Hades (24 page)

Gabriel winced slightly. “This isn’t quite the same thing.”

“Okay, wel , listen to this. Last week my horoscope in

Cosmo
told me I was going to meet an enchanting stranger

and this guy on the bus gave me his phone number. I’m a

total believer now.”

“Yeah, you’ve real y seen the light,” Xavier said under his

breath.

“Did you know that Sagittarians have a problem with

sarcasm?” Mol y snapped.

“That would be very enlightening, except I’m a Leo.”

“Yeah, wel , everyone knows they’re a pack of assholes!”

“My God, you’re like talking to a rock.”

“You’re a rock!”

Fed up with the argument, Xavier scowled and turned

away from her, flopping down on the sofa at the far end of

the room. Ivy was shaking her head slowly as though she

couldn’t believe they were wasting time on such trivial

matters. I didn’t know what to think—was Gabriel real y

entertaining the idea of letting Mol y in on the secret? It

seemed unlikely that my brother, who had been so resistant

toward Xavier’s induction into our little family, would now

randomly bring another human into the fold. He must real y

be feeling desperate.

Gabriel gave Xavier a warning look. Provoking Mol y any

further wasn’t going to help the situation. “Mol y, let’s talk in

the kitchen.”

She flashed Xavier a triumphant look as she marched

past him, but was al politeness addressing Gabriel.

“As you wish,” she said demurely.

Then something happened that took the decision right

out of Gabriel’s hands. The room began to tremble. The

floor shuddered underfoot and the light fixtures began

swinging violently. Even in my spirit form, I could feel a

tremendous pressure growing in the room.

Ivy and Gabriel moved closer together, not alarmed but

somewhat unsettled by whatever was taking place. Xavier

sprang up from the sofa, his eyes sweeping across the

room, looking for the source of danger. He was tensed to

fight, al the muscles in his body at the ready and his feet

braced to jump as soon as the signal was given. He looked

up in surprise as the glass in the windowpanes rattled and

slowly began to crack down the middle. Mol y was standing

right in the firing line, rooted to the spot. I watched Xavier’s

head whip in her direction as he quickly calculated the risk

in his head. His protective instinct kicked in and he

grabbed Mol y, pul ing her to the ground. His body shielded

hers at the same time as the windowpanes exploded,

raining splinters across his back like a hailstorm. Mol y

screamed, but my siblings did not duck or attempt to shield

themselves in any way. They stood stil as stone as

fragments of glass rained down around them, catching in

their hair and clothes but causing no injury. They looked so

unshakable that I imagined neither fire nor brimstone could

have moved them. Whatever was coming, they were

unafraid.

“Shield your eyes!” Gabriel commanded Mol y and

Xavier, who were stil sprawled on the floor.

Thunder and lightning came first. Then a blistering white

light fol owed, fil ing every crevice of the room so that al its

occupants were enveloped by it. It looked as though the

room had turned into a white-hot furnace, but in actual fact

the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees. I felt the

chil , even in my intangible form. Even though I was in no

danger I looked around for a place to hide and settled for

behind the sofa. A high-pitched buzzing fil ed the air, like

static on a television, only louder and so intense you could

feel it reverberating in your brain. When the angel final y

appeared, he was standing in the center of the room, head

bowed and wings ful y expanded so they spanned from wal

to wal . They seemed to fil the whole space, casting a

shadow across every wal , ceiling, and floor. Light

shimmered from beneath his luminous skin and dripped

from his body, fal ing in liquid beads onto the ground where

they dissolved. When he lifted his head, I saw that his face

was as beautiful and cherubic as a child’s, and yet behind

the exterior one could catch glimpses of something much

more commanding and dangerous. In their rightful form,

angels were at least several heads tal er than even the

tal est of humans and this angel’s vast and powerful form

was evident even beneath the rippling metal ic robe he

wore. He looked so far from human; it was impossible not

to be awestruck. You got the feeling that with the blink of an

eye he could crumble the room and its contents to dust at

his bare feet.

His boyish beauty contrasted strangely with his

marblesculpted body. His eyes shone and his face was

expressionless, as though he were daydreaming alone,

rather than standing before a stunned audience. His head

moved rigidly, unaccustomed to the atmosphere. His

fearsome eyes scanned the room, final y fixing on

something the others couldn’t see.

He was looking directly at me. I didn’t need to look twice

to know who he was; I recognized him at once as the

Archangel Michael.

15

Can You Keep a Secret?

IT took a while but the blinding light final y subsided along

with the roaring in our ears.

“It’s safe now,” Gabriel announced. Xavier promptly

jumped to his feet, but on seeing the archangel he

staggered back until he was pressed against the wal . It

was as though he needed it for support. But a moment later

he drew himself up, stood tal , and confronted the figure

before him without flinching or turning away.

