The Veritas Guild

by Spring Horton

  “Afraid I’ll corrupt the young people?” he teased.

  “Yes!”

  Loki nodded toward Jack. “You should ask your old friend Dionysus about that sort of thing.”

  Raziel turned back to Loki, but the others simply looked at Jack in confusion. “Dionysus?” Katha repeated.

  “Oh,” Loki said slowly, feigning ignorance. “You mean, he hasn’t told you who he really is? Let you believe he was just some common vampire and not the King of the Vampires himself?” He turned toward Jack, who was trying to look nonchalant, and cocked his head. “Sorry big boy. You know how I am with those who try to deceive themselves. Plus, the hypocrisy was starting to get a bit thick around here.”

  “I am not one of your followers, Loki,” Jack said, his voice growing harsh. “I’d ask you to refrain from trying to teach me or anyone else in this Guild lessons about themselves.”

  Loki shrugged. “Why’s this one so quiet?” he said, nodding toward David.

  Raziel stepped in front on him, once again nose to nose. “Enough,” they threatened.

  “Oh. Oh, I see...”

  “You really don’t,” Raziel cut him off, but the god only gave them a knowing smile.

  “Alright, then. I’ll see you lot...whenever you need me, I suppose.” With that, Loki slipped into the room and shut the door behind him with a grin.

  “My God, that man’s exhausting,” Jack sighed.

  “Well, apparently, you’re the one who had a relationship with him,” Raziel pointed out.

  “For goodness sake, it was one night,” Jack chuckled nervously, and then looked at the others, still staring at him after Loki’s shocking revelation. “It’s not like I was hiding it...exactly.”

  “Look, not now. We have more pressing matters,” Raziel intervened. “Jack, with me. You two are not to talk to Loki without us. Do you understand?” the angel said, looking at Katha. When she and David nodded, Raziel nodded back, and then took Jack’s arm and headed for the stairs.

  Chapter Seven

  A little while later, Raziel and Jack sat in Jack’s office, tumblers of whiskey in their hands. Raziel sat behind the desk, as they seemed to do in any office, and twirled the glass in their hands. As much as the angel would have liked to go up to their room to be alone, and perhaps drink a little more, they knew there were things that needed discussed.

  “I told you, we met one day, spent a night together, and ran into each other here and there. We’d have a drink or maybe take a walk, to catch up, but that was it. The truth is, I know very little about him that isn’t written in Testament,” Jack insisted and then took a drink from his glass. When Raziel didn’t say anything, Jack took the opportunity to change the subject. “Looks like he had you figured out better than I did though, which is surprising considering how long we’ve known each other.”

  Raziel slowly looked up at him, as if not having heard what their friend had said at first. Then the angel’s face fell into a frown. “What are you talking about?”

  “Come on.” When Raziel didn’t say anything, he added, “David. I could have sworn you were swooning over Katha. Though it does explain why you’ve been moping around here for a decade or two.”

  Raziel blushed and angrily set the tumbler down on the table. “I have no idea...”

  “Oh please, Razzy. I don’t know if you’re trying to fool yourself or simply been hiding it so long, you’re starting to believe your own lies.” The angel shot him an angry look, but they’d known each long enough that it didn’t frighten Jack. It never really had. “Are you going to smite me?” he teased and feigned horror. When the angel stopped bristling at him, and looked away, Jack said, “I think I shall go out tonight.”

  “Jack...”

  “We’ve been pinned up here for days, and it feels like months before that since the last time I had any fun.”

  “We went out a couple of nights ago,” Raziel pointed out.

  “Well, yes, but that was different, old chum. This is merrymaking to a higher degree. I mean, I am the god of wine and revelry after all,” he added, leaning down to whisper in Raziel’s ear as he walked by.

  “Do I even want to know?” the angel sighed.

  “Probably best if you didn’t.”

  “Could you at least try to stay out of too much trouble?”

  “I’ll give it my best,” Jack answered as he slipped out the door.

