“No rifts in Japan? Are you kidding?”

  He shook his head, holding out his palm and quickly squeezing it closed. Destroyed.

  “When?”

  He shrugged, and then motioned with his finger. Not too long. Did someone know we were coming? Or had they destroyed them to stop something else?

  “Next closest option?” I asked.

  “South Korea,” Charis said for him. “Across the Sea of Japan. It’ll take us days to get there.”

  “Crap,” I said, looking at the ground. I didn’t like the chances of humanity surviving the Beast for hours, never mind days.

  “I can take one of you,” Adam said.

  “Take?” I asked. I had an outside understanding of what he was suggesting, but I didn’t think it was possible. “Won’t you fall, if you help us like that?”

  He smiled. “Before, yes, but I’m the Ninth now. As you know, we have certain… freedoms, that the others do not. Since helping you will allow me to retrieve one of the Canaan Blades, I believe the cause is just.”

  Angels and their games. I returned his smile, and then leaned into the airplane. “Can you get Sarah and Izak back to the rift?”

  “Of course,” she replied. “Meet at the church?”

  “Yeah.” I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and tossed it to her. “Try to get in touch with Obi, if you can. Tell him what’s going on and to stay as close to the church as possible.” I looked back at Adam. “I’m hoping Mr. Ninth back there can convince Kassie to give up the hunt and help us out with the Beast.”

  “Things are going to get messy, Landon,” she said.

  “They aren’t already?” I replied. “We need to get the rest of the Divine involved, or we’ll never have a chance of getting close enough to the real Beast to put him in the Box. Adam believes, so it’s a start.”

  I helped Sarah into the plane. Izak hopped up on his own. “Take care of them,” I said to him on his way by. He nodded.

  “I’ll see you soon,” I said to Charis. I wanted to say more, but the words wouldn’t come.

  “You’re damn right you will,” she said. I saw her pull the bracelet off her wrist, and then she leaned over and pulled the door closed, and the plane began to roll forward. It would have been tough going in sand, but I could see it flattening and compressing in front of the wheels as she made herself a runway.

  “Are you ready, diuscrucis?” Adam asked.

  I walked back to him. “Watch where you put your hands,” I said.

  Chapter 20

  He laughed as he put his arms up under my shoulders. “This is going to feel strange, since you’ve never done it before.” He crouched slightly, and then pushed off, his wings spreading and flapping a few times. I felt my heart drop beyond my stomach, passing down to my groin as we rocketed into the sky. It took me a few beats to get my breath back, and when I did I let out a scream of fear and joy. I felt like a kid on his first roller coaster.

  “This is awesome,” I shouted. I had flown myself in Purgatory, but it wasn’t the same. This was real.

  “I have missed this,” Josette said, her voice rising up for the first time in a while. I could feel her excitement beneath my own, adding to it.

  “It almost makes you wish you had been a little less evil, doesn’t it?” Adam asked.

  In other circumstances, I might have called him an asshole for making a statement like that. Right then, I was having too much fun to care.

  “Enjoy it while it lasts,” Josette said. “There is little enough to be had in times like these.”

  We were above the clouds in no time. Adam wrapped his legs around mine as he turned horizontal, holding me below him like a tandem skydiver. His wings swept back, and I felt our velocity increase beyond anything possible with mechanical flight.

  The ride only lasted for a minute or two at most. Then we were falling, dropping towards the ground thousands of miles from where we started. I saw the Earth approaching once we cleared the clouds, and felt the blood rising to my head. Below us, I could see the gray of the city of Kyoto, and the green of the ground around it.

  “That’s the Golden Pavilion over there,” Adam said, motioning with his foot. “I’ll bring us down over on that brown area, where it’s more quiet.”

  As we neared the ground, he flared his wings out again, turning the ends so they caught the air like a parachute, and slowing us down to a still jarring speed. The impact would have crushed human bones.

  “Thanks for the lift,” I said when he let go of my arms. “I take it you’ve been here before?”

