by Debra Dunbar
One uniformed man came forward, his face pale. I’d never seen a first-responder so nervous. He approached the nearest angel, kneeling and lowering his gaze. “Could we search for survivors? There were hundreds in this hotel…”
“There are no human survivors,” the angel replied with a bland unemotional tone. Most of them had probably not been out of Aaru in centuries, if at all. I’m sure he had no idea how callous his tone was.
“Let the humans come in and search,” I told Gregory. “They need to know. These people’s families need to bury their dead.”
He nodded and the crowd of angels parted. Humans with shovels and pick axes came into our midst. I looked at their tools and thought that given the fact we were standing on six to eight feet of rubble, they might need more than a few shovels.
The got to work, carefully moving chunks of concrete and metal as they kept a side-eye on the angels who’d resumed their watch. One woman came forward with a dog, who clung to her leg as she passed the winged beings.
This was such a tragedy, and I wasn’t just talking about the bacon either.
“What the fuck was this attack about?” I demanded. And then I sneezed. “Why now? Why here? And what did they expect to accomplish with this?”
Gabriel snarled, “Rebels. They’ve done this before, but we prevailed. This time…”
“But we won.” I waved a hand at the dead bodies. Kind of won. I couldn’t be sure since I couldn’t tell which angels were on which side.
“We held our own, but I’d hardly count this a win.” Gregory’s face was grim as he looked around. “There have been skirmishes in Aaru, but this was an attempt to kill us, and especially kill you. I think future Ruling Council meetings need to take place in Aaru, where we’re better able to secure against these attacks.”
“Won’t that be fanning the flames?” Rafi asked. “The Iblis in Aaru? I know under the treaty she has the right to be there, but it might be best to limit, if not temporarily revoke, her visitation privileges.”
“Maybe we should hold off on Ruling Council meetings for a few decades,” Gabe commented. “That way we’re not all in one convenient place at the same time.”
He had a point, and normally I’d be all for postponement of these meetings. But I had a matter that hadn’t been fully addressed yet. “Do I have a majority vote on my elf issue? Can we all just raise our hands here and call it done? Do I get a posse of angels to help me round the elves up and send them back to Hel or somewhere else? Anywhere but here?”
Hmm. Maybe I could send them to Aaru. The angels seemed particularly fond of them. Perhaps they could section off a portion of one choir and fix it so the elves’ physical forms didn’t disintegrate in a few days, killing them. Or not. I envisioned transporting the elves myself, or throwing them into the fourth circle through the wild gateway in Sharpsburg. The fourth circle was Gregory’s though. He’d kill me to find his home overrun with elves in various states of near-death.
Nobody paid any attention to me.
“Notice how Chabriel and Baradel conveniently left before the attack,” Rafael said. “I don’t have any proof that they were involved, but we need to be very careful—around them specifically. All it takes is for two of us to die and we’ll lose Aaru altogether.”
He was right. Outside of the archangels, the Ruling Council was made up of popular vote seats. Right now that was just two, but if the rebels succeeded in getting a temporary replacement for Uriel, that would be three.
Gregory nodded. “If one of us died…we’re not in a position right now to get the popular vote.”
I shook my head, unable to imagine any angel who could take out Gregory or his brothers. “Even if the rebels snagged Uriel’s seat and have New Guy and Sleazy in their pockets, we’d still have a majority. Four against three. And if we find Uriel and drag her back by her red hair, then five against two.”
“Or three against three,” Gabriel commented darkly. “Uriel won’t come back until she’s ready, and you need to watch your back, demon.”
We had a love-hate relationship, Gabe and I. But in spite of the derogatory and chilling words, I could sense he was worried about me. Well, probably less worried about me than the voting situation if some angel managed to take me out.
Although it’s not like I usually voted with Gabe anyway. In fact, few of his brothers voted with Gabe. He was more likely to be on the rebel side than on Gregory’s and mine. Which made me wonder a bit.
