Page 49 of When Monsters Rise
Silence, heavy and ominous, presses in on me.
Ihave nothing to lose.Ifthey smite me now, then so be it, butIknow deep in my gut that they won’t do that.Theyneed me.I’mthe only celestial who can matchShemyazawhen he is at full power which, if he gets theMorningstarfragments, he will be.
SoIpush. “Youpromised to restore me to power ifIbrought youShemyaza’shead.ButIcannot complete this task without the power.Makeme whole now andIcan give you what you want.Ican stop theMorningstarbeing reassembled.Thisworld is our home now, andIwillnotbe torn from it.”
“Itseems that we have underestimated your loyalty once again,Michael.You’recorrect.Timeis running short.Gabrieland his sympathizers have escaped.”
Icecrystallizes in my lungs. “What?”
“Wecannot expend resources to find them.Ourfocus must remain on theMorningstarand onShemand…there is more…”Thetension in the air spikes, andIwait. “Thereis more to theMorningstarthan anyone knows.Somethingthat we discovered a long time ago, and if you are to succeed in your mission, then you must be made aware of it also.Onceyou know the truth, there is no turning back.Wewill restore you.Makeyou our champion.Ourvoice.Ourhand.Butonce you claim this honor, there is no turning back.Doyou want it?”
Maybethere is no need to betray them.Noneed to take the helm whenIcan steer the ship regardless. “Yes.Yes,Iwant it.”
Chapter23
RUE
Myhead ached with a dull throb butI’dtaken some pain relievers, so it should calm down soon.Still,Ineeded quiet, and the interview room was perfect for that.Icurled up on the floor using a backpack as a pillow and relaxed.
Channelinghad taken it out of me big time.
“You’llfeel better soon,”Jilyanasaid from the doorway. “Yourbody is healing.Ican see it.”
Isat up slowly, nursing my head. “Seeit?”
“Yes…your aura…”Shecrossed the room and lowered herself onto the floor beside me. “It’shard to explain, but there is energy around all living things, and it has various colors.Thecolors mean different things.Yoursis wounded right now, but there are areas of regeneration, so you are healing.Butyour friend…”Shecaught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Thehuman male you are close to…Bastian, is it?”
“Iknow.He’sdying.”Itwas the first timeI’dsaid it out loud, admitted it, and a cold numbness spread through me. “Weall know.”
Shenodded slowly. “IwishIcould heal him, but his body isn’t wounded in a way that can be healed.It’sas if…as if the damage has been sewn into the fabric of his being, and even if it was fixed it would spawn once again.”Shefrowned. “Ican’t understand how that can be.”
“Thesweeper serum caused it.Thecelestials gave it to us to allow us to wield celestial blades and kill the monsters.Apparently, it contains a little celestial light which…well, it’s harmful to humans.”Mysoul was woven with a fragment ofShemyaza’s.IfI’dbeen a sweeper,I’dhave been safe from the harmful effects.Notthat it mattered now. “Itmakes no sense because the celestials are somehow using human emotion to create celestial energy.Howcan something thatcomesfrom us be harmful to us?”
“Energyin one form can be safe, useful even, but if it’s altered, it can be harmful, kill even.I’msorry this has happened to you.”
“Yes…me too.”
“Iwish thatIcould help.”Shefell into silence for a while. “Iwant to do good,” she said abruptly.Thenshe tucked in her chin with a sigh. “Ineed to do good to make up for…everything.”Whenshe looked up, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Iloved him.Itruly did.”
“IthinkMichaelloved you too, in his own way.Hejust…loved himself more.”
Shelicked her lips nervously. “No, notMichael…Shem.Ifell in love with him, and it was stronger than whatIfelt forMichael.”
Myheart sank, butIwasn’t surprised.I’dsensed this. “Youcouldn’t have loved him that much.Youbetrayed him, after all.”Mywords came out sharper than intended.
Sheflinched. “Ihad no choice.IfI’dbacked out, then they would have killed me.”
Shehad no idea how love worked. “Maybeit’s different for humans, but when we love someone, truly love someone, we would give our lives to protect them in a heartbeat.”
Sheexhaled heavily. “You’reright.Weare different.Maybeyou are what he needs.I’mglad he’s found happiness with you, andIhope that one day he can forgive me for whatIdid.”
“Ihope so too.”
Beepopped her head into the room. “We’reback.”
* * *
Wehad a bus.Anactual vehicle to get these people to safety.Yes, we’d have to go on foot part of the way, but this increased the odds of getting everyone to the church alive.
