No Quarter

by L. J. LaBarthe

  Mira got to her feet and moved to the sofa, sitting beside Samael and hugging him. It was an awkward hug, but Samael didn’t appreciate it any less as he hugged her in return.

  “So angels don’t marry,” John mused, “then what do you do when you’re in lasting relationships, as you put it?”

  “We bond.”

  “Bond?”

  “Yes.”

  “And that means…?”

  Samael smiled. “That is a story for another day. You two need rest, for the hour is growing late. I will tell Gabriel that you are both excited for the move to Deep Bay.”

  “Fine.” John sighed with great exaggeration as he got to his feet. “But you should rest too, Uncle Sammy, okay?”

  “Okay,” Samael said with a grin. “I will.”

  “Good.” John gave him a quick hug and left the room.

  Mira stretched up to kiss Samael’s cheek. “Thank you for telling us the story,” she said softly. “It was amazing.”

  As she stood up, Samael held out the feather to her. “Here, child. For you.”

  Wide-eyed, Mira took it. “Really?”

  “Really.” Samael smiled. “Take it as my gift to you and sleep well.”

  Mira’s fingers closed around the feather, and she nodded hard. “Thank you,” she said. “Good night, Uncle Sammy.”

  “Good night, child.”

  Samael sat back as she left the room, turning off the lamps with a thought, and reflected on the wonders of humanity as he waited for Gabriel to return home.

  Chapter Five

  “GABRIEL, a moment, please?” Tzadkiel touched Gabriel’s arm, and Gabriel turned away from supervising Remiel and Uriel carrying the couch out to the large moving truck parked in the driveway.

  “Of course. What’s up?”

  Tzadkiel made a small gesture for Gabriel to follow him outside. As soon as they were outdoors and away from the other Archangels and Gabriel’s children, Tzadkiel’s expression became grim.

  “I went and looked into the human Samael told me about last night,” he began without preamble. “We’ve got a problem.”

  Gabriel frowned. “What sort of problem?”

  “He’s a demon.”

  Gaping, it took Gabriel a few moments to find his voice. “He’s a what now? How? How the hell did I miss this?!”

  “Relax, it’s not your fault.” Tzadkiel raised his hands in a placating gesture. “He’s got a charm to make himself appear as a regular human. It was a damn accident that even I found out what he was. He’d taken the thing off to bathe and bam. Demon aura all over the place.”

  “Dammit.” Then Gabriel swore sulfurously, his expression furious. “What’s he doing here?”

  “Trying to get you to do something stupid.” Tzadkiel was scowling. “He and I had a nice little chat. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive it. Oh well. Easy come, easy go. But”—he held out his left hand—“here.” A silver chain dangled from his fingers, and at the end of it was a gilded feather.

  “That’s the charm?” Gabriel stared at it with narrowed eyes. “A feather from one of the Fallen Ones?”

  “That’s the charm.” Nodding, Tzadkiel tucked it away in the pocket of his faded jeans. “They might be Hell-dwellers now, but they’re still angels. They still have some of their original power. What better way to camouflage the true nature of a demon than with the power of an angel feather? It’d cancel out the demon aura, make it neutral, so we wouldn’t pick up on it without a close investigation.”

  “Shit,” Gabriel growled, running both hands through his hair in agitation. “How many more of these are there?”

  “According to our dearly departed demon, hundreds. Some human’s trading in them. He’s got a nice little business set up, running interference between demons and his pet Fallen One, apparently.”

  “How the hell does that even work?” Gabriel was horrified. “I mean… no, really, Tzad, how?”

  “I have no idea.” Tzadkiel shook his head. “I’m hoping Raz can come up with something. I told him this morning, before we started working as your own personal U-Haul-It.”

  “Ha bloody ha.” Gabriel started to pace, biting a thumbnail. “This demon knew about me, didn’t he.” It wasn’t a question. “He knew who Mira was.”

  “Yep.” Tzadkiel was grim. “He didn’t hesitate to tell the rest of his buddies either.”

  “They don’t know I’m relocating today, though, do they?” Gabriel whirled on him so fast that Tzadkiel blinked.

