“I’m not inclined to explain,” I reply. Phaedrus is quiet, but his presence speaks volumes. He’s here to help facilitate something between Tau and me.
“Your ability to influence humans eliminates free will. Without it, humans cannot be judged for their actions. They’d more than likely go unpunished for any wrongdoing, if you were to order them to sin.”
“I don’t use my influence in that way.”
“Never? You know the rules we have with humans? We’re not to interfere in their lives.”
“I know.”
“Ever break the rules?”
I shrug, noncommittal, but my mind searches for instances. I have used my talent a few times recently with Russell, I think, but I don’t say it aloud. A thought pushes its way to the periphery of my mind. I glimpse a girl on a stone floor…I lose the thought. It evaporates and I can’t seem to call it back. We climb stairs leading up to the main level.
Tau reads my silence as reluctance to answer his question. He presses on. “You attract Evie to you.”
“It’s a mutual attraction,” I reply.
“And you’ll do anything to stay together.”
“That surprises you?”
“You’re a Power. You’re designed to follow my orders, but you would’ve killed me had Xavier and Cole not stopped you.” There’s respect and admiration in his demeanor.
“I wouldn’t have hesitated. I’ve promised to protect Evie with my life. You were threatening her life.” We reach the next floor.
“She wanted to end the fight between you and Xavier.”
“And killing her was your best solution?” I cannot hide the anger in my tone, however much I wish I could.
“I didn’t use a killing tone when I blew the boatswain. It was meant to subdue her, nothing more, and thereby get your attention and that of Xavier. I did not anticipate the damage it would do to her. It was not supposed to be that way, but it did demonstrate something to me. Now I see that she’s ready to die rather than lose either of you. I also understand that you’re both here for a purpose. I cannot allow either of you to cease to be now without fulfilling your destinies.”
“So you had me thrown in a cell here and separated from my aspire.”
“No. I’ve just recovered from getting my throat cut, and then I was gathering information before I freed you. Evie just got to you first.”
Traversing a short hallway, we enter a reception area of the Chateau. Its floor is ancient marble. The ceiling is painted with scenes of angels at war. Gilded mirrors and furniture serve as elegant accouterments to our negotiations. “You believe you know my destiny?” I ask.
“Evie chose her champion. It’s you.” He stops at a sitting area in the middle of the room.
I face him, standing in front of a chair, but neither of us takes a seat. “You know this, how?”
“The ring on your finger,” he indicates it with a flick of his hand. “I thought at first that it was a random act of misguidedness on her part. It belonged to Jim, her uncle. She loved Jim more than anyone—her surrogate father. The ring was divinely made, given to him in a covert way to protect him from magic and evil. He was human; it was necessary. When I learned that she gave it to you, I believed she was attempting to transfer her love for Jim onto you.”
“What made you change your mind about that?”
“Phaedrus,” Tau says, indicating the Virtue angel standing nearby, silently watching our exchange. His black eyes are missing nothing. “He convinced me otherwise. He explained some of the pieces of information to me that I’ve been missing. You work alone—a Prostat Power. You’ve occasionally made strategic partnerships over the millennia—bands of hunter-killers. Anytime you come across evil, you don’t hesitate to annihilate it, or at the very least, send it running back to Sheol. You prefer to work alone. Why is that?”
“Killing is personal.” A Power angel appears with clothes in his outstretched arms. I ignore him. Tau indicates that he can leave the clothes on the table near us. After the Power does so, Tau waves him away with a small gesture.
“Yes, every angel has his or her own style. You prefer to make death quick; you don’t linger over prey—most times, they never see it coming. One doesn’t usually find that type of killing in a group of Power angels. Groups of Powers tend to be more vicious. They want to judge—berate—exact vengeance.”
“Avenge God.”
“Avenge,” he agrees. “And Zephyr? Does he avenge?”
“He’s more like me. We do our jobs—stalk and kill. We’re efficient. We work together when it’s warranted.”
“And you have a bond.” It’s a statement. I neither agree nor disagree. I don’t know how he’ll use the information, so answering would be unwise. In this instance, Tau understands me better than I’d like. “Zephyr is your closest ally. He probably saved your life more than once, and you, his. You’ve both grown close. I daresay it’s a bond of brotherhood.”