Blown Away!: Even More Confessions of an Angel in Training Read online

  “I don’t mean to boast, but maybe you’ve heard of me. I’m Grace Lightbourne.”

  Her eyes grow wide in recognition. “The AIT from Bloopers?”

  “Yep. That’s me.” It’s getting easier to admit to this. In a year or ten, it probably won’t bother me at all anymore.

  “Darn. I missed that episode, but my friend Truly told me all about it. She said it was one of the funniest things she’s ever seen.”

  I’m sure. “Glad I could entertain.” I turn to leave.

  “Wait, wait.” She holds up one finger and dials someone with the other hand. “Truly, you’re not gonna believe who’s at my desk.” She pauses. “No—it’s that AIT from Bloopers. Right. Grace Lightbourne. Okay, yeah. I’ll ask.” She covers the other end of the phone. “Can you stay a minute? She’d like to meet you.”

  Great. Whatever. “Yeah.”

  “Okay, while you wait, let’s see if we can find that friend of yours. Now, what was the rock star’s name—Iggy or Ozzy?”

  “It’s Izzy.”

  “Last name?”

  “Just Izzy.”

  “You don’t know his last name, either?”

  “He never used it.”

  She taps frantically at her keyboard while muttering phrases about how no one uses a last name any more, like they’re something special. She looks up at me. “Where and when was Cherish’s Assignment with him?”

  “I don’t have all the details, but I can tell you we overlapped in NYC last winter.”

  She huffs. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you? The best way to look it up is from the point of origin.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know that either. Look, I’m really sorry to have bothered you. Don’t worry about finding her.” But she’s already back at the keyboard muttering about cross referencing. Her frenetic energy makes me nervous, and I end up picking at my cuticles.

  Confession: I’d just as soon escape before Truly arrives.

  “Wait, wait. Here it is. Cherish Heartwell, former Guardian.” She rubs her lip. “Isn’t that interesting. Well, look at that, she’s got some real famous works to her credit.” Although I can’t see what’s on her screen, I have no problem believing that Cherish was good at what she did. “Ah-ha! Here’s that Izzy you mentioned and he’s doing well, too.” She hits a few more buttons. “That’s strange.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years of working here, almost five hundred years.” She takes her glasses off and stares hard at me. “Your friend is AWOL.”

  I’d been worried about that ever since she disappeared at The UMAs awards show. She’d been there for Izzy. Then things got crazy. Annex tried to kidnap me; Victor cut Annex’s wings and he fled. After all the commotion calmed, we realized Cherish was missing, too. I’ve always wondered if he took her instead of me.

  “Was she given a new Assignment?” I ask, hopeful that my theory is wrong.

  “No. She’s still supposed to be inspiring Izzy.”

  I gasp. I hadn’t considered that Izzy might be Muse-less and Guardian-less. That’s not good, not good at all. “I don’t know why she’d abandon him.”

  “I don’t know either, dear, but you need to face the facts. She may have gone Wingless.”

  Oh, no, not Wingless! I make like a shepherd and get the flock out of there, before Trudy has a chance to show up.

  }{

  I arrive at The Temple and make my way to Michael’s office. His secretary greets me and asks if I have an appointment. I know from past experience she’s a tougher gatekeeper than the two rugged Cherubim on either side of his door.

  “I’ll have to check to see if he has time to see you.” She enunciates like I’m a first year AIT with a lower than normal wattage. “What’s your name?”

  Whatevs. I’m not that fired up for this meeting anyway. I shrug and give her my name.

  She presses the intercom. “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s an AIT by the name of Grace Lightbourne here to see you. She doesn’t have an appointment.” Her nose turns up at that last bit, like no appointment means I haven’t showered or something.

  “That’s fine. Please send her right in.”

  She looks confused and I smile as I pass her desk. Her lips purse in a very prim, disapproving way.

  “Good luck, Grace,” the Cherubim on the left says in a low voice. I glance at him and realize it’s Valor, Victor’s friend who used to stand guard at the back entrance to concerts in Paradise. Guess he got a promotion. At first I think he’s referring to my upcoming Mission, but then I realize he means meeting with the Archangel Michael. “Hey, thanks.”