  “This is one of my favorite places,” he said. “Heaven is amazing, but there is a lot to contemplate within the beauty of this world that He created.”

  We walked through the surrounding brush and down to a quiet path. There were only a few tourists and a small collection of locals still walking the gardens. The sun was hidden by a thin layer of high clouds, but even through them I could tell it would be setting soon.

  “Who are we meeting?” Adam asked.

  “I don’t know,” I replied. I hadn’t told him about the Templars. It was too big of a secret to just go spilling to an angel, even if they had proven themselves at least somewhat reliable. Instead, I had just said there was someone waiting for us. “Either I’ll know when I see them, or they’ll know when they see me.” In fact, as long as I was wearing Malize’s bracelet I couldn’t use my Sight beyond its natural range, which was visual. I’d rather be surprised by a seraph or a demon than the Beast and his puppet armies.

  We turned right at the sign that pointed to the Pavilion, an impressive, gold-painted pagoda sitting on the edge of a small pond. It was a perfect Japanese botanical landscape, and despite everything I couldn’t help but admire the composition. There were only a few people standing around, looking out at the water.

  I recognized our contact right away. I should have known. I tapped Adam on the shoulder and pointed him out.

  “Max,” I said, shouldering up to him and leaning over the railing. Adam stopped on the opposite side.

  He didn’t move his head, only his eyes, from my side to Adam’s and back. “Diuscrucis,” he said, a little too excited. “You brought a playmate?” He looked back at Adam. “Not the companion I would have expected. Was it wise to leave our little peanut on her own?”

  “Sarah’s hardly on her own,” I replied. “Charis and Izak are with her. Besides, it would have taken forever to get them here. Did you know someone’s been destroying the rifts?”

  He rubbed his chin. “Hmmm… yes, well I suppose it makes sense. The Beast freed Abaddon. He doesn’t care about how you’re aligned, only if you make a tasty treat. I’m sure the demons want to keep him away as much as anyone else does. I expect more of the rifts will fall in a hurry.” He shrugged it off, and his eyes brightened. “You did say Izak? Oh yes, I’ve been hearing rumors about that one. Is there any truth to them?”

  “If you mean that he’s a badass? Yes. That’s why I know Sarah’s in good hands.”

  His grin spread from ear to ear, and he turned to Adam, holding out his hand. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister…”

  Adam looked at the fiend’s hand, and then at me. Max pulled it back.

  “Too much of a stretch, I suppose,” he said. “No matter, my good man. One you’ve been through the torture of Hell, a little surliness is a walk in the park. No pun intended. Ha-ha.”

  “Max, you know why we’re here,” I said.

  He reached up and put his arm around my shoulders. “I do, old chap. I’m prepared to lead you on this little adventure. First, I need you to do one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Just say the words you know I want to hear.” He put his face in mine, his huge grin too comical for me to be annoyed.

  “Fine. You were right about the trap. I trust you.”

  He let me go and slapped me on the back. “Bully!” he cried. “Jolly good. Well then, off we go.” He turned and started walking back up the path.

  “Max,” I said, trailing behind him. “Where are we going?”

  He stopped again. “I should tell you that, shouldn’t I? Very well, have you ever heard of the Nicht Creidim?”

  I had no idea what he was talking about. “Nick Creedem? No, is he a demon, or an angel?”

  “Ho-ho. Not Nick Creedem. The Nicht Creidim. I’ll assume that since you can’t pronounce it you don’t know who I’m referring to. They’re mortals. Awake mortals. A ‘family’ as it were. They’re collectors of Divine artifacts. Anything that has Divine power, they want.”

  I had definitely never heard of them.

  “Josette?”

  I felt her presence illuminate my soul. “I have heard the word before, but I have never met them. Some think they are a myth. Others believe they exist, but they don’t meddle much in the affairs of the Divine.”

  “They’re vultures,” Ulnyx said. “They hide in dark corners, and pick at the remains on the battlefields. They’ll collect anything Divine - weapons, clothing, blood. Anything they can get before it wastes away.”

  “They’re vultures,” I said to Max. “My question is, why?”

