This is Allegra, Sarah said. But you already know that. Allie, this is Tamlel, generally considered to be in charge of scribes. And the young one is Sammael.
He was looking at me with a sulky expression, and Id always had little patience for sullen teenagers. Though this particular teenager was probably thousands of years old. And what are you in charge of?
There was a moment of silence, and then Sarah spoke. In fact, hes one of the angels of death. But since the Fallen have eternal life, he hasnt had much to do since he fell. Our only connection with humans is to take them to their final home.
One of the angels of death? I echoed. Like Raziel?
Raziel isnt a death angel.
You could have fooled me, I grumbled, thinking back to that bus. Whats he doing nowkilling someone new?
Tamlel looked distressed. We dont kill. We are charged with transporting
Never mind. I took pity on him.
Raziel is the angel of knowledge and mysteries, Sarah said patiently. He keeps the secrets of the ages.
Typical male, I muttered.
Sarah laughed, and even Tamlel smothered a grin. Sammael, however, kept a stony expression. Will one of you take Allie up to Raziel? He shouldnt have left her alone on her first day with us.
How long is she going to stay? Sammael demanded in a tone just this side of rudeness. I guess if you were an angel of death, you could get away with it.
We dont know yet. There are more important things to worry about right now. Her presence among us will be dealt with when the time is right.
That didnt sound particularly promising. I wasnt in the mood to be dealt with, and no one apart from Sarah seemed exactly delighted to see me, though at least Tamlel was trying, bless him.
Im afraid Ive promised to help Michael in the weapons room, Tamlel said. However, Sammael would be more than happy to serve. Sammael didnt look happy to do anything, but maybe that was because he looked like a teenager.
But clearly no one said no to Sarah. Thank you, Sammael. Ill take Allie back upstairsshell need warmer clothes if shes to go into the caves, and I wish to talk to her. You may join us in an hour.
Sammael bowed in acquiescence, and we started back toward the house.
Im worried about him, she said in a low voice.
Raziel? Or Sammael?
She laughed. Raziel. Sammael has always been like that. The Fallen are eternalthey tend not to change.
Great, I said. Last night Raziel had treated me like an unwelcome interloper, when it was hardly my fault I was here. I didnt fancy spending eternity feeling out of place. But apparently it wasnt the women who were eternal, only the damned men.
I glanced at Sarah as we climbed. She looked human, normal, friendly. There were no marks whatsoever on her wrist, the wrist that had been dripping blood into Raziels mouth.
Funny. Popular culture always seemed to suggest that vampiresexcuse me, blood-eaterswere sexual, that the drinking of blood was an erotic act.
In retrospect, last nights scene had seemed more like a mama bird feeding her baby. Though I doubted Raziel would enjoy being seen as a fuzzy hatchling.
Are you certain going up to the caves is a good idea? I said uneasily. I dont think Raziel will be particularly happy to see me.
Raziel gets his way far too much of the time, she said in her tranquil voice. Jarameel is usually the one who has visions, but
hes been gone for a long time, and my own are far too muddy and unclear. But I know youre here for a reason, and that reason has to do with Raziel.
There wasnt much I could say in response to that. Okay. I let the word sit for a moment. So whats he doing up in the caves?
Hes doing what everyone is doing. Hes looking for the First, she said.
The first what?
The First of the Fallen. We rounded another landing, and I was surprised to realize we were almost at the top. It was far less torturous with Sarah by my side.
Youre looking for Lucifer? Why? What happened to him?
She looked startled. I forgot you were a biblical scholar.
All right, I could be embarrassed. Hardly. I writeI wrote Old Testament mysteries. I have a certain amount of basic knowledge, but for the rest I just Googled what I needed to know.
Googled?
I realized with sudden horror that I hadnt seen a computer anywhere in this place. Maybe this was hell. Looked it up, I clarified.
Ah, no wonder Uriel hated you, she said. He takes history very seriously. He takes everything very seriously.
I dont understand about Uriel. Whats he got to say about things?
Everything. When God gave mankind free will, he left Uriel in charge. And Uriel is . . . For a moment words failed her, and the look in her eyes was bleak. . . . quite unforgiving. His answer to everything that even hints of evil is to destroy it. And he sees evil in everything.
We had stopped for the moment, and I considered the consequences of such an attitude. That doesnt sound too good for the future of mankind.
Its not good for the future of life in any form. She pushed open the door in front of us. Thats why we search for Lucifer.