Airs & Graces: The Angel's Grace Trilogy Book I

by A. J. Downey

  “Clearly, she didn’t succeed.”

  Lucifer smirked, walking closer to me, though he held up his hands, demonstrating his lack of a weapon. This did not, in any way, suggest he was harmless. “Clearly. And, I admit, for a while, it was a fun game, not telling her she’d seen the past, not the future,” at that comment, I could feel Adelaide’s hands shaking, and her breath came sharply. I wasn’t sure how much of it was her learning more about Iaoel, and how much might be Iaoel ‘screaming’ with pictures and images in her head. Though whether she wanted out to tell her side, or join Lucifer, or something else entirely, I wouldn’t venture to guess. I gestured with mock impatience, giving him his stage, if it would make him get to the eventual point of his being here. If it was to try to take Adelaide, or the keys. He wasn’t getting either without a fight.

  “Eventually, she figured it out, and I told her the truth. And by that point, she got the big picture. No matter how hard Angels work or how true they are to what their given job is, that’s all we – all you’ll ever be to God. A public servant who never gets a day off. Free will needs defending, and off you go with no say in the matter.”

  “We make plenty of choices. Our nature dictates a lot, but not everything. If that weren’t the case, you couldn’t have Fallen.”

  He had been approaching, companionably, but drew back, almost like he’d been stung. “See, this is why I couldn’t stand having you in Hell, Tabbris. I never did understand why you couldn’t get with the program. It’s not like you stop mortals from falling.”

  “There has to be a risk of failure for the successes to mean anything. There’s no real virtue if it’s not tested.”

  “And this is why I let you out! We can’t have that kind of talk around Hell. People get ideas.”

  “You didn’t let me out. The Archangels came for me.”

  I felt Adelaide shift a little, as if her breath was hitching. At the same time, Lucifer’s composure finally broke, and so did a small part of his disguise, with brief glimmers of the outline of jet black wings and bright red eyes, as he snapped back. “You think so? You think they could have gotten in and out if I hadn’t let them? They can’t storm the gates of Hell any more than I can storm the…” he paused, straightening his tie, composure returning, and the flickering outline of wings disappearing. “Any more than I can storm the gates of Heaven. Until the time is right. That’s why this isn’t about a fight. I knew Iaoel would surface eventually, and when she did, she’d eventually lead me to the keys. Exactly like she promised, before you killed her.”

  “She was going to go to Michael.”

  “And lie. And earn her darker feathers. Intent doesn’t count for anything. Everyone has bad intentions, those stray thoughts. She was on her way. She was going to tell him all about Judgment Day, when he could have his rematch. It was me she…” by now, his little show of pique, or moment of lost composure – which it was, I’d never know – was over, and he was working back into a smile. “…loved.”

  It was clear from his delivery that he expected that to get a rise out of me. All of the theater, and raised tensions, and being back in control of himself was to set up his big moment. I was just as certain he didn’t expect what he got: a small smile.

  “And then she let you down. She’s good at that.”

  Still partly hidden under my wing, Adelaide snorted, and some of the tight grip and shaking eased as she tried not to laugh – or possibly cry or both; it was difficult to tell. Lucifer, on the other hand, looked dumbfounded, those flickers of black wings appearing again.

  “You were telling a story,” I reminded him.

  The Lord of Lies got back on script. “So Iaoel and I got you out of the way while she sorted through her visions and we tried to work on the next step: timing.”

  “Timing?”

  “There’s a reason no good heist flick consists strictly of a smash-and-grab, Tabbris. It’s the same reason I’m not just trying to take the keys right as we speak. I had no interest in making my big move only to lose to Michael again. It’s all about timing. It’s all about having Iaoel’s edge.” He frowned. “But she was also trying to maintain her standing, her cover. And I … I was distracted.”

  “Yes. I can recall what your distractions involved,” I said simply.

  “Tabbris,” he said equally simply. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” And at that, there was a swirl of black around me, just for a moment. I almost expected to be transported, in more infernal style, but I remained in place.

