Jason, Ashikel, Josh, and Destiny manifest
Jason seemed to want very badly to enter the room where Raphael and Selindeal were, but instead moved quickly to the older woman lying on the floor. He checked her signs and quickly bandaged the gash on the side of her head.
She was alive. He tried to stabilize her as best he could, and she moaned quietly at him as he pulled out bandages and wrapped her head gently and quickly.
Josh arrived finally at the intersection, still mercifully oblivious to the deafening celestial uproar, and leaned heavily against a bookshelf as he caught his breath. His face paled and set into a tight expression as he took in the prone figure, and he looked briefly at the retreating back of his angel and then more suspiciously to the rest of the group. He asked no more questions of them, although the desire to do so was written all over his face. He started instead towards the old woman but held back to let Jason administer first aid. Again his glance moved to the door Lynne was heading towards but instead of following he rubbed at his forehead and looked round the intersection.
Jason looked up quickly when he sensed Josh entering the room, "Josh, can you make sure that the gentleman against the wall is OK? I think he just witnessed the arrival of a Demon Prince, and possibly a murder as well. See if you can get him to tell you what happened." He said while he tended to the woman on the floor. It was almost as if he has done this before.
Josh gave Jason a quick look of confused determination, then moved to the man. He introduced himself breathlessly and asked what the man saw.
The man blinked at him, clearly in shock. Instead of giving a verbal answer, he pointed, eyes wide, off to the left of the room, and tried in vain to push himself backwards into the wall.
Josh turned his head in that direction, and made out something on the ground, from behind a book shelf. It looked suspiciously like a spreading pool of blood. He called it to the attention of the others in his area.
He patted the man on the shoulder absently and took a deep breath before steeling himself to walk around the shelves and take a closer look. "So this Demon Prince type, he.. ahh.. subscribes to this notion that if cleanliness is next to godliness then leaving a mess is pretty satanic?" he commented in an undertone, trying unsuccessfully to hide his deep uncertainties behind a cheery front. As well as the obvious, he looked for signs of a struggle: broken shelves, ripped books .. anything to keep himself focused and not having to dwell on the shock in the other man's expression. Evidently he was expecting the worst.
The man merely flicked his eyes left and right in an half blind stare, as if to avoid anything even reminiscent of whatever it was that he has seen. His feet keep back pedaling, as though he was trying to move away from this whole scene, but the cold hard stone and bricks of reality entrapped him in it.
With the woman at his feet in at least stable condition, Jason moved through the door to the room on the left to investigate the spreading pool of blood that was coming from behind the bookcase. He continued to listen for any dialog he could pickup from the other room, but spent most of his attention on what was in the room he was entering.
Over his shoulder, as he began to move, Jason spoke to the police woman, "Melanie, can you watch out for this woman while I check on what happened in the other room?" he nodded toward the room to the left. Without waiting for a reply he moved to the left of the room, on guard, as cautiously as possible.
Melanie, who was standing a few yard from the door to the other room, ahead, seems to hear, but also seemed to have other things on her mind.
Jason joined Josh part the way towards the other room. Josh murmured, "Do you think this guy is still here?" and started to make some notes, telling Jason briefly what he had already noticed. Even when his attention was elsewhere, he had half an eye cocked towards the room the others rushed into.
These furtive glances ceased when the corridor between the book shelves opened up, and the area beyond became apparent. All Josh's mental preparation left him in that instant, and he was, at least for a moment, struck dumb. Even Jason, used to the emergency ward of a New York hospital, and an angel of many thousand years experience of horror was given pause.
There was a remarkable amount of blood.
The scene before them was a shambles of ruined wall, scattered books, undefinable rubble, and shelf planks. The private reading rooms beyond had been roughly exposed to the larger room in a terrible act of violence. Several major support struts for this section of the room appeared to have been rendered in the process, but the room appeared in no danger of collapsing, yet. A reading table, with chairs scattered about it, was broken down its center in the middle of the open ground. The object that cracked it thus still lay broken on top of it, in the V formed by its broken halves. Something white. Something red.
Several specific objects began to become identifiable, the longer one looked at the scene.
A portion of jeans here, concealing something lumpy underneath.
The stained red, torn remnant of half a shirt, with one arm still attached, to the side.
The other arm of the shirt, also red, over there.
The hand belonging to the arm, almost at their feet.
The wrist watch on the fragment of wrist.
Brad's wristwatch.
Brad...
They realized that the form on the broken table was still moving. Jason, more on instinct than from any thought, moved closer. A bone, broken and exposed angles badly away from the body. But it was the bloodstained feathers on that bone that grabbed his attention suddenly. An angel...
One wing folded down over the lower part of her body, concealing it, the other, open and exposed, slowly oozed thick blood. The face was hidden under a shock of matted blonde hair. Both hands were clenched over the chest, in death grip. The upper body was unclothed, or rather, the clothes had been shredded from it, exposing hundreds of tiny razor-like lacerations across the female's form. It looked like razorwire wounds, Jason thought absently.
There was breath ... the lungs filled with blood, but for the moment there was breath.
