Jacob just chuckled, went into the bathroom and returned with another glass of water. “Here,” he said and handed it to Chris. “Dehydration also happens in these cases, so the judge said. That healing must have been intense.”
Chris sat up again and sipped the water. He tried to remember the details of his meeting with Natalie, but everything was a bit fuzzy.
“Yeah, I guess so. I'm not too sure what happened. Sariel did it without my permission, again, although I know it was the right thing to do. We're going to have to have another little talk about that. I'm not his plaything to use whenever he wants to. He's in for a wake-up call soon.”
Jacob looked concerned. “He didn't tell you what would happen? Wow. Janariel's never done that. But then, he's not an archangel. I'm sure they're a lot more aggressive than a regular angel.”
“Sariel certainly is. But this is my body and my life and I am done letting him take over until we lay down some more ground rules. Like telling me the consequences of his actions for one.”
“Yeah, I agree.” Jacob sat quietly for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Can you stop him from taking over, though? He is ridiculously powerful after all.”
Chris pulled back the covers and stood up slowly. There was no dizziness and the headache had turned into a bearable dull throbbing. He grabbed his pants that were lying on the floor in a heap and put them on.
“Oh, I can stop him, all right.” He held up his hand and showed the ring to Jacob. “I swear I will cut this off my hand if I have to before I become his slave. And I hope he's listening to this so that he knows I mean it.” His voice was grim.
“You'd actually do that?” Jacob said, shocked.
“In a cold minute, Jake. I had enough people trying to make me do things when I was roaming the streets. It didn't work then, it won't work now.”
Seeing Jacob's incredulous look, Chris tried to smile. “Don't worry, man. I'm sure it won't come to that. And if it does, hell, it's only a finger, right?”
Jacob just shook his head silently. Before he could respond, Chris put on his shirt and grabbed his shoes.
“Come on, Jake. I'm starving. Let's hit the kitchen and see what Chef's got cooking.”
As they left Chris' room, Jacob told him that Natalie and the judge had had a fight after Chris had been carried to his room. He stared at Jacob.
“A fight? What about?”
“Well, apparently she knew the name of Angelica's angel for quite some time and never told Judge Hawkes. I think he was a bit peeved about that.”
Chris snorted. “Yeah, I bet he was. I wonder if she's hiding any other secrets?”
It was past lunch time when the two friends got to the kitchen but Chef sat them down and served them BLTs, diet cola and dutch apple pie. He was very serious and, as usual, seemed to know all that had been happening.
“So Natalie is going with you on your journey, young Christopher?” Chef asked as he wiped down the counters.
“I guess so. I don't much remember what happened, Chef. But she's healed now, so I suppose she'll come.” Chris considered the trip. “I have no idea where we're going, but the judge seems worried that we'll run into some of the bad guys along the way.”
Chef nodded with a frown. “We have to assume that will be the case, my friend. The team going with you is very good, but if you meet any of the Fallen, she will be needed, I'm sure.”
Jacob swallowed his last bite of pie and wiped his mouth. “I wish Tyler and I were going along with you, Chris. Chef, you couldn't, you know, kind of suggest to the judge that we should go, could you?” He looked at Chef hopefully.
“And who would remain to watch over the Nest, Jacob?” Chef asked sternly. “There are only a handful of you youngsters here now. For this plan to work, you will all have to patrol, every night, almost constantly. And I've no doubt that it won't take long before you are all exhausted from this labor. But we have to keep our enemies focused on this house and away from Chris. So no, I won't suggest that.” He sounded graver than Chris had ever heard him sound before. “This isn't some light-hearted adventure, my young friends. I know that we will need Sariel's powers at full strength one day soon. So let us hope that this expedition bears fruit and we find some clue as to the whereabouts of the pieces of his sword.”
Chris narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly as he looked at Chef. “You really know more about the activities that go on in this place than anyone other than Judge Hawkes, Chef. How do you do that?”
