Wayward Son

By Dabeagle

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Chapter 13

Three days of waiting...waiting while Woolcott popped in and out from tracking down leads that came to nothing. Three days of wondering how my parents were, worried if Woolcott's trick had worked properly. Three days of being angry with Gideon, even if I could logically see his point, morally I didn't. Joel and Aila weren't exactly the same either as I think Joel was struggling with the situation more so than even I was. I'd imagine this was easier for our supernatural compatriots since weird seemed to be Woolcott's cup of tea, Gideon lived with him and Aila...well lets just say I think they were handling it better. Joel and I were used to our homes, our families and all the trimmings that went with that, and now we were pulled into a war.

Of course, we really didn't have a choice since the only other option was to have let Seth die. When phrased that way there were no other paths to take except this one, as uncomfortable as it was. Over the course of these three seemingly endless days Joel and I had talked and talked, finally working around to the logical conclusion that it wasn't Aila or Gideon's fault; although putting some blame on Woolcott was appropriate as far as I was concerned. After all, we'd made the right choice but we certainly could have been better informed about the consequences of our choices; even if it wouldn't have changed the decision we'd made.

Joel, even now, was engaged in quiet conversation with Aila. No doubt trying to understand, to more fully wrap his head around the whole situation. I, on the other hand, was stubbornly holding on being upset with Gideon. As I sat with Seth and thought, I knew that being angry with Gideon this long wasn't fair, wasn't right; yet I couldn't shake it completely. It sat above my love for him like a chemical spill on a puddle of rain water.

Seth for his part was not quite unchanged; the torture he was under was slowly taking a toll on his weary body. Small areas of his skin were no longer responding as well to Gideon's periodic healing and were showing as light spots, almost as if his skin were becoming mottled. A sheen of perspiration coated him and he smelled sour. With a sigh I blotted the skin of his face and then stood to push at the lower part of my back which had grown stiff.

“He's declining. Slipping away a little bit each day.” Gideon murmured.

“I know.” I whispered.

“It's strange. As a western society we give our pets relief from a painful death, but cannot do the same for ourselves. Do you think it's because we value our pets more?” Gideon sighed, “I think it's the opposite. Too many disregard life that isn't human while placing a silly emphasis on our own.”

“I think, at least in this case...” I sighed deeply before continuing, “it would have meant surrendering hope before we really knew the odds. As to the other,” I pursed my lips and felt my forehead scrunch together, “I think because it feels too much like killing ourselves if we allow others to make that choice. Even though, if I were...incurable...I wouldn't want to live in perpetual pain.”

“You two are positively morbid,” Woolcott sniffed. “Now, let's talk about this excursion, I'm reasonably certain I found her this time.”

“You said that last time.” I replied tiredly.

“And the time before,” Gideon muttered.

“Yes, well, this is more an art than a science,” Woolcott harrumphed, “But still we'd best be prepared. Come on.”

I moved slowly away from Seth, a safe if macabre topic with Gideon. I'd not broached the subject of his drugging Joel; it was something I think I just couldn't find a square inch of agreement with Gideon about. So instead we used the time honored male code of simply not speaking of it. Instead we gathered in the kitchen area we'd first traveled to. Woocott had been cagey about saying where we were, exactly, but eventually we'd determined it was an abandoned power station in a metropolitan area somewhere. Woolcott said it was ideal because the copper and magnetism of the ancient turbines masked the ley lines and therefore made it near impossible to track Gideon; but as far as I was concerned anything that came out of Woolcott's mouth required follow up questions and closer scrutiny.

“All right, Azlea is here, I'm sure of it. So here is a layout of the building,” and so saying he unrolled a large sheet of paper with a floor plan on it. “We will travel here where the likelihood of us being spotted will be greatly reduced.”

“And if we are spotted?” Aila asked.

“You start to strip until we get to the fellow and knock him senseless?” Woolcott shrugged.

“Moving on,” Gideon muttered.

“You could practice now.” Woolcott offered.

“Perv,” Aila rolled her eyes.

“No adventure in you. In any case,” Woolcott pointed to the drawing, “Note the exits as we may need a quick escape.”

“If she's an angel, getting away won't be as easy as a door out of the building, will it?” Joel asked. I looked at him in surprise, not having expected him to participate.

“Well, yes and no. You see if Azlea treats this location as her residence, her home, it then has a threshold making her more powerful inside it than out. Now for myself or these two,” he indicated Aila and Gideon, “it won't stop them from getting away but since Daniel has to rely on this little charm in case of emergency, then yes he'd need to know.”

