Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
Uriel
I shut the door to my office with more force than necessary, the sharp click echoing in the suddenly too-small space. Ms. Thornton stands before my desk, chin lifted defiantly, her eyes blazing with that infuriating blend of compassion and rebellion. The air between us crackles with tension.
“Sit down,” I command, my voice clipped.
She remains standing, arms crossed. “I’d rather not, if it’s all the same to you.”
I grit my teeth, forcing myself to maintain composure. “Very well. Ms. Thornton, your behavior today has been completely unacceptable. You’ve disrupted hospital protocols, ignored direct orders, and put patients at risk with your unauthorized excursions.”
“Put patients at risk?” she scoffs. “By reuniting a terrified child with his mother? By offering comfort to people who’ve just lost everything?”
“By creating chaos in an already volatile situation,” I counter, my frustration mounting. “This hospital operates on strict protocols for a reason. Your job is to work within those guidelines, not subvert them at every turn.”
She takes a step closer, her lavender scent inexplicably distracting. “My job is to help people , Dr. Angelstone. Sometimes that means coloring outside the lines a little.”
“This isn’t kindergarten, Ms. Thornton,” I snap. “Lives are at stake.”
“Exactly!” Her voice rises. “Lives. Not just bodies, but whole people with emotions and families and?—”
“Enough!” I slam my palm on the desk, startling us both with the outburst. I take a steadying breath, smoothing my tie. “I’ve tolerated your insubordination long enough. You were hired to provide a specific service within clearly defined parameters. Since you seem incapable of doing so, I have no choice but to?—”
A sudden chill sweeps through the room, cutting off my words mid-sentence. It’s as if winter has descended in an instant, frost crystallizing on the windows and creeping across my desk. The temperature plummets so rapidly that my skin prickles painfully, goosebumps racing up my arms beneath my pristine white coat. I can see my breath now, small, alarmed puffs of vapor that hang in the unnaturally still air.
The abrupt shift is so tangible that even Ms. Thornton’s fiery defiance falters. Her eyes widen, the anger in them replaced by confusion and the first flickers of fear. She wraps her arms around herself, shivering visibly. The color drains from her face, leaving her complexion ashen in the suddenly dim light. The fluorescent bulbs overhead flicker and buzz ominously, as if struggling against some unseen force.
“Dr. Angelstone?” she asks, her voice small. “What’s happening?”
I open my mouth to respond, but no sound emerges. An oppressive weight settles on my chest, a presence so ancient and powerful it steals the very air from my lungs. I know this feeling, though I haven’t experienced it in millennia.
The door swings open silently, revealing a figure that defies mortal description. Light and shadow twist around him, reality itself bending in his wake. Ms. Thornton gasps, stumbling backward until she hits the wall.
I should send her away. I should protect her from this. But I’m frozen, pinned by the weight of that otherworldly gaze.
The being speaks, its thundering voice resonating not in the air but directly in my mind. The ominous words sear themselves into my consciousness:
“URIEL, ARCHANGEL OF CHASTITY AND REPENTANCE. THE TIME HAS COME!”