The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (25 page)

“
Very well.”
Sariel looked at the group. “Follow me please, but not too
closely. If anything should happen, I will need room to do battle.
And whatever you do, do not stray from the path.” He indicated
the blankness at the edges of the silver ribbon of light. “There
lies oblivion. If you should fall from the Road, I will not be able
to save you.”

A look of real fear passed
over several of the staff members faces, but all of them nodded their
understanding.

“
Are you ready?”
Sariel spoke directly to Chef.

“
Lead on. We're with
you,” Chef answered, after a quick glance at his companions.

Sariel turned and began to
stride down the Road. As they started to walk, Chris had an absurd
picture flash through his mind of Dorothy and her friends tripping
down the yellow brick road.

Let's just hope we don't
meet the wicked witch, he thought grimly.

They trooped along the
path for some time, perhaps an hour, and Chris was fascinated by the
experience. The way dipped and turned seemingly at random, but their
feet didn't slip, nor was there any feeling of being unbalanced by
the way the Road weaved about. Why it simply wasn't a straight
highway was something that Chris eventually asked Sariel as he
walked.

That is something I
cannot answer,
Sariel replied silently.
Only
God knows why it is the way that it is. I simply accept it.

You know, that's not
very helpful,
Chris said to the archangel.

Sariel's reply with tinged
with laughter.
I know, my friend. But I am
simply a child of the Creator, not the Creator Himself. What more can
I say?

Chris let it be. As Sariel
said, if you don't know the answer to something, you don't know it.
But it didn't stop him from being curious.

As they marched along,
Chef eventually moved up to walk next to Sariel, moving two steps to
every one of his. At the archangel's curious glance, the man smiled.

“
Don't worry,”
Chef said cheerfully. “At the first hint of trouble, I'll fall
back and give you some room. But I wanted to ask you something, or
maybe several things, if you don't mind. It might make the journey
less monotonous.”

“
Certainly,”
Sariel replied. “Ask whatever you wish. You are Chris' friend
after all and he values your judgment.”

“
Does he now?”
Chef looked thoughtful and then grinned that grin that Chris found so
charming. “The lad has excellent taste then.”

The archangel chuckled and
waited for him to continue.

“
I heard you mention
something to Gloriel about other races using the Road.” Sariel
nodded. “What did you mean?”

Chris knew that the others
behind them could hear the conversation clearly and he could almost
feel their attention sharpen as Chef spoke. He was curious himself
and waited for Sariel's answer.

“
Surely you did not
think that humans were the only intelligent life in the vastness of
the universe?” the archangel asked as he pointed to the stars
above their heads. “There are others in the cosmos, other
civilizations, that are billions of years older than man. Older than
the Earth itself. Some of these ancient intelligences have learned of
the Road, and use it to move from star to star, planet to planet.”

Sariel smiled at Chef.
“Some of your scientists are correct. It is not possible to
physically move faster than the speed of light. And wormholes created
by singularities, what your people call black holes, are too
destructive to be used to transport matter across space, although it
is true that they have that property. No, if humanity ever explores
the vastness that is space and walks among the stars, they will do so
using the Angel's Road.”

Chef's eyebrows lifted up
almost to his hairline. “You mean angels are going to help them
find the Road?”

“
Of course not.”
Sariel's confusion was evident. “God would not allow such
interference.”

He looked over his left
shoulder, the broken wing giving him a clearer view of the group
behind him, to see everyone staring at him in rapt attention. Gloriel
was striding along majestically at the rear. He looked back at Chef
with sudden understanding.

“
Oh, I see. You
think that because it has been called the Angel's Road that only
angels can find it?” Chef nodded silently. “No, no, that
is not the case at all. We were simply the first beings to use it.
Those others that I mentioned discovered the Road on their own, as
humanity may in the future. I assure you that there is a scientific
explanation for all that you see here.” He paused a moment. “Of
course, the explanation is invariably wrong, but if it helps mortals
to sleep at night, then I suppose that it serves a purpose.”

The Road banked to the
left and dipped suddenly. As before, they remained steady on their
feet, easily following the convoluted path.

“
Why would the
scientific theory about the Angel's Road be wrong?” Chef asked.

“
Because, in this
case at least, there is only one true reason for the Road to
exist...God wanted it to. And scientists simply do not factor in the
Divine in their calculations, do they?”

Chef smiled crookedly.
“Good point. So, is it possible that we might actually run into
these older races while we're traveling?”

Chris felt the attention
of the others intensify as they listened.

“
Oh no, I sincerely
doubt that, my friend,” Sariel answered reassuringly. “There
is a, let us call it an agreement, among these oldest of beings that
the younger races are to be left strictly alone to develop as they
will. None of them will interfere and none of them will allow others
to do so. It is a pact that has been in place since time immemorial.
We are safe, at least from them. But the Fallen and their allies? Ah,
they are another thing entirely.”

“
I see.” Chef
turned and watched the Road ahead for a few minutes, seeming to be
deep in thought. Then he looked at Sariel again.

“
Just one more
question, if you don't mind.”

“
Of course not. Ask
it.”

Chris could feel Sariel's
pleasure with the conversation he was having with Chef and he
wondered how long it had been since the archangel had really just had
a chat with someone, person to person. He felt a twinge of pity for
him and was surprised at himself.

“
I was just
wondering how far we have to travel on the Road, and how much longer
it will take to get to our destination.”

