Wingless (18 page)

"It's starting," the boy says, shaking his head sullenly.

"What's starting?" I ask back, wanting this child to just tell me what he knows. I'm sick of his strange words. I need answers, and I need them fast.

"The war," he says. "He's assembling the army, and soon they'll take over Earth."

"What are you speaking about?" I ask with harshness I didn't know my voice was capable of.

"Luke! The Demons want more land. There's too many to hold in the Lower Veil. They're taking over Earth."

"Oh Rem," I mutter under my breath. I walk away from the desk and the boy, needing to sort through my thousands of thoughts. I pace up and down the annoyingly red carpet and try to come up with a plan as fast as I can. If this child is right, then that gives the Angels reason to intervene. This could be all I need to save Annie. "Come with me. We need to warn the Angels. We need to fight back." I fly to the boy's side and grab his shoulder.

"It's useless," the boy says, trying to get free from my grasp. He rolls his shoulder back and my hand unclasps from him. He gets up from his chair and runs his hand through his sweaty hair, muttering something under his breath like a crazy person. "He has millions of Demons and Nephalem who will fight beside him. We're all going to die!" he yells, shaking from fear.

"Come," I command. I don't wait for his reply. I grab him under the arms and lift into the air. I fly so that the boy can't touch the ground and bring him with me out through the foyer and into the stairwell.
 

He screams about the end of the Earth. Heavy, loud sobs take over his body, and it feels as if he's laughing he's shaking so much. But I can feel the fear radiate off him. Since nobody is around, I pay him no attention and let him get it out of his system.
 

I climb to the roof and take the boy in both of my arms. I cradle him, his head on one arm, his knees across the other, and fling off the side of the building.

"What the hell!" The boy screams as we free fall towards the black pavement. I have to admit, I let my wings stay tucked for longer than necessary just to shut the kid up and scare him into silence. But finally, my wings spring out and pump one time to get us moving back up. After another moment, the boy passes out in my arms, and I fly in peace and quiet.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY

Act of Persuasion

I'm able to make it to the Veil in record time. To say that two trips in such a short period of time didn't take a toll on my body would be an understatement. Luckily, the boy remains asleep for most of the ride. As I start to maneuver my way down the aisle of the Archer's Castle, he starts to stir in my arms.
 

"It's okay," I tell him, so he doesn't get upset right when he awakens. I've memorized the aisles of our communities, so I watch as the boy's eyes flutter open and then widen in alarm.
 

"You're not going to kill me, right?" the boy says, frowning up at me. Although it's clear he's scared, he's able to put on a pretty brave face. He squirms a little, and when he looks down and sees that there is no floor, he clings to my shoulder.

"No," I tell him honestly. "What's your name?"

"Hare," he answers hesitantly, his voice a bit shaky.

"Well, Hare, I need you."

"Me?" he asks, his eyes showing just how confused he is.
 

"I need you to tell my fellow Angels what's happening on Earth. I need your help, because I need to get Annie back. I have to save her."

He pauses, as if he needs time to mull over my proposition. "I'll help you," he finally says. "But I want to help you save Annie, too. You have to promise that I can come. My sister is down there, too."

"Fine," I answer, because I need him. He'll just hold me back and be slow, and I'll have to pick up the slack, but one more body helping me get to Annie is better than none.
 

"So, you don't have ground or anything?" Hare asks as he looks over my shoulder at the landscape of the Veil.

"Not in this area. When we get to the castle, you can walk." I laugh because the castle is really the only area that has floors, which is only because we fight there and it sucks falls straight into the air. I guess we're kind of lazy.

"What am I going to have to say to them?" Hare asks as we get closer and closer.

"Just tell them what you told me," I tell him. "Don't be nervous."

"Easy coming from you," Hare says back to me, a smirk on his face. He goes quiet as the castle comes into view from behind the white air. It's really not all that special, but the first time someone comes to visit, he or she always displays the same shock and awe.

