The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (17 page)

But
while he loved this old place, and being able to eat whenever and
whatever he wanted, and being clean all the time was nice, there was
a cloud over the entire experience. And he wished he knew what it
was. He had never felt like he was in more peril than he did at this
moment. Not even when that nut-job Nate had him by the throat, a
knife tight against his cheek, looking for cash that Chris didn't
have.

He
could have died then. He could have died a dozen different times or
more. And yet now, here, with the other teens sitting behind him
talking and laughing, looking out over that perfect garden, enjoying
the amazing British sunshine, he was scared to death.

A
hand touched his shoulder and he spun around with a cry, his eyes
wide and staring.

“
Easy,
Chris,” Natalie said, surprised, and stepped back. “It's
just me. Are you okay?”

Chris
looked at the others and saw them staring at him. He felt his face
heat up and tried to grin at Natalie. He didn't think it worked
because she looked even more concerned.

“
What
is it?” she asked gently.

Chris
laughed; a rough, humorless sound.

“
I
don't know, Nat. It's so weird. Here I am in a castle, of all places,
looking out at a summer's day; safe, warm, dry, clean. Not hungry.”
He waved toward Natalie and the others. “Talking to nice people
who seem to like me for me and not for what I can do for them.
Everything that I dreamed about when I was on the streets. Three
years of running and hiding, scheming and coping and now, this.”
He looked into her dark eyes intently. “And right now, I am
terrified.”

Natalie's
jaw dropped. “What? Why?”

Chris
clenched his fists in frustration and banged them lightly against his
forehead.

“
I
don't know! It just came over me, just now. Like, oh I don't know,
like that old saying. You know, when they say it feels like someone
just walked on your grave?” She nodded, not speaking. “Well,
like that, except that it was more like a bunch of someones and they
were dancing on it. I have a feeling. This is going to end badly. For
me, and for you.” He looked at the other teens. “Yes, and
for you too. I'm sorry for sounding like such a downer but that's how
I feel.”

“
Is
it Sariel?” Patrick asked hesitantly. “Is he trying to
tell you something?”

Chris
wondered about that and searched deep inside himself. And found that
there was nobody home.

“
Typical,”
he said, looking at them all. “He's gone again.” Then
Chris frowned. “Do your angels do that? Come and go whenever
they please, just waltzing in and out when the mood strikes them?”

Anabelle
began to laugh and then saw that he was serious.

“
Of
course not. They are a part of us. We could no more split apart than
I could detach and reattach my arm. Wait. Is that...is that what
Sariel does?” Chris nodded. “But then that's what you
meant earlier when you said he hadn't been around. I thought it was
some sort of Canadian turn of phrase. He actually leaves you alone? I
don't know what to say.”

“
Hang
on,” Chris said and turned to Natalie. “How come you
never mentioned that Gloriel is always with you? I've told you about
Sariel coming and going and you never said a thing.”

She
shrugged. “Of course not. We're talking about one of the most
powerful beings in the cosmos. He can do things other angels can't. I
just went along with it. Besides, what difference does it make?”

Chris
was caught flat-footed by the question. She had a point. What
possible difference did it make? Sariel would do what he would do and
there was nothing Chris could do to stop it. It was certainly
annoying though.

“
Yeah,
that's true. Anyway, Patrick, to answer your question. No, I don't
think this has anything to do with Sariel. At least not directly.
Maybe some other way, but it isn't something he's telling me. He does
that straight out, no beating around the bush.”

“
Then
I have no idea why you're feeling so...morbid,” Patrick said
with a bit of a sad smile.

He
stood up and joined Chris and Natalie at the window. The others did
the same and the six of them looked out over the garden and the
tourists.

“
It
all looks so normal, doesn't it?” Alysa said and then popped a
bubble. Chris had to grin.

“
Normal
for you, I guess. I'm not used to living in a castle.”

Alysa
stuck her tongue out at him. “Don't be silly. I was raised in a
little cottage in a tiny village in the north. My dad was a night
cleaner at the local mill and my mum did some sewing to bring in
extra money. This place is as unreal to me as it is to you.”

“
Really?”
Chris was startled. “But then, how long have you lived here?”

She
shrugged. “Dunno. Six months maybe? When one of Lord Hawkes'
people tracked me down, after I'd touched a boy at school and healed
the arm he'd broken in the playground, he arranged for me to come
here. They've got a great cover story about how this is a private
school for gifted children. Very high class.” She laughed
lightly. “Imagine, me gifted. My parents were thrilled...and
confused. Can't say as I blame them, really.”

Chris
looked at the others. “Is it the same for all of you?”

They
exchanged glances and nodded as one.

“
Pretty
much,” Anabelle said. “I guess I've been here the
longest, about a year or so. They told the same story to my folks;
private school, etcetera. My parents are both painters. And when I
say painters, I mean they paint houses. Got a nice little business
going too, but they sure aren't rich. The only one of us that's 'to
the manor born' is dear Patrick here.”

She
looked at the boy with a wicked smile and he blushed.

“
Oh,
come on now. I can't help it if my dad's rich. It's not like I asked
for it.” He shrugged at Chris. “Besides, he made his
money in hi-tech. We aren't part of the aristocracy, that's for sure.
They look down their noses at him, so Dad says.”

