Archangel Chronicles 7 - Shot In the Dark

by LaBarthe L. J.

Liam grabbed the phone and looked at it. “That looks like a web error. Internet, I mean,” he added hastily. “Who were you calling, Jelly?”

  “Michael.”

  “Huh.” He disconnected the call, then tried a different number, this time calling one of the apartments back at the Venatores house. “Same thing,” he said.

  “This is really weird,” Declan said.

  “I’ll try praying,” Angelique said. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

  “Is she calling an angel?” Jessica-Mae asked.

  “She is indeed, honey,” Riley said.

  “Oh. You won’t get through. The doctors said they put all sorts of wards up around this place to keep angels out because they wouldn’t understand what was being done here and they’d want to keep it all for themselves because they didn’t like us making advances in science and stuff.” Angelique opened her eyes. “You mean, no angels know about this place at all? None of them can come here?”

  Jessica-Mae shook her head.

  “What about the town?” Riley asked her. “Yaak?”

  “I think they covered the whole area. Mom said it was amazing what they could do with magic and science here.”

  “How did they fund all this?” Liam wondered.

  “We’ll figure that out later,” Declan said.

  “So we are SOL regarding Angel Airways,” Angelique said. “Great.

  Just great. Well, we’ll have to go wolf again and find a way out of here ourselves.”

  “All the doors are blocked,” Jessica-Mae said. “I think the only way you can get out is through the air-conditioning ducts.”

  “How do you know that?” Riley asked.

  “One of the other ghosts, Marty, he told me. He was brought here to have his heart replaced with a demon one, he said, but he died in surgery.

  He said they used to bring up the homeless and use them for experiments and put out newsletters and stuff like that which would make desperate people with really bad diseases come here for help, but no one ever left.

  Most of them died and got made into the Mecha Nurses or fed to the demons. Even the demons died when they were being operated on or tested.”

  “Tell me,” Lily said slowly, “did they have any angels here? As patients, I mean. Or shifters?”

  “No angels. But there were shifters. One of the ghosts, Ella, she was a shifter. She said she was a tiger shifter. And her best friend, Danielle, she was a bear shifter.”

  Angelique’s expression became very grim. “We need to get out of here.”

  “We need to get as much evidence of all this as we can first.” Declan got to his feet. “Let’s go through this room—there’s a lot here they forgot to get rid of. Grab what you can that looks incriminating and Liam and me will carry it.”

  Liam nodded, getting to his feet. “I think that’s probably the best thing right now. Grab intel, then get the hell out of here.”

  “Can I stay with you?” Jessica-Mae asked.

  “Of course you can, sweetheart,” Declan said. “We wouldn’t have it any other way. Right, guys?”

  “Right,” Liam agreed, and the others nodded.

  “Thank you,” she said. She moved to stand beside the door. “I’ll stay here while you look for your stuff, so I’m not in your way.”

  “You couldn’t be in our way,” Riley said with another of his warm, gentle smiles.

  She smiled back at him but said nothing.

  “Well, then,” Baxter said, “I guess we should go through this lot.”

  He grabbed a box off a steel shelf and began to go through its contents.

  Liam grabbed another one and did the same.

  “Many hands make light work,” Danny said.

  “And we can get out of here quicker,” Lily said.

  “Fu—fudge yeah,” Danny agreed, quickly catching himself before he swore.

  That made everyone laugh and some of the tension was broken.

  ADRAMELEK SPRAWLED on the comfortable settee that faced the Moroccan table set with tea cups and a pot full of fine Turkish coffee.

  Opposite him sat Ondrass, Markus, Lix Tetrax, and Melcherisa in wicker armchairs. Lucifer was beside him. Ba’al hovered around them, pouring tea and handing out pastries, and on a gilt-covered chaise longue, looking every inch a queen, reposed Lilith.

  “So everything is going well,” Lucifer was saying, holding one of the delicate bone-china teacups. “The humans are belligerent at the best of times, and of course, some of them are having issues with the concept of Heaven and Hell being in a truce. A few of them are taking those issues out on each other.”

