Level Seven
Kara debriefed for hours back at operations. Gabriel was speechless when she told him she could touch the elemental without the silver gloves. But when she got to the part where a golden beam shot out from her hand—Gabriel stopped blinking. The three oracles writing up the reports fainted and fell off their crystals.
“Golden light shot out of your hand?”
“Yup.”
“It—it came out of your hand?”
“Yes, like I told you … it just sort of came out … and bam!—Asmodeus went flying. Then he started to shake and twitch. He was all covered in a golden light and then he vanished. I’m sure that’s happened before, right? Um—are you okay? You look like a little freaked out?”
“I have to speak to the council of ministers. Stay here.” Gabriel stormed out of the tent.
“Okay …?” Kara watched him disappear beyond the red dunes.
A few hours later, an oracle found her and told her to present herself to level six, where the council of ministers awaited her.
She had succeeded in her mission, her life-quest. Soon she would be reunited with her mother, back in her old mortal body. She needed to make up for all the years she had wronged her mother—her mother who has been a guardian angel all along. She was restless. She ran all the way back to the elevator.
Kara followed the oracle down the platform towards the entrance to the council of minister’s chamber. Her mind flashed back to Asmodeus and wondered if she should tell the council that he had given her the mark. But she decided against it. It didn’t matter anymore, she was going home.
The oracle pulled open the metal door to the building and rolled himself back out of the way.
Kara stepped inside.
Cheers exploded all around her, like a sudden burst of thunder. In the thousands, the entire Legion of guardian angels was gathered along the length of the hall to welcome her back. The thousands of clapping hands sounded like firecrackers. She walked through the crowds. She saw angels pushing and shoving each other just to get a look at her. She saw a young angel fall flat on her face in a faint.
“Look, it’s her! That’s Kara Nightingale!”
“The one who beat Asmodeus!”
“She saved the elemental!”
“She saved us all!”
Kara couldn’t help but laugh. It was strange to have her own paparazzi.
The oracle ploughed his way through the mob and down the hall to the large council doors. He pushed them open and rolled to the side. Kara left the crowd behind and entered the council chamber. The doors shut behind her.
One by one, the council members stood up and started clapping. Embarrassed, she looked to the floor. A long red carpet spread all the way down to the dais. She’d never thought that one day she’d be walking down a red carpet.
Kara followed the red carpet until she was near the dais. Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel and Michael stood at the head of the council table, their faces cracked in wide grins. Kara turned her head to her right and saw David. She couldn’t believe she had forgotten about him. She felt a tingling of hope. He made his way over to her, smiling broadly. His perfect face was just as she had last seen it. But his eyes seemed darker than usual. She saw a trace of sadness in them.
He stopped at her side and passed his hands through his hair. Lifting his head high, he squared his shoulders. “You did good—and I think you scared the crap out of everyone—”
Kara gestured with her hand. “But I’m okay. See. Still in one piece. So—what happens with Lucky? Is he going to be okay?” She remembered his tiny smiling face and realized that she missed him.
“He’s fine. A family of Sensitives took him in. They’ll take good care of him, don’t worry. They’re the best mortal guardians the little elemental could ask for.”
“I guess so.” Kara studied David’s face, searching for a whisper of some sort of affection—anything which might give her the hope she desired. The smallest spark would suffice.
Their eyes locked for a moment, and David looked quickly away. “I’m—I’m sorry, Kara. I should have believed you—I’m such a jackass. Will you ever forgive me?”
Kara felt her bottom lip start to shake. “Of course I forgive you. Besides, what would I do without my favorite jackass?” She strained to keep her true feelings hidden.
David laughed. He fumbled with the zipper on his jacket. “So … have you decided what you’re going to do? Are you staying … or going …?”
Kara felt a strange prickling on her cheeks reminiscent of a flush. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed. “You know what I’ve always wanted. I want to go back home—to my mother. I need to take care of her. It’s like—I feel I was robbed by having only sixteen years on earth. I want to experience life, my mortal life. I want to do all the stupid things that young people do. I need that—before I die—again. I have the chance to get my life back just as it was before I died. I’m going to take that chance.”
