Archangel Evolution (17 page)

T
aylor opened her
eyes. A dark room, torches flickering. Hurt to move.

Gabriel said, “Amazing.”

Taylor turned her head to the left, saw her
boyfriend. He was sitting next to her, holding her hand. “What’s
amazing?” she asked.

“That you’re awake already.”

Hours, days, weeks: Taylor had no idea how
long she had been asleep. “How long?” she asked.

Gabriel checked his wristwatch. “Exactly
thirty-five minutes. The doctors didn’t even have to stitch you up;
your body took care of the healing on its own. A wound like that…”
Gabriel shook his head. “Not many angels would survive that. I
don’t know if I would have.”

“The snake?”

Gabriel said, “Not real, and yet real,
somehow. Gone. Disappeared. My brother has evolved somehow, like
the others. Lucas, Cassandra, and the rest—all evolved. Stronger,
like you.”

“Where is he?”

“Who?”

“Your brother.”

“Gone. Escaped. Managed to fly off even after
being chomped on by Rocky. Was so fast no one could catch him.”

“Rocky?” Taylor said. “But the gargoyle that
saved me was huge. Rocky is just a little guy.”

Gabriel laughed. “You haven’t visited your
friend in a while, have you?”

“I guess not,” Taylor said. “But that
big?”

“It’s been two months, Tay. He’s full size
already. And he is well above average in height and weight.”

Taylor’s mind flashed back to the gargoyle
that had saved her. He didn’t resemble the Rocky that Taylor
remembered. While staying in the Lair over the Christmas holidays,
Taylor had befriended a newborn gargoyle. Rocky was unlike any
other gargoyles—a free spirit. He allowed Taylor to feed him by
hand and seemed to actually look forward to her visits. Even the
gargoyle master, nicknamed Gargo, had told her it was a unique
relationship. But she had been so busy with her training that she
had forgotten all about him. And now he had saved her life.

“Where’d he come from?”

“After securing Cassandra, Chris brought
Rocky back. He thought we might need reinforcements.”

Taylor said, “He was right.” Her muddled
brain was trying to process everything that had happened. She was
forgetting something. “Chris, Sampson, Kiren…” She ticked them off
on her fingers. Gabriel looked at her strangely. Then she
remembered. “Oh, no.”

Gabriel squeezed her hand. He said, “They
took her, Taylor. Sam has been captured.”

Taylor took a deep breath.
It will be
okay. We will get her out.
“Trade Cassandra for Sam,” she
said.

“That’s the plan,” Gabriel replied. “We
expect that Dionysus will go for it considering how powerful she is
now.”

“A New Archangel,” Taylor murmured.

“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked.

“That’s what Lucas called himself. I think
what happened to me—how I evolved from human to angel—inspired
Dionysus to push the limits on the Archangel Council’s
evolution.”

“Well it worked,” Gabriel said. “They were
tough as hell. I used to disarm Cassandra in about three seconds in
a swordfight. Now…”

“We have to get Sam back. How’s Chris?”

“Beside himself with worry, but focused on
getting her out. I will be meeting with Clifford and Chris in a few
minutes to modify our plans as necessary.”

“I’m coming too.”

“Taylor, you need to rest, recover.”

“I’m fine,” Taylor said, pulling the covers
down to her waist. She was wearing a hospital gown. Unworried about
modesty, she peeled off the gown and looked at her chest, expecting
to see deep bruising and a bloody hole in her. Instead, there was
nothing. Her skin was smooth and free of damage.

“My gosh, Taylor. If the New Archangels heal
that quickly, they may be invincible.”

“Don’t say that. There’s a way to beat them,
I know it.”

Gabriel stared intensely into her eyes, and
then said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Taylor changed into a fresh set of clothes
that someone had left beside her bed. The jeans were about a
thousand years old, ripped in all the right places, as comfortable
as being naked, except without the embarrassment. Her t-shirt was
dark and contrasted sharply with the soft glow of her skin.

They took a transporter from the medical wing
to Clifford’s office. When they walked in, Chris was already there,
speaking in hushed tones to the head of the demon Elders. His mouth
opened when Taylor came through the door, but not because he was
going to say something. In fact, he appeared to be speechless.
Taylor put her hand under his chin and pushed up, closing his
mouth.

