As the laugher died down, Kyle asked the question Alan was already worrying about. “How’s Seraphim? Do you think she’ll be okay?”
Alan thought back to his exchange with the Death Angel the day before. “She’s the toughest person I’ve ever met. I think she’ll recover. The wounds she suffered though… They were so severe not even Danielle could heal them all. I’m not sure her wings will ever completely recover.”
Kyle let his eyes travel to the wooden surface of the table as he considered Alan’s words.
“Seriously, guys,” Artemis said as she downed the rest of her milk and patted a small bulge over her stomach. “This is the best invention ever. Who came up with the idea?”
Alan and Kyle exchanged looks and shrugs. “Some great mind we all owe our thanks to.” Kyle said.
Artemis nodded, satisfied with the answer. Without missing a beat, Artemis changed gears and looked to Alan as if she were still talking about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. “Alan, you probably should go to Seraphim’s room. She’s trying to get out of bed and she’s going to fall if you don’t help her.”
---
“I can do it myself,” Seraphim said as she struggled out of bed.
“Where are you going?” Alan asked as he determined whether he should help her. “You should be in bed resting.”
Seraphim waved him away as she rose to unsteady feet with a shudder of pain. “Too much time has already been wasted. Gabriel is loose in the world. I cannot lie in bed and wait for him to make his move.”
“Actually, that’s exactly what you need to do. Your body needs rest to recover.”
Seraphim had retracted her broken wings into her back. Still, the damage the flames did to her body was undeniable. Soft, pinkish skin marked the places where Danielle healed her. The scar that crossed the right side of her face looked like it would be a permanent reminder of her encounter.In Alan’s eyes her beauty was still in tact. The passion in here eyes and the resolve in her tone were things that could never be replaced. The Leader of the Death Angels he had met when searching for the celestial weapons was still whole in his eyes.
Seraphim took a step forward, wobbled and would have fallen if Alan hadn’t been there to save her. “See?” he said. “You need rest.”
Seraphim tried to pull away but her attempt at standing on her own was feeble at best.
Alan helped her to her feet supporting her left arm and shoulder. She was wearing a white gown Artemis had provided over the course of the night. Her weight in Alan’s arms felt like he was supporting a kitten instead of the leader of a supernatural clan of Death Angels.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am. The best thing you can do now is recover. I bet in a few more days you’ll be healthy enough to go out again.”
Seraphim hesitated thinking over his words. While she considered her options, Alan got an up close view of the scar on her face. The line was thin but long enough to notice.
Seraphim must have caught him looking because she turned her head away from him. A long lock of red hair hid her scar. “All right, Alan, you win. I’ll rest. Only until I can walk on my own.”
“Deal,” Alan helped her to bed. The whole time Seraphim made sure he couldn’t see her scar.
---
Gideon packed everything he could possibly imagine he would need during his stay at the Temple. Four large crates lie open on his workbench in varying states of fullness. He made a mental checklist as he shuffled through his belongings.
The Angel was so used to being alone in his workshop, he muttered to himself out loud as he packed. “Let’s see, plenty of metal for the collars, soldering equipment, gloves, mask, my blueprints and notebook, wires, circuits...” His voice trailed off as his brain searched for anything else he could be missing.
It would be a long trip; she had said as much. Artemis spoke to him again the night before and told him he was needed at the Temple.
Gideon was more than happy to accept the invitation. He had never visited the Temple before and he was eager to explore the many wonders the Temple held.
Gideon was just a few items away from finishing his packing before he was off. In the space of a few minutes, he packed each of his crates to capacity. The inside of the four containers were filled to capacity.
The inventor was pleased with his packing skills despite their appearance. He hefted one crate on top of the other as he ran over his checklist for the hundredth time. Something tugged at the back of his mind. Something he knew he was missing but just couldn’t place his finger on.
“What else could I need?” he asked himself with a shrug. “I have all my work; I’m sure they will have food there. But there is something else I’m forgetting, but what?”
The answer hit him like a lightening bolt. For all of his brilliance when it came to inventing things, he paid for his gift in other mental areas. He shook his head with a laugh at himself as he rummaged across his workbench for the forgotten item.
Gideon’s hand made contact with his toothbrush in one of the few clean sections of his workshop, “There you are, you scoundrel.”
---
“Oh man, you look horrible. How do you feel?” As soon as the words left Alan’s mouth he knew he should duck for cover.
Danielle drilled him with a stare that would have put Medusa to shame. Her hair was a mess as it fell around her head in every direction and her glasses were askew on her face giving her the appearance of a bear just coming out of hibernation.
“I immediately regret those words,” Alan said as he leaned over the kitchen counter, the room that was quickly becoming the hub for Temple activity. He offered the half-eaten cookie with two open hands as a peace offering.
Danielle took it, scowl still in place and not looking as if it were going anywhere for the next decade. “You’d look like death too if you had expended that much energy healing people. I feel like I’ve been run over by a tank.”
“Nice use of the word ‘tank’”, Alan said with a grin. “Want something to eat?”
