The Angel Read online

  I acquired the position after she took her final breath, and have led my people with both love and pride ever since.’

  Laura smiled. In the little time she’d spent with Megan, it had indeed become clear how much she adored her people, and just what she would sacrifice for their ensured safety.

  ‘It was only a year ago that a God came to me,’ Megan continued. ‘I will not mention who, for you are not yet ready to hear that information. But he told me that dark times were ahead. That the Casters would be needed. That my purpose would finally be fulfilled, just as my mothers had been, and her mother’s before that. He told me that someone would come for me, seeking my help, and that I was to give it, for if I didn’t, I would be endangering the entirety of Elixir.’

  Megan paused, an air of sadness about her as she peered out at the bubbling river, the tweeting birds and the rushing of the waterfall.

  ‘It is quite a burden to bear, I must admit,’ she sighed to herself. ‘But I knew I could not ignore it. I had a year to accept what I had been told. A year to come to terms with what I knew was to soon happen. However I still find myself wondering if the God’s really did know just what was going to happen. Or at least how bad it truly was going to be.’

  Megan quietened, eyes drifting up towards the cloudless sky. Laura could smell the rainforest around them, and she was calmed by the scent as she sat there, quietly listening.

  ‘Our people have always fought to survive. We allied ourselves with the creatures of these Islands and made a home for ourselves. I know we must fight in this war, but still. I do fear we will not return. That all we have built will be lost.’

  The calm Laura felt slowly melted away as she realised that even Megan was afraid. Laura had quickly come to view Megan as both strong and powerful. If she was afraid, then Laura definitely had cause to be. Would they win the war?

  ‘Okay, you’ve had some time to rest. Now, back to work. Take your place again,’ Megan said, turning to face her and assuming her previous position.

  Laura gave Megan a tight-lipped smile and crossed her legs, straightening her back.

  ‘Whatever happens in this war, I’m grateful to you and your people for all your help,’ Laura told Megan quietly.

  Megan’s eyes were kind as she replied, ‘they’re your people too, now. We fight for each other,’ she paused, seeming to ponder her next words. At last, she let go of her breath. ‘We fight for what’s right, no matter the cost.’

  Laura understood the meaning behind her statement. She knew Megan’s people – her people, would be contributing more than just their skills. They’d be giving up their whole lives. Their safety. Their secrecy. Their abilities would be known throughout the Spirit World. The moment they stepped out onto the battlefield, everything would change.

  ~

  It had been a long and exhausting night, but that didn’t worry Oscar. Not only had they managed to formulate some level of a plan to try and convince Loki and the Mariadies to help them, but Tahiki had already passed the word around about their needing Erine’s help, and after only a few hours, a letter had arrived on their doorstep asking he and Caspian to set out swiftly for the West Mountain.

  They’d jumped with relief and excitement at the note, though they’d had but two hours sleep in total. They couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Who knew when Erine would next make contact with them? No. They couldn’t risk losing their chance to talk to him.

  As Oscar wolfed down his breakfast, he caught the gleam in Caspian’s eye. He wasn’t looking at Oscar, but he seemed to be doing vastly better after their chat the previous night too. Oscar had to admit, he felt better knowing that Caspian had some level of understanding of his past. Not only that, but despite what Oscar had told him, Caspian still believed in him. Still trusted him.

  It had been such a long time since anyone showed him such faith, and he couldn’t quite formulate a word of thanks in his mind. He wanted to show Caspian his gratitude, for he felt he truly could do anything as long as Caspian believed in him. He just didn’t know how.

  ‘You feeling better?’ Caspian asked suddenly, catching his eye.

  Oscar realised he’d been staring and quickly took up his glass, gulping down a long swig from it. Of course, it was at that moment he began to choke. He sputtered, slamming down the glass and coughing loudly.

  Caspian jumped up, alarmed. ‘Oscar?’

  Oscar’s throat burned, but after a moment he had control of himself and was wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

  ‘What the hell is going on out here?’ Muka asked, appearing at the end of the hall.

  Caspian turned to Muka but Oscar had already bounded to his feet.

  ‘Sorry, did I wake you? I was choking, but I’m all good now.’

