Imp Forsaken (Imp Book 5) (17 page)

I felt his misery across the mirror. “I understand, Sam. You’re the Iblis, and this is something you have to do. Please call me at least once a day, though, and let me know that you’re okay. I miss you so much. When I thought I’d never see you again…” His voice choked off into silence, and I knew.

“I promise I’ll come home as soon as I can, Wyatt. I’ll either contact you myself or have Dar or Leethu call you if I’m unavailable.”

I heard him take a ragged breath and I closed my eyes, imagining his warm skin against mine, the feel of his breath in my hair.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you, too,” he replied softly.

We held there, the line open, neither one of us wanting to break off. I still had Ahriman to talk to, my household to rally, Taullian to convince to fulfill my plan to let the humans go. But it could wait just a few more minutes while I imagined I was beside Wyatt, wrapped in his arms.

“I’ll drive down to Columbia Mall and have the gate guardian let Gregory know,” he finally said. “Amber can recognize her and can find the gate. That’s how I usually contact him, although he comes every few weeks to check if I’ve heard any news of you.”

“Thank you.” It was far more than I expected. I knew they disliked each other, but perhaps the threat of losing me forever had brought them together. “Can you tell him what I told you? And that there are more angels involved in this than the one I blew up at Oak Island? For his ears only. I don’t even know if I can trust the gate guardian with this kind of info.”

“I will, Sam.”

I took a deep breath, my heart aching. “I need to go talk to a few people then do some planning. I’ll call you tonight, or in the morning. Fuck, I don’t even know what time it is.”

“Five in the morning here. Although, I don’t know if time is the same where you are.”

“It’s close, usually within a few hours. Our days aren’t as consistent in length as yours are.”

Again we hesitated, and I reached out a hand to the mirror, wishing that I could reach through it and touch him, feel the sleepy warmth of his tan skin, the morning stubble on his cheeks.

“Talk to you soon, Sam. I hope I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“I love you too.” I touched the milky-white stone.

My heart felt like someone had clamped it in a vise and my lungs were tight with sorrow. I stood for a moment and stared into the mirror at myself, having a private pity party. Unfortunately, I couldn’t indulge myself for long. I needed to see Ahriman. Thankfully he wouldn’t mind my half-naked, burned body and signed hair. Demons don’t put much stock in formality. Besides, in spite of my sudden rise in status, I was still an imp. He shouldn’t expect much in terms of physical presence from me.

With a sigh, I turned away and walked out my front door into the blinding, red heat. I had a long walk ahead without my wings and needed to get going if I hoped to be back home before nightfall.

15

G
abriel walked the paved street of Parral, invisible to the humans, his white wings extended to catch the warmth of the sun. On one side of the road, a series of cement block and adobe buildings stood in a straight line. This wasn’t a wealthy neighborhood, yet it wasn’t a ghetto. Working class, he would have said. Parked along the street were older-model cars with splotches of grey primer and mismatched tires. The wrought iron fencing guarding the houses from the public sidewalk and street was rusted and missing much of the decorative scroll work. Children’s toys were strewn across lawns like confetti, echoing the bright paint on the houses.

There was a shimmer of light halfway down the street in front of a yellow-block convenience store, and Gabriel saw an angel appear, walking toward him with purpose. He flared his wings in a subtle display of status toward the younger angel and waited to be addressed.

“Ancient One. I am greatly appreciative of the audience you grant me, although, I am perplexed as to why we are meeting at this particular location.”

Tura seemed nervous, looking about him as if he feared to be seen, even cloaked as he was from human view. Gabriel remained silent, allowing the other angel’s discomfort to grow as he watched. After a quick glance at the houses beside him, Tura’s eyes strayed across the street, at the broad, green expanse of park. Finally he wrestled himself under control, assuming a disinterested air as he faced the elder angel.

“I’m researching a matter for the Ruling Council,” Gabriel said, his tone casual. Why would Tura be bothered by this location? A café in Italy, a park in northern Mexico—why was he nervous? “A report that I feel warrants additional scrutiny.”

