Reflecting Equation - 8. To Tear Apart Creation

Adam was giving me the silent treatment.

I’m not sure how I felt about that. I gave him a sweet smile and his glare intensified. Oh. He wasn’t going to let this go. I poked him on the shoulder.

“You real mad, huh?”

His eyes narrowed.

I leaned back against the door of my car as the bell for study hall rang across campus. Technically, study hall was supposed to be spent in homeroom, but it wasn’t mandatory just as long as you stayed on school grounds. I squinted against the glare of the sun.

“So, I heard that Lacey’s pregnant,” I said to fill the stony silence. “Killian doesn’t mess around, huh? The cheerleaders want her off the team.”

Adam rolled his eyes.

I sighed. “You’re not going to talk to me forever?”

He frowned slightly and stared at me with a blank look. A knot formed in my stomach when he didn’t say anything. Adam looked away with a sigh. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. I reached toward him, and the distance between us was small but it felt larger. My hand dropped and I absently curled my fingers into the hem of my shirt, the tips tingling with a phantom touch. We stood there in silence.

When Adam finally moved it was away and across from me. I flinched at the action and he didn’t look at me. I didn’t move, didn’t blink and it felt like I wasn’t even breathing.

“Adam, please,” I started to say, but he shifted and his hands reached out to rest on my waist and I unleashed the breath I was holding.

Don’t be mad at me, I want to say, and thank you for not pulling away. But I kept silent. Instead, I reached up with my fingertips tracing his hairline, cheekbone and down to the curve of his jaw.

I wanted to just wrap him in my arms and wish us tomorrow. And take us to places where things were easier and nothing was expected of us.

“Please don’t do this,” Adam said quietly. I tensed up then leaned forward to rest my forehead on the curve of his neck. I brushed my nose against the pulse point there.

“I can’t just let this go,” I said, my voice was equally as soft. “I need to see him. M’sorry.”

His grip tightened and his fingers settled at the small of my back. “Your brother has always been your Achilles’ heel, but you have to let it go this time. Please.”

I pulled away and his arms fell limply to his sides. “You can’t stop me from doing this.”

There was a whisper of magic in that instant. I stiffened as it blanketed the immediate area in a subtle hint of power. A shimmery dome flared into existence, unnoticeable to anyone not attuned to magic.

“The hell?” I started forward.

Nathaniel leaned against the side of a pickup truck. He lifted his hand in greeting and the ring around his finger glinted in the sunlight. I stared at the magical foci. I knew that power felt familiar.

He gave me a small nod and I rolled my eyes, spotting both Ryan and Killian. Ryan sat on the hood of a nearby car. Killian stood apart from him with his arms crossed.

“And the whole gang’s back together.” I raised my eyebrow at Nathaniel. “Nice veil.”

Nathaniel squinted up at the sun, turning away from my glare. “No one can see or hear us. We have complete privacy.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You guys trying to talk me out of this too?” I turned to my boyfriend. “You move quick.”

“You didn’t leave me much of a choice. I had to stop you somehow.”

I took a step away from him. “I didn’t know I needed to be stopped.”

Ryan smiled kindly. “Think of this as an intervention.”

“Before you do something insane,” Killian added needlessly.

I sighed. “Look, guys. I plan on coming back. It’s not like this is some suicide mission.”

At least that was what I was telling myself. I was counting on the angels not outright smiting me since I was the son of a First God and magic’s champion. I was crossing my fingers on that plan. It had some holes in it.

Nathaniel frowned. “Chad your plan is to break into Heaven–-”

“The Silver City,” I corrected. “Different place.”

He rolled his eyes. “The stronghold of the angelic choir then. You really don’t see the flaw in this?”

I didn’t answer.

“Do you know what Celeste is? What the angels are?” Nathaniel continued green eyes boring into me. “They’re Chosen. Not like you boys... a higher order, if you want to get down to it.”

We were struck speechless.

I cleared my throat. “What?”

