Angel Dust (10 page)

The flame-thrower on the top of the tank turned slowly until it was pointing straight at a tired, mild-faced angel who had been trudging obediently towards the open French windows.

The man froze.

‘ARREST HIM UNDER SUBSECTION 32!' barked Archangel Jehudiel.

‘We need to get you out of here,' said Kamuel suddenly. He grabbed my hand, pulled me towards the tangled undergrowth at the edge of the garden.

‘But –' I said.

‘There's no time for that,' hissed Kamuel as if he could read my mind. ‘We need to go
now
.'

He led me through the shrubbery. Behind us the grating of iron on iron, scattered screams and the heavy clash of chains echoed into the evening. Within seconds we were out on to the street behind.

When we were at least a block away, Kamuel stopped. He pushed me into a shadowy alcove in the perimeter wall. He stepped in close beside me. His nearness, his terrifying beauty robbed me of speech.

Oh Marcus, how nearly I spoke out to him, begged him to help us. Why didn't I?

Kamuel stood there, poised. At last I managed. ‘What's wrong?'

‘Danger,' he said, his voice low and urgent.

‘Danger?' I repeated.

‘They came to Stop and Check everyone at the party.'

‘Why?' I said.

‘They had an arrest warrant for Vincent. But they won't pass up an opportunity to hound others.'

‘An arrest warrant for who?'

‘If it hadn't been for the breach, God's Army would never have known.'

‘What breach?' I asked again. ‘What did Vincent do?'

‘Vincent ends lives that aren't on the Manifest,' said Kamuel.

‘
He Collects people illegally?
' I gasped.

‘He took one today when he was on Domestic Violence and Family Duty Collections. He didn't know we'd gone up to Code Amber and it would be checked up on.'

I felt as if I'd been thrown into the fiery pits. All the little hairs down my spine stood on end.
Vincent killed someone while on Collection Duty?
I shuddered. I remembered the stricken look on Joey's face, his pleading eyes.

‘It was a mercy killing. The lady was old and in great pain. She had an incurable disease. He does it out of pity,' said Kamuel. ‘It's his work. He's an Angel of Mercy.'

Of course. I'd heard of the Angels of Mercy, lawless beings who obeyed only their own conscience.

‘God knows these things happen. He turns a blind eye.'

God turns a blind eye?

‘Then why the flame-thrower, and the tank, and bursting into a choir service?' I said.

‘That's not God. That's the Army. That's Jehudiel. He's a fanatic. He sees everything in black and white. And he carries the Whip of Justice. He thinks that gives him the right.'

‘And does it?'

‘He is the Great Avenger. At the whip's touch all things return to dust. It was given to him by the Ancient of Days, when the firmament was in chaos. He alone can wield it, and he takes his work very seriously. Too seriously, sometimes,' sighed Kamuel. ‘He is empowered to defend Heaven, and now, because there's been a major breach, he's taken that as full permission to check everything and go after anyone.'

‘Oh,' I said.

‘Poor Vincent,' said Kamuel.

‘But what was the breach?' I whispered.

‘Someone signed a pact with the Devil,' said Kamuel very softly. ‘It was probably something minor, but that's how the Devil works. In small ways, cunningly, deceitfully, moving cautiously until he has Heaven under siege – and angels falling like summer rain.'

I stared at him.

‘With this signing coming so soon after the Challenge, we've gone straight up to Code Amber.'

‘What was the Challenge?' I whispered.

Kamuel straightened himself up. He looked me directly in the eye. His face so lovely, so sad. ‘Lucifer threw this gauntlet before the Senior Team:

‘
I will pick your brightest and your best, your loveliest and most innocent, from under your hand, and I will so corrupt and drive your chosen one that they will rather Fall and die and live in Hell with Me, than stay in Heaven with You.
'

I let air whistle out between my teeth. ‘Saints preserve us,' I whispered.

‘And you cannot stop me.'

‘But they can, can't they?' I said.

‘It's very serious,' said Kamuel, ‘and very possible. If he succeeds and God cannot stop him, there will be chaos in Heaven. Already you can see how God's Army have responded.' Kamuel sighed again. ‘And now this pact.'

