Guardians: The Girl (The Guardians Series, Book 1)(47)
Ground Walkers and Travelers arrive after all the Paras have taken a spot along the mountain range. They come in large groups as well. But unlike the Paras, the GW and Travelers fly to the peak we are on. They hover in front of Jay as he holds Reese’s body.
Each one of them gracefully summons a feather from their third coats. The feathers fly away from them and hover a few inches above the ground in front of Jay. After hundreds of feathers have been thrown to the ground, Jay places Reese’s body on the pile of floating feathers. The feathers carry Reese’s body gently to the middle of the mountain range.
A Para begins to sing. It is like Miku’s melody because it is haunting. But there is no darkness in it. It is heartbreakingly beautiful; it is impossible not to weep. It isn’t in English. I think it is Arabic. I can’t be sure. I don’t know how her voice reaches everyone. It’s as if she has a built-in microphone.
I think a different Para from each range is singing. I remember being told that they are often in tune with each other. As Reese’s body hovers in the air on a bed of feathers, I look into his face. He looks peaceful and calm. I remember the boy who learned the poem. He wanted to so much to say it to the girl he loved. He had been denied that, twice.
Out of the sky I see the prettiest angel I have ever seen, a Para angel who could actually rival Ameana in beauty. She has long locks of hair that seems almost translucent. Her face is smooth and bright. Her eyes sparkle and her wings are the largest I’ve ever seen. They are almost twice as wide as the others. I am so mesmerized by her, Rio can’t help but watch me. He whispers in my ear to satisfy my curiosity.
“Her name is Rahell. She’s the oldest Taker. A Taker is a Para angel whose job it is to take an angel to Atourum when they die in battle,” Rio explains.
Beside Rahell was a male Para. He carried a small boy, the same boy who was in Jamaica. I’m guessing he’s the Sage, from what Reese told me of him not too long ago. The little boy is brought up to Reese’s floating body.
“He’s ready, Jayden,” the Sage says. I didn’t understand what he was talking about.
Rio helps me out again. “The feathers that Reese’s body floats on is called the Reef. It will only carry him away when everyone who loves him has accepted his death. Otherwise the Reef will stay where it is. Sometimes a loved one can’t let go so the Reef just stays there, hovering with the body in midair. If a body stays on the Reef too long, Atourum will come up and claim the soul he’s won in battle. It’s horrible to watch. It’s best to let the Reef go with the Taker. She will personally guide it down all the way to the gates fire.”
The Para set the Sage down on the ground in front of Jay. The Reef remains hovering in the middle of the mountain range a few yards beyond our grasp. The Sage looks sadly into Jay’s eyes. Jay looks back, pleadingly.
“Jayden, it is time. You must.”
The weight of sorrow causes Jay to bow his head and hunch his shoulders. The Sage waits patiently. A few moments later, the Reef starts to move. The Taker, Rahell, follows alongside Reese’s body as it sails across the air. Every mountain peak that the Taker and Reese’s body fly by, the angels bow their heads. It looks like a wave of white light on the surface of the ocean as the sun strikes it.
The Taker carries the Reef further and further away from us. Soon, all we can see is two specks moving in the air; when they are almost out of our sight, the Taker starts to descend. She is headed to the house of fire with my friend. I cry quietly beside the twins.
After a moment, the angels start taking off from the mountain. They leave as they came: gracefully and respectfully. Soon there is no one left but us. We sit for hours on the edge of the mountain where we last saw our friend.
*****
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: CONCESSIONS
Now we are in the car headed back to New York City. It’s only a few minutes after sunrise. Marcus insisted that I be taken to the ER to get checked out.
The doctor said that I had fractured a rib and needed stitches for my hand. He gave me aspirin and told me to get some rest. On the way home, Rio told me that they searched my building and found Ben. He had been given something to make him sleep.
We pull up to my building. My body feels so heavy. The walk to my door looks miles long. I guess I’m more drained than I thought. Marcus walks me to the front door. He tells me not to trust a single soul. He even had Rio scan my mother before he let me go up to my apartment.
