They teleported all together, arriving seconds later in Clifford’s empty office. Chris and Kiren left with Clifford’s body, which was already turning to ash. They wanted to ensure the ashes could be collected and preserved for the funeral.
Taylor and Gabriel were alone.
Gabriel sighed forcefully.
“What?” Taylor asked.
“I dunno, I’m just tired I guess. Emotionally more than physically.”
“I know what you mean. I can’t believe Clifford’s gone.”
“Yeah, and David, too.”
Taylor put her arms around Gabriel’s neck, rested her head on his chest. His heart was thumping loud and quick, like he had just sprinted. “Gabriel…David is messed up inside. It is no one’s fault.”
Gabriel sighed again. He didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “Taylor, you were amazing today. I don’t know how you did it, defeating the Archangels while protecting us.”
Taylor laughed. “I don’t know either. My body just does things—I’m glad it does—although sometimes I wish I could control it.”
Gabriel smiled. “Maybe you’re just meant to be that way.”
“Maybe.”
He squeezed her tightly. She felt warm, safe—partly because of him, but mostly because of herself. Her mom would have been proud. She was herself. Strong, independent, capable. Not pretending to be someone else like so many others. She heard a voice in her head, not David this time—her mom: When you find true love, the love that you can’t live without, the love that fills you with joy, you hold onto that love until the day you die.
Taylor squeezed Gabriel back. She promised herself never to let him go.
Gabriel looked down at her, kissed her forehead. Normally Taylor would find such a kiss to be condescending, but this time it felt loving, tender.
“I should address the troops,” Gabriel said.
“What happened, anyway?” Taylor asked.
“We stopped fighting,” Gabriel said. “There was no more killing, no more war. I told them all to stop, and they stopped. I don’t really know how it happened.”
“Clifford was right,” Taylor said.
“Oh don’t you start,” Gabriel said, pushing her away. “I’m just an angel, nothing more.”
“Maybe so,” Taylor said, “but you’re special.”
“You mean short-bus special?” Gabriel said, using the same joke Taylor had when he had referred to her as special. It seemed like a long, long time ago.
“That’s exactly what I meant,” Taylor joked.
“Let’s go, angel-girl.”
Taylor put her arm around him and he did the same. They followed the long hallway out of the Elders’ Chambers and boarded the waiting transporter. They switched transporters twice as they made their way to the large cavern where Gabriel had first assembled the troops. The Lair was like a ghost town, deserted and quiet.
A final passageway and a heavy wooden door lay ahead of them. Behind it they could hear the drone of voices. Gabriel hauled the door open, spilling torchlight into the tunnel.
Taylor let Gabriel enter first. The spectacle in the cavern was like nothing she had ever seen. From behind him, she could see thousands of shapes, some light, some dark, all smiling. When Taylor and Gabriel entered, every man and woman raised an arm. The demon hands held flames, the angel hands held light. Taylor’s breath caught as the room was filled with fiery, flickering, glowing, sparkling beauty.
A cheer rose up, starting mild and professional and then raucous and filled with whistles and catcalls. Taylor laughed. Probably par for the course for a merry gathering of angels and demons, she thought. The crowd parted in front of them and they passed through like celebrities. For a final time, Taylor squeezed a flap of arm skin between her thumb and forefinger. Her nerve ending fired, sending the pain to her brain. She didn’t cry out, loving the reality-confirming pain more than anything. It was no dream—never was. This was her life.
A stage had been erected. Sampson met them on the platform and gave Gabriel, and then Taylor a hug. “Well done,” he said.
“You, too,” Taylor said.
Kiren appeared at Sampson’s side, clutching his hand. She wiped a tear from her cheek.
“It’s done?” Taylor asked.
Kiren nodded. Clifford’s ashes had been collected.
Suddenly, Chris appeared with Samantha, who rushed to Taylor, hugging her fiercely. “Thank God,” she said. “I was so worried, even after Chris said you were fine.”
