Chapter 14: The Invitation

When Father Nightroad and I got to where it was that we needed to be, I found that we were standing outside of a closed double door made from cherry wood. Glass panes had been set in between wooden grilles that appeared to be made from the same wood as the door itself had been. Through the glass, I could tell that beyond the doors was a room that had no windows, which meant that it was safe enough for me to remove Abel's overcoat from over top of my head and upper body. I could also see a woman sitting at a small desk, a single spiral-bound notebook rested by her arm as she patiently flipped through the pages of the magazine that she held in her hands. Next to me, I heard Abel chuckle quietly. "Well, it appears as though we're late." Looking up at him, he was already smiling down at me. "Best to not keep her waiting for much longer. She has a ferocious temper if she feels as though her time's being wasted." Before I could say anything, he raised up a hand and gently rapped a knuckle against one of the glass panes.

Immediately the woman looked up from her magazine and smiled at us. Then without leaving her seat, she slowly motioned with her index finger for us to enter the room and join her.

At the sight of the invitation, Abel took hold of the door's handle and turned it, pushing one of the two doors open. Walking into the room, I couldn't remove the idea from my head that the woman, whoever she was, had a certain stunning beauty about her. She had long blondish-brown hair that formed into tight curls. Her skin was slightly tanned, and her lips had been painted a dark shade of red. She wore a pair of black horn rimmed glasses, along with a form fitting maroon turtleneck. As she stood up, I saw that she had on a pair of black, skinny dress pants and some maroon pumps. The closer that she got to me, the taller I could see that she was.

Standing less than a foot away, she looked at Abel. A coy smile falling upon her lips, and as she continued to look in Father Nightroad's direction, she began to speak. Her voice almost sounding like a sensual purr. "So we meet again, Abel? Although, I must admit..." She grazed her eyes up and down him, all the way from head to toe. "If you were to ask me, I'd say that it's still been far too long since I last saw you." As she finished speaking, she playfully bat her eyelashes at him.

Oblivious to her advances, Abel laughed quietly and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's good to see you as well, Miss Brianna. But you know as well as I do that we don't sign on permanent A.X. agents that often. So Cardinal Sforza only calls you for your services when it's necessary. And well..." He glanced down at me, his winter blue eyes gleaming with joy. "Now is one of those times."

The woman, known as Brianna, crossed her arms in front of her chest and confidently she strut over to stand directly in front of me. Her brown eyes examining me with her harsh judgment. "So this is her?" Her gaze raked over my body as I stood still, I felt so out of place in my slightly bloodied white shirt and long pajama pants. Growing anxious, I gently began to rub my upper arm with my hand, hoping that the simple action would be enough to quell my mounting anxiety. But when I moved, Brianna scowled and said. "Stand still! I need to be able to see you so that I can successfully envision what it is that your uniform will look like." I froze like a statue and she began to smile a bit. Then circling around me, she asked. "Now tell me this, what is the code name that you were given?"

I was confused, yet I was too afraid to let my confusion actually reach the surface of my emotions. "My code name?"

She sighed, and obviously feeling annoyed she came to a standstill the moment she was in front of me again. "Yes. Your code name! I need it so that I can use it as an inspiration for your uniform. You should have been assigned one the day that you became an agent."

Looking down at my feet, I began to whisper. "I-I don't ha-"

But seeing me begin to struggle, Abel stepped in and came to my rescue. "She doesn't have one yet, Brianna. And I would appreciate it if you were a bit nicer to her." As he spoke, he didn't sound like his normal cheerful self. He sounded genuinely upset, as though he had been put-off by her entire attitude towards me.

I smiled at Abel, and when he looked over at me, I mouthed out two words that I needed him to know. "Thank you."

As he read my lips, he nod his head and mouthed back. "Don't mention it."

Having been scolded, Brianna exhaled slowly and looking at Abel, explained. "Well she's going to need a code name so that I'll know what exactly it is that I'm working with. So Abel, either you can give her one or I can."

