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Raziel was in the parking lot behind the cathedral; when Charmeine had called, he’d been about to drive back up to Silver Trail to go over proposed blueprints for the first Camp Angel. “Excellent,” he said, resting his forearms on the roof of his black BMW. “So she believes you then. ”
Charmeine sounded more tired than ever. She managed a low laugh; it tickled at his ear. “Oh, yes. It was a case of ‘fish, meet barrel’. I thought you said the woman was a trained CIA agent. ”
The day was cold, with a gun-metal sky; Raziel climbed into the car for warmth and settled against the comfortable leather seat. “Now, now, give her some credit,” he chided. “Hardly anyone knows Nate worked with her. It must have seemed quite the definitive proof that you’re a rogue too. So she’s got the information now?” From what he’d gleaned from Willow, Kylar actually hadn’t been doing badly on his own, though Raziel knew he still needed several crucial pieces of information.
“Yes, everything they’ll need,” said Charmeine. “Plus one or two little details that’ll get your Angel Killers trapped inside the building once they’re finished, so that we can take care of them. ”
“Perfect. But she hasn’t actually made contact with Kylar yet, has she?” Raziel was sure she hadn’t; Willow’s thoughts lately had been preoccupied with the plan to try to get the information from the Church. That and her love life, which was fascinating in a sickly way.
“Not yet,” said Charmeine. “I thought it would be best if she could track him down on her own if possible, so that it doesn’t seem like I know too much. Fortunately there’s a mass demonstration scheduled in the Zócalo around the same time as that special service at the cathedral you said they’re going to – she’s already decided it’s a likely place for him to be, with so many angels liable to be around. So with luck, they’ll encounter each other. If not, I’ll have to tell her my rogue angel powers have figured out where they live. ”
Raziel frowned. “Just stay away from the team yourself,” he cautioned. “My— The half-angel is extremely psychic. ”
Charmeine’s tired voice snapped with irritation. “Raziel. She’s what, seventeen? I know I’m under daily psychic attack here, but come on – you don’t think I could outwit a complete novice?”
In the car, Raziel was still shaking his head at himself for his near-slip. “There’s no need to take chances, that’s all. ”
“Fine, I wasn’t intending to go near them anyway. People who can shoot halos make me nervous. Which reminds me; you really might have told them to ease off a little. There’ve been over twenty angel deaths in two weeks here – and that’s with not as much feeding going on as usual, now that the roots the Twelve have been putting down are starting to take affect. ”
“Oh?” said Raziel uneasily. “Is anything going to be done about it?”
“No, I don’t think so. Angels here are up in arms, but there’s not much that can be done, the way they’re striking – there’s never any knowing where, or what time. ”
Raziel was unsurprised; Kylar was nothing if not a good strategist. “Well, I’ll do my best to reign them in,” he said. “But they’re very keen, you know. ”
He heard Charmeine snort. “Thanks, that’s good of you,” she said. “Anyway, in a few more days it might not even matter any more. ”
“How are you doing?” Her weary tone worried him; she sounded like a woman struggling to hold on.
He could almost see her making a face. “All right, I suppose. But I’m glad the reception’s soon. I’m counting the hours until I don’t have to keep up a psychic barricade any more. ”
Anxiety prickled over him. “It’s getting harder for you to hold them off, isn’t it?”
Her voice turned crisp. “Don’t worry – I can hold out till the bitter end, I promise. Meanwhile, I suppose you’ve heard about Tyrel. ”
“Yes, I’ve heard,” said Raziel shortly. The news in the angel community was that the Council had recently appointed Tyrel to run the Church of Angels in Mexico – an angel who’d been a hated adversary of Raziel’s for eons. Doubtless, this was exactly why the Twelve had appointed him.
“Well, we’re going to have the last laugh,” said Charmeine. “You’ll be travelling down for the fun, won’t you?”
Raziel gazed at the mountains, looming sharply against the blue sky. No matter what other consequences the attack might bring, the Council would soon be dead – and if their deaths killed him too, he wanted the last sight he ever saw to be the twinkling shards of their destruction. Thinking of their TV appearance, with their thinly-veiled death sentence to him – That is our promise – he gave a hard smile.
“Oh, I’ll be there,” he said. “I’ll book a flight tonight. ”
“Good. Because you know, I think we actually have a chance. It just feels different in this world, doesn’t it? We might really survive this. ”
Once he and Charmeine had hung up, Raziel took his laptop out of his briefcase. With a silent click of a button, he turned it on and opened the files from Project Angel, the covert CIA department which had funded and overseen the Angel Killers. He’d managed to take it over months ago; the special agents now all had angel burn, or had been killed.
Except one.
A few strokes on the mouse pad, and a photo appeared on the screen: a résumé head-and-shoulders shot of an intense-looking young woman with shoulder-length brown hair. Sophie Kinney – a junior agent who’d been quickly elevated by the angelic invasion of her department; she and the traitor Nate had barely made it out in time to save their lives. From his exploration of Willow’s thoughts, Raziel knew about Sophie’s role the day the Second Wave had arrived. She and Nate had taken Willow to the cathedral by helicopter; Nate had stayed behind to help Willow with the attack on the gate – and been killed, as it turned out; the memory filled Raziel with satisfaction. Meanwhile, Sophie had escaped to a safe location. Smart girl.
But she’d been seen by the security guard at the back door. The same security guard who she’d later tracked down to question in disguise, in an attempt to find out where Kylar had gone – because as far as she knew, he was the only Angel Killer left in the world. Raziel’s response to the security guard’s worried email had praised him for his devotion to the angels and asked him to keep his encounter with Sophie confidential.
Just send me the contact details that were left with you, and the angels will take care of the matter, he’d finished. And he had done so to perfection. His email to Sophie had, he thought, been something of a masterpiece.
I understand you’re looking for Alex Kylar. So am I. I was a friend of your former colleague Nathaniel, and share Nathaniel’s goals. There are several of us in Mexico City – where, as you might not be aware, there have been multiple angel killings recently. We believe Alex Kylar is here, and that he’s formed a new group of Angel Killers. There are further details that I cannot disclose via email, but as a matter of extreme urgency, we feel that you, our group, and his need to join forces in order to battle the threat that faces this world.