Infernal Justice (Angels at the Edge Book 2)

by Michael Arches

Yasmin took my hand, and we hurried over to help. As we strode forward, I felt her pulling me back into that deep connection with the eternal we’d shared earlier.

  I blotted out all my thoughts, focusing entirely on the pulsing power of God that we’d need to save the injured angel. A twinge of guilt shot through me. I hadn’t trained myself as consistently as I should’ve, and I wasn’t as ready to help as I could’ve been.

  When we drew close to her, we both laid our hands on her torso. Her agony was incredible. I’d had a few seconds to prepare for it, but I barely hung onto the mental focus we needed. If only I’d meditated every day.

  Yasmin helped me steady my mind, and the angel’s pain coursed through both of us before disappearing into the infinite. Unfortunately, the guardian had been hurt so badly that most of her spirit had already left her body. Her immortal soul was almost gone. Are we too late?

  Yasmin didn’t hesitate to grab onto the threads of the soul still present. I kept my focus and helped her pull back the last vestiges of the angel’s spirit still in her mind. With that connection, we recovered the rest of her soul before it entered the great void.

  That effort took all of our strength. Once we accomplished it, we held onto the eternal harmony that renewed our power to heal.

  Moments later, we were strong enough again to take care of the angel’s physical injuries. Her gaping wounds closed, and her wing attached itself in the right position on her back.

  Serenity flowed through me, God’s perfect grace, and I shared it with the guardian angel. After a moment, she stood on the padded rock, stretched her hands toward the sky, and cried out, “Hallelujah!”

  Then she vanished.

  I sat quietly with Yasmin for a few minutes, letting that sweet peaceful feeling resonate within me. Nothing gave me as much satisfaction as healing, but I didn’t have the innate ability I needed to do that work full time.

  Finally, my mentor smiled at me. “Every time I despair about your progress, you give me reason to hope. You have advanced considerably since we first met, but there’s still so far for you to go. Leave me now and ease Cassandra’s mind. I will be with you in spirit.”

  At that moment, I felt like I was capable of anything. Yasmin always inspired me to do what had previously seemed impossible. Honah sent me back to Colorado just as the sun was rising to the east there.

  Chapter 4

  LATER THAT MORNING, Ellen and I attended our last Lamaze class. I was her breathing coach. She was planning on a natural childbirth, so no drugs for her little girl. I wasn’t looking forward to coping with the suffering she was sure to experience, but if she could handle it, so could I.

  When we returned to the ranch, I was allowed to skip the baby shower that afternoon. Thank you, God and Ellen. Even so, I gave her a half-dozen little outfits I’d picked out with the help of a cute sales clerk at a shop in downtown Golden.

  While the ladies celebrated, I continued with ranch chores and wondered how poor Cassandra was getting along. Crappy things always seemed to happen to good people. Sooner or later, I was going to have to find out from Milton or Honah why that was.

  Several of Ellen’s girlfriends stayed for dinner and a movie. All of us ate together, and they invited me to watch a couple of chick flicks. I respectfully declined. Actually, I’d rather eat shards of glass, but I didn’t want to say it so bluntly.

  Once I made my escape from the girls’ night in, I ran to the barn and let Honah know I was available to fight the demon wars again. That seemed lots easier than sitting through a tearjerker.

  He appeared before me. “The San Francisco office has found the cabin, Gabriel.”

  I wasn’t surprised. Twenty angels in their bird forms could cover a hell of a lot of territory in one day, and there weren’t that many paved roads in the forest. “Great,” I said, “but first, I’d like to help Cassandra. If you can get me to the hospital’s fourth floor, I’m sure I can finagle my way in to see her.”

  Honah landed me inside a stall in the men’s bathroom. I tried not to take that as a commentary on my plan.

  Instead, I changed into a pure spirit and waited for some guy to wander in.

  That didn’t take long. Hospitals make people nervous, and nervous people tend to go to the bathroom more.