Without hesitation, I looked up and blurted out. "No offense, but I'd really prefer it if Father Nightroad was the one to assign me my code name. He's...He's been the one by my side since the start of this journey. So I think that it's only fitting if he were the one to do it."

Flattered by my sincere words and my decision to choose him, he placed his hand to the left side of his chest and smiling, whispered. "It would truly be an honor, Jonah, if you were to allow me this." He closed his eyes, his smile still in place. "Besides, I've already got the perfect code name for you in my mind."

As she began to grow impatient, Brianna snapped. "Well then, enough with the pleasantries and small talk, just spit it out!"

With a gentle shake of his head, Abel looked at me. "Jonah, from here on out, you will be known as the Lunar Angel."

Once she had the information that she needed, Brianna walked away from us without another word. And going back over to her desk and notebook, she sat down and set to work.

Making my way over to stand by Abel's side, I whispered. "I don't think that she likes me very much."

He chuckled softly. "I wouldn't worry about her too much. Believe it or not, she's normally like this. So don't take it personally. She treats everyone-" Stopping himself in mid-sentence, he corrected the wording of what it was that he was about to say. "Well, she treats most people like this."

Slowly I nod my head, letting him know that I fully understood. But as I looked up at him, I asked. My heart fluttering gently. "So why Lunar Angel, Father Nightroad?"

Abel smiled broadly. "Well Lunar is there to show that you're a Methuselah, and Angel simply because...well...because you're an absolute angel."

Hearing him say this brought a blush back to my face, and feeling uncertain, I looked away briefly. "Father..." In my mind, I couldn't help but to feel amazed by some of the things that Abel could think of to say to me.

With a gentle nudge in my side, he continued. "No need to feel embarrassed. Every bit of your new code name describes you perfectly. Also, if you're going to argue and say that you aren't an angel, then I must tell you that I strongly disagree. Out of all the A.X. agents, you are by far, one of the most pure among us." He smiled and I could see that there was so much hope etched all across his face. "Well...you along with Sister Elma."

Recovering from my embarrassment, I nod my head in agreement. "Yeah. Elma's so pure and innocent. If you were to take just one glance at her, you could see all of the good that she has within her." I stood thinking for a moment, my eyes drifting over towards Brianna as she sat at her desk, carefully sketching away in her notebook. Her facial expression scrunched up in sheer concentration. Yet once i had all of my thoughts in order, I asked. "Father, yesterday neither Elma nor Terina mentioned what their code names were..." Glancing upwards, I continued, my focus purely on Abel. "Would it be okay if I asked you what they are?"

He made a quiet noise in his throat, almost as if he hadn't heard what I had said, but then looking directly ahead of where he stood, whispered. "You weren't too far off when you were describing Elma." Exhaling, he peered down at me out of the corner of his eye. "Her code name is simple and gets directly to the point."

I tried to think of what I had said that would have made the perfect alias for Elma.

But before I could come to a conclusion, I heard Abel voice. "It's Innocence."

I blinked my eyes a few times, then still feeling confused, asked. "Huh?"

Abel laughed. Then he began to explain again. "Elma's code name is Innocence. Her powers don't allow her to harm anyone since she can only use them to heal. So she truly is the most innocent one among us."

As his explanation sank in, I could easily understand why it had been decided that Elma would be known as Innocence, but I was still interested in knowing just one more thing. "And what about her sister? What is Terina's code name?"

Father Nighroad sighed. In the past it had been simple for me to pick up on the fact that he and Terina didn't always see eye to eye, but I knew that he still felt deeply for her. And that he sympathized with the sadness that she could be considered to be drowning in. "Jonah, do you remember what I told you out in the courtyard? You'll have to think back a ways since it was a conversation we had on the very first night that you actually spent within the Vatican."