  “No, not so far as I’ve been able to tell.”

  “That’s something. And I’ve shielded the whole town of Deep Bay—I mean, it’s a bloody tiny town, even smaller than here.”

  “So your neighbors will also act as watchers.” Tzadkiel nodded approvingly. “Letting you know when strangers come to town.”

  “Aye.” Gabriel swore once again. “What about the kid’s father?”

  “Who?” Tzadkiel’s expression became confused.

  “Mira and John said the demon was masquerading as the son of Mira’s boss. Okay, no, they said he was the son of the boss, ’cause they didn’t know he were a demon, but the point being: what about the father?”

  “Oh. Oh, right!” Tzadkiel shrugged. “Regular human, no charms, no connection to demons—other than the one pretending to be his son—nothing. Matter of fact, once demon boy was dead, his father forgot he had a son. He’d been bewitched,” Tzadkiel elaborated. “There’s no such person in that man’s life.”

  “So he’s in the clear, then?” At Tzadkiel’s nod, Gabriel sighed. “Okay. Who else have you told, apart from Raz and me?”

  “Sammy, Remi.” Tzadkiel watched as Uriel marched out of the house with the television in his arms. “Do you really need such a big TV, Gabriel?”

  “Hey, don’t look at me, Mira bought that herself.” Gabriel grinned for a moment, then sobered. “You want to fill in Uri and I’ll tell Mike?”

  “Can do.” Tzadkiel’s expression grew sly. “He know you’re sweet on him?”

  “What?” Gabriel spluttered helplessly, caught off guard by the question.

  “Haniel told me.” Tzadkiel grinned. “Congrats, Gabe.”

  “Oh, sod off.” Gabriel scowled, crossing his arms defensively. “Go fill in Uri and leave me alone.”

  “Yes, oh mighty Saint Gabriel,” Tzadkiel mocked. Saluting, Tzadkiel sauntered off toward the house, and Gabriel took a deep breath, forcing himself to get his emotions under control.

  Squaring his shoulders, Gabriel headed inside the house. He paused by the door of the living room, seeing Haniel with his arm around Mira’s shoulders and Mira crying into his shirt. Haniel caught Gabriel’s eye, and the two Archangels exchanged a long look as Haniel explained what happened.

  “She’s more upset than she let on, Gabriel.” Haniel’s mental voice was sad. “The whole experience has shaken her badly. She didn’t want to make a fuss to you and her brother.”

  “But she’ll ‘make a fuss’ to you?” Gabriel’s expression was, he knew, foreboding.

  “I understand you’re concerned, but relax. She’s young, she’s upset, she adores you and her brother and Samael. She doesn’t want to worry you. Bottling it up isn’t healthy, Gabriel, you know that. How many crimes of passion have led to the various wars you’ve fought in since, oh, the dawn of time? Love is my province, so let me deal with it. She’ll be fine.”

  Gabriel grunted and sighed. “You’re right. Sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now. Just… be careful with her.”

  “I am and I will. She’s family, more or less; I’m not going to hurt her.” Haniel gently rubbed Mira’s shoulder as she sniffled. “Go on with you. Let her have this moment in the privacy she’s chosen.”

  “Fine, I’m going, I’m going.” Gabriel forced himself to walk away from the living room. It took a Herculean effort when every instinct in him was screaming to go to his daughter and gather her in his arms and hold her while she wept. He knew Haniel was right, but that knowledge did
n’t make it any easier for him. He frowned to himself and shook his head. No, this was not about him. This was about Mira, and for him to try to make any part of her sorrow and pain about himself was selfish. If Haniel could help her, then so much the better, Gabriel thought. Mira’s happiness and well-being were what was important.

  That didn’t make him any less annoyed, though—the information that Tzadkiel had given him was certainly not insignificant, and Gabriel, the personification of Holy Fury and known as God’s Rage, could feel the familiar stirring of that rage and fury curling low in his Grace. He entered the kitchen looking for Michael with an expression on his face that made Raphael pause in the act of clearing out the fridge. The healer Archangel’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline in eloquent query.