“Thought you were our moderate, Gaby-baby. What happened to building bridges and bringing the conservatives into the fold and all that crap?”
He glared at me. “It’s kind of hard to do that when our eldest has the vibration pattern of a pond scum, another archangel is running a demon-angel dating service, and we’ve got an imp on our Board. There’s only so much one angel can do.”
Probably. And only so much one imp could do. These guys needed to deal with the situation in Aaru on their own. I’d only make things worse, and I had other pressing business to attend to. Maybe if I applied myself to my elven issue and kept my head low, things would get better for them in Aaru.
None of the angels besides Gregory believed me about the elven exodus, and Gregory and his crew were too busy to help. It seemed once again, I was on my own. It was me and my little scrappy household against a migration of elves. And for once I was worried, because the odds sucked, and lately my luck was a hit or miss thing.
Chapter 3
Gregory transported me back to my kitchen. I was perfectly capable of doing this myself now, but I still liked it when he carried me. It sort of made me remember the old times—back when I was just an imp with a sword.
My house was silent, and I wasn’t sure that was a good thing. Nils, and Nyalla should be around somewhere. Well, Nyalla should be around somewhere. She’d given the Fallen his marching orders earlier last month, which meant Nils spent a lot of time sulking and avoiding her. I heard the faint sounds of music from the pool. And figured Nils was probably at the opposite end of the property, doing whatever Fallen Angels do in their downtime.
Gregory leaned against the kitchen counter, his arms folded across his chest as he watched me make coffee. Normally he made it, since he claimed that I was “sloppy and inaccurate” when it came to measuring the appropriate amount of grounds needed. Our compromise was that we took turns. Actually I preferred him to make the coffee, but I couldn’t very well let him do everything for me. Well, I could, but that seemed kind of lazy and sloth wasn’t one of my strongest sins.
“Don’t just pour the cream in mine, Cockroach,” he reminded me, “measure it. Exactly one quarter cup and three tablespoons.”
I smiled and dumped the cream into his cup. This was just like old times. Coffee together after the Ruling Council meeting. Maybe we’d order carry-out and stream a movie?
Or not. His words from right before the meeting hung over me. I needed to air this out right now, before I worried myself to death over it.
“So what did you need to tell me?” I handed him his mug and sipped from my own. “That I need to stay out of Aaru, resign my post, and pack my bags for Hel? It seems the only way to save Aaru. Maybe like Sleazy said, after a thousand years or so we can see each other again.”
My voice hitched with the last bit, and Gregory pulled me into his arms, sloshing coffee over the both of us. “I will fight that with every ounce of my being. I’ve just found you. After six billion years alone, I finally feel whole. I don’t want to be away from you, even if it’s just for a hundred or a thousand years. Being without you—that is my worst nightmare, not losing Aaru.”
I buried my face against him, shoving my mug onto the countertop so I could wrap my arms around his hips. Being without him was my worst nightmare, too, but I knew how he agonized over the thought of losing Aaru. If the rebels won, there would be no reinstatement, no visiting privileges. If they didn’t manage to kill Gregory, he’d be one of the Fallen, doomed to forever be in corporeal form and either walk
the earth with the humans or join me in Hel. He once swore he’d never go to Hel, and I’m not certain he felt any better about the other option. I wasn’t sure what would happen to Gregory if he lost Aaru, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. As much as I hated the thought of losing him, I got the idea that he’d be better off going down fighting. Dying in the battle for Aaru would probably be better than life as a Fallen.
“You need to win both or lose both,” I said into the soft cotton of his shirt. “You either win Aaru and I get to stay, or you die fighting and lose both your homeland and me. There is no life for you as a Fallen. You and I both know this.”
He sighed, his arms tightening around me. We stood there, squashing our physical forms together, merging our spirit selves at the edges. He didn’t reply. He didn’t have to.