  He opens the door and I’m swept into Michael’s office. There’s a click as it latches behind me. Michael sits behind his enormous, immaculate desk, and I’m surprised to see Natura sitting in one of the leather and chrome chairs across from him.

  I thought she could only meet yesterday. So, I probably could’ve finished my fitting after all. So typical.

  I plunk into the seat next to her and my chair rolls back a foot, which requires that I scoot it forward using the heels of my feet. “Hi,” I offer in a weak, embarrassed voice.

  “I assume this means you’ve decided,” Michael says in a neutral tone.

  “I have. I’ll take the Mission.”

  Natura is studying me carefully, like I’m an insect or something to be wary of. “Why?”

  Because you might wreak havoc on people that I care about. But I can’t very well say that; it’d probably set her off. “A more experienced Angel convinced me how important this is to Heaven and Earth.”

  Michael nods and the wisp of a lopsided smile brushes over his lips. I discovered during my last two Missions that he knows everything, so he must know it was Victor’s lecture that convinced me. Heck, I wouldn’t put it past him to have arranged Victor as the speaker for that lecture in the first place. “We’re glad to have you on board,” he says. “Now, to the details.”

  He opens one of his desk drawers, and removes an ancient-looking scroll that when it’s unfurled on top of his desk reveals a detailed map of Heaven. “Here’s the main entrance to The Wilds. There are auxiliary entrances here, here, and here.” He stabs at the map with his index finger. “The Locust encampment is set up in this area.” He points to an area deep in the center The Wilds. “And they use those auxiliary entrances to move in and out of The Wilds. Any questions so far?”

  I shake my head.

  “Here’s the Garden.” It’s at the furthest point on the map, still a good ways from where the Locusts are camped.

  “If they’re trying to get in The Garden, why aren’t they camped closer?”

  “The Garden is closely guarded,” Natura explains. “One hundred Cherubim patrol the surrounding area. If they were any closer the Cherubim would find them.”

  A hundred? I’d pictured two stationed outside the entrance similar to the gates of Paradise or The Hall of Records or Michael’s office. My stomach twists as I realize how important this Mission is. “How many Locusts are there?”

  “Officially, we think there may be two hundred,” Michael says.

  Whew! That doesn’t seem so bad. I doubt they could get past all those Cherubim.

  “Unofficially, we have no idea. That’s part of the information we want you to bring back.”

  Natura huffs. “I have an idea, even if Michael doesn’t. There’s at least a thousand Locusts living in The Wilds.”

  One thousand? What am I getting into? “It seems crazy to send me—not that I’m saying either of you are crazy—but I’m just one AIT, and I’ve never even been to The Wilds.”

  “It is crazy,” Natura agrees.

  “Yes, which is why it’s perfect. No one will suspect that we’d send one lone AIT. Besides, Annex is quite drawn to you, like a moth to a flame.”

  “Don’t you mean a Locust to a flame?” Natura asks in a snide tone.

  Michael ignores her. “You won’t be totally on your o
wn. We’re providing you with an escort for the first two days. He’ll make sure you get here.” He points at a spot on the map not far from the Locust encampment. “After he leaves, you’ll need to travel into the camp on your own and pretend that you’ve decided to join them. Any questions?”

  Oh, I have a ton. Like: Why me? What happens if I fail? What happens if they find out I’m a spy? Instead, I put on a brave face and wisecrack. “Do I get an ugly black briefcase for this Mission?”

  Michael smirks at me. “Tomorrow, before you leave, you’ll receive a package of supplies. Your escort will pick you up at your room shortly after the crack of dawn.”

  Crack of dawn? Awesome.

  “Are you sure, like absolutely positive that I can’t get my wings before I go, because it seems like they might come in handy, like if I needed to fly away or just get up off the ground to scope things out?” I hate when I start babbling like this.

  Mother Nature laughs. Obviously she finds my predicament amusing. Michael tilts his head and gives her a you’re-not-exactly-helping-things look.

