Murder Path (Fallen Angels Book 3) (25 page)

Chapter 36

When I looked into Jacob’s eyes, before he was able to dilate his pupils, I just saw emptiness.  The emptiness of forever.  I didn’t see any indication that he could sense things, feel things or even understand things.  I just saw emptiness, for an eternity.  It’s an immortality, of sorts.  Now I know he feels, and he senses, and he understands, and he fears.  He fears the pain of a condition that has been genetically bred into him by a religion that doesn’t seem to feel or sense or understand and definitely doesn’t fear.  A religion that feels empty to me, bereft of the one thing that gets you through the emptiness, the one thing that would make forever bearable.  Love.  Where is that, in a single thing they have done?  Where is that in any religion?  Understanding why they have done this to us doesn’t help my emptiness.  It doesn’t take away the ache of an empty childhood, a loveless upbringing with no heart to call home.  I still don’t know who I am, even though I now know what I am.

The tunnel is dark, devoid of any ambient light, the way ahead illuminated by the torch on the barrel of Adam’s rifle.  Water drips incessantly from the rough hewn roof millimetres above my head, into a stream that runs along the tunnel floor.  For my sins, I let Adam loose.  He is possibly the only person that can take on Gabriel.  He is definitely the only person who should take on Gabriel.  Eve walks behind him, her hands now cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, her blouse now over her top.  Rebecca is after that, her eyes not leaving either of them.  It’s hard to see her face in the darkness, but I feel her emptiness as well, currently being filled with anger and animosity toward Adam and Eve.  I take up the rear, my Nagant ready in my hand for the slightest hint of either of them trying anything untoward.

The darting beam ahead illuminates some steps carved out of the stone.  Adam slows, raising a hand for us to do the same.  He turns around to face us.

‘In an emergency, we all convene in the main hall, around the long dining table.  That’s where they will be.  I have no idea where Gabriel will be.  We have to keep eyes and ears open and focus.  This isn’t a play now John.  This is life and death.  I know you hate me and that is fine.  But you need to follow my lead if we are to find Jacob.  These steps lead up into the old kitchen of the Castle.  The main hall is through the door on the left.’ Adam relays, perceptive about the hate at least.

He heads up the narrow slippery stairs and reaches an old, rotting wooden door with rusting metal hinges and a large key in an antiquated lock.  He turns the key easily, without it even making a small rusty squeak.  That suggests it has been used recently.  He pulls the door open, to reveal a blank sandstone wall.  He then reaches to his left and pulls a metal lever, the wall moving, the stone grating as it trundles to the right.  Adam steps surreptitiously into the kitchen, listening keenly for sounds of life.  He signals us to follow, and we all enter a high ceilinged, recently used modern kitchen.  The nearby surfaces are filled with chopping boards, pans, pots and crockery, freshly prepared food in abundance.

Adam turns to Eve, and looks at her in obvious frustration.  ‘Was he bringing them here for a supper?’  Eve shrugs her shoulders, staring at him with a gagged, lopsided grin.  He sneers at her lividly, then turns and walks quickly toward the large double doors into the hall, placing his ear against them.

Rebecca sidles up to me and slides her hand into mine, squeezing it tight, fear etched into the old face she is wearing.  I reciprocate, then bend down and whisper into her ear. ‘Stay close.  As much as he said it isn’t, this still feels like a play.  I’m just not sure who’s.’  We walk over to Adam.  I see confusion in his eyes.

‘What’s wrong?’  I ask.

‘There’s not a sound coming from the room.  There should be twelve people in there.  There’s no way he could have incapacitated them all, they are much to savvy for that.  Only one way to find out.’ he answers, his features concerned as he slowly opens the door. 

