War meeting.
The city lights shone in silver and gold, nimbus of colour illuminating the night and dimming even the stars with their brilliance. The city that to the world embodied the very concept of cities, New York, shone under the clear sky like a carpet of jewels or twinkling dew on gossamer.
Jason looked about as the mortals went to sleep, and started by saying "I think I have talked to both of you about parts of what has happened that you have not told each other. So let me start by summarizing what I know and you two can fill in the blanks where appropriate. OK?"
"The earliest thing I know of that appears to be related to our current situation is that Azazel, Demon of Despair, a Shedim of Fate appears to have been planning the fall of Nathaniel a Pastor and Mercurian of Laurence. He apparently used Dr. Evalyn Willis to get to Nathaniel.�
�She had an abusive brother who threatened and stalked her...quite possible while possessed by Azazel. She came to Nathaniel for protection. Shortly before Nathaniel's collapse Evalyn's brother killed her parents and followed her to Nathaniel's church, waiting outside for her. When Nathaniel collapsed Azazel told her to help him, she did and Nathaniel used his resonance on her, seeing her pain - at the loss of her parents - and that her brother was waiting outside. To protect her, Nathaniel killed her brother, and she helped. She has already received Orli's Judgement for what she has done. It is possible that Nathaniel fell because of this.�
"Evalyn is quite an extraordinary human. Not only does she have a high perception, but she is capable of becoming a Soldier of God, and it my intention to take her along that path. I am attuned to her and have looked into her Destiny and Fate. Her Fate is to bring about the Fall of an Angel, the Destruction of an Angel, and to convince Lucifer to Act. Some pretty heavy stuff. Fear, Despair and Regret are the weaknesses that could drive her to her Fate. Her Destiny is similarly impressive. It is to bring about the Redemption of a Fallen, Destroy another, and convince an ArchAngel to change for the better. I assume that Nathaniel is the subject of the first part of both, that Azazel and one of us - most likely me - is the subject of the second parts, and have no ideas on the third part.�
Karen quietly asked "Is it possible that the destruction of Ashkiel was a part of Evalyn's Fate? Or perhaps her Destiny? If she was that closely entwined with you, then possibly it could be in some way related to her that Raphael was found and taken from the library." She frowned and pondered something for a moment, then asked "Is there anyway to find out in what way she has convinced Lucifer to act? Or if in fact that is something she is yet to do? Has her Fate begun and can it be altered or prevented if we remove Fear, Despair and Regret from her life - at least for the time being? And who is the Archangel? As far as I can see we're rapidly running out of those..."
"Sure, anything is possible, that was all of the information I got. I am not aware of her being in any way related to Ashikel though. That is part of why I want to get as much information out as possible, so we can try to tie some of these things together. I am not sure that she has actually achieved any part of her Destiny or her Fate yet. As to altering them, they are not necessarily going to happen. Think of them as limits on a scale of potential. Some people have great potential for virtue and little potential for vice, others are the opposite. Some have a great deal of potential in both directions, and some have very little of either.
"The agents of Kronos work exclusively on those who have a great deal of potential in one direction or both. So anyone who is involved in Azazel's plots is likely to have the potential to be a truely significant person on Earth. The agents of Yves on the other hand try to help everyone... and that includes animals... to achieve their Destiny and avoid their Fate. I don't want to know if Denis ' or Frederick�s Destinies are sufficient that they are worthy of my help. It doesn't matter to me. I want that information so that I can get a bit more information on how this all fits together and more importantly so that I don't do something that would lead them to their Fate. That is what gives me dissonance.
"Being a Cherub of Destiny has many pitfalls I'm afraid. Cherubim tend to be very selective of who they attune themselves to so that they don't get in a situation where they have divided loyalties. Without the Elohim and Mercurian eyes for emotion and relationships we must figure out how to help people do the right thing on their own. Often times something as simple as a bunch of flowers, a joke or a couple of well chosen words of encouragement at the right time can do it. Something to boost people's spirits when they are down. That is why I am so detail-oriented. I have to use perception and attention to detail to overcome my inability to do what Orli here can do in a glance...." Jason's voice trailed off and he was silent for a while. (for once! :)
Orli sats quietly now, listening to what the others had to say. She nodded sympathetically to Jason, but it was clear that she didn't really understand what the degree of seperation that he was describing was like. "Being selective is sensible," she agreed. "All anyone expects is that you use your own judgement. Such as not attuning to demons, that sort of thing, " she waved a hand airily -- to her it was evidently all very simple.