She felt a sharp pain in her chest. She was glad that angels couldn’t cry, otherwise her face would be soaked.
David dropped his shoulders. He was silent for a long moment. “I know. If I had the chance to go back one last time—I’d want to go back too. I miss my dad’s purple face when he’d yell at me for using the car.” He shoved his hands in his front pockets.
“I just wanted to check.”
“Maybe we’ll meet again?” Kara asked, trying not to sound too desperate.
“I know we will. You can count on that.” He looked over to the dais. “They’re waiting for you.” He stepped back.
Kara stared at David. There was so much she wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come. Some cleared their throats. She turned her head towards the council.
Dressed in red robes, Uriel lifted his arms before the crowd. His long sleeves brushed the black marble desk. “Welcome, guardian angels, to the council of ministers,” his voiced echoed throughout the chamber, bouncing off the walls. “We are gathered here at this hour for a special celebration—a celebration of life and of the success of a life-quest. I’m honored to present to you all, Kara Nightingale—a rookie guardian angel that has saved us from great peril. Without her, we would be lost.”
Kara pursed her lips, her eyes wide as she continued to stare at Uriel.
“She has shown us the true meaning of courage and devotion—a true guardian angel.” Uriel stretched a long arm in Kara’s direction and beckoned her to come forward. “Come, Kara Nightingale.”
Kara stepped up onto the dais before Uriel. She bent her head back and looked up into his face. She watched him turn around momentarily to pick up a shiny golden medal on a fine golden chain.
“Kara Nightingale,” declared Uriel. “It is with great honor, that we, the council of ministers, award you with a life-quest. This medal celebrates our world’s highest honor.” He slipped the chain over Kara’s head and smiled. “We are forever grateful to you.” He stepped back and clapped. The rest of the council members joined in and clapped enthusiastically.
Kara clasped the medal with her hands, feeling its smooth surface against her palm. She moved it around so that it caught the light. She traced her fingers around the silhouette of a person with widespread wings. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
After a moment, the clapping slowly died and Uriel cleared his throat.
“And now we must discuss something that is most important.” He looked at her with kind eyes.
“Gabriel and I have had a long chat with the council members about the events leading to your rescue of the elemental. We have learned of your extraordinary abilities—abilities which are unknown to us—since the very beginning of Horizon, no angel has ever touched an elemental and survived."
Kara fidgeted on the spot. She felt something was wrong. “So … what are you saying? That it was a mistake to touch that little boy? I had to do something to save him—I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“Let me explain. That golden beam you conjured against Asmodeus—that is an elemental’s power. Only elementals have that kind of immense energy. We believe that your soul is part elemental, Kara. It explains why you were able to touch the child without your Sparks. It explains how you were able to vanquish Asmodeus. It would have taken a team of our most skilled guardians to challenge the demon lord—yet you faced him alone—and vanquished him.
“You are special, Kara. You have powers—strong and wild powers, that have the potential to do great things. And that is very unfortunate. You see, Asmodeus desires power above all else, and now he has had a taste of yours. He will stop at nothing to try and possess it.”
“Wait a minute—I killed Asmodeus!” said Kara. “I saw him die with my own eyes. He’s dead, I swear he is—”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Asmodeus is not dead, but simply weakened. We have gathered information from our Scouts which tell us he is back in the Netherworld—weak, but still alive.
“We must send you back to Earth for your own protection,” he continued. “You cannot stay here in Horizon, vulnerable and exposed to traitors. We still do not know your full potential, Kara. And while we ponder this, we need to keep you hidden and safe. Asmodeus and his demons will not be able to find you if you are hidden in your mortal body. He will search for you in Horizon.”
Kara’s eyes flicked at David. He stood tall, his strong shoulders back, his eyes fixed on the council. She didn’t know why, but she waited, staring at him. After a second or so she turned to face the council. “So—am I going to remember any of this? When I’m back on Earth, will I remember you, or me—the fact that Asmodeus wants to kill me? Any of this?”
