The Wind-up Forest

by L. J. LaBarthe

  “Then we were told by Shateiel that Lilith had contacted Agrat and wished to meet with her. It has been some millennia since the sisters last met. I am uncertain why Lilith is involving herself, but it is a concern. I am also uncertain where Eisheth or Naamah are at this time.”

  “I can fill in that blank,” Raphael interrupted. “Eisheth is out among the stars, comforting them when they die, and Naamah is in the oceans.”

  “I see. Thank you, Raphael.” Michael inclined his head. “That clears that up. So, to continue: I asked Gabriel and Shateiel to evaluate the best of my Venatores. They did so, and on their recommendations, I sent the squad led by the shifter named Angelique to Brocéliande forest in Brittany. With them went two young men, brothers. Declan, the eldest, is a shifter, and Liam, the youngest, is a Necromancer. Both have had some magical training. Their mission was to investigate the tomb of Merlin, as Brocéliande is renowned as a place of great importance in Arthurian legend and history.

  “The tomb does not contain Merlin’s remains, Angelique reported to us this morning. It does, however, contain the remains of a priest, Père Henri, who built the church called the Church of the Holy Grail. He told her that he had no idea where the Grail was. Before you ask, yes, Liam summoned the priest’s spirit. While they were talking, my people were attacked by demons. Liam used a spell to banish them, wounding them quite seriously in the process. There was no opportunity to discern who they were or who they worked for, as Liam acted without orders, and so that will forever be a mystery, unless our Archdemon friends can enlighten us.”

  “Fat chance,” Uriel grumbled.

  “One can never be certain, Uriel,” Michael said. “In any case, at this point, it is an unknown. Gabriel decided to have two humans of his acquaintance—and Uriel and Raziel’s as well—search out information using the Internet. His reasoning for delegating this to these humans is that we, angelkind, will need to be alert and ready for anything. Thus, giving this task to Sophiel and Brieus would needlessly weigh them down.”

  “Who are the humans?” Uriel asked.

  “No Hands Minnie and Max Mobius,” Gabriel said.

  “Oh, yeah?” Uriel grinned. “Awesome. They’ll get it done.”

  Michael raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Humans you like?”

  “There are a few.” Uriel scowled. “Them. Lyudmila and Piotr. Ishtahar.”

  “A grand total of five.” Raphael laughed. “You’re growing as a person, Uri.”

  Uriel rolled his eyes. “Gross. What else, Mike?”

  “Only that we know that the Grail in Saint Catherine’s Monastery was a fake. It was made at the behest of Joseph of Arimathea to protect it. However, our thief seems to have known this, as they stole the fake copy and the original. The Holy Father in charge of the monastery does not seem to have any idea as to who might have stolen it.”

  “We can explain what the music the trees play is,” Israfel said. His enthusiasm was contagious, and Gabriel found himself trying not to laugh as the Angel of Music bounced on the armrest of the couch.

  “Yes, Israfel?” Michael asked politely.

  “It’s the Song of Creation,” Israfel said triumphantly. “The music God made when He was making all of this. The trees remember it, and when you wind the keys, it plays. It’s their way of honoring creation.”

  Michael nodded slowly. “I see,” he said. “Yes, that makes a great deal of sense. Thank you, Israfel.”

  “You’re welcome, Mike. It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it? I thought it was awesome. It’s like, the most fantastic music ever and totally the sounds of Heaven and God and it’s so beautiful.”

  “Iss,” Raphael said gently, “let Michael finish.”

  “Oh. Oh right, yeah. Sorry!” Israfel mimed zipping his lips closed.

  Gabriel did laugh at that. “Sorry,” he said as Michael looked at him sternly.

  “I have news, too,” Samael said. His expression was somber. “I cannot find Joseph of Arimathea anywhere in the Land of Light. I went all through it, up and down every corner, nook, and cranny. I asked the Dominions, I spoke with the Cherubim, I enlisted the Ophanim and Thrones, and none of us could find him. So I went and spoke with God, and God merely told me that everything and everyone has their time and season.”

  Michael sighed. “Damn,” he muttered.

