She wondered how her dad would react when she told him that she was skipping the last part of the semester to go on vacation with the boyfriend he hadn’t even met yet. It wouldn’t matter that she had a plan to e-mail her assignments to Sam to turn in for her, or that she planned to find a way to make it back for her exams. He would be furious. She wondered if he would try to pull her out of UT and transfer her closer to home. Or threaten to not pay for her education altogether.
These thoughts were swirling around her head when Gabriel replied, “We are going to the front lines of the War.”
“Wha…What?” Taylor was dumbfounded. “We agreed that I would stay out of the War! That our lives together and our friendship with Chris and Sam were more important than the politics of angels and demons!”
“Look, Taylor,” Gabriel growled, “you act like making these decisions is so easy and that there are no consequences, but there are. If you don’t help one side or the other, you will be hunted for your entire life. The War is bigger than either of us, bigger than our friendships, bigger than our love. I know you are going to hate me for having to lie to you again, but you left me no choice. The right thing to do is to help the angels win the War, or else there may not be any world for us to live in. It is a hard decision, but it’s what we must do.”
Taylor wanted to scream at Gabriel, to hit him, to leap from his back and try her luck skydiving with no parachute, but instead, she just seethed quietly, trying to regain control of her emotions. Eventually, she said, “You could have told me you felt differently. I was willing to listen.” Taylor’s teeth were clenched, making her words sound slurred.
“I didn’t see it that way. And while I know that lying to you is not a good habit, I will do it to prevent you from destroying yourself.”
“And how will taking me to the front lines of a violent war protect me!” Taylor shouted over the wind.
“Look, I was exaggerating when I said I was taking you to the front lines. We are going to the location where the majority of the War is being fought. However, we will go to the angel command center and training grounds, which is well back from the front lines. That’s why it is literally the safest place on earth for you. You will have the strength of the entire angel army between you and the demons.” Gabriel said this last part proudly, like she should feel privileged to be granted such protection.
Taylor thought about it for a moment, trying to think about it logically. If Chris, who seemed to be one of the better demons, had ratted her out, and the rest of the demons were like the thugs that had attacked her with the gargoyle, then maybe they did need to be destroyed. And if she was going to be safe the entire time, then maybe this was the right decision. She could be pissed at Gabriel later, but as long as she was kept safe, while still being able to help protect the human race, perhaps she should go along with it.
“So in the command center I will be close enough to the action to help?” Taylor asked. Her voice had become calm, even, the exact opposite of her fiery tone just a minute earlier.
“Well, not exactly. Remember when I enhanced my powers by being near you?”
“Yes…”
“I was really close to you then, which made the effect much greater than if you were say…two miles away.”
“How close is the command center to the battlefield,” Taylor asked.
“About a mile,” Gabriel replied. “We will need you on the actual battlefield, close enough that a few of our best soldiers can see you and gain as much strength from your aura as possible.” Gabriel added quickly, “But don’t worry, you will be safe. I will be right next to you, protecting you. If anything manages to get close to you, I can just use your aura to blast them away.”
Taylor’s stomach dropped and her body felt tingly, but not from the thrill of the flight. Wow! she thought. She would actually be in the midst of the battle! While frightening, there was a certain excitement to it as well. And she knew she would be very well protected. After all, she was the most valuable weapon the angels had.
“It sounds like it could be fun, in a weird, twisted, thrill-seeking kind of way,” Taylor admitted grudgingly.
“I’m sorry I lied to you again,” Gabriel said. “But this is the right decision.”
“Whatever,” Taylor said.
She went silent for a while, thinking about the craziness of the last three months. She even pinched herself a few times to make sure that it wasn’t all just an exceptionally long dream. Taylor managed to convince herself to brush aside any anger she had towards Gabriel for his lies—they could be worked out later. Now, she had to focus on the task at hand: playing her role in the Great War. While her mind wandered, they made steady progress towards their destination.
Their destination was about a seven hour flight from UT and in a completely different direction than Mount Olympus, where the angel leaders were located. Located three thousand miles south and two thousand miles east from UT, the equator had to be crossed to reach the front lines of the War.
There was one thing that both the angels and demons agreed on: that the War needed to be confined to a standard location until one side was victorious. In order to keep their existence a secret, which all parties agreed to be necessary, they had to contain the violence in a place that no human would be likely to stumble upon.
All battles were scheduled in advance, so that proper surveillance of the area could be conducted to ensure that a lost or backpacking human didn’t find themselves in the middle of a nasty skirmish. When there was a rare human sighting, all planned battles were rescheduled until the battle-blocker, as they called the humans, had exited the fight zone.
Both sides maintained a command center and training ground behind the front lines. Taylor and Gabriel were headed for the angel command center.
After he had, unbeknownst to Taylor or Chris, formulated the real plan two weeks earlier, Gabriel had phoned Dionysus to inform him of the change in circumstances. Dionysus was extremely happy with the plan. They did, however, have a slight disagreement on where Taylor should be flown to. Dionysus wanted her to come to Mount Olympus first and then the Council would travel with Gabriel and Taylor to the command center. Gabriel disagreed and eventually was able to convince Dionysus that any delay could allow the demons to stop them.