Sariel's laughter
surprised Chef. It surprised Chris as well. And when he saw the look
on the man's face, Sariel immediately became serious again.

“
Forgive me. I am
not laughing at you, my friend. But obviously I should have explained
the nature of the Road more clearly.” Sariel shook back his
wings and took another quick look at the whirling stars above them.

“
Time holds no sway
over the Angel's Road. What may feel like hours here is simply an
illusion. When we return to the physical plane again, it will be as
if we had instantly moved from one point on Earth to the next. And
because we exist outside of time while we are traveling on the Road,
you will find that you do not experience fatigue, or hunger, or the
need for sleep. Indeed, you could stay here indefinitely, for what
would feel like years to your mortal senses, and emerge to find the
world exactly the same as when you left it.”

“
And we wouldn't age
at all?”

Sariel turned to look at
Alexander, who had asked the question.

“
No, not at all. But
what would be the benefit? You would not change and the world would
not change. This is truly a trap in a way, my friends. For example,
if we are attacked and one of you is wounded, that wound will not
heal while you remain on the Road. It will remain as painful, as
debilitating as it was when it was inflicted. Only time can heal.”

He hesitated and corrected
himself. “Well, time or an angel. But until a wounded person
enters the material world again, they will feel the same level of
pain as they had when they were wounded.” He nodded at Chef's
grimace. “Yes, it is a rather horrible thought.”

“
I agree. But since
I have a human's senses, not an angel's, could you at least tell me
how long it will
seem
to be until we reach Luxembourg?”

Sariel
laughed a bit. “Of course. Less than an hour, my friend.”

“
Thank
you,” Chef said graciously. “I appreciate your time.”

“
My
pleasure,” Sariel said and the man nodded and fell back to walk
with the group.

I like him,
the archangel said to Chris. He sounded a little surprised.

Me too. He's, what's
the word? Steady, I guess. I can't imagine anything sending Chef into
a panic.

Perhaps you cannot,
Chris. But I can.
And with that dire
pronouncement, Sariel fell silent and walked on.

But for all of their fears
and the hints from Sariel, the travelers reached their destination
without mishap.

Sariel stopped in the
middle of the Road, turned and looked at the group following him,
Gloriel still silently walking as rearguard.

“
We have arrived,”
he said simply.

Everyone stopped and
looked around curiously.

“
Um, how can you
tell?” George asked as he stood scratching his head and staring
first at the road and then at the stars overhead.

“
I simply know,”
Sariel said.

He began to Change, his
eye-line gradually becoming even with the adults and then sinking
lower until Chris was his normal height again. He felt a momentary
sense of loss as he turn back into himself. It had been nice being
tall and strong instead of short and puny.

When he was back to his
own body, Chris relayed Sariel's words to the others.

“
Gloriel, he says
that you can let Natalie return now,” Chris told her.

The angel simply nodded
once and quickly reformed into Natalie's familiar shape. She too
seemed to have a look of regret on her face as Gloriel faded away.

“
So how do we get
back to the physical world?” Chef asked Chris.

“
Well, he says to
click your heels together three times and...”

Chris' mouth dropped open
as he realized what he was saying and then he closed it with a snap.
Everyone was staring at him and suddenly the entire group burst out
laughing, Chris along with the rest.

When he could speak again,
Chris spoke to Sariel out loud.

“
This is a heck of a
time to develop a sense of humor, Sariel,” he said as he looked
at Natalie, who was still snorting softly.

At Sariel's answer, he
grinned again. Natalie raised an inquiring eyebrow.

“
He says that now is
the best time. We were all wound up a little too tightly.” He
thought about that and looked at Chef. “Were we?”

Chef had laughed so hard
that a tear had leaked from his eye. Now he wiped it off and nodded.

“
He's right. We
needed to relieve that pressure a bit. We need to be sharp when we
leave here. Sharp but not on a hair-trigger. Good job on Sariel's
part for noticing.”

“
Ah, okay,”
Chris said. “Now, if you're all ready, just follow me. Sariel
will open the way, again for just a few seconds, so be ready and get
through the arch as quick as you can. All set?”

Everyone nodded, their
smiles gone, replaced by looks of determination.

“
Okay, we are
going...now!”

A flashing archway of
silver bisected the road several feet away, Chris leaped at it with
no hesitation and he could hear footsteps ringing on the road's
surface as the others followed.

There was moment of
darkness, a soundless explosion of daylight and he found himself
standing in a narrow alley, next to a rather putrid-smelling
dumpster.

“
Gees, Sariel, you
couldn't have come out someplace a little less disgusting?”
Chris said out loud as he waved his hand in front of his face. Before
the archangel could answer, the rest of the group appeared, with
similar expressions of distaste on their faces.

“
Oh yuck,”
Beatrice said, gagging slightly. “Don't these people have
regular garbage pickup?”

Sorry, but I brought us
as close to the safe-house as I could,
Sariel
answered Chris silently.
This spot was devoid
of people. I could not risk you being seen as you left the Road.

Yeah, okay. Makes
sense. Where is the safe-house anyway?

You are standing next
to its back wall.

Chris' eyes widened and he
pointed at the red brick wall that the dumpster was resting against.

“
Sariel says that is
the back wall of the safe-house. Funny but I thought it would be
isolated like the Nest and Valiant.”