The Wind-up Forest
Page 23
Her own team was silenced, shocked by the sudden noises that had made Gabriel roar at the top of his lungs, so loudly that all the windows had shattered. He had been mid-scold of Liam for his behavior in Brittany, and then something that Angelique had not yet been able to discern had happened. Gabriel had been cut off mid-tirade, and when he spoke again, it was not a word, but a shout, a howl of primitive, inhuman rage that soared toward Heaven and Hell and the spaces in between.
Angelique had never cowered in her life, but the sound of Gabriel’s fury, the nimbus of silver-blue light that surrounded him, the sheer force of his terrible power had actually terrified her, and she had retreated, her team with her, Declan and Liam joining them. They had tried to make themselves as small and inoffensive as possible, a normal reaction to the presence of a powerful and dangerous creature. Gabriel had shed his human mask, and what remained was a form of a male, handsome to be sure, but terrible and scaring her utterly. His fingers were no longer human digits, but long and tipped in razor-sharp claws, and his sword was in his hand, the blade burning with a blue light.
If Gabriel had terrified her, Angelique had no words for how she felt when she saw Michael. Michael had burst into the room—there had been no other word for it. The door had been closed, and then, as if it were made of paper, it was gone, destroyed with the force of the rage of the Chief Archangel, glowing gold, his eyes alight with the same color, and his own sword in his claw-tipped hand. Gold and silver, the two Archangels had looked at each other, communicated with one another, and then Michael had barked an order at Angelique and her people, including Liam and Declan in it.
“Come,” he had said, and that voice was to be obeyed utterly, without question. Angelique and her pack, Liam and Declan had followed Gabriel and Michael, out of the room, down the hall and into a large room that seemed to serve as a conference room.
The Nephilim beside Ishtahar looked on with impassive expressions. Angelique could scent what they were with her Venatores-enhanced nose, and usually, she would be full of questions. She was, actually, full of questions, but at that moment, her fear far outweighed her desire to know what the hell was going on.
Agrat wept, and Shateiel held her, and the Archangels sat and glared, growing less and less human by the moment. The Archdemons too, seemed to be losing any pretense of humanity, and the amount of power crackling in the room was so much that it actually hurt her skin.
And then, astoundingly, inconceivably, Liam stood up and spoke.
“Guys,” Liam said, his voice soft and persuasive, “you need to power down or you’ll destroy this city.”
There was silence for a long moment, and all the Archdemon and Archangel eyes fell on Liam. Angelique shivered, clinging to Declan’s arm. She would not have wanted to have those power-filled gazes on her at any time.
Finally, Raziel stood. He shook himself, and the bronze fire around him faded. Soon he appeared as he always had to Angelique: a normal, thirtysomething-year-old man, pale skin, shoulder-length dark hair, bright-blue eyes that were somehow a little too bright to be natural. He nodded to Liam, and then, to Angelique’s amazement, he bowed.
“Thank you,” Raziel said. His voice sounded like gravel, full of suppressed fury and weariness. “We needed that reminder, I think.” He looked around. “Come on, dial it down. We’re in an inhabited area. We can go postal later. Work, now.”
The Archdemon who Angelique recognized as Adramelek took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, he no longer appeared as a terrifying denizen of Hell. Like Raziel, he appeared as a young man in his late twenties, brown eyes, pale skin, a light dusting of freckles on his nose. His neatly cut light-brown hair was slightly mussed, and his accent, when he spoke, was Russian.
“That was dangerous of you, boy,” he said to Liam. Then he grinned. “But wise.”
Liam nodded and sat down. “I could just feel you were all so mad. There was so much pent-up energy in here, I was really worried for a moment.” He smiled as he glanced around at the shifters, his brother, and Angelique and her team. “I think we all were.”
“Got that right,” Declan said. He shook his head. “What the hell all happened?”
“Nothing to do with Hell, I can assure you,” Adramelek said. He looked over to the female demon, a beautiful woman with long, wavy blonde hair, wearing a bright-red dress. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Yes, Adry. I will feed later, and then I’ll be fine.”
