let me be the one you call / if you jump I'll break your fall

[impudentsongbird]

Book Four: Dark Days
1 | into the breach
2 | finding skulduggery
3 | retreat to the tunnels
4 | into the cacophony
5 | sanctuary in the cathedral
6 | reuniting old friends
7 | kenspeckle's new patient
8 | holy water and disinfectant
9 | objecting to china sorrows
10 | the roadtrip
11 | baffling guild
12 | shenanigans at the safehouse
13 | reassuring fletcher
14 | valkyrie's intervention
15 | solomon's revelation
16 | visiting the edgleys
17 | recalled to the sanctuary
18 | guild's confusion
19 | gabe is busted
20 | the psychic tattoist
21 | envisioning the cacophony
22 | angel's first migraine
23 | the morning after
24 | china and solomon
25 | detectives' council of war
26 | china's foolishness
27 | the collector dethroned
28 | finding crux
29 | skulduggery's vileness revealed
30 | sorrows in aftermath
31 | finding equilibrium
32 | the devil's number
33 | at the carnival
34 | meeting authorities
35 | solomon's confession
36 | the stray soul
37 | sanguine unsettled
38 | solomon's choice
39 | a cowboy underground
40 | in scarab's basement
41 | striking midnight
42 | craven contested
43 | emergency services
44 | on your feet
45 | and don't stop moving
46 | easy recognition
47 | a deuce of an evening
48 | engines roaring
49 | compromising judgements
50 | solomon's conflict
51 | axis turning
52 | thinking circular
53 | blasting the past
54 | reviling vile

Book Five: Mortal Coil
55 | sanctuary unsanctified
56 | shudder unravelling
57 | catching an angel
58 | layering dimensions
59 | dead men meeting
60 | when it rains
61 | power plays
62 | sing on gold
63 | the valley of death
64 | grand aspersions
65 | no evil feared
66 | new days rising
67 | angelic neuroses
68 | step-brothers working
69 | the many sorrows of china
70 | peacefully wreathed
71 | tarnished gold
72 | the secret in darkness
73 | magical intent
74 | scars worth keeping
75 | benefits of a beau
76 | grand magery
77 | lighting the darkness
78 | old dogs and new tricks
79 | flouting traditions
80 | drawing lines
81 | brothers and sisters in arms
82 | channelling angels
83 | return of the carnies
84 | the death bringers
85 | meriting agelessness
86 | knick knack, paddy
87 | give a dog a bone
88 | americans propheteering
89 | the right side of honour
90 | tailored shocks
91 | hosting angels
92 | elders anonymous
93 | rediscovered strays
94 | changings and changelings
95 | a state of reflection
96 | adding hope
97 | the devil's truth
98 | dead mens' hospitality
99 | lives half lived
100 | next to godliness
101 | devilish plans
102 | beached angels
103 | lights of revelation
104 | heroes worshipped
105 | new devilries
106 | angels under the yoke
107 | brains frozen
108 | father, mother, daughter
109 | parental guidance recommended
110 | driven round the bend
111 | ongoing training
112 | privileged information
113 | reasonable men
114 | passing the buck
115 | gifting magicks
116 | strengths and weaknesses
117 | immaturity's perks
118 | priests and prophets
119 | scaling evil
120 | blowing covers
121 | marring an afternoon
122 | lie detection
123 | five-dimensional pain
124 | reliving nightmares
125 | taking stock
126 | sampling spices
127 | sleeping prophets lying
128 | rueful returns
129 | dead men reunion
130 | medically-approved hugs

The life of an angel was a contradiction in changes and stability. On one hand, they understood very well the way the cosmos was shaped by events within it. On the other, they stood at one step apart from it—or at least had, for a very long time, up until their Master's recent wager with Lucifer. Changes in the recent past had, even for angels, been fast and turbulent, but there were none that concerned Raphael more than Gabriel's abrupt reserve.

In the aftermath of the wager Gabriel had been almost the only one to know where their Lord was at any given time, a fact which had put the Archangel very firmly under Lucifer's radar. Raphael had joked that Gabriel ought to arm himself with more jokes or worse clothes to drive the fallen angel away; Michael had offered the peace of the Garden Coast. (Rafe thought his idea was better.)

Either way, even though their Master was fair hidden, every angel knew that they had only to ask Gabriel and the Archangel would pass on a message.

Then Gabriel had simply blipped off the radar himself. Poof! Gone! No one had noticed at first, because, well, they weren't exactly in constant connection. It was just when Raphael had taken a whim to seek out his younger brother that he'd noticed it, and let it be, because there was absolutely a reason for it. Gabe did not just off and vanish, except that once with his self-exile, and that didn’t count.

But when Gabriel had come back, he had been strangely agitated and yet close-mouthed. The younger Archangel had vanished off to wherever their Master was hidden for a long chat Raphael was dying to have listened into, and yet couldn't (but only partly because it would have been rude). Now he was here, floating among the stars and examining a black hole with unnerving intensity.

For a time Raphael watched without letting on that he was there, but eventually Gabriel spoke. “I’d rather you came to join me instead of lurking, brother.”

Absolutely refusing to feel chagrined, Raphael let himself manifest with an arm around Gabriel’s shoulders and ruffled the younger angel’s hair. Gabriel threw a fond, longsuffering glance up at him, but there was something in his eyes, something distracted and sharp, which indicated that Gabriel still wasn’t truly present. Raphael only wished he knew where the other Archangel was.

“Just wondering what you’re doin’ all the way out here,” he said teasingly. “There’s a party going on down there on Earth, Gabe.” There was always a party going on down on Earth. “You oughta be down there bobbin’ for apples and switching up party-hats!”

