Mission Log, Day 9, Saturday, September 11th, 1999
This wretched mission is finally over, I'm happy to say. And for that matter, I think the celestial residents are happy to see us go. Fine with me. They haven't exactly been pleasures to work with. either. But there's much to enter into this log, so I should return to the search for the missing Rook.
After finishing my last entry, I flew over to the fields near the house as Eli instructed and began scanning it for clues. Surprisingly, the fields were fairly rocky, even sporting a small ravine with a dry sandy creek bed in the bottom. But he said fields, so I stuck to the grassy parts, hoping my tracking skills would notice something unusual.
A shiny distracted me. So badly did I want to sidetrack to look at it that I almost talked myself out of it, until it occurred to me that shinies could be clues, too. My guilt satisfied, I swooped down to have a closer look.
Turns out it was a clue. How about that? It was a dart, long and hollow, tipped with blood and probably poisoned. The grass around it looked stampled, flattened by many steps in a small space. Could have been Rook doing his katas. Could have been people moving around a body. I widened my scan, found a path of flattened grass heading toward a large rock outcropping on the edge of the ravine. Eureka. Time to get Jael.
Not necessary. I could see her headed toward the fields; a little squawk, hop, and flutter was all it took to get her attention. "I called Giles," she said as she approached, "told him about Rook and asked him to have someone look in on his heart."
"He'll be okay," I said.
"Best case scenario, he'd be there waiting for a new vessel." Her attitude and tone seemed unusually grim.
"You never know. Maybe he ascended."
"Oh really? When?"
True. He'd be back by now. "Umm...recently?" By her dark expression, she didn't seem to think much of my stab at positive thinking. Subject-changing time. "Look at this. Don't touch the tip, probably poisoned. And look. Tracks."
She picked up the dart, carefully and examined it, looked at the path I hopped along. I was excited by such clear leads, but she seemed so...inconsolable. They were both on assignment in Boulder; they must have been friends a long time. Such a terrible, heart-wrenching side-effect of time spent together. Was she attuned to him? If so, wouldn't she be able to find him? Were they lovers?
I shuddered, didn't want to think about that any more. "Come on. These tracks lead somewhere."
We didn't get far before Matt and Arashiel arrived, which was just as well. The trail disappeared at the edge of the rocky ravine, and it took some time before they could pick it up again. Footprints followed the dry sandy bottom to a bridge, where recent tire tracks disturbed the dirt on the side of the road.
No sense in walking any further, so we started back to the car. I thought of taking the keys and bringing the van back to them, only I'd never actually operated one before. That situation would have to be remedied soon, as it cost us valuable time better spent finding Rook.
We returned to the bridge in the van. At that point the road headed southwest toward Manitou Springs and northeast toward Focus on the Family. They could have headed toward either infernal Tether. My reasons were vague, but my hunch said head southwest, so we did.
Matt called Giles back at Jael's request. His news was neither good nor helpful. Rook was not at his heart, and the relievers examining it saw in it mostly darkness, a dim room, a man in a trench coat and a woman, too. And they said he wore some sort of collar. I shuddered a little. Such an artifact would be necessary, of course, to suppress his celestial gifts, else he would have killed them both and been back by now. But I could still feel the icy bite of infernal manacles on my wrists, centuries later and thousands of miles away from the dungeons of the Bastille, and cringed at the thought of feeling that helpless and hopeless again.
Giles asked Matt if they should contact War. I said yes, but quickly amended by asking if Michael could be kept out of it for the moment. Rook was a good and proud Malakite, and Michael was very busy, and Rook would probably rather not trouble his archangel with the trivial and embarrassing matter of his kidnapping. Giles told Matt we could go to the Tether to War at NORAD and ask for Colonel Thenaire, the Seneschal there, if we needed more help.
As expected. one can only guess wildly for so long, and we didn't wander far through the narrow twisting streets of Manitou Springs at the base of Pike's Peak before realizing we'd never find the Tether or Rook without some additional help. We abandoned our fruitless search and headed for NORAD.
