Gates of Death - Rae Foxx Page 0,26

Now the couch from my study was in there, too. Luc slept on one and Michael on the other. Word had spread among all the ranks of angels and they all knew to bring the demons directly here, to the living room.

After six days of it, we returned home to find Joel in our living room with Lucifer and Michael. "Just giving an update," he said when we walked in. "You have good timing."

I sat on the sofa opposite Lucifer and pressed close to Michael. "Go ahead."

"Raphael did have a few followers that have come forward. They have renounced him and given some information, but not much. If they aren't lying, it means he told each follower something different. We can piece a bit of it together, but we are missing a lot of information. He must have many more followers that have not denounced him."

"I want names," Lucifer growled. He may have been in his human body, but he was the Lord of the Darkness. The most brutally powerful Fallen in existence and one of the most powerful Archangels. Only Michael and Gabriel rivaled him, and they were on his side.

And Raphael, but unfortunately, he was not on our side.

"I can't give names," Joel said. "We only have suspicions. I won't have you torturing angels when you're not sure."

We'd been glad to get Joel on our side because he was a rule-follower and was unlikely to have fallen in with Raphael. Now, that rule-following was pretty damn annoying.

"What can you tell us?" I asked. "We need to sort this and find Raphael. It's more than just Ariel." My voice rose, fueled by my frustration and exhaustion. "It's the gates of fucking Abaddon," I yelled.

Joel held his hands up. "I get it. I'm not saying I won't help. I've got the name of a human. I'm following all sorts of angelic leads. I don't have time to follow human leads. But it seems possibly credible. But if you do anything evil to the man, I'm out. You'll be on your own and I'll use the resources of Heaven without you."

We exchanged a long look, Luc and I. "Agreed," he said after I gave him an old signal we'd worked out. I pursed my lips slightly. Not enough for anyone to notice unless they knew our code. If I'd flared my nostrils slightly, the answer would've been no.

"We will not do anything that might displease God," I said.

Joel seemed placated. "Okay. The woman's name is Mia Schmidt. She lives in Würzburg." He stood and looked at our exhausted states. "Good luck. I'll tell the angels to hold off on bringing any demons for the time being."

He disappeared, leaving us with a lead that could be a dead end. It could also lead us to our daughter. I jumped up, energized with hope. "Let's go."

We suited up before we went, strapping our holsters and handguns on again. No rifles, they were too cumbersome. Even Michael and Gabriel put weapons on. "We're dealing with humans," Gabe said when Lucifer teased him about it. "Can't be too careful. They're unpredictable."

That was the damn truth.

We joined hands and moved to Würzburg, where Gabe went into a small coffee shop to inquire. I followed to listen. The city was far too large for anyone to know our suspect directly, but Gabe managed to get a hold of a phone book. He spoke fluent German. I understood enough to get by, but wasn't fluent, not in this body. My magic would've helped me understand any language ever spoken or written, but I didn't have it flowing through me. I would've had to have actively used the little bit I could reach to understand the man behind the counter, and it wasn't worth the effort.

"Do you know how many Schmidts are in this phone book?" Gabe grumbled.

"Use your magic," I whispered.

He glared at me.

"What?" I laughed. "Mad you didn't think of it?"

"Yes." He pressed his finger to the page, and I felt his power surge. If any angels were in the vicinity, they would've, too. He did a modified version of a scrying spell, and his finger stopped on a specific number.

Double-checking the clerk was busy, Gabe ripped out the page of the phone book and set the book on the counter. "Danke," he called. The clerk waved.

"We have an address," Gabe told Michael and Lucifer when we walked out. I pulled out my cell phone and plugged in the coordinates, once again marveling at how technology helped