Point Pleasant (47 page)

“How the hell are we supposed to stop him, let alone however many others?”

“
Sigils and salt. I will be there as well.
”

“What sigils?” Ben asked.

“
Marietta will complete them. I have given her the image
.”

“What, like in a book?”

Marietta tapped her temple twice with the pad of her right index finger.

“Cool,” Ben said, regarding Raziel with a curiosity he could not conceal. The archangel’s wings fluttered under Ben’s attention. There was an especially prominent patch of scarred skin on the outer edge of the left appendage, and Ben wondered if Tucker’s Remington bore responsibility for the disfigurement.

Marietta sighed, but Ben could not determine if the reaction was her own or Raziel’s.

“
The sigil must be transposed onto a stable surface. We will summon him to its center and bind him with a sanctified conflagration
.”

“So it’s like a fiery roach motel?”

“Must you make everything sound so crude, Benjamin?” Marietta asked, letting out another heavy breath.

“Hey, this is all really weird for me!”

“
Ben is quite good with words, Marietta. I find them pleasing. He speaks in a way that renders the inexplicable accessible
,” Marietta replied, and Ben found it especially odd to hear her vocalize Raziel’s response after what she had just said as herself. “
Do not judge him harshly
.”

“Okay,” Ben said, and he cleared his throat, wanting to veer the conversation away from himself, particularly as it was starting to sound like a book review. “When and where do we do this?”

“
Sundown
,” Marietta replied. “
The factory seems appropriate if not poetic
.
You must bring your friends. Five at least in addition to yourself and Marietta. Seven present participants is best. It is a divine number
.”

“Seven? I can’t even be sure Nic and Tucker would go along with this. Do you really expect me to persuade three more people to join in?”

Raziel nodded again.

“Even if I could, how am I supposed to feel okay about dragging a bunch of people into the middle of some supernatural war?”

“
They will be safe. I will ensure no grave harm befalls any of you
.”

“No
grave
harm
?
”

Raziel straightened, and his wings seemed to flitter with annoyance. “
Minor injuries, if any, are far preferable to the alternative, Ben. I do not think you understand the significance of what will happen tonight if we fail.
”

“No, I think I get it. New Gehenna and all. Tucker translated the recording.”

“
I know he did
.”

“Can I ask you something? I don’t mean to sound rude, but where the hell are all the angels like you? You said they might not have been able to locate you because of Azazel’s sigil, but that’s gone now. Shouldn’t you or Azazel be popping up on
someone’s
radar? If he’s about to open the floodgates to let in two hundred fallen angels, shouldn’t Heaven be a little concerned? And I’m not saying this to start some kind of theological discussion about why bad things happen to good people. This is
angel
business, so where are the angels?”

“
As I told you before, something has shifted. I do not know what, but the matter remains
—”

“Mysterious to you,” Ben said, cutting off Raziel. “I got that the first time. But this is their issue, isn’t it? And it’s not exactly comforting to know your buddies upstairs don’t care.”

The archangel’s wings arched in a manner that reminded Ben of Nicholas’ rigid posture whenever they argued. His eyes flashed, taking on a scarlet sheen, and Ben regretted his tone.

“
If they could intervene, they would
.”

“So you’re saying they can’t? Wouldn’t that mean there’s something more serious going on than just your asshole of a little brother’s plans to run wild on Earth?”

Marietta remained silent. Her gaze lingered on the archangel as if searching for an answer she could not find. For the first time, she seemed unsettled, and Ben shifted from one foot to the other as Raziel stared at the two of them.

“Why doesn’t he have a mouth?” Ben asked, redirecting the conversation once more.

Raziel’s features tightened as Marietta replied, “
It was removed
.
We had hoped it would limit the spread of his taint.
He has discovered other methods of communication, obviously. It is lamentable
.
But those same methods have also allowed our exchanges
.”

“True,” Ben said, running a hand through his hair. “Listen, I can’t guarantee seven people, but I’ll do my best.”

“
Have faith, Ben
.”

Ben raised an eyebrow at Marietta when she spoke the words. He glanced back to Raziel, but the archangel was gone. The sky was empty, and Ben scowled with irritation.

