Angel Fever

36

MURRAY PARK SAT ON A HILL north of Pawntucket. I screeched to a halt in the empty parking lot; the picnic benches looked damp and abandoned.

The whole drive there, I’d had my consciousness linked with Mom’s, terrified that any second I’d sense Raziel with her. So far, he hadn’t arrived. What I couldn’t let myself think about at all was Alex’s final kiss, his lips almost harsh against mine.

A hiking trail snaked away into the trees. I raced down it, old snow crunching under my feet as my breath came in short, icy puffs. When I’d lived in Pawntucket, I hadn’t come here much; I’d sort of saved it for special occasions, when I wanted to feel close to Mom. But the willow tree was just as I remembered, beside a small frozen pond. Its draping branches were empty of leaves now, wreathed in frost like crystal curtains.

The hill dropped away to one side. Below, Pawntucket was laid out like a toy town. As I reached the tree, I froze. In the distance I could see angels coming, spreading across the sky in a solid sheet of white. My breath caught. So many of them!

Alex, I thought wildly. And Seb, Nina and Jonah, everybody else. There was no way they could defend against that, none.

No, I thought, staring down at the town. This couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t.

There was no time to try and protect everyone’s auras again; I did it anyway. I quickly shut my eyes and this time didn’t let myself think at all. I just stretched my energy out as wide as I could, as if it were a huge blanket.

Wide – wider. The sensation was bizarre, as if at any second my energy would fray into pieces. But it didn’t – it just kept expanding, getting thinner. Slowly, my heart beating hard, I draped it down over Pawntucket.

The dizzying sense of two hundred different auras hit me; I could feel them all craning towards me in return. My teeth clenched as I tried to grab hold, shrink them down – it was like trying to juggle too many balls at once. I was trembling; I’d never be able to hold this, even if I’d managed to get them all.

The sound of distant explosions started. No more time. Breathing hard, I opened my eyes – and stared as angels jerked backwards in the air like shot wildfowl; others exploded like fireworks, with thousands more coming up behind.

Please, please, let me have done some good, I thought frantically – and ran for the tree.

As I ducked through its branches, the smell of damp earth enveloped me. Forcing myself to ignore the gunfire, I took a deep breath to steady myself. With one hand, I reached out and touched the tree’s bark – felt its slight roughness. Then I lifted up through my chakras and studied the air in front of me.

At first I couldn’t see anything and was horror-struck. Maybe I’d gotten this wrong. Stop. Calm. Look again. And this time, ghostly in the predawn light, I saw the gate just as Alex had described: a small patch of air like rippling water.

Limp with relief, I quickly explored it psychically. Not quite complete yet – the ether felt thin, insubstantial, as if I could flick my finger through. Suddenly my heart leaped so hard it was painful: I could feel my mother’s spirit right on the other side.

Mom, I’m here! I thought wildly. I craned my energy towards hers; it was as if we were each touching a pane of glass from opposite sides. Warmth started to build: a gentle swirling that was melting away the fabric between worlds.

Suddenly I saw myself twelve years ago, standing in the sunshine, only feet from this very spot – my mother, smiling and taking my photo: It’s a special tree. Someday I’ll tell you the story of why you’re named after it.

“Mom, I know,” I whispered as other images started to come.

Raziel had met with her here – I’d been conceived here. The barrier between worlds was so thin in this place because her spirit had spent years just a hair’s breadth away, yearning for the angel she’d been in love with. My throat clenched as I saw her looking young, beautiful – her green eyes full of awe.

Raziel had known exactly what he was doing to her and he hadn’t cared.

Then I caught my breath – my connection with my mother’s physical self had strengthened too. All at once I could see everything: Mom was sitting in an armchair in what looked like a lake house, her blonde hair soft around her face.

“Mom!” I cried aloud.

“She’s in here,” said Aunt Jo’s voice.

My heart froze. No! With a sense of loving regret, my mother’s spirit in the other world drew quickly away. A second later I could feel her again – still in the angels’ world, but now just beside her physical self.

