“How have you been, Pen?” Haniel asked as they waited.
“Good, good.” Penemuel smiled. “As Lord Raziel so astutely noted, working in this library is truly the best thing that could have happened. I am with so much knowledge, every day, dedicated to the protection and preservation of it. And I’ve seen my family and that has been wonderful. Since Semjaza met his fate, life has been good.”
Haniel smiled back. “I’m very glad to hear that, Pen. Very glad.”
Raziel shot them both a glance over his shoulder. “Me too. How are Kokabiel and Baraqiel doing?”
“They’re very well, my lord.”
“Good. They’re our next stop.”
“Here we go,” Chloe said then. “This is the guy.”
Raziel and Haniel moved closer to her and peered at the screen. The black-and-white image was crisp, and the young man appeared rather ordinary. So ordinary, that it was almost as if he were wearing a glamour. Raziel’s eyes narrowed as the thought entered his head.
“Any chance of getting a close-up of his face?” he asked Chloe.
She nodded and tapped a few keys on the keyboard. Obligingly, the image zoomed in and a moment later, sharpened.
“I can’t tell a damn thing from this,” Raziel growled. “He doesn’t seem remarkable at all.”
“I have a feeling he’s covered in a glamour,” Haniel said.
“I just thought that,” Raziel said. “Can we get a printout of this photo, Chloe?”
She nodded again. “Just a minute and I’ll have that for you.”
“Thanks.” Raziel turned back to Penemuel. “I need you to do something for me. Well, actually, for the whole of creation, not just me.”
“This sounds foreboding,” Penemuel said. “What is it?”
“I need you to go through every single book, illumination, manuscript, poem, anything written down, and compile me a list of places that the Holy Grail is supposed to be kept. We know about Saint Catherine’s Monastery.” Raziel paused to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. “That, unfortunately, was a diversion. Joseph of Arimathea made a copy of the Grail—a very good one—and put it in the monastery. The real one is no one knows where. God should know, but He isn’t saying.”
“I see.” Penemuel pursed his lips. “I can certainly do that research for you, my lord, that isn’t any trouble. Should I make a note of anything that I think might be peculiar and not in keeping with the rest of the Matter of Britain?”
“Please.” Raziel heaved a sigh. He felt very tired. “I’d love to stay and have you show me around in greater detail, but as I said, we have to see Kokabiel and Baraqiel yet today. When—if—you find something, call me. Likewise if you get any requests from anyone else to see books that talk about the Holy Grail or anything related to it.”
“I understand.” Penemuel nodded. “I’ll begin immediately.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Raziel said. He wrinkled his nose. “I didn’t mean that you should throw aside everything else and do this.”
“I know, my lord, but I enjoy working here, and at night, with no one else around, this is paradise. So it will be a pleasure for me to do this anyway, and to begin it now, well, there’s no time like the present, is there?”
Raziel laughed. “That’s very true. Thank you, Penemuel. I really do appreciate this, truly.”
Penemuel inclined his head. “I am more than happy to help, my lord.”
Chloe returned then, and Raziel realized he hadn’t even noticed her leave the room. He was wearing himself out, he thought. He needed to take a moment or ten and just breathe, just touch the Source of everything and recharge his batteries, so to speak. Later, he thought. He’d do it later, once he and Haniel returned to Yerevan.
Chloe held out a sheaf of paper. “I made several copies,” she said. “Six of the close-up and six of the original photo.”
“Thank you, Chloe,” Raziel said. He took them and tucked them into the inside pocket of his jacket. “I appreciate it.”
“My pleasure, Raziel.” She looked at Haniel. “I really wanted to talk to you, but I’m getting the feeling here that you two are in the middle of something rather serious, so I won’t keep you. Perhaps when whatever it is you’re doing is finished, we could talk.”
Haniel gave her a florid, elegant bow. “I would like that, Miss Chloe.”
She laughed. “You’re a charmer.”
He winked. “Have you met the rest of my choir? Archangels are a preoccupied, sometimes surly group.”
Raziel lightly punched his shoulder. “We are awesome. And now we have to go to Belgium.”
