The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (13 page)

The judge waved Chris
toward a seat and thanked Jamie for his help.

“
Always at your
service, m'lord,” Jamie said gravely with a little bow, but as
he headed for the door he gave Chris a subtle wink. Chris grinned in
return and the young man left the room.

“
Have a seat and dig
in, Chris,” Chef said and as Chris sat down, he saw a large
spread of covered dishes.

There were plates heaped
with steaming vegetables, two large tureens holding what he guessed
was soup and both a roast of beef and a turkey, baked a
mouth-watering golden brown. There were place settings in front of
each chair, complete with two plates, two forks and cloth napkins.

My my, they certainly live
well in Valiant, don't they, Chris thought a bit wryly. His next
thought was to shut-up and enjoy it. He considered that fine advice.

“
Now that we're all
here, everyone help yourselves.” the judge said. “Don't
stand on ceremony.”

Everybody began reaching
for dishes and passing bowls around the table. Chris piled his plate
with slices of beef and turkey smothered in gravy, mashed potatoes
and several vegetables. There was very little talk as everyone
concentrated on their meals, eating like only the very hungry can
eat. Chris had seconds.

Finally, after coffee and
cake had been passed around after the meal, the group sat back with
contented sighs. Chris discretely undid the button on his jeans. He
was stuffed.

“
I hope everyone got
enough to eat?” the judge asked with an amused look. There were
several chuckles at the question. “Good. And now that we are
all full, I'm afraid we must have a serious discussion.” He
nodded at Davidson.

“
I've swept the room
for bugs, at his honor's request,” the tall man said. His tone
was grave. “Unfortunately I found one.”

“
What?” George
sat upright. He had been lolling in his chair, looking relaxed, but
now he had a scowl on his face. “A bug? In Valiant? How is that
possible?”

“
It is possible,
George,” the judge answered flatly, “because we obviously
have a spy on staff. Possibly more than one.”

“
You had some
suspicions, sir?” Chris asked as he watched the judge intently.

Judge Hawkes picked up his
coffee cup and looked down at the dregs inside it. He hesitated and
put it back on the table.

“
Not suspicions
exactly, Christopher. No. But there's something in the atmosphere
here in Valiant. I've felt it since we first arrived.” He
looked around the table. “Am I the only one?”

There was a long moment of
silence and the group exchanged glances. Finally Natalie shrugged.

“
Not me. I haven't
heard a peep from Gloriel since we arrived. Chef?” She looked
at the solemn expression on the cook's usually jovial face. “Any
vibes? How about the kitchen staff?”

“
The staff? They are
wonderful, as always.” Chef''s eyes lit up. “And dear
Frannie is as spunky as ever. She took one look at me when I walked
in and threatened to throw me out of her kitchen if I did not
immediately sit down, have a drink and share my latest recipes.”

A couple of them laughed
but the atmosphere stayed serious.

“
Anyone else?”
Judge Hawkes asked.

No one spoke for a minute
and then Chris looked up from where he'd been staring at the
stitching on the place-mat in front of him and stared down the table
at the judge.

“
I don't like Mr.
Mahony, sir. But I think that's only because of his...arrogance? Is
that the right word? But certainly that young guy, Jamie, seems nice
and normal. And the staff here is really good. Our rooms were ready
in no time, clothes in my size were already in there when I arrived.”
He shrugged. “The suite is amazing. Unfortunately,” Chris
tapped his forehead and then lowered his voice, “my friend is
still missing in action, so I have no weird feelings at all.”

“
Well, thank you
all.” The judge reached for the coffee pot and filled his cup.
“Perhaps it is just me. My connection to Valiant runs deep,
even if it is not really home. But something is here, almost seeped
into the walls. Some malign, brooding vigilance. Watching, waiting.
At any rate, I do have some other news that will interest you all.”

Everyone waited tensely
while the judge added cream and sugar to his coffee. At his inquiring
look, Chris nodded and the man passed the coffee pot to Chef who
handed it down the table until it reached its destination. While
Chris freshened his cup, Judge Hawkes carried on speaking.

“
I received a coded
message from an operative in London. Happily, my own support system
is still in place.” He looked at each of them intently. “The
message was from Ghost.”

This time, everyone sat up
and exchanged incredulous looks.

“
Ghost is alive?”
Natalie gasped. “How did he escape from the Nest?” Then
her voice hardened. “And why couldn't he save any of our
people? Was he hiding in the bushes as usual?”

“
None of that,
Natalie,” Judge Hawkes chided her. “I'm aware of your
personal dislike of Ghost, but do not let it cloud your judgment.”

Natalie reddened but
returned the judge's look unflinchingly.

“
I've never liked
this whole cloak and dagger thing, sir, as you well know. But excuse
my interruption.”

“
That's fine, my
dear. We're all under some stress at the moment and emotions are
running high.” He sipped his coffee and continued.

“
Ghost passed along
two pieces of information. As most of you know, he is a technical
wizard. In fact, he's the one who modified our personal
communications system to make it encoded and untraceable. I only
mention it so that those of you who aren't aware of his talents will
appreciate how he can do what he does.”

Judge Hawkes put down his
cup, sat back and, surprisingly, smiled broadly. “Ghost did
indeed take part in the battle for the Nest; a fact that you should
find gratifying, Natalie,” he added with a nod in her
direction. Natalie remained stone-faced.

“
Yes, well, he
managed to take out several attackers. None of the Fallen, of course.
As you know, they are practically untouchable unless engaged by an
Angelic.”

Chris turned to Natalie on
his left and whispered, “Angelic?”

