Chapter 38 – Journey to Oakridge

“You have to feel the wind,” Mara explained as they stood at the edge of the launch cliff. “Let it support you. Your wings aren’t just for show.”

Grace looked down. The drop was at least a thousand feet, straight into misty clouds that hid whatever lay below. All five angels stood on the edge, wings extended.

Well, four angels stood. Grace was busy trying not to throw up.

This still was just not that easy. At least, flying down wasn’t easy. Flying up was generally fine.

“M-maybe I could just walk there?” Grace suggested. “Or take a carriage? Horses are nice…”

Diana snorted.

“You’re an angel now. Angels fly.”

“I’ve only had a few flying lessons!” Grace protested.

“Which is why we’re here to help,” Mara said, her voice soothing. “Just follow my lead.”

[I’m going to die. Again. But this time from falling like an idiot.]

Alia bounced on her toes, her wings fluttering. “It’s really easy, Grace! Just jump and don’t die!”

“That’s… not helpful.”

Zephyr nudged Alia.

“What she means is, trust your instincts. Your body knows what to do.”

Diana rolled her eyes.

“This is taking too long.” She stepped behind Grace and shoved.

Grace screamed as she fell, tumbling through the air. The wind rushed past her, her wings flapping uselessly as she spun and twisted.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

[OPEN! OPEN! WINGS, PLEASE WORK!]

She forced her eyes open and saw the ground rushing up to meet her. Her wings suddenly snapped open on instinct, catching the air. Her fall slowed, but she was still dropping like a rock with occasional wing-flaps.

Diana dove past her, effortlessly cutting through the air.

“You look like a drunk bird!” she called back with a smirk.

“I wouldn’t be drunk if you hadn’t PUSHED ME!” Grace shouted, finally managing to stabilize herself somewhat.

Mara glided down beside her.

“Try to copy my movements. See? Long, smooth strokes.”

Grace struggled to mimic Mara, but every time she got into a rhythm, a gust of wind would send her tumbling again.

Diana kept circling back, making snide comments.

“You fly like you fight, you know? Badly!”

After the fifth or sixth insult, something inside Grace snapped. She tucked her wings and dove directly at Diana, catching the warrior angel by surprise. They collided in mid-air, Grace wrapping her arms around Diana’s waist.

“What are you—HEY!”

They tumbled together, spiraling through the clouds. Diana tried to break free, but Grace held on tight.

“Let GO of me, you little—”

“Take it back!” Grace demanded.

“Take what back?!”

“All of it!”

They wrestled in the air, wings tangling. Diana was stronger, but Grace was determined. They spun faster and faster, plummeting together.

“We’re going to crash!” Diana yelled.

“Then take it back!”

“FINE! You don’t fly that badly, you toothpick! NOW LET GO!”

Grace released her just as they broke through the bottom layer of clouds. Diana spread her wings wide, catching herself with a grunt. Grace tried to do the same but overcorrected, shooting upward before stalling and dropping again.

Diana swooped under her, catching Grace before she could fall too far.

“You’re insane,” Diana muttered.

But…

There was the tiniest, just the tiniest hint of respect in her voice.

Grace grinned, dizzy but proud.

“Got you to admit I’m not completely terrible.”

From above, Alia clapped wildly.

“That was AMAZING! Did you see how she just tackled Diana? I’ve never seen anyone do that!”

Zephyr was laughing so hard she could barely fly straight.

Mara sighed, gliding down to them.

“If you two are done bonding, we should continue. Oakridge is still half a day’s flight from here.”

—

By midday, Grace’s wings ached, and her back felt like it was on fire. She’d gotten better at flying—at least she wasn’t doing full somersaults anymore—but it was exhausting.

“Can we rest?” she called out to Mara, who was leading the formation.

Mara looked back and nodded, pointing to a flat mountain peak ahead. “We’ll stop there.”

They landed on the peak, which offered a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. In the distance, Grace could make out what had to be Oakridge—a small cluster of buildings nestled between forests and fields.

“It looks so peaceful from here,” Grace said, sitting on a boulder and stretching her sore wing muscles. Yes, she had wing muscles now.

“Most places do,” Diana replied, “until you get closer.”

Alia flopped down beside Grace, wings splayed out dramatically.

“I’m starving! Who brought food?”

Mara produced a small bag of provisions. Bread, cheese, and dried fruit. They passed it around, eating in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“So,” Grace said between bites, “how often do you guys come to the mortal realm?”

“Oh, a ton,” Alia said. “I’ve been all over! Cities, villages, mountain temples…”

“Brothels, bedrooms, back alleys…” Zephyr added with a smirk.

Grace’s cheeks warmed.

“I meant for missions.”

“So did I,” Zephyr winked. “Spreading love is our mission.”