Finally he pulled away, cupping my chin in his hand. “It’s bad in Aaru. What happened at the Ruling Council meeting is what has been going on almost nonstop there. Choirs are fractured, attacking their own members as well as others. We’ve not had violence like this since the War. Rule of order and law has vanished. Choir loyalty is gone. Angels are no more than violent gangs at this point. None of us on the Ruling Council have the authority to enforce anything. Only a minority even follow us at this point.”
Shit. That was bad. “So lay down the hammer of the gods. Get out the sword, get Gabe and Rafi and start cleaning house.”
He gave a bitter laugh. “Yes, because that was so effective last time. Trust me, we do fight back, but it’s difficult to know who is on which side. We’re all Angels of Order, and the rebels cross choir lines. No one knows if the angel he meets next will be a friend or foe.”
I felt for him, I really did, but I had no experience with war of this sort. Or war of any sort, beyond participating in the brief elven conflict. We demons lived in a sort of anarchy and managed our disagreements one-on-one, or household against household. I couldn’t recall any large-scale battles, and my participation in the elven wars had been brief. Dar was the military strategist, not me.
“I thought having Gabe take over was supposed to help,” I told him. “I thought you’d have more free time as you back out of the daily affairs in Aaru and that his leadership would appease the more conservative of the angelic host.”
“As Gabe said, it’s become more than he can handle. I don’t mean that disrespectfully. If I was still in charge, I’d need help too.”
I laughed, placing a hand on his chest. “Who are you kidding? You are still in charge. As if you’d ever let Gabe be more than a puppet ruler.”
He smiled. “You know me well, Cockroach. Which is why I’m sure you know I’m about to rub you on the carpet for telling the Ruling Council about the elves.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Rub you on the carpet” sounded too much like sexy times fun to me. I immediately got an image of a naked Gregory on top of me, his forceful thrusts causing some epic rug burns to my backside.
I didn’t correct him. The visual was just too awesome.
“What were you thinking?” Gregory scolded. “Oh wait, of course! You weren’t thinking at all, because with imps everything is impulse. It’s a good thing no one believed you. Do you have any idea what would have happened if the other angels truly believed that the elves were returning?”
I thought for a second. “Big party. Manna and honey and harps and all that shit. They’d probably all race down from Aaru to stand by the gateways with confetti, waving flags and holding those little signs like the limo drivers do at the airport welcoming their favorite clans.”
“They would not be helping you to round them up and send them back to Hel,” Gregory added. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of the trouble. The other angels can never know the elves are here. Never. Which is why I’m going to help you.”
Oh thank all that is unholy! I launched myself at him, hearing the coffee cup hit the ground with my impact.
“Cockroach! You spilled my drink.” He laughed, wrapping me in his arms once more and kissing the top of my head.
“Then clean it up,” I told him. Sure enough by the time I’d stepped away, the mug was back in his hand, full of milky-sweet coffee. Not a drop on my floor. Ewww. I hoped he’d recreated the coffee and hadn’t just scooped the spilled stuff back into the mug. Did the three second rule apply to coffee?
“Your noodle, Terrelle, and Sauriel are still finishing up a dryad problem, but go ahead and take Dar back, if you can pry him out of Asta’s hands. I’ll also give you access to other angels to call on if you need help.”
“Are you one of those angels?” I teased.
A rather unholy light came into his eyes. “Of course. Just call and I’ll come flying, or running. And I’ll assist any way I can.”
“Awesome.” I smiled and reached out to run a finger down his arm, turning the cool marbleized flesh into a warm tan line of skin. “I’m in desperate need of something right now—something only you can help me with.”
He shimmered, his entire form shifting to a more human-seeming body. With a quick motion he pulled the polo shirt over his head and tossed it into the sink.
I’d taught him that, and damn it was so much sexier than just making the shirt vanish.
“Dearest Cockroach,” he said, pulling me close. “I live to serve.”
And serve he did. Several times. Then I served him back, because I’m a giving kind of gal. Then we fell asleep curled up together in front of the TV just like old times. I knew there was a storm coming, but I couldn’t help but think, with him warm and naked against me, that everything would turn out okay.
