Year Two: Rebels - Cara Wylde Page 0,36
of another window, and I could also identify a spherical astrolabe, a map of the sky, and an ancient sextant. There were many other astronomical instruments that I simply didn’t know the names of. Even the ones I had identified… I wasn’t sure what they were good for.
“I don’t have to have met you before to know that you were in trouble and needed a decent soul to give you a hand.” He finally turned to me, his arms full of bandages and ointments. He came to kneel by my side. “You will feel better in no time. First, take this.” He opened his palm and revealed a small, round pill. “Hold it on your tongue. It has a sweet taste, I promise.”
“What is it?”
“Something to help with the pain. I have to put your bone back, and you will need it. Trust me.”
I looked into his cerulean eyes. He was kind and caring, and even I could tell he meant me no harm. I hadn’t forgotten that I was a poor judge of character, but I felt like this old, gentle man was like an open book. Even I could read him. Besides, what choice did I have? I took the pill and placed it on my tongue. It started dissolving almost instantly, and the more it dissolved, the better I felt. The pain faded little by little, and when Lucien touched my broken arm, I let him.
“Look away.”
He was right. There was blood everywhere, and the ripped skin around the shattered bone hung loosely here and there. It was a bit of a horror show. I turned my head and allowed him to work. He did so quickly, like he’d done it countless times before. I doubted it. I must have been the only idiot human who’d fallen in Heaven.
“I’m Yolanda. Thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. I could barely move.” He nodded simply. “Don’t you want to know what happened?”
“Only if you want to tell me. I’m not here to ask questions or judge, angel. But if you want to tell me, I will listen.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “What are you, anyway? I mean… what kind of angel?”
“In the Fourth Sphere, we are called authorities. Or powers. Our duty is to supervise the movements of the heavenly bodies to ensure that the cosmos remains in order.” Well, that explained the room and the tower itself. “It’s my life’s work, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I waited for him to ask me something. Maybe he wanted to know what I did, or why I was in Heaven in the first place. Even if he insisted on calling me “angel”, he knew I wasn’t one. I had the blond hair, but not the beautiful wings. When he didn’t ask and simply continued to work on my broken arm, I sighed and decided to tell him myself. It would help distract me from the mess that my field trip with the RDC had turned out to be.
“I’m a student at Grim Reaper Academy. I’m in the Merciful Death Cabal, but I missed the field trip with them, so I had to come with the Righteous Death Cabal.” I sighed deeply. “I shouldn’t have come. Who cares about field trips? I won’t be a Grim Reaper anyway. I don’t even want to graduate.”
He stole a glance at me. It didn’t look like he was necessarily curious about my story, but more like he was concerned about me.
“Don’t worry, it’s not what you think.” I smiled. “It’s not that I’m insecure or I believe I’m not good enough to be a Grim Reaper. It’s just…” I paused. How could I put this? “You said your life’s work is to make sure the cosmos moves in perfect order. My life’s work isn’t reaping. It’s something else.” I stopped to see if he was going to say something. He hummed and nodded to let me know that he was still listening, that he was still here for me. I felt a warm wave of energy envelop me. I’d never had a grandfather, but I was sure this was what it would’ve felt like if I’d had one to listen and care for me, to encourage me to open my heart and unburden my soul. “I don’t know why,” I whispered, “But I feel like I can tell you anything.”
He smiled. “You can, angel.” He cleaned my wound with plenty of water, disinfected it, and then proceeded to