Tura’s wings twitched as if he didn’t know where to place them, belying the polite expression of interest on his face. “A report? Can I assist in any way?”

Gabriel reached down to pick up a stone. “No. It is not a matter that concerns one of your level.”

Tura lowered his eyes, flushing slightly at the insult, his hands beginning to mirror the nervous movements of his wings before he clenched them into stillness.

“Speak,” Gabriel commanded, tossing the stone across the street and into the grass of the park. “I have no time for idle conversation.”

The other angel watched the stone’s trajectory before turning his gaze back to Gabriel. “We are almost ready to present before the Ruling Council but need additional demons to complete our research. We’d prefer to show our august leaders high-quality results, but all we have in storage is from Lows.”

“What are you requesting of me?” The only demon Gabriel had met in the past few decades was the Iblis, and she was an imp. “I don’t have a supply of demons tucked away somewhere for you to use.”

“We would like the assistance of a liaison from your choir. Someone to facilitate the supply through the gates and to transfer it to Aaru.”

“Why do you need my help for that? Isn’t there someone in your enterprise that can do this?”

A wry smile lit Tura’s face as he shook his head. “The process for angels to gain permission for repeated trips is prohibitively long, and we’re reluctant to journey here illegally, especially given the recent, shocking deaths. You have angels assigned to the Grigori. We’re hoping you could request one of them do this as a small, side duty. It would not require a burdensome amount of time.”

Gabriel considered the request. It would violate no angelic law. Even assigned to Grigori service, his choir was still under his command. He would just need to choose which of his angels would be most suitable. “I will arrange for one of my angels to meet you here at nightfall.”

Tura’s face was a mixture of relief and anxiety. “We are most grateful, Ancient One.”

“When would you like to schedule the presentation before the Ruling Council?”

Tura chewed on a lip thoughtfully. “Would two rotation cycles be sufficient time to call the meeting?”

Six days
. Odd how he was automatically translating into earth-time. Old habits were so easily revived. “Will you be demonstrating or presenting an actual offspring?”

“Noooo. I think it best we discuss the project at a high level.”

Gabriel frowned. Why wouldn’t they want to solidify their case with some proof of success? Nothing would sway the Ruling Council like seeing a newly created angel. Unless Tura lied, and the whole thing was a farce to stir up volatile emotions in Aaru that were currently barely contained.

“Have you
truly
been able to perform a successful formation? Did the creation survive in or outside of Aaru? Was it stable and worthy of the effort?”

“We have produced successful formation that would survive in Aaru until it can develop enough to manifest a physical form. But since we have the very lowest of demons, the offspring is not worthy at this point. We hope to try next for something even an archangel would be proud to call his own.”

Lovely rhetoric. Gabriel sensed he told the truth, but that there was something lurking behind the angel’s words.

“I want to see proof of creation, ensure this is a possibility before I schedule a meeting.”

Tura schooled his face in an expression of regret. “Right now the offspring has not been suitable. Everything we created was destroyed. We need higher-level demons before we can present anything to one of your stature.”

Gabriel frowned. Unsuitable. Because it was of a Low? Or in spite of Tura’s assurances earlier, had there been Angels of Chaos produced? Neither sat well with Gabriel. What criteria had Tura and his partners used to decide on life or death for a newly formed offspring? It bothered him this angel had made that determination. It bothered him that Tura showed no remorse, no hint the decision had cost him any moral pain.

“I thought you had a steady supply of these demons. What happened?”

The younger angel shifted, again darting a quick look around him. “The humans facilitating the exchange proved unreliable. Our supply chain was temporarily disrupted while we replaced them. It was a brief setback, and we are due to receive higher-level demons as soon as the next rotation cycle.”

“Then why can you not produce a sample of your success at the meeting? It should only take a moment once you have the demon essence you desire.”

Tura shifted his wings. “Please understand, Ancient One, we do not wish to promise this only to present an unacceptably low angel, or worse yet… one of
them
.”