“You boys protect this planet, and the solar system to an extent. But the angels are tasked with the safekeeping of the universe. Before there was Chosen the angels of Heaven protected the cosmos. They still do to an extent, but not to the degree that they once did eons ago.”

Killian blinked. “Why not? We could use a little help.”

“The Last Great War. They fought a powerful enemy and their side was decimated before they claimed victory. Celeste is one of the few angels left from that war.” Nathaniel rubbed the back of his neck. He looked tired and so very worried. “Those left are the fiercest soldiers of Heaven. If you cross them...”

That was a sobering thought. Kevin was powerful. He was an example of Heaven’s might. An enemy that could cut down the forces of heaven had to be fearsome indeed. This was something taught in Sunday school.

I looked away. “I just want to see my brother. He’s gone because of me. He attacked the clones on my order and he got banished because of it.” A bitter laugh escaped. “He’s the Crown Prince. I’m not supposed to be ordering my older brother around in the first place.”

“Is this about guilt?” Ryan asked with compassion softening his tone.

I shook my head “This is about family.”

Nathaniel smiled kindly. “You know Celeste wouldn’t let anything happen to Kevin.”

That was the thing. I wasn’t so sure about that.

Adam nodded. “He’s right. She even said Kevin was okay, remember?” He slipped his fingers into my hand. “I’m only saying this because I worry. Let's just wait a while.”

I held his gaze for a long moment that seemed to stretch on longer than the few seconds it lasted. His shoulders sagged when I nodded, relief visibly appearing over his face.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll hold up.”

I mustered up a half smile in response to his brilliant grin. Nathaniel clapped me on the shoulder still wearing that same placating smile.

“I’m glad you agree,” he said. “We care about Kevin, but this isn’t the way.”

I looked away and muttered, “Yeah.”

Really there was nothing else I could say. Killer clones were on the loose and my brother was beyond cell phone rage. Things needed to start looking up soon or I was going to develop a complex.

I wasn’t in the mood to sit at home. It was almost seven at night and the sun sat low on the horizon as I walked the boardwalk near Dog Beach. I was at war with my thoughts and the cool ocean air was just what I needed to clear my head. The downfall of being a leader, there was always a weight on my shoulders.

I smiled at a kid chasing a puppy down onto the shoreline. He narrowly avoided clipping a photographer. The man’s assistants managing the lighting gear shouted after him to be careful. It wasn’t my first time seeing a photo shoot on the beach. It was, however, the first time that I knew the model.

Okay, so Killian was hot. I get that. Seeing him posing in little black swim trunks was a reminder, to say the least. His hair was slicked back, wet, and dark blond against his sun-kissed skin. He was broad in the shoulders and chest. His waist was slim and seemed to go on forever. Involuntarily my eyes traced the thin line of hair that went down from his belly button and disappearing into his trunks.

I watched for a few minutes as Killian twisted into poses that would put Greek statues to shame. The photographer was enthusiastic in his praise, loudly encouraging Killian through the remainder of the shoot. They continued until the sun finally set and they lost the light. Only then did they call it a day and began to pack it up.

Killian changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a faded black tee. He was all smiles as the crew moved around packing up and congratulating him on a good job. It was no more than a few minutes afterward that Killian spotted me. His eyebrows rose in surprise and half jogged across the sand with a confused frown.

“Hey,” I said in greeting. “Nice moves.”

Killian smothered a smirk, but his lips twitched. “Adding stalking to your resume?”

I scoffed. “Conceited much. You ain’t no Zac Efron, hooker.”

“That’s a compliment in my book.”

I rolled my eyes. “You keep right on thinking that.”

“Someone has to thinking for the two of us.”

There was no hiding my smile. “Aww, are you saying that I’m the looks out of the two of us.”

“With that hair?” Killian scoffed with a short laugh. “The haircut you’ve had since middle school.”

My eyes got real big. “You’ve noticed? I mean, I was ever so hoping you would. Do you want to run your fingers through it?”

Killian took a step back. “I’d die first.”

I smiled for real. “Nice photo shoot. I want to see the pictures whenever they come out. I think they might be halfway decent.”