  “Michael!” Gabriel was a little shocked. “You cursed.”

  “It seems appropriate at this juncture,” Michael said. “Does anyone else have anything new to add?”

  There was a chorus of “no,” and Michael sighed again and nodded once. “All right. Then we should continue to assist these good people here until Raziel and Haniel return. What is the biggest problem, Uriel?”

  “Food,” Uriel said. “There isn’t much here and they don’t have a lot of money. Some of ’em are sick, too, and all of them are scared they’ll be outed as shifters and then they’ll be in the shit. Apparently there’s a bunch of carbon apes who are hunting ’em down as being godless.”

  Raphael swore. He stood up quickly, and Israfel fell off the corner of the armrest. “I’m sorry, Israfel,” Raphael apologized, helping his lover to his feet.

  “It’s okay, Raph,” Israfel said.

  “Where are the sick, Uriel? I will go to them now,” Raphael said.

  “Downstairs, next floor down,” Uriel said.

  Raphael nodded.

  “I’ll come too,” Israfel said. “How about you, Tabbry?”

  Tabbris nodded. “Yeah, all right. Better than hanging around up here listening to people panic.” He got to his feet and fixed Michael with a glare. “You better fix this, old man,” he growled.

  “Pardon?” Michael said.

  “You heard me. The world’s in flux right now, and it’s really uncomfortable. So, fix it.” Tabbris stormed out of Lyudmila’s apartment.

  “He’s been down since Georgia. He’ll be okay soon, though. I’ve got faith.” With that, Israfel left the apartment, following his best friend.

  Raphael shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t. But, I’ll keep an eye on them.”

  “Thank you, Raphael,” Michael said.

  “I will go with you,” Metatron said. “I am not Remiel, but I can give comfort as well as he.”

  “I appreciate that,” Raphael said. Together, they left the apartment.

  Uriel got to his feet. “Come on, Sammy, Tzad, let’s go patrol the building. Sophiel and Brieus, you should go keep watch.”

  “Shateiel,” Gabriel said to his lieutenant, who stood in the doorway, “go and join Camael in Brocéliande. Bring back the Venatores and the two boys with them in the morning.”

  Shateiel saluted and vanished.

  Alone again, Gabriel shifted on the couch to get comfortable and gazed at his lover. “This is bad,” he said.

  “Yes,” Michael agreed. “How did we not hear of this prejudice against the shifters here?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “I have no idea. We’ll have to look into it.”

  Michael sighed. “I will add it to the list.”

  Gabriel chewed his lip thoughtfully. “Let’s talk to Lyudmila and Piotr about this. I’ve got a hunch we should deal with this thing before we do anything else. And it’ll give us something to fix while we wait for Raz and Hani.”

  Michael nodded. “As you say, then.” He got to his feet and moved across the room.

  Gabriel grabbed Michael’s hand when he drew close and tugged his lover down onto his lap.

  “Gabriel?” Michael sounded puzzled. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m taking a moment, ’cause I can tell you’re not doing so well right now.” Gabriel held Michael close. “We know more today than we did yesterday, yeah? Yeah. And we know we gotta keep an eye on things and an ear open more than ever before. The Archdemons will show up soon, I’d put money on that, and then we’ll have more information from them. Hopefully, something will be more useful. But ’til then, just remember that I love you, and you’re not a
lone and you don’t have to carry the weight of all this worry by yourself.”

  Michael was silent for a while, and then he nodded once and leaned into Gabriel. “Thank you, da bao,” he murmured. “I needed to hear that.”

  “Anytime, solnyshko,” Gabriel said. He kissed Michael’s cheek. “Okay to go out and talk to Lyudmila and Piotr?”

  Michael nodded again. “I am.”

  “Then let’s go take care of that.”

  “As you say.” Michael slowly got off Gabriel’s lap and gave him a small smile. “I am glad you are with me, Gabriel.”

  “No place else I’d rather be, baby.” Gabriel grinned and winked at his lover, and Michael’s smile grew.

