The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (44 page)

Chris had to laugh at
that.

“
Right, Dad,”
he said. “Well, let's get going. I'm sure they're still
patrolling the halls and I don't feel like hearing a lecture on
responsibility right now.”

“
I second that,”
Patrick agreed fervently and they hurried past the empty desk and up
the stairs.

A few minutes passed and
they reached Patrick's rooms.

“
Here we are,”
he said as he dug in his pockets for his key. “Feel like coming
in? Watching some telly?”

Chris was tempted. Except
for the weirdness at the front desk, and the earlier storm, he'd had
a great day and he didn't want it to end. But he was also very tired,
which he thought was odd considering the long nap he'd had in the
afternoon, and decided to turn in.

“
Thanks Pat, but I'm
kind of beat. I'm going to crash.”

At his friend's look of
disappointment, he hurried on. “Listen, if you wake up first
tomorrow morning, come by my rooms and wake me up, will you? I'll do
the same if I'm up first. We'll go down to breakfast together.”

Patrick's eyes lit up and
he grinned.

“
Great idea. But you
better hope you're up first, because the banging on your door is
going to be so loud, you'll think that storm is back.”

“
I'll risk it, wise
guy,” Chris said with a laugh and punched Patrick lightly on
the shoulder. “Have a good night.”

“
You too,”
Patrick said as he unlocked his door. “See you in the morning.”

Chris gave him a wave and
walked off. His room was just around the corner and two doors down
from Patrick's and he was soon getting undressed after brushing his
teeth. He slipped into bed with a satisfied sigh. It had been a good
day.

Chris sat straight up in
bed, transitioning from sleep to wakefulness in an instant.

He blinked owlishly into
the darkness of his room, not having a clue as to why he was awake.

The moonlight was
streaming through his window, lighting up a brilliant square of his
rug while leaving the rest of the room unlit and obscure. What had
woken him up?

He listened intently,
holding his breath and searching the night with his ears. But there
was nothing but the beat of his nervous heart thumping frantically in
his head.

Chris pushed back the
covers and slipped out of bed. He stood shivering, trying to figure
out what was going on. He finally moved to stand at the window and
looked down at the gardens below.

The moon was full and
bloated, like a pale, sated maggot in the heavens. It lit the
scattered plants and trees with an eerie, ghostly light, throwing
shadows into sharp relief.

Chris looked around for
any sign of the patrolling staff members, but there was nothing to
see. The night was motionless, with not even a breeze to sway the
boughs of the black and white trees.

Where were they? The
patrols had been doubled up. He should be seeing at least a
half-dozen people wandering through the gardens. But there was no
movement at all.

Or was there?

Chris squinted, trying to
focus through the gloom at the shadows around the trees and plants.

What was that? Movement?
He peered through the window, his heart now firmly in his throat and
throbbing loudly in his ears.

Yes. A shadow had moved.
There was no shape that he could recognize, but one of the shadows
had elongated, stretched like taffy and then merged with the next.
Something, some force, was edging closer toward Valiant.

Chris continued to watch,
no longer shivering but feeling sweat start to bead up on his skin
and trickle down his back. More shadows, more movement. But all in
silence. Deafening stillness.

He'd seen enough. Chris
turned, scrambled across his bed and reached for the bedside lamp.
And stopped.

If he turned on a light,
they
might see it. And then...what? He didn't know. Just like he didn't
know who
they
were. Or what had happened to the patrols. That wasn't something he
could bear to think about.

Instead,
he ripped his phone out of its charger, swept his finger across it
and tapped in Judge Hawkes' number.

He'll
know what to do, Chris thought frantically. He always knows what to
do.

The
phone rang. Once, then twice. And again. Chris felt like screaming.

Wake
up, judge. Wake up!

“
Hello?”
came the groggy voice of the judge on the phone. “Who is this?”

“
Judge,
it's me. Chris.”

“
Christopher?”
The man cleared his throat and then said more briskly. “What is
it? It's four o'clock in the morning. What's wrong?”

“
Sir,
I don't know. I woke up just now and I looked outside and I saw...”

Chris
was trying to speak so quickly that his tongue seemed to trip over
itself and he found himself unable to speak at all.

“
Easy,
my boy. Stop. Take a breath and speak slowly.”

The
judge's calm voice was like a tonic and Chris felt himself relax
slightly.

“
Now,
start again.”

“
Yes
sir. Judge, there's something wrong. I mean really wrong. Earlier
when Patrick and I were passing through the lobby, there was no one
manning the front desk. And just now, I woke up for some reason, and
when I looked outside, I couldn't see any patrols. None. And, and
there are shadows moving in the trees.”

“
Shadows?”
the judge repeated sharply. “What kind of shadows? Shadows of
what?”

“
I
don't know!” Chris said, almost yelling into the phone in fear
and frustration. “Just shadows. Creeping toward Valiant in the
moonlight. Sir, we're in danger. Terrible danger!”

“
Very
well, Christopher. Now listen carefully. Get dressed as fast as you
can and get down to the main lobby. I'm going to activate the alarm
and have everyone gather there as well.”

“
Sir,
are we under attack?” Chris asked desperately.

There
was a momentary silence.

“
We
may well be, my boy. Now get dressed and move. And don't forget the
sword. God help us, we may need it before this night is over.”

The
judge hung up and Chris jumped off the bed and grabbed the clothes he
had worn the day before and tossed on the floor before he went to
bed.