“It’s for a calendar,” Killian replied offhandedly, but his smile was proud. He scrubbed a hand down his face and made a face. “This is not okay. It’s always creepy whenever we have civil conversations. Hold on, I need a minute here.”

A smirk slid across my face. “I would like nothing out of you but breathing and very little of that.”

He sighed with a pleased smile. “That’s better.”

I stared at his shirt. It looked off on him for some reason. Something about the style, then it came to me.

“Is that Ryan’s shirt?”

Killian flushed and the tips of ears went red. His fingers twisted in the thin fabric. “Maybe?”

“It totally is.”

His eyes narrowed. “Okay and what of it?”

“Nothing,” I shook my head, chuckling. “I think it’s cute actually.”

Killian scratched at his head and I was momentarily startled at how shy his face turned. His eyes were fixed on a spot on the ground. This demeanor surprised the hell out of me. It was so…odd. And unlike him.

“I’m trying to win him back,” Killian admitted quietly. “It..wasn’t supposed to go this far.”

I wasn’t expecting that.

I bit my lip. There had been a lot of hurt feelings going around lately. I couldn’t blame him for doing what he did. If I was in his shoes I don’t know if I would’ve done differently.

“I think you two will be alright,” I said and meaning it. “He wants you back. I know he does.”

Killian looked up with a tentative smile. “You think? Sometimes I think so too and then he gets so mad at me.”

“Yeah, you might want to lay off Lacey some. She really hasn’t done anything.”

“Besides trying to take my boyfriend,” he said fiercely.

“Right,” I replied slowly because really, there was no arguing with him at this point. “I’m pretty sure Ryan wants you back too. You just have to step your game up. The boy wants to feel wanted.”

Killian regarded me curiously. “You’ve been watching teen romcom movies haven’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, hoping the squeak in my voice was in my imagination.

He smirked. “Homo.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Point,” he agreed easily.

We grinned at each other and an uneasy feeling of vertigo swept through me. A pier that overlooked a crystal blue ocean replaced the beach. A hand ruffled my hair and I stared into familiar green eyes. The face was older than his present incarnation, and definitely all Apollo.

I blinked hard and my vision reset as the pier was replaced by the sandy beach. Killian wiped at his eyes. He looked as startled as I felt.

“Ugh, haven’t had one of those in a while,” I muttered.

Killian cleared his throat. “You’re telling me.” An uncharacteristic seriousness settled over his features. “So, why were out here by yourself? Don’t see the prince without his knight these days.”

“I can go places without Adam,” I said with a small frown. “I just have a lot on my mind so I went for a walk.”

He looked me over with sharp eyes. “You’re still thinking about taking a trip upstairs.”

Was that a question or a statement. “No.”

“You know how I know you’re lying? Your lips are moving.”

Damn him. Killian being my best friend in our past lives left him with an annoying ability to easily read me. And it was during times like these that I found it to be extremely irritating.

I cleared my throat. “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

Killian nodded looking self-assured. “Yeah, I thought so. You don’t trust Celeste either, huh?”

My head spun around so quick that it actually hurt. “You think she has an agenda?”

Killian looked subtly around for any eavesdroppers. Finding none he leaned in and said quietly, “Don’t you?”

My mind was officially blown. “How long have you thought like this? Why didn’t you back me up earlier during that lame intervention?”

“Because I didn’t start thinking like this until after you walked off looking like a kicked puppy."

We walked closer to the shoreline to where the water met the sand. It was quieter here away from the boardwalk and the air was cooler this close to the ocean.

“It’s like you said before there’s always been the four Chosen. Kevin’s coming online isn’t for kicks. Fate’s at work.” Killian stared out into the ocean, reminding me so much of Apollo at this moment. “Something’s coming. Not these clones. Something else. And Celeste knows what it is. Bet on it.”

My jaw tightened as I processed it all. His thoughts paralleled mine so perfectly that I was momentarily lost for words. I didn’t think the others picked up not on what Celeste was saying, but what she wasn’t saying. Which was a lot.

