Seals by Kim Richardson

away from others, those
who do not wish to share their secrets, those who do not want to be
discovered. Tell me. Are you guilty of something, Kara? What
shameful incident have you done that makes you lurk in the
shadows?”
    “I haven’t done anything,” she said
coldly.
    “Really?” Metatron shared smiles with his
entourage. It made Kara want to vomit.
    He turned his attention back to her and took
a long drag from his cigar.
    “From where I’m standing, it sure looks like
you’re hiding something. I told you before, I can always tell when
someone is lying…and you, my dear, are lying. It’s all over your face .”
    Kara flinched.
    “I’m not lying. I haven’t done anything. I’m just standing here waiting for my team. I don’t
recall any laws against lurking in the hallways.”
    “A tongue like a razor. I like that. I find
it very charming in someone so young.”
    Kara made a face.
    “We all have our secrets—though I’m curious
why you’re so jumpy. If I were a fool, I’d say you can keep your
secrets. But I am no fool. And keeping secrets from the legion,
from me, is a capital offense. I could send you straight to
Tartarus without questions or a hearing.”
    “Fine,” she spat, before she knew what she
was saying, before she could control her temper. “Send me to your
prison! See if I care. But if you’re so sure I’ve done something
wrong then why haven’t you sent me to Tartarus already?”
    She narrowed her eyes, surprised at her
courage or stupidity to be speaking with such impertinence to the
archangel. The darkness was making her mad.
    “I’ll tell you. It’s because you’ve got nothing . Because I haven’t done anything.”
    To her amazement Metatron laughed. “You’re
so feisty and insolent, such anger in that tiny little body. It’s
one of the reasons why I like you so much, and why I haven’t sent
you to Tartarus…yet. It’s because I like you, and I like having you
around. There are not many angels who have the nerve to speak to me
like you just did. In fact I don’t recall it happening for over
three hundred years…and come to think of it, he’s still in
Tartarus.”
    Kara’s throat tightened as she remembered
the heart wrenching echoes of lost souls she’d heard during her
stay in the angel prison and wondered if she’d had heard that poor,
forgotten angel’s cry. How could Metatron forget an angel for three
hundred years in that despicable place? It only made her hate him
more. Why would the legion appoint such a ruthless, uncaring
commander? It was crazy.
    Metatron smiled at her grimace.
    “I admire a guardian who’s not afraid to
speak her mind. It sets you apart. But like I said, not always in a
good way. Lucky for you, I find you amusing.”
    “Wonderful.” Kara stepped back into the
shadow of the corridor and fought back the scream that she held
inside her. If he did anything to prevent her from becoming a
normal angel again, she’d feed him his cigar.
    “Amusing, yes, but also significant.”
Metatron sidled closer to her and brushed her wings with his
fingers. Her skin crawled at his nearness, but she didn’t move an
inch.
    “Truly, your wings are remarkable,”
continued the archangel. “But these…these veins tell a different
story, don’t they?”
    Kara was restless, but at the same time
remarkably still. Was he aware of the darkness that brewed inside
her? How much did Mr. Patterson and the oracles tell the legion
about what they saw in her future?
    Perhaps he didn’t know…not yet.
    “What is their purpose?” he asked sweetly,
standing too close to her. His breath was like an ashtray. “Why are
they there at all? Are they trying to tell us something? What does
it all mean?”
    Kara’s brows knotted. “Your guess is as good
as mine.”
    She wouldn’t tell him anything. He
would have to beat it out of her. God, why can’t he just go
away?
    Metatron watched her in silence for a
moment.
    “Well, I’m sure whatever they are they