The Taking (8 page)

Our walk through the cheerless corridor is complete, and we stand at the entrance of the room where we had our first encounter with our new trainer. The dim light that Archangel Michael had supplied glows against the walls. As our eyes search the room, we find Zacharias squatting in the same place he was when we arrived.
 

My emotions are mixed as I gaze at him.
How am I supposed to learn from this disdainful being?

“The three humans have finally used their brains,” he says, standing slowly.
 

This time when he rises several layers of dust do not fall from his unusual wings and silver hair. Hard opals focus on us and pass slowly over our wings. The way his does this makes me wonder if the green in his eyes is from envy or if they are always green.
 

As he approaches, his mouth is a thin, straight line. The shadows cast an eerie look across his saggy, aging skin as he passes each lit torch on the wall. Once he reaches us, he stands uncomfortably close, staring into our eyes one at a time. It feels as though the piercing glare shoots into our souls.
 

He stops in front of Cindy, his voice critical. “Now, what did you learn while inside your room?” He steps closer to her. “From what I heard through your door, you didn’t learn to think before you speak.”

Cindy’s eyes narrowed. “How would you know what I have learnt or not?”

“Because I could hear your tongue flapping insults through your door. And my, what language you have for an angel.”

Cindy crosses her arms over her chest. “Oh, I thought about what I was going to say alright. I had plenty of time to think about what I was going to say to you. Each time I sensed you outside my room I made sure you heard it.”
 

His silver eyebrows rise. “Do you think I care about your feelings?” He studies her while she remains silent. “So you have learned to distinguish between angels when you couldn’t see them then?”
 

The words come out almost as a hiss. “Oh, I always could sense you. You have a murky tinge to your angelic scent.”

A fleeting flicker of something passes across his face before he hisses, “Again, do you think I care what you think of me? What of your colleagues, did you sense the difference in them?”

Cindy’s muscles loosened a little. “Yes, I did.”

“Good.” He moves on to Ben, unintimidated by Ben’s taller physique. With his gaze unwavering he says, “I hear you have been talking to your colleagues.”

“Yes, I have.”
 

“But you still need work, because they could not talk to you.”

Ben frowns. “Wouldn’t that be something they have to work out?”

“Not as general angels, only if they are archangels. You have the natural gift and a lot more can be done with your gift. The next step is allowing their answer to penetrate your mind in response to your contact.”

“O-kay,” Ben says hesitantly. “Then how do I do that?”

He flicks his hand contemptuously “I am not going to stand here to explain it to you. You need to work it out on your own. It is the whole reason that you were locked up in the first place, so it would push you to use your powers. Our other training must begin. I will only teach you at the end of your training if I think you are worth it, and you haven’t mastered it by then.” He turns away, and Ben’s eyes follow him as he stops in front of me. A curious expression passes over Zacharias' face as his hard eyes survey me. “As for you, you need to channel your power to use not only in times of emergency, but other times. You need to not be so unpredictable. Power and unpredictability are a very dangerous combination.” He turns to Cindy and Ben and says, “You would have been out of the rooms much quicker if she learnt to harness her power. Very few beings can open these doors.” He signifies the stone door behind us.
 

I hate the way he has blamed me. I don’t know what he is talking about. I do not feel powerful.
“I am not any different to them. I didn’t open the doors very well at all. It took several goes.”

“Yes, it did. It is because you only use your power when your emotions take you there. It can be beneficial in the heat of a battle, but it can also be your downfall. You must learn to control your emotions and power.”

After an uncomfortable silence he says, “Now, enough time has been wasted for your training. We need to progress faster. The world outside is changing rapidly. You must grow quickly or go back to mere fledgling duties.”
 

He paces in front for a while longer with his eyes never leaving us. With his voice in a serious tone he says, “What I am about to show you must guard with your lives. I have not shown anyone the entire time I have been here. It is only because you have been brought here by the leader of the angels for training that you are privy to this information.”

My curiosity is aroused as I watch him take slow steps toward the centre of the large room. I cannot take my eyes off his wings. One day hopefully, we will be informed as to how he ended up earthbound with the strangest wings I have seen on any angel.
 

Without turning to face us he says, “Come now. Step away from the door.”

With the sudden jerk back to reality, I step toward the middle of the room and Cindy and Ben do the same. A grating sounds behind us, and I turn to look at the source. The stone door is closing, trapping us inside this barren room with the strange angel. I turn to face the middle of the room, gazing questioningly at the back of his head. His grey hair shines as his waves his hands and illuminates the room with stronger light from the torches.
What could he possibly show us inside of this empty room?

The flames dance joyfully against the stone walls. It is as though they are rejoicing that something is finally going to happen inside this previously lifeless room.
 

Zacharias stands in the middle of the room then he faces us, impatience shows on his face. “Well, come on.” He indicates for us to progress to the middle. “I am about to show you a centuries old secret that not even the monks know about and you stand cowering off to the side. Surely you are made of stronger materials than that.”

Ignoring the insults, we step into the centre. I gaze at Cindy and Ben and see that their faces are as confused as I feel.
 

Any idea what is going on?
Ben asks inside my head.

I shake my head and continue to look around watching for anything to change. All that I see is a room that was once dark is now well lit. Zacharias mutters something in a language that I have not heard before and he waves his arms around at the walls. He continues this for a few minutes, but nothing happens. I am beginning to think he has stepped over the line that marks crazy when a rumbling sound mixed with grating fills my ears. My eyes search for the cause. At first nothing seems different. After a little while of hearing the continuing sound, I notice that the room is shrinking in size. The walls are pressing toward the middle. As they move closer, I wonder if we are going to be crushed, but Zacharias remains firmly in the middle, unmoving.
 