“A-fucking-men,” I said with a firm nod. “I completely agree. I don’t know why Kevin would choose to stay in the Silver City, but it’s making me nervous.”

Killian rubbed a finger along his lip, thinking. “I just can’t figure out what Celeste could be hiding. Angels haven’t been heavily active since the Last Great War. It’s why our bindings were brought online and made us Chosen.”

“I’m worried about Kevin, but I’m more worried about what’s circling just out of sight.”

The other boy turned to me startled at the regal tone that slipped into my voice. It was unintentional, partly. Like breathing. Soon there would come a time where there would be no distinction from where Emrys began and I ended. And... I was becoming okay with that.

I rubbed the goosebumps on my forearms then wrapped my arms tight around my chest. “I’m going to do some research. I don’t like being kept in the dark. Not when shit could be hitting the fan.”

Killian cocked his head. “Research?”

“I know what the humans think about angels. I need to know what the Atlanteans think. If I can I find out their past I can–”

“Understand their actions of now,” Killian finsihed absently.

I wasn’t surprised he followed my train of thought. He was second in command for good reason.

“You remember the espionage protocols then?”

He nodded. “It’s coming back now like it was never gone. Tell me what you find out okay.”

“I will." I turned to walk away and then faced him again. “Let’s just keep this quiet for now alright? When we have something concrete, then we’ll tell the others.”

There was nothing but the sound of the waves and distant noise from the boardwalk in that instant. Killian stared at me and didn’t blink. He read the request in my eyes and returned it with a grim nod.

I walked away after that with one more person on my side. If we were wrong then so be it. We would stop investigating and drop it with no one the wiser.

But if we were right and we got too close to the angels business... it’d be us against Heaven.

Place your bets here.

When I walked into the house it was half past eight. Immediately I was hit by the aroma of the most appetizing smell ever. My stomach growled in approval as I made a beeline for the kitchen.

“Hey, Mom, something smells amazing–”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

I stopped dead in my tracks at the unexpected reply from a source that wasn’t my mother and very male. Sitting at our kitchen table was my mother and some stranger. I took in his friendly smile and open face. He was a handsome man that looked to be in his thirties, with dark black hair and blue-green eyes mostly hidden behind wire-framed glasses. He looked Brazilian or Spanish. He was watching me with an odd familiarity, and I frowned, wondering if we’d met. Honestly, something was tingling at the back of my mind, something familiar, and I looked away from his steady gaze.

“Uh, hi,” I said lamely.

Mom smiled, cheeks going red, and she giggled, honest to God, giggled. “Chad, honey, meet Desmond. Des this is my oldest, Chad.”

“Desmond Villani,” he said, standing up and holding out his hand for me to shake.

I smiled, but it felt stilted. Talk about being bombarded with a surprise. But I would be damned if I made this awkward. If my mother wanted to date then I would pick out the dress myself. My dad has been dead a long time. She deserved any happiness in life. I couldn’t begrudge her that. I upped the wattage in my grin.

“You're just like she described,” Desmond said, ever-present smile genuine as it was warm. “I feel like I know you already. I already met your lovely sister earlier.”

“She’s a real charmer, huh?”

Desmond smiled indulgently, winking at Mom’s sigh. “Right on cue just like you said. I have a younger brother, so I know your troubles.”

“Desmond works with me at the paper,” Mom said, coming to his side. “Why are you getting home so late?”

I shrugged. “Just went to the beach for a bit. Ran into Killian and we got to talking.”

“You two had a civil conversation? Last time I heard you mention him you wished he would get mauled by a falcon.”

I blinked. “Did I say that?”

“Verbatim."

“Huh? That’s not one of my best ones. I need to get it together.”

Mom clapped her hands. “Did you two hug it out and apologize? Were there tears involved?”

I eyed her suspiciously. “You are way too interested in my life sometimes.

My tongue firmly was planted firmly in cheek to prevent the smile from blossoming on my face. Mom rolled her eyes, but her grin couldn’t be dimmed.

“Do you want to sit down with us? I’m about to pull out dessert.”

