The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (40 page)

The man leaned forward,
his hands clasped on the desk in front of him, a satisfied smile on
his face.

“
Ghost contacted me
overnight and, as usual, he was one step ahead of us. He has scouted
out the London HQ of Scythe and everything seems to be business as
usual. Apparently, a sizable contingent of their members left for
Russia after his rather spectacular attack. So he definitely got
their attention. The ones who remain are going about their daily
tasks, nefarious though they may be.”

“
What did he do,
sir?” Chris asked eagerly.

The judge's smile took on
a grim twist. “He practically leveled the building in Moscow.
He didn't wait around to count the casualties, but they are bound to
have been quite high.”

Chris felt a twinge of
guilt at the thought of people hurt or killed in Ghost's attack and
the judge must have read the emotions on his face because he shook
his head firmly.

“
Do not feel any
sympathy for those disreputable gangsters, young man. They are
responsible for, not only the attacks on the Nest and Luxembourg, but
the assaults on our other safe-houses as well.”

The judge shuffled through
a pile of papers, chose one and scanned through it. His expression
remained dark, but a little smile played across his lips.

“
Speaking of which,
I've also finally received reports from my agents in the field about
the status of our other houses. And from Davidson. As we surmised,
they were attacked as well. Fortunately, the attacks weren't as
fierce as the one at the Nest, and we have a lot of survivors.”

Chris perked up at that
news. They weren't the only ones left, he thought. Awesome!

“
How many, sir?”

Judge Hawkes looked down
the list.

“
I'm not going to
presume that all of these figures are accurate, but even a
conservative estimate would leave us with at least a hundred staff
members and perhaps twenty Angelics like yourself.”

“
Wow.” Chris
felt a mingling of relief and excitement. Twenty! Plus the eleven of
them from Valiant? That was practically a small army. Then a
disturbing thought intruded on his happiness.

“
But what is being
done to protect them, sir?” he asked with sudden nervousness.
“If they've been hit once, they can be hit again, right?”

“
Yes. That is true,”
the judge agreed with some reluctance. “That is why I've sent
word through these agents, telling them to pass my orders on to each
house. I want all of our people, staff and Angelics alike, to make
their way here, to Valiant. We cannot be scattered around the globe
any longer. It is obvious to me now that dividing our strength is
what put us in this predicament in the first place.”

He sat back and frowned
down at his list.

“
I am taking the
castle back into our hands. It will no longer be a destination for
tourists. The Dominion is more than wealthy enough to support its
upkeep without the revenue generated by visitors and, quite frankly,
I'm sure that many Fallen minions have spied out the place over the
years. Well, I've had enough of it.” He fixed Chris with a keen
look. “The Hawkes Nest will be rebuilt, and it will always be
my first home, but until this conflict is resolved, or we reach some
sort of balance with our enemies, Valiant will be my residence and
headquarters from this moment on.”

Chris felt a slight pang
of loss at the thought of not seeing the Nest again, or for a long
time anyway. But the judge was right. They had to stick together and
Valiant was big enough to house all of their people. So he nodded his
understanding.

“
Make sense, sir,”
he said. “Will the others be able to get here safely? They're
going to be a pretty tempting target for the Fallen when they try to
escape to Valiant.”

“
I've thought about
that, Christopher. And with the attack in Moscow, I'd say that this
is the perfect opportunity for them to flee, while our enemies are
focused on that event. So I have authorized them to use any means,
and spend whatever it takes, to get back here posthaste. I think the
odds are in their favor. Or, at least, I hope so,” he added,
still frowning at his list.

The two sat silently for a
few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Chris was imagining the
frantic attempts of the other groups from around the world to get to
Valiant. He hoped that they'd all make it.

His thoughts were
interrupted by the ringing of the judge's phone.

“
Yes? Oh, good
morning, Mario. How are you to...”

Chris looked up at the
judge as he stopped speaking in mid-sentence.

The man was looking across
the room blankly, listening intently to his cell. He nodded once or
twice.

“
I see. Yes, he's
here now.”

Chris was startled as the
man caught his eye.

“
Certainly. If they
want to speak to him, I'll send him down. Are they all right? Hmm.
Fine then. Tell them he'll be down directly.”

The judge clicked off his
phone and looked at Chris, who stared back curiously.

“
Someone wants to
see me, sir?”

“
Yes. Apparently
both Jacob and Tyler are in a bit of a state.”

When Chris sat upright in
alarm, the judge smiled at him calmly.

“
Not to worry,
Christopher. They aren't ill or anything. But they both wish to speak
to you privately. When Chef dropped by their rooms this morning, they
were insisting that they had to see you at once. And they would not
say why.”

“
Huh.” Chris
had no idea what his friends wanted to talk about. The day before, in
the garden, they'd been happy and laughing like everyone else. What
happened overnight to upset them?

“
Okay, sir. I'll
head over there. Um, where are they staying anyway?”

“
They wanted to
share a suite, so we gave them a large one just down the hall from
your own,” the judge said. “If you were leaving your room
and turned left, they would be three doors down and across the hall.”

“
Got it. Thanks,
sir.”

Chris got up and started
to leave.

“
Christopher,”
the judge said and Chris stopped and looked back.

“
I don't wish to
intrude on any personal problems between friends,” he said
seriously. “However, if there is something going on that
threatens Valiant, you will inform me, won't you?”

