Seven Archangels: Annihilation (40 page)

"We have a verb for it now?"

The Cherub's brow furrowed. "It's better than Sidrielizing you."

She smirked at him. "Only marginally."' Israfel rested her elbows on her knees and gazed over Sixth Avenue. "Are you ready for me now? Or can I have a few minutes?"

"A few minutes is fine."

She waited, then looked at him.

"Oh, you meant alone?" He bit his lip. "I really dislike leaving you here."

"Gabriel was within thirty feet of Raphael when they grabbed him."

"Then I intend to be within twenty." Ophaniel's wings raised. "Or you can just come back with me into Heaven. Park Slope is the only place to get a pizza, but it's hardly the only place to pray."

Israfel smiled. "You forgot zeppoli."

"I never forget anything," Ophaniel said. "A zeppolo is like deep-frying a golf ball and then dusting it with powdered sugar."

"You do remember!" Israfel exclaimed, and they both laughed.

Ophaniel looked into her eyes. "Come back with me."

Israfel nodded, but then when he left, she remained.

God?
she prayed.

In the next moment chains wrapped around her, and even as she lashed out, a Guard enclosed all of her, entangling her wings.

Screaming, Israfel shed all her Godly light against her attacker, brilliant and fierce.

"Quick!" Belior was shouting. "I can't contain her!"

Even as Asmodeus moved closer, a thousand angels appeared around them; dozens had run for help even as others disregarded Michael's directions and tried to intervene. Immediately a legion of Asmodeus' armed forces surrounded Israfel while Asmodeus pressed right up next to her, wrestled her to the ground, and covered them both with his wings. In the next moments she stopped struggling and lay limp.

Ophaniel reappeared on the rooftop, Raguel and Michael and Saraquael in the next instants, their swords shining like stars, but Asmodeus and Belior only glanced at them before flashing back to Hell, their faces afire with triumph.

- + -

Gabriel awoke to a frenzied touch in his heart. He opened his eyes to find Raphael before him.

"They have Israfel," he whispered.

Gabriel bolted out of the bed, instantly armored. Raphael wrapped him in his wings and flashed them from the room.

Gabriel doubled over, nauseated and disoriented, but Raphael kept a hold on him. He looked up to figure out where he was: the staging area just inside Heaven's gates.

Michael was calling for the chiefs of the orders, and more angels were arriving every second. Gabriel backed into Raphael, who stood with his hands on Gabriel's shoulders.

"It's no good," Raphael called to Michael. "He's not able to transport without losing equilibrium."

Michael looked at Gabriel. "Can you take charge of keeping Israfel alive?"

Gabriel nodded.

"He can't travel!" Raphael yanked Gabriel backward. "What is he supposed to do?"

"Something." Gabriel turned to Raphael. "I can do something." Then to Michael, "Let me enlist some of the other Cherubim."

"Take whomever you need," Michael said, "but do it quickly because we're leaving."

Gabriel's first impulse was to flash himself to those he wanted, but considering the vertigo, he instead spread his wings and flew through the intervening space. As he departed, Raphael wished him God's grace, then diverted his attention to the order of Seraphim. He was going to stand in for Israfel.

God,
Gabriel prayed,
let us find her. Let us save her.

The angels had arranged by orders. Even the humans had arranged and ordered themselves, led by Peter, James and John. There were no Thrones at the staging area: they would provide prayer support.

Gabriel cupped his wings to land before Ophaniel. "Find a replacement for yourself. I need you and Zophiel, plus six of Israfel's secondaries."

Ophaniel put Sidriel in charge and then called the names of seven Cherubim.

When all of them had assembled, Gabriel said, "We're the Israfel team. Our job is to keep her alive long enough to be rescued."

The Cherubim awaited instructions.

Gabriel realized he didn't have any at the ready.

"One of the biggest helps for me," he said, spinning up a plan even as he said it, "was the strength of the Seraphim. We need to empower her the same way through our bonds."

"They have her Guarded," Ophaniel said. "I wasn't able to follow."

"Was she conscious when they grabbed her?"

Ophaniel's eyes lowered. "No."