I trebled my efforts, directing my will at the thin spot between worlds. A tiny hole appeared – I seized hold, began prising it open. A rush of energy came, tugging at me; I gasped at its ferocity.

In the lake house, my mother had come out of her daze and was frowning at the door in confusion. “Mom, don’t just sit there – run!” I pleaded.

But she didn’t hear me. She’d never heard me, no matter how hard I’d tried.

Raziel entered slowly, footsteps echoing. He wore a rain-flecked jacket; his black hair was mussed from the wind. He smiled.

“Hello, Miranda,” he said.

“Stay away from her,” I whispered raggedly. The hole between worlds was larger now; I could see another willow tree. On the ethereal level, its leaves were shifting prisms that caught the light.

Raziel crossed to my mother, his tread deliberate against the floorboards. His eyes stayed fixed on hers with a small, considering smile. “Why, Miranda, this is just like old times, isn’t it?”

And he shifted to his angel form and plunged his hands into her aura.

“No!” I shouted. The hole wavered – somehow I managed to hang on and keep going. Raziel was instantly aware of me; his thoughts came crawling into my mind:

Hello, daughter. I’m glad you’re here – it makes things so much easier.

Mom’s energy was growing weaker by the second. I struggled to hide my panic. Leave her alone! I thought back fiercely. In front of me, the hole between worlds was almost large enough now.

He ignored me. Perhaps it has escaped your notice, but your town is under attack, he said. And, look – I seem to have your mother too.

A breeze shifted the willow’s long strands. Between its frosty branches, I could see Pawntucket; the angels were like a blizzard swirling over it. Gunfire was still sounding.

I’m afraid I can’t stop the attack, now that it’s started, Raziel said, and actually had the nerve to sound regretful. Such a pity, but I hope it makes an effective point – that I am not to be trifled with.

My mother’s aura was shrinking, crumpling as Raziel fed. Bile rose in my throat; I could tell he was relishing the taste of her again after all these years.

Stop it! You’ll kill her!

Yes, that would be a shame, wouldn’t it? Especially after the deaths of so many of your friends. But, you know, I think there’s a way we could stop such a terrible thing from happening.

He kept feeding. My mother’s smile was gentle, her body limp and sagging. Oh god, she couldn’t take much more of this. Why did I have to be seeing it – why? With a sob, I managed not to shout out, Anything! Just stop hurting her! – and stepped into the breach between worlds.

I reached for the angelic energy field; it surged untamed around me. With the gate open, it was like standing in a howling wind tunnel – yet it was nothing like what Alex had described. The energy of the human world felt natural to me, and so did this.

I couldn’t take hold of it, though. It was too much – too big. With a gasp, I craned for my mother’s essence in the angels’ world and grabbed hold; felt her grounding me. And in my own world, there was only one person, wasn’t there? Even now. I reached for Alex and hung on tightly.

It strikes me that we don’t need to be on opposite sides, Raziel mused. You have something I want, you see. And I have something you want – your mother’s life. The perfect symbiotic relationship.

The churning energy calmed a little. I could sense patterns to it now: there were worlds within worlds here, power beyond belief. It felt as if I had to learn a new language in seconds. Even anchored, if I didn’t do this right, it would kill me.

What do you want from me? I asked to buy time as I frantically scanned the energy, looking for the key. Somewhere deep down, my soul was being kicked with jackboots. Mom…Mom…

Ah, good girl – you’re seeing sense, Raziel murmured. I do admire you, you know, Willow. There is much of me in you.

Just talk, I snapped.

You have the power to manipulate people’s energy, he said, all friendliness gone. I want that power. It’s rather inconvenient for us angels that humans are so damaged by our touch. We don’t want that to happen, you know.

Get to the point. Bracing myself, I took hold of the angelic energy; it was like grabbing a hurricane. I stifled a cry and clutched harder to the people I loved most – felt them holding me fast in both worlds.

I want you to manipulate the humans’ energy so that angels can feed without harming them. They’ll still adore us, but with no lasting damage. In return, I will spare your mother’s life – and your own.