“I can’t,” Gabriel said quietly, with a sort of seriousness Raphael had, for all Gabriel’s literalness, rarely heard from him. So Raphael fell into the same seriousness, lost his playful accent, and spoke directly.

“Why not, brother? You’ve been reserved of late. I conf—I’m worried for you.”

For a very long time Gabriel said nothing and stared into the slow-turning swirl of the black hole. Raphael waited patiently, his arm still companionably across the other Archangel’s shoulders. Eventually Gabriel spoke. “Did you know, Raphael,” he said, “that the universe you see around you here isn’t the only one our Master has created?”

Raphael was so startled that he couldn’t answer. That wasn’t what he was imagining. He hadn’t been sure what he’d been imagining, but that wasn’t it. “I’m not sure what you mean, Gabriel,” he said after a moment. “Our Lord told me the story of Creation not all that long ago, and he never mentioned anything of the kind.”

Gabriel nodded. “He told me that story as well. And then He asked if I really wanted to know details.” He hesitated. “I … admit, I declined. It’s something He said—about faith. I decided I didn’t need to know details. But it’s true, nevertheless. Just beyond this …” The Archangel reached out his hand and touched that gossamer and unbreakable fabric that supported reality. “There are other universes, even with different versions of us.”

“Different versions of us?” Raphael repeated, appalled and uncertain and entirely confused. How could that be possible? What could their Master want with more than one of any of them? What was going on? Where had Gabriel gone in that time he’d vanished? Then something occurred to him and he smiled with relief. “This is a joke, right?”

Gabriel looked up at him and smiled back with such a gentle understanding that for a moment Raphael felt very small indeed. “No, Rafe. I’m not joking. It was a shock to me too. That isn’t the point, though.”

“Isn’t it?” Raphael asked, feeling as dazed as an angel possibly could, especially when he wasn’t even inhabiting an actual physical body.

“No.” Gabriel returned to watching the black hole intently. “I met some people from other realities. One of them is in a kind of Hell, and he very much does not deserve it. I promised him that, if I could, I would save him from it.”

Which did not in the least explain why Gabe was staring at a black hole, let alone a million other questions Raphael would have liked to ask and for which he couldn’t find the words. Finally he found one. “How?”

“First,” Gabriel said with a sort of tranquillity Raphael had heard in his brother’s voice a million times but never after delivering so turbulent a piece of news, “I’m going to jimmy open a crack in the door through this hole.”

Raphael stared at Gabe, and then at the black hole, and then back at Gabe. He opened his mouth to ask whether their Master knew he was planning this and then closed it, because that was a stupid question. He opened it again to query if Gabriel had asked whether he could go around lifting the sheets and then realised that was also a stupid question, because whether he had or not, their Master probably would have told him to do what he felt was best.

It was equally clear that Gabriel very much planned to go through with this, no matter what Raphael said, and really, did Raphael have the right to object? Surely if this carried a risk, their Master would have already forbidden Gabriel from making the attempt?

“I’ll come with,” Raphael said at last, and this time when Gabriel glanced back the younger Archangel’s expression was startled. A moment later that expression shifted into grateful apology.

“I’m sorry, Rafe, but I’m not entirely certain I’ll make it through, and we can hardly leave Michael here alone.” He grinned. “Did you see what he was wearing last festival day on the Garden Coast? He hasn’t moved out of the eighteenth century yet. How would he possibly handle the rest of the world?”

Raphael laughed out loud, warm but startled, and the sound of it rang through space. Gabriel chuckled quietly beside him, and for a few minutes there was just companionable humour that faded into an equally comfortable silence.

Still, Raphael had a lot of questions. How did Gabriel plan to find his friend, let alone the universe he was in? How was he going to get back? What would he do if he met another version of himself? Or, worse, Lucifer? Finally the Archangel just asked, “Have you figured out how to crack open the door?”

“I think so,” Gabriel said, considering the black hole. “Once I figured out what to look for. I wouldn’t have gotten even that far if it weren’t for some things our Master said.”

Which meant that, in some fashion, this expedition was sanctioned by their Master, Raphael translated, and something tense in him relaxed. “Something do to with this drain here, I’ll bet,” he said, falling into his casual accent once more. “Gonna rip out the kitchen sink, li’l brother?”

“Just to see what’s hiding underneath,” Gabriel said with a grin.

“I’ll try’n keep it open for ya,” Raphael promised, and Gabriel sent him a smile which lit up the very space around them with its brilliance.

“Thank you, Rafe,” he said, and straightened. Raphael took his arm away as Gabriel lifted his hands, not exactly stepping back so much as giving Gabriel space. The youngest Archangel didn’t often reveal his power, but it was always a sight to see, a song to hear, when he did.

As it was now. Gabriel’s voice started deep, lifted high, split and wove and became more melodies than one would think a single being could possibly sing at once. The sound of it made Raphael’s heart soar, made him want to fly and laugh. It was so deep, so light, so resonating that it was physical; it touched the slow turn of the black hole and made it, for just the briefest of moments, still. In that moment Gabriel sent a carefully-aimed bolt of energy into the heart of it.

It was the kind of sight Raphael hadn’t seen in thousands of years, a play of physics and metaphysics which he hadn’t thought possible, let alone imagined. There was an eruption in the centre of the black hole, where gravity was condensed; the cascade of energy plumed upward and was dragged back down as quick, a tear in the fabric of the reality not allowed the time to widen or become a danger.

