Ascended (15 page)

“Lily, I need to know the truth about your daughter. It is imperative that you tell us everything if we are to protect Vie.”

“Vie?” Lily said with an approving smile. She repeated the name to herself. “Yes, I discovered very early on that ‘Violet’ would be much too formal for a soul such as hers. I didn’t even name her; did you know that?” she said with sadness.

“I didn’t,” Gabriel said
, understanding her shame at having abandoned her baby girl.

“Can you tell me how Vie came to be? Who is her father? Why did you leave her on the reservation?” Gabriel fired off his questions
almost without pausing for breath.

He could see Lily was hesitant about answering him
, so he took her hand and said, “Lily, we have risked everything to come here. Please, I need to know the truth.”

While Gabriel didn’t
truly believe there was any chance of Vie having even a shred of evil running through her, he didn’t believe Henry was her father, either. Vie had come to the Gates with powers. That much they knew. She could not have gotten those powers from a mere mortal; they had to have come from somewhere else. From someone else.

“I
’ll tell you everything if you promise me that no matter what you hear, Violet will always have your protection,” Lily said firmly.

“I give you my word, I will always protect Vie with my life, no matter what,” Gabriel replied
, steadfast.

Lily waved her hand
, and they were all teleported to a dark alley in a city far away. It was Chicago, and they were walking down a desolate street filled with hopelessness and despair. They saw drug addicts shaking from withdrawal, prostitutes standing on every corner, and gangbangers roaming in the streets. It was a dismal place.

They were invisible spirits, transparent to the people around them
, because these people could not see any angels in their hopeless world. Lily explained how they remained unseen, saying, “To see an angel, you must see another’s soul. To feel an angel, you must touch another’s soul, and to hear an angel, you must listen to both.”

Lily walked them through each body
, allowing them to feel the pain of each soul as they passed through it. The sea of despair engulfed them like flames. It was an awakening for all of them.

S
he continued her story.

“This is the
place is where he—the Dark One—hunts for souls, and where he found me. I had a very troubled past. I was a child of abuse, born to alcoholic parents living in poverty. I made many bad decisions as a young girl, but one of them was the one I would end up paying for with my life. It led to meeting him: an evil soul who called himself Dimorte.”

Gabriel and Camulus looked at each other, immediately recognizing the man Lily had just named.

“Dimorte came to me at the lowest point in my life; he inhabited my soul and took over my body. He was in control of everything I did and everything I felt. He was in my head, always leading me further down the path of darkness. I lived in a shelter at the time, and one day a counselor paid me a visit. She told me she believed she could help me conquer the demons in my head. Of course I wanted to escape his torture, so I immediately accepted her help. That was when I was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
              “But what they didn’t know was that I didn’t have a mental illness that could be contained with medication; what I had was an evil man housed within me. Dimorte consumed my thoughts, my dreams, and my soul. He proclaimed his love for me and said I would never escape him, telling me we were bonded for eternity. I believed him. One night he came to me and told me it was time for me to join him. I had given up fighting him, and I was ready to take my own life. If I committed suicide he would have me.

“
But in a moment, everything changed. Henry walked into the shelter and into my life. The moment our eyes first met, I knew he was my soul mate. He was captivated by me, as I was by him. He continued to come to the shelter, speaking with me daily, and I came to realize he was the most compassionate man I had ever met. And he wanted to help me! I firmly believed Henry was the only one who could save me from the torture of Dimorte, and I knew this because with each second I spent with him, I could actually feel Dimorte’s hold weakening. I had figured out very quickly that Henry’s love was much more powerful than Dimorte’s evil.

“
I accepted his offer of marriage and moved far away to a place called Newcastle, Wyoming, with Henry Thorne. He saved me that day,” she said, remembering it fondly.

Lily waved her hand and they were again teleported, this time to Newcastle,
Wyoming. She continued her story.

“We were so very happy there. The deep love Henry and I shared seemed to have the ability to flush out the evil that had devoured my soul. I didn’t hear voices any longer
, and I didn’t feel Dimorte’s presence within me any longer, either. Henry had truly chased all my demons away, or so I thought. A few years after we were married, the voices returned. I tried to suppress them but I couldn’t; his power was much greater than mine. I started thinking perhaps the doctors had been right about the schizophrenia, so I sought out the services of a friend, a counselor named Katherine Stone. She tried to help me, but nothing she did could make him stop. He continued to haunt my every thought. I wanted to run, to hide, but I couldn’t let him win, so I stayed and kept what was happening to me a secret from Henry.

“One night, while Henry and I were sharing an intimate moment, I heard his voice again. He was calling my name and telling me he would never let me go. I closed my eyes and continued making love to my husband
, hoping and praying that the Dark One would leave. I kept telling Henry I loved him, and I held him close and tight to my body, desperately trying to keep Dimorte away. When Henry finished, I opened my eyes and saw Dimorte, not Henry, lying on top of me.