Adramelek nodded again, quirked an eyebrow as he regarded the demon who had identified himself as Markus. Markus nodded as well, and Adramelek turned back to Declan.
“We had a breakthrough in the Grail situation,” he said.
Uriel snorted. “That’s a fucking understatement.”
“So what happened, I ask again?” Declan demanded.
Raziel looked at the rest of his Brotherhood. Thankfully, Angelique saw, they had returned to their more benevolent-looking forms. Her fear evaporated slowly as Michael rubbed his forehead.
“You may as well explain, Raziel,” he said. “I do not have the heart to do so.”
Gabriel slipped an arm around Michael’s shoulders, and Michael leaned into him. Angelique couldn’t resist taking a look at Baxter to see what his reaction to this display of loving concern was.
Baxter’s expression was calm, though his eyes were full of curiosity. He kept turning from the Archangels to Liam and back again, and Angelique realized suddenly that Baxter had been telling her the truth. He had developed a genuine, normal, healthy interest in Liam. She was so relieved, she sat back, feeling momentarily dizzy.
“You okay?” Lily whispered.
Angelique nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
“Pay attention,” Danny hissed.
Angelique rolled her eyes at him, but did so, focusing on the Archangels.
“Approximately ten minutes ago,” Raziel was saying, “we all—and by all, I mean angelkind, demons, Nephilim, and immortals—heard the succubus known as Naamah kill her own sister, the succubus angel called Eisheth.”
“My sisters,” Agrat said. Her voice sounded broken. “I can’t believe Naamah committed sororicide!”
Shateiel’s expression was grim, but he held Agrat close, his embrace tender and protective. Angelique felt a sudden spike of deep sympathy for the Angel of Prostitution and Sex as she wept into her husband’s chest.
“Yes,” Raziel said softly, “Agrat’s sisters. Agrat was with her oldest sister, Lilith, when this happened.
“Before anyone asks, no, no one in Hell or Heaven knew this was coming. None of us had any forewarning of this. As far as we were all aware, Eisheth was happy with her life among the stars. She lived there, giving comfort to those that were dying and falling to earth or those that simply extinguished when they died. She was loved by the stars, and I think they will feel this loss keenly. Don’t expect them to shine too brightly for a while.
“Naamah, we thought, was living in the seas, traveling the oceans of the world and communing with the creatures therein. Perhaps for a time she was. What we know now, is that is no longer true. We don’t know where she is, but I would imagine she’s somewhere on Earth. For now. I have no idea where she’ll go next, obviously. But”—and now Raziel ran a hand through his hair—“she’s killed in order to fill the Holy Grail with blood, just like it was to begin with, when Longinus collected Christ’s blood in it.”
Declan shook his head. “Un-fucking-believable,” he said. “Is there…. I mean, what can we do now?”
Agrat stepped forward. Her face was pale, and her eyes were red from tears. “Lilith made a suggestion,” she said. “I think she’s right.”
“And what did dear old Lilith say?” Raziel asked.
“I know you don’t like her,” Agrat said, “but please be open-minded, Raziel.”
“I’m doing my best right now,” he said.
“Okay.” Agrat took a deep breath. “Lilith suggested that you take a delegation back in tim
e to speak face to face with Joseph of Arimathea. In Britain.”
Raziel’s eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline. “It would be Roman Britain, then,” he mused thoughtfully.
“You think this is a good idea?” The Archdemon who was named Ondrass stepped forward. His expression was skeptical. Angelique had the impression of a Chinese mafia leader dealing with an unruly subordinate. “It isn’t, you must admit, entirely orthodox.”
“I think we’ll have to suspend any ideas of normalcy from this point on,” Raziel said. “I’ll certainly investigate the suggestion and speak with God about it before putting it into action. But”—he looked again at Agrat—“I will not take forever in making that decision. I believe I’ll have a concrete plan for this by tomorrow.”
