Confronting the Fallen (19 page)

Chris stared
at the judge in shock. “Betrayed? But, she can't do that! She
has the soul of an angel.” he hesitated. “Doesn't she?”

“
She
does, Christopher, although we were never able to identify the angel
who dwells within her. But demons are simply angels who turned away
from God and joined Satan. And Angelica and her angel's soul decided
to join forces with the darkness against us. We don't know why.”
The judge shook his head. He looked very unhappy.

“
Our
first and worst failure, Christopher. She used her knowledge to gain
favor with her masters. Several of our safe-houses were attacked.
Some of our youngsters were killed. It was a very bad time.”

“
She
sounds horrible, sir. And you're just going to let her walk in here?
Without any payback?” Chris was getting angry. How could they
let an enemy like that just drop in to the Hawkes Nest? It was crazy.

For the
first time, Chris saw a hint of coldness in the judge's expression.
“Young man, I did not reach the position of judge by being
foolish. Nor would 'payback' be particularly useful. Angelica is a
tool. She is being used by evil forces to try to learn something,
possibly related to events from last night. But we can also use the
same tool, by allowing her to learn only those things that we wish
her to learn. Do you understand?”

“
Yes
sir. I'm sorry. I'm just not used to this sort of thing, that's all,”
Chris said meekly. He realized that he'd crossed a line with the
judge.

Judge
Hawkes' expression changed. He smiled ruefully. “Forgive me,
Christopher. Naturally you wouldn't understand the machinations of an
old man.” He shook his head. “Our enemies are devious,
cunning and ruthless. We have to play the same game. In this case, we
have to try to find out what the opposition knows, about you and
anything else to do with our plans. Angelica was always a bit
arrogant. This will hopefully work in our favor.” He stood up
and walked over to his bookcase. Chris watched as the judge reached
up and firmly pushed the spine of a book on the right side of the top
shelf. There was a loud click and the bookcase quietly slid to the
left, revealing a narrow doorway beyond.

“
Follow
me, Christopher, if you would,” the judge said and walked
through the doorway.

Chris stood
up and hurriedly followed. A secret passage, he thought. Cool!

He entered a
small, bare room. There were no decorations hanging on the rough,
wooden walls and the floor was covered by a plain brown carpet. A
desk stood against one wall with four large screens placed side by
side above it. The desk was bare except for a keyboard. A leather
chair was pulled up in front of the desk and a single light shone
from the ceiling.

The judge
waved a hand to indicate the room. “One of the early Hawkes
added this little room for security purposes. I've modified it
somewhat.” He typed in a few keystrokes and the monitors came
to life. Chris was amazed to see images of the the judge's office
from four different angles.

“
You
have cameras in your office, sir?”

“
Indeed
I do. There have been many times when I've received visitors whose
actions were recorded for future reference.”

Chris stared
at the screens. He wasn't sure but he wondered if the judge and those
working for him were a bit paranoid.

“
I'd
like you to remain in here while I speak to Angelica, Christopher.
You need to see the enemy for yourself. And perhaps you'll understand
while I'm allowing her to enter our home,” he added dryly.

“
That's
okay, your honor,” Chris stammered, feeling embarrassed. “I
trust that you know what you're doing.”

“
That's
very reassuring, young man,” the judge smiled as he spoke. “But
Angelica is someone you should see regardless. She is a Fallen One
and, unfortunately, there are more of them out there working against
us.” He looked at Chris speculatively for a moment. “Our
other young people here, who have met their angelic souls, gain the
ability to identify these fallen angels as soon as they see them. It
is a fortunate turn of events and it would be good to know that you
too are able to do this, Christopher.”

“
You
mean, if I saw one of them on the street, I could tell right away
that they were evil?” Chris asked in wonder.

“
Precisely.
In the war to come, we will need any edge that we can get, and this
certainly applies as one.” The judge indicated the chair. “Take
a seat, Christopher and watch. We'll see if we can learn what our
enemies are really after.”

