Chapter Twenty-Four
“Us?” Jonas asked, disbelieving. “How can it belong to us?”
“You are the four Mortal Angels, aren’t you?”
“We don’t have to be,” Ness argued. “That’s what you said! We have one week to choose on our own free will!”
“And if you choose your destiny, then you keep the Candle,” Camael explained.
“What did the prophecy mean, anyway?” Max inquired.
“There are four of you to stop the final darkness from coming. You each have wonderful abilities to help you in doing so, but those powers can also hurt you,” the angel told them.
“Gifts and curses,” Ness whispered.
“Exactly. This Candle is one of the greatest gifts and greatest burdens that can be put on a person,” Camael explained with elaborate, distracting hand gestures. “It can only be held by mortal hands graced with the power of the angels.
“Each of you has a certain duty to deal with the Candle. Landon…you have to protect it from Evil and sometimes even Good. That’s why you had the natural instinct to rescue it from the collapsing cavern despite the fact that you could have been crushed by the falling rock.
“Max, you have the power to destroy the Candle. Water can put out its flame, and water is, after all, your element.
“Jonas, you’re the Key. You can shift the balance between Good, Evil, and neutral by your power of fire. Remember, though, that neutral balance is the only safe way to be. The pull to use the Candle for your own gain is almost irresistible…but that’s why you have these friends to help you with it.
“Ness, the Candle holds great power, and power is the source for some of the strongest temptation known to mankind—just like I told Jonas. It’s your job to try and ward off the temptations that grow inside the others, making them want to destroy the Candle or use it to their own advantage.”
The four stood in silence, completely absorbing everything that Camael told them.
“But…but the prophecy said that one would fall into darkness,” Ness said. “That doesn’t mean that one of us is going to end up like Damien, does it?”
Camael shrugged. “What have we learned about prophecy, Ness?” he asked her. “You of all people know that most of it isn’t written in stone. The future can turn out differently.”
Ness nodded, but she wasn’t completely convinced.
“Now…it’s been a long couple of days, so you might want to go home and get rested up before you make your final decision,” he said.
“Oh, God,” Ness mumbled, slapping a hand to her forehead. “My mother is going to kill me.”
“Don’t worry, your parents have been taken care of.” Camael winked.
“What do you mean, ‘taken care of?’” Jonas asked.
“Landon’s not the only one who can modify memories,” the angel told them, laughing. And with that, he was gone.
* * * * *
Sunlight shone through the sheer white curtains of Ness’s bedroom, its beams gently accenting the wrought iron furniture. Light wind blew through the open window, playing across her face.
Everything about the morning was perfect and calm…and then her alarm clock began to beep raucously from her bedside table. Ness reached a hand out from beneath the sheets and blankets, beating the clock into submission.
Shit, she thought. School.
Dragging herself out of bed and into the shower proved to be quite the challenge. The scalding hot water rushing from the showerhead didn’t wake her like it normally did; nor did half the pot of her mother’s normal morning coffee.
“You look worn, honey,” Cassandra said to her, stroking her daughter’s odd, red hair. “Did you sleep okay last night?”
“I slept great,” Ness admitted. “Just not long enough.”
Cassandra laughed and put down the newspaper. “You say that every morning of every school year.”
“This time I mean it.” Ness took one final drink from her coffee cup. “Alright, I’m going to school. I’ll see you when I get home.”
She grabbed her messenger bag and headed out the front door of the house, making her way across the street to Landon’s car. He had just walked out his front door and was juggling a pop-tart, book bag, and car keys with difficulty.
Ness took his book bag from him. “How are you holding up?” she asked.
“You know, there should be some sort of rule that any Mortal Angel shouldn’t have to go to school after two days of battling the forces of Evil,” he told her.
Ness laughed. “I couldn’t agree more.”
* * * * *
At lunch, every student was engrossed in a conversation about what they were going to do that night and weekend. It was obvious, though, that not one of them had to do something as important as Landon, Jonas, Ness, and Max.
“Do we know what we’re going to do?” Ness asked, barely touching the food in front of her.
There was a pause, and then Max spoke up. “Well…you probably already know my opinion…and I stick with it. I think we should do what God wants us to do.”
“I agree,” Landon said after another short pause. “It really is the least we can do…and really now…it might be fun.”
“Yeah, risking our lives every day for the sake of mankind. Sounds like a blast to me,” Ness muttered. “Let’s do it!”
Jonas didn’t say anything.
“Come on, Jonas,” Max prodded. “Do you really want to spend the rest of your life being some ordinary person? Why not be something special when you have the chance?”
Jonas shrugged. “I’ll think about it.”
“You’ve got—” Ness checked her watch—“Nine hours to decide.”
“Not just for you, either,” Landon reminded the other boy. “For the rest of us, too.”
* * * * *
That night, the four ventured down into the woods, crossing the wooden bridge that Max built and climbing up the hill to the small wooden platform.
“It’s only right,” Ness told them earlier that day. “We should either begin this—or end it—right where it officially began.”
So that’s where they were, waiting for Camael to come and greet them.
At exactly eight o’clock, they saw the same bright light coming towards them through the trees. This time, it didn’t collide with them, merging them together into one person; instead, he simply appeared and hovered in midair.
“Are you ready?” he asked, flapping his beautiful white wings.
They nodded.
“What’s your decision?”
No one spoke. Camael rolled his eyes.
“Alright…fine, we can do this the hard way. Landon, tell me what you think,” the angel said, picking up a stick from the ground and pretending that it was a microphone.
“I want to do it,” he said.
Camael made a motion with his hand, and the words “yea” and “nay” appeared in the air. A checkmark flashed under “yea.” “One down, three to go!” he said happily in an imitation game-show host voice. “Ness?”
“I’m with Landon,” she told him.
“Another ‘yea!’” Camael exclaimed, snapping his fingers. Another checkmark filled itself in under the “yea” column. “Max.”
Max didn’t say anything; he simply nodded. Camael nodded back, and another checkmark appeared. “And finally—drum roll, please—Jonas!”
The other three looked wistfully at Jonas, their strangely colored eyes each meeting his once. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
Camael smiled. The tallies behind him disappeared, and he threw his pretend microphone on the ground behind him.
“Welcome to the team!” he said. “I’d better go let the Big Guy know.”
“For some reason, I think he already knows,” Ness whispered, smiling. The angel clapped his hands, and he vanished with a flash of white light.
His voice lingered in the air for a moment, saying, “Oh, and remember—be careful.”
The four looked at each other, almost in a state of disbelief.
Ness smiled, looking up to the clear, night sky. Thousands of stars were littered above them, but none were quite as bright as Jupiter. She gave it one last salute—the next night, it wouldn’t be visible in the skies any longer.
“I guess it’s not a dream after all,” Max said quietly.
“Nope!” Landon said, laughing. “Get ready, ‘cause we’ve got to live it!”
THE END
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Thanks to everyone who stuck with this story!! Any and all comments and/or criticism is welcome. Four to Stand 2 is in the works, for anyone interested, but it might be awhile before it's posted.
<~>Jen<~>
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