‘How did they know about the pact?' I breathed.

‘The Devil has his ways,' laughed Kamuel. ‘He whispers into many ears. He gave enough details for the Senior Team here to know he tells the truth, but not enough to pin anything on anyone. That's all part of Satan's diabolical plan too. Cause panic, have us all suspecting one another, looking over our shoulders, turn Heaven against itself. Turn Heaven into Hell. That's why they're Stopping and Checking.'

How awful.

I thought of the contract I'd signed. A terror started to grow in me. What if they got to know about that? What if Larry was not only untrustworthy about names and dates, but indiscreet as well? Or worse – a shivering took hold of me –
perhaps he didn't work for God at all.
At least not exclusively. He'd said – for what it was worth – he was an
Independent
Celestial Advisor.

Perhaps he worked for the Devil too?

I went icy cold from head to toe.

Perhaps the Extension I'd signed was the pact Kamuel was talking about.

But there's nothing evil in a contract to extend a life so that a soul can be saved – is there?

I took heart. Saving souls was God's work.

But I must be careful. When I next saw Larry I must ask him. And I mustn't sign anything else. Perhaps I'd better tell St Peter after all. Better to make a clean breast of it, if it were all my fault – but then . . .

Like a cold hand around my heart came the thought of Marcus.

What would become of him?

No, I must stay quiet, stay on my guard and not trust Larry again.

‘God gets very worried about Satan,' continued Kamuel. ‘They were old friends once.' A faraway look came into his eyes. ‘Yes, God knows his adversary well. He doesn't underestimate him. Lucifer was his greatest Archangel.'

I wanted to ask then, why, if they'd been such good friends, couldn't they just make up? But I didn't dare. Instead I said, ‘What about the angel that made the pact?' My voice was shaky, my chin trembling. ‘What will happen to her?'

Why had I said ‘her'? I mustn't give myself away.

‘Nothing,' said Kamuel.

‘Nothing?' I repeated.

‘Nothing at all.'

I couldn't believe it. ‘How come?'

‘Because I will make sure of it. If I have to go to Hell to do so,' said Kamuel in a sudden hard, bitter tone.

And I knew he meant every word of it.

We got the announcement the following morning:

NO MORE DUTIES INVOLVING HIGH-RISK ACTIVITY WILL BE ASSIGNED TO UNDERGRADUATES AT THE CLOISTERS.

‘What does it mean?' I asked the Superior on Duty.

‘It means you're off Collection Duty and on Ministering to New Arrivals,' she said. ‘Lucky you, no more trips down to Earth – you can safely stay far away from Hell and all the problems that go with it.'

Lucky me? My heart shrank.
No more trips down to Earth?

‘But I have to get down to Earth,' I said quite simply.

The Superior looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

‘I have to save souls,' I said. ‘I want to do God's work.'

‘It's an order, and it's come from On High.'

I opened my mouth to protest further, and shut it again.
Obedience is the third holy vow.
I went slowly back to my cell before I betrayed myself.

Inside, I sat down. I didn't move. I couldn't take it in.

No more trips down to Earth.

Marcus would die and go to Hell.

I'd fail.

Joey would have died in vain.

I sat in front of my mirror and watched all my fiery beauty fizzle out in little sparks until I looked like a firework party from last year. What was I to do?
No more trips down to Earth and only eight days left.
I put on a cloak.

I needed to get out before a Superior called me to go and start ministering.

I was trudging down towards the West Gate, lost in thought, when I met Raquel. She was in a hurry. Half-heartedly I greeted her.

‘Thanks so much for the party. I'm sorry I left early.'

‘Oh, thank
Heavens
I've seen you!' cried Raquel. ‘You've
got
to help me. I'm on duty again. Look at this –
and
I'm late.'

‘Oh,' I said.

‘Here,' she said, thrusting the Manifest at me. ‘They've doubled my workload. I've been put on Motorway Duty
and
Hospital Collections in my district. There's no way I can guide seven souls to Hell
and
Purgatorium
and
back here today. Not with my morning shift at the Announcer. Look at that! Not one of them can be fast tracked. The aerial tolls alone will be horrendous. You
saw
the queues by Styx yesterday! If I'd got up earlier, but the party, that
dreadful
being with that
dreadful
voice, and now all the checkpoints to get through with this beastly breach business. I'm tired already.'

