Scars of War (Fate & Destiny Book 1), page 49
Drel nodded, overly eccentric. “It sure does.” For a good minute, the two sat gazing into the skies above them as though they were witnessing a meteor shower that came only once every century. When the gleam left their eyes, they finally turned to Serenity to break the awkward moment of silence. “Well, don’t just stand there,” they said. “Go find yourself an artifact!”
Serenity didn’t object. This was the perfect chance to put her headstrong personality into practice. With so many sights to behold, she wondered where to begin. Better yet, she wondered where to even begin to begin.
“Maybe this one,” She told herself, holding a blue gem. Peering through, she felt the warm breeze of the ocean under a sunset. “Okay, what now?” she asked.
“Is it giving off some sort of energy?”
“It feels warm. Does that count?”
“Not usually. Most of them feel warm. Remember, they’re alive. That one you have, well, it doesn’t necessarily disagree with your past self, but it doesn’t scream take me, take me, either. I don’t think you can attune to this one. Maybe you should keep looking.”
Serenity shrugged. Returning the artifact to the air, she searched elsewhere. Out of nowhere, a cream-colored blade smacked her face. Rubbing her forehead, she saw it up close for the first time. “Oh, this one for sure!” Grabbing the hilt, she held it high. “I have the…”
Zzt! The sword squirmed, reverting to its gem form.
“Power…?” Serenity wondered if she’d broken it. Holding it in her hand, she sighed. “Guess not…” She returned it to the air, as well. She continued looking elsewhere.
As time went by, Rav grew concerned. Crossing his arms, he thought aloud. “That's weird. Hey, Drel. How long did it take us to find our artifacts, again?” Drel counted the minutes on his fingers. “One...two... carry the six... seven minutes and fourteen seconds. And that was a special variant!”
Rav frowned, irked. “You can remember details that specific, but you can’t remember what A.N.G.E.L.O.W. stands for?” Drel paused, deep in thought. He turned away to watch Serenity, who was still struggling with the artifacts. Then he looked back at Rav. He frowned, scratching his head.
“What’s an angelow?”
ZzzZZzzZzt! Aaaah! They heard Serenity cry from the skies. Quickly turning their attention back to the artifact vault, they caught the glimpse of an angel rocketing through the air out of control. She landed in the clouds below, leaving a skidding trail as they welcomed her into her fluffy tomb.
Drel’s silver eyes gleamed with wonder. “Look, Rav, a shooting star.”
“Drel, that’s not—”
“Make a wish.”
Rav sighed, his hand cupping his face. “I wish you weren’t so stupid sometimes,” he mumbled.
Below them, the clouds shook and rumbled as Serenity dug her way out of their poofy confines. She gasped for air, her heart pounding. Pfft! Huhhh! She turned to her two supervisors, irritated. “What the heck was that just now? All I did was touch a ruby and it sent me flying, literally.”
Drel offered her a hand. “Oh, that? That just means the artifact really doesn’t like you.” Serenity felt a heavy weight against her heart. She wondered how anyone could tell her something so cold with such a warm smile on his face. It didn’t matter, but it got her thinking. Drel didn’t seem all there in his mind.
Brushing the fluff away that had been so kind as to suffocate her, she returned to the skies. If ever there was a time to stay determined, now was that time.
Drel and Rav continued their supervision, their worried expressions looming over her as the vault felt less and less infinite with each failed attempt their recruit made. They turned to each other. “You a little concerned about the situation, too?” Rav asked. Drel nodded.
“Yeah, that angelow thing has really got me wondering…”
Rav sighed. “Yeah...” He frowned. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah, I mean is it like a fruit or something?”
“That’s a tangelo, Drel.”
“I’m hungry, Rav.”
“You don’t get hungry in Heaven. You get cravings for past experiences.”
“Then I’m craving a past experience, one of the tangelo-shaped variety.”
“Then go get a blasted tangelo,” Rav blurted. A sense of realization came over him. “Oh...wait.”
“Can I really?” Drel squealed. He didn’t wait for an answer from his friend. He bolted out of the vault as quickly as he could, offering to bring back a slice, but something told Rav he wasn’t going to see Drel for a while. He got lost very easily.