  The answer did nothing to quell the angel’s worry. They’d gotten Jack out of more tough spots than they cared to admit. It wasn’t that Jack didn’t mean well, he simply was who he was, the god of fun. Raziel sat a while longer, thinking about how strange the last few days had been. Strange was sort of in their job description, but it was rare that so many mysteries hit the Investigations wing at the same time, not to mention the sudden appearance of a new recruit. Raziel had been meaning to see if they could clear up just who had recruited her and why they’d never been told.

  The angel sighed, knowing there were bigger fish to fry at the moment, but also knowing that, while they’d figured out one mystery, it had only led to a bigger one, and they had no idea how to solve it. Raziel got to their feet, figuring it was time to retire since everyone else had. The angel walked out of the library, closing all the doors as they went, and crossed back into the main part of the mansion. As they did so, they heard familiar voices, laughing down the hall. The angel paused, and watched as David and Katha came into view, walking toward the cafeteria, hand in hand. They didn’t move toward them, simply stood still and stared after them as they disappeared into the cafeteria. Their heart sank, and the angel stared at the closed door long after they’d gone. Confusion raged through them, but Raziel didn’t let it show, had never let it show. It was only the sound of others going in for dinner that pulled them from their reverie.

  Raziel didn’t think they could deal with seeing the two of them, and wasn’t feeling particularly hungry anyway, so they turned and went up the spiral staircase. It was good that the angel didn’t actually need to eat because, as they opened the door to their room, it occurred to them that they weren’t sure the last time they’d eaten. Raziel tossed keys onto the desk, and went into the small kitchen anyway, not for food, but for a very ancient bottle of wine. The angel only partook of it when they were feeling particularly run down, and lately, the contents had been disappearing faster than they ever had.

  The angel poured a glass and then sat down at their desk. Papers and books were strewn about but for once, they didn’t look down at them. Instead, Raziel simply stared out the window as if there was something out there only they could see. They raised a glass, toasting someone who wasn’t there. It was too late, probably always had been, but the small glimmer of hope that had kept the angel going was slowly being snuffed out. They could feel the spark dying then and there, with each sip of wine, and each moment that passed. After a moment, they downed the rest of the glass, and leaned back in the sturdy, leather backed chair. They closed their eyes, as hot tears started to well up in them. Flashes of a life that no longer existed came to the angel’s mind, threatening to tear them apart, and they quickly opened their eyes again.

  Raziel gritted their teeth, and angrily threw the wine glass across the room. It exploded into a million pieces in the fireplace, and then the angel fell to their knees onto the floor. They had no idea how long they were there or how many tears fell, but eventually a peaceful numbness settled onto them. The angel made no effort to move from the floor though, until they sensed something in the room had changed. They looked up to see Loki standing over them. For once, the Norse god’s face didn’t hold a smirk, but a slight look of concern instead.

  Still, Raziel angrily got to their feet. Very few people in history had seen them in such a vulnerable state and they didn’t like it. “You could try knocking,” the angel spat.

  “Actually, I did. I don’t think you heard me,” Loki answered.

  “So, you thought you’d simply walk in?”

  Loki cocked h
is head. “Well...” The smirk was back now, and he gave Raziel a little wink. Then he grabbed the bottle of wine and started to take a swig.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” Raziel said, and suddenly the bottle was back in their own hands. They snorted at Loki’s impressed expression. “There are glasses in the kitchen.” The angel went into the kitchen and brought back two glasses. The god had taken up residence on the corner of their desk, but Raziel didn’t have the energy to ask him to move, so they simply sat back down in the desk chair and poured two glasses of wine.

  “Feeling bored?” they asked.

  “Yeah, a bit, and since you definitely seemed like the most interesting member of the team, here I am.” He took a sip of wine, smiling over his glass.

  Raziel snorted again. “You’d be surprised.”

  “I bet I would.”

  The angel’s head snapped in Loki’s direction, and they narrowed their eyes at his suggestive look. “I am the Keeper of Secrets...”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “Which means I have no intention of telling you any of them.”

