“It’s a rewrite,” Calypso gasped. “Aria, Clarice, don’t believe anything you see or hear!“

  Aria rippled like a mirage and vanished.

  “Noooooo!” Clarice screamed in soul wrenching horror. “Aria!”

  “She’s not dead,” Calypso assured Clarice quickly, focusing her will on the connection to their soul where Aria remained burning brightly. “The other Seraphim are trying to imprison her in a fake reality. They don’t have the divine instruments, so they can’t change very much from what exists here.”

  “How do we get her back?” Emily demanded, her eyes blazing with fury. “How do we get to these other Seraphim and make them bring her back?”

  “The only way we can win against them is with the four divine instruments,” Calypso answered, frustration clear in her voice. “I’m guessing that is why they targeted Aria. It would have been either her or me, and I don’t think it would have worked on me.”

  “What can we do?” Clarice begged, her teary eyes full of pleading. “There has to be something we can do!”

  Calypso sighed dejectedly. “It all depends on Aria. She has to realize the reality she is in isn’t real and refuse to accept it. She will figure it out, eventually. They can’t keep a Seraph’s mind trapped in a false reality for too long, even a Seraph that hasn’t fully awakened. They are just buying time with this action.”

  “How are they doing it at all without a divine instrument?” Lexi asked as she rested a comforting hand on Clarice’s shoulder.

  “They reside in the highest light realm,” Calypso answered, her eyes watching Clarice worriedly. “The power available in that realm is far beyond anything in the other light realms, and far beyond what is available in the mortal realm. It’s the realm of creative potential. I would imagine it took every bit of power the four of them could channel to make a false reality strong enough to contain a budding Seraph.”

  “I want my daughter back,” Eric growled, his eyes blazing with anger. “If I have to find a way to kill a Seraph in the highest realm, so be it.”

  Lucifer suddenly materialized in their midst, his sapphire eyes scanning the room. “Was it Aria they took?”

  “Yes,” Calypso answered miserably. “I just don’t know enough yet to prevent an attack like that.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” Lucifer apologized as he observed the agitated family of angels. “I came as soon as I felt the splinter reality form.”

  “What can we do?” Clarice asked him, her voice beseeching.

  “We can break the other reality,” Lucifer replied hesitantly. “However, it will take time and could harm Aria. I have an idea that might help her break herself out though.”

  “What?” Emily asked eagerly.

  “We can try to send someone from this reality into the false reality,” Lucifer expounded, frowning in thought. “It will need to be a regular human, because this alternate reality doesn’t have angels.”

  “You can send a human from this reality into the place where Aria has gone?” Clarice asked, her brows creased.

  “Technically, I won’t be sending a human,” Lucifer furrowed his brow as he seemed to be searching for the right words. “I’m looking for a template. The only thing we can send into that reality is instructions for a…character so to speak. There are several humans I know with the kind of personality and character that I can use for a template that should be able to influence Aria in a manner that will awaken her mind. The rules of that reality won’t accept angels, but Aria is a Seraph and has a divine instrument affixed to her soul, so those rules won’t be able to completely suppress her angelic nature.”

  “How long will it take?” Clarice asked eagerly.

  “It will take me about a week to create a template based off of the human here,” Lucifer told her regretfully. “It will also take some time once they come in contact with each other in the other reality for her to awaken. I hope it will be weeks, but it could be months.”

  “Months?” Clarice whispered in horror. “She’ll be trapped on her own for months?”

  “Without this intervention it could take years,” Lucifer told her gently. “This is the best option we have for a delicate situation like this.”

  Clarice scowled, her beautiful features filled with impatience and anxiety, but she nodded reluctantly.

  “I’m going to get to work,” Lucifer announced, then vanished.

  Calypso walked over and pulled Clarice into a comforting embrace. “I’m so sorry, Clarice. I should have found a way to stop this from happening.”

  Clarice shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Calypso. It’s those pieces of shit hiding in the light realm. There is going to be a reckoning when I-“ she broke off as she, Lexi and Calypso all felt a devastating wave of grief wash through the bond they shared with Aria. Clarice fell to her knees as her hand went to her mouth and she began sobbing.

  “What are they doing to her?” Clarice cried out in fear and rage.

  Calypso sank down to her knees and wrapped her arms around Clarice again, holding her tightly as they both felt the overpowering waves of grief drown out any other emotion from Aria until soul crushing sorrow was the only thing left.

  “What’s going on?” Emily asked anxiously as she watched their stricken faces.

  “They must be trying to blind her with grief to muddle her thoughts,” Calypso whispered, her heart breaking for the despair she knew Aria was feeling.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  XXXXX

  Lexi watched Clarice anxiously as she stood on the widows walk staring despondently into the distance. They had spent days trying to think of a quicker way to help Aria escape the splinter reality, to no avail. Clarice had sunk into a dark depression as the only emotion they felt coming through the bond from Aria was unending grief at an intensity that was alarming. They felt so impotent to do anything to help her. Calypso had told them the best thing they could do to help her was to find something to be happy about so that if Aria could still sense them in any way it might influence her. Clarice had tried a few times, but it was fleeting and quickly left her more frustrated when those attempts had no effect on the emotional state they felt from Aria.

  Mary had been keeping Lexi company during that dark period, constantly searching for ways to distract her or make her feel better. She had been hugged more in the last few days than in her entire life. While the positive energy Mary channeled into her helped to dampen the despair flowing in from Aria, she also had Clarice’s bond flooding her with anxiety and rage to offset the positive influx of energy. She felt bad that Mary’s first week as an angel had turned out so bleak. She had hoped to show Mary how wonderful being an angel was, but Mary was spending all of her time trying to cheer her up instead.

