Chapter 13: City of Angels
Taking a deep breath, Kendra cautiously stepped forward and into the cloudy veil that stood between the gates. Not knowing for sure what to expect on the other side, Kendra stuck her hand through the veil. Although the air up in the sky was normally fairly cold, her hand experienced an inexplicable feeling of warmth.
"The other side," said Kendra, as she pulled her hand back through the veil. "It feels... nice."
"It may seem intriguing," said Bright. "Let's just hope it's not a trap."
"I have to know!" blurted Windshear, as he reared up onto his hind legs. "I'm going in!"
"Easy," snapped Bracken. "If you go in before the rest of us, then we may not be able to get through!"
"Sorry," said Windshear softly, as he lowered his front hooves back down to the floor.
"Let's just do this together then," said Clover. "On three, everybody. One, two, three!"
As soon as Clover said three, the entire group charged directly through the gate as a small crowd. Once Kendra and Seth emerged on the other side of the gate, they took a moment to glance around at their new surroundings.
Instead of being surrounded by clouds in every direction, the group found themselves at the edge of what appeared to be a town. They were standing not on a cloud, but on a surface constructed entirely out of bricks, just like the platform outside of the gate.
The town in the distance was truly a sight to behold. It was made up of numerous buildings of various sizes, all of which bore cream-colored, oval-shaped roofs. Closer to where the group was standing, there appeared to be an array of sprawling gardens which sported trees, flowers and other flora, all of which looked to be well-tended.
"Is this Wingadoon?" asked Ingrid. "It's... gorgeous!"
"It's wonderful," said Windshear as he stretched his wings and neighed. "I'm finally here!"
"Come on," said Seth. "Let's check this place out!"
"Wait a moment," said Raxtus, glancing around. "Where is everybody?"
"They're probably all in their homes," said Skyfrost. "I mean, it's not like they were expecting visitors."
"It's so nice here," said Warren, sniffing the fresh air. "Who'd want to be inside on a day like this?"
"Seth, if a new video game just came out," said Kendra.
"Ha ha, very funny," said Seth.
"Come on," said Firesquall, "Enough with the stalling. Let's go find those angels already!"
"That is, assuming there are any other angels still around," said Windshear.
"Fine," said Bracken. "But we'll walk, not fly. If there are any angels in this place, we wouldn't want them to feel like their home is being invaded."
The group proceeded to walk through the outer garden and into the city. They crossed a bridge that passed over a stream and soon entered the city proper, which appeared to have several levels of streets, which were all connected by stairways and bridges.
The streets sported more gardens, along with fountains, hedge sculptures and flower arrangements. The buildings appeared to be built out of marble, if not a substance that closely resembled it. Many of the buildings appeared to be ornamented with gemstones and various precious metals.
"This place reminds me of the Fairy Kingdom," said Kendra.
"It does, doesn't it," said Bright. "But why shouldn't it? After all, fairies and angels are closely related. In a way, they're almost like evolutionary cousins to us."
"Still, this place definitely has its own vibe to it," said Clover. "It's just something I can't quite put my finger on. It's not the architecture. It's not the lesser use of crystals. It's... It's..."
"Empty," said Windshear, shaking his head frantically. "There's absolutely nobody else here!"
"Windshear's right," said Geminus. "This place feels like it's deserted."
"It does feel pretty quiet around here," said Seth.
"It's possible that this place really has been abandoned," said Bracken.
"No," said Windshear. "I don't want that!"
Raxtus sighed, then placed his claw on the pegasus' mane. "Windshear, whether or not that's true, you'll still always have us. And Stargleam. Don't you forget that."
"I know. But this is different."
"Hold on a second," said Kendra, as a thought flowed through her mind. "Bright, you were saying that angels and fairies are closely related. So, no doubt they're associated with light, yes?"
"Yeah," said Bright. "That's correct."
"Well, we've always been able to hone in on light energy before. Let's see if it'll work now."
"Good idea!" said Bracken. "Come on, Bright. Let's do this."
Bracken and Bright both looked at one another, then proceeded to transform into their unicorn forms.
"What are you two doing?" asked Ingrid, as the two unicorns stood in front of the group, their heads facing away.
Suddenly, both the horns of both Bracken and Bright's began to glow white.
"I'm sensing something," said Bright. "It's that way."
"Me too," said Bracken, nodding in agreement.
"I still don't get it," said Ingrid.
"They're using their horns as dousing rods," said Warren. "And they've just picked up on a reading of unfamiliar light energy."
"Exactly," said Bright. "Follow us, everybody."
The two unicorns led the way as they proceeded to walk down a street. After passing a few blocks, they turned their heads and gazed up at a staircase that was situated between two buildings.
"This way," said Bracken, as he and Bright began to trot their way up the stairs.
"Where do you suppose the relic is?" asked Ingrid.
"Beats me," replied Bracken. "If anything, it's an object of dark origin, and what we've picked up on is light energy."
"Guess we can try looking for it after this then," said Kendra.