  “Well, that seems a shame,” Loki muttered and took another sip of wine from a glass that never seemed to get any emptier.

  “I have a better idea,” Raziel suggested. “Why don’t you tell me yours? How do you know that something bad was going to happen to these people?”

  Loki sighed and set his glass down. “Ever had your God call to you, or some other supernatural entity?” When Raziel nodded, he added, “It’s a bit like that. Like I said, I simply know when and where it’s going to happen.”

  “Why would someone be alerting you to what they’re about to do?”

  Loki picked up his glass and held it up in salute. “See, you’re finally asking the right question.” He smiled and then said, “Now then...”

  Before he could finish, Raziel got to their feet and started for the bookshelves. “But why you specifically? Did you ever sense the presence of anyone else? Were there any other ethereal beings?”

  Loki set his glass down again and stood up too. “Do you ever just switch off, though? The case could wait until morning,” he hinted with a waggled eyebrow.

  Raziel ignored him and put their hands to their head. The angel shook their head, knowing there was a missing piece none of them were seeing. Then something occurred to them. Raziel turned and frowned at Loki.

  “What?” the god asked. When Raziel marched toward him, a small smile touched the corner of his lips, but it faded as the angel simply stared at him in thought.

  “You sound Scottish. You’re a Scandinavian deity.”

  Loki rolled his eyes. “You know that doesn’t have anything to do with anything.”

  “No, it doesn’t. So why choose to sound Scottish?”

  “I’ve decided I like the place. They seem to be more receptive to me there than the Vikings ever were. Well, certainly more than the modern ones.”

  Raziel’s eyes opened wide, and they reached around Loki to grab a file off the desk. “The Isle of Skye,” the angel breathed, flipping through the pages.

  “Yeah, that’s one of the places I was drawn to,” Loki commented. “Oddly enough, it’s one of my favourite places.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us you’d appointed yourself the patron saint of the Isle of Skye?”

  “What difference does it make?” Loki asked.

  “Because, it means that whoever’s doing this is not only letting you know about it ahead of time, they’ve also picked one of the places you care about the most. To know about Skye, they’d have to know you pretty well.”

  “Could be a coincidence,” Loki offered with a shrug.

  Raziel shook their head. “I don’t think so. If you’ve never heard of anything else like this happening, and you’ve never run into any other gods that were called to these locations...this somehow has to be about you.” They paused for a moment, and then muttered, “We need to get to the Isle of Skye.” Something else was brewing in the back of the angel’s mind but they couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was. After all the researching, something about this case was starting to feel familiar. Before they could think any more about it, though, there was a furious knocking at the door.

  Katha and David had grabbed big slices of pizza and sat down at an empty table to eat and talk. She’d been anxious to do well in her new post, but she had no idea she’d end up developing feelings for one of her coworkers, especially not this fast. David had been the most like her, young and happy, even though he held something sinister inside of him. Not that the lycan was truly sinister, just...driven by instinct, and she didn’t care if he was different or basically human. The only thing that gave her pause was how her arrival and becoming attached had seemed to effect Raziel. She liked the angel, liked being around them, and learning from them. At first, they seemed to be warming up to her, but now they were more withdrawn than when she’d first met them.

  She thought about asking David when they’d sat back down after getting ice cream sundaes for dessert, but he suddenly seemed withdrawn too. “What is it?” she asked.

  David shook his head, and then looked up with terror in his eyes. “We’ve got to get to Raziel,” he choked out, and then grabbed his stomach.

  “Come on,” Katha said, jumping to her feet, and helping him to his. They then took the spiral staircase as fast as David could manage until they came to Raziel’s quarters.

  When the knocking came again, Raziel frowned over at Loki, and then went to answer the door. To their surprise, a terrified looking Katha burst through, dragging David behind her. Raziel took one look at the young man and their face went white.

  “What’s going on?” Loki demanded and stepped closer. He caught Katha’s eyes, and though she looked surprised, she apparently decided it wasn’t the time or place to find something to berate him about.

