Divinity (25 page)

-
Hold
.- Julia was surprised at the sound of her own voice inside her head issuing a hard command, and even more surprised to see the threads of her own energy lash out and encase Lori. They were the same threads of energy she had used for the shield, but this time, instead of keeping the
A’nwel
out, it kept Lori in. A small part of Julia was surprised that Lori didn’t fizzle and burn the way the
A’nwel
had, but then, Lori was human. A disgusting human, but still just human.

Lori’s eyes widened with terror as she struggled against restraints she couldn’t see. Her head lolled back and she let out a primal scream.

Julia looked from Lori to the closet. It took all her will not to toss the woman in and shut the door. Instead, she turned away and made her way through the square-dancing mannequins to the front of the house. She briskly stepped out and closed the front door.

Once outside, she sagged against the door, feeling drained.

-
Michael?
- She listened for an answer. -
Did you know I could do that?
-

As soon as she caught her breath, Julia stepped off the doorstep and made her way to her car across the street, disappointed again that Michael didn’t reply.

When she reached her car, the sound of his voice made her jump.

-
Did you find what you were looking for, girl?
-

“No, Michael,” she answered aloud, “but I think I found what I needed to find.”

“And what was it that you needed to find?” Michael asked, appearing in the seat beside her.

“A reason to be thankful for the life I have lived. As awful as it felt at the time, it could have been so much worse.” Julia’s voice shook as she spoke. She gripped the wheel tighter. “How can anyone believe ‘that’s what girls are for,’ Michael? She’s hideous.”

“She is. And there are others like her.” Michael turned to face Julia. “But there are others like you. Good beings. Pure in spirit and heart. Even those without the benefit of wings.”

A solitary tear trickled down Julia’s cheek, and she unconsciously swiped it away. They drove in silence for the rest of the journey to the airport. Michael disappeared long before she pulled into the parking lot. She could still feel his presence, though, and was comforted by it.

“You are teaching her, Michael. She will have an unfair advantage over the others.” Ariel sounded as though he were merely stating a fact, not accusing. Though Ariel was taller than all the others, his wings were smaller, making him appear far shorter. To Michael, he looked angry with his strong jaw and dark, brooding eyes. Though perhaps angry was too strong a term. Ariel could be judgmental, but he always kept a deference to Michael that was almost…apologetic. Despite that, Ariel stood tall and proud with his mocha arms crossed.

“I simply echoed her own thoughts, and let her know we see her as one of the good ones.” Michael sounded like he was talking from the other end of a very long tunnel.

“She must already know that.” Ariel’s dark eyes followed Julia as she showed her ticket to the flight attendant and boarded the plane. “Should we be concerned with her progress?”

“Is she progressing too slowly for you?” Michael smirked.

“I fear she may burn herself out.” Ariel ignored Michael’s sarcasm. “The net with which she froze that woman—
I
would have trouble with that one.”

“We all have areas in which we excel.”

“She used both Command and Weaving, Michael. And as a human. Have you thought of the implications here? If she thinks a word, and makes it happen…”

“She will not likely realize her full potential until she is finished with the shell and back among us. She is using a stone for focus. The peril is great enough that she must be given every advantage.” Michael flexed his wings. “Enough. Tell me what you have learned.”

Ariel’s wingtips twitched, but he answered immediately. “There is a tie between the grandmother and the assassin. She has received a letter from the same source.”

“The contents of the letter?”

“They were instructions to keep the girl with her until a certain time. And promises of receiving her due.”

Michael opened another viewing window in the clouds at his feet, and as he swept his arm across it, he solidified.

“What time was that supposed to be?” There was no mistaking the concern in Michael’s voice.

“Now,” Ariel said, turning to see what Michael was viewing.

Below them they saw Lori’s mannequin room with Lori standing frozen in the center. Her head snapped back and her mouth was open as if to scream, but no sound came. As the angels watched, tendrils of the woman dissolved as though an invisible acid were being poured upon her, eroding her flesh. She thrashed as much as she could, though she was still held firmly in the bonds of Julia’s weave.

“What is it?” Ariel’s voice trembled. “I see slices of her coming out and disappearing, but cannot find the source.”

“A’nwel,”
Michael said, his voice barely a whisper. “Was she planning to feed the girl to the
A’nwel?”

The body disappeared quickly, until all that was left was a dark stain in the center of the floor, almost in the exact spot where Gabriel had killed her husband years before. Silence settled over Michael and Ariel as they stood wing to wing.

“Seems fitting,” Ariel said finally, turning to Michael.

“I believe it is something the humans would call ‘karma,’” Michael answered with a nod. “But that thing does not have anything to do with the divine balance.”

“True.”

“What have we learned of the source of the letter, Ariel?”

“Nothing. Only that it seems to be human, but that means nothing. It could be a possessed human.”

Michael’s form thinned out, his voice becoming distant once again. “Perhaps we should be putting her talents to better use.”

“Talents?” Ariel folded his arms over his chest. “Do you think she is capable of hunting the source down?”

“Almost certainly. And I think she would gladly pick up the scent.” One corner of Michael’s mouth curled up in a smile filled with secrets.

“How do you plan on doing that?”

“Very carefully,” Michael said. “But soon, Brother. Very soon.”

XXV

J
ULIA
leaned her head against the cool window of the airplane, looking out over the clouds. Her ears rang with a high-pitched squeal, making her head feel like it was going to explode. This had been going on for at least ten minutes when the flight attendant made her way over.

