The Wind-up Forest

by L. J. LaBarthe

  “Who disturbs my rest?”

  “I’m sorry, respected one,” Liam began, “but we just have a few questions, and then I’ll return you to your sleep.”

  The ghost—who Angelique was amazed that she could see it at all—frowned at Liam. “Necromancer, you have used too much antagonistic magic in a forest designed to protect those within it. The dryads and naiads will not be pleased. Nor will the animals. I will answer your questions, but you must be swift and then you must go. You must not return.”

  Liam licked his lips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… there were demons.”

  “There are always demons, Necromancer. Your questions, quickly.”

  Declan stepped forward. He gave the ghost a cursory bow. “Is this Merlin’s grave?”

  The ghost shook his head. “No, shifter, it is not. It is called so, because of folklore and legend, but Merlin the great wizard was not buried here.”

  Declan sighed. “I knew it. Whose grave is it then?”

  “Mine.” The old man smiled. “I am called Père Henri. I built a chapel where now stands the Church of the Holy Grail. My chapel was small and did not have the beautiful stained glass the new one does, but it was built to honor the Grail and all who seek it.”

  “When was that?” Declan asked.

  “A long time ago,” Henri said. “Not long after the death of Christ. I think the calendar would date it as the second year anno Domini.”

  Declan inclined his head in respect. “We’re sorry to have bothered your slumber, holy priest.”

  “I hope my answers have helped,” the ghost said.

  Angelique stepped forward. She wasn’t sure the ghost would understand telepathy, but she felt she had to try. Neither Declan nor Liam were going to ask what she felt was the million-dollar question.

  “Holy Father, where is the Holy Grail now?”

  The ghost peered at her, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “A servant of the Archangel Michael and a shifter. I am honored.” He bowed to her, and that surprised Angelique so much that she had no idea what to say.

  “I do not know, however,” Henri said. “It was in Egypt, but it has been moved. I do not know to where. Joseph of Arimathea kept information about it as secret as possible, but I was in Israel when Christ was killed, and I wept when his blood was collected in the bowl, the trencher, and the cup. I am sorry, my lady shifter. I cannot answer this question.”

  Angelique lowered her muzzle in a gesture of respect. “Thank you anyway, Holy Father. I appreciate it.”

  “Saint Michael is a great Archangel,” the ghost said. “It is my honor to help him by answering your questions.”

  Declan looked at Angelique, but she shook her head. She had no more questions to ask. Declan nodded once, curtly, and turned back to the ghost.

  “Thank you for answering what you could, Father. We all really appreciate it.”

  “You are welcome, my son. Now you must go, and quickly, for the dead return here, and they are angry at the Necromancer,” the ghost said to Liam. “I would hasten to make an offering of regret and penance once you return to your lodgings, young Necromancer.”

  Liam nodded. “I will do it as soon as we get back, Father.”

  “And so I now return to my rest. Good luck in finding what you seek, and may the blessings of the light of the Holy Grail guide you all.” The ghost performed the sign of the cross, and then he vanished, like smoke in mist.

  Declan picked up his carryall and shouldered it. “Come on,” he said, hauling Liam to his feet. “Let’s move.”

  Liam nodded, and the brothers began to run back the way they had come, the wolves running alongside them. Angelique’s thoughts were a blur—there had been too many things going on, and she needed to talk to Michael. As soon as they reached the hotel, she would call him.

  They ran the whole way back and returned to their rooms using the staff entrance so that holidaymakers and tourists wouldn’t see two men and a pack of wolves and alert the police. Angelique felt that would be just a perfect way to round out a bad day.

  Chapter Thirteen

  GABRIEL LISTENED to Angelique’s report as he and Michael stood on either side of Michael’s desk. They were in the library in their house on Belle Coeur, and Michael had put his cell phone onto loudspeaker so that Gabriel could hear what she had to say.

  Gabriel made no comment as she spoke, but he was angry. Lily was right, he would be having a long talk with Liam as soon as he got his hands on him, but more frustrating was that there was no information about the demons he had banished. No idea who they worked for, what level or rank they were, what their reason for being in Brocéliande was. He clenched his jaw as Angelique repeated back the conversation they had had with the ghost of the priest who was interred in the grave that was attributed to Merlin.