More time passed and still no luck. Rav started counting artifacts and got stuck on 643 before losing track of which he had already counted. Serenity, on the other hand, stayed vigilant in her pursuit of an artifact. She had to admit, she was having the same trouble. With each unsuccessful attempt at attuning with an artifact, she found herself wondering which ones she had already gone through. With so many floating endlessly around, it was hard to tell if an artifact in one corner wasn’t the same artifact in another corner. She kept her head up, searching for an artifact to match her. At this point, any artifact would do.
She picked one.
Attunement failed.
She reached for another.
Attunement failed.
She found an interesting ruby.
ZzzZZzzZzt! Aaah! That’s the same ruby from before! She hit the clouds, just meters away from Rav, who had started counting artifacts over again.
Rav looked down, baffled. “This is unreal…”
Serenity sighed, taking in deep breaths to ease her frustration. She couldn’t quit now. She had only just begun.
“Any luck?” a silver-eyed angel inquired, handing Rav a tangelo.
“Welcome back, Drel. Finally.”
“Did I miss anything?”
“Not really.”
“Then why do you care so much? Did Rav miss Drel?”
Rav crossed his arms in disapproval. “No Rav didn’t—! I didn’t miss you! I was just wondering how long it would take you to find your way back. You get lost way too easily.”
Growing tired of the constant failures, zaps, and humming that came with attempts at artifact attunement, Serenity decided finally it was time to take a break. Floating back down, she slumped into the marshmallow clouds below. Her eyes trailed the skies within the vault. She couldn’t believe just how many failed attempts she had experienced. She had begun to doubt if she’d ever find an artifact to call her own.
A hand over her forehead, she watched the floating artifacts. Little devils. All you do is hurt. She floated by herself in disbelief when something caught her eye. When she turned to check it again, nothing was there. She turned away, shrugging, and then her eye caught a glimpse of it again. She turned, a little faster this time. Gone. Dusting the cloud puffs off her robes, she decided it must have just been the fatigue. She couldn’t help sneaking another peek, just to be sure.
“Still no luck?” Rav said, frowning. Serenity let out a loud sigh, falling onto her back, defeated as she opened her mouth to speak. Then she stopped. Something else spoke for her.
“How...different.” Turning, Rav and Drel stood at attention. They hadn’t even seen the three as they entered.
“Lady Gabriel!” Rav stammered.
“Purest Ones!” Drel chimed in.
The centermost angel had them stand at ease. “No need to be so formal,” Gabriel said. “Zuriel and I are more interested in this—”
“This anomaly!” Zuriel exclaimed impatiently. “Is it true, Rav? What Drel told us? There is an angel with no artifact?”
“Drel?” Rav said aloud. “When did he…?” Then he remembered the tangelo in his hand. He looked at Drel, who smiled back. Rather than saying a word, he just nodded. The sight irritated Rav for some reason, but he kept his cool in front of the Pure Ones. “Yes, well...she’s still looking.”
“Quite interesting,” Zuriel cried, appearing before Serenity. A few screens flickered on around the recruit as she jumped back, surprised. Multiple programs loaded around her, spitting out information like a supercomputer.
Recruit File #2.569.643.386
Subject Name: Serenity *A new recruit as of 69 hours: 17 minutes: 32 seconds.*
Description: Brown eyes, hazel hair, luminous complexion
Height: 5’6’’
Age and Date of Birth: ErRor *!*Unknown*!*
Artifact: ErRor *!*Please input artifact description*!*
...
As the files loaded, Zuriel thought it a good idea to explain that the screens were a part of her artifact and that there was nothing to worry about. Gabriel, on the other hand, thought it best to drag Zuriel a few meters away from Serenity’s face. Any closer, and Serenity might have known what Zuriel’s pores looked like. Turning back, Gabriel looked to the recruit and forced a smile. She apologized for Zuriel’s behavior. Zuriel, in turn, crossed her arms and puffed out her face in disapproval. Though her eyes followed the entities, Serenity’s mind wandered.
