Chapter 4

~A few minutes prior~

Rebecca and Sarah gather up their bags and offer Pravuil a sympathetic look and start walking to the library doors.

A sharp pain struck both of them at once bringing them to their knees. Their hands scrabbled at their necks as if something was tightening like a noose.

"Girls! What's happening?"

Pravuil ran to their sides and laid a hand on their shoulders. Through this connection he could see Gretchen slowly being strangled to death by a fallen warrior.

As quickly as the pain came it left just as fast. Both girls leaned over and coughed hectically. Air slowly filling their lungs.

Before breaking the connection from the girls Pravuil had seen a brilliant pair of iridescent wings blot out even the radiance of the sun. A sound resonated thru the walls of the school like a high keening noise.

Archangels thought out the building grabbed their heads in pain and cried out as a surge of holy power rushed thru each of them.

Rebecca and Sarah pushed up from the floor and race out the doors to find their best friend.

A gentle thrumming reached out as a warm embrace and caressed Gretchen's body. Every nerve in her body felt flooded with overwhelming peace. It was like she was curled up on a bed with the thickest blankets. She drifted in that quiet space between waking and dreaming.

A steady humming pulsed thru her body disturbing the serene comfort. Slowly her eyes blinked open. Surrounding her are walls of white that seemed to almost shimmer. Closing her eyes she could see the brightness thru her eyelids, but yet the light didn't irritate her vision.

Her limbs were so sluggish. It was like they were moving thru water. Small flashes of pain licked her skin as if salt had gotten into an open cut. She couldn't figure out though why she would be in pain. She was in a peaceful place. Something was wrong, but she could not place what it was.

Taking a deep breath thru her nose she coughed violently as the cold air rushed down her throat. She forced herself to breathe slower just so the painful irritation would stay to a minimum. Tenderly she brushed her fingertips along her neck wincing as sore spots seemed to run in lines circling her throat.

Pulling her fingers back a glint of red staining her fingernails caught her attention. She brought her fingers closer to her face and stared at them in confusion. Why was there blood down the backs of her hands and under her fingernails. What the hell happened to her?

Her body felt so weak as she made herself sit up and take a better look around. It was as if she was in a white void. She called out into the whiteness hoping to catch someone's attention. She couldn't be alone here. Gretchen croaked in surprise when all that came out from her lips was a hoarse whisper that had her gripping her throat.

"Well damn." she thought, "so much for asking for a glass of water, or a where the hell am I question." Scooting to the edge of the platform she had been laying on her feet dangled barely brushing the tips of her toes across the floor.

She wrapped her fingers over the edge of the table and leaned forward. The floor beneath her was warm to the touch like it was heated from underneath. What had her though was that it looked as hard as stone, but it was softer than silk. She had never felt anything like it. Gripping the edge tighter she slid forward and eased both her feet flat beneath her. It seemed steady enough so she slowly released her fingers and put her whole weight down and tentatively took a step forward. The floor seemed to greet her feet with every new step she took . It was incredible almost like she could skate across the surface and never fall.

She giggled like a child and spun around in circles with no care. Wherever she was at that point she didn't care. She was happy and had no clue the events that led up to her being there now.

As she twirled in place a shape began to emerge behind her out of the void. Step by step it grew clearer until it stood directly behind her swaying form. A slight breeze had Gretchen shivering and pivoting around to locate it's source. She froze in place seeing a set of 4 large iridescent wings flapping in and out of sync causing the air around them to stir and swirl like a windstorm.

She couldn't help the gasp of surprise when she meets a pair of soft green eyes that matched hers identically. The glow surrounding the figure before her made her dizzy. It was so bright that only the piercing gaze penetrated the ephemeral haze lingering around the body.

"How. . . is this possible? Who are you?" Gretchen didn't know how to process this. Within the last few hours her life had been flipped off its axis. Another wave of dizziness had her tumbling back towards the table except a warm hand grabbed ahold of her wrist and a pair of feathery soft wings wrapped around her back holding her up in a steady embrace.

"I believe you already know your own answers, child of my heart."

A brush of light warmed her cheek as if a palm pressed gently against it. Tears sprung from her eyes and dripped steadily down her cheeks as a wave of emotions overtook her. She wept for the innocence that was taken from her and now knowing why. For her baby brother that would suffer as she had.

Sadness turned to frustration and then to anger. Her whole life had been a lie. Her friends, her parents, hell her whole life was one great big cover up. She shook her head in disbelief. She pushed against the wings wrapped around her shoulders. Reluctantly the angel before her released her and watched mournfully as she stomped away as far as she could from him.

"You're right to be angry with me. Much has been kept from you. But you must understand its all been for your safety. I and my brothers did what we had to so as to keep our children from ending the same way your mothers did. It was the only way we could interfere with your destinys. Everything was done with the best of intentions." He tried approaching cautiously. For the first time he could reach out and touch his precious daughter. But his time being corporeal was fading already. There was so much to tell her and to warn her of. Speech was so inexact and would have taken too long.

"Precious Gretchen you are so special. More so than you will believe. I must pass on knowledge to you while you're in between time and space. Will you allow me this?" A hand hung between them outstretched and palm open.

There was so much going on and she felt so lost. A sea of pent up emotions swept her along as she stood staring at his hand. It seemed to waver and fade in front of her eyes.

"Sweet child I don't have much time in this plane. You can trust me." Not waiting and longer he reached out and gripped her arm. The tip of his finger pressed to the middle of her forehead.