“Leave him alone,” said a familiar voice. All the gardeners looked past John as one, including the woman who had struck him. Her eyes widened and she looked away, suddenly turning very shy. John half-twisted round in time to see the crowd part and Christopher stride through the breach.
Taking his hand and grasping his arm, Christopher pulled the teenager to his feet. “Are you all right?” he asked, looking John up and down.
“Yeah,” John said meekly, rubbing at his sore arm.
Christopher reached for him. “Allow me…”
John pulled away. “I said I was fine,” he said.
Christopher looked stung. He regarded the youth for a long moment. Then he nodded. “Ok,” he said acceptingly. “I am sorry you fell, that was my fault.”
“What happened?” John asked, brushing the dirt off from one side of his face.
Christopher looked away sheepishly. “I miscued.”
“What? What do you mean you miscued? I landed on my head!” John shouted, wiping dusty hands on his trouser legs.
Christopher raised his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry!”
“You will be,” John said angrily. He looked around. “Where are we anyway? Are we at least in the right bloody place?”
Christopher sighed and dropped his hands. “Yes, we are at Madam Kiki’s.” He turned and glanced at the tall, imposing white tower that dominated the centre of the small courtyard. Christopher’s face lit up when he saw the proprietor in question sweep through the front double doors, her long black skirts swirling behind her tall, skinny frame. She was flanked by a few wide-eyed, curious workers. “Here she is.”
John came to his side, ignoring the gawking gardeners. “Who?”
“Madam Kiki,” Christopher said, pointing to the black dressed woman who seemed to be gliding towards them.
“She looks pissed off.”
“Just let me do all the talking and we will be fine,” Christopher said quietly. Smiling widely he went to meet her. “Madam Kiki!”
“I am not interested,” she cut in, holding a bony, long hand up to him.
Christopher’s smile fell from his face like warm butter from a knife.
The workers stopped a short distance behind their boss, all save a little old woman who came hobbling to her side - her mother Jo. “What has he done now?” Madam Kiki demanded, folding her arms.
Christopher looked around, confused. “Pardon me but who are you speaking of?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Alexander. We heard about what happened in Longtown. Mike sent a raven,” she sighed, “but he failed to mention anything about you coming our way.”
“That is because the decision was only made a few hours ago. I am sorry we did not send word ahead.”
“Just tell me why you are here.”
Christopher hesitated. “Michael thinks we will be safer apart from Alexander and Hayley. Gabriel knew when we were in Longtown.”
“And how will you be safer apart, exactly? I am pretty sure he can split in two like the rest of you.”
“We’re hoping he can’t do that anymore, as we killed one of him.”
“Hoping? He’s a former archangel for goodness sake! I’m pretty sure given enough time he could manage to make a hundred of himself!”
“That is why we came here, to hide.”
Madam Kiki’s face darkened. “How dare he!” she growled. “How dare Michael ask me to endanger my staff and guests just to keep you two safe!” she shouted.
“Enough,” said a small voice from her side.
Madam Kiki turned her angry glare on Jo but the old, wrinkly woman did not as much as blink.
“Michael is in charge of this realm. He will send a raven with his wishes formally in due course. Even before then, it is our place to follow his commands,” Jo decreed.
“But…”
Jo raised a hand and Kiki fell silent. She turned her gaze back to John and Christopher. Giving them an angry snarl, Kiki turned on her heels and stormed off, her long skirts swirling behind her like dark rainclouds.
Jo favoured Christopher with a wrinkly smile. “Do not worry, she will come round.”
“I hope so,” John said, releasing his breath. “I thought she was going to chew our faces off.”
Chapter Sixteen
Hayley Foster walked the world between realities, the veil between the human world and the next. She strolled through the dark suburb on silent, hollow feet, unnoticed by those who filled the world of flesh. She flanked her guardian angel in this place. Alex strode on hurried feet, wings arced high and feathers bristling. Hayley’s own were little more than shadows - weightless impressions on the world. She may have abandoned her body for a second time, but she had not been allowed to fully ascend again. Alexander held Hayley’s power - and her - by the strings.
He stopped suddenly and turned back. When she caught up, he slipped his hand between her ghostly fingers as if they were real and led her on. They walked on in silence for a few minutes among the pedestrians who did not see them, the sounds of cars, horns and voices muffled in this place between worlds. Hayley had never experienced the centre of Glasgow quite like it before.
“You’re angry with me, Alexander, you don’t have to try and hide it,” she said, her voice like a distant echo. She felt a flash in his psyche. Then it was gone.
“I am, kindred,” he said quietly, without looking at her. “But now is not the time to really discuss it. We made a decision and we have work to do.”
Hayley stopped and looked up at him with pleading eyes. “We have found Gabriel, like we intended. You can restore my power.”
“We haven’t found him,” Alex corrected her from behind cold eyes. “If you ascend, your body will die again and I don’t think Michael would be willing to send you back for a third time.”
Ghostly wings shuffled above her shoulders. “My flesh has held me safely for more than twenty years, it was made to. Now it is time for me to fly.” A person walked through her and she scattered like glittering dust to the wind. A few seconds later the cloud of tiny stars reassembled in her image.