“Well, bye to you too, then!” he called out.

Marietta smacked Ben on the side of his head, but she looked regretful when Ben flinched away in pain.

“Hey! Jeez! Concussion over here!”

“Sorry,” Marietta replied. “But that
was
rude. You should show more respect. I told you once already, and I hate repeating myself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ben said and rubbed his head. “I’m gonna go before you hit me again.”

“I’ll meet you in the town square at five o’clock. Sun sets at half past six. Don’t be late, bring your friends,” she said, leading him through the house to the front door. “Gather up all the salt you can. We’re going to need every defense. I’ll make sure we’ve got everything else for the ritual.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ben said. “See you at five. And thanks for the grits.”

As he walked down Main Street, Ben felt lost. He did not have
friends
to ask. Not in Point Pleasant. Tucker had gone along with everything so far, and Ben would probably face little difficulty persuading him to join in on the ritual.

Nicholas would be trickier.

Alternatively, he
might
be persuaded to go, but he could try to toss Ben back into lockup to keep him away from the factory. Ben rolled his eyes at the thought as he approached the Sheriff’s Department.

Note to self, stay out of arresting range
.

That still left three people to drag aboard the crazy train, though. If Ben’s current reputation as town pariah had any influence, it would be a difficult task.

The Sheriff’s Department seemed to have returned to some semblance of normalcy. The grumpy officer from the night Nicholas had come in with his abused ear drum glanced up from reception. Half a dozen other officers flurried around the desks in the main hub of the station behind him.

“Sheriff was looking for you,” the officer said, and he seemed just as disinterested as he had four nights prior.

Ben squinted and read the badge on the man’s shirt front: ‘J. Richardson.’
Looks like someone delayed retirement
.

“I bet. He here?”

Richardson shook his head. “Ford sent him home. He was here all night, apparently.”

So was Ford
, Ben thought.

“Right. I’ll just go—”

Richardson shot Ben a reproving frown. “He’s probably sleeping.”

“Right,” Ben replied. “I’ll give him a while.”

Richardson nodded and turned away as if pleased to end their exchange.

“Thank you for your help,” Ben said, and he forced a smile even though the officer did not look back.

There was no time to give, of course, and Ben headed straight to Dunmore. He skipped up the steps to the porch of Nicholas’ house and rang the doorbell.

The door opened, and Nicholas stood in the entryway. He was freshly showered, wore a clean, pressed uniform, and had obviously not been sleeping.

“Get in here,” he said, pulling Ben inside by the dirty lapel of his coat before slamming the door. “You’re supposed to be at County getting a scan. Astrid said you just walked out.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had some stuff to do. Didn’t think you’d notice since you just
left
this morning.”

Equal parts exhaustion and exasperation radiated from Nicholas’ stiff shoulders as he pointedly ignored Ben’s comment and pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “I’ll drive you over myself, then. Even if I have to fucking swim you through the flooded roads.”

“Nic, I swear I’m fine,” Ben replied with a tone to match Nicholas’ frustration. “I don’t need a scan.”

“Ben, you’re not a doctor.”

“And you’re not my father,” Ben said. “So I’d appreciate it if you’d stop acting like him. I came over to talk, but if you’re just going to be like this, I’ll go.”

Nicholas ran both of his hands through his hair. “Ben, I’m
tired
. I haven’t slept. I’m in a shitty mood, and I don’t want to fight with you anymore.”

“I didn’t come over to fight,” Ben replied.

“Then why are you here?”

The coldness of Nicholas’ words caused Ben to flinch. He looked at the floor.

Nicholas offered an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry. See? Shit mood.”

“I’m gonna go out to Tucker’s,” Ben said. “Raziel needs us tonight.”

“Ben,
no
.”

“
Yes
,” Ben replied. “He needs seven of us out at the factory before sundown. Marietta’s going to perform the ritual to get his grace back. I’m going. You can’t stop me. And if you won’t be there, I’ll find someone else.”

“This is insane!” Nicholas exclaimed. The dam holding in the remnants of his patience seemed to burst. “You could have died yesterday!”

