We Are The Archangels

Chapter VI - Arrow

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Aeras and I sat silently in the grass, back to back, the sweet smell of strawberries wafting across the fields.

The sun was sinking in the sky like a stone in water. As it touched the horizon and turned the sky a brilliant tangerine, three strange shapes became visible, appearing black against the pale orange and blue backdrop.

‘Aeras,’ I whispered. ‘Look.’

He glanced up as the shapes grew closer and closer. A glint of gold flashed in the light of the setting sun and we stood, recognizing Destiny’s golden wings. Three people were visible in the clutches of our brothers and sister, but they were still too far to see who they were.

Finally, Nero, Midnight and Destiny hovered before us, setting Annabeth, Leo and Calypso gently down in the long grass. Calypso hugged her stomach, looking a little green. Leo sprinted for the nearest strawberry bush and threw up in it.

‘I feel nearly as sick as the gods,’ Annabeth managed, wobbling a little.

‘What was wrong with the gods?’ Aeras asked Destiny. ‘Did you find out?’

The demigods, Aeras and I fell silent. Nero and Midnight shifted anxiously.

‘No,’ Destiny admitted. ‘Whatever’s wrong with the gods, it’s not fate. Something more powerful is at work. I’m not even sure Ewan-’

She trailed off and I bit my lip. Aeras drew his wings in tighter and gazed out across the fields as night slowly descended on the valley.

‘Ewan?’ Leo asked. ‘Who’s that?’

‘Our brother,’ Nero said, a small smile visible on the lower half of his face. ‘Him and his twin Aaron, quite the double act they are; a pair of pranksters if I ever saw one. They both have rather unique powers, Ewan with the ability to heal any injury.’

‘Oh,’ Calypso squeaked in a small voice. ‘Any injury?’

‘Any injury,’ Midnight confirmed. ‘But he’s not so good with diseases. It works best with physical wounds. I’m not sure if it would work on the gods since they’re sick not injured.’

‘Then we need to find out what’s wrong with the gods, ‘Nero declared. ‘Before the others get here.’

‘How long do we have?’ Annabeth asked.

‘A week,’ I muttered nervously. ‘We have a week until Father sends the Sorrows. We need to find out what to do before then, or we’ll end up wasting time.’

‘What will happen to the gods?’ Calypso whispered. ‘If they don’t get better, will they die?’

‘But gods can’t die,’ Leo pointed out. But he didn’t seem sure.

‘They can fade,’ Midnight said seriously. ‘Destiny, you’re our future expert. What do the fates say?’

Destiny’s wings fluttered timidly, her gold wings reflecting the luminosity of the moon as our only source of light. She folded her arms, pulling her cloak around her as the wind grew harder and chillier.

‘Something is cutting my connection with the fates,’ Destiny murmured with a quaver in her voice. ‘I tried to connect on the way here. I got a kind of fuzzy reception, like something is preventing me from talking to the fates.’

‘You need to talk to them,’ Nero said. ‘We have to find them.’

‘Find the fates?’ Annabeth repeated in disbelief. ‘But that’s impossible, isn’t it? The fates only appear to those destined to die, right?’