Authors: Nic Widhalm
They stayed on paved roads for the initial part of the trip, but after penetrating the first few miles of the Rocky Mountains Valdis turned off the main road with the surety of someone who had driven this path before. He steered the rusted truck through road after dirt road, turning the vehicle down so many off-shoots that Jackie lost her sense of direction entirely. She might be the one holding the gun, but Valdis was no longer the timid thing she had confronted a few hours ago. Now, he drove like a man possessed; whatever that egg fragment had told him must have been profound.
Now, with the overcast sun rising over their shoulders, Jackie looked out on an image straight out of Lord of the Rings—a castle, nestled securely against the back of a tall, soaring mountain, hedged on both sides by rocky outcroppings and looking as hospitable as a maximum-security prison.
Valdis had been driving the last hour on a road that barely deserved the title, stopping every so often to clear debris out of the way, until suddenly and without warning he had hit the brakes and brought the old truck to a sharp stop. Climbing out of the driver side, Valdis had continued on foot, and Jackie had the choice of either staying behind or following. So, holstering the Beretta that was nestled in her lap, she stepped out of the car to join him. Twenty minutes later they found themselves here, the trees giving way suddenly and opening to the incredible view before her.
The castle still lay several miles away, but it was large enough that Jackie could make out each stunning detail. The arching towers and sharp granite features were beautiful, but she didn’t think this place had been designed for aesthetics—it was clearly military in nature. The towers soared upwards, as picturesque as a fairy tale, but the windows were tiny, hardly idle for taking in the view. They would be perfect for a ranged weapon, however.
A Remington 700
, Jackie thought.
Or…a bow.
“Beautiful,” Valdis’ voice creaked. It was the first thing he had said in over two hours
She turned to him, frowning. “Oh, now we’re talking? Great. Nice of you to join me. Maybe, since you’re feeling so chatty, you can tell me what the hell is going on, why you shot your load about a fucking egg, and why I’m staring at the only fucking castle in North-fucking-America?”
Valdis took no notice of her language—at least, not that Jackie could see—and swept his hand at the fortress. “Consider yourself very, very privileged, Detective Riese. You’re witnessing one of the last genuine miracles of the modern world.” The priest lowered his arm and nodded toward the castle. “The stronghold of the
Elohim
, the chosen of Michael. Only a handful of humans have ever gazed upon it. It is…extremely difficult to find.” Valdis looked down at his right arm, still closed in a fist. Jackie would have bet dollars to donuts he was holding the egg fragment.
She went back to the castle, cocking her head. Chewing over the words in her mind, she picked out the bit about Michael, and experiencing a quick flash of childhood nostalgia, whispered: “The Great Prince?”
Valdis blinked, then nodded. “That is one of her names.”
“Her?”
“What? Only a man can be an angel? Not very progressive, Detective.”
Jackie eyed the priest, wondering if he was messing with her, but Valdis had already turned back to the castle. Jackie followed his gaze and watched as the sun broke through the clouds, casting its first rays on the fortress. She could see why the castle kept claiming the priest’s attention. It was a marvel.
The tall, soaring towers caught the first of the light, and Jackie watched spellbound as the rays ran down the stone, painting the edifice a shimmering gold. The castle seemed to bulge in the light, drinking in the first rays of ultraviolet, expanding until it filled Jackie’s vision.
She gasped, and a small part of her—the angry, confused teenage part that had strangled her childhood faith—faded for a moment. Again, she found herself in the cathedral, staring at the tall, stained-glass-windows, studying the soldered lines as the priest’s words filled her ears with a warm, comforting drone. The hazy morning light of the cathedral shone down through the glass, bathing the pews a soft rainbow hue, and Jackie felt every bit of her young, unblemished soul drink in the peace like a woman dying of thirst.
Jackie reached up and touched her fingers to her cheek. They came back wet. She looked at her fingertips in surprise, trying to remember the last time she had cried, and suddenly the vision disappeared. Dawn had passed, replaced by the fullness of the morning sun. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her shoulders. The sun might be out, but the morning was still bitterly cold.
“So,” Jackie said. “Are we going inside?”
Valdis gave her a puzzled look. “Of course,” he said. “But first we have to figure out how to break in.”
An hour later they were headed back to civilization. Jackie prayed silently that they would make it in one piece. Valdis had an…energetic way of driving.
“So, Lucifer failed?” Jackie asked, trying to process the story Valdis had relayed over the last half-hour.
“So it appears. Unless humanity managed to storm the gates of Heaven and we’re just blind to Paradise.” Valdis patted the steering wheel of the decrepit old truck affectionately. “What bliss.”
Jackie’s eyes narrowed. The priest gave a hesitant smile. “That was a joke,” he said.
“Hilarious. So what’s the story with the castle, then? The ‘stronghold of the
Elohim
?
’ The place is filled with—what? Wannabe angels?”
“Apkallu. They’re closer to a half-angel,” Valdis pulled his eyes from the road for a moment, and fixed Jackie with a friendly, I’m-not-crazy-at-all smile.
“Right. And they have Friskin?”
Valdis nodded, turning back to the road, his hands tightening on the wheel as they took a particularly sharp turn at a speed that would have given a Park Ranger apoplexy.
Who cares about angels? The way this guy is driving we’ll be greeting Saint Peter before lunchtime.
Jackie tried not to look at the twisting, back-mountain roads, and asked, “You think they’re going to kill him?”
Valdis nodded again, his eyes tightening.
“And that’s because…?”
“Because of the Grigori, I suppose,” Valdis said.
“Look, if you’re trying to drive me crazy because I pointed a gun at you, I get it. I’m sorry, okay?”
Valdis laughed. “You think I was concerned about your firearm? Detective, you strike an imposing figure when you’re aiming a weapon at someone, but I’m well aware of your background—you would never harm a priest.”
