Angelfire

  Bastian ignored me and looked at Wil . A cruel and subtle smile spread across his face. "So good to see you again, Wil iam. I see you're pleased to be reunited with your charge, though it appears to me things have changed between you."

  Wil stared back, his gaze dark and defiant.

  Ivar stepped forward, her face twisted with wrath, but Bastian's power lashed her across the chest. She staggered back, her wings shivering around her in pain and not because of her ice-cold, drenched clothes.

  "Leave them," Bastian warned.

  Ivar snarled and bared her teeth. "But why?"

  "If you kil her now, she wil just return. We must wait. Be patient." Bastian's cerulean eyes met mine. "Have no doubt, Preliator, this isn't the end, not yet. The Enshi wil awaken and consume your soul."

  Ivar's head cocked to one side like a bird's, her soaked, pale hair pouring over her shoulders. "Have you ever watched a soul die?" she asked. "Just wait until you feel your own soul dying."

  I stared back at her boldly, but my bravado began to waver when I considered what the Enshi might be able to accomplish.

  From the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of silver-gray wings. I staggered and backed into Wil as another vir descended to the deck.

  Cadan. His opal eyes were on fire as he looked from Bastian to me and back again. His leathery wings gave a shake and folded to his back but didn't disappear.

  "A little late, aren't you?" Bastian asked calmly. Cadan straightened and brushed off the front of his shirt.

  "Better late than never."

  Bastian vanished and reappeared directly in front of Cadan and grabbed hold of his chin. "The repercussions of your . . . act of defiance wil be great," he hissed very close to Cadan's face. "I would feel nothing if I kil ed you."

  Their gazes locked until Bastian shoved him away and strode up to Ivar. She stared at Cadan with a strange, hardened expression. Bastian's blinding white feathered wings spread wide, and he took off into the air and vanished. Cadan looked away from her as if her gaze hurt him, his pale-gold hair whipping in the air, his fists clenched tightly. Ivar stretched her wings to take flight and fol ow Bastian.

  "The sarcophagus," Cadan began as he started toward me. "Where is it?"

  The next instant Wil 's sword sliced through the air between us and halted, poised right between Cadan's eyes. Wil was exhausted and breathless, but he'd never give up fighting. "One more step and I turn your face into a donut."

  Cadan stared wide-eyed down the blade. "Pretty sure that sword would turn my face into two pieces, if you want to get technical."

  "Only one way to find out."

  "Wil !" I shouted, grabbing his free arm. "We don't have time for this. Cadan, the sarcophagus is gone. There's no way you can--"

  "Good," he said abruptly. "Bastian can't let that thing out."

  "What do you care?" I demanded. "You work for him, though it sounds like you might get fired."

  He let out a surprising laugh. "If only. Things are a little more complicated than that."

  "Save the speech," I said coldly. "The ship is sinking, and we need to get the hel off it."

  "I love it when you get assertive," he said with an edge to his voice.

  I rol ed my eyes, and Wil shoved his sword a little closer to Cadan's brow. "Are you done?"

  He gave a curt nod. "Quite."

  Wil withdrew his sword, but he didn't step away from me. He touched my arm. "We have to go."

  "Yeah," I agreed.

  "So, the sarcophagus," Cadan said. "It's gone?"

  "Nathaniel threw it over," Wil said, his voice laced with ice. "Now go."

  Cadan stared at him for a long moment before spreading his wings wide. "Then this journey wasn't for nothing." He beat his wings and flew off into the black sky.

  Exhaustion consumed me suddenly, and I looked around me, dazedly, at the human corpses--al that was left of the Elsa's crew--littering the deck. The sarcophagus was gone, I was emotional y and physical y depleted, and now we were stranded on a sinking ship.

  Nathaniel rushed by me. "We need to get the lifeboat down. The ship's going under!"

  "Did we make it to the Deep?" Wil cried out.

  "Close enough!" Nathaniel yel ed frantical y. "There's no way the sarcophagus could've survived, but we've got to get out of here or we're going down with it!"

  Wil scrambled for our swords and disappeared into the cabin.

  "Gabriel."

  The voice was a whisper in my mind, creeping through my veins, through every part of my insides. I felt my winged necklace grow hot and I gaped down at it, pul ing it away from my bare skin.

