The Chamber of Sins

“Close the door,” the voice rattled.

The boy glared at the man in the shadow.

“You are late!” Salatiel said.

“You try to walk as nothing happened. I am in terrible pain,” Adrien said and leaned to the closest wall. It was damp and icy, and he trembled.

“What happened?” Salatiel asked.

“The crazy woman from the Order shot me. She is good,” the boy said, his breath interspersed. “Almost got me at some point.”

Adrian threw a look at the feminine silhouette hidden in the darknesses.

“Why is she here?”

“Change of plans - The Book of Sins is missing. We need to find it.”

“We?” The boy asked. “I just need some poor souls to whisper into my ear about their treasures, not of some book or wherever. I don’t want to mingle with the divinity.”

“The compensation for finding the book is going to be a thousand times bigger,” Salatiel said. “Why do you do it, anyway? You were born rich.” Salatiel glared at the boy, his right brow slightly up. “Brother problem, eh?”

Adrian didn’t respond.

“Do you know who stole it?”

“I have an idea. The only thing I don’t know is how humans think.”

“I could help you with that, just keep that thing away from me,” the boy completed as he made a step back.

“Now, now. Demons are good at sniffing heavenly staff, and Anna here will be a great help. Let’s start with healing that leg of yours,” Salatiel said.

Robert was peeking behind the curtain at the sparkly shield. Each time a demon passed through it, burning particles flowed on the other side. Dubois kept the eyes on the rest of them and ended them with a holy oak bullet in their heads. Veins were painfully pulsing in Robert’s temple, and the boy massaged both of them from time to time.

“We can’t kill all de demons. They are too many,” the boy sighed, his eyes half-lidded. “We need an army,” he muttered.

“Not really,” Derek’s voice interrupted his monologue.

“Thanks, God, you are here!”

“Wow! This is the first time you’re glad to see me,” Derek said, his voice melting.

The boy grabbed Derek’s hand and pulled him somewhere discreetly. Stephionee glared at the boy’s face.

“You good?”

The boy leaned inward.

“Have you found Margo?” Robert asked, his eyes full of hope.

“No, something is blocking the book’s signal.”

“How can that be possible?”

“Did something happen last week? Something she said or did out of usual?” Derek inquired.

“Last week? Nothing that I recall,” the boy said as crossing his arms at the chest. “Oh, yes,” he said, his index finger up in the air. “She started touching objects, actual objects. It was like she was transforming,” Robert said, his head slightly tilted. He drew a large quantity of air. “Do you think?”

“I have the answer to that,” Lionette intervened. Everyone in the room glared at her. “Her father is Gabriel, the Archangel. That makes her half-angel.”

“The Archangel?” The boy laughed, his eyes starring at the woman in disbelief.

“Himself,” the woman replied, her pale cheeks in deep contrast with her black blouse. She partially turned to the entrance door and waved her hand softly.

Both Robert and Derek stared at it openly and watched the man who has stepped into the house. A white hat partly covered his face. Robert felt Derek’s body going starchy.

“Gabriel!” His voice thundered as his wings filled half of the room.

“Azrael.” Gabriel’s voice was soft and harmonious.

“You coward,” Derek said, his feet inches away from the floor.

“I came in peace. As Lionette said, Margo is my daughter. She is the daughter of an immortal. Her aura is blocking the book's presence.”

“But she died. Margo is a ghost,” Robert meddled.

“She was a ghost, yes, but not anymore. Margo supposed to go to Heaven immediately after she died. This way, her body would have lost its earthy form, and she would have become an essence - a precious essence. It didn’t happen because of an unfortunate event.” Gabriel glanced into Derek’s eyes.

Derek was glowering at him.

“Spending her time on Earth, between mortals, allowed her holy side to heal her human side and go to Heaven to steal the Book of Sins. No one noticed because she is an angel. Archangels allowed her to take the book because she is a holy being. It was that simple.”

“But why did she die in the first place? Her holy side wasn’t there?” Robert inquired.

“I guess her human part was dominant. We don’t know. It had never existed someone like her. She is unique,” Gabriel said, looking at Lionette.

“The problem is, we cannot find her. I realise she used to spend a lot of time with you, so I thought maybe you know where she may be,” Lionette said, her eyes staring at Robert.

The boy nodded.

“I have no clue,” he said pensively, his mind trying to remember all the conversations between the girl and him. Nothing significant came to his mind. “She talked a lot about the orphanage and Sister Mary. She wanted a small house in the countryside for her and for Sister. It would help if you spoke to her. She may know something.”

“Gabriel, we should go,” Derek said. He was outnumbered, the tremendous amount of unsolved problems ahead making his head spinning. “We need to go,” he stressed the last words.

Gabriel wave in his direction and the audience saw Derek instantly, a veritable angel of death in front of their eyes. Lionette obstructed her mouth, a subtle groan escaping from it.

“You,” she said, Derek’s eyes casting uneasy glares at the woman, “you save me that time.”

“Wherever. We have to go,” Derek said.

“You can’t go,” Lionette said. “I had sealed the area.”

“Sealed? There is not such a thing for me.”

“I had used St Peter’s globe,” the woman said; her suffocated breathing got out the words in a whisper.

“You used Peter’s glob. That is just great. We are all confined here. Disarm it!”

“I won’t do such a thing,” Lionette replied. “Earth is in danger; even Heaven is in danger. Imagine de Book of Sins into demons’ possession,” she said as forcing herself to keep her voice firm.

“You should help us. We could use your help,” Robert said, hoping for a positive answer. The whole situation was overwhelming, and the boy felt lost. Having the pendant was nothing at this point. One boy against a horde of demons? Only the thought of it was terrifying.

Derek’s watch beeped, and he looked at the message shown on the screen.

“When did you say you activated Peter’s globe?” he asked Lionette.

“This morning,” she said, her eyes squinting at his face.

“That bastard succeeded to ran away from Heaven,” Derek barked. “He is up to something. That bloody book!” He said. “I have to go! I need to find Salatiel, and I will be back on time to help you.” Before vanishing, he turned to face Robert.

“You are stronger than you think. You can do it,” Derek said, and winked.

Robert felt he had a purpose for the first time in his life. It didn’t matter he was alone; he had to go into that pit and destroy the nest before the demons destroy them.

Lionette came close to him, followed by Gabriel.

“Take this,” she said while gave him a small cross. It served another purpose, too, as its base has a small dagger and had a small vial in extension. “Angel tears,” Lionette completed. “They will ease your pain,” she explained, as her eyes filled with tears.

“Thank you, Lionette.”

“I want to give you something too,” Gabriel said.

He gave him a small rod, two inches long. It looked like the ones you would find in the late Autumn after the wind played forcefully with the trees’ bald crown. The boy took it and stuffed it in his pocket.

“If you find Margo, tell her I,” he stopped, his stomach gathered in a small painful heap. Lionette and Gabriel glared at him curiously. “Never mind. I will tell her myself.”