“Things only got worse from that day on. Nothing felt right. I was getting sick all the time, I was tired
, and Henry was worried. He convinced me to see a doctor and we went together to the appointment. Imagine my horror when I learned I was pregnant. Henry was thrilled about the news, but I couldn’t get the image of Dimorte’s face out of my mind. A few months into my pregnancy, I had an ultrasound which concluded that I was not just carrying one baby, but two. That was when I knew for sure Dimorte had planted his seed of evil in my womb.

“Months passed
, and Henry was leaving for a retreat with the church. There was a storm coming that night and I was home alone. Dimorte appeared to me, taunting me about the babies I was carrying. He confirmed what I had already felt: one of the babies conceived that awful night belonged to him. He kept saying we would both be his forever. Naturally, I was upset and I tried to run to get away from him.”

Lily waved her hand
, and again we were teleported, this time to the Lakota Indian Reservation.

“I called Katherine Stone
, frantically needing help seeing as how I’d just gone into labor. I knew she would come and I also knew she would keep my secrets, since she was bound by her code of ethics as my counselor.

“
The next thing I remember was the Chief carrying me into their clinic and the babies being born. They placed Vivian in my arms and I knew she was the baby conceived lovingly between Henry and myself. Then came Violet…calm, cool, and collected, right out of the womb. They brought her to me and all I could see were Dimorte’s eyes, the devil-red eyes of evil.

“I made the
difficult decision to leave her there on the reservation to keep her safe. Yes, I abandoned Violet, but it was not because I didn’t love her. It was because I wanted to protect her. The Chief was wise and he knew evil when he saw it, so I told him about my life, the baby, and how obsessed Dimorte was with me. The Chief reassured me that the reservation was on sacred ground, grounds that not even an evil as powerful as Dimorte could enter.

“The Chief was encouraging.
He said he had seen the evil in my baby, but he also saw a light. He promised me he would protect the baby and banish the evil from within. I believed he had the power to heal Violet, and I knew he would keep her safe. If I had taken her off the reservation, Dimorte would have swallowed her soul.” She waved her hand and the Guardians were teleported back to the Gates.

“Now you have the truth you’ve been seeking. Guard it with your lives.”

The four Guardians looked at each other, completely confused about what had just happened. They found themselves standing in Camulus’ chambers as if they had never left.

They all sat
, quiet, for a moment. Raphael finally spoke. “Okay, so we know the truth. Now what?”

“We find Violet and tell her what we know,” Gabriel said
, sure about it.

“Gabriel, perhaps you may want to think about that one for a while. I
’m still trying to process it all myself,” Camulus said.

“No, we tell her now. I can’t keep this from her
. She needs to know who she is, and she deserves the truth. You remember what happened the last time we tried to conceal the truth from her. I won’t betray her again,” Gabriel said.

“Wait
, Gabe. There’s something you need to know,” Fallon said.

“What is it
, Fallon?” he asked.

“I tried to tell you earlier
, but you were so angry. It’s about Vivian, Vie’s sister…she’s dead,” Fallon informed him.

“Oh my
God. Vie!” Gabriel said, running out of the room to find her.

Chapter Thirteen

Reunited

Carter bolted to the T
ower, hoping he would find what he was looking for when he reached the top. Although he wasn’t certain what finding the violets would bring, he was absolutely positive that Vie was using the poem to communicate with him. Carter noticed he was lagging; he was still weak from the depletion of his energy during his efforts to keep Vivian alive, but he pushed on in spite of it. Just the thought of connecting with Vie was a driving force for him.

He
reached the second plateau and now had the Tower in his sights. He stood on the ridge and just stared at the massive rock for a moment. It was daunting to look at. He thought back for a moment to the memory of Vie’s eyes staring at him as the Tower rose up and disappeared into the sky, taking the person he held most dear with it. All in one brief moment, the girl he loved had vanished from his world again. He shivered, reminiscing about that moment and the scar it had left on his soul.

Just then
an envious wind crept by like an unwelcome thought, picking up intensity as it moved across the plateau. He looked up at the sky and watched the dark clouds rolling in fast, the thunder rumbling overhead; the storm came out of nowhere.

Carter knew he had
to move quickly. Climbing the Tower would be tough enough without his gear; he didn’t need the challenge of a storm as well. Without warning, the ground began to shake and the plateau parted.
An earthquake?
Carter thought, trying to maintain his balance. But deep down, he knew it wasn’t an earthquake at all; something powerful was trying to stop him from getting up that Tower.

He started to slide down the plateau to get
to the valley, but everything below his feet began to shift. He held on with all his might, determined not to succumb to the force working against him. For a moment, it seemed like the work of Lucian, but Carter knew it couldn’t be. Lucian was gone.
Or was he?
Carter wondered.