“Ooh, OOH! Tell Grace about that time in Westholm,” Alia said, nudging Zephyr. “With the mayor’s daughter and the stable boy.”

Zephyr’s eyes lit up.

“Oh! That was a good one.” She turned to Grace. “So, there was this mayor’s daughter, right? Total prude on the outside, but we all know that’s never the whole story. She was secretly meeting this stable boy every night, but they were both so inexperienced they weren’t getting anywhere.”

“I… don’t think I need to hear this,” Grace muttered.

But she didn’t actually move away.

“So I show up,” Zephyr continued, completely ignoring Grace’s protest, “and find them just awkwardly fumbling around in the hay. I offer to help, and at first they’re shocked, but then…”

“Then she taught them both how to eat pussy properly,” Alia cut in. “Like, really properly. The kind where your legs shake and you see stars.”

“That… was direct,” Grace said, her face now completely red.

“After that,” Zephyr continued, “the daughter was so much happier that the whole town’s morale improved. Her father stopped being such a tyrant, the crops grew better, and they didn’t have a demon sighting for three years.”

“All because you taught them how to… um…” Grace couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Eat pussy,” Alia supplied helpfully with a nod.

“Yes. That.”

Diana, who had been silent during this exchange, finally spoke up.

“Not all missions involve getting people off. Some of us actually fight.”

“Like that time in Thornvale,” Mara said quietly. “With the plague demon.”

The mood shifted instantly. Diana’s jaw tightened.

“Thornvale? Plague demon?” Grace asked.

Mara glanced at Diana, who gave a small nod.

“A plague demon was infecting a village,” Mara explained. “Subtle at first, just a few sick children. By the time we arrived, half the village was ill. Diana tracked the demon to a cave.”

“It was hiding in the water source,” Diana continued, her voice flat. “Corrupting it. I went in alone while Mara treated the villagers.”

“Diana killed it,” Mara said. “But not before it infected her too.”

Grace’s eyes widened.

“You got sick?”

Diana pulled down the collar of her shirt, revealing a jagged scar over her heart. It was black, like burned flesh.

“Plague demons leave marks,” she said. “Not a primal, so it wouldn’t have killed me, but…” She looked away. “Immortality isn’t always a good thing. Imagine having the worst headache in the world, one you could never get rid of, and also being immortal, so the option of throwing yourself off a cliff isn’t available.”

“Whoa.”

“Would have been bad, if Mara hadn’t been there.”

“I spent three days channeling healing energy into her,” Mara said. “Barely slept.”

Diana nodded.

“And I appreciate it.”

The group fell silent. Grace looked at Diana with some new understanding.

“We should get moving, eh team leader?” Diana asked Mara abruptly, standing up. “We want to reach Oakridge before dark.”

“Agreed.”

—

They took flight again, soaring over forests and hills. As they got closer to Oakridge, Grace noticed the sky darkening. Not with night, but with thick, unnatural clouds.

“Is that normal?” she asked, pointing ahead.

“No,” Mara replied. “Demonic corruption affects the weather.”

Diana flew closer to Grace.

“Stay alert.”

Grace nodded and decided to use Aura Sight, closing her eyes.

When she opened them again, the world looked a tiny bit different. Colors were sharper, and she could see faint glows around her companions. Gold around Diana, blue around Mara, pink around Alia and Zephyr.

She looked toward Oakridge, scanning the buildings and surrounding forest. At first, she saw nothing unusual. Then, at the forest’s edge, she caught a flicker of blue-purple light.

The same corrupted aura Isolde had had at the banquet.

“T-there’s something there,” Grace said, pointing. “At the edge of the forest.”

“What do you see?” Diana asked, suddenly alert.

“A corrupted aura.”

Diana squinted.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Me neither,” Mara added.

“Y-Yeah, uh, it’s just something I see on occasion,” Grace replied.

All four angels stared at her as if to ask “are you serious?”

A chill ran down Grace’s spine, then. The air around her suddenly felt cold, much colder than it should have been at this altitude.

“D-do you feel that?” she asked, shivering. “It’s freezing.”

The others looked at her strangely.

“It’s a little cool, but not freezing,” Zephyr said.

Grace remembered Seraph’s words during her training.

[Right. We feel a bit colder when there are demons nearby, but the effect is a lot worse for me, for some reason.]

“There are demons down there,” Grace said with certainty. “And… something else. Something corrupted.”

Diana and Mara exchanged looks.

“We proceed with caution,” Mara decided. “No splitting up until we know what we’re dealing with.”

As they descended toward Oakridge, the cold feeling intensified for Grace. The blue-purple aura flickered again, then vanished into the trees.

[… I wonder if whatever that thing is knows we’re coming.]

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