The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (10 page)

Before they headed for the
doors, Chris caught the judge's eye and waved at the huge edifice in
front of them.

“
How did the
Dominion end up with a castle, sir?” he asked as he looked
around with undisguised awe. “I mean, it's not exactly low-key,
is it?”

Both the judge and Natalie
smiled at his comment, and Judge Hawkes folded his arms and stared up
at the ancient walls, bright white and gray in the afternoon
sunlight.

“
Well, it's mine,
Christopher,” he said simply. “The ancestral home of the
Hawkes. As the last of the line, the hulk came to me.” He shook
his head with an exaggerated sigh. “You would not believe the
cost of the upkeep for this place. My goodness, the energy costs
alone...”

Chris had been looking,
well, everywhere, and the number of cars parked across the yard
caught his eye. A mingled bunch of older cars and newer, more
expensive looking models were tightly packed in neat lines. A young
man, not wearing the usual suit, but instead wearing a bright yellow
vest over a t-shirt and jeans, was standing at the end of a row of
cars, idly staring at his cell phone.

“
So what's with all
the cars? Do you have a lot of staff here?”

At that moment, the
double-doors sprang open and a group of people, adults and children
talking and laughing together, swept out of the castle and down the
steps, passing Chris and the others with hardly a glance.

“
Ah yes.” The
judge followed the group with his eyes. “Tourists. We only use
the west wing of the castle. The rest is used to give tours to the
public. It helps to defray the costs of running the castle.
Somewhat.”

They began climbing the
steps.

“
Isn't that a bit
dangerous, sir?” Chris asked.

Natalie was staring at the
ground as they walked, her expression pensive. The judge looked at
her with a frown and then back at Chris.

“
Not really. The
west wing is very secure. And in an emergency, we can lock down the
entire castle if needed. However, we do have a larger staff than the
one from the Nest. Some of them act as tour guides. I refuse to allow
strangers to wander through the building without proper escort.”

The two other cars had
disgorged their passengers and Chef puffed up the steps to catch up
with them.

“
Happy to be home,
Ethan?” he asked genially.

The other staff members
stayed back, talking amongst themselves. Chris caught a few comments
and realized that only George had been to the castle before. The
others were asking him eager questions.

“
Home, Mario?”
Judge Hawkes shook his head slowly. “My home is the Hawkes
Nest. Always will be. This hunk of stone is part of my family's
history, but I have very little affection for it.”

Chris was still staring
around. The walkway to the doors was lined with bright flowers,
yellow and white, and the flagstones were clean and neat, laid out in
interconnecting patterns. The sweet smell of the flowers seemed to
clear Chris' head and he breathed deeply, beginning to relax for the
first time since they had left the Nest.

“
Well, I for one
quite like it,” Chef said cheerfully. “The kitchens are
massive, and I rather like making some of my signature dishes for the
poor staff members here.” He shook his head mournfully. “Forced
to eat some of these British dishes, oh my. Boiled and fried is not
the way that people should eat food.”

Chris had to laugh at
Chef's exaggerated tone and even the judge smiled. Natalie was lost
in thought.

A young woman wearing the
standard suit stood by the front doors. She had a set smile on her
face that disappeared as her eyes widened as they approached. She
stared at the judge, apparently stunned by his unexpected appearance.

“
Lord Hawkes!”
she gasped. “I wasn't informed of your arrival.” She gave
the judge a bit of a bow and Chris saw him stiffen a bit. He hates
that sort of thing, Chris thought. But the judge's tone was kind.

“
Amanda, isn't it?”
At her astonished nod, he smiled. “Good. No, I'm afraid we had
to drop by without warning. Your superior is aware of our visit, but
I assume he didn't have the time to inform the rest of the staff. I
apologize for that.”

“
Oh, no need to
apologize, m'lord,” she said hastily. “You are always
welcome here. Valiant is your home, after all.”

“
Valiant?”
Chris said curiously.

“
Valiant is the name
of the castle, Christopher,” Judge Hawkes said with a bit of a
forced smile. “My ancestors were a gallant bunch, apparently,
and had a fairly well known name when it came to their exploits in
battle.”

“
At any rate,”
he turned to look at Amanda, “we're on our way to see Mr.
Mahony. I assume he'll be in his office at this time of day?”

“
Yes m'lord. Shall I
call ahead to tell him you're here?”

“
No need. He knows
we're here, I'm sure.”

The woman hastened to open
one of the wide doors.

“
Thank you.
Everyone,” he called back to the staff, ”come along. We
have to get settled and start making plans. Step lively now.”

The group crowded in
behind the judge and he led the way into the castle.

The building inside was
opulent. The walls were covered with tapestries, the shining wooden
floors were glowing with deep polish and the ceilings were ornately
covered with carvings and inlaid with panels, painted with scenes of
battle and mythic figures. Chris was fascinated.

“
Wow, it's amazing,”
he said in a hushed voice. He felt like he was in some sort of
cathedral. The air smelled faintly of lemony wood polish and some
sort of incense. He felt his scalp tighten in response.

Natalie finally snapped
out of her silent thoughtfulness and looked at him with an
understanding smile.

“
I agree, Chris. The
last time I was here I was quite upset, but this place still filled
me with a kind of awe.” She looked around as they followed the
judge. “Maybe because it's so old. It has a brooding dignity or
something. I don't know.”

She seemed puzzled by the
atmosphere of the castle and she looked to Chris for support. “Can
you feel it? Like it's watching us or something, judging our actions,
deciding whether we're worthy of being here.”

Startled by Natalie's
characterization of the building, Chris scanned the area as they
walked.

