Ethereal

Chapter 24

"But you did turn yourself in." I was confused. "Didn't you?"

He nodded, almost shyly. "I returned to Heaven a few months ago. We angels are allowed to stay on Earth, but there are rules we have to follow. We aren't supposed to form an intimate relationship with a human. No one is allowed to know what we are, and we must not reveal our true forms on Earth. I had to return eventually, they would have sent Searchers looking for me if I hadn't. I had hoped they would let my long absence slide, but they didn't. I was put on trial, and I confessed. It is very difficult as an angel to lie, and it had been so long. The guilt was particularly intense in Heaven, the confession came out before I could stop myself. It's why I stayed away for so many years - because I was afraid that I would not be able to stop myself from confessing. I was right."

"Well, you certainly lasted a while." I commented, surprised at how long he had kept this secret.

He nodded again. "I did. I only gave them minor details, I truly didn't want them to find you. I only told them that I revealed my true form. But they knew that there would be a child, I had told them when it happened, and where Lori lived. I prayed that they would not find you, but there is not much use in praying to God when you have gone against his own rules."

"And that's when they sent Searchers, to find me?" I asked.

"Yes." He said. "That's when they sent the three. I begged them not to, I assured them that you weren't a threat, but they would not listen to reason, they had never come across a Nephilim that wasn't a threat. And so, they went to Earth, searching for you."

"I guess I understand their reasoning." I sighed. "Still, I'm glad I had the chance to explain, to show them that I am not what they thought I was."

He nodded, agreeing. "I cannot tell you how happy I am that they allowed you to live Emilia. If they had killed you... I'm not sure what I would have done."

"Was that their plan? When the Reed asked for... the Gladius domini deus... that was to kill me?"

He nodded. "The sword of god. One of few weapons that can kill angels."

I shuddered. "And then my mother would have no one."

"Yes... I do wonder how she is." I froze at his words, nervously tugging at the hem of my dress (which was white again). "No one will update me on her condition. I'd appreciate it if you could check up on her for me."

"I..." I found it difficult to speak, having to choke my words out. "Acacius, she's, um." I took a deep breath. "She's gone missing. I went down to Earth and... and she's gone. There's no record of her."

I fought back a sob, I didn't want to tell him this. I didn't want to talk about it. I only wanted her to be safe, for her to be home. I would never leave her alone again, I couldn't bear to let her out of my sight again once I had found her.

"Emilia, don't cry, please!" He gasped, I ran the back of my hand under my eye to catch a stray tear. "I don't understand."

"She's gone." I cried out. "She's missing, and I don't know what to do."

"Emilia... listen to me. Lori... she's here. She's in Caelum."

"W-what?" I said shakily, looking up at him in confusion.

"Well, the council was still gathered when Jasmine and Travis came back through with Lori. Humans can't get through the portal unless accompanied by an angel, it does force them unconscious though – seeing the light here will kill them. So, she was asleep in Jasmine's arms, drenched in water, though she looked happy. The council was shocked of course, but Jasmine quickly explained the situation."

He stared at me as though waiting for me to get it, to understand. "The... situation?" I asked for clarification.

"They said she fell in the lake trying to reach them, they recognised that she must have seen angel light before, because she recognised them as angels." He explained, speaking slowly to help me understand. "I didn't tell them it was my light she had seen of course... it would only help them find you. The council chose to send Jasmine and Travis back to Earth to search while they dealt with Lori."

"Dealt with?" That didn't mean... they'd kill her... right? She was a human; doesn't that mean she's under their protection?

"They built a room for her here, a hospital room, using materials from Earth, thick, opaque ones, so that our light doesn't harm her further. They're healing her. They thought she might have an immunity now, having been exposed before, but they didn't want to risk that of course." He told me. "That's why I kept asking for you to check up, she's so close by I didn't think it would be a problem."

"She's... she's in Caelum?" I repeated.

"Did nobody tell you?" He seemed confused.

"They told me... that she was in a care home... on Earth." I stammered. "They... lied to me." All three of them. Travis, Jasmine... Noah.

All of them lied. How could they do this to me?

Who was it that called me then, pretending to be the care home? I decided quickly that I didn't care. It didn't matter really, the only part that mattered was that I had been lied to.

How could they? It was the only thought that I could form. I trusted them, all of them! And this is how they repaid me. By lying to me. They saw how torn up I was about my mother being missing, and they lied to me again about how they would look for her.

Jasmine's strange silence made sense now, how she wouldn't look me in the eye. But at least she appeared to feel guilty. I was shocked by how simple it was for Noah, to act like he didn't know where my mother was. I had believed him so easily. Had he lied to me about anything else.

"I have to go." I stood up abruptly. "I need to see her, I'll let you know how she is."

"Emilia!" Acacius called out to me, but I didn't respond. I didn't trust myself to be able to speak. My eyes were burning, and a huge lump was rising in my throat. It was taking all that I had not to cry. But the truth was, I felt betrayed. I may have felt like an outsider here, but I was comforted by the fact that I had made true friends here – it turned out that I was wrong about that. They weren't my true friends, because if they were they never would have lied about something so important.

I was in anguish, but none of that really mattered now. What mattered was that I saw my mother and made sure that she was okay.

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