  “I had heard that some sought to raise demons in order to destroy them,” Ondrass said.

  “Yes, but they wouldn’t have answered. The demons know bet er than to do so, no mat er how powerful the summoning.” Lucifer chuckled.

  “Humans don’t seem to realize that there’s no magic on Earth that can force a demon to bend to their wills. They’re as arrogant as they ever were.”

  “Truly made in the image of God,” Lilith said with a sneer. She stretched one arm, the dozen narrow gold bracelets she wore on her wrist tinkling merrily.

  “Old prejudices linger,” Lucifer agreed.

  “Sometimes for all eternity,” Adramelek said.

  “It doesn’t really affect us, though,” Melcherisa said. “They can huff and puff all they like, but it won’t get them anywhere.”

  “Except facing down some confused angels,” Lucifer said. “That business in Brunei was a bit of a surprise, wasn’t it? It was all a lot of energy over nothing.”

  “It takes a while to adjust to new situations,” Ondrass said. “No one really likes change, especially when one is as old as we are.”

  There was a murmur of agreement at that. Adramelek lifted his coffee cup and took a sip, savoring the delicate, rich flavor of sweet, strong coffee.

  “In any case,” Ondrass went on, “the humans are well able to fight among themselves without any help from us.”

  “And be judged accordingly when they die,” Lix Tetrax said.

  “Subsequently, the traffic of souls to Hell has not slackened,”

  Lucifer said. “I don’t think it ever will.”

  Lilith shifted on the chaise longue and then got to her feet. She wore a white Grecian-style gown, the only color being her wealth of auburn hair, which tumbled down over one shoulder. “This is all very nice, I suppose, but I wanted to ask you a boon, Lightbringer.”

  Lucifer quirked an eyebrow at her. “Ask.”

  “I want to spend my time equally in Purgatory and here. I want to be with my children and my niece and nephew.”

  Lucifer blinked. Then he smiled at her. “That’s not a big request, Lilitu. Of course you can do that.”

  She inclined her head in thanks, then turned to Adramelek. “I will, of course, hold you to your decree of love and loyalty to our lord, Adry. Take care of him while I’m not here.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” Lucifer said. He looked as if he were trying very hard not to laugh.

  Lilith ignored him. “Promise me, Adramelek.”

  Adramelek set down his teacup. “Gladly. I promise to take care of Lucifer and his needs while you’re not here—and even when you are here.”

  Lilith nodded. “Good. Then I take my leave. Lightbringer, darling, I’ll see you again in six months.”

  Lucifer nodded. “Travel safely.”

  She glided over to him and kissed him, a long, slow, passionate kiss, and Adramelek could smell her perfume, a subtle blend of honeysuckle, musk, and jasmine. When the kiss ended, she straightened, touched Lucifer’s cheek with one beautifully manicured hand, and gazed into his ice-blue eyes. “Take care of yourself, my love,” she said. “Don’t neglect yourself by becoming lost in work details.”

  “I won’t, dear one,” Lucifer said. He turned his head and kissed her palm. “Give your niece and nephew my regards.”

  “I will.” Lilith stepped back and ran her han
ds through her hair.

  “Guild of Glass Knives, safe travels and good works to you, may your blades be bright and keen and your magics strong and true.” And then she was gone, disappearing with a soft whisper of silk.

  “I had suspected she might want to do that for a while now,” Lucifer mused. “I’m only surprised she waited as long as she did to ask for permission to spend equal time in Hell and Purgatory.”

  “Does she really need permission, my lord?” Lix Tetrax asked.

  “No, but she likes to play the well-mannered genteel lady from time to time.” Lucifer took a sip of coffee, then set down his teacup. “It doesn’t bother her, so it doesn’t bother me.”

  “I see.” Lix Tetrax reached for her own teacup where it sat on the table. “Forgive me, I wasn’t entirely sure of the proprieties, my lord.”