“Actually, Mom, I’m about to-” Scour the Atlantan database for any scrounge of information about angels. Uh, world’s best son right here.

And then Desmond stepped in, laying a hand along the side of mom’s waist as he came to my rescue. “He just got home, Samantha. I’m sure there are things he has to do before we talk his ear off about you know what.”

“New assignment?” I asked, relieved that I didn’t have to lie.

Desmond’s grin was genuine, his expression open but his eyes piercing. “We’ve been partnered together for this one.”

I turned to mom. “So you finally got a Clark Kent to your Lois Lane?”

“Cute,” she said. “Guess it’s fitting since our assignment is an expose on the Hero Quartet.”

I have never had to try harder than in that moment to keep my expression from blanching. I managed to widen my grin and turned my surprise into an outward positive show.

“That’s so cool,” I said with careful enthusiasm. “I’m going to go finish my homework but it was nice meeting you, Desmond.”

His smile was enigmatic as he and I shared a look. “Clockwise.”

I walked out of the kitchen with my heartbeat thudding in my throat. It was like fate was trying her hardest to screw me over. She was too close to the truth. Hell, she lived with a Chosen. This wasn’t good.

Understatement.

I clicked the lock on the door to my bedroom and dropped down on the bed. One thing at a time. I would deal with the revelation with my mother later. Now I had other things on my plate that took priority.

I glanced back at the door double checking the lock. My fingers danced in quick movements as I reached into subspace and with a flick of my wrist, the Videum Crystallus appeared in my waiting hand.

Holding the elongated crystal in both hands, I blew softly across the tip and with a careful move twisted and let go. Instead of falling the crystal hovered midair and began to spin.

“Connect a data link to Terra Outpost Sigma-Seven-Gamma. Establish a remote uplink to Atlantis command database.”

A sliver of light traveled from the bottom to the tip tip of the crystal, as the two remote points synced and established a stable connection. The Videum Cystallus emitted a soft almost inaudible hum as it confirmed its direct connection to the outpost’s mainframe.

“Visual assist mode,” I ordered.

The spinning tip of the crystal emitted a holographic display into the open air. Graphics and script flickered through the clear surface of the crystal and then was projected into the air before me. It held my attention as the blocky ancient letters and pictographs formed into shapes that I instinctively understood.

“Set up for reference of the term ‘angels’ or any variation within the database.”

The display changed as the script turned into neat lines of blinking red letters. There were thousands of results.

“Needle. Haystack,” I frowned. “Extrapolate relevant results by scanning with the attached criteria ‘tactical history’ or ‘the Last Great War’.”

The flowing ancient script blinked and the results were less than a dozen this time. Finally, I was getting somewhere. I touched a point and another holographic window opened into the air brightening the room in a blue glow.

My eyes traced the holographic script.

There was an entire log dedicated to a list of - I wasn’t sure. The entry called them Prime Points, but most of the catalog was labeled as inactive.

I touched one listed as deactivated.

A three-dimensional representation of a beautiful golden arrow appeared. I racked my brain trying to place it, but I was drawing a blank. Holy Execution, the jewel-encrusted arrow was listed near the top of the technical data. If I was reading this right then the arrow’s tip returned life to anything dead. And another touch would bring eternal death. Artificial resurrection or spirit reincarnation would become an impossibility. We’re talking bye bye soul here.

Honestly, I was relieved something like that was destroyed, inactive, or whatever. The design of an instrument like this - I don’t know what Prime Points are, but they sounded dangerous and terrifying.

“God’s Blade, Clarion’s Call, Mirror to Ruin, Litany of Fury, Song of a Million Stars,” I read aloud, scrolling through the list of known Prime Points.

I poked at the graphic of ancient script and it vanished. That was getting me nowhere but more questions. In particular – why were half a dozen or so of these so called Prime Points still listed as active.

I shook my head. “Not now. Later.”

Manipulating the first display I touched a string of script that looked promising. Another display appeared from the ether within the holo-emitter field.

