Crossroads (7 page)

While waiting for Phillip, I began to
become intrigued by these angels. How many were there? Were there
male and female angels? This Philip must be powerful and wise if we
were coming to speak to him. I had expected to see an old man with
a long white beard, perhaps with a cane. I suppose it had been
ingrained in my mind that age and gray hair implied great wisdom.
But that wasn’t the case. When Phillip arrived, I was surprised to
see that he was quite handsome, and appeared only slightly older
than Michael.

“
Hello and welcome,” he
said with an authoritative tone.

He took several steps down and faced
me directly. Excitement rose through me; my heart beat faster,
simultaneously feeling joy and fear, knowing he was someone of
great importance. I timidly held my head up and looked directly
into his eyes. I saw that he had the same shade of brown eyes as
Michael.

He continued, “I was wondering if you
could tell me how you got here?”

I paused to figure out how I should
answer his question. I couldn’t believe he had just asked me that!
Here I was, waiting patiently to get my answers, and I kept getting
questioned the same way. Why was it that I had no answers, and
everyone kept asking me, as if I knew? I felt frustrated by his
inquiry, since I was hoping to finally receive the answers I had
been searching for. Flushed with anger, I spoke with attitude. “To
tell you the truth, I really don’t know, and everyone keeps asking
me the same question. How come you don’t know—you had to have seen
me coming. Aren’t angels all-knowing?”

I couldn’t believe I had blurted out
like that, and I immediately regretted how I had said it. What was
I thinking? I was appalled at myself for being so rude. I couldn’t
take it back even if I had wanted to. I wanted to apologize for my
bad behavior, but what I feared more was how he might react.
Surprisingly, he just smiled, and I instantly relaxed.

“
You see, I might have
some answers for you, but I wanted to know if you knew anything
first.”

“
You know how I got here?”
I asked in an apologetic tone, realizing what an idiot I had been
for not being more patient.

“
Perhaps we can figure it
out together,” he said with certainty. “Please, have a seat next to
me.”

He pointed to a chair beside him that
I was certain hadn’t been there before. I thought that was
peculiar, but maybe I had missed seeing it. I hesitated to sit next
to him, but I did as instructed. Philip sat down next to me and
paused, appearing to be deep in thought. He glanced at Michael and
Davin, who nodded, clearly agreeing to whatever task Philip was
suggesting. I gathered they could communicate
telepathically.

He inhaled deeply and began to speak.
Whatever he was about to reveal seemed to be something I wasn’t
supposed to know. “Humans only know a fraction of our history,
although they spend years and years of research trying to find
concrete evidence of our existence on Earth. What I am about to
tell you has never been disclosed to any human. Fair warning, if
you decide to share this information with another human, they may
think you have lost your mind. You understand what I’m trying to
say, don’t you?”

“
Yes,” I replied. In his
own polite way, he was asking me to keep my mouth shut. There were
tons of people I could share this information with, but Phillip was
right. Who would believe me? I was so humbled and honored to be
here in their presence that I would do just about anything they
asked.

“
Very well, let’s start
from the beginning. I will make it short and simple. A long time
ago, angels roamed the Earth with the guidance of the Twelve
Angels. We refer to them as Earth angels. They learned how to be
human. Much time was spent studying their mannerisms, learning
about their emotions and anything that would help make the task of
blending with the humans easier. There were thousands of them. They
could travel at immense speed and were exceptionally stronger than
anything imaginable. They didn’t look anything like the angels you
are taught about in school or church. They didn’t have wings or
bright halos around their heads.

“
The humans were
completely unaware of their existence. Their sole purpose was to
observe and guide humans away from temptation, poor judgment, and
sometimes death. Just like humans have the Ten Commandments, angels
had their Ten Divine Commandments. The second one proclaimed that
they were forbidden to love a human or to procreate. The resistance
proved to be far too difficult for some, though most were able to
resist. For the others, the urge became unbearable the longer they
stayed in the human world. They had forgotten who they were and
their purpose, thus procreating life that was forbidden. For a long
period of time, the ‘forbidden children’ remained hidden. Many were
able to grow well into their teens, some making it to their
twenties.

“
You see, our kind is
governed by a Royal Council. The Royal Council consists of God’s
first angels—Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Raguel, Uriel, Zerachiel,
Remiel and many others who were created before us. They make
decisions based on what they agree to be in our best interest. When
they found out about the children born into human society, all
angels were immediately banned from having any physical or
emotional contact with humans. However, permission was granted for
a select few to stay behind and continue their duties. The
agreement was that they could not procreate, and in return, they
would be allowed to live and die as humans.”

Angels lived among us, I thought to
myself. It was hard to imagine, but I could have spoken to one. The
thought of actually being that close to an angel was unbelievable.
I broke out of my thoughts when Phillip spoke.

“
I know this is difficult
to take in, but do you understand?” he asked.

“
What you are telling me
is that there is a chain of command with angels?”

“
Yes, first the Royal
Council, then the Twelve, followed by Earth angels. These angels
have no wings. They blend with the humans quite well, perhaps too
well. Lastly, the forbidden children.”

“
What happened to these
children?” I asked, afraid of what his answer might be.

“
They were sent here, this
place called the Crossroads, and you are standing in Halo City.
Humans use the term, nephilim for these children, but we call them
alkins. “Alkin” are the alpha—the first of its kind, half angel,
half human. They are the first generation to be born into human
society.”

