by C. L. Coffey
“Please could you join us in the library? Now?”
I wanted to go wash my face first, but I had no idea who ‘us’ was, and I wasn’t sure that keeping them waiting was advisable. Instead I settled with one last wipe of my face, ran my fingers through my hair, straightened my clothes, and then hurried to meet Cupid.
CHAPTER NINE
Ripping Off the Band-Aids
‘Us’ consisted of Cupid, Joshua and Leon. The three of them all turned to look at me as I entered the room, and I couldn’t stop the butterflies from doing a couple of rounds in my stomach. Cupid was still sat in the same seat, appearing very relaxed as he watched the two detectives. Joshua was busy staring out of the window at something in the garden, whereas Leon was stood to one side of the door, his arms folded, tapping his foot impatiently as he stared at Cupid.
As soon as Joshua laid his eyes on me, his own darkened. A couple of hours of crying were inevitably going to leave obvious evidence on my face. I gave him a small smile before turning my attention to Cupid. “You called.”
“No,” said Leon, slowly. “He didn’t.”
It was Leon's turn to receive a smile – this time it was an awkward one. This was going well already. “Metaphorically?” I offered, before turning helplessly to Cupid.
“Perhaps you should sit, Detective Roi,” Cupid indicated to one of the chairs on the opposite side of the table to himself. “I believe you have a lot of questions.”
“I do… Your name is really Cupid?” he asked, ignoring Cupid’s offer of sitting as he stared at the archangel in confusion.
“It is,” Cupid confirmed.
Leon pursed his lips, continuing to study Cupid. “Have we met before? You seem familiar.”
“You wanted to know about my brother?” Cupid prompted, ignoring the request.
Although Leon seemed to register the diversion, he didn’t press for an answer – instead, he rolled his eyes as he turned to me. “You’re going to tell me he’s your brother too?”
“I have a large family?” I shrugged, helplessly.
“Okay, let’s cut the crap,” Leon demanded, his eyes narrowing. “I’ve done a background check on you, Ms. Connors. You lived in the UK until you were thirteen. Your parents had never left the country prior to your birth and there is no record of you having any sibling – half or otherwise.”
“That’s a little more than a simple background check, Leon,” Joshua interjected.
Leon shot him a look. “This is one of these occasions where it’s in your best interest not to say something you’re going to regret, Josh.” He turned his attention to me. “Now, let’s start with the basics, shall we? Earlier you mentioned that you resided here in this museum. Obviously, that’s not the case, so where do you live?”
“Actually, detective, that is the truth,” Cupid answered for me. “Angel, myself, and thirty others live here. Michael also used to live here. Although the convent remains a historic building, it is no longer open to the public.”
“And what exactly do the thirty-two of you do here?” Leon asked.
“We work within the community,” Cupid explained, calmly.
“And before you were here in New Orleans?” Leon continued.
“We were in Canada,” Cupid shrugged. “Only a couple of hours away from Montreal.”
“This is where I start to have a few problems,” Leon said. I shot Joshua a questioning look, but he looked equally as confused. “I ran a quick search on Michael. I eventually found an ID for him in Canada.”
Cupid clasped his hands together in front of him. “As we moved here from Canada, I would expect that.”
“Yes, but I found no evidence of visas. Ms. Connors had one, before she earned her green card, but Michael has not been in this country for long enough to apply for citizenship,” Leon pointed out. “In addition, I’m struggling to find any record of him formally entering the country. I also suspect the same would apply to yourself, Cupid.”
Cupid puffed out his cheeks and blew out a long breath. “Why don’t you take a seat, detective?” Cupid finally said, once again indicating to one of the empty seats opposite him. “I think it’s time we had a truthful conversation, and I think you’ll want to be sitting for this one.”
“Cupid, you can’t seriously be thinking of telling him the truth?” I asked in horror. We had lost enough angels from this House – I did not want to lose another.
“The truth would be an excellent thing to discuss,” Leon agreed, finally taking the offered seat, pulling out a small notebook and a pen as he did so.