Danielle munched on her cookie, the sugar rush it provided finally dissipating the scowl on her face. She found a chair next to the table and plopped herself down. “That would seriously be great.”
“Coming right up,” Alan said as he moved to the stove. “I’ll make you the best giant omelet you’ve ever eaten.”
“Good, I’m starving.”
“This thing will fill you up,” Alan said. As an after thought he added, “It’ll be the size of a tank.”
Alan could practically feel Danielle giving him a reluctant grin from her seat. Instead of acknowledging his comment she asked a new series of questions. “So what’s the most recent update since I’ve been out? Wait, how long have I been asleep? What time is it?”
Alan busied himself cracking eggs and chopping toppings for the omelet. “You’ve got me. Time in this place is a weird thing. There are no clocks or windows. I don’t think you’ve been asleep that long though. My guess is a full night, maybe just a bit longer.”
Alan added milk to his omelet mix and whisked it together in a large bowl. It was seriously amazing to him that the ancient underground Temple had things like a kitchen and a modern bathroom.
“How are Angelica and Seraphim?”
“Angelica is great. She’s up and around. I passed her in the hall a few hours ago. She was on her way to help Michael. Seraphim’s a different story.” Alan paused as he was reminded of her ruined wings and the permanent scar on her face that she was struggling to cope with. It didn’t matter to Alan; to be honest, he couldn't care less about a stupid scar. She was still the brave woman he admired and who saved his life.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean she’s taking longer to heal. I’m not sure if her wings will ever be the same.”
“Gabriel is going to pay,” Danielle said. “The damage he did to her was like nothing I’ve ever healed. I repaired all I could but there was still more.”
; “No one blames you, Danielle,” Alan said as he mixed all the ingredients for the omelet together in the large bowl. “We blame Gabriel, and he will pay. Last I heard, Esther captured the Fallen that were fighting beside Gabriel. Michael and Ardat are interrogating them now.”
“Ardat, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think we can trust her?”
Alan shrugged as he poured the contents of his bowl into a pan that he began heating on the stove. His feelings on the subject were still torn. “I don’t know. It’s hard not to believe she has her own agenda in all of this.”
“I know what you mean; she’s a hard one to figure out. Personally, I don’t think I can ever forgive her, not after what she did to Jacob.”
Alan flipped the omelet as his mind relived the incidents leading to his mentor’s death at the hands of Ardat. So many feelings resurfaced when he thought about the events over the last month; fear, anger, pain, sorrow and a multitude of others vied for his attention. Before Alan could focus on one, Artemis interrupted him.
“Uh, hey, guys.”
“Hey,” Danielle said with a tired smile. “How’s it going?”
Alan plated Danielle’s steaming omelet and topped it with a handful of cheese. “What’s going on, Artemis?”
The little girl rocked up and down on her feet, heel to toe. Her face was a mixture of contained excitement and wonder. “So remember that room with the weird noises coming from it when we went to go see all those pictures of the previous Four Horsemen throughout history?”
Artemis said the words in one loud rush of air. Alan placed Danielle’s omelet in front of her as he remembered the dark room Artemis was talking about. “Yeah, it sounded like there was something breathing in there.”
“That’s because there was. I mean there is,” Artemis said with one of her trademark smiles. “Guys, there are puppies in the Temple. I love this place!”
Chapter 11
They were all waiting on him to decide. The pressure stemming from his position weighed heavier than ever before. History would change for good or evil depending on the decisions he made now.
Michael paced back and forth for what seemed like the hundredth time. He found himself wishing the room was bigger if only to give himself more time to walk. His quarters in the Temple were the same as everyone else’s. This didn’t bother him in the least, he preferred to live with his soldiers.
However, when the pressure of making a decision was this crucial, running or flying were the best ways Michael knew to help him think. The confines of the Temple made these intense forms of exercise difficult, thus Michael was left with pacing from one end of his room to the other.
Ardat confirmed Triana’s story. The other three Fallen members they captured were useless. They were just recruited to Gabriel’s ranks days before and were privy to none of the information he needed.
The facts were clear, Gabriel was somehow stronger than anyone ever was, and he had found a way to allow supernaturals to maim, and even kill, one another. On top of that, he may have a spell to thwart fate itself. Michael shuddered at the notion of Gabriel having the ability to affect how the Horsemen of the Apocalypse were chosen.
There was no doubt they needed to find Gabriel. They also needed to search for the source of his power and who might be able to create the incantation for him. Michael’s unknowns quickly multiplied from one to three.
A knock on his door broke him from his thoughts on what to do next.
Michael stopped himself mid-stride as he glanced at the door. He expected the caller to be either Esther or Ardat looking to help in any way they could. “Come in.”
By the way the door slowly eased open, Michael already knew he was wrong on both counts for his visitor. The way the door was opened by the person on the other side spoke of reluctance and a timid demeanor, things neither Esther nor Ardat possessed.
Kyle finally opened the door and stepped inside. “I’m sorry to bother you. I know how much you must have on your mind.”
Michael smiled at Kyle and waved him inside. “Please, there is always time for friends.”