  “Why, what?” he replied.

  “Why do they take Divine stuff? For what purpose?”

  “Divine ‘stuff’ as you say, is very powerful stuff, especially for a mortal. They take it because they feel it can help them maintain the power and influence of the ‘family’, and perhaps one day even grow it. I wouldn’t call them vultures. It was Nicht Creidim assassins who murdered the seraphs given the Canaan Blades. It took hundreds of years to find out where they were keeping the Redeemer, and now the Deliverer. It took the deaths of many to get the Redeemer back.”

  “What about the other blade, then?” I asked. “What about the Swords of Gehenna?”

  He cast his eyes at Adam, hesitant about how much to say. “It is likely they have them as well, though we don’t know where.”

  “You’re a fiend. Can’t you just Command them to tell you?”

  He shook his head. “Ah, no, my good man. You see, the Nicht Creidim are an interesting lot. They tend towards inbreeding, with just enough breakage in the direct lineage to prevent the genetic deficiencies normally associated with such activity. The reason they do it is because it has allowed them to develop certain… resistances to the Divine. Most likely stemming from an initial contact with an artifact that gave the original progenitor some amount of immunization.”

  “Like someone who drank from the Holy Grail?” I asked. Wouldn’t that be a pisser, if one of the original Templars had gone off and created his own cult?

  “Precisely,” he said. “They’re a secretive lot, as you can imagine. They don’t tend to fight the Divine unless threatened, so for the most part they stay under their radar.”

  “Not if they have the Canaan Blades,” Adam said. “When First hears about this, she’s going to be on them like a bee on a flower.”

  Max stopped walking and rounded on the seraph. “Landon, you naughty boy, you didn’t tell me he was an Inquisitor.” He got right up in Adam’s face, his expression turning dark. “One, that was the least manly simile I could imagine. Two, you’ll say nothing to Kassie about the Nicht Creidim and the Blades. You have no idea what trouble you would be causing by bringing your little S.W.A.T team down on them.”

  Adam backed up a step and raised his hands. “Whoa, no offense, little man,” he said. “I’m just trying to do my job. You know, the Lord’s work.”

  “The Lord’s work does not include mass murder,” he said.

  “We won’t kill them,” Adam replied. “Not unless it is absolutely necessary.”

  Max started laughing. “Ha-ha! Now that is what I love about the seraphim. I’m talking about the mass murder of angels,” he said. “Don’t underestimate them because they’re mortal. There is a reason they’ve held the Blades for over a thousand years.”

  Adam backed down, but he didn’t look convinced.

  “Guys,” I said. “It doesn’t matter right now. Nobody is going to be getting anything if the Beast has his way.”

  “Right you are,” Max agreed.

  “So, let’s try this again. Where are we going?”

  “Port of Osaka,” Max said. “The Nicht Creidim own a shipping company. It makes it easier to move the artifacts around. I’ll bring you as close as I can, but you have to go in alone.”

  “Go in alone?” I hadn’t been expecting that.

  “They’re mortal, but they have a kind of Sight. They’ll know if there are Divine headed their way, and they’ll prepare a pretty nasty defense. So, old chap, you’ll have to disguise yourself and try to talk your way in. Show them that fancy bracelet, and tell them you’re looking to sell it. See if you can get them to show you around. I have it on good authority the Deliverer is in there. I just don’t know where.”

  I looked at Malize’s bracelet. I wasn’t too keen on taking it off. “Where are you going to be?”

  He clapped his hands. “Waiting nearby, of course.”

  “Fine,” I said, taking a deep breath. “How do I recognize the sword?”

  “Have you ever heard of Excalibur?” he asked.

  King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table. Who hadn’t? “Of course.”

  “That’s its stage name, so whatever you think Excalibur looks like, there you go. Just be sure not to use it until you’re ready, or you’re going to bring a lot of attention to yourself.”

  I did a double-take. “Wait. You’re telling me the Deliverer is Excalibur? That Excalibur is real?”

  He rolled his eyes and spread his hands. “Well, duh. Arthur was one of ours. So were his knights.”