Her stony expression
changed and she smiled slightly as she murmured, “That's what
they call us kids with angel souls.”

“
Oh.” Chris
replied as he digested that. Angelics. Weird.

“
But he was wounded
in the fighting and wisely fell back rather than be overwhelmed.”

“
I'll bet he did,”
Natalie muttered. Fortunately only Chris heard her.

“
And now the good
news. Ghost reports that Jacob and Tyler were not killed.”

This time it was Chris
that interrupted the judge. “What? They're alive?” He
felt a thrill of excitement at the thought that his two friends had
survived.

“
Indeed they are,
Christopher. And after the battle, they were transported here to
Britain. How Ghost managed to track them is a mystery, as is so much
of what he does, but that is unimportant. The fact remains that they
are here, in this country.”

“
Then we have to go
after them. Don't we, your honor?” Beatrice spoke for the first
time, her eyes shining with anticipation.

The judge didn't answer
for a time. He looked at each person, seemingly at random, but ended
up staring at Chris. Then he sighed.

“
No, we don't.”

There was an immediate
uproar. Everyone began speaking at once, including Chris. He thought
later how remarkable it was that eight quiet, fairly disciplined
people could turn into an angry mob in the blink of an eye.

Judge Hawkes simply waited
for their emotional outbursts to work themselves out before he spoke
again.

“
I understand your
anger. In fact, I share it. However,” and his voice took on
that steely edge that Chris had only heard once or twice, “do
not forget who you are and what you do. Discipline, my friends, is
one of our advantages over the Fallen and their minions. Do not lose
that now.”

Chris looked around the
table and saw that the staff members all shared a look of
embarrassment. George finally spoke for the group.

“
You're right, your
honor. Sorry about that. This last week has...set us all back a bit.”
He looked at his fellow staffers. “It won't happen again. Will
it?” he asked them. They all nodded quietly.

“
Good. Now let me
explain why we can't just go tearing off after our two young wards.”

The judge pulled out his
ever-present cellphone and tapped it several times. “It has to
do with the second message I received from Ghost. And his technical
expertise. It seems that he has staked out the location where Jacob
and Tyler are being held. And he's been monitoring the communications
coming in and out of that place, for lack of anything better to do
until I give him new orders.” The judge read from his screen
and shook his head in seeming dismay.

“
Shortly after we
arrived at the castle, the group that is holding our two Angelics
received a text message. Ghost was unable to identify the sender, but
he was able to locate the source of the transmission.” He
looked at them bleakly. “It came from Valiant.”

The confirmation that
there was indeed a spy in their midst set the entire group back on
their heels. Chris thought that he was taking it better than the
others, perhaps because after three years on the streets, he simply
took nothing for granted. The others seemed to be almost reeling.

“
How is that
possible, Ethan?” Chef asked, sounding less angry than sad.
“One of our people? Betraying us? And to the Fallen especially.
They all
know
what those monsters are, and what their end game is; they want to
enslave the world. How could anyone knowing that actively side with
them?”

“
Mario,
I am as dismayed as you are,” Judge Hawkes replied somberly.
“But some people are short-sighted, wishing to accept immediate
gain for some vague future pain. Unfortunately for them, that vague
pain is spending eternity in Hell. But physical gratification
sometimes overwhelms good sense, I suppose.” He checked his
cell. “At last count, not including us, there are forty-three
inhabitants of Valiant, including Mr. Mahony and our young Mr.
O'Donnell. On top of that, there are four Angelics.”

He
looked at Chris and Natalie. “I want you two to meet your
counterparts as soon as possible. Assess them, see what you think.
And let me know after you do, all right?” Both of them nodded.

“
Good.
I don't suspect any of them, but I want all of you to get to know
each other. Now, getting back to Ghost and his message.”

He
glanced quickly at his phone. “The text informed our enemies
about our arrival at Valiant. It also suggested that they use Jacob
and Tyler as bargaining chips; bait would be a better word, I'd say.
Use them to draw out some or all of our remaining Angelics so that
they could be taken.” He looked directly at Natalie. “They
seem particularly eager to get their hands on Gloriel. I don't think
you've made many friends among the Fallen, my dear.”

Natalie's
expression was one of grim pleasure.

“
Good,”
she said with satisfaction. “Let them try to get their hands on
me. I'll cut them off.”

There were some general
noises of approval at Natalie's attitude among the staff. Judge
Hawkes and Chef exchanged a look, but neither commented.

“
Yes, well, at any
rate, there is more.” The judge frowned at his phone and looked
a bit perplexed. “I'm continually amazed at the stupidity of
our foes. Amazed and grateful. It appears that Scythe and Talon don't
share very much information. At a guess, I'd say it was because each
wishes to curry favor with their demonic masters. But for whatever
reason, these local thugs have no idea that Christopher is an
Angelic. And they certainly don't know about Sariel.”

Chef turned to Chris and
grinned broadly.

“
Always embrace your
enemy's idiocy, Chris,” he said with a chuckle. “Now I'm
not as confused as I was earlier when Askalon didn't recognize you as
an Angelic on board the plane. No one had told him about you.”
He looked at the judge. “Small favors, old friend.”

“
Indeed. Which is
why I've asked you all not to mention anything about the flight here.
I'm a bit suspicious by nature, and I wanted to be sure of the
resident staff before relaying that information. It seems I was
right,” he added bleakly.

Chris drank some coffee
and added a bit more to keep it hot. They don't know about me. Huh. I
wonder if we can use that somehow.

He had learned to take
advantage of opportunities when possible, and this could be one of
them. Chris tucked that idea in the back of his mind for the moment
to simmer.