The result was mildly spectacular. Steam gushed upward, great, roiling clouds of it, as if ice water had been thrown onto burning coals, and the mountain shuddered, as if shaking off a particularly heavy yoke of burden.
“Raziel’s going to be very angry,” Ondrass said as the steam dissipated.
“Raziel’s fucking furious.” Raziel’s voice came from behind them.
Adramelek turned to see the Archangel of Secrets and Mysteries, his handsome, youthful face wearing an expression of outrage. His bright blue eyes were full of timeless fury and power, and he was hovering beside Uriel, who looked a little worried.
“I take it Michael called you?” Adramelek asked.
“Quite. I see that the parts of my book that exist in the human world have been put to nefarious use.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Ondrass said.
“Yes. Well.” Raziel took a deep breath, then shook his head. “It’s on the bloody Internet! Whoever put it there… incomplete as it is….” He closed his mouth and swallowed hard.
“Do you know what this place is?” Adramelek asked, hoping to steer Raziel’s anger onto another subject.
“Not a clue. And that pisses me off too. I am, as it happens, a ball of rage right now, and Gabriel’s a bit surprised.”
“It’s been millennia since you lost your temper, babe,” Uriel said.
“Be that as it may, my magic, the magic of the ancients, has been used to hide atrocities done to humans, shifters, and demons, and I am furious.” Raziel seemed to be vibrating with his rage.
Adramelek pursed his lips and shot Ondrass a quick look. “Then perhaps you two would care to join us as we investigate the interior of this abomination for ourselves?”
Raziel’s eyes glittered. “Yes, I certainly would. Uri?”
“Oh hell yes. There is no damn way I’m letting you go anywhere without me while you’re in this mood,” Uriel said. He looked at the two Archdemons. “He singed Tzadkiel’s wings. He’s really pissed off.”
“Would you not be if this was your power that had been subverted in such a way?” Raziel demanded.
“Of course I would. But I wouldn’t be hurting members of my own damn Brotherhood. Put a cork in it, Razzy. We’re going to encounter nightmares made reality, if what the Venatores, the Necromancer, and the tracker said are even halfway true. Use your brain for vengeance, not for being fucking ragey.”
“I can’t believe I’m about to do this, but I agree,” Adramelek said.
“Uriel’s right, Raziel. I’ve seen a few of the remnants of the things inside this facility, and you’ll need all your focus. We need to hunt as if it were the second ever war and you two hadn’t yet built Eden.”
Uriel’s eyes narrowed. “It’s that bad?”
“Uriel, I’ve seen maybe ten minutes of what’s in there, and it’s worse than anything since what Lucifer himself conjured up in his own fury when he was thrown into Hell.”
Raziel squared his shoulders. “I’m calm. I’ve put my fury away. No doubt there’ll be clues as to who did this, because such megalomania is rarely content to keep silent.”
“Quite,” Ondrass said. “Now, let’s go down to the door and clear away the avalanche.”
GABRIEL LISTENED with growing amazement and horror as Liam and Declan recounted the adventure they’d just had. He could see Michael out the corner of his eye as Raphael treated Danny and Baxter, and he knew his lover was distraught—too distraught to listen to a report at this moment.
“And that’s when Lily called for Adramelek,” Declan finished.
Gabriel shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to say. You’re right, of course—Michael does have alerts set up for any natural disasters so that he can send aid. This one was just as the others, so we thought.”
“It’s not his fault,” Liam said.
“Aye, and you’ve known him how long now? You know he won’t see it that way.” Gabriel sighed and looked in the direction of the mountain. “Calling the Archdemons was probably a stroke of bloody genius,” he went on, turning back to the pair. “I hate to think what might have happened if she hadn’t done that.”
“Angelique said we should go through our contacts in our cell phones and try and call someone who could call you,” Declan said.
“Mm, a good idea, but then we would have gotten here and not been able to do anything, and so we would’ve wasted a lot of time trying to get to you, when Adramelek and the others were able to just ‘port in.” Gabriel regarded Lix Tetrax, Melcherisa, and Markus, who were working with Raphael. “Tell me again what you found at the fire spotting tower.”
