Blood of Dragons (25 page)

“I am Haniel.”

Okay.  Maybe I need to be more specific.  “What kind of Angel are you?”

She smiles and my heart lightens.  “I am a Seraph.”

Wow, she’s really forthcoming with the details.  “Um, I don’t know what that means.”

“I know,” she says. 

I’m at a complete loss here.  “Did you come to punish me for what I did to Belial?”

Again with the smile that makes it seem like nothing bad has ever occurred.  Anywhere.  Ever.  “No, of course not.  Belial knows his place.  He simply forgot for a moment.  Just as Raziel had.”

Some of my anxiety from a few minutes ago is starting to come back.  I’m pretty sure she knows who I really am.  I bite my bottom lip, which probably looks funny on Raziel’s gorgeous face, and ask, “Are you here to punish me for pretending to be Raziel?”

She shakes her head slightly and her black hair glides back and forth across her shoulders.  “I did not come to punish you for something I have done.”

“You?  You made us change bodies?”

Her smile gets more beautiful every time.  “No other Angel could have done so.”

Oh.  “So it’s not Raziel’s fault?”

“No.”

“Why did you do it?”

“It is not the time for that yet.”

My eyes scan our surroundings to see what she might be waiting for.  Nothing that I can see.  “Can we change back now?”

She only smiles in response.  Okay, her pretty smile is starting to annoy me now.  I’m about to tell her that when I appear.  Not me.  My body.  The one that Raziel is in.  And Kallen.  My true love.  Without thought of anyone else, I run to him and wrap my arms around him so tightly he can’t breathe.  Since I basically tackled him, we also fall to the ground.

“I have missed you so much,” I say as he hugs me back. 

Then he struggles to be free of my grip when I won’t let go.  “Xandra love, I have missed you as well.  I think at the moment though, we should focus on what is happening to us.”

I can’t help a small pout which makes him chuckle.  Placing his hands on my cheeks he kisses me.  I think he’s totally oblivious at the moment that he’s kissing Raziel’s lips.  I’m certainly not going to remind him.

Still pouting slightly, I let him go and stand up, offering him my hand.  As one we turn to Raziel and Haniel.  There are so many ‘iels’ with the Angels.  I wonder why that is? 

When I look at him, I expect Raziel’s eyes to be sad or hurt because of how I greeted Kallen, but they’re not.  They’re more thoughtful than anything.  He returns my smile and nods slightly in greeting.

“Have you seen it now, Raziel?” the beautiful Angel asks him. 

He tilts his head to the side.  Actually, he tilts my head to the side.  This is really weird.  “My apologies, Haniel.  I am not sure that I understand.”

“No, I suppose you would not quite yet.”  Glad she’s cryptic with everyone, not just me. 

Haniel walks to me.  It looks more like gliding than walking because her movements are so fluid.  Putting her hand under my chin she lifts my face so that I am looking into her eyes.  “It is time for you to return to your body now.”

I can’t help a wide smile.  “Really?”  Then I remember what happened before she brought me here and my smile melts away.  How can she be so nice to me when I’ve been so horrible?

She shakes her head slightly.  “You must not think of such things.  It is not time for that.”

Meaning there will be time later?  Like when I get punished for my actions.  My soul is probably one big black shadow now.  And what’s up with her being able to read my mind?  I don’t like that at all.  Which she knows now because she can read my mind.  “I can’t help it.  I did horrible things to Belial and I should be punished for that.  No one should suffer that way.”

Her eyebrows rise slightly.  “Did you not think the same thing when it was you suffering at his hands?”

“What?” both Raziel and Kallen say together.

I ignore them.  “But he’s supposed to be evil.”

“As I said before, evil is relative,” Haniel says patiently.  “It must be for the Universe to remain in balance.”

I’m not sure I understand.  “How can it be relative when I tore him apart, literally, from the inside out?”

“What?!” both Raziel and Kallen cry again.

“Xandra, what happened between you and Belial?” Raziel asks.

Before I can say anything, Haniel speaks.  “You will know soon enough, Raziel.  It is time for you to return now.”

“Return where?” I ask.  How are the other Angels going to look at Raziel now?  I have made him evil in their eyes.  Whether evil is relative or not.

“We will meet again soon,” Haniel promises and then she’s gone.