Unlike castles on earth, the Archers Castle is triple the size. This might be because the seven of us live in it, though not by choice. It's awfully constricting and despite its large stature, it's too cramped for my liking. The walls are stark white with little lines to accent doors and windows.

"Why is everything white?" Hare asks as I hover above the ground.

"Rem likes the Veil to be clean. We have perfectly clean air and perfectly white, well, everything," I explain as I place him on the ground. I'm not sure what day it is, but I pray that there are no visitors around.

Hare wobbles a bit on his legs as he gets acclimated to the ground. I have to admit that the air and feel of the ground beneath your feet is different than Earth, but it's still funny to see. Like a deer on newborn legs. Sometimes I'll look out from my window in the castle and watch the even some Angels struggle to get used to our little plot of land.

Although, I almost quit when a child fell off the side of the ground. Angels always think that they're invincible, like Annie did when I brought her to Earth the first time. The kid walked right over to the side and slipped and plunged into the air.
 

"I've never seen anything like this," Hare mutters in awe, his eyes darting from floor to roof of the castle.

"You've never been to the Veil, right?" I ask him back, using my hand to direct him towards the towering castle doors. Hare wordlessly shakes his head no. There's no moat, unless of course you consider the white air as its own protection. There's no drawbridge or anything like that. Just a simple white door in the front.

I raise my arm and open the door for Hare. He steps inside, and I follow behind him, my nerves on high alert as anticipation runs through me. The front room is all for looks. Most of the bottom floor is, since the tours are all down here and not where the living quarters are.
 

Luckily, to get upstairs you need to be able to fly, as there are no stairs or anything human like that. Archers are all adults, so we don't have to worry about the portable stairs that children use until their birthdays.
 

I watch from inside the front door as Hare walks in circles around the room. He pauses to admire the dangling chandelier that's never been used before: we have no need for the artificial light. Actually, I don't even think we have electricity up here.

Sometimes, the Domineers get a little carried away with human influences. Personally, I think it's useless, but that's just my own prejudice. Hare stops at a display case near the back exit and stares at the artifacts found in it.

I fly to his side to see what has caught his attention. This case has one of my favorite objects still encased in its original sheath: Rem's golden sword that he used to take over the Veil, complete with sparkling yellow jewels embedded in the handle. After staring at the thing for hours, I've been able to notice something quite spectacular.

"Do you see right above where the blade meets the handle?" I ask Hare, pointing to the spot through the glass.

"By the diamonds?" he asks back.

"Yes. If you look carefully to right above that little diamond in the middle, you can see some blood from Rem's battle," I tell him, proud of my observation.
 

"No way," Hare says, bending down so his forehead is pressed firmly against the glass. I watch him squint and turn to try to get a good look. "Wow," he mutters when he finally sees it, his eyes glued to the case.

"Pretty awesome, huh?"

"Definitely."

"Come. We have to talk to the Archers. I'm sure they know we're here by now," I tell Hare, pushing his shoulder so he turns in the right direction.

"What are they going to think of me?" Hare turns and asks me with fear coating his face.
 

"Who cares?" I answer back, nudging him to keep going. Before he can get to the door, I open it for him, and he steps through reluctantly. There's really only one way to the court, so I don't bother directing him.

We walk, much too slow for my liking, through the snakelike hallways until it dumps us in the court. This is my least favorite room in the castle, even more so than the foyer.

The only thing I can sort of compare it to is an amphitheater on Earth. There's seating for thousands, which start at the floor and move up near the high-scooped ceiling. There's a small, or at least it appears small from where we come in, stage on the ground that has two tables with chairs set up. That's where the weekly delegations happen.
 

"I have to talk down there?" Hare squeals.

"Nobody will be here, don't worry. It's just the seven of us. They're big on traditions." I grab his arm and pull him down the steps with me. When it's taking too long, I lift him and fly us down. Within a snap of a wing, we're there. I can't stand the slowness of walking, especially when I'm nervously anticipating this meeting.
 