  I merged with one guy’s mind, and he happened to be a nurse. After doing his business, he went back to his normal duties, moving from room to room to check each patient’s vital signs. Eventually, he reached Cassandra’s room.

  She was resting in bed in a standard patient room, hooked up to a bunch of beeping machines. Since she had no physical injuries, I assumed that this high-tech gear was equivalent to putting her on a suicide watch. Given her state of mind, that was a smart decision.

  I switched into her head and waited for the nurse to leave. The fifteen-year-old was still heavily sedated. More importantly, she was alone. Although she wasn’t completely asleep, her eyes were closed. I switched out of her body and took on my fighting form.

  That meant I looked like a classic Sunday school angel, six-feet-six-inches tall and broad-shouldered. I was particularly proud of my wings, which were gray and white like a Peregrine falcon’s. They spread out over six feet in both directions. To finish off my ensemble, I wore a flowing white gown. Dad would be so proud if he knew.

  I thought that an angel would be less frightening for her than if she opened her eyes and saw a strange man standing in her room. But her eyes remained closed as I took her hand in mine. She was daydreaming about fighting her attackers with a broadsword and a shield. I liked her style.

  Then, behind me, I heard two people talking outside her door. The shades were drawn so they couldn’t see inside. Time is running out, Gabe.

  I searched Cassandra’s mind and found her memories of the attack and following murder. Then I spoke the incantation Yasmin had given me. “Unburden yourself to me.”

  All those ugly memories—from the moment she was grabbed until the SUV reached the San Francisco Airport—flowed into me.

  I almost doubled over from the anguish buried in those images, but I pulled myself together. Soon the painful memories vanished from my mind and hers. I kept holding her hand for a few more seconds to be sure, soothing her as I already knew how.

  Her eyes stayed closed, and she drifted off to happier dreams.

  Someone turned the door handle behind me, and I switched to my incorporeal form. That left me devoid of senses until someone came close enough to merge with.

  It turned out to be the head shrink I’d seen the night before.

  “Jesus Christ,” he said, “for a second there, I thought I saw an angel standing next to Cassandra.”

  Cassandra’s mom burst out in tears again. “I’ve prayed for God to help my baby. Maybe my prayers have been answered.”

  They spoke in hushed tones for a moment about Cassandra’s condition, and the girl stayed asleep.

  After a few minutes, the doctor left Roxanne and her daughter and headed to an elevator. He took it to the third floor, and as he left the car, I switched into my pure spirit again. No other sentient spirits approached me, and I waited for a few seconds for the door to close. Then I changed into my normal, pre-angelic self and rode the elevator down to the lobby.

  I was going to ask Honah for a ride to wherever Jack Andrews was, but I found him standing fifty feet away, talking with a street cop.

  When he saw me, he pulled me aside.

  “We’ve got everything we need to indict the mayor’s brother,” he said. “He’ll probably turn state’s evidence, and we’ll use his testimony to indict the mayor for accepting a bribe.”

  There was no doubt both could be prosecuted for engaging in official corruption, but that outcome didn’t sit well with me. “Can you blame either of them for doing what they did for Cassandra?”

  “Of course not, but we can’t let important politicians use their offices to help kidnappers,” Jack said. “The end does not justify
the means. Neither has a criminal record, so they’ll both probably get off without a lot of jail time. And the mayor will be forced to resign, of course.”

  Spoken like a true cop. I’d been one myself, so I couldn’t fault his logic. That didn’t mean I had to like the outcome. Sometimes life presented dilemmas with no right answer. “I think we should focus on finding those demons. They’re the really bad guys. Any progress on that front?”

  “Not as much as I’d like.” He ran his fingers through his short black hair. We did learn the cabin is owned by a couple from San Jose. They visited it occasionally over the last few years on the weekends. Right now, though, they’re both in Barcelona and have been for the last week. Nobody else has a key to the place.”

  That had always been a long shot. “What have you learned about that Santiago Project and Bonito?”