Raphael didn’t even know Gabe had moved until the younger Archangel was gone, he was so busy staring in awe. With a start the Archangel stretched out his senses and just barely managed to catch a glimpse of his brother shooting toward the hole at speeds few angels could have achieved through such a gravity well. Raphael certainly couldn’t have.

How, he suddenly wondered, was he meant to keep that open if he didn’t even have the speed of thought to track Gabriel’s movements through it?

Desperately the Archangel cast about for something to jam in the door, as it were. There was some dark matter nearby and with a thought he fashioned it into a spear and pitched it toward the centre of the black hole. It struck just as Gabriel flitted through the crack nearly wholly collapsed in on itself; the star’s gravity caught it, pulled it in, and plugged the opening like a metaphysical sink.

Slowly Raphael made every part of himself relax. For good or ill, Gabe was gone on this quest of his, and now Raphael should probably go and round up some of their younger siblings to guard the area. Just in case.


Book Four: Dark Days
into the breach | finding skulduggery | retreat to the tunnels | into the cacophony | sanctuary in the cathedral | reuniting old friends | kenspeckle's new patient | holy water and disinfectant | objecting to china sorrows | the roadtrip | baffling guild | shenanigans at the safehouse | reassuring fletcher | valkyrie's intervention | solomon's revelation | visiting the edgleys | recalled to the sanctuary | guild's confusion | gabe is busted | the psychic tattoist | envisioning the cacophony | angel's first migraine | the morning after | china and solomon | detectives' council of war | china's foolishness | the collector dethroned | finding crux | skulduggery's vileness revealed | sorrows in aftermath | finding equilibrium | the devil's number | at the carnival | meeting authorities | solomon's confession | the stray soul | sanguine unsettled | solomon's choice | a cowboy underground | in scarab's basement | striking midnight | craven contested | emergency services | on your feet | and don't stop moving | easy recognition | a deuce of an evening | engines roaring | compromising judgements | solomon's conflict | axis turning | thinking circular | blasting the past | reviling vile

Book Five: Mortal Coil
sanctuary unsanctified | shudder unravelling | catching an angel | layering dimensions | dead men meeting | when it rains | power plays | sing on gold | the valley of death | grand aspersions | no evil feared | new days rising | angelic neuroses | step-brothers working | the many sorrows of china | peacefully wreathed | tarnished gold | the secret in darkness | magical intent | scars worth keeping | benefits of a beau | grand magery | lighting the darkness | old dogs and new tricks | flouting traditions | drawing lines | brothers and sisters in arms | channelling angels | return of the carnies | the death bringers | meriting agelessness | knick knack, paddy | give a dog a bone | americans propheteering | the right side of honour | tailored shocks | hosting angels | elders anonymous | rediscovered strays | changings and changelings | a state of reflection | adding hope | the devil's truth | dead mens' hospitality | lives half lived | next to godliness | devilish plans | beached angels | lights of revelation | heroes worshipped | new devilries | angels under the yoke | brains frozen | father, mother, daughter | parental guidance recommended | driven round the bend | ongoing training | privileged information | reasonable men | passing the buck | gifting magicks | strengths and weaknesses | immaturity's perks | priests and prophets | scaling evil | blowing covers | marring an afternoon | lie detection | five-dimensional pain | reliving nightmares | taking stock | sampling spices | sleeping prophets lying | rueful returns | dead men reunion | medically-approved hugs

Comments

[impudentsongbird]

Gabe had no issues with letting Skul lead the debate, seeing as he knew the context that much better, to say nothing of his being an actual detective regardless of what they'd told Guild. "You'd know better than me," the Archangel just said with a shrug. "But if he's gettin' back at the Sanctuary, it's gotta be something in connection."

He gave Ms Sorrows a short nod in farewell and turned to follow Skulduggery out the door, glad--despite suspecting he was being rude--to be able to leave. At least, that was the intent.

Gabriel had changed a lot in less than a year, even discounting his time at Landel's. He had learned that angels' lives weren't quite as secure as he'd once thought. He'd learned that even angels had to adapt to changing circumstances.

That didn't mean he'd yet grown to be exceptionally good at it. China's words made him whip around with horror and consternation, shock written all over his face. Skulduggery had said the woman was good, not that she was psychic! And even if she was, there was no way she could read an angel's mind without them knowing! How had she done that? How had she found out so easily, so quickly, in a world where sorcerers had no faith?

What was he meant to do? Even in his own world, this was unheard of. Michael had handled it well when Swami had gone to him, but that was Michael--impossible to fluster. Gabe wasn't nearly so able to keep cool in the face of surprises.

"I--didn't take you for a believin' lady," he stammered, finally finding his voice and looking desperately at Skulduggery. It wasn't panic in his eyes, not exactly, but something approaching it. What was he meant to do? Even now, it didn't occur to him to try and read China's mind more directly, even though he could have certainly discovered how she'd found out what she knew if he had. He was too blindsided to do anything but fall back on what he knew best: wait for a command.

[neutralcollector]

Ah-hah.

Reactions were something China enjoyed a wonderful degree of control over - both on her own face and in others. It didn't matter how powerful the target was, it seemed. This time, China had to work amusingly hard to keep the thrill of victory out of her own expression, but she didn't particularly care. Skulduggery was as impossible to read as ever, but Gabe... it was like he didn't even try to be subtle.

So. This was what angels looked like, then?

A little... less impressive than China had been picturing, at least at first glance. The fact still remained that Gabe identified her abilities right away, pushed back, and had gotten angry at her for it - which wasn't so strange in itself; that tended to be the general reaction among people she first met. But what had been strange was how the others had reacted to Gabe's anger. Wary. Frightened. Almost as if they expected him to... what was the word? Smite?