I looked at her she was like a gift from God. A desperate plan formed in my mind. Greedily, I ran my eyes over the list of hospitals.
A way down to Earth!
Yes, there it was: Christ the King, three deaths to Collect. Oh YES! I punched the air. Hallelujah.

‘I'll help,' I said, ‘I'll do that hospital,' before she could argue and say: wouldn't you rather be on the motorways – where at least there's some fresh air? I ripped the schedule in two and pocketed my hospital portion. ‘There,' I said, ‘your duties are halved, nearly. But don't let St Peter know. I'm officially underage to go on Collection since the breach,
apparently
.' I rolled my eyes. ‘It's a new announcement – security overkill. Don't be worried. I'm not.' I bared my teeth in a kind of grin. ‘So I'll need your spare pass.'

‘OK,' said Raquel. She looked surprised. I guess she wasn't used to seeing Seraphim quite so keen to get out and kill people.

‘If you don't mind,' I said, ‘I'll bunch them and take them to their Collection points in a group. It'll be quicker that way, unless you think they've all got to have an individual send-off?'

‘Well,' she said, a bit at a loss for words. ‘It depends . . .'

I pulled out the schedule. ‘Oh dear,' I said, ‘there's a girl who's overdosed, there's an old guy who's very ill, and a baby, poor thing.'

‘Look, honey, you do what you like. Just be there at the right time and Collect them, and get them to wherever as soon as you can. I'll probably catch you later at the river or back here – or if we get any repenters, then I'll see you at Black Point.' (Black Point is a particularly tricky aerial toll on the way to Purgatorium where demons give angels a really rotten time.) ‘Looks like I've got a whole family to Collect off the hard shoulder.' She unrolled her section of the Manifest and peered at it.

I squeezed her arm. No wonder she'd rather have done the hospital. ‘Oh, poor you,' I said sympathetically.

‘Poor
them
,' she said. ‘They don't even know it yet. They're probably still having their cornflakes.'

She looked at me, and I looked at her. It was hard to take.

I know the whole thing about Original Sin and the Dominion of Death. Believe me, I majored in it for a decade of semesters. How God was totally miserable (still is a bit miserable sometimes) about the whole Garden of Eden thing backfiring so badly. But I'm still not sure unleashing death on the world as a punishment was a good idea. Plus think of the cost in angel hours alone.

‘Don't worry, I'll manage,' said Raquel. ‘I'll make their deaths pain free and if it's truly terrible, I'll try your tip about Extensions.'

I shuddered. ‘Oh don't,' I cried. I shuffled my wings. For some reason a feather had come loose.

‘You're right,' she said. ‘I don't think any of them would really like to be the only survivor.'

I thought of a lifetime apart from the ones you love. I thought of Marcus lying with his cheek on the white pillow. I thought of his mother sitting there with her hollow eyes and her sagging shoulders.

‘No,' I said, ‘keep them together.'

‘But the dad isn't coming here. Even if he repents he'll have to do time in Torium,' said Raquel. ‘So they'll probably be split up anyway. He was drunk. I mean, will be drunk. He's probably hitting the bottle right now.'

‘And we can't do a thing?' I asked wistfully.

She shook her head. ‘'Fraid not. That's Free Will for you.' She rolled her eyes. ‘You know: You Better Choose To Be Good Or You'll Be Sorry.'

Suddenly I wasn't so sure I liked Free Will. If it were Marcus about to be crash-victimmed, I'd knock the bottle out of
anyone's
hand. And I wouldn't be up for any Free Will rubbish either.

I blinked at myself.
What a forbidden thought!
I blinked again; can you have a forbidden thought if you have Free Will?

The rest of that morning was a whirl. I rushed back to my cell. I didn't know where to start: had to fix my nails, do my hair, choose a new raiment, fluff out my feathers, practise a few ‘fire and glory' moves, and get down to the city checkpoints, get
through
the city checkpoints and make it to the start of the Staircase.