Divinity Read Online Free Page B

the heaviest and the lightest touch she had ever felt.
    “You are a Daughter of Light, Child,” he said, a new tenderness in his tone. “Your earthly name has no meaning and rings false to me. When you are ready, you shall have your true name. Now I must go. You will see me again soon.”
    And with that, he was gone.

    “Don’t you think you were a bit hard on her?” Michael admonished. “She is still half-human. That part of her surely needed to be embraced by her father.”
    “Embraced?” The word came from Gabriel’s mouth as though he had tasted something foreign and did not know what to make of it. He folded his arms over his chest.
    Michael did not mask the anger in his eyes. “Will you break this one, too? We lose enough of them to assassination and just as many to the inexplicable attachment to the human condition. Their psyches are delicate enough.”
    Gabriel grimaced—a look that would have stricken fear into the souls of most other beings. “I smiled. I exercised patience. I did not overwhelm her with information. Those were your instructions.”
    “Remember our failures. We must learn from them. If you don’t show her a bit of compassion, we could have another Jeanne d’Arc on our hands.” Michael moved closer to Gabriel. “Too much instruction, not enough explanation. As much as we need balance, so do they.”
    A long silence passed between them as they watched the happenings of the Earth through the clouds at their feet.
    “I am aware of our failures, Michael. I have my own limitations. I am not human, and do not have the insight you do. Perhaps you should be dealing with her.”
    Michael dipped his head in a barely discernible nod. “Indeed.”

IV
    J ULIA’S trembling fingers slipped off the laptop lid three times before she managed to open it. The cursor wiggled around the screen as she struggled to control her movements. She double-clicked on the IM symbol and chewed her lip waiting for the window to open.
    “Finally,” she grumbled, searching through her contact list. “Please be online, Charlie.”
    Beside Charlie’s name was the “offline” symbol. Julia blinked back tears and decided to send a message anyway. She desperately needed to talk to her best friend.
    Julia: Are you there? Please be there!
    A painful few seconds passed before “Charlie is typing a message” appeared in the box, along with the thumbnail snapshot—beautiful blonde with high cheekbones and dark blue, sad eyes that overrode her brilliant smile. Julia’s threatening tears spilled over with the flood of relief.
    Charlie: Yep! :-)
    Julia: Can I call? I just need to hear your voice.
    Charlie: Give me five. I’ll call. He’s just leaving.
    Julia: K
    She checked her watch. 2:18 AM. That meant it was 4:18 PM the next day for Charlie in Australia. Her boyfriend must be on the evening shift. Good.
    Snatching her cell phone, Julia walked over to the glass patio door. She peeked out between the curtains and looked up to the sky. Though it was a clear night, only a few stars were bright enough to outshine the lights of the city. She sighed, fidgeting with her phone and struggling with what she was going to tell Charlie.
    Charlie was her best friend on the planet. Perhaps the anonymity of the internet allowed them to be more honest with one another, or perhaps there was simply a deep spiritual connection. They had so much in common, from the books they loved to the way they styled their hair, that from that first night in the online poker room they had spent countless hours talking and discussing everything under the sun. They both had a tendency to make the other laugh so hard their cheeks would hurt, especially on days when laughter was needed the most. It truly was the best medicine. Julia was closer to Charlie than she had been to anyone else. Ever. Well, except maybe Alex.
    As the minutes ticked slowly by, Julia’s heart raced faster. If she confided this to Charlie, what would she say? Julia was certain