I should have known that whenever I think everything is going to be okay, it winds up straight in the crapper.
Chapter 4
Why Dar lived on the rooftop of a high rise in downtown Chicago was a mystery. Actually, it wasn’t a mystery, it was because of that angel of his. Only she could make Dar swallow his fear of heights enough to live on top of a skyscraper.
Sure enough, Dar was up there, although he was as far from the edges as possible, his back against a metal box that housed the air conditioning unit for the building. I took a quick look around, deciding that they must not truly live up here. There were no beds or chairs, no creature comforts that a demon such as Dar would need in his daily life. The only thing that seemed at all ‘homey’ was the basket of laundry beside the demon.
“Where’s Asta?” I walked over and plopped down in a spot where I could see any angels that might want to swoop down and give me a good scare. I’d only met Dar’s angel once. She seemed a bit friendlier than the others, but I felt it best to be prepared.
“Greed demon at the casino. It’s a bit out of her territory, but she felt she needed to go.”
Okay, but why was Dar so nervous? It’s not like I knew any greed demons well enough to cry if they got taken out by an angel. It was their own stupid fault anyway if they got caught.
“I don’t know about the parameters of your relationship and whether you need her permission to help me with a project or not. Maybe we should wait for her,” I teased.
Dar’s eyes narrowed at the implication, but I noticed he didn’t argue. Whipped. The demon was totally whipped. “What project? She still has her Grigori duties as an Enforcer, and we’re both already helping with the wild gate issue. We closed the one nearby, but at least one siren is still in the city, and I suspect a few mermaids are hiding in the lake.”
Great. How long did it take to catch a bunch of mermaids and a siren for fuck sake? “That will have to wait,” I told him. “The elves are coming and I can’t be two or five places at once to grab them when they show up. Oh, and I need you and Leethu to help me find an angel. Uriel is off pouting somewhere. We need to find her and tell her to get her ass back to work.”
Dar hesitated, then made a weird squeak noise.
“Huh?” I raise my eyebrows. “Was that a ‘yes’ squeak or a ‘no’ squeak?”
The demon reached out a hand to the basket of lau
ndry and started rocking it. Weirdo. Didn’t they have a regular washing machine like everyone else did? And how did Dar get stuck with laundry duty anyway?
“I can’t, Mal. I need to stay here and…and take care of the mermaids. You know, round them up so they can be sent back home. Wherever that is.”
“Can’t Asta take care of the mermaids?” I complained. “It’s not like she has a gate here in the city. She gets, what, one or two demons a week tops? Or better yet, just leave the mermaids. Worst case scenario they topple a few paddle boats and drown a dozen men before you get back. No biggie.”
“I can’t.” Dar jiggled the basket of laundry faster. “I can’t leave Asta.”
Oh for fuck’s sake. I understood love and all that, but this was taking things a bit too far. When shit had to be done, Gregory and I forced ourselves to be apart. In fact, we’d been apart more than we’d been together in the last year. If I could do it, then so could Dar.
“You put your household and yourself under mine. When Haagenti was gunning for your ass, I saved it and this was our deal. You owe me. You’re part of my household. I’ve been really lax, letting you vacation endlessly here in Chicago for so long. She’s not going anywhere. Your angel will be here when you’re done, and if you’re fast in dealing with the elves, you can pop back here for quickies in between. You’re my brother, and I get that you’re in love with her, but I need you.”
“I can’t,” Dar shouted. And then he squeaked. Actually the laundry squeaked. Dar snatched the basket up and shuffled it to his other side. The squeak turned into a wail and before he could stash it out of sight behind him I saw the clothing tossed aside by what looked like little hands and feet.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed, edging my way around Dar to see the contents of the basket. “You kidnapped a baby! Are you going to eat it? You better hurry up before your angel gets back. Angels really don’t like it when you eat babies.”