Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 561(@200wpm)___ 449(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 561(@200wpm)___ 449(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Today, she saw not a single non-angelic flyer in the air—and all watercraft were powering in to berth if they hadn’t already done so. The Tower had to have grounded aircraft and ordered boats back to shore. A good precaution.
Because, while lovely, the water below her was choppy. She’d never seen waves like this on the river. Huge rolling arcs that glittered with the colors of the shimmering scales. Fascinated, she nonetheless flew on, needing to see Manhattan with her own eyes. All those tall buildings, all those people in the streets . . .
The edge of Manhattan brought good news. People had gathered outside, as if they’d evacuated, but the buildings stood tall. A few gaping holes where windows had once been, but that was it. And though she could hear the sirens of emergency vehicles rising up into the air, she couldn’t see any ambulances nearby.
She flew on.
And came to a halt in the air. “What the hell?”
Fifth Avenue had a jagged crack running through it, just like the football field. Only . . . not a single cab or car or person appeared to have been caught in the ragged maw. It zigged and zagged all the way along the tarmac in such an erratic line that it was almost as if a sentient mind had gone around the vehicles and people.
A number of cabbies who’d halted in the street stood staring at the crack, gesticulating to each other across the massive gap that now separated the two sides of the avenue. One had his soft cap in hand and was slapping it into his palm as he spoke to another, who was scratching his head while staring down at the strata of earth exposed by the crack.
As Raphael had warned her, it wasn’t the only affected roadway. Archangel, the roads.
You haven’t seen the whole of it. Head to the Tower.
Beyond befuddled, she flew on . . . only to come to a screeching halt above the Tower. Raphael, who must’ve been keeping an eye out for her, flew up from the roof to join her where she hovered with her mouth open.
Snapping it shut with effort, she said, “Either Beth baked magic mushrooms into her cake, or the grass around the Tower has turned into scales.”
When she looked from the landscaping to the Legion building, she saw that the luminous scales were climbing it, turning the leaves and branches into jewels.
“I’m afraid what you’re seeing is very real.”
At his grim tone, she looked away from the astonishing sight below—and was caught by the electric energy that sparked in the mark on his temple. It took effort to focus. “What am I not seeing?”
“If an Ancient is waking—and all indications are that they are,” Raphael muttered, “the Tower appears to be the focal point.”
Elena’s eyes went wide. “Um, would an archangel be able to obliterate the Tower if they woke below it?”
“I can obliterate the Tower if I want. So yes.”
“Well, shit.”
“Yes. Shit.” Raphael folded his arms across his chest and glared down at the ripple of iridescent color. “This has never before happened, to my knowledge. The odd angel in Sleep has woken below a house or similar, but no archangel has ever made that mistake.
“From what I know of those who have Slept, they seem to have a subconscious awareness of what lies above—a few even talk of sleepily shifting within the earth to ensure they come out in open air.”
“Like they just, what, tunnel in the earth?”
“No. They say there are never any tunnels around them when they wake, but often, neither are they where they were when they went into their Sleep. Perhaps the ability to shift position without physical movement is a gift of deep Sleep.”
“Makes an immortal kind of sense.” Because he was right; otherwise, they’d have heard of angels accidentally destroying monuments, warehouses, garden sheds, and who knows what else. Given enough time, a lot of stuff got built over what was once open ground.
She chewed on her lower lip. “Tell me the rest of the Cadre’s started to see the signs.”
“No. Only I and my mother.”
“I need to learn swear words in Old Angelic.” Elena rubbed her face. “But look at the bright side of things. At least we won’t have to rebuild New York again. Only a few roads. No big deal.”
Raphael exhaled, hands on his hips. “You are right. The damage, even the possible loss of the Tower, doesn’t matter in the greater scheme of things.” His expression turned bleak. “Right before the quake, the Cadre heard from Tasha.”
Elena’s blood chilled. “Is she still head of security on the island with the children?” A deeply trusted member of Caliane’s senior team, the angel had volunteered for the position, her duty to protect angelkind’s greatest treasures.
“Yes. A tsunami hit it an hour ago, swamping the entire landscape.”