The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (30 page)

“
What's wrong?”
he asked her.

She blinked several times,
glanced at him and began eating again.

“
Nothing really,”
she said, chewing slowly. “I was just thinking about Bea and
George. I'm guessing that they're back in Luxembourg by now. I was
wondering if they were okay.”

“
Yeah, I hear you.”
Chris stared into his coffee cup. “If anything happens to them,
I'm going to feel responsible.”

“
You?” Natalie
looked startled. “Why you? The judge sent them and they wanted
to go. It has absolutely nothing to do with you.”

“
Doesn't it?”
He looked at her seriously. “What good did I do when we were
there? What good was Sariel for that matter? All we did was put
everyone in danger by taking that stupid Angel's Road in the first
place. Frigging useless thing. And what did we learn when we got
there? Nothing. The safe-house had been attacked. Cripes, we already
knew that.”

He looked away, thinking
bitter thoughts.

“
Listen Chris.
There's enough guilt to go around in life without taking on more when
you don't need to.” Natalie reached out and put her hand on
his. Chris looked at her, startled. She'd never done that before.

“
I have loads of
guilt, enough to sink a good-sized boat,” Natalie continued.
“And I deserve it. But one thing I have learned. Chewing
yourself up inside over things that are beyond your control is
self-destructive. It can distract you, make you hesitate.” She
tightened her grip and then released his hand. “Don't let it,”
she added seriously.

Chris sighed and nodded
reluctantly. “Yeah, I guess you're right. But I like Bea. And
George. To think of them out there, alone, no one to watch their
backs? It makes me nervous.”

Natalie surprised him by
laughing lightly.

“
They aren't alone.
They have each other. And those two are professionals. You probably
don't know this, but when the judge hires staff that will be involved
in the security of the Angelic Dominion, he hires the best. Usually
ex-military, always well trained in both combat and infiltration and,
most of all, with a strong sense of loyalty both to him and to the
cause.”

Natalie paused and thought
for a moment. Chris waited, fascinated. This was the first time he'd
been told anything about the background of the staff members.

“
I have no idea how
he gets them to buy into the whole 'angels walking the Earth' thing,
but he does. All of the staff believe, Chris. And that's huge. They
aren't just paid mercenaries. Mercenaries can be bought, convinced to
turn on their employers for the right price. None of these people
will do that. So don't worry,” she finished. “If anyone
can get in and get out in one piece, it's that pair.”

“
Yeah, okay. But if
you don't mind, I'll worry anyway. Just a little. I can't help it.”

With a laugh, Natalie got
up with her plate.

“
So will I,
actually. But try not to focus on it too much.”

She took her plate to the
cart used to hold the dirty dishes and left it there.

“
I have an
appointment with Chef this morning. He surprised me with a call
asking if I wanted another baking lesson. Maybe he wants to keep
himself distracted too.”

She gave Chris a pat on
the shoulder as she headed off. He replied with a wave and then she
was gone.

Other staff members were
entering the room now, none of whom were familiar to Chris, and he
decided that it was time to go. But once he was standing in the
corridor outside of the dining room, he realized that he didn't know
what to do with himself. He simply stood there, nodding at passing
faces as he considered his options.

There were several private
sitting rooms that he'd found while exploring Valiant where he could
spend some time. Two of them had video game consoles and heaps of
games if he wanted to play something distracting. There was also a
tennis court and outdoor pool behind the castle, away from prying
tourist's eyes that he was allowed to use as well, so he'd been
informed a few days earlier.

But Chris didn't play
tennis and had no interest in swimming at the moment. He would
probably play some video games later but for now, he just wasn't in
the mood.

There's always TV, he
thought. The British television shows were fascinating to him. Or
maybe just grab a book. He had always been a voracious reader.

Chris found himself
sighing loudly. What to do, what to do.

A young woman that he
recognized vaguely as one of the women who worked on the front desk
was passing by. She stopped and smiled at him.

“
Good morning, Mr.
Wright,” she said brightly. “You seem a little lost this
morning.”

“
I do? Oh yeah.
Well, I'm just trying to decide what to do today.” He wondered
if that sounded as lame to her as it did to him.

The woman laughed gently.
“I see. I'm Janet, by the way. If you're just looking for a way
to distract yourself, the gardens and grounds are a wonderful place
to spend some time.”

“
Oh thanks, but I'm
not really in the mood to dodge tourists right now,” he said.
“Not that they're not wanted or anything,” he added
hastily. “But I think I'd like to be alone for a while.”

“
Then you are in
luck. Lord Hawkes has closed Valiant to tourism until further
notice.”

“
He has?”
Chris stared at her. “Why would he do that?”

“
No idea,” she
said with a small shrug. “His lordship is the boss though, so
his word is law. There have been some unhappy calls and emails on the
subject, I have to say. The castle is a popular spot, not just with
tourists, but with many local families as well. The children
especially love the fact that we encourage them to explore and roam
as much as they like. Anyway, if you head outside you won't meet
anyone but staff security.”

Chris thanked her and she
wished him a nice day, then headed into the dining room.

He began walking vaguely
toward the entrance to the castle, still not sure of what he wanted
to do and thinking deeply.

Why would the judge close
down Valiant? Security was the obvious answer, but the west wing,
where the organization was stationed, was secure from the rest of the
castle. What did it matter if a bunch of tourists wandered around the
rest of the place?

Apparently it did matter
to the judge. When Chris arrived at the front entrance and asked one
of the staff members on duty, a tall, red-faced man who introduced
himself as Mr. O'Brien, if the castle was closed to the public, he
confirmed it.

