Thankfully, at least this time Gabriel appeared to be behaving himself. Bright light filled the garden, so intense it almost hurt to look at it, before it dimmed to reveal the shape of a man striding towards him. Grinning, Raziel stood, clasping hands with his brother across their chests, a time honored way of greeting for them.
"You didn't warn me I was no longer able to touch the relics without causing mass destruction, Gabe. That would have been handy information to know before I touched the damn thing and caused mass destruction."
Gabriel, as his nature, simply shrugged. "Didn't know, Raz. Guess whatever the harpy did to you affected more than just your Grace. Seems the relics are now responding to you as part of the other side, so they're not sensing you as someone allowed to possess them. It's a complication we didn't foresee."
"We've been doing a bit of research as well. And when I say we, you probably know I mean Raphael and myself. We believe she was a Leviathan. Bitchy creatures, really. Ten kinds of fucked, and not in the great way that I so often enjoy."
"We assumed most had been purged from this realm. Hadn't heard of any that escaped purgatory in centuries, looks like one may have slipped past us. Demons have black eyes, for the most part. Leviathans have red."
A Leviathan. That was... unusual. He hadn't even heard the name in a very long time. Raziel thought they'd been all but eradicated. Leviathans had been an accident, an aberration that had been quickly sequestered away in purgatory out of sight.
Unfortunately, some had gotten loose eons ago, and angels had been sent in to put them down. Those that remained in purgatory as they were told to had been allowed to live. Any others had been slaughtered. They were uncontrollable, bloodthirsty and power-hungry. Leviathans obeyed no higher power, thought of no one but themselves. They were a curse, a blight on creation. And now he was one of them.
"You should have killed me."
"Well what would be the fun in that, brother? Watching you squirm as you attempt to keep your sanity gives me amusement, and Heaven knows I need amusement in Heaven. I'm stuck with two walking rulebooks and one ass-kissing mediator. You at least provided some brevity and balance."
Before Raziel could retort, they heard a twig snapping as if broken underfoot, and a hissed curse. Brow raising, Gabriel headed in the direction it'd come from, before re-appearing with a very feisty Baylin in tow. She was digging at his hand to get him to release her, eyes narrowed in fury.
Gabriel gave no notice to her attempts even as red furrows appeared on his skin, which seemed to piss her off even more. Tossing her unceremoniously at Raziel's feet, he crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced dismissively at her.
"This hellspawn claims she's here with you. Obviously, if she's lurking around in the bushes, that's a lie. You'd think the demons would learn to pick up their trash. Tell you what. I'll kill her; you make it look like it was an accident. Then we can dump the body in the bottom of a lake somewhere in Michigan before you figure out where you're heading next. No one ever searches the lakes in Michigan. They're too afraid of how many missing person cases would need reopened.”
“Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine? Gimme a second, let me put on my scared face. I know it looks a lot like my bored face, but please don’t let that discourage you. By all means, keep posturing and threatening me.” Rolling her eyes, she sat up from where he'd tossed her, brushing dirt and leaves from her skirt as she stood.
"Raziel, I would like to state for the record that your family tree is a bit rotten. Some pruning might be in order. You should probably start with that branch."
Raziel sighed, holding his hands up to the both of them for silence. He knew his brother. If he allowed them to continue sniping at each other, he would never get out of here. While he didn't know Baylin, from what he'd seen so far, he had no doubt that she would be any different.
"Calm yourself, esiasch. Yes, I know her, Gabriel. She is speaking truth. This is Baylin. She's the one that tended to me after you neglected to inform me hordes of demons would descend on me like the seven plagues once I touched the relics. Heredity aside, I would appreciate a bit of courtesy for that alone, as she could have left me bleeding in the dirt. You. Did I not tell you I was leaving? Did I not leave, with you safely at your apartment? Alone? What part of any of that sounded like an invitation to follow me?"
Now she was the one to impetuously cross her arms over her chest, lips pursed into an annoyed pout before her expression cleared. He knew enough about women to know that look boded well for no one and took a healthy step back out of reflex.
"Yes, Raziel, you did leave the apartment. After I'd told you I'd secured a few days off. Because you bled on my floor and my couch. See, where I'm from, when a person risks their life to step into a demon war to drag your Leviathan red-eyed ass home, they earn a little respect."
"So. Since your wounds were not healed when I covered them, I decided, out of the goodness of my heart, to follow you. Since I don't know you, I couldn't be sure you weren't going to do anything else mind-numbingly stupid and get yourself harmed again, undoing all my handiwork. Which is just selfish, if you ask me. Me following you was your own fault, because you make bad decisions. Deal with it."
He visibly cringed. She'd heard their conversation. She now knew what he was. That he was tainted... a monster. Yet instead of running, she was verbally eviscerating him for daring to potentially put himself in harm's way. He would never understand women as long as he lived. He heard Gabriel trying not to laugh, and sent him a glare as he handed over the first relic.
