The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (21 page)

“
Huh. Good point,”
Natalie said as she sipped some coffee. “But then that leaves
them high and dry. And probably furious. And furious people sometimes
lash out without thinking. I wonder if we might expect some sort of
retaliation?”

“
Oh wow. I hadn't
thought of that.”

They all looked at Alysa
in surprise. Apparently she had been listening after all.

“
Do you think Lord
Hawkes will think of that? Maybe we should warn him.”

“
Naw, I don't expect
his lordship will be caught flatfooted by the likes of Scythe,”
Patrick said confidently. “They're mean and vicious, but dumb
as stumps too. If they try anything, he'll be ready for them.”

Chris wiped his mouth with
a napkin and refilled his coffee cup. Surprisingly, his plate was
empty. He looked up at Natalie to see her glance from him to his
plate and back again. She was wearing a self-satisfied smirk. Chris
just gave her a rather embarrassed shrug and looked at the others.

“
Don't forget we
have Ghost out there now too. He'll let the judge know if anything is
happening. Count on it.”

“
Really? I've never
even heard of Ghost. He sounds intriguing.” Anabelle looked
impressed but then noticed Natalie's frown. “What is it? You
look like you don't agree.”

“
Oh, I agree,”
Natalie said dryly. “It's just that I'm not, oh, comfortable
with Ghost. No one except the judge has ever met him. He managed to
escape the disaster at the Nest, while a lot of good people died. And
now he's up to his old tricks, hovering around the edges like one of
his namesakes. But he is good at what he does, I'll give him that,”
she added grudgingly.

“
Well, whoever he
is, one more ally is welcome right now, I'll admit,” Francis
said evenly. “After losing five people out of how many?
Forty-some regular humans and us four? Not counting you guys and your
people from the Nest,” he added with a look at Chris and
Natalie. “That's been a bit of a shock to me, at least. So
hurray for Ghost, I say.”

“
I agree,”
Alysa said excitedly. “I wonder if I, I mean if we, could meet
him? He'd be ever so fascinating to talk to, don't you think?”

“
Stop thinking with
your hormones,” Patrick chided her with amusement. “If
Natalie and Chris haven't met him, I doubt that his lordship will be
inviting him in for a social gathering.”

Alysa folded her arms
angrily.

“
Well, I think
that's just mean. There he is, hiding out in the trees or whatever,
probably cold and hungry, and we can't even have him in to tea.
That's downright uncivilized. Not to mention rude.”

Chris was doing his best
not to laugh at Alysa, but this last statement made him choke on his
coffee and he ended up coughing into his napkin to keep from spraying
liquid across the table. Natalie thumped him on the back, laughter
held firmly in check.

Meanwhile Anabelle was
staring at Alysa in disbelief.

“
He's not a lost
puppy, Alysa. My God, the things you come up with.” She pushed
herself away from the table and stood up. “I think I'm going to
go to my room. I feel the need for some quiet reading time. I'll see
you all later.”

And with that, Anabelle
left the room, shaking her head until she was out of sight.

“
Did I say
something?” Alysa asked, confused.

“
Dear, you always
say something,” Patrick answered her, sounding amused. He stood
up as well and looked down at Francis.

“
We have an
appointment, don't we?” he asked him, an excited glint in his
eye.

Francis looked around the
table with a smile. “I've been beating Patty on a regular basis
at his favorite video game.” He looked at his friend. “Looking
for some revenge, I take it?”

“
You've got it, old
chum. So stop stalling. Destiny awaits.”

“
Yes, I suppose it
does. What will this be, ten straight games that I kick your arse?”

Patrick laughed. “Said
the man about to lose.”

Both of them said their
goodbyes and left, arguing about who the better player was in a
companionable way.

Alysa sat back and looked
around.

“
My word, they've
all gone,” she fluttered. “That was quick. Well then, I'm
off too. There's a lovely program on television about the continuing
adventures of a girl from the west end.” She lowered her voice
as she looked at Chris and Natalie. “She's a jewel thief, but
she always manages to get involved with the most gorgeous men.
Terrifically exciting.”

She stood up and waved as
she left the room. And just like that, Chris and Natalie found
themselves alone.

“
Well, that was
quick,” Chris said as he looked around the dining room.

Natalie finished her
coffee and put down her cup.

“
It was, wasn't it.
I thought you were going to choke there for a minute,” she
added with a laugh. Chris joined her.

“
I almost did. That
Alysa. She's definitely one of a kind.” He thought about it for
a second. “But I like her. Nothing bad seems to bother her at
all.”

“
I suspect that's
because she's all caught up in her own little world.” Natalie
looked thoughtfully at the open door. “A strange choice for an
angel's place of residence, don't you think? Inside someone like
that?”

Chris pushed his hair out
of his face and back over his ears. It had fallen down when he had
had his coughing fit.

“
Oh, I don't know.
She's got a good heart, I'd say. And it doesn't seem like the angels
had much of a choice in whose body they ended up.” At Natalie's
quizzical look, he shrugged. “Well, we couldn't be any more
different, the six of us, could we? And Jacob and Tyler weren't like
any of us either. All nationalities, all from different types of
families. We're just...random, aren't we?”

“
Interesting point.
Maybe you're right.” Natalie stood up. “Are you going to
be okay? About Jamie, I mean?”

Chris pushed his chair
back and tossed his napkin on to his plate. Then he got up and the
two of them started to leave the room.