  “We raided the city’s planning office this morning and collected five boxes of records. It’s going to take a while to sort through everything, but we know it was supposed to be a commercial-residential development on Geary Boulevard. The mayor opposed the new building because it didn’t include any low-income housing.”

  “Who would’ve earned the most money from the project?” I asked.

  “Don’t know yet,” he said. “The building was proposed by a real estate investment trust with twenty-seven shareholders. Unfortunately, we don’t know their names yet. It’ll take a few hours to wade through the corporate entities involved to find the folks we want. I’m sure they’re mixed up in the project somehow.”

  I was, too. “What can I do to help?”

  “Nothing yet,” Jack said. “We’re still sorting out names and addresses. Then I’m hoping you and I can visit the biggest players first.”

  “Makes sense,” I said. “By the way, when we find the demons who attacked Cassandra, annihilation isn’t good enough.”

  Jack nodded. “You’re preaching to the choir. Honah wants them sliced up slowly to inflict the maximum amount of pain.”

  That sounded like justice to me.

  -o-o-o-

  I STUCK AROUND the hospital, staying in human form, as he coordinated with SFPD.

  After a couple of hours, Jack said, “The team back at the office is almost finished prioritizing the suspects. You and I get the top three. They think they’ll be finished in a half-hour. If you want to check on Cassandra, now would be the time.”

  “Perfect.”

  He took me up to the fourth floor, and while he was talking with Cassandra’s nurse I’d met earlier in the day, I slipped into the guy’s head.

  A few minutes later, the nurse left his station to visit Cassandra’s room. The girl was awake and alert. Her doctors seemed to have dialed back her tranquilizers, which was a good sign. Roxanne, wearing a broken smile, sat with an arm around her daughter.

  “How are you feeling, kiddo?” the nurse asked.

  “Much better,” the girl said. She didn’t smile but she didn’t have her drawn face from earlier either.

  To better understand her mental state, I slipped into her mind. I was heartened to see my earlier healing had helped her quite a bit. The girl’s worst memories didn’t burden her anymore, but she still knew her sister had died in the attack. She was sad but no longer overwhelmed. That was the best I could do for the time being.

  I switched back into the nurse’s mind, and he left the mother and daughter smiling at each other.

  My spirits soared. The poor girl was on the road to recovery.

  When the nurse returned to his station, Jack approached. “How’s she doing?”

  The nurse wiped his face with his hands. “Much better than I expected. Children are amazingly resilient. That poor girl is going to suffer over the years to come, but at least she’s been able to come to terms with her immediate grief. The head psychiatrist here’s a miracle worker.”

  Jack grinned and nodded as I slipped into his head. “Great news. We’re off to find the bastards who tried to ruin her life.”

  “Punch them all for me, hard,” the nurse said.

  Jack strode toward the elevator, ignoring Cassandra’s uncle, who was sitting by himself in the lobby with his hands covering his face.

  I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. His heart had been in the right place, but he was about to find out that blackmailing a public official was a serious felony. He’d allowed himself to get drawn into an illegal conspiracy.

  When we returned to Jack’s sedan, I transitioned back to my normal self. “What is Cleo up to today?”

  “She’s working with the special agent who has the next three names on the prioritized list.”

  I would’ve preferred to work with her, but Honah had decided otherwise. Jack certainly was a great substitute partner. “Where are we going?”

  “The general partner lives nearby. I’m hoping he can give us the lowdown on his major investor, Ralph Bonito.”

  That name caught my attention. “Why not hit Bonito first?”

  “He’s apparently not in town. I’m hoping the general partner knows where we can find him.”

  Soon, we reached the first address, a condo on Nob Hill. This was one of the ritziest parts of town.

  “This guy put up about a quarter of the total assets,” Jack said. “I’d be surprised if he’s behind the attack, too, though. He’s a prominent city developer, very politically savvy and has to know better than to blackmail the mayor.”

  “This shouldn’t take long,” I said. “I can check his thoughts in an instant.”

