ARCHANGEL

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “How were you directed to come here then?” Raphael interrupted impatiently. “Have a care. My patience is not without limits.”

  “Raphael, they’ll send security over if you don’t walk away from the counter,” Carol whispered urgently, seeing the curious looks they were getting from both the staff and the other customers in line. “I get off in another fifteen minutes. You take John and wait for me over near the casino.”

  Raphael nodded. He took Pennington by the arm, guiding him away from the counter. “Yes, Mr. Pennington, let’s wait for Carol where we can exchange words of wisdom.”

  When they were standing near where the casino complex began, Raphael released Pennington’s arm. Pennington eyed the casino entrance, ready to bolt for the door.

  “You won’t get two steps, John. Now tell me what you know. If I hear the truth I’ll escort you to the entrance.”

  “I…I get my orders through a website called Demons of Satan. Our group here in Las Vegas is one of its affiliates. This…this was the first time we were ever asked to do anything. We were supposed to report your movements.”

  “What’s in it for you? How many of you naive nitwits are there?”

  “We have almost a thousand followers,” Pennington answered with some pride. “We’re the…”

  “Never mind the list of your accomplishments. What do these masters of yours pay you?”

  “They don’t pay us. We take up contributions from our members for them. It would be sacrilege to take money from…”

  Raphael laughed, gesturing Pennington to silence. “Let me get this straight, you and your moronic black sheep contribute money for the privilege of being dupes of demons who only promise you eternal damnation. Shrewd.”

  “Mock us if you will, but we’re no different than the Baptists or Catholics.”

  “Except for one thing, Sparky - the Baptists and Catholics aren’t trying to spend eternity in some fiery pit,” Raphael replied. “Give me your wallet.”

  “What?” Pennington exclaimed with some consternation but reached for his wallet anyway. “You’re going to rob me?”

  “No, you moron,” Raphael answered stoically, taking Pennington’s wallet from him and flipping to the man’s driver’s license. “Although I could find you easily enough, I want to know where you live. If anything happens to Carol I will have my brother visit retribution on everything you’ve ever known.”

  Raphael looked at the license and then tossed the wallet back to Pennington.

  “Okay, beat it. Take a word of advice from someone who could care less what you do: find a way out of whatever it is you’re doing. A little common sense would do you a world of good. You’ve met an actual Archangel now. You’ve never seen one of the demons you keep chasing. Take my word for it you’re not going to be very happy when you do.”

  Pennington considered spewing one of the many clichéd responses he and his ilk stored rather than think. Instead, he turned away silently and headed to the entrance. As Raphael stood quietly watching Pennington exit the Venetian, Carol walked up beside him. She grasped his arm tentatively.

  “I’m sorry about… about all this,” Carol said, meeting Raphael’s amused look. “I…”

  “Please don’t be sorry,” Raphael interrupted with an abrupt shrug of his shoulders. “I may not be as worldly as I’d like to think, but my expectations of what humans are capable of are very low. Luckily, I have two young human friends who take nothing for granted. I doubt John will screw around with you now. I’ll let you get to whatever it is you do when you’re not trying to get into Hell.”

  “Come home with me, Raph.”

  “I’m definitely not that worldly,” Raphael replied with a grin.

  “Want to go have a coffee with me and talk about it?”

  “As long as we do it in a place with lots of people I have no objection.”

  “I…I never wanted you to be harmed.”

  “I don’t want you harmed either. You, my little redhead, are playing a dangerous game. Mr. Pennington may indeed be as shallow as he appears to be. He fits in very well with the rest of the Lucifer dupes. You, on the other hand, have a lot more going for you. Let’s not kid each other. What did you think your friends wanted to have happen to us?”

  “It…it’s just been a game up until now. We danced around in the dark sometimes with robes and candles. Most of the meetings were in on-line chat rooms created within our website. We assumed demonic names and came up with plots to garnish power.”

  “Sounds pretty shallow,” Raphael remarked. “Ever try going to church?”

  “What, with those pews full of hypocrites?” Carol gave Raphael a glimpse at her inner anger for the first time. “At least my friends and I are up front with our passions. Churches are money mills for brainwashing pimps.”

  “Yet you joined another brainwashing cult, tithing its followers for money,” Raphael pointed out. “You and your friends wanted a rubber stamp on whatever behavior you felt like playing around with on any given day without reminders of right and wrong. Seeking eternal damnation seems rather stupid in so many ways, I…”

  “There is no eternal damnation,” Carol cut Raphael off abruptly.

  “Really?” Raphael gripped Carol’s arm. “Let me show you something.”

  Raphael showed her the hell Lucifer had put him in. When he released her, Carol crumpled to the casino floor, shaking as if in the grips of an epileptic fit. The Archangel had shown her the vision through his eyes at the time, and his pain. Raphael bent and picked Carol up, allowing his touch to soothe her traumatized mind. He walked her toward the restaurant nearest where they had been standing. Raphael supported Carol to the point her feet merely skimmed the floor. Tears coursed down the woman’s cheeks as she looked around wildly, realizing finally where she was. Raphael slowed, letting Carol assume her weight gradually until her stance steadied. She clutched Raphael in a death grip.

