She stared at the creature, unblinking. Interestingly, the gargoyle ignored its other three viewers and stared right back at Taylor. To get a closer look, the beast sauntered up to the bars, its giant legs crashing with each step.
“I wonder why it’s so interested in you, Taylor,” Gabriel said. His face looked puzzled, confused. Suddenly his eyebrows arched, as he came to some kind of realization. “Oh freakin’ hell, it can see your aura, Tay!” Things suddenly seemed to move in slow motion as Gabriel yelled, “Ruuuunnn…..Taaaylllorrrr!” As he screamed he dashed towards her, his arms outstretched. He was too late.
The gargoyle lifted a single clawed finger towards her and instantly she felt a tingling sensation like she had felt when Gabriel had first accessed her aura. She began to shine brightly and then, just as Gabriel’s streaking form collided with her, there was an explosion of light and the cell’s metal bars were vaporized. The gargoyle was free.
Taylor had had the wind knocked out of her and was wheezing, trying to catch her breath, while lying face down on the ground with Gabriel partially on top of her. She pushed with her arms to try to free herself, and heard Gabriel roar in pain as he rolled off of her. Evidently, he had not been as lucky as the others, and while he had been able to knock Taylor out of the way of the blast, his foot had caught the edge of it. Taylor looked down at the mangled stump at the end of his leg and could see a stream of bright white blood flowing freely from his extremity.
Luckily, the gargoyle seemed a bit confused by what had happened and was standing still clawing at the empty air where the bars used to be; it seemed to be trying to work things out in its brain.
Despite his injuries, Gabriel yelled, “Sampson, David—can you handle it?”
Sampson and David had managed to avoid the explosion, rolling to the opposite side of the gargoyle’s cell. Sampson replied by lifting his fist with his thumb up. He barked orders to David, who looked ready for action. “You distract it from the front and I’ll go for the wings, got it?”
David nodded in understanding.
Taylor clambered to her feet and helped pull Gabriel up after her; he was hobbling on one leg. Taylor headed for the door with Gabriel hopping along beside her. “We’ve got to get out of here quick,” Gabriel instructed.
Taylor was unable to reply as she was still having trouble breathing, but she picked up her pace upon hearing his command. Just as they exited the door and turned the corner, a powerful spout of white flame shot through the doorway, licking the rocky walls. The gargoyle had finally moved from its cell.
They continued to move down the hall, as behind them they heard sounds from the fight they were missing. Agitated, the gargoyle was groaning in protest, and the roar of fire escaping its lips echoed through the passageways. They heard someone, presumably Sampson, shout, “Now!” and then a ripping sound, followed by a loud thud! The beast had fallen.
They stopped and turned around. Gabriel shouted, “Everything alright, guys?”
“No problem,” Sampson announced, exiting the dungeon with David close behind him. David was wearing a wide smile, the adrenaline from his first close gargoyle encounter still pumping through his veins.
Taylor touched Gabriel’s arm and said, “Thank you for saving my life again.”
“It’s my fault, we should never have gone in there,” Gabriel replied.
“No it’s not, I wanted to go in. No one could have seen that coming. It doesn’t matter now, we need to get you to a doctor.” Taylor was concerned, as his tattered leg hung in the air.
Gabriel laughed. “It’s a mere flesh wound. You forget that angels have incredible healing powers. It’s rare to have an injury that requires our healers to get involved. Let’s go back to your room to rest and you can see it in action. Sampson, David—not a word to anyone about what happened. Can you take care of the mess?”
“Sure, buddy,” Sampson said. David looked frustrated that he wouldn’t be able to tell his friends the amazing story.
Taylor and Gabriel made their way back to her room via rarely used paths to avoid being seen. As a temporary fix, Gabriel had taken off his shirt and wrapped the bottom of his leg in it, so he wouldn’t leave a bloody trail behind him.
Taylor couldn’t help but to admire his toned body and had a sudden longing to be back at college with him, young and in love. She wondered if she could ever forgive him for all of this. He had saved her life twice now, which seemed to warrant a second chance. No! she thought. Not again, no more being stupid. Dammit! She wished she could turn off her brain.
Back at the room, Gabriel slowly unpacked the wound, which was already looking better than it had down in the dungeon. What was previously just a stump was now a fully formed ankle. Taylor watched in amazement as within minutes, his heel reformed in front of her eyes. The hole was still bleeding and she put a finger into the liquid, gathering a drop onto the tip. She put it up to her eye, inspecting it closely. The liquid was as white a substance as she had ever seen. Whiter than milk, it shimmered and glowed as if it were radioactive.
“The blood of an angel can heal many human ailments,” Gabriel explained. “Just a drop on your forehead can cure a headache faster than Tylenol. A few drops on a broken leg will repair the bone fragments within hours. Putting angel blood into a gunshot wound will actually extract the bullet and then seal off the hole.”
“Why don’t angels try to help injured humans?” Taylor asked.
“Because we are still trying to keep our secrets. At this point we don’t want to upset the balance of nature.”
“That’s BS and you know it. Stop giving me the ‘right’ answer. You sound like a robot.” Taylor was sick of the lies. And even sicker of believing them. No more.
