“Well, you may have already heard of them before.
The Death Angels are mentioned throughout history and in many ancient records. Whenever
a nation was destroyed in Biblical Times or a plague was cast on a society, the
Death Angels were tasked with carrying out the assignment. They are the elite
warriors of the Angel army. Each one of them has the ability to destroy entire
countries. When the war in Heaven first started, no one knew which side they
would take. For a long time they chose to abstain from the war. If they hadn’t
chosen to stay loyal, who knows how much longer the war would have waged.”
Alan took a moment to gather his
thoughts before he asked the first of the many questions that were begging
answers. “So, how many of these Death Angels are there and where are they now?”
“I’m not sure on the exact number. If I remember
correctly, there are only a dozen or so. After the war in Heaven ended and the
celestial weapons were ordered to be destroyed, the Death Angels were asked to
guard a select few as relics. The Creator sparred a handful of weapons to try to
preserve the angelic culture and way of life. Similar to how the Chronicle was
saved as a record and reminder of the angelic culture. The ability these
weapons possessed was clearly dangerous and He knew the Fallen would come after
them if they were not guarded day and night. So, He ordered the Death Angels to
watch over the weapons. They’ve done that vigilantly for centuries now.”
Alan grunted in understanding as
the direness of their situation began to sink in. “Okay, so we’re going to go
confront the most powerful elite group of Angels in history and ask if we can
borrow the weapons they’ve been ordered to guard with their lives for the rest
of eternity?”
“Whoa, whoa, what’s with this ‘we’ stuff? I
offered to come with you and show you the way. You’re going to do all the talking.”
Alan looked at her incredulously.
Danielle didn’t take her eyes from the plane
window. “I can see you looking at me like that through my peripheral vision.
I’m kidding; I’ll come with you. Still we need to come up with a solid
argument. I doubt they’re just going to hand over the weapons.”
Alan nodded. “I’ll think of something. I have to.
Where are the weapons located anyway?”
“Where else would ancient artifacts be?”
Alan furrowed his eyebrows before making the
obvious guess, “A museum?”
“Bingo. A super remote museum that’s guarded by
some crazy-strong supernatural beings.”
“Awesome.”
The heat from the underground forge was
breathtaking. Long flames of fire sucked oxygen like a drowning man catching
desperate breaths of air. Ardat stared into the flames as her moment of
retribution approached. All around her men and woman, Fallen and their Nephilim
alike worked on melting sections of the ancient statue and forging it into
instruments of death.
Kyle Brown shouted the instructions
he remembered from the Chronicle. Temperature was adjusted correctly and molds
for blades assembled. Soon, they would make the tools of destruction and Ardat
would waste no time marching on her enemies.
She knew they would already be searching for her.
If given enough time, Michael and the rest of his Angels and Nephilim would
find her; even if they did manage to find her within the next few hours, it
would be too late. The first celestial weapons were already being cast and
tempered.
“Your eminence?” Dominic said as he
approached.
Ardat moved her eyes from Kyle and gave Dominic
her full attention. “Yes?”
“Things are moving as planned. We
will have the weapons forged and ready for battle within days.”
Ardat looked her right-hand man up and down. He
was dressed in a tailored suit with slippers. A long, curved cut over his
forehead was the only reminder of his fight with Guardian during the
confrontation on the cargo ship. “Good, you have a day to melt down this statue
and forge me enough weapons for an army. No longer.”
Dominic moved to open his mouth
before he thought better of his rebuttal and snapped his lips closed.
“How is Kyle doing after his first
kill?” Ardat said.
Dominic glanced over his shoulder to the young man
who shouted instructions and pointed directions as he replied, “He was shaken
at first but I reassured him that he is doing the right thing. We are his
family now. You know the affect power has on the weak. He’s got a taste for it
now and he won’t be going back.”
Ardat’s dark eyes narrowed as she
moved her gaze from Dominic back to Kyle. “Good, keep on eye on him. I want no
doubt that his loyalty lie with us.”