Michael witnessed Kyle visibly flinch as he was addressed as a friend. “Thanks, I—uh I just wanted to let you know that I’m ready.”
A long pause filled the space between the two men as Michael reflected back on their previous conversation and whether he was missing something. “I’m not sure I’m following you, Kyle.”
Kyle moistened his lips. His eyes shifted to the ground beneath his feet as if there were something worth studying below him. “It’s just that you’ve all been so accepting of me even after I let myself be manipulated by Ardat.”
It was Michael’s turn to wince. He was glad the young man’s eyes were on the floor. The more time Michael spent with the others, the more he realized how long a road to redemption Ardat had in their eyes. It would not be an easy path for her to travel. To repair the damage she did to them, both physically and emotionally.
Kyle lifted his eyes from the ground. “I’m ready to help. I want to do something. Whatever it is, heck, even washing the floors or alphabetizing all the books in this place.”
Michael chuckled. “Thank you, Kyle. There are plans being set in motion that I am sure will require volunteers. I’ll keep you in mind.”
Kyle’s face brightened as he ran a hand through his short brown hair. “Thank you, Michael. I mean it; whatever needs to be done, all you have to do is ask. I don’t care if it’s dangerous.”
Something snapped inside Michael. A plan formed out of the echo of Kyle’s words. It would be dangerous but it could mean them being led to Gabriel.
---
Alan looked at the three monsters that stood before him. Artemis had shown both Alan and Danielle to the same room where Alan previously heard the loud breathing came from. Except this time, the room wasn’t dark. Artemis placed torches along the walls, turning the shadows into bright beams of light.
The room was much larger than Alan would have guessed. A square space with stonewalls. On each of these walls was a creature securely held in place with a steel chain the size of Alan’s leg. The chain connected one end to an anchor in the wall and the other side to the collars around the animals’ necks.
The closest things Alan could link the animals to were a mix of part dog, part wolf and part saber tooth tiger. Their bodies were nearly as large as horses. Each of them had a different color; grey, white, and black. Short hair covered their bodies revealing well-muscled frames. Their faces were long with short ears sticking up, with whiskers over large canine teeth and eyes that looked more human than animal.
The three monsters glanced at Alan with deep penetrating eyes and looks of recognition, if an animal was capable of such an expression.
Before either Alan or Danielle—who had refused to be left behind and powered down her piping hot omelet—could stop her, Artemis ran to the closest animal. With both arms opened wide she flung herself at the behemoth closest to her. The white-haired animal bent down to ruffle the girl’s brown hair with its snout. Despite the maneuver, the animals’ eyes never left Alan.
“Artemis?” Danielle asked in shock. “Are you sure you should be that close to the the—animals?”
Artemis was in the process of measuring her hand against the paw of the animal. The creature’s paw dwarfed her own hand by more than triple. “Oh yeah, they’re nice.”
“What are they?” Alan asked in a whisper. It was as if he already knew the answer to his question somehow, as if he had visited the room before and met these beasts a dozen times in the past. Their eyes looked at him pushing him to find the answer, but he couldn’t.
“I don’t know,” Artemis said grabbing the jaws of the creature and looking up inside the mouth as though she were a dentist. “It’s the weirdest thing. Some things I can remember from the past, some from the future; I can talk to some people in their heads, but then other times—like this—I have no idea.” Artemis looked back to catch Alan with a s
tare, “I didn’t even know what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was, remember?”
“How could you not know what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is?” Danielle asked. “That just seems wrong.”
“You’re telling me,” Artemis said.
The girls’ exchange was only background noise to Alan as his feet guided him to the animal on the right wall. Alan’s imagination was running away with him as he witnessed the large animal dip its head to him and wink.
A sense of safety came over him as he reached out a tentative hand. His hand hovered in the air halfway between himself and the beast. Hold up, he thought to himself. You don’t know what this thing is. It could just rip off your arm for a snack.
Alan stood like a statue as he weighed his options. The animal’s breathing came out in a string of solid breaths. Its smell reminded Alan of a dog that hadn’t been washed in a very long time. The strong odor brought a tickle to his eyes.
Before Alan could move his extended hand either forward to touch the animal or back, the creature sat on its haunches and raised its own paw. One massive, padded mitt hit Alan’s own knuckles then traveled to the floor.
“Did you just fist bump me?”
Either Alan’s imagination flared again or the animal winked its left eye and smiled. Alan decided any animal that could throw a fist bump deserved a pet. Alan raised his hand and made contact with the creature’s right shoulder, under watchful eyes and a lolling tongue. The muscular body felt like a series of marble rocks under fur. The animal’s black hair itself was softer than Alan expected. As he scratched and stroked the animal, the beast bent into the motion. Its huge head leaned down and pushed against Alan’s hand with its gigantic wet nose. Somehow it maneuvered his hand on top of its head.
“Oh, you want a scratch between your ears?”
The animal ran its head back and forth under Alan’s hand in a gesture that said yes.
Alan Price and the Temple of Artemis Page 13
