There’s an Order to the Heavens

Author’s note: this story is part of a series. Here you can read the first, second, third, and fourth stories.

Amelia clenched her ectoplasmic fists. She paced through the air. Far below her was the hospital courtyard where her living siblings played. Her little sister, Melanie, didn’t need to see the angels fight. She was old enough now that she might even remember it later.

Oriel, her angelic mentor, appeared through a ring of light. Behind his speckled white wings and shimmering blond locks, Amelia caught a glimpse of that strange, purple sky, not quite day and not quite night, which lay beyond the Firmament. Amelia scowled. This time, she had no interest in hiding her anger.

“What is it?” he said.

Amelia pointed down to the hospital.

“Right now, my father is sucking up innocent ghosts through an ecto-lock machine to dull the pain of his surgery, because the guardians have done nothing. And that’s not all.”

Oriel’s eyebrows raised. He had never seen Amelia like this, because for most of her apprenticeship she had adored him. She continued her rant, gesturing to the air around him.

“You and the others keep talking about ‘strange new demons’ but you’ve told me nothing about them! All I know is that I have a spear that can kill one, but that’s not going to do me much good if I don’t know what they look like!”

“Amelia, I told you — ”

“You didn’t tell me anything. You condescended to me, like I’m just some random dead girl and not a proper guardian. I’ve fought with demons and won! I’ve saved my sister’s life! What on earth do I have to do to earn your respect?”

“It’s not about respect, it’s — ”

“And now my…”

Amelia had to stop herself. Her last demand was the most important, but it was the only one she couldn’t ask about directly. She thought back to the conversation she had had with Melanie about her nightmares. Words had quickly failed the little girl. The best she could do was, “It’s a bad place where people hurt each other.” So they turned to drawings. The drawings gave Amelia more clarity, which only lead to further questions. There were angry mobs, stabbings, beheadings, bodies piled in the street, and in midst of all that, acts of lust. Amelia wouldn’t wish such nightmares on anyone, much less her sweet little sister. Seven years old was too young for her to see such things.

But that was not the most troubling aspect of Melanie’s dreams. Instead, what troubled Amelia most was that they always took place in the same city. When she asked her sister to draw this city, it reminded her of the architecture of the Silver Watchtower, home of the guardian angels. The only difference was that this city was planted on the ground, not floating in that strange, purple sky.

Now, she needed Oriel to explain this to her, but she couldn’t tell him that Melanie was the one having the dreams. She knew her sister would be taken to the Silver Watchtower for questioning if she did. It didn’t matter how gentle the angels might be — her sister deserved a normal life, and Amelia’s involvement with the guardians had done enough to jeopardize that already.

“…I…keep having visions,” she said.

“Yes,” said Oriel, “and I have been looking into those. To be honest, I share your frustration there. Marmaroth and Harahel both turned me away, but I swear they know something. When I told them what you said, they looked uneasy.”

“Then get them to talk! You’ve been an angel a lot longer than I have. Use your influence. Don’t just accept it when they won’t answer!”

Oriel shook his head.

“Amelia, that’s not how it works. Knowledge is power, and power is responsibility. There’s an order to the heavens. Part of being an angel is trusting that order.”

“How am I supposed to trust that order when it keeps putting my family in danger? Marmaroth himself said that the ecto-lock technology is a tool of those ‘strange new demons’ and yet you all let the inventor get away with patenting it. Now my own father is using it for anaesthesia and he has no idea what he’s getting into. What if the demons end up taking control of him?”

“The other…this new enemy is different from the average demon. Smarter. More patient. For all we know, they want us to interfere. Marmaroth, myself, and so many others are running ourselves ragged trying to figure out their plans. Just because you don’t see it happening right in front of you, don’t assume we’re slacking off.”

Amelia thrashed her arms and nearly somersaulted through the air.

“Then let me help! Tell me what’s going on! I’ve barely seen you since our last mission together, and that was two years ago.”

Oriel sighed.

“Look, I can give you the same promise as last time: as soon as I have permission to tell you more, I will. But until then, I need to get back to work, and I need you to trust me.”