“All right.” Haniel extended his hand to Penemuel, who took it, and they shook firmly. “It really was good to see you again, however briefly. Hopefully we can meet for dinner after this business is over. I’d like to catch up with you properly.”
Penemuel beamed. “I’d like that very much, my lord.”
“Well then. Pen, Chloe, I look forward to seeing you soon.”
Raziel nodded. “Thanks again. I’ll be in touch.” He laid his hand on Haniel’s shoulder and moved them.
When they emerged in the world once more, they were in the middle of the countryside, on the side of a hill. Haniel stumbled a little, and Raziel grabbed his arm to help steady him.
“Sorry about that,” Raziel said. “I forgot to tell you that Kokabiel and Baraqiel have this little hidey-hole in the countryside.”
“That’s all right.” Haniel held up a hand and conjured a ball of light to act as a torch. “Now then, where are we? Ah, I see,” he answered his own question. “Overlooking Brussels. Lovely location they’ve chosen.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Raziel looked around. “I didn’t get a chance to really appreciate it the last time I was here. Oh, they’ve a cat and a dog, too.”
“We all seem to get pets,” Haniel mused.
“I know.” Raziel grinned and started up the path. “Did I tell you that Uriel got a pair of koi?”
“No!” Haniel burst out laughing. “He’s the last one I’d imagine to like fish.”
“He grumbles a lot about them, but he’s really fond of them. Although he’s named them One and Two and I don’t think he can actually tell which one is which.” Raziel chuckled. “He’s silly, sometimes.”
“But you love him, anyway?” Haniel asked.
“Of course.” Raziel stopped walking in front of a thick wooden door. He knocked smartly. “How could I not? I’ve loved him for eons.”
“As I said before,” Haniel said, “you two are very good together.”
The door opened, and Baraqiel stood on the threshold, blinking in astonishment. Raziel noted absently that there seemed to be a lot of that going on that evening.
“Raziel?” Baraqiel asked, his voice full of surprise. “And… Haniel?”
“The same,” Raziel said. “Can we come in? We need to talk to you and Kokabiel.”
“Oh, sorry, yes of course,” Baraqiel gestured, and Raziel, with Haniel behind him, entered. “You startled me,” Baraqiel said, closing the door behind them. “I wasn’t expecting visitors this evening.”
“Is Kokabiel here?” Raziel asked.
“Yes, he is. Just through here.” Baraqiel led the way down the corridor to the living room. Kokabiel was seated on the sofa, his feet resting on an ottoman and a book in his hands. Spectacles were perched on the bridge of his nose, and his expression reflected his astonishment as Baraqiel led Raziel and Haniel into the room.
“Raziel and Haniel?” Kokabiel set his book and spectacles aside. “You’re the last people I’d expected to see. Please, sit down.”
“Thanks.” Raziel sat down in an armchair, and Haniel followed suit. “I’m afraid this isn’t a social call.”
“I’d suspected not,” Baraqiel said. “You usually call ahead when it’s that.”
“True.” Raziel ran a hand through his hair. “The Holy Grail is missing.”
They stared at him.
“P
ardon, but I thought you just said the Holy Grail is missing,” Kokabiel said.
“Mm, that’s because I did.” Raziel was amused by their reaction.
“I knew something was wrong,” Baraqiel said.
Raziel turned to gaze at him. “What do you mean?”
“Wait, I need to show you something, first. I’ll be right back.” Baraqiel scurried out of the room like an angel with a mission.
Kokabiel shook his head. “This is bad news, Raziel,” he said.
“I know. Before you ask, we have no damn idea what happened to it, where it was stolen from—because Saint Catherine’s Monastery was a decoy”—Raziel was getting tired of repeating that—“and we have no idea who took it. It appears, though, that whoever is involved in this has powers of some kind. Powers that can shield their thoughts even from an Archangel, disguise themselves with a glamour that Penemuel couldn’t penetrate with his own abilities, and no discernible agenda. We are, in essence, in the dark.”
“Crap,” Kokabiel said. “Not even Semjaza would have tried to mess with the Grail.”
