Revenge of the Rogue Angel.

Chapter 18 - Jumping to conclusions.

Chapter 18 - Jumping to conclusions.

(unedited).

A stunned silence fell over the lecture hall as the Headmagister sat down heavily in his chair. The announcement he made was unexpected in the least and, with more angels being killed, made the situation even graver.

Pictor rose from his seat, after a nod from the Headmagister, a frown displayed on his usually crease-free complexion.

"Right, as of now, Guardonia is in lock-down. There will be no GA's going out scouting for the time being. Floating and grounded angels are to still protect their charges on Earth, but must do so in pairs, report back at two hourly intervals and leave Earth if anything, and I mean anything, appears to be out of the ordinary.

What the Head failed to tell you is that we have also had in excess of twenty angels return to Guardonia in an injured state--some physically and some that have been psychologically damaged. There is talk of a new type of dark angel that is able to reach into an angels psyche and cause them to both hear and feel the most evil, sorrowful and tragic thoughts, as well as seeing images portraying not only what they, as individuals suffered when they lived as a mortal on Earth, but also bombards them with images of what the dark angel has put others through. Torture, despair and a longing to die are the main feelings these angels are returning with. As of yet, the Healers' are unable to cure them--all they can do is keep them sedated to prevent the horror damaging them too much, but these occurrences will change the way Guardonia operates until we know what we are dealing with.

Classes will be cancelled until further notice. All of you possess at least one skill that is your strongest and this will be the skill you concentrate on for now.

Some of you, despite not having graduated, are going to have to leave for active duty, as we do not have enough angel graduees to pair up. Those who have not graduated yet, but are fully-skilled will be pairing with a graduated angel.

Assessments will start tomorrow at 7am,"

Pictor paused, waiting for the obvious groan, which was as loud as he had mentally predicted.

"I know separating a teen from their bed is difficult at the best of times, but this is a time of crisis and therefore we all must commit to saving Guardonia from further loss."

All those who groaned were now hanging their heads in shame; they did not really have much to complain about--after all, they were the unscathed ones.

Pictor concluded by saying,

"Guardonia has only ever known trouble once, many moons ago and we lost over half of our best angels, magisters and pupils alike. I cannot stress enough to you all that this is serious. Anything strange, whether here or on Earth must be reported, regardless of whether you think it important or not.

Nobody is to be alone whatsoever, so partner up and make sure you stay with that angel at all times, except when training with others or going to Earth with your graduated mentor.

We will win this battle, just as we did before, but we will lose if there is a lack of vigilance."

He paused for effect, then clapped his hands together once, causing many to jump.

"Time to go off to your dorms, rest well and training will begin in the morning. Good night to you all and be safe."

The angels all sat for a while, in a stunned silence and not wanting to be the first one to move.

Christian leant across to Kirsty, placing his hand on her hand, squeezing gently.

She smiled a watery smile back; in some ways she felt guilty, as GA's were not allowed to leave Guardonia, but she would be useful here anyway and try to help out in any way she could. Maybe she could try and use her skill as a soothsayer and telepath to help those whose psyche had been tampered with. Mind control seemed incredible, almost as if the dark-siders wanted to control them like puppets. She made a mental note to mention her idea to the Healers; it could possibly be the information they needed to break the bond and stop them being flooded with despicable images.