  Unbelievable.

  Max had a car, and we piled into it. It wasn’t a long drive from Kyoto to the port, especially with the traffic subconsciously moving out of our way. Within thirty minutes we were pulling to a stop in a dirty, industrial part of town. Darkness was beginning to settle here, and there was a distinct quiet that had me on edge. I rubbed my hand absently on Malize’s bracelet, hoping that it was doing what he had claimed it would. There was no sign of the Beast, but I was still getting a creepy feeling.

  Max pointed ahead through the windshield. “Three buildings down, turn left. Walk until you hit the water, then turn right. Keep going until you see a long, low stone building with a blue roll-up door. That’s it. Knock out S.O.S in Morse code, and they’ll open up to check you out. Do you know Mr. Morse?”

  I didn’t, but Josette did. I nodded. “One question. Will they be able to see my eyes?” They would be a dead giveaway that I was more than human.

  Max opened the glovebox and reached in, then handed me a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses. “Just don’t take them off,” he advised.

  It didn’t seem like the best plan, but what else could we do? I pushed open the door and climbed out, making sure to focus, adjusting my signature to true neutral and vanishing from the Sight of anyone who had it. “You two lovebirds say out of trouble,” I said. Neither looked pleased at being left with the other. I gently closed the door and started walking.

  There wasn’t much to it. I turned left where Max had instructed, until I got to the edge of the bay. I stopped when I reached the water, looking out at the ships in the harbor, and then at the glow of the rising moon, diffused by the light clouds. It took some doing to imagine all of it going away, under the Beast’s destructive thumb. I wasn’t going to let that happen.

  “I’ve always loved the moon,” Ulnyx said with a chuckle. “Do you know why weres are so often associated with howling at full moons? It’s when the bitches get the most horny.”

  “Shut up,” I said, ignoring his amusement.

  The sound of my tapping Morse code on the blue door echoed in the emptiness of the late evening. No sooner had I finished the last rap than I heard a click, and the door moved, sliding up and out of view and revealing a face behind it.

  “Who are you?” the girl asked. She was maybe eighteen or nineteen, with long black hair and a pale complexion. Her eyes were almond-shaped, and she had a pert little nose on a small face. She looked like a mix of Japanese with something more European.

  I didn’t give her a name, I just held up my arm and tapped on the bracelet. “I heard I could find someone who might be interested in a piece like this here.”

  Her expression didn’t change, but she leaned in and looked at it. When she backed away, she was smiling. “You heard correct, Mr…”

  “Smith,” I said with a smile.

  She gave me a small bow. “Of course. Follow me.”

  She led me into the open area of the warehouse. It was filled with shipping containers, crates, and boxes. Forklifts sat half-loaded, as though they had been abandoned as soon as it had hit closing time, and only the auxiliary lights were on. I scanned the area visually, but I didn’t see anyone else in there.

  “That’s an interesting piece,” she said as we walked. “How did you come by it?”

  “I stole it,” I said. “I’d heard there were buyers for stuff with this kind of etching on it. What is it, Japanese?”

  She laughed, a cute little choppy chuckle. “Oh no, Mr. Smith. Not Japanese. Something much older.” We reached the end of the warehouse, and she put her palm up to an electronic lock. It beeped, and she bent down to lift another door. Behind it was an elevator.

  “Pretty cool kit,” I said.

  “We can never be too careful,” she replied. “We deal in priceless antiquities that are highly desired by a number of parties. Not all of whom are willing to be above the table in working with us.”

  “I can imagine. You don’t have a problem with the means by which I obtained this, do you?”

  She turned and looked at it again. “Oh no. One man’s loss, is another’s gain. If they didn’t want a professional such as yourself to take it, they should have been more careful.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at that. “My sentiments exactly,” I said.

  The elevator descended fifty or sixty feet, and then opened up into an empty cement corridor that was about twenty feet long. The whole thing reminded me of how the Templars had positioned the Cave of Christ in order to keep it safe. I guess it was a common tactic.