The group followed Bracken and Bright through the city a fair bit longer, before stopping in front of a large building on the upper-most level of the city. Roughly the size of Viola's barn, it was similar in design to the other buildings in town. However, the windows appeared to be completely opaque. It was impossible to see through them.
"Whatever it is," said Bracken, "it's coming from in here."
Both unicorns were now facing the building, and stared at it intensely. The light that was pulsating from their horns was now glowing brighter than ever.
"We're close," said Bright. "Very close."
The entrance to the building consisting of a pair of marble double doors, Kendra grasped her hand around the handle of the right-hand door. She attempted to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. She tried pushing it, but had no success. She then clenched the other handle, but was unable to move the left door in any way either.
"Perhaps we should knock," said Clover, as Bracken and Bright both returned to their fairy forms.
"Let me try something," said Windshear. "It worked outside, so maybe it'll work here. Open."
Suddenly, a click came from the doors, both of which gradually swung inwards, revealing a doorway.
"Here it is," said Ingrid, clenching Seth's hand firmly. "The moment of truth."
The group passed though the doorway and into the building. Now that they were inside, they could see that the place was furnished with exquisite looking furniture, including couches, chairs, tables, and even a bed. All of it looked like it belonged in an old castle, but appeared to be in perfect condition.
"What is this place?" asked Bracken.
"Hello?" asked Seth, who was unable to find anybody inside.
"Sure, give us all away, why don't ya?" asked Kendra.
"Do you have a better idea, Kendra?" snapped Seth.
"There's nobody here," said Skyfrost, shaking his head.
"Oh, yes there is," said Bright. "At this range, I don't even need my horn to sense them."
Bright and Bracken began to walk through the room, over towards the far wall, and the others followed them. As they passed by some of the furniture, Kendra admired the style that had gone into it. It looked to be extraordinarily soft and comfortable, unlike anything that she had ever seen before.
Bright and Bracken stopped in front of a door at the far end of the room, where they returned to their fairy forms.
"It's here," said Bright.
"Let's save ourselves some trouble," said Windshear. "Open."
The door remained closed.
"This door doesn't look too tough," said Firesquall. "Want us to try breaking it down?"
"Please," came a feminine voice on the other side of the door. "Go away!"
"Who are you?" exclaimed Bracken.
"Just leave me alone!" cried the voice. "I'll give you whatever you want! Just promise that you'll leave this place and never return!"
"We come in peace," said Bright.
"You have monsters with you! Two wyverns! I saw them!"
"Did you not see the pegasus?" asked Windshear.
"Pegasus?" asked the voice. "No! It can't be. It's a trick!"
"How do you think we even got here?" asked Warren.
"We promise we won't hurt you," said Bright. "In the name of the Fairy Queen, you have my word."
A moment later, the sound of the door unlocking could be heard, and it opened up. Standing on the other side of the door was a woman with a pair of feathered wings. An angel.
Everybody was speechless. The feathers on the angel's wings were as white as silk. The wings themselves were quite large, more so than those on a fairy angel such as Bright or Clover. The angel herself was tall and slender, with smooth skin, long blonde hair and striking blue eyes. She was also wearing a long robe, which was as clear and white as her feathers. Her body seemed to be giving off a calm, yet soothing aura.
"You," gasped Kendra. "You're an angel!"
"Who are you people?" asked the angel, as a pegasus slowly emerged from the doorway. The pegasus' fur and wings were both pink, though it sported a purple mane and tail.
"A pegasus!" exclaimed Windshear, as he trotted over to the other pegasus. "I don't believe it! I've finally met another pegasus!"
"My sentiments exactly," said the angel, as she eyed the two pegasi, both of whom extended their wings and rubbed their noses together.
"I think some introductions are in order," said Bracken, as he cleared his throat. "I am Bracken, and this is my sister, Bright. Both of us are fairy angels, as well as siblings of the Fairy Queen."
"I'm Clover," said the green fairy. "Another fairy angel."
The humans and dragons all took turns introducing themselves as well.
"And who is the pegasus?" asked the angel.
"Oh, I'm Windshear," said the purple pegasus, backing away from the unfamiliar pink one.
"Very well," said the angel. "My name is Hope. And this pegasus..."
The pink pegasus let out a neigh.
"What'd it say?" asked Seth.
"That's right," said Bright. "Windshear has been enchanted with a translation spell. That's why we can understand him, but not this other pegasus."
"Translation spell?" asked Hope. "Well, if you can't understand her, her name is Air Flair."
"This is incredible," said Warren. "We thought that you angels were long extinct. No offence or anything."
"With the exception of myself," said Hope, "we pretty much are. Hmm. I can see that we have a lot that we'd like to discuss. Let's have a seat."
Hope led the group over to a table and proceeded to start arranging chairs up against it.
"I'm afraid I don't have enough seats for everybody," said Hope, shaking her head.
"Not to worry," said Bracken. He then waved his hands around and unleashed a gust of rainbow sparkles around the table. Suddenly, the table was now surrounded by chairs, these ones more akin to the kind that were back home at Fablehaven.