“
Interesting,”
Natalie said. “I've always wondered why the angels didn't just
arrange to be born into families of privilege. You'd think it would
make our lives a lot easier, wouldn't you?”

The
others agreed.

Chris
became distracted again, looking through the window. He suddenly
needed some space. The room felt stuffy and confining. He looked at
Natalie.

“
I'm
talked out for now, Nat,” he said abruptly. “I think I'll
take a walk around outside, get some fresh air and all that.”

“
Guys,”
he said to the four other Angelics, “it was nice to meet you
all. I'm sure we'll get to know each other a lot better as time goes
on. If you have any other questions, I'm sure Natalie would be
thrilled to answer them.” He grinned at her eye-roll. “Talk
to you all later.”

And
with that and a little wave, Chris grabbed the hilt from the table,
left the room and headed for the main exit.

Outside,
the day was as lovely and warm as it had looked from within the
castle. Chris had spent his first two days at Valiant just exploring
the inside of the castle. Now he found out that the grounds outside
were just as fascinating.

In
the center of the courtyard was a large fountain that, in his tired
and unfocused condition, he hadn't even noticed when they had first
arrived. He approached it and examined it closely.

Jets
of water shot up from its rim and met in the center, where a huge
fish with glinting scales lifted its face to the sky. More water
bubbled from its gaping, lip-less mouth and Chris giggled to himself.
It looked like the fish was puking continuously.

He
watched it with amusement for a few minutes and then turned to the
left, away from the car-park and headed toward the gardens.

As
he wandered, Chris was constantly passed by groups of tourists, many
of them Asian. Most people smiled and nodded and he did the same.
Very friendly people, he thought. And they sure love this castle.

A
well-tended path covered in tightly-packed white gravel led around
the corner of the castle and, when Chris followed it, he came at last
to the garden area.

It
was even larger than he had thought when he'd looked out earlier from
the window. Hedges lined the edge of the gardens, smoothly trimmed
and higher than Chris' head. Rows of fruit trees ran in straight
lines and dotted artistically around them were flowerbeds full of
bright blooms.

Yellows,
blues and reds met the eye in a dazzling array and Chris found
himself feasting on the sight like a starving man would gorge on
food. It was almost intoxicating and, as he slowly moved through the
abundance of vegetation and sweet aromas, he wondered why he was so
taken with the place.

Finally,
somewhere in the center of the riotous mass of trees and flowers,
Chris found a lone marble bench. He sat down in the bright sunshine,
closed his eyes and just savored the moment as a gentle breeze
ruffled the hair that had fallen to cover his face.

It
seemed impossible to feel any sort of imminent danger or brooding
threat when sitting in the middle of all that life, but Chris still
couldn't shake his feelings of foreboding. He opened his eyes, looked
around and frowned at himself.

Can't
you just enjoy the moment, he wondered with a touch of irritation.

That's a very good
question, my friend,
a voice from within replied.

Sariel?

Of course. Who else
were you expecting?

Chris
stifled an angry retort.

No one. So where did
you fly off to this time?

His
mental tone must have given away his feelings, because there was a
moment of silence and then Sariel replied.

Are you angry about
something?

Angry?
Chris sighed aloud.
Not angry.
Just...frustrated, I guess. It seems like every time I want to talk
to you or ask you something, I'm talking to myself and you're gone
again. What exactly is so all-important that you keep zapping back to
Purgatory all the time?

A
young couple pushing a baby carriage wandered by. Both smiled at him
and Chris returned it. They disappeared behind a line of short trees.

Perhaps now that you
are alone and have the time, I can finally tell you what is really
happening,
Sariel said. His voice was gravely serious.

Chris
settled back on the bench, getting as comfortable as he could on the
hard, cool marble and rested his arms over the back of the seat
behind him.
Okay, I'm listening.

Without
any hesitation, Sariel began to speak.

Your Judge Hawkes was
correct when he mused earlier that some of my followers would not be
happy about my returning Lilith to Purgatory
.

Wait a second,
Chris cut in.
How do you know about
that? You were away when I was speaking to him on the plane. Weren't
you?

Yes, but I can see your
memory of the event clearly.

Oh.
Chris thought about that while Sariel continued.

Most of them agree with
my reasons for capturing her and bringing her back as a prisoner. As
I told you, she is a lesson to those who follow my brother into evil.
And, if the hordes of Hell do one day take this world and then attack
Purgatory on their way to Heaven, she will be the first thing they
see as they race across the Frozen Sea toward me and my defenders. I
think she will give them pause. And I know that seeing her imprisoned
in that ice will infuriate my brother, perhaps even goad him into
making a mistake.

Sariel's
voice changed.
And she is, after all,
my sister. The first female angel that our Father ever created. To
destroy her, unless absolutely necessary, is unthinkable to me.

Chris
wasn't sure he agreed but he nodded unconsciously.

I think I understand
.

But there are others
among my people who do not agree with my actions. Some of them see
what I have done as cruel. They believe that a swift death, and by
death I mean the death of Lilith's soul, not just her body, would
have been more merciful. Perhaps they are right,
Sariel mused.

There
was a moment of silence and Chris adjusted himself, folding his arms
and crossing his legs. The hard seat was starting to get a bit
uncomfortable.

Others see Lilith as,
well, as something of a celebrity.