‘I have nothing new for you, Ebony. I’m sorry.’
His eyes don’t quite meet mine. Since I’m supposed to be able to tell when someone is lying, or avoiding or twisting the truth, by their eyes, I can only assume Gabriel’s heard something. It might not be new, but there is definitely something he’s avoiding telling me. ‘Whatever it is, Gabriel, please tell me. Not knowing anything is driving me crazy.’
He studies my face as if he’s deciding what and how much I deserve to know. His mouth opens as he draws in a small puff of air. ‘He’s travelling to Skade’s darker, colder side to descend into an underground world that exists deep beneath Skade’s highest mountain.’
I definitely did not want to hear that news. ‘How will he get through the mountain? Are there roads leading down to this underground world?’
He laughs, but not to mock me. ‘Ebony, like most of Skade’s disagreeable landscape, this particular elevation was once a volcano. My brother and his team will find a way down through vents, pipes and tunnels carved by lava and cooled many centuries ago.’
‘Sounds terribly dangerous. But I want to know –’
‘It is dangerous, and we should leave it at that, my lady,’ he says, cutting me off in the rude style to which I’ve become somewhat accustomed. ‘Nathaneal is young but it’s as if his soul is as old as our angelic beginnings, as if he has been watching, learning, preparing for his time on this Earth.’
‘That’s all very nice, Gabriel, but it’s not telling me what I need to know.’
He takes just two strides to reach me and lean down into my face. ‘What is it you want to hear? How much my brother is willing to risk so one day you may grace us with your presence on Avena?’
He begins to walk away so I grab his arm. ‘You’ve hardly told me anything. I’ve heard more from Jordan.’
‘Such as?’
‘Please, just tell me what he’s doing there.’
He says nothing, doesn’t even glance at me.
‘Why did the court sanction such a dangerous expedition? Why, Gabriel?’
‘Because he convinced them that should his mission succeed you would be more willing to return home with him – that’s home to Avena, my lady.’
Why would Nathaneal say that? ‘And if I don’t return to Avena with him?’
‘His penance will be deemed a failure, and he will spend the next two hundred years regenerating the Rievre Forest.’
‘What does this mission have to do with me? Why did Nathaneal risk a dangerous mission on the chance I would be ready to leave Earth on his return?’
He tilts his head and his eyes bore into mine. ‘Do you really need to ask? You know he’s besotted with you.’
Gabriel doesn’t think I’m worthy of the risks his brother is undertaking for me. I stare up into his face, taken back by how much he doesn’t like me. Is it because he believes someone else would make a better partner for Nathaneal? Does he think I’m not beautiful enough, or smart, or . . . or powerful? Like Jezelle! The thought hits me like a brick thrown at my head.
I turn away, forgetting the boiling water, the empty mug in my hand, the tin of hot chocolate powder I just put on the bench. I need to be alone, to run to my room, to bury myself under the covers.
‘Ebony, wait.’ I hear Gabriel call as if from a great distance. ‘He’s my youngest brother and I’ve protected him from everything and everyone as if it were my duty or –’
He stops with an abruptness that makes me look back. He’s standing utterly still, his head tilted slightly towards his left shoulder.
‘What is it?’
But before he answers I hear it too – a whooshing sound around the house’s front side. It turns the corner and runs down the south side. A moment later there’s another. We follow the sounds with our eyes until the silvery, shadowy form of a very tall man whips past the glass wall we’re standing behind, followed a second later by a female shape.
My startled gaze finds Gabriel’s. ‘What are they?’
The shadows flick past again, but this time they turn and disappear deep into the backyard.
Gabriel says, ‘I know what they are.’
‘Yes.’ By now, so do I. ‘The dark force, except now there are two of them.’
‘So it appears.’
‘Could they find a way in here?’
‘The house my brother built could withstand an earthquake. It withstood his power, didn’t it?’
‘It did,’ I reply softly.
‘I’m going out there. Ebony, under no circumstances are you to leave this house before sunrise, no matter what you hear or see, or how long before I return. Do you understand?’
