Back in the citadel, the Archangels gathered once again upon their thrones. And it was Miriam who spoke, on behalf of Viviana. She seemed... hyperactive from the whole ordeal; her Imago was flashing rhythmically between brown and green as she moved. Still, she maintained a steady voice as she spoke. “Right. Now that the incursion has been dealt with, there is the primary matter for which we have been gathered. What to do with Quinn.”

I felt all their eyes on me.

It was the shiny green one who spoke first. The only one whose name I hadn’t even heard yet. “Can we put her to work right away? I could always use some additional help at Sanctuary 2.”

Rachel stood up and spoke. “No. Additionally, Sarah and Heidi are already being reassigned to Sanctuary 2 with you. They are both capable Angels.”

Miriam cleared her voice. “I agree with Rachel. You don’t really need additional help. And let’s be honest, you just want to play around with Quinn, don’t you, Alia?”

The giant, shining green-and-violet Angel—Alia, was it?—rested her head in her hands. “Is that not true of everyone here?” Several of the other Archangels turned away or started fidgeting awkwardly. Had that really hit close to home?

“She wouldn’t be much help with you regardless, Alia” said Kei. “Since she still hasn’t gone through the basic training. Since someone did not inform us about her right away. And instead chose to be extremely reckless. And careless.”

“I’m sorry,” said Vespa. At that, though, the Archangels’ own symbiotes seemed to fly down of their own accord, accosting the hornet with a combination of gentle blows and harsh words. They buzzed around each other unintelligibly, slowly rising up

“Some separation from these Angels will be beneficial,” Rachel continued. “Though these may be the Angels she knows best, some of them may be... bad influences.” She turned her head toward her sister. And there’s the matter of her education.”

“We are preparing to run another refresher course this month,” said Miriam. The flashing colours of her Imago had somewhat subsided, though every five seconds or so the carapace still flashed red or green from its normal subdued tan. “Perhaps that would suffice? She may stay in the dormitory for the duration. And afterwards, we can assign her with a better understanding of her particular strengths and purposes as Vespa’s host.”

“A... refresher course?” I asked.

“It’s just basic training,” said Alia. “About who we are, how we operate, things like that. I’m sure of that will be familiar from your time in Vancouver, but...”

“But Nep is an unorthodox sanctuary head,” said Rachel.

“And there are many things that can be hard to explain. Best to get it all out of the way as clearly as possible,” said Alia. “It’ll be fun. And you’ll meet some other Angels, while you’re at it. Broaden your horizons.”

“You don’t need to pitch it to her,” said Rachel. “It’s not like it’s her choice, anyways.”

“I’m not pitching it! Just... encouraging her,” said Alia. “Assuming this is indeed what you want.”

At that, the four Archangels turned to look at Viviana. The Archangel stood from her central throne, spreading her amber wings and flying up to the middle of the chamber, where the symbiotes were all still... fighting? Arguing? It hardly mattered. As Viviana approached, they all separated and made their way back to their hosts. From so high up above, Viviana was cast in a golden light from the translucent amber ceiling of the citadel. “It is good,” she said. We may proceed.”

They all seemed somewhat satisfied by that. Miriam spoke. “Then, any questions?”

I stood frozen for a few moments before I remembered she was talking to me. Did I have questions? I had so many questions. But it felt rude to ask... a lot of them. Most of them, even. There was one thing I definitely wanted an answer for. “Um... I’m sorry to ask you this, but do you know what happened to my parents? Or how I can get them back?”

At those words, again the Archangels turned from me and started muttering between themselves. To my surprise, though, Viviana stood up and spoke a second time in front of everyone. “No, Quinn. We don’t know what happened to your parents. Now go.”

***

And just like that, we were standing at the entrance to the citadel again, amidst the bustling activity of Sanctuary 1. I wasn’t going to be given any more time with these three, apparently, and Miriam was standing by to take me to the dormitory for this... class. She tapped her fingers expectantly, though not impatiently.

“What about my stuff?” I asked.

“We are having it taken from the room you were placed in for Flight Magister to your new room,” said Miriam. “Don’t worry. We have discreet methods that will not compromise your privacy. Too much.”

“Then I guess this is goodbye for now,” said Sarah. “Take good care of my jacket.” She gave me a big hug.

“Goodbye, Quinn,” said Heidi. “I’m sure we’ll cross paths again soon.” She hugged me as well. Her white hoodie was soft and warm.

“See you soon,” said Nep. She did not go for a hug. Understandable, since she would be staying here at Sanctuary 1. She turned to Miriam. “You and Quin can run along now. I can take care of these two now.”

“If you insist,” said Miriam. She started walking. I figured I ought to follow after her. Within a few minutes, we were already getting far off the main walkways. The hallways were nearly empty, our footsteps echoing off the stone tiles with each step.

“Well, basic training,” said Vespa. “You will see just how much of a waste of time it really is. I was doing you a favour, you know.”

“I don’t want to hear any of that sass from you, Vespa,” said Miriam. “Not during class. Is that understood?”

“As if.”

“I thought you were one of the nicer symbiotes, Vespa. So gentle and kind. You wouldn’t want to give all these young impressionable Angels the wrong idea about you, now would you?”

“No. Perhaps I’ll be a little cooperative. Just a little bit.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, we’re coming to a crowd, now. Take my hand. Don’t be shy.,” said Miriam. She held out an armoured hand, its carapace still flashing between red and brown. Her forearms were lined with wicked-looking spikes.

I hesitated.

“Ah,” she said. “I didn’t realize I was still...” She laughed. Her Imago began to melt away, layer after layer peeling off until all that remained was a girl only a little taller than myself. She had dark skin and was dressed in flowing robes with intricate patterns of plants and insects woven into the cloth.

