Confronting the Fallen (28 page)

“
Yes,
I know, Martin. But a leader is ultimately responsible for the
actions of those he employs and so the guilt is mine.” Judge
Hawkes planted his palms firmly on the desk and pushed himself to his
feet. “But now events are beginning to move, faster than we had
anticipated, and we must react just as quickly.” He pulled his
electronic pad from a pocket as he walked to the window and read
through some notes. “Christopher has gotten the attention of
both Talon and Angelica in a big way and I think they will respond in
kind.”

Chris
felt a stab of both guilt and fear. “Another attack, sir?”
he asked.

“
Quite
likely, young man. Now, don't look so anxious. This was not your
fault. They were obviously watching us closely and planning
something. Your foray to the city may have accelerated those plans,
but I'm sure they were inevitable.” He checked his pad again
and nodded to himself. “So, I think it would be a perfect time
to get you out of the line of fire, so to speak.” He glanced at
Chris with a mischievous look on his face. “Say, with a trip to
the Middle East?”

It
took Chris a moment to get what the judge was hinting at. Then he
grinned incredulously. “The hidden shrine! You mean we're
going?”

“
Indeed
we are. All of the arrangements have been made, although there are a
few...alterations to make thanks to Angelica's interference.”
He returned to his seat and looked at Martin. “We have to keep
the enemy's attention focused on the Nest for as long as possible.”

“
A
diversion?” Martin asked.

“
Exactly.
They felt the surge of power when Sariel revealed himself to Anna, so
we know that they are sensitive to it. So let's keep their attention
on this house and away from our quest. From now on, our young people
will patrol in pairs. Jacob and Tyler will obviously stay together.
I'll leave you to decide on the other pairings. Also, they are to
patrol in their angelic forms.”

Martin
stared at the judge. “But, sir, you know how hard that is on
the mortal body.”

“
I
know, Martin, I know. If we have to have two shifts per night, then
so be it. But the longer the enemy remains focused on this location,
the better our chances of getting to the shrine undetected. I hold
out little hope that we can get in and out totally unscathed, but let
us try our best.”

“
Very
well, judge. I'll work out the details.” Martin sounded
resigned.

“
Good
man. But in case we need more firepower, I want to expand the number
of people coming on our journey.” Judge Hawkes began typing on
his pad. “Besides myself and Christopher, of course, we have
six members of security along for obvious reasons. All of them have
wilderness training. But if we face any spiritual foes, we cannot
depend solely on Sariel, at least not until we find at least one
piece of his lost sword.” He frowned at the screen, then
glanced at Martin. “Is Rabbi Eddleson available?”

“
Ah,
good question.” Martin reached into his own pocket and pulled
out a cellphone. He tapped on it several times. Chris watched this
interplay between the two men with fascination.

“
He's
close, sir. A three hour plane ride, tops.”

“
Excellent.
I want him with us. And also...Natalie.”

Martin
shook his head. “She's meditating, sir. You know that. We can
barely get her to eat or speak. I doubt if she'd be willing to...”

“
Well,
it is about time she rejoined the land of the living,” the
judge replied impatiently. “She isn't meditating, Martin. She's
sulking. And it's gone on long enough. Please go and ask her to join
us right away.”

Martin
stood up and looked at the judge doubtfully. “Sir, I don't
think she will.”

“
Impress
the urgency of the situation upon her, Martin. Be persuasive. But get
her down here.”

Martin
stiffened his shoulders as if he was about to attempt to lift a heavy
load. “Very well, your honor. I'll do what I can.”

When
Martin had left the room to fetch the mysterious Natalie, Chris
couldn't help but wonder who she was and why he hadn't heard of her
yet. The judge waited a moment before answering the question.

“
Natalie
is...difficult, Christopher. She was the second young person we
admitted into the organization after Angelica. They were very close.
When Angelica left the Nest and later betrayed us, Natalie was
emotionally crushed. That was about eighteen months ago. Since then,
she's been a virtual recluse. Never leaves her room, takes meals
alone and spends most of her time either reading or in meditation,
communing with her angel. She's hardly spoken more than two sentences
to anyone in that time.”

“
I
see,” Chris said, although he really didn't. “But then,
what makes you think she'll come with us? And why would we want her?
I mean, what can she do?”

“
Well,
besides the fact that she has spent more than enough time pouting,
Natalie and her angel are very powerful. Hers is a very old soul
indeed. Almost as old as Lilith. I would not be surprised if Sariel
was actually acquainted with her.”

“
Wow,
really?” Chris was amazed. A warm pulse somewhere inside him
gave him reason to think that Sariel might be too.

“
Of
course, first we have to pry her out of that room of hers.” The
judge tapped his pad impatiently. “I don't want to sound less
than grateful to Natalie, young man. She was badly injured in an
ambush orchestrated by Angelica, and bears the scars of it even now.
But it is not healthy for young people to lock themselves away from
the world after such trauma. In fact, they need to be surrounded by
life and friends and stimulus to help them heal. But Natalie has
rejected all of our attempts to engage her in the day to day life of
the Nest. This journey, well, it may be the best thing for her, as
well as providing extra security for us.”

“
I
understand, sir. Makes sense.”

The
judge smiled a bit sadly. “Let us hope that it makes sense to
Natalie as well.”

While the judge continued to type on
his pad, Chris relaxed and had a third cup of coffee and more
cookies. How Chef kept the chocolate so gooey was a mystery, but like
all of his creations, they were amazing.

After about ten minutes, there was a
knock at the door.

“Come in,” Judge Hawkes
called.

Martin entered, looking a bit sheepish.
Before he could do more than open his mouth, the judge cut him off.

“She said no, I take it,”
he said flatly. It wasn't a question.