  ‘Oh, is that all? It sounded like someone was dying in here,’ Muka remarked, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.

  Oscar laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Caspian pressed, eyeing him.

  ‘Yeah, it’s fine. I’m fine. Just water down the wrong pipe.’

  Oscar sat back down, letting loose a small, frustrated sigh. Somehow, someway, he always managed to embarrass himself. Great. Caspian must think him an idiot.

  ‘Anyway, what were we talking about?’ Oscar asked, finishing off his breakfast.

  ‘No time for that,’ Muka interrupted. ‘Is that a letter from Erine I see? You best get going.’

  ‘You’re right,’ Caspian agreed, strapping his sword to his belt and bow and arrow over his shoulder.

  Oscar stood, hurrying to follow suit. ‘Thank’s Muka. We’ll see you tonight for dinner?’

  ‘Of course,’ Muka said, inclining her head. ‘Though, you’re cooking. If I’m not mistaken, you owe us a meal.’

  Oscar laughed, recalling one of their last night’s together before he’d left. Oscar had promised to cook them the best meal of their lives. He hadn’t counted on the oven breaking or the stove running out of gas. They’d been left with cold, half boiled potatoes and raw chicken. Not an ideal meal. And definitely not his fault. No. How was he supposed to know one wasn’t meant to slam the pan down on the gas bottle with frustration, sending it flying into the glass door of the oven?

  ‘What-’ Caspian began, shoving his golden hair out of his hazel eyes.

  ‘It’s a deal,’ Oscar said quickly, ushering Caspian to the door. ‘We best be off. Have a good day Muka. Wish Tihiki a good day too for us! Bye!’

  Oscar pulled the door shut behind them and Caspian whirled around to face him.

  ‘Wh-’

  ‘No time for that,’ Oscar added, darting around him and hurrying down the stone steps. ‘Come on, the West Mountain is this way!’

  Caspian followed at a slower pace, but Oscar kept up his stride. He wasn’t quite ready to talk seriously with Caspian yet. He knew Caspian wanted to ask about how he was after their… other discussion the night before. He felt better for it, yes, but it was still a soft spot. A soft spot he hadn’t really intended on sharing with Caspian yet.

  It took them a full half hour to make it across the underground system and up into the West Mountain. The West Mountain was where the hospital and laboratories were all located. Of course, that also meant that was where Erine would be staying. Though, in saying that, he did move around a lot, hence no one being able to find him first. Unless he wanted to be found, that was.

  Oscar led Caspian into the first laboratory where a number of Mariadie students were currently working. The teacher peered up at them, her face brightening at Oscar’s appearance.

  ‘I’d heard you were back. So good of you to come visit us.’

  Oscar smiled at his old friend and teacher, Reya. She’d not only showed him how to mix the best herb medicines but she’d been an ear to talk to when he needed. Her brown skin was tattooed with more markings than he remembered, which meant she’d reached a higher rank in the Mariadie system.

  Tattoos represent all sorts of important milest
ones for the Mariadies, but mainly, they were an indicator of just how high up or well respected in their line of work they were. It was a great honour to receive a tattoo from the Mariadies. He, himself, had several, though they were simply there to show he had completed his training in several fields.

  Reya grinned at her old student, turning back to her current ones. ‘Class, I want you to meet Oscar. He is an honorary Mariadie. He trained with us and has since taken our methods back to his own people to pass the baton on.’

  Oscar hid his grimace. He’d certainly tried to implement the Mariadies techniques into the everyday training of the Enchanted, but it hadn’t gone quite as well as he’d hoped.

  ‘And who is his young friend?’ Reya inquired, raising a brow.

  Oscar resisted from rolling his eyes. ‘This is Caspian. We’re working together on…’ He trailed off, unsure of how much the students knew about the war. ‘On something,’ he finished lamely.

  ‘Ah. I see. Well, any friend of yours is, of course, a friend of ours,’ Reya said. ‘It’s nice to meet you Caspian.’

  ‘Likewise,’ Caspian responded shyly.

  ‘Have you come to sit in on my class?’ Reya asked, eyes returning to Oscar’s face.