Chef's serious expression was replaced by his usual wide grin. “The judge and I go way back, Chris. Everyone needs someone to talk to, you know. A confidant. I suppose I fill that roll for Ethan. So yes, I know most of what is happening in the Nest. More than you two, I suppose. Now, I have it on good authority,” he winked at them and they both laughed, “that Chris and company will be leaving first thing in the morning. So I suggest you drop by the front desk, Chris, and ask them what you need to pack for the trip. If they don't know, they'll get in touch with Martin to find out.” He shooed them out of the kitchen. “Off you go, and get some more sleep, young man,” he said with mock sternness to Chris. “We need you alert and ready for any surprises.”
Chef waved at them and went back to cleaning the kitchen. Chris headed for the front desk while Jacob said that he was late for class and they left in opposite directions.
The rest of the day was spent getting ready for Chris' journey. He got a list of the clothes and basics, like toothpaste, soap and other toiletries, that he would need and Martin had a member of the staff drop off a large backpack at Chris' room. And then he had to figure out how to fold and pack everything as compactly and efficiently as possible.
Chris found himself becoming more and more excited as the day went on and even though he was very tired when he got to bed, it was hard to calm down enough to get to sleep.
The next morning, things became even more frantic. Chris was woken up at six o'clock and told to meet the judge and the rest of the team in the dining room in thirty minutes. He stumbled into the shower, managed to get dressed fairly quickly, considering he was still half asleep, he even put on matching socks, and made it down to breakfast just in time.
The travelers were all sitting together. Someone had pushed two tables together and the whole group was talking energetically when Chris arrived.
He felt shy at first; most of the people around the table were strangers, or staff members that he had seen but never spoken to. But the judge waved him to a seat and proceeded to introduce everyone right away.
“Just for reference sake, Christopher, this is George, Beatrice, Stevens, Ramona, Davidson and Tony.”
It was hard to keep the names straight, but Chris assumed that he'd get to know everyone as they were traveling.
The six members of staff were all wearing casual clothes, jeans and t-shirts mostly. They all looked tough and competent.
The ninth member of the group was introduced as Rabbi Eddleson. To Chris' surprise, the rabbi was quite young, maybe in his mid-thirties. He had a full, somewhat curly beard and wire-rimmed glasses. His eyes were bright and full of humor as he reached out to shake Chris' hand.
“A pleasure to meet you, Chris,” he said with a warm smile. “I've heard we have you to thank for this chance at adventure? How marvelous. It should be a roaring good time, don't you think?”
Chris was a bit confused by the rabbi, who had a very broad British accent. But then he chided himself. Obviously there were Jewish people in Britain, he thought. The rabbi looked like he was having a great time and proceeded to tell Chris and Natalie several jokes that had them almost in tears from laughing. The judge watched the scene with reserved amusement.
“Very well, Joseph,” Judge Hawkes finally interjected. “There will be time enough for joking later. Right now I want to lay out our schedule for the trip.”
The rabbi winked. “We'll talk more later,” he muttered with a grin and both Chris and Natalie chuckled.
“So, we'
ll be leaving the Nest in about a hour's time,” the judge continued. “We have a plane waiting to take us to Toronto. From there, we'll take a commercial flight to Frankfurt. To be on the safe side, our flight from Frankfurt to Tel Aviv will be by charter. I see no reason to give our enemies any more chances to spy on us than is absolutely necessary.”
Natalie leaned over and whispered, “They'll be on us as soon as we leave the Nest anyway. They're always watching.”
Chris was startled by the statement. “Doesn't the judge know that?” he asked under his breath.
“Of course he does. But outside of this property, it's a free country. If Talon or others want to watch for cars coming and going, we can't stop them.”
Chris mulled that over as the judge continued speaking.
“We have transport booked in Tel Aviv and some local operatives that will escort us part of the way to our destination. They don't know where we're actually going, of course, but then we don't really know either until we get there.”
One of the security team raised his hand. Stevens, Chris thought his name was. At the judge's nod, the man spoke up.
