Chapter 1
Ariel
"Ariel!" Daniel called. The name was a very bittersweet thing for me. Everything about Ariel just screamed lady-like, polite, girly... Ew. That was so not me. But it was like a link to my real family. They chose my name and made sure it was on the necklace I wore. They didn't want the angels to choose a new name. I assume it must hold some significance.
"Ariel!" He called again, sounding more stressed, but when wasn't he stressed?
"Coming!" I answered, and walked out of my room into the corridor. I had to blink a few times to adjust to all the white. My room is all black - which is frowned upon by basically everyone here - while everything else in heaven houses are white, cream (yes there is a difference), silver, and gold. You would think I would get used to all the brightness in my sixteen years of living here, but I haven't.
As I walked down the hallways to my guardian's office, I gazed outside the windows. We are on a cloud, but it isn't a normal cloud. If you ever paid attention in science class, you would know clouds are made of water and we would fall right through.
God (My adoptive dad or guardian has actually met him, and I heard he's a technology geek) created heaven and added some sort of charm-like-thing to make it float in the sky. It's invisible to humans though.
Although, if whenever it's supposed to be a clear sky and you see one loner cloud in the corner, you should know your supernatural because heaven is only visible to non-human beings.
Once I reached Daniel's office I opened the door without knocking because manners simply aren't my thing. He didn't even scold me for coming in without knocking so I immediately knew something was wrong.
The archangel in front of me was engrossed in reading something on an IPad. I could see a couple wrinkle lines on his forehead which is bizarre considering angels don't get wrinkles. They have perfect skin. How stressed is he exactly?
"Daniel?" I said. I don't call him dad because it never felt right. I know he's not my father. Most angels find it odd I don't call him dad and think it's because I'm ungrateful or something. That's not true; I just don't want to call him something he's not.
Do you ever call Miley Cyrus an all-American goody goody? I don't think so. Although it is hilarious to watch her twerk from up here.
He didn't correct me, cringe, grimace or even as much as give me a disapproving look when I called him Daniel and that's when I knew this situation wasn't just bad. It was downright dreadful, appalling, gruesome, ghastly, horrific, horrendous... okay maybe I'm overreacting. But he always reacts negatively when I don't call him dad.
"Daniel! What is it?!" I asked again, sounding impatient.
He looked up from the IPad looking startled. Oh God, he is never startled! He can hear someone approaching from miles away.
I masked my concern, worry, and most of all fear with a hard, cold look. I wasn't overly fond of displaying my emotions like a cake at a buffet.
"Ariel, why don't you sit down?" he offered.
"I don't need to sit. Now tell me why I'm here. What's going on?" I asked, my voice slightly pissed. Yet, I still didn't show how scared I was. What wasn't he telling me what had him so out of it?
He let out a sigh, and began to tell me the next few sentences which would turn my life upside down, "Ariel, the war is taxing on us angels. As you know vampires die with just a stake to the heart or garlic poisoning, and female angels don't fight-"
I cut him off right there, "I fight."
"So we were outnumbered from the start," he continued like I didn't say anything, "The-"
"I said something so don't ignore it, God dammit!" I yelled, clenching a fist, my voice full of power which even shocked me. Why am I so mad at him for simply just ignoring me? Oh right, I'm always bursting with anger for no reason. I don't think I'm ever genuinely happy. It's like they only emotions I can feel are negative.
"Ariel Angelo! You will not speak to me like that!" he yelled back.
The Daniel I knew never ever yelled. To angels he was the most gentle, caring guy ever. This just further worried me and I wanted- scratch that-needed to know what was going on.
"Just tell me what's going on!" I said, in a falsely calm voice. He was clearly stressed and I didn't need to make him more upset.
"I was before you interrupted me. We are losing the war Ariel." he said, sounding more calm then before.
My jaw dropped open. Even when we were in the very worst of situations he never would admit defeat. Angels are not quitters and when the going gets tough, we get tougher.
"We need help from another species. Obviously demons and witches are out of the question since they are on hell's side. We already have the vampires help but it's not enough."
"So we have to ask someone on Earth?" I asked, trying to grasp the magnitude of this.
"Yes. Now we could ask wolvens but they already made it very clear they what they think of assisting us. So we are going to need to ask a different species most probably unless by some miracle they can be convinced to help us."
Wolvens are werewolves but have powers. There is only one wolven pack. Years ago we asked for their help in The Great War. We won the war but they lost a lot of members. There numbers dwindled so low their species almost went extinct. So from then on they cut ties with us and basically blamed everything on us for 'dragging' them in the war when I'm pretty sure they came willingly.
Wolves aside, if I had water in my mouth I would have spit it all out. A-another species? We haven't contact with another species in decades, no centuries! After the Great War they cut off all ties with us, saying we were nothing but trouble.
"We will need someone to go to Earth and personally ask for their help. Now, I can't go nor can any of the other elders because we need to ensure heaven isn't completely destroyed. All the male angels are out fighting and female angels can't fight... except one." He smiled at me at the end.
"Y-you want m-me to go to Earth?" I asked, pointing at myself, astonished and stuttering. I was stuttering! But how could I not? He always tried to protect me and now he's sending me on a dangerous mission? I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Yes, Ariel. You are perfect for the job. You're well very... different... from the other angels. Maybe you'll be able to get through to them better." He said, though he sounded slightly strained.
"Wow. Okay, I'll go." I said, trying to mask my excitement. I will finally get to leave heaven! I felt a little bit of warmth at the pit of my stomach. I was getting to do something important! Daniel trusted me!
Overwhelmed by the foreign warm feeling spreading through me, I jumped forward and hugged him.
I'm not the affectionate type. I don't think I have hugged anyone in years. Actually I don't think I've ever initiated a hug. People have hugged me but not vice versa. He was startled and stumbled back a little before hugging me back and kissing the top of my head.
Okay, that's a littttttle too much love for me. I pulled back and frowned, "Daniel, I don't have my wings yet! Remember, I don't get them until I'm seventeen? How am I going to go down to earth?"
"Will you ever call me Dad? Even father would suffice or guy-who-raised-me! And you'll be riding a pink unicorn! You've met sparkles, right?"
"WHAT?! NO WAY! I AM NOT RIDING A FREAKING UNICORN! I am not going to go if I don't get a better ride!" I said, horrified. Just picture me, in a leather jacket with my belly button piecing and ray-ban aviators on a hot pink unicorn! I shuddered at the thought.
He chuckled before saying, "Just kidding, you'll be riding a dragon."
"No! Fucking! Way! An actual dragon?!"
"Language, but yes. But before you get all excited we need to go over some safety concerns, supplies, where you will go, and you will need to research different species to ask for help! Also you will need to call me every day with reports and I will be putting a tracker on you! You know what... i think this mission is too dangerous! What were the elders thinking? You're only sixteen!" he rambled.
"What? No I am definitely going! I am sick of being stuck in this f-"
"Language!"
I let out a breathe. This was going to be a long day.