"Get that to safety. I will summon you when I've retrieved another, brother. Tell the rest I'm not giving up yet."
Once Gabriel disappeared, he rubbed at his temples. He'd gotten a hint of his first location. He had no idea where to start the next search. Until Baylin cleared her throat, brow raised.
"About that. I can't explain how I know, so don't ask, but I think I know where we're supposed to be going next. Even better? I can get us there."
Chapter Twelve
"We aren't going anywhere. You are going home and I am going on my way, alone. You don't even know what I'm doing, so how can you know where I'm supposed to be going? A magic 8 ball isn't really magic, you know. It's just a toy."
"Has anyone ever told you you're really annoying? Because you are. If you could have apparated out of a bad situation, you would have. That leads me to believe you can't. After what I heard, that makes perfect sense. So, since the location is over the river and through the woods, literally, face it, you need me. If you ask nicely, I will be a good host and even tell you where we're going ahead of time, how's that?"
She was incorrigible. And correct. It didn't make the situation any less annoying. He couldn't apparate in the form he was in now, and he didn't have his wings. He was stuck.
Apparently, he was also stuck with her. Letting out an aggrieved sigh, he raked his fingers through his hair in a gesture of supreme aggravation before pinning her with a baleful glare. "Fine. Please, if you would, kindly inform me as to where we will be going next on this fools errand."
The smile she sent him was entirely too sweet, edged with a sarcastic glee he could almost hear in the tone of her voice. "Dargavs, the so-called City of the Dead. It's located in Russia. Should be fun, rumor has it many of the tombs are broken open and bones are just laying out on the ground and stuff. It's creepy enough without knowing there's some sort of uber-powerful artifact there. You should probably invest in some leather gloves or something."
How did she know this? Did he trust her instinct or gut intuition or whatever it was enough to follow her to Russia, of all places? She'd told him not to ask how she knew, but really, she had to expect he'd want clarification somehow. One couldn't just take off with a stranger they'd just met and expect things to go well.
Especially knowing she took issue with demonkind who were on the darker scale of things, which he unfortunately was now. He'd already lost everything due to trusting a female. She cou
ldn't ask him to do the same thing again without giving something in return.
"Look, Baylin, I understand you don't want to explain how you know this, but I'm afraid I have to have some sort of information. I've been down this road of trusting another without worry before, and this is what it's made of me. Obviously, I'm not a very good judge of character without my Grace. You're going to have to give me something I can go on here. Some way for me to verify this isn't a trap of some sort."
Her shoulders tightened slightly before they relaxed, her cheeks paling a bit. Finally, she nodded. "I understand. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I get it. I told you my father was a demon. Mom was human. My mixed genetic mess has left me with some undesirable... quirks. I get flashes of visions."
"Premonitions? Precognition? I don't know what they'd be called. I just sometimes 'know' things that I shouldn't. Or have a gut feeling that I need to be somewhere at a certain time, or need to do something right then and there. They've never really steered me wrong yet. That also means since I have demon blood that wasn't relegated to purgatory, I can still apparate. Something you desperately need at the moment."
Raziel had a decision to make. Was he going to trust her visions, even if he himself couldn't see them to verify the content? Did he have much of a choice? Not really.
"Fine. But I am in charge. If I tell you to fall back, to not touch something, or to not follow me in somewhere, you will listen. I don't know what dangers lie ahead. After seeing where the first relic was, I would be a fool to assume the others would be easily found or retrieved. I will not have you harmed for helping me, do you understand?"
She appeared as if she was going to argue, but eventually just nodded again. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that was the end of it. She didn't appear to be the type to take orders from anyone, even if they were for her own good. As he held out his hand so she could take it, she glanced at it with a puzzled expression.
"What's that for?"
"We're apparating, yes?" He'd clearly missed something. Again. Though this time he didn't think the fault lay with him. He'd kept up with the conversation quite well, he thought. All things considered. As she shook her head and began walking, he had no choice but to follow and listen as she explained she needed a few things from her apartment.
Women. They were not going on vacation, they were hunting down angelic artifacts that could end the world if not found quickly. Did she really need luggage???
Chapter Thirteen
Turned out, what she needed was amulets from Lenore to protect them, or so she claimed. Lenore was... interesting. A short, squat woman, she had thick dark hair in a plait down to her waist. Liberally laced with white, she claimed it made her look distinguished, so she refused to color it. She'd taken one look at Raziel and crossed herself. He simply rolled his eyes. Once she realized he had been Baylin's unexpected house guest, he found himself smudged and blessed.
The sage stunk to high heavens. No matter how he coughed, she kept blowing it on him, occasionally directly into his face. He was certain she was doing it on purpose. Some stone amulet went around his neck that she claimed would protect him. She'd also given him a ring made of some kind of metal. If he didn't know better, he'd swear it was Dracium. He was told it would help him touch the objects safely.