“Cupid!” I objected. When he ignored me, I sent Joshua a helpless look. He quietly moved to my side and reached for my hand, but remained silent.
The motion was not missed my Cupid nor Leon, but they ignored us. “You had something to say?” Leon prompted, turning his attention back to the archangel who seemed far too calm for someone who was about to lose his wings. My hand tightened around Joshua’s.
“A few weeks ago, you were possessed by one of the Fallen,” Cupid started, evenly. “Michael, myself, and two others performed an exorcism, and removed the Fallen from you.”
Leon’s lips disappeared into thin lines. “The Fallen?”
Cupid nodded. “Fallen angels.”
“Angels are not real,” Leon said, as though he’d heard this line before. “I don’t know if I’m impressed or amused though,” he added. “Normally I have to charge someone for a crime before they try the insanity plea.”
I glanced up at Joshua before I could stop myself. Sure enough, the look of I told you so was plastered firmly on his face.
“This material is almost as good as I’m a psychic,” Leon added.
This time it was my turn to shoot Joshua a look, which I quickly removed from my face as soon as I realized Leon had turned to face me.
“We’re not psychics,” Cupid confirmed. “But we are angels.”
My mouth slowly dropped open. He did it. Cupid broke one of the rules. I waited, expecting something significant to happen – like the earth to split open beneath us – but nothing happened.
“You’re angels?” Leon repeated before laughing. “Oh, now I’ve heard everything.”
“I appreciate that I’m often confused with a god, but I can assure you that I am an angel,” Cupid said, continuing with his explanation as though Leon’s words had no significance. My stomach churned… surely a bolt of lightning was going to crash through the window? “I’m an archangel, to be specific; like Michael was.”
“And now Michael is an archangel too?” Leon continued to laugh in disbelief. “They are never going to believe this one back at the station.”
“My brother is quite possibly the most famous archangel, rivaled only by Lucifer,” Cupid pointed out. “Although it is drawing near to Christmas: I assume you’ve heard of Gabriel too?”
“Cupid!” I exclaimed. It was one thing to tell Leon who he was – even who Michael was… But Gabriel? That was not his secret to tell.
“And what, that’s the Archangel Angel there?” Leon asked, laughing so hard he actually snorted.
I gritted my teeth. I never expected anyone to take me seriously as the Archangel Angel, but the laughter was rubbing me up the wrong way. Leon’s eyes were watering! “But you can happily accuse me of being a demon?” I retorted.
“Angel is not an archangel yet,” Cupid told Leon, shooting me a warning look.
Leon started laughing harder. “The angel Angel? That just sounds like a stutter.”
I pulled my hand free from Joshua and flung my arms in the air. “Cupid, that’s not your secret to tell.”
“I wouldn’t admit to this either,” Leon told me, wiping his eyes. He took another look at me, and started laughing again. “Though I’m fairly certain this would be the insanity plea which works.”
Cupid’s lips pressed together in a thin line as he rose to his feet. Once clear of his seat, he turned to Leon. “Would you like some proof?” Without waiting for an ans
wer, he allowed his wings to show. I’d only ever seen Veronica’s wings before. Cupid’s were similar: they seemed to be made of lightning, more than feathers, but whereas Veronica’s were a bright electric blue, Cupid’s were golden with white and orange flashes. I don’t know if it was the closer proximity, or just the mesmerizing effect of seeing them, but the air in the room seemed to hum with energy.
Joshua, who had also seen Veronica’s wings, swore softly. Leon, in comparison, had a much stronger reaction. Almost as soon as Cupid’s wings were visible, he let out a yelp and fell off his chair.
That broke the spell I was under, and I managed to turn my bark of laughter into a slightly subtler snort – something a little more appropriate for an angelic response to a person falling over. As Cupid let his wings fade away, I sighed and stepped forward, offering a hand out to Leon. “Are you-?”
“Oh, please forgive me,” Leon begged, dropping into a kowtow.