Angelic beauty usual y proved too much for humans to

handle, but Xavier had some experience under his belt. I

saw that he seemed to be holding his breath as though his

lungs couldn’t, or wouldn’t, work properly. Something as

automatic as breathing had been rendered superfluous in

the face of such majesty. Mol y had a slightly more dramatic

reaction; her eyes widened until I thought they would pop

right out of their sockets and her hands fel limp by her

sides. Then she let out a strange, strangled gasp and

col apsed to her knees, back arched and torso pul ed

toward Michael as if by some invisible chain. She stared for

a moment longer, before her eyes rol ed back in her head

and she slumped down in a dead faint. Michael tilted his

head and observed her calmly.

“Humans,” he said eventual y in a voice that cal ed to

mind a hundred church choirs singing in perfect unison.

“They have a tendency to overreact.”

“Brother.” Gabriel stepped forward. Even in his perfect

human form he seemed dwarfed by Michael’s splendor. “I

am glad you have come.”

“It is a dire situation that has arisen here,” Michael

replied. “One of our own has been captured. Such a

transgression must be addressed.”

“We are exploring every possibility, but as you know, the

gateways to Hel are heavily guarded,” Gabriel said. “Has

the Covenant got any idea how to break through?”

“Even we are not privy to such information. Only the

demons that slither beneath us could know the answer to

that question.”

Upon hearing that Xavier’s anger seemed to override his

awe and he stepped forward. “Gather an army,” he

snapped. “You’re powerful enough to do it. Break in and get

her out. How hard can it be?”

“What you propose is certainly within our power,” Michael

answered.

“Then what are you waiting for?”

Michael’s eyes slid over to rest on Xavier’s face. It was

frightening to watch, he seemed to be made up of lots of

different parts that were not connected but stil functioned

as a whole. His eyes, for one, were fathomless and

completely devoid of emotion. I didn’t like the way he

looked at Xavier, like a specimen, rather than a human

being.

“The human appears to think nothing of bringing about

the Apocalypse,” he said.

“Do not blame him,” Gabriel answered quickly. “He does

not understand the consequences of an ambush and he

has strong emotional ties to Bethany.”

Michael’s slippery, disconnected gaze lingered on

Xavier. “So I hear. Human emotion is an irrational force.”

Xavier scowled and I knew he resented being spoken

about like a stubborn child, incapable of seeing things from

a logical perspective.

“I wasn’t aware it would result in the Apocalypse,” he said

drily. “That would be an unfortunate side effect.”

Michael raised one delicate, glowing eyebrow at the

sarcasm in Xavier’s tone. Ivy, who had not spoken a word

thus far, hurried to Xavier’s side, an outward declaration of

her support.

“What are the Covenant’s instructions?” she asked.

“We have located a source which may be of assistance,”

Michael replied distantly. “Her name is Sister Mary Clare.

You wil find her in the Abbey of Mary Immaculate in

Fairhope County, Tennessee.”

“How wil that help us?” Xavier demanded.

“This is al we can offer for now—we wish you luck.”

Michael turned toward Xavier. “A word of advice, you would

be wel advised to develop temperance if you want to be a

leader among men.”

“I have one more question,” Xavier said, ignoring the

censuring looks directed at him by Ivy and Gabriel.

“Yes?” Michael said slowly.

“Do you think Beth is okay?”

Michael looked at Xavier with an odd expression. There

weren’t many humans I could think of who would directly

address a member of the Arch, let alone detain him with

questions.

“The demon went to much trouble to get her there. Rest

assured he would not have done so if he did not value her

life.”

Michael folded his arms loosely across his chest, bowed

his head, and with a flash of blinding light and a crack like

thunder, he was gone. I thought he’d leave destruction in his

wake, but after the light he left behind waned, I saw that the

room had been restored to its original state, apart from a

charred ring on the floor where the angel had landed. With

Michael gone everyone looked visibly relieved and

breathed more easily. Although Michael was batting for our

team, his formidable presence had made it impossible to

relax. Gabriel stepped around the coffee table to lift Mol y

into his arms and deposit her gently onto the sofa. Ivy went

to get a wet cloth for her forehead. Mol y’s mouth was open

from the shock, but her breathing had returned to normal.

Gabriel placed two fingers on the inside of her wrist to

check her pulse. Once he was convinced she would revive,

he moved away and ran his fingers through his hair as he

pondered Michael’s counsel.

“A nun?” Xavier asked softly. “How can she help? What

could she tel us that the Covenant can’t?”

“If Michael has directed us to her, there must be a

reason,” Gabriel replied. “Humans are more connected to

the underworld than we can ever be. Demons make it their

life’s work to tempt those on earth, especial y those who

think their faith is unbreakable. It is sport to them. It’s

possible that this Sister Mary Clare has encountered dark

forces. We must find her and see what she knows.”

Ivy stood straight and resolute. “I guess that means we’re

going to Tennessee.”

By this time, I was getting sleepy. Too much had

happened, most of it stressful. Spending so much time

outside my physical dimension was having a strange effect.