“Ma’am?” The woman, whose brass nametag identified her as Robyn, lightly tapped Julia’s shoulder. “Can I get you something? Are you all right?”

Julia heard the woman clearly, but she was hearing other voices threaded through the background. She smiled up at Robyn. “I’m fine, thank you. Just tired.”

Maria’s words echoed through Julia’s mind.

If I pay attention, I can hear them
.

She focused, and was not terribly surprised when she recognized Michael’s voice. She could only catch snippets of the conversation, though, as there were many other voices flowing along the same stream. She felt like she was trying to tune in to a radio station, and had found five of them, all using the same signal.

“…full potential…” she heard Michael say, and “…putting her talents to better use.” She instinctively knew he was talking about her, so she tried harder to tune it in. Thinking of it that way made her smile. She had her own radio station. Angel FM.

“Soon.” Michael’s voice again.

“Soon,” she repeated out loud, pondering what that might mean.

Robyn spun back around.

“Sorry, Robyn. I was just thinking out loud. I’ll be home soon.” She gave the woman a reassuring smile and watched her walk away.

I need to be more careful. I need to contain my inside voice
.

She could no longer make out Michael’s voice amid the stream of voices. She thought about asking him what he was talking about, but thought better of it.
If I can hear them without them finding out, maybe I will finally get the answers to some of my questions
.

She closed her eyes for the remainder of the flight, falling into the deep sleep of exhaustion. She didn’t even stir when Robyn came back and set a pillow between her head and the window.

Julia was startled awake by the announcement that they were about to arrive in D.C. She was no longer in tune with the angels. She put her shoes back on and watched the other passengers busy themselves getting ready to land. When the wheels touched down, she read relief on many of the faces, and wondered how many people were secretly afraid of flying.

As soon as the seatbelt sign winked out, she stood, straightened out her clothes, and retrieved her bag from the overhead compartment. The man across the aisle was fighting to pull his overstuffed bag out, and bumped into her when it finally let go.

“Sorry,” he said. He flashed a slick, used-car-salesman smile. “I always pack too much.”

“No problem,” Julia answered, and returned his smile, though hers was awkward. “You can never have too many shoes, right?”

The man threw his head back and let out a forced laugh. He reached his hand forward, offering to shake.

“I’m James Johnson. Everyone calls me JJ.”

“Nice to meet you.” Julia reached out to shake his hand politely, deciding against sharing her name with him. The moment his hand touched hers, Julia felt every muscle in her body tense with revulsion. Bile rose in the back of her throat. She snatched her hand from him and took a step away as the line began to move. She knew that if she tried to see his essence, it would look much the same as Lori’s had only hours before. She checked back over her shoulder with each step, feeling his eyes on her the whole time.

As the crowd moved forward, JJ was still trying to get his bags together, wrestling to get his coat slung over his shoulder. Julia was happy to watch the distance grow between them. As she stepped off the plane, she checked back one more time and saw that he was still staring at her, and it made her skin crawl.

She hurried through the airport toward the parking garage, darting in and out of the crowd, grateful she had no baggage to claim. She found her car, climbed in quickly, and sped out of the underground lot and onto the highway. Julia kept a close eye on the rear-view mirror all the way out. She thought it was strange how strong her revulsion had been, even though his actions were completely normal. Polite, even.

“Instinct.” Michael’s voice startled her again. “Listen to your instincts. If they tell you to flee, then you must flee. It seems you’re getting better at listening to them. This is a good thing.”

“I did flee, Michael,” Julia said, catching her breath. “And can’t you give me a little warning before you just pop up like that?” She tried to sound irritated, but the truth was, she was relieved he was there. She could hear it in her own voice.

“You knew I was here, girl.” Michael reached forward and turned on the radio, scanning from station to station before settling on a blues station. “Ah. Now that’s music.”

Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” came through the speakers. Julia snickered. “Robert Johnson sang about a lot of things you might know about, Michael.”

“It always makes music more powerful when the artist is speaking from personal experience,” Michael said.

Julia whipped her head toward him. “Seriously?” “Watch the road, girl.”

Judging by the slightly turned-up corner of his mouth, he must have been joking. Julia shook her head and sighed. She wasn’t sure how to continue. She had so many questions, and Michael always seemed to avoid answering them. “Michael…”

“It is a rare moment that I can enjoy a song.”

Julia glanced at Michael, who was sitting in the passenger seat, leaning back with his eyes closed. His foot tapped out the rhythm to the song. She decided to let her questions go unanswered.

She got lost in her own thoughts, planning the things she needed to do in the morning. She hadn’t talked to Mrs. Williams—Isabel—for a few days. A fact she felt very guilty about, since she had told her she would check in and let her know how things went with Maria. Julia also needed to call the restaurant and see how things were going there. Sandra was shaken up about the murders, so she had sworn off interviewing, stating that she didn’t really need to go see her family in Britain after all. Julia would have to do it herself when the time came. Not that she planned to hire anyone any time soon. She would take the shifts herself, and gladly.

Actually, working in the restaurant was one of the things she enjoyed most about her life. Each of the tables held meaning for her, every item on the menu. There was something grounding about standing in the middle of the dining room when all the tables were set perfectly and the soft jazz flowed through the air. There was something equally satisfying when the restaurant was filled and bustling with activity, the clanging plates and pans coming from the kitchen and the buzz of conversation at each table filling the air. It gave her a sense of accomplishment and purpose.

When Julia finally got home, Michael had long since faded out. She put her small suitcase in her room and stretched out on the couch, wiggling her toes to get the circulation back.