  Lucifer smiled, and began stepping backwards. I almost lunged after him, but at the last second, remembered Adelaide there, and focused on shielding her from whatever had been done instead. “What did you do?” I snarled, as he retreated back out of reach.

  “Timing is everything. The time isn’t right yet. And I need to keep Michael, Gabriel, and plenty of my own focused on hunting you down a little longer, while I prepare. As long as you’re not jumping around the world, I can find you all the easier when I need to… and now, you can’t.”

  Having no more business in Auschwitz, and certainly no more with him, I tried. He was right – he’d anchored me. I could walk, run, or drive, but twisting space, and even winged flight, were beyond my grasp now, and there would be plenty of people after us. Odds were, Lucifer had set some of them on us already.

  Chapter Nine

  Adelaide

  “Tab, what did that happy bastard do?” I asked, voice strained. I kept it low in case anything were out there that we weren’t aware of.

  “I can’t transport us,” he said, and with a clenched jaw, he let out a single, solitary, “Damn,” which somehow managed, all by itself, to make my sailor’s mouth seem squeaky clean.

  “You think he sent anything after us?”

  “Yes. Now run!” He pulled me along with him, and we broke for the gates. I was glad for the training we had managed to do, because running with the pack, while a pain in the ass, wasn’t impossible. Still, it’d been a while since I’d eaten, and I was only human. With no fuel for my body, I wasn’t going to be able to keep this up for long.

  “Tab!” I gasped out when we’d run a fair bit, just when I felt like I couldn’t go much further.

  “Stay with me, Adelaide, just a little farther,” he towed me along mercilessly, and I did my best to keep pace. It was disconcerting. The amulet didn’t glow, the world around us was too quiet and there was no warning, nothing.

  “Tab, stop!” I cried. “There’s nothing here, not yet. If we want to get out of here, we have to be smart! No one is going to pick us up if we look like we’re running,” he stopped and looked at me, and I up at him.

  “What are you suggesting? Another vision?” he asked.

  “No, she’s shut it, thank God.”

  Iaoel had gone quiet, and by quiet I meant there were no flashes or images flying through my head at a rate of speed so fast I thought I was going to stroke out. She was either saving up again to knock me on my ass when I least expected it, or she was being sullen and angry. Along with the visions, I was getting the odd surge of out of place emotion now. I was pretty sure the surge of joy I’d felt when Lucifer had shown up was all the crazy bitch inside my head, because there wasn’t any way I was ever going to be happy with a visit from the Prince of Lies. She hadn’t reacted that way the first time I’d seen him, which just told me that the cat was out of the bag and the gloves were off now. She didn’t think she could manipulate me anymore, so she wasn’t trying. That or she was, and I hadn’t figured her out yet… God this was all such a hot mess!

  Tab looked at me, and as ever, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His eyes whorled from that slick liquid gray to that fierce and terrifying blue for a moment, and I got to explaining.

  “Look, I just figure our best bet is to hitch a ride. It will get us from point A to point B the fastest and make it harder for us to be…”

  “Tracked? Too late for that,” said a voice just to our right.

  Tab’s arm shot
out in front of me, and he pushed me behind him. I gripped the hilt of my knife in my fist and waited to draw it until I knew what we were facing.

  “As The Messenger, it is my job to inform you that you’re totally fucked. Now that being said, hold on, we don’t want to have this conversation here.” I peeked around Tab’s shoulder and wing at the dude speaking and felt my shoulders drop.

  “Almost liked you as a chick better,” I said. “At least we could have gotten mani-pedis together if we didn’t claw each other’s eyes out first.”

  Gabriel grinned. “Oh you’re funny, Cupcake. Real funny. I meant it about the whole holding on part though.”

  Tab’s wings disappeared in the blink of an eye, the way they always did, one second there, the next, poof! Gone. Nothing to see here folks, just another ordinary human… well as ordinary as he could be, walking around looking like some kind of top underwear model. His arm went from across my middle to around my back, and he hauled me into his side so fast I stumbled. I put my arms around him, and the world did that melting into many-splendored lights, and the German countryside disappeared and morphed into some pricey, high-class digs.