Martin shrugged. “She actually
didn't say anything, sir. She simply ignored my knocking, even after
I warned her that I was coming in if she didn't open the door.”

“And did you?” the judge
asked, sounding a bit amused.

“I did, your honor. Reluctantly.
But she was just sitting on her sofa, staring off into space. She did
deign to glance up at me when I had finished speaking, but that was
all the response I got from her. Short of picking her up bodily and
carrying her down here, I couldn't think of anything else to do. So
here we are.”

“Here we are indeed.” The
judge picked up his electronic pad and tapped on it several times. He
obviously had it on speaker because Chris heard ringing from whatever
number the judge had called. After the fourth ring, there was a click
as someone answered but no one spoke.

“Natalie, this is Judge Hawkes.
Please don't hang up on me; it would be rude. I expect to see you in
my office in five minutes. It is important. And if, after that time,
you are not here then I will have Ghost personally fetch you. Now, we
both know what that means so please save yourself the discomfort and
embarrassment and come down under your own power. That is all.”

The judge clicked off the phone and set
the pad down on his desk. He looked a trifle smug, Chris thought, and
wondered what the mysterious Ghost would do that was so terrible. He
looked over at Martin and was surprised to see him grinning widely.

“That was a tad...mean-spirited,
don't you think, your honor?”

“Perhaps, Martin. But enough is
enough. That young woman has been indulged to the point where it is
making her unwell. It must be stopped.” He looked at Chris for
a quick second and then back at Martin. “Do you think she'll
come?”

“Sir, I don't know anyone who
wouldn't under the terms you just mentioned.”

“Yes, well, we'll soon find out.”

Chris was tempted to ask exactly what
would happen if Natalie didn't show, but he was sure that no one
would tell him. Ghost wasn't mentioned, at all, by anyone in the
house. The other teens had never seen him or her, and the adults
refused to talk about the subject. It was very weird and a bit
creepy, he thought.

Judge Hawkes glanced at his watch, then
folded his hands and stared expectantly at his office door. Martin
rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and put his chin on his
hand, all the while staring with amusement at the judge. Chris just
tried to be patient and not fidget too much.

It might have been less than five
minutes but to Chris it felt like an hour when the door opened and a
young woman limped in. She hadn't bothered to knock. Martin stood up
quickly and moved to the window, allowing the woman a clear view of
the desk.

She stood inside the doorway and
scowled at the judge, who simply met her angry gaze with a friendly
smile.

“Good afternoon, Natalie. How
nice of you to join us. And so prompt too.”

Natalie didn't speak for a long moment.
And then she limped across the room, first slamming the door shut
behind her, and collapsed into the chair next to Chris without giving
him a passing glance.

“Prompt? Yes, I was prompt,
judge. It was either that or be dragged down here by your pet
enforcer. How dare you threaten me with that...creature!”

Natalie's voice was very deep for a
woman's and she didn't speak loudly, but her anger and obvious
disgust at the judge's tactics could be heard clearly. Chris found
himself comparing her with Angelica, her once best friend and
realized that they couldn't have looked more different from each
other.

Angelica was tall and lean with
platinum blond hair and fine features. Natalie was no taller than
Chris. Her black hair only fell to her chin and she was heavy-set
with rather plain features. But she wasn't fat, Chris realized as he
looked at her from the corner of his eye. She was just very sturdy
looking. Maybe she lifts weights, he thought.

“I had to get your attention,
Natalie. You have been cooped up far too long. And before you give me
your reasons, be assured that I am aware of them.” His gaze
sharpened. “But this is too important. Angelica is back.”

At once, Natalie sat up straight in her
chair, although she grimaced with pain as she did so.

“What do you mean she's back?”
she growled. “She disappeared after she turned traitor. Many of
us assumed she was dead, or at least gravely injured. I certainly
hoped that she was.”

Chris was shocked at the intense hatred
dripping from Natalie's voice. She obviously loathed Angelica. What
had her ex-friend done that could change this woman's feelings so
completely? He soon found out.

“Look, judge, even if I could
help you with whatever is going on, I'm of little use.” Natalie
looked done at her right leg for a moment, frowned and looked back at
Judge Hawkes. “My leg never did heal properly. Yes, the skin
all grew back, but it's too stiff and the pain is constant. How could
I be of any use to you in this condition?” She sounded almost
ashamed of her infirmity and it was the judge who was now frowning.

“Natalie, what happened was not
your fault. Angelica fooled all of us. If you are looking to place
blame, look no further than myself.”

She shook her head. “I know your
feelings, judge, but they're misplaced. She was my best friend. I
trusted her completely and I walked into that ambush with my team
totally oblivious to the danger. And only I walked out.” She
grimaced again. “Crawled out, actually. I should have sensed
the change in her, the deceit. But I noticed nothing. Nothing.”
She rubbed her hand gingerly over her thigh. “This is my
penance if you will, for my mistakes. You may think that it has gone
on long enough, but how long is enough when my stupidity cost the
lives of four of my closest friends?”

There was a moment of silence. The
judge seemed at a loss for words and, apparently to fill the silence,
Martin spoke up.

“Natalie, I don't believe you've
met our newest member? Mr. Wright, this is Natalie. She prefers to go
by her first name. Natalie, Christopher Wright.”

Chris turned to face Natalie fully.
“Hi. Nice to meet you,” he said a bit uncomfortably.

Natalie reluctantly turned away from
the judge to look at Chris. “Yeah, nice to meet...” she
started to mumble and then stuttered to a stop.

“Wait.” Natalie narrowed
her eyes and then pushed back in her chair in shock. She hissed with
the pain of the sudden movement. “I know you.
I
know
you!”

Chris stared
in disbelief as Natalie struggled to her feet, only to fall
ungracefully to her knees, all while showing obvious signs of the
agony she was experiencing.