I could feel his confidence that I’d do anything to save my mother. I stood caught between worlds as I took in her face with its dreamy smile – and thought of all the times I’d crouched beside her chair, talking gently to her, trying to bring her back to me. But some part of her still existed in the angels’ world. If Raziel spared her, I could contact her whenever I wanted.

I’d have a mother.

You’re tempted, aren’t you? Raziel said softly. He’d stopped feeding, though his angelic hands remained in Mom’s life force. It would be the best way, you know. You don’t want to commit genocide, Willow – I know you. This way, both angels and humans are happy. For we do make humans happy. No matter what you might think of us, our touch brings happiness.

A cold wind stirred the willow tree in both worlds. I stood shaking, my face damp with tears as the energy of two worlds surged around me.

Could he actually be right? What would happen if I took the angels away from everyone? Destroyed the only real hope humanity had ever known, even if it had been slowly killing them?

And I must admit, I’ve wanted to know you for some time, Raziel went on, and I knew he was sincere for a change. We could rule together, Willow. You’d have a mother and a father.

A flicker of protest came from my mother’s spirit – too weak to form words, but enough to snap my attention back to what mattered. Down below, the sound of gunfire still raged; the angels were churning over the town like hungry seagulls. The battle at the base came back: Sam, falling in a haze of angels; the deaths of almost two hundred people in minutes. Oh god, and I was actually standing here thinking of bargaining with Raziel!

I plunged completely into the angelic energy field. The real world dimmed at the edges – I was the centre of a seething ocean. It felt as if I no longer had a body; I was pure energy. I merged with the ocean, became one with it…and started to direct it.

From far away, Raziel’s voice sharpened in suspicion. What are you doing?

Your happiness is poison, I said. Like a toreador swirling a giant cape, I manoeuvred the angelic energy towards my own world. The gap between worlds widened with a roar.

The power would have been intoxicating, but holding onto those I loved kept me grounded. Even if I was the only person in existence who could do this, I was still just me – and it was all I wanted to be.

With the energy field of a whole dimension at my command, I started to link it with the earth’s. A howling shudder began that I sensed rather than heard.

Raziel’s voice halted me in my tracks. Stop or your mother will die.

She still sat in her chair – and though I knew she couldn’t see me, her green eyes seemed to meet mine. On the verge of everything, with power surging through my fingertips, I hesitated. My heart was being shredded.

Raziel moved his fingers back and forth in Mom’s life force, making the dying grey of her aura swirl. Think carefully, Willow. Do you really want to kill your mother?

And suddenly I was shaking too hard to stand. With a sob, I staggered and then fell to my knees, clutching at the willow’s trunk. I couldn’t do this – couldn’t watch my mother die. Please, no – I’ll do anything you want, I started to say – and then Mom’s spirit stirred again.

I felt a wave of love, and then heard her voice clearly for the first time. This is my choice. I love you, Willow.

My heart quickened – from the cabin by the lake, her gaze was meeting mine; I wasn’t imagining it. She smiled, her lips curving gently upwards. Then, with a weary sigh, she closed her eyes and settled more deeply into her chair. I could sense her giving in to the damage Raziel had inflicted.

“Mom – no!” I gasped.

So softly I almost didn’t hear, she said, You know what you have to do. As her body slumped, her blonde hair feathered across one cheek. Her aura faded, its grey lights slowly flickering to nothing.

She was gone.

I felt a flash of Raziel’s fury, then the connection vanished. For a second the energy of the angels’ world bucked wildly, but I was immersed in it enough now that it was part of me – I could still control it, even without Mom’s support.

And she was right: suddenly I knew exactly what I had to do. With tears streaming down my face, I got back to my feet. Standing half in the angels’ world and half in my own, I linked the two energies and dived into them.

Raging power. But what had once been chaos could now be tamed. I held onto Alex more tightly, feeling his love for me.

I closed my eyes and began.

The sky was a seething mass of angels.

When they’d first appeared over the square, Seb had started shooting at the nail bombs automatically, trying to ignore the panicked screams. As the bombs went off one after another, nails spewed into the air like glittering fountains; the angels’ wings writhed as they jerked back. In seconds, fragments of perished angels were drifting down like sun-kissed snow.