Michael got to his feet. “You are determined, then?” he asked Raziel.
“Can you think of anything better?”
Michael’s shoulders slumped. “No, I cannot.”
“In any case, whoever goes back in time will have to be chosen very carefully,” Raziel said. “No demons. Sorry. But that’s the rule, and that’s not one I’m prepared to break. As a preliminary group suggestion, I would recommend myself, Uriel—because he would never let me do this without him—Shateiel, Agrat, Angelique, and Lily.”
Angelique blinked. “Me?” She was astounded. “Why me?”
“Because of your talents as a Venatores alpha,” Raziel said. “And Lily because she is your beta.”
Angelique opened and closed her mouth several times, feeling like a goldfish. Finally, she said, “I didn’t even know we were candidates!”
“We must do what we can,” Michael said. “Now, we must make plans to find Naamah, discover what she intends to do with the sullied Grail, learn if we can indeed repair it so that the taint is removed, and how to fix the situation and return it to its resting place.”
“And stop the world from falling apart,” Gabriel said. “Not a lot, then. Should get that all done in a jiffy.”
Uriel laughed. “Maybe a jiffy and a half.”
Gabriel smiled. “Maybe.”
“I must go.” Raziel straightened. “I need to speak with God. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He was gone then, vanishing with the sound of rustling feathers.
Michael heaved another sigh. “I do not know what to ask you all to do,” he admitted. “So, I shall ask that we continue as we have been, trying to find information. If anyone of you here finds Naamah, call us. I believe it will require all the Brotherhood and the Archdemons here to contain her.”
“And if you hear anything about who she has working for her and why, let’s not be shy about sharing that intel,” Gabriel added.
Adramelek nodded. “Right. Well, I need to speak with Lucifer, so I too shall return directly. In the interim”—he turned to Ondrass—“do what you can.”
Ondrass nodded. “Of course.”
Adramelek inclined his head to the assembled and vanished.
Angelique heaved a huge breath. “What a day,” she said.
“Got that right,” Danny agreed. “Fuck.”
“Language,” Michael scolded. Then he smiled. It was a sad expression. “And yet, I fear there is no more appropriate word for this turn of events.”
“We’ll make things right,” Remiel said. He laid a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Mike.”
Michael nodded. “I pray you are right, Remiel.”
Gabriel looked around. “We should all get back to work. If you hear anything, see anything, hell, smell anything, call a meeting. When Raz gets back from upstairs, we’ll reconvene and see what plan to implement.”
Everyone who was sitting got to their feet. There were mutterings among the various little groups, but everyone seemed to be united in their determination to thwart Naamah. Angelique stretched.
“We should go start training,” she said to her team. “I think we’re going to have to do a lot of really weird shit, so we need to be in top form.”
“Sir,” said Baxter and Danny, and they, along with Lily and Riley, saluted. She saluted back.
“There is a place where you can work as your wolf selves not far from here,” said the shifter who had earlier introduced himself as Piotr. “I can take you there, if you wish.”
Angelique nodded. “Good. That’s a good place to start. Come on.” She led her team out of the room, Piotr falling into step beside her. Out the corner of her eye, Angelique saw Liam and Declan fall in with her team.
They walked down the corridor toward the stairs, and Angelique’s mind was full of thoughts, all of them clamoring for attention. She shook her head. There was work to do, and until Raziel returned with a plan, they needed to train and keep their eyes, ears, and noses open.
Determined not to fail her boss, Michael, or his lover, Gabriel, or the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels, and certainly not the rest of creation, Angelique marched down the stairs, beginning to plan a training regime and focusing on the coming tasks that lay ahead.
About the Author
L.J. LABARTHE is a French-Australian woman, who was born during the Witching Hour, just after midnight. From this auspicious beginning, she went on to write a prize-winning short story about Humpty Dumpty wearing an Aussie hat complete with corks dangling from it when she was six years old. From there, she wrote for her high school yearbook, her university newspaper, and, from her early teens to her twenties, produced a fanzine about the local punk rock music scene. She loves music of all kinds and was once a classical pianist; she loves languages and speaks French and English and a teeny-tiny smattering of Mandarin Chinese, which she hopes to relearn properly very soon. She enjoys TV, film, travel, cooking, eating out, abandoned places, urbex, history, and researching.
