And Higher
The interior of the Birdcage was glowing as Ava held the burning Halo in her hand. She had been itching to get started with combat training. Unfortunately, as Bea pointed out to her, the room wasn’t quite big enough so she was forced to tamp down her enthusiasm. Jillian had instead wanted to see how the Halo faired in cutting tests against other metals and judging by the steel chair that was sliced in half on the floor, Ava thought it did pretty well.
“Ava, maybe next time just wait for the—okay,” reprimanded Yasmine half-heartedly through the speaker.
The real test had been divinium. Bea brought in a divinium dagger and secured it on top of one of the chair halves. Jillian again had designed a series of tests increasing the intensity of the Halo against the divinium to see what would happen. Ava instead flared the Halo and with one swift strike split the divinium blade in half.
“Well that’s quite an advantage,” said Bea, smiling. “Maybe we won’t have to worry that much about the Tarasks after all.”
“All the more reason to get outside,” Ava pouted. So far, in her opinion, being able to remove the Halo was proving out to be a big disappointment.
“I understand you’re frustrated,” sympathized Bea for the second time in as many days. “But this time yesterday you didn’t even think you could remove the Halo and later when you did you collapsed in pain and it wiped you out.” She smiled at the younger woman. “This morning you removed it almost without any trouble.”
“Yeah I know,” replied Ava. “I just…”
“Is there any point in me telling you to have patience?” Bea smirked as she interrupted the Halo Bearer.
Ava smiled. “Probably not.” Her smile faltered a little. “Listen Bea, I still have to be caged in here but you don’t. I can take care of myself with the Halo out now, and you haven’t done any training in three days.”
“Ava, I’m happy to be here helping you.”
“I know that, and you are helping but I need to know that you’re ready to go too,” she gave Bea a playful smile and a nudge in her shoulder, “for the next time you go charging after Lilith.”
Bea rolled her eyes and let out a sigh as she smiled at Ava’s teasing. “If you’re sure…” Ava nodded.
“Alright, I’ll check in with you this afternoon.”
“Mmph!” She grunted as she landed flat on her back. Her friend crashed to the ground next to her.
Bea smiled at the two rookies on the ground. “You both asked to train with me,” she said warmly, crossing her arms. It felt good to be back outside and moving. She had left Ava to join the sister warriors for lunch. Shortly after arriving to the dining hall, having sat with Dora and Camila, Sisters Eileen and Rosemary nervously approached and asked if she would spar with them. She gave the two nuns a smile as she agreed and turned to Dora and Camila, eyebrows raised.
“They’ve been waiting to ask ever since Dr. Salvius got here,” said Camila, watching the two rookies walk away and shaking her head. “Those poor girls have no idea what they’re in for.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Bea, pretending to be offended.
“You’re mean,” said Dora simply.
“Oh come on,” said Bea, still smiling. “They’ve gone up against you, haven’t they? You’re just as good as I am.”
“She’s nice,” said Camila. Bea grinned at her.
Two hours later she found herself yet again watching the rookies get up and dust themselves off. Bea admired their spirit. She lost track of the number of times they hit the ground but neither woman ever complained. Somewhere along the way she did start absently wondering if she was a little mean during training. Harsh, yes—she was fine being harsh; she was training these women in combat after all. But Bea had always thought that she was pretty nice; at least when she was correcting forms or making constructive criticisms. She’d have to ask Ava about it later.
“Beatrice—I think they’ve had enough.” Mother Superion approached quietly. Bea saw her watching from a distance earlier. She smiled and nodded to the older woman.
“You’re both progressing,” she told the two young women—not unkindly—and she spent a few more minutes giving them feedback before joining Mother Superion.
The older woman smiled at her. “It’s nice to see you back in your element,” she said to the sister warrior as they slowly started walking together. “You always were good at teaching. I daresay you may have even been enjoying yourself.”
“They show a lot of promise,” Bea replied, ambling comfortably with her arms behind her back. “I’ve been lucky to have good students recently; they make me seem much better at it than I probably am.”
Mother Superion smirked at her. “Ava Silva has a lot of positive qualities, Beatrice, but being a good student is not one of them.”
Bea smiled in response, “She might surprise you. She certainly surprised me.”
“Don’t we all know it,” replied the nun. They walked in silence for a moment before she continued. “It’s not just the teaching; the girls all look up to you. You are a leader here. The mantle fits you well.”
“They look up to Ava—she’s the Warrior Nun after all. I just have her seal of approval.”
“No!” She stopped and took Bea’s arm, turning the young woman to face her. She looked at Beatrice intently with a forcefulness that the younger woman had seldom seen. “Ava may be the Warrior Nun, one of the best there’s ever been, but it’s you that the girls look to. It’s your approval they all want. Ava would agree. There’s more to you than just being with the Warrior Nun. We all see it. We always have. We all trust your judgment. I trust your judgment.”
