My eyes flew open, and I looked at her a little closer. It was the girl from the Harvard courtyard. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
I nudged Michael to watch the girl as she continued down the aisle in our direction. The train hurtled down the tracks, plunging the car deeper and deeper into the warren of underground T tunnels and making any immediate escape impossible. But the girl seemed impervious to the jolting of the train; she just walked serenely toward us.
As she approached our seat, the older man on the bench facing us got up. Even though the train hadn’t slowed and we were nowhere near a station. She settled into the vacated seat and beamed that sweet smile at me.
“Hel o, El speth.”
I didn’t think I’d told her my name during our brief discussion in the courtyard. And I certainly wouldn’t have cal ed myself El speth even if I had.
“How do you know my name?”
“Your parents sent me.” From the conversation Michael had overheard, I knew that my parents had mentioned sending a “friend” to watch over me. But how did I know she wasn’t a “friend” of Ezekiel’s instead?
As if she knew I needed reassurance, the girl said, “Your mother asked me to give you this, as a sign of my loyalty to you. And to Michael, of course.” Although she referred to Michael as if he was an afterthought.
She put an object in my hand, and then closed my fist around it. I opened my fingers one by one, and discovered my mother’s locket inside. I had never seen my mom without it. How had this girl gotten it from her? I guessed she could have taken it from my mom by force, even though my intuition told me otherwise.
To answer my unspoken question, the girl placed her hand over mine. I received a precise, vivid flash, as if she explicitly sent the image to me. It was a very different sensation than retrieving information from people’s minds.
In the image, my mom and the girl stood in the entryway of our house. My mom unfastened her locket and gingerly placed it in the girl’s waiting palm.
“Take care of El speth for me, and bring her home. Give her this for me if she resists your good intentions.” My mom smiled, and continued. “And knowing my strong-wil ed daughter, she may wel resist.”
“I wil , Hananel.”
The girl turned to leave, but my mom grabbed her by the arm before she went out the door. My mom gazed into the girl’s eyes, as if she was speaking through them to me. “Please make El speth understand that, by not rushing to her side, I’m not abandoning her. I’m trying to help her. And please tel her that there were reasons—vital reasons—why we didn’t tel her who she is, or prepare her for what’s to come.”
“I promise, Hananel.”
The image faded. I found myself back in the train car, clutching on to Michael’s arm and staring into the face of an angel. For surely that is what she was. Her face had the same exquisite, timeless quality as did my parents. Or as my parents used to have, anyway.
I placed the locket around my neck. Sensing that her message was successful y received, the girl stretched out her hand to me. “Please come with me. We wil get off at the next stop and fly somewhere safe.”
I looked to Michael for agreement. He gave me a quick nod, so I took her hand and stood up. As did Michael. “Who are you?” I asked.
“I am Tamiel,” she answered as we started walking through the car. “I am also one of the fal en, trying for grace. Like both sets of your parents.”
We fol owed Tamiel to the closed train doors. As we listened to the train hurtle down the tracks, I whispered, “I have so many questions.”
She smiled that sweet, calming smile I’d seen in the Harvard courtyard. “I know, El speth. I sensed that when we met earlier. So I guided you to a place where you could have certain questions answered without any harm befal ing you. But I was tasked to bring you to safety. Not to il uminate you ful y. It isn’t time yet.”
“Please, Tamiel. What are we?”
A crash sounded in the adjoining car, and we al jumped. Tamiel grabbed our arms and said, “We need to get out of here.”
“Why?”
“Someone is coming for you.”
“Ezekiel?” I asked.
Tamiel stopped and spun around. “How did you know that? I just discovered today that he had surfaced.”
So our parents didn’t know about the Ezekiel factor yet. I was kind of glad they’d been spared that considerable worry. Especial y since they didn’t have any internal weaponry left with which to fight him. “He’s been in contact with us.”
“Yes, it’s Ezekiel. And I don’t think he wil show any mercy.”
“I don’t think he’l hurt me, Tamiel.”
Her bright blue eyes widened in astonishment. “Why do you say that?”
“I just sensed it. For some reason, I think Ezekiel needs me. I think he needs me to choose him.”
“Wel , you’re right. But there are many ways to make you choose him. Especial y since you care about mankind.”
“Like?”
“Like threatening Michael, who is susceptible to his cal . Like holding this entire train of innocent people hostage, until you come to his side.” Her expression no longer appeared surprised, but angry at my delay. “Should I continue?”
“No.” I remembered al too wel the horrors I had seen through Ezekiel’s eyes, and shuddered at the thought of being the reason for him to inflict more suffering on others.
“Then let’s go.” We linked hands and exited our train car. I felt the warm rush of the underground air, as the doors closed behind us and we stepped onto the rickety outdoor platform connecting the two train cars.
Tamiel crossed over first, holding on to my hand the entire time. I hesitantly stepped over the divide, when I heard a huge thud in the train car we’d just left.
“I hope we aren’t too late,” Tamiel said, as she pul ed me and Michael over to the other side. And we ran into the next car.
Chapter Forty-four
The train car was packed. With Tamiel in the lead, we pushed and elbowed our way through the crowd to reach the next set of doors. But not before we heard a deafening smash on the opposite side of the car.
“Don’t turn around,” Tamiel yel ed, and shoved me and Michael through the doors onto the connecting platform.
She propel ed us into the next car and the next, staying at our backs as a shield against an obviously angry Ezekiel. As we raced through the speeding train, we heard thuds and crashes in our wake. But we couldn’t stop to look or speculate; we had to keep moving. Even when we heard screams from other passengers.
We reached the doors of the last car. I wondered what Tamiel had planned, as the sounds of Ezekiel’s rampage hadn’t stopped. In fact, they had only increased. And I knew enough to be terrified.
Tamiel pried the last set of train doors open, and pushed us onto the platform. It swerved back and forth as the train sped down the track, and I didn’t think we’d be able to keep our footing. But then, I realized that Tamiel didn’t intend for us to use our feet at al .
We linked hands, and our bodies geared up for flight. I felt my shoulders broaden and the familiar warmth spread across them. I looked over at Michael to see if he was prepared. He nodded at me, and I squeezed his hand in reply. I was ready—as ready as I’d ever be to fly down the treacherous, underground tunnels of the T.
Just as our feet began to lift, the platform shook violently. I nearly fel off, but Tamiel pul ed me back before I tumbled down onto the electrified tracks. As I steadied myself so we could take off, I said a silent word of thanks to my mom for sending Tamiel, and looked over at her in gratitude for saving me.
But then I felt the earth shift hard under the tracks, and I screamed. Ezekiel was standing right next to Tamiel.
In the split second that Tamiel spun around to look at him, I second-guessed her. Perhaps the locket and the image of my mom and the chase through the train were just part of a trap to lead us to Ezekiel. But then I saw the expression on her face—a mix of astonishment and fear—and I knew that I was wrong. She was on our side.