Airs & Graces (35 page)

“Tabby Cat say anything to you before he got pulled into the portal?” Gabriel asked gently.

I fixed her with a hard look, chewing my bottom lip for a minute. “Yeah.” I hedged and chose my words carefully. “He told me to find Haziel, said they were in West Livingston on death row.”

All the Archangels leaned back in their seats at that and exchanged pointed looks, and I felt a swell of panic, I held my breath, cursing myself inwardly for trusting them but what other choice did I have? ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’ was about the only thing I had to go on here, and hell, Lucifer was Michael’s oldest enemy. Right now Lucifer was definitely my enemy too, as long as he had Tab. I had to do everything I could and then some to get him back…

“Gabriel, you are friends with Tabbris. Help her to find Haziel. And Mortal – ”

I stood up abruptly. “Addy.” I fixed Michael with a pointed look. “My name is Addy, and I’m going to get Tab back, and where Tab is, the keys are, but as far as I’m concerned, Tab has them, and they’re Tab’s keys. Only thing all of us can agree on at this point is those keys being in Hell is
a really bad
idea. We can revisit all this bullshit once Tab is out. Once I get him out. Until then, we’re allies, and trust me: I don’t like it either. You’re a total dick.”

Again the Angels all exchanged a look, and it was like they were talking things over, but I couldn’t hear them. Finally, Michael inclined his head in my direction.

“Fair point well made, Addy,” he said, and my heart gave a sharp, fractured ache. Piorre always used to say that.

“Maybe Raphael here is right,” I said. “Maybe you have other, more admirable qualities than being a domineering douchebag. Which isn’t cute by the way. You should work on that.”

“I believe we can all agree that you could work on a few things too. Your…” He cleared his throat. “…vocabulary may be a good place to start.”

“My vocabulary is just fucking fine,” I grumbled and retook my seat. Uriel choked on a laugh, and Gabriel grinned broadly.

“I think I might be in love with you!” she cried, and I looked at the lush wood tabletop.

“How do I get into a maximum security prison, let alone death row to see this Haziel?” I asked.

“Leave that to us. For now, we eat, then you must rest,” Michael declared.

“See, there you go again. Domineering douchebag does
not
look good on you.”

He scowled. “You need rest. Preparations must be made, and steps must be taken to ensure your success. Eat. Sleep for a few hours, and we will fetch you as soon as you may be underway.”

I closed my eyes and nodded. He was right. I hated it, but he was right. Going off halfcocked wasn’t going to save Tab but, rather, put the whole cosmic balance in a tailspin.

Please be okay, Tabbris. Just please, be safe. I need you, okay? I’m coming to get you. I don’t know how yet, but I’m going to find Haziel, and I am coming to get you. Just hold on…
I prayed, but I had no notion on if those prayers would be answered and no idea if they could be heard all the way down in Hell. I opened my eyes to four somber and plaintive looks.

Dinner was kind of a disaster after that. No one spoke. No one would even really look at each other, and the food, while it looked good, tasted like cardboard – at least to me. I was grateful when Gabriel stood to take me back up to my room.

“Tab’s good at survival, Honey. Just try to keep that in mind, okay?” she said and leaned in and kissed my cheek. I jerked back and fought down some tears, instead relying on some of my smartass to get through the next few seconds without bawling.

“Seriously, Gabriel? Now? You classless bastard,” I said, mock dispassionately, and she laughed.

“God, I like you, Cupcake! You’re a riot,” she said and left me at my door. I opened it and went in, exhausted and wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed. I froze at its side, though. Sitting in the center of the neatly made crimson coverlet was a shiny metal canteen.

I looked up, back towards the door and then back around to the bed. It was still there. I edged closer, picking it up between my hands…

“Something better… Does this mean we’re both okay?” I whispered, but there was no answer. Of course there wouldn’t be, but I had a profound sense that this was exactly what it meant. That we were both okay, and that we would survive… something better waited for us. Both of us. Because wasn’t that what I had prayed for? More specifically, what struck me, was
who
I had sent that particular prayer to.

“Thank you, God…” I breathed and hugged the canteen to my chest. “Thank you, God.”

Chapter Twelve

Tabbris

I’d been dragged to Hell before. I didn’t intend it to go quite the same way this time. I was pulled into a colossal cavern – underground, full of flowing rivers of lava, with enough room for the giant to maneuver. Hell’s geography has a lot of variety, but I suspect someone wanted me to have the classic image of the pits, to leave absolutely no question where I’d ended up. As if I could ever be at all uncertain. Far worse than the giant’s grip, the oppressive heat, the stinging smoke, the smell, or the presence of the Grigori was the absolute certainty of being outside of God’s Grace. I could feel the emptiness creeping into me, with the accompanying despair and depression. I fought them off and focused on the task at hand.

My sword arm was mostly pinned, but I used what wiggle room I could manage to change the angle of my sword, then pushed while extending the radiance – enlarging the blade until it plunged deep into one huge finger. The hand reflexively opened, but instead of dropping, I pulled myself up onto the Nephil’s wrist, and started running up his arm.

He swatted at me with the other hand, but I managed to pull up just short and avoided it, then slashed at one finger, cutting deep into it. When the hand pulled away, I continued running, leaping, and climbing in turns, always just barely avoiding more swats and clumsy grabs, until I was pulling myself up onto his shoulder. By this time, some of the Grigori had noticed the problem and were flying up to help.

Running out of time, I thrust my sword into the giant’s neck as deep as I could, and then channeled a smiting through the blade. What Gabriel had done to the frat house’s TV and wall, I did here. What started as a nasty pin-prick to the giant turned into an explosion, nearly separating his head from his body.

