10. Things To Do In Chapter City When Your Soul’s Enslaved.
Lil looked up at the church and swallowed.
“What exactly do you plan to do in there?” Tome asked coldly. “Besides the obvious point of dying grotesquely.”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure this guy can be reasoned with.”
“What are you basing that on? Which dismembered body has led you to this conclusion?”
“I can’t explain it,” she said. “But I looked into his eyes. I saw the pain there.”
Tome shook his head. He made to follow her as she climbed the steps to the church’s heavy doors, when she turned back to him.
“Uh, maybe you should wait out here,” she said.
“Normally if you were walking into certain death, I’d be the first to suggest I wait in the car with the engine running. But you think I’m really going to let you walk by yourself into a room with a psychotic angel? No I take that back. He’s not psychotic. Lucifer was psychotic, but at least he was good for a laugh.”
“Mike. I can feel it in my heart... in my soul, that Halaphael is not a bad guy. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to tempt fate by having you piss him off.”
Tome considered this. “Maybe. But...”
“Mike, please,” Lil implored him. “Trust me.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Go. I’ll wait in the car and try and figure out where the soulstone might be. But if anything happens...”
“I’ll scream loudly and you can come in and rescue me.”
“Bollocks to that. If anything happens, I’m out of here. I’ll be across town before you even hit the ground.”
“Gee, Mike. Thanks.”
He watched her climb the stairs apprehensively. Then she pushed through the doors and was gone.
The church was unusually dark. All the lights were out, except for a few flickering candles at the altar, under the statue of Christ on the cross. Waning rays of sunlight filtered through a large stained-glass window containing a picture of the Archangel Gabriel. It cast an eerie blue sheen over the pews. Her footsteps echoed through the empty stone chamber, seeming to be more louder than was necessary.
The place was empty. But Lil knew there was something there with her. She could feel it in her heart. Like it was standing right behind her...
Which it was.
“What do you want?” the angel Halaphael demanded. Its voice echoed through the building, making her jump.
She turned to face the angel. It was bare chested, its wings half-folded at its back. Again, Lil was drawn to its eyes. They still burned with painful ferocity.
“Hi,” she found herself saying. “Uh, remember me? We met the other night.”
“I know you, daughter of Sarael,” the angel whispered. “What do you want?”
“I was looking for you,” she said.
“Did I not warn you last night,” the angel said menacingly. “I told you, if you interfered I would have to kill you.” It took a step forward, and Lil backed away hastily.
“You don’t want to kill me,” Lil reasoned.
“What I want, and what I must do aren’t necessarily the same,” the angel said simply. “I do what I am bade to do. No more no less.” It continued to advance.
“That’s not true,” replied Lil. “Last night, you could have killed me. And my partner. But you didn’t. The last people that got in your way were killed, but last night, you chose to show us mercy. You should have killed us, but you didn’t.”
“Something for which I shall pay dearly,” the angel stated. “Better I kill you now than to prolong my own suffering.”
“If that’s what you have to do,” said Lil. She stood still. “If you are going to kill me, then go ahead. It’s not like I can stop you.”
The angel paused. “What do you think you can do?” it asked in disbelief. “Do you think you can dissuade me from my path. Do you think I would be like this if I had any choice at all?”
Lil flinched. “I only want to help you...”
“I am beyond salvation,” the angel snapped. “Beyond redemption. My only hope is that one day I will be consented to return down to the dark, rather than be forced to remain up here. It was cold there. Lightless. And still I burned, the light within me burning so fierce it hurt... But at least I found a measure of peace. I did not have to endure the stares of the others, their hate, their fear...” His gaze wondered from Lil as he spoke, but now snapped right back onto her again. She felt like a deer in the headlights. “But what would you know?” it asked wistfully. “A mortal. What you know of my torment?”
“More than you would think,” said Lil. “I know what happened, Halaphael...”
“How could you possibly!”
“I know,” she said gently. “I know. You ascended. You went to that place where no one ever ventures. I know what it was like. I’ve seen it. I wish to god I hadn’t, but I saw it, with my own eyes. That light... my god, I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you.”
The angel was taken aback by this. Its wings twitched. Slowly it backed up and slumped against a row of pews.
“I was happy at first,” it said. “So were the others. They were excited as our kind can be. None has ascended to the Highest Realm for untold years. And that I had been the one chosen... It was the greatest honour any could receive.” It smiled then, at that distant memory. For a brief moment, Lil saw the creature as it had been. At a different time, in a different place. Laughing, smiling. Headstrong, young for his kind, yet wise beyond measure.