  “Wow.”

  It was so impressive I forgot to throw up. The room was round in shape, and at its center was a round table big enough to seat a dozen. The walls were impressively paneled in the baroque style. I only knew what style it was because of Piorre and the antiques business. The walls were painted a light, airy blue, the wainscoting done in white with gilt edges. Thick, blue tapestry curtains hung at even intervals, a blue that closely matched the walls with cream florets on them. The room was windowless, instead, the curtains framed classically done paintings that looked original, and to either side of them were shiny brass sconces with electric lights beneath hurricane glass.

  The table, likewise, had a hurricane-glass centerpiece and was set with silver and fine china. The cloth draping it was a delicate cream, the napkins a blue to match the walls and curtains. The ceiling was high and domed with a fresco of clouds and fat little cherubs peeking over them completing the look, tying it all together nicely. It was a soothing, elegant room that spoke of fine taste, and it did just the opposite for me: rather than place me at ease, I felt myself grow tense. I wasn’t rich, nor did I have the attitude or fine sensibilities of a rich person, so rather than soothing, the room felt intimidating, hence why I found myself on edge. Tab’s next words didn’t do much to settle me either.

  “Gabriel, what’s the meaning of this?” Tab demanded.

  “Chill out, old friend. There’s time enough for us to get to kicking each other’s asses. Sit her down and get some food, the both of you. Let’s have a talk.”

  “Lucifer…”

  “Made sure Mikey knew right where you were at, I know. It took just about everything I had to get to you before they did. Now come on, take off the pack, sit, and have something to eat. I won’t be able to do this forever, and Michael is going to be fucking pissed.”

  “So before Michael can come and try to fight us for the keys so he can start the End of the Fucking World, or Lucifer can get his who-knows-what sicced on us, your big everything-you’ve-got is to take us to dinner?” I asked incredulous.

  “As opposed to having two armies after you and not stopping for dinner and a rest? Take what you can get, Cupcake. I can’t hide you for long, but I can hide you long enough that you won’t drop dead before someone actually stabs you.”

  “Again,” I muttered shaking my head. Crazy Teeth had gotten me once, and ‘stabbed’ was not one of the things on my list to ever have repeated. I looked from Gabriel to Tab and back again. Tab finally nodded without looking at me, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I slid the pack off my shoulders and went up to the ornate table. Tab pulled out a chair for me, and I huffed a little laugh.

  “Thanks.” Our whole worlds were crashing down, and he was getting my chair and we were sitting down to some fancy-assed dinner party. Didn’t it figure?

  Gabriel fit right in to the surroundings, in his all-black suit and shirt with its charcoal gray silk tie. I frowned at him, and he cocked his head to the side, so much like Tab.

  “What?” he demanded.

  “You don’t strike me as the thousand-dollar suit type,” I said and let Tab push me in. He took up a seat beside me at the giant round table that was only set for three. Gabriel took his seat across from us and gave me a crooked smile, which was hot, it just didn’t do it for me like Tab’s did. Maybe because I was used to Gabriel smiling, while when Tab did it, it might as well have been a gift from God… which I guess technically, it was. Wasn’t it?

  “Sweetheart, this is a six thousand dollar suit, and you don’t know what all I’m into, okay? Happy to show you, though. If my brothers don’t kill you first.”

  “You flirting with me or the bitch inside my head?” I asked, genuinely curious. I knew they had history.

  “You. Iaoel was this dumbass’ thing,” he said, hooking a thumb in Tab’s direction. “I don’t tend to stick my dick in crazy.”

  “When you have one,” I shot back. Gabriel grinned and opened his mouth to retort, but Tab’s dark mutter stopped us both.

  “Enough.”

  “Aww, why?” Gabriel stuck out his bottom lip in a graceful pout. “She’s way more fun than Iaoel ever was, Dude. Hotter too.”

  I gave Gabriel a look like he was crazy. Of course, from everything I’d seen and heard of him so far, I had but one conclusion: he/she was crazier than a shithouse mouse.