  He didn’t quite dare look at Michael’s face. Not yet, in any case. He could feel Michael’s anger through their bond, and he knew that his lover was well aware of his own. Angelique wound down her report and sighed, and Michael echoed the sigh.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, we’re fine, boss. Just a bit pissed off. Declan’s still furious, and Liam’s gone down to the river to do that ritual the ghost told him to. I sent Baxter and Riley with him. I want an eye on him at all times until we get back stateside.”

  “If he argues that,” Gabriel said, “tell him I authorized it.”

  “Okay, Gabe, I will. Thanks.”

  “You sound tired,” he noted. “Maybe you should all get a good night’s sleep, have a hot meal, and I’ll have Shateiel and Camael pick you all up in the morning.”

  “All right. Do you want us to go back to the house, Michael?” Angelique asked.

  Michael hummed. “No,” he said slowly, “I think instead, that you should all come to Yerevan. Gabriel can school Liam there just as well as he can in Oregon. And I believe that we should all be close to hand so that we can work together on this, now.”

  “Yes, sir,” Angelique said. “We’ll see you all tomorrow, then, I guess.”

  “You will,” Michael said. “Sleep well, Angelique.”

  “Thanks. Bye.” She ended the connection, and Michael clicked the phone onto silent.

  “So,” Gabriel said, “my little Necromancer got ahead of himself.”

  “So it seems. How well did you train him?” Michael asked.

  “Pretty damn well.” Gabriel scowled. “I am not fucking pleased about this, Michael. He fucking broke orders and protocol, and he knows damn well he’s not supposed to do that.”

  “Language. In any case, I am certain he feels terrible about what happened,” Michael said.

  “Regret doesn’t give me information,” Gabriel growled. “Who those demons work for would have been fucking good information to know!”

  “I know. And language. Perhaps we can ask the Archdemons. Raziel said they alerted him of their arrival. They will be in Yerevan this evening.”

  “Which means we should get there before they do,” Gabriel said. “Okay, well, if we head there after lunch, that should be enough time to get a quick debriefing in from our Brotherhood and make our plans for tomorrow.”

  “As you say,” Michael agreed. He came around the table and took Gabriel’s hands in his own. “Da bao, I can see you are tense and I understand completely why that is. You need to calm yourself a little before we join the others. The shifters in the building in Yerevan will, I fear, be easy to frighten now.”

  Gabriel heaved a heavy breath. “Yeah, I know. And Raz said that Eleanora was flying in from France, too; she was supposed to arrive tonight.”

  “Yes. So come, da bao, let us walk along the beach for a little while.” Michael smiled gently. “It will do us both good.”

  Gabriel smiled back, pulling Michael close. “You are so damn good to me.”

  “Language. And it is only the barest minimum of what you deserve.” Michael slipped an arm around Gabriel’s waist. “Let us walk.”

  The
y made their way out of the house and down to the sandy shore of the beach. The sea was gray again today, leaden swells crashing onto the shore, and gulls called raucously to one another. It was still beautiful, despite the fact that winter was here. Gabriel felt the tension in him slowly drain away with each wave that came in.

  “Before we go to Yerevan,” Gabriel said, “we need to make a detour.”

  “Oh? To where?” Michael asked.

  “To Australia. I’m going to delegate tasks. We need someone to keep an eye on traffic on the Internet. I don’t want to leave that avenue of information unguarded.”

  “Can Sophiel and Brieus not do this, as they did when they were monitoring Bob Taytton?” Michael asked.

  “I reckon we need to keep every single angel on alert,” Gabriel said. “So, I want to put this job into the hands of someone just as capable who ain’t an angel.”

  “Who?”

  Gabriel grinned. “No Hands Minnie is a witch. Her partner, Max, who goes by the name Mobius on the Internet, is one of the world’s best hackers. If it’s in cyberspace, he’ll find it. And when he finds it, No Hands Minnie will use a spell to keep it safe until we see it.”

