Chapter Two

“What do you mean, she wasn’t there?” Amy exclaimed.

Ray ran his fingers through his short red hair and exhaled noisily. He crossed his muscular arms in front of his chest, he green eyes watching Amy as she paced across the room.

“I told you,” Ray explained for the third time, each time with increasing agitation. “I got to her house, rang the bell, pounded on the door, looking in the windows, and waited on the steps for a few minutes. What did you want me to do? Break in?”

Eli was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands. “I should’ve been with her. I was supposed to be with her.”

“Easy, man,” Ray said gently. “You can’t predict when things will happen.”

“But I should,” Amy whispered, “especially after last night.”

“Why?” Ray demanded. “What happened?”

Quickly, Amy told Ray of the incident in front of the temple the previous night, how the priest had recognized the mark on Nadia’s face. Ray swore, his hand clenching into a fist.

“It’s too soon,” he snapped.

Eli shook his head. “We can’t lose. This has to be it.”

Amy sighed and threw herself onto the couch next to Eli. She patted him on the knee.

“I’m tired of this too,” she said. “I know it’s hard on you. It’s hard on us all, but we can get her back. Things will just go faster than they have in the past. We won’t lose.”

Eli didn’t look convinced. Ray stood facing the window, his eyes on his bright blue motorcycle and the two helmets resting on the seat. He didn’t want to lose Nadia; none of them did.

“Hey,” Eli said suddenly, glancing around. “Where’s Gabriel?”

*~*~*~*

Nadia sat on a cold metal chair in a dark, windowless room. A single light hung directly above her, masking the rest of the room in shadows. She was not bound in any way, but fear kept her from moving outside the small circle of light. A white cloaked novice had come in and placed a small silver basin of water on the floor near the chair, then left without a sound.

After an eternity of waiting, Nadia heard a door open and close, but no more light entered the room. Three figures dressed in red stepped into the light, their faces hidden beneath hoods and their hands covered with red gloves.

Without speaking a word, the tallest of the three pulled a white handkerchief from the sleeve of his robe and dipped it gently in the silver basin. Nadia could only stare at them in confusion as the tall man took her chin firmly in one gloved hand and wiped the make-up from her cheek with the wet handkerchief. Nadia winced as the cold water trickled down her neck, but the man did not release her from his grip. The other two nodded their hooded heads as they stared at the purple star-shaped mark on Nadia’s face.

The man released her chin, pushing it roughly aside so her whole head jerked to the right from the force. He threw the damp handkerchief at her, and it landed on her lap. Tears came to Nadia’s eyes as she realized she was about to disappear at the hands of these red robed Questioners. She wouldn’t get a chance to say good bye to her friends, especially Eli, who had been with her since before her parents died.

The three red men filtered out of the room, closing the unseen door with a final thud. Nadia clung to the chair, her island of safety and light in the sea of darkness around her. This blackness was not comforting at all to her, as the night often was. The darkness left behind by the three men was stifling and stuck in her nose and mouth, threatening to suffocate her.

“Nadia,” a voice said calmly from the darkness.

Nadia stiffened and peered into the shadows. Without a noise to betray his presence, a tall figure stepped into her halo of light. He had long black hair tied in a pony tail that hung down his back, and bright blue eyes that regarded her intensely. His face was expressionless as he stared down at her. He wore black pants and a pale yellow shirt with several buttons undone, revealing glimpses of his muscular chest.

“Gabriel?” Nadia whispered. “What? How?”

He held up one hand to silence her, and Nadia noticed his other hand held a long grey sword. Nadia’s eyes widened in surprise, but she bit her tongue. He held out his free hand to her, and she took it gratefully.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I thought I was going to disappear.”

“Not tonight,” he assured her.

He led her into the shadows, which seemed a lot less oppressive when she was with him. They slipped out the dark door into the equally lightless hallway. Gabriel pushed her in front of him, but kept a firm grip on her hand.

“I can’t see,” he said into her ear. “Lead the way.”

“What?” she hissed. “I can’t see in pitch blackness!”

“Try.”

Nadia’s heart pounded with fear. She was certain at any moment the hall would be filled with red robed figures, with reaching hands to push her and Gabriel into oblivion. She gulped down a breath to steady her nerves and peered into the darkness. Slowly, an image of the hallway formed before her eyes. She could see the door through which they had come, and three more closed doors along the hall. A chair sat in front of them, and at the end of the hall was a staircase leading up.

She squeezed Gabriel’s hand and lead him around the chair and up the winding staircase. They found a closed door at the top, but Gabriel stopped her as she reached for the latch to open it.

“Wait,” he said softly. “Close your eyes. Let me go first.”

“Why?” Nadia asked, eager to be free of the dungeon.

“Your eyes are adjusted to the darkness,” Gabriel explained. He pointed with his sword to the light coming from beneath the door. “You will be blinded.”

Nadia was forced to agree that even the small amount of light that trickled into the darkness stung her eyes. She sighed and closed her eyes, trusting Gabriel to lead her to safety. She winced as the door opened and the light struck her eyelids, and was grateful to her friend for the warning. As Gabriel escorted her through the temple, her thoughts wandered back to when she had first met him, years ago when she and Eli had first come to university. Until this moment, Nadia never thought Gabriel liked her. He was always so aloof and quiet, the opposite of their mutual friend, Amy. He had rarely said more than three words to her, yet here they were, and she found herself trusting this man she scarcely knew with her life.

Nadia felt cool air on her skin as they passed through the final door and into the open. She inhaled sharply and a smiled crossed over her face. This was the night that rejuvenated her, and she felt her energy returning. Gabriel did not release her hand as he continued to lead her away from the temple.

“Keep your eyes closed,” he said, “and hang on tight to me.”

He drew her closer to his body, and she put her arms around his neck as he lifted her into his arms. Nadia heard cries coming from the temple behind them, angry shouts that sounded like the high priest. She tightened her grip around Gabriel’s neck and squeezed her eyes more tightly closed.

Suddenly there was a strange jerking motion, as if Gabriel had jumped, and the rushing sound of the wind around her head. Nadia gasped aloud, and in response, he tightened his grip around her. It felt to Nadia that they were moving at a great speed, but she did not dare open her eyes to find out how. Somehow she was certain she didn’t want to know.

A few minutes later, the sensation of movement stopped with a gentle thud, and Gabriel set Nadia carefully on her feet. She held onto him for a moment longer to steady herself, wondering what on earth had just happened to her.

“You can open your eyes now,” he said. “You’re safe.”

Nadia cracked open an eyelid, then the other, and gradually relaxed. She recognized their location, and she nearly laughed out loud to find herself there. They were in Amy’s backyard, the moon high in the night sky. She turned to face Gabriel and realized that his shirt was missing and his sword gone. His eyes looked tired, but as usual his face betrayed no other emotion.

“We should go in,” he said, gently releasing her hand.

Nadia watched him go for a moment, still confused as to how they had moved from the temple to Amy’s house so quickly. She followed Gabriel to the back door and, as the porch light caught his bare back, she saw a tattoo of two white angel wings spread across his shoulder blades.