The hall is vast, with high vaulted ceilings, large stained glass windows in between wood panelled walls.  Flags and banners hang from the walls, motionless in the still, silent air.  Only the slight crackle from an open fire in a huge inglenook at the far end of the room breaking the disquiet.  Above the inglenook is a large tapestry of The Last Supper.  In the middle of the room, a long old oak table fills the floor, its chairs haphazard, each filled with a person and each person slumped over the table.  Adam stealthily steps toward the table, rifle out in front of him, eyes scanning every alcove in the room.  I follow a few steps behind, Rebecca staying at the kitchen door, holding on to Eve.  There are pewter goblets lying on the floor, red wine spilt from them.  More are tipped on the table, the wine soaked into and staining a white tablecloth covered in an abundance of uneaten food.  I head for the nearest person, a middle age man with black, slightly greying hair, his green eyes open and lifelessly staring in agony up at the ceiling.  I know he is dead, but I still check for a pulse.  None.  His body is cold, the flesh starting to tighten.  He has been dead for at least a few hours.  I set off clockwise around the table, checking each body, Adam doing likewise the other way, my gut an aching emptiness as one after one, I feel no pulse, only the cold cloak of death.  I reach the last person just as Adam stands up from checking her negative vital signs.  He looks at me in a visible rage.

‘If you ever wondered what Gabriel is capable of, then now you know.  He has killed a faith and killed a family.  All because he could.  Do you doubt that he wouldn’t do the same to you, or Rebecca, or even Jacob.’ Adam finishes, striding over the short distance back to where Eve is standing, her façade reflecting astonished horror.  He grabs her short hair, pulling her head right into his face with one hand, spittle forming in the corners of his lips, as his other hand grabs her throat.

‘Did you know about this?  Did you know he was going to kill my family?  Your family?’ he snarls into her terrified face while squeezing her windpipe. 

She shakes her head, mumbling ‘No’ through her gag.  Rebecca jumps in and tries to pull his hand off her throat, as I step up behind him and do the same, not even budging his bulging, tense bicep.

‘Adam, stop.  We’ve just lost twelve of us.  We are the only ones left.  We are the only family you have.  We shouldn’t be trying to kill each other.  We should be trying to help each other.  Right now we’ve got a common enemy, and that isn’t any of us.  That’s Gabriel.  And right now, Gabriel has Jacob.’ Rebecca hisses into his ear, pummelling his constricting hand with hers.  Adam’s gaze darts furiously between the bulging emerald eyes of Eve, and the beseeching tears of Rebecca as I ineffectually thump his ribs, his body not even baulking under the pummelling.  He screams in frustrated fury, a gut wrenching roar, and releases Eve, who falls to the floor, coughing, choking on her gag.  Adam steps to one side and kicks the kitchen door.  I kneel down at the same time as Rebecca, both of us reaching for Eve’s gag, and pull it from her mouth.  She breathes in deep and hard, welcoming the elixir of air into her lungs.

Rebecca looks down upon Eve imploringly, her mental strength shining through the peril of our predicament, her empathy obvious.  ‘You told us a lot of lies last night, but also a lot of truths.  You are being played, just as we are.  You said one thing in particular that I would ask you to seriously think on now.  You said there had to be some greater purpose to warrant the death of the innocent, Michael, Sarah and at the time Jacob.  Michael and Sarah bled for us.  They were innocent angels and they bled for us.  Please don’t let Jacob, our last little angel, bleed.  You’ve heard Adam’s purpose for Jacob, and it’s not that great, in fact, it’s just religious bunk, but then neither is killing him just because Gabriel feels like it.  Help us save our son.  Where does Gabriel have him?’

Eve splutters as she tries to talk, her throat still raw and sore from Adam choking it.  ‘They are no different, are they, Adam and Gabriel.  When you bring it back to basics, they are psychopathic killers pretending to play God.  I am so sorry I took Jacob.  I thought Gabriel was trying to rid the world of the evil the Angels had created.  All he really did was make me into a murderer too.  He has him in the chapel.’

I help Eve to her feet, Rebecca doing the same, and we walk towards Adam, who is circling in an acrimonious apoplexy, the veins prominent and pumping on his exposed torso.