It explained Guild's misconception, as well. Now the only question remaining was why on earth an angel would need Skulduggery so badly that they would rescue him from the equivalent of hell, and what on earth was making Skulduggery put up with one. There was some kind of deal there she suspected she wouldn't have the resources to figure out.

"Oh, I'm not," she assured Gabe after a moment - and that was also true. Angel he may be, but he came from another world. Another dimension. He might not be divine at all. "You surprise me, Skulduggery. You haven't heard about the visions?"

Skulduggery looked at her. "Well, I have just gotten back. Care to enlighten us?"

"Not up to your usual standards yet?" China shook her head in mock disappointment. "Any Sensitive with any form of real power in the world right now. They're all having the same vision. They all describe it as 'angels coming to save us.' Divine beings in white that apparently take it upon themselves to stop anything bad from happening."

Of course, Skulduggery would have placed himself right in the middle of it. China really should have made the connection between those visions and this handsome barefoot stranger sooner. His accent now didn't change the measured way he'd spoken earlier.

"I didn't think you would believe in that sort of thing," said Skulduggery.

"Oh, I don't. Beings powerful enough to be called angels, maybe, but ultimately based on the same principle as the Faceless Ones. Not divine, and certainly not to be worshiped solely for that power."

[impudentsongbird]

China didn't let it show on her face, but the triumph in her soul was like a dash of cold water that made Gabe visibly retreat into himself. His gaze fell, he bit his lip; for a moment he looked so chagrined he seemed almost like a schoolboy. His presence definitely retreated in favour of letting Skul answer while the Archangel regained his equilibrium. (Without really being aware of it, he stepped closer to the detective, as if the calm in Skulduggery's soul could rub off on him.)

A deep breath was never needed and Gabe chose not to use one this time because that would reveal more than he already had--as if he could reveal anything more!

Still. A couple of moments letting Skulduggery take over, drawing on the detective's calm, let the Archangel recentre himself, and China's words made his head snap up again. Skul had said psychics weren't common--no. He'd said mind-readers weren't common. Seers, on the other hand, sounded like they were, and that they were more powerful than the diluted magicians of his world.

Unless angels, for some reason, had reason to not be secretive, to be obvious.

"You said angels," he said sharply, stepping forward again and not bothering with the accent this time. "Plural. Did the Seers you spoke to say anything more? Any details? Faces? What's causing the danger?"

He could have read it from her mind, he realised a moment later, and for a moment his gaze turned considering. Then his jaw firmed. No. Ms Sorrows robbed people of their privacy and will; he would only be lowering himself to her level to do the same to her.

[neutralcollector]

And there it was. For a brief second, China could see the angel beyond the inexplicable cowboy disguise; the easygoing attitude gone, the accent disappeared, the sharp worry in his tone. How powerful was he? If Guild was to be believed, Gabe already surpassed every Teleporter China had ever known. Good enough to pass through dimensions single-handedly. Good enough to practically block her abilities, the number of times in which it failed China could count on one hand. Good enough to create a disguise for Skulduggery that had looked very real from where China was standing. And that was likely only the tip of the iceberg.

"Have you ever spoken to a Sensitive?" she asked him. "They're never very specific when it comes to visions. General doom and gloom, usually. I haven't met any personally, but these visions have been going on for at least a week. The entire magical community is aware of them. This is the first time so many Sensitives have had the same one, and a positive one at that." She paused, and didn't try to hide her smile. "Or, well. Positive to some. The Church of the Faceless is understandably a little rattled."

"But there's definitely more than one?" Skulduggery pressed. It was a direct question, but of course Skulduggery would know China knew. There wasn't any need for him to dance around the topic anymore. "All of them in white? What are they doing in the visions?"

China nodded her confirmation. "It varies from vision to vision, but they all seem to agree on one thing - angels straight from the Bible, massively powerful, protecting our dimension from something. Can you believe there's already a group of sorcerers trying to convert the rest of us?"

"Yes," Skulduggery muttered. "Probably not having much success."

"No, they aren't," China agreed. One had come by her library a couple of days ago. He'd left believing China herself was an angel. "But you can see why I'm recommending rest and relaxation. Real angels or not, Skulduggery, it seems there's someone else willing to save the world this time."

"That," Skulduggery informed her curtly, "depends heavily on what the threat is, when these angels are appearing, and what they consider protecting our dimension to be."

[impudentsongbird]

Had he ever spoken to a Sensitive? Only every single year for the whole span of time since they had existed. Psychics were communicators. Communicators fell under Gabriel's patronage. "Yes," he said simply, "and some, the powerful some, can see quite a bit--the only question then is how much they choose to reveal. They must not like you much."

He tilted his head, smiling in an oddly friendly manner. "Of course, interpretation matters. It's often hard for the short-sighted to see much relevance to visions."

The fact that she was so obviously pleased that the Church of the Faceless was 'rattled' didn't really do much to endear her to Gabe. This was a woman so utterly self-centred that she couldn't even hold to faith. The only thing to say about her was that she wasn't damned, but Gabe was finding, suddenly, that it was possible for him to dislike someone who still might wind up in Heaven.

It was an odd thought, and he didn't like it overly much.

The Archangel frowned, only partly because of said thought and mostly because of Skul's words. "He's right. This could end badly, especially if they're being so ... obvious." It could mean Armageddon. It could be that the angels in this dimension were returning, and that they had left for good reason (the same way Castiel's family had). It could be that they were from Gabe's world. It was too hard to say. "But," he added, turning to Skul, "if the visions really are too vague to interpret much--and we ought to visit one or two of these Sensitives ourselves to tell, Skul--there's no point in dwelling on them. Relying too much on an unclear future is foolish."