A cold chill rolled through Gabriel. Yes. What would they do if Angels of Chaos were created? The idea both frightened and excited him.

“You assured me that wouldn’t be a problem.”

“It won’t. I vow that the only angels produced will be those of Order. I’m just concerned that with the short time frame we will not be able to create something worthy of the Ruling Council. If they approve of the project, then of course we will produce proof of successful creation. Members of the Ruling Council will have first access to the technology.”

Gabriel frowned. Instinct warned him to delay the presentation until there was proof, but he this meeting seemed to be the only way they’d truly find out the details behind Tura’s project, and be able to determine whether it fell within angelic law or not. It wouldn’t hurt to schedule the meeting to discuss the theory. They could always put it to committee or ask for a follow-up if Tura’s reports were ambiguous.

“We will need to see the tools in order to evaluate both the feasibility and the lawfulness of your project,” he warned. “Be prepared to show us both the storage mechanism, to ensure there is no degradation of the demon essence, and your method for formation. We’ll need to spend considerable time discussing the ethical implications of an unsatisfactory creation, as well as any barriers to eligibility for the program.”

Turas nodded as if he were one of those bobbing dolls Gabriel had seen on the dashboard of a car.

“Of course, Ancient One. Of course.” The angel vanished with a quick bow.

Glancing toward the park, he thought again of Tura’s anxiety when he’d first arrived. The cause may have been anything, but it was an odd coincidence, especially since the park was the very location the body of one of the recently deceased angels had been found. Still invisible, with wings tucked behind him, Gabriel crossed the road and hopped the embankment, dropping lightly to the grassy park a few feet below. It was a pretty spot with colossal trees and wandering dirt paths. Wooden playground equipment stood to his left on a large bed of mulch. To his right was a cluster of picnic tables with a small hibachi grill and metal trashcan, painted bright blue.

Pivoting, Gabriel walked toward the playground, painfully aware of how terrible it would have been had a dead body been discovered by human children racing for the swing sets. In some neighborhoods, that may have been a normal occurrence, but this was not one of those neighborhoods.

“Back so soon? Will we ever be free of you?”

Gabriel pivoted, hearing the words in Spanish from underneath the dappled shade of a towering tree. There sat an ancient man, gray curls tight against the sides of his head, encircling a bald pate. His eyes were white with thick cataracts. Beside him sat a cane, a brown bag with a banana protruding from the top, and a thermos.

“Abuelo, I’m sorry to disturb your restful outing. I will not be here very long.” The man must have heard his footsteps on the path, even though Gabriel was cloaked and normally moved with the silence of a shadow.

“You’ve come about the dead angel,” the man continued. “Drained, he was. Devoured until all that remained was a physical shell. The angel that came to collect him could barely tell he was one of theirs, but I knew.”

“Can you see me?” Gabriel asked in astonishment. “How do you know all this?” It wasn’t just that the man’s vision was obviously severely impaired, but that Gabriel was cloaked. No human should be able to see him. And he was fairly certain that any of his brother’s Gregori who came to collect the corpse would have likewise been hidden from human eyes.

“Angel of Water and Ice, of course I see you. I am not blind.” His voice rasped with a deep, throaty laughter. “I see many things, and others do not see me at all.”

Gabriel could imagine that was true—tucked under the tree in the shade, he was practically a part of the bark, his aura blending completely with the surroundings.

“Please tell me what you know of the dead angel, Abuelo. I will be very grateful.”

The old man shifted on the bed of moss that was his seat, looking pleased that someone was actually interested in what he had to say.

“An angel brought the body. He flew in, wings outstretched, cradling the man in his arms. It was a beautiful vision. Then he landed and tossed him onto the ground by the swings and flew away.”

Gabriel stared in astonishment. “An angel brought the body? Not a demon? Where was the fight with the demon?”

Demons devour, and not very many of them either, thankfully. If this man were to be believed, he had the sensory skill to know the angel died by devouring. But why would the body have been moved? Demons didn’t bother with that sort of thing, and the man had clearly said an angel had brought the body here.