With a flourish Woolcott produced another metal figurine like the ones he'd given us all at the summoning of the demon.

“No way, I'm not touching one of those.” I stated firmly.

“Now, now, look at it! She's lovely, no? Look at the swell of the breast, the taut lines of her stomach.”

“After the last time you had me hold one of those you seriously think I'm going to take another one? You turned me into a statue!”

“It was for your protection.”

“Woolcott, I think everyone would feel better if you...explained some of that last encounter before we continue. After all we do have to trust one another.” Gideon murmured.

Woolcott cast about in confusion before giving a theatrical sigh and an even more theatrical shrug of his shoulders.

“Fine, fine, I'll reveal some of my erudite secrets!” He sat down heavily in a chair and the rest of us warily moved to copy him. Woolcott's demeanor and tone changed completely when he started to speak, almost as if he were lecturing in a college to a room of promising students.

“Angels and demons are closely related, despite what modern theological studies have concluded. You see, angels have been around for a long, long time. In fact there is some evidence to support the idea that they have attempted to influence the development of the more populous species for quite some time. When homo sapiens were more primitive than they are now, which is at times hard to believe, they were in evidence as gods. Individual angels would lead groups of people, sometimes building them up into formidable societies. For instance you may have learned of the Sumerian City-States, one of which was Ur.

“Each city-state had a patron deity, much as cities do now for saints. Even the Greeks followed this pattern. Ur's patron deity was Nanna, the moon god. Now we can't be certain which angel in particular brought this city to prominence, but the heights to which the city climbed bear out the idea of angelic assistance. In it's day Ur was a metropolis, and Nanna a huge part of that as evidenced by the great Ziggurat of Ur.

“As angels are such long lived creatures they made it a...popular hobby...to teach and guide the humans in everything from education and medicine to war and genocide.”

“To what end?” Aila asked.

“Who knows if there was a single unifying reason? And when someone makes a decision there is rarely a single cause behind it, a single reasoning. For instance, in choosing to help Seth it was partly friendship, party pity and possibly compassion. Perhaps fear that if one didn't help now they would be cosmically punished later? Who can truly see into the mind of another living being? My educated guess is that each had their own line of reasoning. Like minds would come together forming pantheons, such as the Egyptians and the Greco-Roman gods.”

“It's so strange to think of angels as some celestial puppet masters,” Gideon murmured.

“Well, I think that they were under the impression that humans were pets, something that would burn out rather than pass on accumulated knowledge. For instance I can't be sure if it was a human idea or angelic for the first college to pass on accumulated, specific knowledge but I can imagine some angels may have been surprised. Humans were very similar to the cockroach, even if their societies weren't.”

“That sounds like you meant comparing us to cockroaches was meant to be a compliment?” I ventured.

“Oh indeed! Societies are complex and by the very nature of a complex system the ease with which it can be brought down is directly proportional to its level of complexity. I'll give you for instance.

“When Europeans came to the Americas they destroyed some very complex societies not only through war but by passing germs to which the natives were not immune . More recently, and on a much smaller scale, was the power outage that affected the entire eastern seaboard of the United States. Without power there was no communication, upon which we rely, and therefore much hand wringing and gnashing of teeth ensued.”

“So the cockroach thing?” Joel asked with a frown.

“Well, at that stage, humans weren't as complex so even if you washed away a city state or six, the cockroaches would rebuild into empires. That is why the angels that felt humanity was too wild came closest to taming the lot during the dark ages.”

“This is actually pretty interesting, but how does it relate to what happened yesterday and strengthening trust here?” I asked.

“Yes, well, I'm getting there aren't I? No patience at all. Really.” Woolcott frowned at me for a moment and just as suddenly his face brightened and he continued his lecture. “So as I mentioned angels are very old and as the ages advanced many grew dispirited with humanity. The vain grabs for power, the sacrifice of the only life we live for what we claim is valuable, like gold or paper money. As these repetitive 'sins' were perpetrated generation after generation, some fell into despair and began to...deteriorate.”

“Deteriorate? Like cancer or something?”

“Or something,” he nodded. “Angels would fall ill, would slowly wither from the inside out. As they did they would fight with the world at large as the melancholy grew. The angelic are a reflection of themselves, you see, and as their thoughts and conclusions grew darker and more destructive some would fall.”