  “Gabe?”

  “Not now, Raph.” Gabriel looked around. “Where’s Mike?”

  “Backyard, I think. Packing up tools and crap like that. You okay?”

  Gabriel shook his head faintly. “I can’t explain, not right now. If I do, I’ll explode. Ask Raz or Tzad.”

  Raphael hummed thoughtfully, his expression becoming shrewd. “I’ll do that. Do I need to make myself available for triage later?”

  “Unlikely.” Gabriel moved toward the door that led outside. “If anything, only a few funerals, and they won’t be mine.”

  “I should hope not,” Raphael said dryly. “Mike’d be very upset.”

  Gabriel snorted at that, not in the mood to banter with Raphael. He reached out with his power, quickly locating which part of the backyard Michael was in, and strode briskly from the kitchen toward the tool shed.

  Michael was carefully packing up various garden implements that Gabriel didn’t even know he owned. Or, he realized wryly, that John owned, for they were stowed with the same care and attention to detail that his son applied to everything. He took a deep breath before launching straight into the matter that was preoccupying him.

  “Tzadkiel had information for me.”

  “Oh?” Michael looked up from a pickaxe, his expression a mixture of curious and wary.

  “Aye. Seems the individual who upset Mira were a demon.”

  Michael’s expression became one of surprise. “He is sure?”

  “Of course he’s sure.” Gabriel ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “Get the details from him. The bigger problem here, though, is that the demon were using a charm to make himself invisible to us. As far as we knew, he were just a human. A dick, but a human. The charm were made from a feather of a Fallen Angel.”

  Michael’s expression became flat, cold. “They are unable to leave Hell, Gabriel.”

  “No shit, Michael. And, you know, what part of demon passed you by? Demons live in Hell.” Gabriel closed his eyes a moment and let out a slow breath. “Forgive me,” he said, opening his eyes again. “I didn’t mean to bite your head off. I’m… angry.” Although “angry” was something of an understatement, Gabriel thought.

  “Understandable. There is nothing to forgive you for. Do you wish to leave?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Aye. I won’t be long, but I need to check a few things. Can you hold the fort here and keep an eye on my kids, please?”

  “Of course, Gabriel.” Michael smiled a small smile. “I will take care of them personally.” Unspoken was the added assurance that no one, not even Lucifer, would dare to face Michael directly. Fighting the Chief Archangel of God was something that no enemy of the Heavenly Host ever wanted to do. Michael’s skill was legendary, as was Michael himself.

  Gabriel grinned tightly. “Thanks. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Go with God,” Michael said. “And good hunting.”

  Gabriel vanished with a rustle of feathers.

  Following the trail of a group of demons was easy enough. Following the trail of a group of demons who had associated closely with the one that Tzadkiel had exposed was only slightly more difficult.

  Gabriel found the color of demon aura—a dull black— from the trace the dead demon left inside the bakery where Mira had been employed. Using his power, he followed it, the trail weaving steadily south, bypassing towns, farms, and other human habitations. It was old, but it was still fresh enough a trail to be of use to Gabriel, and following it gave him time to get his anger under control. After all, Gabriel had questions he wanted answered. He didn’t want to simply appear in the middle of a demon nest and smite them all with his power and sword; he wanted to know about the charms and who—and what—was involved in their distribution.

  It took him just over half an hour, and Gabriel materialized in the world beside a large, rickety barn in the middle of a seemingly endless field of wheat. The golden sea of the nearly ripe crop whispered and rustled as the wind blew through it, and Gabriel leaned against the wall of the barn, concentrating his power on listening to what was going on inside.

  The demons were annoyed, he realized after a moment. It appeared that the demon that had assaulted Mira, that Tzadkiel had killed after taking the charm away, was the leader of this particular little nest. Gabriel smirked at that piece of information. Without a leader, the nest was squabbling about who would take over and, more importantly, how they could go about getting another charm, perhaps more than one.

  There was only the one charm in this part of the country, Gabriel learned as the demons argued and their voices rose in frustration. The human dealer who traded in them was making a fortune out of them. As Gabriel listened, the conversation within the barn grew more and more agitated, until the demons were shouting at each other.

