Seven Archangels: Annihilation (37 page)

Michael said, "I want to see the room where he died. I want five minutes in there alone and unmolested with anyone I choose."

Satan's eyes widened.

"Ten," Israfel said in a cracked voice. "We want ten."

Michael met her eyes, and when Saraquael faced Israfel, he saw tears.

Ophaniel stepped nearer, and Israfel shielded her face with her wings.

Satan squinted at Michael. "When do you want it?"

"Immediately."

Satan turned to Beelzebub. "Escort him. Then return."

Saraquael noticed how Mephistopheles brushed Beelzebub's wingtips with his own as the demon stepped forward and brought Michael, Israfel and Ophaniel into Hell.

Satan turned to Saraquael. "Now, my lieutenant."

Uriel vanished, taking Saraquael along.

Mid-flash, Saraquael sent,
We can't return him yet. He'll tell them too many things.

Uriel sent reassurance as they appeared in Camael's chamber.

Remiel's eyes stared at them with patient mockery. Shivering, Saraquael approached Camael, securing him with his will.

Uriel's aura changed. God's presence suffused the room.

Even as Saraquael thrilled to God's touch, Camael's face transformed with hatred, and the demon tried to back through the wall in response to  Uriel's approach. In a dream-like voice, Uriel said,
"Thus says the Lord,"
and the Throne extended a hand toward Camael's forehead. Camael thrashed and spit, but Uriel's touch remained steady, the words continuing like a dream and a sequel. "
You will not remember your own story. I am the Lord of truth and the Lord of your sister. As you sought to control her, so now let her memories control your own."

Saraquael tightened his will around Camael as Uriel worked, and he felt the demon screaming, felt him trying to cry except that Saraquael held him even down to the tears.
Get out of my head! You have no right!

Uriel's hands came back. The job finished, Camael now remembered destroying Gabriel, remembered the days in Hell afterward, remembered being captured by a vindictive Raphael (although not when it happened) and remembered time alone in a cell.

Saraquael released Camael enough to stand free. "Come on." He shook from the memories still lingering behind his own eyes. "You're being freed."

They flashed Camael back to the gates. He spit at Remiel, who waved her hand so it missed.

Satan studied Camael, and Saraquael wondered at first if he was making sure the Virtue was unhurt. In the next moment, though, he sensed him sending challenges into Camael's head to determine if this was Remiel in a state of bi-location.

Behind him, Remiel remained totally still.

Satan looked back at Saraquael. "Do you consider the terms met?"

"Michael has another five minutes."

"He will have them in perfect safety." Beelzebub had returned, and he stood with his arms folded, but one wing trailed a little to brush Mephistopheles. "Don't you trust us?"

Remiel said, "What were Gabriel's last words?"

Beelzebub snickered.

"He renounced God." Satan shrugged. "He promised me his allegiance if only I spared his life, but I didn't." He put his hands in his pockets. "Try not to hold that against him. He was in a lot of pain."

Saraquael felt himself burning, wanting to obliterate that smug smile, the easy lies from that perfectly controlled mouth. He realized his sword glowed at his side only when Asmodeus chuckled.

Smiling with only the left half of his mouth, Satan flashed his entourage back to Hell.

Uriel said, "All of you, come with me."

They reappeared in the conference hall. Raguel was first to speak. "Michael is still down there."

Uriel nodded. Raguel vanished.

When Saraquael's sword burned his leg, he tried to calm himself. "What a— It's not enough that he thinks he destroyed Gabriel. Why does he have to destroy his reputation too?"

Uriel waved him down. "We know the truth."

Remiel huffed. "Serving Satan to spare his own life never crossed his mind. The final thing he was doing was praying."

Michael returned, his eyes agleam. "Uriel, I want you to go in there and try pulling the chain anchor from the wall. Israfel can't drain Gabriel's power from it, so we have to extract it, but it's embedded directly into the Guards on Satan's office."

Uriel vanished, leaving behind a trace of enjoying a challenge.

Michael looked at Saraquael. "Whatever Mephistopheles and the others had going on before, they patched it up quite nicely, don't you think?"

"He wasn't like that when I left," Remiel said, sitting on the conference table. "More like baffled and half-dead."

"Satan didn't appear noticeably weaker, either." Michael tilted his head. "Raphael, are you able to come?"