Following Giles instructions, we had no trouble getting in. I switched to my human form to blend more easily, and once each of us were assigned identification badges, we met a very average-looking Colonel Thenaire and followed him to a windowless office deep within the mountain.
He began as most Michealites usually do, asking for a briefing on the events leading up to Rook's capture. I would have started right in, but Matt began yammering on ineffectively and nonsensically about the events of the last week, to the point that even I could not understand what he was trying to say. And I already knew what was going on. I have to admit, I was amazed by the sheer irony of a Power of Flowers trying to explain matters to a Seneschal of War. But it was best to nip that off fairly quickly, before Matt managed to say something irrevocably insulting to the celestial whose help we most needed.
I explained as quickly and succinctly as I could how we came to believe Rook was captured and who we thought was likely responsible, although in the telling of it I came to realize how very little we knew about who the major players were and what would motivate them to try something as dangerous as kidnapping a Malakite of War. And none of this brought us any closer to locating and rescuing our friend.
Remembering Rook had a magic phone box, Arashiel called the Halls of Progress. Soon thereafter, a map appeared from a "fax" which pinpointed Rook's phone at a mansion on the mountainside overlooking Manitou. Understanding that his phone might not be with him any longer, it still seemed to be a good indication that the Tether of Nightmares was involved. Apparently a Lilim acted as Seneschal of the tether; Thenaire never had problems with her before now.
The door burst open and an unmistakable Michael strode in, bellowing, "What is one of my Malakim doing in a tether to Hell?"
And in the stunned and guilty silence that followed, one quiet voice purred. "Oh, you're cute."
Shocked, I held my breath, unsure if anything I could say or do at that moment could spare Arashiel's life. Or if I would bother trying. He stared at her, then smiled. Uh oh.
"We will go get him," I interjected. "...somehow. We'll have to figure it out when we get there."
"Hello, Arabis."
I felt a foolish grin form on my face. He remembered me! Although that could be either a good thing or a bad thing...after all, I did cost him an Elohite.
"Will you need anything?"
I hated to ask for any help from the most formidable archangel in Heaven, but.... "They say he's wearing a collar. One of...those..."
He held up his hand and presented a key. "This should take care of it."
I took it humbly, stashed it in my pocket.
A serious frown settled on his face as he looked around the room. "I want this taken care of. You all can call me any time for the duration." And I would sooner pull teeth.
"We will get him back," I say again. "I promise." I wouldn't lose another of his servitors, on my word as an angel of Fire.
He nodded, headed for the door. "I don't take kindly to Demon Princesses of Nightmares laying hands on my Malakim." As if Beleth were a dime a dozen, a mere nuisance we would be clearing for him momentarily. He stopped at the door a moment, then looked thoughtfully over his shoulder at Arashiel, smiling. "We'll talk later."
I think Arashiel might have actually been foolish enough to think such words were anything other than a threat.
Rook would not be pleased at this turn of events.
Enough talking; it was time to act. As a precaution, I sang a Song of Celestial Shadows to make me harder to detect as an angel. I must have been perfectly synched with the Symphony, or Michael still made his visit felt, for to my surprise we all gained the Song's benefits.
With the map we arrived at the Tether to Nightmares by early afternoon. It seemed both nightmarish and normal, a house like any other house, yet strangely foreboding, unkempt, dangerous. And open. Apparently a town landmark, the owners offered self-guided tours of the place. Convenient, that.
As we approached, I could see TIC TOC sitting in the parking lot. I meant to investigate, but a woman stormed out of the side door of the house, jumped in the car, and drove off. I don't think she recognized us, but I certainly recognized her. Victoria Strassen, the owner and driver. Her male cohort had to be nearby somewhere.
"She's nervous that 'Daspit' is still in there," observed Matt coolly. "Also, she anticipates getting her hands on something."
"Uh oh." Arashiel immediately returned to the van, pulling out the rug I saw at Suzanna's. "We can't leave this behind."