  “Don’t look at me that way, Cupcake. I would totally do you, in either form, and that’s sayin’ something.”

  “Gabriel!” Tab barked and looked downright tempestuous.

  “All right! All right! Do me a favor, both of you: keep it to English and away from French.” He picked up a little bell at his place setting and rang it.

  The doors to the right of us opened and a sharp dressed waiter entered, tux and tails and the whole nine yards.

  “Oui, Monsieur.”

  Gabriel ordered in French and looked at me with an expectant sparkle in his gaze, Tab ordered for me, and I stayed quiet, staring at Gabriel, who stared right back at me, a sphinxlike smile on his lips.

  “So you have the keys?” he asked me.

  “Yes,” Tab cut him off.

  “Excellent! Who you going to give them to?”

  “Nobody. Fuck you. Fuck all of you,” I glared across the table, and Gabriel laughed. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable, as Tab gave me a disapproving look.

  “Fine, we’ll come back to that,” Gabriel said good-naturedly. “What’d Luci want?” he asked, and his expression turned as somber as I had ever seen it.

  “To keep you busy chasing us.” Tab didn’t sound at all happy about it, and I agreed with him wholeheartedly.

  “Classic misdirection,” Gabriel uttered, and his crystal blue eyes, so much brighter than mine, roved the expensive furnishings and curtains in the private dining room we were in.

  “Yes, but by your response, guessing they’ve fallen for it?” Tab searched his old friend’s face.

  “That’s Michael, strong like ox, dumb like bull.” Gabriel crossed his eyes.

  “And the others?” I asked softly, not wanting to believe that Gabriel was the only smart one of the bunch.

  “Follow Mikey like the sun shines out of his ass… which truthfully, it kind of does sometimes,” he looked at me and the look he gave me was torn.

  “So why are you here, instead of his whole host, or whatever the fuck it is?” I asked.

  “Because Mikey gets that I do what I do, and usually it’s better to let me do my thing. Nine times out of ten, it ends up paying off in our favor.” He shrugged laconically, and we fell silent while the waiters returned with the first course. I was suddenly ravenous and tucked into my food with zeal. The Angels exchanged a look, and I stopped, blinking.

  “What?” I asked.

  Gabriel shook his head. “Nothing, eat up.” I
glanced at Tab, whose face was as unreadable as ever, and finished off my salad in record time.

  “And what about that one time?” I asked, curious. Knowing my luck, I’d end up being stuck square in the middle of the ‘out of ten’ where things didn’t pay off for Team Frat House.

  “Usually ends up in a plague worse than just a few locusts.” Gabriel grinned, and I felt my stomach churn uneasily. Visions of Sodom and Gomorrah dancing in my head. It wasn’t a rendition of ‘Swan Lake,’ let me tell you…

  “You have a total hard-on for plagues, don’t you?” I asked, and Gabriel threw back his head and laughed.

  “Gives me a total boner, it’s true, or lady-boner depending on that,” he said, and Tab actually put his face in his palm. Gabriel and I shot a grin across the table at each other, and his grin got wider when he saw mine.

  “High five,” he said plaintively.

  “Totally,” I agreed.

  “This is serious,” Tab responded.

  “I know, Tab. But I can either laugh, cry, or blow shit up and since I don’t have any explosives and I’m really, really sick of crying at this point… you have to let me have this okay? Because if you don’t, I’m going to totally lose my goddamned mind and quit life.” I knew I sounded as unhappy as I felt, and Tab dropped his hand, his expression softened. His cool, liquid gray eyes swept my face, and he inclined his head gracefully.

  “Apologies. So the inappropriate humor is…”

  “A coping mechanism?” I supplied. Honestly, what chance had I really had for it, interacting with just Tab?

  “Yes.”

  “You’ve got a lot to learn about the human race, Tabby Cat,” Gabriel intoned. “I’d listen to your little Cupcake here. I think she could teach you a thing or two.”

  I flipped Gabriel off, and he winked at me. The doors opened, and the second course was served. We ate, the three of us, in silence for a while.

  “So what next?” I asked.