  Lucifer shrugged. “Lilith has enormous power. She is, after all, the First Woman, as created by His Shiny Whiteness upstairs. What He forgot to do, though, was shut off her ability to reason and engage in critical thinking. So much so, that her intelligence and ability to question managed to piss off the much more… obedient Adam. Which is why, after several decades of wandering in the wilderness and bearing her giant offspring, she came to me. I encouraged her to think for herself and to reason and, yes, to argue. Lilith is a master orator and debater. She is remembered by history for many things, but never for those things that make her who she is: her wit, her intelligence, her desire to learn and question.”

  Lix Tetrax canted her head to one side. Thoughtfully, “So, does that explain why so many humans who exercise such judgment end up in Heaven? God’s guilt?”

  Lucifer gave her another shrug. “Who can say? I’m not the one who judges the worth of a soul; only Tzadkiel can tell you that.”

  “Doesn’t God know?” she asked.

  Lucifer shook his head. “No. Only Tzadkiel.”

  Melcherisa winced. “That’s a lot of responsibility to deal with. I always liked Tzad best of the bunch of the Archangel Fluffy-pants.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Archangel Fluffy-pants?” Ondrass asked.

  “Well they are, aren’t they? Fluffy bunnies, in a way, and often they don’t wear pants.” Melcherisa laughed. “I bet some humans are horrified that angelkind enjoy sex just as much as demonkind or humanity or monsters.”

  “That has been a topic of great denial,” Lucifer said. He smiled.

  “And now, good friends, I must speak privately with Adramelek. Thank you all for joining us for afternoon tea.”

  Ondrass, Markus, Lix Tetrax, and Melcherisa were instantly on their feet, bowing to Lucifer. “It is we who are honored to have been invited,”

  Ondrass said. “Thank you, my lord.”

  Lucifer inclined his head.

  Ba’al stepped forward. “If you’ll follow me, please,” he said and led them out.

  Adramelek quirked an eyebrow at Lucifer. The Castle of Black Ice shimmered in the waves of heat that rose from the surface of the Lake of Eternal Fire. Once his fellows were out of earshot, he asked, “What’s going on?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about the girl.”

  Adramelek wrinkled his nose. “I’m sorry, Lightbringer, but you’ll need to be more specific. Which girl?”

  Lucifer sighed. “The Venatores. The one that Michael hired. The wolf who is also known as the girl Lily.”

  Adramelek frowned. “The one who was in Hell.” It wasn’t a question.

  Lucifer answered him anyway. “Yes. I remain confused, Adry. How did she get in and stay here without any of us being aware of her? I know she’s a shifter, and there are magics associated with each breed of shifter, but none of them are powerful enough to hide them from an Archdemon, let alone from me. She shouldn’t have been able to do it, and yet, she did.”

  “I suppose saying that the war led to a lot of anomalies won’t cut it as a reason?”

  “No. Because that war was on Earth, not here in Hell and not up in Heaven or over in Purgatory. That war had combatants from all realities, but it took place in one reality: Earth.”

  Adramelek pursed his lips. “She said she came down through a crack between the walls somewhere in England. I’m not sure which part, she didn’t say.”

  “You liked her, though, did you not?”

  “Yes, I did. She’s young, but she’s smart and she’s funny. She’s very wise too, and she accepted myself and the others much more easily than most of the angels. She was eager to hear the histories of the Archdemons and of Lilith and yourself. She wanted to learn, and it was only Michael flexing his very impressive muscles at us that made her stop asking me questions. I liked her thirst for knowledge and her wit very much indeed.”

  “Tell me about her,” Lucifer said, moving in his seat to face Adramelek. “Your first impressions of her. Don’t leave anything out.”

  “This is important?”

  “I think it is. I think this girl has a new power.”

  That made Adramelek bolt upright in surprise. “Really?”

  “No, I’m not entirely sure yet. But there are many questions and I want answers. So, tell me of your first impressions of her.”

  “All right.” Adramelek narrowed his eyes a little as he thought back.

  “My first thought was that she was very short. She’s barely five foot tall, and her husband is well over six foot. I think she came up to his armpit.

  Anyone else, it would have looked comical, but they fit together well. She struck me as having a lot of questions and a vast anger buried deep inside herself where no one could see it, not even Michael. That anger, I think, is what led her to ask me questions.”

