Rebellion

Zadkiel here, peering into her thoughts. Knowing that felt like a huge weight lifting from her shoulders: she hadn’t realised how hard she found it, always feeling that someone might be listening. Strangely, she didn’t care if Michael could see what was going on in her head: he wouldn’t like what he found, and if she was honest, it served him right. Zadkiel, though... Zadkiel was different. Unlike Michael, it appeared that he really did listen. And he remembered.

A rattling sound pulled her back to the corridor. Mallory was shaking the handle of a door, a little louder than was strictly necessary. “I think it’s locked,” Alice said pointedly.

“The question is whether it’s locked from the outside, or the inside. And if it’s locked from the inside, who locked it?”

“I also think you’re taking this a bit personally.”

“You bet I’m taking it personally.” Mallory gave up rattling the handle and kicked the door. It sprang free of its hinges with a popping sound and dropped through the frame, leaving Mallory tumbling after it.

Into thin air.

Mallory swore as he hurtled down the sheer stone wall and toward the rocks far below, snapping his wings open and beating them once, twice to bring him back up to the level of the doorway. He floated outside, peering back in.

“Well, that was unexpected.” He folded his wings as he stepped back onto firm ground, and leaned out into empty space again, looking down at the rocks.

“I should have known it was you lot from the noise,” said a new voice, and Alice spun round.

There, framed in a doorway across the corridor – one which did not appear to lead to a messy death – was a solidly-built man with green eyes and black hair slashed across with white. The shadows of old bruises were visible across one of his cheeks, but he looked well enough, and he was watching them with barely-disguised amusement.

Jester.

Alice was almost knocked off her feet as Vin barged past her, charging Jester and flinging an arm around his shoulders, slapping him on the back... then apparently changing his mind and standing back with his arms folded.

“Do you have any idea how worried we were? How worried I was?”

“No, Mum.”

“Piss off.” Vin scowled – particularly when he heard Mallory snigger.

He turned back to Jester. “You do realise the mess you’ve made, right?”

“Mess? What mess?” Jester looked puzzled, glancing from Vin to Mallory and Alice. He closed his eyes slowly. Sadly. “It’s her, isn’t it?”

“Florence? Yes.”

“What’s my sister done this time?”

“Where do I start?”

“Probably after I tell you that whatever you think, it’s not true.”

“I had a horrible feeling you were about to say that...”

What Jester told them made Alice’s stomach knot. Mallory nodded, his face sober. Vin turned an increasingly queasy shade of grey beneath his sunglasses.

Jester had said he needed some time, and had gone for a walk on the streets of Hong Kong; not going anywhere particular, just walking. Hands in his pockets, he had wandered through Sai Wan and as far as Fung Mat Road – almost as far as the market and the water. He’d lost track of time, been waiting to cross the road... and that was when he thought he had seen her. Just a glimpse of her, through a crowd. Florence. He froze, and then he had started to edge through the people around him, shouldering them aside until he had a clear view of her. It was her. Standing on the opposite side. Alone.

Something had made him turn around. He didn’t know what it was, even as he told Alice and the others about it. But something had, and as he turned, he saw her standing behind him. With Xaphan.

And Jester had done the only thing he could. Run.

He had been running back to the apartment, hoping he could keep them off his back long enough to reach Vin and Sari. Hoping that he could lose them in the streets... and then he had realised that he was leading them straight to Vin, too. That was enough to stop him right where he was.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see people being jostled, shoved, pushed aside as the Fallen came for him. They had surrounded him, and he hadn’t even known it. He had taken a deep breath... and then there had been a soft thud and the sound of feathers behind him, and he had looked over his shoulder to see an angel he immediately knew to be Zadkiel, and who had simply told him to close his eyes. So he had.

“And then, I’m here.” Jester held out his hands to illustrate his point.

“Let me get this straight.” Mallory said. “They came for you. In Hong Kong.”

“Yes.”

“And Zak brought you here. He rescued you.”

“Yes.”

“Fuck.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s you. They want you.” Mallory’s eyes opened, and both his guns were in his hands. “They want you, and we’ve brought them straight in. Fuck!” He kicked the wall.

“They want me? What for?”

“I don’t know, and right now, I don’t care. All I care about is getting you back to the nearest Archangel. So let’s do that.”

The temperature suddenly dropped. Alice, who was watching Jester, saw him tense.

The voice came from the other end of the corridor.

“Or – here’s an idea – let’s not.”

Xaphan.

MALLORY’S FIRST BULLET went wide, smashing into the stone to the right of Xaphan’s head as he limped towards them – and there wasn’t a chance for another shot, as Xaph pulled Florence out from behind him, using her as a shield.

“Don’t think I won’t shoot her, Xaph,” said Mallory from behind his gun.

“Oh, I know you would. But I doubt he’ll let you.” Xaphan’s grin was wider than it should have been as he nodded towards Vin. The scar tissue covering one side of his face crinkled as he smiled.

“Get them out of here, Mallory.” Vin’s voice was barely louder than a whisper. He was rolling up his sleeves again, curling and uncurling his fingers.

Mallory shook his head. “Not likely.”

“Get them both out. The Fallen want him? They can’t have him.”

“We’re not leaving you.”

Xaphan was watching them with amusement. Another three Fallen had appeared from the depths of the corridor and had arranged themselves into a loose line, blocking the way back.

Vin stepped in front of Mallory. It was almost casual, the way he moved, and somehow, he had got between them and the Fallen. “I’ll buy you as much time as I can.”

“Vhnori...”

“My mess. My fault. I said go.”

MALLORY STARED AT Vin’s back as he calmly walked towards Xaphan. Jester shouted something Alice didn’t quite catch. The Fallen behind Xaphan and Florence lunged forward, only to be driven back as Mallory fired into them... and Vin walked on, with the bullets screaming past his head.

“Go!” Mallory shouted, and she felt him pull on her sleeve as she started to run.

They were leaving him.

Or perhaps it was the other way around...