Ascended (14 page)

The T
ower had represented the terrible end of their story in Carter’s mind, but the Chief’s words alerted him to the fact that the Tower was not the end of their story. It was only the beginning.

The
Chief stood tall and proud, watching Carter as he started out on his journey to bring
Kitala Olowa Zitkala
, their little song bird, back home. And then he prepared for war.

Chapter
Twelve

Truth and Honor

Fallon stood frozen in
place, holding on to the black blade Gabriel had been searching for. She had begun to approach him, but the closer she got, the harder it was for her to watch the eyes of the man she loved grow cold, and she found herself slowing down more and more until she finally came to a stop.

Although
Gabriel had already put together the pieces of the puzzle, he had hoped that he was wrong about Fallon. But looking at her standing there holding the truth in her hands was almost more than he could take. Fallon had put a knife in his back and twisted it with her betrayal, cutting him deep with a wound that even time could not heal.

Raphael stood
at his side, waiting to watch the nightmare at the Gates that was about to unfold.

Fallon spoke.
“Gabriel, please let me explain,” she begged him.

He glared at her for a moment and then slowly moved forward.
He placed himself directly in front of her and said, “There is nothing you can say that would be of any interest to me now.”

“Gabriel
, you don’t understand—”

“Silence!” he roared, forbidding her to speak another word. “You have been tried, you have been found guilty, and you will be punished
, Fallon. And no one, not even Camulus, is going to be able to save you from your fate.”

“I don’t care what happens to me, but I care about you
, Gabriel,” she said with sincerity.

“Stop your lying!” he shouted
. “How foolish do you think I am, Fallon? You expect me to believe you care about me?” He made a disgusted face. “If this is how you care about me, then please, Fallon, don’t!”

“You need to hear me out. It
’s imperative that you listen to what I have to say,” she replied, trying to ignore his hurtful words, although it was killing her to hear him speak so harshly and with so much contempt in his voice...all directed at her.

“No
, Fallon, you’re wrong. I don’t have to listen to anything you have to say. I think we can all agree that anything that comes out of your mouth would not resemble what we are looking for: the truth. Do you even remember what that is, Fallon?” he taunted her. “The truth?”

“You can say what you want to hurt me
. I deserve it, and I know this, Gabriel. But please, just hear me out,” she begged.

“I
’m done listening to you, Fallon. There’s only one thing I want from you….now give me the diary!” he said, putting his hand out.

“But
, Gabriel…”

“Now
, Fallon! I’m done playing games with you!” Gabriel shouted at her.

Raphael watched the two of them challenge one another
in a way he had never seen before.

Fallon walked over to a picture that hung on the wall and slid it to
one side. A panel opened up behind it to reveal a small black box which was hidden inside. She handed the contents of the box over to Gabriel, saying, “This is going to change everything, Gabriel. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Gabriel held the golden angel in the palm of his hand, like Fallon had before. Then he w
atched as the angel’s wings flittered aimlessly about before it took flight.

The three of them watched closely as Vie’s entire existence was displayed before their eyes. It began with Vie taking her first breath. Gabriel watched anxiously, but
at first noticed nothing unusual. Then, only seconds into the diary, Gabriel was horrified by the sight of Vie’s eyes; instead of their usual violet color, they were devil-red and they were staring directly at him.

Gabriel had seen those eyes before
. They were the eyes of his adversary: the eyes of evil itself. He continued to watch, and just like in the story Katherine had told Carter, he saw the amazing transformation take place right in front of them. Vie’s eyes had changed to violet with no explanation as to why.

The rest of her existence was no surprise to Gabriel
, since he had already discovered during their mission the manner in which Vie had come to the Gates. As he looked at the black blade still clutched in Fallon’s hand, suddenly he flashed back to a day long ago…the day he’d first met Vie.

Camulus and a much younger version of Gabriel were at the entrance of the Gates, training together. Camulus was pleased with Gabriel’s progress and was telling him he would lead the Guardians someday. Gabriel was a young fierce warrior who was already exhibiting many special gifts and abilities unlike any other at the Gates.

Camulus took a special interest in Gabriel from the
very first moment he arrived at the Gates; they were more like father and son than trainer and trainee. Camulus had taken one look in Gabe’s eyes and had known he was someone extraordinary. He’d taken one look into his soul and saw a true leader, one of great character and moral righteousness, much like himself. The endless admiration Camulus had for young Gabriel continued to amaze him each and every day.

As they trained, o
ut of nowhere they felt the ground shake, and a thick fog filled the air. They couldn’t see anything, but they heard a voice—a beautiful voice that was coming from the end of the rainbow. They followed the sweet melody and found her sitting at the edge of the Gates, looking up at them with her striking violet eyes and showing an arresting smile.

Gabriel was so captivated by the
tiny girl that he paid little attention to the blade that had arrived with her, but Camulus noticed it immediately and picked it up.

Gabriel looked at him briefly
, wondering about the blade, but then the little girl spoke, which diverted his attention away from Camulus and the blade.

She asked Gabriel his name and he told her.

Then Gabriel asked her what her name was and she replied, “My name is Violet.” Gabriel flashed back to the present and he took the blade from Fallon. He stared at it, now remembering not only where he had seen it before, but also what he knew about the history of the black blade.

“Gabriel?” Fallon said his name cautiously. “I know it
’s difficult to believe. When I saw the diary, I was just as shocked as you are now.” She tried to find common ground with Gabriel but he dismissed the connection.

“Don’t you EVER compare yourself to me
, Fallon. We are nothing alike!” he ground out, furious.

“I just meant
—” she paused. “I’m just sorry you had to find out about Vie this way.”

