Making Waves (15 page)

Outside, trees writhed in this sudden hurricane as if they were trying to uproot themselves. The waters of the lake seethed and churned like a cauldron.

“Come with me,” Marohu’s grandfather told us. We jumped into his canoe and he paddled us fearlessly into the storm. I was too shocked to be scared. I was too shocked to feel anything at all. I had just watched a human plunge screaming to a hideous death. I thought the sound of Mariah’s screams would echo through my head for ever.

There was a sudden thunderous roar. We turned our heads to see the cliff collapsing in agonising slow motion and disappear into the lake.

The old cacique watched as the sacred city of the Taino sank forever. His eyes were clouded with pain. I saw his lips moving. He was talking to someone. Not us. He’d forgotten we were even there. He was talking to one of his gods.

“They did not understand, O Cloudless One,” he said softly. “But one day they will feel lost without you. They will be drawn to look for you in places of wood and water. They will remember you, and understand that they must change their ways.”

There’s a feeling you get when you have to leave Planet Earth, no matter what’s going on at that moment. Like, say someone’s world has just disappeared for ever. It makes no difference. It might seem inhuman, but it’s a call that angels totally can’t ignore.

“It’s time,” I whispered to my friends. I didn’t want to disturb the distressed cacique while he was grieving privately with his god.

Brice and Lola reached unthinkingly for their angel tags. As my hand closed around the platinum disc I felt the unmistakeable buzz of angelic electricity. The broken cosmic connection had been repaired. “We’re ready,” I told whoever was on duty. A whoosh of white light lit up the lakeside.

When I opened my eyes we were surrounded by delighted heavenly personnel; communications guys, maintenance people, time technicians, all talking at once and slapping us on the back.

Our clothes were filthy. Our hair was dusty and matted. Lola and Brice were obviously traumatised. We’d been duped by the PODS. We’d watched helplessly as the sacred city of Coyaba was destroyed, but I had brought my friends safely home.

Chapter Eleven

F
or three days I couldn’t even visit her. That’s how ill Lola was.

It’s not good for an angel to forget who she is, not for so long. It’s not good for us to be cut off from our heavenly support systems, and wander round exposed to toxic vibes. What the PODS had done to my soul-mate had burned her deep, deep inside. I didn’t know if she’d ever get over it.

The first time I visited her, it was torture. Imagine me and Lola not knowing what to say to each other!

She lay there in her bed in the sanctuary, staring out at the garden, and it was like she was just waiting for me to go away and leave her alone.

I was hurt at first. Then I figured out why she couldn’t talk to me.

It hadn’t happened to me
.

I’d never had to wake in a dark stinking hut, stiff and bruised all over from a senseless beating because I had the tiniest trace of African ancestry. I hadn’t suffered such total cosmic amnesia that I believed this was who I was: a member of a subhuman species, a being regarded with such contempt that white people asked each other, in your presence, if you even had a soul.

Like I said at the beginning, my soul-mate and I were torn apart by an evil force. Who knew it would be so hard for us to find our way back?

Michael took me out to tea at Guru and told me I had to be patient. “Give her time.”

“But we’ve been through so much together!” I said miserably. “Doesn’t she realise I’m her friend by now?”

“She doesn’t know what she knows,” he said. “She isn’t sure if she’s an angel or just a slave-girl dreaming she’s in heaven. Cosmic amnesia strikes to the absolute core of what you think you are.”

Michael went really quiet after that and there was this feeling in the air that I just can’t describe.

I was totally perplexed. Did he mean it had happened to him? Could a high being like Michael actually forget who and what he was? Did this kind of thing happen all the time then? Immortal beings getting trapped inside a PODS illusion, forgetting why they came to Earth, unable to find their way home?

I wondered if I’d ever met an amnesiac angel while I was alive. How would I even know? I’d have just assumed they were human, when all the time they were lying awake at nights, aching and aching inside, because something huge was missing but they couldn’t remember what.

Two weeks after Lola came out of hospital, she appeared in my doorway. “Hi.”

She’d been crying. She came in and curled up on a floor cushion and blew her nose. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t get any words out.

“Lola, what’s wrong?” I said anxiously.

Lola burst into tears. “I
miss
you. Isn’t that stupid? You’re right here in this room and I’m really,
really
missing you.”

My eyes filled with tears. “I miss you too.”

I didn’t know what else to say. Well, I could think of plenty, but if I blurted the wrong thing, I could set us back weeks. What should I do? I was practically wringing my hands.

I heard myself say, “Boy, right now I could really do with a couple of lizards.”

Lola just stared open-mouthed, not knowing whether to laugh, cry, or give me therapy. I saw her brush away the tears from her face. “Um, is this lizard problem something new, angel girl?” she asked cautiously, “or is it like, a shameful childhood secret you couldn’t bring yourself to share until now?”

“Actually it goes back to that morning in Diego’s,” I told her.

“Diego’s,” she repeated and she let out a little sigh. “That mission was something else wasn’t it?”

“Just a bit,” I agreed.

Lola went quiet again. I had a feeling she was picturing our shabby room at Diego’s. “You know what was so scary?” she said suddenly. “I’d forgotten what it’s like being human. I’d forgotten how lonely it feels sometimes. And when you’re a slave, omigosh Melanie! I didn’t trust
anyone
at Fruitful Vale, even the other slaves. But I really trusted Brice.”

I let out a giggle. “Boy, you were in big trouble.”

She gave me a sideways glance. “The weird thing was I kind of recognised you.”

I was stunned. “You did?”

“I just didn’t trust what I felt. With Brice it was kind of different. You know.” Lola went slightly pink.

“You
really
knew me?” I needed to make sure.

