a fucking idiot he is. Van will be nibbling on his pillowy lower lip as he anxiously awaits my arrival.
I don’t need to just be quick any more. I need to be fucking speedy. Because I have no doubt my demons are losing their minds right about now.
Is it too much to hope that Gabriel’s office will be labeled? Like, “Angel Placement in Here!” or “Gabriel’s office! Enter, please. No one’s home!”
Instead, I’m greeted with row after row of eerily similar doors—all white with what looks like a feather engraved on the doorknob. It’s the feather I take a closer look at, skittering to a stop in front of the first door on the right. It appears to be letters, but the language is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Angel language? Is that a thing?
Is that an…E?
Okay, think, Katrina, think. Process of elimination, right?
I check the door opposite the one I was just at and see that the first letter appears to be a D. Hmmm. Maybe our languages aren’t as different after all. Wasn’t one of the first languages, like, Latin or something? What do I know about Latin?
Fucking nothing.
Deciding that I’m out of freaking options and running out of time, I hurry down the hall, glancing at each door intermittently. When I reach one that has a strange looking G etched onto the feather, I pause. G for, dare I say, Gabriel?
“If it’s the wrong door, you can backtrack, Katrina,” I tell myself sternly. Because, yeah, apparently, I talk to myself when I’m anxious. Shut up. You’d do it too.
With bated breath, I pull down on the handle…and then immediately turn and press my back flat against the wall as it swings open. If there’s an angel inside, I don’t want him or her to see me. And smite me. I really, really don’t want to be smote.
When no one immediately comes charging out, I slowly, tentatively, peek my head around the corner, only breathing easier when I see what appears to be an empty office. And I use the term office loosely, because the room is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
For one, it almost appears as if the desk is floating—which is not at all surprising, considering everything I know about Heaven. And for two, despite being located on the second floor, the entire room has its own personal forest. Not a garden. Not a plant. Oh no. A freaking forest, complete with sparkly trees that light up like fairy dust, pink trunks, rivers made up of rainbows, and a giant yellow lily pad floating on the water.
“Heaven is so weird,” I murmur as my pulse hammers.
I slip inside the room and gently shut the door, letting out a deep breath when it’s closed completely. I venture tentatively towards the desk, making sure to step over the rainbow stream. The last thing I need is a water llama popping its head out and spitting…I dunno…water at me. Are there such things as heavenly water llamas? I think I have an unhealthy obsession now.
Like, what’s the difference between a llama and an alpaca?
Ohh…maybe there are water alpacas.
Focus!
Mentally scolding myself, I move towards the floating desk. I have to stand on my tiptoes to peek over the edge, but I see nothing out of the ordinary. It’s just a wooden desk. Nothing sparkles or glows or spits fire.
My confusion amplifies as I spin in a wide circle, staring at every nook and cranny present. Am I in the wrong office? Fuck.
But before I can make a hasty retreat, something catches my eye. Something obscured by tangled purple vines on the far wall of the room.
I tiptoe towards it, half expecting one of the vines to come to life and strangle me, but when it remains…well, not dead, per se, but not sentient, I push them aside to reveal a weathered map made up of brittle, yellowing paper.
A map of the world.
I just barely contain my squeal of excitement as I focus my attention on the United States and the various red dots displayed. Instinctively, I reach up and touch the California coast…only to scramble backwards with a scream as the entire map shifts and distorts until I’m staring at a closeup of the area I just pointed to.
“What the hell?” I murmur in awe. It looks like it’s made of paper, it feels like it’s made of paper, but it’s acting like it’s some sort of iPad or Google Maps or some shit.