Closing my eyes, I searched around for a while and eventually I delved down deep enough, going backwards in time. That night felt as if it had happened eons ago, but the memory was still crisp and pristine within my mind. "You told me that Terina was complicated. That she's physically strong, but emotionally she's faced up against demons." Reopening my eyes, I couldn't help but to feel sad. To me, Terina always seemed to act as though she never let anything bother her. As though she were truly invincible. But as I reflected upon Abel's words, I began to realize that her courage and infinite amount of strength was nothing more than a facade.

"Yes, but I also need for you to remember what it was that happened to the both of them that brought them here in the first place."

I could tell that Abel was testing my memories, since I still hadn't been able to recall much about what had happened between Noelle and myself just a few days prior to where we were now. But I decided to give it my best attempt and dove back into the sea of all that was. "Their parents had been murdered in their home, and that the Empress suggested that they be sent here."

Abel nod his head slowly. "That's correct. We don't really know much about the situation, but what we have been able to find out is this. When the attack occurred, Elma had only been twelve years old. She wasn't present at the time, and she never once saw the bodies of her deceased parents. Terina, on the other hand, was eighteen and had been appointed by the Empress to become a guard of sorts. And it was within the palace that she learned the skills that she now possesses today." He sighed once more and crossed his arms over top of his chest. "However, while she was on a trip to visit with her family, she unfortunately was the one to discover the corpses of her parents. They had been brutally murdered, and to this day, no one knows who was behind the killings."

Looking up towards Abel's face, I could see that his winter blue eyes were in the midst of a harsh blizzard.

Yet with a feeble smile that was made as an attempt to not make me worry, he whispered. "Terina blames herself for the entire incident. She feels that if she had gotten home just a bit sooner, that she might have been able to prevent it from ever happening." The now faded light within his eyes communicated a very similar sentiment.

Throwing caution to the winds, I ventured to ask. "Is that how you felt the other day?"

He took a deep breath into his lungs and held it there for a second. Then as I heard him releasing the breath, he responded. "It was, and it still is. When we met I made you a promise that I would protect you and that I'd be there to catch you if you were to ever fall." Shaking his head, he lost his weak smile. "I felt as though I had failed you, and I can never undo that. I will never be able to go back and fix that one mistake that almost cost me so much."

Unable to take anymore of his words, I placed my hand on his sleeve just above the elbow and I tried to console and heal Abel's fractured heart. "Father Nightroad, it's all okay. I'm still here. A bit different...but still here nonetheless. Please don't torture yourself with all of the 'what ifs' and 'could haves'. After all, I still stand by what I told you."

At my statement, he instantly became confused. "I don't understand, Jonah. What are you talking about?"

I flashed him my warmest smile and reminded him. "Father, I don't like seeing my friends in pain, nor do I enjoy knowing that they're sad."

He simply smiled at me. And I watched as the raging blizzard deep within his eyes died away, giving way for the dampened light to kindle and burn brightly once more. With a soft, content exhale, Abel gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close for a second.

Held in his warm embrace, I attempted to return our conversation back to its original topic. "Father Nightroad, you never told me what Terina's code name is."

I listened as he chuckled quietly. "It's Violet Shadow. I know that you've never really seen Terina's skills at work, but trust me when I say that you never see one of her attacks coming. Since she primarily deals with dark energy, it's nearly impossible to keep track of her once she gets started."

As he explained all of this new information to me, I couldn't help but to smile. My body and mind filled to the brim with peaceful emotions. But those feelings of happiness were short lived when I saw that Brianna was making her way towards us. The closer she got, the more strict she seemed to become. "Well I've done the very best that I could and I somehow managed to come up with a basic design to use for your uniform." She came to a halt when she was a foot away from where Abel and I were, and with a single sheet of paper clutched in her hand, she said. "It'll be far from conventional, but considering what you are, I think that it should be work out just fine in the end." When she was finished speaking, she turned away and almost as if it were merely an after thought, she curtly said just one more thing. "Give me ten to fifteen minutes and we'll be ready for you to try the uniform on."

Letting out a nervous sigh as I watched Brianna leave, I whispered. "I really don't think that she likes me."

Abel gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, and with a comforting tone he said. "I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much, Jonah. And truth be told, after today, I doubt that you'll ever have to meet her again."