Karen simply shook her head bemusedly and smiled wryly at Jason, making no attempt to try to explain the hows and whys of selecting attunements to Lynne.
Finally, Jason continued again. "We have to talk to Nathaniel and find out everything we can about what happened. Hopefully he will be willing to help us with Azazel, possibly with Raphael and mostly with Evalyn. Her brother has not been reported missing...or dead yet. We will have to determine what to do about that as well. Orli has acquired a number for Nathaniel, at a local detective agency. Evalyn is due for a moral struggle this coming weekend, and will be in some physical danger as well. So we have some time, but not too much.�
"I met up with Azazel yesterday morning at the church when I went to see Nathaniel. He had possessed the body of a young boy who, with a friend, were defiling the church and looking for Nathaniel. He said he was to bring him back for a talk with his Master. I managed to fend him off, and burn the boy badly - causing him to lose his vision. This would have sealed his Fate, but for Raphael coming to my aid and taking the wounds on him/herself. Raphael is the Angel of Healing, my immediate superior and another Angel of Destiny. S/he has the ability to take other's wounds upon him/herself, and also to redeem the Fallen as S/he was once an ArchAngel. The boy's, Josh's, destiny was to become a great painter. So Azazel picks his 'victims' well.�
"The upshot of my encounter with Azazel was that I met up with Raphael, who was blinded and further injured, and the church was burned to the ground. Azazel was inhabiting a number of bodies at the time.�
"Does anyone have anything else to add about this particular string of events that might be important?" Jason gave everyone a questioning look.
Karen spoke. "I ended up at the church just in time for the fire. Melanie and I were there, partially to investigate signs of Shedim demons reported in the area - and I still have a few leads there to follow up if I get the time to do so: witnesses who reported UFO abductions and such. These lead on from my investigations into the disappearance of Sonja. When she vanished witnesses had similar reports of lights and losing time. They also described what I think were a Shedim and a Kalabim demon, working together, as a tall white woman and a medium sized black man."
Jason said, "I think we should investigate those leads. We might be able to find out something useful. My sense is that we have most of a week at least until Evalyn is in trouble. What kind of a sense did you get when you attuned to Denis?"
Karen went on, finishing her train of thought, before answering Jason. "I had also been asked by Shebbath, Kyriotate of Laurence to look into the disappearance of Nathaniel while she and others who serve Laurence gather in Paris to discuss what has happened." She paused "If only we had time to follow that up...if only one of Laurence's followers had the presence of mind to learn how to use a phone." She looked back at the other angels and removes the tone of contempt from her voice "Um...sorry...where was I?�
Orli had the grace to look slightly embarrassed at this point, and admited in an undertone, "It took me about 5 minutes to find the on-switch when I first acquired a mobile, and I'm supposed to be good at human things -- you couldn't design them to be a bit more.. ahh.. intuitive?" She added, more sternly, "I do think that we have sufficient reason to be grateful to Laurence's servants for the sterling and tireless work which they do in combatting the forces of evil to not badmouth them in private!"
Then, more moderately, with less certainty, "Although ... I agree that I wish I knew what they were planning. We have to assume the armies of heaven know what they are doing.. don't we?"
Karen looked completely unrepentant about her comments on Laurence's followers "Well, it's true! And I wasn't badmouthing them. Do you know how Shebbath said to contact her? By post office box! I mean, I offered her my number, but she refused even to consider picking up a phone... and I doubt she's even heard of email!" Karen suddenly stops her little tirade and blushes "Um... sorry. I get a little carried away about these things at times. I guess I'm serving the right archangel for my nature."
Orli shrugged, cleared her throat and continued, "Anyway, I don't think that we can assume anything at the moment. For all we know they are as confused and uncertain as we are. But at least we can hope."
�Right...� said Karen, then continued, �So anyway, we arrived on the scene and heard tales of Jason and Raphael from a few sources. We also checked up on the boys who were hurt in the fire. They are both going to be OK, by the way."