My mouth goes dry. I nod and he releases me from his gaze. On his way through the back door he switches on the floodlights.
I watch through the windows but lose sight of him almost instantly. Then I spot him zooming across the yard so fast he’s just an elongated sphere of brilliant white light. He goes straight to the yards, making my heart leap into my throat. ‘Shadow,’ I whisper. ‘No! Please don’t hurt my horses.’
Shadow bursts through the barn doors with his mother, Lady Elsa, close behind. They jump the outer fence and cross the backyard in blind panic, galloping straight past Gabriel. I throw my hand over my mouth, biting down hard on my palm to stop myself from running out there.
Someone – some . . . thing – is making my horses crazy with fear. Leaning my forehead against the cool glass, I splay my hands against it. Shadow stops suddenly, lifts on to his hind legs and paws the air. Lady Elsa follows, and the whites of their eyes reveal the full extent of their terror.
I can’t stand it!
Not my horses! What do they have to do with any of this?
Tears begin trickling down my face. ‘I have to go to them.’
Under no circumstances, Gabriel’s words reverberate in my head. No matter what you hear or see, or how long . . . He could be standing right beside me. Do not go outside.
‘But this is Shadow,’ I plead with myself. ‘And I have to keep Lady Elsa safe for Dad.’
I hear Jordan calling my name from his room, then his footfalls pounding the stairs. ‘Ebony, have you seen what’s going on out –’ He stops when he sees me at the window and runs over. ‘What’s happening?’
‘It looks like the dark force is back and has morphed into two beings.’
‘Shit! Really? What do they look like?’
‘Well, kind of like us.’
‘What?’
‘They resemble a man and a woman, very tall and fast, though still a little shadowy and fuzzy around the edges. They’re as dark as ever, and lightning still streaks through them. They’ve made quite an evolutionary leap.’
‘I’ll say!’
Shadow and Elsa come back into view. They look lost, confused, terrified. Suddenly Shadow slides to a stop, raises his head high, blows smoke from his lips, and looks straight at me.
‘He can see me.’
Jordan shakes his head. ‘Not through this glass.’
‘I’m telling you Shadow can see me.’
‘And I’m telling you that’s impossible.’
‘Then explain this!’ I rest my forehead on the glass again. Shadow raises his forelegs, pounds the ground, stamping hard, and starts galloping straight at me with Elsa following blindly behind. ‘Oh no.’
‘Shit!’
Suddenly Elsa squeals, baring her teeth, her gums, and the whites of her eyes. It’s then I make out two figures circling her, taunting her. Shadow comes to a sliding stop, turns and starts striking the air around his mother as if he can fend off the dark forces whipping around them so fast they appear as moving shadows. They circle both horses once before Gabriel reaches them and they run off in different directions. How is Gabriel going to keep both forces away from the horses when there’s only one of him?
I run for the door.
Jordan charges after me and grabs my arm. ‘You can’t go out there. The horses will be OK. Gabriel will take care of them.’
<
br /> We hear Shadow shriek – a horrifying sound that horses almost never make. I clasp my hand over my mouth to swallow the scream lodged in my own throat. Then both horses take off on a wild gallop towards the river. ‘I’m going, Jordan. I can calm them while Gabriel goes after the dark forces.’
He spins me round, putting himself between the door and me. I give him that look and he lifts his hands into the air. ‘I know. I know you’re stronger than me. Tonight you’re gonna have to use that strength to get through this door.’
The fear in his eyes gives me pause, and it’s in this pause I hear Shadow’s frantic, distressed squeal. I rush to the window to see him galloping up from the river. ‘He’s coming back.’
‘And Elsa’s not far behind. Look,’ he says.
I lean on the glass and see Shadow heading straight for me again. ‘Stop, Shadow, stop!’ But he doesn’t. I step back from the glass, but he keeps coming. ‘Slow down,’ I whisper. ‘Baby, please stop.’
‘Come on, boy,’ Jordan joins in.
Helpless, we watch Shadow gallop at full speed across the big yard like a bird escaping its cage for the first time. Stop. Shadow, please stop. Please, baby, stop!