“Find out what? This…this means nothing,” he said
, throwing the diary to the ground.

Even Raphael was shocked by Gabriel’s response. Both he and Fallon knew
exactly what it all meant: her eyes, the blade, all alluded to the fact that Vie had evil coursing through her veins. True, it didn’t make a bit of sense to either of them, knowing Vie the way they did. She didn’t have an evil bone in her body.

I
n fact, it was quite the opposite. Vie was the most genuinely pure, unique Guardian who had ever graced their presence at the Gates. She embodied everything they stood for and it was impossible for anyone, especially Gabriel, to think of her in any other way.

“Gabe, you know as well as I do what this means
, and pretending you don’t isn’t going to change it,” Fallon said. “Tell him, Raphael! Tell him what he won’t hear from me. Violet is not one of us. She is one of them!” She shouted this last bit directly at Gabriel.

Gabriel yelled
incoherently while pushing Fallon against the wall, pinning her neck with his forearm.

Raphael immediately went to her rescue.
“Gabriel, stop! Have you gone completely mad?” he asked, grabbing Gabe’s arm.

Using his free hand,
Gabriel removed Raphael’s hand from his arm, warning him with a look not to interfere again. Raphael quickly backed down.

“You did this
, Fallon,” he said, still holding her pressed to the wall. “This has your name written all over it. You were jealous of Vie and now you’re trying to turn them against her. Well, they might be buying into your little scheme but I’m not.”

Fallon was
n’t angry with Gabe for his actions. She knew he was in pain and she knew she had betrayed him.

It was just too much for Gabriel to take
; too much coming at him all at once. Then something happened that altered his view of Fallon: she began to shed tears. He had never seen her cry before this moment, and in fact she never had, but these tears were real.

The way Gabriel looked at her
—the pure hatred she now saw in his eyes—gave way to emotions Fallon had turned off long ago in order to become one of the best, a Guardian.

Gabriel released her and sat on the ground
, his head in his hands. He felt lost in his frustration and confused by his actions. Suddenly he stood up and announced that he had to see Camulus. He stormed out of the room and raced down the hall.

Raphael and Fallon were afraid of what
he might do, so they ran after him. There was no predictability with Gabriel’s actions anymore. He was definitely unbridled and uncontrollable at the moment.

“Camulus,” he shouted after barging in
Camulus’ chambers once again, with Raphael and Fallon tailing close behind.

Camulus took one look at Gabriel and knew he had
found the answers to secrets he’d hoped would never find their way to him. He put his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder and was surprised to find him receptive to the physical contact. “It’s true, my son,” Camulus stated with a heavy heart.

“I need to speak with
Lily. I need to hear it directly from her,” he said, asking Camulus to help him.

“Gabriel
, you know we are forbidden to enter the Gates,” he reminded him.

“I know you have the key and I am asking you to unlock the
Gates,” Gabriel replied.

Camulus could see Gabriel was more than determined to get the answers he needed. He feared what
Gabe might do if he refused his request. He noticed Raphael and Fallon standing at the back of the chamber, listening to what Gabriel was asking, awaiting his response. He pondered for a moment and then spoke to him.

“Gabriel, are you asking me to break the rules of the
Gates?” he said, making sure Gabriel understood the severity of what he was asking, since earlier Gabriel had told Camulus he would never break the rules of the Gates for any reason. “It’s your call, Gabriel. I will do as you ask, as long as you’re certain it’s what you want.” He wanted to give Gabriel a chance to think about it.

Gabriel was torn, feeling like a hypocrite standing before Camulus
, asking him to do the very thing he had just condemned him for doing. Then he thought about Vie and made his decision.

“Sometimes you need to compromise honor in order to find the truth,” he spoke
with boldness. “Open the Gates!”

They headed to the entrance of the golden gate and Camulus excused the men standing guard. All of them, including Gabriel, had their reservations regarding what they were about to do
, but they believed it was right to stand by Gabriel.

Camulus placed the key in the lock and slowly turned it.
He looked at Gabriel one last time to make sure he wanted him to continue, and Gabriel nodded, signaling his confirmation.

They entered
an enchanted place, magnificent to look at, which offered the most amazing feelings of peace and tranquility. Hatred was not carried beyond the Gates, nor were any of the other emotions that were running rampant through the Guardians just minutes earlier. They all immediately felt an overwhelming feeling of camaraderie as they continued their journey.

They didn’t know how they were going to go about finding Lily, but they knew they had to try.
They hadn’t gone far before Gabriel saw a familiar face. Restoria, the young trainee from the arena, seemed to have known they would come to look for her, though she may not have known when.

Gabriel proceeded over to where she stood
, and she did not turn away. 

“You are here for Lily?” she said.

“We are. Can you take us to her?” Gabriel asked.

Restoria
looked around cautiously and then signaled to them to follow her quietly. She led them quickly through the forest of trees swaying in the gentle breeze until they came upon a meadow of violets, where they saw a lovely woman waiting for them.

Gabriel took one look into her eyes and knew
this had to be Lily. Although her eyes were as blue as the sea, he recognized almost immediately that they were the same eyes as Vie’s. Lily was Vie’s mother, no doubt about it.

Lily walked over to Gabriel and put her hand on his cheek. She gazed into his gentle eyes and
softly said, “Thank you.”

Gabriel could hear her speaking to his soul. Although she only said those two words out loud, many other sentiments were communicated to hi
m as Lily expressed her gratitude to him for watching over her daughter and protecting her with his life. It was strange for him to feel so invaded by her glimpse inside him, and at the same time to feel an odd sort of comfort, too.