She looked directly at Jason "So there was no sign of Nathaniel at the church at all? Or did he leave when this all started? All I could gather from the church area was that someone had taken on celestial form - I assume that was you Jason? Someone had also used the Celestial Song of Shields to delay all symphonic noise until after the event. I also felt a more subtle sound following those of the disturbance. I believe that it was Raphael taking on Dave's wounds, but I could be wrong there. I also caught signs of blood from Stigmata, again I may be wrong in attributing them to Raphael, although with the amount of blood flowing from Him/Her when we met, I doubt it." Pain in rememberance clouded her expression. "One other things was that I found signs of a Kalabim demon at the church, in addition to the obvious signs of a Shedim. This is something that, at least to me, speaks of a link between the cases of Nathaniel and Sonja."
Jason said, "No, Nathaniel was not there. Azazel had possessed a boy named Josh who, with another youth, were looking for Nathaniel. Azazel told me he was to bring Nathaniel back to his Master when he mistook me for Nathaniel. I did not have enough Essence to go Celestial or I might have. Azazel did the Celestial Song of Shields and with Josh dying on the blaze I had created, left him and went Celestial. He then told me that Josh's Destiny was to be a great painter. Apparently he was possessing a number of people at the time, spread out somewhat in area. He said 'Help or Hurt?'. With his Celestial form spread so thin I probably could have hurt him pretty badly. I would love to be able to tie Azazel to both cases. I don't want to have to fight more than one Shedim." Jason finished with a sigh.
Karen continued "One other thing: While I was standing there looking around, I noticed a man watching me. When our gazes met there was recognition on both sides, although I can't for the life of me recall where I�ve seen him before. He was tall, with a massive build, with ebony skin. He was wearing a red T-shirt and jeans. As I moved towards him he ran off and I lost him. I think I remember him from a very very long time ago... but I don't know where or when" Her voice trails off, memory working it's hardest to try and remember anything more, but failing. "Perhaps he was the black man described by the witnesses to Sonja's abduction...but I don't think so. He was definitely not medium-sized."
"If he was bald and clean-shaven it might have been Karlial."
Orli had listened to the cherubim discussing the fire at the church without interrupting, only pausing to make a few quick notes, then she paused in her note-taking and raised an eyebrow. "Nice of one of Michael's servants to help you out when you were in a fight if it was him, Jason." she commented very dryly. Then made another note and glanced up again. "If he arrived afterwards then I'm not impressed. What is the POINT of having warrior angels around if they can't turn up when you need them?"
She murmured something about knowing that she was at some point supposed to swear allegiance to Michael but still...
Karen nodded. "Yes he was bald and clean shaven! I remember now. Its been centuries, but yes - it was definitely Karlial." She didn't seem to catch Lynne's later comments.
Karen excused herself from the conversation briefly at this point and called back to her office to check to see if any messages for her had been left, or if anything else had been called to her attention that wasn't phoned through. She also checked email. Lynne and Jason quietly mused over everything they had heard so far.
After about a quarter hour, Karen returned. "Speaking of Archangels, which we were before, do either of you know any servitors of Novalis that might be amenable to answering a question or two? I've never had a particularly good relationship with Her servitors." her tone of voice made it clear that this was something she had no urge to change.
Orli glanced up at Karen and gave her head another shake, listening.
"I was just thinking that maybe one of Her servitors might be able to shed a little more light on the thorn and the demon." She glanced at Jason "Hey... didn't you mention Raphael ran into Novalis the day he was taken? And that she said they should speak at a later point about what happened with the Silence? Perhaps she would be willing to speak to you in lieu of Raphael, under the circumstances? It is another possible source of information. Perhaps if we're really lucky she may even help up out with rescuing Raphael? I mean, I�d feel a whole lot better about going to hell if we had an Archangel with us... even if it's Novalis."
"I don't know any servitors around here. There is a tether for her in Central Park. Only a few blocks from here. We could certainly give that a try." said Jason.
"I think that would be a good idea," the mercurian interjected mildly. "Novalis is a healer as well as one who understands plants, and.. that thorn worries me. I know I would feel more comfortable if we could contact at least one superior who might offer us aid, even if it was just essence or advice. I do trust Jason, and I know we will do the best that we can but.. it would be preferable to have a view from the seraphim council."
Karen winced as she again gained Lynne's disapproval for her opinions, and tried to focus her attention on Jason for the moment. The other woman continued to make some brief notes and didn't seem to notice. Or perhaps she was used to that reaction. Karen then nodded "Yes, heading to Central Park wouldn't take long. Perhaps one or two of us could even duck out there tonite while we wait for them..." She gestures towards the bedrooms "...to wake up? Although i doubt Novalis would take kindly to speaking with me because I serve Jean. They've never really gotten along well. It's so hard to decide what to start with."