“As you command.”
Alan shivered in the cold morning air. He rubbed
his hands together and stomped his feet in a feeble attempt to keep warm. He
was examining the small, dilapidated two-story museum exterior as he waited for
Danielle to finish paying their taxi driver.
Thanks to the high-powered jet, the
flight from Chicago to the small city in Switzerland housing the museum took
just under eight hours. Eight hours they had now lost. Eight hours that Ardat
and her followers had no doubt spent hard at work making the supernatural weapons
of death.
Adrenaline pumped through Alan’s veins, a nervous
electricity was building by the second. It wasn’t everyday that he confronted a
group of the most powerful supernatural beings in history.
“Ready for this?” Danielle asked as
she walked up the weather-beaten stone steps to stand beside him.
Alan felt his Adam’s apple bob as he considered
her question. He fixed his eyes on the small building. The structure itself was
anything but intimidating. Located miles from anything, it sat quiet and unassuming
at the foot of a large mountain range. “It doesn’t look that daunting. So why
do I feel a sense of dread grow inside me as I step closer?”
“Alan, we could always go back. We
volunteered for this—“
“No,” Alan said louder than intended. “Sorry, I
didn’t mean to yell at you. That was more of an answer to the voices in my own head
telling me to go back. If this could mean the difference between winning the
war—even give us a better chance at winning—I have to do it. I’ve
done nothing except for the things I shouldn’t have been doing with my
abilities for too long. I have to. If not for myself then for Jacob and Arther.”
Danielle didn’t say a word. Instead,
she took a step towards the iron-braced wood door. Alan knew she was thinking
about her lost friends. She hadn’t shed a tear in front of him but he could
guess that once the war was over she would do her fair share of mourning.
Instead of voicing any of this, Danielle responded with, “Alrighty then, after
you.”
Alan balled his right hand into a tight fist and
rapped on the large wooden door. The echo of his knock reverberated inward.
Alan took a step back and waited. Nothing.
“Well,” Danielle said turning to
move down the stairs, “We tried. What else can we do? Maybe Michael gave us the
wrong museum.”
“No, wait,” Alan said knocking again and this time
much harder. “I think I hear something.”
Another moment passed in silence.
Then a harsh grating rumble from the opposite side of the thick door. The noise
of heavy steel on steel made them wince as the sound bordered on that of nails dragging
across a chalkboard. The barrier swung inward and Alan was face to face with a
large darkly skinned man wearing a brown robe. The man looked Alan and Danielle
up and down without saying a word.
Alan wasn’t sure what to expect when the door was
answered. The monk-like clothing and lack of any kind of greeting however were
not among the things he anticipated. “Ummm… Hello,” Alan started. “We were here
for—”
“You speak English,” the wide-shouldered
man acknowledged in a thick German
accent.
“Ah—yes, yes that’s right. We were here
for—“
“The tour, of course. I am Jericho.
I apologize for the awkward greeting. It’s just that we weren’t expecting you
and your wife for another hour. Please come in.”
Alan stood stunned as Jericho transitioned from a
stone-cold bouncer to a friendly host in the blink of an eye. “Oh, no. I think
there may have been a misunderstanding. We’re here—“
“Oh, yes, of course,” Danielle
interrupted. “The tour. Yes, silly us. I apologize. My husband has a bad memory.
All those drugs, you know. Sorry for showing up so early.” Danielle said this
without skipping a beat. She even laced her right arm in Alan’s as she smiled
at Jericho.
The large man looked confused for the briefest
moment before a smile crossed his face again. He motioned them inside. “Well,
mistakes happen to us all. If you would please come inside, I’ll notify your
tour guide that you arrived early. I’m sure he will not mind.”
Alan and Danielle slowly walked
into the primeval museum. The first thing that struck Alan was the smell. A
musty scent tickled the inside of his nose, begging him to release a sneeze. At
the same time, the lack of any noise pushed his nerves even closer to the edge.