The main hall was about
five yards wide, the walls hung with many paintings of
stately-looking men and women in fancy old costumes. The eyes of
these people seemed to watch them with detached interest. It was a
bit creepy. He didn't feel animosity, exactly, but there wasn't a
welcoming air to the place either. It was a totally different
impression than the one he'd had when he had first entered the Hawkes
Nest.

“
Yeah,” Chris
finally answered. “I think I feel it. The place isn't sure
about us. It's, I don't know, withholding judgment about us until we
prove we're worthy.” At Natalie's look, he reddened. “Well,
that's how it feels to me.”

“
Hmm. I think that's
it.” She frowned as she continued to scan the area. “It
wants to be sure we're the right sort of people. Huh, what a weird
feeling to get from a heap of stone.”

Chris had to grin at her
confused reply, but he agreed with her. However, weird vibes or not,
he still tried to take in all the sights.

Several groups of people,
obviously tourists, passed them as they made their way through the
main floor. All were talking and laughing and many were carrying
cameras. He noticed several bunches of school-aged kids, some of whom
looked at him curiously as he walked along in the middle of the group
of solemnly dressed adults. Chris wondered if they thought he was in
trouble or something and was amused by the idea.

They finally entered the
massive central area of the castle and Chris was awed yet again.

It was the size of an
average school gymnasium. A wide mahogany desk was planted in the
middle of the room, surrounded by many small tables that held statues
and works of art. The high ceiling was inlaid with patterns that
caught the eye and made him dizzy. A long winding marble staircase
ascended up from the left and circled halfway around the room in
stately fashion.

There were two women at
the desk, one seated behind it writing idly in a notebook while the
other stood next to it, speaking animatedly to several Asian
tourists. Both wore the standard dark suits.

The woman sitting down, an
older lady with a pinched face, wearing wire-rimmed glasses, had her
dark hair pulled back severely in a tight bun. She gave the tourists
a bored, disinterested glance and then noticed the judge's group
standing just inside the room. Her eyes widened and she literally
jumped to her feet. Her companion, a young woman with short blond
hair and large brown eyes, looked at her curiously, turned to see
what she was staring at and gaped at the group. Then she smiled
mechanically at the cheerful Asians and seemed to excuse herself.
Both women hurried to greet the judge.

“
Lord Hawkes,”
the older woman said breathlessly. “We had no idea. I mean we
didn't know you were...” Her voice trailed off and the younger
woman cut in.

“
Welcome back to
Valiant, m'lord,” she said with a genuinely pleased expression.
Her companion nodded mutely and smiled in embarrassed silence.

“
Thank you Melony.
And you, Alice. It's good to see you both.”

Judge Hawkes watched the
group of tourists being led away by a young man who had the word
'Guide' attached to his lapel. “Business is brisk, I see.”

“
Oh yes, indeed it
is, m'lord,” Alice, the older woman said, regaining her
composure. “Revenue is up.” She waved at the castle
around them. “Valiant is almost paying for itself now.”

“
Ah, excellent.”
The judge sounded pleased. “It's a wonderful old edifice, but
my, it's hard on my wallet. Oh well.” He indicated Chris and
the others. “We're on our way to see Mr. Mahony. Is he in his
office?”

“
He is, m'lord,”
Melony replied. “Should I ring him, tell him you're on your way
up?”

“
No need. He knows
that we're here. I wonder if I could impose on you ladies to find
rooms for my staff?” He indicated the staffers who were
standing back and waiting quietly. “As you can see, there are
five of them. I believe Valiant has more than enough empty suites to
accommodate them all?”

“
Certainly, m'lord.
We'll make arrangements immediately. And what about the rest of your
party?”

“
No need. I will
arrange things with Mr. Mahony for the rest of us. Thank you so much
for your help. Please continue with your duties.” He smiled at
them both. “I know the way.”

The judge turned to the
staff members. “We'll talk soon. In the meantime, our
uneventful
trip from
the Nest should not become a topic of conversation. Clear?” All
of them nodded. George had a small smile on his face. “Excellent.
Get some rest.”

He turned back and looked
at Chris, Natalie and Chef. “Come along now and let's greet our
host.”

And with a nod at the two
helpful women, the judge continued on his way, the reduced group
falling in behind him again.

They climbed up the vast
staircase, the gold-shot marble steps gleaming and reflecting their
surroundings. Several members of the resident staff passed them,
greeting Judge Hawkes respectfully, but all looking surprised to see
him. Chris was having a hard time getting used to the man being
called m'lord, but the judge accepted the title graciously, nodding
to each one and having a word or two for most of them.

What Chris was most
impressed with was the judge's remarkable memory for names. Not one
person who greeted him was unknown to him and he called every one by
their first names. As they finally reached the top of the staircase
and set off down a broad hallway with a red rug covering the floor,
Chris asked Natalie about the judge's amazing talent.

“
The way he
remembers names?” Natalie whispered at Chris' question. “Yeah,
I've always been impressed by that. I asked him about it once and he
said it was a simple trick.”

“
A trick?”

“
Yup. He says he
associates a person's name with a word that rhymes with it, that he
thinks of when he looks at that person.” At Chris' blank look,
she smiled. “Well, a simple example would be someone named
John. If that guy had a bright, sunny disposition, the judge might
think of the dawn. So, dawn rhymes with John. Something like that.”

“
That sounds
complicated,” Chris muttered dubiously.

“
I agree, but he
says that he's been doing it for so long that it's become second
nature.” She lowered her voice even more. “Personally I
believe he has a photographic memory. I think he just remembers
anything that he wants to. But he denies it, so believe what you
want.”

She glanced ahead at the
judge and Chris saw a certain admiration in her eyes.