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I forced my wings to beat again, pushing myself higher into the air where the clouds were thinner. I had gotten used to soaring, to gliding. In truth, it felt good to be up here, amongst the clouds. It felt like home somehow, or as close as I could get at least. But I couldn’t keep this up forever. I needed to land, I needed to find shelter, and I needed it fast.
The wind whooshed past me, a cool breeze caressing my tired face. I shut my eyes and turned my head toward the brush of air, allowing it to refresh me and reinvigorate me as much as it could.
Then I felt it.
A pulse at the edge of my senses.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw it. Light. It was bright enough that I could see it even at this height. A lighthouse? I wasn’t sure. It shone brightly, but it seemed too low against the surface of the water. Wings aching, I knew I would have to dive beneath the clouds to get a better view.
Instead of controlling my descent, I curled my wings up behind my back and let myself plummet. The rush of wind through my hair and my feathers was heavenly, a reprieve, but as I raced through the air, falling rapidly into the mantle of clouds beneath me, I felt my mind float away from my body. I knew I was falling too fast, but I was too exhausted to do anything about it.
Something inside of me refused oblivion’s call. I fought off the encroaching darkness, keeping myself awake and conscious. I opened my eyes, unfurled my aching wings, and with a force of will managed to twist myself around in the air as I fell, leveling out and soaring gently above the sparkling water beneath me.
There was definitely a light down there… bright, shining, and powerful. It wasn’t man-made, either; it was pure, and warm, and welcoming. A beacon amidst the vast nothingness all around it. This beacon sat on an island that was little more than a rock jutting out of the water. It wasn’t until I drew much closer to it that I realized it wasn’t just an island, or a rock, or a light.
It was a Bastion.
The light was coming from a tall, white tower set into the side of a long dead volcano. Around the tower were tall, white walls, similar to the ones that surrounded Meridian. This Bastion wasn’t nearly as large, but the tower was twice as tall, and its light shone far across the water. At night, I was sure, this thing could’ve been seen from all the way across the horizon.
It was Helena. I could feel it.I had found Helena.
Tears stung my eyes, and as they formed, the wind rushing past my face picked them up and scooped them into the air. I soared closer, my flight path wobbling as I approached the Bastion. I was weak.
Thinking I may have found shelter, I may have found aid, the promise of a warm bed, a meal, and all the water I could possibly drink, had suddenly sapped what little energy I had left inside of me.
As I neared the white tower and its walls, I thought I saw movement on the parapets. People,angels, their wings unfurling. They were drawing weapons—even from up here I could see the glimmer of steel—but
I could only hope they would ask questions before using those weapons on me, because I was rapidly losing control of my limbs, and my vision was again starting to blur, to darken. I was getting closer, and while I was able to pull up to avoid slamming into the parapets, I wasn’t able to slow myself down.
I slammed into the ground like a rock, striking it first with my shoulder, then rolling onto my wings, and tumbling over myself like a sock in a drier. The world spun, and spun, and then slid, until eventually I came to a complete stop. I didn’t know what state I was in, or how serious my injuries were as I slowly succumbed to the encroaching darkness. I heard a commotion, but the sounds were distant, and they warbled like I was underwater. Shadows covered me, then I saw the faces of angels, bright, and shining, and as vibrant as the light that had drawn me to them.
Then I heard a voice I thought I recognized.
“Get her inside, quick!” they said, “And get a Lightbringer down here right now!”
“I… am a Lightbringer,” I croaked, the words ripping their way out of my throat.
“Quiet, Sarakiel—conserve your strength.” Someone tapped me against the forehead. “Sleep.”
In an instant I greeted unconsciousness like an old friend… and drifted off into the dark.
CHAPTER TWO
MEDRION
“Forgive me, father, for I have sinned,” I said, gazing at my own navel. “It has been centuries since my last confession.”
“Centuries?” asked the man across from me. His voice was old and withered. I could not see him for the partition between us, but I could smell the stink of cigarette smoke from his vestments. “Surely that is a figure of speech, my son.”
“It feels like centuries. Maybe more.”
“The weight of sin can feel this way. It is a burden we carry.”
“What do you know of sin?”
“I… know much about sin. Far too much. I also know I can help you.”
“Can you?”