“It is not your time to fly,” Alex said once she had reformed. “You will only do so when we face Gabriel properly or when Michael orders it, whichever comes first.” Turning away, he carried on without waiting. “Come on, we have some way to go.”
Hayley followed despite herself. Her guardian turned off down a dark alley way. Several streets led them away from the city centre and out into the quiet tower blocks. Alex then turned off the pavement he had been following, leading her into a play park. They passed by the swings and the slides; they had been painted by the street lights in a hideous orange outline, making them appear as a dark, unwelcoming locale rather than the happy gathering place for children to play. Beyond the children’s toys was a stretch of grass that led on forever into the darkness.
Hayley held back. I can’t see any further, she told her soul mate.
Alex turned back to her. He was several paces ahead. “It’s all right, we don’t need to go any further,” he reassured her.
It was that moment she sensed another like them. His presence vanished for a few seconds and then reappeared again. Hayley crossed her arms angrily, irritated by her dulled senses.
Ignoring her, Alex turned to face the newcomer. He emerged from the stand of trees before them, and to Alex’s surprise, he was somewhat wary. “It is only us,” Alex called to him.
The other angel’s eyes looked beyond him. He was a tall, slightly gangly figure with ear length brown hair and brown eyes. “What is wrong with your soul mate? She is a little…off...as people would say.”
“She won’t hurt you.” Seeing his continued hesitance Alex said, “Open your mind and I’ll tell you how she became to be like this.” His counterpart did and Alex shot his memories of the last few weeks across in the blink of an eye.
His reluctance melted like snow on a warm morning. “I see,” he said, approaching Alexander confidently. He thrust
his hand out. “My name is Galloway.”
Alex shook his hand but raised an eyebrow. “I’m Alex. Galloway’s not a name as old as we are.”
Galloway smiled, revealing a perfect set of teeth in his thin face. “It’s not my real name,” he laughed. “Unlike yours men do not have anything that comes remotely close to sounding like mine, so I picked this one as I liked it.”
“Fair enough,” Alex said with a smile. He half turned and held a hand out to his soul mate. “This is Hayley, as you know.”
Galloway sketched a courteous bow. “My apologies, I did not know your story, War Child.” He looked back to Alex. “I’m sorry to summon you but Gabriel stole Monica from me. I tried to fight him but he overpowered me.”
“Why did he not kill you?” Hayley asked.
Galloway stared at her with wide, nervous eyes. “He saw inside me. He saw that day we passed by each other in the street in the town centre. You remember?” he asked, looking between Hayley and Alex. “He knew I’d be able to recognise you and call you. That’s why he let me live, so I could give you a message.”
Alex’s stomach knotted. “What did he say?”
“He said you must bring him the War Child by midnight or Monica would die.” Galloway choked on the last word and turned away, wiping tears from his eyes.
Alex looked to Hayley, the fear on her face matching his own. “I need you now, kindred,” he said, shutting his eyes.
On the other side of town, in a dark, quiet hospital room, Hayley Foster drew her final breath.
Chapter Seventeen
John gazed out upon the stunning vista that unfolded before him. The lofty heights of Madam Kiki’s hotel afforded him an unrivalled view of the eternal summer-soaked landscape of Purgatory for miles and miles around. From this height the tall grass on the meadows and small hillocks below looked like emerald waves, rippling in the warm afternoon breeze. At the edge of the horizon, among the haze of distance, sat an indigo shadow - what John assumed to be a forest as it never seemed to move. He drew a deep breath. The sickly scent of honeysuckle clotted his nostrils. Despite the pleasant aroma and the gorgeous view he sighed. Turning away from the window he crossed the room. It was a spacious but modest dwelling, sparsely littered with essential furniture and nothing more. His footfalls across the shiny, dark wooden flooring were muffled by the same socks he had been wearing for three days now. With every step he could smell them. They were not stinking badly but they gave off a slightly sour whiff.
John threw himself on to the bed. Reaching down the side of it he picked up the book he had spent most of the past half week reading: The Divine Comedy. John did not really care for the material, nor did he really understand most of its prose, but there was nothing else to do to while away the long hours of exile. He wasn’t allowed out of his room without Christopher’s escort and even then the angel refused to take him anywhere save to stretch his legs in the hotel gardens briefly a couple of times a day.
John found Chris’s presence even worse than being alone. Conversation had been strained since their arrival. John could tell the angel pained to speak to him about their situation but the teenager never gave him the opportunity to. Every time Christopher opened his mouth, John intentionally cut in, asking about when they were leaving or inquiring about the history of the hotel or Madam Kiki. He never really cared for any of the latter but it saved him from an awkward conversation he wished to never have with the angel. The sooner I get home, the better, he thought as he idly flicked back to the last page he had been reading. I’ll take Alex’s yelling and calling me stupid over this any day.
A sharp knock at the door snapped him out of his reverie. Sitting the book to one side on the bed, John went to answer it. His eyes widened when they fell upon Jo.
The little old lady offered him a huge, wrinkly smile. “May I please come in, young man?” she asked, eyes sparkling.
“Er…yeah, sure,” John stuttered, remembering his manners at the last and holding the door open for her.