“
Oh aye,” he
said in a pleasant Scottish accent. “The place is off-limits
for the time being. Only those on his lordship's list are allowed
inside the main gate. If you're heading outside, you'll have the
whole place practically to yourself.”

With a nod of thanks,
Chris decided to do exactly that and went out the front door.

Two more staffers, both
women clad in the usual dark business suit that the staff wore on
duty, stood on opposite sides of the entrance and smiled briefly at
him as he walked by. Chris wasn't sure if it was his imagination or
not, but they both seemed a little tense.

He wandered across the
front yard, noting the absence of cars in the tourist's parking lot,
and he realized just how quiet it was without the usual comings and
goings of visitors around the place.

The front gates were open
but were flanked by several more of the uniformed staff. Chris didn't
bother going that way. The group all seemed to be on edge and he
decided that his first guess was correct; the judge had locked the
place down for security reasons. Did he know something that Chris
didn't? He answered his own question; the man knew a lot more than he
did, obviously.

In the gardens, the bright
sunlight, the cheerful colors of the flowers and the wonderfully
sweet smell of the plants improved Chris' mood at once. It was a bit
sad that no one else was allowed to enjoy the amazing spectacle but
he doubted that the judge would keep Valiant locked down for too
long. Hopefully, once the current crisis was past, things would go
back to normal.

If it passed, a little
voice inside him said. Chis told it to shut up and kept walking.

As he approached the
center of the enormous maze that was the gardens, Chris was surprised
to hear voices ahead. I thought the place was closed?

He walked more slowly,
listening carefully and then he smiled as he recognized the speakers.
He hurried down the path and turned to the left around a hedge to see
several people sitting on benches and on the grass.

It was the resident
Angelics. Chris waved as he saw them and was greeted with a chorus of
hellos.

Alysa was lying on the
grass, basking in the sun in cutoffs and a bikini top. Chris noticed
for the first time that she had great legs.

Patrick and Francis were
sitting on benches that faced each other, both wearing t-shirts and
shorts, while Anabelle was wearing a more modest yellow blouse and
slacks. She was sitting cross-legged on the grass near Alysa.

“
Chris!” Alysa
called and waved him over. “How are you? We haven't seen you
around in a while. Come on and grab a patch of grass. Isn't the day
beautiful? And the colors? Fabulous! And the air is so sweet. Stunner
of a day, really.”

Chris had to grin at her
quick-fire way of speaking. He saw Anabelle do her standard eye-roll
at Alysa's comments, but she smiled and patted the ground next to
her. He sat down and looked at all of them.

“
How's everyone
doing?” he asked, surprised at how good it felt to see the four
again.

“
Oh, we're doing
fine, lad,” Patrick said. He looked around the garden. “It's
not too often that we get old Valiant to ourselves, so we decided to
take full advantage of it while we can.”

“
Aye, it's a right
treat, it is,” Francis chimed in. He stretched and smiled
broadly. “Good to get out for an airing once in a while, don't
you think?”

“
Absolutely,”
Chris agreed. He plunked himself down next to Anabelle and stretched
his legs out. He realized that his jeans were too heavy for a day
like this, but maybe he'd go in and change later. Right now he was
just happy to be talking to the Angelics again.

“
But where's
Natalie?” Anabelle asked and looked around as if she'd missed
Natalie's arrival. “Don't tell me she's still cooped up inside
on a lovely day like this?”

Chris picked up a few
blades of grass and rubbed them between his fingers, marveling at
their texture and scent.

“
Oh, she's down in
the kitchens with Chef,” he said. “He's teaching her the
fine art of baking. He's quite the cook.”

“
So I've heard,”
Anabelle said and chuckled. “You should hear Frannie go on
about him. If her cooking is any indication, he's an amazing
teacher.”

“
Maybe so, but stuck
in a hot old kitchen on a day like today? Yuck.” Alysa made a
face and then lay back, eyes closed, and basked in the sunlight.
Chris and Anabelle exchanged a look and then hastily covered their
mouths to contain their laughter.

“
So what have you
been up to, Chris?” Patrick asked as he leaned back on the
bench. “We haven't seen much of you over the last little
while.”

Chris stared at the other
boy. “Wait. You haven't been told what's going on?”

“
What's going on?
Nope. We were actually a bit shocked when they told us that Valiant
had been made off-limits to tourists. No one said why. Do you know
what's going on?”

The others looked at Chris
expectantly. Even Alysa deigned to open an eye and stare at him.

“
Well, yeah. I mean,
I guess closing the place down is because of what happened
yesterday.”

He looked at Anabelle. She
was the oldest and he instinctively spoke directly to her.

“
No one filled you
in? Seriously?”

“
Seriously,”
Anabelle answered. She frowned. “Why? Are we being kept out of
the loop or what?”

Chris was confused. Why
wouldn't Judge Hawkes have told the other Angelics about what
happened in Luxembourg? The main reason for the organization's
existence was them, really. He wasn't sure what to do.

Apparently his feelings
were evident on his face, because Anabelle reached out and gave his
shoulder a little shake.

“
You're looking a
bit conflicted there, my friend. Afraid to say the wrong thing, are
you?”

“
Wow, you read
people well.” he said faintly. She laughed kindly.

“
Sometimes. But
Chris, we're Angelics, just like you and Natalie. If something
happened that concerns us, we have a right to know, don't you think?”

He slumped back on to his
elbows and watched a bird flit by, leaving a flash of red in its
wake.

“
Yeah, I agree. I
don't know if this will get me in trouble with Judge Hawkes, but you
should hear about what happened. In fact, I think you need to hear
about it.”