“I do not fully recall what the first days of my ascendancy were like,” it went on, its smile gone. “I only remember the pain. The light, ever shining, penetrating my very being. I wasn’t sure... what was suppose to happen. The light should have taken me. But I fought it. I was afraid of what would happen, of what I would become. So I resisted.
“I do not know for how long I was there, enduring the pain. Days, weeks, months. The time was irrelevant. It felt like all of eternity. Then finally, I weakened, and I let the light enter me. Then the pain disappeared and I felt such blessed relief! But then... I saw.”
It met her eyes, and she saw it was crying. Tears like quicksilver ran down its cheeks.
“What did you see?” Lil asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“Everything,” it replied. “I saw everything. Everything that has been. Everything that will be. I saw the whole of creation stretched before me, spinning, dancing in light so beautiful... And I saw it.”
“It? It what?”
“The purpose. The reason. Why we exist. Why we ascended. Why there must be black and white, light and dark. I saw, what we must do...” It fell silent, and sobbed. “It was too much. I ran away. I’m not sure how, but I found myself back in my plane, in my home, and I rejoiced. Then I wept, for I had failed them all. I knew the divine plan, and I was too weak to play my part. And the others. They looked at me as if I were an abomination. They believed me cast out, like one of the fallen. Whispering behind my back.” Now it grew agitated. “Once I grew tired of the constant gibberish being spoken around me, and I cried out. I cried for silence! And there was silence. And the others, staring at me, like they know longer knew me. My master Icarius stopped looking me in the eye. Those I had grown up with would run flee from me.
“And all the time, the light I had taken with me burned with such vigour, I had to scream out in pain or go mad. So I left. It was the only thing I could do to save those around me from the thing that I had become. I went as all of the fallen do. I descended, into the dark. I found the blackest corner could, and there I lay, to be lost and forgotten. I thought the dark would alleviate the pain I could feel inside. But the light was more powerful than the darkness. I could go no deeper without incurring the wrath of those that waited there. Then I discovered the soulstone. I thought to draw out the light like poison from a wound. I thought that I had succeeded, and I threw the crystal down into the abyss, hoping it would be lost forever into the darkness.
; “I learned too late that the light had become apart of me. That in placing it in the soulstone, I had placed a part of myself there also. I had decided to seek it out, when I was dragged across the plane of existence, violently, and found myself here. I did not know what happened. I did not know someone had taken the soulstone, and harnessed its power. And harnessed me...”
Its wings wrapped around around it like a cloak. The angel shuddered as it cried. “There is no salvation for me. I have killed! Stained my hands with the blood of a living creature. Again, and again, and again...”
Lil approached the creature slowly, and gently laid her hand on his head. The touch of another person, so full of compassion and kindness, calmed it. It closed its eyes and sighed.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” she whispered to it. “I can help you find the soulstone. Help you return...”
The angel stood so quickly it made her jump back it surprised.
“Are you a fool?” it asked, seething. “Have you heard nothing of what I have said? I am beyond help. I am a monster! Look at my hands. These were the hands of a healer. Now had my captor ordered it, they would be stained with your blood! Do you know the abominations I have taken part in? The massacre of those people was nothing. I have tainted myself with every breath I have taken. I have tortured, mutilated, raped, destroyed. I have violated all that is good and decent about my kind. Do you know, the one controlling me had me heal him of one of the most vile and disgusting of the dark diseases? I cured him, though every fibre of my being told me not to, and as a result, the corruption is now within me, eating me away, corrupting what little of my soul I have left. I should have left him to rot, to fall into pieces like so many other demons... But I cannot resist. He owns my soul, and I cannot fight. Because I am weak. All because I am too weak.”
It stared at her. Then all the fight went out of it, and it walked, slumped past her. It stood with its back to her, staring at the statue of Christ.
“This mortal,” it said, “Made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave his life, so that others may live. This mortal knew more courage in his short life than I shall ever know. Go now, daughter of Sarael,” it said sadly. “Perhaps, one night, if you are truly unlucky, my master will send me for you. Then you will see for yourself that I have spoken only the truth. Go.”
Lil stared at the angel. She did not no what words to say to something so lost. So she turned and left. When she glanced back, the angel was gone.
Tome waited by the car, tapping his foot nervously. He sighed in relief when he saw her.
“Still alive?” he asked. “All limbs still attached?”
