I have been trying to move on from the recent events, and I know that my seniors wish to do the same. But there is something that has been bothering me, and today I finally had the chance to ask about it. I am not certain that the answer reassures me at all.
Today was a difficult day for Gabrielle—it is Erica’s birthday, which meant that she had to call her old friend and talk to her cheerfully for some time, without saying anything about the weight of emotion that hangs between them and always will. I was there for her throughout the conversation, and through the silence in which she sat afterward, trying to convince herself that it didn’t hurt as much as it had before her wedding. The comfort I offered helped her a bit, but I am still glad that I gave Nick a hint that Gabrielle needed cheering up.
I was surprised when Inca appeared only minutes after Nick came home. “Is something wrong?” I asked, taking a good look around the house.
For answer, Inca gestured to Nick and Gabrielle. Nick was just suggesting that they go out somewhere, and Gabrielle gasped. “We could go down to the river and go swimming?”
Nick blinked. “Gabrielle, it’s November.”
“So? It won’t be that cold.” She thumped his chest with one hand. “Are you chicken?”
“No, I’m just not—”
“Surely he won’t agree to that suggestion,” I said to Inca.
She shrugged. “You and I both know who has the stronger will in this marriage.”
And indeed it did not seem to be a certain outcome. Gabrielle was already running back to put her swimsuit on, followed by her reluctant husband.
“Well, at least she is no longer heavy-hearted.”
Inca laughed at that. “Not even a heavy heart can slow that woman down.”
For a moment we watched fondly as Nick tried to persuade Gabrielle away from this idea, without much success. Then Inca turned to me. “Is there something you wanted to ask me, Asa’el?”
I was surprised by her perception. The fact is, I have been wanting to ask her this for some time, as I do not feel comfortable asking any of my seniors. I knew that she might not know the whole answer to my question, but at least she could help me with a part of it.
She smiled at my surprise. “I have learned much, working with you,” she said, “not least how to read what you are thinking and feeling. Please ask. It is about your hearing, is it not?”
I nodded. “Eburnean was there—did I tell you that? And also another Guardian, I think. He was a Virtue, with dark, sharp wings—”
“That is Orison,” Inca said. “Eburnean was sentry for him before they received their first wing. And he is not a Virtue, he is a Cherub.”
For a moment I could not speak. The idea that another angel of such high rank was present to see me is astonishing. “I did not see that he had been granted an eye.”
“No, and you wouldn’t,” Inca said. “The Lower Eye is not visible to anyone but Guardians and angels who have attained their sixth wing.”
I did not know this. It makes me wonder whether all disciplines have their own knowledge that is not shared with their sisters and brothers. Perhaps this is why our seniors approved of us working together across disciplines—to share some of that knowledge.
I wanted also to ask what powers the Lower Eye grant to a Guardian, but I was not quite brave enough.
“Why was he present?” I asked. “Do you know?”
Inca took a moment to look after Gabrielle, who was putting on her coat, and said, “I do not question my seniors, of course, but I do know that Orison, like Eburnean, has taken an interest in you. If I have the opportunity I will ask.”
She had to go, then, for Gabrielle was charging out the door in her most reckless spirit, with Nick trailing resignedly after her. I did not follow, for I did not want to distract Inca from our charge.
I am honored, of course, that another exalted angel would take an interest in me, but why? At least I can understand why Peronel was present at the hearing. What stake could a powerful Guardian have in my future?
Or perhaps it is my past he is part of? He did seem familiar to me, though I cannot think where I saw him before.
I wonder.