  “Why is she called No Hands?” Michael asked. “Has she in truth no hands?”

  Gabriel laughed. “No, she’s got hands. The nickname stuck—she used to be a thief. A damn good one, too. Max was hired to catch her, actually. One thing led to another, and now they’re together, living on the south coast of Australia, and shrouding their little technological paradise inside a natural paradise.”

  “I see.” Michael hummed. “Will they help us, do you think?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Aye, I reckon. Max is a good lad. And he likes solving mysteries, and this is a bloody huge mystery. Minnie’s just as curious as he is, so the two of ’em make a damn good pair. Plus, she cooks a great chicken roast, so we should get a nice lunch while we’re there.”

  Michael chuckled. “Ah, I see. We go to visit them to eat their food and ask their help.”

  “If we didn’t eat their food, she’d think she’d lost her touch with herbs and spices.” Gabriel grinned.

  “All right, then we shall go and see them. I think you are right—it would be wise to keep angelkind on alert for things that only we can do. If these two humans—the witch and the hacker—can do what Sophiel and Brieus did with the Internet, then I feel this is a good solution.”

  “Awesome.” Gabriel stopped walking and turned to face his lover. “Now, can I have a kiss?”

  Michael smiled. “You may.”

  “Even more awesome.” Gabriel closed the small distance between them and cupped Michael’s face in his hands and kissed him.

  Kissing Michael like this, holding him close, with nothing to disturb the moment, was bliss. Gabriel sighed contentedly into the kiss, running his fingers up and down the length of Michael’s spine, humming as Michael’s fingers ghosted over his wing joints.

  “We don’t have time for that,” Gabriel thought to his lover.

  Michael moved his hands. “I know. We should go, then.”

  “Aye.” Gabriel ended the kiss and rested his forehead against Michael’s. “We’ll be able to get some us time soon.”

  “I hope so.” Michael huffed. “I wish to spend more time together.”

  “So do I.” Gabriel kissed the tip of Michael’s nose and laughed as Michael wrinkled it in response. “Let’s go delegate responsibility, then go to Armenia.”

  Michael stepped back and slipped his hand into Gabriel’s. “As you say.”

  Gabriel grinned affectionately at Michael and moved them. They emerged in the world again out in the front of a well-loved garden that was a mixture of herbs, flowers, and vegetables. A mud brick wall fronted the garden with a large wooden gate set into it, and beyond was a house. It seemed like an ordinary enough house, but Gabriel could see the cameras and satellite dishes hidden discreetly on the roof and eaves of the building.

  A woman with shoulder-length dark-brown hair was standing on the doorstep. Her eyes were a bright blue, and she was smiling warmly. “Gabriel!” she called as Gabriel opened the gate.

  “Hey, Minnie,” he said, entering the property, Michael hot on his heels. “How’s things?”

  “Good. And yourself?” she asked, giving him a quick hug.

  “Not too bad. This is Michael,” he said.

  “Hello,” Minnie said.

  “Good afternoon, ma’am,” Michael said.

  Minnie laughed. “Wow, he’s polite, isn’t he?” She looked at Gabriel with a sly grin. “Not like you.”

  “Hey, I am the fucking picture of good fucking manners, me,” Gabriel protested, and Minnie laughed again.

  “Of course you are. Come inside, both of you.”

  Still holding Michael’s hand, Gabriel went into the house. Michael was silent, looking around with interest, and from time to time, his eyebrows shot up as he took in the various items inside the building.

  “Max will be with you in a few minutes,” Minnie said. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

  “That’d be great, thanks. Mishka?” Gabriel turned to his lover.

  “Just water, thank you,” Michael said.

  “Okay. Sit down.” Minnie gestured at the large dark-blue couch.

  Gabriel did so, Michael sitting close beside him. As Minnie went into the kitchen, Michael leaned close and murmured, “There is a lot of power in here.”

  “Aye.” Gabriel nodded. “You’re feeling the magic from her and the technology stuff from him.”

  “Is that what it is? I could not identify the non-magic energy.” Michael looked around the room. “Fascinating. A combination of natural ability and technology, and it is very carefully and very well hidden.”