I want to turn away, shut my eyes, save myself the pain of seeing him smash into this solid glass wall, but I can’t do that to him. It would be like abandoning him when he needs me most. We’re best friends who have stood by each other all our lives.
So I keep still and silent, eyes open, tears streaking down my face, and wait.
Gabriel appears in the air beside him, looking like Pegasus with his wings outstretched and radiant white light beaming out of his body. Flying alongside, he reaches his hand out and touches Shadow’s neck. Immediately, Shadow begins to slow down, digging his hoofs into the ground, churning up clods of grass and soil. But he’s still too close.
Jordan wraps his arms around me from behind. ‘It’s OK,’ he murmurs. ‘It’s going to be OK.’
We watch together as Shadow hits the wall, his head and long neck forced sideways, his solid chest flush against the glass directly in front of us. Amazingly, as he takes a step backwards, raises and shakes his head, he appears unhurt. He blows hot air out of his lips and nose, which condenses into frost on the cold glass. I lift my hand and his eyes follow it, proof that somehow – quite inexplicably – he can see, or at least feel where I am. ‘I’m here, baby. I’m here,’ I croon, ‘and I’m never ever going to leave you.’
Still holding me, Jordan murmurs, ‘Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.’
I shake my head, fighting back another wave of tears and wishing I could rub behind Shadow’s ears and put my face in his mane and smell his goodness. ‘If I go anywhere I will take him with me. That is my promise to Shadow.’
Gabriel’s still-glowing palm glides with a feather-light touch across Shadow’s neck and down to his pounding heart. He’s checking Shadow for injuries. His hand stays over his chest until Shadow’s heart finally calms down. Then Gabriel turns to the glass wall and nods. He’s OK. I release a long breath in relief.
Gabriel’s impeccable white wings sway behind him as he moves to Elsa to check her out next. Seeming satisfied, he turns to face the glass once more and salutes me with two fingers to his forehead before leading the horses back to the stables.
Jordan and I sit on kitchen stools and wait for Gabriel to return. I get restless and start pacing while Jordan downs a second mug of hot chocolate.
‘Gabriel was amazing tonight,’ he says.
‘Yeah, he was incredible.’
‘Well, he is an angel.’
And it occurs to me that I am too! Somehow I just know it and this feeling is coming from somewhere deep inside my core. A red haze appears before my eyes. I try to brush it away with my hand like I would if a wad of hair fell across my eyes. But it doesn’t go away.
Gabriel finally comes in. We inundate him with questions. He looks weary and lifts both hands in the air. ‘As you saw, the horses were extremely disturbed, but they’re fine now. They’re safe.’ He plonks down on to a stool opposite us. ‘I’m confident the dark forces won’t return tonight.’
‘What happened out there, Gabriel?’ I ask. ‘I thought the stables were as safe as the house.’
He takes the glass of water I offer him, downs it, and motions for another.
‘The internal mechanisms on all the locks were seared as if someone took a blow torch to them. I don’t know how they did it, but I’ve changed them now so they will only open with the touch of your hands.’
‘Gabriel, why would the dark forces want to hurt my horses? They were trying to lure me outside, weren’t they?’
‘I believe so.’ Annoyingly, he doesn’t elaborate.
But I need answers. ‘You’ve been watching them for weeks now, how is it that you still know so little about them?’
‘I understand your concerns, Ebony, but the best I can do right now is update the Brothers with the information I’ve gathered, so they can assist me in figuring this out.’
Jordan strokes my arm. ‘Take it easy, Ebony. Shadow and Elsa are safe now.’
‘I know that!’ I practically screech at him. The red haze is turning purple at the edges and my heart is beating in overdrive. I don’t like the sensations coming over me. I like to stay in control and this feels like I’m losing it. It’s then I notice both Jordan and Gabriel holding on to things, while their hair whips around their faces.
On some level it should occur to me to wonder why it’s windy in a house with no windows and no open doors, but I’m exhausted and don’t pay the thought much attention until Gabriel walks round, turns me to face him and takes my shoulders in his hands. ‘Ebony, take a deep breath. Your powers are untried. We don’t know how strong you are yet, but apparently your emotions trigger them.’
