Paradise Made

Forty-One: The Inner Circle

Lily was alright. She was with Justin and Kasdaye when we found her. Where Pen was, I hadn't even bothered to ask, as much as it would be a lie to say he wasn't on my mind. We left those three in charge of guarding the reactor while Sara and I returned to where she'd left June, Dumah, and the Templar's they'd been with. Some of them were teleported over to help with guard duty.

The group had locked down an area near the top of the apartment block not currently on fire. Here we were in the center of it all, able to watch the chaos unfold around us. It also seemed to be serving as a sort of shelter, for those seeking refuge from the fighting.

June attempted to explain it to me. There were motivations behind the fighting. Factions for God, against God, S.W.A.T, the army maybe, anti-government rebels whose search for Lucas Dejan had drawn the crowd here. I wasn't really listening. Humans seemed to always be fighting, tearing each other apart for one reason or another instead of uniting against the terrifying forces larger than themselves.

"It's a church," said June, from where she sat beside me. "It's supposed to be a church, this part of the building we're defending."

We sat with our legs dangling through the bars of a stairwell banister. We looked down on the people resting on mattresses which had been dragged out into the hallways. Templar's offered some medical aid. Sara and the few angels who had joined us had been teleporting them in, and they now held quite a substantial presence here.

"She's gone down to talk to them," I said. "To give a sermon of sorts, I believe."

"Didn't feel like going with? I know she wants you by her side."

I shook my head. "I don't think I could. I love her but I couldn't listen as she spin them lies."

"Oh, don't get like that. What do you consider truth? She's telling them what they want to hear. Their world is burning and they're afraid."

"Are you?"

For a moment we stared each other down.

"No, it's strange, I don't think I am. It's a sort of feeling, like how I knew this was where everything was meant to happen before we ended up here."

I'd missed June. I liked being around her for the same reason I'd been so drawn to Nik. She looked so distinctly human. In the midst of all this she still sported a shock of bright pink hair, which was not currently capable of lying flat, a beaten up leather jacket, and a nose ring. Yet here she was, among the angels in their business suits.

Suddenly she gasped, as if in pain, clutching the bars and doubling over on herself. She curled into a ball, resting her head on her knees.

"June!" I grabbed her shoulder. "June, what's happening? What's wrong?"

A few tense seconds later she uncurled, and my hand slid limply away.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "This keeps happening. I keep thinking about them, out there in all this chaos. I keep feeling what they're feeling and I'm afraid they may have encountered a little trouble?"

"What? Who are you talking about?"

"Has Sara not told you?" June looked concerned. "The disciples; they're in the UK somewhere. I can't pinpoint exact location."

"What?" This couldn't be. "Do you see what it's like out there? They have to stay away. Who told them to do this?"

"No one. They want to be by Sara's side. They got on the plane of their own accord."

"Then why aren't they here? Can't Sara or Dumah go get them, bring them to safety?"

"It was too late when we realized. There are too many demons congregating around London, too much dark energy for us to get a fix on location. And before you ask, cellphone towers are out. The people think it's Dejan, since the protests were organized primarily through the internet."