

Raziel’s voice halted me in my tracks.
Stop or your mother will die.

She still sat in her chair – and though I knew she couldn’t see me, her green eyes seemed to meet mine. On the verge of everything, with power surging through my fingertips, I hesitated. My heart was being shredded.

Raziel moved his fingers back and forth in Mom’s life force, making the dying grey of her aura swirl.
Think carefully, Willow. Do you really want to kill your mother?

And suddenly I was shaking too hard to stand. With a sob, I staggered and then fell to my knees, clutching at the willow’s trunk. I couldn’t do this – couldn’t watch my mother die.
Please, no – I’ll do anything you want,
I started to say – and then Mom’s spirit stirred again.

I felt a wave of love, and then heard her voice clearly for the first time.
This is my choice. I love you, Willow.

My heart quickened – from the cabin by the lake, her gaze
was
meeting mine; I wasn’t imagining it. She smiled, her lips curving gently upwards. Then, with a weary sigh, she closed her eyes and settled more deeply into her chair. I could sense her giving in to the damage Raziel had inflicted.