I leaped back. “Okay, that’s really not necessary,” I hurriedly assured him. When he refused to lift his head from the ground, I looked helplessly to Cupid: this was beyond weird. It was verging on creepy. “Please get up?” I requested.
Cupid strode around the table and crouched down next to Leon. “We are friends here,” he said, speaking the words in Leon’s ear. “There is no need for this behavior.”
Hesitantly, Leon looked up, but his attention went to Joshua. “How could you not tell me?” he asked, his voice croaking.
“It wasn’t my secret to tell,” Joshua said, simply.
Beside him, Cupid stood, before offering Leon a hand. “Please?”
With his eyes wide, and his lower lip clamped between his teeth, Leon took the offered hand and allowed Cupid to help him to his feet. “You saved my life,” he whispered, his voice still wavering.
“You have a chance to save ours,” I told him.
“Angel!” Cupid snapped. “We don’t go saving lives expecting to be paid – in any form, whether that be money or favors. Lives are not currency.”
“That wasn’t what I was implying,” I disagreed; horrified that Cupid would even think that.
Cupid’s expression softened. “I’m sorry,” he said, before turning to Leon. “We do need your help, Detective Roi, but please don’t let any past actions have any bearing on your decision.”
“It’s Leon, and if I can do anything, I will,” Leon assured Cupid.
“Michael,” said Cupid, simply.
It took a moment for the blank look to be replaced with one of understanding, but then Leon nodded. “Of course. I will do what I can.”
“I’m not sure how easy that will be,” Cupid frowned. “I’m sorry to say that your…” he trailed off, looking over at Joshua and I.
“Asmodeus is a high ranking fallen angel,” Joshua said. “We need to watch our backs.”
“Asmodeus?” Leon repeated in disbelief. “Our lieutenant?” Leon glanced around at our faces, his gaze settling on mine before his eyes widened even further and he slumped down into his chair. He rubbed his hand over his face before letting out a long breath. “Let me see what I can do.”
“You need to be careful,” I told him. “Asmodeus is dangerous.”
Cupid nodded. “Angel is correct. Whatever you do, please do not put our needs above your own safety. We have strength and immortality on our side. You do not. Asmodeus would not think twice over killing you if you were to get in his way.”
Leon closed his eyes. When he reopened them, moments later, the old Leon I knew had returned: the grisly determination to solve a case back in his eyes. “I will do my best. Thank you for trusting me with your secret.” He stood up, his head held high. “Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. Anything.”
“Detective, before you leave,” Cupid said, stepping in front of Leon. “We have been operating on earth alongside man for many centuries. The only way we have been able to do this is by keeping the number of people who know about us to an absolute minimum. I cannot stress how important this is that it remains that way.”
“Of course,” Leon agreed. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you,” Cupid finished, offering Leon his hand.
Leon’s eyes widened, before quickly filling with respect. The two shook hands and then Leon started to leave. “Josh?”
“I’ll speak to you later,” Joshua told me, softly.
Joshua and Leon left, leaving Cupid and I alone in the dark library. “He took that pretty well,” Cupid mused.
“Considering how much he objected to me being in…” I shook my head, suddenly realizing what had just happened and how bad an idea that was. “Was it worth losing you wings over?” I asked him, morosely.
“My wings?” Cupid repeated, cocking his head at me.
“The ‘tell no one who you are’ rule,” I offered. “You know, the one where we’re not supposed to tell anyone we’re angels otherwise we become one of the Fallen?”
“I still have my wings – I told you, there are exceptions to the rules,” Cupid told me, folding his arms as he glared impatiently at me.
“Michael told me-”
“Michael’s dead!” Cupid exploded. “If we’re going to survive without him, we’re going to have to do things differently.”
“By breaking the rules?” I yelled back. “We’re already down eighteen angels in this House! Why are we doing stupid things that risk any one of us falling? The police had no evidence of anything, and maybe Joshua could have done something.”
“No one is falling!” Cupid shouted back, impatiently. “No rule has been broken. I made a calculated judgement call which was mine to make: I am in charge of this House now!”