  Time for a personal visit, Gabriel thought, his form blurring into his armor and his sword appearing in his right hand. The blade glistened with an unearthly light, the light of the stars, for Gabriel had forged the weapon himself out of fallen stars that had come to earth in the far north of the planet millions of years ago. Hefting his sword, Gabriel snapped the fingers of his left hand and the resulting burst of power destroyed the entire wall of the barn.

  “’Ullo chums,” Gabriel said urbanely as he marched through the debris into the barn and took in the stunned faces of the dozen demons covered in splinters and dust. “You’re having a gathering and didn’t invite me? I’m hurt.”

  “Gabriel!” One of the demons, an old man, stared at him with wide-eyed terror. “You don’t have any jurisdiction here!” He was all bluster, but Gabriel could feel the terror radiating from him.

  “I have jurisdiction everywhere.” Gabriel’s voice became a low, angry snarl. “Which you kinder-demons would have known if you’d paid attention to your elders. You can’t have been topside for longer than six months. Are your Archdemon overlords getting so desperate to win this war they’re sending green recruits up to fight?”

  “Archdemons don’t tell us what to do,” a black-haired woman sneered at him. “No one tells us what to do. You should think about that before following your orders blindly, Gabriel.” She made his name sound like a curse, and inwardly Gabriel grinned. Being thought of as a curse to demons was definitely a plus as far as he was concerned.

  “You think so?” Gabriel said out loud as he quirked an eyebrow, lifting his sword and resting the flat of the blade on his armored shoulder. “Bloody hell, you guys are thick as two short planks, yeah? Still, you can be useful. What’s the name of the human who’s trading in these charms?”

  The demons looked at each other and, as one, kept silent. They all gazed at him defiantly, and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

  “Just brilliant. You’re going to make me work for it. Oh well, your decision.” With that, he swung his sword.

  WIPING his blade with a cloth, Gabriel dispassionately surveyed the carnage he’d caused. In the end, they hadn’t known the name of the human selling the charms, only the name of a human who called herself The Broker, and whose real name was Lia Darguill. She worked out of a textbook warehouse in Atlanta, a rather incongruous occupation for one who trafficked with demons and Fallen Angels. It was a start, though, Gabriel thought, as he absently waved a hand,
setting fire to the corpses of the demons he’d killed. He watched the conflagration spread, white holy fire lapping hungrily at the shadows of demon essence, cleansing the barn completely so that no mark or stain remained of the killing that had occurred.

  The barn itself was another matter, and Gabriel walked outside, sheathing his sword and lighting a cigarette. Considering that he’d destroyed the entire wall, he’d have to rebuild it. It would take time, but Gabriel didn’t mind that—after all, it would calm him so that his temper was under control again once he returned to the Brotherhood, his children, and his house.

  His power flared as Gabriel turned his focus to the wall of the barn, slowly restoring the wall to its original state. He could have done it quickly, a snap of his fingers, but Gabriel didn’t want any trace of his visit to remain. Covering his tracks and hiding that an Archangel had used his power was what took the most time. Cleaning his armor took much less time—a thought and it was done, and Gabriel blurred back into his normal clothing: simple blue jeans and gray T-shirt. When the wall was rebuilt and Gabriel was confident that no traces of his visit or of Archangel power remained, he vanished, returning to Wisconsin.

  Haniel was waiting for him, sitting on the front step of the house when Gabriel returned. Quirking an eyebrow in curiosity, Gabriel joined the Archangel of Love and lit a fresh cigarette.

  “Everyone finished already, then?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Haniel smiled. “There was some bickering about who was to move what from here to Deep Bay, but in the end, Michael organized them.” He chuckled. “The horses were moved by Remiel, Metatron, and Raziel, and the truck with your children within the cabin and their belongings in the back was moved by Tzadkiel, Raphael, Uriel, and Michael. Samael sat with Mira and John to help ease the passage of moving by Archangelic teleportation.”

  “That were quicker than I thought.” Gabriel looked up at the sun. “Or maybe not. Seems I were gone longer than I realized.”