  "Wil ?" I asked. "Is that you?"

  "Gabriel," the gentle voice in my head whispered again.

  "Close your eyes."

  That was definitely not Wil .

  The world grew bright very quickly, so bright that al I could do was obey, or else--I knew from deep within--my eyes would burn up in their sockets if I didn't. I threw my hands over my face as the black night lit up as bright as day. I shivered, my eyes squeezed shut as the temperature dropped, and energy rol ed across the deck--pure power unlike anything I'd ever felt before. I fel to my knees beneath its onslaught.

  "El ie!" Wil 's voice cal ed from somewhere around me. The brightness dimmed enough for me to open my eyes. Ethereal golden-white light beamed out from al around a silhouetted form, like sunlight peeking out from behind clouds. Had Bastian returned? My pulse pounded through my skul as I tried to find my balance, and I stared in wonder up at the thing above me.

  A figure came into view: the ghostly shape of a man surrounded by three pairs of creamy white wings covered in a fine layer of fiery gold, as if the feathers were the color of dawn on a field of newly fal en snow. His head was crowned by close-cropped golden curls, and over his bil owing, blinding white robes he wore armor made of gleaming gold. The weight of his power bore down on me like the summer sun, the glory too pure and divine to be real. My lips grew numb, and I couldn't stop myself from weeping.

  "Gabriel," the creature said again, his voice smooth as fine wine. "You must not let the wicked seize the Beast. Lucifer must not gain control. There is no price too great to pay to prevent that."

  It took me ages to get my voice to work. "Who are you speaking to?"

  His beautiful, determined face watched me for moment. He gave a slow nod toward me. "To you."

  I shook my head in confusion. "That's not my name. I'm El ie."

  "You are Gabriel," he said. "The left hand and power of God. The Preliator."

  I stared up at him. His wings did not move but remained spread wide in al their luminous glory as he floated above me. The revelation of what the mysterious creature said to me hit me like a flood. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. I didn't want to believe him, but I knew. . . . Something deep inside me stirred, something bright, something frightening. He was no reaper. He was an archangel. Like me.

  "Who are you?" I asked him at last.

  "I am Michael, and I am here to guide you, Gabriel, my sister."

  Heaviness settled on me, and I felt my body sag--this frail human body that didn't belong to me. I found myself resenting it, longing for something different, something truly mine and without limitations.

  Michael came forward, his six wings folding back, and he reached out a phantom hand to mine. I stared into his face and could almost see right through him. His body was like a sheer veil hung over a summer dawn, his skin glowing from a source of light unseen. I laid my hand on his and felt the magnetic pul between us. On contact, I felt the tremors of electricity; he seemed to be made of pure energy instead of flesh. He helped me stand without touching me. Somehow I felt my body pul forward onto my feet.

  "You have work to do, Gabriel. The wicked wil retrieve the Beast from the bel y of the sea, and you must be there to prevent the awakening. Al wil be lost if you fail. The Second War is nigh."

  "The Beast is the Enshi, isn't it?"

  Michael nodded. "Guardian," he boomed, and lo
oked to my right.

  I fol owed his gaze to find Wil standing there, gaping at us both in disbelief.

  "Guardian," Michael said again.

  Final y Wil tore his eyes away from mine to stare at the archangel.

  "I gave you my sword so that you could protect my sister,"

  Michael said, his face hard as stone. "Nothing more. She is not yours. You belong to her."

  Wil opened his mouth but said nothing. His eyes shone even brighter than Michael in al his glory.

  "Michael!" I cal ed and the archangel turned toward me again. "If you're supposed to guide me, then why don't you speak to me anymore? A long time ago you used to give me orders, tel me where to go. Why did you stop helping me?

  Did I do something wrong?"

  "You've forgotten how to listen."

  I rose to my feet, unsure if I ful y understood what he said.

  "Are you the one who keeps sending me here? Every time I die, are you the one who brings me back?"

  "You are reborn by your own power," he said. "Our prophets foresaw the coming of the Beast, and you chose to remain in Heaven to train and gain strength for the trials ahead."