Made sense. "Here, put it in my backpack." I took it off and emptied it, then waited until Arashiel put it in and packed my hatchets on top. Just in case. Then we bought our tickets and went in.
We didn't know right away what we were looking for, just tried to blend in. Naturally, the door Victoria left by would probably access the tether directly, but it was difficult to establish where exactly that door was. So I asked myself, What would be the best way to get to a dark basement?
That's when the hallway came to my attention. Roped off from the tour, it disappeared around the corner. I sneaked down there and found a door, locked, but I convinced the others it was the right direction to go, if only we could get past the door without attracting attention.
"Rearrange the ropes," suggested Arashiel.
Matt and I had the door unlocked and open by the time the next batch of humans wandered through, and we just followed them into another hallway with three closed doors. Some of them began to grumble to themselves, wondering where to go next. I tested the doors. One opened to a bathroom, another led to a dining room, and in the kitchen on the far end I could see a door to the outside, probably the door Victoria left by. The third door was locked.
The crowd began to mumble nervously. "Did you just hear something?" "I thought I heard a scream."
"Well, we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere," offered Arashiel helpfully. "Come on, let's head back."
As the masses began to clear, I set to work on the lock. Then I heard voices in the hallway beyond, and a woman's voice. "What are you doing here? Is there anyone else in there?" And Matt; "Umm...I think there might be someone in the bathroom."
Cursed be all the locks of Hell! I abandoned it, dashed to the bathroom. Too small, nowhere to hide. The dining room would have been better, but I already heard steps approaching. A window sat high on the wall; from it I could see an open courtyard behind the house. Raven could slip through the narrow opening, but the shift would surely give me away. I jumped back down, turned on the faucet to wash my hands as a knock sounded on the door.
"Just a moment." I turned off the water, dried my hands, calmed my nerves, and stepped out. "It's all...yours...."
My voice trailed off into nothing as I gazed into the most amazing green eyes I'd ever seen. She stood quite a bit taller than me, with perfect pale skin and hair even darker than my own wrapped in a tight perfect bun. But her gaze...I froze, knowing she stared not only at me, but at my soul.
My stupor was broken by her perfect voice. "You should leave."
"I was...j-just...doing that." I ripped my gaze away and forced myself to remain calm as I rejoined my comrades at the end of the hallway. The mundanes had already moved on. Much to my dismay, she followed me.
"I know who you are. I want you all to leave."
We didn't move, Not this close to Rook. Not without getting some answers first.
"You shouldn't be here," she pressed. "What do you want?"
"You know what we want," said Arashiel, apparently less rattled than I. "Why don't you just hand him over?"
"For free? And what would I get in return?" Definitely a Lilim, probably the Seneschal.
"Why don't you just hand him over?" Arashiel reemphasized, allowing the unspoken to hang in the chilly air.
"Or what? Do you intend to take me on? Here? I can take out at least two of you, easily. Then what?"
"It's not just us," I warned her, recovering a bit of my nerve. "If you let him go, perhaps we can convince War not to descend on this place for kidnapping one of its Malakim."
She stood very still for a moment, then smiled. "Do you know you've just given me more information in the last five minutes than he gave them in the last twelve hours?"
An icy fear gripped my spine. Me and my mouth! All Rook's suffering, made worthless by a stupid casual comment.
"Besides," she continued, "he's not my project, and not mine to give."
"Who's project is he?"
She wouldn't budge on that one, or any others thereafter. Frustration mounted, tensions escalated.
"What do you want?" I finally asked.
"Hmm, good question. You know, there was a certain artifact my Djinn was watching...perhaps you know of it?"
"We'll think about it and get back to you," I snapped. "Let's go." We retreated to the parking lot.
