The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (41 page)

After
a moment, Tyler reluctantly nodded and both of their expressions went
blank as they summoned their angels.

Sariel
walked forward until he was standing a few feet away from the pair.
Then he tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes.

“
Now,
what is all this about?” he asked bluntly.

“
Sariel,”
Astriel said. Except for the musical tones that echoed in his voice,
it still looked like Tyler was speaking.

“
First,
I apologize for Tyler's outburst. He is afraid, and he reacts to fear
by lashing out. Forgive him, and me.”

“
It
is forgiven, my young brother,” Sariel said graciously. “I
hold no ill-will. But tell me, what has frightened him? What has
frightened both boys?”

Astriel
and Janariel exchanged glances and, apparently, Janariel was content
to let his friend do the talking. He sat down on the couch again,
watching intently.

“
You
have been deceived, brother,” Astriel said. “In fact, all
of us have been tricked and deceived.”

Sariel
didn't answer. He simply waited.

Chris
noticed that angels seemed to have no need of nervous gestures.
Tyler's arms hung by his side, his gaze was level and his voice was
calm. Very different from how the human side of Tyler had reacted.

“
Janariel
and I were captured during the attack at Hawkes Nest. You are no
doubt aware of this.”

“
I
am.”

“
We
retreated from the mortal world, confident that our enemies would
destroy our human selves, and that we would be reunited with their
souls after death.” He shook his head slowly, once. “But
this did not occur. We were taken and transported here, to England.
Still alive but bound by some sort of ritual. We could not take on
our angelic forms and fight back. We could only observe.”

Sariel
seemed startled. “I have never heard of such a ritual. The
Fallen can keep us bound in our human bodies?”

“
Yes,
but only after this unholy ceremony takes place. We...” Astriel
hesitated and looked at Janariel, who finally spoke.

“
We
made a mistake, Sariel. We had withdrawn, as Astriel said and, having
never dreamed that we could be bound inside our human halves, we were
too late to stop them before the ritual was completed.” His
tone became deadly. “It will not happen again.”

“
I
understand,” Sariel said gently. “But then what? I would
assume that they used this rite to make you easier to control. And
they brought you here and destroyed your bodies. Judge Hawkes thought
that it was to teach him and his Dominion a lesson, to demoralize
them. Is that not so?”

“
It
is not,” Astriel began to speak again. “I do not know
how, but we believe that the enemy had suspicions that we had a more
powerful angel among us. We were used, Sariel. Used to betray you to
the Lord of Hell.”

And
now Astriel's face did show some emotion. It was regret.

“
And
how did you betray me?” Sariel still sounded calm. His voice
was serene and non-judgmental.

“
That
ceremony did more than just bind us within our human flesh. When we
died, we were not drawn upward into the Light. We were dragged down,
into the Pit.”

Chris
felt a choking sense of fear. Oh my God, he thought. I can see where
this is going.

Apparently
Sariel could as well.

“
So
when I resurrected you...”

“
You
announced to the Prince of Darkness that you were here, on Earth. He
knows, Sariel. He knows!”

Astriel
turned away and Chris realized that he was weeping.

“
We
have failed you, my elder brother. And we have failed God.”
Astriel said in a broken voice.

Janariel
had covered his face with both hands.

“
He
should have sent stronger soldiers to fight in this war. Instead he
send two angels that were unfit for duty. We are shamed before you
and before Him.”

Sariel
stepped forward and put a hand on Astriel's shoulder.

“
You
are both being too hard on yourselves. My accursed brother was going
to learn of my presence eventually. That it happened sooner rather
than later means little, really.”

Astriel
turned to look at Sariel, his expression faintly hopeful. Janariel
looked up through his tears.

“
You...are
not angry with us?” Astriel asked in gentle confusion.

“
Angry
with you? Never. You have been through trials that would test the
strongest of us. And you have returned. Trick or not, the enemy made
a mistake in letting you go. For now you will fight all the harder
when the time comes. Is that not so?”

He
looked at each of them. Janariel stood up abruptly.

“
We
will, brother. Oh, what they did to us, to Tyler and Jacob, burns
within me. They will rue the day they used us for their twisted
purposes.”

Sariel
smiled grimly.

“
They
will indeed. So be at ease and let no thoughts of guilt rule your
actions. Rather, embrace this time and prepare for the fight to
come.”

“
We
will.” The two angels looked serene. “Thank you, Sariel,
for your understanding. We will be ready when you call.”

“
Excellent.
Let us withdraw for now and allow our human sides to return. We will
speak again soon.”

All
three of them bowed their heads and suddenly Chris felt Sariel fade
completely. He was alone in his mind again.

“
Ah
gees, Chris. I'm so sorry for grabbing you,” Tyler said, his
face red.

Chris
laughed. “No sweat, man. I think Sariel knocking you down was
enough payback.”

“
Yeah,
no kidding.” Tyler rubbed his shoulder. “Man, these guys
are strong.”

“
You
okay, Jake?” Chris asked the other boy.

Jacob
let out a long sigh of obvious relief.

“
Now
that that is out of the way, yeah I am.” He cocked his head.
“But I'm starving!”