Chris sat
down and the judge left the room. The hidden panel closed behind him
and Chris watched the judge on the monitors as he returned to his
desk. Chris felt a bit light-headed. This is all happening too fast,
he thought. I need some time to process this stuff. Fallen angels?
What the hell?

A few
minutes passed and Chris heard the judge's phone ring. The sound from
the monitors was quite clear.

“
Very
well, Martin. Send her in,” the judge said and he sat back and
watched the door expectantly.

One of the
cameras was pointed right at the door to the office and Chris gasped
as it opened and a tall, slim figure walked into the room.

He wasn't
quite sure what he expected to see, but he assumed that Angelica was
a lot older than the other teens here. But she appeared to be no more
than nineteen or twenty years of age at the most. Her hair was very
blond, almost white, and it hung down her back to her waist. She wore
a simple blouse and jeans and she was smiling in a friendly manner as
she walked across the room and sat down in front of Judge Hawkes. She
was very pretty.

“
Good
day, Angelica,” the judge said, also smiling in an absent way.
“How lovely to see you looking so well.”

“
Ethan,
so good to see you again,” she replied. Chris was surprised to
hear her use the judge's first name but he seemed to take no notice.
The young woman had a noticeable British accent.

“
And
to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?” the
judge asked.

Angelica
laughed lightly. “Can't an old friend visit on a whim? Do I
really need a reason to be here?”

The judge's
smile remained fixed. “Of course old friends are always
welcome. But we were speaking of you, and your reason for stopping
by.”

His tone was
light but Chris watched the young woman's expression change. She
suddenly looked guarded and spoke more carefully.

“
Am
I not an old friend, Ethan? After all, I was your first charge, was I
not? You saved my life, as I recall.”

“
Perhaps
I did, Angelica. Or perhaps I was led to believe I did. Who can say?
In any event, we did not part on happy terms and I can't imagine why
you would walk into your enemy's stronghold as boldly as you have.”

Angelica was
silent for a moment. “You are a clever one, Ethan, I'll give
you that. Fine then. I do have a purpose beyond simply saying hello.”

“
Yes,
I thought as much.” The judge's expression was no longer in any
way friendly. He sat back and observed the young woman carefully, as
if she were some sort of wild animal. Chris felt a sudden danger in
the room.

“So, let us put aside this facade
of friendship and get down to it. What do you want?”

The young woman took her time
answering. She looked around the room and Chris saw that she noticed
the cameras watching her. He caught his breath as, for a moment, he
saw what looked like a flash of red in her eyes. But it was gone so
quickly he wasn't sure if it was just a trick of the light or not.
She made no comment about the cameras, except to smile to herself.
Then she focused on the judge again.

“I was informed by a...higher
power, shall we say, that there was an occurrence here last night.
Could it be that you are entertaining a new recruit? One that is,
perhaps, more significant than the other pathetic shadows that you
are hiding from the world?”

The judge tilted his head and narrowed
his eyes as he watched Angelica. “Hiding from the world? You
know better than that, my dear. Our young people come and go as they
wish. If they stay, they earn their keep. We certainly did not keep
you from leaving us when you had learned our secrets, did we? You
were free to leave and betray us and cause the death of several of
your close 'friends'.”

The young woman's face paled. “I
caused their deaths? Look in the mirror, Ethan. By taking them in and
exposing their souls, you marked them as targets. It is you who did
not leave them to live their lives in innocence. I did not betray
them.” She glared at the judge. “I did not betray you,
either, my old mentor. Nothing I learned here was of any use to
Hell's armies. They showed me the way to true power and wanted me for
myself; not like you, who wanted to use me and the others for what we
could do for your cause.”

Angelica stood up abruptly, rested her
fingertips on the desk and leaned down over the judge. He sat back
slightly but remained watching her calmly.