Of course we didn't think about it. That rug is obviously important to Arashiel, and important enough for Eli to pay a visit to Suzanna's house. No, we'd have to find another way to get in. I figured I could pick the side door or slip down the chimney and find out what was behind the locked door. Matt suggested calling in a hit squad of Malakim. Matt, of all people; Mister Neutrality-and-Peaceful-Flower-Wreaths! Something is wrong with that boy, I'm telling you. Anyway, a hit squad would be too noisy as a primary method. They'd hear us coming and take him Downside before we got anywhere near him. No, better to offer her something to keep her distracted while we sneak in another way. Arashiel called Colonel Thenaire, who reluctantly agreed to spare the Lilim's tether if she let Rook go, and if she told us whose "project" Rook was. At least that was something. Arashiel also asked for a hit squad, more as a deterrent than an actual strike force. Thenaire agreed to this, too, although it would take him at least an hour to gather such a squad. We would have to stall her.
"An hour is too long," growled Jael, who'd spent the whole time glaring daggers at the house and occasionally muttering threats of violence against the Seneschal.
"He's already been in there twelve hours," said someone. "What's another hour?"
Memories filled my eyes, of lying broken on a cold stone floor, deaf to the Symphony, coiled in my own tightening darkness, Arnu's words in my ears and his emotions in my cracked and twisted heart. How close had I come to Falling, before the door gave way to shouts and screams and death and fire of a Malakim hit squad. "Fifteen minutes made all the difference in the world for me." Maybe they knew what I was talking about, maybe they didn't. I didn't want to elaborate. I was already too emotionally close to the situation.
"Arabis, you said you thought you could get in again?" Jael asked hopefully.
"Almost definitely."
"Then I'm going with you. Sister, detune from me."
An argument ensued, but Jael won out in the end, leaving Arashiel and Matt instructions to keep the Lilim occupied and protect the rug. Then we sneaked away to the side door.
In no time we returned to the locked door in the roped off hallway, and with a few more tries on the stubborn thing I managed to pick it open, only to see stairs spiraling upward.
"This isn't right."
"Rashi said something about trap doors..."
Trap doors? Now that brought back memories of the good old days. I flipped back a runner on the floor, and found the door easily. Still no trouble. Everything was too quiet. We checked for lurking traps, then climbed down the ladder and spiraled down a long staircase.
We ended up in a short hall with two doors, one ajar. Beyond stood an empty silent room, bare except a metal chair still crusted with blood. The other door opened to reveal the "business" room, wherein all variety of tools of pain and torture waited patiently for their next use. And the smell, like blood and sweat and fear seeping from the very walls. I needn't go into detail; suffice to say, the room was unattended. No Rook, no man or woman. But this being a tether, the portal Down had to be nearby. I spied an Iron Maiden leaning against the far wall, and opened it to reveal inky blackness.
I sure missed my old human vessel. Back in my hunting days, I had a rough-and-tumble brutish vessel named Henry Scruff. He could tangle with just about anybody, but more importantly he was designed to fit the part of a dumber-than-ice Calabite when I would masquerade amongst the infernal crowd. That vessel was dirty, scarred, tattooed, and overall scruffy, and I could be divinely convincing with my fifty-word helltongue vocabulary. Unfortunately, I lost that vessel on the Sand Creek mission in a very public battle holding off a dozen Soldiers of Hell while an even younger Rook went head to head with the resident demon. I sure missed that vessel, and this one was still too clean and orderly to play a credible Calabite. At next opportunity I'd have to put a little work into messing her up a bit, making her comfortable to live in.
I thought a few words might be in order as we stood at the gates of Hell. "You needn't worry about being recognized by your celestial form. Unlike Heaven, its raw truth does not shine through your vessel." Jael nodded, staring a little apprehensively at the portal. "And don't take what they say at face value--"
"I've heard Hellspeak before," she snapped. "Are you ready?"
Hah! No one is ever ready, but I nodded my head anyway and clasped her hand. We stepped through...
...and ended up in a room, the walls pierced with hundreds of portals like the one we just came from. In the lone doorway stood a twisted winged monster, its back to us. I suppose demons would be more concerned with people leaving Hell than coming in.