  “Aye. They’ll be able to do what we need,” Gabriel said.

  “I think so, also,” Michael agreed. “I get a sense of a great desire to do good for the world as a whole from the vibrations here. It is a good place with good people.”

  Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. Michael was rarely so effusive about anyone. This was definitely unusual.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, why would I not be?” Michael appeared confused.

  “You don’t usually say such positive things about new folk so fast after meeting ’em,” Gabriel said.

  Michael shrugged. “Most people—human and nonhuman—hide as much of themselves as they possibly can, even in their private homes. That is not the case here. The outside is hidden and protected as to the true nature of what is within, but once one enters, there is nothing hidden. These people do not feel that they need to. It is very refreshing.”

  Gabriel was about to answer that, but Minnie returned, carrying a tray with a teapot and cups and a large glass of iced water. Behind her came Max, a man of medium build with dark-blond hair and hazel eyes, smiling warmly in welcome.

  Minnie served tea and water, and Max held out his hand for the Archangels to shake.

  “Gabriel, good to see you again,” Max said as they shook hands. “And you would be Michael? It’s an honor, sir.”

  “The honor is mine,” Michael said, with a shallow bow. “You have a lovely home here.”

  “Thank you.” Minnie beamed.

  “So what brings two Archangels to us today?” Max asked.

  “We need your skills as Mobius,” Gabriel said, getting right to the point. “And Minnie’s skills as a witch to hide what you’re doing and who you’re doing it for.”

  “And what is it that you need me to do?” Max asked.

  “Information.” Gabriel took a deep breath. “We need you to trawl the Internet, the stuff that’s easy to access and the stuff that’s buried deep behind those things. You know, what are they called… the walls of fire.”

  Max laughed. “Do you mean firewalls? Although walls of fire sound much more intimidating.”

  “Those,” Gabriel agreed. He laughed. “I’m not a technology Archangel, me. We’re kind of spread thin right now, s
o I’m delegating. Before the war, Sophiel and Brieus would do this, but we can’t spare ’em. So, I thought we should ask you.”

  Max nodded. “What am I looking for?”

  Michael and Gabriel exchanged a long glance. “I trust we can count on your discretion,” Michael said slowly.

  “Of course,” Minnie said. Max nodded.

  “Very well. The Holy Grail has been stolen.”

  Max and Minnie gaped at him. “Pardon?” Minnie asked.

  “The Holy Grail,” Gabriel said. “Stolen. Nicked. Pinched.”

  “That’s impossible,” she said.

  “Apparently not,” Gabriel said. Then he thought of something. “Could you do it? If we asked you to?”

  Minnie snorted. “I’m good, Gabe, but not that bloody good. There are so many spells and wards and things around the Grail, it’d take someone with bucketloads of power and ability to get close enough, let alone pull it out of its shrine. Isn’t it in Israel?”

  “It was in Egypt,” Michael said.

  “Huh.” Minnie shook her head. “Bloody hell. Someone’s got a nerve.”

  “Indeed,” Michael agreed.

  “I can run the necessary programs to hunt down what you need, but I’ll need to buy some gear to boost the data center,” Max said.

  Gabriel pulled out his wallet. “How much?”

  Max blinked. “Gabe, you don’t have to….”

  “No, I insist. I realize this is a weird gig and it could be dangerous, so tell me how much you need.”

  Minnie was frowning now. “Gabe, really, it isn’t about the money. We’ll need some energy.”

  Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. “Energy?”

  “You want me to get information about a mystical artifact that’s been stolen by someone with a lot of magic and access to a lot more of it. I’m good”—and Max said this with no false modesty at all—“probably the best in this game, but even with what we’ve got set up, I’ll need to protect the system and the data bus will need more power to punch through cyber-spells.”

  Michael smiled faintly. “I remember something that Raziel told me once,” he said. He stood and made his wings visible, then carefully plucked two long, red-brown feathers from them. He held them out to the astonished pair. “There is power in those. Through them, even if I am not close, you will be protected and hidden. You can draw on the energy within to use to boost whatever it is you need to.”