"That's incredible," said Hope, as she sat down on one of the chairs that Bracken had conjured up. "Your magic is amazing!"
The humans and fairies all sat down in the rest of the seats and were now all sitting at the round, oak table. The dragons and pegasi all remained standing.
"It's so reassuring to know that there are other pegasi out there," said Hope. "There wouldn't be any others like Windshear, are there?"
Bright shook her head. "Sorry. Windshear is the only one we know of. It's because of him we were even able to reach Wingadoon."
"Windshear, how did you get to where you are now?"
"Well," replied Windshear, "a long time ago, I was abducted and taken into the Demon Domain, where I was held prisoner. I was there for so long, I pretty much survived my own extinction. It wasn't until very recently when these kind souls who I'm with showed up and liberated me."
"Incredible," said Hope. "But how did you even discover Wingadoon?"
"Long story short," replied Warren, "we came across a book that led us here. It it weren't for Windshear, we never would have found this place."
"And who exactly are all of you?" asked Hope. "If you've befriended a pegasus, I can't imagine that you're bad people. Like us angels, no pegasus would ever abide by anyone whom they mistrust."
"We are members of the Knights of the Dawn," said Kendra. "We're an organization of people who do everything in their power to ensure that the world of magical creatures is in safe hands. Most of us live on a preserve dedicated to magical creatures, including Windshear himself."
"A preserve for magical creatures?" asked Hope.
"Yeah, we keep creatures safe from both predators and the progressive human world."
The group went on to tell Hope all about what Fablehaven was like, and how it and other preserves exist to provide a safe refuge for magical creatures.
"Now, if you don't mind us asking," said Bracken, "how did you and Windshear get to be the only ones remaining in Wingadoon?"
Hope sighed. "It's a depressing story. But all the same, I owe it to you all to tell it. You see, a long, long time ago, Wingadoon was a thriving community, bustling with angels and pegasi. It was a marvelous place to live. There was no conflict among its residents, and everybody was happy. However, while we resided in Wingadoon, as angels and pegasi, our real duty was to bestow good fortune upon the less-fortunate residents of Earth, as our mere presence brings good luck and prosperity. Now, we always took the effort to make sure that we were never seen, and for a while, this plan worked properly."
"So, what exactly went wrong?" asked Ingrid.
"Well eventually, people started to catch on to us," replied Hope. "Before long, many of them started setting up traps to capture us, if not to keep us as prisoners, than to harvest our wings and other organs."
"What?" gasped Kendra. "That's inhumane!"
"They didn't care. And the more we got captured, the more that humans started to know about us. Many of our kind attempted to rescue those that got captured, but most of these attempts only ended in failure."
"If heading down to Earth was becoming so dangerous, why continue?" asked Seth.
"Because not only is it our nature to assist the less-fortunate," replied Hope, "but we could sense that there were still good people down there who needed our aid. So while we did what we could to help those in need, in the end, things became futile."
"How so?" asked Clover.
"People who had managed to capture angels and pegasi were able to coax information out of them on how to reach Wingadoon. They then used their guidance to come back here and lay siege on the city. Many times. We did what we could to drive them off, but there were always casualties on both sides."
"So eventually, it came to a point where you and Windshear were the only ones left, then?" asked Bright.
"During the last attack, all of the angels and pegasi worked to drive the invaders out of the city. It worked, but almost everybody was killed in the process. Only Windshear and myself managed to survive. At first we thought that there could have been other survivors. The two of us went so far as to take turns searching the planet for years and years, but we never found anybody else. So we came to the conclusion that they were all dead."
"That's so sad," said Kendra.
"I didn't know what to do at that point," said Hope, her eyes now in tears. "The only comfort we had in being the last known members of our kind meant that nobody could take advantage of our kin and use them to return to Wingadoon. Having nearly lost faith in humanity altogether by this point, Windshear and I opted to remain here, knowing that at while we may be alone, we were at least safe."
"I'm so sorry," said Bracken. "If there's anything we can do..."
"Can you bring back the friends and family that we lost?"
Everybody shook their heads.
"I should have figured it was a lost cause," said Hope. "Sorry, it's just been so long that I've had anybody new to talk to. Had it not been for Windshear, I would have completely lost my mind."
"I can't believe some people would be so cruel as to hunt down angels and pegasi," said Ingrid. "It's despicable."
"I've known that good people were out there all along," said Hope. "I can sense that light energy is radiating from all of you folks, or at least positive vibrations."
"So for all these years, it's just been you and Windshear living here in Wingadoon?" asked Seth.
"That's correct. We've worked to keep the town looking beautiful and pristine all this time, if only because it is our nature to perform good deeds."
"It seems like such a beautiful place," said Bright. "Would you mind giving us a tour?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way," replied Hope. "Windshear and I haven't really been outside today anyway. We can continue our conversation while we go for a walk."
"Good, 'cuz we've got a couple more questions for you," said Warren, as he winked to his allies.
Seth nodded. He had a good feeling that he knew what Warren was talking about. It had to be about the relic.