Sariel

We weren’t able to meet the president on the next day or the day after that, since it took the doctors three days to examine Uriel. All the lab tests came out normal. Uriel kept his mouth shut as usual, but he was clearly overjoyed.

Seraph and I were confused but relieved to know that Uriel was going to be alright.

Finally, we got the go-ahead to meet with Asteria at the Mark Hotel. We tried to grill Uriel some more during the car ride, but he wouldn’t answer our questions.

“It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that I’m fine now,” said Uriel.

“Why is it a secret? Aren’t we your friends? You should’ve told us if you were ill,” said Seraph.

Dozens of perfectly coiffed heads turned as we entered the Mark Hotel’s lobby, with its gleaming marble floors, stately colonnade, antique chandeliers, and striking coffered ceilings. We were wearing our dress uniforms instead of our regular combat fatigues, but we were still armed, as we always were in these troubled times.

One of the president’s secretaries was there to meet us and guided us to the Presidential Suite then waited outside in the corridor instead of going inside with us. The door opened and closed soundlessly, and thick carpets muffled our footsteps. I knew that the Presidential Suite was exceedingly lavish, with five bedrooms, three wet bars, five fireplaces, and its own library.

The first thing we saw when we entered the lounge was Asteria bent over the back of a couch, her legs dangling, and her ass up in the air. Too bad she wasn’t wearing skin-tight jeans instead of another dress. Still, it was a pleasant sight.

Uriel, ever the gentleman, coughed loudly to alert her of our presence.

The girl straightened up and smoothed her simple white dress over her hips. Her cheeks turned pink.

“What were you doing?” I asked.

“Oh, my pen rolled under this couch.”

Uriel helpfully lifted the couch, and Asteria retrieved her pen.

“Thank you. Elsa and Magnus will be here soon,” she said. “Sit down, please. There’s a fully stocked bar if you want a drink.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” said Uriel.

We made some drinks and Asteria inquired about Uriel’s health.

“I feel great,” said Uriel.

“Where are your friends?” asked Seraph.

“Sariel and Uriel are out shopping. They should be back soon. Ely’s doing his hair,” said Asteria.

“I guess we’re early,” I said. “Are you finally going to tell us what’s going on?”

“Yes, when everyone’s here.”

I really wasn’t sure what was up with her. When we first met, she seemed to be a young and simple-minded girl or possibly some sort of idiot savant, but the fact that she’d been able to heal Uriel of whatever had been plaguing him was proof enough that there might be more to her than that.

As she chatted with Uriel, I tried to examine her face for signs of either intelligence or insanity. I’d joined the Army when I was a teenager, so I knew quite well that young people were often underestimated. Could it be that Asteria was one of those people that looked harmless but were, in fact, extremely dangerous?

It wasn’t long before my and Uriel’s “cosplayer” doubles arrived carrying half a dozen shopping bags. The other Uriel was wearing jeans and a white shirt. Bizarrely, my doppelgänger was wearing a red kilt and a green T-shirt. His hair and eyes were both blue.

“Did you have a nice time shopping?” asked Asteria.

“It was okay,” said the other Sariel.

“Where’s Seraph?” asked the other Uriel.

“He’s doing his hair,” said Asteria.

“Then he’ll probably be out in an hour,” said my double.

Seraph turned to me and murmured, “Really, an hour?”

Uriel and I smirked at him. Seraph really was known to take a lot of time doing his hair. It seemed like he and the “cosplayer” were alike in more than just looks.

“Hey, perfection takes time, you know,” said Asteria.

Her friends left for a few minutes to put away their shopping bags. When they returned, contrary to expectations, the other Seraph was with them. I had been too unnerved to examine him closely before, but this time he was close enough for me to see the details that I’d missed.

He was even more outrageously good-looking than I remembered. The first thing that anyone would notice was his knee-length black hair that was undoubtedly the envy of many a woman. He wasn’t as tall as the other Uriel, but he was still too tall for a normal human being. His skin didn’t have the unhealthy paleness of Seraph’s, nor did it have the bluish undertone of the original. Though his eyes were an unusual golden color, it was his flawlessly symmetrical face that made him seem frighteningly inhuman. Nothing natural had perfectly symmetrical features.

And yet, the Seraph that I knew had facial features that were as beautiful and perfect as the stranger’s. The difference between the two of them was subtle yet profound: Seraph gave off the air of a raging fire that was barely kept under control, while the other one gave off the impression of a deadly coldness fully under control.

Although “inhumanly beautiful and cold” looked good on paper, in person, the effect was extremely unsettling, even terrifying to people who weren’t used to ELs. No wonder Asteria wasn’t afraid of me when we first met. If she was used to this person, I must seem harmless by comparison.

“Please stop staring at Ely. He’s very shy, you know,” said Asteria. She was smirking at me in a very annoying way.

“His name is Ely?” I asked.

“No, that’s her nickname for me,” said the other Seraph. “My name is Seraphiel.”

Seraphiel? Not Seraph? That was good. At least now I had a name for one of them.

We all sat down in the spacious living room. I noticed that Asteria and Seraphiel sat together on one of the loveseats. They looked ridiculous, like a comedic painting of a savage monster beside a wide-eyed naif. When he patted her on the head, it reminded me of a famous documentary about a pack of armored bears, and how the terrifying mama bear would lovingly pet her offspring with her enormous paws.

“I think I forgot to thank you,” said Uriel to Asteria.

“No need to thank me,” said Asteria.

“I’m very grateful-”

“You haven’t asked me how much you need to pay for the healing,” said Asteria.

Uriel and I made twin exclamations of surprise. She was right; we hadn’t asked about payment, which was strange because, of course, high-level healing was never cheap. Even Seraph blinked twice rapidly, a subtle sign that he was also startled. I suppose that, given her mental capacity, I had expected her to give away her healing services for free.

What was she going to ask for as payment? A doll? A stuffed toy? Tickets to an amusement park? She’d asked so little for the artifact that I wasn’t worried.

“Don’t worry, it won’t cost that much,” said Asteria. “We’ll discuss it when Magnus and Elsa arrive.”

Magnus? How strange that called him “Magnus,” not “Mr. President” or “Mr. Kraej.”

We spent the next few minutes making small talk until the president and his girlfriend finally arrived.