When the noise finally stops, we are left with a room the size of a small bedroom. The door to the large room has remained in its original place yet the space remains for the entrance in among the closed walls.
 

“That was different,” Cindy says wiping her brow with her hand. “I thought we were about to be crushed.”

“There you go again, being a dimwit and saying things without thinking about them,” Zacharias chastises, shaking his head.
 

 
Cindy gives him a glare. “To some people it is called conversation. But I guess you wouldn’t know what that is like.”

His wrinkled face is frozen, making it impossible to read as he turns to look at the space left for the entrance. He raises his hands to indicate the way. “In you go.”

Together we walk through the gap. Behind the boundary of our new sized room the space expands. Once we have passed the edges, we are struck by an open space that shouldn’t exist yet it is filled with an array of items I have never seen before, glistening in the dim light.
 

“What is this place?” Cindy asks.
 

I can’t help a smirk when I see the creases around Zacharias’ face squeeze — even after all his chastising, Cindy is still quick to open her mouth.
 

He takes a deep breath and says, “This is what I have been assigned to do. This is my job.” He indicates the items in a circular motion with an open palm.
 

“What, hide stuff?” Cindy scoffs.

I look at Cindy and I notice that she gives Ben a quick glance. “Well, it’s not like he’s nice to me,” she says to him and shrugs. I know it is not like Cindy to be nasty, but unquestionably Zacharias has stepped on her toes too many times.
 

Ignoring her outburst at Ben, Zacharias says, “I do not hide stuff. I am the guardian. Many of these are ancient weapons gathered over the years.” A hint of pride briefly crosses his hardened features. “I embed these with angelic powers ready for the day the angels need them in battle. The world is changing, and soon there will be a war. Mostly archangels do not need weapons but the angels, new and old, that have not reached the stage of an archangel, will need these to fight the demons taking over the humans.” He turns to look at us. “I did not expect them to make humans into angels, but I guess they are desperate.”

“Where else did you think they would find them?” Ben asks.

Zacharias shrugs. “That is not my speciality. I am now earthbound and do not have rights over the decisions made.”

My eyes fall to his wings again, those short, stunted wings that have no shine. “Were you ever a fledged angel?”

He turns slowly and looks at me. “Do you really think I was created like this?”
 

He stretches his wings partially but not to the full extent. I am finding it hard not to stare at the space that should be filled with luscious feathers.
 

“I don’t know. As you said, we are new, babies to the angelic world. We have questions that need answering,” I say.

He turns his back to me. “No, I wasn’t created like this. I too had full wings and roamed the sky.” He took a step toward the weapons on the left-hand side.
 

“What changed you?” I ask. I have been dying to find out ever since my eyes first fell on his stunted wings.
 

“That does not concern you,” he snaps. “You are here to train in the ways of angelic warfare not finding out an old angel’s past.” He steps forward, and his fingers run along some of the gold metal on one of the weapons. “These are my gems — the only thing I have had to live for after so many years. The only way I have been able to continue my fight against the demons that are trying to take over the earth and the angelic realm.”

I do not pursue my interest in his fall from a flight angel. While I gaze at the weapons, I notice each piece glimmers in its own way. “There is some beautiful armoury here.” Approaching the bench he is near, I run my fingers over the metal. As beautiful as these are, I could not imagine spending the rest of my days as an immortal being alone and guarding some metal. They would have to be crucial weapons to keep me on the job. “You must consider these to be important to guard them religiously, disregarding everything else.”

“Each piece has taken days of my work to embed them with the angelic powers. If a demon receives one nick from these, they will never heal. And if hit in the right place, they will turn to dust.” His gnarly fingers stroke the long stick of an axe. It was gold from the stick to the blade. On the circular edge, the inner circle was decorated with triangles and markings of striking blue, making it look more like an ornament than a weapon.
 

“That’s pretty,” Cindy says. “What is it?”

“This is an Egyptian axe,” Zacharias answers. “A very effective blade with a good swing.”

Cindy runs her finger along the top of the blade just touching the edge. “It’s sharp too.”

“Each of you must choose a weapon.” His eyes gaze proudly across the added space holding the armoury. “Once you have chosen this weapon, I will train you in its crafts.”

“How are we supposed to choose a weapon that we have never used before?” Ben was running his hand over a couple of swords hanging on the wall.

“The weapon will choose you. Your perfect weapon will pull you to it. Once you touch it, you will find it hard to leave.”

I frown. It all sounds a little far-fetched to me, but I am not about to argue. Both Cindy and Ben’s faces are lit up with enthusiasm I do not understand.

Zacharias’ eyes scrutinise me. “It will help if you place your hand on each of the weapons if you do not feel a pull or connection. Once you touch the one for you, there will be no hesitation and no misunderstanding. You will just know.”

Following his advice I run my hands on the weapons laid before me. My fingers glide over the smooth metals, and it strangely feels joyful with each touch, but nothing screams out to me for a connection. I hear metal scraping and look up. Ben’s face shines brightly, as he pulls two swords out of a fancy leather pouch that the swords were tucked in, safely together. As the blade glimmers in the light, I see an engraved pattern on the side of the blade. I look closer and see the detailed work of a dragon. The thick blades look impressive and are something I have never seen before.
 

With his blue eyes gleaming Ben asks, “What are these?”
 

Zacharias gazes at his prize and says, “Butterfly swords.”

“Butterfly swords? How can a weapon be named after something so fragile?”

“The name comes from when the swords are in a particular position they hold the shape of a butterfly,” Zacharias answers.
 

Ben swings them around.
 

“Whoa.” Zacharias holds out his hand in a stopping motion. “Why don’t you just wait until we’re further away, and you have had some training?”