Lil climbed into the car without answering.
“I take it,” Tome went on as he slid into the driver’s seat, “that you found him?”
She nodded. “You have no idea... That angel. It’s suffering like no other angel has ever suffered. Being forced to kill, to pervert its own soul.”
“Did it see reason?”
“No. It’s losing the will to live.”
“Should we call Ryan?” asked Tome. “And Von Drais?”
“Anyone who tries to capture that angel is going to die.”
“That was kind of the idea.”
“We need,” Lil said forcefully, “to find that soulstone. Then we can set it free.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” said Tome. He unfolded the map Lil had marked. “The soulstone we saw, you marked it down here.” He pointed to the South West corner of the map, just outside the city. “Logically, it would be in the possession of whoever killed Mister Evan.”
“I guess.”
“There’s nothing down here. A few warehouses. Empty fields. And,” Tome pointed to a small mark on the map. “Hilton Memorial Airport. Both domestic and international terminals. If you had just been responsible for eight deaths, wouldn’t you try to leg it?”
“I guess. But how are we going to find one person at the airport. And that was an hour ago, by now he’s probably jumped on a private jet and...” she trailed off. Something in her head just lit up like a light bulb and went ding!
“Well, what do you...”
“Shush,” Lil hissed. Something she had just heard the angel say was suddenly on the tip of her brain. It was important, but she couldn’t place why. Nor what made her connect it to a private plane.
The corruption is now within me, eating me away, corrupting what little of my soul I have left.
“Holy crap,” Lil breathed. She looked at Tome in disbelief. “I just had the mother of all epiphanies. Drive!”
“Where are we going?” Tome asked, pulling out at twice the speed limit.
“The airport,” said Lil. “I have some bad news though. We can’t let Von Drais get the soulstone or the angel.”
“I knew you were going to say that,” said Tome with resignation. “You think he’ll pay us anyway?”
“I doubt it.”
“You think he’ll try and kill us?”
“Yep.”
He sighed. “Oh, well. I guess I’m going to make it up in karma. This would count as a good deed right?”
“Probably.”
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“In a second. First I have to make a few phone calls,” Lil replied. She dialled the FBI, praying they weren’t too late.
The sun was setting low in the east, and the huge aircraft hangers at the Hilton Memorial Airport cast long shadows over the ground. The short, bald man in the expensive suit left his Mercedes and walked in the convenient shadow and into the hanger.
There were several planes parked inside, shining brightly under the cold fluorescent lights. Most were small single engine Cessnas. The largest was a white private jet that sat in the centre of the hanger.
The short man stared at the plane in disbelief, that stormed over to the single mechanic in the hanger. He was not happy. The mechanic took one look at the man’s pointed ears and yellow eyes, and realised he could be in trouble. It was the suit, however, that really made him panic. Nothing can ruin a person’s night worse than an unhappy rich jerk. After all, at worse a vampire could only kill you.
“What is going on here?” the short man demanded. “My jet was supposed to be on the tarmac hours ago? What the bloody hell is it doing here?”
“I’m not sure, sir,” said the mechanic. He knew the best way to deal with rich folk was to pretend they were right, even if they weren’t, and say “sir” a lot. “Sir, I’m sure if you took it up with the proper authorities, sir, that they would tell you everything you need to know. Sir,” he added quickly.
“Listen, you little shite, I have an important meeting to catch, and I don’t have time to put up with this crap.”
“Sir, I’m sorry, sir. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding, sir. But this plane was reported to have a fault, sir, and I can’t, sir, allow it to leave until I have had a chance to look it over, sir.” He wondered if perhaps he was overdoing the “sirs”. Better safe than sorry, he decided.
“We’ll see about this,” the short man snapped.
He reached inside his pocket for his phone, then froze as a cold voice said, “I would considered this a stroke of good fortune, William.”
Bill made a face, like he had just stepped in something that had gone squish. Then he turned to see Von Drais and his bodyguard Brandtner standing by the entrance. Von Drais was smiling. Bill hated that smile.
“Are you responsible for this?” Bill demanded.
“Of course not,” said the Prince. “As I said, a stroke of good fortune. I wouldn’t have wanted you to leave without us having one last chat.” The smile disappeared. “After all, we have so very much to discuss.”
“I’m in a hurry, Von Drais. So if you don’t mind...”