  "Why do I feel this way?" I asked. "Why do I feel so much anger in battle? How can I be Gabriel if I feel so evil?"

  His expression was kind, his sympathy infinite. "The divine were never meant to be mortal, my sister. The emotions you're feeling now are something you were never meant to feel. You have not fal en from grace, for your grace is with you always. You must stay strong, vigilant, and do not forget yourself, or you wil never understand your power. Humans are amazing creations, but their ability to hate is as great as their ability to love. Let your humanity become a strength, not a weakness."

  "If I spent al that time in Heaven training, then why am I not stronger than before? Why am I not laying waste al my enemies? I wil fail if I'm not strong enough!"

  His glory wrapped around me in a veil of light and warmth.

  "God has faith in you. Do not lose your faith in Him."

  He vanished, and I was momentarily blinded by the sudden absence of light. When I could see again, Wil 's gaze met mine, his eyes wide with disbelief. He reached for me and touched my hair, his gaze fal ing over every inch of my face. And he fel to his knees before me.

  "What have I done?" He closed his eyes and bent his head.

  "Wil ," I pleaded. "Don't--"

  "I've touched you in ways I shouldn't have, and I've wanted you--"

  "Wil ." I knelt in front of him and lifted his chin with my hand. His eyes were red and raw. "Hey. It's me, El ie. I'm stil me!"

  "But I--"

  "Hey! I need you. Don't freak out on me."

  "What have I--?"

  "Wil ! I'm El ie, not some archangel. Not God's left hand, or whatever Michael cal ed me. I'm just me and you're just you."

  "How can I ignore this?" His voice cracked with pain as he stared at me, his face ful of sadness. "What I've done and felt for you is forbidden. You are--"

  "Please, Wil ," I begged, cutting him off. "I need to figure this out. Please, for me? I'm not real y ready to deal with this."

  He squeezed his eyes shut again and took a long, labored breath. His jaw clenched tight as he drew himself together again, but he said nothing.

  I turned to see Nathaniel, who stared at us, the same shock flooding his face. "We've got to go."

  My head spun suddenly, and I col apsed from exhaustion. Wil scooped me into his arms before I hit the floor. I curled into him, giving in, and suddenly al I wanted to do was sleep. Our duffel lay at his feet, much ful er than before. Nathaniel got the lifeboat ready, its stark yel ow practical y glowing in the moonlight, and he threw the duffel down into its bel y. Wil carried me down and settled us both gently in the little boat as Nathaniel revved the motor. As we sped away, I peeked back, shivering from the ocean chil and my wet clothes, watching the Elsa sink farther into the Caribbean. Wil reached for the duffel and pul ed out a heavy, smel y blanket and wrapped it over us. Warmth and exhaustion melted over me as I leaned into him, barely feeling the wind rushing over my head and the sea mist settling on me. I imagined the ocean pressure crushing the Enshi to bits despite Michael's warning until, final y, I fel asleep.

  UNCORRECTED E-PROOF--NOT FOR SALE

  HarperCollins Children's Books

  ..................................................................... 33

  WHEN I WOKE, DAWN WAS BREAKING OVER THE horizon and we were pul ing into a little lagoon lined with smal , colorful homes. Nathaniel stopped the boat at a dock, swung the duffel around his back, and climbed out. Wil lifted me, stil wrapped in my dusty quilt cocoon, and carried me out of the lifeboat.

  A man I couldn't see spoke Spanish from somewhere nearby, and I heard Nathaniel answer him fluently. I peeked out and saw the man who had spoken. He was looking at us strangely, his eyes flickering from us to the lifeboat parked at his dock. He said something else, and that seemed to be the end of it.

  Nathaniel leaned close to Wil and said, "I told him he could keep the boat if he kept his mouth shut."

  I loosened my hands a little from around Wil 's neck and let them slip down to my chest as he cradled me. My eyelids weighed a thousand pounds again, and soon I was asleep once more.

  I woke again in the bed at the motel, and within moments of my opening my eyes, Wil was leaning close to me. I pul ed the quilt tighter and leaned toward his warmth.

  "Do you want to take a shower?" he asked, brushing the hair from my face.