“Thank you most kindly,” she mumbled, walking by. Jo made her way to the small, round table in the corner of the room, pulling out the nearest of three cloth and wood chairs. “I hope I am not bothering you.”
John shrugged as he came over to sit with her. “Not really. There isn’t much to do when you’ve been stuck in the same place forever.”
Jo’s ancient face crinkled into another smile as he sat down in the chair opposite her. “Now, now, forever is a very long time indeed. When you have eternity on your side you will look back at this time in your life and realise it was nothing at all.”
John allowed himself a smile at the amusing comment. “I just hope eternity won’t be this crap.” Jo’s smile widened further and for a moment John thought the thick creases in her pale face would swallow her eyes.
“Christopher tells me you have been upset since he spoke to you about who you really were.”
John’s smile vanished. Feeling very uncomfortable he lowered his gaze and shuffled about in his chair. Scratching at the grain in the wooden table he muttered, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not?” Jo asked. “Most people would give anything to be an angel and to live forever.”
“I don’t though,” John said, meeting her gaze, fear in his eyes. “They are nothing like us. I...” he shook his head, “I wouldn’t be the same person.”
Jo smiled softly and gave a slow nod. “I understand where you are coming from.” She sat forward, clasping her gnarled hands over the handle of her walking stick. “But everything changes, it is inevitable. Besides, I think you are just scared of the unknown rather than what you will become.”
“They’re the same thing.”
Jo’s wrinkly expression held plain. “They most certainly are not,” she said. “Christopher said to me he told you the truth about who you were when you first arrived at our hotel. He said he did it so you could understand where you fit into the grand plan of things. It seems though his words have only upset and confused you.” She regarded John for a long moment. “I think you should speak to Christopher, this matter has gone on long enough. You cannot spend the rest of your life avoiding him.”
“It’s got nothing to do with you,” he told her, more forcefully than he had intended. He expected the hotel matriarch to snap at him but instead her expression remained passive.
“When you live under my roof everything is my business,” Jo said, every word carrying weight. Raising her stick, she struggled onto stiff, uneasy feet, bringing her trusty cane down the moment she put all her weight on them. “Speak to your angel,” she said again, turning her back to him. Once she had hobbled to the door Jo peered over her shoulder at the young man one final time. “If Hayley can find peace with her soul mate, so can you.”
******
Alexander felt the power of the newborn angel surging through his chest when he landed back among the gloomy trees of the park. His heart hammered to the sound of an invisible drum; one only the angels could hear. The essence of his soul mate danced to it with incredible relief. She has missed the song of the stars, he told Galloway, as the younger angel shot him a curious look.
I have heard your story, Alexander, from the older angels. I know the years you have spent apart. I cannot begin to imagine her joy, Galloway replied with a fleeting smile.
Alex returned it. Let’s hope it’s not short lived. His mind returned to the grave situation at hand. He felt a fireball of energy burst in his chest; its embers burning through his veins as its power scattered. Alex flexed his tingling fingers. Hayley was itching for war and desperate for flesh. Filling his lungs with the cold night air, Alex spread his wings full berth. Galloway watched him falter for a moment as a small ball of light flew forth from him.
By the time Hayley landed several feet away she had gone from being a spark of energy, to a ghostly apparition, to a corporeal being with wings. Folding them, the beige-gowned beauty with the long locks of honey-blonde hair turned to face them.
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Alex’s eyes went as round as saucers. The look on his face made the anger on Hayley’s melt in a heartbeat. With a smile and a sparkle of the eyes, she moved towards him on silent feet. The old angel was still the same when she reached him. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Alexander,” she whispered softly.
Alex stared at her for a long moment. Then he flung his arms around her. Lifting her off the ground, he cried into her shoulder; years of loneliness over at last. They stood like that for a long minute, until Galloway cut their reunion short.
“I know this is an important time for you both but I must insist we get on,” he said, shifting about nervously.
Alex released Hayley and looked about uneasily, remembering himself. “I’m sorry, you’re right,” he agreed, nodding Galloway’s way.
“It’s all right,” the other guardian insisted.
Alex looked Hayley’s way again. “You’ll need your sword,” he said.
She looked down to find it magically wrapped around her waist. She tsked and looked at Alex. “Show off.”
He smiled that lopsided grin of his. “Let’s go.” Unfurling his wings, Alex launched himself sky bound. Hayley and Galloway followed suit.
They flew the short distance to where they were to meet Gabriel: Glasgow Cathedral. Alex landed in the street a short distance from the grounds of the old, architectural marvel. The fallen archangel would know they were there. Teleporting in and out to snatch Monica was out of the question.
Alex’s jaw clenched and the angel stiffened as he looked upon the quiet, dark cathedral. His eyes scanned every spire and every column, hunting the shadows for anyone - or anything - that might be waiting for them. There was nothing.
Are you sure about this? Hayley asked inside his mind, wary of speaking out loud.
Alex looked her way, his expression grim. It is not like we really have a choice. He looked to Galloway and the guardian nodded. Alexander knew he was nervous - he could see it in the younger man’s eyes. But there was no time to air such doubts. The decision had been made.