"They need her conscious in order to work. Was it the same location?"

"It felt that way."

Gabriel shivered.

"You had Remiel on the inside," Ophaniel said. "Without someone on the inside to pry open the Guard, our energy won't penetrate, not even to prolong the struggle, let alone avert the outcome."

Gabriel grabbed Ophaniel's arm. "I'm going to try to be on the inside."

With a frown, Ophaniel said, "Is Satan going to invite you in?"

"He thinks I'm dead," Gabriel said, "and we believe he's covered with my residue. I'll be able to force my way in."

Ophaniel paused. "Get a picture of his face for me when he sees you. But keep in mind, he might know you survived."

Gabriel said, "I can only hope I'm sufficiently startling that Michael can break into the room."

Behind them, Michael was already dispatching legions of angels into Hell.

Ophaniel said, "You and Israfel combined should be enough to hold off Satan for at least a little while."

Gabriel's shoulders dropped. "It had better not come down to a fight. I'm not at full strength, and she and I aren't bonded."

"She wants to rebond." Ophaniel opened his hands. "Do it, save her life, and worry about the rest later."

Gabriel paused. "That's good to know. And we have the token as backup if all else fails."

Ophaniel looked uncomfortable. "She never made one."

Gabriel's wings flared. "Why not? Did you do anyone?"

"We did, but—"

"I asked you to do her and Raphael first!"

"I couldn’t get near her," Ophaniel said. "She was livid. You know Seraphim. We were going to do her next now that she'd gotten calm, but we ran out of time."

"Always time to do something else first." Gabriel's eyes glimmered. "Isn't that going to be the ultimate irony, if we lose her because once again, we put off helping Israfel because there would be time to do it later?"

Ophaniel closed his eyes. "That was my bad decision."

Gabriel shook his head. "There's nothing to be done about it now. You guys start trying to feed her power. I've got one place to go before I head out."

Gabriel focused on the Vision and flashed to the Throne of the Lord, fighting the panic that engulfed him when he moved.

He raised his eyes to behold God, so struck by glory that he forgot the fear, forgot to bow, forgot how to do anything more than absorb the light of God. Simultaneously beautiful and terrifying, the sight completed him—every hunger, filled; every need, met; every question, answered. Gabriel basked momentarily in love stronger than any Seraph could give, and he opened his heart to return a love equally fierce.

Lucifer had never understood this, that love was a choice every moment, that God would never compel what they offered freely.

Gabriel leaned into the heart-fire so much that he nearly tumbled in head-first. For a moment he was only a son of the Lord. God held him at arm's length and kept him individual.

Gabriel shook himself, bowed at last, and presented himself properly.
I need your help.

Speak, Gebher'li.

"I need help to save Israfel," Gabriel said. "I need your strength."

Abruptly Jesus was before him, guiding him to a stand.

"I'm still not at full strength." Gabriel lowered his eyes. "Can you please complete the healing process in me?"

Gabriel felt himself abruptly topped up to full power, like a hose with the faucet turned on.

"You're not healed yet," Jesus said, "but your normal power is yours for the time being. It won't replenish once it's used."

Gabriel projected his gratitude.

"You're welcome. Now," Jesus said, "you need another weapon."

He opened his hands and created a large grey square about four inches thick.

Gabriel squinted.

Shaking out the fabric, Jesus said, "This belongs over your armor."

It turned out to be a grey cloak with a loose hood and a silver clasp that pinned at the neck ("It's your seal," Jesus said, because Jesus was even more detail-oriented than Gabriel.) At the wrists were silver bangles. An amazing volume of cloth spread around Gabriel as Jesus fastened it, and the black silk lining slipped easily against his armor.

Gabriel shifted uneasily. "I'm going to look ridiculous."

Two slits in the back allowed his wings free movement. Jesus finished fastening the buckles. "We're operating at the level of a carnival trick, but the humbler the power expended, the greater the shame when Satan falls for it. You look great, but I'm not done yet."

Jesus turned Gabriel's silver chest-plate to a scuffed black. The metal on Gabriel's sword, belt and boots transformed likewise, and the rest of his clothing went uniformly grey.

