Divinely Trained: Ancients, page 51
She ran, but not very far, as she collided into the solid wall of Gabriel. Stars swam in her vision; it was possible she had knocked her own self out just by running into him.
“Going somewhere?” he growled.
In a fit of desperation, she began pounding on Gabriel’s chest as if her hands were hammers to get him to move. Her strikes were not at all like she’d been taught to fight. It was as if she beat him just to relieve her anger because she knew she couldn’t move him.
Seeing her last opportunity to get out slip right through her fingers, Ellie screamed, “Get out of my way!”
Gabriel grabbed the front of her clothing and lifted her off the ground.
Desperate to get to Michael’s side, her world turned volcanic. Then the words tumbled out of her in an uncontrolled burst of wild-child bat-shit crazy. “I’ll fucking kill you! I swear! Let me go!” she screamed. “I’ll kill you!” she snarled as he carried her kicking and swinging to strike anything she could reach.
He carried her all the way back to the meeting room. As he passed the king, he barked, “Put twenty men outside every door that leads out of this room. I am not a babysitter. If she comes through the door, put an arrow in her leg.”
The king caught himself staring at Gabriel for just a moment then bellowed orders to have her guarded by at least twenty other elves. The archangel carried Ellie into the great room.
“Release her, Gabriel,” Raguel ordered.
Gabriel dropped Ellie to the ground. “You nanny her then.”
Ellie scrambled to her feet. It was just Gabriel and Raguel in the room. “Where’s Michael?”
Raguel’s attention was focused out of the window. He didn’t respond as she ran to his side and looked out. Kokabi was outside the gate, and Michael was walking toward him. Sucking in a lungful of air, she shook her head. She wouldn’t cry. Glancing about her, she noted she was well and truly trapped. The door was heavily guarded by elves who now faced them. Gabriel stood ten feet behind her, his hands clasped in front of him, his eyes trained on her.
She looked back out of the window, scanning the outside until she spotted Jermia and Ashrin together with the greeper standing at their side. Hundreds of clingers of different races surrounded them. Ellie looked to her right, focusing on a familiar coat. It was Johnny Knight. Ellie raised her hands to her face, shaking her head.
“Ellie?” a voice said in her mind.
Her eyes panned the gardens and locked onto Kokabi.
“Let us not converse without Ellie. It would be rude to talk about her without including her. Why don’t we listen to what she has to say?” Kokabi said into her mind.
“Can you hear that?” Ellie asked Raguel.
“Yes. He projects to just Michael, you, Gabriel, and I.”
“Ellie chose faith, Kokabi,” Michael said. He looked over his shoulder at Ellie, giving her a knowing smile.
“Oh, but knowledge is so much more interesting, Ellie. How can you deny the need to know who your father is?”
Ellie glanced over at Raguel, tears distorting her vision. “What does he mean? Who’s my father?”
Raguel didn’t respond. She turned to Gabriel pleadingly. “What does he mean? Please, tell me.”
Gabriel’s brows drew slowly together, his mouth parting, and for a moment he looked as if he felt sorry enough for her that he would respond. But then he closed his mouth.
“Please, Gabriel, please!” she pleaded.
His head shake was so slight that Ellie barely registered the movement. But it was there. He knew, and he wanted her to know, but he was bound by oath.
“I demand the Guardian who interfered with a human; it is my right,” Kokabi roared into her mind. “After all, Ellie, surely you’re not so naïve as to imagine you suddenly gained telepathic abilities?”
Ellie stopped breathing. Her father was a Guardian?
Raguel’s gaze floated from Gabriel to Ellie, his attention focusing back out of the window. As Ellie followed his line of sight, Raguel placed a hand on her shoulder. The tingle of electricity traveled through her body in subtle waves. They exchanged brief glances then directed their attention back outside.