He'd withhold judgment until it was tested. Once they were given leave, Baylin finally took his hand. Before he could breathe, he felt intense pressure on all sides, like all the air had been sucked from the atmosphere. His injured ribs immediately protested the situation, but he couldn't even draw in a breath to tell her it hurt. The room blurred, spinning before his eyes, until everything went black and righted itself again moments later.
Breathing hard, he dropped to his knees in the grass, one arm around his ribs as he struggled to push the pain back under lock and key. If he hadn't guessed it before, he was now certain that at least one rib was cracked, if not more. Apparating as a demon was either far different from angels, or being a ride-along was the issue. Either way, he did not find this new mode of transportation very pleasant.
Baylin, to her credit, stood silently at his side, one hand on his shoulder as she waited for him to catch his breath. Once he felt steady enough to stand, he glanced around at this so called City of the Dead. It looked like any medieval city, really.
It only took on a darker light when you realized all the buildings that appeared to be small homes built into the hillsides were actually tombs. It certainly looked like a place where someone would place something they didn't want found.
One lone guard tower stood sentinel, long abandoned to the elements. There was no one to watch over the lost souls here, no one left to care for their afterlife. It seemed even the animals had neglected Dargavs... birds gave it a wide berth. There was no sound of animal or insect, nothing moved. The place was eerily silent, save for the ghostly spectre of the tombs themselves rising above them.
As they ventured deeper, Raziel spotted glimpses of white through broken mortar. Bones. Baylin's visions had been correct on that point. They had to look before they stepped, as the place wasn't maintained any longer. Pieces of the tombs had broken, leaving the occupants exposed to the elements. When animals had dared to step foot in Dargavs, they'd strewn the bones across the land, leaving skulls gleaming like grotesque sentries in open chambers.
"Any idea what we're looking for?"
She shook her head, glancing around again. She was clearly more spooked than he thought she'd be, but he didn't know how to reassure her. The place had a pall around it of desolation and death. No platitudes would stop that. "I don't know. I saw something like a halo? Sort of? But... but I don't know what it means."
That was helpful. Scowling, Raziel began to simply peek into each exposed tomb. If they could check off the ones that were already broken open, that could reduce some of the work they had to do. Since he could feel tendrils of the power from them, perhaps he could zero in on it a little bit more with practice. He'd felt the energy from it in St. Augustine as he got closer. Surely this would be the same.
It was dirty, backbreaking work. While the large rock slabs that functioned as doors had broken, more littered the ground and the insides of the tombs. The bodies had been entombed in stone coffins as well, so occasionally those needed shifted as well.
By the time they'd realized none of the opened tombs held anything of interest, the sun was beginning to drop lower on the horizon and Raziel was ready to call it quits and find shelter for the night. Anywhere but here.
Hearing a gasp from behind him, he whirled, spotting Baylin pointing off in the distance towards the sun. Squinting, he covered his eyes with his hand, forming a visor of sorts to see what she was gesturing to.
"That's what I saw Raziel! Look, the sun going down over that tomb looks like a halo with rays! That's my vision! It's in there!" Her voice was excited as she rushed that way.
Scrambling to keep up with her, Raziel clamped a hand around her forearm, quickly pulling her back as she got closer. He wasn't sure what artifact they may find in there, or if her visions hadn't been a trick to begin with. She was not going to be entering that tomb first, he wouldn't allow it. This was his mission. If anyone was going to put themselves headlong into danger, it would be him.
Thankfully, she didn't resist. Stepping closer, he ran his hands over the edge of the rock face that served as the door. It was still secure, so no one had breached it, at least through the front. Unfortunately that meant they wouldn't be able to, either. It was solid, wedged in over years of dust being blown over it to make it fit even more securely.
"Can you apparate me inside now that we know from the others what the general interior looks like?" It wasn't a certainty that this one was built the same way, but it was worth a try. His secret suspicion was this one had been so solidly built for a reason; knowing something of value was inside, he wasn't so sure the tomb itself wouldn't have traps laid for the unsuspecting and unwary.
Many clans and cultures over th
e centuries had done the same. It would be foolhardy to assume this one was any different. If that was the case, he needed her to be able to send him in alone.
She looked petrified, which didn't comfort him in the slightest. Still, she took a breath, steeled her shoulders, and reached for his hand. He had a moment to regret the request as the world tilted on its axis again, before the musty smell of decay and rot filled his nostrils. She'd succeeded, he was inside. He'd barely taken two steps before he felt the ground give way beneath him.
Shouting a warning for her not to follow, he curled up, protecting his head as he tumbled down a steep incline at least fifteen feet before he landed at the bottom with a jarring thud. At this point, he wasn't entirely certain his ribs were ever going to go back to their normal position. Pulling himself to his feet, he coughed the dirt from his lungs before attempting to see through the dim interior.
Where the other tombs had simply been single rooms carved out of the hillsides, this one had the room above but a hidden chamber below. One that clearly wasn't as stable as any of the others they'd checked.
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