Just the very thought of
Lucian provoked an intensity in Carter that surprised him. He found himself thinking back to a conversation he’d had with Raphael about the day he would get his wings.

Raphael had
told him that, until he fully matured, the gift of flight would only come when it was absolutely necessary. He’d warned Carter never to rely on his wings unless there was no other option.

Carter was torn, uncertain about what to do
, with little faith in his instincts. As he clung to the ridge, hanging perilously, he made the decision to let go.

He
began falling fast, hoping and praying that his wings would appear and carry him to safety, but they didn’t. Seconds later, Carter landed with a
smack
, hard, on the ground. “Well at least I’m alive,” he joked with himself, relieved that he was still in one piece. He got up and tried to shake it off, but he was feeling the effects of his energy depletion more than he realized.

He carried on, picking up his pace as the
dense clouds lashed out with their thunderous roars and flashing bolts of lightning. He shot like a bullet through the valley as the rain started pouring down from the sky like a turbulent waterfall, darting faster and faster to dodge the silver pellets until he reached the forest in front of the Tower. He was almost there…almost.

Carter was focused now, his destination within reach.
The closer he got to the Tower, the stronger he felt; adrenaline was pumping through his veins and his heart was practically beating out of his chest. He was getting closer to Vie—he could feel it—and just the thought of her gave him extraordinary strength.

Eagerly he rocketed past the tall ponderosas,
now sidestepping pebbles of hail. Every element of nature was coming at him fast, furiously thrashing him about, trying to defeat him; but Carter was not giving up. Vie was at the end of this journey, and it was a victory he would not relinquish. He could see a clearing up ahead and he slowed to a walk as he approached the opening, catching his breath. He had arrived. He was finally gazing up from the base of the intimidating rock he knew as Devils Tower.

Ready or not
, he thought as he stared down the massive rock. He dug in and began his ascent. Now that he was out in the open, unprotected by the trees, he felt the sting of the hail pelting his skin. The ridges of the Tower were so wet and muddy that he was having a hard time finding traction. For every one step he took forward, he slid back three, fighting hard but getting nowhere fast. “Damn it!” he shouted, slamming the side of the Tower with his fist.

The Chief stood positioned in the rain, unaffected by its fury and confident that Carter would prevail in his quest. He was joined by his wife, Matoaka.
“Waka
knows not his power?” she said as they watched the storm thrash beyond the plateau.

“Ugh
,” he uttered, still observing Carter’s distress. “Yes
,
Waka’s
powers are untamed at the moment but he will find control soon enough, Mama.” The mischievous grin planted on his face said he was almost certain of it. The Chief knew the proof that Carter’s powers were running wild was in the storm. Carter thought the severe weather was the product of something evil trying to stop him from reaching the Tower, but in fact, it was just the opposite. These bumps in the road that challenged Carter were not created by Lucian, but by Carter himself. Nature was simply reacting to his unstable emotions and lack of control over his own powers.

The ground rumbled because Carter was shaken to t
he core by just looking at the Tower; it intimidated him wholly. The plateau split in half because Carter was torn about listening to his own instincts. The roars of the thunder and bolts of lightning were reacting to the turmoil and chaos within him. The hail represented rain turning from water to ice, similar to Carter: the closer he got to the Tower, the more harshly determined he grew. He’d started out his journey soft and weak, like silver droplets of steady rain; now he was stronger, harder, and colder, like the icy hail that pelted from above. As he changed from confusion and disorder to logic and discipline, the elemental conditions were following suit.

Carter lay with his drenched, muddied body resting against a rock. He heard the faint steady beat of tom-toms off in the distance, and lifted his head, listening intently. He was certain it was the powwow drums of the Lakota. He heard a rustling of leaves, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps, and he turned slowly to see what was behind him as the drums beat louder in his ear.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Carter said
, as he looked back, dumbfounded.

There stood a huge brown bear
—the Mato—savagely baring his razor-sharp teeth. Carter eased away, putting his hands out in front of him while taking a few steps back. “Easy…” he said in a calm monotone, trying not to make any sudden moves. The massive beast stood up on its hind legs and growled ferociously at him. The drums beat louder and louder, blaring in Carter’s head. Then he heard the Chief’s voice calling to him.

“Hey
ya…hey ya ho…hey ya…hey ya ho,” Carter could hear him chant. The drums, the chant, and the Chief’s voice, all in his head, sent an unwavering calm through his soul. He listened, waiting for the message that was sure to come.

“
Waka,
you have the power. Command the calm. Nature is your gift,
Waka
…use it. Take charge of your power and tame the beast!” The words kept ringing in his ears like the toll of a bell.

Carter suddenly understood the message loud and clear. He realized he was controlling everything
; his instability was producing the madness all around him.

