Chapter 40: Chapter 40
Ru wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when she leapt into Sky’s realm, but what she saw was nothing like what she’d fantasized. Images of people floating around on white fluffy clouds, sliding down rainbows, and little cherubs playing harps had been her idea up till now, even though she supposed that was probably more what she should expect out of Heaven and not this place, which Cutter explained they usually referred to as The Depot because a lot of beings passed through here at one time or another to gain their assignments.
Rather than looking like something out of a cartoon, it actually looked like a regular city. There were skyscrapers, busy streets with cars—regular ones, not the flying variety—and people walked along in regular clothes on their way to work or wherever they needed to go. The only difference between this place and New York City that Ru could note was that this place was a lot cleaner. Everything gleamed and shined in a sun that didn’t fill the sky but was there nonetheless. Oh, and lots of the people rushing by on the street had wings. She tried not to stare.
“If they have wings, why don’t they fly?” Ru asked, turning her head away from a beautiful woman with long black hair who passed by, her white wings tucked behind her. Her coat had two slits in the back of it, sort of like the openings for sleeves.
“We can levitate, and we don’t,” Rider pointed out.
“True,” Ru muttered, although that didn’t quite answer her question. She decided to let it go.
They had assembled on the sidewalk outside of Sky’s office building, which reached so high up into the atmosphere Ru suspected it would reach the clouds if there were any. The sky was clear and blue, and Ru wondered what was above them.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Lyric gently pressed her in the back, a nudge of a reminder that she was supposed to walk forward through the door Rider was holding for them. She pulled her eyes away from her surroundings and headed into the lobby, which looked like every other office building she’d ever seen on television. She’d never actually had a reason to go into any such buildings herself in real life. Ru had never even toured the Empire State Building.
By the time she stopped gawking at the sparkling clean interior, where she could see her reflection in the marble floors, she realized Cutter had stopped at a receptionist’s desk and was explaining they were there to see Sky. The woman behind the counter, who had the blonde hair of a Keeper but might’ve been old enough to be her grandmother, picked up a phone and dialed with a smile on her face. She spoke to someone on the other end, not Sky, and then said, “Ms. Gabriels will see you. Take the elevator to the seventeenth floor. She’s in 1702. You’ll see it.”
Cutter thanked her and they all headed toward the elevator. “So, was she a Keeper?” Ru asked as the five of them climbed inside and Cutter pressed the correct button.
“Yes,” Ivy replied, “retired. Most of the people who work and live here are either retired or angels. Younger Keepers are too valuable to spend their time doing these types of jobs.”
Ru seemed to remember one of them mentioning back when she first started that there weren’t that many Keepers in existence, at least compared to Reapers, mostly because of issues with crossing bloodlines. “But the city seems so big,” she muttered.
“It’s an illusion,” Rider explained. “And all the Keepers that are here aren’t really here—just like us.”
“Right.” But Ru still had questions. “So why isn’t anyone transparent here?”
“Trick of the eye.” Rider’s response was the same as his last, though his words were different.
There were dozens more questions on the tip of her tongue, but Ru held off for now. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to the seventeenth floor. Stepping out into the hallway, Ru could see a sizable conference room taking up one end of the floor. The glass windows revealed several individuals, both angels and Keepers, it seemed, already assembled there. Sky stood in front of a large white screen suspended from the ceiling. Her expression was very matter-of-fact as she spoke to another Keeper, one Ru didn’t think she’d ever seen before.
Her feet moved forward, but the nerves in her stomach began to get the better of her. She wanted to reach out and take Cutter’s hand for support, but she realized it wouldn’t be appropriate to do so under the circumstances. She was at work after all. And she needed to stand on her own two feet.
Once again, Rider held the door for them. Sky’s face morphed as she recognized who had arrived, and eventually a small smile broke out. She stepped over to greet them, extending her hand to each of them, including her sister. “Welcome,” Sky said. When Ru gripped her hand, she was surprised at how solid it felt in her not-really-a-hand. “We’re so glad the five of you could join us.” When she was done with her greeting, she gestured to empty seats at a large conference table, and they all stepped over to find a place to sit down.
The room had gone eerily silent, and once Ru was settled into the large, black rolly chair, she realized everyone was looking at her. Everyone. Nervously, she looked back at Sky, who was still smiling at her, but she had no idea what to say. Cutter’s hand on her knee helped a little bit, but she still felt incredibly awkward and wondered if she had something in her teeth or if the leap had caused her to lose a garment.
“We’re just waiting on a few other people,” Sky finally said, breaking the tension. “And then we’ll get started.”
Chatter began to break out between pairs and small groups of people around the table, and Ru tried not to stare at any of them, though looking at the wings displayed by some of the others sitting nearby was fascinating to her. Curiosity caused her to contemplate reaching out to feel one particularly soft looking pair, which would’ve been a stretch even if she didn’t assume it was horribly rude to pet her colleague’s appendages.
Despite the fact that there were conversations going on now, it still seemed as if everyone was looking at her. Even the older gentleman angels, the ones Ru assumed were the equivalent of generals or something of that nature would look away briefly before their eyes wandered back to her. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Ru leaned over to Cutter and asked, “Am I just imagining it, or is everyone looking at me?”
“Oh, no. Everyone is looking at you,” he assured her.
With her eyebrows raised, Ru asked, “Why?”
“Because you’re you. The girl who closed the portals. They are fascinated by you.”
Ru was about to open her mouth to ask another question when the door opened again and three angels walked in. All three of them were middle-aged gentlemen who looked stern. Dressed in black suits, they occupied the three chairs closest to the door as soon as Sky had welcomed them and gestured for them to be seated. Like everyone else, their eyes fell on Ru, but they didn’t linger there. Something about their fleeting gazes made Ru think they were unimpressed. That was fine with her. She’d just as soon be underestimated.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s go ahead and get started,” Sky said, moving back to the center of the room where the screen Ru had noticed from outside of the door was situated. A noise from the ceiling had her turning her head to see an identical one behind her which would allow the people across the table to be able to see what Sky was talking about, even if they couldn’t see her.
“As you all know, we are here to discuss an attack on what we are referring to as the Japanese Portal. Our mission sounds simple on paper: we will make our way through the forest of Aokigahara, fight off any demons and Reapers we may encounter there, and close the portal. However, we know nothing is as easy as it sounds. And we are sure to encounter several problems along the way.”
Sky continued to explain the situation to the team, and Ru tried to stay focused, but she was having a hard time keeping her eyes on the map of Aokigahara that Sky was showing them. She was pointing out different locations, calling leaders out by name and talking about where they would be positioned, troop strength, etc. All Ru could think about was what it might be like to stand across from Nat on that battlefield and destroy him.