[skeletonenigma]

China's face visibly tightened at the implication that she was short-sighted. Skulduggery tried not to enjoy the sight. Gabe had grown wonderfully confrontational over their time as friends. There was still some work to be done, of course; the way he'd reacted to China's blindside, the way he'd looked to Skulduggery for what to do, was a testament to that. But this was progress.

"I've never relied on visions," he told Gabe, though his invisible gaze was still on China. He could at least trust her not to tell anyone about her suspicions - nothing had been confirmed, and China wasn't a woman who liked to throw around facts without direct knowledge of their accuracy. Still, the fact that it had only taken her half a day to suspect Gabe of being an angel was... worrying, to say the least. "But thank you for the information, nonetheless. Anything else you can think of?"

"Skulduggery, if you're expecting me to catch you up on the entire last year, you will be sadly disappointed."

Her demeanor wasn't... icy, exactly. She was still smiling, still charming, still friendly. But there was an edge to it now that hadn't been there before. She wasn't too fond of Gabe anymore. Ironic, since Gabe had only said what Skulduggery himself might have. Still, Skulduggery's pride for the Archangel soared. "I won't take up any more of your time, then," he told China, nodding politely to her as he turned back towards the door for the second time.

Skulduggery waited until he and Gabe were properly out in the hallway and almost at the staircase before he spoke. "How long did we spend between dimensions? I don't think your brothers would have been so worried about you if you'd only been gone a day."

[impudentsongbird]

With a bright smile in farewell Gabriel turned and followed Skulduggery out. Oddly enough, it was easier dealing with Ms Sorrows when Gabe treated her the same way he treated Lucifer. That was probably a bad thing, and it made him feel vaguely guilty and not at the same time. Guilty, but in the sense of he'd done something wrong, rather than regretting having done it.

Like it or not, China was a human being, and not even a damned one at that. He shouldn't have been so rude.

Still. For the moment he set that unsettling feeling aside in favour of the facts at hand. "I don't know," he answered honestly, shoving back his hat. "I couldn't tell. How long were you in the Faceless Ones' dimension? I was only home for about a week." He frowned. "But to tell you the truth, I'm not sure either Raphael or Michael could get through the same way I did. They won't know what to expect, and they're not singers; the first time I stepped out the door I almost got swept away. They won't be able to adapt as easily."

[skeletonenigma]

"I'm not sure." Skulduggery almost shuddered as he tried to recall the span of time he'd spent over there. "Time got fuzzy amidst all the torturing. But it was definitely much longer than a week."

That was an interesting thought for another time, however. Assuming Skulduggery had been returned from Landel's reality to the moment he was taken, and assuming that time moved at the same pace in Gabe's dimension as it did here, that meant the pair of them had spent at least two or three months in between dimensions. It hadn't felt anywhere near that long. Hours, maybe. Not days. Not weeks.

It also meant that Gabe had been missing for about a year from his own world. Apart from not boding well in keeping dimensions somewhat separate, it also sent a fresh twinge of guilt through Skulduggery's bones.

"And yet," the detective countered thoughtfully, "somehow, they do make it here. China's right. It's unheard of for so many Sensitives to have the same vision at once. Vague as it may be, we can't afford to ignore it."

[impudentsongbird]

"I didn't say we can ignore it," Gabe countered, "but we can't rely on it. We don't even know these angels are from my world, Skul. They could be ones from this universe, returning." Which, frankly, was somehow more concerning. Given what Castiel's world had been like, from what Castiel had said, some angels ... some angels were badly misguided. The same way Lucifer was misguided, but on a broader scale.

Except that it couldn't be it either, and Gabe knew it even as he spoke. It couldn't be it because the Faceless Ones had been his. If there had been angels here, surely they would have reacted to the Fallen angels.

So he couldn't deny that Skulduggery's concern was legitimate. He bit his lip, one hand sliding down the handrail as they made their way downstairs. "If it's been that long then Rafe and Michael would be getting worried. And one of them would want to come find me. But as I said, I doubt they'd be able to--that sort of protection ... like I said, it's what I am and it almost swept me away. Michael is a warrior. Rafe is a healer."

And also the patron saint of travellers. If either of them had any chance, it would be the latter. Yet still ...

The Archangel glanced at Skulduggery. He hadn't missed the surge of guilt, and even though he debated it, he couldn't let that stand. "This was my choice, Skul."

[skeletonenigma]

Skulduggery opened his jaw to give Gabe a list of reasons about why the angels in these visions couldn't possibly be from this universe, but no sound came out. He closed his jaw again with a frustrated click. Gabe had a point. There wasn't any proof angels didn't exist over here, and if there was one thing that would bring them back onto the game board, it would be the arrival of an Archangel they didn't recognize.

Just once, he'd like to be able to visit China and receive nothing but good news. No caveats, no strings attached. Just good old-fashioned exchanging of stories. Valkyrie would no doubt enjoy that.

"In my experience," Skulduggery responded gently, "when it comes to family, there isn't much that stands in the way." Even less when you were dealing with beings as powerful as Gabe was proving to be when his powers hadn't been dampened by a megalomaniac. "Not even traveling outside time and space. If you managed it, I don't doubt other Archangels will."

And that, of course, would be a whole new kettle of worms. Keeping Gabe's identity a secret from sorcerers who made it their business to know everything was enough of a battle. Guild and other Sanctuary operatives would be on the lookout for anything unusual now, and another dimension breach would definitely not go unnoticed.

