your point.” Eli didn’t flinch when a gyrfalcon most likely resident in Raphael’s territory winged over to land on his right shoulder, its claws curling into the leather that now reinforced the shoulders of all Elijah’s shirts and tunics. “Do you think she is feeding on the disappeared?”
The suggestion wasn’t an outlandish one, not when it came to this one archangel. During the course of their battle above New York, Raphael had seen the dried-out husks of the ill-fated from whom Lijuan had sucked their life force. “It’s possible—I have a theory that she has found a way to create a reservoir of power for her eventual return. That is why she went into Sleep. To glut herself.”
“I hope you are wrong, my friend.” Ice threaded Elijah’s voice now. “She is already almost beyond our ability to defeat. She does not need access to more power.”
“It’s also possible her people are joining her at an unknown location.” Despite her depravities and how many of her own she’d massacred in her lust for power, Lijuan was considered a goddess by many.
But Elijah shook his head. “The lost are simple villagers—not the kind to be welcome in Lijuan’s court as anything other than menial servants.” Eyes of golden brown held Raphael’s. “We cannot neglect the probability that Lijuan truly Sleeps and the disappearances have nothing to do with her. Favashi’s current behavior is not what anyone would expect from her.”
The two of them began to walk again.
“Perhaps,” Elijah continued, “she has ordered her generals to take ruthless action to instill fear in the populace and the ghost villages are only the tip of the iceberg. China is a large territory for a young archangel to control—and she is fighting an uphill battle, given her predecessor.”
“Yes.” Lijuan’s people were used to being under the hand of the most powerful archangel in the world—there was little doubt that the older vampires and angels in the territory were only giving lip service when it came to their loyalty to Favashi.
Such was the unavoidable side effect of taking over a territory where another archangel had either died or gone into Sleep. The new archangel had to earn the fidelity of those left behind—or rule by creating a primal fear that overwhelmed history and loyalty in favor of pure, animal survival.
In some cases, the balance was never struck, and those loyal to the previous archangel scattered on the winds, to find new homes and positions. The vast majority were capable of loyal and devoted service to another archangel—just not to the one who’d usurped their archangel.
Many of Alexander’s people had served others with utmost fidelity but had tendered their resignations the instant he rose again—then they’d flown home. It would be the same with Raphael’s people, should he ever go into Sleep. As for his Seven, that was a certainty. No one would be surprised when Dmitri, Jason, Naasir, Illium, Aodhan, Galen, and Venom returned to him. Even were Illium to ascend, he would be as Eli was to Caliane—forever loyal.
Some bonds did not break.
“Lijuan might’ve been mad to our eyes,” Elijah said quietly, “but to many of her people, she is a living goddess. It does not matter if she is in this world or if she Sleeps, she remains the one to whom they direct their prayers.”
Raphael watched the gyrfalcon preen Elijah’s hair. “Her most loyal people could be erasing villages in order to make it seem as if she is present in the world, so her grip on her territory never fades. Their belief in her is fanatical.” Even the horror of the shambling “reborn,” that mockery of life everlasting, hadn’t altered their faith.
Elijah reached up and the gyrfalcon hopped from his shoulder to his forearm. Stroking the wild creature, he said, “I know it is not the way of the Cadre to interfere in the affairs of another archangel, but I feel we cannot leave Favashi to stumble into war.” Elijah’s voice was of a man who had seen too much battle in his long lifetime. “Before I left to meet you, I received a call from Neha. She has withdrawn her ambassadors from Favashi’s court, and she tells me Michaela’s ambassadors are also not happy.”
Raphael considered the water, the clarity of the liquid over the stones. That Neha hadn’t spoken to him was no surprise. Their relationship had broken on the blade of her daughter’s lust for power. But that she’d taken the step of recalling her ambassadors . . .