Jason looked up as if from a trance. After examining Karen's wounds earlier and the thorn since then for awhile his silence had deepened. "I think that we should all go see Novalis. I think that she was one of the people who created the weapon that you were struck with. I seem to recall a weapon that did both Celestial and Corporeal damage, but I will have to do some more research to get more details." Pointing to the thorn he said "It does not exude an Angelic or Demonic resonance, so it must have been created by both or neither. Tomorrow, after I have had some time to do some research, I think we should go see if we can find Novalis."
"I still intend to travel to LA tomorrow," Lynne commented mildly. "Unless either of you feel I would be more significantly useful here. I have an Order to investigate the silence and in all good conscience I cannot leave any stone unturned."
"That is fine, although I get the feeling you may find out a lot more here than in LA if my guess is correct, but more on that later." Jason smiled mischievously
"But notwithstanding I think this sounds like a good idea.� Continued Orli. �I'm sure Novalis wouldn't be one to hold a grudge, especially if whoever goes approaches her and the tether with suitable respect."
Jason paused for a little while, thinking. "This could actually be a very luck break for us." Again pointing to the thorn he continued "This could be a very powerful weapon against a Shedim. Enough to drive him from a host without killing it, and wounding him Celestially to boot. Hopefully enough that I can destroy him in Celestial combat."
Karen continued. "Hmmm...you also mentioned that the library tether was linked to Notra-Dame now didn't you? perhaps that is a way of following up on Laurence and his people if we want to. You said Raphael ascended the tether and ended up in Paris. Did S/he mention how S/he got back? Back down the tether?"
Jason nodded. "Yes, Raphael attempted to ascend while I went to teach a class. S/he ended up in Notra-Dame instead of Heaven... a bit of a disappointment to say the least. I assume s/he came back down the tether. I would like to find out if the other tethers go to Heaven still, I guess we can check that out if we go to see Novalis."
Karen seemed vaguely troubled by this, but pushed on, "There was also the matter of Michael and Karlial: I am still curious about why Karlial didn't want Michael to know who you were, Jason. Perhaps because of your connection with Yves rather than with Ashkiel? Perhaps you might want to try contacting Karlial again and seeing if you can find out anything more? Whenever I think of Michael tromping around like a righteous thug looking for a fight I get very very worried about whoever happened to get into his path."
"Yeah, when a Cherub of Michael warns you off, you leave. When Michael is wearing his Mantle of Ender of Light, and the Cherub is warning you about him, you leave in a hurry! I am not sure that Karlial knew anything about Ashikel, like that she was in the City for instance. I assumed that it had something to do with Michael and Yves, but I have no idea. I would love to find out, but I think that Karlial put himself in enough danger for me already. I have no intention of getting him in any deeper."
Jason took a minute to think about some of the new information he had gotten from Karen, deciding what went where and how this might all fit together. When he was done he asked Karen: "Can you give us the story with Sonja and Denis? I don't think Orli has heard the beginning, and I am interested about some details."
Orli had gotten a bit unhappily twitchy when Karen refers to Michael as a righteous thug. She chewed her lip and presses her pen harder into her notepad as she wrote. Finally she sighed and looks up, commenting merely, "Look on the bright side. You aren�t the one who is going to have to enter his service(!)."
Karen nods in agreement to Jason's request, although her expression lost any element of cheerfulness that it had gained over the course of the conversation as she was reminded of her failings. She looked up in semi-shock however when Lynne mentioned entering Michael's service "You? I mean why? Why on earth and in Heaven would you want to enter service with Michael? You don't strike me as the beat 'em up type."
The Mercurian shrugged a shoulder and concentrated on picking non-existent fluff from her jacket, the body language saying louder than any words how uncomfortable she was with the subject. Finally she simply said, "If it is willed that I do so, then I shall aim to serve as best I can, naturally." It came out sounding more stern than she probably intended, and she flipped another page of her notepad.
Then remembering that she is supposed to be more supportive of the establishment in general she cleared her throat and nods to Karen, looking up with curiousity. "I'd love to hear about it, if it isn't too painful?"