Oriel reached into his robe. Amelia knew he was going for his Gate Latch Ring, which would teleport him back to the purple sky outside the Silver Watchtower. Before he could, however, Amelia darted to him and grabbed him by the neck of his robes.

“No,” she said. “You’re going to tell me everything you know. Everything. I’m smart, Oriel. I’m smarter than the others have ever given me credit for. You tell me everything and I’ll put the pieces together for both of us. We don’t need Marmaroth or anyone else to decide what we know! We can figure it ourselves!”

Oriel removed her ectoplasmic hands from his robes with the same ease with which you’d flick away a piece of lint. He scowled in a way that Amelia had never seen him do before.

“What’s gotten into you?”

The scowl went away. He put his hands on her shoulders.

“Amelia, you are my sister in service. I love you, have always loved you, and will always love you. Is there something you need to tell me?”

Her lip quivered. This wasn’t fair. How was she supposed to deny the love of an angel? Love was their greatest weapon.

“No…” she whispered.

Oriel only stared. His eyes were as gentle and powerful as sunlight, soothing her as they burned away the shadows. She would have to relent just a bit to avoid letting her guard down completely.

“I’m just…scared, Oriel. I’m so scared. These visions…they’re cruel. It’s like the worst things people can do to each other are just…everyday life. And in a city built by angels, no less.”

She thought back through Melanie’s drawings. She could only imagine what those scenes must have looked like fresh in her sister’s mind. She felt a horror so deep it became fascination. Her face must’ve shown her slipping away, because Oriel pulled her close and hugged her.

“You know, in the grand scheme of things, visions are quite normal. I’ve had a few myself. Usually they’re just warnings.”

Later, Amelia would swear what she said next was supposed to be a thought. It was just a simple observation, one that had been running through her mind ever since Melanie started having her dreams. And when it escaped her lips, it was only the faintest possible whisper.

“A little girl shouldn’t have to see things like that.”

“What?”

Oriel pulled back. He chuckled.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you call yourself a ‘girl’,” he said.

Then he frowned. His eyes went wide.

“You’re not…it’s Melanie, not you.”

He looked down at the hospital courtyard below. Amelia shook her head, whispering to herself.

“No, no, no…”

“Amelia, this is serious. How long has she been having these visions? We need to take her to the Silver Watchtower at once!”

His wings shifted. She recognized the motion. He was about to dive through the air, faster than she could follow. She pulled out her angelic spear, shrunk to the size of a butter knife, and pressed it against his belly. With just a twist, she could return the spear to full size and gore him.

“What are you — ”

“Oriel,” she said, “go back to the Watchtower. Tell Marmaroth whatever you want, but Melanie stays here with her family.”

Oriel tried to grab her arm, but she stared him in the eye. That stare said everything.

“I’m not kidding. I will hurt you. I’ve given the guardians a lot, but I won’t give you my family.”

Oriel closed his eyes. He spoke softly.

“Amelia, don’t do this. Please. I can’t control what Marmaroth will do.”

She only stared unblinking at the angel until he reached into his robe and twisted his Gate Latch Ring. Once he disappeared, Amelia let out a sigh of relief, then flew down to Melanie as fast as she could.

The hospital was a beautiful red brick structure strewn with swaying, green vines of ivy. Small pin oaks dotted the courtyard, where a gravel walkway encircled a grassy lawn. Melanie sprawled herself on that lawn playing with her dolls while Delrick sat on a wooden bench reading. Melanie looked up as Amelia came down.

“Hi Amelia! Are you all done talking to the other angel?”

Amelia smiled with her lips, but not her eyes.

“Yes, I’m all done.”

“So you can stay and play with me now?”

Amelia nodded. She floated down to the ground and arranged herself in a seated position, which she only ever did for Melanie’s sake. It still felt awkward. Her mind raced as it dawned on her just how angry Marmaroth would be when he found out about this. She’d only wanted to keep life normal for Melanie, but now she wondered if she’d made things that much worse for both of them. As if to answer these concerns, a voice spoke up behind her.

