“Mia, it was prophesized by the sages that a man would rise up, hunt down angels like they were vermin, and change the balance of power. Humanity, without its guardians, would fall, and evil would reign. His name is Mark Leighton.”
“He’s just a boy.”
“He can see angels. Before you came, he was angry. He was angry at God for what happened to his father. He was traveling down a dark road. That house may have accidently saved him. It held on to the negative elemental, which was supposed to open up Mark’s heart to hate. You felt it when it touched you.”
“I’m not sure I believe the house was acting in Mark’s best interest,” Mia commented. Mia let go of her grandfather and drifted awhile, thinking. “How is he now? I expect you read him.”
“He’s a happy, optimistic boy. He believes in you, Mia. Your counsel has planted a seed. Your husband, if successful, will enable Mark to be able to communicate with his father, and the seed will grow. You and Ted have the opportunity to change his and our future.”
“How?”
“I’m going to ask you to do a few things. First, you need to show yourself to Mark, wings and all. Explain that you’re not an angel because angels are made not bred, and when an angel is killed, there is no one to take its place. Tell him that your wings were given to you by an archangel. Let him know that those most scary of creatures are fighting for mankind, and they need his help.”
“That is an awful lot to lay upon the shoulders of a twelve-year-old.”
“Mia, you were fourteen when you knew you had to burn down that house to free your ‘misty mother.’ Don’t discount Mark because he is male.”
Mia did a double-take. “Me? A reverse chauvinist?”
“Maybe a little,” Orion said, angling his head. “You forget, I’ve been in your head. I know all your heartaches and all your joys. I know you feel that Roumain has betrayed you in a way that you attribute to him being male, that a woman would never do that to you. But may I remind you, it was a woman who did the most damage to your marriage.”
“Beth.”
“Whether we are male or female, we are capable of good and evil. True, the men who fear women are the most dangerous, but I have seen a few women who should not be given dominance, too.”
“Is Beth a victim?”
“I don’t know Beth.”
“I thought I did. I held her hand and didn’t sense a hex or a flitch, but I could have missed something.”
“Or she could be bad,” Orion said.
They flew higher through the cloud layer and into the starlit sky.
“Oh, before I forget, Mia, when you close your wings around you to transport, unless you are going to the aerie, you don’t have to be nude.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s the holiness of the aerie and the Brotherhood libraries that demand you bring nothing of this world into them.”
“So I arrived naked at Angelo’s for no reason,” Mia said, embarrassed.
“About that, transforming from a naked female in front of a male, showing yourself to him at your most vulnerable, is the start of birdman mating.”
“Kill me now.”
“Angelo understood you were improvising, but it was understandably difficult for him under the circumstances. Had the Council not taken your fertility from you, it would have been impossible for Angelo to stop.”
“I am such a goof. If it’s not demons, it’s birdmen. Tell me, have I broken any etiquette rules that have bound me to any other strange entity?”
“The Other. Don’t worry, Angelo took care of him.”
“By take care…”
“I find there are too many Others around for comfort,” Orion said vaguely.
Mia filed this information away. She thought about Mark. “You said, I need to do a few things,” she said, getting back on subject.
“Mia, you need to slay the negative elemental.”
“I sensed that.”
“When you do, you need to fly to Haiti and lay the corpse at the feet of Roumain.”
“Why?”
“It will become clear when you kill it.”
“It’s a who, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me who it is?”
“No. Trust me, Mia. It will do you no service to know right now. You have to save Mark. That is why all of this turmoil which has happened to you, has come about. Someone wanted you to shake your feathers loose.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know. Will you do this for me?”
“Yes, Orion, I will.”
“I will stay and protect Brian.”
“Is my son in danger?” Mia asked, panicked.
“Oh yes. But I know not from whom right now. When Audrey and I were playing with Brian, he soiled his onesie, and I changed him. I saw that he has a particular birthmark on his shoulder. That combined with his innate knowledge of Hindi puts him in danger. When this is all over, you need to bring him to the aerie so Elizabeth can hide the birthmark until he is a grown man.”
“Why?”
“It only happens a few times in the history of mankind, but you and Ted have given birth to a reincarnated sage. He is marked.”
“I thought he was marked by Roumain.”
“No, don’t give the judge that much power, Mia. This is bigger than Roumain.”
“Ted told me that he wanted to ask you to teach Brian. He sensed that western civilization’s education facilities would not be enough to quench his thirst for knowledge.”
“Ted is right. I think we have the rebirth of a very powerful sage, but he must be raised by you, Mia. He must understand what it is like to be human and vulnerable, what it’s like to make mistakes. How to ride a bike, play outside with friends. Being someone that is but a part of something bigger. You and Ted need to teach him to laugh, to forgive, and to love.”
“My mind is blown, Orion.”
“What blows my mind is, this would have never happened if a duo of paranormal investigators hadn’t needed help to find Murphy’s farm. It all started