  Raziel moved them to the window, and then lifted a curtain to reveal the full moon. “We’ve been so busy with the case that we haven’t paid attention to the time of the month.”

  Loki glanced up at the moon as well, and his mouth fell open. “He’s a lycan and you just let him run around willy nilly?”

  “I know how to handle it!” David shouted.

  “Oh, I can see that,” Loki mumbled.

  “What’s going on?” Katha asked, unable to keep the worry and fear out of her voice.

  Raziel took her arm and pulled her away from David. “It’s just the first phase of his transformation. He’ll feel very sick for a few hours and act aggressively toward anyone, and I mean anyone.”

  “Get away from her,” David spat and quickly moved between Katha and the angel.

  “David...”

  “Don’t you think I can see how you look at her?” the young man growled, and the sound was lower and more gravely than a human voice could make.

  “Don’t do this,” Raziel said quietly, slowly moving closer to his friend. “Let me help you. That’s what you came here for, isn’t it?” The angel moved closer still until they heard Loki’s voice in their ear.

  “What are you doing? He’ll try to kill you,” the god insisted.

  “No, he won’t.” Raziel turned back to the young man, who was now sweating profusely, and whose hair was thicker and more abundant than it had been before. “David,” they tried to soothe.

  “No! I know what you’re trying to do. You want her for yourself.”

  “David,” Katha tried but Raziel waved her away. She frowned, wanting to help but knowing that she had no idea what to do. She felt tears stinging her eyes, but she willed them away.

  Suddenly, David lunged forward, planting a fist squarely into the angel’s nose, growling loudly as he did so. He stood his ground, not moving, as Raziel stumbled backward, grabbing his nose in pain. Satisfaction coursed through him as the angel straightened up, blood trickling from between their fingers.

  “Whoa,” Loki muttered. “Maybe we should just...” His voice drifted off at the sight of Raziel’s face. Anger
liked he’d never seen before, coursed through the angel’s features. Suddenly, a loud whooshing sound rent the air. It was like a hurricane, causing Loki to quickly back away. He saw Katha doing the same, and then he glanced back at Raziel as a glorious set of gun metal gray wings emerged from his back.

  “Please, you wouldn’t hurt me,” David scoffed, his voice growing less human with every word.

  A smirk crossed Raziel’s face, and then they spun in a graceful circle. The tips of their wings skimmed over David’s arm, and the lycan howled in pain as blood shot from his bicep. The angel started to spin again, but Katha cried out and ran back to the two of them.

  “No,” she yelled again. “Please don’t do this to each other.”

  The two of them stood there, huffing at one another for a moment, and then Raziel’s wings gracefully folded back behind them and disappeared. David took a deep breath and looked up at the angel.

  “I know you’re jealous,” he announced.

  Raziel shook their head, dejected now. “It wasn’t you I was jealous of,” they answered and looked away.

  Katha’s eyes widened and she gaped over at Raziel. It was all so clear now. The angel had been growing cold toward her because they’d wanted David for themselves. She glanced up at David and saw that he was just as confused and surprised.

  “Look, none of that matters now,” Loki cut in, the only one of the bunch not looking shocked. “We need to get him somewhere where he won’t hurt anyone.”

  Raziel’s mouth opened, as if to protest, but then the angel nodded. “Um, yes, of course.” They took a set of keys from a hook beside the door. They were ancient and hand cut, just like the ones for the Investigations wing door. They avoided David’s gaze, nodding for everyone to follow. Before they could walk out the door, though, the phone on the angel’s desk rang.

  “I didn’t know anyone ever called that old thing,” David quipped and then his face scrunched up in pain.

  Raziel quickly crossed the room and answered the old-fashioned, rotary dial phone. “Yes, what is it?” they said harshly. “For the love of...seriously? I have some issues of my own back at the mansion...Alright, fine, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The angel hung up the phone and then handed the keys to Katha. “Get David down to the cells, and lock him in. Then, I suggest you leave him on his own. You,” they said, turning to Loki, “I think it might be best if you kept to your own quarters until morning. I’ve got to go...rescue Jack, apparently.”