So young. “Are you...”

“From Mali? Yes.” She smiled. “It’s typical for the Archangel of Fight Ensifer to be from the area around Sanctuary 1. “

“Flight Ensifer?” I whispered.

“Internal affairs,” said Vespa. “The management of the sanctuaries, of the Angels, the infrastructure, and so on.”

“I see. But I wasn’t asking about where you were from, Miriam. I was asking how... how young...”

“I’m eighteen,” she said. “Not too far off from you, aren’t I?”

“What did you do to become an Archangel at such a young age?”

“I haven’t done anything... yet,” she said. “You know, just like there are prophecies about what you’ll do, about Vespa’s host, the Archangels... there’s something similar about that.”

“So you’re all prophesied to do some great feat?”

She tilted her head from side to side. “Something like that. Um, how should I phrase this? Have you ever heard of King Arthur?”

“Yes?”

“In many of his stories, the round table has only a fixed number of seats. Over the course of his life, the seats are filled and emptied as the knights join and die his order. But there was always one seat, the siege perilous, that remained empty. That is, until the fated day that a blessed knight would arrive, and finally take the final seat around the table, and bring the story to its apex.”

“...and your point is what?”

“We, the Angels... are like the knights of the round table. The circle of chairs has always been there, but, well, you noticed it was half-empty. And yes, some of the Archangels are... elsewhere, for now. But one by one, the Flights have awakened. And with your arrival, the moment is drawing near. The climax of our story. Of our battle to protect this planet. And as such, upon each of us Archangels... is the expectation of what we will accomplish as part of the great tapestry of time. As part of our final stand against our adversary.”

“I... I see.”

“All that to say that I’m still pretty new to this whole Archangel thing, Quinn. A lot of us are. I hope we can get along.” She stopped walking. We’d reached my new room. The hallway here was plain and uniform, smooth stone walls with doors at regular intervals. She pushed open one such door, which I assumed was the door to my room.

The interior was much like the hall outside. The walls were made of smooth stone, with no windows, naturally, given we were underground. As she’d said, my stuff was all already inside, my effects placed on the shelves, my clothes neatly folded on the bed. Even Sarah’s jacket was hanging from one of the bedposts. It was kind of eerie. “How exactly did my stuff get brought here?”

“Angel magic,” she said, with a completely straight face, and continuing with her explanation as if nothing had happened. “The washrooms are end of the hall. The classroom is over there.” She pointed at a sign halfway down the hall. It was red with a black diamond on it.

“What does the black diamond mean?” I asked.

“Nothing,” said Miriam. “We just use colours and shapes on the signs since, well, we don’t all speak the same languages. I mean, even right now, I’m certainly not speaking to you in English. The pheromones are doing their work of course, but there’s no way to write that down.” She laughed. “Anyways, just follow the signs up to the classroom come tomorrow. Class is bright and early. So be sure to get some rest.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Oh, don’t thank me yet,” she said. “After all, I’m going to be your teacher.”

***

That night, I heard a voice. The voice was coming from the other side of the wall, something that made no sense, since this room was supposedly carved out of solid rock. And even more puzzling, I recognized the voice.

It was Thea.

“Hello. Wakey wakey, Quinn.”

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Exactly where it sounds like, silly. I’m on the other side of the wall.” And from the other side of the wall, I could hear movement. Footsteps? And something scraping against the stone.

“That’s impossible.” But it was true. I could... my body could sense her presence, just behind the layers of rock. On instinct, my skin melted away, my flesh and bones dissolving into mush, reforming into sleek and shining armour. My body pressed against the wall, clawing at the rock, trying to...

“I’m over here for my own safety,” she said. “With all those Angels around, and with your metamorphosis progressing like it is, I don’t think it’s very safe for me to be so close to you.”

I tried to tell my arms and legs to stop. But they wouldn’t listen. My body continued to stay there, against the rock, struggling to find any way through. Of course, there was no way through. After what seemed like an eternity, my hands and feet abruptly stopped, as if giving up. And I was thoroughly terrified.

“This is my muscle memory?” I whispered.

Vespa stirred, flying up beside me. “Yes, what of it?”

“I just have to kill Demons.”

“To kill Thea.”

“What?”

“I thought we went over this before you left, Quinn. It’s your body’s purpose. That’s just how things are. Sure, you physically are unable to control your body when she’s so close, but that’s only natural. Your is prepared to achieve its purpose.”

As often as Vespa said it, I still couldn’t quite accept that. It just felt wrong to have my body controlled, even if my... itself, I guess? But I couldn’t quite place my finger on it at the moment. If only I had realized sooner just what sort of world the Angels lived in....

“The Angels are very keen on... control, aren’t they? Especially their leader, Viviana...” Thea giggled. “But then again, we aren’t that different. Though Quetzal’s quite a different Demon from Ecto. And he’s no puppet, no fake. No, he’s the real deal. A real Archdemon.”

“He’s different?”

“Oh he’s not different in the... nice ways. He still hates humans with a passion. And he’s got his... plans. Oh, you wouldn’t believe. Now these are truly... wicked. But I’ll let you see them for yourself. Bye bye!”

With those words, she vanished, and I felt like ropes and chains were all released from my body, all at once. So much weight by which I’d been bound to her, by this stupid body. And now I’d even gotten the covers wet with some of the liquid from my chrysalis. Liquefied Quinn. Oh well. Whatever. I really did need to sleep. So I turned back into my normal self, rolled as far to one side of the bed as possible, and settled in for the night.