by Paula Weston
‘When is this supposed to happen?’ It’s Malachi who asks.
‘Dani says it starts on the beach during an electrical storm. We’ve checked: there’s one forecast for Wednesday afternoon.’ Which on Pan Beach time is two days away.
‘Storms are not uncommon in that part of the world at this time of the year,’ Nathaniel says. ‘I could help pinpoint the event more accurately if you would allow me to search her mind.’
‘You can’t. She’s gone.’
I’m not lying. Jason has taken her back to Rome with Maggie and Maria. They won’t be there long. Regardless of the threat—or because of it—Maggie is desperate to get back to her mum in Pan Beach. God knows what she plans to tell her. And Maria is desperate to take Dani anywhere we aren’t. I have no idea how that discussion is going to play out with Dani.
Nathaniel stares at me. It feels like the air has dropped a few degrees. ‘I must wonder, Gabriella, if you are intentionally blocking my access to anyone who claims to receive visions and revelation. You hid this child seer from me. You did not tell me about the women in Iowa until it was too late, and then you destroyed the iron room before I could study it. And now you tell me about an attack on humans—an unprecedented and brazen attack—and will not afford me the opportunity to examine the one who has seen it. I acceded to your wishes to let the child stay here on the understanding I would speak with her in time, and now you have allowed her to be removed—’
‘We need to go to Pan Beach.’
‘No, Gabriella, we do not.’
Is he kidding? Not taking on the demons in Iowa is one thing, but refusing to protect humans when there is a clear threat?
‘If they attack Pandanus Beach, the Gatekeepers and their hell spawn will bring down the wrath of heaven.’ Nathaniel looks around the room. ‘None of you want to be caught in the crossfire when that happens.’
‘If the Angelic Garrison gives a crap about us, or humans, they’ll drag their shining arses down into this world and back us up.’
‘Gabe, enough,’ Daniel says.
I ignore him, approach the dais. Jude and Rafa follow and the Rephaim part to let us through. We stop at the foot of the first step. ‘Are you worried that taking on Zarael in a full battle will trigger some promised war between angels and demons?’
‘It is not “some promised war”, Gabriella. It is the final battle between heaven and hell you speak of so lightly. And it is not your war to fight until you have earned your place on the battlefield. You have the authority to defend yourselves against demons: you have no mandate to attack—no matter what the cause. That is for the Garrison alone.’
‘You know what I think?’ Jude says. ‘I think you’re worried the world might end before you’ve had a chance to find the Fallen and redeem yourself.’
‘That is not my concern alone. Finding the Fallen is your only road to redemption too.’
‘Says who—you? What if you’re wrong, Nathaniel? What if that was never what the Garrison intended for us?’
‘Then we will all be dragged to hell together.’
The mood in the chapterhouse shifts to something darker, more apprehensive. The silence stretches out for five seconds, six—
‘You’re going anyway, aren’t you?’ Taya says.
Jude nods. ‘Me, Gaby and Rafa.’
‘And me,’ Jones says, stepping forward.
‘Count me in.’ It’s Seth. He gestures to the Outcasts around him. ‘We’re all in.’ They’re as intent as I’ve seen them. It could be about making a point to Nathaniel—it wouldn’t be the first time—or because they know it’s the right thing to do. Either way, I’m grateful they’ve got our backs.
‘And us.’ Ez is by the main doors. Zak has one arm around her, the other braced against the wall. His head is bandaged and his shoulder strapped.
‘Just give me a couple more shifts before I have to swing a sword,’ he says.
Taya clucks her tongue. ‘You idiots. You’re going to get yourselves killed.’
I turn back to her. ‘You going to stop us?’
‘No, Gaby, I’m coming with you.’
I blink.
‘You heard me.’
I swallow. I do not have a lump in my throat over Taya.
‘Not without me,’ Malachi says.
‘Or me.’ Micah.
Warmth spreads through me, driving away the chill of Nathaniel’s stare. I can’t help it, I look around for Daisy. She’s to my left, eyes fixed on her boots. Straight red hair falls in a curtain around her face so I can’t see her expression, but her hands are tight fists. She’s struggling.
Nathaniel doesn’t say anything. He’s waiting, as if he doesn’t quite believe we’ll do this—or at least that Taya, Malachi and Micah will disobey him.