  “Please don’t take me there again… please…” Carol pleaded, her head buried in the Archangel’s chest. “It…it was you chained there… and those screams… they filled everything. How did… how did you ever get free?”

  “The Lord sent Abaddon to free me from Lucifer’s creation. As you saw, there is indeed eternal damnation for those who crave it. When you wish for Lucifer to be your master, your wish will be granted. It is not a game.”

  “But…but as his acolytes, it…it will be different for us,” Carol replied hesitantly, not wanting to say anything which Raphael would react badly to. “We will…”

  “You will spend eternity screaming,” Raphael cut her off with some irritation as they waited to be seated. “Lucifer is not known as the Prince of Lies because he tells the truth you naive young idiot. Go ahead. Make a deal with him and spend your life craving for hell. You’ll get just what you ask for.”

  “Hey, Carol,” a young greeter called out as he walked up to them, looking up at Raphael with some trepidation. “Want a table for you and your friend?”

  “That would be great, Tim.” Carol followed the greeter toward a table near the back where casino noise was at a minimum. “How’s this?”

  “Just fine, thanks.” Carol sat down in the seat Tim pulled out for her. She accepted the menu he offered.

  “What can I get you to drink?” Tim addressed Raphael as the Archangel sat down opposite his companion.

  “Coffee, please.” Raphael declined the proffered menu.

  “Enjoy,” Tim stated before leaving.

  “You’re not having anything to eat?”

  “Just coffee for me.” Raphael waited until a waitress arrived to fill their coffee cups. He listened to the waitress exchange pleasantries with Carol.

  “I’ll just have the shrimp, Liddy,” Carol told the waitress.

  “Coming right up.”

  “How is it you couldn’t sense I was setting you up if you’re so all powerful and knowing?” Carol asked tritely.

  “It must have been the red hair. You’re lucky you didn’t get
close to my brother. There would be very little of you left other than a few strands of red hair. He is most unforgiving of betrayal.”

  “You and your brother don’t sound much like emissaries of a merciful God. I thought turn the other cheek is the will of the Lord.”

  “Our mission is not to turn the other cheek.” Raphael ignored Carol’s sarcastic manner. “We are here because the balance between good and evil threatens this plain of reality. We are not here to bargain with demons. Abaddon is the avatar of the Lord. I am his guide. The Archangel of the Abyss does not turn the other cheek. Setting us up almost cost two very valuable members of our mission their lives. Sister Mary Catherine and Sister Angelina temper my brother’s nature. If anything happens to either of them, all of this dimension will be at risk.”

  Liddy arrived with Carol’s shrimp plate. “I’ll be right back with more coffee.”

  “Make mine Irish, Liddy, please.” Carol’s voice sounded hoarse as if she were out of breath.

  “Sure, Carol,” Liddy acknowledged. “How about you big fella?”

  “Just a refill for me,” Raphael answered with a reassuring smile.

  Carol picked at her food in silence while Raphael sipped his cooling coffee. Liddy brought a small coffee carafe and put it near Raphael before setting Carol’s Irish coffee down. “Wave at me Carol if you want another.”

  “I will, Liddy, thanks.”

  Raphael filled his coffee cup from the carafe. “I have a question for you, Carol. Amongst the faux demons you run around with here locally has any of them ever seemed capable of something horrendous? I’m not talking about dancing naked in the moonlight either.”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Some monstrous thing running around in human skin is murdering children in grotesque fashion. Have any new members joined your chapter of demon wannabes?”

  “What kind of grotesque fashion?” Carol’s features twisted slightly.

  “I can’t tell you that. You’ve heard of the slayings in Las Vegas, haven’t you? I can tell by your facial expression this is no surprise to you.”

  “Three girls mutilated - I’ve read the papers. Are the cops around here hiring Archangels now?”

  “I’ll repeat the question again. This time, I would like the answer without any smart ass remarks. You know the time frame. Are there any new acquaintances hovering around your group capable of murdering children?”

  “Can I get back to you on that?”

  “Sure, but for your sake, I better not find out you’re covering up for someone in the group,” Raphael warned. “You’ll find out just what the phrase dust in the wind really means, only in your case it’ll be more like ash in the wind.”

  “I meant we have nearly a thousand members,” Carol said quickly. “I don’t know them all or how many are new in the time frame you’re suggesting. Let me find out for you. I’ll call with the information. Why suspect any of us? We don’t do human sacrifices.”

  “Your little group almost derailed a mission far beyond human sacrifice. Excuse me if I wonder what else you goofballs are up to.” Raphael handed Carol a card before standing up. “In case you lost the last one, here’s my number. I’ll be expecting your call.”

