“I will take you to Archangel Remiel. Aside from that, there is nothing more I can do,” he said, and then he did the strangest thing. Mr. Johnson turned around to face Stone and said, “Virtue, I pray thee. A horse, please.” He lowered his head in Stone’s direction, and for the second time that day, Stone materialized a horse out of thin air, this one a white stallion, which Mr. Johnson hopped on as if it had belonged to him all along.
“Shut. Up!” LJ exclaimed as admiration washed over her face.
“Let’s go, people. Mr. Johnson will lead the way.” I jumped on Ambry and positioned myself next to him.
Mr. Johnson led us through a small town that looked like it should have been a set for an old western TV show: small farmhouses spread out over a large area and a main street complete with a general store, pharmacy and doctor’s office, a trading post for mail pick up, and a church that doubled as a schoolhouse. Large satellite dishes were also visible, along with fiber optic cable wires from time to time. Bizarre. Except for the occasional historical tidbit or a neigh from one of the horses, we were all pretty quiet. I don’t think anyone knew what to say.
“Here,” Mr. Johnson said as he stopped in front of the blue-painted church. “The horses will graze out back. Aquus, you come with us.” He commanded the horses as we dismounted and they obeyed, except one.
Aquus, which was apparently the name of Stone’s horse, changed immediately from a horse into an angel that looked exactly like Stone, only probably about twenty pounds heavier, all muscle and wings that looked as if they were chiseled from rock. He pulled Stone into himself and they became one, no ascension like last time, he just changed like a shapeshifter, only way cooler, right before my eyes.
“Okay, what the heck was that?” I demanded, pulling Stone’s arm.
Gavin roared in amazement. “Nice!” he congratulated Stone, bonding over some stupid guy shifter appreciation thing. I thought they were gonna fist bump next.
“I’ll explain later. It’s what I do. It’s my purpose.”
“Yeah? And your name? It’s not Stone?” I demanded, angrier now as we walked up the steps to the church.
“Grace, we don’t have time for this,” Mr. Johnson advised me. “Stone Aquus is here to help you. He’s a warrior. You need him right now.”
“Well, how can he help me if I don’t understand all that he is capable of?”
Gavin put his hand on my lower back, calming me, but not nearly enough.
Mr. Johnson and Stone both stepped back as the door to the church opened. They saw it before I did. Before I could react, someone raised a hand to strike me. I crouched down, but it was too late. Sucker punched for the second time that day. I went down, disoriented, trying to get my wits about me, but all I could see was the ground, and not all that well. I blinked a few times and saw red drops. I was bleeding. I blinked some more and looked up. He was coming for me again.
Gavin grabbed the hand and twisted it, then grabbed the person by the neck with his other hand. Fallen. As I regained my stance, I could see other Fallen closing in around us, clearly intending to break the rules of Nod.
Reclaiming ground, I stood up, able to see a little better, and wiped the blood from my mouth. I grabbed a Tachi Gunto from my back, and the sound of the sword being released from its sheath gave me a charge. Then LJ ran up the steps faster than light, grabbed my sword, removed the wings of my attacker with it, and pushed him to the ground as I watched Gavin cringe. Had I hesitated?
“Sorry,” was all I could say as I watched Gavin stare in horror at the Fallen who lay in front of him, dark wings three steps below. I turned to LJ, who had a huge smile on her face. She held my sword like a true warrior, up in one hand above her head with her chest rising and falling quickly from the adrenaline.
“Very cool,” LJ acknowledged as she handed my sword back to me dripping with blood. “I prefer bows and arrows myself,” she added as she looked over at Gavin. She crouched down, placed her bow in her left hand and steadied it, removed an arrow from her quiver with her