"I have to let him out," Saraquael said with a laugh, and as soon as he released the Guard on Uriel's bungalow, Raphael appeared.

"Gabriel stayed unconscious. What did Satan want?"

"Camael's been returned," Michael said. "We got access to the room, but we can't pull the power Gabriel dumped into the chain anchors."

Raphael looked uncomfortable. "He might not need it."

Uriel returned. "That anchor is in there solidly. I've never touched a Guard like that before."

"Incredible, isn't it?" He turned to Raphael. "Do you want to give it a try?"

"If you say it can't be done, I'll go with that." Raphael tried to shrug. "I'd rather not see the room."

"It's just a room." Michael touched his arm, but Raphael yanked back.

"Then there's no need for me to see it, is there?"

The Archangel flinched. "Remiel?"

"I know that I was in there twice," she said rhythmically, "and so I know enough of hate / to say that to my thinking twice / was quite enough, / and will suffice."

Saraquael grinned. "Nice reference."

"Thanks for catching it."

"You?" Michael said.

Saraquael shook his head. "Not unless you think they need me down there, or for the sake of verisimilitude."

"Not necessary." Michael frowned. "No civil war. Asmodeus even looked friendly with Mephistopheles."

"He was only confirming something he saw," Saraquael said.

Remiel tucked up her knees and raised her wings. "Okay, so why was I able to feel Mephistopheles' and Beelzebub's bond?"

"That floors me," Saraquael said.

"Satan felt it too, though." Remiel wrapped her arms around her calves and tightened up. "He glared at them, and they exchanged a 'What on earth?' sense, and when he kept looking at them, they stopped communicating at all."

Uriel hummed as Raphael said, "It sounds like more of the spatter-theory."

Michael explained about Gabriel's spiritual substance being soaked into Remiel and how they suspected it had hit Satan and Mephistopheles as well.

Remiel turned to Raphael. "When did you figure that out?"

Michael said. "At first Raphael thought you'd gotten spattered when you attacked Gabriel, but Uriel said it felt older than that, and Gabriel wasn't missing anything additional at that point."

Remiel's eyes had gone wide. "When I what?"

Saraquael went cold, Michael bloodless.

Springing off the table, Remiel grabbed Michael by the shoulders. "I attacked Gabriel?"

Arms folded, Raphael leaned against one of the windows. "You sliced him up pretty good, but we'd have had to do some more repairs anyhow. Hey—" he added, seeing Remiel's eyes beginning to sparkle, "—didn't he say he forgave you for
everything
?"

"But—"

"Specifically that if you remembered anything else, it was included?"

Saraquael moved behind Remiel and rested his hands on her back. "A two for one deal on forgiveness from Gabriel?"

Remiel shrugged him off. "How insane would I have to be to attack him?" She looked at the others. "And he didn't flatten me?"

Uriel came closer and hugged her, and she bit her lip.

Raphael shrugged. "I wanted to flatten you, if that makes you feel better."

Remiel looked up, tremulous. "I'd have approved if I'd been there." She took his hand, and staring at the floor, she said, "Thank you for patching him up. I still think I should apologize."

"Hey," Raphael said, looking toward Michael, "that reminds me. If you do something that inadvertently hurts someone, even though you thought it was the right thing at the time, do you have to apologize?"

"I would," Michael said, "but I'm not sure it's mandatory."

Saraquael said, "It probably depends on if you're sorry. It can't hurt."

"I have a bet riding on this," Raphael said, "and you two may just have won it for me."

Uriel laughed.

Michael said, "Back to spatter theory, though—Remiel, you and Satan were able to feel Mephistopheles even though you shouldn't be able to detect a bond, and no one else was." She nodded. "And you were able to pass through a Guard set up so you couldn't, but not set up to exclude Gabriel." She nodded again. "We've still got time. I need you to go into the chamber in Hell and see if you can reach into the Guard to remove the chain anchor."

Remiel frowned. "Why?"

"Because if Satan is spattered with Gabriel's substance," Michael said, "then he's subconsciously reconfigured his own Guard to allow Gabriel's substance through as well."

Remiel swallowed. "You don't think— Mephistopheles too?" She wove her fingers. "He caught me, in Hell, and I escaped. Maybe the same way. The Guard recognized parts of me as parts of him."