With the words that he had said and the fact that Father Nightroad was acting as a kind of protective barrier, between the seamstress and myself, calmed my heart. So nodding my head, I whispered. "Thank you, Father."

The remaining time that Brianna needed to become completely finished with the final product, that would be my new uniform, went by fairly quickly. So as Abel and I continued to chat idly, I barely noticed it when Brianna had come back over and rejoined our small group. Her arms crossed and she began to tap her foot impatiently. At the unexpected noise, I looked over and finally became aware of her presence. "If you two are done gossiping, Ive got your uniform completed." Once again, she turned away on a heel and giving a swift motion for me to follow after her, began to walk away towards the back of the room.

I felt Abel withdraw his arm from around me, and looking up towards his face, I saw that he was giving me a look of reassurance. Smiling, I returned my focus to what was ahead of me, I followed after Brianna. Whom I found waiting next to a basic wooden room divider.

The moment that I was within earshot, she ordered. "Get undressed."

Stepping behind the partition, I proceeded to quietly remove my clothes from my body. And with each article of clothing that I shed, I steadily became more self conscious about my appearance.

When I was standing in nothing but my undergarments, Brianna pointed up at something that I hadn't noticed until that very second. While I peered up to take a closer look, she told me. "It should fit you perfectly. It's also been made from a material that will help to block out the sun's UV rays. Which means that as long as you cover up your face, it'll be safe enough for you to go outside during the day for brief periods of time."

Reaching out, I took the freshly minted uniform into my hands. It looked exactly the same as my previous dress had. Only instead of being primarily white with blue accents, it was now mainly black with icy blue accents. The differences between my original and new uniforms were so striking, yet I couldn't help but to feel impressed. And as I began to slip into the dress, I whispered to Brianna, who now stood with her back to me. "Thank you."

Again, she didn't say anything in response, but I watched as she bobbed her head once to acknowledge that she had heard me.

As I put the dress on, I could tell that the material was a bit thicker than the normal, but it didn't bother me. It simply felt nice to be back inside a uniform that was familiar to me, and that was all that I cared about. Once the dress was on, and all that remained was for the buttons along the back to be fastened up, I turned to Brianna. "Could you please button up the back for me?"

Turning away, I felt a gentle pressure moving up my back as Brianna secured the buttons, and when she was done, she whispered. "That should do. Now go and see what he thinks." As she spoke, I noticed that her tone was a bit kinder than it had been before.

Yet there was no need for me to have for any clarification as to whom she had been referring to, since I already knew that she meant Father Nightroad. With a smile lighting up my face, I put on the habit that matched the color scheme of the dress, and turning around, I prepared myself to go and show Abel my new uniform. But the moment I made an attempt to walk away from behind the wooden room divider, a gentle hand grasped at my shoulder.

Brianna's voice greeted my ears before I could even so much as look in her direction. "Here...I almost forgot something." Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that she was holding onto the black boots that Abel had given to me the day that we had met.

My heart fluttered at the sight of the boots, and reaching out, I slid the tip of my finger along the toe of the right shoe. "Where did you find these?"

She smiled. "Abel brought them in just before he left to retrieve you." Holding them out, she whispered. "Take them. They're yours."

Taking the books back, I quietly put them on one at a time. My being feeling complete once again, I looked at Brianna and happily whispered. "Thank you." When my words of gratitude had been said, I hurried out from behind the room divider and I quickly sprinted towards Abel.

Witnessing me emerge, his eyes appeared to be wide behind his round glasses. His mouth hung open slightly and then he smiled. "My goodness! Jonah, you look amazing!"

I giggled as I twirled a few times, watching as the black and icy blue materials splayed out around me as I spun in small circles. "Father Nightroad, I absolutely love it!"

Abel chuckled. "Did you remember to thank Miss Brianna?"