The Archangel's next words caused Skulduggery to miss the last step before the landing - not that it posed much of an issue. Skulduggery instinctively buoyed himself up with the surrounding air and landed as gracefully as always. "Are you trying to do that?" he demanded. "Or is it so ingrained that you can't help it?" It had been a flash of guilt, one that quickly passed and was easily forgotten, and Gabriel had caught even that?

[impudentsongbird]

He was right. Gabe knew Skul was right. Michael had dragged Gabe forcibly out of being a demon, something none of them was even sure would be quite possible. Even if Michael wasn't the one to go, it wouldn't stop him from wanting to. Nor would it Rafe; after the wager had ended and they were all free to talk about the events over its course, Rafe had been wild with postponed grief and terror at how close Gabe had come to being damned.

There was no way he would let Gabe be gone for a year and not come after him. Not after he'd almost missed losing Gabe before.

"I just don't see how they could do it without losing themselves," he whispered. And that thought scared him. He'd rather his brothers stayed where they were than get swept away between dimensions.

And he knew they never would.

Gabe was so used to Skulduggery avoiding any mention of his guilt that for a moment the Archangel just looked at him, nonplussed. "I'm not trying," he denied. "But some things come out so clearly in some souls so I can't help but hear them."

Skulduggery's guilt was one of them.

[skeletonenigma]

Skulduggery didn't try to interrupt Gabe's silent concern for his brothers. He recognized it as the same thought process he'd gone through for months while trapped with the Faceless Ones; simultaneously hoping no one would try to come for him, and knowing someone would. He'd been forced to endure that himself - hallucinations nonwithstanding - but given the option, Skulduggery would have chosen to work through the worry alone anyway. Besides, there was nothing Skulduggery could say to allay the concern, because he simply didn't know enough about how Gabe had safely crossed over.

That was a snap. Skulduggery had snapped, and that was unforgivable. Why had he snapped? Because he wasn't used to being read so easily? Because he was tired of repeating the same conversation over and over without bringing up anything new? It took him a moment, but Skulduggery managed to compose himself, rein in the anger, and lock it down.

Centuries of practice, and he still couldn't avoid it entirely.

Skulduggery's eyeless gaze was on Gabe until they reached the ground floor, and then he finally looked away with what he hoped wasn't any more guilt than normal. "Standing next to me must be grating, then."

[impudentsongbird]

Gabe looked evenly at Skulduggery for several moments. It wasn't that he was oblivious to Skul's anger, wasn't that he was unaware of the cost if Skul every lost control. But the Archangel didn't consider that a worthy enough risk to avoid saying things which ought to be said. Skul's guilt was entirely justified, and it drove the detective to great heights; yet it was also a crutch. If Gabe recalled, there was only one answer his Master had had for Gabe himself when he was getting like this after the wager.

Quite calmly, the Archangel took off his hat and whapped Skulduggery across the head with it. "Y'ever seen a pig in a sty?" he drawled. "They're amazin' animals. Smart, affectionate, cute as anythin'. 'Course, one of their special skills is the power to wallow like nothin' else, even if it might be better to get up and out of the mud."

He grinned cheekily at Skulduggery, flipping the hat in his hands to place it on his head as smoothly as any cowboy could wish. "Good thing I don't mind gettin' dirty."

[skeletonenigma]

Something told Skulduggery that Gabe disagreed.

If he had still been wearing a face, Gabriel would have seen nothing but disbelief on it. Of course, as things stood, he might feel that disbelief anyway, radiating off the detective in waves. There were very few times a good-hearted joke managed to strike Skulduggery completely and utterly speechless, and this was one of them.

He was stunned. There wasn't really another word for it. Skulduggery was flat-out stunned, and not just because of the hat-slap or being compared to a pig. Gabriel's last comment had him almost completely floored. It was one thing for Gabe to insist Skulduggery was worth wading through the mud for. It was a completely different thing for the Archangel to imply that he didn't even mind the mud.

Necromancy, millions of people dead, the constant need for Skulduggery to carefully control his emotions because of what might happen otherwise. Gabe believed it was worth looking past all of that.

Gabe had sacrificed a lot to save him. And for once, the thought didn't bring with it more guilt.

"Did you just..." Well, look at that. Tongue-tied without a tongue. Skulduggery almost fancied he had a throat, and that the throat was dry. "Did you just call me a wallowing pig?" He hesitated, trying to determine if his voice was back under his control. "Did you just call me a wallowing pig in an American accent?"

[impudentsongbird]

"Yep, that I did," Gabriel said tranquilly as he moved toward the car. "You know how it goes, with the shoe fittin' and all."

The Archangel could indeed feel the detective's disbelief, and there was something amusing and satisfying about it at once. Amusing, because this wasn't one of those things about Gabe that would shock anyone, like his identity; it was just a simple gesture. Satisfying, because Gabe felt the ripple of that awareness and this time it was accompanied by no guilt at all.

That felt good, for more than one reason. It meant Gabe was doing something right. It meant that Skul might be cottoning on to everything Gabe had been telling him.

Gabe reached the car and pivoted to face Skul, still at the door. The brim of the Archangel's hat shaded his face, but not enough to hide the smirk or the gleam in his eyes. "Y'coming, pardner? Where we goin' next, Sensitives or safehouse for a council of war?"

[skeletonenigma]

There was something about Gabe's eagerness to get to the next step of the investigation that reminded Skulduggery of Valkyrie, and how disturbingly eager the young girl always seemed to get right before a fight. "You are enjoying this far too much," Skulduggery informed the Archangel while he unlocked the car. "All of it. The accent, the work, the hat. Hitting me with the hat."

