Rebellion

“I... said... shut... up.” Mallory strode back to the sofa with his gun, pointing it at Xaphan’s nose. Xaphan snorted, and leaned forward so that his forehead was resting against the end of the barrel.

“Well? What are you waiting for?”

Alice could see everything that Mallory was thinking. It was all over his face; etched into the lines around his eyes.

She could stop him.

She should stop him.

But.

In the end, it was Castor who placed his hand over Mallory’s and turned the gun away. “In my professional opinion,” he said softly, “everyone needs to take a moment.” He turned to Xaphan. “And you, my friend, need to give some thought to the predicament in which you find yourself. Because you’re in a room with a Descended, an Earthbound and a half-born who all want to kill you. Keep pushing. I’ll let them take turns, and I will personally see to it that you stay alive long enough for all of them to get a go.” He slid Mallory’s gun out of his grip and stood there, turning it over in his hands. “Nice. Nice heft, you know? I’ve been thinking about getting one of these.” Before anyone could move, he had slipped his finger across the trigger and shot Xaphan in his injured leg. The gunshot echoed in the tiny room, making Florence clap her hands over her ears. None of the others moved, with the exception of Xaphan, who roared with pain and clutched his leg. Castor blinked at him. “Sorry about that.” He handed the Colt back to Mallory. “You want to watch the safety on that, mate,”

“Thanks for the tip.” Mallory was smirking. As Castor came back to stand next to Alice, she could have sworn she saw him wink. Xaphan, meanwhile, was whimpering in a most uncharacteristic way, and Florence was clearly wishing she was invisible. Or dead. Or both.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alice saw a spark float up from her hand, and she realised she hadn’t been concentrating. Castor’s little display had distracted her just enough for her guard to slip. With a sigh, she elbowed her way past Mallory and Vin and stood in front of Florence, arms folded, waiting.

Florence looked up into eyes which were spinning discs of fire, and realised she had no choice but to talk.

THE LAST PLACE anyone had seen Jester was in Hong Kong. He had been with Vin, staying at his apartment with Sari, who knew nothing of the Fallen locked in a crate in the building’s basement... not then, at any rate. Jester had been uneasy, had said something to Vin about needing some time, and had gone for a walk. That was the last anyone had heard from him.

Until Florence got word that he had been seen in Mont Saint-Michel. No Man’s Land. Which could only mean that he had been taken there, and that he was Michael’s prisoner.

“But what the hell would Michael want from Jester? He let us all go.” Alice didn’t add that she was the only one he said he’d be coming for.

“And why do you care? You picked your side.” Vin glared at Florence.

“Because he’s still my brother.”

“Is he?”

Florence’s voice cracked. “I can’t just leave him...”

“You already did.”

“IT’S NOT MICHAEL.” Mallory had listened to everything Florence said, and to Alice and Vin, and he shook his head. “If it was Michael, we’d know. Believe me, we’d know.”

“Then why would he be taken?” Florence sniffed.

“Who’s to say he has been?”

“No,” said Vin. “He’s got no reason to be in No Man’s Land.”

“None except Zadkiel. And don’t call it that.”

“Whatever. Because knowing Zadkiel’s around makes it so much better, doesn’t it?”

“Well...” Mallory shrugged.

As usual, Alice felt like she was only hearing half the conversation. “No Man’s Land?”

Mallory barely glanced up, so deep was he in thought. “Michael’s fortress: it’s what some of the... less bright among us call it. It’s where he took Lucifer’s body. He’s holed up there along with half his choir, and Zadkiel.”

Alice’s mind flashed back to the Archangel from the riot. “And Jester’s Zadkiel’s choir...”

Mallory nodded. “But I don’t know why he’d take him.” He paused. “Actually, that’s a lie. I know exactly why he’d take him...”

“No.” Castor’s voice came from the back of the room. Alice glanced round at him and saw his mouth set in a firm line. “Zadkiel wouldn’t do that. He’s not the type.”

“You sure?” Mallory didn’t exactly sound convinced, but Vin nodded, and Alice’s eyes dropped to his forearm. She’d forgotten he was one of Zadkiel’s choir.

“I’m sure. If Zadkiel has him, it’s on Michael’s orders.”

“And Michael...?”

Every eye in the room turned to Alice. She shuffled her feet, uncomfortable at being the focus of their attention. “What?”

“You’re the only one here who can tell us anything about Michael. Why would he take Jester?”

“How do I know? Maybe he’s pissed off. Maybe he’s going to try and make an example of him. Maybe he found out you caught Purson and he wants to give him a medal.” She tugged at her hair. It was all too much, and it was too hard not throwing herself at Florence, at Xaphan, and taking out everything she was feeling on them. Her fingers burned, her skin itched and there was a ringing in her ears which threatened to drown out everything else. Realising they were all still watching her, she shrugged. “You want to know my experience of Michael? He’s a psychopath. And you want to know what he’s capable of? Anything.”

“Well, that’s certainly set my mind at ease,” muttered Xaphan, who had recovered himself enough to start being sarcastic. Florence let out a whimper.

Mallory looked at each of them in turn, stony-faced. Eventually, his gaze came to rest on Vin. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“He’s one of yours.”

“He is.”

“You’re going to say something stupid, aren’t you?”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know you. You and stupid go hand in hand.”

“Like you said, Mallory...”

“Yeah. I know. Stupid.” Mallory tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, then growled in frustration. “How could you lose him, Vhnori?”

Alice butted in. “How could you get him involved in that in the first place? I thought you were...”

“Better than that?” Vin snapped back. “Well, maybe you were wrong.” He turned back to Mallory. “I’ll go. I’ll go alone.”

“You will not. Not after last time. Might I remind you that Michael also took Gabriel with him, and Earthbound or not, he’d still love a chance to take a swing at you – never mind what he might have said to Michael between then and now.”

“I can’t ask you to get involved.”

“And you never have to. But this is on you. You understand?”

Vin nodded back at Mallory, who seemed satisfied – and he rounded on Florence and Xaphan. “And you. I should kill you. Right now, both of you. But I’ve got a better idea.” He leaned closer to them, spreading his wings so that they all but filled the tiny room. “You’re going to come with us. This time? I’m going to hand you over to Michael myself. You for Jester. Seems like a fair trade.”

“Hardly,” Xaphan spat, but Mallory simply laughed.

“You don’t get a choice. Your girlfriend there wants our help? She’s got it. But it comes at a price, and you’re both going to pay.”