Confronting the Fallen (34 page)

“
Because
the judge's ancestor only drew one part of the painting,” the
man replied. “Perhaps he was rushed, or simply didn't think it
was important.”

“
Or
perhaps he didn't want to believe it,” Judge Hawkes said
quietly.

“
What
are you talking about?” Chris asked, mystified.

“
Look
there,” the rabbi said and pointed to the right of the painting
with his flashlight. Immediately, everyone else pointed theirs as
well and the section of wall blazed with light.

“
Oh
my God,” Natalie muttered in shock. Chris just stared.

There
were two more enormous figures next to Sariel. The one furthest away
was an obvious demon. Webbed wings, its hooded head covered in flames
and a long jagged knife clasped in its hand. And between Sariel and
the demon was an angel. But it wasn't standing like Sariel and the
demon. It was kneeling, both hands clasped to its face. And its wings
were lying on the ground beside it, severed. It was one of the
saddest things that Chris had ever seen.

He
stared at it for a few minutes and then looked at the judge. “I
don't get it, sir. It's a very sad picture but what's it mean? And
what does it have to do with Sariel?”

Natalie
was looking at him as if he'd just said the dumbest thing ever. He
felt himself blush and then said defiantly, “I'm sorry but I
really don't get it.”

The
judge didn't answer. Instead, the rabbi looked at Chris and, seeing
his obvious confusion, answered him gently.

“
Chris,
that is obviously Sariel. And the one at the end can only be the
great betrayer, Satan. So who do you think that is in the middle?”

Suddenly
it all clicked in Chris' mind. “Wait a sec,” he said.
“That can't be Michael! He wasn't involved in the fight between
Sariel and the devil. Sariel said he stopped his brother from
attacking God. He cut off his wings. He...” His voice trailed
off as he stared at the image of Michael. “Oh damn,” he
said. “It was Michael? He attacked Michael? But why would he do
that?”

“
Precisely,
Chris. Why would he?” The judge spoke as he looked at the
pictures. “This is altogether new. We've never heard of this
before. And now we have to question all of our preconceptions. Is
this why Sariel was banished from Heaven? Did he leave on his own, as
he claims, or was he cast out by God, as Satan was? Are he and his
demonic brother enemies? Or allies?”

“
No
way,” Chris averred. “Not a chance. Sariel may not be
lily white, but he isn't evil. If he was, that would mean I am too.
And I'm not.”

Aren't
you? a little voice inside him whispered. It wasn't Sariel, it was
his own self-doubt. Look what you did on the street. All those times
you say you only did “what you had to do”. Good excuse.
Isn't that what Sariel says too?

Judge
Hawkes turned away from the pictures and looked intently at Chris. “I
don't doubt you, Christopher.” His voice was firm and Chris
felt a rush of relief and gratitude. “There is more to this
story, yes. But you are a reflection of your inner angel and you,
young man, are a good person. This,” he pointed at the middle
painting. “is obviously a lie. History rewritten by those who
created this place.”

The
rabbi made a little noise of dissent but when the judge glanced at
him, he reddened. “You're right of course, Ethan. Christopher
could not have entered the Nest if he were truly evil. Angelica only
passed our wards with your permission.” Then he smiled at
Chris. “And I've heard Eliza and her brood love you. Animals
see clearly, Christopher. Sometimes more clearly than man.” He
reached out and gripped Chris' shoulder firmly. “Forgive my
momentary doubt. I should have known better.”

“
Thanks,
sir. I appreciate that. I'm going to talk to Sariel and get to the
bottom of this. You have my word.” Chris looked up at Sariel's
picture again. “I just wish I knew what happened to him.”
He stepped up to the wall and touched the cold surface. “Ouch!
What the...”

The
jeweled eyes glaring down at them all suddenly blazed with blue
flame. All around them the shrine shook and dust filtered down from
the ceiling. And as Chris looked down at his hand, he saw that his
middle finger was bleeding and the ring on it was shining with the
same blue light that was being emitted from Sariel's eyes.

The
rumbling continued and Chris saw the team members staring up at the
ceiling in fear. The thing could come crashing down on them at any
minute. And on top of the deep vibration, Chris heard some loud bangs
coming from the direction of the stairs.

“
What
going on?” he asked the judge loudly. The man looked over at
the torches that marked the stairwell.

“
I
think we're about to have company, Christopher. And I think you've
also received a sign that a sword piece is very close. I doubt it is
a coincidence.”

Chris
was almost jerked off his feet as his arm swung around of its own
volition. It was pointing across the shrine toward the far-off altar.
“Um, at a guess I'd say we go that way,” he said
half-jokingly.

“
No
kidding, Einstein,” Natalie giggled nervously. “Let's
move it before we have company.”

“
Good
advice.” The judge looked at the security team. “George
and Beatrice, I want you to go back to the stairs. Keep watch. If we
have intruders, don't engage. Come back to us and we'll take it from
there. Understood?”

Both
of them nodded and raced off toward the stairs.

“
Everyone
else, follow Christopher.” He nodded at Chris who began to walk
quickly, allowing the ring to lead him.

As
he thought, they ended up standing in front of the altar. As they
reached it, his arm dropped to his side and Chris tried to rub the
numbness out of it. He looked down at the ring and saw that he was
still bleeding. He shook his hand and tiny droplets of blood
scattered across the dusty floor.

“
So
where is it, Chris?” Natalie asked. The others walked around
the structure, examining it with their flashlights.

“
I
have no idea, Nat. I just followed the ring, remember?”

“
Oh
great. A scavenger hunt,” she said sarcastically and she began
to run her hands over the front and top of the altar. A cloud of dust
rose from the top and Natalie backed away, coughing. “Even
better, a dusty, dirty scavenger hunt.” She wiped off her face
and kept searching.

