Page 31 of When Monsters Fight
Supplies…This whole room is filled with supplies.
Bastian finds his way under the hood of the nearest bus. “Built to take a variety of fuel. This baby is perfect.”
“Keys?” Tumiel asks.
Bastian yanks on the door, his expression tight, as if he’s afraid it’ll be locked and we’ll have to smash a window, but it opens with a pop. He dives in, and long seconds pass before he calls out, “Found them. Under the seat.”
He emerges, keys in hand, a huge grin on his face, and the mood feels immediately lighter.
“Someone planned but never got to execute it,” Tumiel says.
“How could they have known?” Bastian asks. “There was no warning. Nothing.”
“There are those who can see,” Erelim says. “Prophets, blessed with a direct line to God. In the old days, when man was new, people revered the prophets. But as man evolved, as society moved toward technology, science became the new god, and the connection between a prophet and the heavens grew weaker.”
“If that’s the case, if whoever did this was a prophet, it means that God knew what was about to happen, and instead of stopping it, he sent a message to some man or woman knowing full well that no one would fucking believe them.”
“What happened to the prophet, do you think?” Tumiel asks in a small voice. “After all their preparation…”
He or she was obviously dead. This place, locked up tight and abandoned, was proof of that.
“Their efforts won’t go to waste,” Bastian says. “We’ll load up with as many supplies as we can and drive ourselves to base zero. Better to come bearing gifts, right?”
The use of the vehicles would take a day off our journey. Now all we had to hope was that the occupants of base zero honored their connection to Gabriel and let us in.
Chapter 17
GABRIEL
Rue’s body is warm now, working effectively to keep her that way. I’m tempted to stay with her just to keep holding her. She’s soft and pliant in my arms, so fragile in sleep, yet so strong-willed in nature. I find myself wanting to know more. To understand her more. Just…more. But her grief is like a beacon that holds me at bay. Now is not the time to make my feelings known. They do not matter. All that matters is her, and now that she’s safe, I have work to do.
I leave her tucked beneath the blanket, dress, and join the others on the floor below.
Jilyana is asleep, curled on a sack beneath the balcony. Do djinn need to sleep, or is she playacting? Not that it matters now that Rue’s spilled the secret about Lucifer. I’m sure Jilyana will confront her about it in due course; it would be telling if she didn’t. I’ll be able to gauge her trustworthiness based on that conversation, but for now, we need to plan for the dawn.
The watchers are huddled in a circle talking in low voices. Kabiel looks up as I approach.
“I assume she’s recovering, or you wouldn’t be down here,” he says, his tone almost accusatory.
“You assume correctly. We need to discuss our plan for tomorrow. Asbeel, can you find out what the temperatures are like in this circle during the day?”
“I already have. It’ll be cold but not subzero. They’ve offered to provide us with furs for our journey. The bridge is several miles away from here, but they’ve agreed to send a guide with us. The creatures that chased us won’t be a threat going forward; Xelion said they only inhabit the territory close to the valley we came out of.”
“But they don’t attack the settlement?”
“No, the Gehennans have an agreement with the pack. They’re a peaceful people, but they did warn that the Gehennans in the fifth circle are not so peaceful.”
I barely remember details about our hosts except their small size and the fact that their bodies are covered in thick fur. Rue was my focus at the time.
“We’ll leave at dawn,” Asbeel says. “We should reach the bridge by midday.”
“What about the guardian that Thanatos mentioned?” Kokabel asks.
“The leader of the settlement said that midday is a good time to cross. The guardian is usually absent.”
“Strange to put a guardian on a bridge and not have him guard it at all times,” Matarel says. “If this Zeus wants to stop Gehennans leaving the circle, surely she should have a guardian who is forever present.”
“Does it matter?” Yomiel says. “As long as we get over the bridge.”
