CHAPTER 15

Patience had never been Julia's strong suit. And just sitting on a rock, in the middle of a desert, of all places, anxiously awaiting news on Kael's wellbeing, was thwarting her to no end.

Julia annoyed James with yet another frustrated glare, the tenth one in under twenty minutes. "What is happening in there, and why is it taking so long?" she blurted through clenched teeth as she fixed her gaze on the warehouse. It was a massive building in the middle of nowhere, which was situated a distance away from where she and James sat waiting.

"Not a clue, love. I can't understand why they won't even allow me in. Me! So many unnecessary rules in the Kingdom, I tell you," James responded agitatedly.

"Just tell me he's going to be okay." Her words came out in a raspy whisper filled with emotion.

"I suggest you start praying," James remarked. "You don't seem like the praying type. So now's a good time to start."

Julia's mouth hung open. What an insensitive jerk. James clearly did not fit her imaginary profile of angels. "Of course, I pray!" She blurted. But seeing him simply shrug his shoulders made her realise it was no use arguing with him. So instead, she glanced over at the warehouse again. At this rate, she would know how to draw the massive steel structure in her sleep. If they were any closer to it, she would probably be counting all the screws.

She huffed and finally jumped up, which only added to James's ferociously growing agitation. Then she started to circle around their space of confinement, pacing back and forth.

"Can you just stop that!" he growled at her.

She ignored him. This pacing helped her to get rid of the pent-up energy that was rampaging through her.

"Wait a minute, what is that?" she stopped pacing and cuffed her ears to enhance the sound.

"What?"

"Listen – can't you hear that sound?"

At first, James lazily glanced around, not taking her seriously. But then he heard it too. Immediately he leapt off the rock. "That's the sound of many, many wings flapping. Too many." His eyes flew wide open with concern.

Julia noticed his astonished look. "And taking from your expression, that's not a good thing. Why?" She nervously awaited his response, which never came.

Instead, James gazed upwards, frantically searching the skies.

Julia joined in his search. Then she saw them. Hundreds and hundreds of angels flew toward them. They were dressed in white and were all wielding swords in their hands. As they drew closer Julia recognized their leader. It was Michael. That was strange. She had assumed Michael was inside the warehouse with Kael.

Minutes later, the horde of angels descended, landing near to where she and James stood watching. Michael shouted out orders, which she could not quite make out, and then he came marching towards them.

James ran to meet him halfway. "Michael, what is going on? I thought you were in the warehouse with Kael. Why are all your warrior angels here with you?"

Michael continued to head towards Julia as he replied, "war is what is going on."

"War? What do you mean war?" James blurted, trying to catch up to the large strides the archangel took. For each step that Michael took James had to take three.

Of all things that baffled Julia of late, this last word baffled her the most. Had she heard correctly. Had Michael just said 'war'? She glanced over at James as they approached her, and a shudder rippled through her when she saw his face drained of all color.

"Brace yourselves for very soon, we will be confronted by hordes of demons and their dark angels," Michael informed them, a dark glimmer in his eyes.

"I don't understand. Why are they coming here? And how did they find us anyway?" Julia was astounded. Meeting angels was one thing, but meeting Satan was an entirely different ballgame. One she did not want to be a part of, never mind watch.

"God summoned Satan here." Was Michael's swift response.

"You're kidding me. God and Satan are coming here?" James's hands flew to the top of his head in dismay.

Michael turned around to face his army who had followed him. "Fall in line. Stand ready," he bellowed.

Then he turned around again to face James. "Sadly, the time has come for a higher power intervention, my dear brother. But it's the only way forward, even though I'm afraid it's going to come at a hefty price."

"What price?" James asked, dreading the answer, even though he knew what that answer would be.

"War, James, war," Michael replied. "We will first be engaged in warfare before Satan arrives. I know the devil's tactics. He will use this summoning as an advantage to ensure that his demons and fallen angels take out as many of our angels as they possibly can before he makes his grand appearance to speak with God."

"How can you be sure that Satan will come?" It didn't make sense to Julia. Perhaps this was all just a bad dream, or she was watching a really bad horror movie.

"He has no choice," Michael informed her. "He might be mighty and powerful, but God is almighty, and he knows it."