‘Let’s go,’ Rafa says.
My eyes drift to Daniel. There’s something in his eyes, a shift. He’s not entirely on board with Nathaniel’s decision-making here. I hesitate a few seconds longer, give him time to act on whatever he’s feeling. Or for Daisy to join us. I hear the others moving towards the main doors, wait another heartbeat. But Daniel and Daisy stay silent.
I turn away, unsurprised. And a little disappointed.
UNEXPLODED INCENDIARY DEVICES
We gather outside in the cold. The defiant: me, Rafa and Jude. The Outcasts. And Taya, Micah and Malachi. There are twenty-six of us now.
‘You know, life was a lot simpler when you guys were just arseholes,’ Malachi says.
Rafa gives a short laugh. ‘Likewise.’
‘When do we leave?’
‘Ten minutes. Meet you in the library. We’ll go get the Pan Beach boys from the infirmary.’
‘What’s our arrival point?’
Rafa looks to me and I check my watch.
‘It’s about eight a.m. at home, so we’ll need to be careful how we introduce this crowd to the town. Let’s divide everyone between your place and mine and go from there.’
‘You want me to call Mya?’ Jones asks.
Jude shakes his head, glances at Rafa. ‘Nah, mate, I’ll do it when we get there.’
The Butlers and their crew fall over themselves to get organised when we tell them what’s going on.
‘We’ll get the gear from camp,’ Mick says, struggling to put on a jumper. ‘We can set up positions around the beach and blow the fuck out of them.’
There’s no way those boys are getting their arsenal anywhere near the esplanade, but we can argue tactics when we’re home.
‘I can’t believe the cocksuckers got Russian RPG-7s.’
I don’t know how Mick knows this and I don’t ask.
‘They put the fire out yet?’ Rusty asks. ‘Smells like it.’
‘Not sure,’ I say. ‘But the kitchen’s stopped exploding.’
Simon is dressed in jeans and a too-big woollen jumper. He’s on the floor tying his bootlaces. The stench is gone so I’m assuming the poultice has too. ‘We have to warn the town,’ he says.
‘I know. We’ll figure it out.’
‘Do you want me to take you home before I go to Gabe’s place?’ Taya is standing over him, watching him finish with his shoes. Is Simon one of the reasons she’s willing to defend Pan Beach? I did find them almost-flirting on the couch that time.
‘That’d be good. Your room’s still there if you want it, too.’ Simon’s eyes flit to her bandaged hand. ‘Are you sure you’re up for another round?’
‘This?’ Taya holds it up. ‘It’s a finger, Simon, not a leg. Don’t worry your pretty head about it.’ She smiles, very un-Taya-like. And despite the fact his town is about to be the centre of a showdown between Rephaim and demons, Simon blushes. Rafa sees it and smirks, but resists the urge to give him a hard time.
It’s a parade of the walking wounded as we lead the boys from Pan Beach to the library. Mick with his half-beard and his arm still strapped to his chest, sucking down a cigarette he bummed from Brother Benigno; Rusty, nursing his chest wound with one hand, carrying Mick�
��s rocket launcher with the other; Woosha, missing a thumb, his dislocated shoulder strapped; Joffa, still in bad shape with his burns, broken nose and laceration to his thigh, supported either side by the blond mullet and the big guy with tribal tatts. The poultice may have helped with Simon’s bruised ribs, but he still walks gingerly.
This is the guys’ first trip outside the infirmary but there’s not much to see. The wind is still too thick with smoke and ash.
‘Someone has to break the news about the rest of the boys,’ Rusty says.
‘Save the town first,’ Mick says and draws the cigarette down to the filter. The lit end flares, momentarily lights up his face. He blows the smoke out the side of his mouth. ‘Shitty news second.’
Everyone’s waiting for us in the library. The place still smells of mustiness and dried paper, now with a top-note of smoke.
‘Fuck me, there’s a lot of you bastards,’ Mick mutters.
‘This isn’t a lot,’ Rafa says, ‘but it’s all we’ve got.’
Ez and Zak meet us in the middle of the room. Zak doesn’t need help to stand anymore but they still have their arms around each other. It makes me happy in a way I wouldn’t have thought possible a week ago. I glance at Jude and then Rafa. Feel strong, like I belong wherever they are.
