this is taylor, what the hell r u doing? i know WHAT u r and coming 2 lunch is a bad idea.
She waited in anticipation for a response. She was rewarded a few minutes later with a soft buzzing as a text message was received:
Chris: hi taylor, so nice 2 hear from u. what am i exactly? why such a bad idea?
Tay: stop being a child! u r a demon and my bf is an angel. bad idea!
Chris: i appreciate ur concern, but we r both big boys and can handle ourselves.
Tay: so stubborn…whatever, don’t say i didn’t warn u.
Chris: i won’t, see u at lunch.
Next, Taylor texted Gabriel:
Tay: hi G, wanted 2 give u a head’s up that sam is bringing a “friend” 2 lunch
Gabe: the more the merrier, why did u think i needed 2 know?
Tay: he is NOT human
Gabe: ahh, i c
Tay: r u sure u should go?
Gabe: wouldn’t miss it
Tay: why r boys so frustrating?
Gabe: DNA
Let them work it out, Taylor thought. They would be in a public place so nothing really bad could happen, right?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
When their professor finally dismissed the class, both girls were starving and more than ready for lunch. They arrived at the pizza shop almost ten minutes early and grabbed a table before the lunch crowd arrived in full. Sam ordered three large pizzas for the four of them despite Taylor’s objections that it was way too much food. Sam countered with the fact that there would be two large boys that would likely eat a pie each so they could just split the third.
In their childhood, Taylor and Samantha had been to many birthday parties together, many of which had included pizza as part of the festivities. As long as she could remember, they had had the same affinity for mushroom pizza, so Sam ordered one of those and, assuming the boys would want meat, ordered a pepperoni and a meatlovers for them to share.
Taylor saw Gabriel approaching across the courtyard. He was hard to miss given that he seemed to soak up every ray of sun and shine it back out. Sam didn’t seem to notice. He walked confidently towards the shop, but every now and then his eyes darted warily from side to side, as if he was expecting a sneak attack from the demon.
Entering the shop, he spotted them in their corner booth and a big smile crossed his celebrity-like face.
“How was class?” he asked, sliding into the booth beside Taylor. He put his arm around her, but she reached back and pried if off, which elicited a frown from Gabriel.
Sam said, “Not bad, but it got a bit slow there at the end. By the time it was twelve, all I was thinking about was cheese, crust, and mushrooms. I actually started gnawing on Taylor’s arm.”
“At first it kind of hurt, but then it felt kind of good, like a massage,” Taylor replied, ignoring Gabriel’s frown.
Upon hearing Taylor’s comment, his frown turned to laughter and soon it became contagious, with all of them laughing so hard they had to hold their stomachs. Sam had made the mistake of taking a sip of her Diet Coke after she spoke and now she looked like she might spew it out. That only made them laugh harder until she was finally able to swallow the brown liquid with a loud gulp.
Shortly thereafter, the first pizza was served and Taylor started to wonder whether Christopher would chicken out. She kept it to herself, but Sam—never the quiet one—voiced what they were both thinking.
“Do you think I got stood up?” she asked.
Taylor feigned concern for a second and then said, “Only if all of the planets are in alignment and a giant meteor is about to collide with the earth, causing Armageddon.” Taylor changed from joking to serious in an instant as she touched her friend’s arm and said, “I wouldn’t worry about it, Sam, no one has ever stood you up and they would have to be crazy to do so.” In her mind she hoped that maybe Christopher Lyon was crazy enough.
“Aww, thanks, Tay. And you were spot on with that one, he’s heading across the Square right now!”
Gabriel and Taylor turned to look through the glass window, and sure enough, there was a dark figure moving towards the restaurant.
“Game on,” Gabriel said under his breath. Taylor kicked him under the table, but he just grinned. It had felt like she had kicked a telephone pole.
Christopher walked in with his usual easy smile. Locating the group in the corner, he slid into the booth next to Sam. Taylor noticed how strange it was to see Gabriel and Christopher together—one sucking the light out of the room and the other contributing to the light. Demon and Angel. Dark and Light. Evil and Good. Beautiful and Beautiful. Taylor nearly laughed out loud at her thoughts. At least they had something in common: they were both uncommonly handsome.
Settling in to her role, Sam started the conversation. “Chris, meet Gabriel. Gabriel…this is Christopher.”
“I think I’ve seen you around, it’s very nice to meet you,” Chris said.
“Yeah, I think we’ve bumped into each other before,” Gabriel replied. He added, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Both of their eyebrows were lowered into scowls that were bordering on glares. Their faces certainly didn’t match the cordiality of their words. This was one of those numerous times when having Sam around was invaluable. She would almost certainly keep the conversation light and moving.
On cue, Sam said, “So, Chris…Taylor said she met you near the freshman dorms, so I assume this is your first year, too?”
Taylor glanced at Gabriel when Sam said this to see if he reacted to the fact that she had already met Christopher and had failed to tell him. And she couldn’t pretend to be ignorant as to his nature, because she had warned him about Chris coming to lunch, so Gabriel would know that she knew he was a demon. Gabriel glanced at her, but maintained his poker face. He was either unsurprised or hiding it well.