He closed his eyes briefly and communed with nature. Slowly the hail turned to rain and the rain vaporized into the air. The clouds thundered lightly in the distance, clearly moving away. The storm
inside him had ended and he was settled and controlled; order was finally restored. He felt a surge of energy and he opened his eyes, expecting the bear to be gone. It was not. The massive beast just stood in place, glaring at him with deadly eyes.

The tom
-toms continued to pound with a
thump thump
in his chest, moving with the rise and fall of his breathing. Carter was deeply focused on the watchful eyes of the bear, showing no fear, testing it, challenging it to make a move. Slowly but confidently he stepped toward the brown bear, neither lifting a brow nor breaking his stare. The bear looked back with faithful eyes, like a great mastiff looking to his master’s face.

Step by step
, Carter moved closer and closer until he was standing directly in front of the Mato. The drums stopped suddenly and the sounds around them vacated the forest. Slowly, the bear bent down like the bough of a willow, welcoming Carter to climb aboard.

Carter responded cautiously at first
, resting his hand on the bear’s thick, coarse fur and stroking it. The bear reacted with a gentle, friendly nuzzle of his elongated nose against Carter’s leg.

Convinced he had tamed the beast, Carter mounted the bear and lightly patted his head with thanks. As swift as a panther
, the Mato began his ascent to the top of the Tower. He dug his massive claws into the rock hard surface, hurling his mammoth body upward, steadily escorting Carter to his destination. Carter had called, commanding the forces of nature, and the bear had answered.

Half way up the T
ower, Carter looked back toward the reservation and saw the Chief standing proudly, miles away on the edge of the plateau. With a start, Carter realized a new ability had emerged: he now had telescopic vision. Right now, his enhanced eyesight allowed him to see the pride in the eyes of the Chief, an image he would not soon forget. He didn’t understand how the Chief was able to convey his voice or his thoughts to Carter no matter where he was. Unlike Gabriel and the others, the Chief was not a Guardian from another world with super human powers; he was just a man—a very, very wise man.

They arrived at
the top of Devils Tower and the brown bear crouched down to let Carter get off. He looked into the eyes of the gentle giant, communicating his appreciation, and the bear bowed his head as if to acknowledge Carter’s gratitude.

Immediately
, Carter began his search for the place where the violets grew. He ran to the ridge, frantically looking under the rimrock for a sign of anything green or violet growing, but still found nothing. There were no flowers, no grass; nothing at all grew on top of the soilless mountain.

Carter cursed at the sky. “Damn it!” he said
, and in an instant, the sky thundered back, startling him. He was sure the Ruler of the Skies was responding to his disrespect, but he didn’t care. He was on a mission to find the mysterious place where the violets grew, and to find Vie.

Carter believed it was
time to show his power to the Ruler of the Skies and to command what he needed to have returned, as the Chief had told him to do. He held his hands out at his sides and closed his eyes. As he called to the wind, telling it to move, a brisk breeze swept across the Tower. He called to the clouds to assemble in the sky, and they swiftly answered his call, aligning themselves above him. He called for the rain to fall, and tiny droplets of water fell from the sky like tears from his eyes. He spun around in its glory, looking up silently, ready to communicate with Vie. Ready to take back what was his.

“Vie, I know you hear me
.” His voice was like a clap of thunder that not long ago had interrupted the warbling birds among the leaves. “Vivian is dead. Do you hear me? Your sister is gone, Vie! I need you to return to me,” he said, gaining hope as he continued.

The sky was unstable
; Carter had gotten the attention he wanted, and someone was listening. He grinned, believing he was making some headway, and began again, this time with the force of a leader.

“I am asking you to release her
,” he said, waiting for some response—any response—but heard nothing. Suddenly, he felt something moving inside of him, an intense energy like nothing he’d felt before. It was intensifying and growing, burning inside him, throbbing and aching to get out, suddenly making its way to the surface, emerging in an uncontrollable rush.

“I command you to return wha
t is mine! Return Vie to me, now!” The energy gave power to his words. “LET HER GO!” the voice inside him shouted out forcibly.

In an instant
, everything went black.

“That can’t be good,” Carter said
, standing in the darkness.

Vie sat, feeling pummeled within her own darkness, stricken with pain in the absence of the person she loved. She clutched the wilted violet in her hand; it was the only piece of him she had left to hold. Feeling a tingle on her skin, she opened her fingers one by one, unable to believe her eyes. The violet was glistening like tiny threads of gold. She watched in amazement as each petal opened up, vibrantly flowering in the palm of her hand, as if they, as well as her soul, were given light.

Vie
stood up and looked around, apprehensive of what was happening. She didn’t dare wish—she was afraid of what hope might cost her. So she dropped the flower and walked away. She couldn’t let herself hope anymore for something she couldn’t have: Carter.