Awakening

Chapter 58

"Revelations"

"I want to start by approaching this weird connection you claim to have with him, and Pronab... I thought about it deeply last night, I think we have to talk to Angelus more about it but, perhaps your father left inside of you something else besides his blood." Elaine said as they were walking towards the gathering room, Caliope was listening closely as she followed a step behind. As soon as they arrived to the room, they sat in different chairs and quietly waited for Gabrielle and Angelus.

Amra closed his eyes as he stood next to the window, he focused on feeling the strings that tied him to the universe. In the silence of his own mind, he sensed each Angel's joy and tension around them in the city; he followed their moves and their thoughts. He pushed further and reached the borderline, the walls that were lifted in the past few days to physically limit them from the rest of the world, then moved further away. He felt the tension of his mind reaching so far yet contained so hardly. Once he was sure everything that far was safe he focused on the room he was in. The aura of energy in each person was different but reliable; they had their hearts in the task at hand, everyone was focused on helping and all were on the same side. As he finally felt he could let his own guard down, sighed and opened his eyes; Caliope met him with a smile and he put his arms around her. 'I love you'

She blushed slightly and leaned up to kiss him. 'I love you too... everything will be fine, I just know it will...'

Gabrielle walked into the room followed by Angelus; he greeted everyone's eyes briefly with a nod but remained on Caliope with a smile as he sat in a chair.

"Gabrielle, Angelus, thank you for joining us. I want to make clear this before we begin; we hold great power, but lack a lot of information... a key to unravel the mystery behind Gaius disappearance and how to end this war that has already escalated beyond anyone's dreams or nightmares. Your role will bring much light on those subjects Angelus, we don't take slightly either the fact you chose to be on our side as well." Elaine started without wasting a minute.

Angelus nodded at her and remained calm as she continued. "I will start by enlightening you about a few things. Gabrielle is my daughter, and she has been undercover working underground for years to gather as much information as she could. The more specific details of that, I am sure she will handle herself to you personally. Everyone in this room is to be trusted, so what you say to us will be highly guarded and it won't reach any other's ears. So please, let's begin if you are comfortable with this?" She finished as she sat on her chair looking straight on Angelus' eyes.

"Thank you, Lady Clark." He smiled at her and took a deep breath. "I gathered yesterday by your reactions that there is much you don't know; so please excuse me if I rush several things at once, I guess we will answer your questions in the process. To begin with the biggest question of all, no one even in the highest circles talk about Gaius' whereabouts; there has been whispers about this but to many, it is a mystery itself. A very useful mystery, since it gave them courage to act the way they had been... we had been..." he admitted as he lowered his eyes briefly. "I am a messenger, I was... so what I know is what Generals passed to other Generals and that included their admission of not knowing what happened to him. But there is also a key person missing, a bigger mystery into this story; someone who's absence or disappearance might had been passed as unnoticed or without importance until I pointed it out. A year before Gaius' disappearance I was tasked with delivering a package from the researchers to one of the higher Generals, but as he was in battle, my orders were to leave it in the hands of his second in command, Ignitious. He was eager to be left alone with it so I did, and as always, I rested a day before returning to my land. That very same day was the last day everyone saw Ignitious, and when I returned the next day, I was asked to report. This was new to me..." He stopped briefly as he saw confusion in their eyes and leaned on the chair as he continued. "I am a messenger; but not just any type of messenger. Due to my particularly unique ways of traveling and special gifts, my service is often asked. I have the privilege of being able to refuse some of them, no one, ever, asked me to report. This happens only when something went very bad. When I was asked to report, I was met by a room full of generals and they asked me details of what happened; I had nothing strange to report, I delivered the package as instructed, to whom I was pointed at in case of the absence of that General. When I was dismissed without explanations I got worried and decided to stay behind closed doors and heard their conversation. The package never got to the General's hands, and his second Ignitious had been missing ever since. Days later I found out everyone of the researchers was vanished, someone or something vanished them, and it had many on their guards as no one knew how or why. This was quickly forgotten when words spread of Gaius' absence. I tied the dots; whatever the researchers discovered ended up in the unprepared hands of Ignitious and he was behind of their deaths and Gaius' disappearance. Of course, no one paid attention to my words; to them I am the best at my job, but I am just that, a messenger." He finished with clear annoyance.