Liam frowned. “Do you think it’s relevant?”
“Aye. It’s a weird little thing and I reckon it might hold a clue or three. Better yet, why don’t we go there and have a closer look? You two up for that, or you want to stay here with your loved ones?” Gabriel looked at them in concern. “I can do it myself.”
“No,” Declan said, “I don’t want to watch and feel useless. I’ll come with you.”
“Me too,” Liam said. “They’re in good hands. We can’t do anything now. Raph’ll fix them.”
“That he will.” Gabriel nodded and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Focus on the inside of the tower and I’ll move us.”
They did, giving him a clear mental image of it, and he moved them, teleporting smoothly. When they emerged in the world, Gabriel looked around the cramped space and wondered once again what had happened here.
“We found that diary,” Declan reminded him, “I need to go through it more carefully, though.”
“Oh aye, the diary. Do you have it on you right now?” Gabriel asked.
Declan nodded. “You want to see it?”
“Aye. I want to copy it.”
Declan shrugged and pulled it out of his carryall. “Here.”
Gabriel took it and peered at it. It was an ordinary-seeming book, and he flipped through the pages, concentrating as he did so. On the bench beyond him, four copies of the book appeared.
“Are they identical?” Liam marveled. “That’s amazing!”
Finished, Gabriel closed the original and handed it back to Declan.
Liam was looking at the four copies, astonishment on his face. “They the same, then?”
“Yeah, yeah they are, as far as I can tell.” Gabriel took them and looked around again. “One for Raz, one for me and Mike, one for Adramelek and his chums, and one for Max and Minnie.”
“The hacker and the witch?” Liam asked.
“Aye. I’ve a feeling we’ll be needing their talents again.” Gabriel stepped over to the kitchenette area and opened a cupboard. “This place is so prosaic, ain’t it? It’s all set up for fire spotting, to protect the town and the people here. It’s a good place, a grand idea. I bet it’s served its purpose well. And then all this horror descended upon the town and now it’s been used as a shelter for who knows what.”
“That’s about the size of it, I think,” Declan agreed.
“Tell me again.” Gabriel leaned against the bench. “When you went into the mountain, what was your first impression?”
Liam shrugged. “It was dark and there were no spirits. No ghosts.
No dead people. And I knew that was really damn weird. Also, there was a strange smell.”
“Like stagnant water,” Declan said, “and metal of some sort.”
“And then the rocks came down, trapping you inside,” Gabriel said.
“Yeah. Then we went into the library and met the Mecha Nurses.”
Liam hesitated. “Will Samael take care of Jessica-Mae?”
“Aye, I’m sure of it. He always takes special care of those who’ve died because of trauma, and this place is more trauma than anything we’ve seen for a damn long time.” Gabriel shook his head. “What did you say the diary called it?”
“The Betterment Project,” Declan said.
“Run by Transom Corp,” Liam added.
“Which is interesting, because Tzad told me that company went into bankruptcy two days ago. It was flagged by Sophiel. She thought it was strange because it had been doing very well on the stock market.”
“How the fuck could it go bankrupt?” Declan asked.
“I have no idea. You got a pile of files; I might have to make copies of those too.” Gabriel glanced around the tiny shelter at the top of the tower. “This is a good den. I hope whoever hid out here didn’t die.”
“Oh gross,” Liam said.
“Great, there’s a whole new set of nightmares for me,” Declan groaned.
“Sorry.” Gabriel gave them both a small smile. “Shall we get back to the chopper and the others? And I’ll copy the files you pinched.”
“Okay.” Liam nodded. “There’s nothing here, is there?”
“No, I reckon you got the best piece of the puzzle in that diary,”
Gabriel said.
“Let’s get back to the others, then,” Declan said. “And you can be Saint Archangel Photocopier again.”
“Lovely. I’ll have you know my blood isn’t made of ink,” Gabriel teased.
Declan laughed. “I’m glad to hear that, Gabe.”
“One thing, before we go back,” Liam said, “we had to use a few things that we haven’t since the war.”
Gabriel quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Santeria,” Declan supplied.
