The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (16 page)

“
Oh
my God,” Alysa blurted out. “It's here? On Earth?”

“
Yeah,
it's here. But...” Chris dug into his pocket and took out the
hilt. He always carried it now and forgot about it most of the time.
He rubbed his thigh where the metal edge had dug in. “It's not
in one piece.”

There
were gasps all around as they saw what Chris held in his open palm.

“
The
hilt?” Anabelle stared at the gleaming metallic object, its red
and gold glowing in reflected sunlight. “Oh, it's beautiful.
And frightening.”

Chris
put the hilt on the coffee table in front of him. Patrick extended
his hand toward it and then drew back as if burned.

“
Can
you feel it?” he whispered. “Can you feel its...hatred?
No, not hatred. Hunger.”

Chris
looked at him in confusion. Hunger? He'd never felt that from the
hilt. He felt power when he touched it, but that was all. But Francis
and Anabelle both nodded in agreement.

“
Yes,
hunger.” Anabelle held out her hand, palm out, and closed her
eyes. “A hunger for vengeance, that's what I feel. Not against
us, no. Against evil. It longs to strike out against the Fallen and
their minions.”

“
Wait
a second,” Chris objected. “It's just a piece of metal.
You're making it sound like it's alive.” He picked up the hilt
and turned it over in his hands. “I feel a surge of strength
when I'm holding it, but that's about it.”

“
Perhaps
that's for the best,” Natalie said with a small smile. “I
don't think the world needs an archangel with anger management issues
running around every time you hold that thing.”

Chris
chuckled at her comment. “Yeah, fair enough, Nat.” He put
the hilt back on the table.

“
So
why does Sariel want his sword back anyway?” Alysa asked. “I
mean, he must be powerful enough to deal with the bad guys without
it, no?”

There
was a knock at the door and everyone jumped. They had all been
leaning in toward each other intently and suddenly sat back and
looked around as if they'd been caught doing something naughty.

“
Come
on in,” Patrick called out.

The
door opened and Jamie walked in followed by another man, much older.
They were both carrying trays.

“
Hello
again.” Jamie said with a smile. “I thought you might
like some refreshment during your meeting.” He turned to the
older man. “Miles, just put it on the coffee table. I'm sure
they can sort it out for themselves.”

Everyone
sat back and gave the two men room to set down their trays. Jamie
smiled at the round of thank-yous, nodded respectfully and left,
trailed by the silent Miles.

Patrick
lifted the tops off of the several serving dishes on one tray to
reveal scones and slices of freshly-baked carrot cake. The other tray
held a large carafe of coffee, with cream and sugar in ornate
containers. There were six cups and saucers as well as spoons.

“
Ah,
looks good,” Patrick said with a smile. “Dig in,
everyone. Talking is such strenuous work, after all.”

There
was some laughter at that and the next few minutes were spent
silently as everyone helped themselves.

After
he had served himself some coffee with cream and sugar, and grabbed
two slices of the carrot cake, Chris stared out into the sunshine-lit
garden, munching absently.

“
Penny
for your thoughts, Chris,” Alysa said with a smile. She had
stuck her gum on the side of her saucer. Anabelle had winced as she
watched this.

“
Thanks.
I was just wondering what month we're in. I've lost track somehow.”

“
It's
July, mate,” Francis said with some surprise. “How come
you don't know the date?”

Natalie
spoke up. “Well, between our expedition to the middle-east, our
race back to find the Nest destroyed and our friends dead, and our
run-in with one of the Fallen on the plane over, I think Chris has
had other things to think about besides what day it is.” Her
tone was acerbic and Francis ducked his head, looking embarrassed.

“
Sorry
mate,” he said to Chris. “Didn't mean to ruffle anyone's
feathers.”

Chris
waved away the apology. “No problem. It was just an idle
thought anyway.”

“
Okay,
now that we're all feeling a bit more mellow, can we please talk
about why Sariel needs that sword?” Patrick sounded a little
impatient and Chris couldn't really blame him.

He
looked over at Natalie and made an encouraging gesture. She lifted an
eyebrow but began to speak.

“
Okay,
from what Chris has told me, Sariel isn't like the rest of our
angels.”

“
Yeah,
no kidding. We're pop guns and he's an atom bomb,” Alysa said
through a mouthful of cake. Anabelle glared at her and she swallowed
loudly. “What? He is, you know.”

“
That's
true, Alysa,” Natalie said with a glance at Anabelle. “But
what I meant was how he was created. Unlike the other angels that
came after him and his two brothers, Sariel was formed from the very
essence of God Himself. Normal laws don't apply to him when he is in
mortal form. He needs a conduit to access his full power.” She
nodded at the hilt that still sat on the table.

It
occurred to Chris that both Jamie and Miles had to have seen it
sitting there, but neither had said anything. He didn't think that it
mattered much and promptly forgot about it.

“
The
sword shattered into three pieces during the battle between Sariel
and...and the Devil. We found the hilt in the middle-east, in an
ancient temple.” She hesitated, looked at Chris and then said,
“And we ran into Lilith there too.”

You
would have thought someone had dropped a handful of snakes among the
plates and trays on the table when Natalie mentioned Lilith. All four
of the other teens gasped. Alysa actually let out a small shriek.
They stared at Natalie in wide-eyed disbelief. Finally Francis, who
seemed to be the most level-headed of the group, found his voice.

“
You
ran into Lilith? And you're still alive?” At Natalie's shrug,
Francis looked at Chris as if for confirmation. Chris simply nodded.