“Aren’t you going to stay just a little longer? Not planning to see the results of your good work for yourself?”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I am talki
ng about,” spat Von Drais. “You sent me that symbol. You were controlling that creature, killing those people. When I am through with you...”
“Oh, spare me your paranoid rantings, you inbred moron. I’m a victim! That thing wants to kill me!”
“If you say so, Bill,” said Lil cheerfully. Bill spun to see her and Tome standing behind him, grinning in a way only the pair of them could ever manage.
“Oh, so this is your doing,” realised Bill. “I didn’t think you’d sink this low. You can’t find the real killer so you’re going to blame me. You little shites.”
“Oh, save it,” said Lil. “We both know how full of it you are. All that crap about being a misunderstood vampire in the humans’ world. Even that summoning circle you drew in your shop. I admit, you did have me with that one. Nice touch.”
“I always knew you two were borderline retarded, but this is a new level of stupid, even for you. But what the hell, I could use a laugh. What makes you think I’m the killer?”
“A few things. Firstly, the letter to Von Drais with the circle drawn on it. Different writing than the others. Secondly, we managed to track down the soulstone you’re using to control the creature. It’s been here, with you, for the past few hours while you waited for your plane to be checked. Lastly, your case of the CBP cured rather quickly, because you had an angel clear it up for you.” She said this last sentence with undisguised venom. “You lying piece of shit.”
Bill sighed. His hand shot into his jacket and when it came out, it was holding the soulstone. He held it up menacingly as it emitted a silver light so blinding Lil couldn’t look directly at it.
“Okay. So you’re not as stupid as I had hoped. I’m going to assume you know what this is,” he said.
Lil nodded.
“Good. Now, I could try denying it,” he said levelly. “But, screw it, I’m so tired with all this running about. So listen closely. Yes, I killed all of those vampires. And if I had any sense at all, I’d have killed you first.” He gestured the crystal at Von Drais. “Sadly, I can’t say I was responsible for the death of poor, lamented Mister Evan,” he went on. Von Drais's eyes widened. “But your man Brandtner here performed admirably.”
Von Drais spun on his body guard. “You?” he said in disbelief. “You have been involved in this all along?”
“If you’re feeling like an idiot for not realising it sooner,” Tome felt the urge to put in, “that’s only because you are one. Who do you think was drawing those circles all over the place? Mister Evan may have been the one staking the places out, but it was sausage boy here who drew the circles with his girly handwriting.”
Brandtner just stared back at his prince unsmiling.
“Why?” demanded Von Drais. “After all that I have done-”
“What have you done?” asked Brandtner in amusement. “Travelled the world satisfying your own petty lusts. Lusts for women, lusts for power. You’re a disgrace to your family, and to your country.”
“Um, are we missing something?” asked Tome.
“Oh, fine. I’ll do a monologue, just so that you don’t have to die, wondering,” said Bill in a put upon tone. “You remember how I told you royalty weren’t suppose to make vampires? Well, Von Drais has been a very bad boy. Doesn’t kill who he eats, as our laws dictate. He’s been vamping people all across the world. Anyone of them could have a legitimate claim to the throne. So, mummy dearest has had to enlist some help to clean up the mess. Mister Evan, Von Drais’ most trusted henchman, was offing all the vampires the prince has been foolishly creating. When Von Drais came here to Chapter City, well, Mister Evan was a little out of his depth. The royal insignia doesn’t exactly inspire terror and respect out here. The first vamp he tried for turned out to be a retired secret agent from Boravia. Beat the crap out of him. Good old Olson. I was rather annoyed that they called him a mere street vamp in the news. Olson deserved better, but I suppose national security knows best. But the Queen realised that idiot Evan was in over his head. So, she contacted me, since out here I am the man. She made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“Which was?”
“My old lands, back under my power. See that shitty little republic they set up in my absence isn’t going to last forever. Boravia is planning a little war, and after that, my old throne is going to be ripe for the picking.”
“I thought you didn’t even like your old country?” said Lil.
“I don’t. They don’t even have MacDonald’s yet. But I do like to rule it. Three simple reasons: chicks, money, power.”
“Got to admit, Lil,” said Tome. “Those are good reasons.”
“The angel was, frankly, a stroke of good fortune,” Bill continued, on a roll now. “I sent Mister Evan to that weird half-demon to buy a shadow beast. Because with this sort of thing, you want to keep the authorities down the wrong track for as long as possible. They didn’t need to know that a vampire was responsible. That idiot Ryan with his single working brain cell would never have figured it out on his own.”
