Angel Abilities Part 1
Explaining the abilities of angelic and demonic beings in the Black Feather universe:
Manipulation, Mind Reading and Invisibility
The angelic beings in Black Feather, be they fallen angels, watchers or demons, all possess a wide range of abilities and put them to use in various situations.
MANIPULATION
This subtle ability is used on humans and animals in order to achieve a certain outcome. For instance, you may suddenly find yourself thinking what a great idea it would be to visit a certain place, only to find when you arrive that an old friend you haven’t seen for years is also there. Kate is manipulated several times in the book and so are those around her. In the church, Ash’s brother cajoles her into digging up the box and suggests she takes it home. When she becomes resistant to this idea, he becomes more forceful and compels her to take it. He is, of course, a Watcher and is acting in the best interests of his brother, but he might well be breaking angelic laws over this and have to face consequences later. Ash, as a fallen angel, possesses this power too and uses it to persuade Brian to leave the nightclub instead of fighting him, and later he uses it on a wider scale to influence the crowds at the Festival of Angels. Under his guidance the crowd parts to allow himself and Kate, who has a fear of crowds and small places, through unhindered, and later he compels diners to leave a busy pub so that he and Kate can get a table and have dinner together. Demons would use this power for nefarious ends and to manipulate people into committing anything from petty theft to horrific crimes and acts of violence.
Of course, humans have free will and so could easily resist this manipulation if they so wished. Angelic beings can merely suggest a course of action. It would be no use for a demon to suggest murder, for instance, to someone totally opposed to this action.
MIND READING
Angelic beings can read minds and converse telepathically with each other and with non-angelic beings. Kate hears Ash’s voice before she even meets him and is unnerved by his intrusion into her private thoughts. He tries to respect her privacy, but as her guardian angel he has a much closer bond with her and finds it difficult to close off entirely.This short extract from Black Feather is a moment from early in Kate and Ash’s relationship, shortly after she finds out what he really is:
It unnerved her, the way he knew she was there, even with his back to her and his earphones in. She wasn’t going to argue with him, and watched as he dished up a generous helping of baked beans. He was humming a tune she knew well now, and it sounded good. Good enough for a choir.
Choir of angels, said a voice in her head.
He placed the plate in front of her and poured real coffee from her mother’s best silver coffee pot, then looked up to find her wary eyes on him.
“Sorry, I’ll try not to intrude.”
This ability becomes very useful if you want to conduct a private conversation that can’t be overheard by others. It is also great for communicating over vast distances. Angelic beings may have the means to block or divert other angelics from their mind at will. Most demons do this as a matter of course, as they don’t even trust their own brethren.
INVISIBILITY
All angels are mostly invisible to humans and only show themselves on rare occasions, fallen angels, demons and Watchers are “clothed” in physical bodies that can be seen as clearly as any other human, but can vanish and hide themselves from sight at will. For Ash, this is a very useful power, especially when danger is nearby or when his presence will be awkward for Kate. Of course, for us, it means that we can be watched at any and all times by beings unseen, whether they be friend or adversary. We will discover some more angel abilities in a later post.
Nel Ashley is the author of Black Feather and Immortal, the second book in the Black Feather Series. She is currently working on her third novel, Dandelion Time, a time slip romance novel.
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