The full Archangel Council of the Twelve would leave Mount Olympus and meet them at the command center. It was the first time that the entire Council had left their haven simultaneously. Gabriel didn’t know whether any Council members would want to participate in the battle in the hopes of gaining glory during the victory, or if they all just wanted to be there to see the end of the War.
As Gabriel thought about introducing Taylor to the Council, a pit formed in his stomach. He felt ill. He had told so many lies that he was starting to lose track. Jonas hadn’t found out about any plans and Chris certainly hadn’t told him anything. But he said what he had to say to convince Taylor to go along with him, to convince her that she was in great danger. He didn’t like lying to her, not anymore, but he didn’t have a choice. He hoped he could contain the remaining lies and get Taylor through the rest of the ordeal alive with their relationship intact.
Once again, they flew in silence as Taylor drifted off to sleep.
Hours later, Taylor was awakened by a gentle nudge from the wing she was curled on top of. “Hey, sleepy head, we’re here,” Gabriel said.
Taylor pried her eyes open and groggily peered over the edge of her flying bed. Below her she saw a massive valley, set between two long, bluish mountain ranges. The sky was crystal-clear and blue, not a cloud in the sky.
“Wow,” Taylor marveled. “It’s awesome.”
“We ensured you would arrive on a rest day. There is always at least one day per week that is free from fighting, to allow each side to recover and to plan strategies. If this were an action day it would typically be very dark, as the demons like to control the weather to gain an advantage. They cover the sky with mountains upon mountains of filthy
black clouds, blocking out any trace of the sun, moon, and stars. They attack us with lightning, tornadoes, and powerful winds. They can easily see us shining in the dark and it is difficult for us to see them hiding.” Gabriel said all of this with a heavy degree of contempt in his voice. It was clear that he had fought many times against the demons.
“If they block the sun and stuff, then how can you fight them at all?” Taylor asked.
“We have to generate light from weaker, artificial power sources, rather than the natural strength of the sun or moon. We try to use floodlights, spotlights, or even flashlights when we are really desperate, but the demons can generally disable them pretty quickly, which puts us at a major disadvantage. That’s where you come in.” Taylor was sitting higher up on Gabriel’s back now, her cheek gently touching his over his shoulder. She saw the edge of his lips curl into a smile as he said this.
“Is there anything else I need to know?” she asked, as they closed in on the center of one of the mountains.
“Not really, you will be involved in all of the strategy meetings so you can ask as many questions as you want. Once we land, let me do most of the talking, I know the angels around here pretty well.” Gabriel paused, and seemed to consider whether to say whatever was on his mind. Thirty seconds passed and he said, “Tay, are we…okay?”
Without a hint of emotion in her voice, Taylor said, “We can talk about all that later. Let’s focus on the War.” They were nearly on top of the mountain now; they appeared to be heading for the highest peak. In an attempt to temporarily get things back to normal, Taylor said, “One more question: Are we allowed to act like…you know…boyfriend/girlfriend?”
Gabriel laughed loudly at her question. “Of course we can. I never planned to fall in love with you, but it happened and I am glad it did.”
“Okay, is anyone from your family here?”
“You said only one more question, that’s two,” Gabriel joked. He answered anyway: “My little brother is here. He just finished his first year of training and is starting his second. My youngest brother is still too little for training and is at home with my parents, going to school.”
Over the last few months Taylor had learned that Gabriel had an angel mother and a human father. He also had two younger brothers, David and Peter, aged fourteen and eight. Despite her many questions, he didn’t give her a lot of detail about his family, but she could tell that he was very close to them; he always had a misty-eyed look or a twinkle in his eyes when he spoke of them.
“Cool, so I’ll get to meet David then. It will be nice to have someone who can tell me embarrassing things about you.” And Taylor meant it. Between her and Sam, Gabriel had heard countless stories about the ridiculous things Taylor had done growing up, like dressing up like a pumpkin for Halloween one year and not being able to fit through the door to the party they went to. She had received no such stories from Gabriel in return.
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Gabriel said. “You’ll get plenty of dirt from my friends. We grew up together and now most of them are soldiers in the army.”
Taylor realized how cold she had become as they had gained altitude. She nestled herself further into his wings as he landed on the circular crest of the mountain. There was a bit of snow on the peak, which measured around thirty feet across.
Trying to stay warm, she clung to him, letting him carry her across to the approximate center of the area. “Close your eyes,” he said.
Taylor shut her eyes tightly and was aware from the warmth that he was resonating light by using the bright sun to create energy. When she could tell that he was back to normal, at least for an angel, she opened her eyes and saw that he had melted away the snow where they were standing.
Hidden beneath the snow was a small metal hatch. Gabriel set her on the ground and reached down, opening the portal. Stairs descended steeply. Taylor had expected to see only darkness in the hole, but instead she observed the soft glow of light and felt a blast of warmth from the opening. She felt a strong urge to go inside.