“That’s right. I haven’t decided on my major yet, so I may be here awhile.” He chuckled. “Although that is not necessarily a bad thing as college is pretty cool so far.”
Taylor said, “I thought you were Pre-Med?” Gabriel winced, as if by speaking to the demon she had caused him physical pain.
“That’s what I’m planning, but it’s supposed to be pretty tough,” Chris said.
“Wow, you want to be a doctor?” Sam exclaimed. Gabriel’s frown deepened and Taylor kicked his tree-trunk-like leg again.
Ignoring Taylor, Gabriel said, “I hear that 75% of first year Pre-Med students switch majors.”
“I think I can handle it,” Chris said.
Sam seemed to sense the change in mood and tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Tay and I were just saying how awesome it is to finally have some freedom. It’s not bad having a meal plan either. Did you know we can use our meal cards to eat anywhere on campus?” Sam said.
“Yeah, that’s sweet,” Chris said. “I’m going to try to limit myself to pizza only once per week. The campus Creamery’s a different story though, I may be hitting that up on a daily basis,” he laughed.
“Tay and I have already been there about ten times so we may be joining you!” Sam said.
Gabriel remained silent, intently watching the exchange between Sam and Chris. Taylor hoped he would stay quiet for the rest of lunch; in his current mood he could only cause problems by speaking. Chris and Sam were clearly hitting it off and it was better to just let nature take its course. Her best friend and the demon—how nice, she thought.
The other two pizzas arrived and the conversation slowed as everyone dove in. Sighs of “mmm, this is good,” and “that hits the spot,” was the extent of the speaking for a few minutes. After two or three slices the girls were nearly full and it became an eating contest between the two boys. Each pizza had ten slices and after Taylor and Sam only finished off half of their pizza there were 25 slices to split between Gabriel and Chris. Both guys were big eaters and 12 slices each later there was only one left.
“You can have it, Chris,” Gabriel offered. There was a
twinge of forced politeness in his voice.
“Oh no, it’s all yours, my friend,” Chris replied coolly.
“No, that’s okay, I’m full,” Gabriel countered, clearly trying to show he was the better man.
“Oh cool,” Chris said, grabbing the pizza and devouring it in three massive bites.
The girls giggled as Gabriel rolled his eyes and mumbled, “That’s mature,” under his breath. Chris grinned widely and rubbed his belly, causing the girls to laugh even more.
With the pizza gone and afternoon classes beginning shortly, each eater swiped their meal cards for a fourth of the cost of the pizza and then exited into the Square.
“Chris, can I speak to you for a minute?” Gabriel asked. Taylor warned Gabriel off with her eyes, but he ignored her and said, “See you ladies later.” He tried to kiss Taylor on the cheek, but she dodged it.
Chris waited patiently.
Feeling like she had no control over anything, Taylor stalked off with Sam, who was smiling after her first “date” with Chris.
After the girls were far enough away, Gabriel said in a hushed tone, “What the hell do you think you are doing?”
“Wow, I’m not sure what you are talking about considering I just met you,” Chris said playfully.
Gabriel was not amused. “I thought I made it clear when I was cleaning the dirt with your face that you should stay away from Taylor. Do you need me to make it clearer?”
Chris continued to look amused. “First of all, if I remember correctly and I think I do, you said to stay away from ‘the girl’, which could have meant a lot of different girls so I wasn’t sure exactly who you meant. Second, I was there to hang out with Sam anyway and Taylor just happened to be there, too. And third, I can hang out with whomever I choose; it is college, our chance to be free.”
Gabriel glared at him, looking like he was ready to pounce.
Chris continued: “If you are planning on spending much time with Taylor, you had better get used to me being around, because I like Sam and I hope to be spending a lot of time with her. Plus, I need to keep an eye on you. I wouldn’t want you to do anything with ‘the girl’ that you would regret later.”
Unexpectedly, Gabriel’s face softened, his eyes relaxed, and he said, “Look, Chris, I think we got off on the wrong foot. We both know that we are born as natural enemies, but now that we are at the same college just trying to have a good time, let’s just forget about all of this and start over.”
The demon’s amusement gave way to annoyance. He said, “Coming from the one that brutally attacked me when I wasn’t ready for it, I think I’ll assume that was a lie. I know exactly what you are doing and why you are doing it. You have no interest in Taylor. You are trying to use the girl and I am trying to stop you. And I will.”
Chris expected an explosion of rage from Gabriel and maybe even a challenge to go settle this now, but instead he got something completely different.
Gabriel’s face remained passive. “Look, man. I didn’t expect to, but I actually do care about Taylor. I swear that’s the truth.” Gabriel’s face projected the innocence of a child.
“I’d like to believe you,” Chris said. “I really would. I would like to believe that there is even the tiniest bit of good within the angel race, but it is going to take more than just words for you to prove it.”
“I will prove it,” Gabriel said. He turned and walked away.
Chapter Thirty
As soon as Gabriel was out of view of any humans, he launched himself into the air and flew off at full speed. He had a three hour trip to reach the location of the Council meeting scheduled for that night.
