touch him. I let my fingers trail over his face. “Cal?”
He opens his eyes. “Benji,” he says, his dark eyes filling with wonder. “I feel… different.”
I worry. “Different good or different bad?”
“Different different.”
“Do you hurt?”
“No.”
“Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“My heart,” he says, reaching up to touch my cheek. I nuzzle into the palm of his hand. “It’s never been like this. I never thought it could be like this. It aches, but it’s so good. It’s better than anything.”
I understand, I think. He’s not sick. He’s not in pain. He’s not wounded. His heart aches because he’s human. It aches because it’s full. “You’re home,” I tell him gently, leaning down to kiss him once. He wraps his arms around me and holds me down against him, my face in his neck.
“You still hurt?” he asks me hoarsely.
“No. Your feathers. They… helped me too.”
“I asked him for that.”
“Asked who?”
“My Father. Benji, I saw my Father. I spoke with him. I walked with him.”
Michael crouches down on his knees, staring down at us, a quizzical look on his face. “Father spoke to you?” he asks carefully. The other archangels look just as interested.
“Yes,” Cal said.
“What did he say?”
Cal sighs. “He told me there was no one such as me in the world and that I belong to him. He told me he’ll believe in me, always. He told me he’ll miss me every day we’re apart, but that one day, I would see him again.”
I close my eyes to keep from breaking.
Michael sighs. “Maybe one day I’ll be able to understand him.”
“Highly unlikely,” David snorts. “I doubt any of us will.”
“No matter,” Gabriel says. “What’s done is done and can’t be undone.” He blushes for a moment as Michael glares at him. I wonder at it, but don’t ask.
“This is just the beginning,” Raphael says, looking disgusted. “Wait until On High hears what Father did for Calliel. We’re going to be losing angels left and right! How the hell can we be expected to win this war if we have no one left to fight should we be called to do so?”
Michael stands as I help Cal to his feet. “It doesn’t matter,” Michael says, looking up at St. Jude. “Father has made his decision. The design has changed. If others choose to fall, then it will be done. We have to put faith in him that he knows what he’s doing. He would not have made this decision now if he didn’t think we could survive.” He looks back to us. “If the time calls for it, Calliel, I may ask you to stand with us. I pray it doesn’t come to that. But in case it does, I will come for you again.”
I feel cold as I grip his hand tightly. “Not without me, you won’t,” I snap at Michael. “He’s mine now. He goes, I go.”
“Benji—”
“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”
He nods, unable to meet my eyes.
“Will it be soon?” Nina asks suddenly. I’d forgotten that all of Roseland surrounds us. I look out over the crowd. They look dazed and tired, confused and elated. Exactly how I feel.
Michael looks at her. “What was that, child?”
“Your war,” she says. “Is it coming soon?”
The other three archangels share glances. Michael doesn’t look away from Nina. I wonder what he sees in her. I wonder if he knows she is different, in the best sense of the word. “I don’t know, little one,” he says finally, his wings drooping. “I think so.”
“Will you fight? All of you?”
“If we’re called to. If there’s no other hope.” The other archangels nod.
“There’s always hope,” she insists. “There is always hope, and you must remember that. You are not alone in this.”
Michael’s eyes widen as he takes a step back. “Where did you hear….” He shakes his head. “This town,” he mutters. “What is it about this town? Who are you people?”
No one answers.
“Michael,” Raphael growls. “It’s time to leave.”
“It’s been… interesting,” David says, tipping a salute at us.
Gabriel surprises me by rushing over and pulling me into a hug. “Thank you,” he whispers. “For allowing us to choose. Maybe one day when this is over, I can find my own redheaded daddy.” He kisses me on the cheek, and I gape at him as he prances away.
Then only Michael stands before me, and I can’t yet tell how I feel about him. “Good-bye,” I say finally, unable to think of anything else.
He nods. “Benji,” he says. He turns to Cal. “I hope