Draiks and Angels: Survivor

21 - Converted

The next morning, neither Ava nor Tadeas mentioned anything about the evening before. Someone brought them breakfast, which they ate in the common area. After puttering around the guest rooms for half an hour, the summoning finally began. They arrived in Poa Caerulea Aerie to a single human welcoming party.

"My name is William. I am the leader of the humans who support this group of Angels and Draiks. The Archangel sent me to greet you because he is indisposed at the moment. I will take you to him."

They walked down a very long hallway, up a staircase, and into a room with an oak tree carved on the door. There were two Angels and a Draik standing around a table covered in papers and an Angel sitting on the far side. He was on his cell phone.

As they walked in, he hung up the phone and said loudly, "Useless!"

The Angel looked up, saw Ava and Tadeas and told the other Angels and Draik, "Leave us."

"I am the Archangel of Poa Caerulea Aerie, Aaron. Whom do I have the pleasure?"

Ava stepped forward, "I am Ava, the Archangel of Primary Aerie, and this is Tadeas, likely Primary Archangel."

"William tells me you want to talk to our Oracle. But between when you called and this morning, our Oracle was kidnapped."

"Kidnap an Oracle?!" Ava exclaimed.

"There was no ransom note, but I have a pretty good idea who must have done it. The police won't help unless I have evidence, though," Aaron spat out.

"Who?"

"There is an Angel named Caleb who insists that his group is the real Aerie of Poa Caerulea. It is full of rogue Angels and Draiks who are completely dedicated to Caleb. I think he has taken our Oracle to... lend validity to his 'Aerie.'"

"That's crazy!" Ava cried.

"It means that we can't help you anymore, though," Aaron said, regretfully.

"Sir," William interrupted, "If they are both Archangels, could we not ask these two for help?"

Aaron sized the pair up, seeing a couple of nineteen-year-olds. "Primary Archangel?"

Tadeas sighed and Ava answered, "Yes, though it isn't technically confirmed."

Aaron thought about it a minute, then said, "We should not ask this of you, but if you would be willing, would you help us?"

Ava looked at Tadeas for confirmation, and he nodded. She responded, "Yes, we'll help."

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Ava and Tadeas landed outside the abandoned church in the parking lot. There were too many trees to land in the entrance walkway, and Ava didn't want to land on the overgrown grounds in case there were snakes. Aaron stayed at the Aerie in case a ransom note turned up. William was the one who told them of this place, saying their investigations led them to believe that Caleb and his group were using it.

The church was in surprisingly good condition from the outside. The roof was made of black metal sheets that hadn't started to rust yet. The shape of the building was the classic cross-shape. They walked carefully to the door, which was locked, and Tadeas unlocked it. There was a center aisle with pews on either side leading to the center of the cross-shape where a large circular design was inlaid on the floor. Despite it being morning, it was shadowy inside and Tadeas was nervous.

They walked up the aisle, looking for any doors or signs of life. They crossed into the inlaid design and a silver pole with a piece of the floor on the top started rising from the ground in front of them. They stopped dead in their tracks, alarmed. Tadeas looked around and saw four more poles rising around the circle. He had a bad feeling.