  “How does she fit in with her pack?”

  “Very well. They clearly all adore her. Angelique, the alpha, is very protective of her. Lily’s the beta of the pack, and I think she and Angelique are very close.”

  “And then she was lost down here?”

  “It seems so. I don’t know how long she was here, in Hell time. In Earth time, she thinks it was around two months. But that time changed her, and when she found her way out—via one of those damn portals that Taytton and his pet Grigori made—the war was still going, but it was nearing its end.”

  “It all appears so simple,” Lucifer said. “Girl falls into Hell, wanders around, crawls back out. All three things of her own choice, with no active assistance from any Hell citizen or angel.”

  “I did observe her reactions to when the Necromancer was delivering his report about what happened in Brittany,” Adramelek said. “She wasn’t so much surprised or discouraged as she was frustrated. Mind, the rest of her pack were frustrated as well.”

  “Michael has a knack for finding rare individuals and putting them together in a strong fighting unit. It sounds as if Lily fits in with her pack very well indeed, and that her pack are not like the usual Venatores squads in that they are not simple jarheads who obey mindlessly.”

  “No, they aren’t. Michael was very respectful when he addressed them.

  More than he is to any human. I know he can be rather… fussy at times, particularly with his Venatores, but this was a bit more than his usual manner.”

  “I wonder if Michael knows what happened to her while she was here. Was she a Venatores at the time she fell through the crack?”

  “No. I think Michael found her not long after she’d crawled out. She spent the time she was here as a wolf, living as her shifter self. She is much more in tune with her wolf nature than the others, though. She’s at peace with it, and I don’t think she’d have any compunction about hunting down a rabbit for dinner if she was hungry and there was no other food around. The others definitely wouldn’t do that.”

  “Interesting. I believe I’ll have you pay a call on Michael in a day or so. Tell him that you want information about her fall into Hell in order to ensure that such a thing doesn’t happen again. Whether or not he believes that is irrelevant, it is true.”

  “But it’s not the only thi
ng you want to know, is it?”

  Lucifer laughed. “No, no it isn’t. This has never happened before.

  Humans—or shifters—do not simply fall through cracks, wander around Hell, then leave. If they find themselves here by accident, they usually never leave or they die here. They don’t retain their Earthly form, their sanity, or their soul—or all three—and leave.”

  “I see what you mean.” Adramelek considered it. “Perhaps I can time my visit to speak with Lily herself.”

  “That would be even better. Don’t alarm her, though. More importantly, don’t alarm Michael.”

  “Michael’s always alarmed,” Adramelek said, rolling his eyes. “He’s so tightly wound that sometimes I’m amazed he doesn’t explode.”

  “We have Gabriel to thank for that. Michael’s calmed down a little since he and Gabriel became involved.”

  “So what’s this new power you think she has?” Adramelek didn’t real y want to discuss Archangelic romance. He was far more intrigued by Lily.

  “I have a feeling that she is able to walk between dimensions unscathed. No human being has ever done that before. Archdemons can, of course; I can, between here and Purgatory; Archangels can and certain strong angels can. Dryads, naiads, many other monsters can too. But not humans or shifters.”

  Adramelek affected a loud, put-upon sigh. “An Archdemon’s work is never done. Honestly, Lightbringer, it’s all work, work, work with you.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Adramelek burst out laughing and moved closer, giving Lucifer a kiss on the cheek. “I’m teasing, beloved one.”

  Lucifer huffed, then rolled his eyes. “You had me going for a moment there, Adry.”

  “Sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

  “Perhaps. Why don’t we go to my rooms and discuss it?”

  Adramelek waggled his eyebrows. “I like the way you think.”

  Lucifer laughed. “All right.” He touched Adramelek’s hand and moved them, teleporting them from the terrace to his marble and glass private bedroom.

  As Adramelek shucked his clothes and sprawled on the bed, his black and red wings standing out in a violent contrast to the white and chrome, Lucifer waved a hand and the room shimmered a moment.