“Excuse me, I hate to intrude, but I noticed you arguing with that other angel. Is there anything I could do to help?”

Amelia looked behind her. There stood an angel she recognized from before. He had come to visit Melanie the same day Amelia had just rescued her from a demon. She had not gotten a good look at him last time, but now she could see him clearly. He had tan wings, white robes, ruddy skin, and brown curls spilling all over his head and forming a thick beard around his chin. In all respects but one, he looked like any other angel. There was even a playful sweetness to his smile that reminded her of Oriel.

The only difference, of course, was that he didn’t shine. That was how Amelia recognized him.

“Sorry,” he said, catching the puzzled look on her face. “I should’ve introduced myself. I’m Cedarwood. And, if you can excuse my eavesdropping, you are Amelia, correct?”

“Yes, I’m the guardian angel Amelia,” she said. “Were you listening to us?”

“No point in hiding it: yes, I was. See, I am not a guardian angel. To put it simply, I am a Dominion, responsible for the governance of angels. I listen to the lower orders simply so that I may keep the peace.”

Amelia nodded and smiled. It comforted her to hear this explanation, since she had never met another angel outside the guardians. It made sense that an angel from another order would look different.

“Well then,” she said, “maybe you can help. I…”

She looked down at Melanie, who was looking back and forth between her and Cedarwood. She didn’t want to worry her, so she flew in close to the angel and whispered.

“My sister here is having strange dreams. Nightmares, really. When I told Oriel about it, he said we needed to take her back to the Silver Watchtower for questioning. I really, really don’t want to put her through all that.”

Cedarwood nodded with a sigh.

“Yes, the guardians are noble spirits, but they can be overzealous in their methods. Fear not: your sister’s dreams are important warnings, and we must heed them, but I promise you she’s not in any immediate danger. In fact, I think it would be better for her to stay here with her family for the foreseeable future.”

Amelia had to resist the urge to hug him. She settled for an emphatic nod.

“So if the other guardians come back, you’ll talk to them for me?”

“We won’t even have to worry about that. Here…”

He reached into his robe and pulled out two necklaces. One was made from a light, silvery metal, the other from some darker metal that looked a bit sturdier. Both had simple pendants housing round, black stones.

“You and your sister take these,” he said, “and you will become completely invisible to guardians. You’ll still see each other, of course, and I’ll still see you. That way, we can discuss these dreams without any chance of interruption.”

Amelia reached out, and Cedarwood placed the lighter of the two necklaces in her hand. She took a closer look at the stone. In was perfectly round and perfectly black. It did not catch the light at all, not like a normal gemstone would. For a second she imagined it was a tiny hole, and if she could squeeze her green pinky through it, her pinky would fall right out of Creation. Surely this necklace was a powerful artifact — one that only the angels could create. She slipped the necklace over her head and turned to Melanie.

“Come here, Melanie,” she said, “this angel has a gift for you.”

“For me!?”

Melanie ran over to Cedarwood, who smiled and knelt down to greet her.

“Hello Melanie! My name is Cedarwood. I’m an angel, just like your sister. Remember when I visited you before?”

He slipped the darker necklace over her head and showed her the pendant.

“There are other angels that know about your dreams, and if they find you they might try to take you away from your family. That’s why you need to always wear this necklace. It will make sure they can’t find you.”

“Speaking of that,” said Amelia, “I do remember you visiting Melanie before. You seem to know a lot about these dreams. Can you tell us more about them? Is there a way to make them stop?”

“Yes,” said Cedarwood. “Yes to both, in fact — ”

Before he could continue, Amelia’s mother appeared. She was walking across the grass with Delrick by her side.

“Melanie!” she called out. “Melanie, Papa wants to see you! He just woke up. Come along, dear.”

“Papa!” shouted Melanie before running after her mother.

Amelia turned back to the angel, who only smiled and gestured for her to follow them.

“Go on,” he said, “we’ll have plenty of time to talk. You’ll find I’m quite patient.”