The Book of Doom - By Barry Hutchison Page 0,12

the bed, his huge eyes filled with hopeful expectation.

“No,” Zac said, turning his back on the bookcase. “Never met him.”

“He moves around a lot, that’s probably why,” said Angelo. “If you do ever meet him, whatever you do, don’t make him angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.”

“Right,” said Zac, with only a momentary pause. “I’ll keep that in mind. You like Jekyll and Hyde too, I see.”

“Not really,” Angelo shrugged. He shifted uneasily. “Gabriel keeps bringing them to me. He thinks it’s good for me to read them, with the whole half-blood thing. He got me into the Hulk to begin with too.”

“Right.” Zac looked around the room again. It was small and windowless, with just one door. There were only the two of them there, and they had only been in the room a few minutes, but already he was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

“So,” he began, looking Angelo up and down again. “Why you?”

Angelo smiled anxiously. “What do you mean?”

“They had you come and wait outside the door. They knew I’d say no to Michael coming with me, so they had you lined up. Why?”

“I don’t...”

“What did they say to you? Why did Michael tell you to wait outside?”

Angelo smiled bashfully. “They said they’d found me a friend. He said we could be friends. You and me. So, um... Can we?”

“No,” said Zac. “We can’t.”

Angelo’s smile stayed fixed, but he looked away from the boy in black. “What? Oh. Right. What? I mean, yes. OK.” He wriggled uncomfortably on his bed. “It’s just, see, I don’t have many friends.”

“I don’t have any. Suits me just fine.” He saw the hurt behind Angelo’s fixed smile and softened slightly. “I mean, look, I’m sure you’re a great kid and everything, but... you’re too young to be my friend. That’s it. Too young. It’d be weird.”

“I’m nearly a thousand years old in human years,” Angelo said curtly.

“Really?” asked Zac after a pause. “You’re bearing up well. What’s that in angel years?”

Angelo scratched his ear. “Um... about twelve.”

“Right,” said Zac. “That’s what I thought.”

There was a rhythmic knock on the door, then the handle turned and the door swung inward. Gabriel stepped through, his smile still frozen in place.

“Apologies for the slight delay. I trust you two have been getting to know each other?” the angel said.

Angelo looked quickly to Zac, then down at his flip-flops. Zac folded his arms across his chest and leaned on the bookcase. Neither of them spoke.

“Splendid,” said Gabriel, not faltering. “Splendid. I have a gift for you, Zac. Put this on.” He held up a cheap-looking digital watch.

Zac took the watch and turned it over in his hands. It was made of flimsy black plastic. He had found a similar watch in a Christmas cracker once, and it had gone straight in the bin.

“What does this do?” he asked.

“It tells the time,” Gabriel replied.

Zac looked at the watch again. “Is that it?”

“No. Angelo has one too. It will allow the two of you to stay in contact if you become separated. It will also allow you to get in touch with us when you have the book. At which point, we’ll be able to retrieve you.”

He watched Zac secure the strap across his wrist. “Splendid. It has other functions too. Angelo will explain.”

“Right,” said Angelo, holding up his wrist and pointing to his own watch. It was identical to the one Zac wore. “You see this button here?”

“Later, Angelo,” Gabriel said with a hint of annoyance. “Explain later. There’s no time now.”

“Oh,” said Angelo, deflated. “Right. Later.”

Gabriel looked down at Zac and lowered his smile a few calculated notches. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Zac nodded.

“Very good. We have reason to believe the book is being held by a demon named Haures. A Duke of Hell, no less. We’re informed he’s keeping it in the tenth circle. You will have to find your own way in, I’m afraid.”

“Tenth circle? I thought there were only supposed to be nine circles of Hell.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows knotted above his nose. “Yes. So did we. I have no idea what you will find waiting there, but I do know that if you fail, then everything – the very existence of the cosmos itself – will be in grave peril. The book is the ultimate weapon, Zac. Do not forget that.”

“No pressure, then.”

The angel smiled thinly. “Quite.” He stepped aside. Angelo hopped down off the bed and stood next to Zac. He pulled his long T-shirt up and tucked it