How many dead? thought Seb tensely, still shooting. Over a hundred, maybe?

But there were thousands more. As the last of the bombs went off, Seb’s fellow fighters darted out into the square, firing upwards; others raced for the ladders leading to the roofs.

Seb sent his own angel out. A girl slipped and fell; as an angel swarmed in for the kill, Seb dived to block him. He and the snarling angel battled briefly, wings colliding with sparks. There was gunfire, and the angel vanished in a burst of light.

The girl scrambled up and ran, still firing into the sky – and Seb registered her aura. A second ago it had looked normal; now it had shrunk close to her body. It flickered, growing larger and then small again.

Abruptly, Seb’s attention snapped back to the battle – his angelic body darted aside as a spray of bullets tore past, and his human self shot another angel, catching it as it went high.

Alex was firing like a machine, his finger barely pausing on the trigger. Then he glanced across the square and clapped Seb’s arm. “Come on – they’re heading north.”

They broke cover from the diner and ran, firing upwards. Seb caught a glimpse of Jonah up in the town hall tower, talking urgently into a mic – and then a group of angels converged on him in a frenzy. Seb’s heart sank; he slowed down as he shot at them, but Jonah had vanished in a haze of wings.

Seb and Alex plunged into the streets north of the square; all around, Seb could see auras doing that same flickering. He winced as an angel managed to grab hold of one and rip it away – the fighter fell. But nearby, another angel veered off with a furious screech as an aura shrank to nothing. Willow? Seb thought, dazed.

Quickly, he checked on her again; the energy roaring through her tingled at his scalp. She’d opened the gate, then. You can do it, querida, he thought as he and Alex ran, footsteps pounding as they tried to get ahead of the angels. Just keep going – you can do it.

The street took them to a residential neighbourhood. Alex paused, scanning the sky. Over the centre of town it was still a churning white, the angels now behind them and heading their way.

“We need to get onto a roof, fast,” Alex said. “Damn it, these houses aren’t fortified – how are you at climbing?”

“I was a thief, remember?”

Alex nodded tensely. “Okay, take one of these; I’ll go a few streets over. Just hold them back, no matter what.”

Seb had no intention of doing anything else. He could sense that the angels were looking for Willow – and just then the air started to throb with the force of what she was doing. Seb swore; it wouldn’t be long now before they realized and took off past the town to stop her.

As Alex raced off, other fighters came pouring into the street; Seb shouted out hasty instructions as the first few angels appeared. He quickly chose a house and started towards it – and then a flurry of action caught his gaze.

A tall girl with long auburn hair, sprinting for the houses. She turned and shot at an angel; nothing happened. It dived – her aura was low but not low enough—

With no thought, Seb went hurtling towards her; he tackled her to the ground just as his own angel swooped to defend them. He could feel her heartbeat crashing against his, and then his human self rolled off her, firing upwards. The angel burst into light and vanished.

For a second Seb lay breathing hard. Don’t scare me like that, chiquita – I thought I’d lost you. And then he realized that of course the girl beside him wasn’t Meghan at all.

Rachel scrambled to her feet. “Thank you!” she gasped. “I ran out of cartridges – I thought I was going to die—”

Stunned, Seb got up too. He swallowed hard and glanced behind him. The first few angels, dead now, had been ahead of the others; just behind were a thousand more.

The sight galvanized him. “Hurry! Take cover!”

As Rachel ran off, Seb leaped up onto a window sill; after a quick scramble, he gripped the rough, sloped surface of the roof and pulled himself onto it. Other fighters had gotten onto roofs too; they waited tensely in position all up and down the street.

The angels hit in a rush, turning the sky white even with their depleted numbers. The roof was slick with frost. Seb crouched beside the chimney, bracing himself against it as he shot again and again. More shooting came from the houses nearby – the air was full of confetti, of flashing wings that dived straight at him.

