“A beautiful request, Hannah. It is not within my power to grant such things, but your Heavenly Father hears and answers His children. You can be certain of that,” he says, his hand still upon her brow. “Are you ready?”
“Where are we going?”
Another smile from the Sabre as he removes the tubes from Mom’s arms and lifts her from the bed as easily as he’d lifted three-year-old me.
“You are needed elsewhere.”
41
Brielle
The orchard comes into focus one twisted limb at a time. Virtue is gone, as are the other Sabres. And Canaan. Jake and I stand alone, my hand trembling inside the warmth of his.
“Are you okay?” he says.
If I feel anything right now, I feel numb.
“Dad was right,” I say. “He took her. Virtue did.”
Jake turns me toward him, a look that would quell the darkest storm on his face. “Then I know without a doubt that she was well looked after.”
“He’s big,” I say. It’s a stupid thing to say, a stupid thought, but his size brings me comfort.
Jake seems to understand. “Really big.”
And then we laugh. And cry. It’s all so jumbled, but there’s relief there. And pain. We sink to the ground, the red trees surrounding us, and I tell Jake about my mom’s final moments in Stratus.
“I have a memory of her now,” I say, my mouth quivering, my nose running. “Maybe it’ll be enough to help us find her.”
“I hope so, Elle. I do, and we’ll look. I promise.” Jake wipes at my face, soaking up tears with his index finger. His mouth curves into that little crescent moon I love so much.
“What?”
“I just smeared mud across your cheek.”
We laugh again.
Understanding why Mom’s grave was empty didn’t solve a thing, but it gave me a way forward, and my heart is lighter for it.
“Where are the Sabres?” I ask.
“Fighting,” he says.
“And Canaan?”
“Looking for Damien,” Jake says. “He made a grab for us just as you started your trip down memory lane.”
“He tried to attack while we were surrounded by Sabres?”
Jake nods, his face serious. “Tells you how desperate he is to have us, Elle. The Sabres hurt him, but he kept coming. With his sight restored, he’s a dangerous specimen.”
I think of the dagger that punctured my chest last December, of my life leaking down the ridges of an aluminum building.
“He was dangerous before,” I say.
“And now he’s worse. Much worse.”
I want to tell him I’m sorry about last night. I want him to know that I understand he was trying to protect me, just as I was trying to protect Dad, but before I can voice either of those things, I’m pulled into the Celestial.
I gasp for air as my kneeling body is yanked straight and pressed against a hot, soft form and flown backward through the orchard. She’s singing, loud and fierce. It’s Helene! She’s here! She’s whole.
But relief is short-lived. We’re flying fast and low through the trees, my eyes trained on the spot I’ve just left. On Jake. Just beyond the orchard, there is a flurry of activity. I see Sabre wings flashing. I hear music droning from them, smell the fragrance of worship as they fight. I see darkness as the Fallen close in. And then Canaan dips into the orchard, shaking a demon off as he does. With his inner wings he pulls Jake to his chest, and I watch as they fly skyward. Four demons abandon the Sabre they’re fighting for an easier target. A smaller angel, slowed by a charge, and carrying only one sword.
They fly at Canaan.
I cry out, but it’s nothing save unintelligible hysterics, and there’s too much noise. Too many demons screaming like animals, too many Sabres singing violently. Blade rings loud against blade, demons dissolve with hissing sputters into the Celestial around them.
Hot tears sting my eyes, but I force them open.
The demons attack. All four of them, slicing away at Canaan. At his wings. He’s fast, so fast, and his skill with a sword is staggering. For a moment I think he has the situation under control, that he and Jake are fine, but then a fifth demon joins the fray. Canaan manages to dispatch three of the Fallen before another slices open his inner wings.
I scream, and Helene dives toward them.
Toward Jake tumbling to the ground.
And then I see him.
Damien.
He’s flying at Jake. Fast and precise, his untainted eyes guiding him through the battle. I scream again and again. Helene flies hard, but Damien gets there first. With razor-sharp talons