Reaching a nice cruising altitude, like an airplane, Gabriel let his body’s instincts kick in and carry him in the right direction. He turned his thoughts towards the meeting and how he would convince a majority to vote his way. He would need seven out of the twelve votes, because if it was deadlocked six-six, then Dionysus, as Head of the Council, would decide the outcome. Dionysus would likely vote in favor of a swift abduction of the girl, with no regard for her life.
Gabriel knew that he had to convince them that his plan would lead to a better chance of achieving their ultimate plan. The Plan, Gabriel thought. How strange it was to think that while he was growing up, he had never known what it was really all about.
As children, angels were taught the basics: demons are evil, angels fight demons, and angels have powers. Other than basic instruction on how to use their powers, there was very little else taught. Only the innermost circle of senior angels actually knew The Plan. And, of course, a highly exceptional junior angel, like himself, who was selected for a top-secret mission.
When he first heard The Plan, he wasn’t sure what to think. It made sense in sort of a twisted way, but it had made Gabriel a bit uneasy, too. However, his desire to gain the admiration of the Council eventually outweighed any minor moral concerns that he had.
The Plan was simple. Angels were clearly a superior race to humans. However, angels also agreed that demons were superior to humans as well. The first demon had been created from an evolved human and therefore, was naturally more advanced. The earth was theirs to inherit. But the demons didn’t want to accept what was rightfully theirs. They wanted to co-exist with humans, as equals. They were defying nature.
On the other hand, the first angel was then created from an evolved demon, thus making angels the most superior race, leaving the earth as their rightful inheritance. In all honesty, the angels would likely have been willing to share the earth with the demons, but there were two issues: One, the demons, for some strange reason, wanted to protect the humans and co-exist with them, and two, Dionysus had discovered the path to immortality.
The second reason was the most important one, because angels aged at the same rate as humans, as did demons. However, while performing his worldwide studies of the human aura, Dionysus had learned that he was able to extract the aura from any human and replace it with his own inner light. His old body would die, but he would be able to take over the human’s body, with no change to his angel abilities. The new body would continue to age, but could then be replaced again and again with younger bodies to prevent him from ever dying of old age. It was like replacing an old pair of shoes, or the tires on a car. The feet live on, as does the car. Just the parts are replaced.
Under The Plan, the angels would do the following: One, end the existence of demons by winning the Great War; two, enslave the human race; and three, build a modern day Utopia where angels ruled the earth, and humans were used to provide eternal life.
At this point, ending the existence of demons was fully dependent on using Taylor’s aura to wield a weapon so powerful it could obliterate the entire demon army. Once the demons were out of the picture, the angels could easily take control of the humans.
Once in control, the angels would set up camps where the most desirable humans would be harvested for future angel bodies. A human breeding program would be implemented to ensure there were always healthy and beautiful human bodies available to provide immortality for all worthy angels.
A lot about The Plan bothered Gabriel. Although he believed that the angels should not have to hide their true selves, he also believed that the humans had a right to live, too. While this was contrary to his mission and to The Plan, he figured it wasn’t his decision to make and he couldn’t do much except follow the orders given to him. But that was before he met Taylor. Now, he was confused. More confused than he had ever been.
Before Taylor, life had been simple: learn about his angel heritage, join the army, follow orders, nothing more and nothing less. He never expected to feel such a powerful connection to the object of his mission. His instincts told him to be her advocate and help to develop a new plan where immortality could be gained for angels while still allowing humans their freedom.
But Gabriel was smart enough to know that the Council would not agree with him and that he would be put to death if he promoted such traitor
ous ideas. Instead, he was going to try to buy some time to come up with a solution. He mustered up as much courage as he could before he began to descend towards the white fortress in the hills.
The compound, known as Mount Olympus, had been built by the angels twenty years ago under the guise of a research facility for emerging technology. A top Swedish architect was hired and no expense was spared in making it a marvel of modern architecture. The white sheen that coated the creatively angled roofs led some architects to describe it as “the Sydney Opera House on steroids”.
The institution was highly secretive and no one except its “employees” knew what type of work went on inside. The directors of the facility, who were conveniently the same as the members of the Archangel Council of the Twelve, turned down thousands of resumes each year from highly ranked engineers, doctors, and scientists. Only angels were “hired”.
The facilities were expansive, with six large buildings surrounding an even larger building, and dozens of smaller buildings on the outside rings of the circular complex.
Security was tight, with a high steel wall encircling its boundaries. There were cameras and sensors every twenty yards that were monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by security angels. The infrared sensors could easily track all employees in the complex, based on the intensity of the inner light resonating from each angel, like a visual fingerprint.
If someone unexpected managed to enter the complex, they would be immediately detected. If a demon entered, they would set off the motion sensors without triggering the infrared sensors due to their low body temperature, which would instantly create an anomaly in the system. An alarm would sound and all available personnel would be dispatched to the area. The alarm had never sounded in its twenty-year history and there had never been a true security breach.
Gabriel knew his flight was being tracked as he landed gently in the designated angel landing area. Promptly, two security angels were at his side to escort him into the Dome of Light, the largest building in the facility, lying directly in the center. The first angel was big. The second was even bigger.