“I’ll be just a moment. Alexander will be so happy
to give you a tour, I’m sure. It’s not often we get visitors to our little
museum. Well, with the remoteness and all. Most people choose to visit larger
museums or cities with modern art. When the staff heard we had visitors coming,
well, you can imagine our excitement. I’ll be right back.” With that, the large
man who now seemed anything but intimidating turned and hurried away.
Alan shook his head replaying the events of the
last few moments. Jericho was now talking to them as if they were longtime
friends. When Alan was sure their grandfather-like host was out of hearing
distance, he turned to Danielle with a frown. “Lying to them to get inside is
probably not how we want to start this relationship.”
Danielle’s arm slipped from
underneath his as she shrugged, “It got us in didn’t it?”
Alan looked around and nodded. Sunlight streaming
inside from the windows poorly lit the interior. Glass cases full of artifacts
lined the walls. Expertly drawn pictures of men and women hung above the cases.
“Are you sure we are in the right place? Maybe Michael did give us the wrong
museum after all.”
“I don’t know,” Danielle said. “I
haven’t seen any weapons and Jericho doesn’t strike me as the type to
annihilate countries.”
Before either of them could get another word in,
they heard feet approaching at a quick pace from a hall to their right. Soon Jericho
could be seen following in the wake of a tall but less bulky man wearing a
traditional suit and tie. “Hello,” the man said with perfect English. “I am
Alexander. I’ll be giving you a tour of our museum.”
He approached quickly and extended
a hand first to Alan, then to Danielle. When Alan embraced Alexander’s hand, he
felt the man’s strength. He felt the same heated sensation when his own powers
manifested. His grip was strong but not crushing. The heat washed over Alan’s
hand, snaking up his arm.
We’re definitely in the right place,
Alan
thought to himself.
After Alexander shook hands with Danielle,
he proceeded to make small talk. “Well, you are a bit early; however, that is
completely fine. Our first priority here at the museum is to ensure we
accommodate our guests in anyway we can.” Alexander paused and looked over
Alan’s left shoulder at Jericho’s grinning face. “Jericho, if you don’t mind.
I’ll be starting the tour now.”
“Oh,” the giant’s smile turned into
a frown as he sensed his time with the museum's visitors coming to an abrupt
end. “Yes, of course.” He turned reluctantly to Alan and Danielle, “If there is
anything you need please don’t hesitate to ask. It is so nice having visitors.
I’ll be at the entrance in case we have any other guests.” Jericho’s smile
turned into a frown, “However unlikely that thought is.”
Alan gave the man a genuine smile, “Thank you, Jericho.”
With that, the hospitable giant
turned and slowly walked away.
“I’m sorry for Jericho,” Alexander said,
“Unfortunately, our duties here make us some what of recluses. Jericho has had
a difficult time with the transition.”
Alan exchanged a knowing look with
Danielle.
“Anyway, allow me to take you on a tour of the
grounds. If you have any questions please do not hesitate speak up.”
For the next half hour, Alan
feigned interest as he wondered how he was going to ask Alexander about the
celestial weapons. As Alexander pointed out rare artifacts, precious jewels and
one-of-a-kind art pieces, all Alan could think about was how to broach the true
reason for their visit.
Although Danielle didn’t say a word
about the true intention for their visit. Alan knew she was thinking the same
thing. Thus far, the tour had taken them through half of the museum into the
adjacent backyard full of statues and artwork then back inside following a u-shape
to the museum halls. There had been no sign of weapons of any kind. Unless one counted
a decorative cheese knife, which Alexander explained belonged to some royal
prince of the region. It was precious now because the prince had died from
choking on a block of cheese.
You have to say something. You’re going to ruin
this whole thing if you don’t. The couple you are impersonating will be here
soon. They’ll know that you are lying.
Alan could feel a sheet of sweat
forming on his brow. His heart set a pace similar to the bass at a rock concert.
He knew his time was ending. He had to do something quickly.