Chapter 6
THE UNNAMED ANGEL
My study is a splendid room, a miniature Library of Alexandria, that once filled me with joy to seclude myself in for days at a time.
Now, like most things, I can hardly bear to exist in it.
I find myself struggling to focus on the grotesque glowing screens containing all of human history—all the recorded knowledge I wasn’t here to witness, and all the colossally unreliable mistellings of the history I had actually been here for.
. I’m constantly haunted by ghosts of the past, echoes of memories long forgotten.
I’m always reaching for something. Gaps.
Missing limbs. A part of me that no longer exists, one I was forced to give up to retain this useless sanity.
When I get what must be my hundredth visit of the day, I only stare at the door. They buzz, again and again, with that obnoxious feature taken from human technology.
“It’s important, Sir,” Amezarak finally states over the intercom.
I rub my temples for a long moment, considering the possibility of ignoring my Secundus.
Unfortunately, I can detect two other angels with him.
It’s rare for those outside of my Secretarii to be brought to this level, which means he’s unlikely to leave me alone about whatever his truly important issue must be.
Sliding the knife off my desk, I lean back into my leather chair.
It’s such an unsatisfying little blade. A letter opener, really, far inferior to my last dagger. But it suffices, managing to still draw blood as I drag the blade deep into my palm. I dab my other finger in the blood, quickly proceeding to draw the complex unlocking rune in the air.
“Be quick with it,” I say lowly, projecting my voice across the room like rolling smoke.
Amezarak enters with our company trailing behind him, his posture as proud and regal as ever. I wait for him to escort the bonded pair to the front of my desk before deigning to look at them in acknowledgment.
“To what do I owe this unexpected disturbance?”
They hold hands, looking more like two scared teenagers than the formidable archangels they are.
A most peculiar pair, with the female dressed in ridiculous, gaudy black clothes.
Pale-skinned, short, and dark-haired, she’s the male’s complete opposite.
At least she has the sense to hold her head down, fixing her eyes on the ground.
The male, however, stands tall and protective beside her, despite the fear radiating off of him in droves. “We humbly ask your audience to beg your forgiveness.”
Closing my eyes, I press my healed palm into my forehead. I’ll be genuinely impressed if these two can displease me further than their spawn already have. “What did you do?”
In the silence that follows, Amezarak takes a step closer, looming behind the pair. The teal runes covering his dark skin flare in warning. “Go on. Tell him what you told me.”
“We were assigned to a patrol on Earth last night, and our…” The boy swallows hard, his voice wavering. “Our control over our veils slipped. We, um… w-we were spotted.”
My eyes fly open, heat burning in them. “What was the assignment?”
He bites his lip, trembling. To my surprise, the girl speaks up instead, her soft voice a beautiful thing. “We were observing a small trio of Elohim field agents, Sir.”
“And did you eliminate them?”
Her eyes widen, and immediately, I recognize she hadn’t even considered hostility. Hot air escapes from my nose, and I press the bridge of it with my fingers. “Do you two not know how to think under pressure? At all? At least killing the patrol would have bought us more time.”
“We’re very, very sorry—”
I slam my hands down on my desk, pulling myself to my feet. “Amezarak, call the rest of the Secretarii to the Nerve Center for an emergency meeting.”
He nods, pausing just long enough to shoot a glare at the two archangels before he stalks out of the room.
“And as for you two heathens: If you value your comfortable life together here, you will not be leaving for the indefinite future. You’re now reassigned to reconstruction duty.
Full day shifts, six days a week. If Semyaza’s rats haven’t already given away our release, then we can thank your shared carelessness for the start of Armageddon. ”