Jackie squirmed in her seat, hoping the priest wouldn’t choose to elaborate.
“Besides, I recognized the look on your face when you took me prisoner. I’ve seen it too many times when I look in the mirror. You’re obsessed, Detective.”
“The fuck I am.”
Valdis shrugged. “It doesn’t make much difference; you’re here regardless of what you may or may not think about your mental state. I may not be the most spiritual of my brothers—I’ve been accused of “paper faith” on more than one occasion—but even
I
am forced to admit there are larger forces at work here.”
Jackie didn’t answer right away. She didn’t believe in destiny. But something had driven her to this point, something had forced her to go against all her training, her years of experience, to follow this white rabbit until she found herself arguing angels in a broken-down four-wheeler in the ass-end of nowhere with a lunatic priest.
“Just answer the question,” Jackie finally said.
“The Grigori? Well, let’s see,” Valdis drummed his fingers against the wheel of the truck. “You could call them the
architects
,
I suppose
. They were the first to discover the process of creating Apkallu. Thousands of years ago angels didn’t have a method of healing themselves,” Valdis’ voice rose, settling into a steady, rhythmic cadence.
“A war had raged in the beyond for countless centuries, but the casualties were growing so great that both sides feared for the continuance of their race. It was then that the Grigori, the Watchers, looked down on the fledgling, frightened humans that populated our blue rock, and wondered what would happen if an angel could occupy their mortal shell. Things are concrete on Earth. Our reality is based on natural laws, principals of physics and mathematics that make our world…
solid
. In comparison, the beyond is a place of ever-changing firmament,” Valdis paused, looking over at Jackie. She could see him studying her, but chose not to meet his eyes.
“So, the Grigori devised a method for joining an injured angel with a mortal shell,” Valdis continued. “I can only imagine what it was like that first time, waiting to see what would become of the odd half-breed. Wondering if it would explode under the stress of our world and the beyond being sutured together. Fortunately, it worked. Though, not immediately,” Valdis waved his hand in the air, his voice alive and excited. Jackie could hardly believe the change in the priest; he seemed full of life, animated and confident in a way the detective had never seen.
“It took several lifetimes,” said Valdis, “depending on the wound. And the mortal shell wasn’t always whole: sometimes the Apkallu would go mad; sometimes they would grow catatonic; often they wouldn’t remember who they were until the end of their ‘lease,’ so to speak. But it did work, and after the process was complete the angel could return to the firmament and rejoin the war.” The priest finished, a satisfied smile on his face.
Jackie’s head swam. Not only had she not slept in the last twenty-four hours, kidnapped a priest and saw a fairy-tale castle, but she was now being asked to believe…to believe
this
. Angels. No one in their right mind would buy it. What proof was there? She had seen some crazy things last night when Friskin disappeared, but she had been drunk at the time—hardly in her right mind. And as for the rest, well, a castle—even a hidden one—hardly counted as proof that angels walked the Earth. It wasn’t possible. Not even a little bit.
Only, the funny thing was, she
did
believe. She bought it, the whole thing, ‘heavenly war’ and all. Everything Valdis had told her—as crazy as it sounded when Jackie repeated it back in her head—was true. The detective knew it the same way she knew the sun would rise in the west, the Broncos would choke in the play-offs, and the guilty would always run. The world was populated with half-angel Apkallu that possessed crazy powers, had existed for several life-times, and were fighting a war in Heaven.
It was one hell of a Tuesday.
“What does all this have to do with Friskin?” She asked. “Why kill him? Won’t he just reincarnate again?”
The truck soared into the air for a second, and Jackie swallowed a shriek as her stomach leapt into her throat. Valdis fought the steering wheel as the ancient vehicle swerved down the dirt path, narrowly avoiding the thick pines bordering the road. He gave Jackie a sheepish look. “Sorry. I’ll slow it down a notch or two.”
“Or three,” Jackie muttered, her pulse still racing.
“I’m a little excited,” Valdis apologized. “I was pretty sure I had located the enclave of the
Elohim
, but it was all just theory, you understand? I’m not really a field person; always been behind the scenes before. And I was missing an important piece…” Jackie saw him glance at his pocket before quickly looking back at the road.
Jackie took a deep breath, her hand gripped tightly around the door handle.
Please, God
, she pleaded silently.
I don’t ask for much. Don’t let this guy fall to pieces before we get back home.
Once she was sure they wouldn’t be leaving the road again, Jackie said, “So Friskin told you about the castle? Where to find him?”
“Oh no. Hunter had no idea which family he belonged too.”
“So, how
did
you find the place?”
“Well, I…uh…” The priest kept his eyes glued on the road. “I put the clues together.”
“Uh huh,” Jackie said. “Very convincing.”
Valdis’ lips drooped. “Detective, please. I’ve been researching the Apkallu for over half my life. There are things about them, things you wouldn’t
believe
. Myths and half-truths and secret orders hiding in the shadows…discovering their fortress was only the beginning.”
“So you think all of that makes up for harboring a fugitive?” Jackie
Valdis looked at the detective out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.
“Look, I’m not exactly Friskin’s cheering squad, but I don’t want him dead either,” Jackie said. “I know you guys are friends, or at least acquaintances. I know you’re covering up for him.”
Valdis opened his mouth, his eyes wide in mock outrage, but before he could protest Jackie cut him off. “I don’t care. I know I should, it’s what I swore to do when I picked up this shield,” she touched the badge she wore on her belt, her fingers caressing the familiar outline. “But, I think—well, alright, I
know
—there’s something at work here. Something bigger than you, bigger than me. And I’m in. I’m not saying I don’t have a few questions for the big guy when we finally meet, but you don’t need to worry about me arresting him. At least, not until I’ve heard his story.”