A confusion of angels - lets get going
"Now, you've had a lot out of us and I want something out of you."
The boys had been walking around like caged animals and I could tell Xanthic was eager to act.
"And exactly what would that be?" Hal sounded calm but I enjoyed times like this, when I know Xanthic has something over the competition and the coming comeuppance, and everyone here knew it. So he sounded calm but he owed this Demon a favour.
"I want to know who the mother bird is." Xanthic said looking straight at the Angel who steely returned the stare.
"I have no idea what you are on about." Came the reply after a marked pause. "This is London, there are pigeons everywhere; just go and look."
"You know exactly what I mean and that was the poorest attempt at sarcasm I've heard since Noah moaned he forgot to pack his coat and got wet on the ark. Somewhere there is someone trying to change the game and isn't playing by the rules. Who are they?" Xanthic's words urged for an honest answer and at a pace. Harahel appeared to me to want to get up and leave the room. "I want to know who or what is causing ripples in my pond and I want it now."
"I don't know what you are on about, I really don't." Was all he could utter.
There was a building of tension and the musical aura that swam around each of these creatures from the extremes. It was like a night at the opera and the Hero was about to fight the Villain in the finale.
"Play it that way if you like, but I know that somewhere in there." He pointed at the library laptop, "Is the answers that I need. I am hunting someone who has decided to cause chaos and gather souls without letting the humans decide their fate. I want their name."
"I could look to see if there is any talk about where its happening if you care." Hal was cut off in his response by my employer who leaped the ten foot distance between them in a single bound and stood nose to nose with the Heavenly agent.
"I know where, its the who."
"You know where?" Hal said in astonishment, he beat me to the question by fractions of a second. I wasn't following everything here but could he possibly mean Wykham was the centre of an unholy cesspit of damnation, it seemed such a nice place and more to the point the bastard had sent me there alone......but.....didn't he go off somewhere on his own?
"Yes, you're going to tell me in a minute." He paused letting this sink in, "But I'm going to follow this crying lady that attacked my assistant in the hospital back to her nest to find out what she actually is. So look in your books and tell me who is mucking about in my parish before I have to smack you around the head with one."
Harahel looked and sounded (in my head) affronted. "There is nothing in here, " He tapped his laptop carefully with his palm. "If someone was playing outside the game let me assure you my side would come down incredibly heavy on them.
It was explained to me at a future point when Xanthic wanted to demonstrate his superior knowledge and experience that Angels are there to save souls and Demons do their very best to tarnish them; anyone with a vague association with the stories of Christianity know this. But the great game, which has been going on for many thousands of years, would end when one side has an overall majority of souls tallied against their score. Demons tempt and dirty innocents to convert them to their side and if they do it right that one human would go on to torment and agitate others and cause them to soil their own purity. The older Demons, set in their ways, would offer moments of sheer pleasure or revenge and claim one soul; but as Xanthic pointed out if you tell one human that all humans that don't look like them are wrong, then that on human would influence others and cause hatred and fear which would lead others to do the job for him and he, with a bit of free time, can go for a curry with the lads. Angels are playing the same game but offer ways to dry-clean dirtied souls and offer forgiveness to those who can forgive themselves. But Xanthic said this side had to work too hard to get anywhere close to a score draw. Both sides worked out many aeons ago that any soul stolen meant it went somewhere neither side could get to or claim and then a lot of aggravation was expelled by everyone to sort it all out. That and if one side got close to holding an overall majority and the World really would come to an end, then there would be no little country tea shops with which to exchange pleasantries in or expensive London bars in which to tell bankers they are heroes and should try a bit harder to take more money from the plebs and go back to the business of herding the souls until eternity ends; and where is the fun in looking at what you already have when there could be new ones with interesting diversions and ideas turning up all the time.
To take a soul and deliberately leave it in limbo was seen in the utmost distaste and stopped with permanency at the earliest possible opportunity.
Harahel looked at his laptop and his attempt to appear light and breezy as if merely checking his email tapping the odd key with one finger; this turned to two hands and then a fury of finger strikes across the keys until he was hunched over like a virtuoso composer at his grand piano banging out more notes than possible in the shortest possible time.
"I don't understand. I really don't understand this. There seems to be information missing......no not missing, edited and deleted. This is unacceptable at the highest order. Someone has taken from my library and if you pardon my ancient Greek, shit on my Heavenly ordained task in the most unforgivable act of treason. I don't even know how they could have got into the library let alone remove things.......I am not omnipotent, but I have the knowledge of God at my fingertips for all things possible in Heaven and on Earth, yet I find myself at a loss."
I could see his frustration; I felt for the man; Xanthic on the other hand looked upon this from a different point of view.
"So you can't tell me one thing made in a bargain and agreed upon between equals. You know what this means."
"I do." The Angel appeared smaller by the moment and although Xanthic never moved I could see by the shadows that were not there a huge fanged figure rising over a cowering mouse with claws ready to lacerate and rip.
"Yes, its your turn to buy the cakes, so lets get on shall we." Xanthic's feet went back up onto the table. "Oh, have a look at this will you. I think its more your sort of thing than mine. Make a nice wood flute don't you think?"
Xanthic withdrew the stick, once attached to Hastings' crutch, and threw it lazily to Harahel who plucked it out of the air and then, as animated toddler in the biscuit tin, started running around flapping.
"This is, it is isn't it? It's really.....how did you get this? We've been looking for evidence of.....for almost all of time, how?...."
"Ha, I take it your lot already returned our wayward knight. Pity, he may have told you more. I wonder what that package was that Valey didn't get if this was second prize." Xanthic got up, closed his coat around him and reached for my hand. "Time to go, now." We were halfway out of the room when Harahel chased after us.
"This is from the Tree?"
"The tree of knowledge sat at the centre of the universe and the first life to spring from the earth under His eyes. Yes, I believe it is. You have work to do, I want that name so go and find it. I imagine you'll be calling in some assistance and I don't really want to be around when this place is filled with holier than thou, well me at least, pious bastards who don't even know a decent pint and bacon sandwich when they see it. I'll email you my video." He then pulled me out of the room.
"What video?" Harahel called holding the stick and lovingly looking down at it as if it was a new born baby.
"Well you have a damsel in distress to collect in a couple of days, and I'm in a rush, people to see, dogs to run over, that sort of thing. Haven't you got a twig to look at and laptop to fiddle with?"
Harahel looked back at the laptop and then at his precious cargo. "Yes, yes, so much to do. See yourself out." He went back to his tasks and a thin reedy sound burst forth tone and pace as the Angel was engulfed by the work ahead of him.
Xanthic pulled me at pace towards the door, collecting Hastings' staff and throwing us out of the front door and into the Jag just as quick as he could. "Good job he didn't see this bit." He said tossing the staff into the cramped rear of the car. "Now lets get us to your hospital, I'm sure they'll let us in before visiting hours."
And, with a screech of tyres and a roar of an engine this select street was so unaccustomed to witnessing, we sped off into the lightening morning.
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