“Your honor, naturally we're traveling unarmed. But what about once we're on the ground?”
“Not to worry, Stevens,” the judge replied. Chris was pleased he'd remembered the right name. “Our people on the ground will supply us with everything we need once we're out of the city. Any sooner and, if we're stopped for some reason by the local authorities, it would cause some questions that we won't want to answer.”
The man seemed satisfied and nodded.
“Anyone else?” the judge asked and looked around. No one else raised a hand and the judge smiled. “Excellent. Please gather your gear and meet me at the front desk no later than” he checked his watch, “eight o'clock or so. That is all, thank you. Please enjoy your breakfast. We all know what food is like on airplanes.”
Everyone laughed and then rose to walk over and serve themselves from the breakfast buffet.
“Let's eat, Chris,” Natalie said as she stood up. “The judge is right about the food on planes. Ugh.”
Chris grinned and joined her. Now that she was healed, Natalie proved to be a talkative and entertaining companion. They got to know each other over breakfast and he found himself liking her a lot. When they had finished, both headed off to get their backpacks.
As he was leaving the dining hall, Chris passed Tyler and Jacob. Both of them stopped to wish him a safe trip.
“I hope you find what you're looking for, Chris,” Tyler said earnestly. “And that you don't run into any trouble.”
“Yeah. I hate to think of what could happen if Janariel and me aren't there to save your butt,” Jacob added with lop-sided grin.
“I know, Jake. I guess we'll just have to muddle through without you. But listen, guys,” he added in a more serious tone. “Be careful here too, all right? You're playing decoy and you never know what those damned Talon will do.”
Both of his friends stopped smiling. “I hear ya, Chris,” Tyler said. “We'll be fine. We've got ten other teens with angels in their pockets as backup. Just worry about yourself.” Jacob agreed.
“Right. Well, see you in a week or so. Hey, at least I'll get a tan out of all this.”
They all laughed and Chris left to get his things.
By eight o'clock, everyone was gathered at the front desk. Chris was startled to see the judge wearing his usual suit and tie. At his confused look, Judge Hawkes chuckled and explained.
“I don't intend to tip off our enemies, Christopher. I'll change to appropriate clothing once we reach our destination. Until then, let it appear as if I'm heading off on a business trip, as I have so many times before.”
Chris saw the logic in that and just smiled. Very soon the entire group was piled into three cars followed by an SUV loaded down with their backpacks and other gear. Chris took one last look at the Hawkes Nest as the motorcade pulled away from the house. He realized that the place had begun to feel like home and that he was going to miss it. I wonder if I'll ever see it again, he thought bleakly. Then he turned and stared out through the front window of the car and tried to look forward to the coming adventure.
Chapter 16
Tel Aviv was amazing. Chris had been to Florida and Cuba with his parents on holiday when he was very young, but this city was much more exotic than a tourist destination. The weather in early June was very hot and dry, and the people for the most part seemed friendly.
Before their plane landed, Judge Hawkes finally changed out of his suit into more suitable clothing. Chris kept glancing over at the man. He was so used to seeing the judge in a suit that the sight of him wearing a t-shirt, khaki pants and jacket and hiking boots was startling. It took some getting used to.
Once the group had made it through customs and retrieved their bags, they were met by two men and a woman, all of whom greeted the judge warmly and led them out of the airport to four waiting vans. All of the vans had drivers, but none of them greeted the travelers. All their belongings were loaded into one van and the team split up into the other three. Chris found himself sitting with Natalie, Rabbi Eddleson and one of the female security team members named Beatrice.
The woman was quiet at first, but the rabbi soon had her laughing along with Chris and Natalie, especially at a mildly wicked story about a shop owner, his wife and her two sisters. Chris noticed that Natalie had a very pleasant laugh, at odds with her rather tough appearance and she knew a few funny stories as well. The journey to their destination passed quickly.