From behind me, I heard her respond. "Don't worry, Abel. She's a good girl." As she said this, she turned to face me. "I apologize for being rude to you earlier." Brianna smiled for a brief second, but as soon as I saw it, it deteriorated away and switched back over to her previously worn neutral expression.

As I began to open my mouth to say something to her, I stopped as I noticed Abel lifting his left hand up to the communicator cuff that was attached to his left ear. "This is Nightroad, awaiting further instructions." He looked over at me and smiled, then after a moment he said. "Sure. That will be no problem at all, Kate. We're actually just now finishing up with things here, so we'll head there straight away." He nod his head a few times, and then before the conversation ended, he said. "Thank you so much."

With my full attention on Abel, I asked. "Do you have a mission that you need to leave for?"

He shook his head, and addressed Brianna. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I am afraid that both Jonah and myself, are officially needed elsewhere right now. Just know that you did a spectacular job."

Waving her hand in front of her face, almost as if Abel's compliment had hardly meant anything to her, she said. "Don't mention it. I'm sure that we'll meet again when the next agent rolls around."

Abel laughed. "I'm sure that we will." He returned his focus solely onto me. "We've been instructed to go and meet with Cardinal Caterina immediately. I'm not sure what it's about exactly, but I'm sure that it's big." He walked over to the door that we had come in through, and holding it open for me, he continued to speak. "This will be your first real mission as an A.X. agent. How are you feeling?"

As I tried to keep the sun's light out of my face, I swallowed nervously. "I'm not sure. Over the last few months I've gone on a couple of small missions with you...but I know that now it's going to be an actual test instead of just another practice run."

Walking next to me, he nod his head a few times. "Yes, well. At the very least, I'll still be right there beside you, guiding you as best as I can, just like I promised I would."

Smiling, I whispered, my voice just loud enough for him to hear my honest feelings. "Father Nightroad, you have no idea how much I appreciate that."

For the remaining portion of our short journey to get to Cardinal Caterina's office, we walked in silence, but every so often I caught brief glimpses of Abel peering down at me out of the corner of his eye. I could sense that he was feeling anxious for me since this was going to be my first real mission, but I knew that I would be able to complete it with ease. So long as he were by my side. Once we found ourselves standing outside of the familiar mahogany door that would lead into the Cardinal's office, Abel looked at me and made a simple suggestion. "Perhaps you should stand behind me? That way the sun won't be able to reach you."

Nodding my head, I moved slightly so that I was standing behind him, and watching as he opened the door, I began to walk when he did.

Inside of the room, I heard Caterina's voice before I actually saw her, since Abel's tall body shielded all that was before us from my view. "I'm glad that you were able to get here so soon at such a short notice. But I have truly great news, Father Nightroad. Astounding news." She had an enormous amount of enthusiasm in her voice, and as I dared to peek out from behind Abel, she turned her attention to me and smiled. "I see that Ms. Trentino had enough time to finish your new uniform. Excellent. However, Sister Jonah, I have one more thing that I need to be sure to give you before the two of you leave." Caterina carefully opened a drawer in her desk and after retrieving an item that I couldn't see, I watched as she gently set a small glass bottle on the desk's smooth surface.

Looking at the bottle, Abel asked. "Miss Caterina, is that what I think it is?"

The Cardinal laughed elegantly. "It is." She turned her attention to me once more and began to explain what it was that I was looking at. "Jonah, this is anti-UV gel. Here at the Vatican, we've got as much of a supply of it as we could find stored away. You see, we can't allow any unruly Methuselah to get their hands on it, since it would permit them to walk around freely beneath the light of the sun without fear of any repercussions. If that were ever a thing to occur, some of those Methuselah would unfortunately reap the opportunity and they would feed upon the Terran populace."

I stood where I was, my mouth slightly agape in shock of what I had heard. "That's horrible! But I suppose that it's a good thing that you've decided to withhold such a substance that would grant those who would opt to abuse its power for their own selfish purposes."

"Precisely. But considering that you are one of my operatives, I can't bear for you to suffer the same fate as those other Methuselah. Hence the reason that I'm giving this anti-UV gel to you now." She smiled and gently pushed the glass bottle forward a few inches in Abel's and my direction.