It had bruised his pride more than anything else, but Skulduggery's tone was perfectly good-natured. He was not, after all, a hypocrite.

"Since we're here anyway," Skulduggery belatedly answered the question as he slipped into the sports car's driver's seat, "we may as well go see an acquaintance of mine. His name is Finbar Wrong, and he is one of the most powerful psychics I've ever met. Of course, it's left him... lacking in other areas." Skulduggery still wasn't sure if Finbar's wife was a real person, and that wasn't even the weirdest part. He glanced over at Gabe. "Genuinely friendly, though. Not like China. You'll like him."

[impudentsongbird]

Gabe grinned as he opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. "Yep. But in my defence, you earned the hat-slappin'." The accent, the hat, the work--it was all fun. Apparent increasingly dire circumstances aside, this was a new situation, a new set of skills, and yes, Gabriel was enjoying them.

"Well, that's good to hear," Gabe murmured, and there was a genuine smile on his lips. If Skul said he would like the man, Gabriel trusted the detective's judgement. "Lookin' forward to it. Psychics are under my patronage anyways, so I oughta look some of 'em up."

[skeletonenigma]

Debatable. But Skulduggery decided to be generous and let Gabe have that one. Besides, the really scary thing was that he wasn't so sure if Gabriel was wrong anymore.

"What does that mean?" Skulduggery asked as the engine roared to life. "Under your patronage? Do their prayers to you get priority?" He'd never seriously thought about this before, and now that Gabriel was bringing it up, it sounded a little like an office job. Receiving pages and messages with varying labels of 'importance' depending on which one Gabe should look at first. It was amusing to picture.

[impudentsongbird]

Good. Skul should doubt his own damnation. After all, who would know better than an Archangel? Not that that logic helped everyone--especially people as old as Skul, whose guilt was so ingrained.

Gabe tilted his head from side-to-side as if to gesture 'sort-of'. "Actually, yes, but it's more than that. Being under our patronage means they request intercession on their behalf--which can be a temporary thing--or they or the occupation they hold have been blessed by a priest in our name. Or any number of other nuances or combinations. We're more aware of their needs and feelings. Mostly it means they're people we specifically go to, to check up on them--if not personally, then with someone directly under our command."

[skeletonenigma]

Archangels would have a variety of lesser angels under their command, that much Skulduggery remembered. But it was so difficult reconciling the image of the warrior-like Archangels with Gabe that he had a hard time imagining the gentle Gabriel as any kind of general. The thought was fascinating, though. "How many angels are under your command?" Skulduggery asked. "Or is that taking it too literally?"

Maybe it was a good thing psychics here wouldn't be praying to Saint Gabriel. Gabe had enough to be worrying about - and enough healing time to deal with - without a stack of important prayers vying for his attention.

~~

It was strange, Skulduggery mused as he led Gabe through the dark square to the tattoo parlor. He never felt this level of concern when he was taking Valkyrie to meet new people. Well, unless said new person was dangerous. But Valkyrie also wasn’t an injured Archangel trying to hide her identity from most of the world, and something about the repercussions of that made Skulduggery slightly more worried with every new place they went. Finbar, who really was a good psychic, could know any number of things about Gabe and what he’d been up to before the angel even arrived on the tattooist's doorstep.

Skulduggery hesitated before knocking, wondering whether or not more warning was called for. Then he came to his senses and decided that handling this the same way he handled everything – making it up as he went along - should be more than sufficient.

Finbar looked slightly nonplussed when he answered the knock, but that expression cleared as soon as he recognized Skulduggery. “Skul-man! I haven’t seen you in ages! Where have you been?”

That was another thing about Finbar. He knew so much about the future that he tended to forget what happened in the past. Skulduggery had a theory that the wife he kept talking about was actually someone from his future, and he kept mistaking it for the present. “I was in the Faceless Ones’ dimension,” Skulduggery reminded him.

“Hm? Oh, no, I knew that. C’mon, give me some credit, Skul-man. I meant what took you so long to come find me?”

"It's been a day, Finbar."

"Exactly!" Finbar looked Skulduggery up and down with a weird sort of affection that hadn't ever been there before. "You look good. New skull?"

"Yes, actually." Skulduggery's subsequent head tilt was full of pride. "I finally tracked it down."

"Good for you, man. Good for you." Finbar nodded happily, fell silent for a moment, and then turned to Gabe. "So which one are you? Are you Mike? No, wait, hang on." He hesitated, looked back at Skulduggery with a flicker of fear that quickly dissipated. "Naw. He's not Luci. You wouldn't be hanging around him if he was."

Skulduggery had given some thought to changing the way he handled things. Maybe now, he managed to think through the haze of surprise, would be a good time to start.

[impudentsongbird]

There was already a stack of important prayers Gabe had every intention of looking into. None of them were ones which required his immediate attention, fortunately, but they were still things he should check on once he had a spare hour or two.

"Oh, quite a few," Gabriel said with a nod. "Humanity doesn't know most of their names. 'Command' might be stretching it a bit literally, though, yes. It's more like they come to me for advice--or did. Less so, now." Mostly Gabe had kept the Lord company, passing His messages on. Sometimes that did mean delegation out of necessity, but often, that delegation went to angels not technically messengers. Michael, on the other hand, really was a general.

When they arrived at Finbar's tattoo parlour, Gabe laughed. "Rafe's been lookin' into getting some tattoos," he murmured, surveying the storefront. "Pity he ain't here."