Gabriel frowned, but nodded. “You’re right. The real answer is that I don’t know why we don’t use our blood to help humans. We should.”
Satisfied with his honesty, Taylor said, “Why did that gargoyle attack us? If it was created by angels, shouldn’t it be loyal you?”
“Excellent question. You are correct that angel gargoyles will not usually harm an angel. This is especially true on the battlefield, where there are plenty of demons to command their attention. However, in such close quarters, when a gargoyle is distracted by a human like you, they can become less predictable. I should have thought about that before I took you in.”
His foot was completely reformed now. He flexed it up and down to test the mobility and then stood up, putting his full weight on it. “Good as new,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m perfectly fine,” she said. “Let’s get this over with.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Similar to Taylor and Gabriel, Samantha and Christopher had awoken early. Sam had gotten ready in record time, which gave them a chance to have a long breakfast together. She was dressed in her workout clothes: a bright red tank top and her favorite black Lululemon pants. Chris wore a simple pair of black shorts and a black hoodie.
At breakfast, the dark male and female demons at the other tables looked at her curiously, which made her uncomfortable. “Maybe you should introduce me so they stop staring,” she grumbled.
“There will be plenty of time for that later. Anyway, they already know who you are because you were named in the briefing papers they received this morning. You are essential to the mission today. Let’s just eat and then I can show you where we will be positioned during the battle.”
Not feeling like arguing, Sam finished her food quickly and they left the dining room. Chris had a sneaky smile on his face as they walked up a steep incline.
“What are you grinning about? Are you trying to give me a workout on these hills?” Sam said.
“Nope, just excited to see your reaction to something,” Chris said secretively.
Sam liked surprises and opted not to question him further as they hiked higher and higher. They reached a set of stairs that seemed to rise forever. More than a thousand steps later—Sam had lost count after ninety-six—th
ey reached the top. Sam could see light coming from a small hole in the rock wall.
Chris led her to the hole and climbed through it, disappearing from sight. Having no other choice, Sam crawled after him, annoyed at having to get dirty in the process. Emerging from the crevice, Samantha’s mouth fell open, in awe of the sight that had opened before her. The view was breathtaking; they were near the top of a mountain and looking out into the valley below. In the distance, she could see another set of mountain ranges on the other side of the valley.
Pointing directly opposite their current position, Chris said, “Taylor is probably somewhere within that mountain and the angels are making plans to use her against us.”
“Thanks for putting a damper on the beautiful view, Debbie Downer,” Sam joked.
“Sorry about that,” Chris said.
“So, did you just bring me up here to show me the sights or what?” Sam asked.
Suddenly full of energy, Chris said, “Actually, no. This is where we will be today when the battle commences.”
Moving towards the edge of the cliff, Chris drew Sam’s attention to a large gate thousands of feet below their current position. “That’s where our army will march out to meet the angels. We will remain up here with a couple of technicians who will scan the angel forces for infrared anomalies, which will hopefully allow us to determine whether Taylor is outside the mountain and if so, where she is located.”
“What if she’s not there?” Sam asked.
“Then we’ll just watch the fight from the best seat in the house and then do it all again for the next scheduled battle, until she does eventually appear. Any other questions?”
Sam shook her head.
“Good, because I’m tired of talking about all this war stuff. I’ve cleared it with the Elders and we can stay up here until the skirmish begins.” Reaching behind a large rock, Chris extracted a large wooden basket that was hidden from view. “I’ve taken the liberty of stashing a picnic lunch for us.”
Samantha put her arms around her boyfriend and rested her head on his muscular chest. “Thank you for trying to make all of this so comfortable for me,” she said. And she meant it. “I meant what I said earlier, I really do love you.”
With her head on his chest, she could feel Chris’s heart rate speed up, likely due to the exhilaration of her words whirling through his chest like a tornado. “I love you too, Samantha.”
They held each other for a while, happy just to be close to each other. Then Sam raised her head and kissed him once, then again, and then she couldn’t stop. They moved to the ground, enjoying each other and the much needed reprieve from the very long day that they had ahead of them.
Chapter Fifty-Three
When they arrived at the armory, there was already a buzz of activity. Angels were strapping on tight-fitting breastplates, leg armor, and helmets. The armor was thin and reminded Taylor of S.W.A.T. team bullet-proof vests.
“What do you think?” Gabriel asked.
“It’s not what I expected,” she replied.
“What did you think, that we would be wearing medieval knight’s armor?” Gabriel laughed.
“Actually, yeah, that’s exactly what I was picturing.”
“The thin, moldable armor is fitted to each angel’s body so that they have the highest level of mobility,” Gabriel explained.
“Cool,” was all that Taylor could think to say.
Gabriel led her to the back, where a short, odd-looking angel was cutting and shaping armor. He was the first angel she had seen that didn’t look like a cut-out from some glossy magazine.
Gabriel greeted him. “Hey, Jonesy, we need to get some armor fitted and cut for her asap.”
“Ahh, Gabriel. I’m glad you are back,” Jonesy said. Then turning to Taylor he said, “You’re about the size of some of the students in Year Three training, so I will probably have a piece that won’t need too much alteration.”