“Got that right,” agreed Tome loudly.
“I’m surprised Evan even knew what it was,” Bill said. “But I guess even stupid people have to get lucky. I knew as soon as I saw it that this thing was more than just a pretty bauble. It had so much power coming out of it, I could have bankrupted the world’s oil companies without even trying. I learned to summon the angel, and I bent him to my will. It was stupidly easy,” he said to Lil, watching her darkening expression closely. “Angels are so pathetic. They break a nail and they burst into tears. I hope he wasn’t a relative of yours. Uncle perhaps? He wasn’t dearest daddy was he?”
“Screw you, Bill.”
Bill grinned. “Second piece of luck, Brandtner here turned out to be something of an artist. He was a dab hand at summoning circles. I taught him to draw one, gave him the inks I made from the soulstone, and after Evan had made a proper recon of the target, he would sneak in, and paint them a pretty picture. Then my dear, sweet angel would take over. It worked so well. We knew exactly who to go after, thanks to Sabrina. She vamped them all, and then she bragged about it to me.”
“So, Von Drais made Sabrina,” said Lil, “not you.”
“Yes. In France years ago. Screwed her, vamped her, then dumped her. Such a charmer isn’t he? I befriended her and gave her a job. Made her the woman she was today. If I’m being honest,” he said with seriousness. “I was kind of upset about having to kill her. But business is business. And there was no way I could have stopped her from blabbing forever. Plus, I figured, what the hell, I could take care of you two dicks while I was at it. Only, then Evan has to go and bugger it up. Apparently, whenever the dumbass killed someone in Europe, he left a black snake as a calling card, and last night he just couldn’t resist adding that personal touch. I mean Jesus tap dancing Christ, why not just leave a signed confession?”
“Evan was an idiot,” said Brandtner as he continued to eyeball Von Drais. “Always talking about all the people he killed. How you had to show your superiority to everyone. He was so surprised when I stuck that knife through his heart.”
“He was going to be your fall guy,” said Lil. “You planted the summoning circle and the ink to make it look like he was the killer. He had CBP...”
“Which he gave to us, the little shite,” said Bill bitterly.
“...so we would have thought he was the one who contacted Delios anyway. Almost perfect.”
“Almost,” agreed Brandtner. He turned to Bill. “Then you sent him that letter. We never agreed to that.”
“It was just my goodbye joke,” said Bill. “I wasn’t really going to kill him. Just put the fear of god into him. Of course now I am going to have to kill him, obviously. And you two. Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten you,” he smiled at Lil and Tome. “Then I have business to attend to. See, Sabrina was a busy girl. She vamped so many people it’s hard to keep track, the little minx. But, hey, they all have to go.”
“I will kill you both for this,” snarl
ed Von Drais. “You will never get away with this!”
“Oh, you would say something stupid like that,” Tome rolled his eyes. “God, you’re such a prat.”
Von Drais took a step at Brandtner, and froze as the other vampire pulled out his gun.
“I have anti-vampire rounds,” Brandtner told him.
“Go ahead,” said Bill. “I know you've wanted to do that for some time. Treat yourself.”
“Thank you, Bill,” replied Brandtner.
“You know something,” Bill told Lil. “I am going to miss you. I almost liked you. Not to the point of vamping of course. You I never liked,” he told Tome.
“I guess you’ll want to do it now,” said Tome loudly.
“Actually yes, I do.” He raised the soulstone.
“Now,” agreed Lil. She closed her eyes, but the light from the stone penetrated all too easily. When Bill released it, it was going to hurt.
“Yes,” said Bill.
“For, god’s sake, Ryan, what do you want, an invitation!”
“FBI!” boomed several loud voices. Men in kevlar vests and FBI jackets stormed into the building, guns raised. When they had the five of them surrounded, Ryan and Santiago entered.
“Jesus, Hugh, were we suppose to introduce you or what?” asked Lil angrily.
“I’m here aren’t I,” replied Ryan unperturbed.
Bill looked at the armed men around him impassively. He and Brandtner had not lowered their weapons. Von Drais watched them with undisguised fury.
“It’s over Bill,”Lil told him.
“No it’s not.”
“Bill,” Lil said rolling her eyes. “Please, you’re not the last stand type.”
“I will not be taken alive,” said Brandtner.
“Who asked you?” snapped Tome.
“No, he is quite right,” said Von Drais. “Brandtner will not go quietly. He knows what will happen should he be incarcerated.”