“A piece of cake,” Taylor said.
Sam released her, a shocked look crossing her face. “Here I am, all worried about you, and you’re thinking about your stomach.”
Taylor laughed. “You should be an actress,” she said. “I actually thought you were worried.”
“You should have seen me an hour ago, I was a mess. Marla and Jennings found me wandering the campus like a blind mouse trapped in a maze. You should have seen their faces when Chris teleported into their dorm room while we were watching a movie. I’m not sure how we’re going to explain that one!”
The reunited group of friends laughed effortlessly. Taylor stopped laughing first and took a moment to just watch their faces. No hint of stress or strain clouded any of them. Taylor hated to break up the party, but she had to tell Sam the news.
“Sam, there’s something I have to tell you.”
Her friend’s smile faded. She nodded. “Taylor—Chris told me about Clifford. I’m overcompensating with the jokes. I’m not sure how I’m going to deal with it, but I really don’t want to right now. I’m really gonna miss—” She choked on the last word and brushed a tear from each eye.
“I will, too,” Taylor said. “We all will.” She put her arm around her friend.
Gabriel said, “Everyone’s waiting. We’d better get the party started. Taylor, will you say a few words?”
Taylor looked at her boyfriend’s dark eyes. She hated public speaking and was afraid that her words wouldn’t come out the way she wanted. She had to trust Gabriel. Finally, he had earned her trust back. She shook her head. “No, you are our leader. Clifford would want you to speak. I want you to speak. Say what’s in my heart.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Taylor, I don’t know…”
“Yes, Gabriel. Yes, you do. Speak for me, speak for your family, speak for Clifford, speak for yourself, speak for all of us.” Taylor’s words felt right even as she spoke them. Her gut confirmed it.
Gabriel’s lips tightened, but he moved to the podium at the center of the stage. Taylor followed him, as did Sam, Chris, Sampson, and Kiren. Six friends, three races, a plethora of relationships—all united.
At the microphone, Gabriel paused, scanning the crowd, which had grown uncannily quiet. He spoke, his voice starting as a low rumble, but growing bolder with each word, each syllable.
“Angels…demons…and humans,” he started. “Friends, former enemies, brothers, sisters, patriots, and traitors…We…have….WON!” he roared. The crowd erupted in frenzied applause. He raised his arms in the air, silencing the masses. “The Great War, which we now know was started under false pretenses, is over. There will be no more bloodshed. Not today, and if we stick together, not ever again!” More cheers.
Taylor grinned. Gabriel was magnetic, like her mother had been. She was proud of him.
“We must stick together, for we have learned that it only takes one to start a war. We lost a great man today. He was a demon, but I would not hesitate to call him my friend, my brother. We should honor Clifford by keeping the peace that he fought and died to bring about.” Gabriel paused. The audience leaned forward, anticipating his powerful words.
His wings burst from his back, arching over his head, shining magnificently. “My wings are white!” he declared. “But they would be no less beautiful if they were black! There is no dark or light, only shades of gray. We are all human inside, all different, all good, all bad. All human,” he repeated. “None better, none worse. All equal.”
Taylor’s skin tingled. Not with evolution, like before, but with excitement, with wonder, like listening to a brilliant vocalist hit a high note. He was speaking for her. Her thoughts, her feelings, and her beliefs had received a voice from Gabriel. Like she could never have provided on her own.
“Look at me,” Gabriel continued. “I did horrible things. Horrible. But I made up for them. Look at me now. If anyone is a shade of gray, it’s me. Let’s all be gray together. What do you say?”
The crowd cheered. Screams of “Yes!” rose through the cavern, echoing in the hollow space.
Taylor felt alive.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Two months had come and gone like a fast car on the highway. Between attending classes, studying, and visiting the Lair, Taylor had very little time to think.
But now it was all over: her freshman year, final exams, the signing of the Great War Abolition Act by the new angel and demon leaders, Clifford’s funeral. It had been a busy time, full of emotions—both happy and sad.
