Silence clung to the air for the longest seconds. Everyone’s thinking gear whirled, and Harmonies looked at one another as if one had the answer to this situation.
There were a few who offered suggestions, which Sara was zoned out of. She was thinking about this Pitch guy. She had met him when he was in prison, but his execution seemed so foggy. A headache emerged, and she could’ve taken a nap despite waking from her sleep moments ago.
More time ticked by until Michael rose from his chair and declared with a frown, “I guess it’s settled then. Since we don’t have a good plan and don’t even know where this Gala is or who, we will meet with Lucifer at his castle tonight.”
The two Choirs in league with the Archangel’s top secrets sighed at the meeting with their enemies. Kate and Ashley pressed their lips, and her brothers groaned and reclined more in their chairs.
Yet the man posed a threat to both sides when he attacked the Harmonies and Infernals. The Choirs couldn’t face this alone, especially if they were in the dark about the Gala.
“Meeting dismissed, you may leave while I call Lucifer,” Michael said politely, seemingly not in any rush. “John and Daniel, step outside my office for a second.” He glanced at his daughter and said, “Sara, please stay here for a moment.”
The Harmonies did what they instructed. Kate eyed her friend before leaving. Sara desired to dart from whatever was going to come next and go watch television as her date for the rest of the day.
“Come here,” ordered Michael.
Sara scooted closer, glancing away from her father’s stern gaze.
Taking her cold hands into his, Michael muttered, “You’re freezing.” He asked with concern, “What’s wrong?
Sara yanked away, knowing she would disapprove. She muttered, “Can we talk about this later? We can’t waste any time in finding this Gala.” The nightmare flashed before her vision, and she couldn’t shake it off. “It’s not your business anyway,” she added with a teenage scowl, snapping away from his worried golden stare.
“You’re my daughter, and I love you,” Michael affirmed. “Whatever you are going through, you can tell me. I’m your father.”
“No, you aren’t! You are always so damn busy and do not care! All you want is a perfect daughter. You only spend time with me when I come to you!” Sara fumed, not able to hold back. Her chest rose from her harsh words, and tears threatened to explode. It had been a while since they discussed these issues, with the young assassin pretending to be alright when she wasn’t.
“Is that how you think of me now? When have I ever asked you to be perfect? When—” Michael began but was interrupted.
The girl yelled, blacking out and letting her speak before her mind processed anything: “Stop shifting the blame onto me!”
Rubbing his temple, Michael inhaled, “Sweetie, I’m not blaming you for anything. I’m worried; you look sick.”
“I am not sick!” Sara retorted, guilt swirling inside her for screaming at him. He didn’t deserve her backlash because the nightmares upset her. She mumbled, “Anyway, you have to call your brother.”
She moved away from him, but he appeared in front of her. “Sara, what is wrong?”
Pulling away from him, his grasp on her shoulder was strong, not letting her walk away that easily. “Dad, I’m fine. I don’t want you to be worrying about me when you have the world to save.” Her coal eyes glistered from the brink of tears, and she shuddered out a breath. She kept thinking about the nightmares—but they were just dreams, and she had to forget about them.
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The Archangel watched his daughter look sadly down and wanted so badly to press further, but she was right. This Gala was important, and he had to call his brother about coming over tonight. He pulled her in before she could retreat. “Darling, you mean the world to me, understand? Whatever is on your mind, tell me. I’m here for you.” He expected Sara to push back, but she embraced the hug.
“Dad, don’t worry. I’ll be fine, I promise,” sniffed Sara.
Michael heard the slight tentativeness in her response, but he had to trust her right now, even though she was lying. “Alright,” he stroked her face. “Remember, I love you. You would give yourself to the world with no hesitation, and that makes me so proud.”
He kissed his daughter on the forehead and said, “By the way, I have a little trip for you and Kate. I expect you to be home in two hours. I don’t know if you and Kate are coming with me to my brother’s castle. I need to talk to John and Daniel about it.” He handed Sara a slip of paper, which she assumed was the location where her father wanted her to go. “I love you more than anything else in the world.”
Sara looked down at the floor, her fingers tightening against the paper. “I know, Father.” She glanced up at him with shining eyes and a dashing smile. “I love you too.” She left the office, knowing Michael’s eyes stayed on her as she strode out.
While passing John and Daniel, Sara tried not to look at their watchful gaze on her. She hated to be looked at like an exquisite item. She understood she was the Archangel’s first child he ever had, and that made her special in a way. The Harmonies observed what she would do next—rather, what her next mistake would be.
For Sara, her days were either sleeping in and watching shows or exercising and training. Each day was predicable unless her father permitted her out of the Celestial Realm and assigned her a mission. Any task was always unpredictable, no matter if she knew which Infernal she would slay. Yet, Sara has only been on four missions her whole life; two of them were this past week.
The assassin opened the paper eagerly, revealing Michael’s credit card. The handwritten letters read a list of items needed at Savemart: a new stapler, copying paper, and what her father put down afterward: anything you girls need. There was a smiley face written on it. Sara would’ve rolled her eyes if he wanted only two items at Costco, but she was too shocked. He had never released her out to San Francisco besides doing missions.
Sara inhaled excitedly, hoping that he was being more courteous by allowing her to explore more of the world—at least explore San Francisco. She jumped up and down and stopped immediately as the Harmonies strolled passed her, staring at her wearily.
The excited girl ran around to find her best friend and eventually found her in the exercise room. She blurted out, “Kate, come on!” She flashed the slip of paper to her, explaining to her that Michael was allowing them to go out again, nearly about to yank Kate off the treadmill.
Sara’s best friend sighed in her blue tank top and jeans. She wiped the sweat from her face and chugged some water, not seeing her friend excited about something for a while. It thrilled her to tag along with her best friend. “Let’s go to Savemart.” Kate stared at Sara’s unicorn pajamas, “but let’s change our clothing first.”
***
The two Prowlers entered Savemart in newly fresh clothes. Kate convinced Sara to leave behind her cloak with some persuasiveness, but she guessed that she was hiding weapons somewhere in her loose sweater and skirt, and she wore an amulet. Kate wore a regular T-shirt, jeans, and a light coat.
The girls explored Savemart—more like Sara explored it, her friend following behind her as she walked down every aisle with fascination.
Several humans glimpsed at her, but Sara didn’t care. As they found the two items—a stapler and a box of copied paper—which Kate held with some effort from the heaviness as time lapsed, they continued their way to the checkout. The excited girl picked out snacks and put them on top of the box of papers.
Once they reached the checkout, Kate was happy to put down the box with a grunt, knowing she got her weight lifts in for today.
“It’s not that heavy,” commented Sara, gazing around the concrete building and checkout registers.
Kate grunted, “You try carrying a twenty-pound box for an hour!”
“We could’ve gotten it on the way back to the checkout,” Sara remarked. She handed the register the Savemart ID and her father’s credit card. When she received the cards back again and was about to pick up the box for Kate, a sinister frisson prickled in the air. Sara jerked her head around, the older Prowler darting her eyes around.
Ignoring the register’s stare at them, Sara whispered, “Kate, you forgot to hide your powers!” She had always been used to her friends’ powers around her since she never hid them when they were at home. There was a rule when Harmonies were out: they had to hide their magical presence from the Infernals’ sensing them. Sara constantly hid her powers even when she was home, so she never had to worry.
“Fuck. I’m sorry,” groaned Kate.
Sara felt her friend’s frisson vanish in the air, but it was too late as a swarm of bloodsucking demonic bats flooded inside the building. The assassin rasped, “The Diabolic Bats.”