He
stubbed his toe on the corner of the bed and cursed loudly as he
threw on his clothes. It didn't help his throbbing big toe, but it
made him feel a little better.

Then
he groped through his dark closet and found the canvas bundle that
was the sword. Its power made the hairs on the back of his neck stand
up, but for the first time he felt, not fear, but reassurance from
that strange energy.

Chris
slipped on his sneakers, put the phone in his pocket and walked to
the door, his hands outstretched to stop him from walking into the
wall.

Once
out in the corridor, he turned in the direction of the lobby just as
alarm bells began to ring throughout the castle. Hidden speakers
filled the hallways with the sound of the judge's voice.

“
All
residents of Valiant. We are under attack. I repeat, we are under
attack. All staff and Angelics meet in the main lobby at once. I
repeat, meet in the main lobby. No laggards. This is not a drill, my
friends. This is the real thing.”

Chris
could hear people in the rooms he passed. He heard several curses as
well and smiled involuntarily. More stubbed toes, he thought.

As
he was passing Patrick's room, Chris stopped. He heard nothing from
inside and decided to knock on the door and wake him up.

It
actually took a minute of pounding before the door slowly opened to
reveal Patrick standing in his underwear, staring at Chris foggily.

“
All
right, mate. All right. You win. You got up first.”

Then
he blinked several times and cocked his head.

“
What's
with the alarms?” he asked blankly.

Chris
resisted an urge to shake him.

“
We're
under attack, you idiot. Now come one! Get dressed. We have to meet
everyone else in the lobby ASAP.”

“
Under
attack?” Patrick's eyes widened and he turned quickly and
hurried back into his room. Chris followed him in.

The
suite was set up exactly like Chris', except the walls were painted a
light blue and the rug was brown. He waited while his friend went
into his bedroom to get dressed.

“
Has
it got something to do with that missing person from the front desk?”
Patrick called out, grunting a bit as he got dressed.

“
Not
sure,” Chris answered loudly. “But it's a hell of a
coincidence if it doesn't.”

“
Yeah,
that's for sure.”

Patrick
came back out, dressed, like Chris, in the clothes from yesterday.

“
I'm
ready,” he said and Chris moved out into the hall with his
friend close behind him.

They
began to hurry down the hallway toward the lobby.

“
By
the way, I hope calling me an idiot was just a figure of speech,”
Patrick said, panting a bit as they were almost jogging.

“
Oh
for... Of course it was.” Chris rolled his eyes. “I was
trying to get your attention. I mean, I couldn't leave you behind,
could I? What if you got hurt?”

“
Yeah,
got it. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“
No
problem,” Chris replied. “You idiot,” he added with
a grin. This time, Patrick returned it.

As
they raced down the stairs that circled the lobby, Chris looked
around, trying to do a head count.

He
saw all of the Angelics, and he checked twice to make sure. They all
looked scared and several of the girls were wearing robes over their
nightgowns.

Near
them, Chris spotted the staff members from the Nest. George was
combing his hair and his tie was undone, but Tony and Beatrice were
dressed and looked alert and ready for anything. Ramona was just
entering the lobby and hurried over to stand by the others.

Alexander
was with them as well, also dressed in the standard dark suit and
tie. He was talking quietly with Tony, both of them looking somber.

As
he and Patrick reached the bottom of the stairs, Chris saw Chef
emerge from the corridor that led to the kitchen area. He guessed
that the man was up early to start getting breakfast ready.

The
only one missing was Judge Hawkes. And all of the staff from Valiant.
Except for Alexander, none of them had appeared.

“
What
the hell is happening, Chris?” Natalie said as he approached
the group of teens. They were all standing more closely together than
they normally would. Alysa, still in her nightgown, was wringing her
hands together anxiously and chewing her gum at a furious pace.

“
I
think we're about to be attacked, Nat,” Chris told her under
his breath.

She
looked up at that moment and Chris followed her gaze and saw that
Judge Hawkes was walking quickly but calmly down the stairs. Chris
could feel a palpable sense of relief from everyone around him as
they noticed the man coming toward them.

The
judge reached the floor and walked briskly to stand behind the main
desk. Several of the teens began to ask questions in a slightly
hysterical tone and he held up his hands and waited until they
quieted down.

“
Stay
calm, everyone. Please.”

Judge
Hawkes looked around the room, obviously noting the absence of the
resident staff members. He shook his head and sighed.

“
Well,
it seems that Mr. Mahony did a wonderful job of planting his own
people in Valiant and replacing those loyal to me. Of course, he had
ten years of my own blind stupidity to help him, so I suppose I
shouldn't give him too much credit.”

He
sounded furious at himself, but before anyone else could say
anything, Chef pushed through the others crowding around the desk and
stood looking at the judge, hands on his own ample hips.

“
That
comment is uncalled for, Ethan. You are a trusting man. And your
trust is part of why people are so loyal to you. We can't change the
past, so let us deal with the present. What is going on?”

The
judge and Chef stared at each other for a long moment, and then the
judge nodded once.

“
Thank
you, Mario, You are correct, of course.” He looked at the crowd
of pale faces. “We have been betrayed, my friends. As you can
see, the staff of Valiant has deserted their posts en mass. I fear
they have abducted our clerics as well. I am quite sure that it was
our traitorous Mr. Mahony's doing. But as Chef has pointed out, we
have no time for recriminations.”