Michael and Davin came to my mind. I
remembered Michael saying that we were at Crossroads, between life
and death. Davin referred to himself as an angel with no wings.
Alkins didn’t have wings. Thoughts flooded my mind. Everything was
coming at me hard and fast. Out of impulse, I turned to look at
Michael and Davin. I felt ashamed that I was the reason a secret so
profound had been revealed. A secret that had been concealed for
who knows how long. And I, a mere human, was responsible for its
exposure. I wanted to tell them how sorry I was, how ashamed I
felt, but they didn’t even look up at me. Their heads remained low,
almost as if they were embarrassed about who they were. I quickly
turned back so they wouldn’t notice me.

“
Are you an alkin?” I
asked Philip.

“
No. I am one of the
Twelve.” There was a note of arrogance to his tone. “When the
alkins were found, a few of the Twelve Angels were reassigned to
Halo City with them. It became our responsibility to guide and
mentor the alkins to be more like angels rather than humans. That
was the day the Twelve Angels were divided. Margaret, Agnes, and I
were chosen to become their mentors. The rest stayed behind to
continue their assignments. Like humans, angels were not created
perfectly. There is one particular angel who has rebelled and has
taken many alkins with him. We call them the fallen. We don’t know
where they are.”

He suddenly and gracefully stood up
and spread his wings. It was a vision of elegance and poise,
majestic and holy; a miraculous moment that I knew I would never
forget. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and reality of what was
happening. Part of me wanted to touch him, to be sure that this was
real. Was I truly witnessing an angel? Was I really having this
conversation? I was completely unaware of the fact that my eyes
were wide and my bottom lip might as well have been on the floor,
until Philip cleared his throat.

Embarrassed by my actions, I quickly
diverted attention by asking another question, “What do the fallen
look like?” I was relieved to finally get to this question, seeing
as they would be the ones coming after me.

“
You ask many questions.
You already know too much,” he said softly. I thought that was the
end of our conversation, but he continued to speak. “Humans would
imagine them to look like monsters, but in fact, they look like
us.”

I was in shock. I had expected him to
tell me otherwise. “Then how can you tell the difference between a
fallen and an angel?” I asked with a worried expression.

“
By appearances, you can’t
tell us apart.”

A part of me was glad that they didn’t
look like hideous creatures, but knowing the possibility they might
be after me sent a painful chill through every bone in my body. Now
that I had that information, I wanted to know more about the
alkins.

“
How many alkins exist
here?” I asked, eagerly thinking that I’d finally get the answer
that Michael wouldn’t reveal. Then I worried that maybe he wouldn’t
tell me since he thought I knew too much.

“
There are thousands of
alkins who reside here. I would like you to meet the officers who
already know you are here. The other alkins are not aware of your
presence, and I would like to keep it that way.”

Wow! Thousands, I repeated Phillip’s
words in my head. My whole body seemed to explode with excitement
and I could barely contain myself.

“
I would like to introduce
you to…” motioning his hands, they entered one by one. “Vivian,
Caleb, Ruth, Paul. And you’ve already met Michael and Davin.” Each
was flawless. Their beauty was breathtaking, a vision of royalty at
its finest, and they all possessed a soothing glow in their eyes. I
had pictured them in white gowns, but they were wearing jeans and
T-shirts just like Michael and Davin. They were dressed just like
human beings. It was true…you couldn’t tell the difference between
humans and the alkins.

Nobody said a word. There was an
uncomfortable silence. I became their subject, and they stared at
me with confused and curious eyes.

Phillip broke the silence, “You have
to excuse their demeanor. It has been quite some time since they’ve
seen a human. We are going to have to monitor you from here on. It
is important that we keep an eye on you, just in case the fallen
find out about your involvement with us. They are not so friendly.
You are an easy target since they can sense your presence now. Once
you have entered our world, your aura will stand out from the rest
of the humans on Earth. There is a possibility they may think you
are an alkin.”

Fallen may think I’m an alkin echoed
inside my head. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. What kind of
mess did I get myself into? I thought I was only dreaming, and it
was turning out to be a nightmare.

“
Do you think it would be
safer for her to stay here?” Davin asked hopefully.

“
She can’t stay here. She
is not an alkin,” Caleb replied.

“
However, it would give us
the opportunity to be educated about her world,” Vivian said,
enthusiastically. “Her world has advanced so much since we came
here.”

Michael shot her a disapproving look.
I could tell that he didn’t like her response at all. I knew the
reason. He didn’t want me around.

Phillip interrupted, “I don’t think
that would be a good idea. You don’t need Claudia in order to learn
about her world. You can research on your own.”

“
True. But hearing it from
Claudia would be much faster. And why wouldn’t it be a good idea?”
Vivian spoke out. “Divine Commandments can be altered to fit the
situation.”

“
She is not one of us.
Need I remind you of the obvious again? She is human, not an
alkin,” Caleb said with slight irritation, and then paused to
think. “What if the fallen come here?”

Phillip was about to answer Caleb’s
question when Agnes and Margaret entered the room, and everyone
became silent. It was the first time I was able to see Margaret’s
face. She was stunning, just like the goddess I remembered. This
time, she wore her hair straight down, as smooth as silk. She
looked at me, nodding her head to acknowledge my presence. She
began to speak, her hypnotic voice exactly the way I remembered
from before.

“
The fallen can only enter
our world if they take an alkin who has the soul of the Holy
Spirit. Only Royal Council angels have the soul of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah was one of the Royal Council. He fell in love with a human
many lifetimes ago. His descendants are now with the Royal Council.
I doubt any of them are left on Earth. If there is a possibility
that the one still exists, the chances are very slim to none. We do
not make mistakes. So you need not worry. Hypothetically, if one
does exist, then it is out of our hands. And if the fallen finds
the one, there will be war.”