Awakening (Children of Angels) (31 page)

There was silence in the room now, none of them were really sure what to say or do. The boy was angry, they could see that, and had a reputation for having a wicked temper when he was in one of these moods.

“
Clean this up!
”
he barked through clenched teeth,
“
I expect to see each and every one of you in my father
’
s office for a
discussion
about what has happened here, and why you felt it was appropriate to come bursting into
my
private chambers
. Arduino, make the arrangements.
”
Arduino opened his mouth to reply - the boy was so confident that his orders would be followed that he was already gone before the words left the old man's lips.

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

I
n the tower, Katherine sat at the window, looking out at the night sky
beyond the wall and fantasizing that she was out there somewhere, not trapped in her tower. .

“
Hello Evan,
”
she said softly, hiding a smile.

He had not bothered to go to the courtesy of knocking this time, instead choosing to simply appear in her room. He didn't speak, he was too angry. He wasn't even really sure why he had come here. Perhaps he had half-expected to find Mia here.

“
She has not been here
”
Katherine said softly.

“
How many times have I
told
you
…”
he started angrily, but stopped in his tracks as Katherine stood up quickly and whirled to face him.

“
I am not afraid of you, little boy,
”
she snarled
“
do not presume to think that you can threaten me as you do the others. You are nothing more than a spoiled
brat
, and you can do to me what you like - none of it will make a difference now,
she is free
and she has made her choice! She will
not
stand with you!
”

Katherine threw back her head and laughed, but it was not a joyful laugh, it was a cruel one, mocking and cold.

“
She has gone back to where she belongs. Her choice is made. My duty is done.
”
She laughed again.

“
So it would seem.
”
Evan spoke with a dangerous calm and a flash of brilliant white light filled the room.

The light dimmed as quickly as it had flared, and Evan looked down at the ground by his feet, where Katherine lay dead. He had never killed an Angel before. He had banished them, yes - but banishing was different to killing. When an Angel was banished, he had no idea where they went to, whether it was the Shadow World or somewhere else - they were simply gone. Body and soul were gone. Katherine’s body lay on the ground, it’s Light extinguished, her soul gone and never to be reunited with this body. It was a new trick, he mused. It would no doubt come in handy. He didn't regret killing her, though he knew he should.

Evan walked to the window where Katherine had stood just moments before, and where she would never stand again, looking out at the sky beyond the wall. He didn't know where to begin his search for Mia, or if it was even worth searching for her. Katherine had been right. She had made her choice, and her choice was war. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to still his rage. He turned, stepping over Katherine’s body, the face still frozen in that cold-hearted laugh, and walked down the stairs. Sometimes it felt good to do things normally, it made him feel more human. Sometimes it was good to just be human for a while. He knew that this would be the last chance he got to be human for a long time to come.

He strode across the grounds, back towards his own tower, to prepare for war. He did not notice the single solitary star which had appeared in the darkened sky over the city.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank the following people, in no particular order:

Chris Baty, Lindsey Grant and all the staff of NaNoWriMo, without whom this book may never have existed at all

Trinity Eprson, for WRITING A BOOK and inspiring me to do the same. Now you've written two books – I'm so proud of you xxx

Everyone who ever believed in me, put up with my endless rambles about writing a book (and everything else), celebrated with me, enthused with me, and supported me in any other way – thank you!

Anyone who ever wrote a book I loved - and there have been a great many of them. One series of books literally changed my life and brought me the greatest friends I've ever had – that's real magic. Thank you, authors of the world!

And finally, thank YOU, whoever you may be, for picking up this book and reading it.

You can follow me on Twitter, to keep up to date on the rest of the Children of Angels novels (and others), or just for a chat!

@OurStorySoFar

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–
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Copyright © 2011 by Jessica Gibson