Jael faded from view, although I could still hear her light quick breaths if I listened really hard. I shifted to Raven and bolted past the door, doing my best to look like a reliever, er, imp, on a mission. The hallway beyond curved gently; I flew until out of sight of the guard, then waited on a window sill, softly calling Jael's name.
"I'm here."
"Neat trick," I commented, looking both ways to make sure no one approached. "How long does it last?"
"Only a few minutes."
A scream startled us both, but didn't prepare us for the body that plunged past the window, screeching all the way down. I think I lost a few feathers on that one. Recovering, I looked over the edge, but saw nothing except the sheer vertical face of a blackened tower and the expanse of the Marches beyond. Distantly I could see the gleaming pinnacle of Blandine, and even more distantly the faint reddish glow of the Citadel of Fire reflected on the perpetual cloud cover of twilight. Hardly a consolation to me here, now.
"Well, we should make haste--"
Screaming, the body plummeted past again, startling me almost as much the second time. This time I watched her disappear, tattered white dress and all, before hitting the ground.
We didn't wait for another pass. By chance, this curve we walked gently sloped upward, as much as one could say that in a place where geometry seemed to work in only the most basic of senses. In general, I found the place to be quite disorienting. We passed many doors, some open, many closed. Beyond one swirled damned souls, shrieking in terror at real or imagined frights. We did not slow. Soon I heard demons ahead. I ducked out the nearest window to avoid detection, hoping Jael could evade them on her own. Suddenly a shadow passed overhead. I looked up to see a winged creature circling, of a size I could hardly comprehend. I could not make out a distinct shape in the darkness that permeated this side of the Marches, but I was certain such a beast ate little Ravens for sport. I plastered myself against the window ledge, pleading silently for invisibility, hardly noticing the three demons passing by. Eventually we moved on.
Believe me, the folly of this whole plan was on my mind. We had no way of knowing in what room to look for him, or how many demons might be guarding him, or even if we should be going up or down. So wrapped was I in these thoughts that I hardly noticed the form coming our way until we were practically upon him.
"Arabis? Arabis, is that really you?"
I hardly recognized him for a moment, landed on his shoulder to get a better look. His eyes were wide, his cheeks and eye sockets sunken, his usually well-kept hair and clothes quite dirty and disheveled. But it was Rook all right, or at least a well-crafted imitation. How he ended up wandering around unattended, I couldn't guess, but he certainly bore manacles and an elaborately crafted collar. Jael appeared, right on cue. I shifted to human then, dug out the key and set to searching out the keyhole on the collar.
He cringed--cringed!--and tried to pull away, whimpering. "No, it's bad, it hurts...."
"Shhh, it's okay. Just gonna get it off of you." Thrice-damned thing didn't seem to have a keyhole.
He grew more insistent. "No, don't touch it, get away from it." He shrank away from it as much as me.
"Shh, don't look at it. Look at Jael, don't look at it, there ya go." Desperately, I touched the skeleton key to the collar. It instantly powdered to dust.
From behind, I couldn't see his expression, but in the curve of his shoulders I saw a moment of release, of sudden hope. Then in an instant he was gone, ascended to his Heart.
"You follow," I told Jael. "I'll head back."
"I'm not leaving you here alone."
"I have to tell the others he's safe!"
"Then we'll both go back."
There was really no time to argue. Both completely visible and obvious now, we hurried back to the Tether room.
I had no idea how we would get past the guard, but a plan became unnecessary. The Djinn was deep in conversation with a Habbalite and didn't seem to notice our passing, although the Punisher certainly looked us over. Nevertheless, our escape was relatively easy, and upon returning to the earthly plane we shifted to our celestial forms and reappeared inside the van.
Things were pretty much as we left them, except for the large blue bus with the Malakim inside. We shushed the questions with a simple "He's Upstairs," so they sent the squad home and we swung by to pick up the other car before going to the Tether to the Sword to ascend.