The air filled with snarls and growls from the clingers as Johnny picked up his cuffs. He drew back; there was a moment of hesitation, as if he was unsure. The action sent the clingers into a frenzy as they climbed over each other in anticipation. Johnny threw the cuffs toward Michael. Ellie opened her mouth to scream out of the window, but nothing came out. The cuffs whirled through the air, trailed by a jet stream of technicolor lights. They struck Michael, anchoring his hands behind his back and pitching him forward. He fell to his knees in front of Kokabi.
Raguel roared a deafening roar, making Ellie clamp down on her ears. He raised a hand to the balcony doors, and they flew apart without being touched with a force that almost tore them off the hinges. Raguel stormed through the opening as Ellie was pushed to the side by Gabriel. She gaped at Gabriel’s back as his stare became transfixed beyond the window. Without missing a beat, she inched back quietly. In two bounds, she retrieved her bag containing her swords and was at the side door as Gabriel let out a roar out of the window.
Ellie took three steps down the stairs then thought that would be the first place Gabriel would look. He would go down. Ellie turned and swiftly ran up the stairs just in time.
Gabriel yelled, “Where is she?”
She had only made it up four steps before Gabriel came out into the tower. Ellie squeezed her eyes shut. She hugged her back to the wall, holding her breath, terrified that he was powerful enough to read her thoughts and know which way she’d gone. His footsteps descended, making Ellie release her breath quietly. She waited until he was far enough away, then unzipped the bag, pulled out her harness, and strapped it over her back.
She pulled out both blades, inspecting their size and weight. She didn’t have time to marvel at them. For an entire year, she had carried them, afraid to even pull them out for a moment to admire them. She couldn’t believe she was finally going to use them, even if she didn’t know how. She wasn’t an idiot; she knew how to stab at something. Michael had given her permission and had even said he looked forward to seeing her use them. She longed to know what he’d say. If supernatural beings could actually talk to the dead, maybe she would find out? She looked at the blades, one she would put through Johnny’s heart.
“This one, Johnny, this one is for you.” She sheathed both blades behind her and snuck out another side door. This turret, she knew, was connected to another tower by a long walkway. She hoped she’d find another way down.
Her heart pounded as she faced about forty elves standing just twenty feet away, their bows stretched and pointed toward her. Ellie drew her swords. She was getting through or she would die trying because that was the only way down. If she went back now, Gabriel would catch her.
“Put your swords down, Ellie,” the king ordered as he stepped forward.
“I can’t do that, King Elren. Let me pass.”
“Disarm her,” the king snapped.
“Wait,” Ellie said hurriedly, panicking at having to actually maneuver her swords. She had no idea how to use them.
“I can’t let you go down there, Ellie. The Ancient said you are not to leave the palace. Michael’s words were absolute.”
“Are you honestly going to kill me?”
The king scrunched his brows together. “Of course not, but we would not go against an Ancient. Michael’s instructions were to keep you inside.”
“I’m not a child. I know I could die fighting.”
He huffed. “It’s a lofty ideal, best reserved for men of battle, for warriors, Ellie. You’re a female.”
Seconds counted. Kicking up her chin, she clenched her swords tighter and strode forward.
The king seemed to gather his druthers and shouted, “One in the leg!”
The air filled with a popping sound as the tension of the string was released, and an arrow spun through the air. Instinctively, she tensed, but something within her overrode the need to flinch. Her right sword wheeled around so fast it was a wonder it didn’t spin right out of her hand. The sword tip struck the arrow, splitting it and sending the two pieces clattering to the stone floor. Ellie gasped, glancing down at her blades. And she wasn’t the only one staring at them.
The king never missed a beat and yelled, “Two, one in each leg.”
Two more arrows were released, and as if Ellie was part of an illusion, she raised both her swords, and each blade deflected an arrow as easily as if she had made time stop to do it. She gaped down at her swords a second time, a slow spreading grin stretching across her face. She hadn’t trained for this, but Michael had said to her, Something tells me you will wing it.