Saraquael caught Michael's wide-eyed look, but he shook his head.

"Can you handle it?" Uriel said. "I'll go with you." And they went together.

Saraquael said, "That's the first I've heard of Mephistopheles attacking her."

Raphael looked out the window. "As soon as Ophaniel returns, we ought to get the Cherubim busy making tokens of the high-profile targets."

"But at least you don't need to worry about me." Michael stood straight, giving an innocent smile. "I'm only the manager on duty."

Remiel returned. "I've gotten further than the others, but I couldn't release the energy to get it to come back. And time is up now."

Uriel, Ophaniel and Raguel returned.

Raphael pivoted, frightened. "Where's Israfel?"

Before anyone could respond, Israfel exploded into the conference room, flames in her hair. She hovered a head higher than everyone and shouted, "Why can't I get in there? To Gabriel?" Then she pointed at Ophaniel. "Don't you dare! I have every right."

Ophaniel raised his hands.

"He's sleeping." Raphael moved toward her. "He's so far under right now that you could perform surgery."

"I'm tired of this!" Israfel shouted. "You're not his gatekeepers! Let me in!"

She flashed away, and Saraquael winced.

"She's battering the Guard?" Michael said.

He nodded. "It's holding. Ophaniel, can't you—"

"She took that hard," the Cherub said. "Obviously."

"That wasn't what I was going to—"

"I'm not pulling that kind of fire." Ophaniel squared his shoulders. "Especially after she told me not to."

Israfel blasted back into the room, armored, holding a sword in flames. "Let down that Guard!"

Uriel rose into the air. "He needs to rest."

"This isn't right!" Israfel got right in front of Uriel's face. "Gabriel was my primary too! I want to see him."

Uriel stood with spread hands.

"No, it can't wait!" Israfel made the whole room a kiln, and Saraquael backed to the wall, Remiel beside him. "It's always been 'Israfel can wait' and 'There's time for that later,' but there nearly wasn't. I want to see him. Now!"

Raphael passed through the Seraph flames, then got between her and Uriel. Saraquael could barely hear his voice over the roar, but he could feel the calmness he exuded. "I can tell you as soon as he awakens. But for now, he's still compromised."

"And I don't matter as much as you." Israfel tossed her head. "Again."

Ophaniel said, "It's not about Raphael. It's about Gabriel."

Israfel erupted in still more flame, then flashed away.

Saraquael steeled himself, waited, then felt nothing. Odd. "She didn't try the Guard again."

Ophaniel said, "I'll go after her in a bit. She needs to slow to a low boil first."

As the room cooled, Michael said, "We shouldn't have her going off like that." He turned to Raphael. "You really can't let him wake up long enough to patch things up with her?"

Raphael sighed. "I could. But he won't go back to sleep afterward. I let in Israfel and then Remiel will want to go in too." He looked at her. "You were about to ask, right?"

She folded her arms. "Why do you have to be right?"

"Gabriel's rubbed off on me." He shrugged. "But all of those things he really can take care of later. I'm a Seraph so I can say this—Seraphim aren't exactly patient."

Ophaniel said, "I'd never have guessed."

Raphael shot him a look, and then both cracked up laughing.

Ophaniel said, "What got to her was realizing Gabriel wasn't fully to blame. She'd been working through that anyhow. It was a mutual drifting apart, and she's determined not to make the same mistake. Hence: let me in now."

Raphael said, "I assume you mean she wants to re-bond. Gabriel's not going to take that well."

Ophaniel said, "I want to be on another planet when he tells her to wait and make sure."

Saraquael shook his head. "We can head her off and warn him. At any rate, we need to make a token of her, so that gives her more time to get control."

Michael said, "How difficult is the process? You need to teach a team to do it so we can get started."

Ophaniel shrugged. "Not difficult at all, but I'm wondering if Satan will try again now that he knows Gabriel survived."

Silence from everyone. Heart pounding, Saraquael turned to Ophaniel.

Michael said, "I'll bite. Why do you think he knows Gabriel survived?"

Saraquael murmured, "The last thing he did was lie to us about Gabriel's last words."

"But by now he's debriefing Camael." Ophaniel flicked some dust off his sleeve. "Camael will have said he wasn't there for the annihilation."