“You sure you want to go to school?” Marcus asks.
“Yeah, I don’t want to be home alone.”
“Okay, one of us will pick you up in a few hours.”
“Is Jay coming to school?”
“He may not want to, but we all need to hear what you have to say.”
“Oh.” He’s on autopilot right now. He can’t look me in the eye. He is trying to hide the sadness that’s there.
“What is it?”
“I didn’t want to say it in front of everyone. I mean not the part about me anyway.”
“I don’t have time for this. Are you going to tell us or not?”
He’s tired and frustrated in addition to sad. I don’t want to add to that, so I go along with it.
“Yeah, okay, I will. Later today.” He turns to go away.
“Marcus,” I call out. He turns back. Ameana looks on from the car window.
“I’m sorry about Reese.”
He can’t bring himself to say anything. He nods quickly and walks back to the car. The twins get out of the back seat. They would be watching me for the next few hours.
I walk in and the apartment is silent. It feels so good to be back home. The heat is on so the apartment is warm and toasty. After I check on my mom, I head into my room. Right away I flash back to just hours ago when Reese was in here.
I’ve watched you pine for Marcus and it’s kind of been killing me.
Oh.
I just wanted you to know that there are other angels. Angels who have been wanting to kiss you.
****
Later, back at the house, we all sit in the living room. I don’t want it to be like this. I don’t feel like being exposed to all of them, but I am all out of time. So I take a deep breath and tell them about what Tony told me and how I was a product of a rape. They all listen silently. When I’m done, I apologize for taking so long to tell them.
“Rio, Miku hit the net. We need to find her dad,” Marcus instructs.
“Why?” I ask.
“He’s the key Emmy. We have to find him and tear his life apart until we find what we’re looking for.”
“He’s not important. I’ve never even met him before.”
“That doesn’t matter. He’s the evil in the equation. Why didn’t you tell us before?” Rio asks.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was supposed to split myself open for you guys to explore. And in case you all forgot, I was busy being tortured.”
“He just means that this is a very important clue to where we can locate the Triplex,” Miku says, defending her brother.
“We know it couldn’t have been easy for you. But your father raped your mom. That has nothing to do with who you are,” Ameana says.
“That has everything to do with it,” I snap.
“Let’s get back to what Tony said. If he’s right about the council, what places do we know the Triplex won’t be in?” Marcus asks in his official voice.
“That takes out buildings where politics are conducted; they’re usually a dwelling for evil,” Miku says.
“That also takes out bars, clubs and law firms. They usually have a high level of evil as well,” Rio adds.
“That also rules out mosques, temples or any place of worship. Those are filled with hope and goodness. Lucy would not have access to the Triplex there,” Marcus says.
“What does that leave us with?” Ameana asks.
“Schools, hospitals, libraries…” Marcus answers.
“The twins can research police records around the time your mom was attacked,” Jay says.
“How?”
“We know a few sites we can hack into,” they say together as they disappear down the hallway and into Miku’s room.
“They know how to do that?”
“They were able to do that before they were angels. Now they’re even better at it,” Jay says.
“You guys won’t find him. I looked for him once.”
“Why?” Jay asks.
“I wanted to get back at him for what he did to my mom. I didn’t even have a plan. It didn’t matter because I couldn’t find him, and neither will the twins.”
“They won’t look into his life; they’ll look into your mom’s life. Sometimes to find evil, you have to focus on its victims,” Marcus adds.
“I don’t want to see him.”
“You don’t have to. This can be just us. One of us will stay with you,” Ameana says.
“He hurt my mom and I don’t see why he gets to walk around scot-free. I hate him.”
“Jay said you were going with him to the mission. Go ahead. We’ll get started on your father’s background in the meantime,” Marcus offers.
“Yeah, let me get my jacket. Be right back.” He Glides off and goes into his room.
“Thank you for sharing that with us. We know it was hard, but it really did help. Now we have a lead. And we may have a lead on Julian,” Marcus volunteers.