“That’s true, isn’t it?” Haniel turned to Raziel. “Think about it, Raz. Semjaza, the ultimate egotist, didn’t try to nab the Grail while he was planning his domination and revenge. He just concentrated on that, and if he’d had the Grail, he’d have had quite a bit of a power boost. Add that to the energy from the circle of the Washington State Stonehenge monument… he would have been unbeatable.”
Raziel frowned. “I wonder why he didn’t,” he mused. “Not that we can ask him now.”
“No, but he’s been dealt with by Lucifer, hasn’t he?” Kokabiel asked.
“Yes.” Raziel nodded.
“Then ask him,” Kokabiel said. “If it was in Semjaza’s thoughts or his subconscious, with Lucifer taking a personal interest in dealing with him, Lucifer would know.”
Raziel’s eyes narrowed. “That… is actually an excellent point. Hani, could you let Agrat and Shateiel know? Considering Agrat’s meeting tomorrow, she could put that question to her lunch guest.”
Haniel nodded and concentrated. Raziel watched out the corner of his eye as Haniel’s expression went blank, the only outward sign that he was communicating with Shateiel and Agrat. After a few minutes, his eyes cleared, and Haniel smiled.
“All done. Shateiel swore for a while, Agrat groaned and swore a little bit, and they promised to make that one of the first questions.”
“Excellent. Thank you,” Raziel said.
Baraqiel entered the room, holding a large pile of photographs. He pulled up the coffee table and shoved the magazines that were on it onto the floor, ignoring Kokabiel’s protest.
“Now, these are photographs of the northern skies,” Baraqiel said. “It’s routine, we take photos of the stars to keep our charts up to date. It’s part of the ongoing record keeping that the observatory does. See here, near Draconis?” He laid out a large photograph and pointed at the constellation. “This is nothingness.”
Raziel leaned forward and stared at the photograph. Sure enough, where there should be other stars, there was a hole of nothing but deep space. “Is it a black hole or something?” he asked.
“No.” Baraqiel shook his head. “Black holes photograph differently. They give off a radiation that shows up on the photograph. This is a patch of space that no longer has any stars.”
“What would cause that?” Raziel wondered.
“No idea. But it’s new.” Baraqiel was frowning. “This is a photograph of the same patch of space, taken thirty-six hours earlier.” He placed a new photograph on top of the first.
The stars were all there, as they should be. Raziel frowned once more.
“So… they vanished?” Haniel asked.
Baraqiel spread his hands and shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea, Haniel. They were there and now they’re not.”
Raziel had a sudden thought. “Tell me, Eisheth, Agrat’s sister—she’s supposed to be living among the stars, comforting those who have reached the end of the lifecycle. Does she show up when you photograph space?”
“As a streak of light, yes.” Baraqiel nodded.
“Where is she in these photos?” Raziel asked.
“Ah….” Baraqiel peered at them. “Here we go. In the earlier photograph, she’s here, near Alpha Centauri. In the newer one… oh. I can’t see her.”
“She’d probably moved onto a patch of space that we weren’t photographing,” Kokabiel said.
“Hm, yes, that’s true. She doesn’t always show up in the photos for that reason. She’s not omnipresent, after all.” Baraqiel sat back on his haunches.
“Can I take these?” Raziel asked.
“Of course. They’re prints of the originals, so it’s no problem.” Baraqiel picked the photographs up and rolled them into a neat bundle. He handed them to Raziel, and Raziel nodded his thanks as he took them.
“It’s probably a long shot,” Raziel said, “but I need to ask anyway—can you keep me informed if you hear anything or see anything that could relate to the Grail?”
“Absolutely.” Kokabiel nodded. “We’ve got contacts at the Sorbonne, too, we can ask them to keep an eye out.”
“Thank you,” Raziel said. He felt greatly relieved at their unquestioning support and the earlier support of Penemuel. “We spoke to Penemuel before coming here, he’s delving into the books for me.”
Baraqiel grinned. “And he’ll love that, mark my words.”