Her thoughts were interrupted when three elves stepped toward Ellie, making her heart thump wildly. One swung to slap the blade from her hand. She’d fallen for that amateur move on the first day in the Nephilim compound. With a sharp snap of her wrist, she pulled her blade to the side, and he missed. She sprung forward two steps, making them flinch. They were wary of her now, a good sign as she threw caution to the wind and bolted.
Her plan was to use her blades as a type of shield. What else would one use them for if they have no skill? It was a rhetorical question that floated in her mind as the second elf pounced toward her. His blow was coordinated. It was accurate, and Ellie wanted to duck, but something took over. Her sword swung in an animated display of swordsmanship and slapped the elf’s sword out of his hand.
A lightning bolt of courage blasted through her as she ran with all her might through the gauntlet of soldiers that tried to stop her. One after another, they stumbled as Ellie slapped her blades against theirs, easily flicking their swords right out of their hands.
Jermia felt weak. It was the first time he had ever felt not in control. He had just seen Johnny Knight, Lucifer’s infamous soul scout, use his cuffs to bind Michael, and it had worked. He was sure the only reason they had worked was because Michael had fallen from grace, and therefore, he was subject to the mercy of Lucifer. Watching the Ancient down on his knees had made Jermia feel nauseated, defeated, robbing him of his will to fight.
Johnny Knight approached, resting his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Where’s that mighty Michael now? Fallen Ancients don’t seem to be worth their weight,” Johnny called out.
“I will make it my mission to find you, bottom feeder, and I will bleed you dry,” Jermia snarled.
Johnny snorted haughtily. “I’m sure you would try if you had balls big enough to walk in the gates of Hell to get to earth.”
“You played us well, Johnny,” Michael spoke calmly. “I did not see this coming.”
“Aren’t my cuffs burning you? Atrix put enough magic in them to hold you down that it should have burned you right down to your marrow,” Johnny crooned.
“I only feel a mild vibration,” Michael murmured.
“How could you?” Ashrin cried to Johnny. “She loved you. She trusted you!”
Johnny flinched imperceptibly, very slight but enough that Jermia caught the reaction.
“Hush, you two,” Kokabi barked. “I was planning to kill Michael first, but I’d love nothing better than to spill a little elf blood before the main course.” He faced Johnny with a scowl. “Enough with your theatrics.” His gaze punched to Ellie who was on a balcony that led to an adjacent tower. “Here comes Ellie now. I cannot fault her loyalty. Maybe that’s why Lucifer desires her so. Or maybe it’s for other, more lurid reasons.” Kokabi’s sinister smile split across his face. “He loves a little human, right before they are bound and converted. He likes to do it in front of all the demons, so they can lust and lavish after what he possesses.”
Kokabi cackled, the sound of it turning Jermia’s stomach. He turned back to Ellie as she ran past the elves.
Ashrin watched Ellie, awe etching every part of her face. “She is fast.” Ashrin’s horsed whisper barely reached Jermia.
“That she is. I’ve never seen the like, princess.”
Kokabi narrowed his eyes at Ellie. His mouth opened slightly as he took in the sheer speed she had gained since she stepped out on to the balcony. “How can this be?”
Johnny jerked his shoulders into a shrug as he gave Kokabi a hesitant glance. “She has been trained by an Ancient, m’lord.”
Jermia watched Johnny and Kokabi staring at Ellie as her limbs spun rapidly around her, so rapidly in fact, that he was sure only he, Michael, and Kokabi could actually see how fast she was moving. Jermia leaned into the princess’s ear. “I think, princess, we are about to bear witness to something phenomenal.”
Ashrin raised her eyes, peering up at Jermia through tear sodden lashes. “We are?”
Jermia smiled at her. “Half of me wants to close my eyes and not watch, but the other half would not miss it for the world.”
Ellie was through the other side of the elves. She looked like she was going to hurl herself into the tree. A boom in the surrounding atmosphere startled even Jermia. The last of the Ancients landed in front of Ellie. The sight was as unpredicted as the day a human crossed into their world. Jermia was the first to gather his wits, and with a gaping mouth, his desire to see the look on Kokabi’s face far outweighed the need to gawk at the display of divinity.