“And if we aren’t there tonight, the whole town is dead. Azazel is pissed. He’s going to open up some door and let a bunch of his friends in. The storm last night was no freak accident.
He
flooded the roads so we’d be trapped. Anyone who didn’t get out yesterday afternoon is stuck here, he’s made sure of that.”

“How many ‘friends,’ exactly?”

“I told you Tucker translated what he heard in that message from the road. It’s Latin. Azazel was talking about how he’s going to make Point Pleasant the ‘new Gehenna.’”

“What the fuck is a Gehenna?”

“
Hell
. And it’s apparently ‘writhing with the wings’ of two hundred fallen angels, according to Raziel. I guess they’re bored with it because they seem to have some kind of plan to occupy Earth, starting with Point Pleasant. They’re going to wipe your precious town off the map.”

“It’s your town too, Ben,” Nicholas said.

“Yeah, okay,” Ben said with a derisive snort. “Tell that to everyone who thinks I brought this here.”

“That’s not even important right now.”

Ben smiled, though the gesture was as bitter as a cup of his father’s coffee. “Maybe not to you.”

“Ben, I’ll go. Whatever needs to be done, I’ll do it, but you’re not going out there again. I told
you
last night.”

“And I told you to stop making my decisions for me.”

Nicholas’ jaw clenched, and Ben crossed his arms. Several tense seconds ticked past before Nicholas’ features finally softened.

“Fine. So it’s you, me, Tucker, and Abernathy. That leaves us with three spaces to fill.”

“It does. Any ideas?”

“I’ll get Ford and Thomas,” Nicholas said with assurance.

“They’d go along with it after last night?”

“I think last night was all the convincing they’d ever need.”

“Okay,” Ben said. “So we need one more. Who else is likely to believe us? What about Majors?”

“Majors didn’t come in this morning,” Nicholas replied. “Astrid said he wouldn’t open the door and told her he and Sarah will be taking their sick days. They have kids. I get it, I guess.”

“Well, let’s think. Who knows what’s out there? Lewis does, but she’s hardly the ideal.”

“She’s lost enough, Ben,” Nicholas said.

“I know.” Ben was quiet for a moment. He had an idea, but he knew it would make Nicholas balk. “What about the mayor?”

An expression of total incredulity distorted Nicholas’ features. Ben felt that familiar part of himself—the part that had started to close up and curl away just as he had done on the floor of the sheriff’s office—shrink at the sight of the cold glint in the blue eyes that had, only two nights prior, leveled him with unguarded affection.

“Do you want me to lose my fucking job?” Nicholas demanded, adopting a register to rival that of his father’s from the morning Tucker had dragged them back to the Sheriff’s Department.

“Of course not,” Ben replied, struggling to remain even-toned. “But Raziel appeared to him, which means he’s marked.”

“Silas would laugh his ass off if you told him any of this.”

“But he saw it!” Ben countered, though he frowned at himself for using the word ‘it’ to describe the archangel. “He saw Raziel!”

“Yeah, and he thinks Raziel is the bad guy. You try telling him there’s another thing out there and that Point Pleasant is trapped in the middle of some ancient family feud between a couple of angels.”

“I will,” Ben replied, raising his chin in defiance.

“You think you can just smile that suave smile of yours and get everyone to bend to your will, don’t you?”

“It’s worked before,” Ben said with dry indignation.

“I don’t like your implication,” Nicholas replied, fixing his frigid stare on Ben once more.

“And I don’t appreciate yours.”

They slipped into another silence and regarded one another through a fog of tension.

“I’ll talk to him,” Ben said finally. “I’ll tell him everything, but I’ll leave you out of it. It’s his town too. It would be fitting for him to actually
do
something to save it rather than just cower in his office and send you to do all the dirty work.”

Nicholas’ entire demeanor went rigid. “Is that what you think I do? That I’m just the mayor’s bitch?”

“You certainly were a few days ago,” Ben said, but he regretted the words immediately.

“Fuck you, Wisehart,” Nicholas said, his ire roiling off him like waves in a storm.