“Me angel. Me heal fast,” Taylor said, doing
her best Tarzan impression.

Clifford smiled. “Indeed,” he said. “I’m glad
you’re here.”

Taylor said, “So the first priority will be
to get Sam back?”

Chris said, “Yes, we will trade our
prisoner.”

“Yeah, Cassandra,” Taylor said. “Any
possibility I can slap her around a little before we let her
go?”

“Only if I get to participate,” Gabriel
said.

Clifford said, “You won’t have much time.
Dionysus has already agreed to make the trade today. It seems he
values her highly.”

“Tell him what you think,” Gabriel said,
encouraging Taylor.

Taylor explained how Lucas had referred to
himself as one of the New Archangels and how Taylor believed they
had managed to evolve into a more powerful form of angel.

Chris said, “It’s like I was telling you,
sir. They’re tougher, stronger, faster. We had them way outnumbered
but could barely defend ourselves.”

Clifford stroked his beard, his usual sign of
deep thought. “Hmmm….,” he mused. “If they have evolved, it’s only
a matter of time before Dionysus allows more and more of his army
to do the same, to ensure they win every battle. I fear that when
we lose our prisoner, who we were hoping to use to draw Dionysus
out of his stronghold, that we will lose our only advantage.”

Chris’s face sharpened. “Are you saying we
shouldn’t trade Cassandra for Sam?” he said. His tone was
accusing.

“Not at all, my dear boy. I am simply saying
that we need to find another way.”

“Like capture someone else?” Chris asked.

“No, like use a different kind of bait. Like
me.” Clifford’s eyes were sparkling and he wore a wry grin.

“You would be the bait? I’m not following,”
Chris said.

Clifford leaned back in his chair, his hands
behind his head. He sighed deeply. “Besides destroying the demons
as a whole, Dionysus wants to see me destroyed. I was his father,
and he hated me for it. When I found out that his view of the world
was different than mine, I gave him a hard time about it. Told him
he was crazy, that he was a fool. I didn’t listen to him, or even
try to understand. He never forgave me for that. I know him. He
never forgets a grudge. I can draw him out. I can be the bait.”

Taylor, Chris and Gabriel looked at each
other, waiting to see who would reply. Taylor said, “It’s not your
fault he is the way he is, Clifford.”

Still smiling, Clifford said, “It took a
while for me to convince myself, but I finally did. I know that
now, but I still have regrets.”

Gabriel said, “There’s too much to risk. You
are the face of the demons, they turn to you for guidance, to
comfort them. What if something goes wrong?”

“It won’t. And if it does, there are many
others in the Eldership that are capable of taking my place.”

Taylor said, “I will protect you.”

Clifford nodded. “It’s settled then. We
recover Sam, and then set a trap for Dionysus, while Gabriel
creates a rebellion amongst his people. Should be simple, don’t you
think?”

“With Super-Angel here,” Gabriel said,
motioning to Taylor, “it should be a piece of cake.”

T
he boy was fully
recovered. Remarkable. Nearly eaten by a monstrous gargoyle and he
was ready to fight again within hours. The boy stood next to
Dionysus, watching him intensely. Dionysus stared right back.
Dionysus said, “What do you propose we do, David?”

“Forget Cassandra. The human girl is too
valuable to waste on a trade.” David’s words were cold, uncaring,
businesslike.

Dionysus decided to put him to the test. “We
can’t just abandon one of the New Archangels. What if it were you
that was captured, David? What then?”

“I would say the same thing. My life is
forfeit compared to carrying out The Plan.”

Dionysus was impressed. He detected only
truth in the boy’s words. Of course, the boy was extremely hard to
read, his voice monotone, bland, emotionless, like something out of
a thriller movie where the killer is a child sociopath looking to
chop his family to bits before snacking on their body parts.

“What if I disagree with you, decide to make
the trade?” He was testing him again.

The boy’s eyes never left his. “I will
support you. But then I have another idea.”

Dionysus said, “Go on.”

“I lead a mission of the New Archangels. We
need to draw the key demon supporters out of the hole they’re
hiding in, and without the human girl, we don’t have any bait. So
we start attacking humans. That will surely get their
attention.”