  “I’m sorry, Grace, there’s no time for that.” Michael smiles gently and says, “I do have a gift for you, though.” He gets up from his chair and walks over to a wall with one keyhole. He pulls out a key and opens the wall. Literally. The entire wall is a door. From my seat at his desk, I can see all sorts of stuff—metallic, crystal, and it’s all glowing and what the heck is in there?

  He emerges with a golden flowing vest and holds it out to me. “Please try this on. It’s important that I’ve chosen the right size.”

  I slip into it and hook the enclosures at the front. Immediately it molds to my body and transforms into a hard metallic substance. Already, I feel more secure.

  “That looks like a perfect fit.”

  “Yes, it feels like it was made for me. But what is it? I’ve never seen any trainees get one of these at a Ceremony.”

  “It’s a shield for the mind, body, and soul for the times Angels go into battle or need special protection. It’s usually given after Angels earn their wings.”

  After? My heart soars, because that can mean only one thing. I will get my wings. Someday. Even if it’s not as soon as I thought. “Why am I getting it now?”

  “I have a feeling you may need it.” His brow furrows, his expression taut. I don’t know how to read him, because that usually means he’s upset, but I haven’t done anything to irritate him today. “I’m worried about you, Grace. I wish I had another option, but I don’t.”

  Worried. Michael’s worried about me. My emotions are all a-flutter. Part of me is happy because it means he cares, and part of me is anxious because…well, because he knows everything, so maybe I should be more worried than I already am.

  “Be careful, Grace, and don’t take that vest off.”

  Chapter 8

  True to his word—and why would I ever doubt him?—there’s a knock on our bedroom door before the sun comes up.

  Faith rushes to the door to find a huge box delivered by UPS, that’s Utopia Parcel Service, not to be confused with the Earthly delivery company that goes by the same initials. “Figures it’s for you.” Disappointment drips from her voice.

  I rip the tape off the box and stare at its contents. One backpack. Not the kind Tara gave me on Earth as a replacement for the black briefcase. Oh no, this is far bigger than that backpack and far worse than the briefcase. It metal frame is practically bigger than me. I have Mercy help me put it over both shoulders, and, fortunately, it isn’t as heavy as it looks, but still. The blasphemous thing is empty. How will I ever be able to carry it with actual, um…supplies?

  Next up in the delivery box: a ginormous shoe box. I lift the lid and…egads, these things are ugly. They’re nothing like the cute boots Aisha had during my NYC mission. I hold them up for my roomie before setting them aside.

  Faith laughs when she sees them, and Mercy says, “Well, those look durable.” For the court, let the record show, I rolled my eyes at both of them.

  Also included in the delivery are an air bed and a battery-operated pump. That’s good. I’d wondered about sleeping on the ground. And several pairs of jeans, shorts, tees, a sweatshirt, gloves. I continue to unpack. Here’s what ends up spread around the floor of our room:

  -- a tent

  -- a small shovel

  --a First Aid kit—I don’t plan on needing this. Before I left NYC, I collected a little supply of water from Bethesda Fountain.

  -- a canteen

  -- lip balm Aah! That was very thoughtful, I hate to have chapped lips.

  --a compass

  -- basic—and I do mean basic—toiletries

  -- wrap-around sunglasses These would look better on Victor.

  -- beef jerky Am I supposed to eat that?

  --a Swiss Army knife with 47,000 attachments. Yes, even in Heaven we haven’t been able to improve on Swiss Army.

  --an industrial-sized lighter with a note attached that says “proceed with caution.” Good advice, and I may not need it at all.

  --one pot, one cup, one plate, and one set of utensils. One. Will I get lonely?

  --some instant cocoa. Ooh! What a nice touch! Hot chocolate is so homey.

  My roomies try to ignore me. Faith busies around the room, folding and hanging clothes while Mercy, propped up by pillows on her bed, supposedly works on charting the Milky Way. Instead, Mercy keeps looking up from her textbook when I ooh! or aah! over something in my package. She lays the text down, stretches her legs in front of her,

  wiggles her toes and asks, “Grace, what in the name of Our Maker is all that stuff for?”