It sounded less like a
request and more like an order, but Chris understood the man's
concern, especially now.

“
You can count on
it, your honor,” he assured the man.

“
Excellent. Thank
you. Off you go then.”

Chris nodded and left the
office, already trying to think of what Jake and Ty wanted to talk
about so badly.

Sariel? You around?

Almost always, my
friend.
The
voice, as usual, seemed to come from far away and then approach
rapidly.

Jacob and Tyler want to
see me. It sounds important. Are you sure that the, you know,
resurrection went as planned? I mean, would there be any side-effects
or something?

I doubt it. Their
bodies were perfectly preserved, thanks to Gloriel. Their souls
returned quickly and easily.

There
was a moment of silence. Chris hurried toward his quarters, absently
greeting a few staff members along the way, and listening internally
at the same time.

They returned quickly
and easily
,
Sariel repeated flatly.
You know, now
that I think about it, I'm a little surprised at the ease of their
return.

What do you mean?

Just that, at their
deaths, each of our two friends should have merged with their
counterparts, their human souls and angelic souls becoming one. Then
they would have been lifted back to Heaven. When I brought them back,
that process would have to have been reversed. That should have taken
some time, and perhaps have even involved some pain, either physical
or spiritual. But it did not. Strange.

Chris
was in the hallway leading back to his room. He counted the doors
until he got to the one that the judge said was Jacob and Tyler's. He
hesitated.

So what are you saying?
That something went wrong?

I'm not saying
anything. Let's ask them both and see, shall we?

Practical
as usual, Chris thought. He knocked on the door.

It
opened immediately and was blocked by the large body of Chef. The man
looked down at Chris, his expression unusually serious. But he smiled
as he recognized the visitor.

“
Ah,
good morning, my young friend.”

Chef
glanced over his shoulder and then motioned Chris back into the
hallway.

He
closed the door behind him and the two stood looking at each other.

“
What's
going on, Chef?” Chris asked in confusion. “Is something
wrong with the guys?”

Chef
stared at him for a long, uncomfortable moment and Chris began to
squirm under his gaze. Finally the big man shrugged.

“
I
don't know, Chris. They won't say anything to me. When I dropped by
this morning, both of them were upset and agitated. Tyler was pacing
the floor, muttering to himself and Jacob... Well, Jacob was white as
a sheet and looked scared to death.”

“
I
don't understand,” Chris said simply, a sense of fear crawling
up his back.

“
Neither
do I. But I couldn't get anything out of either one of them. They
will only speak to you. So go on in and see if you can't get to the
bottom of this.” Chef began to turn away and then looked back
at Chris. “And try to get them to eat something, would you?
After what they've been though, they need feeding up or they'll both
collapse. I'll be in the kitchens if you need me. Just call. Okay?”

“
You
bet, Chef. I'll do my best to calm them down and get some food into
them.”

Chef
nodded and strode off.

Chris
stood at the door, took a deep breath, and knocked again.

“
Come
in,” he heard Tyler call out. He swallowed nervously, opened
the door and walked in.

Chris
had entered a sitting room a bit larger than his own. Two couches sat
against opposite walls and a deep blue rug, with swirling designs,
stretched across the floor between them. The morning sunlight blazed
through a large window beside the couch on the left, and that's where
Jacob was sitting, staring into space.

Tyler
was standing in the middle of the room facing the door. Chris guessed
that he had been pacing, exactly as Chef had said, just before he
walked in.

“
Hey
guys,” Chris greeted them, trying to sound cheerful. “You
wanted to see me?”

“
Chris!”
Jacob seemed to jerk out of some sort of trance and looked at him,
wide-eyed. “Oh, thank God you're here.”

Tyler
continued to stare at him, his expression becoming darker until he
was scowling. Finally he raised a hand and pointed directly at Chris.

“
What
have you done?” he hissed. It sounded like an accusation.

“
What?
What are you talking about?”

Tyler
walked forward so quickly that Chris took an involuntary step back.
They ended up standing a foot apart, Chris looking up at his friend,
who was several inches taller.

“
You
brought us back, didn't you? Why did you do that? Who gave you the
right to do that?”

Tyler
grabbed Chris by the shoulders and shook him, hard. His grip was
crushing.

Step back, Chris. I'm
taking over...now!

Chris
pulled back into his mind gratefully and became a spectator. He
gasped to himself as he saw Ty's face twisted with fury.

Sariel
didn't alter Chris' appearance, but his strength was evident. He
pushed Tyler away, hard, and the other boy stumbled back and then
tripped, ending up on his back.

Jacob
gave a cry and jumped up. He hurried over to his friend and knelt
down, checking to see if he was all right.

Tyler
shoved him out of the way and struggled to his feet, still glaring at
Chris.

“
Never
do that again, young one,” Sariel said, and his ringing voice
echoed around the room.

“
Sariel,”
Tyler said angrily. “You...”

Sariel
cut him off.

“
I
wish to speak to Astriel. Now.” He looked at Jacob's pale face.
“And Janariel. I have no time for these mortal tantrums.”

Chris
hadn't felt Sariel this angry in a long time. He watched as Tyler
began to say something, but Jacob stopped him.

“
No
Ty. Sariel's right. Let the angels explain all this. It's too big for
us.”