He went into a large room in the back while they waited outside. After a short silence they heard, “Hmmm, yes….yes, I think this will do just fine.”
Jonesy returned carrying a white suit made up of eight or nine pieces clipped together to look like a single suit. He began unclipping each piece and handing them to Taylor as he went. “Here, try these on for size.”
Not always knowing which piece went to what part of the body, Taylor relied on Gabriel to make sure she didn’t end up with a leg guard on her arm or a foot flap on her elbow. Concentrating on getting the armor on correctly, Taylor wasn’t paying attention to whether it fit until she had everything assembled.
When she strapped on the last piece, the helmet, she took a minute to stretch out her body, moving her arms and legs. “How does it feel?” Jonesy asked.
“It feels…It feels like I’m not even wearing any armor, like it’s an extension of my body,” Taylor said, her eyes wide with excitement. “That’s wicked!”
Gabriel congratulated Jonesy. “I gotta hand it to you, man, you’ve got one helluva eye for these things.”
“Just doin’ my job,” Jonesy said modestly.
Taylor thanked him and waved goodbye as they headed through to the next section, leaving the racks of armor behind. As they were leaving, Taylor stopped and said, “Wait, Gabriel, you forgot your armor.”
Gabriel said, “I’m not wearing any today, Taylor.”
“Why not?”
“If a spare shot gets through our defenses and hits me, I will heal quickly and it will be fine. If you get hit, you will be killed if you aren’t wearing protection. On the other hand, if our defenses break down and the demons get through to us, we will both either be dead or captured anyway, regardless of whether I have any armor on.”
“Thanks for the grim details,” Taylor said. She detected something in his words that didn’t make sense. She knew there was something he wasn’t telling her, but she kept it to herself, knowing that arguing was a waste of time. Instead, she just nodded once and they continued into the next room: the weapons cache.
“Now, I will grab something from here,” Gabriel said, licking his lips. He explained as they walked along the shelves of weapons: “Each of these weapons has been designed and built to use the angel’s inner light as its power source. As a result, they are quite a bit more powerful than human weapons.”
He picked up something that looked like a cross between a machine gun and a bow and arrow. “This will do just fine,” he said.
Taylor wasn’t interested in the angel weaponry and just wanted it to all be over. She stayed quiet while Gabriel inspected the gun, clicking different pieces off and back on. Once satisfied with his choice, they left through another door, moving forwards, rather than back into the armor room from where they came.
The next room wasn’t really a room; it was more like an empty warehouse, with high ceilings and lots of floor space. Gabriel explained that this was where the army assembled into the designated formation before heading out into the open air.
At the end of the warehouse were massive metal doors, wide enough to allow at least fifty angels, walking side by side, to exit at the same time. Gabriel headed to the far left side instead.
“We’ll be going out a less visible entrance,” he instructed. “Our protectors are already waiting. Are you ready to do this?” he asked, his face tight and serious.
All of the events of the last two weeks tumbled through Taylor’s stomach and she suddenly felt sick again. For part of her there was a certain exhilaration, like the feeling right before you get on a rollercoaster, but the other part felt ill, like the feeling just before you get up in front of a lot of people to give a speech. She grabbed Gabriel’s arm to steady herself.
“Breathe, Taylor,” he said.
She took a large breath, and then another. The color returned to her face and the sickness passed. It was now or never. Trust her instincts. No fear. Do or die, literally.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she said.
Gabriel opened the small door for her and s
he passed through into a path between the rocks. She breathed the open air deeply, enjoying the warmth of the sun high overhead. Not far along the path, she heard the dull sound of conversation. Reaching the end of the rock walls, she peeked out into the open.
Taylor could see that four platforms had been raised and were already manned by fully-armed and armored angels standing on them. Twelve other burly looking angels were standing shoulder to shoulder in a circle, eyes looking out. They were chatting as if it was just another day.
“I heard the entire Council is in the mountain,” one of them said.
“C’mon, man, everyone knows they never leave their little hideout,” another one replied.
“Think what you want, but I know a guy who knows a guy that saw Dionysus himself wandering the halls,” the first one said.
Gabriel stepped past Taylor and out of the rocks and said, “I’ve seen the entire Council and can confirm that they are all here.”
A couple of the meaty angels appeared to know him. One of them said, “Yo, Gabriel, I heard you were mixed up in all of this somehow.”
“That’s right. I’ll be standing next to Taylor in case any of you guys can’t do your job.”
“Who’s Taylor?” another one asked stupidly.
“She is.” He motioned for her to step out and she did. “She’s only the one that you idiots are supposed to be protecting.”
One of the quieter angels decided it was appropriate to bow as Taylor walked up. “We will do our best to serve you,” he said.
“Uh, thanks,” Taylor replied awkwardly.
Gabriel took charge. “Okay, here’s how it’s gonna work.” He glanced at his watch. “In exactly ten minutes the army will march out. Taylor and I will be hiding back on the path, and once half the army is out of the gates, I will run her out and through a small opening in your circle of protection. As soon as we are in the circle, close it off. After that, it is as simple as not letting any demon attacks through the circle.