Jesus touched Gabriel's eyes, then opened his hands so a silver light appeared between.

Gabriel looked into the mirror and took a quick step backward. "Okay—I'd attack myself now."

His face had turned chalky, and his smoke-quartz eyes swirled with the chaos of the Void. He couldn't stop looking into them in the mirror.

Jesus winked out the reflection. "The light in Hell will provide the rest of the illusion. Make sure to use the cloak to its best extent too, for the supernatural effect."

"Super-preternatural," Gabriel said reflexively. "I'm already super-natural."

"One thing more." Jesus handed Gabriel a helmet that framed his eyes. Then he kissed Gabriel on the cheeks. "You have my blessing, Gabri'li. Rescue Israfel."

Gabriel bowed and flashed away.

- + -

Beelzebub and Mephistopheles arrived in Lucifer's office to hear him berating a smug-feeling Asmodeus and a self-assured Belior. "I don't care about the opportunity! We weren't ready!"

Beelzebub said, "What—"

"We captured Israfel," Asmodeus said. "Go kill her."

"We aren't ready!" Mephistopheles said.

"The army is," Belior said.

"And you should be ready too," Asmodeus said. "Belior was expected to do the impossible in twenty-four hours, and you were only asked to improve on something you'd already done."

Mephistopheles said, "Have you
got
a defense yet against Gabriel?"

"We don't need to do this now," Beelzebub said. "Tie Israfel together with Asmodeus and hand the two of them over to Michael when he comes with his forces."

"Enough," Lucifer said. "I want all four of you coordinating the defense against the enemy. They're going to invade, and they know which room we're using."

Mephistopheles said, "We could move her in here."

"We set up that room specifically for that purpose. We'll keep using it. For the moment she's not conscious, but as soon as she is, we'll start." He turned to Asmodeus. "I know perfectly well which of you was responsible for this sabotage. When this is done, I'll deal with you and your Cherub."

A call came from the main gates. The invasion had begun.

- + -

Hell's sentries met thousands of angels. Asmodeus had positioned a sizable chunk of his forces at the bottleneck of the entrance.

The invaders encountered some difficulty, but the first wave consisted entirely of Angels and Virtues instructed to engage one sentry each and keep him inhibited, allowing the following groups unimpeded passage to any spot in Hell. The inhibitors locked sword-to-sword with the sentries and bound them with their wills, then removed them to other locations.

Next came the Archangels, flashing to the open spaces where their superior fighting skills could be brought to bear. They met a room full of armed defenders in the common area, but new Archangels appeared everywhere a space opened to admit them. The chaos burgeoned. Cries of surprise, curses, calls to God, exclamations to friends, and orders all added to the din.

The defenders began fleeing to the remoter corners of Hell: the peripheries and the deeper levels where they could ambush an attacker and rip out his throat. These places began filling with Dominions and Powers. Principalities flashed to the ice fields; that choir functioned as one unit under Raguel's direction.

In the midst of the chaos, even before all the angels had arrived, Satan showed himself to rally the damned.

With Asmodeus at his left and Belior at his right, Satan sent a nonverbal order to all Hell: the angels felt it roll past with the force of a body blow. The demons revived in the presence of their leader and the commanders of the armed forces, regaining their organization. They spread out like oil, no longer fleeing as much as repositioning. Half in the great hall disappeared. Satan vanished with these.

The Cherubim and Seraphim arrived with the human saints. Michael dispatched the whole order of humans to the lab areas where the higher-order damned had set Guards as road-blocks and were organizing pockets of resistance.

A dozen demons extinguished every light in the great hall. In order to see, the angels now had to shed light on their own, making magnificent targets for demons curled into nooks of stone, lying prone under benches with drawn swords, or lining the walls armed with bows and arrows. Well-used to their own territory, the demons functioned fine blind.

The remainder of the order of Angels arrived, carrying shields and making use of the narrow headroom to deflect whatever arrows they could and to expose the demons waiting in ambush.

At one end of the hall, Belior stood shouting orders, coordinating complicated defenses in several different areas. At the other end, Beelzebub stood on a table where fighting was thickest, hacking at angels with his sword in flames.