“I am here to warn you, Ethan,
one last time. We do not know what you are doing here or why there
was a surge of power in the Nest last night so bright that it
attracted the interest of my masters. But unless you turn aside from
your suicidal path, now, you will have crossed a line that cannot be
uncrossed. They have toyed with you so far. You were merely an
annoyance. But they are now concerned enough to turn their
considerable powers against you.” She stared down at the judge
with an expression that was almost compassionate.

“Turn aside, Ethan,” she
continued in a low voice. Chris leaned closer to the monitors to hear
her. “I would not see you and yours destroyed. In the name of
our once upon a time friendship, step away, before you are stepped
on.”

“Stepped on?” The judge
stood up and Angelica backed away from his desk. They stared at each
other and Chris noticed that they were exactly the same height.
“Well, thank you for that warning. Unfortunately, I know you
too well. You were the wrong messenger to send on this mission,
Angelica. They've taken notice of us? Toyed with us?” He
chuckled. “They have indeed noticed us, my dear. They are not
warning us; they are afraid. They have always been afraid, as any
bully is when confronted by those who will not back down. And now
they are more worried than ever before.” He looked at her
sadly. “I am so sorry that they are using you for this, but you
have chosen your side. You will not be allowed into the Nest again,
so please do not return. Tell your masters to look to their own
lives. We are here and we will stand and you and Satan will fall, be
assured of that.”

Chris watched in shock as Angelica's
beautiful face changed. Her expression was now one of loathing and
hatred.

“I will not be allowed into the
Nest? Ha! The next time I come back to this miserable hovel, it will
be to tear it down around your head and feed it and you to the
flames. How dare you presume. We do not fear you, or that little boy
you now shelter. What was his name? Ah yes, Christopher Wright.”
Chris' stomach churned as he heard his name and he listened
breathlessly.

“This street urchin may have some
small power, Ethan, but he will not stem the tide that is even now
rushing to wash you and yours away.” She paused and Chris saw
her make a concerted effort to calm herself. “I give you one
chance, Ethan. Just one, to save yourself and your charges. Give us
this child and we will leave you in peace. Give us Christopher
Wright. We can make some small use of his meager powers. Is it worth
the price you will pay to protect one unknown street kid?”

“Ah, finally you get down to your
real purpose. If he had no worth, you would not even be here,
Angelica. Even if he were no more than a wayward child, I would not
give him into your cruel hands. You should know that, my supposed old
friend.”

“Yes, I know,” Angelica
replied. She sounded resigned. “I told them that that would be
your answer, but they insisted I ask anyway.” She glared at the
judge. “I could simply rip this place apart to find him, Ethan.
You do know that, don't you?”

Suddenly, the door behind her slammed
open and she spun around, crouching down slightly. On the monitor
that showed the open door, Chris saw a hooded figure in a long
leather coat filling the doorway. His jaw dropped when the person
began to speak.

“You may try, Fallen One. You
will not succeed.” It was Jacob's voice. But there was a timber
there, an echo that Chris had not heard before. He shivered a bit.
“Make your choice.”

“Janariel,” she said,
loathing dripping from her voice.

“Yes, sister mine. Janariel, whom
you betrayed, along with your other siblings. You are done here.
Leave. Or fall. And from that fall, you shall not rise again.”

Chris listened, mesmerized. Jacob?
Fighting? He couldn't picture it. But his tone was deadly serious and
on the monitors it was obvious that Angelica was, if not afraid, at
least cautious. She glared at him then turned back to Judge Hawkes.

“Very well. Keep your prize,
Ethan. When next we meet, I shall take what I want from this place.”
She glanced at Jacob contemptuously. “And none of your little
pets shall be able to stop me.”

Angelica swept out of the room without
a backwards glance and Chris saw Jacob leave behind her. The judge
sat down again and seemed to wilt slightly. He stared down at the
desk for a moment, then looked up at a camera. “You may come
back in, Christopher,” he said.

Chris got up, flicked a switch beside
the closed door that slid open the bookshelf and walked back into the
office. He took a seat in front of the judge, but was careful not to
sit in the same chair that Angelica had used.