She nodded earnestly. “Somewhere inside I truly did. I just couldn’t think why the sassafras you wanted to know me. I’m so sorry, Mel, I just imagined you having all these like, dark motives.”

Lola was looking tearful again so I quickly changed the subject.

“Talking of Brice, how’s he doing these days? He hasn’t said two words to me. Just beetles off after class to work in the library or whatever.”

“How would you feel if you were him?” Lola asked softly.

Lola vigorously shook her head. “He didn’t. He got her right away.”

I stared at her. “You think?”

“I
know
,” she said firmly. “He knew something wasn’t right. But he did that thing Brice does. He took it all on himself.”

“Brice has to do it alone,” I agreed. “He’s the original DIY guy.”

“Poor babe. His mission didn’t quite work out like he hoped.”

While she was talking, Lola was rolling up the cuff of her jeans so I could see she was still wearing my fraying friendship bracelet.

“It got a bit faded in Jamaica,” she said in a hinting tone.

“I’ll make you a new one,” I promised her. “Just give me time.”

The day after we had that conversation, Lola and I both received official invitations to attend the Angel Academy HALO awards. I
know
!

“How come we got invitations?” I asked my friend in amazement. “We’ve never been invited before.”

“Maybe we’ve won an award?”

I knew she was just joking.

“Yeah right,” I said. “That really special award you get for helping to sink a sacred city.”

I felt a sudden pang for Brice. He’d tried so hard. Life can be really unfair.

The HALO ceremony was ridiculously short notice, plus we were revising for exams, so I didn’t even have time to shop for a new outfit. I had to wear the glittery grey dress I bought the first time I went shopping with Lola. My soul-mate wore a similar dress in pale gold and we put each other’s hair up.

We examined ourselves in her mirror.

“Hey we look hot, girl!” she grinned.

When we arrived, the hall was packed out with agents and trainees, all dressed up to the nines.

All around us kids were spouting advanced angel jargon. You know the types who love talking in initials? DS for Dark Studies and TTs for time technicians.

Lola fished out a pen from her bag and wrote C.W.O.T on her hand. “Complete Waste of Time,” she whispered. We both sniggered like naughty children.

Then I saw something I never thought I’d see in this universe.

I nudged Lola. “Look who’s sitting across the aisle.”

“How DID they get that boy in a suit?” she said wonderingly.

I giggled. “From the look on his face he’s wishing he was back in the Hell dimensions.”

The ceremony kicked off with the usual speeches about teamwork, yadda yadda, then people were called up to receive their awards.

It was warm in the hall, and I was tired from staying up at nights revising. I kept almost nodding off. Now and then there’d be a burst of applause and I’d jump awake guiltily and realise where I was.

Suddenly there was a huge outbreak of clapping and cheering.

I practically leapt out of my seat. “What’s happening?”

Lola was looking stunned. “We won an award!”

“Don’t be stupid,” I told her.

“I mean it. We won!”

My voice shot up an octave. “What the sassafras
for
?”

“I’m not actually sure. I think it was ‘Brilliant teamwork under unusual adversity’,” she said.

Everybody was craning round, wondering why we weren’t going up to get our trophies.

Mr Allbright stood up. “They’re in shock,” he told the audience.

A ripple of laughter went round the hall.

I followed Lola self-consciously to the front. My knees had totally turned to water.

Brice was waiting for us, looking like some alarming stranger in his suit. We all filed up the steps and there was Michael smiling at us.

Some strange Agency official that I’d never seen in my life made a speech about how we were the finest example of something or other he’d seen in such young trainees.

Apparently we were supposed to say something. Unfortunately, I’m totally chicken about public speaking and I completely froze. Brice just stood silently glowering at the audience. Not the most shining example of angelic teamwork, you have to admit. Lola saved the day luckily. She stepped up to the mike, beaming, looking absolutely divine in her glittery gold dress, thanking everyone for supporting us while we were going through our ordeal.

“But most of all,” she said breathlessly, “I want to thank my team-mates, Mel and Br—”

Brice turned white and bolted out of the hall.

“Better go after him,” Michael whispered in my ear.

I found him outside the building, practically in tears.

“Hey, you’re missing your big moment,” I said. “What’s up?”

Brice shook his head. “I’ve been asking myself the same question. I think I got scared.”

“Of an award ceremony! After the stuff you’ve seen?”

He wiped his eyes, trying to laugh. “It wasn’t stage fright, darling. It was more like that old Taino guy watching his city go under the water. Like my entire life was ending or something.”

“WHY? This is just the beginning. You wanted that award, that’s—”

“I know,” he said angrily. “Look, this is humiliatingly cheesy, but maybe I’m not sure I deserve it.

“Why ever not?” I said. “You didn’t know who you were but you had all these like, amazing principles. You even tried to save Mariah, when I’d have been tempted to—”

“I know, I know, OK? Spare me. So am I like, a really good boy now?” Brice peered down at his suit in a kind of horror. “Because, be honest, sweetheart. Is this really me?”

I felt like slapping him. “This is ridiculous, man! Why are you so hung up about a stupid suit?”

“Because…” Brice struggled for words. “I knew how to do
twisted
, OK? Twisted really worked for me. I’m not sure I can hack that other stuff.”

“I don’t see a tragedy here,” I said firmly. “I don’t even see a teeny weeny problem.”

“You don’t?”

I patted his shoulder. “Absolutely not. You can be twisted if that’s your style. You can be that twisted angel boy who goes around in a stinky Astral Garbage T-shirt. You can be that dark dangerous twisted teenage angel.”

Brice perked up. “Dangerous? Ooh, sounds promising!”

I swatted him with my sparkly clutch bag. “Come on. Let’s go and rescue poor Lola from the AWTIIs.”

He looked blank.

“Angels Who Talk In Initials!” I grinned. We started walking back.