A new colony of angels and demons had been organized, with their primary goal being to protect humanity. Those who volunteered to be part of the colony would infiltrate all manner of human organizations, from hospitals, to political parties, to law enforcement agencies, in the hopes of being able to heal the injured, protect the innocent, and diffuse political tensions. They would be secret messengers of peace.
A special task force had been created to search for David Knight, the last living Archangel besides Taylor. They hadn’t heard from him. No communications, no threats, no violence against angels or demons or humans. And so they hunted for him, not knowing which continent he might be on.
Gabriel seemed happy, but at the same time, Taylor knew he was troubled. She knew he felt responsible for unleashing the monster that his brother had become. No matter how many times she tried to convince him it was the result of some mutant gene in David’s DNA combined with the mental games played by Dionysus, he wouldn’t forgive himself, obsessing over his brother and where he might be, what he might do. He lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling. Even when he was able to drift off, he was never restful, twitching and mumbling in his sleep.
For the last eight weeks, Taylor had worried about him. When the time had passed without event, he got better, happier. He still worried, but obtained some level of peace. It helped that he had so many responsibilities. After all, he had a colony to run! Gabriel had been unanimously voted as head of the new Demonangel Colony, of which all Taylor’s friends were now members.
Taylor would join eventually. After college perhaps. Taylor and Sam had agreed to wait. But now Taylor was ready for a break. Ready for normal.
She leapt from the cliff, allowing gravity to take her on a free-fall, her stomach lurching magnificently up and down, right and left. Just before being dashed to a thousand pieces on the rocks below, Taylor’s wings burst from her back, caught the wind, and pushed her higher, skimming the treetops as she rose. Yeah, normal was good, she thought as the sun hit her face. Okay, maybe not the normal that most people have, but normal for an angel. “I’m an angel!” Taylor yelled as she soared over the mountaintops.
“I thought there was something different about you,” Gabriel said, coming up behind her.
Chris appeared in the air in front of them. He said, “Being a demon ain’t so bad either.”
Wingless, he began to drop. Taylor saw Sam’s head pop over his shoulder. “Don’t forget the humans!” she yelled. Before hitting the ground, they disappeared, reappearing moments later on a tree branch below.
A flash of white buzzed over their heads. Sampson said, “Woohoo!”
A dark shape glanced back as they passed. Kiren said, “Woohoo!” She was clinging to her boyfriend’s neck.
“An angel together with a demon…weird,” Gabriel said. “I never thought I would see the day.”
“Clifford did,” Taylor said. “He knew it all along.”
“You’re probably right. He always seemed to be a step ahead.”
“Try two,” Taylor said. “Race me back to the Lair?”
“Give me a head start, ten seconds.”
“Wimp,” Taylor joked.
“You’re an archangel!”
“Okay, angel-boy. See you at the finish.”
Gabriel took off and Taylor counted to five before racing after him. Her boyfriend was the head of the new Demonangel Colony, after all, and ten seconds was a long head start.
She passed him halfway to the Lair, but stopped to let him catch up. Instead of passing her, he flew into her arms. They embraced, enjoying the moment, spinning through the air, the freedom of being alive, the act of being in love.
Taylor hoped it would last.
###
If you liked this book, enjoy a BONUS CHAPTER at:
http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com/p/archangel-evolution-bonus-chapter.html
Discover other books by David Estes available through the author’s official website:
http://davidestes100.blogspot.com
or through select online retailers including Smashwords.com.
The Evolution Trilogy by David Estes:
Book One—Angel Evolution
Book Two—Demon Evolution
Book Three—Archangel Evolution
Connect with Me Online
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About the Author
After growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, David Estes moved to Sydney, Australia where he lives with his wife, Adele. When he’s not writing, he’s enjoying the sun and surf at Manly Beach.
Table of Contents
Book Three of the
PART I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
PART II
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
PART III
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
PART IV
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
David Estes, Archangel Evolution
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