Seb pivoted himself frantically around the chimney as he shot, his feet sometimes slipping a few inches, his angel protecting his back. His jaw was tight. He couldn’t think now about what had just happened; he only knew he felt a raging sorrow inside, a fury at his own stupidity that made him want to tear apart every angel he saw with his bare hands.

Then, for a moment, everything seemed to hang suspended, even the angels. A sense of gathering power grew. Above, the sky lightened to an ominous white; to the north, a swirling vortex had appeared, an angry eye peering down from the heavens.

In the physical world, everything had gone still; on the ethereal level, it felt as if Seb were standing in the path of an oncoming train. The angels seemed to realize all at once what was happening; with roars of rage they began streaming to the north, ignoring the fighters now in their hurry to get to Willow.

Swearing, Seb swivelled around the chimney, firing at the angels as they passed. One of them grabbed for his flickering life force but missed as Seb’s angel quickly shielded him.

Then a burst of gunfire came from across the street, tearing through his angel’s ethereal body. Seb cried out, twisting in agony. At the same moment, the corner of the chimney exploded into flying fragments of brick.

It was like being hit by a truck. Dimly, Seb knew he was slipping down the slick roof – he was falling. The ground slammed into him.

He couldn’t move. Dios mío, the pain – he was broken.

Meggie, he thought in a daze. Oh, my love, please forgive me. I was so stupid – so blind…

His thoughts faded until there was only blackness. Seb lay without moving, his curls damp with blood and melting snow.

At the moment when the world seemed to still, Alex cursed harshly – he had a feeling he knew exactly what was coming next. He scrambled down from the house where he’d been shooting and took off at a run, charging through the streets of Pawntucket as the first faint swirls of the vortex appeared.

He passed a fallen fighter: a girl holding one of the machine guns. Shoving aside his feelings, he snatched up the weapon and kept going, his footsteps thudding through his brain. Somehow he managed to pull ahead of the angels.

In less than a minute, he’d gone beyond the third buffer zone. The streets lay empty. As an ethereal wind began to howl, Alex chose a house on the edge of town and flung himself at it, scaling it quickly. Too late, he realized it was one that had been made unstable by the quakes – the wood creaked alarmingly under his feet – but there was no time to change.

As he hefted himself onto the roof, he caught a glimpse of snowy fields beyond the edge of town – and the hill on the horizon where the girl he loved was fighting for everything they believed in. The vortex moved above her like a pale, swirling bruise.

Hang on, babe, you can do it, he thought hurriedly – then braced himself against the chimney and spun to face the town. He could just see other fighters heading this way, knew they wouldn’t get here in time. Because coming right towards him was a raging river of white, as a thousand angels bore down.

Alex set his jaw; he swung his rifle over his back and raised the machine gun to his shoulder. “You are not getting past me,” he muttered down the barrel. “Try to touch her and you die.”

As the first angels came into range, Alex started shooting, picking off halos – he swept from left to right, then back again, seeing nothing but the gleaming circles. Angels exploded with furious screams; wings seemed to tangle and churn in a maelstrom of white.

The angels at the front burst out in all directions – some went high, some tried to veer around. “Don’t even think it,” murmured Alex.

He shot at a pale blur off to the side; whipped the weapon around to get another; shot at a third with no pause. A fourth, a fifth…twenty…fifty shards of light rained down as he fired, not bothering to check if he’d missed or not. They would not reach Willow – there was no other option.

The angels behind hurtled towards him in a steady stream. When Alex had shot the machine gun dry, he swung the rifle into position; he moved mechanically across the halos again, firing over and over. The falling light was a blizzard now. Angels darted out from its depths.

Alex somehow held them off again and again – but they were advancing steadily; he felt his control slipping – and suddenly they were on him in full, screaming force.

Shit. He flung himself onto the cold, frosty roof; with an outraged groan, it buckled under him. As he struggled to hold on, a hundred angels surged around him, all straining for his life force. He couldn’t shoot the rifle single-handed; he swore and let the weapon drop – briefly considered letting himself fall, too, though the floor below him was gone.

No. If he was going to die, he’d go out fighting. And though he could barely see through the haze of wings, Alex reached in his waistband for his pistol.