"Someone's inpatient," Hare grumbles as I put him down on the ground next to the stage. I laugh under my breath. I like that he doesn't know who I am. Most people don't speak to me that way. Ever.

"Micha?" Saraquel yells right before I feel her enter. "Where were you?" she asks as she flies onto the stage. Everyone says she's perfect, and I used to believe that. She's the perfect creation with waist long, blonde hair and golden eyes, but she's cold and hard. She acts like she owns me, and it makes me resent her. But we're mated and that's final.
 

"I have news," I tell her, flying up beside her. I realize as I land that I left Hare down below and when I glance back, he has his leg on the stage and is trying to hoist himself up. I stifle my smile as I reach down to lift him up.
 

"What is
that
?" Sara sneers at Hare with disgust laced in her voice and on her face.

"The name's Hare," he says, stepping towards her. He holds out his hand like humans do in greeting and Sara just glares down at him. "Or not," he says as he steps back beside me, shoving his hand into his jean pocket.

"What is the news?" Sara asks, returning her curious gaze to me.

"I need all the Archers. Where are they?" I ask her, looking left and right to decipher where they are. Before I can call for them, Sara whistles with her fingers in her mouth, and I can hear the Archers scrambling from the floors above us.
 

"I'm here, I'm here." Gabriel comes into the room and sits in his usual spot. "Did I miss anything?" he asks as he kicks his feet up on the wooden table and leans back, his hands clasped behind his head.
 

"Just the fact that he brought a halfling here," Sara basically growls.

"What?" Gabe shoots up in his seat and looks over at Hare and I. Hare raises his hand as if showing that he's the halfling, and Gabe smiles. "Well, this should be interesting, friend."
 

"Where are the others?" I ask them, annoyed that they're taking this long to get here. Finally, a heartbeat later, the other four fly into the room and sit beside Gabe at the table.
 

It's always the same order. The three brothers, Raphael, Raguel and Remiel all sit at the left end together—in that order. Sometimes, I still have trouble telling them apart. If it weren't for the fact that Remi cut all his hair off, he'd look like the others, but he's different now.

Uriel sits on Gabe's right side. I have to admit that, at times, I'm jealous of their relationship. They're not brothers, but they act like it in more ways than one. Gabe's my best friend, loyal to the core, and I just have to remind myself of that.
 

I sit at the far right end, next to Sara, my mate. I like to mix it up from time to time and switch seats with her so that I can be next to Gabe, but she hates that. She gets so mad at us that she'll go mute for a week at a time to teach me a lesson. She's coldhearted.

Sara moves over to the table and sits beside Gabe, my spot at the end vacant. I step towards them, mentally preparing myself for what's about to happen. I motion behind me for Hare to step next to me and he just barely moves. I'm sure he's nervous but now isn't the time for that. We have to get this done fast so we can save sweet Annie from the Lower Veil.
 

"I went to Earth to check on Annie," I reveal to them. Sara widens her eyes and leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest in defense. Gabe side glances at her and then looks back up at me, his eyes wide but in a completely different way: he's amused.

"I had a bad feeling about what was going on, so I went to check on her. My thoughts were justified. She got involved with demon hunting and discovered a place called the sanctuary, where halflings were hunting escaped Demons.

"I tried to get her to stop, but she changed from when we left her. She hates the Angels now and refused to trust me or listen to reason. I followed her on a hunt, and she was with Luke." Uriel gasps and covers his mouth with his hands, but I continue on. "He created a portal to the Lower Veil right in the center of the city and took Annie with him down. I went to the sanctuary to figure out anything and found Hare tied up in the closet." I look back and nod for Hare to begin his part of the story.

"Hi," Hare says, waving his hand to the Archers in front of him. I step aside so that he has the floor and pray that he explains himself well. I need him to convince them to help on Earth. "I'm a Nephalem, or what you call a halfling. I grew up in the sanctuary and—"