‘We ready?’ Rafa flattens two pieces of paper on the nearest desk and we gather around. Each page has coordinates and a mud map of Pan Beach: one to the shack where he’s been staying and one to the bungalow Maggie and I share. Rafa describes the lie of the land and layout of each and then we work out who’s going where. Jude, Simon and the Butler crew are coming to the bungalow with me, Micah, Ez and Zak. Everyone else is going to Rafa’s place.
‘It’s tiny, so no bitching about cramped space,’ Rafa says. ‘It’s a place to stay out of sight until we work out a plan.’ He walks over to Jude and me. ‘Jude, you good?’
‘Yeah, mate.’ Jude tests the weight of his sword, looks from Rafa to me. He feels it too: there’s something right about the three of us standing here together, ready to face whatever’s coming our way. There’s a ripple of energy—nervous, impatient. Everyone’s ready to be gone.
My stomach drops and cold air stirs at my feet.
‘One last thing before you leave.’
Nathaniel is standing a few paces away. Daniel, Calista and Uri are with him, along with a dozen armed Rephaim. Daisy is among them, avoiding eye contact with our side of the room. Daniel is working hard to look impassive but he’s rattled. The tiny flare of his nostrils gives him away. Is he unsettled because he knows what Nathaniel’s going to say, or because he doesn’t?
‘Knock yourself out,’ Rafa says.
‘Holy shit, is that the angel?’ Rusty whispers it too loud.
Nathaniel’s attention settles on me. ‘Do your Outcasts know the truth about Mya?’
I take a moment, try not to react. Jude steps forward. ‘What truth would that be?’
‘That she is a conspirator with the humans who built the iron trap.’ The fallen angel’s gaze rakes over the Outcasts. ‘Mya is not here because Gabriella and Judah know the truth about her and she is ashamed to show her face. A truth they have chosen to keep from you.’
‘What’s he talking about?’ Jones asks Rafa.
‘The women who created the room in Iowa share the same human bloodline as Mya,’ Nathaniel says. ‘You think I did not know that, Gabriella?’
He’s baiting me. ‘That’s a stab in the dark.’
‘You forget that the Garrison led me to each of you.’
‘So?’
‘They led me to Iowa. To a babe I was told died in childbirth. I did not see a body and I never believed the story. That is why I brought Brother Roberto here, to retain a connection to the family.’ He pauses to let that bitter seed take root. ‘When Mya appeared twelve years ago, it was obvious she was that child. But I did not understand her role in creating the schism.’
‘You assumed Mya was that child because she was the only one you knew about but didn’t find. How do you explain Jason?’
‘It is true that when I realised this lost Rephaite was familiar with the Iowa family, I wondered if I had been wrong and he was indeed the missing child. But then it was Mya who took Virginia from here tonight, not him.’
‘And you think that was out of character for her?’
‘Gabriella, in the last fifteen minutes I have had the opportunity to speak further with Brother Stephen.’ He gives me a knowing smile and my insides turn to ice.
‘Did you hurt him?’
‘I did not need to. He was grateful to unburden himself.’ Nathaniel waits, lets the moment build. ‘He confessed that Mya is his kin.’
I focus on the books behind him, the faded black and navy spines, the flaking gold lettering. I sort through a storm of thoughts and find the most important: Brother Stephen didn’t tell Nathaniel that the Rephaim need to be unified before the Fallen can be released from wherever they’re trapped.
Or he told Nathaniel, and the fallen angel isn’t sharing.
‘Is that true?’ Jones asks.
‘We don’t know for sure,’ Ez says. ‘We haven’t heard her side of the story.’
The Outcasts whisper to each other, mutterings of confusion and disbelief.
Ez turns to address them. ‘She’s risked her life for us more times than I can recall. She’s my friend and I’m giving her a chance to explain before I turn my back on her.’
‘Taya, Malachi, Micah.’ Nathaniel’s voice is softer now, conciliatory. ‘Are you willing to trust your lives to Rephaim who have spent the past decade following a girl whose family wishes to destroy us? A girl who has lied to them about who she is and what she has done?’