“
Oh yeah. I mean, it
makes me sad and mad at the same time, him choosing to work for the
bad guys like that. But I'm fine. I think Anabelle had the best idea,
though. I'm going to spend some time in my rooms. Watch TV or read or
something. I want to think this whole thing through.”

Natalie patted his arm
sympathetically.

“
You do that. I'm
heading to the kitchens. Chef has been teaching me the fine art of
baking and I have a lesson this morning.” At Chris' cocked
eyebrow, she reddened a bit. “What? I can't learn new things?”

He chose not to answer
such a loaded question. “Have fun,” was all he said and
they split up, heading off in different directions.

Back in his rooms, Chris
sat down on his couch and thought about Jamie and the rest of the
conspirators. And about the Angelic Dominion. Had something happened
to the rest of the judge's organization? And if it had, then what?
They had six Angelics here, and that was all. Not a lot of troops to
fight a war, was his bleak thought. If only there was a way to check
on those other safe-houses, wherever they were, quickly and in
person, instead of waiting for Judge Hawkes' associates to get there
and investigate.

And then he remembered
something, mentioned by Lilith of all people, and the memory made him
sit up and stare sightlessly at the fireplace across from him.

When Angelica had appeared
in the hidden temple where they had found the hilt to Sariel's sword,
she had been battered and bruised; a ruse as it turned out, to take
them off-guard. But when Judge Hawkes had asked her how she had
gotten there, what had she said?

Chris wracked his brain,
the answer hovering at the edge of his mind, teasing him. Ah, that
was it. He could hear her exact answer.

'I took the Angel's Road.'

That's what she had said.
And the judge had seemed disturbed by that. He had replied that Chris
and Natalie weren't strong enough to use that road yet. But what was
the Angel's Road? And if it could transport you that quickly, could
he, Chris, use it? Only one person could tell him, and Sariel was off
doing whatever he was doing in Purgatory.

He sat back with a
familiar feeling of frustration. Here he was, with one of the most
powerful archangels ever created riding around attached to his soul
and the guy was always absent. Hadn't Sariel said he would try to pop
in more regularly?

“
Damn it, Sariel,”
he said aloud.

And then he
let
out a little yelp of surprise.

You called?
came
the familiar voice inside his head.

Hey, it's you! Good
timing.

Timing? What timing? I
felt your need and came to see what was wrong, that's all.

Really? Well, this is
new. You didn't respond all the other times I needed you.
Chris
tried not to sound too accusatory.

Actually I did respond,
on a few occasions at least.
Sariel seemed
amused.
But I've settled things down back
home, at least temporarily, so I can attend to you more closely now.
So, what is the problem?

Chris quickly told the
angel about the events of the last few days. When he had finished,
Sariel's tone was grave.

Infiltrators? Oh my,
that is bad news. And no word from the rest of Judge Hawkes' people
is a very bad sign. So what would you like to do about it? I'm
assuming you have an idea of some sort?

Yeah, I do. It was
something that Lilith said, when she was Angelica. She mentioned
something called the Angel's Road. Do you know what she was talking
about?

There was a long moment of
silence in Chris' head and he sat on the couch not breathing,
wondering what Sariel was thinking.

The Angel's Road. Hmm.
That is something I haven't thought about in a very long time. And
you say that Lilith mentioned it? Then she must have been using it.
And the other Fallen probably are as well. That's explains a lot.

It does? What exactly
is this road anyway?
Chris asked anxiously.

Chris, would you get up
and go into the bedroom to the window, please? I feel better when I
am looking at growing things. If you remember, there is very little
life on the ground in Purgatory.

Surprised by the request,
Chris got up and headed into his bedroom.

Funny,
I feel the same way. A kind of peace when I'm
looking at the garden.

Not so funny, really.
We are, after all, two sides of the same coin.

Chris reached the window,
slipped the lock and pushed it up firmly. A waft of sweet scents
washed over him.

Ah, so much better.
Thank you.

Chris actually heard a
contented sigh echo across his mind.

And now, the Angel's
Road. I do not know why my Father created what some have come to call
the Angel's Road. Perhaps He foresaw the battles to come one day. It
is not for me to say. But throughout the Universe, there are
interweaving paths, unseen by mortals, that connect untold numbers of
planets together. And these major paths, let us call them highways,
split into smaller paths, streets let's say, that criss-cross each
planet like a web of light. That is what Lilith was talking about.

Chris was listening with
fascination. He could picture the Earth in his mind, surrounded by
curving lines of bright light.

So, could we use this
Road?
he asked with a touch of nervous
excitement. He was absently watching an older couple stroll languidly
along one of the white gravel paths in the garden.

Sariel sounded curious.
Perhaps. It would be very stressful on the
human body though. Not something I would recommend. Why do you ask?

Chris smiled a bit as the
couple he was watching stopped and bent down to sniff some flowers.
The man held his wife's elbow gently to keep her from overbalancing.

Because when the judge
told me that they'd lost contact with the other safe-houses, I think
there are six of them, he said that he'd sent people to check on
them. But that could take a long time, maybe days. So I thought, if
we could get there more quickly, using the Angel's Road, we'd be able
to react to whatever's happened a lot sooner.
He hesitated.
Seems to me that the Fallen are
one step ahead of us right now.

Hmm.
Sariel's hum was almost musical.
It does seem
that the enemy is increasing the speed of their assaults on this
organization.

In the moment of silence
that Chris assumed meant Sariel was thinking things over, he followed
the couple with his eyes until they disappeared around a hedgerow.
The woman let out a high-pitched, tinkling laugh just before he lost
sight of them and the sound carried all the way to the window. He
smiled again at the sound of her delight.