  “It’s on the house.” Carol indicated Raphael should keep the money he was fishing out of his pocket. “Give me a minute and you can take me home.”

  Raphael put a twenty on the table. “Tip. Call if you have anything. I don’t think taking you home would be a good idea. I’ll look forward to your call. Goodnight, Carol.”

  * * *

  Carol watched Raphael walk away with nearly every set of eyes in the place on him, including the staff. An icy coldness swept through her. She shivered while picking up her Irish coffee with both hands and taking a gulp. One face had jumped into her consciousness the moment Raphael had mentioned the murdered children. She sighed uncomfortably, thinking Archangels or no Archangels, it was time for a road trip.

  * * *

  Raphael listened outside the suite door, smiling at what he thought would be going on inside. After all Abaddon had been through this very long day, Raphael knew his brother would be in need of something more than the drinks earlier to soothe him. Raphael gestured at the door gently with his right hand. The door unlocked and opened quietly. Only the light in the entranceway cast any illumination inside the room. Seeing three figures kneeling in front of the suite window, Raphael walked over quietly to join them.

  “I hear you, my brother,” Abaddon greeted Raphael without looking up. “You are well?”

  “Very well, but a little confused,” Raphael answered. The two black robed figures kneeling with Abaddon stood up and faced him. “I kind of expected… ah…”

  “We know, Raph,” Angelina interrupted. “Cat thought we were losing our edge and our concentration. I think maybe she’s right.”

  “We didn’t expect you back so soon.” Catherine clasped her hands at her waist.

  “We thought you’d be either banging Carol like the red-headed step child I’m sure she is or staring red-eyed at a new record for throwing craps at a dice table,” Angelina quipped. She quickly held up both hands as Raphael raised his left hand slightly from his side. “Don’t you do it! You can’t zap me when I’m suited up.”

  “Says who?” Raphael lowered his hand anyway, shaking his head. “Definitely a slow learner. You believe we’ve lost something, Sister Mary Catherine?”

  “I…I think lately we’ve lost our focus. It seems if I’m not thinking of what I’d like to be doing with Abaddon and Muffy, I’m smacking someone around in a jealous rage.”

  Raphael moved closer to Catherine, enfolding her clasped hands in his.

  “May I join you?”

  “Of course,” Catherine acknowledged excitedly, glancing up gratefully at Raphael. “It’s so beautiful outside and…”

  “And we feel better too,” Angelina filled in for Catherine’s hesitation. “We accessed Pomada’s files on the kids that were killed. If a human being did that maybe we should be extinct.”

  “Condemning the human race due to one beast, Sister Angelina?” Raphael admonished, kneeling next to where Catherine stood and bowing his head. “Perhaps we have indeed lost our focus.”

  “Those pictures, Raph,” Abaddon said with such sadness, Raphael glanced up at his brother in concern. “I am Revelation’s Angel of the Abyss. Although I should not have been moved by such a small hideous ripple in human nature, the blasphemy done to those children made me question my own grasp on what we are to do.”

  “You were losing control, my brother?” Raphael asked, looking up at Catherine and Angelina. “How…”

  “He… Abaddon was about to do something rash,” Catherine cut in, moving over to wrap her arms around the still kneeling Abaddon.

  “Oh, Raph!” Angelina added excitedly. “He saw those pictures and the black wings sprouted and the soul sword was swingin’. Cat and I jumped him just as the air around us started to fog up.”

  “I…I lost my way.” Abaddon stared down at his hands clasped near his waist. “I feel the Lord with me now. I loathe letting this feeling of well being go.”

  Raphael remained silent. The thought of such a momentous challenge to reality completely bypassing him worried the Lord’s Archangel more than he could relate to his companions. He smiled up at Catherine and Angelina reassuringly. Raphael reached over to put his hand on Abaddon’s shoulder for a moment.

  “If this mission was going to be easy the Lord would not have put the four of us together to complete it.” Raphael bowed his head. “Lead us, Sister Mary Catherine. Let us regain our edge.”

  Catherine and Angelina knelt between the two Archangels, bowing their heads and clasping their hands.

  “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,” Catherine began.

  Chapter 34

  Janine

  “Hello, Carol,” a woman’s voice called out, so devoid of any emotional timber it sounded like the striking of a brass bel
l buried in cement.

  Carol, striding toward the bedroom of her condominium with only the thought of escape driving her thoughts, stopped in her tracks. Fear lanced up Carol’s spine, raised the short hairs near the nape of her neck, and triggered a painful pounding of blood at the base of her skull. The ring of keys to her Honda and the condominium fell to the floor from her nerveless fingers. Carol bent down and picked up her keys, looking over at the shadowy figure sitting on her living room couch.

  “You scared the hell out of me, Janine!” Carol tried summoning anger to keep fear from engulfing her. “What are you doing in my house?”

  “John called me.” Janine turned on the small lamp near the couch. “He said you met up with your little pretend Archangel. Apparently, the simple plan we had for those four fell through somehow. Want to tell me about it?”