“Like the biblical retelling of the fallen?” Aila inquired.

“Oh no, something like that merely detailed a disagreement among the angelic. A chronicling if you will of different viewpoints, like meeting minutes. Lucifer felt that, for instance, there were things that humanity should not hold in it's grasp such as...the power of the atom let's say. Others felt that the path humanity could take with its ability to learn and pass on information would inevitably lead to things like harnessing such power, therefore the knowledge should not be limited.”

“All right, so if that wasn't what you meant by 'falling' what did you mean then?”

“When an angel falls, truly falls, it's decays into its polar opposite. Demons are nothing more than fallen angels. This is why you can use the blood of a demon to track an angel.”

“That relates to the little statue trick how?” Joel asked.

“Statue trick? Trick?” Woolcott affected a very insulted pose. “Those transmogrification idols have to be prepared well in advance and aren't easy to set up! Each one needs a bit of whomever it will change in order to work, and getting a sample wasn't easy!” Woolcott glanced at Aila and Joel, “Well, you two are messy, no problem there but you,” he wagged a finger in my direction, “you were tough.”

“I don't even want to know. Just why?”

“Simple, one of the oldest rules. Names have power. One of the oldest angels was named Yaweh. He wasn't exactly what you'd call popular and so whomever was making holy books at the time inserted his real name in the texts, washing a great deal of its power. I know a few fallen angels names, and Azazel's Ring can hold them.”

“Then why didn't you just summon this Azlea?” Joel frowned, “And, by the way, it still doesn't explain why my head ended up on his stomach,” he complained, referring to the bronze figurines again.

“Well, I couldn't summon Azlea due to the nature of the circle for one, and Azlea isn't her name for herself. Azlea is a common name, like calling you Joel is casual, Your full name is more than that. In addition creatures summoned against their will seldom are in a chatty and giving mood, except to mention how they will use ones guts for garters given the chance.”

“And the figurines?” Aila prompted.

“Oh, well, I figured as long as I had you wearing those perfectly ridiculous robes I may as well mix you up, turn you into swingers if you will.” This was met with frowns around the group to which Woolcott waved his hands dismissively, “Sometimes the joke is just for me.”

“So what's the meaning of this little trinket you want me to carry?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“It has a binding spell attached to it, drags you back here in case of trouble.”

“Why should he go at all?” Gideon asked. “After all, finding Azlea is simply a link to finding Lucifer, Michael or Raphael. Why risk him?”

“He has a part to play.” Woolcott shrugged.

“What part is that?”

“Not sure, meaning wasn't clear.” Woolcott shrugged again.

“No. I forbid it.” Gideon stated firmly.

“Excuse me?” I asked with narrowing eyes and a frown creasing my face.

“Now you did it, dumbass.” Joel rolled his eyes.

“You cannot go in and risk yourself for no reason!” Gideon stated.

“Just what do you think you're doing?” I huffed.

“I have defenses!”

“So do I!” I replied hotly.

“Such as?” Gideon glared.

“I have you, and Aila and a full sorcerer of the plane, whatever the hell that means! Hell if I have to I'll arm Joel with a towel dispenser again!” I replied hotly.

“Ahem. We are all going.” Woolcott stated.

“No!” Gideon thundered.

“What?” Joel squeaked.

“We have to go. Someone may detect our travels, even down here, and anyone left behind would be defenseless.” He held up a hand, “Seth will be taken care of. In addition, a show of force, farcical though it may be, isn't a bad idea with Azlea.”

“Force? I was kidding about the towel dispenser.”

“Even so, all of us being there will be better and we won't have to worry about anyone left behind.” He raised a finger to the group, “ Let us not forget, that little display of histrionics on my part at the house was a bit of a beacon, caution is advised. For the most part we need to move together”

“How will you protect Seth if it's not safe to be left behind?”

“Seth who?” Woolcott asked as he turned and left the room. I snorted and began to reply as I pointed to the table that was no longer there. I changed tactics.

“What, exactly, will these figurines do?”

“They will bring you here, safe and sound.” He stopped and considered for a moment, “Well, perhaps a bit dizzy, but more or less in the condition you were in when you trigger them.”

“More or less?” Joel whispered.

“Well, it can't help you if she's already begun to disintegrate you, for instance, but if you are fine when you travel, you'll arrive fine. That's all I meant, really.” Woolcott sighed, “You're imaginations do run away with you.”

