Chapter Seven
THEA
Thea was in the common room chatting with Dani when an angel came to find her. He seemed different from the other angels, pale with almost white hair and a distant demeanor.
“Elithea, you have been summoned,” he said, stopping in front of the window before her chair.
She sat up. “By whom?”
The pale angel didn’t answer. He stood there for a moment then turned and headed to the door.
Thea sat up straighter, alarmed. She shot a look at Dani, who hadn’t moved.
“Don’t worry,” Dani said. “It’s probably a meeting with Asteroth or something.”
“So why didn’t he say that?”
“He’s an Angel of the Order. They have issues.”
Thea observed the angel. He stood stiffly at the door waiting for her but not looking at her. “What kind of issues?”
Dani bit into an apple and crunched away for a few seconds before answering. “There are seven orders of angels. The order that has the most contact with humans is called Angel.”
Thea frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“All the orders have their own name—Dominion, Virtue, Archangel and so on. But there is an order called Angel. It gets confusing because we’re all angels.”
“Oh. So it’s like saying, I am a Nephilim in say… the Nephilim order.”
“Exactly. We always have to say ‘Angel of the Order,’ to make it clear. They hate it. They think other angels treat them with less respect because of it. We’re all supposed to be equal.”
“Supposed to be?”
“Well…” Dani tilted her head and smiled. “We’re supposed to be, but,” she lowered her voice, “most angels admire Powers, Dominions and Thrones the most. We all have important duties though. The Angel order actually has a more unique connection to the Creator than most other orders.” She grinned. “So they get really pissed when others are dismissive of them.”
“Okay,” Thea eyed the Angel waiting for her “So that’s why they’re rude?”
“They would prefer to call themselves functional, efficient and professional,” Dani said. “They just try to stick to their own order and humans.”
“Hmm… seems petty.” Thea got up. “I only asked a question.”
“Don’t take it personally. He probably doesn’t know the answer,” Dani said, waving a hand. “Meet you after? I wanna break your winning streak.”
Thea grinned. She’d won the last four battles with Dani. “Sure, if you think you can.”
The Angel didn’t speak to her as he carried her down the flightway. Even when they left the building and Thea asked where they were going, he was silent.
She sighed. So it seemed some angels could be emotional and petty. As he picked her up again, her thoughts turned to Cam.
Cam didn’t seem like he was petty, though Thea had been confused, at times, and increasingly annoyed by his recent behavior. He made sure he was there to escort her to and from her quarters and the training hall, but never made any move to kiss or touch her or come into her quarters. Instead, he chatted with her, encouraged her, and debated tactics with her as though they were just friends. She loved seeing him and talking to him. Her mood lifted and her body physically reacted to him as it always did. Maybe they weren’t allowed to show affection in public? Maybe he wasn’t allowed to get involved with a training angel? When she’d asked him, he just gave her some vague answer. Why couldn’t he just communicate properly?
The Angel landed on a balcony of a golden building near the Stream garden. After he placed her down he took off again, without saying a word. Thea watched him, shaking her head; they truly do have issues.
The Empire looked beautiful from this view. The clouds were a mint green today and there were more angels in the Stream garden than she had seen before, all connecting to the Stream.
“Thea,” came a voice from behind.
Thea spun round to see Asteroth stepping through the sliding windows, onto the balcony. “Oh, hi Asteroth. I wasn’t sure where I was.”
“Apologies, I didn’t tell the Angel why you were needed here,” Asteroth said. “You’re about to speak with the Dominion League. They have an assignment for you.”
Thea took a breath. Finally, an assignment. It felt like she had been training for ages without actually knowing what she was supposed to be doing for the Angel Realm. She knew they would put her on a special project but couldn’t guess what it might be. If Cam didn’t even know, there was no way she could guess. Both excitement and nervousness bustled within her.
“The entire League is here,” Asteroth continued, “and it is made up of twenty Dominion Angels.”
“What?” Panic flooded Thea. Twenty angels wanted to see her?
“Don’t worry,” Asteroth said. “I will be there too. They’re just going to ask you some questions and then give you your assignment.”
“Is this what normally happens?”
Asteroth cocked his head to one side. “Only when the angel hasn’t trained under a commander.”
“But I’ve trained with you,” Thea said. “Aren’t you my commander?”
“No,” Asteroth said. “I can’t be a commander and be on the League.” He glanced back at the window. “They are all waiting in the room through that door. Are you ready?”