Ashikel. Jason slowly realized that this crushed vessel was Ashikel. And she resonated as an Angel.
She opened an eye, the other was lost under hair and worse.
"sorry ... so sorry ..." a voice from somewhere in the bloody throat rose.
Tears welled up in Jason's eyes as he beheld Ashikel in a form he had not seen in thousands of years. Whether they are tears of joy or sorrow was difficult to determine. Everything else seemed to fall into the background, and he did not seem to even be aware of Josh any longer.
He moved quickly to Ashikel's side but quickly determined that without Essence he would be unable to help her, and even with it, it would be more than an simple miracle to help her. He held onto Ashikel's best hand in a reassuring manner. Seeing no other option he stood up straight, pulled a small, leather-bound book from his pocket with his free hand, and invoked Yves.
He felt something stirring under his fingers, under the sticky and clammy touch of Ashikel's skin. Slowly, the death grip she held across her chest came free, and her hands turned up, revealing two bright lights. Jason felt the attunement, and the warmth of song. The two crystal lights were two angel hearts. His own. And Raphael's.
"I... kept them... safe... tell Raphael I kept them safe... But not strong enough... to hold onto... the last... so sorry..." Her breath became suddenly rasping, and there was a low rattle, followed by no further intake of air.
Jason smiled down at Ashikel "Thank you Ashikel, you did fine. Thank you."
Watching her die Jason instinctively placed her hands across her chest, closed her eyes and kissed her lightly on the forehead. There was a peculiar sound across the symphony, something unheard in the longest time. It wrenched and pulled, and twisted and ached. Then, Ashikel's body simply ceased to be. Jason was left to picks up the hearts... as Josh started to speak.
Josh's face grays and he swallowed hard, confronted by the evidence of what a 'Demon Prince' might mean in practical terms. Trying to imagine what must have been the cause of this didn't seem to be doing much for his peace of mind (or digestion). It didn't look as though he was going to be able to offer much in the way of useful assistance; he just stood and stared blankly at the scene as if committing it to memory. Even when Jason flipped open a little book instead of calling an ambulance or doing some fabulous miracle, he didn't react.
Then, there was a moment of confusion on Josh's face, a change from the pale look of shock, then that too subsided. He nodded once, closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and a very different voice came from deep within him. It was familiar, yet different, tired, hoarse, and came from a strange distance, as though it were a song sung from the other end of the universe, amplified in the resonance of the stars to cross the terrifying gap.
Joshua spoke with the voice of Destiny. And all was not right with the voice.
"JaSoN. wOrDs CaN nOt ExPrEsS hOw SoRrY i Am. I cAn NoT cOmE tO yOu, EvEn NoW, wHeN i KnOw HoW i Am NeEdEd. It Is A mAtTeR oF fAtE. mInE."
"i KnOw YoU cAlL tO mE oN bEhAlF oF aShIkEl. AlL i CaN sAy Is ThIs. HeR fAtE wAs To BeTrAy ThE oNlY oNe ShE cArEd FoR mOrE tHaN hErSeLf. BuT hEr DeStInY, aNd HeR oNlY cHaNcE aT sAlVaTiOn, WaS tO gIvE hEr LiFe To SaVe ThReE hEaRtS fRoM hElL."
"I hAvE nO tImE." pause. "sPeAk FaSt, OlD fRiEnD."
Jason was obviously very relieved by the news and by Yves' willingness to project a presence at such a time. At the same time he was obviously very worried about Yves' condition, and his Fate. Realizing how critical time might become, he spoke quickly. "Thank you Yves, what can we do to help you?"
There was a pause. Josh blinked a few times, unseeing, then nodded again. His mouth opened once more with the peculiar hoarse cadence. The sound of utter exhaustion could be felt within it, struggling to be fought.
"HeLp Me? NoThInG cAn HeLp Me. I hAvE sEeN bOtH fAtE aNd DeStInY cOmInG tRuE tOgEtHeR. iN mYsElF, aS mUcH aS hAs AsHiKeL."
"sAvE yOuRsElF, jAsOn. NoThInG cAn SaVe Me."
Lynne paused on reaching what was once the doorway to the vandalized room and rubbed at her jaw with a pale finger as she regarded the mess, and Jason, and the physical form of her servant. This last comment takes the wind out of her sails and she offers a tight bow towards the speaker before picking her way inside. Rummaging around in a trouser pocket, she extracts the heart and simply shows it to them both, eyes catching on the matching glimmers in Jason's hands.
"We took out two demons," she says succinctly. "One of them had this, and they've taken Raphael to hell." Tilting the little shard into the best of the light, she added gently, "Look inside it..."
With another polite nod, she leaned back against a patch of wall which looks comparatively clean and dusted off her cuffs carefully. Something of the precision in the slow repetitive movements betrayed that she was uneasy. Other than this she didn't disturb Jason's conversation with his superior but occasionally when her gaze drifted up from one to the other, it was clear but troubled.
Jason noted Lynne's entrance and comments, briefly looking down on Selindeal's form in Lynne's hands before returning his attention to Josh / Yves.
Hearing that Yves appeared to be giving up, Jason's voice took on new animation and an angry strength.