  "No." My voice cracked pitiful y. I didn't want to bring up what had happened on the ship after Bastian had left, because I was worried that it hadn't been a dream. But even if it had real y happened, what would it mean? It wasn't even conceivable. How could I be an angel?

  "We have to leave in an hour for the airport. Nathaniel is returning the truck before we check out."

  I examined my blood-caked skin and clothes and decided a shower was a good idea after al . I sat up slowly, zombielike, and staggered to the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and undressed, turned the hot water on, and climbed in, pul ing the curtain shut. The water washed down my body, smearing blood, dirt, and unidentifiable grime. I smel ed like fish and blood. My legs gave out, and I slid down the shower wal until I sat at the bottom of the tub and the water poured over my head. I cried.

  water poured over my head. I cried.

  I heard a knock at the door.

  A few moments later, Wil cal ed gently, "El ie?"

  I said nothing.

  "Do you need anything?"

  I was glad he didn't ask if I was al right. If he had, I might have been too strongly tempted to rip his tongue out. I heard his back slide down the door and the soft thump as he sat down. "I know how you're feeling," he said. I stared at the rust-colored water streaking into the drain as the shower splattered me like hot rain.

  "We've both felt this a mil ion times before," he continued.

  "The helplessness, the desolation, the feeling--the knowing--that the end is coming. We'l get through this."

  "Bastian is stil going to come for me," I said at last, my voice empty and dry. "He won't give up."

  "El ie," he said, his voice firmer, "we didn't lose. Yeah, we got pretty banged up, but we won. The Enshi is at the bottom of the ocean. It would take a miracle to keep that thing intact, let alone retrieve it. As far as we know, they wouldn't even know how to open the sarcophagus and awaken it. It's destroyed and it'l never awaken."

  "But Michael said that Bastian would get it back."

  He was quiet for a moment. "He must be wrong. If he's not, then we wil stop Bastian before he awakens the Enshi."

  Wil 's words gave me little hope. Bastian didn't have the Enshi, and we stil had a long way to go. Was whatever lay sealed inside that sarcophagus real y capable of destroying my soul? I didn't want to die, but I was more afraid of not even passing on. How did Wil and Nathaniel deal with knowing they would just end after death? If the Enshi got hold of me, what would
it be like to have my soul eaten?

  "El ie?"

  I stood up and finished washing my hair. When I stepped out and dried off, I wrapped the towel around me. I opened the door to see Wil sitting on the other side, turning his head to look up at me. He stood and faced me, his gaze lingering on the damp cotton towel tucked tightly around me.

  "I'm not finished fighting," I said shakily. "I don't want that monster to destroy my soul or anyone else's. I can't let Michael down. No price is too great to pay to prevent that."

  Wil smiled, and the hope that fil ed his eyes made the glimmer inside me a little stronger. "It'l be al right," he said. He edged closer to me, and my back touched the cold wal . Though I no longer felt embarrassment around him, I did tremble the closer he got to me. I wasn't simply attracted to him the way I had been a month before. I was in love with him now, and when he was this close, the thought of him touching my bare skin stirred more than just emotions within me. When his hand touched my arm, a tremor ran through me and I sank deeper into the wal just to hold myself up. I forced out the memory of Michael's warning. I did belong to Wil . I loved him and I was his.

  "I'l protect you," he said softly into my cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you."

  I wanted to believe him and I tried. The horrible image of Ivar's half-torn shoulder flashed across my mind, and I looked away.

  "What is it?" His face was ful of pain suddenly as he sensed my apprehension in that strange way our centuriesold bond al owed. I spoke slowly, careful y choosing my words, watching his face for a reaction. "When I came up from the hold, I saw Ivar's shoulder. Did you do that?"

  His eyes held mine for a moment, the pause lasting painful y long. He chewed his upper lip and let his forehead rest against the wal next to me before he answered. "Yes."

  "You almost ripped her entire arm off. How are we supposed to be things that fight for good if we can be just as terrible as the monsters we fight?"

  He closed his eyes and took a breath. "A reaper's power is great. It doesn't matter who we serve, the angels or the Fal en. But it's the way we choose to use it that makes the impact. I serve you, my angel, my Gabriel, my El ie. You're stronger than I am. What I've seen you do is beyond anything I could have imagined."