“That’s good, right?” Hope whispered. “That means she’s on her way.”
“What song is that?” Imriel asked.
Perception answered for me. “It’s from an obscure 1970’s American musical about the drug subculture. Or a boy who befriends an invisible dragon. This particular song was about a lighthouse.”
“A timeless classic.” I gave him a high five, then turned and addressed Imriel. “She’s on her way, but they must be lost, like a ship in the fog. Unable to see us. Can we just open the door for a minute?”
Imriel shook his head. “Whoever opens the door must walk through it. One soul at a time.”
“Fine, I’ll go alone—” I began to say, but my wings suddenly felt like blades of ice were sawing at their base. “Never mind,” I moaned. “I can’t. Fuck! I can’t go!” I’d have to take Precious with me, and I wouldn’t do that to her.
As I fought to get hold of my emotions, I noted dozens of High Angeli joining us, crowding around. As I paced, desperately trying to think of a solution—knowing that this was Feather’s forte, not mine—more and more of the recent inhabitants of Sanctuary joined us.
Hope laid a hand on my arm, stopping me, and then pulled me into a hug, pressing her cheek to mine. “I’ll go,” she murmured, her eyes filled with sorrow and resolve.
My heart felt like it was being torn in two. We hadn’t yet sealed our mating bond with a feather. With all the uncertainty, and Feather missing, it hadn’t seemed like the time. Technically, she could go. But it would be like saying farewell to half of my heart.
“I’ll find a way back in,” she told me. “I’m Hope, remember?” Her lips met mine, and I tasted the combined salt of our tears.
But before we ended our kiss, the gate opened, and closed with a loud slam. Who had gone? I pulled away from Hope and gasped at the size of the crowd. Almost everyone—maybe every single person from Sanctuary—was there.
“What… Who?” I asked Imriel, who was blinking bemusedly at the closed door.
“Perception,” he said. “He just left. What does he believe he can do that Tradition cannot?”
I had an idea about that. “Perception knows the old Celestial hymns,” I said slowly, trying to process the fact that he’d just given up his eternal place in the Celestial Realm so Hope could stay with me. “He’s been learning them. Memorizing them. He sings them to her mates every day. A week ago, he told me they’re a language all to themselves. That the notes actually carry meaning and weight. I can’t hear it all, but… Imriel, you listen.”
Imriel held his ear to the door for a few minutes, holding completely still, and then his face creased with wonder and fear. “They can see something approaching. A star that flies on vast, golden wings. Wings of… light?”
“Feather’s wings are tiny. It can’t be her.”
Imriel shook his head. “I know this song. Seraphiel wrote it; it’s the hymn of homecoming. The light carrying the weary wanderer to the restful door.”
Hope grabbed my hand. “It’s not just Feather we’re waiting for. Gavriel, he’s the Lightbearer. It’s him—he’s bringing her home.”
“We have to go,” I said, suddenly desperate. “We have to go out there and help bring her inside.”
“She has a Celestial key, but you do not. You can’t carry one, Sunny. Only the First Children, and Celestials who have undergone centuries of preparations can?—”
“Stop sayingcan’t,” Hope growled. “You’re giving me a stomachache.” Imriel backed away from her slightly; she did look as if she might snap.
While Imriel went to the door to listen again, I fought to control the impulse to race out there. I knew my best birch needed me. The truth of that thought rang in my bones, in every feather of my wings.
Hope’s eyes met mine, and she took my hand. “I’ll go with you,” she whispered.
“The song has changed,” Imriel said, his voice now throbbing with sorrow. “He’s singing the hymn of the lost.”
That decided it. I gripped Hope’s hand in mine. “Is thereanychance we can get back in?”
“You can’t—” Imriel began, but when Hope narrowed her eyes, he quickly added, “Not until the balance is restored. Only then will the Celestial gate open wide.”
“Sounds like hope to me,” I said quietly. I’d spent more time around this guy than I’d ever wanted, and I could tell he was quietly freaking out inside. “I have to go.”
Hope smiled. “I’m going too, then.”
My heart bloomed with even more love for my woman. “Imriel, get Mikhail and Righteous as close to the doorway as possible. When Gavriel and Feather arrive, they’ll need to be right there. Can you send someone to move them here? And Precious. As I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear, I’ll need to take her, too.”
His face froze in a peculiar expression. “You’re taking her away?” He closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was listening to a voice only he could hear. Then he opened his eyes, though they seemed haunted now. “You’re right. You must all go, and quickly.”