“Thank you Mother,” said Bea softly, looking down at her feet. She thought back to the last week she and Ava had shared in Switzerland. The townspeople had suddenly seemed to have warmed up to her and she remembered wondering even then whether it was because they connected her to Ava or because having Ava made her more open to them. Mother Superion would argue the latter, she was sure. Perhaps she was right—maybe the sisters did all trust her because of who she is and not solely because of Ava.
Trust.
She thought about Lilith and started gently chewing on her bottom lip.
“Can you tell me what it is?” asked Mother Superion. Bea brought her eyes up to the older woman’s.
“No. Not yet.”
Mother Superion nodded. “I trust your judgment,” she repeated. They continued walking together in silence, watching the sister warriors train in the afternoon sun.
“Where are we going?” Bea asked after a few minutes.
“I was going to check on Ava’s progress. I thought you might like to join.”
Yasmine looked up from the screen as she heard them walking down the hallway.
“Mother Superion! Beatrice!” she yelled. “You have to come see this!”
Beatrice ran to Yasmine and Jillian. Both women had excited smiles on their faces. Yasmine was almost bouncing. “It’s amazing!” she said as she stood aside for Beatrice to watch the monitor.
Ava was doing flips through the air throughout the room. Bea watched in awe, her jaw on the floor, as Ava flew through the air towards one wall, her body fell slightly as she abruptly changed direction before she lifted herself up and launched feet first. Twisting in mid-air, she reached out with the glowing Halo and swung on it like she was hanging from a vine. Bea’s wonderment began to overwhelm her as her smile grew and she started to laugh. A million questions raced through her brain but all she could ask was “How?”
“She wanted some time to experiment on her own,” said Jillian, making room for Mother Superion. The older woman’s eyes widened and a soft smile graced her lips as she took in the sight of Ava on the screen. “She’s alternating her levitation between herself and the Halo. She has a full range of motion and speed. It’s not flying, exactly…”
“She’s Tarzan!” stated Yasmine excitedly.
Beatrice laughed quietly to herself. “How long can she keep this up?”
“Quite a while,” said Jillian, “the Halo doesn’t use that much power to keep itself up so as long as she keeps alternating she could go hours. Plus the energy signature isn’t that high when she’s levitating.”
“So I can go in?” Bea asked.
Ava felt exhilarated. She had never felt so free in her life, ironic as she was currently trapped in a divinium cage. Keeping the Halo in her left hand, she levitated it in the middle of the room while she swung underneath. On the upswing she levitated herself and disengaged the Halo and carried the momentum almost to the ceiling. After doing a backflip, she high-pointed the Halo and swung around it, running along the wall. This was more than simply levitating; Ava was essentially running on air. On her next swing around the room she saw the door open and Bea enter. Excited at being able to show off for the other woman she began laughing.
“Bea,” Ava shouted, “are you seeing this?”
Bea didn’t answer. She simply stood watching Ava swing around the room, a smile brightening her face.
Ava stuck the Halo into the air about two meters off the ground, swung under and over it, landing one foot on the glowing ring. She let go with her hand and stood up, arms out stretched. She beamed at Bea. “What do you think?”
Bea just looked back at her, smile so bright it rivaled the glowing room. “You are…” She didn’t finish, she just continued to smile at Ava, completely speechless.
“That was impressive, Ava. We have to get you outside as soon as possible,” said Mother Superion, standing in the doorway behind Bea.
“Hi Mom!” cried Ava, waving enthusiastically. In her excitement, her foot slipped and she fell to the floor.
“Ava!” Bea rushed forward, thinking that she heard crying. An instant later, she saw Ava laughing while flat on her back, joy evident on her face even as she lay on the floor and, Beatrice knew, unable to move. Bea knelt down beside her. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. I think I hurt my neck,” Ava said dramatically, her grin still plastered to her face. “I can’t move!”
Bea rolled her eyes at her as she stood up and looked up at the Halo; the glowing ring still hovering in the air where Ava had placed it. She looked over at Mother Superion who had stepped inside the room along with Jillian and Yasmine.
“It’s still activated,” she said, surprised. Mother Superion looked over at Jillian. She simply shrugged.
“Any idea how long it will stay up there?” Bea asked.
It was Yasmine who answered. “As Dr. Salvius said before, it doesn’t take that much power for the Halo to hover; it could be another couple hours.” She turned to Jillian and the two began a muted conversation.
“Hey Bea,” said Ava from her place on the floor, “you wanna grab that for me?”
A hush fell over the room as all eyes turned to Beatrice. The air in the Birdcage seemed to thicken as Bea contemplated the glowing ring floating above her for a moment. She slowly clenched and unclenched her right hand. Then she smiled.
“I don’t want to burn my fingers off. Yasmine? Help me pick up Ava?”