Dionysus raised his eyebrows and finally
blinked twice—he had been staring at David for more than five
minutes without moistening his eyes.
Attack humans
. Dionysus
had never really considered it. The Plan had always been very
specific on the order of events. Defeat the demons—the protectors
of the humans—and then the rest would be easy. Sure, he had
murdered his fair share of humans but only when absolutely
necessary for experimental purposes or for some specific reason.
But haphazardly killing humans just to get the demons attention? It
was madness! It was also genius.

“Okay, David. Your mission is approved.
You’ll leave as soon as we get Cassandra back. But it will only be
you, Lucas, and Cassandra.”

“Yes, my lord,” David said.

T
he agreement was
specific. The trade would take place halfway down the battlefield.
No Archangels could participate, except for Cassandra, of course,
who was part of the trade. Christopher, as well as any angels
supporting the demons were also prohibited from participating, as
Dionysus said, “The filthy traitors are not recognized by the
angels as authorized demon parties.” Taylor fell into the category
of Archangel, according to Gabriel.

She watched the transaction on a large
screen, which was fed by a series of cameras that were used to film
each and every battle in the Great War for tactical and strategy
purposes. The room was filled to capacity, like a sold out movie
theater showing the latest
Harry Potter
film. It was mostly
demon Elders, and a few dozen other key army personnel.

Gabriel sat on her left and Chris on her
right. Sampson was also there. Kiren would participate in the trade
as she didn’t meet any of the criteria to be excluded—and she had
insisted.

The tension level was high. Any number of
things could go wrong, which Chris couldn’t seem to stop pointing
out, like he was trying to prepare himself for the worst. He
whispered to Taylor, “What if Cassandra tries something? I don’t
trust her.”

Taylor sighed. She reminded him, “The
agreement is that both prisoners must remain bound until they are
back in their respective mountains. If they try to release
Cassandra early, you’re gonna teleport Gabriel and I out there and
we will resolve the situation together. Try to breathe, Chris. It’s
going to be okay, I promise.” Taylor was surprised to hear herself
making a promise for something she had very little control over.
Lately she had been surprised to see herself doing a lot of things;
it was as if she were a robot, being controlled remotely by some
great inventor.

Chris’s cheeks inflated, and then he released
the air in a long, slow breath. “Thanks, Taylor.”

She nodded and grabbed his hand, gripping it
tightly. Her other hand held Gabriel’s, but not as firmly. She
turned her attention back to the screen, where the first flicker of
activity was occurring.

A trio appeared in the distance, walking
towards the camera. Using her angel eyes to zoom in on them, Taylor
said, “The one in the middle has a sack over her head.”

“That was also agreed,” Gabriel commented.
Taylor remembered that the rest of the agreement included no
teleporting, flying, or even running fast. Both parties could only
send two escorts, who were required to walk “reasonably slowly” to
the meeting place.

A similar trio appeared in the foreground
with their backs to the camera. Taylor recognized one of them as
Kiren, and knew the curvy one in the middle with the bag over her
head was Cassandra. Taylor cringed at the thought that Gabriel was
once friends with her. Out of the corner of her eye she glared at
him. He didn’t notice.

The second escort—another demon—was someone
Taylor couldn’t recognize, or didn’t know.

They proceeded at a similar speed to the
approaching party, ensuring that they met at the exact center of
the valley, which was marked by a flag, half-white, half-black. The
long walk took only eight minutes, but felt like an eternity to
Taylor.

As the traders approached each other with
their prisoners, the camera zoomed in to show as much detail as
possible. Although the camera was capable of picking up sounds—the
intermittent chatter of birds chirping for example—neither party
spoke. Instead, Kiren and her counterpart simultaneously raised
their hands and clasped the prisoner head coverings. With a
dramatic flourish, they removed the sacks.

It was Sam alright, and she actually managed
to smile. Lighting up the screen, her teeth and lips looked
beautiful, in spite of whatever she had been through while
captured. Taylor wished she could see more than just the back of
Cassandra’s head. Her face would likely be contorted into a sneer
of sorts, a stark contrast to the vision of goodness and beauty
that stood before her. In the purest sense, Sam and Cassandra
represented the difference between good and evil, love and hate.
Interesting that they found themselves being traded for each
other
, Taylor thought.