Gabriel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
impudentsongbird) wrote2012-08-20 08:38 pm
impudentsongbird) wrote2012-08-20 08:38 pm
Entry tags:
let me be the one you call / if you jump I'll break your fall
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.
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
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
no subject
Tanith did, and Tanith wasn't used to sitting still. The warrior had left to pace the hallways more than once, and usually came back with either lukewarm cafeteria food, or something from a vending machine. Valkyrie ate some of it, and left the rest on a table next to the teddy bear she was supposed to give Solomon, which Tanith cleared away almost instantly in her relentless search for something productive to do.
A little past midnight, someone in a black cloak came in and stalked up to the desk. Valkyrie and Tanith were both instantly alert, Valkyrie reaching instinctively for the ring on her finger that wasn't there, because it was still sitting on her bedside table at home. After a few moments of frustration, she decided that was a good thing. Especially after what Solomon said.
It didn't change that she felt mildly terrified at only having basic Elemental powers to rely on in a fight.
Fortunately, it didn't come to a fight. The man in the black cloak was a perfectly normal man who just happened to be in the wrong place; he asked for directions and left again. But Valkyrie noticed that Tanith had her hand surreptitiously on the hilt of her sword under her coat for the rest of the night.
And now the morning sun was peeking in through the large glass windows, and Valkyrie was sorely wishing she'd at least tried to get some sleep. Tanith came up from one of her treks, and slowly sat down in the chair to Valkyrie's right.
She was grinning.
"Please tell me we're allowed through now?" Valkyrie asked.
"Nope." The smile didn't leave Tanith's face. "Not quite yet. Fifteen more minutes, she said. Val, have you seen the TV next to the door?"
"No."
"You really, really should."
Valkyrie rolled her eyes and sat back. "Why? What else has gone wrong in the world?"
"No, this isn't anything bad." Tanith stood back up and gently pulled Valkyrie to her feet. Valkyrie allowed herself to be pulled up, but didn't make any effort to follow Tanith over to the corner. "This is something that's going to make you laugh. Come on, Val. You need a laugh."
"What I need is to see Solomon."
Now the smile disappeared, and Tanith sighed. "You will. But he's not going to want to see you all serious like this. He'll think someone's died. Ten seconds, Val."
Oh, why not. Valkyrie reluctantly went over to look. The TV was on an obscure channel with a logo in the corner she didn't recognise, and a group of kids were singing. Singing and dancing. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"
"Just watch."
"Tanith, I'm really not in the mood for - "
She stopped. And stared. One of the singers had just danced off the screen, but there was a very good shot of his face just before he did so, and... if Valkyrie's eyes weren't playing tricks on her, it looked an awful lot like...
"Darren Criss, right?" said Tanith. "That's him. That's Darren Criss. The actor slash musician guy. He plays some character on this show where everyone sings a lot, and that's him, Val."
"Glee," Valkyrie murmured, still staring.
"What?"
"Glee. The show. It's Glee. My cousins were obsessed with it for a while." Valkyrie couldn't help it; an equal grin spread over her own face. "I knew I'd seen him somewhere before."
For a good five minutes, Valkyrie and Tanith stood and watched the show. Neither of them had any idea what the plotline was, or even what the characters' names were, but it didn't matter. For the moment, Valkyrie was just a normal fifteen-year-old girl, watching a show with an actor she couldn't stop grinning at, while her best friend continued to make smart remarks throughout. When Darren Criss didn't come back on screen again, Valkyrie turned and grinned up at Tanith.
"Okay. You're right. That was wonderful."
"Told you." Tanith returned the grin. "Remember the man who gave you that teddy bear?"
"Vaguely."
"He was God."
Valkyrie's smile dropped. "What?"
"And we've been allowed to see Solomon for the last twenty minutes, by the way."
"We what?" Valkyrie couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. There weren't many people in the waiting room at this hour of the morning, but every single one of them turned to look at her in annoyance. She tried to hide that laugh behind her hands, but it was about as useful as trying to stop a flood with a butterfly net. "You are such a horrible person!"
"Yeah, but at least you're laughing now."
Valkyrie shook her head as she snatched up the teddy bear and led the way past the desk, into the ward, still trying her hardest not to laugh. Now that she remembered the name of the show, she had to show it to Skulduggery and Gabe as soon as she could.
... Well. Maybe Gabe. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to see Skulduggery ever again.
"Just up ahead," said Tanith, pointing out the door once they'd rounded a second corner. "She said he'll be groggy."
"Of course he'll be groggy. He's just waking up from surgery."
"How does that make you groggy?" Tanith asked. "Unless you normally wake up groggy, I guess."
Valkyrie smiled. She forgot sometimes that Tanith was almost 90 years old, and hardly ever set foot in a mortal hospital. "There's this drug they use to put you under for the surgery called anesthesia. The aftereffects can be kind of strange. Like grogginess."
"Weird." Tanith bit her lip. "We are going to get out of here soon, right? I don't know how to fill out forms, Valkyrie. I can barely fill out forms when I'm telling the truth."
"As soon as we can," Valkyrie promised her as she opened the door. "We'll go straight to Kenspeckle. I didn't want to come here in the first place, but the cab driver picked the exact wrong time to - "
She froze.
Skulduggery was there.
Valkyrie had absolutely no idea what to do or what to say, and apparently, neither did anyone else. Complete silence enveloped the room, broken only by a series of steady beeps coming from a variety of machines next to the bed Solomon was in.
Skulduggery looked good. He always looked good. Back to being a skeleton, back in a well-tailored suit. This was a different suit from the one Gabe called up, but he was still wearing the rosary.
"Should I have brought something?" Skulduggery asked very suddenly.
Valkyrie frowned. "What?"
He nodded towards the teddy bear under her arm. "Not the most auspicious of gifts. Does Solomon have a soft spot I wasn't aware of?"
"Oh." Valkyrie stared down at the bear for a moment. "No, this... this isn't mine. Someone Ghastly knew asked me to give it to him."
Skulduggery cocked his head. "You've seen Ghastly?"
"Yeah."
"How is he?"
"He's fine," Tanith cut in sharply. "What are you doing here?"
Skulduggery stood up, retrieved his hat, scarf, and sunglasses from the bedside table, and put them all on. "I was just leaving. You didn't happen to see a candlestick on the way in, did you?"
"No."
"Good." He hesitated. "Good luck."