The giant staggered, heavy footsteps crushing some of the hellhounds and a couple of the Fallen, while flailing arms batted more of the Fallen out of the air. I held on while he staggered like, well, a chicken with its head cut off, trampling my enemies and threatening to fall on more. Thoughts of pursuing me turned to thoughts of evasive maneuvers, as Grigori and others scattered and sought cover.

After a few near things, the body began to fall backwards. Spotting a cave mouth, lined with teeth-like stalactites and stalagmites in the wall, I timed my jump off the giant’s shoulder at the nearest point. I couldn’t fly, thanks to the anchoring, but in spreading my wings, I managed to add a few more feet to the leap by gliding. I barely caught onto the stone lip. I pulled myself up and into the cave, only just getting to safety when the whole room shook with the impact of the fall, and portions of the roof started to cave in. I held on as best I could in the midst of the small earthquake. In all, from the sounds and what little I dared look out to see, I was faring much better than the denizens of the open cavern. Underground like this, even a small quake could be disastrous, well beyond the fall of the Nephil, which had caused them enough problems.

I took a better look once the shaking stopped, and it became clear that the cave in which I’d sheltered wasn’t going to give way. The giant had shattered the floor, and large portions of the cracked stone and anything on them were sinking into the lava. Everyone who wasn’t trapped ran for the exits. Even those who would survive a lava bath just fine, including the majority of those below, would still find it unpleasant. Others sought to try to rescue those stuck under the giant, if they could be rescued, while the massive body sank into the molten rock. All in all, I couldn’t have hoped for a better re-entrance.

As soon as I verified that there were no signs anyone had seen where I had gone – and particularly that no one was pursuing me just yet – I took off deeper into the cave. Eventually, I’d need to find my way around. I was in unfamiliar territory, and any turn or twist could be a dead end.

What Lucifer had said about allowing the Archangels to come and rescue me before rang at least somewhat true. I knew that he was afraid of Michael and that much of his planning had to do with setting up a situation where he’d never have to face the Archangel on anything like even terms again, so part of it was probably hesitance to challenge him as well. Still, this was his home and realm, and I doubted that Michael and the others were going to manage another grand rescue. In time, for the keys, they’d try to figure something out, and Michael might even want to go charging in – but it wouldn’t work this time. Even if it did, I didn’t intend to be in some torture chamber. If I were, by that point, Hell would have the keys.

No, I was on my own for now. I was alone in Hell, and I had the keys that could launch Judgment Day. I needed to keep myself out of the hands of Lucifer, the Grigori, and anyone and everyone else here, and more importantly, keep the keys safe. I had no help, but I also didn’t need to slow down for rest, or to protect anyone. Adelaide was safe – or at least I hoped she would be. Michael would have been upset, but Gabriel had seemed to have a change of heart, and Raphael, while he followed orders, was a healer, not one to be needlessly cruel – or to stomach needless killing if the orders didn’t come from above. Yes, she’d be safe. I had to convince myself of that much.

I headed deeper into the caves, doing my best to memorize its twists and turns, while always trying to make my way higher up. If I was on my own, then I eventually needed to come up with an escape plan, or at least to make sure if there was a plan, I was set to meet it halfway.

Eventually, I felt that I’d finally covered enough ground to set camp to take stock of my situation. I also wanted to start finding some defensible locations, in case. Only then did I hear it: Adelaide’s voice. Locked away like this, prayers were hard to hear, but this one was directed to me. “
Please be safe.”
Those words were the clearest part. Even the rest, unclear as it was, was everything I needed. Her prayers would help me, and more importantly, locked away from God’s sight, deep in the pits, they gave me hope. Where before, I had to trust, now I knew she was alive, safe, and still thinking of me.

This prayer was brief, but it was something to cling to. And I swore that somehow, I’d find my way back to her, even if I had to storm the Gates of Hell from the inside.

Glossary

Angel
: a spiritual being and servant of God, from the word for ‘messenger’

Archangel
: a higher-ranking Angel

Asbeel
: Fallen Angel
of the Grigori whose
name means ‘God has forsaken.’

Demon
: a lesser supernatural being and denizens of Hell, from a different word for ‘messenger.’

Fallen
Angel
: a spiritual being who rebelled against the Grace of God

Gadreel
: Fallen Angel of the Grigori.

Gabriel
: Archangel whose name means ‘hero of God.’ Primary divine messenger.

Grace
: a gift bestowed by God. Also the essence of an Angel.

Grigori
: ‘The Watchers,’ a group of Fallen Angels, fathers of the Nephilim.

Hadad
: an ancient Middle Eastern storm god, worshipped under the title Ba’al.

Iaoel
: Angel of Visions

Kasdaye
: a Fallen Angel of the Grigori

Lot
: the Biblical patriarch Abraham’s nephew, who immigrated to the city of Sodom.

Michael
: Archangel whose name means ‘who is as God.’ General of the heavenly host.

Nephilim (singular Nephil)
: Biblical giants, offspring of the Grigori with human women.

Penemue
: Fallen Angel of the Grigori

Rahab
: Fallen Angel whose name means ‘violence.’

Raphael
: Archangel whose name means ‘the shining one who heals.’

Samyaza
: a General of the Fallen Angels

Sodom
and
Gomorrah
: City-states in ancient Canaan infamous for their callous wickedness.

Tabbris
: Angel of Free Will

Uriel
: Archangel whose name means ‘God is my light.’

Yequon
: Fallen Angel of the Grigori