  Before we exited the car, I moved back into Jack’s head. He strode into the condo’s lobby, flashed his badge, and headed up to suite 1108. As soon as we reached the developer’s place, the lack of an aura coming from the suite told me no one inside was demonic. That was a relief. No magical shootout yet. He’s human.

  Jack knocked. Sure, but they do work with demons from time to time.

  A white-haired man wearing a polo shirt and khaki pants opened the door. “How did you get past the guard in the lobby?”

  Jack flashed his badge and introduced himself. “I’d like to ask you a few questions about the Santiago Project.”

  “Seriously? It doesn’t exist. The city turned us down flat. The mayor told me personally, ‘Don’t bother to reapply unless you have at least twenty percent low-income housing.’”

  I switched into the developer’s mind and checked for memories about blackmail. Nothing. He’d never even heard of Cassandra or Iris Winter.

  Not our man, I told Jack.

  “Just a couple of quick questions, sir,” he said anyway. “Besides you, who had the most to gain from the success of the development?”

  The developer’s eyes wandered around as though looking for help. “Do I need my lawyer?”

  “Not if you haven’t done anything wrong.”

  The man rubbed the back of his neck. “Ralph Bonito has brought me nothing but trouble. He and I funded over half of the project. Everybody else threw in small shares.”

  “How’d you like working with him?” Jack asked in an even voice.

  The developer groaned. “I never should’ve taken the asshole’s money. His greed is the reason we got turned down. I told him all about the city’s policy on low-income housing, but he refused to go along.” The developer paused. “Is that why you’re here? You think I wanted to discriminate against minorities? My girlfriend is black, you know?”

  “We’re looking into a few financial irregularities,” Jack said. “Would you happen to know where we could find Mr. Benito this evening?”

  “Jesus Christ! Don’t tell me it’s tax fraud? I’m clean as a whistle.”

  “Didn’t suggest you weren’t, sir. Where’s your partner?”

  The developer blew out a deep breath. “He’s working remotely this week. A few hours ago, he said he was at his ranch on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. When you see him, tell him we’re through. My lawyer will deliver a check for his share
of the funding to his office tomorrow.”

  That was probably too late to save the developer a world of hurt, but that was what came from doing business with shady characters.

  -o-o-o-

  WE LEFT THE condo and returned to the car. Jack called his office and had someone look up the address for Bonito’s ranch.

  When he received the information, Jack messaged Honah, Please teleport me and Gabriel to the following address. He read it off. I think it’s likely he’s the demon we’re looking for. And don’t forget to send the extermination team to meet us there.

  Seconds later, Jack and I shot through the ether and ended up standing in moonlight a few dozen yards from the front porch of a huge cedar house. It was surrounded on three sides by ponderosa pines fifty feet tall. To the south, pastures stretched out as far as I could see. A barn large enough to shelter hundreds of animals stood a few hundred yards away.

  “Definitely demons here,” Jack whispered. “I can smell ’em.”

  My senses weren’t as keen. “How many?”

  “At least six. We should wait for our backup team before starting the party.”

  Seconds later, eight guardian angels surrounded us. The strength of their overlapping auras made my spirits soar. We normally went into battle facing long odds. This time, I was delighted to have the advantage for a change. Honah definitely intended to make an example out of Bonito.

  Even better, I might learn something from this crew. My fighting skills were bush league.

  “Remember,” Jack said, “we want to keep most of them alive so they can report back to their brethren how much Bonito suffers tonight.”

  Three of our team were female, including Inga, an angel I’d briefly met through Cleo. Jack sent her and two others around the back to keep anyone from escaping.

  A black angel with mostly white wings pulled his burning sword out of the scabbard behind his neck, dashed for the steps to the porch, and slashed a hole larger than the door in the wall. His blade met no resistance. Then he pushed the smoldering door and frame inward until it clattered onto a tile entryway.

  Seven angels dashed into the house. I was last in line, only there to interrogate monsters as needed. For some reason, these mighty guardians refused to contaminate their pristine minds by merging with demon scum. I was the new guy who’d been hired for this nasty work, and it would fall to me.