“Well you doing such a mighty fine job, you clearly don’t need me,” I snapped back. I headed for the door: I was so angry I was shaking. If I stayed in there for much longer, I was going to say something I would regret.
“Angel!” Cupid yelled after me. I ignored him, allowing the door to slam closed behind me.
The thought of going to my room didn’t appeal to me, and tempting as it was to go see Sarah, it was getting close to dinner time. She would be busy in the kitchen which would no longer be as empty as it had been now she finally had some help. I headed for the main doors – past the now empty reception desk – and stepped out into the muggy afternoon air.
It was just after four and it was already showing signs of getting dark. The streetlights were slowly flickering on, and the various floodlights around the grounds were already illuminating the area.
I headed straight for the gates. My hand was on the latch before I remembered I wasn’t wearing my cap, but I shrugged that thought from my mind. If Cupid could tell Leon what we were, why was it even important anymore? It was probably the time of day, but the crowd that normally lingered outside the church had dropped down to only a handful of people and they paid me no attention.
I headed to the Quarter. I had no real destination in mind – I just needed to walk. If I didn’t get rid of this built up energy, this anger, I was probably going to explode.
There was a steady stream of people in the Quarter, particularly on Bourbon Street, but I wasn’t paying attention to them, nor to where I was going. Not until I saw the familiar yellow building. It still had the building length banners of Luke Goddard draped from the balcony, but aside from that, there was nothing to suggest a live music event had taken a turn for the weird a month ago. I stared up at the banners as a feeling of nausea washed over me.
Luke Goddard.
I had tried my best not to think too much about what had happened on Halloween, because every time I considered it, I couldn’t fit all the pieces together to make a coherent enough argument for Michael to believe me. I had gone to Bee’s because I believed the Fallen had tried to raise Lucifer. I’d ended up fighting Beelzebub and only survived because he wanted me to survive. Michael had believed me about Beelzebub – and Asmodeus – but the topic of Lucifer had resulted in the cherubim leavin
g the House.
Lucifer was back. There was no doubt in my mind about that. The problem was that I was certain he was back and possessing the body of Luke Goddard. Only, I had no proof. There was also the question of why the hell would Lucifer possess a teen pop idol? Seriously, if I was the King of the Hell and I made it back to earth, I would definitely find myself a more prominent vessel. The President – I could do some damage in that vessel. Until I could convince myself of why Lucifer was on a sellout tour around the country instead of controlling nuclear warheads, there was no way I would have been able to convince Cupid, never mind Michael.
I stared at the poster, growing more annoyed. It wasn’t like I could check, either. At this moment in time, Luke Goddard was somewhere on the West Coast, probably surrounded by half a dozen security guards, and probably fifty screaming fans. I wouldn’t be able to walk up to him and ask him, and I certainly wasn’t able to just appear in front of him. Maybe there was an answer inside of Bee’s?
I’d only taken one step towards Bee’s when an arm wrapped around my waist and dragged me backwards. The next thing I knew, I was standing in front of Veronica.
As the arm let go of me, I whirled around and swung. Garret wasn’t expecting it, but he recovered from the punch quickly. “Garret!” Veronica bellowed before Garret could hit me back. His eyes narrowed and he growled, but he took a step back.
“There is no need for violence,” Veronica cried in exasperation.
“There is no need for kidnapping me,” I snapped at Garret.
Garret’s lip curled upwards. “You wouldn’t have come with me.”
“Of course I wouldn’t,” I assured him. “You’re a jerk.”
“Please can we not argue?” Veronica sighed.
I turned back to Veronica, finally taking the time to look at my surroundings. We were back in the room with the table, but things had improved in here – wherever here was. It was clean – all the piles of trash and rubble had been removed. The air no longer smelled of damp and whatever had been left decaying had been replaced with the artificial lemon scent which came with disinfectant. Judging by how my nose was tickling, I suspected they’d pretty much bathed the place in the stuff.