The next hour was spent making ready, memorizing the trigger word for the brass figures Joel and I carried and generally trying to wrap our heads around the fact we were meeting an ancient creature who may have been worshipped as a goddess not that long ago, at least in her mind. We assembled once more in the kitchen area of the building, as ready as we were going to get.

“Now, a tiny bit about Azlea. She took a turn as Aphrodite, which explains her somewhat feral nature. Even then she was a lioness. She was also the patron goddess of prostitutes and as such has a taste for...carnal pleasure.” Woolcott let out a deep sigh and then shivered, bringing himself back to the here and now. “Just thought you should know. Off we go!” So saying he pulled a coin from his pocket, twirled it in the air while whispering an incantation and it slowly formed into a traveling portal.

“Ugh, that smell.” Gideon wrinkled his nose.

“Wow, you chewing garlic again brah?” Joel bumped me. I frowned back at him.

“Yes, very pungent. Safe however, very few travel in the space between buildings where the garbage bins are kept.” Woolcott stepped quickly towards the front of the building. Neon lights moved in a fashion that made it seem almost as if a female form was dancing around a pole. Above it in quickly shifting neon was the word 'Girls' repeated three times in different colors. The display was enough to make you feel like bathing. We walked past the front of the facade, a painted cinder block structure with gaudy signs and scattered detritus moving in the stagnant breeze.

“Where are we?” I muttered.

We finally reached the other side of the building, having dodged pedestrians and gawkers and more than a few that simply looked seedy who were entering the strip club. Turning the corner there were two plain metal doors lacking handles set into the wall.

“There was one of these on the other side, by the garbage. Why did we come around the building?” Aila asked.

“The one on the other side is closest to the kitchen and bar, more likely to be seen. This one,” He pointed to the first door which we were now passing, “Is an emergency exit. This one leads to the dressing rooms.” An electronic card reader was mounted on the wall next to the door. Woolcott mumbled and the door clicked, and slid open a few inches. We entered quickly, closing the door behind us.

The hallway was cramped, and poorly kept up. Boxes lined the hall with plumed feathers and glittering sequins bursting forth the poorly closed tops. A large man approached from the end of the hall, probably a bouncer of some sort.

“Hey! Who the hell are you?” he challenged.

Woolcott waved his hands, “These are not the droids you're looking for.”

“These...uh...aren't the droids I'm looking for?” the man replied hesitantly.

“Move along.”

“Yeah, move along. You, uh, shouldn't be back here.” The bouncer muttered before turning his backs on us in a confused state and heading back the way he'd come.

“I am never letting you watch Star Wars again!” Gideon hissed.

I couldn't help but laugh, it was so silly. Joel was peeking into the dressing room and Woolcott was moving in that direction when Aila stopped them both cold. “You two juvenile delinquents want to tell me where you think you're going?”

Woolcott pulled up and glanced at her before sniffing. “No sense of adventure. Come.” So saying he began threading his way down the hall. Thumping music could be heard through the wall, vibrating through my chest and starting to give me a headache. A plain white door with a cheap metal sign, black and gold, that stated this was the 'office' was our destination. As Woolcott raised his hand to knock the music suddenly stopped – no the world suddenly stopped – and a sultry voice could clearly be heard, as if there were no door.

“Enter.”

Woolcott looked slightly flustered but turned the knob and in we went. She was seated behind a large desk, one far too large to be in the room; but then the room as far larger than anything we'd yet seen. She stood and appeared to wear a very tight business suit, but something you found at the 'business slut' store. It was low cut, showing generous cleavage and her bound hair began to slowly let itself down, perhaps to appear more sensual. Her face eased into a predatory grin and she leaned a hip on the wide desk.

“Oh look who it is! I see you brought replacements in case your strength flags.” She winked at Joel, “It's a good thing you did Wooly, you know I'm indefatigable.”

“Afraid not. They are all taken.” Woolcott regained his composure and took a seat. We all stood by the door, perhaps a bit stunned, but surely still assessing the situation. The one thing I had absolutely no doubt of was the sudden danger we were in. It rolled off her in waves, a mix of strength and...fear.

“By whom, this young thing?” Her chin indicated Aila. “No doubt she has youth on her side, but I have my charms. Don't I Wooly?”

“Undoubtedly. However we're not here for the flesh, we are on a mission of mercy.”

“Oh? Not to warn me I hope, you're far too late for that.”