Raziel laughed. “You know, he probably will. Oh! One more thing. Chloe printed this out for us. Do either you recognize this young man?” He pulled the photos that Chloe had given him out of his jacket and passed them over to Baraqiel.
The two Grigori looked closely at the photograph and then Baraqiel handed it back. His expression was grim.
“He was at the coffee place we all go to when we take a break at the observatory,” Baraqiel said.
“Fuck!” Raziel was amazed. He hadn’t really expected the two Grigori to have seen the man. “This guy gets around. When did you see him?”
“Three days ago,” Kokabiel said. “He sort of loitered around the observatory, but Giles shooed him away. No unauthorized personnel, that sort of thing.”
“I see.” Raziel shook his head.
“That means,” Haniel said, “he went from hanging around here straight to London and the library.”
Baraqiel and Kokabiel whistled. “If we see him again, do you want us to detain him?” Baraqiel asked.
Raziel thought about it. Finally, he shook his head. “No, just call us and we’ll come and take care of it.”
“No problem at all,” Kokabiel said.
Raziel stood. “And now we have to go. We need to get back and tell the others what we’ve learned. If you hear, see, smell anything, call us.”
“Smell anything?” Kokabiel said, his voice amused.
“You never know,” Raziel said with a wink, and Kokabiel laughed. “Thanks for this, gentlemen. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re very welcome, Raziel.” Baraqiel looked at the two Archangels. “We’ll keep in touch with regard to any anomalies or similar.”
“I can’t ask for more than that.” Raziel inclined his head to the two of them. “And I truly am grateful. We have to go now.”
“Our house is your house,” Kokabiel said. “Feel free to drop by anytime.”
“Thanks, Ko.” Raziel grinned. “I’ll see you two later.”
“Good to see you both again,” Haniel said, stepping forward to shake the hands of the two Grigori. “Hopefully we can meet up for coffee later, in happier circumstances.”
“That would be lovely,” Baraqiel said sincerely. “Safe travels, Archangels.”
“Safe living,” Haniel replied.
Raziel touched Haniel’s shoulder and moved them back to Yerevan.
Chapter Sixteen
“THIS PLACE stinks of holiness.” Ondrass was glaring at the apartment building.
“I know,” Adramelek said,
“but we need to be here, and we need to work with the Archangels.”
“It was much more interesting when we were doing it on our own initiative,” Lix Tetrax said. “Being ordered to do it takes the fun out of things. It makes it official.”
Adramelek sighed. “I know,” he repeated, “but we must do this.”
Melcherisa laughed. “Everyone’s whining, and why? Because they know that Lucifer is right and that we have to do this. Not for the Archangels, but for us and for Hell. What you told us was pretty fucking terrible, Adry. The concept of losing our entire reality because some ancient crockery is stolen? Awful.”
“Thank you.” Adramelek rolled his eyes. “At least one of you remembers the reason we’re here.”
“Do you remember what happened the last time we were here?” Ondrass demanded. “We were nearly skewered by Raziel’s sword and we got covered in bird shit.”
Adramelek sighed again. “I know, but this time’s different.”
“How?” Ondrass crossed his arms over his chest.
“Sweet baby demons.” Adramelek threw up his hands. “Fine. I’ll go and brave the hallowed halls of Archangel central and try not to vomit on my brand-new shoes and you can cower down here like the chicken-livered Archdemon you’re being.”
“I just want to know how this time is different,” Ondrass insisted. “I am not a coward, thank you very much.”
“This time is different because they’re expecting us,” Adramelek said. He spoke very slowly and precisely. “This time is different because they need us.”
“And the first thing we need is for you to get in touch with Lucifer with your brain.” It was Raziel, and he appeared worried.
“Hello to you too,” Adramelek drawled. “Why am I calling Lucifer with my brain?”
“I need to know if he learned anything from Semjaza regarding the Holy Grail. Specifically why he didn’t go after it while he was here on his little sojourn.”
Adramelek blinked. “I didn’t think of that.”
“Neither did I.” Raziel regarded the other Archdemons and Markus. “Why are you hanging around out here like a group of criminals? Come inside.” He marched into the building.
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