L.J. loves to read complicated plots and hopes to do complex plot lines justice in her own writing. She writes paranormal, historical, urban fantasy, and contemporary Australian stories, usually M/M romance and featuring M/M erotica.
L.J. lives in the city of Adelaide and is owned by her cat.
Now Available
Book 1 of the ARCHANGEL CHRONICLES
You would never know it from his flamboyant lifestyle, but Gabriel’s not just the cheerful, fun-loving adoptive father of a pair of indulged young adult humans. He’s an Archangel, commander of Heaven’s legions of Seraphim, and despite his apparently easy virtue, he’s harboring a serious crush on his superior officer, Michael.
For years Michael has devoted himself to developing a team of humans, the Venatores, to aid in the fight against Hell. He’s been pining after Gabriel for centuries without hope, believing himself to be too serious to attract the other Archangel’s interest. He’s happy to discover that he’s wrong, but their burgeoning relationship is stymied by a major problem: an egomaniacal human is recruiting demons and fallen angels in a bid to take over the world. It’s up to Michael and Gabriel, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels, to beat back the forces of Hell before the Earth is overrun.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Now Available
Book 2 of the ARCHANGEL CHRONICLES
Seventy years after it began, the war between angels and demons is over. Archangels Gabriel and Michael reunite at last, but a dangerous new challenge stands in the way of their happiness: someone is kidnapping angels and selling them as trophies on the black market. When Raphael, Archangel of Healing, goes missing, his tearful lover joins with the Brotherhood of Archangels and their lieutenants to rescue him.
Without Raphael’s healing touch, disease spreads quickly through the world’s human population. The situation only worsens when the angel Agrat is kidnapped: the number of sex crimes begins to rise and her husband, Gabriel’s lieutenant, loses himself to his grief. As they mount a rescue mission, Gabriel and Michael’s relationship will be put to the test. With the threat of the world dying around them and tragedy looming overhead, can Gabriel and Michael keep love and hope alive?
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Book 3 of the ARCHANGEL CHRONICLES
Newly bonded Archangels Michael and Gabriel are torn from their idyllic island retreat by the singing of hymns heralding stunning news: Gabriel’s ancient foe, Semjaza, has escaped from his prison in the stars and now seeks revenge and utter conquest.
With the wisdom of Archangel Raziel to guide them and help coming from the most unlikely of quarters, Gabriel and Michael join with the Brotherhood of Archangels to hunt Semjaza down and finish him once and for all. Because Semjaza’s return to Earth doesn’t threaten just Gabriel and his loved ones—it threatens the whole of humanity.
But even more danger lurks in the shadows, threatening the Brotherhood from within. If Gabriel and Semjaza finally face each other in single combat, will Gabriel survive the contest, or will Michael lose his one true love?
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Coming in 2014
THE CRYSTAL LAKE
Book 5 of the ARCHANGEL CHRONICLES
The thief of the Grail has been identified and the Brotherhood of Archangels is moving to counter her evil machinations. But as demons flock to the side of the thief and betray Hell, monsters are enslaved and shifters and an angel turn traitor. The love between Gabriel and Michael is tested as they join the rest of the Brotherhood on the trail of Namaah. Danger makes strange bedfellows in the form of Lucifer, the Archdemons, and Lilith.
A traitor lurks among the angels and humans, and the Venatores are discovering vital new information. Lovers Liam, a Necromancer, and Baxter, a shifter working for Michael’s Venatores unit, must face not just the living but the dead. Archangels Raziel and Uriel contend with demands on Raziel’s power that wear him to the brink of exhaustion. The Brotherhood will need all their strength to prevail against the threats surrounding them.