  Oscar smiled, his gaze trailing to Caspian who stood at the door, watching curiously. ‘I wish. We’ve actually been called in to see Erine.’

  Reya grinned. ‘Of course. You were always a favourite of his. The moment he heard you were back he called for you.’

  Oscar shrugged, though inwardly he was glad to know Erine hadn’t forgotten him. They’d become friends, he’d thought, towards the end of his stay. Perhaps after so long, Erine had come to miss their discussions.

  ‘Well, he’s in the last office on floor 12. Mind you, he’s been…’ Reya trailed off and Oscar’s heartbeat quickened. It had always been considered that Erine was mad. A genius of course, but mad. ‘Well, you’ll see for yourself. Tell him I said hello.’

  ‘I will,’ Oscar said, adding a word of thanks.

  ‘We must catch up. I would love to hear what has happened since you left. I’ve missed you,’ said Reya as they were leaving.

  Oscar met Caspian’s gaze and he responded with a curt ‘of course.’

  A lot had happened since he’d left. Perhaps too much to simply tell.

  They were only on the 6th floor of the West Mountain, so it took another fifteen minutes to reach the 12th, and even then, five minutes to reach the last office. It was a long hallway.

  Oscar’s gut had twisted into a slight knot, and Caspian didn’t look much better as they approached Erine’s study. They’d been quiet the whole trip. Oscar didn’t know what he was going to find, so knew there would have been no use in telling Caspian that everything would be fine. He had no expectations. Except that Erine would be able to help them find a cure for the Converted Enchanted.

  Lifting his fist, he wrapped his knuckles on the door. There was a sound of a chair scraping back and feet slapping against the stone floor. Then, the door clicked open, and before Oscar stood Erine.

  Only… it wasn’t Erine. Well, it was, but it looked as though he’d aged twenty years. He was only forty, and yet he looked to be the age of an elderly man. His hair was grey and thin, his beard knotted and wiry. His eyes were a dull blue, the wrinkles around and under them prominent. His dark skin was leathery and blemished, and his clothes looked as if they hadn’t been washed in a month. They smelt it too. What had happened to his old friend?

  ‘Oscar, my boy! How you have grown! So good to see you, come in, come in!’ Erine said, grasping Oscar by the hand and shaking it before tugging him through the door. ‘And this young man must be your friend I’ve heard so much about. Not from you, mind. Everyone has been talking about you two. Caspian was it?’ Erine asked, reaching for Caspian’s hand.

  Oscar could see the shock behind Caspian’s eyes, but he was grateful when Caspian reached out, taking the man’s hand and shaking it before stepping through the door.

  Erine slammed the door shut before bustling over to his desk. It was then that Oscar realised what a mess his office was. Papers strewn everywhere, books piled high in all corners of the room, lab materials sitting on benches and chairs, clothes lying everywhere. It was as if, well, a bomb had hit it.

  ‘Please, take a seat,’ Erine said, pushing a stack of books off one chair, sending them toppling to the floor.

  He emptied another chair of his microscope and other valuables, then gestured to the two of them to sit. They obliged, peering around in disbelief at the state of Erine’s office. Oscar couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing. Erine had always been mad. Time and time again Oscar had reminded himself of that. But he’d always had some level of decorum about him. When it came to his office, he’d always been somewhat orderly. What had happened?

  ‘Erine, how have you been?’ Oscar asked cautiously.

  ‘Oh, I’ve been splendid, my boy! Now, enough about me, enough about me. What had you calling for my assistance? I heard the word that you were hoping to see me? As much as I like to believe it’s because you missed your old friend, I know it is far more than that.’

  Oscar felt a pang of guilt. He genuinely did care about his friend. But he also cared about the world outside of the mountain where the war was still very much alive.

  ‘I suppose you’ve heard about the war…’ Caspian said quietly, leaving the sentence hanging.

  Erine’s eyes brightened just a tad, but it was enough to fill Oscar with a small sense of relief. His friend was still in there.

  ‘I have, I have. Terrible. Just terrible. But what can I do? I am no fighter. You’re not here to try and enlist me? I won’t go,’ Erine commented, agitation ringing clear in his tone.