“No,” said Uriel softly. “Once you are back within your own mortal body, you will have no memories of your time spent in Horizon. You won’t remember a thing.”
She remembered her kiss with David. She was sorry she wouldn’t remember it—it was such a good kiss. But something else occurred to her. “What about my mother? I want to remember that I know she’s a guardian. I mean—does she know what’s happened to me?”
“Your mother knows about the situation. She will look after you. But for your own protection, your memory will be erased. A group of guardian angels have already been assigned to look after you while you are on Earth.”
Kara opened her mouth to protest, but shut it again. She knew that things would be different this time around—that she would eventually figure out that her mother was special.
“But,” said Kara, “will I ever come back here? To Horizon?”
“Of course.”
A hint of a smile reached Uriel’s lips. “When the time is right, we will call upon your services as a guardian of the Legion again. I’m sure that we will need your special talents again. But for now, it is best that you return to Earth.”
“Okay. I understand.”
“Although you will be sadly missed by your friends—” Uriel’s eyes darted to David and back to Kara, “we believe it is the right decision.”
He studied her for a moment and then addressed the council. “Let us give our thanks to our fellow angel, Kara Nightingale—who has surpassed all obstacles and proven herself to be a true and devoted soldier. She shall be missed. We salute you!”
Loud voices echoed from the chamber walls as the council members repeated, “We salute you!”
Kara felt very small. She fumbled with her medal. Her eyes fell on David, who beamed at her. She couldn’t help but to grin back.
Uriel clapped his hands together. “It is time, Kara. Report to level seven.”
Kara turned and was immediately lifted in the air in a bear hug.
“See you soon,” said David. He let Kara go and stepped back.
She looked into his eyes. Her body tingled, “I hate goodbyes—I never know what to say.” Her eyes flicked to the council for a moment. She fumbled with her fingers. “Plus, we have an audience.”
“It’ll be okay, we’ll see each other soon enough.”
“Just try to behave, David. And don’t piss off any of the archangels.”
“I won’t, if they don’t.”
“God, you’re such a baby,” she laughed. Part of her wished she could stay. But she knew it was impossible. She sighed and looked into his eyes. “Goodbye David.”
“Bye Kara.”
As Kara rode in the sky-car back to the elevator her mind was a storm of thoughts. She was part elemental. She had these extraordinary powers. David was her friend again. And best of all, she would be with her mother very soon. The only down side was that Asmodeus was still alive. She tried not to think about their next encounter.
After a short ride, she jumped off the sky-car and hopped into the elevator. To her surprise, it was chimp 5M51 at the controls. He lifted his eyebrows at the sight of her.
“Oh, it’s you,” said the chimp.
Kara made a face. “Oh, it’s you, too!” she spat. She stepped to the back of the elevator.
Chimp 5M51 scratched his butt. “I’m told to bring you to level seven?” He eyed her suspiciously. “Not many guardian angels get to go to that level. Why are you so special?” He frowned as he studied her.
Kara lifted her chin. “Well, I am.” Her body tingled in excitement.
“Um—did you ever meet the Chief? What’s he like?”
“I have no idea, miss. I have never met him.”
“Oh.”
The chimp sighed and turned his attention to the control panel. “Level seven—the Chief!” Kara watched as his long finger pressed on the brass number seven button.
The elevator rocked slightly as it ascended higher. Kara felt a mixture of excitement and regret. She was excited to go home again, but she already missed David, and her life in Horizon. It was impossible to know if she’d ever see him again, and that left a mark on her soul.
The elevator shook and stopped.
“Level seven!” cried chimp 5M51.
Kara pushed herself off the panel with her hands and walked up to the elevator doors. Her eyes flicked at the chimp. He raised his eyebrows and stuck out his tongue.
She shook her head and laughed. “Moron.”
With a swish, the doors swung open. Immediately, blinding white light spilled into the tiny elevator. Kara covered her eyes. A few seconds later, her eyes adjusted and a feeling of warmth spread through her body.
This is it, she said to herself. I’m going home.
She stepped into the light.