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His father leans forward against his knees and gasps. "I never wanted a family until I knew you were coming. Right when my life came to a climax, you were taken from me. I was forced to leave."
"You didn't have to go," Ash says. "Mom needed you."
Clyde looks so pitiful that it breaks my heart to see. "Lucifer was right, Ash. He knew what would happen. I had to make the sacrifice. Your mother insisted on it," he says. "If I didn't leave, you couldn't win this war. You wouldn't have had it in you."
"I need to know everything there is to know about the angels," he says. "Where they are. How to activate them. Everything. If you can't give that information to me, there's no point in our being here."
Clyde stands and straightens his back. Sweat runs down his face, and when he waves us over to a long hallway at the other end of the room, he limps. "There are three angels and three keys. I have the keys, so no need to worry your head off about that. As far as the angels go, you've seen the one in the city. There's one buried on the shore of the Atlantic. The other is in the financial district. The third is in Legalt & Horn's hands. I'll give you a GPS system that should take you directly to the spot."
I clear my throat and interrupt. "Three? I thought there was four?" I ask.
He turns sharply and stares at me. "You're Raven, aren't you?"
I swallow and feel my cheeks turn hot. I can't avoid quickly looking over at Ash. His eyes are tired and hurt. I doubted him before, but he's truly the only one that's ever made me feel worthwhile. He was the one who allowed me to find my destiny without questioning it once.
He is always on my side.
"Yes. That's me," I say.
Ash smiles. I'm feeling a lot of emotions that I don't have the time to analyze right now.
Clyde says, "I've heard a lot about you. Your whole life is a masterpiece, a work of art. Maybe you don't know it yet, but you're going to do a lot of good."
I look away. I try not to accept the compliment. People keep telling me things that sound so outlandish. At this point, I'd rather just tune it all out. "Everyone calls me special. I saw something the other night that allowed me to believe that. But I still don't understand how or why I am so unique. What am I?"
"I can't answer that for you," he says.
Now, Ash's father looks more serious than ever before. "It's almost time. Are you sure that you're ready?"
The team feels emboldened to act.
Clyde opens the door at the end of the hallway and waves us inside. After accessing a locked drawer, he gives us three gemstones. They each glow a unique color: Ruby, Topaz, and Emerald.
"These are the keys to unlocking the angels," he says. “In their center holds the energy of the universe.”
"How do they work?" I ask.
"They will activate when the right person brings it to them. That's all I've been told," Clyde says. "Lucifer's followers will come looking for me here, now. I must lock up the facility and set up the defense systems."
Ash sighs and hugs his father again. "I can't stand this short reunion, father. Come with us. Make sure you are safe."
"To have your forgiveness would mean everything to an old man like me," he says.
I can sense there's a hidden clause coming.
Clyde hesitatingly shakes his head. "But I can't be with you on this journey. It's yours to complete. Naturally, you will need some weapons," he says.
Clyde turns around and unlocks a large safe. When it opens, he shows us a set of huge rifles. They are unlike anything I have ever seen. Gold symbols and ancient runes are etched into framework.
"I built these through years of hard work, struggle, and studying properly. May they serve you well," he says.
Clyde grabs the biggest of the weapons. The whole base of the gun lights up as soon as his fingers fit around the necessary holds. A light expands through the entire room.
"An army has forced the darkest sides of the cosmos to come together. I've been instructed to stay here. I cannot say if I will survive. That's up to destiny to decide."
"Is light as fragmented as it seems?" I wonder aloud.
He cocks the weapon. "That all depends on how you look at it," he says. "Today, Earth will open. Beelzebub and his loyal followers will scour the planet if you don't act soon. You have to go."