“Soldiers of the universe, the first offense and the last defense. Angels blazing with the light of heaven and power of judgment...” I read the last part very carefully so I didn’t mess up the translation. “Chosen before the Chosen.”

Now we’re getting somewhere.

“The Last Great War was fought within the coldest zero stars, between incandescent voids and across all of space. One by one, soldiers of heaven fell as entropy descended upon all. The points were silenced and the righteous angels fell–” I stopped reading or rather I couldn’t read anymore. It just cut off. The rest of the log was blank. “What is the status of this entry?”

“File is incomplete. Records indicate it was automatically saved last power down.”

I frowned at the toneless voice as a nagging feeling itched at the back of my neck. “What was the date of the power down and who entered the log?”

“Internal logs indicate last power down occurred November 20, 9303 New Dawn, eighteen seven hours. Log entry was entered by Crown Prince Gaius Cor.”

My spine stiffened. A sense of urgency raced through my mind as I connected the dots with unnatural speed. Gaius... that date... My body felt weightless as the shock set in as I stared at the display unseeing.

“The Fall,” I whispered. This was what Gaius had been doing in the Imperium Tower during the attack on Atlantis. I was looking at his last words...

I read the words again quickly as if at any moment they would self delete and disappear into forever. Then more slowly the third time. I took the words in weighing them in my mind, repeating them aloud and trying to glean some secret code.

“Entropy descended upon all,” I muttered absently. That sounded familiar. I bit my lip, thinking. I decided to try an idea. “Redefine search parameters. Search within the database for criteria ‘angels’, ‘the Last Great War’ and,” I paused for a moment then said with finality, “Entropy.”

The ancient script vanished and all holo-displays blinked out. The room darkened and just as suddenly the crystal’s holographic display flared back to life with intensity. In the place of Atlantean script, an image manifested within the holo array. His face was in shades of blue. But the cut of his jaw was the same. The hair under his crown was just as I remembered and eyes, so very much like my own, stared out at me.

My heart stopped.

King Oriens smiled softly. “Hello, my son. I’ve set up this recording to activate in the event that you trigger certain words and key phrases within the database. If you are watching this then I’m not around to answer your questions.” His smile turned sad. “For that I’m sorry, but know that I love you so very much.”

“I know,” I said softly as heat surged in my chest. I wiped at my eyes feeling warm all over.

“I hoped this day would never come, but alas The Last Great War has consequences that will reach to the end of time itself. There are many circles within circles, and what was cast down will return. Then entropy will descend upon all.” His face turned grave and I unconsciously straightened. “Listen very carefully, my son, before Atlantis was established the soldiers of Heaven faced an enemy...”

His voice garbled in an inaudible drone of noise as the image and audio scrambled suddenly. Red script blazed under the holo-projection blinking in warning. /Data corrupted, visual log entry unstable/.

“...The Prime Points are few now... the central one is... they are the only... everything fell before this enemy… unlike anything in existence... start Alpha Armageddon... for this reason above all... seals... angels are not what they used... all but extinct... absolutely do not attempt... heed my last... Remember I am proud of you, Emrys. Always.

The message stopped and the crystal spun silently. Its light was dim and quiet now as I stared at the crystal for a long moment, forcing myself to breathe slowly. My father had insured guidance with considerable foresight. He knew this day would come in a way. I initiated a replay of the message and it repeated in its same incomplete format.

I let out a weary laugh. “Oh come on... The first-” I shook my head frustrated.

An honest to goodness instruction manual, and it was ruined. My father wasn’t a man who feared things. He established his empire across dozens of star systems by peaceful diplomacy and efficient brute force. If something made him this worried…shit was going to hit the fan. Two words stuck out in my mind repeating again and again. Alpha Armageddon.

Initiating Beta Armageddon was Heaven’s Trumpet’s ultimate ability. And I just barely stopped him from wiping us all out and resetting the universe.

Alpha Armageddon was something else.

If it was less terrible than Beta Armageddon, I could only guess. It couldn’t be worse than universal reset. I mean that was insane. Right?