“This is my daughter,” he announced, holding an arm out for me. I walked into his half embrace just as he finished, “Stella.”
“The Protector,” I heard mumbled in reply.
And then I was before the most other-world, most beautiful and striking Angels I had ever seen. These were not Warriors or Stars. These were the kind of Angels that sat in councils and meetings every day of their life, that never left the lower realms of Heaven. These were the beings I was never supposed to meet.
My father continued, “Stella, the Council has paid us a visit.”
My mouth fell open; all of time seemed to stand still and wait for my brain to catch up with that announcement. I knew they were not like us… but I didn’t expect…. The Council was here. On Earth. In our house. Standing in front of me.
This was either going to be really, really, really, really bad.
Or just really bad.
There were three of them, two men and a woman. And they were completely ethereal- so obviously and strikingly not human that I felt a bit mesmerized.
The woman was tall, well over six feet with willowy arms and legs and pale, translucent skin. Her hair, sleek and straight, held a grayish purple hue, like the color of lightning. Her eyes glowed pure white, shining orbs that had no color, or every color, depending on how you looked at it. She stood fierce, and so composed she seemed more statue than living creature.
The men differed from each other as starkly as they possibly could and also from my father and what I knew of other Warriors. The first had skin so dark and black, he seemed to be made out of silk. His short hair by contrast was pure white, as were his eyes. He towered just as tall as the woman, but not much taller than her. And he bulked with toned muscle, imposing, and absolutely serious. If the woman reminded me of a statue, this man mimicked a boulder.
He was terrifying.
The third and final man at least put me somewhat at ease. He had a pleasant expression and a calming smile. His skin was pale, but not as pale as the woman’s. His eyes were the same luminescent white as the others but somehow warmer and not as clinical. His hair burst from his head in shocking red chunks that seemed to fall wherever they wanted in wild disarray. He was the most classically good-looking of all three, but they were all beautiful in their own unearthly way. The first man looked too scary to really be considered attractive, and the woman was one of those ladies who would be called handsome over lovely, or fine instead of pretty. She appeared to be the oldest present. The third man was actually hot- big dimples when his mouth relaxed into a smile and had a firm, muscled body that wasn’t just simply overwhelming.
“So, you are the Star of Earth,” the woman began, her assessing eye appraised me with a scrutiny that made me struggle to swallow. She had the strong accent of Heaven. It was musical and lilting, but so completely foreign that my brain struggled to correlate it with the English she spoke.
“I am,” I tilted my chin up, grasping for confidence that was nonexistent. “And you are….?” I prompted when nobody seemed to want to speak next.
The woman scowled, her silvery eyebrows slammed down over her shining eyes and her thin lips puckered unhappily. The men seemed equally as stunned by my question, but weren’t as hostile with their reactions. I realized I’d probably spoken out of turn, but I was impatient to get to the point. A sickening feeling of unease had slithered into my stomach and made my insides ice cold.
“This is Celeste,” the red haired man said helpfully, the same accent as the woman tingeing each of his words. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips and his white orb-like eyes seemed to warm somehow. “Raphael.” He pointed to monster Angel. “And I am Ariel.” And as an afterthought he amended, “But you may call me Ari.”
This earned him a scathing look from Celeste, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Nice to meet you,” I said politely.
“Shall we sit?” my dad gestured around the room at which the Council members seemed to take it all in with an attitude of absolute repulsion. My dad was a trained and vetted Warrior, their reactions weren’t lost on him. “Or we can stand,” he added quickly.
Nobody said anything. This was awkward.
Were they always like this?
“We are graced with your presence,” my mom offered magnanimously. “But we would have readily come to you. If you only would have summoned us.”
“We came to see the Starling,” Celeste explained. Each of her words were spoken slowly, carefully, as if she chose each word specifically, and with each syllable uttered she carried out a particular purpose. “We understand that she is not allowed to leave this…. planet.”
“That is true,” mom answered. Now she sounded suspicious.
Something was going on.
“And your Counterpart?” Raphael was less precise with his words. They came out in a rush of menacing dominance; his accent sounded as overpowering as it did authoritative. “Where is he?”
The question was directed at me, but I was not about to answer him. That just seemed like an entire cauldron of trouble.
Thankfully, my dad stepped in, “It will be easier if you tell us what you’ve heard. We can fill in any missing pieces that are left.”
Ari chuckled lightly and it seemed so out of place in this room filled with tension and stress. In a friendly voice he eased some of the strain between us. “I apologize for our grim arrival, but news has found its way to the Sanctum that is very alarming. We’ve come to find the truth of this matter. We’re not here to harm or even punish you, Starling. We are simply looking for answers that will help us understand our position on planet.”
I definitely liked him the best out of the three. He put me at ease with his friendly warmth and silky tone. He was different than the cold, military style of the others.