Page 372 of Castings & Curses

"An archangel?" I asked, my eyebrows rising. "I assume I'll be assisting him then, and not the other way around?"

"Yes, the archangel," Joanne replied. "No, he won't have authority in the case, if that is what you mean. He has his orders while you will investigate on our behalf. Neither of you has jurisdiction, Aurelia. You are both independent agents, in a manner of speaking, serving the interests of heaven in different ways."

"But with the same aim in mind?" I asked.

"In a broad sense, yes." Joanne smiled.

"Is Raphael not a healer?" I asked as my memories of him returned. Why would a healer be helping me investigate these crimes?

"Indeed he is," another angel replied. I recognized him as the angel Koriel. Like Melinda, he had been one of the old gods, before the uh… change in management. It had happened hundreds of years ago, before my time, but no one truly forgot about it, least of all those whose position had changed. Some served the angelic hierarchy, as Koriel did, and others simply refused to this day.

* * *

I wasn'tsure how long I'd be on Earth, but I knew my investigation could take a while. I was given a small, white card with an address on it, so I'd have somewhere to stay.

As an angel, I didn't need as much sleep as mortals did, but I would need somewhere to rest, retreat to and think.

I'd never been fond of heights, even when I was a human woman. That had been over four decades ago. While it was widely believed among humanity that angels were a separate race — and in many cases that was true — their ranks had been expanded to include humans, immortals and former pagan gods, as the population on Earth and the stakes for the future of all beings had grown.

I'd been back to New York many times, but the sights from high above still made me gasp with awe and my stomach flip with terror. I didn't have to worry about being seen, either by people or technology, as I made myself intangible until I set down in a back alley in Manhattan. There was no sign of anyone watching, though I knew people could walk past at any time.

I shifted my appearance into modern human female attire — though I kept my wings tucked close against my back. They were still there, of course, but they were invisible and intangible to most beings.

The smell of damp concrete and car exhaust was thick in the air, and the city hummed around me, unaware of my presence… or so I hoped.

I had no idea what I would find here, or how exactly I would use my angelic powers to discover the truth. Perhaps it was my mind, or more precisely my investigative abilities I would need, and not my powers themselves.

I closed my eyes, feeling the energy around me with every breath. I could feel subtle fluctuations in the air — a kind of magical reverberation like a distant echo that seemed to be coming from somewhere nearby. I opened my eyes and focused on this sensation, searching for its source. As if responding to my presence, it grew stronger until an unmistakable aura of power seemed to pass through me.

The streetlights seemed brighter than before and the shadows darker as I slowly walked towards it, drawn by an invisible magnetism that beckoned me closer. As I walked along the streets, there were people bustling about, their faces a mix of joy, sorrow, and determination.

As I stepped into a small park less than a block in size, my sense of dread increased while a sense of familiarity grew within me.

The trees rustled softly as if they were whispering secrets only I could hear. The air felt alive and charged with magic, electricity singing along my skin. A figure appeared before me, tall and stately with his wings stretched out behind him — none other than the archangel Raphael himself.

Most mortals wouldn't have seen his wings, but to me, they glistened with threads of gold, and confirmed what I already knew. Only an archangel could possess wings so striking in their beauty and strength.

His skin was dark like ebony, yet radiant from within. His brown eyes showed great kindness. They were the eyes of a healer — of the heart, body and the world.

"Greetings, Aurelia," he said in his rich voice as he bowed his head ever so slightly in respect. "I have been tasked by heaven to work with you on our mission."

His piercing gaze never wavered from mine as he spoke. Perhaps he was seeking to understand me and why I'd been assigned to the job. I wasn't sure about that myself. I was concerned I didn't have enough experience, and I didn't want to fail in my task. It felt like a test, and I wondered if it might be. Was I ready for it? I felt that I shouldn't let my thoughts about it hold me back in any way. After all, Misha Drake deserved justice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you properly," I said as I inclined my head respectfully to him in return. "What I mean is — I know I've seen you before, but I don't think we've ever met."

He smiled at that.

"I would remember if we had," he said simply. "Would you like to visit the crime scene, or would you prefer some time to get situated?"

I'd already made up my mind on the way down to the city. "I think we're best visiting the crime scene as soon as possible, before too much evidence is removed. Have you already been there?"

"I've walked through the scene, yes. The last I saw, it hadn't yet been discovered by the police. I would suggest we make ourselves invisible before making our approach, lest we become suspects ourselves."

I nodded silently as I thought it over. I wondered at the risk of becoming a victim and not just a suspect. Angels were typically immortal — in a manner of speaking. But angels could still be killed in a very narrow range of ways. One of those was by having their soul destroyed, which sounded as though it was what had happened to Misha Drake — the poor guy. I didn't want the same thing happening to either Raphael or myself. After all, the perpetrator was still out there.

"I'm ready to go when you are," I replied.

I glanced around, as there was a small group of people nearby in the park. Raphael obviously caught on that we couldn't just become invisible here, and when he walked over toward the trees, I followed.

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