  I hadn’t shared the specifics with her. She only knows I’ll be gone for an amount of time TBD. And that it’s very hush-hush. “It’s…um…for this project in, um…um…”

  “Alright. I get it,” Faith snaps. “You don’t want to tell her in front of me. Well, fine. I need to get to work at the Prayer Office. Some of us actually serve in productive ways.” She crumples the dress she was hanging and tosses it onto her bed, then grabs her books and stalks out of our room.

  The door slams behind her and a moment passes in silence. I raise my eyebrows at Mercy and she bursts into giggles. “Fine,” I say, tossing a pair of camo pants on my bed. “Fine, fine, fine.”

  Mercy giggles harder, then stops. “You shouldn’t make fun of her. She can’t help it, she’s a Dominion.”

  Confession: I feel a little bad for making fun of Faith, but probably not as bad as I should.

  “So, are you going to tell me, or should I go back to studying and ignore all the sounds you’re making?”

  I take a deep breath, and despite my better judgment say, “I’ll tell you, but…and this is a big but, you can’t tell anyone.”

  “You know I can keep a secret.”

  “I’m not supposed to tell—Michael would be so pissed at me—but I just need someone to know where I am.”

  “I won’t tell. Promise.”

  “He’s sending me into The Wilds. All this stuff is to help me survive there.”

  Mercy gasps. “The Wilds? Why?” she asks in a hushed, almost reverent voice.

  “Locusts have set up a camp there, and they want me to watch them.”

  “So, you’ll be their Guardian?”

  “No. No, no, no. Locusts are Guardians.” I’m not sure if that’s a hundred percent correct. I only know Annex is, or rather was, a Guardian.

  “I don’t what they are. The first time I heard that word was when Michael stopped by last year. When you were bi-located y’know? Then you were whooshed out of here back to Earth. You’ve never really explained it to me.”

  “They’re…” I hesitate. Does Mercy need to know? Maybe not, but that’s the problem with telling things you’re not supposed to. The hole I’m digging for myself keeps getting deeper and deeper. “They’re bad Angels. Rebel Angels.”

  “Like Wingless Ones.”

  “Sort of. Except they have wings.” Some of them have partial
wings, after full Guardians cut them off. But I don’t tell Mercy that part of the story.

  “Wow. I never knew. And they live in The Wilds?”

  “I guess some of them do.”

  “So, if you’re not guarding them, what are you doing?”

  “I’m supposed to join them.”

  “Why would you join a group of bad Angels?” she asks. I can tell from her tone she’s totally confused.

  “I’m a spy.”

  Her eyes widen. “Oh, I can definitely see why that would be a secret. You probably shouldn’t have told me.”

  Mercy—I love her with all my heart, but sometimes… “Listen, I’m going to be gone for a while. I have no idea how long. If you want to talk to someone about Locusts or anything, you could ask Justice. We did a project on them for Professor Truhome last term. So, Justice knows more about them than most AITs.”

  “Okay. He seemed nice. Cute, too.”

  “He’s a great guy. You should get to know him a little better.” Mercy blushes when I say that.

  I gather the camping paraphernalia and start shoving it into the mega-sized backpack. At first when Michael had told me no black briefcase I was all hurrah and yippee, but now I’m not so sure. This thing is a monster. I’m not even sure it’ll all fit.

  “You’re so brave.” Mercy’s voice startles me, interrupting my packing.

  “Huh?”

  “I never really gave you enough credit for what you did when you went to Earth that first time, you know? I told you take less risks, but that’s because I’d be too scared to take them.”

  “Aww…that’s not true Merce, you go up there with black holes and shooting stars. That takes a lot of guts.”

  “It does. But…we’re always working as a team. I never had to face anything alone. I don’t think I could do it.” Mercy nervously digs at the edge of her nail.

  I stop packing and look at her. “You do realize Guardians help each other. I never would’ve survived that first Mission without help from Victor and Aisha. Heck, I wouldn’t have survived the second Mission without them.”