  ‘No, not enlist you. We need your help,’ Oscar jumped in, alarmed at Erines quick assumption.

  ‘I’m listening, boy,’ Erine said slowly.

  ‘The Wicked are taking hostages. Enchanted. They’ve figured out a way to convert them to Wicked. We need your help to find a cure. A way to turn them back,’ Oscar said, straight to the point.

  Erine’s face lifted and he straightened in his chair. ‘A cure?’

  Oscar nodded. ‘A cure.’

  Erine’s eyes darted about the room and he began mumbling to himself, tapping his fingers together in a strange motion. Oscar caught Caspian’s look of worry out of the corner of his eye, and the butterflies in his own stomach intensified. Was he making Erine’s madness worse?

  ‘How did they convert them? Do we know the formula?’ Erine asked, pausing his mumbling.

  ‘No, but there were a lot of bodies from their trial experiments dumped across the world. What if we were able to collect some for you to inspect?’ Caspian suggested.

  ‘Yes. Yes, that might do just fine. Wicked converting Enchanted. Nasty business. Enchanted to Wicked. What must one do to convert them? Demon blood perhaps?’ Erine was mumbling to himself again and it took all Oscar had not to ask what was wrong. What had happened to Erine to send him so… no. He would not call his friend mad. It had always been a joke. He had never really been mad.

  ‘Demon blood, no. No. They’d be out of control. Certainly not Devils blood. Far too risky. Hmm, quite the mystery. Yes. A body to inspect might be just what we need. Where can we get one?’

  Caspian replied before Oscar had the chance. ‘We know there were at least four found around here. They would be in the Force’s possession. If we go talk to-’

  ‘No, not talk. They do not talk to us. We are ignored. We do not exist,’ Erine interrupted. ‘No. Only way for us to get one is for us to take one.’

  ‘Surely Caspian and I could visit them and say it’s on official business?’ Oscar reasoned.

  ‘In the middle of a war? When Alast has been captured? What business?’ Erine countered, his mumbling starting again.

  ‘We’ll just tell them we need the bodies to find a cure,’ Caspian suggested.

  Erine shook his head. ‘No, no. We must take one. We m
ust. We cannot risk them knowing we are examining Enchanted bodies. They already think us evil. They already hate us. We cannot give them more cause to convince them of their truths. They might believe us to be working with Erebus.’

  Oscar wondered if the Enchanted would really draw that conclusion. Surely they would not mind if he and Caspian asked for a body so they could inspect it and find a cure. But then he recalled the disgust even the Grand Courts had for his requests to implement Mariadie training into the Guardian’s courses. He realised instantly that if the Enchanted knew they were taking the body for a Mariadie to examine… Erine was right. They couldn’t risk it.

  ‘Okay, so we find where the bodies are being held, figure out a way to steal one, and come back here to examine it. Easy. When do we go?’ Oscar inquired, running a hand quickly through his red hair.

  Erine stood. ‘No time to waste. Now is good. Now is when we go.’

  ‘Wait, don’t we need to talk to Loki?’ Oscar asked quickly.

  ‘No need. She already has her answer. We must convince them otherwise. We must find a cure and convince them to help the Enchanted. They have lost their way over the decades. The time has come to set them right again,’ Erine said, tugging on his coat and throwing open his door.

  He marched on out, not granting either of them with a second glance.

  ‘Coming?’ Erine shouted over his shoulder, already a third of the way down the hall.

  Oscar raised a brow at Caspian.

  ‘He’s…’ Caspian began.

  ‘Different?’ Oscar supplied.

  Caspian shrugged. ‘Yes. But brilliant.’

  With that, Caspian started after him. Oscar stared at Caspian’s retreating form for a moment, then followed. It looked as though their journey was far from over.

  ~

  It had been a long and strenuous night for Logan, Grace, Drew and Mitch. Not only had they broke over a hundred Humans free, but they’d then had to smuggle them through the forest in early hours of the night and to safety. The battle with Mr Stark and then Creshan and his Wicked had taken only minutes. Freeing the Humans and leading them through the tunnels to safety had taken hours.