Kokabi had frozen in disbelief, his features quickly melding into white-hot fury. “What is this?” he spat. No one spoke. “What is this!” he bellowed.
Clearly taken aback by the last Ancient’s involvement, Kokabi lunged to Michael, seizing a fistful of hair. He snapped Michael’s head up. Glaring down at Michael, he hissed through gritted teeth, “If you don’t hand her over to me, I will cut your throat. Mentor or not, your death can only serve to heal old wounds.”
Michael’s throaty voice pulled Jermia’s attention back to him. “Kokabi, if you strike me down, it will be your undoing, for what follows may not be as compassionate and forgiving as I am.”
Kokabi pulled Michael around forcibly by his hair. “Fallen Ancients have no power to threaten me. Hush, old one. Your end is nigh.”
Chapter 53
Ellie shook her head, knowing she’d hit a dead end with Raguel in front of her. She had made it past the elves but knew better than to try it with an Ancient.
“You can’t tell me what to do. I am human. Michael never interfered with my choices. If you respect Michael, let me go.”
Unfettered by the bedlam that was unfolding around him, Raguel faced her. “It is because of the love for my brother that I cannot let you go.”
Ellie looked over the wall. If she could jump far enough, she may reach the trees. It was worth a shot. She turned to run, but in an instant, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.
She was raised off the ground, kicking and screaming. “Okay, okay, I’ll come with you,” she said, grabbing a hold of his arms. He lowered her and had just released the tight grip on her when she tucked her legs up to her chest, a move Jermia had taught her. She push-kicked into his torso, throwing herself backward off the balcony.
She held her breath as she plummeted to what she knew to be an imminent death. Then Ellie felt something pierce out of her back. Yes, she thought, the force came from within, and it burst out. She screamed, twisting in agonizing pain to break free of whatever was incapacitating her.
Sparks of electricity swirled around her in galvanizing currents of red, white, and blue, scaring her almost as much as the speed at which she was falling. As she fought against the currents of electricity, she vowed to make Johnny Knight suffer, and she would destroy that fucking coat in her ghost form. Her limbs flailed in the air as she dropped, her screams of pain carrying across Khatima, and they were the kinds of screams only heard by angelic beings.
Ellie dropped from the sky, her wings unfurling for the first time, sending a jolt of emotion through Jermia. He wasn’t sure if it was fear, or perhaps wonder? But were they wings? They did not look like his, nor any he had ever seen. Hers were illuminated, as if made of magic. His eyes glazed, and he found he had to wipe them, so he could watch her mature into the Nephilim that she was—if that was what she could be considered. Jermia didn’t really know what she was.
Johnny froze as he stared at her, and Jermia got the feeling that Johnny had known the whole time.
Ashrin fell to her knees beside him, her mouth unhinging as shock incapacitated her. But the face that Jermia enjoyed watching the most was that of Kokabi. The clueless, fallen archangel, had not a clue in the world with what he was dealing with. What was about to follow could not be good.
The pain had subsided, but as Ellie descended, she felt oddly unbalanced. She braced for impact on the ground, but arms cradled around her waist—those familiar arms that she had always called to in her dreams. They secured around her back and shoulders.
“Don’t struggle, Ellie,” he spoke into her mind.
Her breath hitched. “It’s you! Am I dreaming?”
“Not this time, but you need to stop struggling. Your wings will vanish when you relax.”
Ellie gasped. “My wings? I have wings?”
“Yes, my love, and they are beautiful. I have dreamed of this day for so long.”
She needed time to process what was happening. She couldn’t see out. Had he transported her away? No! “Who are you?”
“If you stop struggling, I can release you.”
Ellie stopped trying to break free and closed her eyes, willing herself into a state of calmness. And, as if by magic, her wings slowly faded away. To where, she didn’t know. He released his grip, and she turned into him. Her entire body tingled as he held her against him. Raguel? she whispered into his mind.