On the way, they kept asking us what it was like. Jael did all of the talking, which wasn't much. The creeping horror in her voice surprised me a little. Not because she was overreacting, God, no. But she seemed so calm and determined in there, I'd almost forgotten she'd probably never been Down Below before. For that matter, I was starting to get the shakes myself a little. Doing something dangerous is one thing, but stopping to think about it after the fact is almost worse. Arashiel quizzed me even more while we rode alone. It reminded me of my reliever days, listening to the old timers' tales, wondering what it must have been like to be there, wishing I had been. I didn't daydream so much after the horrors of the Crusades, and couldn't even stand to close my eyes after Arnu. Daydreams are like that, pleasant visions to fill the insides of one's eyelids until unpleasant experiences crowd them out. I told her as factually as I could what happened, and if I simplified and sterilized it a little, the error was in my not wishing to relive it.
Laban-lael was waiting for us when we arrived. He wanted to talk, insisted on a report, but we begged him be patient until we returned and ascended.
It took me a moment to adjust my thinking to the true forms around me. Matt was as I expected, hairless and pale, but the Cherubim were sights to behold. Arashiel flexed her huge multi-color feathered wings and took of in a horse-like gallop, her single spiralling horn gleaming in Heaven's glory. A creature of myth, to be certain, although I could not guess her (actually his) origins. And Jael, nothing less than an eight foot tall scaley-winged dragon. Of course, they served Creation. I mentally slapped myself for expecting any less.
We hurried to the Groves, each in our own ways, with Jael leading the pack and I falling behind. And the closer we got, the slower I went. Truth be told, I didn't know what I would say or do when I got there. Certainly I had to do something; I knew a little of what he'd just been through, but moreso I knew afterward the looks and whispers that went around when they thought you weren't paying attention. There goes so-in-so; can you believe it? They say he cracked under the pressure. Doesn't he look terrible? Poor thing. I heard he's a little unstable right now. Think he'd do it again? If he tripped once...you never know. Best give him some room.... And yet for all my wanting to help my young friend, I couldn't think of a thing to say to him that wouldn't sound just as alienating.
Ahead, Jael cut through a crowd of whispering onlookers and into his tent like an avenger, Matt close on her tail, while Arashiel cleared the kibitzers. Good for her. I edged just inside to door, not wanting to see what I would see.
Rook, a dark bruise on the floor, quivering and weeping in Jael's arms. A strange sound, like crying and laughing and moaning all at once.
I looked away, embarrassed for him, knowing he'd rather we not see him like this, but remembered why I was here in the first place.
So I waited, tried to meld with the tent wall, until his distress eased and exhaustion soothed his raw nerves.
"Jael, I'm going to go back down. Somebody needs to keep an eye on things."
"Don't go alone, take somebody with you."
"I'll go," Arashiel volunteered.
I let my irritation show. One little encounter with demons and everyone becomes paranoid. "That won't be necessary--"
"Oh, I don't mind."
Grrr. A little backup was nice, yes, but this was getting out of hand. I didn't need a baby sitter. Still... "Okay, fine. If you teach me how to drive."
No one else seemed to think that was a good idea, as if my Ofanite nature was an argument against rather than for. But I knew it needed to be done and wouldn't back down, so Arashiel agreed and we returned Earthside.
Right back to Laban-lael. How lovely. I'd forgotten.
Arashiel did most of the talking, mostly because he was concerned about events I wasn't present for. I'm not even certain he knew Rook had been captured, much less rescued. In fact, his concerns seemed to center around Rook's "rude" behavior toward Elizabeth Eason, of which I had no knowledge, and the fight with the Shedite, which I had only heard about secondhand. I think Arashiel smoothed things out fairly well. Laban-lael said she was probably at Suzanna's house, so we headed there first.
Arashiel drove most of the way, lecturing me on the finer points of vehicular operation until I thought my eyes would bleed from sheer restlessness. Finally she stopped and let me drive. Over all, I'd say it was no problem. The Go and Stop pedals are awfully similar, but otherwise a piece of cake. Granted, getting around is very different when you are limited to these concrete byways, but navigating from the ground would just have to take a little getting used to.