Reaching for the bottle, Abel took it in his hand and holding it back out for me to take, he instructed. "Go ahead and put a small amount on your face and neck."

I nod my head and with the bottle in the palm of my hands, I unscrewed the aluminum cap that sealed the gel inside of the glass bottle, and passing the cap to Abel, I slowly poured some of the thick liquid into my hand. It was cold, yet at the same time, it felt as though it had a tingly warmth to it. When I had a quarter size amount of the gel in my palm, Father Nightroad took the bottle from me and I began to spread the thick goo evenly over my face and neck. The instant that it came into contact with my flesh, it started to create a slippery protective barrier. And when I felt as if I had covered all that I could, I looked up at Abel, asking. "Am I good to go?"

As he screwed the cap back onto the bottle, he placed it into one of his pockets, and glancing at me, he smiled. "Almost." Gently touching the tip of a finger to my cheek, he made small circular motions. "There, that's better." Directing his gaze back to the Cardinal, he addressed her, his tone becoming serious. "Sister Kate informed me that we've received a formal invitation. Is this true, your Eminence?"

With a gentle smile, Caterina nod her head in confirmation. "It is, Abel." She set on the desk a sheet of beige colored stationery paper, and from where I stood, I could see that the sigil of an unknown crest had been stamped onto the top of the page.

My curiosity getting the best of me, I pointed an index finger at the symbol and asked. "What is that?"

Beside me, Abel smiled and with his eyes on me, he quietly said. "That, Jonah, is the crest of the New Human Empire."

I walked forward a few steps and inspected the sigil closer. "The Empire?" The crest was simple, yet it was incredibly beautiful to look at. It consisted of an upside down crescent moon and what looked like the sun being born from the crescent. Small dagger-like arrows pointed towards the four cardinal directions, and positioned in between each of the daggers, there were shapes that resembled backward commas. "Father Nightroad...are we going to the Empire?"

With a quiet chuckle, he said. "So I've been told. Now let's see..." He reached out and took the paper from the Cardinal's desk, and looking down through the lens' of his glasses, he began to read the words out loud for everyone in the room to hear. "Dear Cardinal Sforza:

I have been instructed by her Majesty, Augusta Vradica, to make a formal request that you choose two Terran that you feel would make worthy diplomatic envoy. Those of whom you choose, will be sent here to the Empire so that they might have an audience with her Majesty.

Though there is no set deadline for the arrival of your envoy, I do beseech that you make haste and choose to not tarry away any precious time.

May you have safe travels.

Sincerely,

Astharoshe Asran
Duchess of Kiev"

As Abel finished reading from the sheet of paper, I looked at the Cardinal and asked. "Is this why you called us here? Are we the two that you've chosen to be the envoy?"

Cardinal Sforza smiled and said. "Indeed. I'm sending both you and Father Nightroad, since I believe that the two of you are by far my most personable agents. I also feel as though it would offer you an excellent opportunity to gain some valuable experience out in the field as both a diplomat and as an A.X. agent."

Hearing her reasoning, I began to bow my head in excitement. "I understand. Thank you so much, your Eminence."

"There is one more thing, Sister Jonah. Yesterday, you expressed to me the desire to find out the truth about yourself. And I believe that you might find the answers that you're looking for, which concern the topics of who you are and your lineage, within the Empire." She shut her grey eyes for a brief moment, and when she opened them back up, she looked at me with hope. "Please feel free to take some time while you're abroad during this assignment to seek out that which you long to know about."

As I stood looking at the Cardinal, I felt myself growing dewy eyed, and unable to find my words, I nod my head a few times. The movements that I made becoming slow and deliberate. My heart swelling up in pure admiration from the kindness of my superior.

Abel gently placed a hand on my shoulder, and speaking while I couldn't, he asked. "When do we leave, your Eminence?"

She smiled and answered Father Nightroad's question in just three words. "You leave immediately."