They were driven perhaps two hours out of Tel Aviv. Chris thought they had moved in a generally eastward direction; at least the sun had been behind them most of the way, but when they stopped and got out of the vans, all he could see were barren hills and the gravelly road they were on. No signs, no people, nothing to see of any significance in any direction. The wind pinched his nostrils with its dryness and the sun beat on their heads relentlessly. He wondered how far they would have to travel.
Once the backpacks had been unloaded, everyone began to sort through them to find their own. Chris found his, opened up a side-pocket and pulled out a rolled up baseball cap. He uncrumpled it, pushed his hair back and put it on, pleased that he had thought to bring it. Might help with this sun, he thought.
“This is as close as we can take you, Judge Hawkes,” one of the men who had met them at the airport said. “In case we were followed, we'll double back and lay a false trail to lead them off. We'll return every day at noon and wait one hour, as per your instructions.” He shook the judge's hand, got back into a van and the four vehicles turned around and sped off. Chris watched them disappear into the distance. It was suddenly very quiet.
“All right, everyone. Get your packs secure and prepare to move out.” The judge stood next to his backpack. His glasses had darkened and he was wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat. Chris thought he looked like a typical hiker. However, he still had his aura of authority and everyone quickly got themselves organized as the judge consulted some notes he'd had tucked in a back pocket. He called one of the older security men over and they consulted in low voices for a few minutes. Then the judge nodded, reached down and hoisted his pack. He settled it comfortably on his back and checked out the group.
“Is everyone ready? According to my notes, the site should only be a few hours away. I'd prefer traveling in the cool of the evening, but we need to see our footing, especially as some of us aren't experienced hikers, so we'll have to endure the heat. If you feel thirsty, feel free to drink from your canteens, but go easy on the water. We aren't that far from civilization, but caution is always preferable. Just in case.”
He looked them over again, nodded and headed off. “This way then,” he called as he moved off the road and into the dusty countryside.
Chris and Natalie ended up walking side by side in the middle of the group. She had put a broad-brimmed canvas hat on and looked like she was ready for anything. They quickly found a sort of g
ully and began following it southward. When asked, the judge pointed and told them that they were headed for a line of low hills a few kilometers in the distance.
“Wonder why we didn't just get those guys to drive us there,” Chris said to Natalie as they walked along. She shook her head.
“Too risky. There's a chance that those vans were tagged for GPS tracking. Even if they weren't, what those local guys don't know, they can't be forced to tell.” At Chris' incredulous glance, she just shrugged. “That's the reality of the situation, Chris. We're fighting demons here, not regular bad guys. There really isn't anything they wouldn't do to win this war.”
Chris chewed on that thought for a while and they trudged along in silence for several minutes, Finally, Natalie spoke again.
“I really wanted to thank you one more time, Chris, well, both you and Sariel, for healing me.” At Chris' protest, she smiled and shushed him. “Yeah, I know I've already said it, but the relief I feel is beyond description. So thanks. And as a way of thanking you, do you have any questions? You know, about me, angels, the Nest or anything else. After my...ex-friend, I've been living there longer than any of the other teens.”
Chris considered the offer for a minute. There were a million questions that had gone through his mind since he had begun to live at the Nest and he tried to think of the ones that intrigued him the most. Finally, he chose something that had been nagging at him.
“Okay, since you've offered, there are some things that I'd like to know about.” Natalie nodded encouragingly. “Well, for one thing,” Chris looked up ahead to see that the judge was perhaps twenty yards in front of the group, walking steadily and glancing down occasionally at a sheet of paper in his hand, “I'd like to know about Judge Hawkes,” he said in a low voice.
Natalie followed his glance and smiled. “The judge, huh? Okay, I can tell you a bit about him.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “He's a born leader, as I'm sure you've noticed. He's utterly convinced that Hell is about to be unleashed on Earth and that we, those of us born with angelic souls, are the only hope Creation has.” She also lowered her voice. “And he is more than he appears.”
Confronting the Fallen Page 21