Page 42 of Living Legend

Natalia shook her head. “I never really caught their names. I mean, you must know most messengers have one job, and a conversation isn’t included in the job description.”

“If we described him, do you think you could remember him?” Reese asked.

“Probably. We see so few that I’m sure I could.”

Reese nodded. “About five foot ten, dirty blonde hair, glasses, freckles around his nose and below his eyes?”

“You would have seen him right around a week ago,” Nicholas added.

Natalia’s eyes gleamed with remembrance. “Ah, yes, the nervous one.”

“Nervous?” I asked, my voice echoing softly against the walls.

“Yes, quite nervous. I don’t know whether it was being here or if it was his first day on the job, but it took him five minutes to get two words out.” She chuckled, as if that moment was replaying right in front of her.

“How long had Keegan been a messenger for?” I directed my question to Reese, who didn’t look at me when he answered.

“A few months. From what I’d been told, he wasn’t the best at it. He would forget what he was supposed to say, or he would relay the message to the wrong person, but I guess I can see how being here can scramble someone’s brain.”

“What exactly did he say?” Nicholas turned back to Natalia.

Natalia pressed her lips together and closed her eyes for a few seconds. “He wanted to know the details of the portal constructed for Purgatory, the one my mother created.”

“The Purgatory portal?” Elise and I asked at the same time.

Natalia nodded. “He was afraid to ask at first, but soon enough, he was speaking quite clearly. I didn’t create it, so I couldn’t tell him much. My mother’s magic and mine are both strong, yet different. Her magic was strong enough to create a one-way prison for people like Lilith. It was much more sustainable than mine, I can admit that.”

Moira created Lilith’s prison.Holy fuck.

Natalia continued. “I explained only one angel can ever open a portal into Purgatory. There can’t be two portals open at the same time. Less room for error. The portal is constructed with a block and forces to push out the unwanted and keep in what it needs. You need permission to go in, unlike if you were to portal to any of the villages. You could do that all day long with no issues whatsoever.”

Reese scrubbed a hand down his face. “Why would he want to know any of this?”

Natalia shrugged. “He said Jonah wanted to know the exact precautions and blocks used. He wanted to know the types of wards put up, the intricate details that went along with them. Our magic isn’t meant to be hard to understand, just difficult to remove and destroy.”

“You didn’t think it was weird Keegan was asking and not Jonah himself?” Nicholas pressed, moving from the statue.

“Questioning angels didn’t really get my people far before, so why rock the boat?” Reese looked down at the ground, and Nicholas pushed a mound of dirt around with the toe of his shoe.“My mother created that iron gate on the portal for Lilith personally. When the war was over, Jonah’s father asked her to make a force so strong, Lilith couldn’t escape. For the good of everyone, my mother agreed, trapping our people who decided to remain with her. She hoped they would forgive her one day.” Natalia tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear slowly. “My mother told me she had to do three hard things in her entire existence and that was one of them.”

“Did Keegan mention anything about going to Purgatory?” I pushed.

Natalia combed through her hair with her long fingernails. “Not that I remember. Why?”

“Because the last time he flew anywhere was to Purgatory, and then he just vanished. He came here before the portal breach, and then took a trip to Purgatory, then nothing. He isn’t logged to have gone anywhere since,” Nicholas explained, taking a seat beside her.

“I assume that’s odd for a messenger?” Natalia asked.

“Very,” Reese answered.

“Wouldn’t Jonah have noticed some type of discrepancy in his messengers? I know he has a lot of angels to look after, but it seems weird he wouldn’t notice when one just stopped showing up for work,” Natalia posited, looking out the only stable window in the building.

Elise let out a small noise, a mix between a laugh and a cough. “Now you’re asking the right questions. Jonah’s missing a lot of key information, isn’t he? Pretty convenient.”

“There has to be an explanation for it,” Reese insisted, turning his head towards Elise behind him.

“Ohokay, when you’re ready to get your head out of your leaders’ asshole, come talk to me.” She leaned back in the pew, bending her right leg, placing her ankle on her left knee.

“There is the question of portal keys,” I mentioned, leaning so my elbows were on my knees to get a better look at Natalia.

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