Thea shunted her panic aside and squared her shoulders. It was only angels, right? A slight tremble shook her hands. “Let’s go.”
Asteroth led her through the sliding glass doors into a massive room. Thick, sand-colored carpet covered the floor, the teal walls displayed unique sculptures unlike anything she had seen, and coffee tables held jugs of various colored juices and snacks. At the center, an extensive round table was surrounded by huge angels. Although their skins ranged through all possible tones, they all wore cobalt blue robes and the same expression of curiosity as they turned to her.
She slowed to a stop as soon as she entered. Waves of energy drifted from them, so strong she was sure she could reach out and bat them away. She had begun to get used to the energy angels let off, feeling it on the edge of her senses with the shimmer that she used to manipulate the emotions of humans, but this was something else. The room seemed to quietly vibrate with power.
Asteroth gently took her arm and guided her to two empty chairs.
“Welcome to the Angel Realm, Elithea,” one of the angels said, as she and Asteroth settled into their seats.
The speaker was a female angel with pretty eyes and a friendly smile.
“Thank you,” Thea said. “And it’s Thea.”
The angel lifted her eyes to the ceiling, her smile widening. “Yes, of course, this trend of shortening our names continues to be popular. I am Laylah. I’m pleased to meet you, as are the rest of the League.”
The other angels, who hadn’t moved their eyes from her, dipped their heads in greeting.
“I am honored to meet you all,” Thea said hesitantly.
“How have you found it in the Angel Realm?”
“Strange,” she admitted. “At first it didn’t feel that different but now I’m realizing there are things I miss.”
“Like what?” a male angel with a black afro to her right asked.
“The sun,” Thea said. “And the days are very long here so it’s very bright a lot of the time. A day of training seems like it lasts forever.”
“You have been tiring her out, Asteroth,” another angel said, his voice stern. “You should have given her time to adjust to the new environment.”
“If I had, she wouldn’t yet be ready,” Asteroth replied.
“Have you been able to connect to the Stream?” A thick-set, male angel further back on the table asked.
“I don’t know how,” Thea said. “I haven’t really tried.”
“Hmm…” was the response.
“And what about the food here?” someone else said. “Are you finding it satisfactory?”
“Yes.”
A moment of silence hung over the table.
“Thank you, it’s good to know about the sun,” Laylah said. “I will speak to the Seraphim and see if there is something they can do. Now,” her tone turned business-like. “We wanted to talk to you about your mother. As you may have guessed, she was an angel. It is highly unusual for a Nephilim to have an angel mother.”
Thea resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had heard how strange her parental make up was so many times and yet it gave her no real information, told her nothing about her family. “So I’ve heard.”
“It is also highly unusual for a Nephilim not to have been trained for twenty-two years without us being aware or without some kind of information given by their angel parent. We need to speak to her.”
“Yeah, well, I would like to speak to her too,” Thea said. “But she died.”
“No,” Laylah said. “Your mother is somewhere in the human world.”
Thea leaned forward, her brows raised and a sudden drop hitting her stomach. “What?”
“Angels are immortal. We do not die easily. Childbirth wouldn’t have killed her. It is very likely that she’s still alive.”
Shock stung Thea hard and for a moment, she couldn’t speak. Her mother was alive? The thought whirled around her mind over and over. How could her mother have been alive all this time? “No. It’s not possible,” Thea stuttered, her voice coming back to her. “Why wouldn’t she see me and tell me everything, explain things to me?”
Laylah’s tone softened. “That is what we need to know. It was highly irresponsible of her.”
Thea shook her head trying to make sense of it. Of course it made sense that angels were immortal—Cam had talked about existing forever but the idea that, as an angel, her mother might still be alive was something that had never crossed Thea’s mind.
“I thought angels could be killed,” she said. Hadn’t Cam mentioned something about an angel he knew having died? And didn’t he say something about angels going to heaven? “Why couldn’t my mother have been killed? How do you know she’s alive.”
“Angels can be killed,” the stern-speaking male angel said. “But usually this only happens in battle. Your mother was an Archangel, her duties consisted of guiding humans. It is highly unlikely she would have been in a situation that would have caused her death. Even your birth.”
“Also,” began another female angel with a raspy voice, who sat nearer to Thea, “the Seraphim order reside in the point of existence between energy and form. As such, they can detect and identify energy that passes between Heaven and the human world as well as Heaven and the Angel Realm. Your mother’s energy has never been identified as passing to Heaven.”