“Warn you?”

“Oh dear, you don't know. You're slipping Wooly. I'm about to leave, in fact when you broke in I started the weave to send everyone away. Can't have my employes getting hurt, the workman's comp is a nightmare.”

“I don't understand.”

“Too late. He's here. I'm sorry Wooly, I really am.” Azlea vanished. Mere seconds later a booming announced the door at the end of the hall had blown in off it's hinges and it could be heard bouncing off the sides of the hallway. The lights went out and then flickered before turning red.

“Quickly, travel out!” Woolcott screamed but before he could complete the sentence the wall melted away, literally oozing as if on a time lapse camera until it revealed the cause of all the noise, chaos and the incredible foul smell that suddenly hit my nostrils.

“Demon!” Gideon yelled. Joel popped out of sight, having used his trinket. I reached for mine but it all seemed to be happening impossibly fast. I looked up while my hand was buried in my jeans looking for the trinket when I caught sight of it. It was constantly shifting from white to black and then slowly into blues and greens; an ever shifting kaleidoscope of color. The smell went away and the creature finally resolved itself with gargantuan wings exploding from behind it and a huge staff lined with blinking eyes and a hissing snake's head at the top.

“No, though mortal creatures may paint me so. My intended is not here any longer. Like grains of sand she slips from my fingers. She intended to sacrifice you in her stead, perhaps?” The being intoned, each sound like a deep bass echoing in my chest.

“No, Azrael, we are not her replacements.” Woolcott replied formally, standing tall.

“A sorcerer? Curious. Tell me why your blood would not sate me while I pursue my quarry?”

My hand locked on the brass figure, but my mind was frozen on the scene before me.

“We have not descended; we are not prey.” Woolcott replied confidently.

“Most curious.” The creature seemed to consider for a moment. “But you were meeting with her, the intended. Azlea is marked. And you sought audience with her. Why does a sorcerer seek the condemned if not in pursuit of forbidden knowledge?”

“Knowledge is information, and is not forbidden by the plane.”

“But we do forbid this knowledge. No, sorcerer. You and your little group have started down a dangerous path and must be stopped.”

“The knowledge we sought was not for descending, but to save a life.” Woolcott replied, quickly and with less composure.

“Whose life? To what end? All are erased from the book as surely as they are written to it.”

“All too true, Azrael. We seek so save the child of Lucifer. To do so we must find Raphael; we have his son with us in the search.” Woolcott gestured to Gideon.

“Scion of Raphael?” Azrael tipped his staff forward and Gideon suddenly stiffened and floated several inches off the ground as if an invisible string pulled on his chest. His arms flew outward and his head tilted back in a silent scream as his human dark side came to the front. His dark wings spread and the shadows danced around his form. I screamed and took less than half a step towards Azrael before Aila was moving past me, a stunning fury made of light.

Azrael gestured with his free hand, a shooing gesture and Aila flew back against the wall with a sickening crash, her light went out and she disappeared.

“No!” I screamed and looked for a weapon of some kind. Finding none and realizing the futility of it all, I dashed forward and wrapped my arms around Gideon and muttered the trigger word for the trinket.

“Curious.” The voice rumbled. I forced my eyes to open, and saw I was standing between Azrael and Gideon, who was leaning on me and breathing heavily. My arms were still wrapped around him and the bronze trinket had turned to a lump of clay, mere putty in my hand and now completely misshapen. Aila was back, shaking her head as if to clear it, and climbing unsteadily to her feet. Woolcott offered her a steadying hand.

“Sorcerer. You were the one tasked with being watcher for the scion of Raphael?”

“A bargain was struck, yes, and that is my part in it.”

“Yet you are much more. You have brought together the children of light, the children of dark and those of clay.”

“To be fair they found each other. Mostly. I only helped a little.”

“How is it a child of clay has such affection for a child of dark, and yet you seek to save a child of light? Most curious.” Azrael seemed to think for a moment, turning his great head from side to side, almost as if listening to voices before speaking again. “I will not erase your name from the book this day. However, Sorcerer, we may...bargain?”

“What is it you wish?” Woolcott asked.

“You will find Azlea again, and you will contact me. In exchange I will tell you where to find Michael, Raphael and Lucifer.”

“Seth doesn't have much time!” I screamed in frustration. Azrael turned his gaze on me, fiery orbs with no warmth.

“Then tarry not for time is not my purview.” With a thunderclap he was gone.

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