Before her stood three of the most unique angels she had seen since her arrival. She couldn’t pry her eyes away. Something held her gaze, which followed Gabriel as she scolded Zuriel, and then drifted back to the third Pure One, who laughed and introduced himself as Thornes. Though she didn’t quite know how to describe how she felt, it was clear just what she saw—a perfection that made perfection itself appear flawed.
“Let’s try this again,” Gabriel said, holding out a hand to Serenity. “I’m Gabriel, and your name is Serenity, correct? We came as quick as we could after Drel told us about your little dilemma. As Zuriel says, that was three days ago. Sorry we couldn’t make it sooner. Between fortifications here in Heaven and all the paperwork, we’ve been slam-busy lately. I would have just sent Thornes or come myself, but Zuriel objected to the idea. She kept ranting about how she was going to be the first to experience this new...phenomenon.” She reached for two swords she had with her, then handed them off.
“You should take a break from this little hunt of yours. Here, in the meantime, why don’t you hold onto these? We understand they aren’t as flashy as these artifacts, but maybe that’s a good thing for you. These here were meant to last. I had our finest smiths craft them.”
Serenity stared wide-eyed. “For me…?”
Gabriel nodded accordingly, and Serenity held out her hands to receive this gift. “Thank you,” she said. “But I’m just a little confused by something you said earlier. How long was it you said I’ve been in these vaults?”
Scratching her head, Gabriel turned to Zuriel, who read aloud from her data. “69 hours, 19 minutes, aaaand...14 seconds, give or take the time it took for Rav and Drel to introduce themselves and get you here.”
Serenity was in disbelief. She couldn’t believe just how easy it was to lose herself in a simple task of finding the right artifact. It really made her wonder just how fast time could fly in Heaven.
“Not to worry, though,” Zuriel said, not sounding very reassuring. “Time really flies around here! The seconds practically bleed together when you’re living in eternity.” She held her chin. “Hmm. That doesn’t mean we should dawdle. I have so many more things I wanted to ask you. What makes you tick? And how is it that you’re having so much trouble with every artifact here? What were you like in the living world? What kind of a person were you? You at least remember how you—?”
“I think that’s good for now,” Gabriel decided, taking Zuriel by her ear. Eeek! “It was nice to meet you, Serenity, but we still have much more paperwork to get done. Isn’t that right, Zuriel?”
Zuriel frowned, trying to regain her captured earlobe. “What? Already? But I have so many questions. Serenity, did you have any family? Did the family get along? What class were you in, poor or wealthy? What was your nutrition like? What—mmmfff!”
“Speaking of nutrition,” Gabriel said, unamused, “here, have a tangelo.” She turned to Rav, saying “I hope you don’t mind.” Rav shook his head. “No, ma’am.”
Gabriel winked, holding Zuriel by the waist underneath an arm as she kicked off. “I look forward to seeing you guys again. And welcome to Heaven, again—!” Something tugged on her robe. She paused looking back to see that her recruit still had one more question to ask.
“Oh, Serenity. Did you need something?” Serenity paused for a moment, looking about the chamber curiously, and then she nodded. “There’s something in here with the artifacts,” she said. “I’m almost certain. Every time I look in that direction, there’s something floating in place. But when I try to focus my attention on it, it just vanishes.”
Gabriel got quiet for a moment, paying little attention to the squirming Zuriel in her grasp. “Over that way…?” she asked. Her eyes widened for a moment. She looked to Thornes, who looked back with shock.
Turning back to face the recruit, Gabriel smiled and said, “Oh, that’s nothing to worry about. Every so often, we get an angel or two who’s eyes can’t focus right. Although, that does get me thinking. I know this is sudden, I know that you’ve only been here for all of three days. I even know that you’ve had trouble with finding an artifact. But despite all of this, I have a question I’d like to pose.” A serious expression crossed her face as she looked at Serenity, unblinking. “Would you like to work as an agent? Under my direct influence?”
“What?” Rav asked, uneasily. “An agent? So soon?”