So I met Suzanna officially. Arashiel introduced me as the Raven; she recalled the Marion incident and hoped her glass hadn't hurt me. Personally, I was far less concerned with her glass than her cat, WonderLaunch. But she said it was hiding under the bed and wouldn't come out. Coward.
Elizabeth had gone back to her house, but they sat and talk awhile, about the tapestry, and Marion, and Perry. For a human, that woman has some wisdom! She looks at you like the Seraphim always do, hard and deep and unblinking. Yikes! I was pretty happy to get out of there.
I learned something else about cars. They need keys, and they take some work to unlock. Still haven't quite gotten it down; I think Arashiel is being deliberately vague in explaining how to do it.
Went on to Elizabeth and Marion's house, spent a moment touring the place celestially. All seemed well inside, so we didn't linger. On the way back to the hotel, Arashiel directed me to the indoor market nearby which she called a "mall." She had some shopping to do, apparently for both of us.
Evidently, the hotel had a "Jacuzzi," a hot place which required special clothing. These "swimsuits" she had me try on hardly covered anything. I put them on dutifully, but found myself a little ashamed to show them to Arashiel. Too revealing. I actually just spent a lot of time staring at that strange body in the mirror, with its feminine curves and lumps, with some odd mix of fascination and disgust. In all my years, as messenger, spy, or hunter, I'd never used a female vessel for more than a couple of days, much less lived in one for weeks and months on end. As a being exempt from the issues of gender, I found myself generally preferring the male form over time. I suppose I didn't even consider a female vessel for this mission, but time was short and Soldekai (or was it Gabriel?) chose one for me.
So I stared at its lines, touched its skin, tasted its salt, smelled its scent, listened to its rhythms. It wasn't me. The black hair and dark eyes, yes, always. But the nose was a little wide, rounded on the end like a button. And the lips, curved and mobile, full, but not overly pretty. And the eyebrows, thin and arched, almost delicate; the cheeks and jaw, a little hollow but definitely curved. And the throat, and the shoulders, and the bosom.... I found those moments in the dressing room to be rather unreal, all at once exciting and uncomfortable and ultimately sexual in a way I hadn't felt in centuries.
I finally broke into a sardonic grin at the woman in the mirror, and she wryly smiled back, as we seemed to at least have reached some point of understanding. She wasn't so bad, and I hoped I could do her better justice. I didn't complain when Arashiel brought some "nice" clothes to try on for the wedding. They were practical enough to suit me, but attractive enough to satisfy human etiquette.
By the time we returned to the hotel, the others had returned. Rook looked much better, so we sat in the Jacuzzi (in fact just a large tub of hot water with underwater faucets of bubbles--sorta tingly) and filled each other in on the information gathered in the last few days. Like, for example, Laban-lael telling Arashiel that they might have to kill Perry now that he has been corrupted by a Shedite and may pose a threat to the Soldier lineage. How's that for honor? Yet another reason why I try to think about the Sword as little as possible; they remind me so much of Judgment.
Turns out the rug is a tapestry created by Eli himself and now assigned to Arashiel by the same. Apparently the Eason women had been guarding it for centuries, and although its powers and purposes are unknown at this time, it was important enough to some demons to risk kidnapping a Malakite. We are still unsure if Nightmares wanted it or Fate; if we could find out who Victoria Strassen worked for, we'd know. I'd guess Fate, since it was definitely responsible for Rook's capture; Millicent the Lilim said so, as part of our bargain to call off the hit squad, and I'm inclined to believe a creature whose survival rests on honoring her word.
We didn't really have many plans for the upcoming wedding except being there, and staying out of sight and out of harm's way in the meantime. Although we agreed to stick together for the remainder of the stay, I needed to rejuvenate my essence, so I went and spent the night in the towers.
Friday passed uneventfully. Even the dinner was quiet. Rook seemed to be nis old self, although a little more quiet, and he seemed to possess a bit more of the burn in his eyes. Didn't approach him about it, though. Too soon. He still needed time to come to terms with his inner feelings.
