“Good. That’s what I want to hear when I’m climbing onto a plane.”
Seth laughed behind me. We each took our seats. Unfortunately mine was next to Seth’s. I took small even breaths as the plane taxied.
Atlas called back to us over the roar of the twin engines. “Everyone put on the headphones so we can communicate.”
I put the headphones on and heard Atlas’s voice loud and clear. “Alright, guys, we should be near Sheol in about an hour, if not sooner.”
“Great,” I mumbled into the mouthpiece. I popped my knuckles and waited as the plane took off and began its ascent into the Puget Sound air.
“So,” Seth called into the headphones “Anyone ever been to the San Juan Islands?”
Nobody answered.
Seth laughed. “Wow, well, you’re in for a treat.”
“It’s beautiful,” Alexander piped up. “Though aren’t the most beautiful of El’s creations sometimes the most dangerous?”
“What do you mean?” Curiosity got the best of me.
Alexander chuckled. “Take, for example, Lucifer. Was he not the most beautifully regarded angel until pride took him? Do his followers not masquerade as something lovely and perfect, when inside they are black as night?”
Seth shifted next to me. Good. He was uncomfortable. A part of me wanted him to be reminded of what he was. Fallen.
“Yeah, so?” I said.
Alexander laughed loudly into the mouthpiece, nearly making my ears hurt. “You truly do not get it, do you?”
“Apparently not.”
“Sheol is beauty.”
I mulled this around for a bit. I guess I was expecting Sheol to look a lot like Hell or Purgatory. I was prepared for horror, not beauty.
As if reading my thoughts, Alexander said, “So now you understand the danger. For when you run into battle, you expect the worst. You expect bloodshed, torture, evil. But I promise you — the minute you walk into Sheol, you will never want to leave.”
“And that makes it dangerous,” I said aloud.
“It makes it the most dangerous place for our kind to go.” Alexander nearly whispered this time. “For it masquerades as Eden.”
“Wait.” I gripped the seat with my hands. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Alexander cursed into the microphone. “The second Eden, the one created for the angels and other worldly beings in the beginning? It is located beneath the surface of The San Juan Islands. Once upon a time, the Islands were a large land mass. When humans fell, it too fell into the ocean as a symbol of the great separation of the human and spiritual realm. Lucifer has taken it over along with Azazeel and the others.”
“Do the magical properties, those of the spirit world, still hold strong in Sheol?” I asked.
“Yes. They do.”
“Great.” That’s just great. I glared at Seth. It wasn’t his fault, but he was the one going in while we fought the rest of the armies that were sure to be surrounding the premises. We were the distraction, while he made the extraction, and I was sending him directly into a paradise every fallen angel and Seeker could only dream about. Granted, it wasn’t reality, but still. I was worried that Seth wouldn’t be strong enough to do it. Not when Sheol would promise to restore everything he’d lost — his spiritual state.
****
The plane landed. My stomach plummeted as we skidded across the short runway. I was half-tempted to clap, considering last time we’d almost been plastered across the side of Mt. McKinley.
“Good work, Atlas.” I threw off the headphones and slapped him on the back. After Alexander’s little admission, none of us spoke. It was as if the fear of what we were facing kept us from actually talking any more about it. I knew the more I thought about it, the harder it became to control my emotions. So I said nothing.
Everyone piled out of the plane.
Seth stayed back. “I’ll find her, Adonis. I swear.”
I looked away, my jaw clenching. “See that you do.”
“Wait.” Seth grabbed my shoulder. I jerked away from his touch and glared at him. “I know you don’t like me.”
“Brilliant conclusion,” I spat.
Seth narrowed his eyes. “Just because you aren’t Fallen doesn’t mean you can treat me the way you do, you know that, right?”
I shrugged.
“Look.” Seth ran his hands through his hair. “I care about her too. I want to see her safe. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. What happened before… ”He shook his head. “It would never happen again. You have to believe me. My only focus is to get Athena back to us safely.”
“And your personal feelings?” I challenged, crossing my arms.
Seth swallowed, his eyes darting to the ground. “I’m Fallen.”
“We’ve established that.”
“She and I…” Seth shook his head. “No matter how much I wish it, we could never be. I know where her loyalty lies.”
“Good, then I won’t kill you when you bring her back.”