Ava took a deep breath in through her nose as the sunlight hit her face. “Oh my Go—sh,” she said, eying all of the nuns around her. “It’s been days since I’ve gotten a breath of fresh air.”
“We were just out here last night,” said Bea.
“Yeah but the sun had set, now it’s out,” replied Ava, as if that explained everything.
“What does the sun have to do with fresh air?” asked Yasmine, looking confused.
“Nothing,” answered Camila, “unless you’re Ava.”
“See? Cam gets it,” said the Halo Bearer, sticking her tongue out at Bea. Bea blinked then shook her head and walked away.
“Do you think every time she does that she’s fed up with you or with herself?” Camila asked Ava.
“Definitely herself,” put in Dora, “Ava can’t help the way she is.”
Ava scoffed then thought better of it. “Alright,” she agreed begrudgingly, “that is probably what she’s thinking.”
“Okay everyone,” called Father Vincent to the large group of nuns, “today the Warrior Nun will be conducting some potentially dangerous tests with the Halo. While she and the Halo won’t be a danger to you…”
“Any more than normal,” mumbled Camila, causing the small group around her to snigger.
“…there is the potential that these tests could summon one or more Tarasks. If they should appear, your job is to create a perimeter and take shots at the creature to keep it distracted. Stay away from them at all costs. The Halo Bearer will handle them.”
The sister warriors arranged themselves into a large circle with Ava, Bea, Camila and Dora at the center. Jillian approached them.
“When you take the Halo out, place it in this,” she handed Ava a zippered cover. “I took the osmium from one of your vests and put it in here, there will be an uncovered portion for your hand. As we discussed, there were no readings high enough when you removed the Halo or when it was out but not activated to indicate that it might summon a Tarask but let’s be safe. The first experiment will be seeing if and how you can use it with the cover.” She retreated to the outside the circle.
Ava took a deep breath. “You sure you want to be out here for this?” she asked her friends. In response, they each readied their weapons. Ava reached behind her back and pulled out the Halo.
The silence was deafening. The only sounds were the rustling leaves and chirping of the birds. The sisters of the OCS were each and every one aware not only of the gravity of the situation but also that they were witnessing history. For the first time in over one thousand years, the Halo was out in the open with a bearer who could wield it.
Ava immediately put the Halo into the osmium cover and a few moments later breathed a sigh of relief. There was no sign of a Tarask. Smiling at Bea and the others, she reached up and attempted to levitate the Halo above her head—and it stuck in the air.
“Just remember,” Bea told her, “don’t let go this time.”
“No faith?” teased Ava.
“I have all the faith in the world in you,” said Bea seriously. “I just want you to remember how long it will take to come back down if you leave it ten meters in the air.”
Ava smiled, pressed a kiss to Bea’s cheek—for luck of course—and took off into the air.
If Bea was impressed when she saw Ava flying through that little room, it was nothing to how she felt now. Ava moved through the air like she was born to swing through the sky. As Jillian had said, it wasn’t flying exactly; it was too choppy for that. She was an aerialist, and the Halo was her trapeze. Or, said the cynical side of her brain…
“She looks like a monkey!” cried Camila. Both Bea and Dora smiled at Camila, all three women chuckling softly. They watched together in awe as Ava would glide through the air, flipping and twisting as she experimented with her new found ability. At one point, she dived towards the ground, picking up massive momentum, swung on the Halo and shot herself up into the sky. As Bea watched, she felt tears start to form in her eyes. For the first time since she had met Ava, she was completely pure and unbridled. Bea couldn’t have been happier for her.
Eventually Ava landed to cheers from the crowd of nuns; the Halo already safe within her back. Bea was hanging back, allowing the Halo Bearer to enjoy her moment. Ava was reminded of her first time back in Bar LeVasseur and for a brief second, she wished she was there with her lover. That was before Mother Superion had approached her through the crowd, gently taken her face in her hands and told her how proud she was.
“You were not the Warrior Nun we were supposed to have,” said the older woman, choking up a little. “But you are the one we needed.”
With morale being so high after Ava’s demonstration, it was decided that they would not do anymore testing today. Jillian already had a list of the things that she thought Ava would be able to do safely with the Halo outside her body, the rest she would just have to learn as she went.
A few days later, Father Vincent had brought Mother Superion, Ava, Beatrice, Camila, Dora and Yasmine into the mission room. “We’ve discovered where the Vatican is keeping the divinium from the Tarask skeleton.”
Silence.
It seemed to Ava that no one at the table wanted to be the first to break. The massive implications of Father Vincent’s reveal weighed heavily on everyone. What had seemed a pipe dream at best and a complete impossibility at worst was now suddenly a reality; a reality that could result in a conflict with the Vatican. Ava suspected that was the reason no one was speaking. The tactical and spiritual ramifications of what they were about to plan were too overwhelming. Unfortunately for everyone else, Ava didn’t react well to awkward silence.
“So—we’re going to go steal it, right?”