“Oh, okay. So… is that a problem?” Gabriel was confused.
“Isn’t it? I mean, we’re working with Venatores, powered by Archangel mojo. Santeria isn’t exactly… well, it’s not from the same place,” Liam said.
Gabriel shrugged. “Power is tied to the individual who has it,” he said. “The good or the bad comes out of the user, not the power itself.
Don’t stress over using Santeria, don’t fret if you had to use what some might call black magic. And don’t worry that the only help you could reach came from Hell. You ain’t done anything wrong.”
Liam nodded slowly. “Okay. Thanks, Gabe.”
“No problem. Were you really worried about that?”
“A bit.” Liam sighed. “I never know how people are going to react.”
“Don’t tell ’em, then. Oh wait, I see where this is going. You two are thinking of telling Angelique and the pack.”
“We’ve mentioned it in passing before,” Declan said.
“Tell ’em or don’t. It’s your decision. Just don’t let them tell you did a bad thing, ’cause you didn’t. None of you did. Shit, if you’d used chaos magic, I wouldn’t blame you at all. If you really want to discuss the ins and outs of what you did, talk to Raz. Though I’d wait a bit before doing that if I were you, as he’s fucking pissed.”
“Yeah, I think I can wait awhile.” Liam shivered. “He’s pretty scary when he’s that angry.”
“I ain’t seen him so angry in millennia,” Gabriel said. He tucked the copies of the diary under his arm and rested his hands on the shoulders of the young men before him. “Let’s get back.” With that, he moved them.
Angelique was sitting in the pilot’s seat of the helicopter, and Raphael and Lix Tetrax were in the body of it with the Venatores. Gabriel gestured to it and shouted over the noise of the engine and the rotors, “I’ll catch up with you back at Mike’s!”
Declan gave him a thumbs-up and Liam gave him a salute, and the two of them jogged over to the helicopter and climbed in, taking seats beside Lily and Riley. As Gabriel watched, Angelique took the chopper up, climbing into the sky. He sighed and looked around, seeing that Samael, Tzadkiel, and Michael stood several feet away.
“Here.” Gabriel held out one of the diary copies to Tzadkiel.
“What’s this?”
“I made some copies of the diary the brothers found in the fire spotting tower,” Gabriel said. “I reckon we should all go over these carefully and see what we can learn. Also, we should get Max and Minnie in on this too.”
“Agreed.” Tzadkiel took the diary. “Sophiel and Brieus would like to work with them. I think they’d make a good team.”
“Aye, that they would.” Gabriel looked at Samael. “Liam asked me if you’d taken the soul of a girl named Jessica-Mae.”
Samael nodded. “I did. She was very glad to leave this place. She said that Liam was very kind to her, and he and the Venatores and his brother kept her safe from the monsters.” He sighed. “There were many souls, Gabriel. Not all of them were sane. They were visible only to me, because of who I am. It is my belief that they had hidden themselves so well so as to avoid discovery by anyone in the area able to speak with the dead.”
Gabriel sighed as well. “How many did you take upstairs?”
“Most of them. There were two who I had to take to Purgatory.
Lilith met with me and took them into her care.” Samael looked away. “I had not thought I would see the day that Lilith would assist in comforting damaged souls.”
“We’re living in a brave new world, Sammy,” Gabriel said.
“Indeed. I spoke with Ahijah as well; he asked if we would need anything from him or his brother or the Nephilim.”
“I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but I ain’t going to say no outright. Anything could happen.” Gabriel looked at Michael then.
“It ain’t your fault, Michael.”
“What?”
That sharp reply told Gabriel everything he needed to know about the state of his lover’s mind and mood. He squared his shoulders and walked over to Michael, reaching out and gripping his upper arms firmly.
“Michael, you can carry the guilt of the world forever if you so choose, but this, this place, this situation, this is not your fault. You didn’t know what was here—how could you? That fucking shield keeping us out was a superior piece of magic. And it ain’t your fault that the Venatores and the brothers ended up here, because you didn’t know and couldn’t know what truth lay beneath the news report of an avalanche. So stop beating yourself up because this ain’t your fault and it ain’t your guilt to bear.”
