When Heaven meets Hell

Chapter Forty Two

Heidi doubled over, gasping for breath. Avander was by her side at once, crouching down beside her. "Heidi, are you alright?" He asked, gripping her frail shoulders.
"I've found her." Heidi wheezed, getting to her feet and swaying slightly. She leaned against Avander for support, her knees threatening to buckle beneath her. "She's far away, but we can reach her. We must. She just had another lapse."

Alarm flashed in Avander's eyes as he set her down. Nearby, Meligard was struggling to his feet, exhaustion written all over his face, but he was listening closely to what Heidi had to say.

It had been four days since the angels had approached them and Meligard had taken up temporary residence at the manor to assist Heidi. Because of Heidi's powers being limited, her ability to see beyond what normal angels could see was useless. Meligard had been fueling her with his own energy in order for her to carry out the task. It was a difficult task, one which had taken a toll over her, even in her Godling form. It required constant concentration for her to break through the enchantments and barriers the Second Faction had cast to deter her.

Unfortunately for Heidi, her gift came with some limitations as well. While normal angels could see into the near future or detect nearby a presence with as much ease as one staring into a mirror, it was not the case with her. With her ability she was able to see snippets of what was to come, or what could come. They were like pieces of a puzzle, snatches of conversation, a flash of a color or face, a blurred image. Those were the things she saw. It was up to her to put the pieces together, to scour the world for the useful pieces and discard the unnecessary ones. The task was made more difficult by the fact that things were always changing, influenced by the actions of people in the world, no matter how insignificant. It was because of that fact that the process could take minutes or even days. It also meant that, despite her very accurate guesswork, Heidi was sometimes clueless of what was to come.

A short while ago she sat in the middle of Joan's study with her leg crossed. She was meditating. Meligard's energy crackled and zipped around her as she reached in to what she called the Beyond and searched for clues regarding Joan's location. She held the few collected puzzle piece in her mind; The image of a section of a stone wall, very old and crumbling, the sound of snow crunching underfoot, the smell of a forest and finally the edge of a grey, drab robe whipping around the corner of her vision. That was all she had and hoped that, with a final clue she could piece together Joan's location.

And then, suddenly and miraculously, Heidi had a vision. Joan's face swam before her, badly hurt and screaming mutely. The image was gone in a flash but Heidi felt pain rip through her, her insides lurching uncomfortably. She saw bodies flying in all directions and heard a hauntingly familiar laughter ringing in her ears, tasting blood in her mouth.

"Joan!" She had cried out, her concentration shattering and connection with Meligard breaking. She felt very weak all of a sudden.
"Heidi, calm down." Avander said crouching before her. She could not help but smile a little at the concern in his voice.
"I'm fine Avander, don't worry" She said. "But I've found her. We need to hurry."

"I shall inform Gabriel at once." Meligard said and disappeared in a flash of light. Avander watched him leave before turning back to Heidi.

"How is she?" He asked.
"In pain." Heidi choked and there were tears in her eyes. "She is hurt and weak. Avander they are trying to remove her mark's control. They are going to do something terrible to her, something she will not survive."

She felt him grown tense, the grip on her shoulder tightening for a fraction of a second.

"We will stop them." He said with conviction, his voice bordering upon anger. "They won't succeed in their plans."
"Promise?" Heidi asked childishly.
"Promise." Avander nodded, letting out a low 'Oof!' as Heidi hugged him.
"Thank you for being here Avander." She said. Avander smiled, patting her softly on the head.
"We'll get her back." He whispered to the little girl, surprised by the gentle tone of his voice. "I won't let them hurt her again."