"What? How can you say that? It was you who taught me never to give up or give in. You never let the Fear overcome you, succumb to the Darkness, or let the Evil win. We are not by nature fighters, instead working in more subtle ways to conquer Evil and fulfill the Destiny of the Symphony. But every once in awhile you have to get up and get dirty. There is more than one way to tackle a problem or interpret a situation, we just have to separate your Destiny and Fate and figure out how to achieve the one without triggering the other. Your Destiny and your Fate are up to you until they occur, but they profoundly affect all of us. I can't save myself if I don't do everything I can to save others...."
Jason's voice roses gradually throughout his speech, rising almost to a shout before the last sentence, which was subdued and trailed off. He looked much as he did in the Cafe when he mentioned that Ashikel was under his protection. But this time his face was slower in losing its hard determination.
Josh seemed surprised at Jason's tone and seemed about to answer, when that voice roses again from within him. Karen and Melanie made their way of the other room in time to see the ruin of this one, and to hear the weary words.
"EvIl? FeAr? ThEsE aRe IrReLeVaNt, JaSoN. i Am WhErE i Am, DoInG wHaT mUsT bE dOnE. i CaN nOt Be HeLpEd. ThAt Is A sImPlE fAcT. nOr CaN i InStRuCt YoU oN wHaT yOu MuSt Or ShOuLd Do. It Is WiLlEd WhErE wHaT iS wIlLeD mUsT bE. bOtH mY dEsTiNy AnD mY fAtE aRe FuLfIlLeD eVeN aS wE sPeAk. I hAvE nOt YiElDeD."
"yEt I cAn NoT bE sAvEd. If YoUr NaTuRe HoLdS yOu StIlL, tHeN mY oNlY aDvIcE iS tHiS: sEeK nOt To SaVe Me. InStEaD, hElP tHoSe WhOm YoU sTiLl HaVe PoWeR tO hElP."
Jason seemed to pause to take all this in, and seemed to be framing a reply, but it took him several moments. Lynne interjected bluntly in staccato reporter's sound bites.
"What is going on, Yves?"
Josh turned to her, and quickly replied, "He can't tell you, something is stopping him...", then,
"I CaN uSe ThE tOnGuE oF sErApHiM, sPeAkInG uNcLeAr WoRdS oF tRuTh, AnD aNsWeRs To ThE wRoNg QuEsTiOnS."
There was a moment of faintest symphonic reverberation, as though ... as though Josh had fed the smallest portion of essence into something that Lynne carried.
Lynne was mildly surprised as she senses some intelligence within her hand writhe and coil with activity. Words come to her, and all with ears to hear in the room. It was Selindeal, and it spoke with a song of Tongues across the ether.
"YoUr AnSwEr Is; tHe TeThEr WaS nOt BrOkEn ThAt WaS sAuGhT. tHe SeCoNd HoRsEmAn TaKeS fOuR oF nInE aGaInSt OnE oF tHrEe, AnD mEeTs ThE oNe GiVeN hIs OwN nAmE. tHe FoUrTh HoRsEmAn DeCeNdS uNtO tHe RiGhT hAnD oF tHe BrInGeR oF lIgHt, AnD bEcOmEs TrUe To ItS nAmE. tHaT wHiCh Is WrItTeN hAs BeEn ReWrItTeN. tWo ShAlL bE wHeRe ThErE iS bUt OnE. tHe LaSt Of ThE dRaGoNs HoLdS tHe KeY. tHe DaUgHtEr Of ThE fIrSt FlEeS tHe DaWn AnD tHe ReD rIgHt HaNd. FrOm EtHeReAl SkIeS sHaLl ThE pAtHs Be MaDe OpEn, FrOm ThE hAnD oF tHe LiGhT bRiNgEr To ThE hAnD oF tHe LoSt GoD."
Josh blinked again, oblivious to this and said, "I think He is fading from me..."
Jason seemed awestruck by the implications of what Yves had said, but quickly asked: "So the silence was caused by the breaking of the Seventh Seal?"
Josh had a sudden look of pain upon his face. His head bowed, and his brow creased with concentration. Then, faintly, as if something had snapped, there were a few short words in a voice clearer and more reminiscent of what once was, polyphonic, speaking in tongues. For a moment, it was as if Josh's head was surmounted by an celestial tongue of flame upon the brow.
"I Do Not For Certain Know. But Know This; The Lamb Holds Not The Scroll Of The Seven Seals, And It Is Not Where What Is Willed Must Be, Which Was To Be Its Place Until The Coming Of The Judgment."
"All Is Not As Was Written. Israfel, Most Beloved Of The Throne, Has Been Foresworn. His Revelations To John Have Been Made Untrue, And The Unthinkable Has Occurred."
There was a pause, then the disjointedness and weariness of the voice returned, and the flame died from Josh head.
"CaLl NoT fOr Me, OlD fRiEnD, fOr I wIlL nOt AnSwEr AgAiN. rEmEmBeR tHaT tHe SeRaPhIm CaN sTiLl HeAr Me. AnD fArE wElL."
There was quiet. The voice was gone.