Blood pounds at my temples and I feel the heat in my face. ‘Are you kidding? You want to talk about secrets and lies?’
‘Gaby.’ Jude puts his hand on my arm. Our eyes meet and he reads my intention, nods. ‘Make it count.’
I push a chair aside so there is nothing between Nathaniel and me. ‘When are you going to tell the Rephaim you murdered their mothers?’
The accusation sucks all the air from the room.
‘Gabe, are you insane?’ Calista says it barely above a whisper. ‘That’s…’ she struggles to find a word strong enough. ‘That’s…blasphemy.’
‘Is it?’ I ask Nathaniel. I keep my eyes on him. He remains unmoved and unmoving. Even his irises are weirdly static.
‘Is that what Mya is claiming?’ Daniel asks.
‘No,’ I say. ‘Jason.’
The doors bump against the wind, stronger now. It’s the only sound in the library for a few long seconds. I can’t tell if Nathaniel is looking at me or not, but I push on.
‘Do you remember finding Jude and me in Italy, Nathaniel? Well, we weren’t the only ones there. Two of your Fallen brothers found willing girls there: our mother, and Jason’s. They were cousins.’
Nathaniel doesn’t respond although his eyes flare and resume flickering.
‘Jason’s mother was away from the house with him when you stole Jude and me and killed our mother—like you killed all the women who hooked up with the Fallen.’
Nathaniel blinks. Once, twice. Daniel looks to him, waiting for the denial. It doesn’t come.
‘Fast-forward a few years and Jason’s mother has another baby. That child is the first in a line of girls to have visions about angels and demons…and now Rephaim.’
‘The child who was here—’ Daniel stops. ‘She’s related to you? How long have you known about her?’
‘Does it matter? Nathaniel has lied to all of you from the day you were old enough to understand him.’
Jude stands beside me, calm. Steady. ‘If you’re really in contact with the Garrison,’ he says to Nathaniel, ‘call them down so they can explain what they want from us. Let them explain why they led you to our mothers only to kill them, and why we have to jump through their hoops to justify the air in our lungs.’
‘The Angelic Garr
ison cannot be summoned.’ Daniel says it more out of habit than conviction. He’s adrift. I think he’s thrown as much by Nathaniel’s silence as our accusations.
‘Call them down, Nathaniel.’ Jude gestures to the Rephaim around him. ‘We’ll wait. If they don’t show, we’ll know once and for all we’re on our own, and you can let the rest of your Rephaim decide whether they want to help us save Pan Beach or not, without worrying about what kind of statement it makes.’
‘Gabe.’ There’s unease in Daniel’s voice now. ‘This is history repeating itself, only this time you’re on the wrong side.’
‘Am I? Did you not hear what I just said about our mothers?’
Calista crosses to Taya, her lips pressed into a thin line. ‘They’re tearing us apart all over again, and this time they’re taking more of you. Are you really going to be complicit with that? Mya is a traitor!’
Taya shakes her head. ‘This isn’t about Mya. And I’m not going to Pan Beach to join the Outcasts—I’m going with Rephaim who want to protect humans from Gatekeepers.’ She holds up her bandaged hand. ‘They tortured me, Callie. I know what it’s like to be helpless against them. Maybe the Garrison will stop Zarael if we do nothing, but I don’t want to take that chance. And when it’s done, I plan on coming back. If I’m still welcome here. We can sort out everything else then.’
I check around the room: we’re right on the edge. The Rephaim are caught between what they’ve always believed and what they’re willing to accept, desperate for a foothold as the ground gives way beneath them. Even the Butlers and their crew are engrossed. Thank god Mick and Rusty have the brains to keep out of the firing line.
‘We’re not the only players in this game, Daniel,’ Jude says. ‘Somebody’s giving visions and revelations to Jason’s family and, apparently, to Mya’s. Somebody turned Gaby and me inside out a year ago, gave us fake lives and made us think we’d lost each other—made us think we were human. There’s too much we don’t know. Maybe it’s the archangels doing all these things, maybe it’s not. Either way, they know what’s going on and it’s time we were in the loop. Don’t you want to know?’
Daniel looks to Nathaniel again—everyone does. They want him to explain it all. They want meaning and certainty, even if it means he’s lied to them.