The Archangel laid a hand on the outside wall, letting his consciousness flow into the building atom by atom--not so far as to inhabit all of it, but more than enough to get a good measure of the thrum of magic and people. Finbar Wrong was a good man, if the walls of the parlour were to be believed (and buildings never lied). He sensed Finbar moving to answer the door, the reverberations of the man's footsteps, the awareness to the resonances of the world which let psychics feel things.

Gabe disconnected himself just as the door opened, and the Archangel turned to it with a grin, still with his hand on the brick. Fortunately for him, Finbar Wrong wasn't nearly as concerned about hiding his emotions--unlike China Sorrows. The Archangel's eyes widened, his grin fading the instant he had the chance to read the man's soul-surface.

So he wasn't blindsided as he had been with China. That didn't mean Gabe didn't blink wordlessly at the psychic for a moment before answering. In fact, at the last bit his startle vanished and he frowned. "Lucifer? You thought I was Lucifer?" He turned to Skul, full of righteous indignation and bewildered hurt. "He thought I was Lucifer! Do I really give off that vibe, Skul?"

[skeletonenigma]

"Woah, hey." Finbar held his hands up in surrender. "Didn't mean any offense! It's sorta hard to tell from vague vibes, you know?" He hesitated, also turning to Skulduggery for silent advice.

"No," Skulduggery finally decided with a short glance towards Gabe. "You don't. Finbar, you've been seeing Lucifer?"

"I've been seein' a lot of things." Finbar scratched absently at one of the various tattoos on his arms, staring off into space. "Luci, Mike, Gabe. But they're all more, sort of ideas. I thought it was all a metaphor." His gaze settled on the Archangel with a faint smile. "So you're Gabe, then? Pleased to meet you. I'm Finbar. Didn't exactly believe in you until just now. Again, no offense."

"Finbar," Skulduggery interrupted sharply. Keeping the psychic on track was occasionally like pulling a hen's teeth. "You saw Lucifer here?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. I told Sharon to be careful, 'specially with our son. He's at that age where kids are easily influenced." Finbar snapped his fingers. "Right, I meant to ask, Skul-man. Did you bring back a souvenir?"

Skulduggery paused. "A souvenir?"

"From the Faceless Ones' dimension. You know, another world. You are my son's godfather, remember?"

"Actually," Skulduggery contradicted him, "I specifically remember saying I wasn't going to be his godfather."

Finbar shrugged. "To-may-toe, to-mah-toe."

[impudentsongbird]

It hadn't been Gabe's intention to frighten the poor man, and the Archangel's expression wavered between chagrin and bewildered apprehension until Skul's reassurance came. Only then did he relax a little. It wasn't, he told himself, that he believed he might be sending out demonic vibes. It was just that ... for a few moments there he had been afraid of it. Or at least that Finbar might be sensing something of his almost-Fall.

The apprehension gave way to sheepish concern as it sank in what this meant and that Gabe really should have focussed on that first. "It's okay," he said, and managed a genuine smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Finbar. I just--being compared to my brother isn't exactly something any of us likes to hear, you understand. But you're right; you're not used to this sort of thing. I'm sorry."

As warm and genuine as the apology was, there was a faint air of distractedness around the Archangel as he glanced at Skul, halfway between amused and worried. Lucifer, here? And Michael too, by the sounds of it? How? Lucifer couldn't leave Earth!

And, beneath that: Finbar Wrong was indeed powerful if he could glimpse the resonance of angels. Or perhaps those of the future truly were being obvious. "You've got quite a bit of that lovely red sand in your boots, Skul," he offered absently. "Finbar, did happen to see how Lucifer got here?"

[skeletonenigma]

"Oh, please." Finbar shook his head, his tone once again taking on the slight edge of absentmindedness he was known for. It always made him sound like he wasn't paying any attention to the conversation. "There's a bad apple in every family. I'd have been just as upset if you tried to compare me to my dad. Not to yours, though. I'm sure your dad is lovely." Finbar paused, frowning. "Hey. I think I might be having a crisis of faith. I don't know. Is this what it normally feels like? I might just be getting a headache."

This was simultaneously the strangest and most normal meeting with Gabriel Skulduggery had witnessed thus far. The two of them could have been discussing the weather, for all the awe Finbar was displaying. No, that wasn't quite right; there was some level of impressiveness in the tattooist's expression. Just not nearly enough. And probably not about the right thing, either.

Finbar brightened a few moments later, and smiled at Skulduggery. "Red sand would do just fine. I could put it in a little jar, like those souvenirs you get from tropical islands. There wouldn't happen to be little shells in there too, would there?"

"I don't know." Skulduggery had long ago given up trying to talk some sense of priorities into the psychic. It was far easier to just be patiently persistent until Finbar understood the time crunch for himself. "How does Lucifer get here, Finbar?"

The tattooist shrugged. "Wasn't that clear. He just did. He wasn't here before, and then he was. I'm not even sure when. Do you guys want to come in? I can make tea."

[impudentsongbird]

Finbar Wrong, Gabe decided, was that absent kind of person like Desmond Edgley--the exact kind of person whom his Master absolutely loved. Despite himself, despite the urgency and the feeling that they should really be getting as much information as possible as quickly as possible, Gabe found himself grinning.

Because Finbar Wrong was treating Gabe not like some divine, unattainable godling, but like a friend he just didn't know very well yet.

And Gabe liked that.

"There's usually lot more panicking," Gabe told the psychic with a laugh, and then added, "I wouldn't mind some tea. Or meeting your family, if they're here. We haven't really stopped since we got here, aside from a half-hour visit with Val's parents."