Rebekah stepped into the water gingerly, moving slowly as her body adjusted to the sharp cold. She shivered a little once she began swimming, her head and backpack bobbing above the crystal-clear water. She reached the bucket and tried climbing into it, but it was so small. She accepted defeat and merely hung on with dear life. She gave the rope a couple of tugs and Will lifted her into the air slowly and smoothly with ease. Ethan’s turn was next, and then at last it was time for me to get into the water. I made a little gasp at the chill, and I tried to keep my backpack from submerging with the Naphil’s heart wrapped within. I reached the bucket, gently set my pack inside, and gripped the rope tight. I tugged once and looked up into the bright well shaft, wishing I could see Will’s face. The bucket began to rise and my body rocked left and right as I rose high into the air. Determined not to look down, I stared at that hole until the sunlight practically burned my retinas out. The shaft was narrow and the rock walls clawed at my clothing as I was lifted through. I tried curling into a ball to keep my body from hitting the side as much as I could, but my hair still got caught on sharp pieces of stone jutting out.

As I reached the top, hands grabbed me and lifted me into blinding daylight. I stumbled over a rock ledge—the wall of the well, I realized, as my eyes adjusted to the bright light—and caught my balance before I hit the ground. They were Will’s arms around me. I caught his scent before I could squint up into his face. I looked around him for the others. The well was situated in the center of a small, unusual village comprised of tall, cone-shaped houses made from mud and brick. Rebekah crouched over, talking to a small boy in dusty jeans. Ethan, cursing up a storm, wrestled his backpack straps from a few relentless sheep who really wanted whatever he had in there.

“Shirt?” Will asked.

It took me a moment to remember that I’d taken it for safekeeping so his wings wouldn’t rip the fabric. We had only brought so many changes of clothes with us. I dug the shirt out of my backpack, which was mostly soaked with water despite my attempt to keep it dry, and handed it to him. I also checked on the heart. The linen wrapping was still wet with blood, but it didn’t look like the heart was damaged. The water even seemed to have washed away a lot of the blood. Now we just needed to worry about how we were getting out of the Middle of Nowhere, Syria.

Ethan Stone let out a triumphant roar when he won back his pack and, still dripping wet, stomped over to us. He pulled a plastic waterproof case from the bag and snapped it open to retrieve a satellite phone.

“You thought of everything, didn’t you?” I asked him, bewildered and relieved to see that phone.

“Not everything,” he replied as he fiddled with some buttons. “Satellite phone with GPS enabled, yes. However, I didn’t bring towels.” He put the phone to his ear. “Yusri? Hello? We’re ready for pickup.”

30

ETHAN STONE EXPLAINED TO US THAT THE RITE OF my ascension could only be performed on hallowed ground, and it was Will’s idea to travel to Israel. The final showdown would be at Armageddon, at Har Megiddo, and I decided that I should ascend someplace very sacred. After all, there wasn’t a better place for one to become an archangel than in the Kingdom of Heaven. I wanted to maximize what power we could draw from Earth into this spell. I needed to be as strong as I absolutely could.

After Yusri picked us up in a helicopter, Ethan offered us a room at a luxury hotel in Aleppo, but I only wanted to get out of there. We rented a Jeep to leave Syria and continue to Jerusalem. Even if I wanted to crash for the night, I’d never be able to fall asleep. I felt sick and restless over what had happened at Ain Dara. Something inside of me had changed, turned—like a piece of my humanity was now missing. I was used to having blood on my hands, but this was different.

Ethan Stone promised that he’d fly into Jerusalem at first light. Will and I packed our things into the Jeep and headed out. We also didn’t want to run the chance of meeting any more of Sammael’s goons. If he’d stationed one in Aleppo, then there were bound to be more. Will and I needed to keep moving to lessen our chances of being found.

The journey was over three hundred miles in pitch-dark night. I drove, partly in an attempt to cure my restlessness and give myself something to focus on. To my dismay, that left Will with nothing to focus on but his worry for me.

“You did what you had to do,” he said gently.

I glanced at him before staring back onto the road. “I’ve been telling myself that a lot lately and I know it’s true. I just don’t like doing what I have to do.”

“You’re not the only one,” he said.

I exhaled. “Will you be all right once I become an angel again?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I’m just following your lead here.”

“If I do this, then we have a shot at beating Hell. That’s all that matters.”

He was quiet for a few seconds. “Not all.” Before I could reply, he spoke first. “I won’t stop your ascension. You’re the one thing I can’t be selfish about, but I am nevertheless. I finally understand why Michael forbade me to love you. In some ways it makes me a stronger Guardian, but in others I am crippled. I just never expected I’d have to give you up.”

“When Michael asked you to become my Guardian, did you ever consider saying no?”

He slumped deeper into the seat, thoughtful. “Not even once. Instead, I wondered if I was willing to give up my life for you, to lay it down for you. I wondered if I was willing to become expendable and insignificant, to relinquish my own dreams and desires and to become a servant. When he asked me to be your Guardian, I considered only selfish thoughts, and I realized that they were things I could sacrifice. I knew that I wanted only to have you in my life, to protect you and to follow you, so that in the end, I wasn’t losing anything at all. But now I’m going to lose you after I believed I would have you forever. This is the first time since I became your Guardian that I feel like I’ve ever given up anything, that I feel empty. You were a gift.”