‘Welcome to the world of being played.  Welcome to the world of being out of control.  You need to calm down Adam, otherwise you will be of no use to anyone.  This is only about one thing now, regardless of what you were trying to play.  It’s about getting Jacob out alive, and not because of your warped understanding of what he is, but because he is an innocent little boy who has had no choice in any of this.  Each and every one of us has had plenty of choices and chances to walk away, and yet here we all are.  If that means each and every one of us dies trying, then that’s the way it will be.  So you have a choice Adam, die trying to save Jacob, or die trying to kill Gabriel.’

Adam looks at me in a fiery rage, his body physically shaking from the chaos coursing through his veins.  His eyes don’t leave mine, and I see his mind ticking in them, doing what I do when I lose control, trying to shore up the rickety rooms and compartmentalise everything.  It’s the one thing I still don’t know.  What are we to each other?  Brothers or clones?  What are we to Gabriel?  His shaking starts to subside, calmness descending on him again, a complete composure enveloping him in the whisper of a second. 

‘Follow me, the Chapel is this way.’ he instructs simply, not articulating his choice, then turns and heads for a large oak door in the far end of the hall, next to the open fire.  He flips the rifle off his shoulder and directs it toward the door.  We follow him, supporting Eve.

Adam eases the door open circumspectly, casting a quick glance down the corridor beyond.  It is empty and quiet and he signals for us to proceed.  Silence engulfs us as we surreptitiously stalk down the corridor, everyone’s eyes delving into every brooding shadow.  We reach the end, Adam pointing to an ornate, stained glass door.  He approaches it with stealth, placing his ear against the oak slats below the glass, listening keenly.  There is no sound, so he slowly turns the metal ring handle, the slightest of squeaks coming from the metal bar latch lifting, then pushes to door gently.  It glides silently open, surprisingly, not a sound from the old hinges.  He pokes the rifle through the widening gap, into every corner, and stands as he sidles his body through, fully into the room. 

‘No sign of Gabriel.  Come in, but be cautious.’ he whispers.  We oblige, and enter the sumptuously decorated chapel. 

My eyes are instantly drawn to the altar about twenty metres ahead and Jacob’s prone body lying full length on his back on top of it.  I run across the room towards him, Rebecca by my side.  As I get closer, I notice tubes coming from his legs, six in each, flowing down onto the floor both sides of the altar.  Rickety rooms break again, and a memory of my childhood, in the white room, floods in.  They are the same tubes I had attached to my legs.  I reach into my pocket as I near him, and pull out Ian Bear, bending his body until I hear a click.  My mind is firing, my senses acute, listening around for Gabriel, being overwhelmed by seeing Jacob, just wanting to grab him and run from the room, but conscious that we could be shot down any second.  For a moment though, all I want to do is hug my baby boy.  We reach him, Rebecca a second before me and she is in kissing his cheek, tears streaming down hers.  I wrap an arm around her back, and snuggle into them both, kissing Jacob as well, as I secrete Ian Bear into the fold of his neck.

‘Sorry son.’ I whisper through quivering lips, ‘Uncle Jerry says hello.  He found Ian Bear for you.  He told me to let you know to keep Ian close, and wherever Ian is, Uncle Jerry won’t be far behind.’

Rebecca turns her head up to me, surprise in her teary eyes.  I nod imperceptibly.  Then I see her eyes look past me, the surprise turning to panic, just as I hear a loud swishing noise.  She grabs me and pulls me backwards, onto the floor, as a large, square glass container descends from the ceiling, trapping us within it.  I jump to my feet, Rebecca doing likewise, and simultaneously we bang on the glass, Rebecca looking toward Jacob, while I look everywhere else, trying to see Gabriel. 

What I see is Adam, dragging Eve to the other side of the altar, opposite us.  What I see is Adam looking over to us, calmly efficient, his rifle flung over his shoulder.  What is see is another square glass container drop from the ceiling around them as well.  I look around the room quickly once more, knowing it is pointless, knowing that I won’t see Gabriel.