When Julia's frown continued to shout 'clueless', Michael added, "which means he has to be submissive unto God."

"I don't understand. If God truly is almighty, why doesn't He just put an end to this evil once and for all, and before there are any more causalities." Her eyes tore through him in defiance and then started tearing up as she thought of Kael – suffering and dying – and for what? What was the purpose of this fight between good and evil? Why couldn't everyone just be good and kind and caring? It frustrated her to no end.

James replied, as if reading her mind, "it's called free will, love. Personally, I think free will is highly overrated and really, a big mistake leaving souls with their own will, but who am I to argue with the rules?" James shrugged his shoulders.

Suddenly light blue skies turned dark as a massive black cloud approached them, bringing with it the deafening sound of wings flapping. Everyone looked upwards and glumly watched as black-winged angels, most of them carrying knife-wielding demons in their arms, descended upon them. A foul smell of rot and metal accompanied them. It scorched her lungs and make her want to throw up.

She watched in fear and disgust as they approached.

Michael addressed her with urgency in his voice. "You need to get out of here." Then he turned his gaze to James. "Take her to the other side of the warehouse, but not too close. Stay as far away from the warehouse as possible. Is that clear? It's not safe for her to be too close to that place right now."

"What do you mean, what's in the warehouse, other than Kael?" Julia wanted to know.

Michael ignored her question.

"James!" His voice thundered his command, but it failed to elicit the appropriate response from James.

Instead, James defied his command. "Come on, Michael. I want to fight alongside you again. For years we fought together. Let me help you fight these vermin."

"Please do as I say," Michael insisted. "You need to protect Julia, no matter the cost. And under no circumstances is she to enter that warehouse, is that understood? It will be the death of her."

Huffing, James grabbed Julia, lifted her into his arms, and took off, flying them in the opposite direction of the warehouse.

As he set her down, a little too roughly, they heard the crashing and colliding of swords, followed by the cries of the dying.

Julia ran to get a better view of the fighting and was horrified at what she saw. It was a massacre. Angels and demons alike were falling like dominoes.

"I thought that angels couldn't die," she cried, a river of tears spilling down her cheeks and her throat swollen with emotion.

"Being immortal doesn't mean we can't die. It just means we don't age. We can live forever if we don't get killed by demons, although it's easier said than done. We angels are tough. Of course, healers like Kael never die."

"Except Kael is dying because of that poison – or maybe he's dead already." Julia couldn't breathe at the mere thought of losing Kael. She crumbled to her knees. "This can't be happening. What is going to happen to us all – heaven, earth?"

James was too enthralled in the fighting to comfort Julia. "Wow – just look at Michael slice through that dark horde as if they were mere butter, so effortlessly, so fast, so powerful. Did you see that, look, he's leaving a trail of darkness behind him?"

"What is wrong with you?" Julia was aghast at his apparent enjoyment of war.

"What? I can't help it. Being a warrior is in my blood. Anyway, you have to admit, that is awesome."

Julia reluctantly raised her head to take a peek. When an angel died, whether they were a dark angel or not, their wings faded away, leaving behind only a shadow of an imprint of wings in the sand, and all that remained were bodies that appeared to be that of normal humans. If the police showed up, it would appear to have been a massacre of humans. No one would be the wiser. She wondered if all angels were human before becoming angels. Had all these angels died in the past? That would clearly baffle the police. But then she remembered archangel Michael and his pure celestial features. No, there was no way he had first been human. There were probably angels who were chosen to become angels after dying, and then there were born angels. Satisfied with that conclusion she continued to watch the scene taking place in front of her. As horrifying as it was, she could not tear her gaze away from it. She hadn't realized until now that she had been wailing out loud, yet she remained glued to the spot, kneeling in the dirt, watching in terror. She hadn't even realised that she had sunk to her knees.

"Julia!" James suddenly grabbed her. "Quick, Taria and Drake have spotted us and they're heading our way."

James scanned the area quickly in search of a hiding place. Bigger rocks perhaps. But there was nothing but sand, a few smaller rocks, and the warehouse. So, despite Michael's dire warning to keep away, he pulled Julia into his arms and started to fly towards the warehouse.

