Awakening (Children of Angels) (27 page)

After all, they would not have wanted their prince to be so unruly, so wholly uncontrollable. It didn't help that Evan was incredibly intelligent, and had quickly learned he was faster, stronger and had more little tricks than the other Angels. He could not be stopped, if he wanted to do something. And even Arduino acknowledged that was a dangerous quality in a leader. He sat on Evans bed and waited - the boy would have to return sooner or later.

Evan arrived back in his rooms under cover of darkness, carrying Mia and laying her delicately on his bed. It had worked, he was relieved to see, there was no sign of Arduino, although Evan knew there was not a chance that the old man would leave the room until Evan returned.

The most complex Truth that Evan had woven seemed to be holding, and this was indeed a good thing, for whilst Mia recuperated, it was imperative that no-one found her - he didn't know what the others would do with her if they did. He knew of the prophecy, of course, but doubted very much that she did. And most others didn't know it either, or if they did, they at best knew only parts of it. He looked at the sleeping girl, and wondered how he would explain it to her. She probably wouldn’t believe him - after all, he had every reason to lie to her. He could think of only one way to make her believe him, and reluctantly he left the sleeping girl alone in the darkened room, to set his new plan into motion.

The first step was to shift Truths, and speak with Arduino. He had to explain himself to his mentor, although he knew the old man would not be pleased. He appeared in the room behind where Arduino sat on his bed, his eyes closed in meditative thought.

“
The wanderer returns.
”
Arduino spoke glibly, without even opening his eyes.

“
Hello Old Man
”
replied Evan.

“
Well?
”

“
Well
…
what?
”
Evan played dumb, just as he always did with old Arduino - he knew that one of the few emotions Angels are capable of achieving is anger, and when Evan frustrated him like this, Arduino had a tendency to get comically angry. He resembled a small angry garden gnome, though Evan was certain that this was not quite the image he was going for.

“
Not tonight, Evan. Not tonight. Are you going to tell me where you
’
ve been, or not?
”

“
As a matter of fact, Old Man, I am.
”

Arduino opened his eyes and twisted around on the bed to look at Evan

“
You
are
?
”
he asked, incredulously.

“
Yes - but you aren
’
t going to like it.
”

“
Tell me, son, when do I ever like anything that you do?
”
“
Rarely
”
replied Evan with a smile
“
In truth, I have been with the girl.
”

“
EVAN
!
”
cried the old man, exasperated,
“
How many
times
must I tell you? Leave well alone! Keep your distance!
”

“
I
was
keeping my distance!
”
Evan replied hotly
“
She
is the one who kept calling
me
, and I was only obliging her.
”

“
Evan
…”

“
I
know
, I know, she didn
’
t know she was doing it - but how can you expect me not to be curious about her, Dino? How?
”
His deliberate use of the name he had called Arduino when he was very small did the trick, the old man softened.

“
And why are you telling me this, child?
”

“
Because
…
I need your help,
”
replied Evan awkwardly
“
Mia
…
the girl
…
.she
’
s hurt. Badly. I
’
m helping her heal, and she
’
s safe for now, but I
’
m afraid. Afraid that once she
’
s healed she will go straight back to them, and drink more of their poison and believe their lies. She
’
s stubborn, Arduino, and she
hates
me.
”
He hung his head, and the old man was surprised to register sorrow on the boys face. The boy, like the rest of the Angels, did not show emotion, although he, unlike them, was capable of it. He had learned his lessons well - emotions were a weakness.

And yet, here he was, sorrowful and defeated, over a girl from the wrong side of the dimension, no less. The prophecy was beginning to come into effect, and Arduino knew he had only one choice.

“What do you need from me, child?” he asked gently.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

“
N
O, Evan, I said no.
”
Arduino was standing by the window, staring
out across the grounds, his back turned to Evan as he pleaded with him.
“N
ot that, child, I cannot do it - think of the
risk
, not only to me, but to you and to Mia and to
everything
. If anyone finds out what you are up to, they will not
understand
,
Evan, don
’
t you see that?
”

“
She will never believe me!
”
Evan raged,
“
and you know that! How else do you propose we do this? I can
’
t control her, I can
’
t bend her will - she is a free creature, and once she is well she will
leave
and do everything in her power to stay away from me! The next time we meet will be on the battlefield and one of us or both of us will
die
, is that what you want?
”
he stormed.

“
Evan, hush! Hush! Someone will
hear
!
”
Arduino hurried over, his hands raised, trying to calm Evan down. It was not really necessary for Angels to speak aloud, since they had a perfect means of private communication by simply mindspeaking to one another - Evan preferred to communicate the human way, and the Angels obliged him.

“
No they
won
’
t
, do you think I
’
m an idiot? No-one even knows I
’
m here, all they
’
ll see if they walk into my room is
you
, just waiting for me to return!
”
“
How many Truths are you manipulating right now, Evan?
”
asked Arduino, flabbergasted and concerned.

“
Enough!
”
replied the boy sharply.
“
That
’
s how many,
enough
. Enough for me to be able to speak freely and ask help of the only one I thought I could trust. It turns out though that when you promised my parents that you would take care of me, help me in any way that you can, that you left out the small print -
only when it suits you
”
.

“
Be
fair
Evan!
”

“
I don
’
t
have
to be fair, Arduino - and what would you know of fairness anyway? Fairness is a human concept! You swore your allegiance to me and you are going back on your word to my
dead
parents. Breaking a promise to the dead? Well I
’
m sure
that
does wonders for the soul, and what
’
s waiting for you in the Shadow World!
”
he raged
“
I will handle this
myself.
”

The boy was gone before Arduino could stop him, and he was powerless to follow. The boy caused him great concern now, it seemed his anger was getting the better of him. Yes, the boy knew his fate - the fate that his parents had wanted him to know, at least. But there was a second prophecy, of which the boy knew only a part. He didn't know how it would begin. And Arduino feared that it already had.

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

E
van shifted to the place he knew he would find Katherine, and
stood outside, looking up at the magnificent white tower. It resembled something from a child’s fairytale, and the woman waiting at the top of that tower could easily have been a princess. Formally, he walked up to the door, and knocked. Despite the late hour, he knew that Katherine would be awake - he was the only one here who slept. Time meant nothing to the others. There was no day or night.

The door swung open, and a light shone on the stairs. It looked to Evan the way he had always imagined Tinkerbell to look, in Peter Pan. A little ball of bright light. His parents had indulged him as a small boy, told him human stories about magic, which even with all he could do himself, had still seemed wondrous to him. He followed the light obediently, knowing that in reality, there was no such thing as fairies, and that this was just an orb of Katherine’s power, guiding him to her. He wondered if she knew why he had come. Perhaps she had even been expecting him.

He followed the light up the winding staircase until it stopped and hovered in front of a door, then disappeared in a flash of sparkles. He knocked on the door, and entered without waiting for a reply from within.

The knock was more of a formality than anything, politeness out of habit. The others had always found it quaint, the way such human things seemed hard-wired into this curious little person. Katherine turned and smiled at him from her position by the small window.

“
Hello, Evan. To what do I owe this pleasure?
”
she asked, her voice melodious and mild.