“It wasn’t, and yes, scrambled!” She leaned against the counter and updated him on the statue and manifestos, and The Brotherhood. “So, we need to know more about that house! Who are Amato’s family? Did he inherit the place or buy it? If so, who from? It has a bloody great temple on the grounds!” Her voice rose indignantly.
“Isn’t this out of your area of jurisdiction?”
“Yes, but I want to help. It’s important.”
“I know. I have a couple of people I speak to in the Rome office, so I’ll call once we’ve eaten. Then I’ll chase up JD. I’m wondering if he’s found anything that could help in his extensive library.” He didn’t mention the Emerald Tablet that JD was still experimenting with. Although he could trust Maggie, they were keeping the information about its existence to a very small group. Instead, he said, “He was obsessed with angels, and hearing about Belial has set him off again.”
“Any little clue would be useful.” Maggie had never met JD, and for that Harlan was grateful. They would be at odds, he was sure.
He plated up the eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and mushrooms, his brunch treat after the gym. “All right. Let’s eat, and then I’ll make a few calls.”
Shadow grimaced, hands on her hips, as she stared up at the statue of Belial. He looked imperious and patriarchal, and she already loathed him.
“I hate bullies,” she said to Niel, who stood close by. “He must be one of the biggest. I thought Herne was, but I think Belial is worse.”
“He was a nightmare.” Niel had been clearing away some of the undergrowth with his axe, but he paused to catch his breath. “His Nephilim were the same. To be honest, we were all entitled, but they were nightmarish. Worse than Samael’s followers.”
Shadow nodded. He’d suggested as much before, and she’d had long conversations with Gabe about it. “We should smash his statue. I don’t like to think it’s still standing here, waiting for adoration.”
“I like that idea, but perhaps we should take lots of pictures before we destroy it. Something about it might hold clues.”
That brightened her mood. “You promise?”
“It’s funny how the little things please you, sister,” Niel said, laughing.
“You’re the same,” she shot back. “You and that axe are never apart.”
“I’m not disagreeing. We have the same appetite for destruction and swift justice. I just temper it now.”
“So do I, but it’s hard when it’s what you’ve done your whole life.” She studied the statue’s details. It was twice Niel’s height, as was the wingspan’s width on each side, and the feathers were painstakingly carved. “Someone took a great deal of care on this. Do you think it’s the same one as was in the temple at the church?” The events had unfolded so quickly that she wasn’t sure.
Niel paced around it. “The design is the same, I think, but this one is bigger. His features have been worn by the weather, too.”
Belial was rendered with sculpted muscles, his chest bare, and a skirt low on his waist. He wore calf-length boots, and carried a raised sword as if ready to dispense justice. But he clutched something in his other hand. She pointed to it. “Niel, what’s that? Is it a horn?”
“I think so.”
“Did he usually carry one?”
Niel frowned. “I’m not sure. Perhaps. They were common, for some angels. A way to start a battle or summon a withdrawal of troops. Or just plain instil fear and awe. Their sound was unearthly.”
Something else struck Shadow, and she clambered onto the plinth, and rubbed some moss away. “The jewels that were on the statue under the church are actually carved on this one. Look! The long necklace around his neck, the torcs on his arms, the rings on his fingers.” She scrubbed at more of the moss, peeling it away to reveal the design beneath, and then dropped back to the ground. “And the sword looks to be the same as the one he was holding.”
“You’re right. That is interesting! Well spotted.” He looked at her, eyebrow cocked. “Significant?”
“Perhaps. The only object I don’t recall seeing that night was the horn. Admittedly, it was a bit chaotic in there, but I’m sure I’d have seen it on the table. I crept around the back while Amato was talking to you.” She wasn’t seeing the open temple dappled in half-light under the trees anymore. She was in the subterranean temple again, prowling around the perimeter unseen. The jewellery glittered on the stone altar, and she could scent the rich incense that hung about the cloak on his shoulders, cleverly arranged under the wings. There were a dizzying number of runes and sigils marked on the floor and roof, but no horn. “No, I’m sure of it.”
She withdrew her phone from her pocket and started to take photos, working her way methodically around the angel. “Have you found anything inscribed in the marble flooring?”
“A couple of compass points on the outer perimeter. South and west so far. I’m heading to the northeastern part to see if anything is there.”
She looked at the area he’d cleared. The marble was stained green and brown from decades of mud and leaf detritus, but south and west were clearly scored into the marble that formed the base of the mini amphitheatre. “Interesting. No altar, though, is there?”
“What do you think happened here?”
“It doesn’t strike me as a meeting place. Belial’s statue is huge. It hides big sections of the seating, especially on the upper levels, but it is imposing. The whole place, I mean. When clean, everything must have dazzled in sunlight and moonlight. Everything is made of white marble. Imagine walking up the path and catching a glimpse of Belial. Plus, you’re right—it is on a rise.”
“It’s a place of initiation.” Niel spoke with conviction, and he nodded to himself. “Yes, I’m sure of it.”
“Really?” She looked around, considering his words, imagining the new believers being brought here and sworn to The Brotherhood. The steps that doubled as seats could have been for other members to watch. “It’s possible, I guess.”
Niel attacked the northeast quadrant with renewed vigour, and putting her phone away, Shadow joined him. They quickly cleared a large section to reveal the final two compass points, but there was nothing significant to mark the northeasterly direction.
As if reading her thoughts, Niel said, “You wouldn’t spell it out, though, would you?”
“No.” Something tickled at the edge of Shadow’s mind. “A temple of worship, and this, a place of initiation. Could it be a sort of path of enlightenment, or some such bollocks? And maybe it’s not northeasterly, but southwestern? You move from one point to another, through various tests designed for you.” She shrugged, frustrated. “Do you know what I mean?”
“I think that sounds very interesting. Have you been spending time with Ash?”
“I am quite capable of working things out, too!”
He grinned, face smeared with dirt and leaves stuck in his hair. “You are so easy to wind up.”
“Piss off.”
“No, I think it has to be northeasterly because of the way he’s facing, but I guess he could be looking back towards the beginning?” He huffed. “Lots to consider. Or, of course, we’re seeing something where there is nothing.”
“No, there’s something. Can we smash it now?”
“I presume that’s my job?”
“We’ll do it together. Just a little push!”
“All right. Stand well back.” Niel extended his wings and flew a few feet above the ground, until he was face to face with Belial. He gripped the head and rocked the statue back, roaring with effort. It wobbled off its plinth and smashed on the ground, cracking the marble underfoot. Chunks of the statue rattled across the rock, and something skittered out of the debris.
Shadow knew what it was, even from a distance. Another piece of Belial’s jewellery.
Six
Niel carried the newly discovered ring back to their Tuscan villa that was tucked into a fold in the countryside, trying to ignore Belial’s whispers and entreaties while they completed the shopping Gabe had requested.
They had smashed the statue into tiny pieces, Niel using his axe, Shadow using her Dragonium sword, eager to ensure they were leaving nothing behind. Fortunately, the ring was the only trinket embedded into the statue. It hadn’t reduced their unease, though. They were both quiet on the journey home.
Ash was working on the computer when they entered the kitchen, but Gabe and Nahum were discussing flights.
Niel placed the ring, a huge ruby set within an ornate gold mount, on the kitchen table. “Another one.”
Gabe and Nahum’s conversation ended abruptly as Nahum asked, “Where did you find it?”