Grasping her hand, Gabriel began the descent. After only about twenty steps they reached a large landing, from which the light originated. Overhead there were panels that emanated light from within. The light created a heat that Taylor swore felt like a cozy fireplace in a log cabin.
On one wall was a row of elevators, each with a different marking on them. The symbols reminded her of hieroglyphics. “What do they mean?” she asked.
“They are locations,” Gabriel explained. “Each elevator takes you to a different place within central command. They have a unique security system built into them to prevent unwanted visitors from descending into the caverns.” He pressed his index finger to the metal surface of one of the elevators. From the exact point where he touched the door, an orangey-yellowish light began to form as if the metal had been superheated. The light then radiated in concentric circles until the entire door was pulsating with heat. Gabriel pulled his finger away from the door and it opened.
“The doors only respond to the touch of an angel,” Gabriel explained.
They went inside. The compartment was the size of a standard elevator, but very different in appearance. Every surface shimmered with white light, including the floors and ceilings. When the doors closed they sealed so perfectly that it appeared as if they had never been open. If Taylor had closed her eyes and spun herself around a few times, she wouldn’t have been able to tell which wall contained the doors. Or maybe they all did, she thought.
There were no buttons anywhere and Gabriel didn’t seem too concerned with where it would take them; there seemed to be only one possible destination. At first she wasn’t sure if they were even moving, but then she felt her stomach drop, evidence that they were descending rather rapidly. The movement was completely noiseless; the elevators seemed to be well-maintained.
The drop ended and she felt her body weight forced backwards slightly, as if they were moving forwards now, like in a car. “Are we…?” she started to ask.
“Yes,” Gabriel replied, guessing her question. “We are now moving forward and still partially down, kind of diagonally. The transporters move in all different directions so they can reach all parts of the facility.”
The elevator dropped again and then seemed to curve forward, like going down a quarter-pipe at a skate park. Their movement flattened out and then ceased altogether. Taylor waited for the wall in front of her to open. Gabriel motioned towards the one to her right and, as if on his command, it opened from bottom to top, like the door on a Ferrari.
Gabriel stepped out with Taylor gripping his hand and following from behind. Opening in front of them was the most expansive cavern Taylor had ever witnessed. Growing up, her father had taken her caving a few times and they had seen some magnificent caverns, complete with stalactites, stalagmites, and bats, but none of them came close to what she was seeing now.
The space had to be ten times the size of the football stadium at UT. In a normal cavern it would be difficult to take in the full breadth of the cave with only small helmet lights and flashlights to provide visibility, but this grand hall was brighter than being outside on a perfectly sunny day, like the one they had just come from.
Taylor tried to look around to take in all of the different types of light sources, but saw immediately that there had to be thousands of them. She would need at least a week to catalogue them all.
Farther into the “room” she could see hundreds of glowing figures in various groups. There were flashes of light intermittently from each of the groups. Some were flying, others running, and some watching. Taylor knew she was watching angel training.
“Do you know why I brought you here first?” Gabriel asked.
“Because your brother is here,” Taylor replied.
Gabriel nodded and motioned towards a bright figure that had broken off from one of the groups. The boy leapt high in the air, his wings spreading effortlessly, and raced towards them. Taylor backed away as he got closer and cl
oser without slowing down, on a collision course with them.
Gabriel stepped in front of her protectively. At the last possible second, the white figure stopped in midflight and dropped directly in front of them, putting one hand on the ground and landing in a crouch.
Gabriel released Taylor’s hand, and without a word, embraced the boy, hugging him hard. From behind them, Taylor wasn’t able to see the boy’s face because Gabriel’s body eclipsed it.
Gabriel spoke as he released his brother from his arms. “It’s good to see you, David.”
“Aw, don’t get all mushy on me, Gabriel,” David whined. Taylor could see past his façade. He was trying to act cool, but in his voice he sounded pleased that his brother was back. “So, is this the girl?”
“This,” Gabriel said, sweeping his hand in a dramatic gesture, “is Taylor.”
The boy stepped around him and Taylor’s eyes lit up in awe. The boy was the spitting image of his older brother. David was somewhat shorter than Gabriel, having not hit his growth spurt yet, and every part of him was smaller, but his features were nearly identical, as if they were twins that just happened to be born years apart.
“It’s very nice to finally meet you, David. Gabriel has talked so much about you,” Taylor said.
The fourteen-year-old beamed proudly. “Nice to meet you, too. Yeah, I taught him everything he knows,” he joked.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Gabriel said, “but I was very impressed by your pinpoint stop in midflight just then. I remember the last time you tried that, you just about flew straight through me.”
“Aw, bro, that was ages ago. I mastered it in Year One of training. They used to wait until Year Two to teach flying skills, but our class of angels was so talented they decided to teach us some advanced skills.”
Taylor continued to stare at David, marveling at his resemblance to her boyfriend. Interrupting the brothers’ conversation she said, “You look so much like your brother, David.”
“Yeah, sadly it’s a curse I will just have to live with,” David joked.