But suddenly, a magnificent light protruded from the warehouse windows, followed by a deafening sound of thunder. The light was so magnificent that everyone had to shield their eyes. It was worse for Julia. The pain was unbearable. She screamed.

James made a rough landing and quickly covered her with his wings.

Then the light was gone, followed by an encroaching silence. Fearful glances spread like wildfire for a moment before the fighting resumed.

Taria stood up, shook the dirt off her black leather pants, and glared at Julia. Her wicked grin paralyzed Julia for a second.

James grabbed a stone and threw it at Taria, but it missed. She rewarded him with a mocking laugh. Drake approached them, sword in hand, and targeted James.

There was nothing James could do, short of flying Julia out of there. He dashed towards Julia but before he could reach her, Taria grabbed him and Drake held his sword at James's heart, a devilish glint flickering in his eyes, matching his evil grin.

"Get Adrio here now. He needs to get us the hell out of here," Taria ordered Drake. He immediately obeyed her instructions and withdrew his horn to summon the dark angel.

James thought he could use this opportunity to hurl another rock at Taria but stopped dead in his tracks. His blood solidified as he saw Taria holding a knife at Julia's throat.

Seconds later, a swish distracted them as a large angel with charcoal black wings swooped down, lifting both Taria and Julia into his arms, before soaring high up into the sky.

Drake smirked before blowing on his horn, using a different melody, to summons his own transporter to fly him out of there.

James looked on helplessly. He could fly after them, but how could he fight off all four of them, two demons as well as two dark angels? Well, he should at least try, no matter how it ended for him. Michael said protect her no matter the cost.

He was just about to take off when the large double doors of the warehouse flung wide open, followed by a loud whoosh. Was that Kael who just flew past him? No, it couldn't be. He strained his eyes to get a better look. Yes, that was indeed Kael. He's alive! James couldn't remember when last he had been this happy to see the Overseer.

Kael soared high into the sky, taking off like a rocket with a purpose – to save Julia. His wings were superior to those of the dark angels, and he had the added advantage of not having the heavy load of carrying the weights of both Taria and Julia in his arms, so catching up to them was effortless.

When Taria saw Kael approach, she gasped, and almost lost her grip. "That's impossible." She shook her head in denial, then shouted, "you're supposed to be dead." As she yelled, her anger distorting her face.

"Thanks to God I'm still alive." Kael showered her with a victorious smile, before grabbing Julia out of the bewildered dark angel's grip. He then turned and kicked the dumbfounded Taria in the gut. She buckled in pain almost blacking out. Kael then sent another powerful kick their way, this time hitting the angel transporting them, and it sent them both plunging into the Drake and his dark angel. The force of Kael's kick was so great that it sent the three of them plunging to the ground. It wasn't long before he heard a loud thump as they hit the ground. A cloud of dust engulfed them.

Kael turned his attention to Julia, whom he held tightly in his arms. "Miss me?" he grinned.

She greeted him with a gaping glare. "You're alive," she finally managed, choking back tears.

"You doubted?" Kael teased.

"That's not fair. Even Michael doubted."

"True. But God is great," Kael stated with pride and admiration.

"You mean God really was in that warehouse?"

"Yep." He continued to grin as he regarded her. "Hold on tight." He then pulled her closer to him before flying them away, away from the warehouse, away from the raging celestial warfare, and away from the desert.

"Where are you taking me?" She was ecstatic. Actually, she was better than ecstatic. He could fly her around the world for all she cared, as long as he never let her go. It was in his arms that she wished to remain for all eternity. It felt like home.

"Far from here – to a place where they can never find you," he replied, a subdued look now replacing his grin.

"Will you stay with me?" she asked him, hopeful.

Kael looked at her for a long moment and Julia recognized the look in his eyes. Her heart sank. She knew what his answer was going to be even before he uttered the words.

"I can't, Jules. I'm needed here."

She forced a smile and tried to blink away her tears, but she had no strength to stop them because the agony of her sorrow and yearning painfully crushed her heart. He was alive but he would never be hers to love and cherish. To avoid him seeing her cry, she laid her head on his shoulder and remained quiet for the rest of the journey.