  It was almost like the good old days when Mary had done much the same for her in their early teenage years. Lexi had grown up in a home devoid of any kind of affection or love. Her parents had been openly hostile to her from her earliest memories. When she had met Mary in school at the age of twelve, she suddenly had someone who actually showed affection to her. She had felt like a sponge that couldn’t get enough of the positive reinforcement Mary so freely offered. She had been so excited to return the favor after meeting up with Mary again; but life had other plans. She struggled to feel positive emotions of any kind with the negative input coming in from all sides. Calypso was full of love and comfort on the outside, the same as usual, but Lexi could feel the darkness filling Calypso as she grieved for Aria. Lexi couldn’t believe how good of a face Calypso put on with the rest of the group compared to what she was really feeling inside. She was filled with self-recrimination and anxiety mixed with a desperate longing, as if a part of her soul were missing. Calypso was convinced that she should have been able to do something to prevent the other Seraphim from capturing their fiery haired angel and was blaming herself for Aria’s captivity.

  “I’ve always been there for her,” Clarice spoke up, her voice filled with pain. “No matter how ugly life got, we knew we had each other. Now she’s alone, without me to give my love and support. She’s such a deeply emotional person, with so much compassion and love for everyone.”

  “What was she like when you were kids?” Lexi asked quietly, wrapping her arms around Clarice from behind and resting her cheek on her head. The once euphoric mingling of energy exchanging between their meridians was almost unnoticeable with the dark cloud of despair filling Clarice.

  “She was the sweetest kid in the world,” Clarice murmured in a brittle voice. “She always wanted to please everyone. She always wanted to brush our hair or help clean up any kind of mess we made. I used to be a bit of a slob, but I felt bad when Aria kept cleaning up after me and trying to convince me that she liked cleaning up after me,” Clarice snorted a half sob half laugh. “She always lived in fear of rejection and would go to absurd lengths to try to make everyone happy. It took me years to convince her that there was nothing she could do that would stop me from loving her. She used to save up all of her money to buy gifts for us when we were having a rough day. She would make these silly posters and make messages out of candy bars and other snacks telling us how wonderful we were.”

  “It sounds like she’s been an angel this whole time,” Lexi commented softly.

  She felt Clarice shake in her arms as she sobbed despairingly. “It was like the work of a sadistic god when she got cancer,” Clarice spoke in barely more than a whisper. “It was a living nightmare watching her get worse as treatments failed to do anything. Watching the light get slowly extinguished from her eyes. She would have given up a lot earlier, but she didn’t want to leave me behind. She knew it would crush me. She was always thinking of her family, even when she was puking her guts out and wasted away to nothing. I was actually glad when I ended up with cancer too, because I would get to go with her.”

  Lexi squeezed her tightly as she felt tears run down her own cheeks. How had she ended up with such an amazing group of people?

  “Clarice,” Lexi paused as her voice broke. “Clarice, Aria is going to come back. You two are going to be with each other forever. I won’t accept anything less. There isn’t a power in the cosmos that can break the love you two have for each other. I’m so sorry she is going through such hell right now, but I know that she’ll be back, and you’ll get your sister again.”

  Clarice folded her arms over Lexies arms on her stomach and clutched her tightly, shaking as she wept a stream of golden tears.

  XXXXX

  Lexi stared into the distance as she stood alone on the widows walk. There hadn’t seen any demon attacks or military incursions for months. Lexi smiled as she heard the beautiful music echoing up from the house. Clarice had started making songs with Calypso to try and escape her dark thoughts. The two of them had grown closer in their shared grief. Calypso was almost never seen without Clarice nearby. Lexi wondered if Clarice was keeping guard on Calypso, afraid that she might be taken too if she lacked vigilance.

  Mary left to visit with her family the previous month. She wanted to help as many of them ascend as possible after learning that mortality was a prison for angels. She had tried to convince Lexi to go with her, but she just couldn’t bring herself to leave Clarice until Aria was back. The days ran together as Clarice and Calypso buried themselves in music. They barely spoke to anyone, knowing the only thing to talk about was Aria. Lexi had spent a lot more time with Emily and Eric. They felt like adoptive parents, in spite of their youthful appearance. They both doted on her like a daughter and did their best to try and make her smile as often as possible.

  They were all in the veranda, which was becoming more unusual as Clarice and Calypso became more reclusive. Jason and Susan had visited a few times, but had left when they realized there wasn’t going to be any progress on any of their plans until Aria was back with them.

  Calypso was giving Clarice a demonstration on how to play a digeridoo near the pond in the center of the veranda. Eric and Emily were sitting across from her with a card game laid out in front of them. She was just lifting a card when she felt the blanket of despair filling the corner of her soul where Aria resided suddenly shift. It was like a ray of light had suddenly shone down through the black clouds. She froze, her hand hovering over the draw pile. She heard the digeridoo cut off as both Clarice and Calypso froze, feeling the same ray of hope in Aria’s soul.

  “What’s the matter?” Emily asked in sudden concern. “Has something happened?”

  “She’s feeling hope,” Lexi whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

  Emily sucked in a deep breath, her own eyes tearing up and her eyes shining with sudden hope.

  “Come on Aria,” Eric whispered fervently. “You can do it.”

  They sat frozen like statues as they waited to feel more through their bond. After almost thirty minutes the ray of hope began to grow, replacing the darkness and spreading out across the part of her soul she thought of as Aria.

  “Hope is growing,” Lexi whispered, almost afraid that she would break the fragile thread of hope if she spoke too loudly.

  All three angels leapt to their feet as they felt the sudden blaze of furious love and hope rise up in Aria like a tsunami, washing the despair and pain away.

  “She’s back!” Lexi shouted excitedly, her eyes filling with new tears, this time of joy.

  Calypso opened a silvery slice into reality and plunged through it. They all waited breathlessly as they stared at the tear in reality.