‘Yeah,’ Jordan cuts in, ‘like when you’re angry and about to explode.’
‘Pardon me?’
‘He’s right,’ Gabriel says. ‘Your powers could quite pos-sibly blow this roof off.’
He’s saying I made this wind happen. Just like I did a few weeks ago in the living room.
I am an angel!
And no one gets to tell me that I’m not!
OK, so I don’t have wings, I’m not as tall, or as beautiful, and my eyes are pale, but I can make wind inside a closed room, I can trash a room full of furniture and I can feel something powerful brewing inside me, pushing up from the centre of my core, pulsing through my veins, and pushing at my skin with an urgent need to escape.
They’re both staring at me. I probably look wild and freakish, but I don’t care. I just have one thing to say to them: ‘Nathaneal did not make a mistake.’
23
Jordan
Ebony is amazing. She’s standing in the doorway to the dining room in the middle of a wind she created that’s blowing her incredible long hair, the reddest I’ve seen it, around her shoulders. Her normally violet eyes are vivid purple. Her skin has a golden glow. She seems taller than usual, if that’s possible. And her confidence, her self-assuredness, is stronger than I’ve seen it before.
She looks like a goddess.
‘How do I turn it off?’ she asks Gabe.
He walks up to her with a big smile on his face and lightly grips her upper arms. ‘Think calm, gentle thoughts.’ He shrugs. ‘Think of me.’
She laughs a little, then closes her eyes, and pretty soon the wind disappears.
‘Way to go!’ I call out, forcing a happy grin. In reality, Ebony’s surging confidence and belief in her angelic origins is bad news for me. Skinner is not going to like my next report.
I’m gonna have to change my plan – again.
‘So what are those dark forces?’ Ebony asks Gabe, oblivious to my plotting against her happiness. ‘Demons?’
‘Possibly, but they have abilities beyond what demons and even what most angels can do. They don’t appear connected to Prince Luca, though I’m sure he’s involved somehow. I just don’t know in what way
yet.’
My mood starts to plummet. I recognise the signs – a sense of approaching gloominess that descends over me like a second skin. A feeling that I’m losing control, that I can’t cope, that I’m a loser, and all alone in a hostile world.
It always happens when my plans don’t work out. Huh! When do they ever? ‘You don’t sound too sure of yourself, Gabe.’
‘Unfortunately, I’m not, Jordan. What I do know is that this powerful dark force hasn’t finished evolving. In only three weeks it’s become two almost identical entities, and they’re violent, constantly hungry, destructive, and don’t belong on the Earth. Their stench is still intense but receding. And I suspect they don’t feel pain.’
‘So they have no weaknesses,’ I snigger. ‘Great.’
‘Why do they radiate to me?’ Ebony asks, returning to the bench to sit beside me. Her eyes narrow as she looks me over and asks softly, ‘Are you OK?’
I nod while Gabe answers her question. ‘I’m working on that, my lady. In the meantime you will need to be vigilant – both of you.’ His eyes flick to me. ‘These forces can think for themselves, and they’re growing smarter every day as they become more human or angel in shape.’
He walks to the wall and peers into the yard. ‘It’s as if they’re trying to become one of us.’
‘Seriously, Gabe, that can’t be good.’
‘With eight billion humans to hide amongst, no, Jordan, that’s not good at all.’
‘What are you going to do about them?’
The angel takes a deep breath before he turns round. ‘According to what I’ve witnessed these past weeks, taking into account how rapidly they’re evolving, their indiscriminate ravaging of Earth, their increasing understanding of mortal life, the possibility of entering unnoticed into a human community one day, and the way they appear focused on Ebony –’ he shakes his head – ‘I’m left with only one option.’
‘Destroy them!’ I roar, smashing my palms together. When they both glare at me, I shrug. ‘What else is there?’
‘Destroying them is not a simple task, Jordan. It will require careful observation to avoid collateral damage. Angels are accountable for every act that affects human life.’