Angel Burn (Book 1 Of Angel Trilogy)

Chapter 38| Not A Chance

Chapter 38| Not A Chance

Normal POV

"How can they. . . do this so publicly?" whispered Lucy, touching the flyer.

Evergreen shrugged. "It's the usual thing, hiding in plain view. Those who don't believe will just think there's nothing to it, that the Church of Angels is full of loonies."

Lucy hugged her elbows. "So all these people are going to come, to celebrate the angels— and the angels are going to feed off them?" Her voice sounded harsh with sorrow and revulsion.

Bickslow shook his head. "The arriving angels won't be feeding just yet; this world will be totally new to them. It'll take them some time to get settled, get acclimated. . . . Then it will start. But, yes, it's still obscene— the thought of the crowd being so thrilled to see more angels arrive."

Natsu frowned, trying to picture the scene. "How are they supposed to see them, if the angels aren't feeding yet?"

Bickslow snorted. "It's a special occasion," he said. "The angels are going to lower their frequency on the ethereal plane as they fly through the cathedral— it'll mean that the audience will be able to see them as they arrive. They're looking forward to all the cheers."

Cheers. Natsu pitched the flyer onto the table, feeling sick.

"This wave, and the ones planned for following it, can't be allowed to happen," said Evergreen intently, leaning forward. "We were losing ground against the angels already. If even more arrive on this scale, we won't have a chance— society as we currently know it will probably be gone in ten years."

Lucy made a small noise. Natsu gripped her hand and glanced back at Bickslow. "So fill me in on the angels' grand plan," he said. "If you infect all the humans with angel burn, how are you supposed to feed once they're all dead?"

The angel looked reluctant. "As long as humans have children, angels will have fresh energy sources. I believe there are plans afoot to begin encouraging larger families among followers."

It figured. Natsu grimaced, unsurprised. At his side, Lucy had gone pale, her brown eyes wide with horror. "Oh, my God," she murmured.

"As I said, the Second Wave can't happen," put in Evergreen. "We have to stop it; it's our only hope."

"How?" said Natsu after a pause. "Is there any way?"

There was a slight shift in the room as Bickslow and Evergreen glanced at each other. Suddenly Natsu knew without a doubt: he wasn't going to like whatever they suggested.

Slowly, Bickslow said, "There's a thin. . . wall, let's call it, of energy that separates our two worlds. When it was only small numbers of angels coming across on their own, the wall remained fairly stable— its energy was briefly disturbed by those passing, but it could restore itself. However, an exodus of this scale is very different. A special opening— a gate— has to be generated, so that hundreds of thousands of angels can pass through the wall in a short time without destroying it altogether. The wall will be extremely unstable for the twenty minutes or so that it will take for them all to fly through— it's a very delicate operation."

"It's planned that the gate will open in the main Church of Angels cathedral at six tomorrow night, two hours after the service starts," said Evergreen, indicating the flyer. "We've got someone inside the Church who's helping us— we know all the details, including the exact position of the gate."

"Right," said Bickslow. "And what we think is. . . if the wall is disrupted just as the gate is starting to open, it'll set off a chain reaction that will make it unusable. Effectively, it will slam shut for good, keeping the remaining angels in our own world, away from this one."