“Why should we request to stay at the Veil?” he asks.
“You know why. Think about your family and what you will bring them. Death is not for them. Fear hurting your loved ones more than you fear all else.” Although I doubt the man can still think for himself, with Lucifer in Raphael’s Court, I know he can’t reach this conversation, and besides, thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, Marked means Lucifer is stretching his power thin. Somehow, I want to use that to our collective advantage.
Having heard and seen enough, I ascend through the trees, wetting my wings on the leaves as I go. Up above, the pair of fleet angels that has followed me awaits. I don’t know how far Lucifer’s influence goes, and these two appear young, maybe a few hundred years old, so I drop my shields to get a read on them.
“Fetch me Michael,” I say. “Tell him it’s urgent.”
They project anger.
“Was I unclear?”
“The commander is not fetched,” one of them snarls.
“Would you please send a scout and ask my mighty brother, your commander, to grace me with his divine presence?”
Not awaiting an answer, I rocket high up into the sky where I know few can follow, then stop to survey the rest of the outposts from an archangel’s view, allowing my senses to sweep the thousands of mortals stationed here. Most of them emit attentiveness, determination, longing, and other feelings I associate with soldiers. But that tiny sliver of fear brewing in them bothers me a great deal. Their fear I fear will break them, for soldiers can’t fear whatever comes out the next time the Restraining Veil cracks and evil spills out in the form of either Ras or Marked or a fallen angel.
And it will crack. Sooner rather than later. Maybe even in a day’s time. While Michael and Raphael play power games in Raphael’s Court, my Court will take the first hit of whatever spills out. And I have to be ready, with or without them.
Chapter 3
After classes, I spend an hour sitting in Gabriel’s office, waiting for him to show up so I can get our meeting over and done with before night falls. I can’t make the nine o’clock. I have to get to Dad tonight.
The massive clock, with the realm’s map as the background, taking up most of the wall, chimes four in the afternoon when I get up and stand by the window to scan the sky. One of the Virtues, the angels overseeing the Court of Virtue, flies in from my right and lands on a post, followed by another and another. The post is attached to a short bridge that leads directly to Gabriel’s office. Shit.
I make a beeline for the door when I hear voices in the hallway. I shouldn’t be inside the office but rather outside on the bench waiting for Gabriel to let me in. Instead of leaving, I eye a few places where I could hide.
I slip inside the hallway I’d visited earlier today and eye the forbidden iron door I should definitely not open or even touch. I push it open anyway, and it creaks as I do, just as the office door closes and Gabriel’s voice drifts to me.
“Virtues,” he says. “How nice of you all to gather here, and promptly at four o’clock. Thank you. My time is not wasted. Have a stand anywhere you are, please. I won’t take long.”
Wings ruffle, feet shuffle, then silence.
“The soldiers at Outpost Nine have been compromised. The Veil has thinned and cracks often. It completely disappears for a few seconds and reveals the cities inside it, along with all the other creatures living there. Money is a currency again. In addition, the soldiers in Outpost Seven felt tired to me, so I presume sleepless nights are starting there next. The animals have already left, so there’s little food for the mortals. The soldiers’ fear is slowly spreading like a disease.”
A gasp escapes me, and I slap a hand over my mouth.
“Has the commander been notified?” a female Virtue asks.
“I have requested his divine presence.”
There’s chuckling, then a male Virtue speaks. “We should step up our efforts.”
Gabriel mumbles something I don’t understand, then silence falls over the space. I keep my hand over my mouth and nose so they can’t hear me breathing but my heartbeats are so loud in my ears, I feel as if everyone can hear them.
Quiet footsteps pad down the hallway, and I slip into the room I shouldn’t be in and plaster my body against the wall, behind the door.
The door creaks open some more, and I swear I feel Gabriel’s presence at the entrance, but he doesn’t move inside. He closes the door, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Back at the door, I press my ear on it, not so much to hear their troubling conversation, but more so I’ll know when they’ve all left, and I can come out.
I stay there for a while. A long while in the company of nothing more than my heart drumming in my ears. The humidity in the room makes me sweat, and I wipe my brow. Didn’t Gabriel say he wouldn’t take long? It feels awfully long. Turning, I survey the room. I’m sure Gabriel thinks of it as the perfect secluded shrine, but it feels like a hole in the wall to me. Gray walls made of clay and dirt make me feel like I’m inside a prison cell. On the right wall, there’s a small opening through which the sunlight projects onto the clay figurines lined on a single shelf also made of clay.
I crouch in front of the figurines and pick up the one with wings, examine its features. This must be Gabriel. The other figurines are wolves, random shapes I ignore, and there’s one woman wearing a dress. I pick her up in the other hand and note the details of her nose, eyes, and mouth that had to have taken forever to carve perfectly. Her hair is just past her shoulders, her dress is long, and her lips are slightly parted.
Twisting Gabriel’s clay figurine, I bring him to the girl. I make him kiss her, then place the two figurines back on the shelves, and as I do, the Gabriel one falls over the girl. I step back, wishing I could leave the two in this indiscreet and inappropriate position, but can’t because Gabriel would know someone had encroached upon his private space. Figurines placed back the way I found them, I wipe my hands on my pencil skirt and turn toward the door.
“Oh my God!” I shriek, jumping back. I put a hand over my heart so it doesn’t accidentally catapult out and hit him in the balls.
Gabriel stands at the door, the dim light from the outside hitting him in the back, outlining his body, casting a shadow inside the room that reaches to my toes. At the tops of his wings, the feathers bristle, and I know he’s pissed to have found someone in here.
I drop to my knees. “Your Highness, please forgive me for desecrating your…shrine.”
“It’s a prayer room.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I don’t dare stand before he tells me to. I stare at the ground. I’d say floor, but it’s ground, as in dirt and moisture, and I bet animals are crawling under it. That makes me itchy.
“What have you overheard?”
“Only the beginning. What is money?”
“Curiosity killed the girl.”
“Well, then, money is not important.”
“Indeed. What are you doing invading my private space before nine o’clock?”
“I was hoping to catch you earlier than nine because I have a party to plan.”
“Which party?”
“The one you’re yet to approve.”