“
How
in the name of Heaven did you manage that?”

This
time Natalie stayed silent and stared at Chris pointedly. She
obviously wanted him to take up the tale. Reluctantly, he did.

“
Gloriel
was tricked by Lilith.” Natalie looked down at the floor at
this statement. “She was badly wounded. That's why we had to
stay a few extra days away before we could return to the Nest: she
needed a chance to heal. Sariel had been hanging back, biding his
time, afraid that Lilith would feel his presence. But when Gloriel
and Natalie fell, he was able to use the sword hilt to access some of
his powers. It was enough to take her down, eventually.”

He
looked at Natalie. “I never apologized for that. I want you to
know that it was his idea, Sariel's, to hold back like that. It's
because of him, and me too, I guess, that you got hurt.”

Natalie
looked up and stared at him in surprise.

“
Don't
be stupid. You think I blame you for that? Either of you? You saved
me; you saved us all. And look,” she said and spread her arms
wide. “Here I am, walking and talking, thanks to you. You have
nothing to apologize for.”

The
others had been watching this little scene with interest. Several of
them nodded.

“
I
wasn't there, obviously, but Natalie is right,” Anabelle said
firmly. “To take on Lilith and win is a phenomenal achievement,
Chris. And it weakens our enemy significantly. Celebrate your
victory, don't regret it.”

Chris
felt better, not at Anabelle's comments, but because Natalie didn't
seem to be holding a grudge. He gave her a grateful smile and she
winked subtly in return.

“
Okay,
so we know why Sariel needs his sword intact,” Patrick said.
“So what about the rest of the story?”

“
What
rest of the story?” Chris asked in confusion.

“
Oh,
you know, that little incident when you were attacked by one of the
Fallen on your flight here?”

His
tone was mildly sarcastic but he was smiling as he spoke and Chris
had to chuckle.

“
Oh
right. That incident. Nat, do you want to take this one? I really
wasn't involved.”

Anabelle
abruptly put down her cup and it rang loudly on the saucer. “What
do you mean you weren't involved? Did Sariel hang back
again
?”

“
Careful
Anabelle,” Francis said in a stern voice. “You're
starting to sound like you doubt him.”

She
blushed at that comment. “No, no. I don't. I...sorry, Chris. I
think that came out wrong.”

“
Don't
worry about it,” he answered. “Go ahead, Nat.”

Natalie
filled her cup and began to add sugar to the coffee slowly. She
stirred it a little longer than was necessary and Chris guessed that
she was organizing her thoughts. She tapped the spoon of the rim of
the cup and it chimed gently. Then she set down the spoon and had a
quick sip.

“
Sorry
for the hesitation,” she said. “I'm really not sure how
to tell you the story. I'm still trying to figure out what it all
means and how it affects our struggle. Well, Gloriel is trying
anyway,” She set her cup back down and took a deep breath.

“
We
were attacked by something that I didn't think existed outside of
myths and legends.” She looked around at the four rapt
teenagers. “It was Pestilence. One of the Four Horsemen.”

Chris
was almost disappointed that there wasn't a reaction similar to her
earlier announcement about Lilith. Instead, all of the resident
Angelics simply stared blankly at Natalie.

“
Pestilence?”
Patrick said and turned a stunned look on his fellows. “Did she
just say Pestilence?”

“
Yes,
she did,” Chris said impatiently. “Trust me, I was there.
It was him, or it, or whatever term you want to use. He was real and
he was powerful.”

“
Where
was Sariel when this happened, Chris?” Alysa asked. She sounded
more curious than accusatory.

“
He
was in Purgatory. He said he had some business to deal with. He and I
haven't really talked about that yet. We're just lucky that he got in
touch in time to tell Gloriel the Horseman's real name.”

A
breath of sweet, grassy-smelling air wafted in from the window and
Chris breathed in deeply. The scent calmed him somewhat. He had
started to tense up just talking about the confrontation.

“
His
name? How did that help?”

“
This
guy was arrogant to the point of stupidity,” Natalie answered.
“I think he could have swatted our plane out of the sky as if
it were a fly. But instead, he manifested inside in human form. Using
his name locked him into that form, and so he was weakened. Gloriel
was able to...neutralize him.”

Neutralize
him. Yeah right, Chris thought. Slice him in two is more like it.

“
So
he's dead?” Alysa asked excitedly.

“
For
now. But he'll return. You can't destroy a Horseman so easily. We
learned that the Four were created from the very essence of Satan
himself. Which makes them stronger and tougher than any of the other
Fallen except for their master.”

Alysa
looked horrified. Anabelle almost seemed nauseous. Both Patrick and
Francis just sat quietly, digesting the story.

Patrick
began to talk about possible ways to counter the Four. Francis chimed
in with other ideas. Soon the four Angelics were animatedly
discussing battles and tactics.

Chris
listened quietly for a few minutes and then stood up and went to look
out of the window. He felt restless. The extensive gardens really
were beautiful though and the sight was strangely relaxing. He
watched two children chase each other around some bushes while their
parents looked on indulgently.

The
air was thick with the perfume of flowers and the curious blend of
birds each singing a different song. He had to admit that he loved
it.

Part
of him, the cynical street kid, was amused by that. For three years
he had barely taken notice of anything around him in the natural
world except for maybe the weather. He was too busy surviving. And
now, here he was. Living in a castle, for God's sake! A kid with an
archangel for a soul, surrounded by others just like him. Well,
almost like him.