Laylah nodded. “So although we haven’t been able to locate her yet, we know she’s still alive.”
Thea stared down at the table, a whirlwind of emotions rising. All this time. She clenched her fists, thinking back to the life she had. All those years, all those tricky situations, all that time spent wondering, all those birthdays alone. What kind of person did that? What kind of angel did that? A jagged tumble of emotions burst within her—hurt, elation, rage, hope, all jostling for dominance while scarring her emotional core, shredding the layers of indifference she had protected herself with all these years. Was she the daughter of some kind of angel deviant? The urge to vomit rose.
A hand on her arm jolted her out of her thoughts. “Are you all right, Thea?” Asteroth said, quietly.
Thea glanced around, the uncomfortable feelings within in her muting slightly. “I’m fine.” She looked at Laylah. “What is the point of telling me this information?”
“We would like you to find her.”
Thea clenched her jaw. “Why?”
“She has broken quite a few of our rules.” Another rumbling voice said from her far left. “She needs to be brought in and questioned. Possibly sentenced.”
“I’m sure you also have some questions for her, Thea?” Laylah added.
“I have nothing to say to her.”
“Nevertheless, ” said the stern angel. “You are her daughter and therefore best placed to locate and detain her.”
“Locate and detain?” Thea snorted. “I’m not trained for that.”
“Of course you are,” Asteroth said, with a smile. “You have shown that you are repeatedly in training.”
“I don’t have the skills to locate and find an Archangel that’s been hiding for twenty-two years and then force her to come back here with me.”
“Camael has requested you as his partner. We have agreed to it.”
Thea’s jaw slacked in shock. “Cam knows about my mother?”
“No,” Asteroth said. “He doesn’t know what the assignment is. He requested you as his partner anyway.”
A ripple of relief melted through Thea. She could face this horrible task if Cam was helping her. And yet, she wondered why he had never mentioned partnering with her.
“Camael is highly experienced,” said Laylah. She nodded at Asteroth with an appraising glance. “It is a good partnering.”
“Your commander is Zakiel, he will brief you both,” the stern-sounding angel said.
“Any questions?” Laylah asked.
All kinds of questions ran through Thea’s mind but she couldn’t find one to articulate. “No.”
Asteroth rose and indicated that she do so also.
“We wish you well with your assignment, Thea,” Laylah said.
Asteroth lead her back to the balcony where she was grateful for the fresh air. They stood for a while, Thea thinking through everything the League had said.
“Can I refuse this assignment?” she asked.
Asteroth sighed. “I was wondering if you were going to ask that. No, you cannot refuse.”
“I’m not an angel,” Thea said. “I don’t have any duty to fulfill assignments or live by whatever rules you go by here.” She gestured to the Stream. “I can’t even feel the Stream.”
Asteroth watched her closely. “We are only asking that you do your best, that you try. If you are not capable, you cannot be blamed for it.”
Thea shot him a look. Not capable? A blast of annoyance hit her. “And if I die doing this task?”
“You won’t die,” Asteroth said. “It is not that type of assignment, and I’m sure Cam won’t allow it.”
Thea almost felt reassured by the certainty in his voice, but she had no idea what she might have to go through to find her mother. “Are Nephilim immortal?” she asked, suddenly realizing she didn’t know. She had been hurt before, but even in the fight with Leo, when she had been exhausted and on her last legs, she had survived without so much as a scar. Of course, Cam had told her that she had remarkable healing powers for a Nephilim, and she usually took care of all of her wounds by herself.
“No. Nephilim can live thousands of years but are not immortal. They can be killed easier than angels, and because most are demon-hunters, many don’t tend to live past two or three hundred years.”
“I see,” said Thea. She had known that being a demon-hunting Nephilim could be dangerous. She just hadn’t known how dangerous. Compared to the ability to live thousands of years, three hundred was nothing. It would be like dying tragically young.
“Most Nephilim cannot tolerate seeing demons target their family and friends without doing something to address the balance or protect them. So they take on the role, even with the risk.”
Thea nodded, understanding completely. If she had refused training with Cam and then realized that Amber’s boyfriend was a demon, she wouldn’t have been able to fight him. It would have been horrific to witness his constant abuse on her friend’s soul without doing something.
Asteroth stepped closer to her. “I told Cam I would bring you to his quarters now. Are you okay with that? I think he would like to speak to you before you’re briefed.”
Thea nodded again. She felt disoriented, downhearted and… strange. She needed to see him.