  Chapter Fifteen

  RAZIEL HAD left Yerevan with Haniel after a minor argument with Uriel. Uriel had been angry—that wasn’t any great surprise, for Uriel was often angry, but it had taken all of Raziel’s powers of persuasion to calm his lover down. Talking Uriel down from high dudgeon to his usual moderate dudgeon was wearing, and Raziel was silent as he and Haniel emerged in the clouds above London and flared their wings, coasting on an updraft.

  “Are you all right?” Haniel asked. He pitched his voice so that Raziel could hear him.

  “Yes, yes.” Raziel sighed, and then he smiled ruefully. “Uriel fails to understand that when I go and take care of things without him, it does not mean that I find him difficult to work with, it means simply that I need him to be doing things elsewhere.”

  “Ah,” Haniel said. “He wanted to come with us, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Raziel rolled his eyes. “I had to explain to him—several times, in small words and simple phrases—that I needed him to remain in the apartment building to guard it. That going to see Penemuel, Kokabiel, and Baraqiel without him was not a slight to his Archangelness.”

  Haniel chuckled. “He understood, finally, though, yes?”

  Raziel nodded. “Oh yes. And he felt like an idiot after I explained things to him. But this business is making everyone touchy, and it’s disconcerting enough as it is without fragile egos rearing their ugly heads.”

  Haniel smiled. “I’m sorry to say that I think there’ll be more of that. As long as things are unknown, then everyone will be on edge. So there might need to be times that we’ll all have to make time to be with our loved ones and reassure each other,” he said. “It’s natural. Just let him be affectionate when you get back, and take an hour or so to be alone with him.”

  Raziel was amused. “Wise words, Hani, but Uri’s idea of affection usually involves fire, and I don’t think we want him to burn down Yerevan in a display of his love for me.”

  Haniel laughed. “No, that wouldn’t be a good idea. Maybe head that fiery tendency into another direction?”

  “Like sex?” Raziel nodded. “I can do that.”

  “You’re so giving, Raz,” Haniel said drily.

  Raziel laughed this time. “That did sound a bit pompous, didn’t it? I do have to take care of things, but I can definitely find the time to be alone with my grumpy beloved.”

  “You two are very good together, you know,” Haniel said, flexing his wings.

  “Thanks.” Raziel smiled. “It’s good to hear that. I’ll tell him, too. I think, for all he grumbles, he’ll be pleased to hear that.”

  “I’m glad.” Haniel looked down at London, spread out below them like a toy city, made of gray and brown Lego blocks, with tiny cars, buses, and motorcycles on the thin ribbons that were the streets. “Where does Penemuel live?”

  “Not far from the library,” Raziel said. He pointed in the direction of the large building. “Follow me.”

  “Lead on then, Macduff,” Haniel teased.

  Raziel laughed. “And hopefully this won’t end the way that play did!” He brought his wings down in a strong stroke and took off, flying toward the building where Penemuel’s apartment was.

  The window was open, so Raziel simply folded his wings back and flew through it, landing lightly on the balls of his feet on the living room carpet. Haniel landed beside him a few moments later, and Raziel grinned as Penemuel blinked owlishly at them. He was also covered in tea.

  “Whoops,” Raziel said. “Did we make you spill your teacup?”

  “Ah yes, just a little,” Penemuel said.

  With a wave of Raziel’s hand, the tea was mopped up and Penemuel’s shirt and tie were dry. “There you are.”

  “Thank you. Goodness, Raziel, you and Haniel almost made me faint! But what brings you here today?”

  “Sorry,” Haniel said. “We didn’t mean to. We’ve got things to tell you, and when Raz said he was coming here, I volunteered to go with him. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen you, Pen. So, here we are.”

  Penemuel smiled. “That’s true, isn’t it? It’s wonderful to see you, Haniel. You’re looking very well, I must say. And Raziel, you seem well, although troubled too. I take it there’s a crisis afoot?”

  “You could say that,” Raziel said and sat down uninvited. Penemuel blinked and then gestured to Haniel to take a seat. Raziel waited until his companion had sat, and then he went on. “Penemuel, has anyone asked you lately for books or manuscripts about the Holy Grail?”