Chris
laughed again. “Good. Chef wanted me to get some food into you.
I'm hungry too. I haven't eaten yet.”

He
looked at both of his friends. “To the kitchen?”

“
To
the kitchen, Batman!” Tyler said with a grin and the three of
them left, laughter trailing behind them.

After
their impromptu breakfast that Chef was delighted to serve them in
the kitchen, Chris left Jacob and Tyler to their own devices and
walked off alone.

He
looked around to make sure that he was by himself and then pulled out
his cell and tapped in Judge Hawkes' number. After a single ring, the
judge answered.

“
Yes
Chris? What can I do for you?” Chris heard him say in that calm
voice. He took some strength from it and asked if he could drop by
the judge's office.

“
Yes,
of course. I've just arrived back here myself. Drop by whenever you
wish.”

“
Thanks,
sir. I'll be right up.”

He
tried to stay calm as he made his way back up the main stairs and
toward the office. He passed more staff members and smiled at them
and then had to have a quick visit with Beatrice and George. They
stopped as they saw him in the hall and congratulated him on bringing
back Jacob and Tyler.

He
thanked them, they exchanged a few pleasantries and then they left in
opposite directions.

By
this time, Chris' heart was beating fast enough to make him a little
dizzy. He had to get to the judge, right now.

When
he reached the office, Chris was almost running. For the first time
he didn't bother knocking. He opened the door, barged in and slammed
it behind him.

Judge
Hawkes looked up from where he was writing behind his desk, eyebrows
raised and Chris stared at him, panting.

“
We're
screwed,” he blurted out. “Sir,” he added
belatedly.

“
I
beg your pardon?” The judge looked puzzled and gestured for
Chris to have a seat. He did, although he sat on the edge of the
chair and jiggled his legs nervously.

“
I
saw Jake and Ty, sir. They told me that the whole thing was a setup.
Their capture, bringing them here to England, dumping their bodies
where we could find them. All of it.”

Chris
was speaking so quickly that he began stuttering, trying to get the
words out fast enough. The judge made a calming gesture.

“
Easy,
Christopher. Take a breath and tell me exactly what they said.”

Taking
a deep, gasping breath, Chris tried to tell the man exactly what had
happened earlier.

When
he was done, Judge Hawkes sat and stared at him, his elbows resting
on the arms of his chair, fingers tented under his chin.

“
So
they know about Sariel,” he said quietly.

“
Yes
sir, they know.” Chris was sitting back in his seat finally,
feeling weak now that he had told the judge what he needed to.

“
Well,
we knew that it would happen sooner or later, didn't we? Why are you
so upset about it? Our friends are back, at least.”

Chris
shook his head. “No offense, sir, but that isn't the problem.”

The
judge just raised an eyebrow and waited.

Chris
tried to organize his thoughts and speak calmly.

“
Sir,
the question isn't why the Fallen did what they did. That's obvious.
But what kind of creature has the power to trap the souls of angels?
Torture them? Keep them from rising to Heaven?” He felt a brief
flash of anger at the man's blank stare. “Don't you see? This
thing, whatever it is, is as powerful as an archangel. It's as
powerful as Sariel!”

And
now the judge seemed to understand. His eyes widened and he leaned
forward and rested his hands on the desk.

“
Now
I see,” he said under his breath.

Neither
spoke for a moment. Chris simply watched the judge, hoping for some
words of wisdom, or at least of comfort.

“
Have
you spoken to Sariel about this yet?” the man asked at last.

“
Spoken
to him? He was there in the room when the guys told me what
happened.”

“
I
know that. But have you mentioned this since you saw Jacob and
Tyler?”

“
Well,
no sir,” Chris replied a little defensively. “I haven't
had a chance yet. It all just happened like, an hour ago.”

“
Then
speak with him now. See what he has to say.” The judge started
writing again. “Let me know what he thinks.”

“
Um,
okay.”

Chris
watched the judge as he wrote, but the man said nothing more, just
scribbled down his notes.

Fine,
he thought, I guess I should talk to him about this.

Sariel, are you around?

Yes, of course I am
,
the archangel's voice answered immediately.

Wow, that was fast.
Aren't you usually back in Purgatory by now?

There is no need for
that.
My
people have accepted my punishment of Lilith. Some reluctantly, it's
true, but they have accepted it. And I have several faithful
lieutenants who will inform me if anything needs my attention. I
think for now I should stay close by.

Chris
felt some relief from that news.

That's great. Listen,
did you hear what I said to the judge?

I did.

And..?

And? And there are
occasions when I think that you, for all your youth and limited
experience in life, are more clever than I am.

What are you talking
about?

I was shocked when
Astriel and Janariel told me that their imprisonment and deaths had
been a ruse to discover my identity. But you saw more clearly than I
did. It is the power behind that evil act that is our greatest
threat.

Ah.
Chris sighed loudly and the judge glanced at him for a moment, then
went back to his writing.
So you
understand why I'm so worried.

I do. A being capable
of trapping the souls of the dead? Especially the souls of angels?
That is a being of monstrous power.

So, any guess as to who
or what it might be?