Saturday was a bit more important. We split up for the ceremony, the Cherubim inside and the rest of us outside. Laurence arrived exactly on time, as usual. We left the ceremony just early enough to go to the hotel hosting the reception and scout it out a second time before the party arrived. Laurence danced with the bride and left. A week spent to prepare for two hours of that.
Me and parties. Not a fun mix. I like humans well enough, don't get me wrong, but I just can't think of anything to say that doesn't sound brusque or downright bizarre. Besides, I hate being bothered when I'm working.
I'll attribute my distraction to humanity then. Well into the party, I heard someone shift to celestial form near the entrance. I headed that way, but was sidetracked by Matt approaching Suzanna and the familiar face of Victoria Strassen. Victoria held open her blazer, apparently revealing something which had Suzanna enthralled, judging by her blank stare. Not natural, I say. Matt must have done something, for Suzanna snapped out of her stupor and looked confused, while Victoria turned to glare at the approaching Elohite. A Song of Thunder suddenly rocked the room, causing humans to swoon left and right. Victoria dashed for the door, Matt rushed to help Suzanna, and I ran to the other exit to try to intercept her outside.
Rook beat me to it. Applying one of his classic pressure strikes, he stunned her and pinned her in an armlock, although the noise in the Symphony was phenomenal. Apparently Victoria is human after all. Anyway, that little matter seemed settled. Knowing the silver TIC TOC car had to be nearby, I set out to find it and investigate before she could drive off again.
A commotion erupted behind me before I got very far; some humans across the street had apparently seen Rook assault her and made a scene, threatening to call the authorities if he didn't release her. Of course, she played it up to the hilt, weeping and shouting for help hysterically until Rook had no choice but to release her. She fled across the street into their protective custody. Still no sign of the car; I chose to shift to Raven to keep an eye on her while searching aerially. And Rook hadn't exactly given up either. He had that look in his eye, just receded into shadows to wait until he could reacquire her.
I heard the noise in the Symphony before it hit me mid-flight. Bones broke, muscles tore, organs ruptured, skin split; my vessel shredded by the entropic resonance of a Calabite. Conscious of falling but unable to catch myself, I bounced hard off the concrete before landing in a heap in the gutter, smelling of spoiling flesh. I was vaguely thankful for Eli's Ofanite attunement as my body tried to heal at an accelerated rate, but the damage was far to great. I abandoned the vessel for a healthier human one, sat up, dazed, as Jael came running over.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm recovering. That was a Calabite. Could you tell where it came from?"
Hiding near the restaurant, we scanned the area but never found the culprit. In the meantime, she told me about a Balseraph who almost talked her into trouble, an apparent distraction while Victoria made moves on Suzanna. I could only guess they targeted her for the tapestry she no longer possessed. The police arrived; after investigating for half an hour, they took Victoria away in a police car. Moments later, our van followed, Rook at the wheel.
Jael blinked. "Umm, where is he going?"
I shook my head. "I better find out."
Shifting to Raven was painful, flying even moreso, but I managed to catch up to the van and grab on to the roof rack with all my strength until I could fling myself on the windshield.
Rook kindly scraped me off the wipers and put me in the passenger seat. "What happened to you?"
It took me a moment to catch my breath. "Calabite. Call Jael."
"Of course. After we get to the police station."
His intensity and focus were both admirable and alarming, but at least he stayed true to his word. I didn't hear much of the conversation, but Jael seemed to talk sense into him because afterwards he started the van and returned to pick up the others. We saw no reason to stay. Elizabeth remained cold to us, Perry reacted to us with fear, Suzanna seemed taxed by our presence, Laban-lael was probably relieved to see us go, and Laurence apparently never knew we were there at all. All in all, one huge waste of our time. We didn't even wait for the party to end, just said the minimum goodbyes before packing our things and leaving.
I hope things aren't always this intense in Boulder. I could use a rest.
(This marks the end of Vox Prima.)
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