  Penemuel sat bolt upright. “I thought something was strange about that! Yes, as a matter of fact, about three weeks ago, we had a tour group come through the part of the library I work in. That isn’t unusual, there’s often groups coming in. What was unusual that a young man, oh, perhaps twenty-five or so? He took Chloe aside and, in between flirting with her, asked her all sorts of questions about the Holy Grail. It’s not Chloe’s field, so she directed him to me.”

  “What did you tell him?” Raziel asked.

  “Nothing. His aura was… off. Very strange, actually. It didn’t seem to be his real aura, but something created to mask who and what he really is.”

  Raziel and Haniel exchanged a grim look. “And here’s a third case of weird auras,” Raziel said.

  “So it would seem,” Haniel agreed. “Pen, did he tell you what he wanted the information for?”

  “Yes. He said he was writing his PhD thesis on the Grail and he wanted to read through some of the documents that might not be readily available outside of his university. Although, when pressed, he didn’t know what the name of the university was or what the actual title of his thesis was.”

  “Fuck,” Raziel swore. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Are there cameras in the library?”

  “Of course.” Penemeul nodded. “We have to be careful.”

  “Would there be footage of this young man?” Raziel asked.

  Penemuel nodded again, slower this time. “As a matter of fact, there should be.”

  Haniel got to his feet. “Can we take a look at this footage?”

  “Now?” Penemuel asked.

  “Now,” Raziel said.

  “I suppose so, but why the rush?” Penemuel asked. He got to his feet as he spoke.

  “Because the Holy Grail has been stolen and we are walking around in the dark with blindfolds and earplugs,” Raziel said, “and I hate not knowing something, especially something this important.”

  “It’s missing?” Penemuel gaped. “Good lord! Well, come with me. No time to waste, my lords.” He dashed toward the front door of his apartment and opened it. On the threshold, her hand raised as if she were about to knock, was Chloe.

  “Pen?” Chloe blinked. “Did you hear—oh. You’ve got visitors!”

  “Chloe, you’d better come with us,” Penemuel said. “Have you got your keys for work?”

  “I do, but what’s going on?” she demanded.

  “We’ll explain when we get there,” Raziel said. “And this is Haniel, Archangel of Love. Hani, Chloe.”

  Chloe nodded politely to Haniel, then raised an eyebrow. “Archangel of Love, huh? You and I need to have a really bloody long talk, Mr. Haniel.”

  Haniel laughed. “I promise we can as soon as we’ve looked at the library.”

  “All right then
. Let’s go.”

  THE LIBRARY was closed, but the security guards let Penemuel and Chloe pass without comment. Raziel and Haniel bypassed any potential problems by making themselves invisible, and they followed Penemuel and Chloe through the building and downstairs into the basement where they worked.

  Making himself visible again, Raziel rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. “I do love the scent of old books,” he said.

  Penemuel smiled back. “As do I, my lord. I’ve never had a job that I loved as much as this one.”

  “I can understand why,” Raziel said.

  “It’s a good place to work,” Chloe added. “The security office is this way. I think the guards will have gone home for the night—it’s just the nightshift upstairs and outside the building on duty now.” She led the way toward a row of offices.

  Raziel ran the tips of his fingers over the bookcases as they walked past the stacks. He sighed a little wistfully and then shook himself.

  “Feeling nostalgic?” Haniel asked.

  “A little,” Raziel admitted. “But I can’t retire to be a librarian, so I’ll just soak up the pleasure of being in wonderful libraries such as this whenever I can, whatever the reason.”

  Haniel nodded. “Nothing quite compares to the old Alexandria library, though, does it?”

  Raziel felt a pang of sadness at the name. “No, it doesn’t.”

  Chloe opened a door and led the three angels into the office. She sat down at the console and turned on the computer system. “What am I looking for here?” she asked.

  “Remember that odd young man who was asking us about the Holy Grail?” Penemuel replied.

  “Oh yeah.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “He was creepy.”

  “We need to see what he looked like,” Raziel said.

  “Then I know exactly what time and date to bring up.” She turned to her task, and Raziel watched with interest.