Chris
just stood there and stared at the many fight scenes. What's
different here, he wondered. What am I looking for? He had the
feeling that he was expected to do something or notice something, but
he had no idea what it was. 'Come on, Sariel,' he thought urgently.
'A little help here?' Still nothing. Okay, he thought. My inner angel
is officially a pain in the ass.

He
began to circle the altar as several of the other team member were
doing. Chris looked at each pairing closely but except for the fact
that every single angel was losing, which he found very distressing,
they weren't really that much different from each other. So what am I
supposed to see? And then he reached the back of the altar...and
there it was.

“
Um,
guys?” Chris said excitedly. “Look at this.”
Everyone hurried over to stand next to him and shone their
flashlights at the spot where he was pointing.

“
Chris,
what exactly are we supposed to be looking at?” Natalie asked.
She sounded like she was straining to be patient.

“
Don't
you see it? There, in the corner.” He pointed to a small
carving almost lost in the many pairs of fighting angels.

Natalie
crouched down and shone her light on the little picture, “Well,
what do you know? It's a sword.”

“
Exactly.
A sword.” Chris knelt down beside Natalie. “'Scuse me,
Nat,” he said and she moved to the side as Chris contemplated
the carving for a moment. Then he reached out and touched the stone
with his bloody ring.

Blue. The
stone shone blue, deeper than any shade of blue that Chris had ever
seen. And inside of the blue, the stone faded and became opaque, as
if turned to crystal. Chris could see a small compartment through the
clear stone and when he pushed against it, the stone shattered with
the sound of tinkling glass. He reached in and pull out the contents.
Then he slowly stood up and opened his hand for everyone to see.

It was a
rod, about nine inches in length. It was silver in color with braids
of gold woven through the metal. At one end was embedded the biggest,
bluest sapphire that Chris could imagine. At the other end, the
silver was broken off and jagged shards of metal gleamed dangerously.

“
What
is it, judge?” Chris asked. “A rod?”

The judge
reached out and ran his fingers above the length of metal. Chris saw
that he was careful not to actually touch the object.

“
No,
not a rod, Chris. It's a hilt. The hilt of Sariel's sword.”

“
A
hilt?” Natalie sounded confused. “Isn't a sword hilt
suppose to have like a guard on one end? You know, so it's shaped
like a cross?”

“
Normally,
Natalie, swords often do. But Sariel told Chris that the sword had
broken into three pieces. The hilt, the crosspiece and the blade. And
this is the hilt.”

“
Huh.
Pretty enough, I guess but not exactly awe-inspiring, is it?”

Chris had
to agree. Still, it was the first piece and that was something. 'I
hope you're happy about this,' he thought to Sariel. There was no
reply but by now Chris hadn't expected one.

“
Well,
that task is done,” the judge said briskly. “I hope to
come back here one day, but for now...”

A
suddenly clattering of footsteps startled them all and they looked
over in time to see George and Beatrice stumble to a stop next to the
altar.

“
Footsteps,
your honor. A lot of them. They're in no rush but we only have a few
minutes.”

“
Thank
you, Beatrice.” Judge Hawkes looked at the team. “We're
in a bad spot, obviously. Only one way in or out, no defensible
position and I'm guessing that we'll be outnumbered. We may as well
stay here, keep the altar to our backs. Team members; weapons
please.”

As Chris
watched, startled, the security team dropped their packs into a pile
off to the side, pulling out weapons as they did so.

Most of
them were swords, silver and gleaming with a moonlight kind of glow.
Beatrice held two long knives while the other woman, Ramona, pulled
out a flail; a nasty looking weapon with a silver spiked ball hanging
off a chain and attached to a long handle. She looked very
experienced with it. They all look experienced, Chris thought.

The judge
turned to the rabbi. “Rabbi Eddleson, do you have time to
prepare?”

The rabbi
smiled grimly. “I am prepared, judge. I will wait for the
proper moment.”

Judge
Hawkes nodded. “I leave that in your capable hands.” Then
he looked at Natalie. “Gloriel?”

“
On
her way,” Natalie replied. She smiled at Chris. “Talk to
you later, my friend.”

“
Um,
yeah. Okay,” he said hesitantly and then shielded his eyes from
the bright, glorious light that blasted out of Natalie in all
directions. And where she had been standing, stood Gloriel.

Chris
caught his breath. She was the tallest angel he'd seen yet. Not as
big as Sariel had been when he confronted Anna for a moment in time,
but much taller than Janariel and Astriel. She towered almost ten
feet high and wore a silver breastplate, intricately carved. And her
wings weren't pure white like the other angels either. They shone a
bright, shiny copper. In fact, they almost looked metallic and as she
turned to face the distant doorway, Chris thought that the sound of
the feathers rubbing together was like metal on metal. Obviously, her
wings weren't just wings; they were weapons.

“
Welcome,
Gloriel,” the judge said warmly. “It's been a long time.”

She
turned and looked down at Judge Hawkes. It was Natalie's face, though
much larger and her black eyes glinted like onyx. Chris was confused
because, instead of Nat's short bob, Gloriel's hair hung down her
back in waves almost to her waist. It made her look even more
different.

“
Too
long, Ethan,” she said in a resonating voice. She looked into
Chris' eyes and smiled. He felt a wave of warmth permeate his entire
body. “My thanks to Sariel for his healing, Christopher.
Natalie was beyond my own powers to heal. Now we are whole again.”
She turned back toward the door and her wings swept up above them and
spread wide, the feathers ringing like wind chimes. “Now we can
fight!”

“
We'll
need some more light,” the judge said. “George, Stevens?
Flares.”