Chapter 32 – Raziel

Why has the Seraph of Joy pulled us out of time itself?  Neither Xandra nor Kallen have any idea how significant this is.  Seraphim rarely communicate openly.  They are a mystery even to Archangels.

This is confirmed by her cryptic words.  Whatever Haniel’s motivation is, it clearly centers around Xandra.  Is there more to Xandra’s destiny than even I know?  Or used to know.  Considering I cannot see anything regarding her destiny at the moment the answer to that question clearly is yes. 

I am about to ask these questions when Haniel dismisses us.  Time rushes forward and we are thrust out into it.  The ground is once again solid under our feet and the familiar landscape of the Dragon realm is before us.  I say us, but it is only Kallen and I.  Xandra is not here.

Kallen turns to me and then stumbles backwards.  “What the hell!  How did that happen?”

I turn to look behind me expecting a Dragon or some other shocking thing.  Nothing.  I turn back to him and ask, “What do you see?”

His face is incredulous.  “You know damn well what I see.”

I look around again.  Nothing.  “Kallen, I do not…”

He interrupts me by stepping forward and shaking me.  “Xandra, wake up.”

I put my hands up to stop him.  “Kallen, stop.  It is still me, Raziel.”

I can tell he wants to punch me again.  “It is both of you.”

“Both of us?”  He must have become insane.  Perhaps being in the presence of a Seraph was too much for his mortal mind.

“Kallen, what are you talking about?”

Both he and I startle at Isla’s voice.  She and Garren are standing several feet away and looking at us expectantly.  “We need to get out of this open area.  The Dragons have no doubt sent scouts to look for us already.”

She is correct.  We are standing in a small meadow.  I remember thinking about this meadow when I teleported us to the Goblin rebels.  I did not dare attempt teleporting us to anywhere inside the forest for fear that I place someone inside of a tree.

Putting the conversation on hold, Kallen grabs my arm and tugs me towards the forest.  We are only about 100 yards from the rebel encampment.  At least, its current location.  The Goblins take care to neutralize their urine and excrement with a special blend of herbs and minerals; but the scent is so pervasive that they have to move their encampment every couple of weeks to avoid being smelled by the Dragons.

As we pick our way through the underbrush and tree limbs, Kallen hisses, “How are you both in that body?  And why is Xandra not conscious?”

I stop moving.  I have no choice.  He has stunned me.  “Kallen, I have no idea what you are talking about.  I only feel myself in this body.”

“Are you two coming?” Garren asks impatiently. 

“Wake her up,” Kallen growls as he starts walking again.

Can he be right?  Are Xandra and I in the same body?  And if so, I wonder what exactly Haniel is trying to accomplish by doing this. 

I am not left with much time to ponder that as we are suddenly surrounded by about fifty Goblins.  These are a bit larger than the breeding Goblins.  They are dressed in tunics in varying shades of green and brown.  Sparse wisps of hair are scattered across their heads and faces and their noses hang well below their mouths.  They look almost like their breeding brethren.  The difference is in their eyes.  These are sentient beings.  And they are angry.  That is evident by the sharp quills loaded in crossbows that are no doubt filled with any number of poisons.  And they are pointed at us.

“Garren, why are you here?” the rebel leader asks him after pushing through the crowd.  “Your presence is not needed.”

“Yes, I know.  Trust me, I wish I had stayed home as well.  I am now undoubtedly an enemy of the realm and have nowhere else to go.”  That is true.

“Then you have put us in even more danger than we already were,” the Goblin Mortain grouses. 

“If it could have been helped, I would have prevented it.”

Mortain points to me.  “Who is she?”

Garren shrugs.  “I have yet to figure that out myself.”

Mortain kicks Garren in the shin.  “Why are you speaking in riddles?  Do you mean to confuse us?”

Garren reaches down and rubs his shin.  “No.  And those boots of yours have some sharp tips on them.”

Mortain holds up his foot proudly.  “Scale piercing they are.”

“Yes, I noticed,” Garren says dryly.  A bit of blood is trickling down his leg.

“Where is Tabitha?” Isla asks, too impatient of our goal to listen to this any longer.  There is a steely threat in her voice.

Mortain points his crossbow at her.  “You will not have her until we have your magic.”

Isla and Kallen both are pulling enough magic to level the forest.  That will certainly not help our goal of avoiding the wrath of the Dragons.  “Mortain, we are not here to give you magic but we still may be able to help your cause.”