Lil looked at them, and saw that Brandtner was now shaking. Killing Von Drais was one thing, but now he faced his prince’s wrath. That were probably worse positions to be in, but all of those involved a volcano in some way.
Bill was thinking the same thing. “I’ll tell you everything if I get immunity,” he told Ryan.
“Too late. You already spent the last ten minutes blabbing like a school girl,” pointed out Tome.
“There’s a lot I can tell you,” Bill said, ignoring him. “Things you’ll want to hear. Things that could make your career.”
“First give me the soulstone,” interrupted Lil. She held out her hand.
“Sorry Lil. That’s evidence. It goes with me,” said Ryan.
“Hugh, that belongs to its owner. It his soul for crying out loud!”
“It’s a murder weapon... kind of.”
“You seriously think you’re going to get that to fly in court? Hugh, I am taking that stone...”
“Lil...”
“Perhaps I can be of assistance?”
Half the guns in the room suddenly turned on the three new arrivals. It was as if they had appeared from nowhere. And they had.
Tome looked disgusted. “Roseweed, you pillock. Who invited you?”
Rosewood smiled. He didn’t seem at all alarmed by the guns pointed at him. He had two other men behind him, dressed in black robes. One held a rather large machine gun with far more triggers and levers than was normally needed. The other held a staff, and looked far more dangerous.
The FBI and the wizards faced off.
“You. Have got. To be kidding,” Ryan said. “Who the hell are you?”
“Who the hell are you?” replied Rosewood.
“Agent Ryan, FBI.”
“Amadeus Rosewood, Regulatory Guild.” He bowed. “So glad to meet a fellow officer of the law.”
“Why are they wearing dresses?” asked Agent Santiago.
“They’re robes, and don’t ask,” replied Lil.
“What exactly are you doing here?” Ryan demanded.
“He wants the soulstone,” said Lil coldly. “And you can’t let him have it.”
“Come now, Miss Shreiber,” said Rosewood. “Haven’t you had time to think this through? That angel is a danger to everyone on this plane.”
“So’s Russell Crowe. Go arrest him.”
“You’ve seen that creature for yourself, can’t you see it is beyond saving? It has lost its mind.”
“I can help it.”
“It doesn’t want your help,” Rosewood said.
“It wants its freedom,” Lil replied. “I can give it that.”
“I can’t allow it to wander freely. I am taking that soulstone.”
“No, you’re not!”
“Do you think you can stop me, little girl?” Rosewood sneered.
“Excuse me, jerk-wad,” said Ryan angrily. “But perhaps you didn’t hear me. I said, FBI. That means put down your weapons, or I’ll shoot you.”
Rosewood gave Ryan a distasteful look. “Listen boy, you have no idea what you are dealing with-”
“I know that I have more men, and more guns,” said Ryan matter of factly. “And if we start shooting, we will win.”
Rosewood stared at him, then made a complicated gesture with his hand, whereupon Ryan’s gun fell apart.
“Whoa,” said Lil.
“I can do that,” said Tome. “Come on, Ryan, don’t take that kind of crap from this ponce.”
Ryan stared at the handle of his gun, and the pieces on the floor.
“As you can see,” Rosewood said sweetly. “You and your men are far out matched. So just give me the crystal and I will leave you to your business.”
Ryan stared at him long and hard. Then Tome appeared and whispered something in his ear. He listened intently.
“Really?” he asked with obvious amusement.
Tome nodded.
“He says,” Ryan told Rosewood. “That you wet the bed until you were sixteen and played with dolls. And that you’re currently wearing woman’s underwear.”
Tome twirled his pendulum. “A scryer knows these things,” he told Lil.
Rosewood tried to look impassive, but his eyes screamed for blood.
“I’m going to ask you one last time,” he said through gritted. “Give me the stone.”
“I’m going to tell you one last time, Rosie,” Ryan replied. “Kiss my ass.”
Silence fell onto the group. The FBI fingered the triggers of their guns nervously. The Guildmen stared at them unblinking, making no move at all. Tome and Lil slowly exchanged looks and began to back away. Brandtner’s expression hopped from the FBI around him, to the Guildmen, to Von Drais, still glaring murderously at him.
And Bill started laughing. Lil looked over and saw him staring at the glass windows high near the ceiling. She gasped.
“Sorry,” he said. “I just thought that right about now, I could use some company.”
Everyone in the room froze. They heard clearly the sound of wings beating.
Then the lights went out, and everyone started shooting.