Gabriel nodded. “Yes. Agents carry out all sorts of tasks both here and in the realm of the living. We watch over the balance between the three worlds of Heaven, Earth and Hell. We fulfill our true duty as angels. Does that sound like your style?”
It was as if Serenity had found her calling, a job that required her to be headstrong and whole-hearted. Again, she’d found an opportunity offered to her directly by the one she was already starting to look up to. All in such short notice. With vigor in her voice, Serenity exclaimed, “It would be an honor to serve! I mean, I still have a lot to learn—like really, a lot—but I won’t let you down. I’ll prove myself, just wait and see. I can—.”
“Lady Pure One,” Rav said, trying to reason with her, “isn’t that being a bit too hasty? She’s only been here for three days. Are you sure…?”
Hah! Drel heckled, placing a playful arm around Rav’s neck and poking his cheek. “You’re just afraid that if she works as an agent, she’ll get more chances to catch you crushing on her!”
Rav’s face shot red. He raised a fist to hit Drel, then turned to see his superiors. Unable to vent his frustrations or hide his face, he blurted out whatever came into his mind, which only amounted to a plain and simple, “I—! I’m not crushing on the new girl, Drel.”
Drel grinned, a playful perk in his words. “Reaaally? So, then it was only my imagination when your face turned as red as a beet back when we first found the new recruit?” He leaned in with a hush-hush attitude as though he were telling a secret. “You even told me not to wake her.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” Rav stammered frantically. He waved his arms wildly to cover Drel’s overly-talkative lips. “That’s enough of that.”
Gabriel scratched her chin, something formulating in her head. Zuriel had finally spat the tangelo from her mouth in a failed attempted to voice her own opinion. Gabriel took what few seconds she had to silence the rowdy Pure One with a smack to the head. “A crush, you say?” Gabriel beamed. Thornes only laughed, asking what it was she was thinking. Gabriel smiled a rather dastardly smile. “That gives me the perfect idea.”
Turning to her new agent, Gabriel placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s already been three days, and still no new recruits to team you with. It’s odd how so many souls are disappearing like this, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that you’re still in need of a squad. Fortunately, I know of two agents who are in desperate need of a third member.
“Now, normally I wouldn’t allow a new recruit to join a previously-formed team. There’s just too big of an experience gap like that. However, I also don’t normally ask new recruits to work directly under me, either, so this is a very rare occasion. So! Without further ado...Rav, Drel, say hello to your new squad member!”
Rav’s face froze, a sense of happiness and fear in his expression. He blushed, unable to form words as he raised his hand in shaky objection. Drel pushed him aside, however, before he spoke. “We accept!”
Gabriel nodded, perking up. “I certainly hope so. I figured you two wouldn’t mind. After all, you all seem to get along so well, and you’ve known her the longest—”
“For all of three days.” Zuriel snickered.
“So I’m counting on you to show her the ropes,” Gabriel continued, ignoring the remark.
Turning to Rav, Drel grinned a dastardly grin. “Now’s not the time to get nervous, Rav. Say hi to our new member.” Rav gritted his teeth in turn. He looked to Drel, mumbling, “I’m gonna kill you later,” under his breath.
Drel clapped his hands like a toddler. “Ohhh, I get it. Trying to act tough in front of the new girl. That’s a nice touch. A very nice touch, indeed!”
Serenity couldn’t help but laugh, watching Rav jump after Drel with such ferocity. Relentless in his pursuit, Rav chased after the nimble, silver-eyed angel until Gabriel interrupted with a cough. “Ahem! Shouldn’t you two be helping your new member find herself an artifact?” she asked playfully.
“Of course!” Drel cried, dodging a vicious attack and flying into the sea of gems. “Hurry, you two. Let’s go find that artifact!” Crossing his arms, Rav followed at his own pace. “Fine, fine. Whatever.” As he ascended into the sky, Serenity couldn’t help but notice a smile under his rough-and-tough act.
“Oh, and one last thing,” Gabriel said, taking Serenity by the wrist just as she was about to take off. “Remember, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t find an artifact right now. What matters is that you have the headstrong attitude of one of my agents. Never compare yourself to others, never focus on your shortcomings, but most importantly…”