Michael glared at him. “My people nearly died, Gabriel.”
“But they didn’t die,” Gabriel said.
“Many other innocents did.”
“Also not your fault.”
“You cannot wash the guilt from me with pretty words,” Michael said. “I need to think.” He pulled back from Gabriel and walked away.
Gabriel sighed. “Fan-fucking-tastic. I love it when he gets like this.”
“I thought he was starting to lighten up,” Tzadkiel said.
“For something like this? Fuck no.” Gabriel ran his hand through his hair. “I guess I’ll wait him out. If I follow him and badger him, he’ll get pissy.”
Samael shook his head. “He feels this very deeply. He feels responsible, though we all know that he is not.”
“Maybe if we find out who is, then he can pass judgment on their souls,” Gabriel said. He looked over at Tzadkiel. “Would that be okay with you, Archangel of Judgment?”
“Sure, I don’t mind sharing the duty for these fuckers. I think we’ve got a lot of research ahead of us before we get to the bottom of al this, though.”
“Aye, and that’s why we need Minnie and Max.” Gabriel looked in the direction Michael had gone and shook his head once more. “I’ll go and see ’em now.”
“May I accompany you, Gabriel?” Samael asked. “I feel that being in the presence of good, kind-hearted people is necessary at this moment.”
“Aye, no problem. I know they’d be thrilled to meet you.” Gabriel smiled. “What about you, Tzad?”
Tzadkiel shrugged. “I’ll go wait for Raz and Uri, and call Sophiel and Brieus to join me. Remiel, Metatron, and Haniel are at the house in Oregon, in case Raph needs their powers for the injuries the two Venatores sustained.”
“They’ll be all right, though, yeah?” Gabriel asked.
“Oh yes. Raphael just wants to cover all the bases,” Tzadkiel said.
“Y
ou don’t need to worry about them, Gabe, they’ll be fine eventually.
Just a bit of surgery and a whole lot of rest.”
“What about Baxter, with that lost leg?”
“Prosthetics,” Tzadkiel said.
“Michael’s going to take that personally too.”
“And I would imagine that Baxter will tell him to stop it,” Tzadkiel said.
Gabriel chuckled. “Aye, probably so. Okay, I need to stop worrying.
Let’s go, Sammy.”
Samael nodded. “I will follow you there.”
“Good deal.” Gabriel clapped Tzadkiel’s shoulder. “Keep in touch, yeah?”
“Of course, Gabe.”
“Thanks.” Gabriel stepped back and vanished, reemerging in the world at the front gate of Max and Minnie’s home in Australia. A few moments later, Samael joined him.
“HELLO, GABE.” Minnie brushed dirt from her hands and stood up from where she’d been kneeling in the garden when he entered with Samael behind him.
“Hello, pretty lady,” he said.
She laughed at that. “You old smooth talker. And hello, Archangel who hasn’t been introduced yet.”
Samael chuckled. “I am Samael.”
Minnie’s bright blue eyes grew round as saucers. “Oh wow.” She curtseyed to him. “I’m honored, Holy One.”
“Hey, how come I don’t get that sort of a greeting?” Gabriel asked to give Samael a moment to adjust to such an effulgent welcome.
“Because you’re a brat, Gabe,” she said reasonably. “Lord Samael here straddles the razor’s edge between life and death, and witches are intimately involved with the passing of both.”
Gabriel couldn’t help it. He had to tease her. “So, you want an autographed poster of him for your magic room?”
“Gabriel,” Samael chided gently.
“See? You’re such a brat. Did God make you to be Archangel Brat Prince?”
“I have no idea. So is your other half here too?” Gabriel asked.
“Yeah, he’s inside. Come on in, you two. Care for a cup of tea or coffee?”
“Tea, please,” Gabriel said.
“And for me also,” Samael said.
“Right.” Minnie led them into the large house, the scent of lavender and night-blooming jasmine redolent in the air from the bushes planted by the windows, which were wide open to let in fresh air. “Oy, Max,” she yelled, “Gabe and Lord Samael are here!”
Archangel Chronicles 7 - Shot In the Dark Page 15